finally here

kia ora from dunedin!

i still do not have internet in my flat (soon soon hopefully), so still no pictures. i promise there will be ... just not yet. unfortunately uo (i.e. university of otago) is not wireless, and the internet in my flat will probably be have to be dial-up (yuck), but soon, i promise.

in the meantime, i will try to (finally) update what i've been up to for the past almost-three-weeks-now:

i really did have a good time in auckland, despite the "hostile hostel". it was a good introduction to this country and i got the chance to learn about the area, relax, read, adjust to the time difference, and so on. it also felt very liberating to realize that, yes, i'm ok travelling by myself, even though it was very difficult at times. i'm so happy i went out early and checked auckland off the list. as the biggest city in new zealand, its not somewhere i really want to spend my time while i'm here, but i think its still good to visit (a week was definitely enough).

tutukaka, as i said, really helped me get through my initial loneliness and feeling sorry for myself from those first two days. the kiwis really do live up to their reputation of being very hospitable and friendly. i had my own instructor, something i'm immensely thankful for since the conditions weren't ideal, and as a brand-new diver, i was glad to have individual attention. he and i also had a lot of bonding time while the others were out doing dives i'm not qualified for (night, deep, wreck, and so on).

our first morning there, we went into a near by cafe to grab some coffee. our waitress asked what we wanted and he ordered a mochaccino and i asked for a "regular coffee"

"a (mumble of something i couldn't understand) or a mochaccino"

i stared at her blankly. "just a regular coffee"

"a (same mumble mumble jumbley words), then?"

i must have looked absolutely confused because my instructor answered yes on my behalf and she left. he then explained that a regular coffee here is a "flat white" - more like a cappaccino than what we call regular coffee in the states. i have yet to actually find regular coffee in any cafe since i've been here. they don't even have coffee beans in the store - just the instant, freeze dried coffee that you mix with hot water. so no coffee pot - just a pitcher looking thing that you plug into the wall and heats up the water.

so strange.

it really amuses me how many little difference there are between new zealand and the states. the vocabulary has a lot of little differences - sunnies (sunglasses) and jandals (flip-flops) - are my current favorites, in addition to saying "cheers" to anyone about anything - it seems to be the all-encompassing word that works for "thanks", "take care", "best", "later", "have fun", and on and on. it does get difficult: half the time i have to ask people what they mean because the slang is so different.

i think the highlight (besides tutukaka) of my trip to auckland was the coast-to-coast walkway, a 16 km walk from the north to south harbor in auckland. you really should get a map of auckland to really understand what i mean, but auckland is located on a very skinny part on the south end of the northernmost peninsula on the north island (whoo that sounds confusing), which is why its such a great location - surrounded by water and good for harbors, shipping, ports, etc. auckland is also built on a series of volcanic cones (nine total, i think), the two most famous of which are included on this hike: mt. eden and one tree hill.

so the walk begins in the north harbor and city center, walks past auckland university, the auckland domain, and then up mt. eden, to cornwall park and one tree hill, then down to the south harbor (a rather disappointing end to such a great walk, but what can you do?). it was a great chance to see a large range of the city and the cones are...indescribable. so, so beautiful.

i left auckland friday morning and met the rest of the ifsa-butler (the program through which i'm here) kids at the auckland airport. most of them flew in together on a group flight, but there were about ten of us who had been travelling beforehand (i was surprised by how many). the butler group totals 45 and there is another program that brings people to otago, bringing the total number of americans here to around 100 - by far the biggest group of international students at uo.

anyways, we went to shakespear regional park, about an hour north of auckland to stay for the weekend. it was a great opportunity to get to know other students, relax, and enjoy the beautiful north island weather (around 25 (yes i'm working on my celsius and metric numbers)). people seem to be fairly down to earth (for americans, haha) and everyone is very interested in taking advantage of how beautiful this country is and all the outdoor activities it has to offer. there are a ton of biology (no huge surprise there) and anthropology majors, but everyone seems to want to focus more on travelling while they're here; it is completely understandable, but i'm also really excited for my classes - they are so different from anything i can take in the states.

we stayed at a ymca there, run by a kiwi guy named garth, who also runs a farm on the land (i think everything here doubles as a farm). they fed us so much; i felt like all we did was eat, but the food was delicious, so it worked. the maori word for food is kai, so every time was kai time: breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner complete with dessert at every meal. mix that with beautiful landscapes and a beach within walking distance, and it was a spectacular weekend. i hiked, went sea kayaking, swam, and, in general, got to know people a bit better.

