Kia Ora! BAHH :)

Kia Ora!! greetings from the other side of the world! i remember as a kid, whenever we had to draw the world and put ppl who lived on it, i would also draw them standing upside down! haha so i thought everything was literally upside down bc it was on the southern hemisphere :)

well tmr marks a week that ive been in nz. it doesn’t feel like a long time, but everything has been really packed in together . our orientation was at the shakespear lodge where we got accustomed to nz lifestyle and kai (maori word for food) while engaging in all sorta of outdoor activities with the YMCA. everyday was filled with something extremely fun and lots of physical activities! We got the chance to kayak in this beautiful scenery, have intense races (yo my arms are madd sore), mountain biked through the marshes and wet lands (the 1st time i have been biking since elementary school, and hey they are right when they say that you never forget how to ride a bike! :D) haha and we rode through the sheep pasture where it was madd muddy and filled with POO haha so our raincoats were all splattered with mud and other stuff, we went on something called ROGAIN (rigorous outdoor group activity involving navigation) haahh basically our team had 2 maps of the whole area and like there are these wooden signs that we had to find (all numbered on the map) and like copy down the symbols. It was intense! Bc it rains so often so everything was wet and muddy and we had to run through pastures or climb over fences etc. But we had ALOT of delicious kai! Soo good! And i got to bond with some of the other girls on my team, unfortunately they are now in Christchurch at the University of Canterbury. We are planning to meet up sometime during the semester so we can hang out and maybe book the same flight back and layover somewhere. :) but God has been really awesome- i have been in contact with OCF (overseas Christian fellowship) and i can sign up and get more info during the international students’ orientation next week. They are part of tscf, which is under the same national umbrella as InterVarsity! So that is really exciting! i am excited to get involved and join other clubs so that i can meet other kiwi students and really make the most of my time here in nz.

this week has been all about walking around the city and just getting to know my surroundings. haha i have done so much walking this past week- but its been awesome to get a feel of the city and where ill call home for the next 5 months. but the ppl ARE so friendly and helpful here! reminds of the southern hospitality! :) so a bit of home on the other side of the world :) and walking around the city has been really comforting bc it sorta reminds me of nyc, but definitely not as awesome! Hehe. So its been tiring, but i am getting to know my way around, so if you guys ever want to visit me! Haha i can take you around! :D this week was all about moving into my new apartment- i have sharing with 3 other girls- one of them is from the same program provider- the other 2 havent moved in yet, but they are usually American students or other international students and not so much kiwi students bc they mostly commute. It has been a little hectic running to the supermarket (FoodTown) a few times during the day bc i couldn’t carry everything and running to The Warehouse sorta like our Target. So laundry is really expensive! And i thought that laundry at vandy was expensive! Its $3 for washing and $3 for drying! And dude they ARE SMALL! Haha so washing will be minimal haha lots of deodorant- i hope i don’t smell or else no one will want to be my friend :( hahahahahaa. And internet is REALLY expensive to set up where i live- man US schools really have it good! Hahah wireless everywhere and included in our tuition. But there is free wireless on campus, so i think im only going to use internet and bring my laptop to campus which is only like 10 mins walk from my place. And i do believe that my cooking and culinary skills will be highly improved when i come home bc we need to cook our own meals. :)

well i have my mailing address (me loves snail mail!! :) )and an international number if anyone wants it..just gimme a shout. And if anyone wants snail mail, leave me your address. And i will work out a schedule of when ill be able to use skype and such so i can see your lovely faces :D oh ps- i saw alot of sheep! Hahaha