Day 5- Travel Plans?

Today I got up early and walked all the way back down to The Warehouse to finally get another towel, a hand towel, a second pillow, etc. I also purchased an umbrella! I ended up spending $125 on totally necessary items. Then, I went to an international student information session about safety, busses around the city, etc. After that, I went back to the room and had lunch, talked to my mom, and then got ready to go out to a travel information session.

I learned all about great trips out to Waiheke Island (which is a beachy island right off the coast with tons of local vineyards and barbeques on the beach), learning to surf, going abseiling (which is where you basically repel down a waterfall), going four wheeling through the forest, etc. They all sound like tons of fun! It was so much fun because people answered ridiculous questions like, “who is the most attractive rugby player?” to win rugby tickets, or had to practice surf moves in a competition for surfing tickets. I got chosen for a competition to eat an entire Wheatbix before other contestants. Wheatbix are granola bar shaped dry flatter corn flakes pressed together that you put into milk, but without milk they are very very dry. I ended up finishing it first and I won a trip to go quad riding through the forest, which would normally cost $155. Another girl from International House, Jo, won the second ticket, so we’re planning on going together. So excited for a free trip!!

Then I came back and skyped with my friends, which is like video chatting, which was so nice! I have more “skype dates” tomorrow.

Then, dinner of stirfried steak, rice, and vegetables.

Then, we all went out for a nightlife tour. It was so much fun! I love my friends!
Some things to consider:

The grocery store has no bags. You have to buy a reusable bag for 99 cents every time. Or, remember to bring a bag with you.

A pillow is the worst thing to have to carry across a city.

Everyone here has a “Barbie,” which is a grill. Even if you have the tiniest of apartments, somehow you manage to have one.

The most common religion in New Zealand is rugby. Everyone believes in it.

The distance from Cape Reinga (tip of the north island) to Invercargill (bottom of the south island) is 1000 miles. New York City to Chicago is 900 miles.

There’s 6000 km of coastline.

There’s 4 million people and 39.5 million sheep. There’s 9 million cattle.
New Zealand supplies 54% of the worlds export of sheep meat.

In Auckland, 1 out of every 4 families has a boat.

Kiwi’s call bathing suits “togs” and flip flops “jandals”.

Lots of Kiwi’s drive mopeds.

New Zealand is home to the longest name of a place in the world, called: Taumata¬whakatangihanga-koauau¬o¬tamatea¬turi¬pukakapiki¬maunga¬horo¬nuku¬pokai¬whenua¬kitanatahu

(The pictures I’ve included are a few from the university, some mopeds lined up on the street, and a flaming drink at the bar.)