Classes (or papers rather) started over a week ago now and I'm settling down into a routine here on campus. I've come to discover that I love the toast here and that, though I haven't always been a breakfast girl, I really don't go a day without it here. :O)

I'm taking two chemistry papers and an anthropology paper on the Oceanic societies and how they're changing. I'm most excited about my Geochemistry and Environmental Chemistry paper. For the lab portion of the course, we'll be analyzing water samples from different areas around New Zealand. In order to obtain these samples, we have to go on field trips. So sad. We have one required weekend-long trip to Rotoura and Lake Taupo, which starts this Saturday. There's also three day field trips and we have to participate in at least one of those as well. Most of us will be going on two or three of these optional trips, because they're already included in our tuition and they're awesome!

The first trip was last Sunday, July 15, and we drove down to Te Aroha, a town about 45 minutes south of Hamilton. The plan was to climb a mountain (literally, a mountain... I was soar on Monday) and travel into the abandoned Tui mine near the mountain's peak. We first collected water samples from the various streams and springs coming off the mountain. Then we began to climb.

The mine has 5 levels, the fifth being at the top, which is where we were going to enter the mine shaft, though we did stop at each level and examine the minerals and water present there (and the view, of course). Now, I'm not going to pretend that this mountain was a rock face, but it had a decent grade that got me huffing and puffing pretty quickly. After we passed the fourth level, the path went from being wide and rocky to forested and quite narrow. I enjoyed this part of the walk more because it reminded me of the woods behind my home in A2 and because scrambling over rocks and trees made me think about something else besides how much my legs were not enjoying this exursion.

When we finally made it the the fifth level entrance, which was several hundred feet from the base of the mountain, the path had reduced to about a foot in width and then you were staring down a cliff. I wasn't terribly comfortable about that, but the view was incredible. We could see for miles.

The mine, which was operated in the 60s and 70s, was in operation to extract zinc, copper and iron from the mountain. It was neat to see all the mineral deposits on the walls and to traipse through the mine shaft and to see where the men had left off. The mine was intended to run for 20 years, but the market for the minerals dyed out only three years later. When we got to be the end of the shaft, we found filled rail carts and explosives wiring. It was as if the men had heard the news that the mine was closing and simply walked out.

My mountain goat of a professor then told us that we would be heading down the back of the mountain, as it was about half the distance back to the vans, though it was also a bit of a "scramble." We soon found ourselves climbing over huge fallen trees and down rocks. It was slippery and the pathes were extremely narrow. By the end, most of us were sliding down on our backsides and grading onto nearby trees, which I have to admit was a lot of fun. It was a great day and I feel really blessed to have this chance to travel and learn for a class!

As for campus life, I really do enjoy this campus. It has a great little shop and food area in the middle of campus which sit on the edge of a huge pond. Most students hang around in this area and its quite beautiful. The rest of campus is quite hilly and the buildings, which all have their own names, are also lettered and thus referred to. Instead of saying that I'm heading off the the Maori and Pacific Development building after finishing this blog, people here would say they're going to S-block. It makes life a bit easier, because for the most part the buildings are named alpabetically, so navigating campus isn't terribly hard.

I've discovered that when they say its winter in the southern hemisphere, its rainy season on New Zealand's north island. It's chilly yes, ranging from the high 40s to low 60s, but never like Michigan's winter weather. Its very green here and for the most part, I can walk around in a fleece or sweatshirt and be fine. As for the locals, the guys can usually be seen in swim shorts of some kind or another and the girls... lets just say that the baby doll fashion is alive and well here; much more developed than in the States. Most girls can be found wearing leggings or tappered black jeans with boots and a shapless blouse. But hey, thats fashion, right? Another common fashion statement: No shoes. I've been told (and have seen ample examples) that wearing no shoes at all is an acceptable thing to do throughout New Zealand. Its funny to see students in class or people walking in downtown Hamilton with no shoes on at all. Definitely not in the United States anymore. :O)

Let me start off by apologizing for how long it has taken me to post an entry, but now, exactly a week after I left Michigan, I will do my best to que everyone in on what's been happening:

Most of you know that I have never been a huge fan of traveling via airplanes. However, after flying 24+ hours across the world, I feel as though some of those anxieties have now been cleared away. This came about no doubt through prayer and relying on God to take care of me, but I also think that He used the shear length of the trip to help me focus more on when we would finally arrive than anything else. And arrive we did! With the time change, I left the United States on Wednesday, June 27, and arrived in Sydney in the morning of the 29th, even though it was only a 14 hour flight. Talk about going over the dateline!

I flew first to San Francisco and then onto Australia, where I spent upwards of 9 hours in the Sydney airport walking around and discovering unique merchandise like Emu jerky and authentic Aboriginal boomerangs. Finally, I boarded my Air New Zealand flight and arrived in Auckland 3 hours later and was driven to the University of Waikato in Hamilton, where upon being shown to my room, I crashed on my bed and slept for what felt like days.

Since arriving, it has been an adventure to say the least. It's definitely a different world here in New Zealand. When most of us think of winter, we think of snow and icey roads. Not the case here. The best I can describe the weather here would be to associate it with a warm fall day in Michigan with the temperatures being in the 50s and the sun shining most of the time. Everything is still quite green, though a lot of the trees have lost their leaves, and there are a lot of palm-like trees and plants here. The days are very short (the sun sets around 5:30pm here) and I'm beginning to discover the truth behind the Kiwi saying "New season every 5 minutes." While it is sunny and warm here, it also rains a fair amount and usually it starts quite suddenly. However, I'm told that this is the most miserable I will be here weather-wise, so I am definitely not complaining.

The people here are extremely friendly, helpful, and have an ardent love for the All-Blacks (their national rugby team who just smashed the Australian Wallabies in the international tournament). I got my first taste of rugby the morning I arrived. My dorm room faces the university's sport fields and several games were underway by the time I woke up Saturday morning (Friday afternoon for the Americans). I don't pretend to have a clue when it comes to understanding the game, but I'm officially an All-Blacks fan now and hope to learn the rules soon, as it is the nation's favorite topic of conversation.

Most of the student's currently on campus are international students because the Kiwis are on holiday. I've been able to meet and get to know people from Norway, England, Germany and of course from the good ol' US of A and am excited to see the campus filled next week when classes begin.

Please write or email me. I would love to hear from you all!