Orientation :)

So there are 50 of us future-kiwis that are studying abroad through Arcadia University in NZ. 4 schools. My program, as mentioned before has 14. The biggest group is the group to Otago University in Dunedin--26 kids? Something like that. Anyways, its been pretty epic because all the people are super outgoing and gutsy. There's not a single person who can't strike up a random and fun conversation. Everyone is so happy to be here and its WAY fun. 

So I spent 2 days in LA with my cousin and that was a TON of fun! 

We went shopping, ate lots of good food, saw Michael Jackson's memorial in Hollywood, and Frank Sinatra's star (YAY!). We saw Oscar from the Office, and she got recognized by a fan! YAY!!!

So Orientation has been about 3 days long and its been awesome sauce! If interested: this is what has happened. :) 

DAY 1: 

We got in around 6:30 am on the 4th of July... saw the sunrise. I watched 3 movies on the plane and actually slept a good 7 hours or so. On and off that is. We got to check into this little hotel room, and meet our "roommate" and try and stay up and beat jetlag. I think I won. We walked around Auckland and did a few things: We walked up this dormant volcano and saw these beautiful, everlasting, rolling hills. Everything is green and beautiful and its simply wonderful in all ways. After that we went to Sky Tower, which is the highest tower in Auckland. And there's this thing you can do--you can jump off it! For $195, you can jump off this building with a bungee chord. Only you don't bounce... you simply land on your feet, get unhooked, and then off you go on the rest of your day. Two of our friends did this, and one of them was my buddy Cassie from CO. I would have if two conditions had been different: 1) it was sunnier. It was raining, pretty hard when they did it. And 2.) It was cheaper. I mean come on... for 50 bucks mre I can go skydiving. So there. 

We had good pizza that night, and I was home by 7:30 pm, out by 8. It was wonderful. 

DAY 2:

I got up at like 6 am and lie in bed till 8, when we had to be up. My roommate is so cool, her name is Karie and she is from Hawaii. Instead of breakfast, I had 2 cups of coffee.. cuz i can. We drove to Rotorua, a 3 hour drive, where most of us actually fell asleep, despite getting 10 hours of sleep. haha. 

Rotorua has these awesome hot springs and is known for it--particularly for that rotten egg smell the sulfur gives off. I think I've become immune to it now. 

We went straight to this "farm show"... it was kind of weird. Sheep are like.. the big thing here. There are 10 sheep for every person or something like that.. EVERYWHERE. So this farm show demonstrated how sheep are shorn (and we witnessed one poor guy get all his fleece shaved off), and how sheep dogs round them up. It was fun, in an awkward, "why am i watching this" kind of way. haha. But still kinda cool. 

Then we went to Rainbow Springs, which is this wildlife conservatory. There we saw the national bird, the kiwi, which is the national nickname for the New Zealanders here. Finally, we checked into our hotel rooms, had dinner (I had Korean food...score), and then off to the Polynesian Spa!!! We got to soak in hot springs water for like 2-3 hours, just relaxing and having fun. For people in Colorado, it's like the Idaho Springs Hot Springs... but better. :) Then we went to this place called the Lava Bar to chat the rest of the night away. 

DAY 3:

This day is by far my favorite. 

We went to a Geothermal park called Waiotapu. For those of you who have been, its exactly like Yellowstone National Park. We saw their version of Old Faithful, and its called Lady Knox. We then ate lunch and went Zorbing. 

Ok. Zorbing is a RIDICULOUS amount of fun. Some guy who thought of it must have been drunk, but thank goodness it turned out to be a fun sport! 

Zorbing is rolling down the hill in a giant hamster ball.... in a nutshell. Its 2 people at a time, and inside this giant ball is another, smaller giant ball that the people sit in. In this little place is warm water (for winter days). So you and  your buddy are wearing swimsuits, in this giant ball, and rolling down this giant hill. I can't even begin to explain to you how much fun it is. It got the adrenaline pumping, and all you can do is just giggle and laugh the WHOLE way down. It was pretty freaking epic. 

Finally, we went to the Tamaki Maori Village for dinner. This is without a doubt the highlight of my entire trip so far. We chose our own "chief" who was our buddy Paul. It was his 21st birthday, so that's why we picked him. Now, him and 3 other guys from 3 other big groups were to be subject to a traditional Maori ceremony. They must not show any fear or anxiety or really any emotion while their 4 huge warriors try and intimidate them. From that, they place a peace token in front of the 4 chiefs and one of them is chosen to be the bearer of it. The bearer must pick it up, and walk backwards, never turning his back to the chief of the village. After that, we all followed them into the village (which was a microcosm of the real thing). Here we got to walk around the forest, talk to the real Maori people, get pictures with them, ask questions, etc. We then watched them perform a show of traditional Maori dance and song (which was AMAZING), and then dinner. 

The Maori thing was definitely what I had been looking forward to the most and it was incredible. Above and beyond anything I expected. I even bought a CD of their music. AND, my advisor here tells me there is a class I can take that will just teach me Maori songs. AWESOME SAUCE. 

Today we are all going our separate ways, to our separate schools and to our separate apartments. I look forward to NOT living out of a suitcase, but am a little sad to be leaving the cool people I've met. O well, we're going to have to see. :) 

More to come later! LOVE you all!