How cold IS it in New Zealand?

When I called my parents to tell them that I had been accepted as an international student at Otago, my father said to me, "You'll be 50 miles from Antarctica. What are you going to do?"

For the record I am not that close to Antarctica. I am still cold most of the time. So to answer the question, how cold is it here?, it's really not that cold at all. It gets WAY colder in Rochester. It's usually between 30 and 40 F. If the sun is out, it definitely feels warmer.

So what's the deal? Why do I have the feeling that I'll get full feeling back in my feet? Oh, wait, I know. It's because Kiwi flats have neither central heating nor insulation. I mean, when the prominent season is winter, why bother installing adequate heating measures? [Please note: I'm fairly confident that Dunedin is the coolest place on Earth, and I don't want anyone to think I'm miserable, because I absolutely am not! I love it here!]

So, here are some you-know-it's-cold-when jokes I've thought of since I arrived:

1. You know it's cold when you can safely leave the jam in the pantry. And the eggs. Without spoiling. For weeks at a time.

2. You know it's cold when you open the fridge to warm up.

3. You know it's cold when you hang your wet pants (fresh from the laundry!) up to dry and they steam.

(you can barely discern the steam coming off the pants)

Also, for those of you who are wondering if I really am taking classes today, I want you all to know that in my Maori studies class today, the lecturer used Bush and Obama as examples to explain the Maori term of mana. Mana means, roughly, power, prestige or authority. There are different types of mana. Bush has the kind that comes from his family, namely his father, Bush Sr., while Obama as the kind you earn or achieve. In a lecture of 500 students where most are actually Kiwi, this really shows the extent of American influence in the world. Or at least here in New Zealand. 

And I love of the Bush digs. Like during orientation when we were told that now that Obama was in office we were unlikely to be attacked for being American. And by attacked, I mean held accountable for the actions of the government. 

Monarch Cruise

Before actually coming to NZ, one of the most popular questions I got when I disclosed the location of my semester abroad was, "Why New Zealand?" Truth be told, I never understood the question. After all, why not New Zealand? But that's beside the point. Today's post will show why I came to New Zealand. 

A definite benefit of coming to Otago is that the university has a great international student program, which offers international students reduced rates on cool touristy things. The train ride was one such program (that was free), and yesterday I got reduced rates on the Monarch Cruise, which is akin to the Maid of the Mist, with albatrosses, shags, seal pups, and sea lions in place of Niagara Falls.

If there is anything that holds a candle to my love of trees and hills, its oceans and other substantial bodies of water. Large puddles never count, for those of you smart alecks out there.

The cruise went the length of the Otago Harbor and included a view of lumber yards, where pine logs are exported. Remember that NZ is a HUGE pine exporter.

We also saw a few seal pup colonies/poo piles, since the pups really did look like wee poos on the rocks. I know there are a bunch of seal lovers (sorry, Libby) out there trying to find their jaws which have fallen to the floor. But really, the only cute seal pups are the white arctic kind. Not the the brown pooey ones. And seals are mean. 

Not a seal, but a New Zealand Sea Lion (very rare):

Anyway, the point is that I loved being on the ocean, even though it was quite chilly (translation: bloody cold) on the boat. And, for those of you who had to listen to me yap about albatross colonies, ALBATROSSES ARE THE COOLEST BIRDS EVER. In my next life, I want to be an albatross. Here's a solid 2:34 of pure joy:

Actually, watching the albatross fly in real life is amazing. Words cannot describe the grace and speed of the birds. (And I can't either.)

Oh yeah, and another instance of Kiwi insanity: winter jet skiing. Just pop on a wet suit and we're good to go...

Jaffa Race

Five. 

Four. 

Three. 

Two.

One:

What do you do at a week long chocolate festival? Obviously you should drop 30,000 jaffas (small candy coded chocolates made by Cadbury) down the steepest street in the world. Duh.

The Jaffa Race is a charitable event. Each jaffa is numbered (jaffa numbers are sold for 2 dollars each) and the winning jaffa wins like 1,000 dollars in grocery money. 

My jaffa did not win, unfortunately for me. However, you really haven't lived until you've witnessed 30,000 chocolate balls rolling down a hill. Also, the experience of climbing (yes, climbing) the world's steepest street is also a must have experience. Experience. Seriously, look at the angle:

And of course, the best part about risking premature heart attack by hauling ass up the world's steepest street is the view. Unfortunately for you, these pictures hardly compare to what Dunedin is really like. And I can't even describe it to you because its so unreal for me, and its actually reality for me, if that makes any sense to you at all.

Earthquake!!!

