Ahh Londons

So, I was on campus yesterday and what do you know I saw a London....there was this older lady and her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel walking around. Her pups name was Daniel, "the spaniel" and he was one year old. Just like my baby. He was so cute...she works in the office above our student hub. You know I'll be making a weekly visit ( or more) to see the little baby. I miss you London!!

Road Trip # 1

So today is Sunday and we have had another amazing week. We began school and got situated in our classes. Up until Oct 11th I will have four day weekends, but once it’s Oct 11th I begin my Thursday class which is… SIX hours long…yeah that’s gonna be a fun one!!!! Yesterday we went North about 45 miles to what we thought were natural hot springs but it ended up being a warm swimming pool with tons of small screaming kids. Samantha and I road with our new friends Lena and Juliane who are from Germany. They bought a car a few days ago, but they are used to the same side of the road as America…needless to say we held on to the “oh shit handle” for the majority of the ride. She actually did very well…it’s so confusing and the traffic here is wild. Saw some sheep on the way...I can't wait to go to Sheep World and hold the baby lambs!!! :) We ended up hanging at the beach for a few hours, which was so nice. It is sooooo pretty here!!! We collected some shells and I recieved one as a gift. (From a cute boy) Turns out it had a rotting snail inside and it smelled like royal butt!!! Some gift :)

After the beach we stopped and ate some yummy fish and chips and went home. Today it is raining, so we are going to go see the Simpson’s movie….”Would you like to buy a slurpy?” (that’s for you Ashley)

Here are some more pictures that Samantha has taken

http://www.flickr.com/photos/blueeyedfawn/

We got no food, no jobs... our PET'S HEADS ARE FALLING OFF!"

So, the last few days have been a bit frustrating. Today we ran out of power... (yeah we pay with these strange cards...it's really annoying) it's now 7:00 and pitch black in out flat. Sam has ten dollars in cash left and the power cards run on $20... of course I have $0... On Saturday night I locked myself out of my room and I got my debit card eaten by the ATM machine. hummm None of my calling cards have been working so I called my dad with my credit card. A three min conversation was $20.

Classes began today and I am taking Maori culture, Leisure sports, Interpersonal Communication and Gender studies. My Maori and sports classes are going to be interesting. The Maori people are native to New Zealand and we will be learning all about their culture and history. My sports class will take us rock climbing, cave seeing and other exciting fun things around New Zealand!!

Saturday night we went to Queen Street ( the main strip) and watched the rugby match. It was New Zealand vs. Australia. Needless to say, it was a huge game for this part of the world. Afterwards we went down to the dock where the nightlife takes place. There was a group of about ten of us, all from Germany, U.S.A. and Mexico. Out of all the students here there are only five Americans; I find it odd that out of the millions of people in America only a few study abroad.

Everyone is sooooo funny. We have made a few videos that are priceless!! People from other countries are so entertaining!! I
love it here.

Suite

So last night Samantha and I made our way to downtown Auckland for the first time. It was interesting to say the least. We had met this guy in the Sydney airport that was from chi town promoting a new adult beverage here in New Zealand. We exchanged e-mails and met up with him. When we first arrived, he was not there yet, so we went to the bar for a drink. Come to find out all vodka drinks were on the house. I was flabbergasted; they were having some kind of party. Whatever...so then we met this South African guy (white) who was probably top ten creepiest guys I have ever met and his friend who was a bi-sexual atheist. The south African claimed to own some club in town and him and his father helped build part of Disney worlds animal kingdom...sure!!! He then went on to tell me how he wants to adopt children from around the world, like Angela Jolie...just because my major is child and family development. I can’t describe his creepieness..Later the American finally showed up and we ditched the atheist and the creep

roughing it

no car, no phone, no tv…this is gonna take a while to get used to!!

the traffic here is wild, they drive on the other side of the road…if im not careful I might get smashed by bus…only kidding family…promise

took a 31 min walk yesterday to st. lukes mall...mind you we each had like ten bags when we were finished...that was fun to carry lol...but we got what we needed and our apartment is beginning to feel like home....its a bit bare so if you wanted you could send pictures or little nick knacks!!!!

it's 6:oo in the morning right now and I can't sleep...I am ready to begin my new day in my new home

Sweetest Goodbye

So, I just arrived in New Zealand last evening around 5:30. The plane ride went fast…even though it took 27 days to get here. hehe. When we arrived in Sydney I looked down and my whole calf, ankle and foot was swollen like an 80 year old womans. The landing was beautiful, it's like paradise here...not kidding. There is every kind of tree from palm trees, pine tree and even orange trees. It's so cool. The prices are pretty high. Sam and I went shopping today at K-mart and it was a "little" pricey. One of our roommates is already here. Her name is Satoko and she is from Japan. She is very sweet and has been great so far. we are still waiting on our other mate named Josephine. I am going to miss my family and friends so much, but its comforting to have such kind people around me.

xoxo