So this week has been crazy fantastic- I've got some spectacular classes (which you already know about if you read previous blog post) and meeting some interesting people in all of them. And the Professors are so friendly! I don't mind having small classes in the slightest. Although, it is forcing me to be on top of my game when it comes to reading and whatnot since I can't hide behind 200 other students when they ask a question. I also signed up for... The Alpine Club (basically outdoors club), Env Club, and Netball- kind of like US version of basketball I guess. Obviously I won't be good at it but it'll be fun to try and meet people because I definitely won't be getting into rugby anytime soon...
Lab for Viticulture includes keeping my own row of grapes! They're Pinot Noir and they are pretty darn cute for wine grapes, if I do say so myself. I ended up getting assigned to this row with another UCSB kid, too- so naturally it will be producing THE BEST wine at the end of the semester. Although, note to us, when we're out plucking leaves it is definitely good to have sunscreen. The days have still been good to us and there is lots and lots of sun. Though as I look out my window clouds do seem to be moving in... which would not be ideal for my weekend plans!
Hitchiking down to Dunedin to visit the Otago campus and meet up with some of the cool kids I met at EAP Orientation in Auckland. Yes that's right I am getting down there via hitchiking. I know I've discussed the pros and cons of this with quite a few of you already but I'm sooooooooooo excited it's going to be great. I'm going with Nick (actually, same guy from SB discussed earlier) and he got around the whole North Island doing it and seems to have met some crazy cool people so I'm really quite stoked on the whole idea, especially since I have a seasoned person to accompany me. My backpack is packed and is as ready to go as much as I am, I'm sure.
Hope everyone has as great of a weekend as I'm prepared for!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Back to the new grind!
First day of school was pretty inspiring! I was worried at my first class though- I was told that the class was going to be pretty packed (I hadn't officially added the course yet.) Well, lucky me apparently "packed" just means an almost-full lecture hall. So, 63 students worth of being packed for the popular Viticulture class that I am STOKED to be in! I'll have my first lab for that tomorrow. The other 2 classes that I was set about being in are both environmental classes. One on Environmental planning based on regions- si that's kind of an international culture/ policy/ sustainability class. Which sounds like a weird mix but the professor seems like a great guy he's originally from India and has studied in the states, and he seems to have a pretty good grasp on sarcasm. Which is nice since some people I've met have not been so quick on that... also, I have heard people say in the past that I'm just simply not good as sarcasm but I choose to ignore all of you.
Class 3 is Agricultural Systems Management/Sustainability which sounds like it will be based a lot on resources, mainly water. Lots of field trips to local farms for that class. Oooooooh which brings me to field trip days.
You read right- I get FIELD TRIP days. Days of no class if I don't have a trip for a class, but otherwise on a bus to visit a farm, or in the case of my wine tasting class, up to the North Island for 2 and a half days of wine drinking.. er, tasting and learning!
My last class is Under the Recreation and Tourism classes, and it focuses a lot on interpretation. Sounds like something Heidi (my boss from my internship this summer) would've loooved to have seen on my resume. One of our assignments for that class is to give a guided tour. So, if nothing else it will give me a chance to practice public speaking. Which in the past I haven't been too bad at, but I'm not sure about it here. Here I have managed to make a scene in situations where normally I can stay under the radar. For example:
Day 1: Connecting flight from Australia, walking up the stairs to my plane. So close to getting on and fumbling simultaneously with passport and boarding pass. One falls to the ground but the other goes flying under the wing of the plane... I pointed to it when I stepped up the the flight attendant and said "That's my boarding pass!", but for some reason they didn't accept that. A friendly flight attendant braved the plane engine to get it for me.
Day 1 to 12ish: Out in Auckland, constantly being "that tourist" who is excited about everything. Consequently, I managed to run into quite a few kiwis this way. Although most of them were quite lovely and willing to point me in the right direction, pointing out in our final moments of conversation that I should actually look ahead when I'm walking rather than anywhere BUT ahead.
