1st day of classes: both academic & yoga!

So today was my first day of classes.. boy, was I nervous! I have not had legitimate class since the end of November/ beginning of December!!!

...however by class I mean I had 1 academic class. It is a 200 level Sociology class called Everyday Life. My professor is REALLY awesome, which I am stoked for because I have him for another 300 level Sociology class as well! He is really awesome and also teaches classes on humor and comedy. This class is going to be really interesting because of the material as well as from a NZ perspective...

...after class, Lauren came with me to find my "student notes" and then we were off to Yoga class! Yoga was @ 6:30 pm.. and it was quite lovely. I knew I needed to get back into physical activity and I love yoga because for me it puts things in perspective. I have been going to Yoga since I was in high school and yet again New Zealand has given me a new perspective.. check out my views from Yoga class!

My yoga studio :)

I was literally doing warrior pose while looking outside @ these views...

After dinner I decided to cook for my roommate Brenda and myself.. we had spinach and cheese tortellini and roasted vegetable medley. This experience has really given me the chance to reflect on what I want out of life as well as to pay attention to my mind and body and what I want. We have been so active and eaten some of the freshest food.

I have also faced many challenges but been able to overcome them.

Today seeing as how it was my first day of school, I decided to turn over a new leaf. (I decided to as well as some long overdue reading from the Bible..) I told my roommate Brenda that I was going to KILL our other two roommates... with kindness :)))

I have realized that I cannot be angry with people who are not as friendly or not as clean as myself.. some people did not have the awesome upbringing that I had with my family. My parents are 2 great people and they have always taught me to be respectful of others. Other people have not been as lucky as me to have such great role models. Some people do not have the same self-confidence and self-esteem as well as the social skills that were instilled in me.

For as much as I have been stubborn and complaining.. I really can't do that because of where I am. This experience has been so eye opening and I am so very thankful for it and wish that I could fly all of my friends and families and loved ones out to see it. After all, who would not love this view??

Zealandia.

Zealandia!

ZEALANDIA: THE KARORI SANCTUARY EXPERIENCE.

This was MY FAVORITE THING that I have done thus far! It was like a super touristy attraction but so amazing at the same time! So basically Zealandia was split into 2 parts: the exhibit and the sanctuary. The exhibit was cool until I learned that I would not be seeing a live Kiwi seeing as they are nocturnal....

"The future can no longer be what is going to happen? It is What are we going to do?"

The exhibit consisted of all of these animal and plant species that were around before the British came around and messed everything up.  There was a short video and then more small videos talking about everything from protecting our planet to talking about the native Kiwi bird! I was all about it. I left feeling like I had this mission to be greener.

Overlooking the canopy!

Tree hugger :)

It was empowering and the site was beautiful. I could not believe that this was in Wellington's backyard. I sometimes do not think that NZ people know just HOW BEAUTIFUL their country is. You do not find many places like this in America.  When I said that to my kiwi roommate, she seemed stunned that I was complimenting her country so much. Although they are very green here when it comes to conserving energy and being fairly clean, they do need to work on protecting their animals and birdlife. NZ has a possum issue where there are 7-10 possums for EVERY PERSON HERE. (NZ has a 4 million person population!) So as our Maori guide said back in Auckland, "shoot the possums.."

It was such a wonderful day and I had a blast with Lauren, Megan and Morgan. We have gone everywhere together and seen these awesome sites. I do not know what I would do without them here! It has been such a treat!!

Lauren, Megan, and Morgan!

Wish me luck on my first day of class later!

Misc adventures!

Much has happened since my last post.

This week me and the gang spent most of our time exploring the city of Wellington as well as getting small logistical things in order.  Seeing as how it is our last week/weekend until school starts we decided to hit the top tourist hot spots. We ordered our groceries, made our first home cooked meal, walked by the harbor to get to the beach, went to NZ's national museum Te Papa and went to see the Wellington zoo!

First home cooked meal= success.

We Love Christchurch posters up all over the city!

The girls and I before a night out.

The amazing harbor!

Wellington Zoo! 

Te Papa!

The national museum was free and amazing.. NZ has such rich history and culture even though the country is so young. 

The beach was amazing because the weather was fantastic and the sights of the city were beautiful. The girls and I were amazed that we were actually laying on a beach in February.. 

..and then there was the zoo.. "The best little zoo in the world.." and boy did it live up to its name. Not only was it soo nice, we actually got to get up close to many of the animals.. and there were baby meerkats and chimps and they were to die for! Below are some of my highlights from this week!! 

Amazing views from the city.

Cute little otter!

This bird was so close to us, it was spooky.

