The wonderful world of Weta.

July 31

First of all, let me just say that I cannot BELIEVE it’s the end of July already! Where has this month gone? I definitely do not feel like I’ve been here for a month already! Craziness. It makes me realize I’d better get my butt in gear if I want to go out and do/see things. November, I have a feeling, is going to creep up rather quickly.

But enough of that, I want to talk about this evening – an evening I’ve been looking forward to all week. Be prepared for a long entry!

Tonight, two people from Weta Workshop came and gave a presentation to a group of us international kids. The first was Matt Appleton, who served as an armor supervisor, and who also worked on various miniatures for Lord of the Rings (along with King Kong and Narnia, but this evening was all about Lord of the Rings).

The other was his partner, Emily Sturrock. I’m so jealous of what she got to do. She originally applied to Weta to be a make-up and prosthetics artist, but started out making chain mail and sewing hairs onto hobbit feet. But, once production started, she had (in my opinion) one of the coolest jobs ever. She was the armor and weapons stand-by for the lead actors. Meaning she was the one carrying around Sting, Anduril, Hadhafang, etc. and helping people like Viggo Mortensen, Bernard Hill, Miranda Otto, the hobbits, the Witch King, and Sauron into their armor on a daily basis. How cool is that?

Matt and Emily started out talking a bit about Weta Workshop in general. They’re the one responsible for all the amazing prosthetics, armor, weaponry, props, miniatures, and sets for Lord of the Rings. As far as the armor and weapons go, they said “Weta makes everything that either prevents harm or does harm.” The rest, they said, is up to wardrobe.

After watching a short video of clips of various things Weta has worked on, Matt and Emily started in on the juicy bits of their presentation. First, they passed around various props and things, explaining a little about each and what it was made and used for.

(One caveat here – if you’re not too into Lord of the Rings, you may not want to bother reading further. I’d hate to bore you with my geekiness.)

They had with them skulls (both large foam ones and little tiny ones) from the Paths of the Dead scenes in Return of the King. They had some chain mail from Kingdom of Heaven and Narnia, and explained how Weta’s making of mail has evolved over the past 10 years. They passed around various helmets – a Rohan one, and one from the Army of the Dead from Return of the King. The Army of the Dead one was all leather, and super cool looking. They also had (unused) hobbit feet and ears – hair and all! They had an arm from the Dead Marshes (which, I now realize, I didn’t get a picture of! Grr.), as well as an early orc mask and some elven arrowheads.












But now to my favorite things! The first was a miniature version of Aragorn’s chainmail vest from the Battle at the Black Gates from Return of the King. The reason a miniature was made was because, originally, they filmed a scene in which Aragorn fought Sauron at the Black Gates. For this, Kieran Shaw (who was Frodo’s scale double) was dressed as Aragorn, and “Tall Paul” was dressed as Sauron. This made Sauron look all of the 9 feet he’s supposed to be. The scene, of course, was never in the film (which is probably a good thing), but the story is still neat. But, sorry Mom. No actual Viggo clothing.

My other favorite thing – or, I guess things – was Frodo’s sword, Sting. They had two versions of it – a large Elijah-sized one that (I think) was steel, and a smaller scale double one that was made out of a special type of plastic. It was really cool holding such an important prop!












After passing around and talking about all the props, Matt and Emily started a slideshow. The slideshow in itself wasn’t all that special. But, with every battle scene or confrontation came a unique story about their experiences working on Lord of the Rings. I obviously don’t remember everything, but here are a smattering of funny and interesting things that I do remember. I’ll try to put them in chronological order…

In the very beginning of the Fellowship of the Ring, Emily was in charge of Sauron’s armor and weapons. The guy she was dressing was so tall, and the armor so heavy, that she had to carry around a stepladder with her in order to get his helmet on and off.

