Finding My Fix: Chronicles of a Travel Junkie

My subconscious has the best sense of humor. (I was just so tempted to write “humour”). Last night I dreamt that I went to the post office because I was getting someone else’s mail. So I handed the two packages to the woman behind the counter and explained that I didn’t know who George Keller was (if that was the guy’s name).

“Well you’ll have to deliver these to him yourself.”

“You mean I can’t just put them back in my mailbox and have them delivered to the correct place?”

“No, we don’t do that.”

You don’t deliver mail? What the hell kind of postal service is this?

Today two of my lectures aren’t meeting because my professors have gone on strike… again. I would have thought they’d be done by now. They went on strike for a couple hours a few weeks ago, went back to teaching, and now they’re taking a few more hours. One of my professors is “on strike in spirit, but will be lecturing today.” But he also told us we shouldn’t really go spreading that information or he’d get in trouble with the union. About two weeks ago, the librarians went on strike, and one of them was pleading with me as I went through them into the library:

“Please don’t cross our picket line!”

“I’m sorry, but I have to study!” I’m not indirectly paying the librarians to potentially fail a test in order to support them as they demand more money. I’m sure they could do with more money, but I could also do with not wasting mine. I really did feel bad, but it really was the truth, strike or no strike, I needed to use the library.

It’s also great, the fact that the elections are coming up in the next few months, so politicians are campaigning right and left trying to win the student votes. The students here are very adament about not having to pay fees for their educations. I’m not exaclty sure how the system works, but I think university is free or relatively cheap. Some students are even demanding an allowance from the government for basic “necessities” while in university. (But we all know the necessities of a college student are easy mac and beer–especially in NZ). So I’m sorry folks, but I have absolutely NO sympathy for you here. $160,000 for an education makes you a very jaded person.

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

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