I really want you all to be able to see the pictures we took at each of the places we go to. My blogs don't do it justice! Some of the places are amaaaazing, and I want you to see it for yourself!
I've uploaded all the pictures onto facebook (its the only way/site I know how to do so), and I'll post the links below. Hopefully you can see them!
**IT WORKS! I FIGURED IT OUT!
Hamilton Gardens Album 1
Hamilton Gardens Album 2
Auckland Album
Waihi Album
Hamilton Zoo Album
Taupo Album
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Taupo
Yesterday, we went on a school-sponsored trip to Taupo. There were 10 of us on the tour and we left campus at around 8 am. Our tour guide/van driver's name was Selwyn. Him and his wife own a travel, Starr Tours, and they put on tours all over the North and South Island as well as Australia.
Our first stop was the Aratiatia Rapids, a two hour drive from the uni. We got there at 9:55, which gave us 5 minutes until the flood gates opened allowing water to fill up the old Waikato River. There are two gates that block water from filling up the old Waikato River and everyday, the gates are lifted three times for 15 minutes allowing water to rush at 200 liters/second down the river causing rapids. We got there just in time to see the gates open and the river filled up within minutes. It was incredible to watch!
Our next stop was Honey Hive, a shop specializing in different honey products. There was a container in the store filled with honey bees busily making honey. They had honey wine, honey soap, honey shampoo, honey lotion, honey hand sanitizer, honey fudge, peanut butter honey, lavender honey, EVERYTHING with honey. We got to try the fudge; it was really good! I ended up buying a famous candy here called Hokey Pokey, and Logan bought some wine liquor :)
Next, we went to Huka Falls. The actual falls wasn't tremendously huge, but the rushing water surrounding the falls was extremely powerful. One of the well-known attractions here in New Zealand is the Huka Falls jetboat that races up and down the river. We got to watch the jetboat speed around the river a couple times! It looked like heaps of fun! :)
Next, we went to a part of Lake Taupo where the geothermal activity had created small hotpools along the edge of the lake. We got to stick our feet in the water and it felt like a jacuzzi! It was really neat! The weather was really cold that day, so us Hawaiians really enjoyed being able to warm our feet up! The view was beautiful from where we were. We got to look out at the lake, but of course we weren't able to see all the way across. (It's the largest lake in New Zealand.)
The highlight of our day, or the highlight of the GIRLS' day, was next. We went into the town and ate lunch and ... shopped! Taupo isn't a really touristy town, so there weren't any malls and hardly any people, so it was nice. We ate at McDonald's :) and then walked around. There were a bunch of sovenier shops. Logan bought an All Black's flag and I bought some canvas posters to hang on my wall. The shops were right along the lake and one of the major attractions of the town was a "Hole in One" golf challenge. There was a big 20x20 dock floating about 50 ft offshore, and the challenge was to hit a golf ball and get a hole-in-one! The grand prize was $10,000 cash, and of course Logan wanted to try. So, he got 18 golf balls and started swinging away. A couple times, he came close to hitting the dock :) He had a lot of fun!
At about 2:00, we headed to the MAIN part of the day, the Taupo Bungy Jump! It is the highest bungy jump over water in New Zealand and our friend Pi was going to do it. It was 47 meters high, but looked much higher. It was over a huge river, and it was absolutely beautiful. We walked down to the river level to watch her jump. None of the other people in our group were brave enough to do it, which made her even more nervous. Of course, Logan gave her a hard time. He told her, "you better not chicken out because no one else is going to do it!" haha. It was awesome! Some of the people we watched actually got dunked into the river when they jumped! Half of their bodies came up soaking wet! It was crazy. But every person who did it said it was totally awesome, but no matter how fun they said it was, I had absolutely no desire to do it! :) It was funny watching some people doubt themselves when they stood over the edge. Some people started praying, one girl screamed down at the river like she was scaring it, and others had to be pushed. A couple brave people dove straight off with no hesitation!
That was our fun filled day in Taupo! Next weekend, we're off to Rotorua!
The highlight of our day, or the highlight of the GIRLS' day, was next. We went into the town and ate lunch and ... shopped! Taupo isn't a really touristy town, so there weren't any malls and hardly any people, so it was nice. We ate at McDonald's :) and then walked around. There were a bunch of sovenier shops. Logan bought an All Black's flag and I bought some canvas posters to hang on my wall. The shops were right along the lake and one of the major attractions of the town was a "Hole in One" golf challenge. There was a big 20x20 dock floating about 50 ft offshore, and the challenge was to hit a golf ball and get a hole-in-one! The grand prize was $10,000 cash, and of course Logan wanted to try. So, he got 18 golf balls and started swinging away. A couple times, he came close to hitting the dock :) He had a lot of fun!
That was our fun filled day in Taupo! Next weekend, we're off to Rotorua!
Waihi
Next stop: WAIHI beach! The entire beach stretches for miles (or km) and it takes about 4 hours to walk along the entire thing. First, we went up to the lookout and saw the entire town. We walked down to the sand, which wasn’t at all like back home. 1) It was hard; it felt like walking on concrete 2) It was freezing! Everything was freezing. It is winter here, so it should have been expected, but nonetheless, I wanted to go swimming! It reminded me of the beaches in Oregon, but it was much prettier. We wrote our names in the sand, took a bunch of pictures, and explored the caves built in the side of the mountain. There wasn’t anyone else on the beach except for a few fishermen.
Ricky had a soccer game at 2 and so we got a quick bite to eat and headed to the field. He plays on the A-team for the uni, and he’s only a first year student. That’s pretty good! The uni played a Waihi club team, and they had players of ALL ages, ranging from teenagers to some preeeetty elderly men. It was amazing! We watched for a while, but then got pretty bored, so we went to explore around the area.
