My second week back from the South Island trip has begun and it’s done so with a bang. And by ‘bang’ I mean assignment overload. I have 7 assignments due in the next 4 weeks, so the stress level has been pretty high lately. Earlier this week I experienced the ultimate duo: stress mixed with homesickness… or maybe the stress caused the homesickness..? Anyway, after some tears, conversations with my mom, and plan of action, I’m back at it. On the bright side, for one of the essays that I have to write for my geography class, we have to choose between the topics of food, music, or sport. I’m sure you could guess which one I chose. So from that, we have to narrow it down further, so I am writing my 2000 words on baseball and the stadium atmosphere! I was overwhelmed by the 2000 words at first, but then I found myself having NO problem reaching it, the problem will be cutting it down! This is the most fun essay I’ve ever written, that’s for sure!
Speaking of sports, the Rugby World Cup, which NZ is hosting this year, has begun! I sat in the commons of my dorm with some other Uni kids to watch the opening ceremonies and cheered on the All Blacks as they beat Tonga on Friday. Then on Sunday I watched the USA lose to Ireland, ouch. The best part of that game was definitely singing along with the national anthem :) I’m still actively working on learning the rules to rugby, but I always find myself intertwining football rules with rugby rules. This usually results in me almost saying out loud something like, ‘Wait, he was already down! Why are they still going?’ I have learned a lot already though and hopefully by the time the world cup is over I will have a good grasp on it all! Since the rugby games are on so frequently (and everyone here is all about rugby), they’ve put a TV in the dining hall to show the games. However, tonight I walked in and ESPN Sportcenter was on. WHAT?! I guess I just assumed that because I hadn’t seen it on TV, that NZ didn’t get ESPN. That was probably a really ignorant thought, but that’s what happens when I don’t have easy access to a TV over here! I did a double take when I saw NFL highlights being shown. Yes please! Naturally, I got my food and sat right smack in front of the TV for about 50 minutes (sidenote: it usually only takes me about 20 minutes max in the dining hall for dinner). On one of the highlights, they showed a guy that ran 99.5 yards for a touchdown and when the girl next to me heard the distance “99.5 yards” she turned to me and said, “wow, that’s like over half the field isn’t it?!” Yes, actually it’s the whole field. Why can’t the whole world just use the same measurements?
Also, I finally got my first WWOOFing experience set up! If you don’t know what I’m talking about, click HERE for more info. I will be visiting a family with 2 kids, an organic vegetable garden, and a baby lamb that is fed from a bottle for a week in mid October after my classes end and before my exams start. I am excited to spend 24/7 with a kiwi family on a farm. Oh and it’s on the coast right outside of Auckland, so that means the beaches are only a short walk from the house! It is SO crazy to me that after this week, I only have 4, FOUR, weeks of actual class left. After that, only 2 exams and then more free time! Time sure is flying!
This weekend I am headed to Pukekohe to visit some more lost long relatives that I’m not actually related to, so I’m sure I’ll have some fun info to report back!
Interesting Observations:
-“far out” = “dang” Example: “Far out! That car is mean as!” or sometimes it’s dragged out… “Faaaaar out, there are heeeaps of sheep here!”
-There were little yellow signs with a name on it at every creek or river that we passed over in the south island.
-They don’t have dasani or aquafina water here, instead, the main bottled water brand is PUMP.
-The 2 girls on my trip had never heard of a woman’s maiden name being kept as her middle name when she gets married. I had to explain this about 3 times because they didn’t understand. Who knew that wasn’t common in all parts of the country? Is that a southern thing?
-The cokes in the vending machines are cheaper than the ones sold in actual stores. Since when does that ever happen?!
-Saying ma’am and sir over here is seen as kind of demeaning and not appropriate. I have been having a very hard time with this one. I get weird looks when it slips out, which is often, but I guess my accent helps some. (Mom and Dad you taught me well!)
-New Zealand’s Labor Day is October 24th
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