BABY MEERKATS.

We are looking forward to going to the Farmers Market tomorrow as well as seeing Zealandia- the wildlife sanctuary here in Wellington! Will post pics from that trip!  

Christchurch.

Today while climbing up Mt. Victoria, we were informed of a massive earthquake in Christchurch. Christchurch is on the south island whereas Wellington is on the North Island.. Christchurch is about a 3 hour ferry ride from Wellington and a little bit of driving as well.

Still, hearing the devastating news shook me to my core. We have 5 or so friends in Christchurch. My good friend Anneka as well as some of my guy friends. Also many of our kiwi mates here have good friends and family members in Christchurch.

The New Zealand Herald is one of the newspapers that is updating the country of the destruction that this earthquake has left behind...

Such titles as "Dead Bodies Lying Around" and "1 dead & 30 trapped" does not leave a good feeling in my stomach.

Please keep the people of Christchurch and their loved ones in your prayers. This is truly devastating news and has really affected the people of this country.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10708013

Some pictures resulting from this awful earthquake..

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/image.cfm?c_id=1&gal_objectid=10708013&gallery_id=116912#7379326

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/image.cfm?c_id=1&gal_objectid=10708013&gallery_id=116912#7379111

For more information check out The New Zealand Herald Newspaper Online..
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10708013

Mount Victoria

View from the bottom of the hill.. before we started our hike..

Lord of the Rings filming location.. could not find it.. 

My city.

This place is breathtaking..

Today Lauren and I were going to ROCK Mt. Victoria.. doin' it.

Mount Victoria is the mountain that you climb to get to the top to see the 360 degree view of Wellington!!!! Non-athletes can take the bus.. we decided to be SUPER skinny and hike... from our door to Mt. Vic and back it probably took 2 hours or so.. the sites were amazing. The trees were a lush and beautiful green.

So much fog.

Trail.

Port City.

On our way back we decided to stop at espressoholic, yet again to pick up lunch.. we shared roasted vegetables and tomato basil soup- which I took back in a doggy bag for dinner later tonight..

We were on such a high from doing this trek and by the time we reached the top, it was pouring rain. A friendly New Zealander who was also walking up to the view pulled us aside to ask us if we had heard about Christchurch? Lauren and I looked at each other in a very confused manner? What had happened in Christchurch??

Walking in Welly...

Wow, this city is amazing.

It has so much to offer. Last night (Monday), Lauren and I went to get Mexican at the Flying Burrito Brothers which had AMAZING burritos. Lauren is a vegetarian so I decided to try the veggie burrito as well.. and it was delicious.. it had eggplant, squash, tomatoes, peppers (known as capscicum here) as well as rice and beans. The vegetable are so fresh here...

We then went back to Espressoholic to meet with Megan and Morgan and two new friends that they met, Megan and Robyn who are both from Tennessee.. it was refreshing to meet nice new people from America.. and afterwards we decided to head back to Megan's flat and have a glass of wine and just reflect on the previous couple of days..

On the way to their flat I spotted this tattoo place and "ALC" was in big letters. I was wearing my dance, Kappa, dance shirt.. and I just thought What are the odds? It was kind of a freaky moment so I obviously had to stop and take a picture..

Also- all around the city there is cool graffiti art and below is one that Lauren and I passed on the way back from Mount Victoria...

Must be nice to be artistically talented!!! 

I get by with a little help from my friends...

The start of a new week!!!!! Woooo!!! After feeling a little bummed about the roommate situation yesterday, I had a good night's sleep and felt refreshed this morning! I ran errands with Lauren to open a bank account and then spent the day organizing my room! School officially starts 1 week from today!!!

With that being said.. we are going to take advantage of this week and explore Wellington and it's suburbs.. there is a wine and chocolate tour with our names on it as well as I want to go down to the waterfront and explore and lay at the beach!! Once school starts we are all going to be so busy, so we have to do things now!!!

I do not know what I would do without the girls I have here! Lauren, Megan and Morgan have been phenomenal since I have gotten here.. they are really my support system here! Lauren is sweet and kind and really easy to relate to... she is also really funny and takes some of the most amazing photography that I have seen- she is quite talented.. check out her blog and photos @ http://lmergen.wordpress.com/
Megan is witty and tells it how it is.. she is funny and not afraid to say how she really feels and I respect that about her! Her energy is so fun to be around and then there is Morgan... what a sweetie!! She is so sweet and innocent but she has her one-liners.. she also has some hilarious points of view but the three of them are just some real, genuine people and it is refreshing to be around that!

Patience, Me, Gaby, Morgan and Megan!! 

Brenda, Lauren and I!! 

