For a while I had forgotten that my schooling was going to start again! I can’t complain about the long break I had before classes started. This semester will be my last and final one before I receive my B.A. in Communication Studies, thank God! It is nice to know that all of my requirements for my major and minor have been met, so I am able to take courses of any subject matter here. While I thought I would be taking advanced photography classes, I learned that in order to be in advanced art classes at AUT I would have needed to study abroad for one year. Advanced courses last for two semesters and not just one. So instead of studying art I have enrolled in two “papers” as they call classes in NZ that are suited for international students. I still need to learn the names of what the courses are called in the Maori language without having to look at a piece of paper! It seems like all the names here have some kind of sound like taka taka or puka or tuta or other crazy sounds within them. When people ask me where I have traveled to, I have to often look up the name because I can’t pronounce or remember it because it is in the Maori language! Before I came abroad people made it sound like classes in other countries were as easy as you could imagine with no attendance policy and little work. Maybe in other countries it is that way, but not at my University here. We have attendance and in every class I have a decent amount of work and papers to write.
So the first class I am taking is called Ki Te Whaiao: Introducation to Maori Society. I am really happy to be in this class because part of the reason I was drawn to New Zealand was to learn about the Maori culture. If any of you haven’t seen the movie Whale Rider, then go check it out! It will give you a little taste of what I am learning about in this course. Lots of Maori vocabulary is used which is something I need to get use to and will be a bit of a challenge. Although I need to brace myself for learning new words because the more I think about it, the more I would like to learn German! Two of my best buds Claudia and Stephie are in this class (who speak German!) which really helps make the time go by faster. It’s a good thing Stephie is in there because she is the best note taker ever! I find myself drifting more than often since I have six hours of class in a row. By the end I am a bit antsy! On Wednesdays from 2-8 my classes are held in a building called the Marae, which could be compared to a church. Shoes must be taken off before entering the building and no food or drink is allowed either.
The second course I am taking is called Te Ara Pou: Leadership. I really enjoy the teacher that I have, he is a small little Maori man that is an excellent guitarist. I thought that it was cool that by the first day of class (which is a class of about 150) he somehow knew my name and greeted me with a “hello Bethany. How are you doing today?” I have been very pleased with student teacher interaction here, it seems like the professors really care about their students. So far we have learned about personality types in this class and the strengths and weaknesses of both. The first sessions have been interesting and the teacher keeps the class laughing the whole time.
A normal schedule here at AUT is four courses as a full time student. Instead, I am in a program that allows me to take two courses with one internship. My internship counts as two courses in credit. Like my university at home, while I have to work around 16 hours a week for a company I also have worked required within school as well. I am glad that the schoolwork required here is much less than it was back at home. I find it strange to require additional schoolwork on top of paying to work for free. Regardless, two research papers aren’t too bad for additional work. AUT was supposed to place me into a company within photography. The school was having a difficult time finding a photography firm. Regardless, I was placed into a creative industry and I am content with that. The company I am interning with is made up of three men Dale, Luke, and Parish at a print and graphic design firm called Make Ready. The office is located on top of a coffee shop a block away from the beach. Views of palm trees and sun can make it sometimes a little difficult to be inside! Clients of theirs include Starbucks, Red Cross, and local companies as well.
I really enjoy getting to know these guys; I like their sense of humor and laid-back attitude. It seems like they are happy to have a girl around the office as well. Luke has been my supervisor and is very pleasant to work with. The only problem at the beginning was not having any set tasks assigned for me. I needed to create one for myself, I hate just dilly-dallying around and waiting for the time to pass. So I made the recommendation that I help create a photo library of images that the company can use within their designs to save them money from having to purchase from an outside source. The company was fine with that. I was also happy that an additional project was given to me. Make Ready wants images of their printed designs to create a slideshow they can show potential clients. While taking pictures of literally pieces of paper may not be that exciting, it gives me something to do and something to be good at. With the resources that I have, I think I am doing a good job so far and the company seems to be pleased as well.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Monday, March 7, 2011
Up I Go
Hills, hills, hills, and more hills. Auckland has them absolutely everywhere. People tell themselves they are getting use to them but I think it’s all lies! Haha, the climb to my apartment up Wakefield Street makes me quiver a bit thinking about it. This could be because I have absolutely zero hiking experience and North Carolina is as flat as a board in comparison. One day a group of us decided to do some walking through Auckland and go see the view on top of Mount Eden. I thought the walk/very short hike up Mount Eden absolutely would be the biggest hill I would be climbing for a while (wrong!). A Cross Country team was training on the mountain- the highest point in Auckland. Some of the kids looked like they were being tortured and one member even said, “hey boys you want to go ahead and throw up so we can get this over with and finish early today?” If that team runs those hills everyday, I think they might be the fastest in the world, ha.
I understand now how people say reaching the top of the mountain is really satisfying. Not that this was a big mountain by any means, it is actually very small but regardless I still thought the view at the top was really cool. There was this huge valley along the way there and the friends of mine I went with wanted to go down it! I am very impressed with everyone else’s drive for adventure and willingness to do new things. It makes me happy that I have found people that will push me to try new activities that I wouldn’t normally. Stephie and Claudia have been wonderful to have around this trip, they give off so much positive energy and are unique from anyone I know. Usually when I meet people I am able to say, “you remind me of this person in my past…” But Claudia and Stephie are brand new types of people and I love it. Two guys I have become buddies with are Roman and Martin. To describe everyone a little…
Claudia is from Austria and has very cool looking light blue eyes. While she never played sports she is very good at them, including climbing trees. She likes to hike with her bare feet and is quite the pro at it. I once asked her if I needed shoes for a walk up a landmass alongside the beach. She said no and basically hopped uphill like a happy rabbit and I about pierced my feet with every rock possible. She doesn’t give herself enough credit for her English speaking capabilities; I think it is really cool that any of my friends here know two languages. Even though she may not know everything she wants to say all the time, it is so easy to tell she is very outgoing and social. She’s eager to learn and picks up things very quickly, already her English has improved so much. Claudia is the first person I’ve met that also use to set their alarm clock as a kid really early in the morning and keep hitting snooze to have vivid dreams. It is cool to find someone to talk about dreams with and how interesting and important they can be in our lives.
