Tsunami/Chinese Lantern Festival

I know a bunch of family members were concerned about the tsunami coming from the earthquake in Chile, but it ended up not being a big deal at all. Auckland is EXTREMELY hilly, which I am actually starting to get used to, so we had a meeting and they told us not to worry, but to stay off the beaches. I think some northern parts in the Bay of Islands had to evacuate, but I haven't heard of any extreme damage, waves ended up being small. But, it still is crazy to think that a tsunami hit parts of New Zealand!

Tonight was the Chinese Lantern Festival in Albert Park (GORGEOUS) and it was completely packed with people, Asian foods, and lanterns of all shapes and sizes. Pictures will be emerging soon, but it really was a fun event to go to! We bought little lanterns we got to light and carry around, and some bamboo. ALSO a woman was interviewing people and she interviewed us about why we were in Auckland and what we liked about New Zealand!!! If I don't look completely ridiculous in the video from the website maybe I will share that with everyone! I volunteered to go first so I got a little flustered, but pretty exciting still! The night ended with fireworks, a great way to finish our two week "vacation" since classes start tomorrow! but not for me til tuesday :)

Devonport/Orientation Week!

Sorry for the lack of posting, it has been quite a busy week! All the people on our floor have moved in and I have already made some great friends. Our dorm had an orientation week with a ton of activities to get everyone to mingle and get to know each other. Two of my friends Chelsea and Michael from NZ live on my floor are VERY social and try to get everyone involved in the events... so Anthony (friend from Loyola) and I were convinced to do quiz night last Monday. We got pretty much our entire floor to join our team against the other floors, and I got to meet everyone, including two girls from Malaysia and other Kiwis. We didn't win but it was definitely worth it, and good to break away from the Loyola group a bit.

Tuesday a group of us from Loyola took a ferry to Devonport, which is like a little Mystic/Newport kind of Island. Lots of shops and beaches, and fun to walk around. We found a hill and decided to hike up it thinking it was a volcano... but then we realized it wasn't, but it was still an accomplishment. Nice view from the top too! Then we found the real volcano... which we may kayak to sometime soon and then hike up (about a 3 hour hike we hear). We relaxed on the beach a bit and really just enjoyed being outside on a lovely day. Found a little bit of seaglass but it is not as done as I'd like! (mom would make me throw it back...)

<--- volcano!

Wednesday was such a fun day! We started with a walk through campus getting a bunch of free gear clubs were handing out, got some free jandals! (their word for sandals, it's very catchy). Then our dorm had a big capture the flag/sponge game competition in the domain between all the floors. My floor is very enthusiastic about everything so we got all decked out in green gear (our floor color) and painted our faces green... a bunch of people even dyed their hair green. haha so much fun. We were all running around like crazy on the domain, I don't think anyone ever actually won but it was so much fun. The sponge game we played was kind of like dodgeball, but with wet sponges you had to throw at people. At the end everyone just ran around dumping buckets of water on people and sponges all over the place, of course I got completely drenched. But, it is hot here, so it was wonderful. The thing I've realized about the weather is that it never really gets too hot temperature-wise, but the sun makes it feel like its 90 degrees every day. My tan is coming along slowly... haha That night one of our friends/RA Bryn took us all to a fun place called Carpark and hooked us up with some free pizza. Great night!

<-- 8th floor!

Thursday was pretty low key, until we had international student pub night that evening organized by our University. The theme was "bad taste" so we all just looked ridiculously, trying to win prizes they were giving out. Unfortunately, we didn't win... All the bars/clubs here all we do is dance the entire time so every night out is so much fun and we usually meet other people and bond with Loyola too.

Fridayyyy Hester invited us all to her house for a barbeque/party, which somehow turned into a toga party, which was just crazy. The whole day began with us walking down Queen street (half people in togas) taking an hour bus, then walking another half hour because we got off at a different stop. People were honking and laughing at us the whole way hahaha. We eventually made it. By the end of the night it turned into a jam sesh with guitar/singing and somehow I ended up playing the piano that everyone was singing to for a good hour haha so a very fun night with Loyola'ers! Everyone woke up at 7AM and left for the bus, extremely tired.

We also booked trips for the next two weeks!!!! This coming weekend we are going canyoning, which is like jumping off waterfalls/sliding down rocks/other epic things. And then Sunday we're bungy jumping off of the Auckland bridge!!! ahhh we have some spectators coming who will be sure to take pictures... Then the following week we signed up for surf lessons on a black sand beach, and a boat cruise/tour of an Island with a reallly cool guide!!! It's going to be incredible, and we got everything for really good deals because we are Uni students (thats what they call the University of Auckland students). More updates to come on those adventures!

Bay of Islands

The Bay of Islands was hands down, the most beautiful place I've ever been. We all loaded the bus at 6:30AM on Thursday and drove the 4 hours to our hostel (pretty snazzy hostel I must say). It's amazing how 10 minutes out of the city of Auckland you're suddenly seeing mountains, sheep, cows, and endless green. Our hostel was right by the ocean, with bars and restaurants minutes away. The first day there was a little rainy, but no one minded too much. We got to ride the Mack Attack which was a speed boat with about 30 seats to tour us around the area. It was a BLAST. It was down pouring in the beginning but everyone was just laughing and having the time of our lives. They gave us these big glasses they called goggles which were fun to wear and helped with the wind in our eyes. We were supposed to see the famous hole-in-the-rock but the waters were too rough, which was a bummer. But I still got some pretty great pictures! After the Mack Attack we all went swimming in the ocean... pretty much paradise. We all couldn't believe we were in the ocean in the middle of February... it's still pretty unreal. The hole in the ozone is pretty serious though... you can burn in 10 minute if you don't wear sunscreen.. and somehow we all managed to get burnt even when it was raining. Not too bad though, think it's turning into a tan now ;) Later that night we all went out to a fun outdoor bar called Makos and then over to Salty's, got to talk to some local Kiwis! They were giving out raffles for 2 for 1 skydiving and we won two of them!!! But they have to be used in the Bay of Islands within the week so we're going to see if we can finagle a deal. Pretty cool though!

