Week 1

It’s been seven days. On one hand, it seems like it’s been absolutely forever, but on the other hand, I’m thinking a whole week is already gone. This past weekend felt sort of hectic - on the bus so much, living out of our luggage. Now that we’re at the university, things feel more settled down – someplace to go ‘home’ to. These past few days have been a bit frustrating for me because my debit and credit cards problems. Now that my credit card is working, though, things are much improved.

New Zealand, so far, has been so much more than I expected. Then again, I didn’t quite know what to expect. The natural environment here is absolutely astounding; things here are so diverse. At times, they even feel exaggerated and extreme. For me, the humongous kauri trees are, for example, so inspiring and awesome more for their sheer size than anything else. Even at Cape Maria van Diemen, the giant sand dunes next to a freshwater stream with lush forests on the other side are such stark contrasts. 90 Mile Beach is excessively long, and there are so many volcanoes, active and dormant. Even the people here and their activities seem to reflect this extremity- sand dune surfing, black water rafting, zorbing, and unnecessary circles or ‘roundabouts’. New Zealand, apparently, is a place of extremes.

Another thing I’ve also noticed is that it seems that people here really like 90’s music. I’ve been astonished time and time again on the bus when some songs come on. When the New Radical’s Dreamer’s Disease came on in the morning to Waitomo, I was pleasantly surprised. New Zealanders seem to really like 90’s, poppy, and mainstream radio music. Since coming here, I don’t think I’ve heard anything but.

There are a lot of things about New Zealand that remain a mystery to me. A tour guide mentioned that if the sea level rises a significant amount due to global warming, Auckland could become an island- a serious problem- and yet, there doesn’t seem much commotion about it. Or allowing coach buses and personal vehicles to drive along 90 Mile Beach – are people not concerned about erosion or pollution? How is it that the British put up with/ allowed such extreme revisions to the Treaty of Waitangi?

I’m sure that as our Study Abroad continues, I’ll find the answers to many of these questions. I’m very excited to see what the rest of our stay produces.