Stephie has short hair and can pull it off very well, when she is all dressed up she reminds me of the singer Pink. I find her a confident and strong person. I really like her style; she always has fun outfits on. For two years she was a nanny near Washington D.C. Her English is very good and her accent is not thick at all. Stephie is very smart and is right there with me with my sense of humor and often keeps me in tears laughing so hard. I can tell that she is dedicated to school and is a very responsible person but she also knows how to have a good time. I don’t think anyone could feel lonely when Stephie is around. She is always so accommodating to everyone. Lately a few of us have been doing a diner rotation and she has been so kind making sure that the food people are fixing does not have dairy in it. Everyone is so nice for accommodating me in meals, just one more month and I’ll try dairy again!
Roman is very tall and has two grey spots of hair spotted on the back of his head which he says he doesn’t like but I think it makes him look distinguished. He is a handsome guy and looks very young for his age; I never would have guessed he was 30. He is very good at climbing and does it often back home in Switzerland. His voice is quite distinct; it sounds quite calming and can be understood well. Roman’s masters is very interesting, I haven’t completely understood all of what he does but it has to do with forensics and computers. So I think that means he would be hired by a company to investigate fraud. I am hearing new names all of the time here and so far I think Roman has been the coolest. Martin is from Denmark and is a great person to hang out with. He is very well read and it is easy to strike up an interesting conversation with him. Martin knows a lot about many different topics. While he has his own opinions he is very open minded and willing to listen to new ideas and sides of an issue. Philosophical and intelligent with a good sense of humor describes him well. He is a great photographer and I really admire the pictures he has been taking.
Since it is summertime here it has been great checking out all of the beaches. I still think that every beach I have seen here tops any that I have seen in my past. I think one of the coolest parts about beaches in New Zealand is the fact that there are beautiful trees and grass as nice as a golf course right next to the sand. If you’re a person who hates sand but enjoys the water, New Zealand is the place to go because there are plenty of places on the lush green grass to chill out. A group of about 12 of us decided to spend some time on Waiheke Island. It is about a 30 minute ferry ride away from Auckland. The ferry was pretty sweet, I was expecting some slow ride but this boat really booked it! I had to be careful standing when I was taking pictures to not fall off or slip.
The place we stayed was called the Haneruka Lodge. It was amazing! There was a huge Native American TP built that a lot of our group slept in. The TP had about ten beds and it was pretty big. The hostel was different from any that I have seen so far. It was a five minute walk through the woods to get to it and the lodge was well hidden with trees. The owner of the hostel had the cutest dog ever and was definitely one of those guys who never wanted to grow up. Each night he stayed up as late as the rest of us pouring many people drinks while taking them down as well- the beer gut definitely was forming. He just decided one day to buy a hostel, but I think this means he was rich first somehow and then bought one. Although I really have no idea how much it would cost. There was also a pool that you could jump in from off the roof above and lots of tables under the trees.
All of us ended up staying two nights and each night we brought and cooked food from the store for dinner and breakfast. I really liked doing that, it was a lot cheaper and it gave all of us a chance to sit together and get to know each other. Some of the other girls I haven’t mentioned yet that came along too were Anita, Julia, and Alex and I am still getting to know all of them. Some of the other guys were Karston, Jakob, Peter, and Mario. Peter, Jakob, and Karsten came together as friends from Denmark-they make a good trio together.
When we were on the Island I was excited to Kayak for the first time. The water was choppy and wind strong- it was definitely a work out. But the scenery around us was awesome. It felt good getting soaked by the cold water because it was very sunny out. We stopped at a small little land mass and rested for a while. It was three hours of kayaking and a lot of fun. My partner was Mario and I believe he was a little upset that I couldn’t go faster! The motion took some getting use to, I think I will be better at it the next time.
As for the bike riding we did the next day…I failed pretty badly at keeping up! I was wearing sandals and didn’t bring any water with me. Big mistake for a 30 km bike ride up hills that you were so big you had to walk your bike up or peddle and go no where. So Mount Eden was not and will not be the end of big hills! I felt like I was holding the group back so I decided to go my own way. For the first time I hitch hiked! Haha, a guy named Dave who had a truck was very nice and offered to take me back to return the bike. I have been told by a lot of people that New Zealand is one of the safest places in the world to hitch hike and it is quite common. Dave was a builder on the Island and had lived there for about 12 years. What a cool life to live at a place like that. The whole group enjoyed hearing my story about Dave. I ended up going back by myself on the Ferry because I wanted to take some time to take some pictures. I feel like I haven’t been taking very many since I have been here. I am so impressed with seeing with my own eyes that I am finding it hard to take time out to adjust my lens. But I will start because I know that traveling is the greatest time for photos.
I understand now how people say reaching the top of the mountain is really satisfying. Not that this was a big mountain by any means, it is actually very small but regardless I still thought the view at the top was really cool. There was this huge valley along the way there and the friends of mine I went with wanted to go down it! I am very impressed with everyone else’s drive for adventure and willingness to do new things. It makes me happy that I have found people that will push me to try new activities that I wouldn’t normally. Stephie and Claudia have been wonderful to have around this trip, they give off so much positive energy and are unique from anyone I know. Usually when I meet people I am able to say, “you remind me of this person in my past…” But Claudia and Stephie are brand new types of people and I love it. Two guys I have become buddies with are Roman and Martin. To describe everyone a little…
Claudia is from Austria and has very cool looking light blue eyes. While she never played sports she is very good at them, including climbing trees. She likes to hike with her bare feet and is quite the pro at it. I once asked her if I needed shoes for a walk up a landmass alongside the beach. She said no and basically hopped uphill like a happy rabbit and I about pierced my feet with every rock possible. She doesn’t give herself enough credit for her English speaking capabilities; I think it is really cool that any of my friends here know two languages. Even though she may not know everything she wants to say all the time, it is so easy to tell she is very outgoing and social. She’s eager to learn and picks up things very quickly, already her English has improved so much. Claudia is the first person I’ve met that also use to set their alarm clock as a kid really early in the morning and keep hitting snooze to have vivid dreams. It is cool to find someone to talk about dreams with and how interesting and important they can be in our lives.
Stephie has short hair and can pull it off very well, when she is all dressed up she reminds me of the singer Pink. I find her a confident and strong person. I really like her style; she always has fun outfits on. For two years she was a nanny near Washington D.C. Her English is very good and her accent is not thick at all. Stephie is very smart and is right there with me with my sense of humor and often keeps me in tears laughing so hard. I can tell that she is dedicated to school and is a very responsible person but she also knows how to have a good time. I don’t think anyone could feel lonely when Stephie is around. She is always so accommodating to everyone. Lately a few of us have been doing a diner rotation and she has been so kind making sure that the food people are fixing does not have dairy in it. Everyone is so nice for accommodating me in meals, just one more month and I’ll try dairy again!
