Week #1

Kia Ora (Maori for hello/welcome)
Well I have been bouncing around Auckland all week. I have a great new friend from San Diego County, California named Leigh. We have been to and from all the different orientation events together. I have met people from New Zealand, Germany, Italy, Canada, the States, Malaysia and many other countries. There are around twenty countries represented within our international students. Some of the highlights have been planning fun trips, game night, the museum, and BBQs. BBQs are a big thing down here and I am about to go to another one tonight!

The museum was a lot of fun. They have a lot of neat Maori and Pacific Islander stuff. We also watched a cultural show done by some Maoris. The "Warriors" were so funny! They would mimic each nationality as they were called out. For Americans they said "Hey! How are you? What's Up?" not as funny in print but pretty funny in real life. I also through the rugby ball around on the sports fields. The Museum is in a really pretty park area.

I have been having a lot of fun shopping for groceries and cooking meals here. I tried to make broccoli and cheddar soup, but they didn't have the right ingredients. For example there is no cream of celery soup or cheese soup here, so I got chicken and corn. Then there isn't any Velveeta cheese, so I got cheddar. Well cheddar doesn't melt and all my ingredients didn't fit completely in my pot. I had to improvise, but it turned out great! and I have enough for the whole week. As well as tons of broccoli. I love the community kitchen! It is a great way to meet people and how I got invited to the BBQ tonight. Everyone has a great time while we are making meals.

I love Auckland at night. We have had a few evening excursions. One to Harry Potter and we ran through down town to the theater. It was really funny and heaps of fun. By the way, movies don't have previews and they start right on time. They also give you an assigned seat with your ticket. The international office hosted a pub night at the Globe Bar. The first drink was free on them, so everyone showed up. There was also a DJ and they played some old favorites (Grease Lightning and Girls Just Wanna Have Fun) plus some crazy techno. Everyone seemed to have a great time. I of course spent most of the nigh on the dance floor with some friends and watched all of the kids from other countries dance. They have some different moves and no one knows the walk-it-out dance of course.

There is a great running path by the harbor that is beautiful, so today Leigh and I took a long walk with our cameras. This was only in the effort to make everyone jealous (especially my Dad b/c his run is not this cool). We then took a long detour that brought us out by the museum and back to our dorms. The pictures are also to make JoAnna come visit because I know she will come if she sees the cool walk she can do!!!! and October would be warmer!