To begin, Kia Ora (pronounced Kyor-uh) means "Hello/Welcome" in Maori, the native language of New Zealand. And Aotaeroa (pronounced Ah-tay-ore-uh) means "New Zealand" in the same language.
It’s finally here, our second study abroad experience! As promised, we will be keeping it all to date as best we can. Living in Peru for four months was an amazing experience, and we’re looking forward to this one just as much. This first post will give some highlights of our adventure so far, because it has been a very busy week since we left Ohio, to say the least. You will also notice that this first post has a lot of writing, with a lot of information. The rest after this won’t, but we figured most of this is interesting, and we hope you do too. So sit back, relax, and read away!
Also note that, sadly, we couldn’t have our camera for a lot of the activities mentioned, so for some there won’t be too many pictures. But now we’re settled and have the camera, so more pictures will come!
Friday, February 17th
On the 17th we rode up to Dayton with our families, said goodbye, and flew to Chicago. We were there for a few hours and then flew to Los Angeles, going further west than we’d ever been. Flying over the Rockies was really great. We got to Los Angeles and it is easily the most confusing and massive airport we’ve ever been to, so it took us a while to find the international flights area, but we did. If anyone else has been to that airport they can confirm the confusion for you, and if you’ve never been, you’re lucky.
Soon our flight boarded, flying with Air New Zealand, and the services were great. Even the economy seating was large, spacious and comfortable. Each seat has its own screen for watching television or movies, which is nothing new, but what is new is the fact that it was all free! So we watched movies and shows the entire way, while enjoying some great New Zealand food on flight and sleeping while we could.
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| [thanks to] |
Sunday, February 19th
We landed in Auckland in the morning of the 19th. Now, if you’re paying attention, you’ll realize we left LA on the 17th but landed in New Zealand on the 19th. No, we didn’t fly for over twenty-four hours. Because of the time zone change we are eighteen hours ahead of Eastern Time, and because we left LA late at night that means we lost the entire day of the 18th! So that day literally never existed for us. But good news, we gain an extra day back when we return to the States. It’s very perplexing when you think about it. So for those of you looking to contact us, here’s an example of time difference:
8pm on Wednesday in Ohio = 2pm on Thursday in New Zealand
1pm on Thursday in Ohio = 7am on Friday in New Zealand
Anyway, we landed, met our group, and drove through the great city of Auckland. The day was sunny, filled with wispy clouds and clear skies. Auckland is officially a super-city, so although we drove about an hour through the city, we were still inside it. We drove to a natural sanctuary on the edge of the city, where we would be staying for our orientation. You would think that it would be time to rest and relax, but you would be sorely mistaken. To help combat jetlag, activities were planned to keep us active and busy throughout the day, so we would all sleep good and hard during the night. We arrived to our lodge, ate, had a meeting, then grabbed some kayaks and went out on the ocean -- within five hours of landing! Not only is the water very clear, very clean and very blue, it is also very warm. We kayaked along the cliffs and then found a spot for jumping, which we all gladly did. Because the rocks are covered in coral you’re not supposed to touch them when you’re climbing out, but Paul apparently didn’t believe that and grabbed the rock, ripping his finger open.
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| Sunrise at Shakespear Lodge, where we stayed for orientation |
After kayaking and learning some great history about the area, we had some more food. The lodge not only makes great food, but makes it constantly, meaning over the next few days the group ate around every 2-3 hours. Following the food we left for the hot springs. There are hot springs all over in the country, and some of the best are located a bit north of Auckland. We spent an hour at the hot springs, soaking and relaxing our muscles, then drove back to the lodge and spent the rest of the night settling in before bed. Needless to say, everyone fell asleep in no time. A very busy and long first day, but a great one as well.