Roman is very tall and has two grey spots of hair spotted on the back of his head which he says he doesn’t like but I think it makes him look distinguished. He is a handsome guy and looks very young for his age; I never would have guessed he was 30. He is very good at climbing and does it often back home in Switzerland. His voice is quite distinct; it sounds quite calming and can be understood well. Roman’s masters is very interesting, I haven’t completely understood all of what he does but it has to do with forensics and computers. So I think that means he would be hired by a company to investigate fraud. I am hearing new names all of the time here and so far I think Roman has been the coolest. Martin is from Denmark and is a great person to hang out with. He is very well read and it is easy to strike up an interesting conversation with him. Martin knows a lot about many different topics. While he has his own opinions he is very open minded and willing to listen to new ideas and sides of an issue. Philosophical and intelligent with a good sense of humor describes him well. He is a great photographer and I really admire the pictures he has been taking.
Since it is summertime here it has been great checking out all of the beaches. I still think that every beach I have seen here tops any that I have seen in my past. I think one of the coolest parts about beaches in New Zealand is the fact that there are beautiful trees and grass as nice as a golf course right next to the sand. If you’re a person who hates sand but enjoys the water, New Zealand is the place to go because there are plenty of places on the lush green grass to chill out. A group of about 12 of us decided to spend some time on Waiheke Island. It is about a 30 minute ferry ride away from Auckland. The ferry was pretty sweet, I was expecting some slow ride but this boat really booked it! I had to be careful standing when I was taking pictures to not fall off or slip.
The place we stayed was called the Haneruka Lodge. It was amazing! There was a huge Native American TP built that a lot of our group slept in. The TP had about ten beds and it was pretty big. The hostel was different from any that I have seen so far. It was a five minute walk through the woods to get to it and the lodge was well hidden with trees. The owner of the hostel had the cutest dog ever and was definitely one of those guys who never wanted to grow up. Each night he stayed up as late as the rest of us pouring many people drinks while taking them down as well- the beer gut definitely was forming. He just decided one day to buy a hostel, but I think this means he was rich first somehow and then bought one. Although I really have no idea how much it would cost. There was also a pool that you could jump in from off the roof above and lots of tables under the trees.
All of us ended up staying two nights and each night we brought and cooked food from the store for dinner and breakfast. I really liked doing that, it was a lot cheaper and it gave all of us a chance to sit together and get to know each other. Some of the other girls I haven’t mentioned yet that came along too were Anita, Julia, and Alex and I am still getting to know all of them. Some of the other guys were Karston, Jakob, Peter, and Mario. Peter, Jakob, and Karsten came together as friends from Denmark-they make a good trio together.
When we were on the Island I was excited to Kayak for the first time. The water was choppy and wind strong- it was definitely a work out. But the scenery around us was awesome. It felt good getting soaked by the cold water because it was very sunny out. We stopped at a small little land mass and rested for a while. It was three hours of kayaking and a lot of fun. My partner was Mario and I believe he was a little upset that I couldn’t go faster! The motion took some getting use to, I think I will be better at it the next time.
As for the bike riding we did the next day…I failed pretty badly at keeping up! I was wearing sandals and didn’t bring any water with me. Big mistake for a 30 km bike ride up hills that you were so big you had to walk your bike up or peddle and go no where. So Mount Eden was not and will not be the end of big hills! I felt like I was holding the group back so I decided to go my own way. For the first time I hitch hiked! Haha, a guy named Dave who had a truck was very nice and offered to take me back to return the bike. I have been told by a lot of people that New Zealand is one of the safest places in the world to hitch hike and it is quite common. Dave was a builder on the Island and had lived there for about 12 years. What a cool life to live at a place like that. The whole group enjoyed hearing my story about Dave. I ended up going back by myself on the Ferry because I wanted to take some time to take some pictures. I feel like I haven’t been taking very many since I have been here. I am so impressed with seeing with my own eyes that I am finding it hard to take time out to adjust my lens. But I will start because I know that traveling is the greatest time for photos.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Finally another post
Ok so let me try to recap the past days! So much has happened that I have not wanted to spend any time sitting at the computer. But I will go back the best I can starting back on the road trip with Chels......
At last, a full day spent by the ocean. Waihi Beach was gorgeous with a trail that wrapped around the sea on a large land mass. I have never seen a beach like this before, it seemed as if it were a picture in books. Bright colors of blue and green water glistening in the sun was incredible. The ocean was too cold for me but Chelsea is a fish and jumped right in. The sun in New Zealand is very powerful. Both of us put on sun screen multiple times. Even with sunscreen and breaks from the sun for food, both of us soaked up many rays. I am glad that we decided to eat at a small little takeaway place right on the beach. Locals were popping in and out all day. The both of us could have split a meal easily; I have never seen so many fries and such large pieces of fish. The fish n’ chips were absolutely delicious and came wrapped up in massive pieces of newspaper. The batter was so tasty. I had ordered the same meal from a restaurant once since I had been in New Zealand but it did not even compare to this place.
It was one more night in Hamilton before I moved into my apartment in Auckland. I really had no idea what to expect, but was hoping that I did not get paired with 17 and 18 year old rowdy Americans. Luckily, I did not! Currently I am living with a German boy and girl. Ben and Kata are 24 years old and are going to school here for post graduate studies. Kata is studying design and Ben Engineering. Right before classes started another roommate joined us. His name is Marques from Brazil. All of their English capabilities really impress me. So far my roommates have been very friendly and also very structured. The four of us sat down for a meeting and each week all of us have assigned chores. Also, if we buy something we must put the price on a spreadsheet so if someone wants to share it, we evenly split the price amongst all of us. While it is more structured then I am use to, I am really happy that everyone is respectful and friendly. I think my spontaneity and sense of humor sometimes slightly confuses them. I have realized in my experiences so far that Germans are very prompt and put together.
My room is on the 12th floor and I have the corner bedroom with two windows. The entire side of my living room is also all glass. The view is quite amazing. I really don’t think I will ever be bored sitting in my apartment; there is so much to see just sitting at the table. You can look down at the harbor and watch all of the sailboats. Auckland is the city of sails, which I did not know. They are everywhere and really take over the water. I also have to be careful to keep my blinds down at night because I can see clearly into the buildings next to me. Some of the things I have witnessed across the way have been funny (haha no I am not a peeking Tom, it was not on purpose!). Although people watching on the street below by the bus stop is something I enjoy doing on the weekends, people really do some interesting things!
