Not going to lie, I seriously stressed about coming up with a witty title for this blog for about a day and a half. Then I remembered only about eight people will read it (hi mom) and settled on wonderland. My time so far has been amazing. The last six days have flown by, yet it feels as though I have been here for ages. Arcadia's orientation was jammed packed with activities, hiking and site seeing. I do believe we managed to do more in four days than I have done in the last four months.
I arrived in Auckland on Sunday (Saturday ceased to exist thanks to the international date line) and was greeted by the Arcadia orientation team. Our goal for the day, we were informed, was to stay awake until 8 pm. They then ensured we did not have a chance to fall asleep. We checked into the hotel, had pastries and got to know one another, went on a walking tour of the city, bought lunch, walked to the top of two dormant volcanos/volcanic craters overlooking the city, returned to the hotel for the single greatest shower of my life, and headed to dinner. After dinner a couple of us headed to a cafe for hot chocolate and sat and watched the ice skaters at a nearby rink. The next morning I went for a jog with a group and our orientation leader and was able to see a little more of the city. Auckland is the largest city in New Zealand and it was great to be able to explore for a bit. The rest of orientation was spent in Rotorua, a town three hours south of Auckland known for its geothermal activity. Over the next couple days, we watched sheep be shorn and herded at a farm show, viewed Kiwi birds at a conservation center, soaked in a natural hot-spring spa, hiked through the geothermal park, went zorbing (think giant hamster ball thrown down a hill) went to Tamaki Maori Village, flew into Wellington and went on a walking tour of what will be my home for the next five months.
I had the sudden realization somewhere between taking a wrong turn out of my flat and the subsequent 20 minute walk into downtown, that I have never really been alone in a city, let alone lived in one. Luckily, Wellington appears to be the perfect starter city. It reminds me of a cross between San Francisco and Portland; the city is built on hills right up against the harbor and is borderline obsessed with coffee (to which I have no objection). Due to the hilly environment and ocean border, the city center is compact and can be walked with relative ease. There is plenty that is new and different here but fortunately, comes with a great learning curve (you only step out in front of so many busses before realizing cars hurtle towards you from the left side of the road now). I learned that coffee here is MUCH stronger (what we call expresso they call coffee) and following an afternoon of practically seeing sound, I now have a firmer grip on which coffee term applies to which drink. There is no indoor heating in my flat and I am learning that I should have taken people more seriously when they told me to bring layers. Earlier today I purchased a hot water bottle. I am currently sitting in bed with it tucked into the covers, marveling at the difference a little boiling water can make on my outlook on life. I do believe this little pouch of warmth may be the greatest technological advance human kind has ever made. Forget space exploration, forget computers, forget actual indoor heating, the hot water bottle is the pinnacle of human advancement.
New Zealand on a sunny day looks as though someone had a little too much fun with the saturation settings in photoshop. I really wish pictures did the place justice but they definitely do not. I have never before seen so much green, nor such vibrant colors. I'll post pictures as soon as my computer decides that opening photos will not actually cause the end of life as we know it. I'm off for a mandarin snack (one advantage of reverse seasons: mandarins in July) and tomorrow, I plan to attempt to navigate my way through the city to the pool...wish me luck.
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