It is amazing how much they remind me of my friends back home.. and I know they will be friends of mine even after these travels...

I also got to talk to my parents and mark today. I always feel content and a sense of peace after talking to Big Mike and Dangie because they really help put things in perspective. With stuff from roommate nonsense to any setbacks that this trip might give me.. mom and dad always know how to make things better. After talking with them, I wish so badly that they would come visit.. and not from a perspective of me being homesick because I have yet to truly feel homesick, but more I wish I could just share part of this experience with them.. they would really love it here!!

I am not off to meet the girls @ our fave coffee shop- Espressoholic!!! We have all been craving drinks and sweets from here!! A girl needs her chocolate after all...

Frustration.

Ughhh... I know what you would be thinking... how could you be frustrated when you are abroad in one beautiful country?? Right it makes no sense..

Today had been a good day.. went to the Farmer's Market and then hung out with Lauren, Megan and Morgan and my roommate Brenda.. we were so hungry that we ordered Dominos (how very American of us..) But today was the first really frustrating day with my roommates.. as I have previously said I have 4 American roommates and 1 kiwimate.. I get along with Katy, my kiwimate just fine.. as do I get along with BRENDA!!!!! What. An. Angel. She is so very helpful.. went with me to get my phone.. made sure that I knew where the nearest grocery and convenience store was as well as goes in on groceries with me.. that is where the issues began.

Our plan was to open a flat account and pitch in on groceries together.. we live on top of a giant windy and steep hill that takes 10-15 minutes to even get to the grocery store.. so here if you spend $200 on groceries (NOT HARD TO DO HERE!) then for an $8 delivery charge, they will bring your groceries to the front door! We were excited for this because we could get all we needed and still save some cash to get fruits and veggies at the farmers market.. $40 on groceries a week or every other week per person.. easy to do.. however 2 of my roommates decided that they did not want to do that..

1 is somewhat flaky and she makes me anxious just talking to her. I do not really think she thinks complete thoughts thus putting them into complete phrases.. I do not know what the underlying issue with her is.. I have tried to be friendly to both of them but one is just extremely two-faced to Brenda and I's face and tells our kiwi-mate other things.. the other is just a down right liar. 

She said that she does not want to chip in for groceries seeing as how she only eats "vegetables.." when funny thing is that she has eaten pasta the last 3 days as well as I had to spot her $13 for her FISH dinner.. interesting; I just don't think home girl wants to pay.. and she seems like a little bit of a mooch..

...so thus far.. that has been the thing that I have had to become the most adjusted to. 2 of my roommates are phenomenal and 2 are just flaky.. so now I have to lock the door to my room, hide any valuables and make sure that nothing gets taken while I am at class or in town.. what a bummer. It puts a minor setback in my trip.. 

Reminded of Kappa everywhere <3

.. I guess it has just made me realize that much more how truly lucky I am to live where I do back home. Granted, I am so thankful for this experience.. but I guess I am a little too trusting of people. After all, I live with 100+ girls back home and have never had these issues.. so it is just a life lesson that I need to learn.. but it seems like a few of my friends are having these same issues and although I appreciate programs separating us to meet other people, it would have been nice to live with girls that I already knew and trusted.. because there is not a worse feeling than thinking you have to close and lock your door when you leave or even when you go to sleep. 

But I know things will get better and I am really having a blast here and I thank God everyday that I got this opportunity and met some of these people on the trip that I did because they are phenomenal!! Knowing that I have the people that I do in this city makes me feel extremely content. Also knowing that I have Gaby in Auckland and Anneka in Christchurch makes me feel wonderful as well bc I have other people in the north island and Anneka is my connection in the South and they are BOTH so wonderful!!!!! And knowing I have the support back home is wonderful as well. 

I am so excited for this week because we have a few scheduled events and I will be hanging out with the girls and exploring this awesome city some more!!! Much love on this end!!!!!!! 

Just another lazy day... thanks Bruno Mars...

The Lazy Song by Bruno Mars came on my iTunes today and that is exactly what this Sunday feels like.. it was an active night last night.. after walking around the Botanic Gardens, we got gelato and Lauren and I went to her gig.. got dinner and then met up with the girls to explore Courtenay Place which is one of the hoppin' nightlife areas here in Wellington.

We were all sober and exploring and we realized that we were slightly misinformed with how much people in NZ party.. they told us it is not like America.. however I would argue that fact on Courtenay place.. they were RAGING. Like really raging.. there were some cool bars but also some sketchy ones.. we ended up just walking around and exploring.. so we headed home because we knew that we wanted to get up and go to the Farmers Market!