sunday night, we left the ymca and went south of auckland to a maori marae (meeting place and village) to learn more about the maori culture, visit, and stay the night. there is a lot of ritual and formalities to visit a marae, all of which we got to experience (i.e. speeches and singing of songs that indicate each tribes history and the fact that only men can speak on behalf of the tribe). they cooked us a fabulous meal in the hangi (the "maori microwave" - a huge hole in the ground where they cook big meals) and we played games with the maori kids. a group of kids also did a small performance with us - complete with singing, dancing, and costumes.

all the guys from our group had to go up on the stage at one point to practice a war dance/song/chant. i can't wait to post pictures (!!) because it was one of the funniest things i've ever seen - all these very white guys with their shirts off being led by six and seven year olds in a war chant and trying to act tough. haha.

i really enjoy learning about the maori culture here. the situation of the maoris is so different from that of the native americans in the states. maori is an official language here and they are considered part of the government (i.e. they have their own party, can vote, and hold office). it's interesting to hear their perspective since they make it sound pretty bad, and i agree that white people do a very good job of going places and destroying the culture that exists there, but i think the maori are pretty lucky here in new zealand. their language, artwork, and culture is very incorporated into this country, although it is always a very complicated and difficult situation, to have two cultures trying to exist peacefully and simultaneously.

the ecology of this country absolutely fascinates me. as a result of the white people, the ecosystem here has practically been destroyed because of the introduction of mammals to the islands. the islands were the last land masses in the world to rise out of the ocean, so they're relatively young and have been populated primarily by birds - who, since there were no predators - are generally flightless and reproduce only once a year (if that). the mammals have basically destroyed them, from the stoats killing the kiwis (the bird, that is) and all the sheep and cattle destroying the native forests to make room for grasslands.

very interesting, i think (apologies to readers who are not so interested).

anyways, on monday we finally (after delayed flights and lost baggage) arrived at our flats. we were told that we were the last people to arrive here, so to expect our flats to be full of people, but when i finally got to mine, there was no sign of anyone else there. it was actually quite terrifying because my bag had been lost, so i was literally walking into an empty and lonely house.

my flatmate, karen from germany, did arrive later that night (thank god). as did my bag (hooray!).

my flat is practically on campus, i am less than a five minute walk, and is very very nice. it is just karen and i (most people have at least three or four people to a flat) and the place is huge and most of the appliances seem brand new. we each have our own room complete with queen size bed and furniture. the kitchen came with dishes and cookware and the bathroom looks new. we have a tiny tiny backyard with a clothesline and porch. the common area is pretty large and we also have a little breakfast nook.

(did i mention the laundry room with free laundry???)

anyways, i'm really excited about the place. the other side of our street is a river that runs through dunedin, so the street seems to be pretty low key.

the rest of the flats, however, are ridiculous. this week is "orientation week", which means that all the students (18000 of them) are here with nothing to do - except for drink. and that's what everyone does. i have never ever seen anything like it - beer everywhere, people walking around with open alcohol containers and blatantly drinking in public (illegal, i think). it's ... crazy.

so i did my course approval on tuesday (you have to get the department to ok and sign you into classes), got my id card, and all squared away for prelim lectures on friday and then real lecture starts on monday.

my classes are going to be awesome, although fairly intense: maori society, plant ecology, marine ecology, principles of physical oceanography, and a three hour lab for each of the ecology classes.

international students orientation is this week, but it seems fairly uninvolved. i went to a meeting this morning (welcome, health, safety, and academics briefings) and tonight all the international kids are going to a pub. tomorrow, we go on a trip down the peninsula to see the penguins, seals, and albatross!

dunedin is a really beautiful city (from the limited amount i've seen while running errands) and otago is gorgeous - the campus has a lot of scottish architecture so it sort of reminds me of bc (complete with clock tower and everything). we also have a student union here (amazing, bc needs one desperately), and a great library.

i'm really excited for classes to start. i feel like i've been out of school for so long (three months almost now) and my classes sound really interesting. i've joined the tramping (hiking) club on campus and intend to go on a day hike here this weekend with them!

all in all, i am so relieved to finally, finally be here and to be getting settled and moved in.