It's been a while...

Hey guys!!

Everything has been great since the last time I posted! My trip to the south island was absolutely incredible! As soon as I finish writing about it in detail in my journal I will post an abbreviated version on my blog :) There are so many amazing things to share!

We arrived back in Auckland on Monday night. Sooo great to get back "home"! It's so interesting...when we were coming down to the end of our trip I was thinking about how great it was going to feel to be home again and get settled, and when I was thinking of home I was thinking of Auckland, not Los Angeles. I guess that's a really good thing considering I'm going to be here for a while :)

This week has been "O" week, or Orientation Week, so we have spent a lot of time in meetings about uni (what they call the university here in New Zealand), living in Auckland, travel, jobs, as well as a lot of time meeting people.

Tuesday was amazing because it was the day that I saw my best friend Erin for the first time since we have moved to the other side of the world! Turns out she is living a stones throw away from my flat! I walked up to the main street to meet her to go to the gym, and when I saw her waiting for me I literally darted across traffic because I couldn't wait any longer to hug her! It is the most incredible feeling knowing I have my best friend here with me to experience this life adventure! She is a piece of home and a piece of family that I have with me :) I can't wait for our adventures!

We went to the gym and lunch (great Green Tea Latte!!), and then cruised around uni picking up all of the free things we could find from all of the booths. We went to Quiz Night where I met her friends from field camp as well as a few people from Finland and Norway. Later that night I went to another quiz night with my flats where I was able to meet a lot of the people I will be living near for the semester!

On Wednesday Anni and I went to a session on living in Auckland (which we promptly left because it was all repeat information from our EAP orientation). We made a MUCH needed trip to the grocery store so that I could actually have food in my apartment, and then I snuck into International House with Anni and had a free dinner in the dining hall. Shhhh :) That night we went out to Tahaki Reserve in the Mt. Eden Domain for Movies in the Park. We watched a Kiwi documentary titled "Rain of the Children". Super interesting movie...not sure if it's something I would watch again, but definitely a good film.

Thursday morning was our make-up orientation because we missed the original one on Monday. It absolutely downpoured during that session, then cleared up with sunny skies as soon as we left. We attended two more sessions on Wednesday; one from the Career Services Center and one about travel in New Zealand. They gave out some killer prizes in the travel session, but every time Anni or I knew an answer we would always whisper them to each other instead of raise our hands. Oops! :) That night I went over to Erin's flat to eat pizza and celebrate her friends 21st birthday. I wasn't so sure about going out later that night. The university sponsored a party at a club downtown called the Globe Bar, but the theme of the party was "In Bad Taste". I was tight on space when I was packing to come here...would I really bring something that was in bad taste?! But Anni came up with a brilliant idea, therefore convincing me to go out. If only you could have seen us...walking through downtown Auckland in leggings, rain boots, underwear over the leggings, a tank top, bathing suit top over the tank top, and each of us wearing a rainbow sleeve on one arm. O ya...and you can't forget the pigtails. I looked like a rainbow child with my multi colored rain boots and tie dyed bathing suit and arms! It was so much fun! We met up with Nate, Jef, Joann, Angel and some of our other friends from EAP as well as Erin and her group of friends! We danced and danced and danced some more. We left the Globe Bar and Nate took us over to another bar called Cassette which has all of these really old music players covering all of the walls! Totally awesome! After we hung out there for a little while we decided to head home, and I finally went to sleep around 3:30 am!!

Friday I went to a picnic in the Auckland Domain with a bunch of people from my flat. It's been really great getting to know them! I walked home early though because I really needed to get things straightened out with my classes. I went to the Psychology Department where they signed off on one of my classes, no problem! Yes!! I then dropped by the Maori Studies dept. and finally went and saw my advisor so that he could switch around my classes and add me to the ones I needed to take. Friday afternoon was pretty low key. Anni and I decided to go out for a little while on Friday night to the bar that everyone from my flats had gone to, but we ended up sitting at a booth drinking water and people watching. Haha! I guess we were a little exhausted from the whole week. We left after about a half hour and walked home.