The first couple of days while I settled into my apartment Chelsea stayed in a hostel and planned her two weeks of traveling ahead of her to look for a job. While she was there at the hostel she met some cool people. Charlie was a young guy from England, Danny an American that went to Notre Damn and was surprisingly friends with a girl from my high school, and Scotty a recent graduate from Colorado. All of us went to a Rugby game one night and even though I knew nothing about the rules it was still a lot of fun. Charlie attempted to explain them to us, but I absorbed very little. One of her hostel mates was an Australian that was an amazing graffiti artist. He had hundred of pictures that he took of the huge murals he had spray-painted. He travels all around the world spray-painting amazing pictures that have something to do with the culture of the country he is in. I was very impressed with some of the locations and also the murals themselves.
So the same day of the Rugby game I met a girl who is now a good friend of mine. She is from Austria and her name is Claudia. How we met is a funny story. I live on 12f and she lives in 13f, an identical apartment to mine but on a different floor. That day she accidentally went into the wrong apartment when I was sitting at the kitchen table. I introduced myself thinking that she was my next roommate since we still had an empty room. After a few seconds she started to look very confused and realized she had walked into the wrong room. I am so glad she made that mistake! Later that night I met up with her and she introduced me to a couple of people she had been hanging out with as well. So that night I also met my good friends Stephie (from Germany), Roman (from Switzerland), and Martin (from Denmark). They are all really awesome people and each unique. Through these cool cats I met even more people who have all become good friends of mine.
A group of about 12 of us often hang out together and I am the only American. A lot of them speak German and Danish. To me it seems like German’s who speak English slightly sound like people from Ireland. I actually thought a couple of people I met were Irish and found out later they spoke German. It is funny what has happened to my language since I’ve been hanging out often with a lot of people who’s first language is not English. Instead of forming a New Zealand accent like I thought, I have been picking up a foreigner’s accent learning to speak English. For instance, instead of saying yes or yeah like I use to I now say yeaht. I also find myself tongue tied because I am always trying to find the perfect vocabulary or grammatical way to say something so my friends will be able to understand and learn from me. I am excited to help them understand new words and also teach them English slang, haha. Since I have been hanging out with so many people who speak German it is kind of making me want to learn German. I failed pretty badly at learning Spanish, but maybe something new could work for me. I think it is good that there is an American around so it forces them to speak English more instead of always their native language so I can be apart of the conversation. So knowing German would also be nice so I can listen to any secrets haha!
Learning cultural differences is really interesting to me. I think out of all of the different people I have hung out with, I differ the most from those who are from certain parts of Denmark. It seems that I am too forward or animated for them. It is something that I would like to be mindful of and respect them for our differences. This trip so far has been a big geography and history lesson. I really should have studied a map before going abroad. I feel emberassed at times that I don’t know which countries are where and what language is spoken in each country. For instanced, I did not know that people in Switzerland and Austria also speak German. I am also surprised how often the topic of World War II has come up. In particular, the English guy that Chelsea had met Charlie was especially sour about a lot of issues, especially about the outcomes of many wars.
Being an American studying abroad has been challenging in that there have been lots of stereotypes labeled onto me since I have been here. One person at a bar I was talking to even asked the question after hearing I was American, “Are you a porn star? I hear a lot of people from American are into porn.” It’s not like my clothes indicated anything, I was wearing a plain white tshirt and jean capris. Other international students also seem to know more about the American government than I do. And also expect that everything that the American government does is what I stand for. I hope that after getting to know people, I will push them away from the stereotypes against me and they will start to understand that every American is not the same as the stupid characters from “Jersey Shore.” I really enjoy the good friends that I have now because they do not classify me under any stereotypes and get to know and learn about me for whom I am and not every other American.
More to come, not close to caught up!
Monday, February 21, 2011
Work and Food
After three nights in Wellington it was time to move on. We had only planned to stay for two but after all the traveling we decided to take an extra day to sleep in and rest. Chelsea also wanted to spend time creating a CV so she could start applying for jobs. In New Zealand a CV is their form of our resume. It is set up a little differently. I have noticed that people in NZ have very strong work ethic. Even in fast food restaurants such as McDonalds, kiwi employees take pride in their work. Minimum wage is around $13.00 and each person in NZ is covered medically for being citizens, not because of limited benefits within a job (their health care system seems to be great from what I have learned). Servers and bar tenders do not depend on tips or become bitter from the lack there of because they are paid hourly. While food is slightly more expensive here it is nice that while going out to eat tipping is not necessary because the employees are being paid well. I have noticed that service while eating out is definitely of better quality than the US.
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Before I came to NZ I tried to remind myself to buy some Heinz ketchup to put in my suitcase before I left. I remember being in Europe and missing ketchup because their form of tomato paste didn’t cut it for me. I was pleasantly surprised that in NZ there was Heinz ketchup and it actually tastes quite great! Looking at the list of ingredients of many similar products from the US really surprised me. The number of ingredients is much smaller and artificial products in foods are avoided. Oreos taste incredible here, which is nice because it is a dairy free food. It has been a little more challenging avoiding dairy; it is used in high quantity on a lot of products. Also, many employees do not know whether or not dairy is used in some of their products when I ask them. I have only seen one product labeled vegan since I have been here. I can’t complain though because all the food I can and have been eating tastes so good. Fruits and vegetables are fresh, especially avocados. Eggs taste wonderful and look almost florescent yellow compared to eggs back at home. Soymilk is also particularly tasty with less preservatives and fillers. Can you tell I’m hungry?
Anyways, Tauranga was our next destination. There are so many small little beach towns along the costs that all have their own vibe and even look. It took us seven hours from Wellington to this beach town and again the drive went by in a flash because of all the beautiful scenery. We arrived at the hostel just before the sunset. Our hostel mate was an English girl who had once been a fruit picker in Australia. She came down to NZ to travel the South Island and do the same. A lot of farms in the south will hire young adults as fruit pickers in exchange for housing. NZ is split into two islands with a ferry in between. Where the north is considered more developed and warmer, the south is considered MUCH more beautiful, desolate, and cooler. Auckland and our travels so far have all been in the North Island. The sights have been so amazing already that I can only imagine what the South has in store. I want to plan a trip there during a longer break since it is quite far away and is something that can’t be missed.
