Welcome to Aotearoa

I've now been in New Zealand for ten days, and they have been a full ten. In short, I had three nights worth of orientation (actually just traveling around and doing cool things) with the study abroad program I came with, Arcadia. This included one night in Auckland and two in the tourist hotspot of Rotorua -- and I mean hotspot literally. The main draw is their thermal hot springs. The 26 of us in the group had a great rapport going, and we were sad to split in two last Sunday, with 14 of us, myself included, flying to Christchurch and the other 12 departing for Wellington. This week in Christchurch has been a full one, including international student orientation; exploring the campus, the nearby grocery stores, the more distant malls, and the city center; shopping for and buying large amounts of camping gear; registering for classes; and a two-night backpacking trip. Instead of a blow by blow, which will wear you out as much as me, we're going to break this down into a tidy list titled "Things About New Zealand."

Things About New Zealand

• Time: So you have a reference point. New Zealand is GMT +12, which means we are the first to see the new day. This puts us 22 hours ahead of Alaska and 18 hours ahead of the East Coast. Or, more simply, we are two hours behind Alaska and six hours behind the East Coast -- all you people stateside are just a day behind.
• Money: New Zealand uses the New Zealand dollar. Just like ours, only the money is more colorful and they cost 75 cents. In other words, the exchange rate is about $1US:$0.75NZ. So if you withdraw $500 NZ (as I have unfortunately already done multiple times), Wells Fargo tells you you've only withdraw $380. It's like magic. Also, when I reference ever reference money in the future, it means New Zealand dollars unless I specify otherwise.
• Lingo: New Zealanders have an accent, and they also have words different than those in the states. I'm working to pick both up. "Mate" is regularly used in greeting (think "man" or "dude"). "G'day mate" is a common way to be greeted. Tramping means backpacking, hiking, etc. Flat is any sort of apartment. "Sweet as" is an the equivalent of a "sick" or "sweet" back home.
• Maori: On the North Island more than the South, there is significant Maori influence. But even here, the international orientation began with a traditional Maori welcome, and you regularly see it alongside English. Also, many street names and geographical features retain their Maori names. Aotearoa is the Maori name for New Zealand -- hence my title.
• Alcohol: Legal drinking and purchasing age is 18, so it's like getting my birthday four months early. Watch out, though: it's pricey. Even at a saver supermarket, finding a beer for under a dollar is an exercise in the impossible. $1.50 is typical, and if you want Corona and Heineken, be prepared to pay upwards of $2 a bottle. Hard alcohol comes in liters, and you won't find those for under $35, and usually not below $40. Cheap drafts in bars are regularly $7+. 
• Sun: First, it's summer. Second, the ozone layer kind of sucks down here. Result: really easy to get sunburned, especially for all us northerners coming from midwinter. Wear your sunscreen. Sometimes, that's not even enough.
• Rugby: New Zealanders are crazy about rugby. As in crazy crazy. The world cup is here in September, and there's a countdown board in downtown Christchurch. They already reference their impending victory in about half of their opening speeches for any given event. 
• Grading: Ds fail in New Zealand. But you only need a 50% to get a C, and 80-100 is an A. But, points are awarded, not deducted. Kind of like those rubrics we used for a while in middle school. You don't get points off your paper, you earn points by doing things well. Oh, and more lingo. Paper is a class; essay is a paper. 
• Driving: People drive on the left down here. No one in our group has been hit yet, though we regularly see driverless cars and went to the wrong side to board the bus.
• Dying: Everything in New Zealand kills you. At least according to our program coordinator and the orientation leaders. Every one of their example stories about what we shouldn't do ended up with someone maimed or dead. For example: share water bottles, get meningitis and die. Go out in the sun, get skin cancer and die. Use trademe (think craigslist) and die. Try crossing rivers and die. Basically, despite the complete lack of large predators and poisonous animals and the significant lack of criminals violent or petty, the only thing we can do is stay in our dorm rooms. It's a running joke in our Arcadia group.
• Humor: Ever watched Flight of the Conchords? New Zealand humor is actually that dry. It's often hard to tell if people are joking. I'll get used to it sometime. Just have to watch the faces more closely.
• People: there aren't very many of them, especially on the South Island. About a million in an area a little smaller than Florida.
• And of course: Lord of the Rings. It was filmed here, and parts of New Zealand certainly look it. We drove through the shire, and we aren't terribly far from Edoras here in Christchurch. Plenty of comments about this as we drive and hike around.

That's about all I think of to put in my bullet points right about now. We start classes tomorrow, though I only have one, so it'll be a nice easy start. To end, I'm going to throw up a few pictures from orientation and the first few days of Christchurch.

The beach we went to our first day in Auckland to do a little swimming at. It was a wonderful way to relax after our 13-hour flight.

The view of downtown Auckland from the hill above the beach.

Shire, anyone? This was on the drive to Rotorua.

I told you so.

As I'm sure you're well aware, New Zealand is full of sheep. Bet you didn't know there were this many types, though. The big poofy guy at the top of the pile is a Merino, the kind all the fancy New Zealand wool garments are made out of. This was at the sheep show we went to. This guy sheared one right in front of us.

A geyser at Rotorua. Pretty sweet.

We had two people in our group who knew how to spin fire. Basically, it's kerosene soaked balls on the ends of 24-inch chains, held in each hand, that you spin around. This is a couple second exposure.

One of the grassy areas in Ilam Village, where all us Arcadia students live, surrounded by many other internationals and some Kiwis (that would be local New Zealanders). I live on the backside of the building at the far end, on the third floor.

The view from my window.

The cathedral in downtown Christchurch.