Saturday was a blast! Erin and I woke up early and went to the farmers market down by the wharf. I bought some great fresh food and was able to spend some quality time with Erin. This was as close as I'm going to get to the Calabasas Farmer's Market for quite a while...

We then went to the Warehouse where we bought school supplies. Erin and I were SOOOOO excited to go school supply shopping (it is something I have loved to do since I was really little...I know...weird. What can I say? :) Too bad all we ended up buying were pens and notebooks. Not quite as exciting as we had hoped, but still fun! We met up with Anni and walked back to our flats. I took a much needed nap and then just laid low for the rest of the afternoon. I made dinner (the first time I have had salad since I left home!!! I was craving salad more than I could ever explain!) and then a huge group of us left to go to the Lantern Festival in Albert Park which is commemorating Chinese New Year. It was so beautiful! Lanterns everywhere of all different shapes and sizes. There were lanterns of animals, plants, lanterns in trees, you name it! We walked up and down the rows of booths for a while, laughed at the crazy number of people around us, bought padthai and boba, and then sat on the grass and watched the musical performances for a while. The weather has been so beautiful here lately that this was a perfect event for a Saturday night :)

Today was a great last day of vacation before school starts. I slept in and then made brownies for our pot luck we had tonight. The whole flat smelled like brownies and everyone kept making comments about it! My roommates and I all ate lunch together today which was nice because we all finally got to know each other a little bit better. :) I took another nap, watched an episode of The Bachelor (don't judge) and then headed down to the pot luck. The food everyone made was so tasty! The carrot cake that Elodie (one of my flatmates) made was wonderful! We were all able to hang out and talk and enjoy each others company. After the pot luck a smaller group of us went down to the Lantern Festival again because they were launching off fireworks tonight for the last night of the festival. It was a great firework show! I walked around the festival after the fireworks and saw a lot more of the lanterns than I saw last night. What a great event! :)

Now it's almost 1 am here and school starts tomorrow! I have been in New Zealand just about a month and the time is FLYING by. I have a feeling things will only go fast now that school is starting. Each day is something new and exciting. I am so grateful for this amazing opportunity!

Sorry about the long post, but it was a busy week! I hope everything is wonderful with everyone back in the states!

Lots of love,

Amanda

O ya...the final roommate arrived in my flat finally! His name is Sam...he's from France, but he goes to school in Montreal. Super nice guy! So excited that our flat is finally complete! :)

The time has come!

We are about to leave for the airport to head down to Christchurch and the south island of New Zealand!

Today has been a day of packing, toping up my phone, exchanging currency and Skype-ing with family! I won't have my computer with me while I am gone, and I'm gone until the 22nd of February (the 21st in the US). I will be keeping my blog in a journal and then posting it as soon as I return, along with A TON of pictures of the beauty of this country and the crazy fun we will be having!

I miss you all and love all of you! Thank you for being who you are! I am so thankful for all of the blessings in my life! :)

A

Last day of orientation

Saturday (or Friday for those of you back in the states) was the first day that we were actually able to sleep in during orientation. It was much needed considering I woke up with a pretty significant cold. The extra time in the morning also gave me the chance to Skype with my mom, Tom, Jilly, my dad and Tina! It was quite the morning of beautiful smiles and faces I always love to see! :)

I went over to Grafton Hall for lunch around noon and then we had three consecutive sessions regarding school. We were told about the Auckland academic scene, how to make our study list, and then we had a question and answer session about things we felt were unanswered. After a very delicious afternoon tea time (complete with chocolate covered cream filled doughnut holes), Annie, Jeff, Joann, Angel and I sat at one of the picnic table to plan our upcoming trip. We all gave our input as to where we wanted to travel and what we wanted to do...

Time goes by so fast here! I went home to get ready for the evening, and before I knew it I was meeting Annie to go and walk down to the wharf to catch the ferry to Devonport for dinner. We all met in this beautiful town to go to dinner at Duders. The restaurant was beautiful and the dinner was amazing! A perfect way to spend our last night together as one big group. We were able to take a giant group picture and spend time on the balcony together talking and looking at the stars. We were able to see the Southern Cross, a constellation that is only visible in the southern hemisphere! We all had a wonderful time acting totally goofy and posing for all sorts of random pictures.

