classes begin!

Kia ora! So its been a lot of fun adjusting to life in Wellington over the last week or so. It was a bit quiet on my street as most of the other Americans and international students took the time to explore the wonderful regions of NZ. Even my two roomates hopped on a plane to Christchurch and did some camping. Leaving me and my Kiwimate Kirsten an empty house. I was offered to go on a couple of trips, but had to decline mostly because of money issues, as a loan situation hasnt quite been worked out yet, and 2, because i visited a ton of places already and it was nice to just stick home. The weather was amazing the entire week here, with a few days spent going to the beach and enjoying the waterfront and harbour. I even went and got a haircut, haha, so it wasnt such a bad week. It was kind of funny though, it was orientation week for all the first years, basically in NZ most people get there degree in 3 years, and just kind of skip all the introductory classes we tend to take, or the gen-ed classes. So here i am in the quad surrounded by all these fresh 17 and 18 year olds basically away from home for the first time. Kind of made me feel old! haha. Just funny to hear them talk about the parties and going to the pubs and stuff.

Here is a paragraph for Laura! Haha, apparently I just tend to write one larrrrrge paragraph rather than seperating thoughts. This would be true. I got to go to an acoustic lounge at the San Francisco Bathhouse and hear some great musicians on thursday night. They were all really chill and there was just this awesome vibe. Its free on thursday nights, so i deff think it will become a regular hangout spot. I went with my friend Reeta from Finland and she is actually going to be playing at this weeks event. We then grabbed some Indian food, i really havents explored many international foods as of prior to this trip, but we got 2 different kinds of curry and went and sat down by the waterfront. It was a lot of fun. I also had a few friends over to see my flat one night and I made dinner. They said they were suprised by my cooking ability, but i think they may have been flattering me. haha. All I made was pasta, rice, a hearty salad and garlic bread (garlic bread was a summer thing for our apartment last summer in Oneonta). Haha a quick shout out to Laura and Megan in their spanish wonderlands!

Lets see. So this weekend i went down to the waterfront for the anual Dragon Boat race which turned out to be a lot of fun and drew in a big crowd. Basically all the big businesses have these friendly competitions every year for bragging rights. The weather was amazing and the harbour is just awesome. There were all sorts of vendors, crafts and musicans all about and plenty of Hokey pokey ice cream, a NZ favourite! (I have to get used to British spelling, as professors will take off on essays when we dont use it) ugh, apparently you can set your Microsoft word for the British spelling though. There was also a Asian influence to the festival and there were some really cool dragon chains of people with the big costumes on and running around. I got some great photos that day, wish i could upload them, but still unsure of the mystery of my laptop cord and why its taken almost 3 weeks to get here... ugh...

ON the bright side, I received notification from Hartwick that I got a John Christopher Hartwick Nomination, and being recognized as a Faculty scholar! Super stoked about this! A bunch of my friends deserve CONGRATULATIONS as well, as they too were recognized for their achievements. Now im in the running for the final scholarship which is only given to 6 people, but basically means that my senior year would be completely paid for!!!!!!!!! WOULDNT that be nice? haha. Fingers crossed, now i just need to get a bunch of reccommendations and get my resumer all sorted out.

I cant remember if i posted what my classes were yet, but heres a breakdown of my schedule.

Monday- Maori Studies from 4:10-5 PM
Tuesday- Race and Racism in Modern Europe 11:00-12:50, Modern Rituals (an anthropology course) from 2:10- 3pm
Wednesday Maori Studies again
Thursday- WW1- The Great Sacrifice 12-12:50, Modern Rituals, and Maori Studies
and FRIDAYS OFF!

So my schedule isnt toooo demanding, but there are Tutorials which i still need to sign up for. Not sure exactly how they work, but basically, since this is a large university, they are like smaller groups than the lectures and you get a tutor, or a grad student to kind of lead discussions. Should be interesting. So that may add to my schedule a bit and make me not have so much free time.

We have about 2 weeks off for Fall break coming up in the beginning of April. It seems like a really big vacation, so i am trying to see what my options are. I would love to be able to do a little more travelling, maybe even hop over the Tasman and check out Australia, Maybe Tasmania, Fiji or some of the other pacific islands. Im going to wait and see what other people are up to, and if i have the funds or not. If i cant make it out of the country i am going to look into doing a bit more trekking on the south island, maybe try to tackle the Milford Track, world famous for its beauty. I didnt really have the chance or time to do this on the first leg of my journey. Either way, I think break will be a fun way to explore a bit more.

This week we also get to sign up for clubs. I am excited about this, as more opportunities to meet kiwi students and also to work out and have fun. I am looking into joining the tramping club to see some more sights, the volleyball club, i might join a netball team, which is kind of like basketball, but not, its kind of a european sport, and maybe look into the rowing club. University sports are A LOT different here. They dont really have the same system as we have in the states. But they have a thing called the Uni Games in April which are like an olympic styled games set between the main 8 universities in NZ.

Welll thats about all i got for now, HOPEFULLY, FINGERS AND TOES CROSSED, my laptop cord will arrive soon and i will again have access to my photos and upload some of the new ones from around Wellington, including my flat, the view from campus and the waterfront. Next post ill let you know how classes are and whether i can understand my professors or not! though they speak english, the kiwi accent is funny and sometimes a bit tricky to understand. haha. I feel like ive lost mine a little bit since I moved in with other Americans. Haha, maybe ill get it back. Off to my first class of the tri-mester and excited to get my brain working again! I miss you all and hope everyone is doing amazing and braving the snow at home! Ill try to send some of the NZ sun stateside for you!