Day 23

Today was back to school after such a great weekend! I went to my coastal and marine geography class and learned about the tsunami and how it changed the sea level around New Zealand by only a few centimeters. I like this class so much more now, because I met a lot of kids on the field trip and the professor is more relaxed while teaching.

After that, I took the afternoon to catch up on homework and copying down lecture outlines so that I don’t get further behind in my work. By the end of the week I hope to be completely caught up. My weekend was so crazy though and I didn’t have any time at all for work then. I’m realizing that as fun as planning travel is, I really need to buckle down this week and focus on school! Today I was also thinking about spring break, meeting up with some friends in Australia or diving the Maldives Islands, which have phenomenal sea life and are in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

Then we had dinner, which was chicken with garlic butter battered and fried- which were very very good! After that we all played volleyball on the outdoor court and even though I thought I played well, I didn’t make the team for the finals this Sunday between all of the residence halls. It’ll still be fun to watch the game on Sunday, though!

Another thought about Kiwi’s: they don’t mind sharing anything! Like if a person in your class forgot their water bottle, they’ll just casually ask for a sip of yours. They’re also very giving, like the type of people that would buy a large pack of cookies if they only wanted one cookie just to have enough to share. I love the hospitality, but I have to remember to buy more than just what I would normally eat as well, so I can share too. We definitely don’t share like that with strangers in the U.S.! They also call green peppers “capsicums” but I think it’s easier to say green peppers…

Kiwis also don’t refrigerate eggs, which kind of grosses me out. They just leave them on the shelf and I heard if you put them in a bowl of water you can tell if they’re still good, depending on whether they sink or float. The kitchen staff will also give you an egg salad sandwich and think it will be good until lunch without being refrigerated. Very different from the U.S.! They also call highways motorways and motorcycles motorbikes. And you don’t go four wheeling, you go quad biking. I love how Kiwis say things differently!