After the game, we went to Ricky’s house, which was nearby. He lives on a dairy farm! There were a bunch of cows, and even more cowpies! None of us had the proper footwear, except for Ricky who put on his gumboots before joining us in the pasture.
We hung out at Ricky’s for a while and then headed back to campus. It was an awesome day!
Monday, July 26, 2010
Being Hawaiian in Aotearoa
I really like how the papers are conducted here. The curriculum in all my papers somehow ties itself to New Zealand/Maori history or connections. My psychology class has assigned readings that relate the concepts we're learning in class to Maori beliefs or "Maori psychology." Obviously, our Te Reo Maori class teaches about Maori language and customs. My education paper talks a lot about education in New Zealand and a lot of the readings were published here in NZ. The same goes for my anthropology class. My professor lectures about different ethnographies from all over the Pacific and beyond, and ties them back to New Zealand/Maori history and culture. It's really interesting! One of our readings was written by Lilikala Kame'eleihiwa entitled "Native Land and Foreign Desires." It talked about the Mahele and analyzed it from a Hawaiian perspective. I felt so proud of my culture knowing that I probably knew a lot more than most of the people in my class. Yet, it was good to see they were all interested. My professor had a HARD time pronouncing words and she misused a few hua, but I didn't correct her.
Everyone here is so interested in the Hawaiian culture. Logan found that in his Te Reo Maori tutorial, the Maori students were so interested in learning about the relationships between Maori words and Hawaiian words. For example, aloha is aroha; hale is whale; kapu is tapu. As we were learning about the names of the Maori atua, he taught them the names of the Hawaiian akua, which are remarkably similar. Our creation myths are very closely linked, and our beliefs in general seem to stem from the same place. It's amazing the things we have in common. Learning about the Maori culture makes me all the more proud to be Hawaiian.
There are a lot of programs and opportunities here at the uni for Maori students. There are Kaupapa Maori tutorials for each class, which are not necessarily taught in Maori, but the design of the tutorial is for students of Maori background or with extensive knowledge in the culture. There are Maori support programs, and Maori floors in the halls. My hall (College Hall) has a "Maori floor" which is exclusive to Maori students. They call themselves Hui Mai Tatou or HMT. When applying to be on these floors, students must identify what tribe (iwi) they are from and then they are placed.
After almost nearly becoming obsolete, the Maori language has become an official language of New Zealand. More of the younger generations are becoming fluent, and the language is making a big comeback. The future is bright for the success of te reo Maori.
In my psychology class, we learned about biculturalism, two cultures coexisting in one place rather than combining to form a new culture. I believe Aotearoa is a place of biculturalism. There are the Maori and there are the Pakeha. Sure, Maori people can be Pakeha and vise versa, but the cultures don't mix. The Maori culture is strong.
How does this affect me being Hawaiian? It makes me sad.
The Maori students tell me about the tribe they come from and all about their family history. I can barely tell them what island(s) my family comes from. They all engage in kapa haka and so many are interested in learning about their culture. They ask me if Hawaii still has Kings and Queens and tribes. When we go places and have to show our American passports, people give us funny looks and sometimes sly remarks. Hawaii is a part of America and I am definitely American. Maori words are a part of everyday language not just for Maoris, but for everyone.
In my Anthropology class, as my professor lectured on the excerpt from Lilikala Kame'eleihiwa's ethnography, one of my Maori friends asked me why the king would let those things happen to the land. Western culture has/had such a big influence on the Hawaiian culture.
I feel more Hawaiian here in Aotearoa than I do at home in Hawaii.
Everyone here is so interested in the Hawaiian culture. Logan found that in his Te Reo Maori tutorial, the Maori students were so interested in learning about the relationships between Maori words and Hawaiian words. For example, aloha is aroha; hale is whale; kapu is tapu. As we were learning about the names of the Maori atua, he taught them the names of the Hawaiian akua, which are remarkably similar. Our creation myths are very closely linked, and our beliefs in general seem to stem from the same place. It's amazing the things we have in common. Learning about the Maori culture makes me all the more proud to be Hawaiian.
There are a lot of programs and opportunities here at the uni for Maori students. There are Kaupapa Maori tutorials for each class, which are not necessarily taught in Maori, but the design of the tutorial is for students of Maori background or with extensive knowledge in the culture. There are Maori support programs, and Maori floors in the halls. My hall (College Hall) has a "Maori floor" which is exclusive to Maori students. They call themselves Hui Mai Tatou or HMT. When applying to be on these floors, students must identify what tribe (iwi) they are from and then they are placed.
After almost nearly becoming obsolete, the Maori language has become an official language of New Zealand. More of the younger generations are becoming fluent, and the language is making a big comeback. The future is bright for the success of te reo Maori.
In my psychology class, we learned about biculturalism, two cultures coexisting in one place rather than combining to form a new culture. I believe Aotearoa is a place of biculturalism. There are the Maori and there are the Pakeha. Sure, Maori people can be Pakeha and vise versa, but the cultures don't mix. The Maori culture is strong.
How does this affect me being Hawaiian? It makes me sad.
The Maori students tell me about the tribe they come from and all about their family history. I can barely tell them what island(s) my family comes from. They all engage in kapa haka and so many are interested in learning about their culture. They ask me if Hawaii still has Kings and Queens and tribes. When we go places and have to show our American passports, people give us funny looks and sometimes sly remarks. Hawaii is a part of America and I am definitely American. Maori words are a part of everyday language not just for Maoris, but for everyone.
In my Anthropology class, as my professor lectured on the excerpt from Lilikala Kame'eleihiwa's ethnography, one of my Maori friends asked me why the king would let those things happen to the land. Western culture has/had such a big influence on the Hawaiian culture.
