First week in Dunedin

This entry will be a little long due to my procrastination in writing timely logs =( My first week may have been a little different if it hadn't been for the fact that I arrived during O-week. (Univ. of Otago's first week of school before classes start) A little breakdown of what O-week is all about: 20,000 college students partying for a week in the streets, burning couches, first-years carrying bathtubs down the Leith River while 2nd and 3rd-years throw liquid and food off the bridge into the tub, (they don't use frosh, soph, junior or senior) bars, parties, alcohol, fireworks, and above all...BROKEN GLASS.

Let me first back up and describe the absolutely lovely town of Dunedin. With a population of around 120,000 Dunedin sits 5 minutes from the South Pacific, with a scenic harbor surrounded by rollicking green hillsides. Because we are so close to the ocean, the weather changes very quickly, all four seasons can occur in 15 mintues. Although it is summer here right now, it does rain a lot and its extremely windy. Dunedin is also ten minutes away from the Otago Peninsula where I had the lucky opportunity to see baby blue penguins and seals bathing on the shore. Dunedin was built to replicate Edinburgh, Scotland so the town has a very European feel to it. There is two local breweries, the better known is Speight's, as well as a Cadbury chocolate factory! Some of the most beautiful churches and architecture can be found near the Octagon (the town square), the train station as well as at my uni. Right behind my street is the botanical gardens as well as the Leith River which flows right next to my street. (...I live on Leith st.)

***480 Leith and my flatmates***

Upon entering the grand courtyard of 480 Leith St. I was greeted by two of my three flatmates David and Cat(who immediately handed me a gin and tonic in celebration of David's 24 bday) Within my first hour of being in Dunedin, we had hit up 3 liquor stores to continue the never-ending party that happens day and night at 480. There are 9 flats connected to each other that form the shape of a horseshoe, each flat having 4 people in each of them, which equates to 36 students from all around the world, including NZ. (then add onto that number all the random friends who stop over) Thus, living in 480 is very conducive for meeting people.

Basically, day or night you can expect there to be a party in the courtyard, or in someone's flat if its raining. (which happens quite often) The typical scene: a big circle of chairs, a constant stream of ppl entering and leaving the circle, a few people playing either frisbee, cricket or badmitton, random music and then a few recycle bins off to the side filled with empty beer bottles that need to go to the curb.

My flat is all wood except for the few walls that are completely dry erase board. (we've come up with some pretty clever quotes from crazy nights) The inside has a resort/cabin feel to it, with the main room downstairs being one big kitchen/dining room, with a tv room off to the side, and separate shower and bathroom. The upstairs consists of 4 somewhat small bedrooms with decent-sized shelves, compartments, desk, bed, and wardrobe. I also have a direct view of the courtyard (which gets really distracting when I'm in my room trying to get anything done, haha.)

My flatmates: Cat- 20yrs old, the wildest and loudest person ever, raised in Scotland until she was 15 and then came to Wanaka, a really majectic town in NZ. Next is David: 24, from the Czech Republic, he's probably the closest friend I have here thus far. (along with Rachel, my Arcadia friend from Chicago (Deerfield) We eat every meal together-he's a great cook and takes really good care of me! He's the most generous person I've ever met and we have a very similiar goofy sense of humor. Eric: from Portland (ya Jacqwi!), goes to Whitman and a lot of fun as well. He's in tramping club with David and I, and we usually go out to the bars together and hang out in the courtyard. I'm so lucky to have been placed in this flat, and in this complex!

A typical night is started pre-gaming it at 480, and then a group usually forms to go to the Bowler ( a bar/club) where they have theme nights(kareoke, Miss Dunedin, Lip Syncing) or we go to Cpt Cook's, or a concert. My days thus far have been spent joining clubs at Otago (Tramping Club -"hiking", Wine tasting and Horse trekking), tramping to Mount Cargill, and getting settled (registering for classes, groceries, unpacking). I also visited the steepest street in the world called Baldwin(in Dunedin). Oh and last Saturday I took a surfing lesson and got up 3 times!!

