So it’s Thursday here in Wellington. Not much going on today. Had a tutorial that went pretty well. The first time I have ever had a TA walk into the room and take his shoes off before doing anything else.

The movie The Matrix has been mentoned many times in my lectures so I decided on Tuesday (movies are half off that day) to rent the trilogy and watch it. I was quite impressed. Although the action seems unreal in some circumstances it was a really thought provoking movie.

I choose to miss a tutorial yesterday while working on my Marketing notebook. I think overall it was worth it for the conversation I had while working on the notebook.

As always I continue to try and improve myself and I have been reading the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Habit 2 is to begin with the end in mind and to create a personal mission statement. Previosly the closest I have come to something like this is my semesterly and yearly goals, so it is kinda a big improvement for me. I will paste the first draft below and feel free to comment or send me yours @ [email protected].

Other than that life continues. My flatmates are a couple and they occasionally fight, not bad, just arguing, so that can be a little awkward at times as it was last night.

One of the differences I have noticed @ Vic is that the University does not bombard you with e-mails. I normally get about 4 a week compared to about 7 a DAY from Tech. However, as much as others complain about those e-mails (even myself sometimes with the dreaded Daily Digest is about something stupid like phone messages) they really help make you feel connected to the university and ensure you know what is going on.

Otherwise I am looking forward to cricket this weekend as well as the Kilbirnie Festival (I will bring my camera this time). I also want to make it out to Somes Island in the harbour at some point.

Thanks for reading! I love hearing from you guys and gals and continue to send you all the best!

___________________________
Mission Statement 3/10/10- First Draft

In my life I will strive to balance my social, family, and career goals in a productive manner.

I will endeavor to be a lifelong learner and to never fear asking questions. I aim to show my knowledge through hard work in my studies and to never compromise my integrity.

I will be a loyal and caring friend, being both supportive and fun. I will suspend judgment on those around me.

I will be an active, loving member of my family. I aim to prioritize family over other social aspects in my life.

I will be a healthy individual in both my eating and exercising habits.

In my relaxation time I will attend events that I love and prioritize time for me.

Overall I will be an energetic, happy, self-starter who is diligent and effective at achieving the goals I set for myself.

Oi!

It’s Tuesday here in Wellington and a beautiful sunny day. I think I am going to the beach later!

I had my first tutorial today, it is much like recesatation(sic) back in the states with a group of about 25 people in the room led by a tutor. Otherwise classes continue to be straightforward. However some interesting cultural notes to make are that at Uni, students focus exclusively on one to two majors and don’t take core type courses like we do in the states. Thus most first years take no math or science courses and go straight to classes about philosophy, history, film, etc. As well, once you are over 20 there are no requirements for getting into university.

Another tidbit that is currently being heavily debated is the mandatory joining of the Student Association and the related (required) fees. The NZ parliament is considering a bill that would allow students to choose whether or no they wanted to join the student association and pay the related fees. Personally I think this would be a terrible system as the support network behind student organizations is vital to their success.

It seems odd to say, well not odd really just different, well whatever. For the past week or so I have felt this amazing inner contentment and happiness. I think it comes from personal introspection and thought. But it still a great feeling. It may just be a further development of my growth but it is definitely different than stress and worry. I may expound more on this later as I am having trouble putting my feelings into words.

That being said there isn’t a lot to do in NZ at night that doesn’t involve drinking. I normally spend my evening (after about 8 when it gets dark) either studying for classes, watching movies, talking with my flatmates, reading, or playing Civ. Definitely a departure from the meetings, studying, and volleyball that I am accustomed too.

I hope everyone that is reading this is doing well! From what I read the recession is still putting quite a damper on things in Georgia and the rest of the US. That and well the war, nuclear proliferation, terrorism, trade imbalances, and etc. One thing about the news media in NZ, they don’t get too worked up and make things bigger than they are. But then again they don’t have too many global issues to deal with.

That’s all for now. Off to the flat for lunch (I forgot a spoon for my soup and then I am going to go lie on the beach and read!

Cheers!

Hello!

Had a pretty good weekend. Spent Friday afternoon on the beach once again enjoying the sun and sand. Don’t know what it is about the sun, water and sand, but it certainly is enjoyable. Ohh and it isn’t hot either because of the constant Welly wind.

Later Friday night went and walked Cuba Street scouting places I wanted to shop. Unfortunately due to a bank error I only had $100 for the weekend so needless to say I didn’t do any shopping this weekend.

However I did have my first experience of uncomfortableness in Wellington. There were two groups of punk teens that seemed to be about to get into a fight. This was the first uncomfortable Wellington situation I have been in and compared to Atlanta it wasn’t much.

Ohh and Fridays dinner was good. Farm fresh egg and cheese omelet with European style ham and a side salad. It was delicious!

Saturday morning was spent on skype and talking with the flatmates. Saturday afternoon was the beach and saturday night was just a movie and then a relatively early bedtime.

Sunday I woke up and went to the Farmers Market and got even more fresh fruit and vegetables and spent the rest of the mporning cleaning doing laundry and putting them away.

Saturday afternoon was spent at the Newtown festival. This thing was awesome! It was about 10 blocks long and had I think 8 side streets with multiple stages and entertainment venues. It was like Taste of Atlanta by about 4 or 5. Products and foods of all different kinds and it was very hard to walk because there were just so many people. I didn’t purchase anything but food but it was spectacular!

Sunday night I spent cooking for the week and made another vegetable soup (I think I am getting better) and some pizzas on Indian bread.

Movies I watched: Doomsday (Yes) and Traitor (Yes)

Overall a very relaxing and entertaining weekend!

Hello,

I think it is because I haven’t ever lived this close to a beach but I really love the beach here in Wellington. It is about a 10-15 minute walk from the flat and I often do it barefoot.

The beach itself is relatively small and has gravely sand. There is good sun all the way to eight o’clock and the tidal change is about 30 feet.

The beach also has a complex for the kids and is right next to an indoor pool.

I love coming to the beach and reading a book, but also enjoy listening to the Kiwi conversations going on around me. The waterfront also runs behind the beach so people continually walk, run, bike, and stroll along.

Overall it is really enjoying to just lay in the sun and read! I think it is a white person thing but I’m not entirely sure?!?

Anyways Cheers!

Hello, (I can’t think of a better way to start this)

My first week of classes were definetely interesting. I found the majority of my Professors (Lecturers) to be easy to understand and helpful. One of the most noticeable differences in the classroom climate was that you call the lecturer by their first name. Another difference was the fact that each class is actually called a paper.

Mark 101: Marketing. This lecturer is very engaging. He doesn’t have a cell phone or a tv but is a really nice fellow and enjoys what he teaches. One of the ways we are graded is in a response notebook in which you have to work with others from the class to complete the answers to questions. It forces people to interact and collaborate. It certainly seems like a good idea and I hope it works out. Overall I throughly enjoyed this lecture. There are about 200 people in this class. It’s also only 2 times a week and no mandatory tutorial!

Phil 104: This class is down and dirty of philosophy. The lecturer speaks quietly and quickly. She also is not very confident in herself while she is lecturing but she does engage the class which is nice. This class will have 4 different lecturers so I am believing that I will like one of the other lecturers better. There are over 220 people in this class! It meets 3 times a week and has a mandatory tutorial.

Phil 123: Argument and Analysis. I think this may be my favorite paper. There are two lecturers and both are engaging and easy to understand. The class has about 150 people in it. The content seems interesting and the course seems well put together and mentally challenging. This paper meets 3 times a week and has a mandatory tutorial.

IBUS 201: International Business. I am the class representative for this paper. It is defintely a good thing as there is only 1 but I am not entirely sure of my duties. The class is taught by a grad student. (Yay! ) But he seems really nice and eager (as most of them are). This class only meets once a week but has fortnightly case study lectures. There are about 125 people in this class and it is taught in the Pipitea campus only about 10 minutes away from parliament!

I can’t judge the rigor of the courses yet, but I can tell there will definetely be more writing and less math here.

Cheers!

Hey All!

I just wanted to detail both for your entertainment and my memoirs the things I did the week preceding the beginning of school.

Te Papa– This museum was huge! It took me three days of about 3 hours a day to get through it at a leisurely pace. The musuem was very modern and included lots of videos and unlike the Atlanta Aquarium provided ample reading material to make repeat visits worth it. I did not have the chance to get through the Pompeii exhibit, seeing as it costs money, but plan to go in the future.

Wellington Zoo– Contrary to the musuem this zoo was very small. Although the hills in the zoo would make you think twice. The zoo contained a great variety of animals mainly focused on Australian and African animals. There were many NZ animals as well, but they tended to be smaller and less spectacular. However, there were two exhibits that really stood out. The first was the kiwi exhibit. Kiwi’s are nocturnal so the entire exhibit is only lit by red light and there is a pathway through the exhibit that allows you to get within 1 foot of the kiwi without it seeing you. It is somewhat like a pecular chicken. It was exciting though because it is almost impossible to spot one in the wild and most visitors don’t get the chance to see one! The other amazing exhibit was the Malaysian bears. The are apparantly one of the smallest in the Bear family, but they are defintely unque. At the zoo, you got to be about 5 feet away from them. The most interesting thing was there claws. They come out of the paw at an angle rather than straightforward. They were very entertaining.

It is worth mentioning the zoo staff seperately. They were wonderful, walking around helping patrons and performing shows and live animal feeds throughout the day. They were very kind, always smiling, and seemed to really enjoy their job.

Karori– I went out to this suburb of Wellington to see what it was like. It is one of the larger suburbs that is close to the city but has no views of the bay. Altough it was very green and had plenty of housing, it didn’t feel as vibrant as the rest of Wellington.

Dragon Boat Festival- The Dragon Boat Festival was really quite interesting. They strung up a 300 m course along the waterfront and had 5 boats compete at a time. The boats cosisted of 24 people, one who stears and the other who acts close to a coxhain (sic?) . The paddles they use are seperate from the boat, unlike rowing, and the boat fills with lots of water. The teams consisted of corporations, groups, local businesses, and secondary schools. The races were quite interesting to race with the NZ Army winning the overall competition. The paddles were really iteresting though with their designs. My favorite was Deloitte’s paddle.

Frank Kitts Market– On Saturday I went to the Frank Kitts Market which was in an underground parking structure on the waterfront. (The top of the parking structure was a park). The Market was arts and crafts and much of it was geared towards women. However, there were some interesting works of art and I intend to go back before I leave.

Mt. Victoria Festival– I had high hopes for this festival and was a little dissapointed. Held in my suburb I mosied over after going to the Market and watching a few more dragon boats. It was a very environmentally consious festival, but I was dissapointed by the workshops which consisted of 30 or os people standing around a 10×10 tent whist someone explained quietly what they were doing. However, the food was interesting, vegan and vegetarian forms of almost everything you could imagine. I also did get tons of literature on the NZ Civil Defense, the NZ Green Party, and the local conservation group.

Farmer’s Market– This has to be one of my favorite parts of Wellington’s food life. It occus on Willis Street (about an 10 block walk) on Sundays from 6:30 AM til 2:00 PM. The selection is magnificient with most of the food coming directly from farmers or fisherman. Some of the things are imported (from the US even!) but everything is cheap. I have spent only 12 NZD and got enough vegetables to last for a week. The best part is that it isn’t like a fringe event. There are people of all ages and makes there and it is crowded! It feels good though to directly support farmers even if there is some dirt on your celery!

I will need to add more posts to catch up with my life but that was a great start!