So, life has been nuts for the past few days. I have been neglecting this blog, but I have an excuse- Everyone moved in on Wednesday!
Shocking to me, almost everyone (unless they are an RA or int'l student) is a Freshman. I am living with about 300 of them. I was not expecting this, and as a result, there has been a ton of parties- I assume these will die down when classes start, and I am all for a good round of drinks with friends, but some of it seems a bit out of hand. Then again, thinking back to the first week of school my freshman year, it seems very similar. I didn't drink back then, though.
So, the scene is downtown. There are pubs, clubs, and bars there, some with live music. Alcohol prices aren't too bad, a few NZ bucks for a handle (which is a normal glass for most). Cut that cost in half and that is how much it costs in USD. There are few brands I recognize here, except for Becks and Corona. The local brands are pretty good- Speights, Tui, and Steinlager are all good, as is something called Export Gold (almost a carbon copy of rolling rock... mmmm...). Spirits are a different matter, though. Most of them i recognize, but they are incredibly expensive. I won't go into price comparisons, but some bottles are twice what they are back home.
All in all, I like the town of Hamilton. I already know it better than most people who are here- the public transport is nice as well. The bus is less than 3 NZ dollars one way into town (about a 30-45 min walk), with a voucher for a free ride back on the same bus within 3 hours. If you get a Busit card, which costs $5, you get a dollar off of each fare, so the cost is only $1.80. If you get a nice bus driver, you get your ticket for $0.90 :)
There are thrift shops here as well, called OppShops (Oppourtunity Shops). Their prices are good :)
Two days ago I got a cell phone! There are two cell phone companies here, Telecom and Vodafone. Calling is incredibly expensive here- the basic 30 dollars a month plan gives you 30 minutes a month to use. In addition to that you get 2000, but only to members of the same company. Texts to or from other companies cost you at least 20 cents per. The unfortunate result of this is the fact that most people have both Telecom and Vodafone. Telecom does do a deal where you can get 500 texts to both companies a month for 10 bucks a month, but you have to buy the phone from Telecom, and it costs at least $150. I decided to buy a used phone and go with Vodafone. We went a a hole in the wall phone shop, where the shopkeeper barely spoke english. It turns out he was a PhD student at the University of Waikato (where I go for you who haven't kept up) from India. I got my phone for 55 bucks- it is very basic, and I only use it for texting. A friend of mine named Kristen got one for $40, and when she turned it on she found it was full of contacts already from someone else! Whether the phone was turned in by the owner or stolen, we will never know. Anyway, with the phone, SIM card, and texting, it was only 85 NZD (about 50$ back home). It is 10$ a month to keep up the texting, a good deal. That was my adventure for the day.
Yesterady we went Oppshopping for clothing. Last night a BOCS party was held downtown- BOCS are the first letters of the 4 places to live on campus- Bryant Hall, Orchard Park, College Hall, and Student Village (where I live). You had to dress up as something that began with the first letter of your residence- my letter was S, so I dressed up as a Soviet. I didn't bring my camera, but I am in a ton of other pictures, so I will post them when I get them. This party was hosted by the university at a downtown club. My costume consisted of a black suit with a red tie and a small soviet hammer and sickle. I did an accent as well (a terrible one I might add). One guy went as a suitcase- which is to say, he cut holes in a suitcase for his legs and head, but not his arms. He was walking around armless all night- and if he had fallen over, he probably would have stayed that way.
Anyway, thrifting! Everyone bought a few random things, but the big find was a random box of hangers (for free!) and a warehouse plank. The Warehouse is the equivalent of Wal-Mart here. Everything in their store comes in big wooden crates- they are painted red with 'THE WAREHOUSE' spraypainted in black stencil on the side. I really wanted a few planks to bring home (assuming customs will let me), because they look wicked. I will post a picture of me with the plank I took from their pile of crates out back. I then walked into the store with it, and walked back out, following some friends. I got some weird looks, but not much else. I was pretty excited about it :)
Well, it is pouring here, and almost dinner time (early 5 pm dinner! Arrrgh!) so I had better go. Classes start in 2 days, and then things will REALLY kick into gear.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
Stereotypes, misconceptions and surprises:
Misconceptions we may have about NZ:
There are more sheep than people, true- but there are more cows than sheep.
Not everyone knows everyone else by first name.
This isn't some naively safe country. Stuff happens, but it is still relatively safe as long as you are not alone at night.
Surprises:
There are many gang problems in NZ. There are wannabe Bloods and Cripps here- in fact, I saw a bit of grafitti that said "West side Cripps" in sharpie last night. According to the New Zealanders, all of these people are posers who would love to come to America and join these gangs. Not only would they not last 2 seconds if they did go over, but I also think they have no idea what it actually entails. TV is to blame I think.
Speaking of Grafitti: Everything is tagged. Grafitti is everywhere. Most of it is like back home, mindless and stupid, but some of it is clever, uplifiting, or funny. I'll try and get some pictures up of it.
Parkour (freerunning) apparently is pretty big here. This is according to the people i have met, but it may be a misrepresentation.
American stereotypes here:
We are all big, dumb and loud, and ignorant of other countries.
We all carry guns and can and will shoot you if you piss us off.
