Learning New Zealand: Waiheke and more

Hmm, let's see. What has happened since Wednesday..

Thursday was St. Patrick's Day. I had my normal classes (dance and then Kapa Haka, where we made poi (balls at the end of a string that the women dance with)) and then people came over to my flat, which was really fun. At first there were some people from PSV, but then they left and some of my IES friends came over. It was a really fun night besides being up late - my 10am dance class (and 8:30am wake-up) came far too early the next morning.

Friday I decided to keep my dance class because it was just easier. I talked with some of the people in my dance class and learned that some of them haven't really danced before and that PJ isn't really a good teacher in the department anyway. To which I responded that I haven't had any teachers recently in the states that care more about speed over quality. But whatever. The afternoon was pretty low-key, as was the evening. However, two of my flatmates and I went to The Chocolate Boutique! Adi and I have been meaning to go there (goal: try everything on the menu before we leave) and I got this delicious Death by Chocolate treat. It. Was. Amazing. And I got a truffle.

Saturday was also really relaxed. I woke up at noon, skyped with Britta and Chelsea (yay!) and went grocery shopping. At night, I went ice blocking with some friends. I'd never been before, and it was only halfway successful, but it was fun nonetheless. (Ice blocking is where you slide down a grassy hill on a big block of frozen ice. My friend who wanted to do it is from California - she said it's their way of sledding?)

Sunday was absolutely awesome. I went to Waiheke Island! It's this island about 35 minutes off the Auckland coast known for its beaches, vineyards, and being just overall beautiful and touristy - though nothing like touristy places in America. And let me tell you, it is. Right after we got off the ferry we realized we needed to get across the island because there was a vineyard tour we wanted to go to. The vineyard was absolutely beautiful. It was so green and there were olive trees and grape vines and palm trees all over. We learned that this particular vineyard has been around for a long long time and it is organic - which is why the wine is so expensive. We got two tastings, and while I usually do not find wine especially delicious, the wines we tasted were. If it wasn't so expensive I might have gotten a glass, however I didn't want to spend $15 NZD on a glass of wine. No thank you.

After the tour we walked a loooooong way down the road with no sidewalk to get to the beach. Onetangi beach was absolutely beautiful though. It was mostly sunny and the water was really clear and it was just stunning to be there. I fell asleep multiple times and didn't even get burned! I seriously love the beach. It was so peaceful to be there, as the only sounds were from the ocean (and the occasional child shouting to his/her parent). And the ocean is awesome. Obviously it's saltwater so one is more buoyant, but there are all sorts of cool shells and live sand dollars and little seaweed off the shore. Seeing the tide go out is really awesome too - Minnesota lakes do not come to par with the ocean. However, no worries, I still have extreme love for lakes and always will. I am just living up getting to see the ocean literally every day. (I can see it on my walk to class.)

It was getting late so a couple people went back, but three of us decided that we should do this walk instead! The walk didn't really work out (the directions were not clear on my map), so after finding a herd of sheep off of a road and talking to a local we finally found the "lookout" - which looked over the harbor one way, and was surrounded by cows blocked by an electric fence the other way. Seriously, these cows were about fifteen feet away from us and did NOT look happy that we were there.

Today was my long day of class (12-1, 2-5) and it really isn't bad except for my Italian lecture. I die of boredom. It's bad. Fortunately we got out early, so I was able to head back to PSV for about a half hour before leaving to go get Mexican food in town. It was so wonderful eating out since I've rarely eaten out and I was craving a burrito like nobody's business. My chicken burrito and strawberry margarita were extremely satisfying. It was interesting because I went out with a bunch of people from PSV who were mostly American and Canadian, none of which I know very well at this point. I don't think I have been around that many North Americans (there were 12 of us total) at once in over a month. It was a strange feeling. But it was cool to talk to some new people - especially since they all live within 2 minutes of me.

It's so strange to think that I've been here almost five weeks already. I wish the school part would hurry up and the abroad part would slow down. I have been procrastinating to the max on my homework (I did my homework for my 2pm class at 1pm today). I don't actually have anything important in any of my classes for a couple weeks but I seriously do homework once a week. On Monday. Before class. And then after class I write up a summary for my tutorial, which is tomorrow (Tuesday). I wish I loved all of my classes as much as I love Kapa Haka..

And pictures! :)

Death by Chocolate: chocolate ice cream, chocolate whipped cream, chocolate mousse, a chocolate fish, chocolate syrup, chocolate-covered peanuts, and a chocolate cone thing at the top.
AMAZING