I feel more Hawaiian here in Aotearoa than I do at home in Hawaii.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Go green!
When you go to the Warehouse (it's the same as our Walmart), they charge you 10 cents for every plastic bag you use. So, many people carry their groceries out without a bag. It really decreases the amount of plastic bags that are used!
Also, whenever you go to a takeout place, the food is served in a PLASTIC container. At home, we get the styrofoam trays or the paper plates, but here they use plastic. They look like Ziploc tupperware containers, and they are meant to be reused. The sauces come in plastic containers as well. They even charge for extra plastic forks or knives.
Talk about reduce, reuse, recycle huh?
First Week of School
Yay! We've officially completed our first week here at the uni. I'm taking four classes: Maori100, New Zealand and the Pacific (Anth), Psych102, and an Ed. course. There are about 120 in most of my classes, but my Psych class has 400! The teachers lecture for the whole hour (or two hours) and we sit there and take notes. Its really boring, and definitely not the best way to learn. However, another part of the curriculum are "tutorials." These are mandatory sessions that you sign up for once a week. The tutorials are run by grad. students studying the specific course subject, and there are about 25 students in each tutorial. Tutorials gives students the opportunity to ask questions and get clarification on things that were covered in the lecture. They are mandatory and last about 2 hours. I'm not too sure what else goes on in the tutorial; they start next week.
This is a picture of my Maori class. There are about 70 students enrolled. In this class, we learn about the language and the culture. Actually, we learn about the culture through language, if that makes sense.
I really like my Anthropology class. The professor assigned a book of readings, which has articles by Lilikala Kame'eleihiwa, and a bunch of other well known Pacific activists. We discuss really interesting issues that are very relevant to the Hawaiian culture.
My other two courses are blahhh. I'm taking the Psych class for Linfield credit, and I'm taking the Ed. class to see how they teach Educational concepts compared to the States.
This week was also known as "O Week." It happens the first week of every semester, and basically during this time, the students go out EVERY NIGHT of the week. Each night is a different theme, and people get all dressed up and go to the clubs. We went out Wednesday and Thursday night and it was crazy, but so much fun! (Pictures on facebook.)
Logan will tell you about his first week at school!:
NZ is super cool! The landscape is amazing and the people are so hospitable. I've met so many new people and have made so many friends. So monday i started class at 5 pm. It is a treaty of Waitangi paper and its really interesting. Kailee is not in this paper with me but the other Hawaiians are. On the first day, we had to go around the room and do introductions. All the Hawaiians introduced themselves in Hawaiian, but I couldn't because my Hawaiian sucks, so I did the English thing. Well turns out all SEVENTY people in the class are Maori language majors so I was the only person to introduce myself in English! haha that was embarrassing moment number one. But other than that everything has been pretty good.
Kailee and I are both in this Maori 100 class that teaches us history through language. Its going to be really elementary for the first couple weeks because there are a lot of European kids in the class. I am also in the Kapa Haka class, which is really cool. I figure since I'm here that I should get the full experience, plus I thought that being in a class with mostly domestic students will boost my status with the Maori's! haha.
My 4th paper (class) is a paper I was not planning on doing, but was one of the only classes that fit in my schedule. Coincidentally, this is my favorite paper so far! It starts at 9 am on Wednesday, so I was happy that I woke up for it, but the class is amazing. My professor is originally from Holland so he has that funny accent where they use "V" sounds for "W", but he is so knowledgeable and a complete wise cracker! I forgot to mention that the class is a political science paper called "Conflicts and Crisis in the Middle East and Asia". It is so awesome.
So this past week was called Re-O, or re-orientation week! To the college kids, this means party EVERY night of the week! It has been absolutely ridiculous here. It is totally socially acceptable to drink here, especially because 18 is the legal drinking age, so the kids go all out. I'm thinking things will start slowing down from here on out.
I really like my Anthropology class. The professor assigned a book of readings, which has articles by Lilikala Kame'eleihiwa, and a bunch of other well known Pacific activists. We discuss really interesting issues that are very relevant to the Hawaiian culture.
My other two courses are blahhh. I'm taking the Psych class for Linfield credit, and I'm taking the Ed. class to see how they teach Educational concepts compared to the States.
This week was also known as "O Week." It happens the first week of every semester, and basically during this time, the students go out EVERY NIGHT of the week. Each night is a different theme, and people get all dressed up and go to the clubs. We went out Wednesday and Thursday night and it was crazy, but so much fun! (Pictures on facebook.)
Logan will tell you about his first week at school!:
NZ is super cool! The landscape is amazing and the people are so hospitable. I've met so many new people and have made so many friends. So monday i started class at 5 pm. It is a treaty of Waitangi paper and its really interesting. Kailee is not in this paper with me but the other Hawaiians are. On the first day, we had to go around the room and do introductions. All the Hawaiians introduced themselves in Hawaiian, but I couldn't because my Hawaiian sucks, so I did the English thing. Well turns out all SEVENTY people in the class are Maori language majors so I was the only person to introduce myself in English! haha that was embarrassing moment number one. But other than that everything has been pretty good.
Kailee and I are both in this Maori 100 class that teaches us history through language. Its going to be really elementary for the first couple weeks because there are a lot of European kids in the class. I am also in the Kapa Haka class, which is really cool. I figure since I'm here that I should get the full experience, plus I thought that being in a class with mostly domestic students will boost my status with the Maori's! haha.