We are very work oriented, and don't relax enough.
We say words like Aluminum and Methyl strangely. We spell Sulfur (Sulpher) and Color (Colour) and such words 'wrong'.
We like to talk about America alot.
Apparently a guy here convinced some Americans he was half hobbit. I refuse to believe anyone could be that stupid.
Also, apparently some Americans tried to convince one of the NZ students here a year ago that NZ was the 51st state. Again, I really don't think anyone could be that stupid.
So, yeah, not the best stereotypes. I do, however, find it funny that people think that everyone in America carries concealed guns, and are extremely dangerous. It makes me feel... more intimidating, almost :) Who knows, I might just be a regular old gunslinger!
I hope that people here will put these preconceived notions out the window when they actually get to know me, and I think they will. I just find it sad that these are the stereotypes being portrayed through the media the world sees. I'm going to show them that they are untrue!
Until later!
There are more sheep than people, true- but there are more cows than sheep.
Not everyone knows everyone else by first name.
This isn't some naively safe country. Stuff happens, but it is still relatively safe as long as you are not alone at night.
Surprises:
There are many gang problems in NZ. There are wannabe Bloods and Cripps here- in fact, I saw a bit of grafitti that said "West side Cripps" in sharpie last night. According to the New Zealanders, all of these people are posers who would love to come to America and join these gangs. Not only would they not last 2 seconds if they did go over, but I also think they have no idea what it actually entails. TV is to blame I think.
Speaking of Grafitti: Everything is tagged. Grafitti is everywhere. Most of it is like back home, mindless and stupid, but some of it is clever, uplifiting, or funny. I'll try and get some pictures up of it.
Parkour (freerunning) apparently is pretty big here. This is according to the people i have met, but it may be a misrepresentation.
American stereotypes here:
We are all big, dumb and loud, and ignorant of other countries.
We all carry guns and can and will shoot you if you piss us off.
We are very work oriented, and don't relax enough.
We say words like Aluminum and Methyl strangely. We spell Sulfur (Sulpher) and Color (Colour) and such words 'wrong'.
We like to talk about America alot.
Apparently a guy here convinced some Americans he was half hobbit. I refuse to believe anyone could be that stupid.
Also, apparently some Americans tried to convince one of the NZ students here a year ago that NZ was the 51st state. Again, I really don't think anyone could be that stupid.
So, yeah, not the best stereotypes. I do, however, find it funny that people think that everyone in America carries concealed guns, and are extremely dangerous. It makes me feel... more intimidating, almost :) Who knows, I might just be a regular old gunslinger!
I hope that people here will put these preconceived notions out the window when they actually get to know me, and I think they will. I just find it sad that these are the stereotypes being portrayed through the media the world sees. I'm going to show them that they are untrue!
Until later!
Days 2 and 3: Getting my bearings
Well, technically it is the morning of Day 4 here in NZ, but I will write on the previous two at the moment.
Internet is not free here. In the words of one of the NZ students I met, NZ has the worst and most expensive internet in the world (probably not true, but it sure wasn't free). I had to buy a plan to use internet. The company that provides it is called lightwire, and they charge plans based on the bandwith you use in addition to the time you use it. For example, the plan I got is introductory, and is 1.5 Gigabytes of usage over a 90 day period- after 90 days what I don't use is lost. The cost is $20, and I so far have used about 2% of my allotment just checking email, facebook, etc. This will be good for me- the less internet I use, the more time I will be out actually enjoying myself and my surroundings.
So! My past 2 days: Well, my first day I was the only person in my building except for my chinese comrade- I now rarely see him. We have perhaps 8-10 people in the building now, with at least 2 other americans. One, named katie, is my neighbor. My pod of 6 has 1 more student moved in- his name is Karein, and he is a New Zealand education student.
I toured around, and saw a good deal of the campus. It really is magnificent. There are the most interesting plants everywhere, and massive trees- the largest I know of back home is in a wildlife preserve in Brunswick county, NC, and it is over 1000 years old- these are bigger. Not all, but a few of them. I can't wait to climb them and take a nap in my hammock!
Day 2 we had a bit of an adventure. Myself, Cameron (a New Zealander), Dylan (USA) and Andew (Canada) went downtown to find Dylan a fan (the rooms aren't air conditioned, they just have massive opening windows). We hit 8 electronics stores, all of which were sold out of fans. The 9th store we went to had just closed up shop (it was on Sunday) and we stood outside. Andew turned around and joked "Damn! I bet they had a ton of fans, too!" The manager walks out to his car, and turns around, saying: "Fans? Nah, we sold out weeks ago!"
Dylan: "When will you get more?"
Manager: "Hmmm... hard to say. Sometime in 2010, I imagine!"
Yesterday we set up bank accounts, got our class schedules, and our ID cards. When I went up for my ID card, to get my picture taken, the guy looked at his computer screen strangely. He said I had already had a photo taken. I look at the screen, and there is a girl of about 18 with long brown hair as MY ID picture! Needless to say, we had to retake.
