Finding My Fix: Chronicles of a Travel Junkie

The All Blacks slaughtered the Lions, again. 48:18 I believe, effectively winning the series and giving all of New Zealand an excuse to drink, a lot. And maybe I should mention also that it gave the Brits an excuse to drink a lot more. How I managed to sleep through the noise in my residence hall at 10:30 is beyond me, but I managed.

I have decided that rugby is awesome, and so are the All Blacks. The Haka they do at the beginning of every test is the thing to see. Haka is the Maori war dance, and it is sufficiently intimidating. The strength of the players is unbelievable. Their pain tolerance is as well, and their drive; I mean the way they can drive through a line of three men, and survive having a pile of a dozen more heaped on top of them. It’s impressive to say the least. The sweat, the blood, the 250 lb men flipping in the air, being taken out by a single swoop of the arm. And Daniel Carter I believe is his name, has the most amazingly talented kicking foot I’ve ever seen! Jency has decided he is her idol, and I don’t blame her. Jency is one of my fellow international students, from Singapore. The group of four of us watching the game on the big screen at Courtney Place, standing for two hours in the cold, were definately enjoying ourselves. We put forth our best cheers whenever the All Blacks got the ball and broke through the Lions, which was more often than not. One more test in Auckland, and it’s all over, life goes back to “normal.”

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I feel a million times better now that I have a “regular” group of friends, only one of which is American. And four of us are making plans to go together to Fiji during spring break (which is in only 6 weeks), and to the South Island whenever possible. Keeping busy is my prevention to homesickness and it has been effective so far. I do miss the US, the familiarity of it, and my friends and family, but I don’t feel like I’m making a mistake by being here the way I felt when I first walked into my room alone. I still don’t feel settled, and I still have things to complain about, but I am optimistic.

The night before last, their was a “nightlife tour” of Wellington, and we got to see a number of bars which all played 80’s music oddly enough. A jazz artist was singing from a balcony on Courtney Place, and the group of international students I was with gathered in the street, and we danced to keep warm. I taught a Norweigian to dance swing. There were countless Kiwis and Brits to make fun of for their lack of rhythm.

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Tomorrow classes start. This will be the first time I will be attending class on the 4th of July! I’m excited and a little nervous. The classes I’ve signed up for are Abnormal Psych, Cognitive Psych, Energy and the Environtment which is a beginning level physics class, and The Peopling of Polynesia which is a Maori studies class. Maybe I’ll actually meet some Kiwis for a change. I’m thinking maybe I ought to stop talking about the US so much. People might be getting bored by me. I can’t help it though. I feel somewhat responsible for defending my country against some of the unjust criticism it recieves, especially of the European variety, and reassuring people that not all Americans agree with what is going on in America.

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Yesterday, I went to an event that I found out later was for non-native English speakers (woops). I did, however, get free food, and found out about a program for non-native speakers to practice their English with natives. So being an American, I can volunteer as one of the “natives,” and meet even more international students. Knowing people could definately come in handy as I travel around the world needing places to stay and guides to show me around.

At the event, I also did my best to explain the American system for presidential elections since so many people seem to ask how Bush won in 2000. No one asked me specifically, but I have heard the question before, so I volunteered the answer.

Here’s a piece of trivia for any non-Kiwi: New Zealand has no written constitution!

And now it’s time for me to stop boring you with my ramblings on, and get some sleep since my sleep cycle is still a 10:00pm to 7:30am, and I’m feeling sleepy. Let’s just say that between the uphill climbs to campus everyday, and the excess sleep I’m getting, my skin is doing quite well, and I have naturally rosy cheeks all the time. Living in Wellington has it’s benefits.

Tags: 1. Australasia, 1A. New Zealand, 1A1. North Island, 1A1a. Wellington

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