Rotorua and moving in

So, last week was crazy!  We did some incredible stuff.  Wednesday I went bungy jumping, Thursday we went caving at Waitomo Caves, and Friday we went swimming at Mt. Manganui after helping to plant a rainforest.  Caving was insane.  We were about 200ft underground and there were parts where we had to rappel down 70ft waterfalls, then other parts where we had to lay in the water and float through tiny little tunnels!  We weren't allowed to take pics, but the guides were going to give us a few they took and there were also glow worms! Saturday we flew to Dunedin to move in.  We had about 45 with our GlobaLinks group and about 25 of them are going to Dunedin.  I moved in and luckily 2 of my flatmates were already here.  We went to a concert my first night, but I'm really glad I did GlobaLinks because I actually know over 20 people in town already.  It's definitely setting in more that this isn't just a vacation.  We also went up the Otago Peninsula with a guy who was nice enough to drive us and saw sea lions at Sandfly Bay Wildlife Refuge, but no penguins.  The flats have no central heating, just little space heaters but they use tons of electricity, so they rarely get used and it's pretty chilly inside! My complex seems awesome though because there are 6 flats with 5 or 6 people in each and everyone so far seems really cool.  Well, I got groceries yesterday, but hoping to set up a phone and learn my way around town now!  Bye!

Hobbiton and Rotorua!

Kia Ora! For some reason I can't post a link, but we made it to Rotorua!  It smells awful here because it's on a sulphur thermal hot spring.  However, we went to a traditional Maori village last night.  We learned about their weaponry, poi, plant weaving, and finally the Haka!  They also showed us how they would approach an enemy tribe and cooked us a traditional dinner!  They were so intense, but also, you apparently greet people by touching noses, which was different!  It wouldn't let me embed the video, but here's the link for the All Blacks (rugby team) doing the Haka before a game. It's amazing how green everything is here for the dead of winter, although it's only 45ish degrees here.  We also made a pit stop in Hobbiton (Lord of the Rings).  Going bungy jumping in 15minutes!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rxxHexuXTE

Auckland

So, I'm in the Auckland hotel! I get free internet here.  This place is awesome.  The city is strange.  It's a weird mix of Asian influence with a lot of American places like Starbucks, Subway, McDonalds, Wendys, and Burger King.  I am about to get to bed and trying to force myself to get on their schedule.  We're off to Rotorua tomorrow, but the staff here are really funny and friendly.  I can't create a new folder on my computer (Andrew? Jason?).  The other students all seem to have the same ideas of what they want to get out of this too.  We had some free time today and I walked around the city, we went up Mt. Eden, and up the Skytower!  So far I'm loving it here (except beer is like $7 at the bar, but I got free wine on the plane and didn't even get ID'd.) Hard to believe I just landed this morning!  We're off at 7:30am though! Love ya and ttyl!

Ready to go!

I'm not really sure if this picture thing worked or not--I'm learning and computers aren't my strength.  However, it's my itinerary for the next week! Thursday we go caving at Waitomo Caves and Wednesday I'm doing an adventure thing including bungee jumping!  Then the following week I am doing a scenic train ride around Dunedin.  I am finally all packed and ready for 24 hours of travel tomorrow.  Love you and talk to ya from New Zealand!!

This is my blog!

Hey,  Just kind of checking out how this works! My address in New Zealand will be 378a Leith Street, Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand! Click here to see it on Google Maps.  Otherwise, I will have email and Facebook and Skype, but limited ability to call and I don't know my international number yet.  Hopefully this works!