Time is just flying past me: speeding up my time here and expediting my New Zealand adventures.
This is our third week of classes. I am taking American Literature before 1870, 15th and 16th Century Literature, and History of Maori and Pakaha (the others) Encounters. I am enjoying the classes; seeing how they are all sizes I am familiar with, having 25 or so students in each. However, while classes run three times a week each, two of the meetings are lectures and the last is a tutorial. It’s quite an adjustment going from a class where the professor talks at you to the tutorial where it is all discussion based – having the two separate is what is most strange to me. Also, unlike American Uni, here, every day is different: different times for each class, different lecture hall room… I am still carrying around my schedule (or timetable as they call it here)!
This past weekend, Jen and I, along with some others, traveled to Auckland. It’s about an hour or so north of Hamilton and is the largest city in New Zealand with 1.3 million people. Our hostel was in the heart of the central business district, which made me so happy to not be studying at the Uni there – a city is a city is a city: crowded and busy. But Jen and I made the most of it – traveling to Rangitoto Island, off the east coast of Auckland, where we hiked along the lava rocks. We also spent one afternoon at the Pasifika Festival where all the Pacific Island nations are represented and celebrated through music, art, food, dance and crafts. Being in Auckland drove me to contact Barbra and Richard who housed me before during my layovers in Auckland. They were again so kind and generous, allowing Jen and I to stay with them one of the nights. Barbara drove us up to the top of Mt Eden and One Tree Hill, both of which give spectacular panoramic views of the entirety of Auckland, and she allowed us to walk her puppy up the sparkling green hill at the back of her home. We had just a delightful time – again, it was so nice to be in a home with home cooked meals!
All in all, things are going really well for me here. Growing in relations with people, developing a greater understanding of the culture, language, and conflicts among the kiwis here, and learning that at the end of the day, I can still count on all my loved ones back home! I am still in awe that i am actually here sometimes! I am learning so much about the world, and gaining such an appreciation for the beauty that it holds... already i am sad that i am going to have to leave this place!
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