Monday, February 20th
The next day we split into teams for a Pub-less Quiz. You may have heard of Pub Quizzes, which are growing in popularity in the US as well as New Zealand, in which teams participate in trivia contests for prizes. This was like that, except without alcohol. The Quiz was used as a way for us to learn facts and tips about New Zealand culture, and was very fun. By the end of the Quiz our team was tied for first place. Next we had the ROGAINE -- the name is an acronym, though we can’t remember what it stands for exactly. Importantly, it has nothing to do with hair loss. The sanctuary we were staying at has many small signs posted throughout it, along the many hills and the beach, and we were given 45 minutes to find those posts and record the symbols on them to gain points. We tried hard and ran ourselves ragged running up and down the hills, but in the end it was only good enough for second place.
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| These are the hills we ran all over during the ROGAINE. Note the sheep, which we ran right through. |
Before the ROGAINE we had food, and of course after it we had more food. Next we had the option to either go mountain biking or do rock climbing and archery, so we chose the latter. We climbed the rock walls and then shot some arrows (we played a game and of course named our team Legolas, because shooting arrows in New Zealand is about as close to being an awesome elf as it comes), and Paul got the second highest score.
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| Caitlyn making her way up the rock wall (she's on the far left)! |
A very full day already, but more was to come. Rugby is very easily the most popular sport in New Zealand, and their national team (called the All Blacks) are the current World Champions of the sport. It’s as common to see people playing rugby in New Zealand as it is to see people playing Frisbee or catch in the States. Our group leaders taught us the sport, like football but much more fast-paced, but more focused on speed, agility, and finesse. After rugby we had more food, of course, and then began our meeting with the Maori.
The Maori (pronounced Mow-ree) are the indigenous people of New Zealand. They are a relatively young culture, around 1,000 years old, and very similar to many Polynesian cultures. Maori also have a reputation for being large and intimidating, but we’ll speak more on that later. That night we met Tom, the head of a Trust dedicated to preserving Maori culture and improving the Maori lifestyle in the country. Although the relationship between Europeans and Maori in New Zealand has been rocky, in the past several decades it has improved dramatically. Maori is an official language of the country along with English and Sign Language, and the culture is very respected. You could say it’s about the opposite of the relationship the United States has with Native Americans. We were taught traditional songs and rituals of the Maori that night, and selected two male students from our group to stand as our Chiefs tomorrow.
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| The New Zealand All Blacks doing the Haka (more on that later). [thanks to] |
The Maori (pronounced Mow-ree) are the indigenous people of New Zealand. They are a relatively young culture, around 1,000 years old, and very similar to many Polynesian cultures. Maori also have a reputation for being large and intimidating, but we’ll speak more on that later. That night we met Tom, the head of a Trust dedicated to preserving Maori culture and improving the Maori lifestyle in the country. Although the relationship between Europeans and Maori in New Zealand has been rocky, in the past several decades it has improved dramatically. Maori is an official language of the country along with English and Sign Language, and the culture is very respected. You could say it’s about the opposite of the relationship the United States has with Native Americans. We were taught traditional songs and rituals of the Maori that night, and selected two male students from our group to stand as our Chiefs tomorrow.
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| Inside a Maori long house, called a wharenui (far-eh-new-ee). |
Tuesday, February 21st
In the morning we had some informational meetings regarding school, Wellington, and trips for the semester. After more food we learned how to play cricket, another popular sport in the country, and played that for a while. It’s similar to baseball, but has many differences. Still, a fun sport.
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| A cricket game in action. [thanks to] |
We left the lodge and drove to Westfield Mall, the largest mall in the country. It’s a nice place, though for those of you who have been to Kenwood Mall, it’s worth noting that this mall (again, the largest in the entire country) is neither as large nor as nice as even the Kenwood Mall in Ohio. It demonstrates a definitive difference in materialism and purchasing between our two countries. At the mall we bought our cell phones and then left for the Maori lodge.
