Last Day of Classes, and Surfing!

It amazes me that we have already completed classes for the semester, I am now 4 exams away from graduation! I cannot believe how much this semester has flown by, but it has been incredible. I have learned many things about myself and others and I could not have asked for a better experience. On Friday the university hosted "End of Daze", which was a concert during the day where we were able to drink and hang out. It was a perfect springtime day, and I was excited to finally get to relax after handing in my final paper.

On Saturday, we drove to Muriwei beach on the west coast with a big group to attempt some surfing! It was a fun, but exhausting day. I couldn't believe how hard it was to balance enough to actually stand on a board while riding a wave. Needless to say, I didn't get all the way up, but I am definitely looking forward to trying again soon. The waves were fantastic though, even laying on the board and rising them to shore was a blast. They were very strong, and I found myself getting pushed around by them very often. The beach was beautiful, it was a black sand beach and the waves were enormous!

And I am now facing a full week off to explore Auckland before two weeks of final exams. Once I finish them, it is off to South Island, and finally, Boston! It will be a bittersweet departure, but also very exciting.

Spring in Auckland

It is FINALLY springtime in Auckland. Not that the weather has improved too much. We had a really cold week last week, it seemed to be the joke that we're having a colder spring than winter. But there are definite signs of warmth in the air, and we've had a few really nice days. Its so hard to believe that this is our second to last week of class. The months that I have spent in New Zealand are flying by. After our last week of class, I have a week off, followed by two weeks of finals. Then I am flying into Christchurch for a two week vacation on the South Island! I am so excited to be able to explore another side of New Zealand. In my last weeks in Auckland, I am really hoping to do some more exploring on the outskirts of the city. I have been so focused on school in Auckland, as well as taking trips to places all over North Island, it seems that I have not done much exploring in and around the Auckland region.

Last Sunday was beautiful out, so three friends and I went to Mission Bay, which is a beach in Auckland. It was a great trip to get out of the inner city for a few hours. We just got ice cream and lunch and relaxed a bit.

For the entire past week, all Auckland buses have been on lock out due to some type of pay negotiation related strike. Luckily, I don't depend on public transport to get to classes, but it was stated that 80,000 people are dependent on these buses. It is an insane situation to have all public transport in New Zealand's largest city cease for an entire week. I wonder how that would work on in Boston...

Cape Reigna

This past weekend, Sarah, Tamo, Katy and I went on another road trip to the north of North Island. We had an amazing and busy weekend. We left Auckland on Friday, and drove to our hostel in the small town of Ahipara. The hostel was a gorgeous house that was owned by a young Kiwi couple. It was so homey and cute and there was a great community feel. Our two nights there were spent hanging around with people from around the world that were staying there as well. We learned a new card game, heard some original guitar playing, and relaxed on the back porch with others from Germany, France, and Switzerland. It was a great place to stay, and right on the beach!

Saturday morning, the four of us left to head to the top tip of North Island - Cape Reigna. The weather was a bit spotty, but we managed to see some sunshine throughout the day. We stopped at some scenic beaches on our 2 hour drive to Cape Reigna, and then finally arrived to our destination. The wind at Cape Reigna was unbelievable, I felt as if I could hardly stand up against it. But the view was well worth the trip. Cape Reigna is known to the Maoris as the place where the souls of the departed leave New Zealand on their way to the spirit world. It was a very cool place that also marks were the Pacific Ocean meets the Tasman Sea. After Cape Reigna, we started back south, and drove to the giant sand dunes that we have heard much about. I had no idea what to expect, but these dunes were enormous. It would take us about ten minutes just to climb them! I felt like I was in Egypt or some other desert. Its amazing how contrasting New Zealand's landscape can really be. At the dunes there was sand as far as our eyes could see. We brought sleds with us and had an amazing time flying down the dunes.

We woke up Sunday morning to a beautiful sunny sky. Sarah, Katy, and I started our day with a two hour horseback ride on the beach. It was so scenic and perfect. I have not been on a horse in a while, so the ride was interesting and a bit scary at times for me, but I enjoyed it anyways. We went down a beach in Ahipara, and then our guide lead us behind the dunes into a beautiful grassy path, complete with flowers. This was my favorite part of the ride because we were surrounded in greenery, yet to our right was a great view of the ocean, it was the ideal location for a horse ride. After that and a quick trip to watch some surfers at Shipwreck Bay, we sadly had to start our journey back to Auckland. But our way home held some surprises of its own. We had read about a cove that was a short distance out of the way from our way home, and since it was such a nice day decided to check it our. We are so lucky we did! When we arrived, we were excited to see a group of dolphins playing right in the cove. They would come right up to where the waves were hitting the beach. At first they mainly stayed underwater, but after some time their playful sides came out and they were jumping around everywhere. In such a beautiful cove, it was definitely a spectacle. As they came close to shore, Tamo decided to jump in, fully clothed, to take the opportunity to swim with them. Although he never got to touch one, he said he could see them swimming all around him. It was surely an experience to remember.

At the conclusion of the weekend, I was exhausted, but it was one of my favorite weekend destinations yet. It is scary to think that I will only be in NZ for another 2 months, but I am ready to make the most of us! The workload is getting a bit heavier, but I am attempting to work hard during the week so I can have my weekends to travel!

Thailand

My two weeks in Thailand went by so fast, but they were amazing. I was lucky enough to experience different facets of Thailand, from its beaches, to Bangkok, to Sukothai. Each aspect was completely unique, but they were all great. Since Caitlin lives in Bangkok, we spent most of our time there. It was an interesting city that seemed worlds away from Boston and Auckland. It was SO hot and humid.

