So it's day four of my kiwi adventure and things just keep getting better! I have had two days of orientation and time to familiarize myself with Massey University and a little bit the city of Palmerston North. Through orientation I've met a lot of other international students as well as many Americans. The two largest groups of international students are the Americans and the Germans who seem to all be studying bio-mathematics. It's amazing how easily you can meet other students since we are all in the same boat. I was just standing in the courtyard area and a girl approached me and asked me if I was an exchange student all because I was wearing an NC State sweatshirt and we have been hanging out ever since.
During orientation we had the mayor of Palmerston North come and talk to us a little about the city and it was really fascinating. The city is really a student city and has a great transportation system from the University into town for free! They are also the most sustainable city in New Zealand with over half of its power coming from the wind turbines just north of the city. They also don't have central heating in the homes which means less energy to power several small heaters than one big one. And even on campus they have a place where you can go and pay $20 (New Zealand dollars) to get a second hand bike and you get half the money back when you return the bike so it encourages students to get bikes instead of cars! They are crazy about recycling and have bins everywhere. It almost feels unnatural to throw something away in the trash (or rubbish bins as they like to call it).
Today we had some pointless orientations, but also some really cool field trips. I still haven't finalized my classes yet because of time conflicts so I'm going to have to find another class to take. I had to choose between equine reproduction and Maori customs and lore which are two of the classes I wanted to take the most. The Maori class would give me an obvious insight on Maori culture and is one of the big reasons I chose New Zealand to study. The equine class would give me the opportunity to learn how they teach animal science in other countries which was also another motivation for me to come to New Zealand. In the end I chose the Maori class, because I will never again have the opportunity to take such a class and I already am taking two other animal science classes (they call classes 'papers' which really confused me at first when people would ask how many papers I was taking). In the afternoon we got to take a farm visit to the sheep and dairy units and watch some sheep shearing and sheep herding. My goal is to get some volunteer time at one of the units as I think it would be a lot of fun. For dinner we went to a hotel and were treated with a live performance of traditional Maori dance and song, including the famous Hakka. It made me all the more excited to take the Maori class. During the diner I talked with a group of American students and we formed an informal travel group. We all want to take a skiing trip to the volcanic mountains north of Palmerston so we are going to start planning right away!
Unfortunately I am still fighting jet lag so even if it is only 9:00 pm on a Friday night I think I am going to crash into bed and get some sleep. Still trying to figure out my web cam as well so all of those that want to talk with me on skype, be patient. :) More to come from kiwi land...
PS- Had cool discussions with my flat mates about American culture and politics and what was the most interesting thing they had never heard of...beer pong. That right there is priceless.
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