First, I am perfectly fine. I didn't even feel the earthquake. 

Second, there are a few things you should all know about NZ:

1. New Zealand is has a lot of earthquakes:

2. Most the earthquakes are on the west cost at the Fiordland Subduction Zone. The earthquake last night was in Fiordland, where next to know one lives. 

3. The good news is there will be current events in geology class.

4. Now because there a large amount of volcanic activity, here is a map:

View Larger Map

Please look at a map before freaking out. Dunedin is built on an old volcano but not on the earthquakey side.

Singing and Songs

For those of you who love music, you should be doubly disappointed you are not in NZ right now. Kiwis love music. Seriously. First, we get four channels: channels 2, 3, and 4, and then a Maori channel. Every time I turn on the TV, channel four is playing music videos. Entire music videos. 

While in Rotorua, Joe, one of the AustraLearn staff carried a guitar everywhere. And in the last informational setting, he even sang us a song. And unlike in the States when a person picks up a guitar and sings, Joe was actually talented. And for the record, I wasn't the only shocked American. 

Of course, Joe's actual musical ability came after our trip to Tamaki Village where everyone, literally, could sing quite well. Incredibly well, actually. Also, on the ride home from Tamaki Village, the bus driver made us sing Karaoke, and while we were singing "She'll be Comin' Round the Mountain," the bus driver stayed in a traffic circle for MAD long. Yes, MAD long.

And then, the icing on the whole entire NZ-singing-cake was when the mayor of Dunedin came to the international students' orientation last Wednesday and welcomed us by singing a song. Extremely well. It turns out he sings opera in his spare time.

As a lover of music, the abundance of tune-age is sweet as, but the pressure to join in is scary on account of my non-exinsistant musical skills.

And now, for my update: 

Today was the first day of classes, and I have already established my self as the slow American. First for being visibly cold during geology lab (which was outside); second for not being able to see that "buy; trip; shoes" didn't mean to buy "trip shoes," but rather to purchase a hand lens, remember the trip that would take place during the next lab, and to wear appropriate shoes; and third for returning to the lab room after leaving to inquire about how I would get to the site of the field trip. I'm not upset about it or anything, because it was bound to happen. 

On a positive note, there are real live Kiwis in my lab group! And also, my friend from AustraLearn, Sara is in my lab. She is keeping her own blog of the trip, and you can check her blog via the link on the left hand side. 

Here's a photo of me and Jenny at the Cadbury Factory for those of you who only want to see pictures (which is legit, because I only look at pictures on blogs myself. Seriously, who reads this junk?)

Classes and Better Things. Like Trains.

My classes:

Geology 112: Dynamic Earth: a NZ perspective

Maori 102: Maori Society

Psychology 204: Race, Justice, and Class

History 212: USA to 1900

Even though there are only four classes, there are lectures AND tutorials, which means more class time. Basically I'm going to be really busy.

On to better things...

Last Friday the University of Otago hired out an entire Taieri Gorge Train for all the international students. We took the train out into central, rural Otago and had a "BBQ" by a ravine. I put BBQ in quotes because the Kiwi idea of BBQ doesn't quite match the American idea of a BBQ. And Kiwi BBQ sauce is really sweet, for those of you wondering. Which is kind of ironic because for the first time in my life I want spicy food because I'm always cold. (Hey, Dad, is that why you never get cold? Because you put red pepper flakes on everything?) Regardless, the BBQ was very fun and absolutely beautiful.

Dunedin train station. Second most photographed building in the southern hemisphere.

Liz, Sara, and me outside of a train car in the station.

I wish there was some way for me to truly explain what it was like to be on the train. All the scenery, no matter how much of it I saw, it still always looked like a backdrop, like something that was painted. Honestly, it was so unreal. 

And even in Dunedin, if you look down a road, you can see a hill and its always beautiful and still totally unreal.

NZ Dairy and Other Important Topics

Just a quick update before I get into my topic (dairy!) for the day. I've arrived safely and happily in Dunedin and have moved into my flat. I live at 6/480 Leith Street, Dunedin NZ, 9016. One of my flat mates is American (Jen) and from California. My Kiwi host (Tim) is an education major and this is (I think) his 5th semester hosting international students. My forth flat mate is currently MIA. I spend a lot of time in flat 4 because my friend from AustraLearn, Jenny can cook and my flat mates are never around. Anywho, eventually I'm sure I'll take pictures of the flat and post them. 

Now, on to more important topics: 

Before setting off on my little journey, my father told me that there would only be goat milk in NZ. Of course he just made this up (I love you, Dad!), however as it turns out the dairy in NZ is exceptional. All of the cattle is free range, so I guess that makes for better dairy. 