Caitlin did an excellent job at finding places off the beaten track, where we were the only westerners in site. An example of this was the Amphawa floating market, a weekly market that it held on a river. We were able to do some shopping, and we had lunch on the steps down to the river, eating meals that were prepared on boats. We got laughed at as the locals watched us struggle with our chopsticks, but everyone was so friendly and while I figured out the most effective way to hold my chopsticks, someone went and found a fork for Cait. The day ended with a boat ride that took us down the river and we were able to see hundreds of fire flies in the trees on the banks.

One of the major tourist attractions I got to see was the Grand Palace and Wat Pho, which is The Temple of the Reclining Buddha. Both of these things were amazing, they both had so many things to look at and so much culture. I also got the oppurtunity to go to Sukothai in northern Thailand, which was another cultural wonder. Sukothai was previously the capital of Thailand, and the ruins are still there to be explored. Sukothai, which translates to "the dawn of happiness" was an amazing site, and one of my favorite parts of the trip. We were able to rent bicycles to ride around and check out the different areas, and we couldn't have picked a better day to go. It was an amazing time.

I was sad to leave Caitlin, and Thailand, but I am sure I will make it back there again. And I am glad to be back home in Auckland after two weeks away! I am also excited that it is getting progressively warmer here... its officially spring. With less than 3 months left in my NZ adventure, I am getting anxious to make sure I see and experience everything I am here to do!

Welcome to Bangkok

It has been a while since I have updated. Two weeks ago a booked a ticket to come and visit my sister in Thailand over my midsemester break, so since then I have been trying to save money in New Zealand by staying in the city on the weekends. Therefore, there is not a whole lot to update on. I did spend a day wandering Auckland alone and found some really cool places. I went to the Auckland Domain for the first time, which is a large scenic park in the middle of the city, almost comparable to Central Park in NYC.

It is now my midsemester break and I am in Bangkok, Thailand! I can't believe I am about halfway through my semester abroad. I am having an amazing experience in Thailand so far, though. I have been here for about 3 days and Caitlin and I spent the weekend on this amazing island off the coast of Thailand, called Koh Chang. It was amazing, we stayed in this bungalow on the beach that I could never fully explain, it was great. We swam, hiked to a waterfall, and ate amazing thai food right on the beach. I couldn't have asked for a better beginning to my stay here in Thailand. It also amazes me how cheap everything is here! The currency in Thai Baht, and if we were to convert our expenses back to USD, its incredible. For example, each night in the beach bungalow we stayed in was 200 Baht. That is approximately $6 USD. So when we split a 2 bed bungalow, we each spent $3 USD a night for our accomodation. Caitlin keeps telling me I have to stop converting it back... but its crazy to see what the conversion rates are. Now we are back in Bangkok, which seems a world away from island life, but I'm excited to see what this city has to offer over the next two weeks!

Rotorua!

This past Saturday marked my first official month in New Zealand! I can't believe how fast it has gone by. I went on my second trip this weekend, to Rotorua. It was about a 3 hour drive from Auckland. I rented the car so I got to drive - which was exciting because it was my first driving experience in NZ... and quite an adjustment from driving in the US. In New Zealand, the steering wheel is on the right side of the car, and everyone drives on the left side of the road. It was easier than I thought it would be to get used to, except for the fact that every time I went to turn on my turning blinker I instead turned on the windshield wipers... those are on opposite sides as well.

We had a busy and adventurous weekend. On Saturday, we got up and went Zorbing. Its this New Zealand originated activity where you are put into a huge plastic inflatable ball, either strapped in or with water, and pushed down a hill. My friends and I opted to do the Zorb with water, which was so much fun. We could also choose between a zig zag course and a straight shot, and the zig zag one was great. After that, we went back to the hostel for a few hours until being picked up to go white water rafting. This was my first time white water rafting and it was amazing. The guides were so funny and the river was beautiful, we picked the perfect day to go. The trip took us down the Kaituna river, which is apparently world renowned for rafting. The best part was the 7 meter waterfall, I later heard its the biggest waterfall that is commercially rafted in the world. The waterfall took the whole raft completely underwater. Surprisingly everyone but one of us was able to stay on the raft, one friend got thrown but she's fine and the pictures of it happening make it all worth it. After rafting, we came back and showered and got ready to go to the Tamaki Maori Village. Rotorua is known as the cultural capital of New Zealand, so it was a great opportunity to check out Maori culture. At Tamaki, we were shown Maori performances, such as the Haka. After this, we had a buffet style dinner of traditional Maori food, complete with steamed pudding for dessert. After an active day, the dinner was a perfecting ending. Finally, on Sunday, we went to Mai o Tapu Thermal Park, where we saw a geyser go off, and we got to explore the rest of the park and check out all of the thermal activity. It was really cool to see, but after a few hours the smell of sulfur had gotten to me and I was ready to head back to Auckland!

I've realized that I need to start buckling down with my studies, with so much going on, its extremely difficult to concentrate on school!

STUDY abroad?

So it seems that I am finally settling into life in Auckland. Over the past few weeks, this city has gone from strange and foreign to familiar and friendly. I don't know who decided to make people go to school while they're abroad... I am finding it very hard to concentrate on school work while making new friends and planning weekend trips. I'm sure once I start having papers due and tests that I will force myself into some sort of school mode. I like my classes, for the most part. My Philosophy of Buddhism class is extremely interesting and thought provoking, I think it will quickly become my favorite. This past weekend I stayed in the city. On Saturday morning, I went to a farmers market. It was great! Vendors were there selling all sorts of local produce, nuts, honey, baked goods... everything was so fresh and everyone was so friendly. I'm looking forward to doing more of my food shopping there. In the middle of the tent area there were two musicians playing music while everyone went about their shopping. I only wish it wasn't on weekends when I will be away for most of the time! This weekend we are planning a trip to Rotorua... where we will go white water rafting, "zorbing", and maybe even get to a thermal spa!