The next day we did a tour to Cape Reinga (the tip of New Zealand) through the 90 mile beach. This was the most amazing day of my life. The 90 mile beach was incredible... our bus drove along the sand and kept going and going.... there were no people or anything in sight the entire way, just endless beach and ocean. Then we got to the sand dunes and we went to the highest one possible according to our tour guide. The climb up the sand dune was pretty intense... and once we reached the top the wind was blowing so hard we couldn't see anything at all and I thought I was going to die from lack of air haha but we survived and got to sandboard on boogie boards down the dune!!! SO MUCH FUN. After we all had sand everywhere... in ours mouths, ears, noses... I think I'm still getting sand out of my scalp, but it was definitely worth it and a really fun experience. After the sand dunes we kept driving and had to stop the bus because cows were in the road!! Funniest thing ever, we were literally just sitting there waiting for them to pass. Then we got to Cape Reinga... and walked to the lighthouse at the very tip of the north island! The view was incredible... completley indescribable. My pictures can't even capture what it was like. We then ate lunch on the water and started to journey back to our hostel. Stopped at a fish 'n' chips on the way back... best fish I have ever had. I definitely want to take advantage of how fresh the fish is here. That night our entire group went out and had so much fun and went out on the beach at night star gazing.

The last day in the bay of Islands we did a tour of the Waitangi Treaty Grounds... it was a quick stop but we got to watch some Maori people do the kapa haka (their tribal dance! which is also the war dance the All-Blacks rugby team does!) I'm taking a class about the kapa so I'm excited to learn more about it.. and learn how to do it! ah! We headed back to Huia... and of course went out again at the viaduct. Another incredible night in the city. Before we all go out we go into the domain (a big field right by Huia) and have some drinks and just hang out and look at the stars. Thisssss is the life!

We made it!

So I am writing this a week later since I have been so busy so hopefully I remember all the details. We landed in Auckland at about 4AM Tuesday morning... the flight was 13 hours from San Francisco but wasn't as horrible as I thought it would be. They served free wine with dinner, which was a good way to get everyone to pass out and get at least a few hours of sleep. Luckily, I slept a good amount so the jetlag wasn't horrible. A bus came and picked us up from the airport... we had to lug all our bags up a hill, completely exhausted and try and fit them all in the bus... we had people's bags in the aisle there were so many. But, finally we arrived at our dorm, Huia! It is 11 floors, and I am on the 8th! I have a single room, pretty small, but it's not bad with only one person... starting to decorate it to make it feel more like home :) We were pretty much the only people in the dorm until everyone else moved in today. On my floor there are people from all over the world and New Zealand too, which is very exciting!

The first day in Auckland, Hester, our group leader, took us on a walking tour around the city. We walked through the university, and a beautiful park that I will be spending plenty of time in. Then we went downtown, which by now is a daily trek for most of us. The city of Auckland is AMAZING, nothing like I expected. There are always people out and about, the streets are packed even up until 3AM... it's great! The waterfront has a bunch of ferries to take to different places, like a volcano and hiking areas! There's a ton of bars that we have all been going to... Loyola travels in a big pack of 40, singing all the way along the 30 minute walk to the viaduct.. so much fun. The walk back is a giant hill, and I am usually good with hills, but this one is massive. We keep saying how we're going to have crazy leg muscles by the time we leave after all the walking. It is is a good way to stay in shape though, I think my feet have almost gotten used to it.

The group on the trip is great and I am already making good friends! Everyone gets along and Loyola is really bonding being away together. It is easy to stay comfortable just with Loyola, but I definitely want to make sure I mingle with the local Kiwis and other international students in the dorm!

3 DAYS

Hey guys! So I decided to make a blog so I can remember everything I do in New Zealand and so you can all see what I'm up to since I won't be able to talk that frequently! I can't believe there are only a few days left until I go. It seems like just yesterday Court left for Ghana, but then again I feel like I've been home forever... which I kind of have. Although a very long winter break, it was a fun one, definitely got to bond with the family and it was nice to relax... and have time for the gym :) Packing is a slow process but I'm almost done.. so far I have one bag that is 50 pounds exactly... now onto the next! We'll see if I can do it since I have severe packing problems.

My flight leaves for New Zealand Sunday morning at 7AM... we have to be there at 5 so we're driving up to JFK Saturday night to get a few hours of sleep. From there I'm off to San Frannn for a lovely 7 hour layover. Thank god I have Kara to venture the city with! Should be a fun and lovely 63 degree weather day (Yes, I love my 10 day forecasts). And high 70's once we get to New Zealand!!! MY FAVE WEATHER. So our flight from San Francisco is 13 or so hours... and we get to New Zealand at 5AM their time. AKA I'm going to be exhausted. The time difference is 18 hours ahead.... or 6 hours behind the next day. Pretty crazy. IM SO PUMPED AHHH