New Zealand
So I am in New Zealand. I am actually starting to believe that I am here. We haven't actually done much volunteering yet, and we actually have a three-day weekend this week due to the Queen's birthday. Here is a synopsis of our time so far:
Bryne and I have been here for about three days. Our first day we settled into the house that we are staying at and wandered around the nearby town of Lower Hutt. Bryne and I are sharing a bunk bed. Our team consists of 6 other wonulteers, 4 from the UK and 2 from the US. The British people are Simon, Nikki, Florence and Louise. Simon and Lousie have neen here for a while already and will be leaving in two weeks. The other two volunteers are Molly who is also from Texas and Johnathan who is from Denver but actually goes to school at Claremont-Mckenna. Most of the people here are our age (in college) but there are a few who are a little bit older, probably late twenties. So far all the people we've met seem really nice and it should be good working with them.
On Friday, we had tea with the head of the Global Volunteer Nerwork and the two people that run the New Zealand Nature Program. After tea, we went sailing in the harbor. We got lucky and had really nice weather. We took lots of pictures of the beautiful scenery. We also saw lots of birds, including penguins. Since we get weekends off, yesterday we went into Wellington and spent the day exploring the city. We looked around the shops on the main retail street, walked around the botanical garden, and went to a couple bars after dinner. So far we have been having a great time, and we are loving New Zealand.
If anyone didn't get the e-mail, you can read about what Bryne and I are doing at http://journals.volunteer.org.nz/, although I will most likely be copying all of our entries here as well.
Can I just say how nice it is too be able to legally drink? It is so nice to just be able to have a bottle of wine with dinner, like we did last night. It actually looks like we will be going into Wellington again today because the nasty, rainy weather has ruined our plans of going to the beach. We are planning to go to the Te Papa musuem, which we have heard has a LOTR exhibit. Bryne and I are excited, of course.
I am having issues dealing with the sudden switch from winter to summer. The biggest problem is that the house doesn't have central heating, so it's not much warmer than the outside temperature. It's really not that cold, but I think I was just getting adjusted to the hot, humid weather we had the last few days in Ohio, and my body just cannot handle cold. The other day I was sitting on the couch wearing two shirts, a wool sweater, a sweatshirt, long underwear, jeans, socks, and slippers, and I was still cold. It was only after I covered up with two blankets that I started to warm up. Part of the problem is that I get really cold unless I am moving around. But, oh well, I guess I will just have to deal.
Bryne and I have been here for about three days. Our first day we settled into the house that we are staying at and wandered around the nearby town of Lower Hutt. Bryne and I are sharing a bunk bed. Our team consists of 6 other wonulteers, 4 from the UK and 2 from the US. The British people are Simon, Nikki, Florence and Louise. Simon and Lousie have neen here for a while already and will be leaving in two weeks. The other two volunteers are Molly who is also from Texas and Johnathan who is from Denver but actually goes to school at Claremont-Mckenna. Most of the people here are our age (in college) but there are a few who are a little bit older, probably late twenties. So far all the people we've met seem really nice and it should be good working with them.
On Friday, we had tea with the head of the Global Volunteer Nerwork and the two people that run the New Zealand Nature Program. After tea, we went sailing in the harbor. We got lucky and had really nice weather. We took lots of pictures of the beautiful scenery. We also saw lots of birds, including penguins. Since we get weekends off, yesterday we went into Wellington and spent the day exploring the city. We looked around the shops on the main retail street, walked around the botanical garden, and went to a couple bars after dinner. So far we have been having a great time, and we are loving New Zealand.
If anyone didn't get the e-mail, you can read about what Bryne and I are doing at http://journals.volunteer.org.nz/, although I will most likely be copying all of our entries here as well.
Can I just say how nice it is too be able to legally drink? It is so nice to just be able to have a bottle of wine with dinner, like we did last night. It actually looks like we will be going into Wellington again today because the nasty, rainy weather has ruined our plans of going to the beach. We are planning to go to the Te Papa musuem, which we have heard has a LOTR exhibit. Bryne and I are excited, of course.
I am having issues dealing with the sudden switch from winter to summer. The biggest problem is that the house doesn't have central heating, so it's not much warmer than the outside temperature. It's really not that cold, but I think I was just getting adjusted to the hot, humid weather we had the last few days in Ohio, and my body just cannot handle cold. The other day I was sitting on the couch wearing two shirts, a wool sweater, a sweatshirt, long underwear, jeans, socks, and slippers, and I was still cold. It was only after I covered up with two blankets that I started to warm up. Part of the problem is that I get really cold unless I am moving around. But, oh well, I guess I will just have to deal.