A word on how the New Zealanders do things: They are very laid back. For example, orientation starts tomorrow, and I have no idea where to go or what to do. No one does- not staff, or RAs, or residents. I presume we will find out tonight. People don't go a whole lot out of their way, and if there is a discrepency, they send you to someone else. It is a very different way of doing things than I am used to- and it is pretty beaurocratic. I imagine if I grew up here I'd be the same way, but people really are just pretty laid back.
On a completely unrelated note: quite a few people want to learn to dive here. Needless to say, I am coaxing them as much as possible!
On day 3, after doing all the banking and ID and classes, we had dinner. Mealtimes are an hour long:
Breakfast 8-9am
Lunch 12-1pm
Dinner 5-6pm
Dinner is really early- I still haven't gotten used to it. Partially because of the meal schedule, everyone starts their day earlier- I have been getting up before 7:30 on most days so far, getting up as early as 4:45 on day 2. The drinking rules here are elaborate, and I may talk about them on a later post, because they are interesting.
After dinner on day 2 I taught a whole circle of New Zealanders how to play poker (5 card draw). After they got the hang of it they really liked it- and small time gambling is legal here, so people play for a few bucks just so they care about what is in their hand. Last night I taught a few more how to play 5 card draw, texas hold 'em, 7 card stud, follow the queen, and follow the sticky queen. It is quite fun actually, and from what I have seen I am the most expereienced player by far.
After poker we went out to a bar downtown- we were the only 6 there, as it was 10pm on a monday night. We each had a beer, and returned to campus (which is where I played that second game of poker).
You may have noticed that everything I have talked about is pretty haphazard- that is because the days have been haphazard- it is pretty hard to put it all into order sometimes. Considering almost noone has a cell phone (international students anyhow) the only place we meet is mealtimes, and hang out afterwards. Nothing is going on for most of us, and the majority of students don't move in until tomorrow, so there are only maybe 50 of us at absolute maximum, in a village for 400. Our motto at the moment, when someone doesn't want to do whatever the rest of us are going to do, is "What else ya gonna do?"
I like it.
So, I will post again at the end of the day. hope this hasn't been too long for you.
Internet is not free here. In the words of one of the NZ students I met, NZ has the worst and most expensive internet in the world (probably not true, but it sure wasn't free). I had to buy a plan to use internet. The company that provides it is called lightwire, and they charge plans based on the bandwith you use in addition to the time you use it. For example, the plan I got is introductory, and is 1.5 Gigabytes of usage over a 90 day period- after 90 days what I don't use is lost. The cost is $20, and I so far have used about 2% of my allotment just checking email, facebook, etc. This will be good for me- the less internet I use, the more time I will be out actually enjoying myself and my surroundings.
So! My past 2 days: Well, my first day I was the only person in my building except for my chinese comrade- I now rarely see him. We have perhaps 8-10 people in the building now, with at least 2 other americans. One, named katie, is my neighbor. My pod of 6 has 1 more student moved in- his name is Karein, and he is a New Zealand education student.
I toured around, and saw a good deal of the campus. It really is magnificent. There are the most interesting plants everywhere, and massive trees- the largest I know of back home is in a wildlife preserve in Brunswick county, NC, and it is over 1000 years old- these are bigger. Not all, but a few of them. I can't wait to climb them and take a nap in my hammock!
Day 2 we had a bit of an adventure. Myself, Cameron (a New Zealander), Dylan (USA) and Andew (Canada) went downtown to find Dylan a fan (the rooms aren't air conditioned, they just have massive opening windows). We hit 8 electronics stores, all of which were sold out of fans. The 9th store we went to had just closed up shop (it was on Sunday) and we stood outside. Andew turned around and joked "Damn! I bet they had a ton of fans, too!" The manager walks out to his car, and turns around, saying: "Fans? Nah, we sold out weeks ago!"
Dylan: "When will you get more?"
Manager: "Hmmm... hard to say. Sometime in 2010, I imagine!"
Yesterday we set up bank accounts, got our class schedules, and our ID cards. When I went up for my ID card, to get my picture taken, the guy looked at his computer screen strangely. He said I had already had a photo taken. I look at the screen, and there is a girl of about 18 with long brown hair as MY ID picture! Needless to say, we had to retake.
A word on how the New Zealanders do things: They are very laid back. For example, orientation starts tomorrow, and I have no idea where to go or what to do. No one does- not staff, or RAs, or residents. I presume we will find out tonight. People don't go a whole lot out of their way, and if there is a discrepency, they send you to someone else. It is a very different way of doing things than I am used to- and it is pretty beaurocratic. I imagine if I grew up here I'd be the same way, but people really are just pretty laid back.
On a completely unrelated note: quite a few people want to learn to dive here. Needless to say, I am coaxing them as much as possible!
On day 3, after doing all the banking and ID and classes, we had dinner. Mealtimes are an hour long:
Breakfast 8-9am
Lunch 12-1pm
Dinner 5-6pm
Dinner is really early- I still haven't gotten used to it. Partially because of the meal schedule, everyone starts their day earlier- I have been getting up before 7:30 on most days so far, getting up as early as 4:45 on day 2. The drinking rules here are elaborate, and I may talk about them on a later post, because they are interesting.