While we were in Tauranga we went on a walk towards the harbor. When we reached the water I started kicking myself I did not bring my camera. I need to stop the mentality of “I won’t need to bring my camera right now” because in new places you never know what you are going to see ahead. The bridge we were walking on was awesome and had a spectacular lookout on all the boats. The time of day was perfect too for pictures- dumb, dumb, dumb! After walking around we found a strip of restaurants and bars along the water. I didn’t even realize what day it was until I saw signs for “Valentine’s Day Special Tonight.” It never feels great not having a Valentine, but having discounts on food and drinks helped heal the pain, haha. It was a weeknight and I was surprised to see that we were one of the last customers. I assumed because the restaurant had an open bar that it would stay open late. Not the case, the entire town both bars and restaurants shut down starting at 5 pm and the ones left open closed no later than 10 pm. It seemed that every time Chelsea and I thought to go shopping in NZ it was after 5 pm and nothing was open. I like that about NZ though, the society is clearly not demanding or driven by money and work.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Some Interesting People
My first hostel experiences…surprising to say the least. Chelsea and I arrived in Rotorua late evening and checked into the YHA hostel. I had envisioned in quite detail what a hostel would be like. The reality of them did not match my expectations. I believed hostels were cheap places to stay because they were grungy (with bedrooms similar to those seen in movies about third world countries and bathrooms I would be afraid to step into). But not at all! Hostels were very clean with new washed bedding and once even a towel wrapped in pretty bows with a Hawaiian flower attached. I was also surprised to see how many adults were staying there as well.
Going to Rotorua brought me back to fond memories of high school. And not so found memories of rotten eggs. The whole town smells like sulfur because of the natural hot springs. I was lucky enough to go on an educational tour abroad with my best friends my sophomore and junior year summers. Rotorua was one of the first destinations on the New Zealand/Australian trip my junior year. The town itself is known for very touristy things to do such as zorbing and leuching. Zorbing is when you are put in a huge plastic ball with water on the bottom and pushed down a huge hill. The water on the bottom keeps you from tumbling upside down. Leuching is when you ride down another huge hill on a small gocart with no motor. Leuching will forever make me laugh because it will make me think of the time that my friend Jenny somehow managed to fall off of her “vehicle” and literally roll down the hill for a ways. Huge hills have definitely been a theme in NZ, they are everywhere and incorporated into extreme sports. For instance, jumping off of sand dunes to see who can land the furthest from the top of the mass hill has been made into a sport.
Since the price of everything in Rotorua was pretty steep, we stuck to seeing things that were free. Or so we thought! We couldn’t seem to find the hot springs that we were searching for. Note to self: next time I will have to do a better job of finding an actual address instead of just an area of town. Sections of town have many long roads that lead to the middle of nowhere. We did manage to see a beautiful area called Blue Lake. And I was especially pumped to spot out a pit bull puppy. I almost stole it; I miss mine so much.
On the way to our next destination we stopped in a little town called Levin. Jill told us the area has lots of small little parks that are a lot of fun with ziplines and hamster wheels. When Chels and I heard hamster wheels we had to find it! I have an entire new respect for hamsters that can truck it in those things. A real life hamster wheel is extremely hard to move or balance in and usually running results in dizziness while tumbling over and feeling like you will flip upside down. I developed many bruises from that experience. In NZ people definitely let their kids get into extreme sports fast, that was the most dangerous looking jungle gym I had ever been too! I about fell off of every zip line there and have never seen steeper slides.
The next stop was Wellington. The city has a great nightlife for young adults and houses stack on hills similar to a look of California. What really stood out about Wellington were the VERY interesting people we met there. So in our first hostel we didn’t actually get to meet our hostel mates because they were gone when we left for diner, asleep when we came back, and gone before we woke up (kind of strange not knowing at all who is sleeping across from you in the dark)! I was disappointed to see that when we walked into the hostel in Wellington, once again our hostel mate was gone. Now that I think of it I wish that she hadn’t returned! I can’t remember her name but I’ll refer to her as “crazy lady.”
I have to give crazy lady some credit; she was very nice and friendly. I just wish I had never asked her where she was from because that started the crazy talk. She lived in Christchurch. The reason she was staying in the hostel was to escape the after shocks of the earthquakes and look for a job in another town. A huge earthquake wiped out a lot of Christchurch and many subsequent ones were still happening months after. She was scared to currently be there, many of her favorite fish and chip shops since childhood were destroyed. I can definitely understand her worry and desire to get out of the city. But she didn’t stop there with her talk of destruction. Basically, Chelsea and I heard how the world was going to end. “You girls better travel now if you want to see the south island before it is completely destroyed with volcanoes and tsunamis. I will be leaving NZ in March, I know that is when it is going to happen,” she said. She also explained the phenomenon in Christchurch that scientists are “dumfounded” by. Blue and white light is currently beaming unexplainably out of the cracks in the earth. After about 30 minutes of this intense conversation, Chelsea and I found an excuse to exit the room.
The same night I bumped into the next peculiar lady. While standing in the bathroom waiting for Chelsea to come out of the stall, I was contemplating whether or not to put up my hair. I decided to ask what the lady standing next to me thought about it. She became more than excited that I asked her and yelped out, “I have a vision! I am a hair dresser, I will help you put it up!” Before I could respond my hair was being pulled in every which way as she was carefully thinking and braiding with her tongue out. Chelsea came out of the bathroom laughing at the scene and watched the lady in action. Before Chelsea could say anything, my hair was finished and she moved straight on to fixing Chelsea’s hair with great excitement. Finally she completed her “vision” for the both of us and not only screamed “done!” but finished with a grand finale of doing a split right on the dirty bathroom floor while throwing up her hands in the air. Keep in mind she was around 40 years old.
On our second night there we gained another hostel mate. No lie, she had to be at least 70 years old. This would have been fine if she wasn’t mean as a snake, looked like the grim reaper, and went to bed at 8:30 PM. Since lights were out so early Chelsea and I went downstairs to socialize with other people in the hostel. At last we met an interesting person in a good way! His name was Scott and he was in town for a friends Birthday. Scott was excited that he had met Americans that were not Bible beating Christians and had an intelligence level that exceeded a fifth grader. It was sad to hear about his experiences of the past with Americans, leaving him thinking that America was very narrow minded and all about money. He told us that after our conversations, we broke many of the stereotypes he had once held. He was very smart and brought up many unique topics such as lucid dreaming and the history of the Maori tribes. Scott explained that his passion was in being a builder but he was frustrated in the lack of intelligence other co-workers possessed. I recommended finding a job of similar qualities that required some kind of college degree. I never would have guessed that Scott was 18. I’m glad that we were able to give him a pleasant experience with Americans and we were able to learn a lot about people from NZ.
