NZ is awesome. So far I have climbed an extinct volcano, gotten more or less lost in two separate cities, slept through a 12-hour flight (ha!), walked through most of one major geothermal area, spent an evening soaking in another one, watched a guy use soap to make a geyser erupt on cue, seen a live kiwi within a few feet (it was either fearless or oblivious, and there was glass between us), and gone gaga over a completely new set of flora and fauna. The trees -- good lord, they grow that way naturally?!
The toilet might flush backwards -- I haven't checked -- but if it does, it's not because I'm on the other side of the equator. (Coriolis force works that way for hurricanes, but a lowly toilet is way too small!)
It is indeed winter -- not too terribly cold here, but sunrise and -set are too close together and I'm definitely running around in jeans and sweaters. Sir Edmund Hillary's face is on the $20 bill; and a few of our number have already done something rather like bungee jumping, involving the Sky Tower in Auckland and a very long controlled fall.
The people are cool: I've already met several people I'm hoping I can call friends. One of them left orientation early for a geology field trip to the far-southern Stewart Island; another two are fellow plant geeks; yet another plays the ukelele (and brought it with her). I'm still wearing the hospital-bracelet bit of paper that served as my Zorb ticket. In about an hour, we leave for a traditional Maori dinner and meeting (a hangi), which will probably involve spears, poi, and singing.
Life is good.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
Nah, they don't grow that way naturally - I just made a whole Potemkin country and biosphere just for you! ;p
ReplyDelete