My 4th paper (class) is a paper I was not planning on doing, but was one of the only classes that fit in my schedule. Coincidentally, this is my favorite paper so far! It starts at 9 am on Wednesday, so I was happy that I woke up for it, but the class is amazing. My professor is originally from Holland so he has that funny accent where they use "V" sounds for "W", but he is so knowledgeable and a complete wise cracker! I forgot to mention that the class is a political science paper called "Conflicts and Crisis in the Middle East and Asia". It is so awesome.
So this past week was called Re-O, or re-orientation week! To the college kids, this means party EVERY night of the week! It has been absolutely ridiculous here. It is totally socially acceptable to drink here, especially because 18 is the legal drinking age, so the kids go all out. I'm thinking things will start slowing down from here on out.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
A Weekend in Auckland
Logan had the idea that we should go backpacking in Auckland for the weekend, and so we did :) The two of us and our other three friends caught the "Nakedbus" to Auckland on Friday evening. (No, fortunately you don't have to be naked to ride the bus.) We didn't know where we would be staying or what types of things we wanted to do. It was quite liberating!
The bus dropped us off in Auckland at about 8 that night. We each brought a backpack with a few days worth of clothes, some brochures, and some snacks. We had no idea where anything was, but we knew that we wanted to find some food. We walked down the street and went into the nearest hotel and asked for places where we could find some food and a place to stay. We ended up eating at a food court and it wasn't hard finding a place to stay. We found a Backpackers hostel/motel right in the middle of the city, which charged us $25 a night. We got two rooms and each room had a bunkbed, so they brought up another mattress for us.
That night we didn't do much. We walked around the city for a bit, and then went to bed at around 11, so we could get an early start the next day. We found out the hard way why the hostel was so cheap. I practically froze to death that night because there were no heaters and the blankets were paper thin. Also, the night life in Auckland doesn't start until about 1 in the morning, and when it starts, it is crazy! I woke up to people screaming and music blasting. It was ... horrible, but a good experience, I guess.
On Saturday, we ate breakfast at Burgerking because we thought it was our safest bet for a pretty good quick meal. Well, we weren't really satisfied. The hot chocolate was very bland and the crossiants and breakfast sandwiches weren't too good either.
Our first stop was the Auckland museum. We hopped on the bus, which charged us $10 for a whole day pass (unlimited hops on & off for the day.) It took us to the museum, and since we're students, we got free admission. The museum had 3 GIGANTIC floors with all different types of exhibits. There were ocean exhibits, Maori culture, warfare, WWI&II, Oceania, and a whole bunch more. We watched a Maori cultural performance for about half an hour. They performed poi balls, stick game/dances, and of course the Haka. It was amazing!
We walked around the museum for a couple hours, and then got back on the bus and stopped off at Parnell, which was a shopping/eating area. We ate sushi for lunch, which was pretty good.
At about 4ish, we went over to Skycity, the home of the Skytower. It was the tallest building in Auckland and probably New Zealand. We went up to the topmost level, which was 722 feet high. The actual tower extended much higher but we weren't able to go to the top. We could walk around in a circle and see all of Auckland. It was beautiful. People were doing the "skyjump," which is where you jump off of the Skytower from about 700 ft up in the air. It was soooooo crazy watching people practically fall from the sky. We watched the sunset from the Skytower, which was gorgeous!
After the Skytower, we went back to the hostel to show and get ready to watch the All Blacks rugby game at one of the sports bars. The All Blacks played South Africa, the previous Tri Nations Champs. We ended up at a bar near the harbor. The game was incredible! Rugby is HARDCORE. Guys were getting thrown, kicked, punched, tackled, headbutted, EVERYTHING! By the end of the game, their white shorts were covered in blood. It was so gross, but definitely worth watching! The All Blacks ended up winning, which was really exciting!
After the game, we were all pretty exhausted due to our lack of sleep the night before. BUT, it was Logan's 21 birthday the next day, so I really wanted to do something fun. We ended up going to the room and playing cards and resting for later on that night. We went down to the gaming lounge/bar at about 11 and Logan played the slots. He won $35! Happy birthday! haha. The guy who was on the machine before him won $280! It was a lucky night.
We got back to campus today about noon, and we start school tomorrow! Wish us luck!
P.S. I posted pictures on facebook. Check it out!
The bus dropped us off in Auckland at about 8 that night. We each brought a backpack with a few days worth of clothes, some brochures, and some snacks. We had no idea where anything was, but we knew that we wanted to find some food. We walked down the street and went into the nearest hotel and asked for places where we could find some food and a place to stay. We ended up eating at a food court and it wasn't hard finding a place to stay. We found a Backpackers hostel/motel right in the middle of the city, which charged us $25 a night. We got two rooms and each room had a bunkbed, so they brought up another mattress for us.
That night we didn't do much. We walked around the city for a bit, and then went to bed at around 11, so we could get an early start the next day. We found out the hard way why the hostel was so cheap. I practically froze to death that night because there were no heaters and the blankets were paper thin. Also, the night life in Auckland doesn't start until about 1 in the morning, and when it starts, it is crazy! I woke up to people screaming and music blasting. It was ... horrible, but a good experience, I guess.On Saturday, we ate breakfast at Burgerking because we thought it was our safest bet for a pretty good quick meal. Well, we weren't really satisfied. The hot chocolate was very bland and the crossiants and breakfast sandwiches weren't too good either.
Our first stop was the Auckland museum. We hopped on the bus, which charged us $10 for a whole day pass (unlimited hops on & off for the day.) It took us to the museum, and since we're students, we got free admission. The museum had 3 GIGANTIC floors with all different types of exhibits. There were ocean exhibits, Maori culture, warfare, WWI&II, Oceania, and a whole bunch more. We watched a Maori cultural performance for about half an hour. They performed poi balls, stick game/dances, and of course the Haka. It was amazing!
At about 4ish, we went over to Skycity, the home of the Skytower. It was the tallest building in Auckland and probably New Zealand. We went up to the topmost level, which was 722 feet high. The actual tower extended much higher but we weren't able to go to the top. We could walk around in a circle and see all of Auckland. It was beautiful. People were doing the "skyjump," which is where you jump off of the Skytower from about 700 ft up in the air. It was soooooo crazy watching people practically fall from the sky. We watched the sunset from the Skytower, which was gorgeous!After the Skytower, we went back to the hostel to show and get ready to watch the All Blacks rugby game at one of the sports bars. The All Blacks played South Africa, the previous Tri Nations Champs. We ended up at a bar near the harbor. The game was incredible! Rugby is HARDCORE. Guys were getting thrown, kicked, punched, tackled, headbutted, EVERYTHING! By the end of the game, their white shorts were covered in blood. It was so gross, but definitely worth watching! The All Blacks ended up winning, which was really exciting!
After the game, we were all pretty exhausted due to our lack of sleep the night before. BUT, it was Logan's 21 birthday the next day, so I really wanted to do something fun. We ended up going to the room and playing cards and resting for later on that night. We went down to the gaming lounge/bar at about 11 and Logan played the slots. He won $35! Happy birthday! haha. The guy who was on the machine before him won $280! It was a lucky night.
We got back to campus today about noon, and we start school tomorrow! Wish us luck!
P.S. I posted pictures on facebook. Check it out!
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Hamilton Gardens
We all (Logan, Kamakana, Pi, Leo, and Ricky who is a boy from NZ) went to the Hamilton Gardens. We caught the bus to the transit center in town and then transefered to another bus which took us directly to the gardens. It didn't cost anything to go & there were a lot of families picnicing on the many fields throughout the place. Today was a really nice day & we walked throughout the gardens for a couple hours. There were Indian gardens, Chinese, Japanese, and a bunch of other ones. It was so beautiful!
After we got back from the gardens, we ate lunch at this place called Hell. haha. They made all different types of pizza and pasta. All the dishes had names like Lust, Serpent, etc.
Thursdays are the start of the weekend here. EVERYONE goes out on Thursday. So, we're going into town later on. We'll see what happens!
After we got back from the gardens, we ate lunch at this place called Hell. haha. They made all different types of pizza and pasta. All the dishes had names like Lust, Serpent, etc.
Thursdays are the start of the weekend here. EVERYONE goes out on Thursday. So, we're going into town later on. We'll see what happens!
ki'i ki'i ki'i!
Here's the link to some of the pictures I took so far. It's a link to an album on facebook, so if you don't have facebook, I'm not sure if you will be able to see them. It's the easiest way to upload photos though. The internet here is pretty slooooow & it costs money to download things :( but if you don't already have facebook , shame on you! haha :) But, if you know of an easier way/site for us to upload pictures for you guys, then let me know. I tried photobucket, but that took ten minutes to upload three pictures!
click me
Cheers! :)
click me
Cheers! :)
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
*I forgot to mention that we have to PAY for our internet here. They charge by gigabyte of data that we use. I have no idea how it works, so we bought the $30 a month one. Skype takes up a lot of gigabytes, but just basic things like email and facebook don't use up too much.
Golden kiwis are the BEST fruit. They're genetically engineered, but they are so good. The first time we had them was at Aunty Kim's for dinner. The outside isn't fuzzy, so you can eat it, and the inside is more yellowish and it doesn't really have a tart flavor like the other kiwi. Today, we went to a local grocery store and bought 7 golden kiwis for $1.60. Produce is really cheap in NZ because everything is locally grown.
We had our real orientation today at 10 am in the same building as the other day. It was pretty boring, but I guess that's how orientation always is. They went over basic things and introduced EVERYONE who works at Waikato International, the place where all the international students at the uni can go to. The one thing that helped me the most was when one of the faculty talked about Culture Shock. It affects everyone, and we may not even notice its affecting us. I think I'm experiencing Culture Shock already. I've been pretty tired everyday, and I've been feeling a bit sick for no reason. Logan is definitely not experiencing it YET! He wants to go all over and never wants to rest!
After orientation, they served us lunch. We had tiny tea sandwiches, sushi, and different pastries. It was really good. (*oh! so, it turns out that the food at Bryant Hall is way better than College Hall, and I believe it!) But, they call Bryant Hall "geeksville." Well, Logan is a geek who likes to eat! Perfect!
We stayed for an optional session on traveling in New Zealand. The lady who gave the lecture worked for a travel agency here in Hamilton. She overviewed 8 different excursions that we could go on. They take place on different weekends during the semester. However, they can be pretty costly.
After she was finished, one of the faculty from the uni talked about the different places we should visit. He told us the cheapest ways to travel and stay.
After the travel lecture, we walked to the warehouse and visited the local asian store. They had a bunch of different things, but we were looking for furikake, but they didn't have! The Asian lady who was working didn't even know what we were talking about!
Golden kiwis are the BEST fruit. They're genetically engineered, but they are so good. The first time we had them was at Aunty Kim's for dinner. The outside isn't fuzzy, so you can eat it, and the inside is more yellowish and it doesn't really have a tart flavor like the other kiwi. Today, we went to a local grocery store and bought 7 golden kiwis for $1.60. Produce is really cheap in NZ because everything is locally grown.
We had our real orientation today at 10 am in the same building as the other day. It was pretty boring, but I guess that's how orientation always is. They went over basic things and introduced EVERYONE who works at Waikato International, the place where all the international students at the uni can go to. The one thing that helped me the most was when one of the faculty talked about Culture Shock. It affects everyone, and we may not even notice its affecting us. I think I'm experiencing Culture Shock already. I've been pretty tired everyday, and I've been feeling a bit sick for no reason. Logan is definitely not experiencing it YET! He wants to go all over and never wants to rest!
After orientation, they served us lunch. We had tiny tea sandwiches, sushi, and different pastries. It was really good. (*oh! so, it turns out that the food at Bryant Hall is way better than College Hall, and I believe it!) But, they call Bryant Hall "geeksville." Well, Logan is a geek who likes to eat! Perfect!
We stayed for an optional session on traveling in New Zealand. The lady who gave the lecture worked for a travel agency here in Hamilton. She overviewed 8 different excursions that we could go on. They take place on different weekends during the semester. However, they can be pretty costly.
After she was finished, one of the faculty from the uni talked about the different places we should visit. He told us the cheapest ways to travel and stay.
After the travel lecture, we walked to the warehouse and visited the local asian store. They had a bunch of different things, but we were looking for furikake, but they didn't have! The Asian lady who was working didn't even know what we were talking about!
Adventure to "The Base" & our first Kiwi family
The first thing I tried to do after I woke up was of course, straighten my hair. I plugged my flat iron into the converter and put the transformer box on to the outlet. After about 5 minutes of straightening my hair, the transformer box made a loud snapping noise and started to smoke A LOT! I panicked and turned off the power .. and then called Logan! haha. There was no one else in my dorm and I thought the outlet was going to blow up, so I called him freaking out. He came over and unplugged everything, and for some strange reason, everything seemed to be working fine. I was too worried to keep doing my hair, so I left it alone and we went to register for our classes :)
It was a really simple process and took only about 20 minutes. Before we came to the uni, we were preapproved for certain courses that we could take. We went to the FASS (Social Sciences) building and the receptionists asked us what papers (their word for courses) we were interested in enrolling in. As study abroad students, we are allowed to take about 60 credits, which is about 4 classes. We told the receptionist the classes we wanted to take, and she inputted them into her computer to see if there were any time clashes. After a few tries, we both got our schedule. I am taking a Maori language class, Maori anthropology class, a Ed. class and a Psychology class for credit at Linfield. I don't have class on Mondays, and the earliest I start my day is 11! :) Logan is taking the language class as well, but he's taking a Maori business economic class, a Treaty of Waitangi class, and a KAPA HAKA class!!! Its 3 hours on Thursdays and usually, international students aren't allowed to take this class, but because he is from Hawaii, they made an exception. haha!
After registering for our classes, we caught the bus to "the base." While at the bus stop, we asked another lady who was waiting for the bus, what the bus fare was and if she had any advice for catching the bus. She happened to have an extra bus card, which decreased the bus fare cost from $3 to $2.30! Nice, huh?
We caught the bus to the base, which is a big outdoor outlet mall with a bunch of different stores. It used to be an airforce base a long time ago, which is how it got its name. I bought a cheap hair straightener for $40 and Logan bought a Katchafire CD. Food is pretty expensive here. Sushi is sold individually and each piece is about $1.50!
While walking around the base, I got a text from Kamakana, one of the boys from Hawaii. He asked if Logan and I wanted to have dinner with a lady who lives here in NZ, but is from Hilo. She married a Maori guy and they live in a town near Hamilton. So, after going to the base for a couple hours, we caught the bus back to campus and got ready for dinner.
The lady's name was Aunty Kim and she works in the Management School here at the uni. She is from Hilo and married a Maori guy named Hotu. They live in Whatawhata, about 45 minutes away from campus, and they have five kids. We met Aunty Kim at her office and then got in her car and drove to the grocery store to pick up things for dinner. She told us about how she moved here and worked for Uncle Hotu's tribe, Tainui, for a while and then worked at the uni. She and Uncle Hotu started two different canoe clubs here in Hamilton. Uncle Hotu is REALLY into paddling. He travels all around the Pacific doing regattas and such. He goes to the World Sprints every year. He even owns a New Zealand war canoe!
Their house is out in the country and they have sheep, pigs, a dog, and lots of cats. They even have a pretty large pond inside of their property. Their house is very homey. The walls were cluttered with different Maori pictures, baskets and things. All their children are very involved in the culture. The two eldest boys just graduated from the uni and are pretty fluent in Maori. The middle two girls are in high school and the youngest is enrolled in a Maori emmersion grade school.
We had chopped steak, salad, and beef stew for dinner. It was really good! Uncle Hotu cooked for us. He talked about being from Hawaii and how we liked it here at the uni so far. We left their house at about 10 and Namaka, the second oldest son, drove us back to campus.
It was a lot of fun!
It was a really simple process and took only about 20 minutes. Before we came to the uni, we were preapproved for certain courses that we could take. We went to the FASS (Social Sciences) building and the receptionists asked us what papers (their word for courses) we were interested in enrolling in. As study abroad students, we are allowed to take about 60 credits, which is about 4 classes. We told the receptionist the classes we wanted to take, and she inputted them into her computer to see if there were any time clashes. After a few tries, we both got our schedule. I am taking a Maori language class, Maori anthropology class, a Ed. class and a Psychology class for credit at Linfield. I don't have class on Mondays, and the earliest I start my day is 11! :) Logan is taking the language class as well, but he's taking a Maori business economic class, a Treaty of Waitangi class, and a KAPA HAKA class!!! Its 3 hours on Thursdays and usually, international students aren't allowed to take this class, but because he is from Hawaii, they made an exception. haha!
After registering for our classes, we caught the bus to "the base." While at the bus stop, we asked another lady who was waiting for the bus, what the bus fare was and if she had any advice for catching the bus. She happened to have an extra bus card, which decreased the bus fare cost from $3 to $2.30! Nice, huh?