After bumping into Scott, the rest of our experiences with new people were quite enjoyable as well. I have discovered that my favorite part of traveling is not seeing all of the landscape, but meeting all different types people. Of coarse, the beautiful land of NZ is definitely an added bonus! During the rest of our stay in Wellington, we talked to people from Ireland and Canada. I learned that Enda was a common Irish male name. I also heard all about how awful the beer was here and how Ireland has the best beer in the world, the Irish definitely take pride in their alcohol and abilities to drink it. It was nice to finally have a normal hostel mate for the last night in Wellington. Claire was 24 from Toronto and was currently in school.
Throughout the beginning of the trip I had noticed a theme of people from NZ disliking the city of Auckland. Everyone I talked to in each new town spoke negatively about my new home. It was slightly bumming me out, since that was the place I picked to go to school. So I was very happy to meet Mike, the first person who was from NZ that admitted to loving Auckland and went on and on about all the good qualities. He use to live in Auckland and was missing it all of the time living in Wellington. I gathered from our conversation that a lot of people from NZ just do not like big cities and stick to the countryside.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Road trip begins
While spending three nights adjusting to the time zone and city in Auckland, plans for a road trip were well underway. In New Zealand a driver can be as young as 18 years old to rent a car. Of coarse, it was a must to use this privilege immediately. Receiving things at ages not allowed in the US always feels just great. The thought of buying an old beat up car and painting it all different whacky colors definitely went through our heads. It would have been sweet to have a car for the entire five months abroad to travel on weekends, but Auckland has no place to put a car and my imagination ran a little too big. Before my orientation in the middle of the month, we rented the car for eight days.
I always feel that the best way to find out good travel information is through conversation, I can’t stand to look at a map! We decided to contact a former UNCW student named Jill that had gone to high school with one of my best friends. Jill had spent a semester studying abroad in Hamilton and liked the country so much she ended up moving here. She was such a wonderful resource to have and was so kind to not only give us advice, but also offered a place to stay. Before planning out the whole trip in Auckland, we wanted to make our first destination Hamilton to meet up with Jill.
We began our journey in a Nissan from the 1990’s that had a broken centre consol. I thought that not having speakers in the car would be a bummer. But I soon realized that the landscaping while driving was so exciting and visually pleasing that not having music didn’t even matter. Traveling in a car through the countryside of New Zealand has been more than entertaining. No drive in the US has matched what I have seen so far. The drives went by incredibly fast, even the seven hour drive to and from Wellington. Every hour driving the environment seems to completely change with all kinds of different plant life. Amazingly steep and beautiful hills are EVERYWHERE. The green within plants here almost looks neon at times it is so bright. Green seems to cover every inch of land. The roads are quite windy but it is amazing that there are hardly any cars on the road for the majority of every drive. Chelsea has been a huge trooper and has been driving the whole time. I’ve been a bit of a weenie so far thinking about driving on the opposite side of both the road and car, but she’s been doing an awesome job!
Before arriving in Hamilton we decided to spend the day in a small surfer town on the way named Raglan. On the drive there we were getting worried that we got directions to the wrong place because twenty minutes away there were no signs of water. It was funny because the ocean beautifully appeared all of a sudden after winding up a huge hill just ten minutes before we got there. The beach in Raglan is famous for it’s waves and I could see why. Even though it was a slightly rainy day the water was filled with surfers. People who grew up surfing in that town probably don’t understand the concept of waiting for a good wave since they literally come one right after the other. It was a cute little town and had a great vibe with laughing and smiling people surrounding it.
Hamilton was only an hour up the road. It was so good to meet up with Jill! She is such a welcoming person. When I heard her voice at first I thought she had developed a full New Zealand accent. After listening closer I could start to hear the Maryland dialect. I found her speaking pattern really cool! To me, New Zealand accents are very pleasant to listen to. It’s so interesting to me that people’s dialects morph to those who surround them. I’m curious to see when I first return to the states if people tell me that my voice has shifted at all. I guess it all depends whether or not I get to live with people from New Zealand. I really hope so because I loved meeting Jill’s roommates. It was fun drilling them with questions about differences we have from one another in things like slang and lifestyle. People told me before I left that people of New Zealand are known for their friendliness and so far it’s dead on. Jill was an awesome host, she showed us around the college campus she attended. People in NZ call college Uni and high school college. This explains the look of confusion on many “kiwis” faces when I told them I was in college (fyi if you didn’t know, kiwi is a term used for New Zealanders).
It was a really fun night in Hamilton. It took me less than a week to whitness an emergency and see my first New Zealand ambulance. Thankfully I wasn’t in it (haha, I bet half of you reading this thought it was me with my weird luck). Jill’s boyfriend Cam actually had trouble breathing and it was quite a scare at the time. I’m so glad he was ok, he ended up feeling better and not having to go to the hospital. It’s definitely a nice benefit that in New Zealand if an ambulance is called the person in need of help doesn’t have to pay.
The next day Jill had to work but we came along with Cam to work at the Uni’s swimming pool. Jill’s roomie Jason also joined us. The pool was filled with kids from P.E. class having to tread water. The P.E. teacher walked along the pool laughing and stepping on the kid’s fingers trying to take a break. It was comical. The water was pretty cold, I hoped right out. After a dip it was awesome that Jason showed us around at a big garden in Hamilton. It was quite a neat set up, the garden was divided into sections. Each section had a different theme influenced by a particular country. The American garden had a pop art Andy Warhol theme.
After a great stay in Hamilton it was off to our next stop Rotorua. Thanks again Jill for everything! Whipping out the map with us and giving the low down helped so much.
I always feel that the best way to find out good travel information is through conversation, I can’t stand to look at a map! We decided to contact a former UNCW student named Jill that had gone to high school with one of my best friends. Jill had spent a semester studying abroad in Hamilton and liked the country so much she ended up moving here. She was such a wonderful resource to have and was so kind to not only give us advice, but also offered a place to stay. Before planning out the whole trip in Auckland, we wanted to make our first destination Hamilton to meet up with Jill.
We began our journey in a Nissan from the 1990’s that had a broken centre consol. I thought that not having speakers in the car would be a bummer. But I soon realized that the landscaping while driving was so exciting and visually pleasing that not having music didn’t even matter. Traveling in a car through the countryside of New Zealand has been more than entertaining. No drive in the US has matched what I have seen so far. The drives went by incredibly fast, even the seven hour drive to and from Wellington. Every hour driving the environment seems to completely change with all kinds of different plant life. Amazingly steep and beautiful hills are EVERYWHERE. The green within plants here almost looks neon at times it is so bright. Green seems to cover every inch of land. The roads are quite windy but it is amazing that there are hardly any cars on the road for the majority of every drive. Chelsea has been a huge trooper and has been driving the whole time. I’ve been a bit of a weenie so far thinking about driving on the opposite side of both the road and car, but she’s been doing an awesome job!