After dinner on day 2 I taught a whole circle of New Zealanders how to play poker (5 card draw). After they got the hang of it they really liked it- and small time gambling is legal here, so people play for a few bucks just so they care about what is in their hand. Last night I taught a few more how to play 5 card draw, texas hold 'em, 7 card stud, follow the queen, and follow the sticky queen. It is quite fun actually, and from what I have seen I am the most expereienced player by far.
After poker we went out to a bar downtown- we were the only 6 there, as it was 10pm on a monday night. We each had a beer, and returned to campus (which is where I played that second game of poker).
You may have noticed that everything I have talked about is pretty haphazard- that is because the days have been haphazard- it is pretty hard to put it all into order sometimes. Considering almost noone has a cell phone (international students anyhow) the only place we meet is mealtimes, and hang out afterwards. Nothing is going on for most of us, and the majority of students don't move in until tomorrow, so there are only maybe 50 of us at absolute maximum, in a village for 400. Our motto at the moment, when someone doesn't want to do whatever the rest of us are going to do, is "What else ya gonna do?"
I like it.
So, I will post again at the end of the day. hope this hasn't been too long for you.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Day 1: I hit the ground running
So, My day technically started on the Air NZ flight. Let me say that the difference between ANZ and USAIR was dumbfounding- free meals, free lemon water in glass cafres, and strangest (and best of all), free booze! Let me repeat that:
Air New Zealand gives you free meals and alcohol on their flight. Like, as much as you want.
They had a selection of several wines to choose from, which helped to knock me right out after dinner. (I had about two 2 oz glasses, but the Canadians next to me just kept knockin’ em back.) I slept for a few meager hours, due to sitting is not very comfortable for me, and I decided upon awaking to watch an in flight movie (over 80 to choose from!). I decided on rock-n-rolla, a british film similar in style to Snatch and Lock, Stock and 2 smokin’ barrels. It was enjoyable, particularly a fight scene with a couple of Russian heavy goons (I won’t ruin it, only say that they do Boris the Blade justice). The meals were great, and hot, with tea afterward. They also came around with glass pitchers of water with citruis fruit in them (to keep you hydrated). All in all, Air New Zealand was the best airline I have ever flown on by leaps and bounds, and I would fly it again in an instant. I would almost visit again just to fly it…
We landed, and after customs and baggage claim, I got on a mini bus with a Maori (Pronounced Maudi) woman named Cindy and a pair of students. One was an American from Ohio, and another was a German girl. After a scenic drive through beautiful countryside (of which many more cows were spotted than sheep) we finally arrived on campus and I checked in. My room is pretty awesome- it is perhaps hald the size of my room at UNCW, but it has a few advantages over it- for example, everything, from the bed to the desk, is built into the room- you may think this is bad because it limits your freedom, but in fact it is great because it is the best possible use of space. It has a floor to ceiling window that hinges out towards the sky- and I might add that sun finally comes into my room- something I have never gotten to enjoy before in college. I have set everything up, and I am pretty much unpacked already.
I live in the student village. Student village is one of 4 residence areas. It consists of 10 blocks (buildings), housing anywhere from 48 to 6 students. My block, block 3, houses 36. All have single rooms, and there are 6 pods of 6 people- 2 pods on each of the 3 floors. I am on the third. I am alone in this pod for today, but there are apparently 4 girls and 1 guy living in the other 5 rooms. There is one other student here right now, from China. His name is Bo, but he wants to be called “Wibba”. He says this is his English name, but I am not sure what he actually means by it- he may mean William, and may be mispronouncing it.
I met my RA as well- a really nice, genuine fellow. After I settled in, I went and had lunch. At lunch I met some New Zealanders, and they took me shopping for groceries and other things. We went to a general store (similar to a sam’s or wal-mart that doesn’t sell food) called the Warehouse. It is a great deal. We then got groceries at Pak-N-Save, where you have to pack your own groceries to save you money. In addition to some basic things, I also got some New Zealand treats, including some local chocolate and some marshmallow cookies. All in all things aren’t too pricey here- the NZ dollar is in decline, and as a result my dollar goes further. Imagine everything marked up by about 20%, so a $100 USD item may be $120 NZD item, but with the exchange rate, that item will cost you about $65 USD. So, I like it
I have been riding on 45 hours with only 2-3 hours of sleep, and am about to crash. Soon I will take pictures and get everything sorted out. Until then, I think I will pass out on this comfy looking bed.
Air New Zealand gives you free meals and alcohol on their flight. Like, as much as you want.
They had a selection of several wines to choose from, which helped to knock me right out after dinner. (I had about two 2 oz glasses, but the Canadians next to me just kept knockin’ em back.) I slept for a few meager hours, due to sitting is not very comfortable for me, and I decided upon awaking to watch an in flight movie (over 80 to choose from!). I decided on rock-n-rolla, a british film similar in style to Snatch and Lock, Stock and 2 smokin’ barrels. It was enjoyable, particularly a fight scene with a couple of Russian heavy goons (I won’t ruin it, only say that they do Boris the Blade justice). The meals were great, and hot, with tea afterward. They also came around with glass pitchers of water with citruis fruit in them (to keep you hydrated). All in all, Air New Zealand was the best airline I have ever flown on by leaps and bounds, and I would fly it again in an instant. I would almost visit again just to fly it…
We landed, and after customs and baggage claim, I got on a mini bus with a Maori (Pronounced Maudi) woman named Cindy and a pair of students. One was an American from Ohio, and another was a German girl. After a scenic drive through beautiful countryside (of which many more cows were spotted than sheep) we finally arrived on campus and I checked in. My room is pretty awesome- it is perhaps hald the size of my room at UNCW, but it has a few advantages over it- for example, everything, from the bed to the desk, is built into the room- you may think this is bad because it limits your freedom, but in fact it is great because it is the best possible use of space. It has a floor to ceiling window that hinges out towards the sky- and I might add that sun finally comes into my room- something I have never gotten to enjoy before in college. I have set everything up, and I am pretty much unpacked already.
I live in the student village. Student village is one of 4 residence areas. It consists of 10 blocks (buildings), housing anywhere from 48 to 6 students. My block, block 3, houses 36. All have single rooms, and there are 6 pods of 6 people- 2 pods on each of the 3 floors. I am on the third. I am alone in this pod for today, but there are apparently 4 girls and 1 guy living in the other 5 rooms. There is one other student here right now, from China. His name is Bo, but he wants to be called “Wibba”. He says this is his English name, but I am not sure what he actually means by it- he may mean William, and may be mispronouncing it.
I met my RA as well- a really nice, genuine fellow. After I settled in, I went and had lunch. At lunch I met some New Zealanders, and they took me shopping for groceries and other things. We went to a general store (similar to a sam’s or wal-mart that doesn’t sell food) called the Warehouse. It is a great deal. We then got groceries at Pak-N-Save, where you have to pack your own groceries to save you money. In addition to some basic things, I also got some New Zealand treats, including some local chocolate and some marshmallow cookies. All in all things aren’t too pricey here- the NZ dollar is in decline, and as a result my dollar goes further. Imagine everything marked up by about 20%, so a $100 USD item may be $120 NZD item, but with the exchange rate, that item will cost you about $65 USD. So, I like it
I have been riding on 45 hours with only 2-3 hours of sleep, and am about to crash. Soon I will take pictures and get everything sorted out. Until then, I think I will pass out on this comfy looking bed.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Departure day
Well, I am in the Charlotte, NC terminal awaiting my flight to California. After a layover in San Francisco, I will be in Auckland, NZ, where I will take a bus to my university, about 100 km away (60 mi for us). So, let's get the record straight:
I will leave NC 9:35 EST
I will arrive in NZ at 11:00 EST TOMORROW.
Considering that I awoke at 5 am with 6 hours of sleep, and Won't even get in until 11 am the next day, that means I will be awake for 30 hours when the plane touches down. take into account that i will arrive at 5am there, and then you see the dilemma- once it is time to go to bed at a decent time, I will have been awake for 40 hours. So, I guess I should learn to sleep on the plane...
Plane will be boarding soon. Until later.
P.S. I AM GOING TO NEW ZEALAND! AHH!
p.p.s. I will post the cousin pictures in the next few days.
PART 2:
Alright, so I have survived my flight to San Francisco. I have a piece of advice: If you are going to fly US air, please pack food and drink before you leave- it was $2 a drink (including water) and $5 a snack on board! Beer and sandwiches were $7 each! Beware!
On the bright side, I had a very nice woman sit next to me, who reminded me of my great aunt Barbara (in looks and in mannerisms). We talked for a good long while on the 6 hour flight, from where we were from to what I was going to school for. It was a very enjoyable flight for only 2 reasons: First, this woman. Second, I got a window seat with a spectacular view. Imagine this: Rolling green hills past the Appalachian mountains, followed by over a thousand miles of purely flat grid- the entire Midwest was covered in identical (I assume 1 mile square) grids for planting crops. I seriously can appreciate how our country is fed now. After this, the plane flew over the majestic Rockies, which I literally stared at for hours. Due to the rain shadow effect, the area near the mountains was nothing but dry, seemingly barren land- scrub plain interspersed with craggy, snow covered peaks dotted with pine trees. Once the last mountain range was passed, however, the difference was like night and day.
For those of you not familiar, let me briefly explain the rain shadow effect. In this case, moist warm air is blown in from the Pacific towards the Rockies (west to east). When it hits the first high mountain range, that air must rise to go over the mountain. As it rises, it cools and expands (adiabatic cooling). This causes clouds to form, and heavy rains on the windward side of the mountain. The leeward side (which is the eastern barren side) gets very little precipitation because all the moisture coming from the west is blocked. Thus, there is the strikingly different environment on each side.
After those mountains came the verdant fertile hills of California. I don’t think I have ever seen so much green before. Words could probably describe the beauty pretty well, but I am not going to ruin it, just in case I mess up.
I am currently in the San Francisco airport, and boy is it totally different than Charlotte (or any other airport I’ve been to, for that matter). The people are nice, helpful, and joking around (even the people at security). I got in and went straight to the terminal for internationals, only to find I had 3 hours to wait until the ticketing opened. I wandered, and found an library/museum of flight. I went in, and was amazed to see this stone and wood magnificent chasm opening up as if I were the long passenger on a modern day titanic. In laymen’s terms, it was pretty swanky. I would have taken pictures, but my new lens is not good for indoor shots (not a wide enough angle) and my old lens is packed away. Alas, it was awesome. A totally quiet are to study, reflect, and write some. They even had a climate controlled room that housed the books and journals from the days of balloon flight- the 17th century! I wanted to go in and look at them, but I had not enough time to make an appointment.
After this I decided it was time for some food. There were a multitude of choices, and sorry Jessica, but I couldn’t find an in-and-out, even though I looked everywhere. I had a Chinese dish- duck noodle soup. It actually was pretty bad. I managed to eat it all (minus the random duck bones) and went to make a phone call, to find the payphone dead. Once that was sorted out, I checked in. I found out that AIR NZ apparently does a wonderful job for their fliers, and we shall see- it appears to me already from the service I have received that this will be a magnificent flight. I will check back in later.
P.S. Not all of my posts will be this long, so don’t fret- it is only because of a 6 hour layover that I am writing about every mundane detail about my day.
I will leave NC 9:35 EST
I will arrive in NZ at 11:00 EST TOMORROW.
Considering that I awoke at 5 am with 6 hours of sleep, and Won't even get in until 11 am the next day, that means I will be awake for 30 hours when the plane touches down. take into account that i will arrive at 5am there, and then you see the dilemma- once it is time to go to bed at a decent time, I will have been awake for 40 hours. So, I guess I should learn to sleep on the plane...
Plane will be boarding soon. Until later.
P.S. I AM GOING TO NEW ZEALAND! AHH!
p.p.s. I will post the cousin pictures in the next few days.
PART 2:
Alright, so I have survived my flight to San Francisco. I have a piece of advice: If you are going to fly US air, please pack food and drink before you leave- it was $2 a drink (including water) and $5 a snack on board! Beer and sandwiches were $7 each! Beware!
On the bright side, I had a very nice woman sit next to me, who reminded me of my great aunt Barbara (in looks and in mannerisms). We talked for a good long while on the 6 hour flight, from where we were from to what I was going to school for. It was a very enjoyable flight for only 2 reasons: First, this woman. Second, I got a window seat with a spectacular view. Imagine this: Rolling green hills past the Appalachian mountains, followed by over a thousand miles of purely flat grid- the entire Midwest was covered in identical (I assume 1 mile square) grids for planting crops. I seriously can appreciate how our country is fed now. After this, the plane flew over the majestic Rockies, which I literally stared at for hours. Due to the rain shadow effect, the area near the mountains was nothing but dry, seemingly barren land- scrub plain interspersed with craggy, snow covered peaks dotted with pine trees. Once the last mountain range was passed, however, the difference was like night and day.
For those of you not familiar, let me briefly explain the rain shadow effect. In this case, moist warm air is blown in from the Pacific towards the Rockies (west to east). When it hits the first high mountain range, that air must rise to go over the mountain. As it rises, it cools and expands (adiabatic cooling). This causes clouds to form, and heavy rains on the windward side of the mountain. The leeward side (which is the eastern barren side) gets very little precipitation because all the moisture coming from the west is blocked. Thus, there is the strikingly different environment on each side.
After those mountains came the verdant fertile hills of California. I don’t think I have ever seen so much green before. Words could probably describe the beauty pretty well, but I am not going to ruin it, just in case I mess up.
I am currently in the San Francisco airport, and boy is it totally different than Charlotte (or any other airport I’ve been to, for that matter). The people are nice, helpful, and joking around (even the people at security). I got in and went straight to the terminal for internationals, only to find I had 3 hours to wait until the ticketing opened. I wandered, and found an library/museum of flight. I went in, and was amazed to see this stone and wood magnificent chasm opening up as if I were the long passenger on a modern day titanic. In laymen’s terms, it was pretty swanky. I would have taken pictures, but my new lens is not good for indoor shots (not a wide enough angle) and my old lens is packed away. Alas, it was awesome. A totally quiet are to study, reflect, and write some. They even had a climate controlled room that housed the books and journals from the days of balloon flight- the 17th century! I wanted to go in and look at them, but I had not enough time to make an appointment.
After this I decided it was time for some food. There were a multitude of choices, and sorry Jessica, but I couldn’t find an in-and-out, even though I looked everywhere. I had a Chinese dish- duck noodle soup. It actually was pretty bad. I managed to eat it all (minus the random duck bones) and went to make a phone call, to find the payphone dead. Once that was sorted out, I checked in. I found out that AIR NZ apparently does a wonderful job for their fliers, and we shall see- it appears to me already from the service I have received that this will be a magnificent flight. I will check back in later.
P.S. Not all of my posts will be this long, so don’t fret- it is only because of a 6 hour layover that I am writing about every mundane detail about my day.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
1 day until departure
Before I start my post, let me say this: The ecogeek link to the right of the page has been fixed- if you clicked on it before it led you to a broken page- that is because instead of the correct adress suffix of .org, I had .com. No longer a problem!
---
Well, so much for making this a once a day project, eh? In all actuality, I have been excessively busy over the past few days, so I will be content with the excuses I make.
The past 2 days were spent in and around Boone, NC- a surprisingly beautiful and majestic place. I stayed a night in a rented cabin (my first cabin experience, though for you campers out there I was hardly roughing it). I stayed with my uncle and aunt, and my two young cousins (4 and 2 years old). I will post a picture in a later post.
I am now going to take a paragraph and talk about my adorable cousins- if you wish to skip to the next paragraph to hear about wonderful, modest me, then you may do so. This is the first time I have really spent any time with these two cousing. Their names are Mary James and Alexandra James, and they are half Russian (my aunt is from Russia). They are both bilingual (even the little one) and put me to shame to what little Russian I can speak and understand. Alexandra, though only two, has already tried to teach me some Russian words, such as pacifier. They each also have two names, one English and one Russian. Mary James is called "Masha", and Alexandra is known as "Shura". They are wonderful girls and excessively cute to an almost overwhelming degree. I hope in the future I will be able to see them more often than, say, once- which is my current record...
Anyway, back to magical me. Today was a day of preparation, both physical and mental. I packed my bags (two suitcases and two carry ons for 4 months abroad) today- one entire suitcase is filled with nothing else but scuba gear. I really hope to be able to get some great diving in while I am there. I would also like to get additional certification if I am able. I actually have been thinking about getting a job at the local dive shop in wilmington, though I am not sure how feasible this will be with my current low level of experience.
Anyway, we are now 32 hours and counting until I am on a plane to a place I have thus far only dreamt about. Tomorrow, God willing, I will talk about that camera company I love to hate, and maybe some more about my day.
As a final note, I would like to add to my post:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANTONINA WHAPLES!!!
Antonina, my closest friend, turned 21 today (the 17th). I realize this post is an hour and a half past deadline, but heh, it's the thought that counts, right? I wish her the best of luck in the year to come, and I sincerely hope that her 21st year is her best yet. Everyone buy her a beer, or a kitten, or a 21 cannon salute. You know what? If you can find someplace that sells 21 cannon salutes, clue me in. I'd like to get one for myself.
P.S. I watched the film "Fool's Gold" today. It was quite entertaining- I found myself scrutinizing the scuba gear and technique more than anything else, which was actually quite good. The movie seemed like my ideal life, actually. I very much enjoyed it.
Until tomorrow, ta-ta.
---
Well, so much for making this a once a day project, eh? In all actuality, I have been excessively busy over the past few days, so I will be content with the excuses I make.
The past 2 days were spent in and around Boone, NC- a surprisingly beautiful and majestic place. I stayed a night in a rented cabin (my first cabin experience, though for you campers out there I was hardly roughing it). I stayed with my uncle and aunt, and my two young cousins (4 and 2 years old). I will post a picture in a later post.
I am now going to take a paragraph and talk about my adorable cousins- if you wish to skip to the next paragraph to hear about wonderful, modest me, then you may do so. This is the first time I have really spent any time with these two cousing. Their names are Mary James and Alexandra James, and they are half Russian (my aunt is from Russia). They are both bilingual (even the little one) and put me to shame to what little Russian I can speak and understand. Alexandra, though only two, has already tried to teach me some Russian words, such as pacifier. They each also have two names, one English and one Russian. Mary James is called "Masha", and Alexandra is known as "Shura". They are wonderful girls and excessively cute to an almost overwhelming degree. I hope in the future I will be able to see them more often than, say, once- which is my current record...
Anyway, back to magical me. Today was a day of preparation, both physical and mental. I packed my bags (two suitcases and two carry ons for 4 months abroad) today- one entire suitcase is filled with nothing else but scuba gear. I really hope to be able to get some great diving in while I am there. I would also like to get additional certification if I am able. I actually have been thinking about getting a job at the local dive shop in wilmington, though I am not sure how feasible this will be with my current low level of experience.
Anyway, we are now 32 hours and counting until I am on a plane to a place I have thus far only dreamt about. Tomorrow, God willing, I will talk about that camera company I love to hate, and maybe some more about my day.
As a final note, I would like to add to my post:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANTONINA WHAPLES!!!
Antonina, my closest friend, turned 21 today (the 17th). I realize this post is an hour and a half past deadline, but heh, it's the thought that counts, right? I wish her the best of luck in the year to come, and I sincerely hope that her 21st year is her best yet. Everyone buy her a beer, or a kitten, or a 21 cannon salute. You know what? If you can find someplace that sells 21 cannon salutes, clue me in. I'd like to get one for myself.
P.S. I watched the film "Fool's Gold" today. It was quite entertaining- I found myself scrutinizing the scuba gear and technique more than anything else, which was actually quite good. The movie seemed like my ideal life, actually. I very much enjoyed it.
Until tomorrow, ta-ta.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
8 Days until departure
So, time is ticking down until I leave. I drove down to Wilmington today after taking photos around downtown Winston-Salem last night with my friend Nathan. I got down this afternoon and played some softball (well, hit some balls). I took some pictures as well- maybe I will put them up soon on beachguise.com.
What is today's topic, you ask? Well, the answer is simple:
New Zealand money, of course!
I got some from the bank the other day. It is colorful and actually quite beautiful, as you can see. Each bill has a famous person on one side, while the other side has a different bird- I assume they are all native birds from the country. The bills, if you look closely, have a clear plastic oval on the left, and a clear plastic leaf in the bottom right. I assume this is a security feature. What you see are all the denominations- there are no single bills- those are covered by coins, which I don't currently own.
