Free-Day!

Friday=Free-day

On Fridays, I don’t have class so I’ve renamed Friday Free-day.  However, yesterday was just the opposite--full of class.  I started Thursday with a tutorial (a time set aside solely for discussion) for my Philosophy of Education class.  I’ve never gotten super excited about class discussions, but I actually did quite a good bit of speaking and the teacher even said that I made some good points.  Yes!  My other two classes were pretty normal, a regular lecture in NZ history and a guest speaker from the UK in Health & PE Curriculum.  I am actually really excited for this HPE class.  Unlike Furman, they have a HPE program here, which most of the people in my class are in.  It is neat to be around people who are passionate about the subject and teaching HPE.  Hopefully this class will serve as reassurance that it’s the area that I want to go into!  My school day ended just in time for dinner and from dinner I went on to an activity class in the “Uni Rec Center” aka the gym, called “Bums Tums and Thighs” and it was strenuous!  The instructor was a lady and was surprisingly not quite as girly as the GUY who led aerobics last week. 

This whole week the people in my dorm have been trying to get another American girl, Megan, and me to go out with them at night.  After putting it off for 3 days, we decided to go and see what it was like last night.  We went to a flat that was PACKED with people and the majority of them went downtown around midnight.  I felt like I was in one of those videos you watch in health class in high school that try to depict college parties.  If you've never seen one, it's probably exactly what you're imagining.  It was ridiculous and I was SO glad to get out of there, shower (after running back to campus in the rain), and go to bed.  Lame? Maybe, but I’m totally okay with it.  I’m glad I went and saw what it was like, but I don’t think I’ll accept any more invitations any time soon. Or ever.

Tonight there is “Inter Hall Volley” which I think/hope translates to Intramural Volleyball.  Anyway, I signed up and am excited to see what it’s all about! I’ll report back with the deets.

Did I mention that I signed up for the “Cubing Club”? Yep, cubing as in Rubik’s Cube.  I got a mass welcome-to-the-club email (probably not that mass of an email, let’s be serious, it’s the Rubik’s cube club), which included information about a cubing competition in Auckland this weekend. Yes please!  The guy said that he was going and had an extra seat in his car if anyone wanted to join.  I replied ASAP and said I would love to go as a spectator! Free trip to Auckland, interaction with more NZ people, and a day full of Rubik’s cubes--Count me in!  Hopefully I’ll come back with some interesting stories and pictures.  I’m off to Auckland at 6:30am tomorrow morning!

More and more faces are starting to get more and more familiar around here and everyone is still so welcoming! For my HPE class, I am in a group with 2 NZ girls who seem really nice so I’m excited to work with them and get to know them better as the semester goes on. 

I am beginning to plan a trip around the south island for my 2 week spring break (2 WEEKS. America, take note of that!), so if you have ever been to NZ and have any ideas for me or better yet, if you know anyone who lives here (anywhere, not just the south island!) and they wouldn’t mind having a guest for a couple nights, let me know! (allison.henley1788@furman.edu)

(See below for explanation of picture)

I love it when something here reminds me of someone or something from home, so a little dedication to Jason and Drew…

While I miss my brothers a LOT, I love how I am constantly reminded of them while I’m not with them:

You know you have older brothers when…

-you don’t think twice when you pass a boy in the co-ed bathroom

-you could care less if a boy sees you in your pajamas

-half of your pajamas are one of their old tshirts

-a fourth of your tshirts are actually theirs (4 out of the 15 that I brought)

-you would give anything for ESPN to be on in the gym instead of some soap opera

-you can totally relate to the New Zealander that knows US geography by the names of the US pro sports teams (correcting them when they’re wrong)

-you sometimes find yourself wishing they were with you in a foreign country to provide protection

-you find that one of the most disheartening things about being away from America during the summer is that you’re missing Braves’ baseball

-you would gladly play intramurals on Friday night

-old school George Strait & Garth songs pop up on your itunes every so often

Interesting observations:

-the girls' Nike shorts trend has yet to hit NZ.  I saw a girl with them on in the gym and then noticed that she was wearing a UNCW shirt. American.

-it is totally normal to not wear shoes here.  Every so often I pass someone and it takes me a second to realize what ‘s wrong with the picture... Lack of shoes.  Maybe I should start carrying my disinfecting spray around with me and spray all the bare feet I see? Or maybe just a throw up bag.

-it’s really important to keep up with pocket change/coins here.  The lowest bill is $5. Those little coins add up!

-I’ve had to get people to spell their names when I meet them because they say them in their accents and since I don’t have their accent, it’s totally different for me to say.  One guy introduced himself as Ricky and since I had NO CLUE that he said Ricky, I asked him to spell it.  He gave me this look like I was really dumb.  It also doesn’t help sometimes that they speak super fast.

-spaghetti is served at breakfast. Sorry, what?! I’ll have my toast without spaghetti on top, thanks.

The view out my window this afternoon: