Day 2

Last night’s Chinese Lantern Festival was amazing, to celebrate the Chinese New Year (which I think was actually Saturday). Tons of paper lanterns in all animal shapes, people shapes, and teapots, vases, butterflies, dragons, etc were lit up all over Albert Park, which is a wooded area in the middle of the city. There were also TONS of Asian food places, from Vietnamese to Malaysian. I tried a chicken satay kebab, which is just like chicken on a stick. It was delicious! They also had hot donuts and cotton candy (which Kiwi’s call “candy floss”) and corn dogs (which Kiwi’s call “hot dogs”). I've also included a photo of kids in what look like bubbles, over a pool, where they can roll around inside of an inflatable bubble and bump into other bubbles for fun. They call is Zorbing when you get inside of a bubble and travel down a hill, but the kids do a more innocent version over a pool.

The food selection in the city is astounding, but I love to just eat in the dining hall because it’s free and delicious and a great way to meet people. The BEST thing about the dining hall here is that people fill in tables from one end to the next and once one table is full, people will begin to sit at another table. Like, after you get your food you just sit next to anyone, and more people are guaranteed to sit next to you. I wish America was like this, because you’re always meeting new people and having new conversations. I watched a girl purposely sit by herself and within a minute ten or twelve people were sitting with her. Amazing!

I made some new friends this morning, named Anisha, Ollie, and Anna, all from Wellington, which is at the southern end of the north island of New Zealand. Champagne breakfast was amazing, with eggs and bacon and croissants and fresh fruit, and my table each had like four glasses of champagne. We were actually encouraged to drink, because otherwise the champagne would go to waste.
Then, we took a walk to the gym, the bookstore, and an electronics store. I’m starting to figure out a few more streets and I’m hearing a lot more about New Zealand from my new Kiwi friends. After that, the entire hall had a volleyball tournament, which my building (Cobham) won! For a few of the games I was the only girl playing! This experience is about getting out of my comfort zone so why not get out on the court and play with the boys? I was actually pretty good! I’m so proud of myself.

I also tried Jaffas today, which is a local candy. It’s a chocolate ball covered in like M&M shell that is a little bit flavored like oranges. They’re alright but not my favorite. J.A.F.A is also a derogatory term that people call Aucklanders, which stands for “Just Another F***ing Aucklander.” Now that I’ve got some Kiwi friends I’m learning TONS about local culture.

Then, we had dinner, and I tried lamb for the first time ever! It was fried (kind of like breaded venison) and it was completely delicious. International house food is amazing. I had that with coleslaw, potatoes, and peas. Then, a bunch of us went to the liquor store and ended up going out to Margaritas. It’s so weird that I’m allowed to go into bars and clubs here.

Some things I learned along the way:

Doorknobs here turn to the left, not the right.

Kiwi’s are the term for the locals, the bird, and the fruit.

Kiwi’s say “eh” too.

The RA’s freely drink with the residents, in fact they escort us to the bar.