in session

School officially started yesterday though I didn't have my first class until today. My first experience with the NZ school system wasn't too bad. It was a Human Resources Development class and it seems like it should be a somewhat interesting mix of learning and practical application. It also let out an hour early :)

My next class is at 4:00 and is a history class about the Totalitarian regimes of 1922-1945 Europe. I am very excited.

I haven't been running lately and I need to start getting up earlier so I can take care of that straight away in the mornings. One of my goals this semester is to get in better shape. I suppose I'll also start going to the gym - mixed feelings here. I am pumped about taking Tai Chi though as I am about to sign up for a weekly class for the semester.

I've been digging into my GRE book a little bit and I'll probably start studying that a bit harder this coming week - same with Italian. I really need to pick up that pace on that one because taking 9 months off with no practice would be a nightmare come September.

This weekend I am planning on going to Queenstown with my friends. Billed as the "adventure capital of the world" it should be..hmm...AWESOME. We'll probably make multiple trips over the semester in our newly acquired, 20 year old, 2.0L, engine on the inside, struggles mightily up hills Nissan Homy van. I will be posting pictures of Ol' Bessie soon. We are soon to be "those irritating slow people" on the highway. Unfortunately for everyone else, the highways here are often 2 lane. We are going to put big gaudy dinosaur stickers on the front and back though so at least they have something to mock us for.

-keaton

mt. cargill, peninsula, etc.

two days ago i hiked up the nearest hill that is considered "hike-worthy" though i'm not sure it was such because it was about 2 hours up and had a nice gravel path the whole way. the view up top would have been great but we were in a cloud (which was pretty cool so i can't complain).

the walk to the mountain was actually the worst part (another 45 minute trek but just down a long and boring road).

the plant life here is amazing - i much prefer it to walking through the jungles of belize (though it may just be because it's so much cooler and more pleasant). i can't compare costa rica because my memory is failing to serve... there are no monkeys, however, which is a little sad

i learned today that new zealand has only 1 native mammal and it is some type of bat.

yesterday i went to the international orientation which was kind of crummy actually except i met a new friend and learned some about the various clubs on campus. i'm excited about these because they have some acitivities that i have been meaning to pursue in the states (such as tai chi and a Christian fellowship group)

i also played some ultimate frisbee and during one game had to guard the smelliest person i have been around in quite a while. i switched my defensive mark about 30 seconds later

today was a trip to the pensinula. it probably should have been cooler than it was. unfortunately, we got off to a late start (we got the last bus and it was 1.5 hrs late) and didn't get to see quite as much as we would have liked. we ended up seeing a really nice quite beach with no one else on it (one of the prettiest i have ever seen that didn't involve crystal blue water), a sheep farm, and a spot that usually features an active albatross colony, seals, and yellow-eyed penguins. while there was a penguin, it was holed up in a little nest so we didn't see much of it. oh well, the albatross was cool.

this is probably a lousy post but i thought it would update everyone.

the quote for thailand came back and now i have to talk it over with my friends. i'm also going to look at RVing across NZ.


ooooooh - before i forget, funny story. my friends and i got coupons for domino's pizza about a week ago (the day we climbed the waterfall) and because we got home late we decided to go to one of the only open places (the forementioned). after asking and then correctly repeating my name back to me, the counter guy typed my name as "kitten" into the TV monitor that displays order status. so i've been nicknamed kitten. i've also written this on my nametags since then.

everyone keep well

-kitten

planes, trains, and automobiles

so it appears that 5 of us might buy a cheap car rather than renting one or busing every weekend. while it seems to make sense, i'm a bit hesitant just because buying a cheap car usually means trouble. we'll see. if it works out it could be really good though.

i've also begun planning my travel for the april break. maybe thailand? that's my first choice followed by some pacific islands and then an RVing trip around new zealand (which i definitely want to do). so all of those sound great to me. i guess it depends on what i can interest other people in (and the state of my checking account).

food here is more expensive than i thought it would be, especially chicken and turkey. those two just aren't big here so it comes to something like NZ$ 15 per pound (which is around $10-11 at home) for prepackaged meat. ugh. ketchup is also funny here -- their tomato sauce just doesn't cut it. combined with a general lack of mayo, my condiment tag team has been soundly defeated. i'll just go plain though before i resort to mustard. speaking of food, i'm pretty hungry and i'm thinking brunch - i've heard of a good place so i might just walk that way in minute

no breakfast tacos here emily. it's unfortunate. there's only one mexican food place (not surprising) but i'm scared to try it. the thai, turkish, and indian are all great though.