At about 10pm we all raced downstairs to make sure we were able to sit on the top level of the DOUBLE DECKER Greyhound bus that came to take us home! The anticlimactic part of that statement is that we ALL were able to sit on top! hahaha Woo Hoo! The bus took us over the Auckland Bridge and offered us an unparalleled view of the city at night! The skytower looked incredible!

When we returned to Grafton Annie and I hung out in her room until about midnight working out the logistics of our trip. We bought our plane tickets to Christchurch and booked our rental car. I am pretty nervous about driving here! I just keep having to tell myself "left turns are tight turns and right turns are wide. The driver is always on the inside of the lanes". Good thing a lot of the road we are going to be taking are not heavily traveled.

This morning I woke up at 7:30 am and thought sure it was 2 in the afternoon...I guess I'm still not used to the time exactly. I had breakfast at Grafton (have to take advantage of free food while I have it because the next two weeks I am going to be eating more peanut butter and jelly sandwiches than I had ever hoped to consume).

I met friends for coffee at FRED in the early afternoon and then helped Annie move her things into my flat for the night before we leave. We spent much of the afternoon planning out the stops for our trip to the south island, figuring out time between destinations and where we wanted to stay the night...meaning hostels, campgrounds, or where we are hoping to park our car for the night. :)

We took a break for coffee around 4:30 to discover that all of the local shops close at 4 and all of the chain stores close at 6. I guess I'm going to have to get used to a city that values their free time a lot more than Los Angeles. Anni gave in and got Starbucks, and we went to a convenience store where I purchased the biggest Kit Kat I have ever seen...It was just ONE BIG Kit Kat. We met up with our traveling crew, went to check out International House, and then came back home to hang out with some friends in the apartment downstairs. There are FINALLY people living in my building!!! Soooo exciting!! And most of them have accents!!! Double exciting! Still no one else living in my apartment, which works out well because my friends are able to stay here for the night before they all leave on their NZ adventures in the morning.

It's time for me to sleep. I have to kick this cold before we leave tomorrow night! But first I will leave you with a wonderful picture that is a testament to just how much mosquitos love me... :) o ya...and a wonderful view of the island we explored the other day!

Beautiful life

Yesterday was by far the most amazing day of my time in NZ thus far. We all woke up super early so that we could take a 1 hr 15 min ferry ride to Tiritiri Mantangi Island. This island is reserved as a sanctuary for native NZ birds and plants. About 20 years ago a group of passionate volunteers banded together to help restore the island to its natural habitat, free of foreign pests. They exterminated all of the pests on the island, and for the last 20 years or so the native creatures have been able to thrive freely and without threat.

The real unique aspect of this island is the number of endangered birds that inhabit it, as well as the rainforest-esque growth on one side of the island, and the plains that cover the other. We were taken on a guided tour of much of the island, told about all of the plants and birds, and were able to take a ton of pictures, while truly soaking in the beauty that surrounded us. They volunteers have built shelters for the penguins that inhabit the island (Little Blue's), and we were able to look in and see the chicks huddled together. Sooo cute!! After the hike we went to the visitors center and lighthouse where we ate lunch and looked around.

Those of us who felt like being adventurous continued hiking to the opposite side of the island after lunch where we discovered huge arches of rock along the coastline. We all climbed down a hill and jumped into the ocean in a cave under the arches, carved out by the waves. We hiked back into the tunnels where we found penguins hiding out from the surf. Those who were brave enough to swim through the arches did so (not me!!), timing the waves perfectly so as to not get caught inside during a swell. We all felt like we could have stayed at the arches so much longer...the water was warm and it was such a spectacular location....but the ferry was back at 3:30 and we needed to head home. After a 15 minute hike back, we made it to the boat.

The boat ride back was fun because I was able to talk to Chris, another EAP student who is a fellow scuba diver, meaning woo hoo for finding a buddy to dive with! Can you say "HELLO GREAT BARRIER REEF!??!?!"

I returned home for dinner with a sunburn and a strong desire to sleep, so that's exactly what I did. After napping for a while, much of our group decided that they wanted to go out for one of our last nights together as a big group...so we got dressed up and headed out to find a dance club. On the way I went to the ATM and found out I don't have to pay fees to withdraw money while I'm here (a big WAHOO for that one).