I kid you not, the first time I had sour cream here, I think my head exploded. Seriously. And the yogurt is excruciatingly think and rich. And only sold in individual cups and large tubs. And of course, the milk is most excellent. 

So for the record, there are a lot of cows here as well as sheep. I've also seen goats, ostriches, llamas or the alpaca-things that look like llamas, cats and dogs. Also, an interesting fact for those of you who love interesting fact-oids, NZ is the second largest producer of pine lumber in the world. And pine trees are not even native here. 

After WWII the NZ planted many kinds of trees to see which would be best for harvesting and some type of pine won. Apparently pine trees mature in only 20 years or something like that. This story also explains why I went on a hike through a California Redwood forest during my orientation in Rotorua, for those of you who were confused. 

And lastly, for those of you who want to know what its like to watch TV in NZ:

In between watching American shows, this is my favorite commercial. 

Orientation, con't

On the third day of orientation in Rotorua, I went on a hike of a redwood forest because I was too cheap to luge or zorb. Although zorbing looked sweet as (translation: awesome), it involved getting wet and it was cold and rainy, so I chose to hike.

I'm not sure if you can tell, but NZ has the most intriguing combination of palms and coniferous trees. For a lover of trees, such as me, this is really interesting. Seriously.

After the hike, we learned the Haka.  

We learned the one which the All Blacks (NZ's Rugby Team) does before each game. I bought the DVD, I just can't figure out how to import it to my computer. So hold tight, because the AustraLearn version is quite entertaining. 

That night we went to Tamaki Village to learn about Maori culture. It was night, so the pictures aren't very good, but it was a really interesting night. We had dinner cooked in a traditional Maori fashion (so roasted in the ground).  All the food was super smokey, and not my favorite, but still very interesting. Dessert was really good, though. 

Caving/Spelunking/etc (July 4th)

Day two started nice and early. Breakfast at 7 am. Hour ride to Waitomo. We had the opportunity to choose between two different caves to explore, a wet cave and a dry cave. Because I was freezing I chose the dry cave, St. Benedict's Cavern. The guides, Chris and Brad were extremely funny and really made the trip fun instead of just terrifying.

The trip began with abseiling (repelling) down a tiny, tiny hole. And then abseiling down another deceivingly narrow hole. And then walking across a very damp and slippery log with pretty much nothing to hold on to (because the ropes we could hold on to were at the level of our feet). 

Brad and Chris gave up chocolate fish (cadbury, of course) and juice before the 13 second zip line. In the dark. Yes, I was the only one to yell as I zip-lined through the pitch black, damp cavern, and yes, I had a lot of trouble jumping off the platform in the dark.

At the end of the tour, my entire group (8 students, 2 guides) all clambered into a very small, (possibly a) sewer drain. We sat there for a while wondering what the hell was going on, and then Chris opened a door at the other end and we literally walked out the side of the hill. The door was labeled "hobbit" because it was circular.  

Overall, caving was one of the coolest things I've ever done. I never really considered actually caving, so the whole trip was really awesome. I didn't get the pictures because they were really expensive (20 dollars each), so sorry to everyone who wanted to see me in a blue and orange jump suit clinging to a zip-line bar for dear life over a cavernous pit. 

On the way home from Waitomo (jet lag starting to kick in), we stopped at a swing bridge that crossed a gorge where a hydropower plant used to be. I don't know why the power plant shut down, but I do know that the swing bridge was very scary. So I shuffled out about a third of the way, snapped some pics and scooted right off. 

Arrival

I arrived in Auckland at 5:30 am on friday July 3rd and was greeted by AustraLearn people. I got a name tag and a calling card... which I couldn't figure out how to use. And I also couldn't quite figure out how to enter the country code to call home, but luckily texting does not require a country code. 

From the airport, the AustraLearn group boarded Magic Buses and were driven to Rotorua. On the way we stopped in a little town I can't remember the name of for a bathroom break. This is what the information centers looked like:

A dog and a sheep building made out corrugated tin. Or aluminum. The bathrooms were in the dog.

Once in Rotorua, we stayed at a lovely hostel called Kiwi Paka. I stayed in Chalet 2.

Also in Rotorua is a considerable amount of volcanic activity. Bubbling mud and steam holes. I didn't get a chance to see the boiling mud, but I did see (and smell) several steam holes. 

Rotorua was settled by Maori people many years ago, and it is named for the lake. I'm told the translation of "Rotorua" is "Second Lake." On the first night, we got to walk around and see what the town had to offer. Black swans, and funny trees: