In the Beginning...

Hello all! Welcome to my travel blog, or shall I say "Kia Ora!"

I've been in New Zealand for about 3 weeks. It's true what they say - this country is one of the most beautiful places in the entire world. Everywhere I go, the land is green and rolling. The people are friendly and relaxed. The food....well....let's leave that topic for another day! Haha

Some things I've noticed since I've been here:

- the mullet: an essential for any "stylish" dude
- no shoes: not a requirement for the classroom, contrary to popular belief
- neon stubbies: bright weather calls for bright short-shorts (males only, sorry ladies)
- the use of the word "heaps": used in replace of "a lot"

For a couple weeks I was thinking that these Kiwi's were the strangest people on the planet. But then I realized (after being told by heaps of them) that I, being an American, am 1) always the loudest person in the room, 2) make even an innocent game of volleyball into a vicious competition, and 3) drink way too much coffee. True, true, and true. And I'm quite alright with all three of those, ha ha!

Being away from home for the first couple weeks was very difficult. No bear hugs, no sweet text messages from friends, no car with which to roam the roads. I didn't quite know what to do! I missed everybody so much. I've decided it takes approximately 2.15 weeks in a new country to meet enough people to have the perfect amount of socializing cookin'.

Some people I've met so far: Haley - a beautiful, hilarious woman my age who moved to Hamilton, New Zealand last year from Montana, USA with her family. She was a blessing! Coco - a sweet, caring woman who moved to New Zealand from China 7 years ago for a better education. Blair - a comically brave young man who came up on a dare to talk to Haley and me last week while we were studying over coffee, thinking we were "beautiful diamonds." He will definitely be an addition to the menagerie of friends this semester! Marty - the first person I met when I arrived, a social, fun-loving, butterfly that took me in and taught me what plasters are (bandaids, if you were curious!). And lastly, John and Lynda K. - the awesome parents of 3 who adopted me as their 4th, by picking me up for church on Sunday and making me lunch at their beautiful home my first week here! There will be more character profiles to come I'm sure, so stay tuned!

Here I am with Coco on my first adventure to the lovely Te Waihou Walkway - which is an hour's drive from Hamilton. Talk about beautiful! We may have gone to visit a "waterfall," but the rapid we found was a great alternative, he he!

This weekend I am off to the zoo, the gorgeous Hamilton Gardens, and the Waitomo Caves. I will be adding pictures from those adventures soon (unless my camera falls into the freezing water rushing through the caves...then I will be crap out of luck). Here's hoping for the best!

Cheers!