The dance club was crazy. The bouncer at the door (a BIG Maori man), refused to let our friend in because he said she was too drunk (NOT true), so Anni and I waited with her and then ended up getting in free after her 15 minutes "sober up" time out. Score for not having to pay!!!

Once we got in we found our whole group dancing on a platform along the windows of the venue, so what did we decide to do but join them! :) It was so much fun...I haven't danced in what feels like forever!! And a big plus to going out in NZ...the guys here actually respect personal space, so "grinding" is almost non-existent. Yes!!!!

At about 1:30 AM a friend and I decided that we were ready to hit the road. Long and incredible day :)

More and more fun :)

Each day the homesickness eases up just a little bit :) I still miss family and friends like crazy, but everyone and everything here makes life wonderful!

Today was Day 2 of orientation. We started the day with a session on culture shock and adjusting to life living in New Zealand. Then came morning tea, what is starting to become my favorite part of the day. After tea we had a session on alcohol consumption in NZ, followed by a talk about requirements as an EAP student.

After lunch all 48 of us headed over to the Auckland War Memorial Museum, where we toured around for a while looking at the beautiful artifacts. At 1:30 we all assembled into a hall where we had the privilege of experiencing a traditional Maori cultural dance and song presentation. Yes, the did demonstrate the famous Haka (enacted before every Rugby game played by the All Blacks New Zealand team), and yes they did pull me and some friends on stage to demonstrate how to twirl these plastic balls they have tied to the end of ropes. They are used in dances, and for the first time I got up and agreed to participate without much hesitation at all! :)

After the performance I took a picture with a (cute) Maori warrior, and then we headed off to the botanical gardens in Auckland Domain. Here I saw some of the most beautiful flowers, ferns, lily pads, etc. You name it, the beauty was there.

Once we got back to Grafton Hall, my friend Anni and I headed back to my apartment so that she could use the internet. After a quick nap I headed back to Grafton for dinner and a session on the political and social scene in NZ. This was extremely interesting because I was finally able to understand the history of the country and the way its government is structured.

Afterwards, a big group of us all headed out to the cricket field in the Domain for a few games of flag football at sunset. It definitely got a little interesting trying to play in the dark.

Tomorrow we are spending a good part of the day out on a local island hiking and exploring :)

I'm bringing my snorkeling gear in case the opportunity presents itself! Also, Anni and I are working on gathering a group to travel to the South Island before school starts...it's time for the real adventures to begin! :)

A couple side notes...I feel like they feed us here ALL the time...one meal ends and about an hour later they are already serving you the next. I think it's a very good thing that I am in an apartment where I have to fend for myself as far as cooking goes :)

The other day when I bought my phone, the salesman thought I asked if they had "sales sex" when I really asked if they had "sales tax"...apparently they don't have either ;) haha and apparently I need to work on my pronunciation.

2 weeks until Erin gets here!! I CAN'T wait!!!

Simple Pleasures

Today was good...great actually! Things finally started to pick up :)

I woke up early to go to my first day of EAP (Education Abroad Program) Orientation. There are 48 of us going to 7 various universities across New Zealand. Everyone is so nice, and all of the program directors are super sweet and helpful.

After an informative session with Andrew Barron, our program director, we were dismissed for morning tea. Biscuits, pastries, tea, coffee, and some of the sweetest fruit I have ever tasted! Delicious!

After morning tea we had another session on the outdoor activities in New Zealand, also a very helpful talk for planning my future excursions. I had the opportunity to meet a lot of amazing people during lunch, and then had down time to go back to my apartment and relax before the evening activities. I was able to Skype with my beautiful Mama, which only made my day that much better! :)

I returned to Grafton Hall around 5pm for a lecture on "Do we speak the same language?" I would answer no to that question considering the words I have learned since arriving. haha

Dinner was an incredible BBQ with delicious food (Veggie friendly thank goodness!), and a cake to celebrate the 22nd year of the EAP program. We also had the opportunity to sample some wonderful wines from local New Zealand wineries.