today i think i'm going hiking up one of the better local hills in dunedin. it should be a 5 hour affair whish isn't too bad for my first non-urban hike in a while

tomorrow is international orientation and i'm excited about that. classes are finally about to start!

oh, and the cadbury chocolate factory is here. new zealand has the eggs all year round (as well as a bunch of other good chocolate). i plan on doing the all you can eat tour soon and spending the next day in bed (maybe i won't be that sick :)

everyone take care,
keaton

a few days later...

hey everybody,
sorry it's been so long since my last post.

well. on thursday evening, i met my 3rd roommate, theresa, and went with sine to show her part of the town and get groceries. cool roommate. we now only have 1 more person left to arrive (should be here today)

friday: i walked through a small downpour to help theresa get registered and met some other australearn program kids through theresa. the ones we hung out with were really cool and somewhere in the day we started planning a trip to thailand for spring....er fall break (with some pacific islands like vanatua as our backups). wow. also tried to go to queenstown that night with them but the buses were already gone and the rental cars were all out so we had to put it off.

a little spontaneous, much fun. for the past couple of days i have been showing them a bit of town and just hanging out. yesterday we went to the beach and it was very nice, cold blue water and a nice breeze. the beach isn't too crowded either so that is good. i did, however, forget that the ozone layer is pretty thin down here and so the backs of my arms look like a coca-cola label -- oops.

i also got an application to work at a dairy (it's like a convenience store with ice cream instead of gasoline..kind of). i think i'll turn it in soon. i don't know that they want someone who wants to work 5-10 hours a week though (and that mainly to hang out with locals and talk to customers). should be an interesting conversation anyways

today i tried to go to Church but walked into a very contemporary youth service, which is not exactly my thing, and my roommate wanted to leave (i was a bit uncomfortable myself just because i'm so used to a church with very old congregants..is that a word? i think so). so, i might try to go to a catholic service this evening.

i'm also excited about a game of ultimate frisbee that is going down at 2:30 this afternoon. i was planning on hiking with theresa, felicia, and scott (the people i'm also potentially planning thailand with) but i think we might need to move it back.....ultimate....yeah

i took some more pictures of the botanical gardens last night (we had a picnic) and i'll post those soon. the rose garden here is very diverse and in full bloom. the whole garden is filled with an interesting mix of fragrances that all manage to blend well.

i'm getting excited for class...i really want to start (and i'm pretty sure i'll be dropping down to 4 classes). a lot of people here are able to maintain full enrollment with only 3 (crazy huh?) i can't and don't want to, that's just too few.

ah well, i'll let you know how the dairy job turns out

-keaton

random things

i forgot to mention yesterday that i learned a couple of funny random things, including:
1) dunedin, though only a town of 100k-120k, is the second largest city by area in the world (according to my dunedin roommate...she may have meant in new zealand, but said the world, so who knows).

2) back in the 60's, when the university of otago introduced physical education as a major, they thought it was a silly subject (a bunch of jocks running around) and decided to make it ridiculously hard. so hard that it was actually harder than medicine for a time (according to my roommate's father who is a teacher here, again, who knows)

anyways, just thought i would throw that out there. i know i'm forgetting something but it will probably turn up tomorrow


-keaton

nearing the end of week one

hey everybody,
i just finished early course approval, which is really great because now i won't have to stand in long lines on the 3 official days of course approval. the process wasn't that long without lines (though it did involve quite a lot of walking around and collecting signatures). i much prefer UT's online system

during the process, i was informed that i should probably only take 4 classes. i'm not sure how i feel about that (i should feel great about only taking that many after taking 6-7 the past 4 semesters, but it does seem low). new zealanders are at full-time status with only 3 classes. four is considered a bit more, and five is a heavy workload. i've signed up for 5 right now (i know..i know..) but i'm probably going to drop one so that i have more free time (plus, the one i was going to add clashed with another class, and though that isn't such a problem here, i'm still uncomfortable with it.. more importantly, however, that class was on monday and that just seems like a huge no-no given that if i don't take it, the remaining four will be on TWTH).