First day of school: Gorgeous day. Insanely sunny, not a cloud in the sky- which keeps the day from being perfect, in my opinion- but still so nice to be soaking up the warmth in shorts and flip flops. (Or jandals if I'm being NZ appropiate. ) Anyway, I managed to find the one mud puddle that probably exists on the entirety of the campus and get my foot stuck in it. Given, it was only about a millisecond until I took it out, but I'm sure I made a few people laugh as I wiped it off on the grass. It was a good experience.
Also, I have seen enough boys now to realize that my brother would have loved being here in the preteen years. Ah back in the days when the length of a boys' shorts were the only thing that really warranted any attention as far as male fashion sense was concerned. ALL of the rugby boys here- so, pretty much every boy- wears rugby shorts everywhere, which are about the same length as my own. So, pretty darn short. Combine that with a nice little mullet and rattail and you have the stereotypical Lincoln rugby schoolboy!
Sadly, the voice is still not back, so most of my introductions are preceded with "I don't always sound like this, but Hi..." etc etc. Feeling immensely better though! IT'S ABOUT TIME. Penicillin in NZ apparently takes 72 hours before it works. Oh how I miss American drugs.
Love to all from a happy NZ school girl!
Class 3 is Agricultural Systems Management/Sustainability which sounds like it will be based a lot on resources, mainly water. Lots of field trips to local farms for that class. Oooooooh which brings me to field trip days.
You read right- I get FIELD TRIP days. Days of no class if I don't have a trip for a class, but otherwise on a bus to visit a farm, or in the case of my wine tasting class, up to the North Island for 2 and a half days of wine drinking.. er, tasting and learning!
My last class is Under the Recreation and Tourism classes, and it focuses a lot on interpretation. Sounds like something Heidi (my boss from my internship this summer) would've loooved to have seen on my resume. One of our assignments for that class is to give a guided tour. So, if nothing else it will give me a chance to practice public speaking. Which in the past I haven't been too bad at, but I'm not sure about it here. Here I have managed to make a scene in situations where normally I can stay under the radar. For example:
Day 1: Connecting flight from Australia, walking up the stairs to my plane. So close to getting on and fumbling simultaneously with passport and boarding pass. One falls to the ground but the other goes flying under the wing of the plane... I pointed to it when I stepped up the the flight attendant and said "That's my boarding pass!", but for some reason they didn't accept that. A friendly flight attendant braved the plane engine to get it for me.
Day 1 to 12ish: Out in Auckland, constantly being "that tourist" who is excited about everything. Consequently, I managed to run into quite a few kiwis this way. Although most of them were quite lovely and willing to point me in the right direction, pointing out in our final moments of conversation that I should actually look ahead when I'm walking rather than anywhere BUT ahead.
First day of school: Gorgeous day. Insanely sunny, not a cloud in the sky- which keeps the day from being perfect, in my opinion- but still so nice to be soaking up the warmth in shorts and flip flops. (Or jandals if I'm being NZ appropiate. ) Anyway, I managed to find the one mud puddle that probably exists on the entirety of the campus and get my foot stuck in it. Given, it was only about a millisecond until I took it out, but I'm sure I made a few people laugh as I wiped it off on the grass. It was a good experience.
Also, I have seen enough boys now to realize that my brother would have loved being here in the preteen years. Ah back in the days when the length of a boys' shorts were the only thing that really warranted any attention as far as male fashion sense was concerned. ALL of the rugby boys here- so, pretty much every boy- wears rugby shorts everywhere, which are about the same length as my own. So, pretty darn short. Combine that with a nice little mullet and rattail and you have the stereotypical Lincoln rugby schoolboy!
Sadly, the voice is still not back, so most of my introductions are preceded with "I don't always sound like this, but Hi..." etc etc. Feeling immensely better though! IT'S ABOUT TIME. Penicillin in NZ apparently takes 72 hours before it works. Oh how I miss American drugs.
Love to all from a happy NZ school girl!
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Immune systems are down, while napping skills are at an all time high.
Yes it's true, I have somehow managed to get myself sick with some form of strep for the 3rd time within... less than 12 months I think. I asked the doctors if this was unusual and they said it was viral. I couldn't think much after that because I was too distracted by the thought of "Pants on the Ground"- the American Idol hit that Simon promised would go viral. Glad that I can blame my easily distracted mind on the sickness!