We caught the bus to the base, which is a big outdoor outlet mall with a bunch of different stores. It used to be an airforce base a long time ago, which is how it got its name. I bought a cheap hair straightener for $40 and Logan bought a Katchafire CD. Food is pretty expensive here. Sushi is sold individually and each piece is about $1.50!
While walking around the base, I got a text from Kamakana, one of the boys from Hawaii. He asked if Logan and I wanted to have dinner with a lady who lives here in NZ, but is from Hilo. She married a Maori guy and they live in a town near Hamilton. So, after going to the base for a couple hours, we caught the bus back to campus and got ready for dinner.
The lady's name was Aunty Kim and she works in the Management School here at the uni. She is from Hilo and married a Maori guy named Hotu. They live in Whatawhata, about 45 minutes away from campus, and they have five kids. We met Aunty Kim at her office and then got in her car and drove to the grocery store to pick up things for dinner. She told us about how she moved here and worked for Uncle Hotu's tribe, Tainui, for a while and then worked at the uni. She and Uncle Hotu started two different canoe clubs here in Hamilton. Uncle Hotu is REALLY into paddling. He travels all around the Pacific doing regattas and such. He goes to the World Sprints every year. He even owns a New Zealand war canoe!
Their house is out in the country and they have sheep, pigs, a dog, and lots of cats. They even have a pretty large pond inside of their property. Their house is very homey. The walls were cluttered with different Maori pictures, baskets and things. All their children are very involved in the culture. The two eldest boys just graduated from the uni and are pretty fluent in Maori. The middle two girls are in high school and the youngest is enrolled in a Maori emmersion grade school.
We had chopped steak, salad, and beef stew for dinner. It was really good! Uncle Hotu cooked for us. He talked about being from Hawaii and how we liked it here at the uni so far. We left their house at about 10 and Namaka, the second oldest son, drove us back to campus.
It was a lot of fun!
Monday, July 5, 2010
Second Day!
This week the uni is still on winter break, so pretty much the only students here are international students. We eat all our meals in our respective halls and so we get to meet all the people who are living in our hall. Each hall has their own cafeteria, game room, kitchen, mailroom, office, etc.
This morning, we woke up and went to the International Student orientation. It was at 10 AM. It was painful waking up after being so jetlagged :( We got lost trying to find the place, but we found a group of people who looked like they were foreign kids, so we blended into the group and luckily they took us to the right place. The orientation was really brief (about 30 minutes). They just went over basic info on registering, housing, international office, student visas, etc. We met two other people who are from Hawaii also. They both go to UH and are really into the Hawaiian culture; thats their major.
After the orientation, we went to set up our banking. It was really easy and the people were really helpful. My travelers checks worked well and were easy to put into the account. Logan is finding out that wiring money from home is a lot harder than he expected!
We went back to my room to try and set up the powerconverters so I could hook up my laptop and phone charger. Logan tried to put the power converter, which has TWO prongs onto my American powerstrip, which has THREE prongs. He plugged it into the wall and short-circuited the breaker for my room!!! So, nothing worked. I panicked and didn't want to tell my RA that I had already managed to break something. So, we went to lunch and left it alone for a while.
I ate with the boy from Hawaii whos name is Kamakana, and some other New Zealanders. We had french fries for lunch. Yes, that is all. It was really weird. The kiwis were SO funny. They were talking about Hawaii and asking us if it was anything like the movies. They were talking about America and they all thought we had 52 states! It was so funny. Apparently, partying is a BIG thing here! So, we talked about that for a while and they told me everything that they do. Logan ate lunch with Tyson, a boy from Maine. He had potpie for lunch in his hall. He said it was really good.
After lunch, Logan came over to my room again, and it just so happened that Huhu was outside my door. So, I asked him if he could help me. He said it wasn't a problem, and he called a Sparky (their word for electrician) to come and help me. A lady came and fixed it in no time! Phewph! I need my hair straightener :)
We went back into town in search of a three prong power converter and thanks to the busdriver, we found it right away at another Dicksmith. That store is pretty much like our Radioshack. They have all types of electronic things. After, we walked to the Warehouse and bought a laundry basket and some chips :) We also bought this soda called L&P, which is like a Sprite with a strong lemon taste. Its a big deal here!
After the warehouse, we caught the bus back to school and ate dinner. I ate with a girl from New Jersey, and a bunch of Chinese students. Dinner was a SPICY chicken curry and rice. I don't like spicy foods, so this was a battle for me! The only drink options for every meal are water and coffee. Nothing else!! After dinner, I played a bunch of different card games and things with the New Zealanders in my caf. We stayed there for like three hours playing different games and hanging out. There was one other girl from Hawaii playing with us, and they called us Team Hawaii. They kept bashing Hawaiians and things, but it was all fun and games. They called us Hawaii, instead of by our real name. It was funny!
Logan ate dinner with Tyson, Gabe, Sara and Erika. Gabe is a RA from New Zealand and the others are from the states. He had ham, which he really liked. They talked about things to do in New Zealand, mainly Rotorua. After dinner, he hung out in Sara's room and ate tangerines and talked.
That's pretty much our second day here! Tomorrow, we have to register for our classes! Wish us luck!
Cheers! (that's what they say here haha)
This morning, we woke up and went to the International Student orientation. It was at 10 AM. It was painful waking up after being so jetlagged :( We got lost trying to find the place, but we found a group of people who looked like they were foreign kids, so we blended into the group and luckily they took us to the right place. The orientation was really brief (about 30 minutes). They just went over basic info on registering, housing, international office, student visas, etc. We met two other people who are from Hawaii also. They both go to UH and are really into the Hawaiian culture; thats their major.