Before arriving in Hamilton we decided to spend the day in a small surfer town on the way named Raglan. On the drive there we were getting worried that we got directions to the wrong place because twenty minutes away there were no signs of water. It was funny because the ocean beautifully appeared all of a sudden after winding up a huge hill just ten minutes before we got there. The beach in Raglan is famous for it’s waves and I could see why. Even though it was a slightly rainy day the water was filled with surfers. People who grew up surfing in that town probably don’t understand the concept of waiting for a good wave since they literally come one right after the other. It was a cute little town and had a great vibe with laughing and smiling people surrounding it.
Hamilton was only an hour up the road. It was so good to meet up with Jill! She is such a welcoming person. When I heard her voice at first I thought she had developed a full New Zealand accent. After listening closer I could start to hear the Maryland dialect. I found her speaking pattern really cool! To me, New Zealand accents are very pleasant to listen to. It’s so interesting to me that people’s dialects morph to those who surround them. I’m curious to see when I first return to the states if people tell me that my voice has shifted at all. I guess it all depends whether or not I get to live with people from New Zealand. I really hope so because I loved meeting Jill’s roommates. It was fun drilling them with questions about differences we have from one another in things like slang and lifestyle. People told me before I left that people of New Zealand are known for their friendliness and so far it’s dead on. Jill was an awesome host, she showed us around the college campus she attended. People in NZ call college Uni and high school college. This explains the look of confusion on many “kiwis” faces when I told them I was in college (fyi if you didn’t know, kiwi is a term used for New Zealanders).
It was a really fun night in Hamilton. It took me less than a week to whitness an emergency and see my first New Zealand ambulance. Thankfully I wasn’t in it (haha, I bet half of you reading this thought it was me with my weird luck). Jill’s boyfriend Cam actually had trouble breathing and it was quite a scare at the time. I’m so glad he was ok, he ended up feeling better and not having to go to the hospital. It’s definitely a nice benefit that in New Zealand if an ambulance is called the person in need of help doesn’t have to pay.
The next day Jill had to work but we came along with Cam to work at the Uni’s swimming pool. Jill’s roomie Jason also joined us. The pool was filled with kids from P.E. class having to tread water. The P.E. teacher walked along the pool laughing and stepping on the kid’s fingers trying to take a break. It was comical. The water was pretty cold, I hoped right out. After a dip it was awesome that Jason showed us around at a big garden in Hamilton. It was quite a neat set up, the garden was divided into sections. Each section had a different theme influenced by a particular country. The American garden had a pop art Andy Warhol theme.
After a great stay in Hamilton it was off to our next stop Rotorua. Thanks again Jill for everything! Whipping out the map with us and giving the low down helped so much.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
The link below will take you to the photos on my Flickr account
Click Here to go to see my pictures on Flickr
In case the link doesn't work you can look me up on Flickr. My screen name is BethanyOtten.
Click Here to go to see my pictures on Flickr
In case the link doesn't work you can look me up on Flickr. My screen name is BethanyOtten.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
Checking In
First off I would like to suggest not sleeping on the trey table in front of you on a plane for 9 hours. Secondly, I would recommend trying not to stick your head below your seat to retrieve your bag at the same time the person in front of you is reclining their seat; it will result in a large goose egg. So after a full 20 hours of traveling and a pulled neck, we made our way onto the airbus from the airport to Auckland. I thought I spoke quite clearly to the bus driver while asking him about the street our hotel was on, but at that moment it was made clear that I am now a foreigner that will be having many an awkward conversations. I tend to have many in America, but those seem to be a product of my own “unique” humor as it often leaves others feeling weird instead of me. Haha, I find it funny in general and even feel a small sense of failure when I have an awkward conversation since I have a degree in Communication Studies (it should prevent these kinds of things)! But hey, I guess a marine biologist can’t name every fish. Ok...enough of the rambling!
We stepped off the bus to check into our hotel around 8 a.m. on a Sunday (that means it was 2 p.m. on a Saturday in North Carolina). The hotel called Quest on Mount was very close to the heart of down town. It is located across the street from the apartment style dorms called Wellesley that I will be living when school starts. Since our check in wasn’t until 11, we started the day off early roaming around. I was amazed at how quiet the streets were. It almost felt like I needed to whisper! I am curious to see if that is how it is every Sunday or if the town was especially shut down because of the Maori holiday we had arrived on. People in the town started to come out by noon and so did the sun! I was especially excited to feel the heat, leaving behind the winter of the U.S. and arriving into the summer of New Zealand was awesome! I wasn’t sure what to expect with weather but so far it has seemed to be cloudy and cool in the morning, sunny and warm up into the late afternoon, and breezy and cool at night. A light jacket or sweatshirt is needed at night, but shorts or jeans with a t-shirt or tank top are comfortable during the day.
To describe Auckland in relationship to other big cities, the first words that come to mind are cleanest and greenest. Of any of the large cities that I have ever been too, the cleanliness and plant life are quite spectacular in comparison. Besides the main strip Queen, the parks, building, and streets do not feel like they are a part of a big city because it is all too beautiful. I love the buildings architecture within the town. Everything looks very modern. I think the reason I have not gotten lost yet in Auckland is because there are so many new and cool looking landmarks. Lots of glass and unique shapes are incorporated into establishments. Even chains such as Starbucks or McDonalds are particularly well designed inside. Speaking of Starbucks I think it is cool that the one down the block from me is not only really nice looking inside with huge ceilings, but the doors are kept open and cute little birds are flying around landing on chairs besides you. The people roaming around could be compared to those of New York City, there are lots of different nationalities. Yet the pace is definitely slower, and crowds much smaller. Cars are all around but by no means does Auckland have traffic like big cities in America, especially NY! Not only does Auckland have a taste of the big city, but beaches as well. A ferry ride can take you to multiple different islands or a bus ride can get you to local beaches as well. The harbor downtown is really pretty. There is a place called the Viaduct along the water that has many bars and restaurants. As for food, sushi restaurants and kebab eateries are everywhere but all kinds of food can be found. Kebabs are similar to greek gyros. But food and drink is definitely a pretty penny. For instance, a small soda bottle around the city tends to be around $3.50 in New Zealand dollars. American products are marked up a lot especially. I think pretty soon I may forget what a surplus of something is. Conservation is big in NZ. Especially in the efforts to save water, there are two different flushes on a toilet. And signs of “If it’s Yellow let it mellow, if it’s Brown flush it down,” can be found all around. I have come to realize in the first days that what I had once had unlimited amounts of will no longer be there. Wifi Internet is often $10 for a day or even for just an hour. And it’s either an hour of online time or a certain of amount of data used, whichever one runs out first is when you are cut off. Hopefully in the dorms the rates will be a little better. McDonalds has free Internet but prevents certain websites from loading such as Skype or instant messengers. There is a bit of a monopoly going on as local calls in NZ are $0.89 per minute, but yet it is $2 for a 60 minute international call. Because of that, no one calls unless of emergencies and people use text messages sparingly at $.020 a text.
