Oh man. I am now a resident of Dunedin, NZ. What a journey that was. On the 24th, I flew from Denver to San Francisco (2.5 hours), San Francisco to Auckland (13 hours), and Auckland to Dunedin (1.5 hours) in a back-to-back-to-back manner. Because of the international date line, I never got to experience January 25th 2013 unfortunately. But that is quite alright. The journey was long and it was rather difficult to sleep. From DEN-SFO I sat next to a father named Richard who was traveling (or "travelling" in NZ) back from 3 weeks of skiing with his family in Breckenridge. They said they had a blast and loved Colorado. I said I couldn't blame them. Richard and his family had to fly into Auckland, connect to Sydney (2-3 hrs), and then DRIVE at least 4 hours back to their house which must have been somewhere in the Bush. Good riddance.
I started laughing out loud when I got on the Air New Zealand flight from SFO to Auckland. The safety video was done in the style of Lord of the Rings!! The flight attendants were dressed up as characters from LOTR in the video, complete with the pilot dressed as Gandalf. It was spectacular. On the SFO-AKL flight I sat next to a husband and wife who owned a winery in Otago and were headed to Wellington for a wine conference. I also enjoyed watching "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" and a documentary on The Beatles. I then arrived in Auckland at 6AM and made my way to my puddle-jumper that went out to Dunedin. Flying over this country already had me excited. Vast mountain ranges, sheep pastures, and greenery is what I could see from above. This was a teaser trailer for what is to come over the next few months. I sat next to a nice mother named Liz on the AKL-DUN flight who recommended some beaches, supermarkets, and activities in Dunedin. She also had her hands full with her two daughters, Ruby and Sapphire. Cool. I arrived in Dunedin around 9:00am on the 26th and found my friendly taxi driver greeting me with a sign that had my name on it. He was a very friendly bloke and had a wonderfully welcoming attitude during our initial meeting and ride. We joked about unit conversions. (Unit conversions are tough. Celsius isn't fun.) I also rode into Dunedin with a fellow named Fouad who was studying medicine at Otago and he was incredibly friendly, too.
I arrived at my "flat" (house that I am living in with 5 others) to meet my kiwihosts Michael and Sarah. I think they are enjoying having an American living with them, because I certainly make up for all the reserved-ness and choice words they have...I am a blabbermouth at heart, but I try to make things interesting and enjoyable. I am currently enjoying my own room with a double-size bed, which isn't too shabby. Michael, Sarah, and I walked around the Uni campus as well as the "Octagon" which is the main downtown part of Dunedin, complete with shops, bars, and locals walking about. I had a "Goneburger" (one beef patty, one fried fish patty-thing, and one wide strip of bacon...never again) and a nice beer. Eating out is rather expensive in NZ because so much food is imported - burgers can be upwards of 16 NZ dollars (about $13 USD) and beer upwards of $12 (about $10 USD). Michael, Sarah, and I have spent "heaps" (very common NZ term) of time talking about the NZ and American accent and slang. I think it's been pure entertainment simply sitting down, having a conversation, and noticing all of the random slang that pops up. See below for NZ slang that I have learned and utilized thus far. I hope I pick up some sort of quasi-accent and come back sounding like a buffoon. Who cares.
My International Mentor Program (IMP) mentor, Matt, came over to my flat around 8pm and we walked around Dunedin getting to know each other a bit. He studied abroad at Oregon this past semester and had really enjoyed America; he wants to come back and travel outside of the Pacific Northwest a bit more. Too much rain. I don't blame him. Apparently everybody flocked to him at Oregon because of his accent. Hopefully I'll get the same royal treatment here. So far it's a negative. Eesh. Matt and I walked through Dunedin's Botanical Gardens and met up with a couple of his friends. Eventually Matt, his girlfriend Stef, and I went up on Signal Hill for the sunset (which happens around 9:15pm because it's so far south...the best thing ever) and hung out for a while. We also went over to Baldwin St., which is the steepest street in the world. The grade at one point is 1 to 2.86 which means 1m forward equals a 2.86m increase in elevation. It was a hike! Matt and his gf simply ascended barefoot, no big deal. Afterwards, we drove around different parts of campus and nearby residences. Matt showed me spots in the road that had been scarred because students will bring their couches outside and set them on FIRE when they no longer have a need for them. I don't even know if the latter part is true, the couches might be perfectly needed, but I was too busy laughing to hear the specific details behind this. Apparently there is an event every year on Hyde Street where 7000 people gather on a street that is barely 100 yards long and 10 yards wide and hang out. I am anxious to see such splendors.
Today Sarah and I took a long as (NZ term... adjective + "as" is a common way to say things) walk down to St. Claire's beach at the South end of Dunedin and boy was this beach gorgeous. The cool part about Dunedin is that the houses in this town are all on top of hills surrounding the city, so it almost feels like the villages of Costa Rica or something...everyone lives in these small and peacefull houses on top of the hills and then comes down into the main part of Dunedin during the day. The beach was very scenic...clouds draped around the surrounding hills to the sides of the beach which were stacked with colored-roof houses and green trees and fields. The water was decently clear and the waves were very good for surfing (about 4-8 feet)...something that is next on my list. The beach was full of life--families and high school students were especially there to relax before getting back to the routine tomorrow. I can't wait to return there.
We ended up walking around 8 miles today, so I'm pretty beat. NZ is apparently a victim of a hole in the ozone layer (I thought this was some kind of joke or something) and I ended up getting FRIED by the sun today. Will apply heavy dosage of sun-screen on the next go-around. I went to mass at Holy Name Catholic Parish right by my flat and the priest, Father Mark, instantly invited me over for dinner when he heard I was from America. I also met a bunch of other folks involved in the parish, from Sisters to musicians and students that sing in the choir on Sunday nights. We all sat around a table and joked about my American "accent" and what life is like in different parts of the world. It was an awesome time and it made my day to be able to sit down with a community and share a meal with them after simply attending mass. I can't wait to see all of them again.
The friendliness of the people in New Zealand is awesome so far. I'm not quite sure what they think of Americans as a whole, but hopefully I bring a cheerful attitude to the table. I'm excited to poke around campus this week and maybe take up some mountain biking in the Catlins or some surfing lessons at St. Claire beach. I am pooped but looking forward to digging in and meeting some more people. Life is good.
Funny NZ things so far:
"Everything's tickety boo" - Things are quite alright
"I'm headed outskies walla balla" - I'm leaving
"Wop wops" - the middle of nowhere, the boonies
"Maimate" - a spread found only in NZ and Australia
"Jandals" - flip flops
"Toggs" - swimsuit, swimtrunks, etc.
"Full the big!" - Fill the bag! (accent taken into account)
Photos:
[COMING SOON]