We arrived at the Maori home (called a marae, pronounced muh-RYE), entered the lodge, and conducted the ceremony. It’s a very interesting ritual which was performed among tribes in order to gauge one another’s intentions and then welcome the visitors. The ceremony is closed with a Hongi (pronounced HONG-ee), or the pressing of the noses. Each person in each group shakes hands and then presses his or her nose to the other’s nose, as a sign of trust and friendship. Later in the night the excitement began.
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| The Hongi, performed only by the Maori of New Zealand. [thanks to] |
Part of this tribe’s mission is to teach non-natives about Maori culture and preserve said culture. Next to the lodge they have built a life-size model village of how the Maori used to live in the 1500s. We entered the village and were greeted with the traditional snarls and threats, followed by the Haka (pronounced HAH-kah). The Haka is a ritual performed by the Maori to intimidate other tribes. It is very powerful and intense, and when performed right the Haka could even prevent battles between tribes by managing to literally scare the opposing tribe. We then travelled through the village, learning various aspects about the Maori culture, including the in-depth focus on weaponry and war skills. This was followed by a performance of songs and games, and that was followed by bed. The entire group slept together, on individual mattresses aligned one-by-one in the lodge, as is the Maori tradition.
Wednesday, February 22nd
In the morning we left the lodge and drove back to Auckland. We drove through the town, which is home to 1.4 million residents, yet is cleaner and more open than any other city we’ve been to. We went to the Auckland Museum, which is a collection of all things New Zealand: history, Maori, land, ocean, animals, and more. We also managed to take some pictures of the city, though that day it was rather cloudy and gray, instead of the warm sunshine on the first day.
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| Auckland, with the massive shipyards in front. |
After the museum we arrived at the airport, got through security (which has only metal detectors, doesn’t require taking shoes off, and doesn’t require taking laptops out of bags, and took just about one minute to get through), and waited for our next flight. We soon left for Wellington and arrived there, in the slight rain and gray. We were separated into groups according to where our flats are located and were taken to campus.
After unpacking we got together with the group to go buy food. Oh, we forgot to mention, we get to buy all of our own food during this semester, so we’re in for an entirely new experience! We walked through this brand new town with our Kiwi Mates (New Zealanders who live with us to give us advice while living here) to the grocery store. Prepare your American eyes for a shock, because the cost of food is quite a surprise:
Box of cereal (normal size) = $8.50
Two-liter of milk (about half a gallon) = $6
Small can of tuna = $2
Loaf of bread = $2
Bundle of bananas = $3.50
McDonald's plain hamburger = $2.50
(and there is no dollar menu)
McDonald's plain hamburger = $2.50
(and there is no dollar menu)
We know some of these prices aren’t too much more, but some of them are a lot more. We of course plan to budget for our food each week, and in America we could quite easily pay for ourselves with the allotted amount, but with such high prices here it will take some training. Even Kiwis (New Zealanders) think the prices are too high. After buying the food and walking the solid thirty minutes back through the rain and wind, we went to Paul’s flat to make dinner. Caitlyn misread the directions for the instant pasta she had bought, and didn’t realize the microwave was much too strong, and literally burnt her very first dinner to a crisp. After laughing, Paul managed to make some instant pasta that was edible.
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Each flat is actually a house, with 3-4 bedrooms, a living room, a TV (rather nice flat-screen ones), a bathroom and shower, washer and dryer, and fully equipped kitchen. Each bedroom is also nicely furnished. For the time being Paul is alone in his flat, as the other students will not arrive for another three days. Caitlyn is alone in her flat except for her Kiwi Mate.
So, there is the very long and detailed explanation of everything we have done thus far in our time here. We are both still amazed at the incredible landscapes here. Wherever we drive, wherever we are, it is beautiful. Even Auckland and Wellington, large cities, are full of trees of all kinds. Paul especially is in love with the land and trees and ocean. We will write again soon, after we have explored Wellington some and have more to report. Until then, we hope you’re enjoying the words and pictures!