For the Superbowl Chels and I decided to pay our respects to America, and managed to find a bar at 12:30 in the afternoon on Monday that was playing the game. The only people watching the game were some American students from Dartmouth, an Ivey league college in New Hampshire. It was nice seeing a friendly American that took us to a really beautiful park and showed us around the campus of Auckland University. However, after some time had passed this particular Ivey leaguer started telling us how rich he was and went on about being served everything on a plate and told us proudly “the world is mine.” We walked our separate ways. Haha, so haven’t made new “friends of a lifetime yet.”
We stepped off the bus to check into our hotel around 8 a.m. on a Sunday (that means it was 2 p.m. on a Saturday in North Carolina). The hotel called Quest on Mount was very close to the heart of down town. It is located across the street from the apartment style dorms called Wellesley that I will be living when school starts. Since our check in wasn’t until 11, we started the day off early roaming around. I was amazed at how quiet the streets were. It almost felt like I needed to whisper! I am curious to see if that is how it is every Sunday or if the town was especially shut down because of the Maori holiday we had arrived on. People in the town started to come out by noon and so did the sun! I was especially excited to feel the heat, leaving behind the winter of the U.S. and arriving into the summer of New Zealand was awesome! I wasn’t sure what to expect with weather but so far it has seemed to be cloudy and cool in the morning, sunny and warm up into the late afternoon, and breezy and cool at night. A light jacket or sweatshirt is needed at night, but shorts or jeans with a t-shirt or tank top are comfortable during the day.
To describe Auckland in relationship to other big cities, the first words that come to mind are cleanest and greenest. Of any of the large cities that I have ever been too, the cleanliness and plant life are quite spectacular in comparison. Besides the main strip Queen, the parks, building, and streets do not feel like they are a part of a big city because it is all too beautiful. I love the buildings architecture within the town. Everything looks very modern. I think the reason I have not gotten lost yet in Auckland is because there are so many new and cool looking landmarks. Lots of glass and unique shapes are incorporated into establishments. Even chains such as Starbucks or McDonalds are particularly well designed inside. Speaking of Starbucks I think it is cool that the one down the block from me is not only really nice looking inside with huge ceilings, but the doors are kept open and cute little birds are flying around landing on chairs besides you. The people roaming around could be compared to those of New York City, there are lots of different nationalities. Yet the pace is definitely slower, and crowds much smaller. Cars are all around but by no means does Auckland have traffic like big cities in America, especially NY! Not only does Auckland have a taste of the big city, but beaches as well. A ferry ride can take you to multiple different islands or a bus ride can get you to local beaches as well. The harbor downtown is really pretty. There is a place called the Viaduct along the water that has many bars and restaurants. As for food, sushi restaurants and kebab eateries are everywhere but all kinds of food can be found. Kebabs are similar to greek gyros. But food and drink is definitely a pretty penny. For instance, a small soda bottle around the city tends to be around $3.50 in New Zealand dollars. American products are marked up a lot especially. I think pretty soon I may forget what a surplus of something is. Conservation is big in NZ. Especially in the efforts to save water, there are two different flushes on a toilet. And signs of “If it’s Yellow let it mellow, if it’s Brown flush it down,” can be found all around. I have come to realize in the first days that what I had once had unlimited amounts of will no longer be there. Wifi Internet is often $10 for a day or even for just an hour. And it’s either an hour of online time or a certain of amount of data used, whichever one runs out first is when you are cut off. Hopefully in the dorms the rates will be a little better. McDonalds has free Internet but prevents certain websites from loading such as Skype or instant messengers. There is a bit of a monopoly going on as local calls in NZ are $0.89 per minute, but yet it is $2 for a 60 minute international call. Because of that, no one calls unless of emergencies and people use text messages sparingly at $.020 a text.
For the Superbowl Chels and I decided to pay our respects to America, and managed to find a bar at 12:30 in the afternoon on Monday that was playing the game. The only people watching the game were some American students from Dartmouth, an Ivey league college in New Hampshire. It was nice seeing a friendly American that took us to a really beautiful park and showed us around the campus of Auckland University. However, after some time had passed this particular Ivey leaguer started telling us how rich he was and went on about being served everything on a plate and told us proudly “the world is mine.” We walked our separate ways. Haha, so haven’t made new “friends of a lifetime yet.”
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Take Off!
Finally! I can stop talking about going to New Zealand and actually just be here. After much research and planning, B.O. has traveled half way around the world to Auckland, New Zealand (sweet initials aren’t they? Thanks mom and dad, haha). It would be ideal if students traveling abroad received a one-hour class credit for just applying, haven’t filled out this much paperwork for anything I’ve done thus far. But how amazing that applications, emails, signatures, and the use of the Internet can get you thousands of miles away.
On the flight to L.A. it was slightly unsettling that right before takeoff a strange noise of what seemed to be a mechanical failure went on for about 10 minutes. It sounded like the noise of a dj spinning a record amplified times thirty. But after that, it was smooth sailing. On Air New Zealand the flight crew was beyond nice. Definitely have never been on a more accommodating flight. Hearing the accent of the pilot come on the intercom for the first time gave me a rush of excitement; this trip to New Zealand was really happening!
I’m so lucky to have my friend Chelsea come along with me. She calls me inspector gadget because of my vast collection and dorky knowledge of electronics. I think that half of the weight of my packed bags includes my camera equipment, computer stuff, and some kind of cord. I’d rather be swarmed with cool things that light up then any kind of clothes, which is probably the reason why my newest pair of jeans are from my freshman year of college bought used. I call Chelsea doc, short for medicine doctor because she is such a peaceful person and definitely a free spirit. Which makes her the perfect buddy to travel with. So on to the next week of the adventures of doc and inspector gadget before my schooling begins!
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