So waking up today.. two of my roommates, Lauren and I ventured down to the Farmers Market here. It was AMAZING.

Entrance to the Farmers Market..

It was soo large and vegetable are dirt cheap here.. $1 peppers, avocados for .80 cents.. kilos of fruit for $1.49.. and berries.. 2 for $2.. amazing!! And you can tell just how fresh stuff is here!! We were so excited for the farmers market.. and it was well worth it.. my roommate and I went in on things together.. so I got my share of fruits and vegetables for the week for like $6. That will be a hot spot because every other type of grocery here is SO EXPENSIVE.. cereal for $8 or $9, canned food is $4 as well as frozen berries.. you are gonna pay upwards of $6.. amazing.

But everyday is still a learning experience.. I am really happy that I did this experience because it is really teaching me how to budget.. and just how expensive things can be..

...also.. it is teaching me how to live with different kinds of people.. thus far things have been okay.. I figured I live with over 100 girls at home, how hard could this be? WRONG. I truly appreciate how respectful people are at home.. because I have one roommate who is COMPLETELY flaky.. as well as another one who is somewhat sketchy.. so that should be interesting trying to work through... wish. me. luck.

Wellington Botanic Gardens

I woke up on Saturday and realized that I had nothing scheduled that I HAD to do... what a relief.. the first time all week and the morning was mine! So I decided to take that opportunity and slept in a little longer than usual. 

After getting my beauty rest, Lauren and I decided to meet up with Megan and Morgan. We met them on their side of town and together walked about 25-30 minutes until we got to the historic Wellington cable car! We were told we needed to take this at least once and seeing as how the Botanic Gardens was at the top of this hill, we saw it as the perfect opportunity to ride in the cable car. What is cool about the cable car is that on the way up, you have views of the whole city and harbor. At the top of the hill is the botanic gardens as well as the cable car museum that was closed when we went up.

View from the overlook!

Some of the most beautiful flowers I have ever seen!

The garden, however was BEAUTIFUL.. if you took a tour of the whole thing, it would take hours and we just did not have the time to do that! 

Lauren had to make it to this gig where she was job shadowing a talent agent. So I tagged along to make sure that it was not sketchy and that she was not by herself.. NO FRIENDS LEFT BEHIND!!

We got to this place called Medusa and the door was literally a hole in the wall.. which ironically is what it was called before it was Medusa. We basically watched a few bands have their sound checks and such and then we went to grab Tapas at a cute restaurant on Cuba street before heading back to watch the show! The band was called Lunesta and they were a mixture between Eminem and Linkin Park.. imagine it... 

It was cool to check out though and Lauren is going to get to see a lot of bands... hopefully I can tag along to a few events.. bc I really enjoyed myself.. I thought it was really cool!! The music scene in NZ is not large.. for ever 20 songs played on the radio maybe 2 are from NZ bands.. a successful concert here is considered if there are 400-450 people. Musicians do not make a lot like they do in the states so it is cool really seeing people who are passionate about their music.. 

Rockin out to Lunesta..

1st night out on the town...

So even though my roommates had been going out for days.. I decided to wait until after orientation to head out on the town.. I wanted to make sure I had all my ducks in a row when it came to school so Friday it was for me. Lauren, my flat mates and I decided to go grab dinner and a local fish and chips place that was really good! I have been addicted to this side known here as "kumara chips" or NZ's version of a sweet potato fry! They taste similar but a little sweeter here. It reminds me of home and dates with Maggie and Matt @ Bubs :)))

A few girls from my TEAN program came over and I walked out of my room and my kiwi mate had basically invited the whole neighborhood.. I did not know who a lot of these people were but my kiwi mate is friends with a lot of people.. she is sweet.. I just had to introduce myself to a million people. With that being said, it was really nice that there were some familiar faces at my flat!

My kiwi mate in Pink.. what a hostess..

Lauren, myself and Julie!! 

Us with Brenda! 

Sam, Kelly, Lauren, Julie and I.. love these girls! 

After learning some NZ card games, we decided to head out on the town.. we went to this restaurant and bar called Hotel Bristol. Not impressed.. they charged us quite a bit of money for a round of juice. Just juice. If I wanted juice, I could pick it up at the local dairy (convenience store..)

Then we went to a place called Good Luck and that was cool because it was a lot more locals and sort of an underground bar. It is nice to meet people like that because there are a lot of places that are super American and these bars are just more fun.. tomorrow should be a better day though.. I am going with Lauren to her job shadow site.. she is doing journalism at Drake and wants to pursue something in music because she was classically trained.. so I am going to a concert with her and it should be a good time! Will keep you updated...  Love!!