After the orientation, we went to set up our banking. It was really easy and the people were really helpful. My travelers checks worked well and were easy to put into the account. Logan is finding out that wiring money from home is a lot harder than he expected!
We went back to my room to try and set up the powerconverters so I could hook up my laptop and phone charger. Logan tried to put the power converter, which has TWO prongs onto my American powerstrip, which has THREE prongs. He plugged it into the wall and short-circuited the breaker for my room!!! So, nothing worked. I panicked and didn't want to tell my RA that I had already managed to break something. So, we went to lunch and left it alone for a while.
I ate with the boy from Hawaii whos name is Kamakana, and some other New Zealanders. We had french fries for lunch. Yes, that is all. It was really weird. The kiwis were SO funny. They were talking about Hawaii and asking us if it was anything like the movies. They were talking about America and they all thought we had 52 states! It was so funny. Apparently, partying is a BIG thing here! So, we talked about that for a while and they told me everything that they do. Logan ate lunch with Tyson, a boy from Maine. He had potpie for lunch in his hall. He said it was really good.
After lunch, Logan came over to my room again, and it just so happened that Huhu was outside my door. So, I asked him if he could help me. He said it wasn't a problem, and he called a Sparky (their word for electrician) to come and help me. A lady came and fixed it in no time! Phewph! I need my hair straightener :)
We went back into town in search of a three prong power converter and thanks to the busdriver, we found it right away at another Dicksmith. That store is pretty much like our Radioshack. They have all types of electronic things. After, we walked to the Warehouse and bought a laundry basket and some chips :) We also bought this soda called L&P, which is like a Sprite with a strong lemon taste. Its a big deal here!
After the warehouse, we caught the bus back to school and ate dinner. I ate with a girl from New Jersey, and a bunch of Chinese students. Dinner was a SPICY chicken curry and rice. I don't like spicy foods, so this was a battle for me! The only drink options for every meal are water and coffee. Nothing else!! After dinner, I played a bunch of different card games and things with the New Zealanders in my caf. We stayed there for like three hours playing different games and hanging out. There was one other girl from Hawaii playing with us, and they called us Team Hawaii. They kept bashing Hawaiians and things, but it was all fun and games. They called us Hawaii, instead of by our real name. It was funny!
Logan ate dinner with Tyson, Gabe, Sara and Erika. Gabe is a RA from New Zealand and the others are from the states. He had ham, which he really liked. They talked about things to do in New Zealand, mainly Rotorua. After dinner, he hung out in Sara's room and ate tangerines and talked.
That's pretty much our second day here! Tomorrow, we have to register for our classes! Wish us luck!
Cheers! (that's what they say here haha)
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Kia Ora from New Zealand!
We made it!
The flight from Honolulu to Auckland was great; we each had our own tv with a bunch of movies and different games. The seats were spacious, and the flight crew was really nice. The first thing I noticed were the accents of the people. Everyone on the plane, including the flight attendents, spoke with a New Zealand accent! It was really neat. We had dinner on the plane: parmasean chicken pasta, or some beef dish. It was pretty good. They also offered us breakfast, but by that time, we were sound asleep and too tired to be hungry.
We arrived in Auckland at 6:30 AM and our small plane to Hamilton was scheduled to leave at 9:30, so we took our time going through customs. Logan declared his dried aku and the customs officer was very interested in what kind of fish it was and how he got it. The customs agents were all so nice to us. They were interested in what we were doing in New Zealand and welcomed us into their country. It seemed very different from the U.S. Everyone was so much more relaxed and hospitable.
It just so happened that our small plane to Hamilton got cancelled due to poor weather in Hamilton. So, all the passengers that were scheduled to fly with us (about 10 people) got shuttled down to Hamilton. I guess it wasn't much of a big deal and it must happen a lot because no one seemed shocked or too dissapointed. It was about a 1 hour and a half drive, but I slept the whole way. When we got to the Hamilton airport, we had to call our uni (what they call universities) to come and pick us up!
We got to school and got dropped off at our halls. I live in College Hall and one of the RA's named Huhu helped me to get settled into my room. Logan lives in Bryant Hall, which is a 20 minute walk from College Hall. The halls are made up of different blocks (buildings). The rooms are pretty small with just a bed, closet, and desk. The weirdest thing about living here are the bathrooms. Everything is unisex. I live on a floor with a bunch of guys and we all share the same bathroom, shower and all.
After getting settled in, Logan finally made it to my hall without a cellphone (which is very impressive) and we caught the bus into town. The bus fare is $3, but for the two hours after you purchase the ticket, the bus is free. We walked around Hamilton, but most things were closed because it was Sunday, so we happened to find a mall in the middle of town, which had a bunch of different shops and eating places. We ate at Subway! haha.
We talked to a bunch of different people and about different cellphones we should get. One lady reccomended us to a store called "Ducksmith". So, we went around searching for the store, but couldn't find it. Come to find out, it was called "Dicksmith," we just didn't understand the lady's accent! haha. Everyone was so helpful. They told us what each cellphone company would give and the costs and what not. We ended up with 2 Degrees, which allows us to call anyone anywhere for 22 cents a minute, and text for just 2 cents. This even applies to international calls and texts!!
After going to the town, we caught the bus back and walked to the Warehouse, which is equivalent to our Walmart. Everything SEEMED really expensive, but that was because our dollar is worth more. We bought just some basic things, soap, shampoo and things.
The weather here is like Oregon, rainy and cold. The days are dark and the sky is always foggy. But the people definitely make up for it! EVERYONE here is SO nice and helpful. We tell them that we're from America and they answer all our questions and give us advice about everything. The first bus driver even gave us a deal on the bus fare because we didn't have enough money! haha.
That's our FIRST day in New Zealand!
Friday, July 2, 2010
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