O Week Ends and Classes Begin

 The craziness of Orientation is coming to a close, and I'm going to have to start thinking about studying again. Monday I went to a "Freaks and Geeks" part at our on campus bar, the Ferguson, and Thursday I went on a pub crawl, also through the school. The pub crawl was super fun. There were 140 of us and we went to 6 different places. Outside of the school events, on Wednesday my lovely friend Jessica took me, Mark and Nicole (2 of my flatmates) around Albany. We went inline skating adn then to Campbell bay for a walk on the beach. Friday was a quiet night-recovering from Thursday. On Saturday I relaxed at home during the morning, then went to the mall with Mark and Nicole during the afternoon. At 5 we went to a rugby game, which was really fun, even if I still don't understand quite all of it. In the evening we had a few friends over to hang out, and now Orientation week is officially over.

However, partyng isn't the only thing Idid this week.
For the record, I am taking:
Intro to Social Anthropology
Practical Ethics
Molecular and Cell Biology
Food Chemistry

I had my first one or two lectures in all of my classes this week. Overall I think all of them will be very interesting. The lecturer in Food Chemistry is a tad dull, but the subject itself is interesting enough I  think to make up for that. I also will only be able to attend my Intro to Social Anthropology lecture (which is only once a week) for the first half of the term, because after that my Molecular lab is at the same time, so that should be interesting. I have to buy my books tomorrow, which I think will be spendy, but otherwise it is looking like it will be a good term.


Here are a few more New Zealand terms for you (again-Kiwi: American):
Nappy: Diaper
On the chop: Intoxicated
Trolley: Shopping cart
Lemonade: Sprite 
Jandal: sandals, typically flip flops

Heaps of freckles and crazy kiwis

I made it to Massey! I moved in this Monday to Millennium Village, and I'm in a flat with Mark, an American from West Virginia, Aaron, and Nicole. Aaron and Nicole are Kiwis, and both first years just starting at uni.
Orientation week has been fun, I've been meeting lots of fun new people. There are quite a few other Americans in Millennium Village, as well as lots of locals and other international students. O week is fun because no one has started their papers yet-so there isn't any stress and it creates a good environment to get to know people.
Last night I went out dancing with my flat mates Mark and Nicole, and some other friends, Jessica and Will. This was my first time going to downtown Auckland, and it is quite the place. There were people everywhere! It is definitely not Spokane.
Here are a few words I have found to be different (Kiwi on the left, translation on the right):
Tea: dinner
Paper: a class
Stationary: paper, or general school supplies
Diary: a planner
Course: your major
Yin: cool
Hot pool: a natural hotspring

There are tons more-but those are the ones I can remember right now.

I'll post some picture of my flat mates as soon as I take some. For weekend plans, I'm not sure what is going on today-but tomorrow I'm going to a hot spring! It is a thing organized by our accommodation director, and sounds super fun. I know it is a hot spring, but rumor has it there are water slides too!

Blinding people at the beach

As promised, I spent yesterday afternoon at the beach-and it was gorgeous. Warm weather (even if it was a bit cloudy sometimes), warm water, and good company made for a very enjoyable day.  While playing in the water I kept stepping on something that was a fairly odd shape-and when I picked one up it turned out to be a live sand dollar! (or a similar animal at least) They were everywhere, but I didn't see a single dead on on the beach.



There were, however, heaps of whole shells everywhere, which must be common here because I was the only one who seemed impressed.







I was also educated about the sea-life; apparently what I've always called a "clam" is really a scallop, and clams are something else. We also found a mussel and oyster shell. This variety can be seen below, the large shell is the mussel, the top left is a clam, the top right is an oyster, and the ones in the middle are scallops (I think). I'm not really sure what the bottom right is, but it was pretty.

In the evening I went for a walk in a rainstorm to get some take away Chinese food, then I had a quiet evening home.

Today, which is Sunday (and Valentines day) here, I started the day at church, then Susan and I went to Robbie and Christine's for lunch. I also nearly died of excitement when I saw a hedgehot cross the road. (I want one so much, it was adorable!) We were joined by about 7 or 8 other people, in addition to the 6 in Robbie's family, which apparently is a normal Sunday occurrence. We had a tasty meal, then I played some card games with Katrina and one of her friends, and Susan and I headed home. I came into my room to pack (I move into my own place tomorrow), and was interrupted by a long Skype conversation with Joy, who was also joined by Kenz, Bethany, Kristina, Tanya, and Rebecca. Now Susan is fixing some dinner, so I better get going!

I'm excited to move in tomorrow, but I'm not sure when I'll have internet set up there-so don't get upset if I'm not in contact for a few days. (That is primarily directed to my mom and dad)

A family away from home

Things in New Zealand are off to a great start (other than Rachel calling me a creep all the time)! I'm starting to feel more adjusted, I will get my missing bag back today, I finally shaved my legs so I don't have to wear pants in the warm weather-overall I'm just having a great time. Yesterday was a really good day. In the morning Robbie's wife, Christine, took me shopping. I managed to get most of the things I need, such as sheets, towels, a computer cord, and a cell phone. Then in the afternoon I was around Susan's house, I worked on planning my timetable, then went for a walk. In the evening Susan and I headed back to Robbie's house for dinner. Susan cook a delicious mac and cheese, then we headed out for a walk. (I know I should have brought my camera, sorry...) This included me, Robbie, Susan, Katrina (12), Reuben (15) and Isaac (9). We walked over near a beach, where we stopped for a while to overturn rocks looking for crabs (which we found, in large quantities). After a while of playing, it was getting dark so we headed home-only to be distracted by a play structure, where we stayed for another 30 minutes. I had a wonderful time playing with the kids, and was touched when Katrina asked if I would come back for her birthday party in April. Now I am about to head off to the beach with them! I'll be sure to take some pictures today.

Arrival in Auckland

4 rounds of airport security (each of which resulted in by bag being checked, once for a pack of batteries I had, once for something that looked like an aerosol can, and twice for a small pair of scissors in my first aid kit), 3 sets of customs, four airplane rides, and one missing suitcase later- I have made it to Auckland! I am staying in South Auckland with a lovely lady named Susan, who is an old friend of an old work contact of my dad's, until the 15th, when I will be able to move into my on campus flat.
For now, I'm about to head off on a walk so I can familiarize myself with this area, and most likely get lost!

The journey begins

Here I am, at the Portland airport. Enjoying the free Wi-Fi PDX offers, and about to head to Los Angeles, and then to Melbourne, and then to Sydney, and then finally to Auckland. I'm a mere 36ish (miserable) hours away from beginning my 4+ months in New Zealand. I managed to get my visa and pack everything at the last minute, and I'm certain I forgot several things, but I'm off! 
Goodbye everyone, I'll talk to you from the other side of the world!