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
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