So anyway it has also allowed me to get to know the campus quite well... or at the very least the path between my dorm hall and the health office. Unfortunately, the NZ culture is not working with me- the whole "lets all be outgoing and friendly to the new kid" attitude is fantastic, except for when you have lost your voice and can only make a sentence with extreme amounts of energy exerted. And even then this voice sounds quite manly. In any case, after my health office visit and the discovery that they don't have a pharmacy on campus (this should not have come as a surprise) I took a stroll into town to the closest one, and made quite a few discoveries along the way...
- The honey does not come in cute little plastic bears, rather it comes in jars. Thus when I came home and added it to my tea, I was amazed to find that I have been making my tea with approximately 3 spoonfuls of honey for most of my life. No wonder it always tastes so much better when I make it myself instead of getting it from Java Jones!
-No saltine crackers. Devastating discovery to say the least. They might be labeled as salad crackers- although I couldn't be sure so I went with Ritz instead.
- The ice cream is way better here. Alright fine, I've known that since the first day I got here, but still. I treated myself to a double scoop of Boysenberry ice cream for my walk home and am still so pleased that they know how to make my favorite dessert here. (They have one called Hokey Pokey too!) Sadly they do not have my favorite- they always have orange chip instead of mint chocolate chip... maybe I've just been going in the wrong places, but I'm okay with expanding my horizons. :)
- The younger children wear bright vests when they are walking home from school. The kind that traffic workers wear. This knowledge combined with their outstanding HUGE signs of "smoking kills" on every pack of cigarettes really makes me happy. Either New Zealanders are incredibly smart when it comes to taking care of themselves or America is just.. er, not smart. Hmmm.....
I'll sign off with that. It's time for more tea and nap number 2 of the day!
So anyway it has also allowed me to get to know the campus quite well... or at the very least the path between my dorm hall and the health office. Unfortunately, the NZ culture is not working with me- the whole "lets all be outgoing and friendly to the new kid" attitude is fantastic, except for when you have lost your voice and can only make a sentence with extreme amounts of energy exerted. And even then this voice sounds quite manly. In any case, after my health office visit and the discovery that they don't have a pharmacy on campus (this should not have come as a surprise) I took a stroll into town to the closest one, and made quite a few discoveries along the way...
- The honey does not come in cute little plastic bears, rather it comes in jars. Thus when I came home and added it to my tea, I was amazed to find that I have been making my tea with approximately 3 spoonfuls of honey for most of my life. No wonder it always tastes so much better when I make it myself instead of getting it from Java Jones!
-No saltine crackers. Devastating discovery to say the least. They might be labeled as salad crackers- although I couldn't be sure so I went with Ritz instead.
- The ice cream is way better here. Alright fine, I've known that since the first day I got here, but still. I treated myself to a double scoop of Boysenberry ice cream for my walk home and am still so pleased that they know how to make my favorite dessert here. (They have one called Hokey Pokey too!) Sadly they do not have my favorite- they always have orange chip instead of mint chocolate chip... maybe I've just been going in the wrong places, but I'm okay with expanding my horizons. :)
- The younger children wear bright vests when they are walking home from school. The kind that traffic workers wear. This knowledge combined with their outstanding HUGE signs of "smoking kills" on every pack of cigarettes really makes me happy. Either New Zealanders are incredibly smart when it comes to taking care of themselves or America is just.. er, not smart. Hmmm.....
I'll sign off with that. It's time for more tea and nap number 2 of the day!
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Blogtime!
Alright so I'm giving in and writing a blog, because I really just don't have time to update all of you in individual emails everyday! Although I do love doing it- goodness I am probably the fastest typer ever now trying to write down all of my thoughts and happiness into so many emails.
So this is the official first post. Finally made it down to Lincoln, and had orientation yesterday where I fell in love with the most perfect library of all time. (as you can see in the picture). It is just as incredible on the inside too. Attending a school of 4500 definitely has it's perks! And yes, I can walk across campus from one corner to another in a little less than 10 minutes.
That's all for now, hopefully I'll update this on a regular basis!
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