Skies of Auckland

I've been in Auckland for about four weeks now. Moving towards Week 5 at school, we've had out first two common tests at school - expecting three more next week. The Queen's birthday's on Monday, so we're expected to spend our long weekend studying for the tests O:)

Today at sixth period we had a school-arranged quiz event for under-18-year-olds (whee! :D). We got divided into groups according to our birth months, the dean asked us questions related to movies and New Zealand. My team, Girls on Fire, got third place. The prize for us was a box of assorted Cadbury chocolates ;)  My friend's team, who won first place, got movie tickets! They also had A TON of snacks and drinks laid out for us to munch upon, and later smuggle home. Our not-under-18 friends came along after last class of the day ended (quiz participants weren't considered absent because it's a school-arranged event) and helped us clean out the snacks. Another friend of mine happily bagged all the chips and dips in plastic bags from who-knows-where, and with a half-full bottle of three-litre tropical juice in one hand, walked happily home in jandals.

All in all, life's been just awesome here, although I always find myself falling into the temptations of food like churros and cookies. Things are bloody expensive here, and apparently Kiwis think so too. 

Well let's leave it there for now. Here are some random pictures I took over the weeks since I came here :)

 Sky Tower

 Future university's clock tower

Aotea Square

 

 Town Hall

My First Two Weeks Studying in NZ

Finally I'm back to this blog! I've just gone through my second week of school in Auckland, and I can honestly say that I have simply been LOVING it! :)

Of course, I was overwhelmed at first - new environment, new house (homestay), new people, new city, new school. I was actually more than ten minutes late to orientation day (my school's very strict on punctuality), so when I encountered my then-future-classmates for the first time, my hair was flying in all directions, my face flustered, my clothes untidy due to rushing down a hilly road.

Lucky for me, I've met amazing people in my programme, and it doesn't feel like I've only known them for two weeks. I've met people from countries like China, Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Russia, Thailand, and even Fiji!

The teachers are experts in their fields and all have varying teaching styles which . Then there's homework. On orientation day I selected Statistics, Accounting, Biology, and Economics. I also have to do English because I have no IELTS history but whatever. All but one of my subjects regularly keep us busy with homework - some daily, some weekly. The first week was insane, but I'm starting to get used to everything, and it's going even better and quicker than I ever expected.

As for my homestay, I'm blessed to be staying with a very friendly family. I have a housemate as well, who stays in the room across mine. The location of my house gives me the option to commute via train and bus. I'm a train person, but I catch the bus to go to school because the trains rare and crowded in the morning. Plus, my host mom makes delicious salad and pasta, and our three big cats are adorable beyond words. I never thought I'd grow to be fond of cats. Ever.

One of my friends' birthday is on this weekend, so we all gathered during a mutual free period, grabbed some lunch from McDonalds down Queen Street, and went for a picnic at a park behind our school. Before this I'd never known that our school had a park right behind it -_-" Long story short, it was an awesome outing that involved a prank, a victim, a dare, and lots of laughter :)

I've taken some photos of Auckland, and I'm going to post them here so stay tuned! :D

Last but not least, happy birthday Teri!! :3

アリシア