Although my allergies are absolutely horrendous, I spend a lot of time laughing at the different accents around here. It works out pretty well though b/c Kiwis love American accents, and I love theirs!! Here are some takaways so far:

• Everything is abbreviated and shortened: uni=university, umbri=umbrella, barbi=barbeque ...
• Funny words: dodgey (sketchy), heaps and heaps (lots), I reckon, eh?, sweet as (instead of just "sweet!"), aluminum(pronounced a-loo-min-EE-um), cheers, kia ora (hello/bye in Maori which is their native people), takaway(carry-out), good on ya (good job)
• separate hot and cold faucets
• different fauna and flora (palm trees!)
  
• popular sports: rugby(national team is the all blacks, Dunedin's local team is the Hylanders) and cricket(which I'm attempting to learn to play...)
  
• wine is sensational (and cheap!), tiny (really tiny) glasses and pitchers for beer
  
• coffee is really expensive here and they don't actually sell coffee in stores, instead its just cappacinos, lattes, mochas and flat whites (a latte with less milk so its super strong!) which is what I usually order
  
• peanut butter is not as sweet here (in fact, nothing you eat is as sweet here)

4-day Orientation of the North Island
My first four days in NZ were spent touring the North Island before making flights into lovely Dunedin. We stayed in Auckland (NZ's biggest city) the first day and night: Jane (Arcadia study abroad advisor) gave us a tour of Auckland, took us to the viaduct where America's Cup yacht races took place in 2003 and went to Cheltenham Beach where we saw dormant volcanos (there's over 50 in the Auckland region). Then we visited Kelly Tarlton's Underwater World where we saw Emperor penguins(so adorable), sharks, piranhas, and other sea life.

We then traveled by bus to MetaMeta (Hobbiton) which is where they filmed The Shire (the Hobbit village) from Lord of the Rings. Although I didn't hear too much about the scenery of the North Island before coming here, don't be fooled. The scenery is fanastic and changes so fast (so does the weather...). Its hard to get bored when in 15 minutes we saw all of the above: lush, green hillsides, eroded rock formations, steep majestic cliffs, lakes, farms, emu, cows, sheep (what a surprise with 40 million in this small country), trees that look like the Lorax from Dr. Suess, palm trees, and Maori wooden carvings. Its absolutely gorgeous.

We proceeded to Rotorua, which is a tourist town known for its geothermal activity, therefore it smells of sulfur. (...so nasty) We went to the Rainbow Springs Farm show where we watched sheepdogs herd sheep, saw big horned sheep, fed lamb, as well as watched a shepherd sheer sheep! It was a lot cooler than is sounds, I promise. We then went to Kiwi Encounter where we learned about New Zealand flora and fauna- the Silver Fern, Tuatara lizard (lived with the dinasaurs, breathes once an hour and its heartbeats 9 times/hr!), emu, the Kiwi (national animal- a flightless nocturnal bird), as well as brown and rainbow trout. (which I hope to fish for soon!!)

Later that night we went to a Polynesian Spa and soaked in natural hot mineral water pools which conveniently are located next to a gorgeous view of Lake Rotorua.

The following day we visited Waiotapu Thermal Wonderland, where we watched Lady Knox geyser go off, similiar to Old Faithful if you've been to Yellowstone.

Next we went zorbing, which has been the most thrilling thing I've done thus far!! 3 people jump into a zorb which is a clear plastic ball with a little water in it, and you're thrown down a hill. We spent the whole time screaming and sliding around in this ridiculus ball and although you're really only in there for a minute, it feels like much longer. All I have to say is that I hope the US starts zorbing soon.

We concluded zorbing with a night out in Rotorua, particularly at the Grumpy Mole bar, fun fun. It was quite different to see a group of college guys dancing together in a circle with no one considering them gay. I wish back in the US guys would dance w/o the impetus of girls!