For those of you who don't know:
New Zealand uses NZD, or New Zealand Dollars. One USD buys almost 2 NZD, but this does not neccesarily mean your money goes twice as far over there like someone from the UK might think about coming to America.
I will be in Wilmington until Saturday morning, when I will go back up to W-S to finalize my packing and everything else for my departure in just over a week. Tomorrow we will talk about a particular camera 'company' I love to hate, and maybe about some facts about NZ!
What is today's topic, you ask? Well, the answer is simple:
New Zealand money, of course!
I got some from the bank the other day. It is colorful and actually quite beautiful, as you can see. Each bill has a famous person on one side, while the other side has a different bird- I assume they are all native birds from the country. The bills, if you look closely, have a clear plastic oval on the left, and a clear plastic leaf in the bottom right. I assume this is a security feature. What you see are all the denominations- there are no single bills- those are covered by coins, which I don't currently own.
For those of you who don't know:
New Zealand uses NZD, or New Zealand Dollars. One USD buys almost 2 NZD, but this does not neccesarily mean your money goes twice as far over there like someone from the UK might think about coming to America.
I will be in Wilmington until Saturday morning, when I will go back up to W-S to finalize my packing and everything else for my departure in just over a week. Tomorrow we will talk about a particular camera 'company' I love to hate, and maybe about some facts about NZ!
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Short Hiatus- 9 days until departure
So, the past few weeks have been more... eventful than I originally imagined they would be. The result is a lack of time (despite the fact I am home all day) due to preparation for my trip, mentally and physically. Thus, this blog has been neglected.
BUT NO MORE!
I will now be writing on a regular basis of a few times a week, if not every day. Currently I am still at home, but will be visiting Wilmington tomorrow to see everyone one last time. I will miss my friends while abroad, but I hope that touching down in a foreign country with not a single person I know for thousands of miles will make me a better person. It's got to build character, right?
In fact, I think this is really what I need right now. I need to be off on my own, I suppose- I need to discover what is right for me, what I stand for, what I believe. I need to be self sufficient and be able to support myself and others- what better way to do this, than be on my own for 4 months? I will of course make friends there, but the point is that this country will be a new canvas for me, in which I can imprint the image of myself as I want to be. I think I have the power to make that image a reality.
In other news, I finally got my Xmas gift to myself! Introducing....
The nikon 55-200mm Vibration reduction lens!
This lense has about 12 or so acronym suffixes attached to it, but I'll spare you. Basically, what you need to know are 3 things:
1. It is a nikon lens, which means it is superb quality (even for a budget lens) and can fit on almost any nikon ever made (though film cameras won't get a fully exposed pcture with it).
2. It is a 55-200 mm, which is a measure of the lens's zoom capability. For example, the general starter lens for a digital budget nikon SLR is 18-55mm, which is to say moderately wide angle to decent zoom. This picks up at the decent zoom and brings it to 'pretty darn good' zoom.
3. It has VR, vibration reduction. This reduces the blurriness from camera shake, meaning you can shoot the same subject at a slower shutter speed and get less blur from it. After all the reviews i've read, and after using it, I would label it as invaluable, although it does eat up battery like crazy.
So as if it even needs to be said, I'm psyched.
Tomorrow I'll tell you a little about the city I'll be in in New Zealand, a bit about their currency, and the university where I'll be staying. Until then...
BUT NO MORE!
I will now be writing on a regular basis of a few times a week, if not every day. Currently I am still at home, but will be visiting Wilmington tomorrow to see everyone one last time. I will miss my friends while abroad, but I hope that touching down in a foreign country with not a single person I know for thousands of miles will make me a better person. It's got to build character, right?
In fact, I think this is really what I need right now. I need to be off on my own, I suppose- I need to discover what is right for me, what I stand for, what I believe. I need to be self sufficient and be able to support myself and others- what better way to do this, than be on my own for 4 months? I will of course make friends there, but the point is that this country will be a new canvas for me, in which I can imprint the image of myself as I want to be. I think I have the power to make that image a reality.
In other news, I finally got my Xmas gift to myself! Introducing....
The nikon 55-200mm Vibration reduction lens!
This lense has about 12 or so acronym suffixes attached to it, but I'll spare you. Basically, what you need to know are 3 things:
1. It is a nikon lens, which means it is superb quality (even for a budget lens) and can fit on almost any nikon ever made (though film cameras won't get a fully exposed pcture with it).
2. It is a 55-200 mm, which is a measure of the lens's zoom capability. For example, the general starter lens for a digital budget nikon SLR is 18-55mm, which is to say moderately wide angle to decent zoom. This picks up at the decent zoom and brings it to 'pretty darn good' zoom.
3. It has VR, vibration reduction. This reduces the blurriness from camera shake, meaning you can shoot the same subject at a slower shutter speed and get less blur from it. After all the reviews i've read, and after using it, I would label it as invaluable, although it does eat up battery like crazy.
So as if it even needs to be said, I'm psyched.
Tomorrow I'll tell you a little about the city I'll be in in New Zealand, a bit about their currency, and the university where I'll be staying. Until then...
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