last night, my native flat mate (sine, pronounced sheena for those of you i haven't talked to yet), took me and tanya (the flat mate from mexico) to her family's sheep farm. it is situated up on a hill and has an unobstructed view of the city, the ocean and harbor, and the outlying hills. absolutely wonderful (especially since the house is only about 10 minutes driving from our flat. so convenient for them). the dinner was really good - lamb, potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, and banana cake served with yogurt and ice cream (really, really good). i also tried a black currant drink that i think they make themselves (it was also fantastic, especially when mixed with lemonade)

it was a bit of a relief as i hadn't been up to much the past few days and was getting restless and bored. her family was very welcoming and i did learn a bit about cricket (which is probably a little more exciting than baseball and has matches that can last up to 5 days..that part probably isn't so exciting).

how's everyone getting along back home?

-keaton

the long kees goodnight

i don't really remember hearing a long "e" all the time while in london, though perhaps i have just forgotten or wasn't paying attention. in new zealand, however, one cannot escape the ever-present long "e". it seems like kiwis manage to fit it in nearly anywhere they so choose - dairy = deery, well can sometimes = weel...anyways

thanks to misbah for pointing out that people could not comment, i hadn't changed the settings at all and it was set to "only blogger account members can post." it should now allow anyone to leave a comment, so please do as i'd love to hear from you

i went running for the first time in a long time this morning and made the mistake of running up a rather large, rather steep hill. my legs felt like jelly. i might just stick to level areas for a while. as soon as i made it up the hill though, i found myself presented with an absolutely fabulous view of the town and the surrounding hills, running (and often walking) a bit further, i came to another area where i could see part of the bay - again, gorgeous. the land here is so green and rich and the air is mostly cool. God must have had a particularly good time when he thought up what would become new zealand

afterwards, i tried to go to Church but found that i had misread the sign and missed it by an hour. saturday's service is at 11. oops

yesterday, i walked further into the town proper and found a supermarket where they sell sliced chicken and turkey (the one i had previously used only carried ham and i don't really care for it). random thought. i also saw several groups of bagpipers that reminded me of the scottish heritage that makes this the "southern ediburgh". the town is even designed around the layout of edinburgh (although the hills make it somewhat challenging according to my roommate)

i've just recently finished reading isaac asimov's "foundation". it's a pretty good science fiction novel and has me wanting to read the rest of the series. the couple of chapters are a bit dull, but afterwards it is very entertaining. it's also a quick read, so anyone looking for something like that should pick it up. i'm now on TH White's "the once and future king," pretty humorous thus far, but it does drag a bit in my opinion (like this post)

well, i think i am going to a kiwi barbecue later today and i will report back about that later. for now i suppose it's off to read or walk about for a bit

everyone take care

-keaton

day 3

well i wrote out a post last night to put up today, but i can't get my laptop to connect to the wireless on campus so this will have to do for now. (this laptop situation is really unfortunate, however, as until i get it resolved i cannot use skype, upload pictures, or share the longer posts i type out..argh)

yesterday i spent most of the day walking around, getting my online access set up, changing money at the bank, etc. the days have been pretty warm so far but you can definitely feel the pacific breeze

today i tried to get an ID, but apparently that must wait until monday. oh well, at least i might be able to get it done and register early (woo-hoo, no lines!)

i think i will get along fine with my roommates. they are a bit quieter than i am, but at least i will be able to study. it turns out that i am taking 2 intermediate difficulty classes and 2 harder classes (at least in NZ terms...only time will tell)

-keaton

**oh yes and i have started writing a little bit and hopefully that will pick up soon (although i have forgotten several of my story ideas...perhaps i should start writing them down :)

fresh of the boat...er plane

so today is my first full day in new zealand.

i haven't done much yet, but i did manage to walk about campus and get my electronic username and password from the school. still, until i get wireless set up in my apartment, posts may be somewhat sporadic

the country is, as expected, ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS! and i haven't seen much besides the airports and part of the small town i am in. off to a good start i think

i have unpacked somewhat and met one roommate who seems nice enough. another arrived last night at 8:00 PM or so, but i was already in the midst of a 14 hour slumber (having fallen asleep at 4:00 PM)

no pictures yet, but i will try to put some up soon

i've got some more things to do today so i should probably get going

anyways, i hope everyone is having a good yesterday evening (the time difference is so weird)

take care,
keaton