The evening concluded with a night on the town in downtown Auckland. I went out with a group of 3 other girls to an Irish pub called Father Ted's. Fantastic music by a cover band who informally called themselves "The Drunken Idiots". They played a lot of Creedence Clearwater and Ben Harper, both of which I can ALWAYS appreciate :)

We walked around for a little while afterwards, checking out another local hot spot called Margaritas, but we all went back to our apartments soon after that because tomorrow is another early morning for orientation.

But I definitely had a few standout moments for the day...easily called simple pleasures...

Watching 110 year old men hit on 21 year old girls in the pub was quite the scene. The man who made my mocha today at FRED (Fresh Roasted Every Day) put 3 M&M's on the lid of my coffee after he made it. I literally smiled all the way home. Finally, and clearly most importantly, I was able to experience the toilet water swirling in the opposite direction due to the fact that I am in the Southern Hemisphere!! Woo Hoo! Life goal accomplished! And yes, for those of you who might be wondering (because this is an oh so important fact...) I forgot to observe this phenomena when I was in Africa... :)

Aroha ("love" in Maori),

Amanda

Quite the Adventure

Today was just that...quite the adventure. I made a plan that I was going to walk around and explore and then make a much needed trip to the store, but as is life, plans changed.

I set off in my workout clothes toward Auckland Domain. I passed a cemetery as soon as I left my apartment (surprise surprise I live next to one of those right :) ??? ) haha I also discovered that I live right next to the hospital...good to know just in case... ohhh I also live on a block with 4, yes count them 4 coffee shops. Bad news bears. :)

Right next to the hospital was Auckland Domain, by far the most beautiful sight I have seen so far since my arrival. I can most easily describe it as a cross between Central Park and Balboa Park. Green rolling hills, ponds, flowers blooming, ducks and geese resting under trees, kids running and playing...you name it. My intention was to follow the main road through Auckland Domain and come out on Parnell Street, the part of Auckland known for its cute shops and cafes. Instead, my mind wandered and before I knew it I was following a wooded street that I HOPED would lead me to my destination. But when the street came to an end I realized that I ended up directly across the highway from my apartment. The good news is I wasn't lost...bad news was I was nowhere near where I wanted to be.

Instead of backtracking, I set off to my next destination, Smith and Caughney's. Now, when I looked up this place online it was described as a department store. I'm thinking "Great!!! It's like Macy's! I can find my bath towels!!" O ya...minor side note...I left my towels at home thinking they would provide them in my apartment. Wrong. No towels. Thank goodness I brought my Turbie Twist. But for those of you who know just how big a Turbie Twist is, imagine trying to dry your whole body off with one in a shower the size of a cracker box...I think you get the picture and understand my desperation to find this store.

I spotted the sign for the store and walked in...Whew! Only to realize that my "Macy's" was really more like a "Barneys" or "Neiman Marcus" or "Bloomingdales". So here I am walking past Hugo Boss, Armani and Chanel in my old workout shoes, green running pants and a sweaty t-shirt. I got just a few stares :) But I got my towels and that was all that mattered!

I spent the rest of my day relaxing, napping, and continuing to get situated.

Tomorrow is my first day of orientation, and a chance to meet some amazing new people!

Lots of love

Amanda

I'm here!!

I arrived in Auckland this morning and o my goodness is it amazing! Just when I thought life couldn't get any more beautiful...it did.

I am on the top floor of my apartment building and the view is incredible. So far I am the only one moved in to my 4 bedroom apartment, and one of the few moved in to the whole building, but everyone should be arriving in the coming weeks.

I have internet access and a new cell phone, so staying connected with everyone back in the states should be super simple :)

I have to say that it's a pretty weird feeling being here and not knowing anyone. I would use the word lonely but I don't want to give off the idea that I'm struggling...because I'm not. I just can't wait until my best friend arrives in Auckland so that we can explore this beautiful country together! But in the meantime, I'm having a blast walking around the city, meeting wonderful new people (the guy who sold me my internet cable is married to a woman from Ventura!!!), and reveling in the intense greenery and plant life that makes up so much of this city and the University campus.

I miss you all like crazy! More to come soon!

Amanda