In the Fellowship, when Saruman’s orcs are seen pulling down a tree with ropes, it’s actually a real oak tree that they’re pulling down. Someone from the art department was driving along, saw the tree, knocked on a door, and bought it. They then dug it up, decided which roots they liked best, and chopped it up into pieces. They then brought it on set, put it back together, added some more leaves (because “nothing natural ever looks good on screen”), and affixed it to the ground on a giant hinge. It took some time to pull it down, however, because a heavy rain made the ground muddy and reluctant to give way. During that scene in the film, what you don’t see is the 4-wheeler and various crew members manning more ropes to help the orcs pull the tree down.

At Weathertop, after hours of a night shoot in the rain, the four hobbits (who had spent most of the night dry in their trailers) entertained the crew at 2 a.m. with a can-can line, hobbit feet and all.

During the filming of the Flight to the Ford scene, when the Ringwraiths are chasing Arwen and then the river swallows them up, Matt realized on the way to location down near Queenstown that he only had 2 plastic swords, and seven steel ones. The actors couldn’t use steel swords around the horses, so he had to think fast. Think Macguyver. He said he was going to town to get some paint before shooting began, but really ran around desperately trying to fashion “swords.” They ended up being made of some sort of reed and paint. You’d never know it in the film.

Next time you watch Fellowship, take note during the Council of Elrond at the elf sitting immediately next to Gandalf. That’s Matt!

When Saruman’s Uruk-Hai are being “birthed,” those are real actors in costume. Head-to-toe costume that took 10 hours to apply. 10 hours! Matt said they covered “certain parts” last, in case of any last-minute urges to go to the bathroom.

In the Mines of Moria, it was Emily’s suggestion that the hobbits sheath their swords before running down the narrow stairs on the way to the bridge of Khazad-Dum. She was afraid of them falling on sharp swords. Sean Astin made fun of her, asking if she would also advise them not to run with scissors.

During the Battle of Helm’s Deep, the crew not only had to change their sleep schedules, but they would try to convince themselves that night was day and day was night. They’d sleep until about 4 p.m., go to work, and finish up at sunrise. They would be served breakfast around 6 p.m. each night, and got very upset if the caterers tried to serve burgers, or any other food that didn’t belong on the breakfast table.

They would go home from Helm’s Deep every morning covered in mud and blood – “either black or red, depending on which side you were working on that day.”

The scene in which Aragorn bursts through the doors of the keep at Helm’s Deep, dripping wet and looking all rugged, caused quite a stir among the female crew members once it was shown to them. Emily said, “Before that, he was just Viggo. But after that, he was just WOW.” She said quite a few of the men on crew would try and copy it every now and then. “But it never worked for some reason,” Matt said. Emily even discussed this scene with Miranda Otto (Eowyn), with Peter Jackson giggling about it in the background.

At one point during Helm’s Deep, Emily had too many people she was in charge of to keep track of. They were filming the scene where the Lothlorien Elves arrive at Helm’s Deep. 100 elves were marching in as Haldir was greeting Theoden, and Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli were descending the stairs to meet them. Emily was responsible for making sure they were all dressed and ready to go. Orlando, she said, was really bad with his spatial perception when he was wearing his long bow (which he was all the time at Helm’s Deep). “He would turn around and take out someone’s legs. Or a camera. Or a camera crane!” So, to see that people were only “bashed” instead of “wounded,” Emily created Legolas’ “daisy.” It was a styrofoam something-or-other made to look like a big daisy. She would stick it on the end of his bow when he finished a scene, and remove it at the top of the next scene. During this scene of 100 elves and tons going on, her assistant was responsible for taking the daisy off, throwing it down to her, and then she would replace it at the end of the scene. They did two takes, and everything went fine. But, on the third, the assistant never threw down the daisy, and shooting began before Emily could do anything about it. And soon there came Legolas, waltzing down the stairs with a huge daisy on the end of his bow. The first AD saw it, glared at Emily, but couldn’t call cut because Peter was there and didn’t notice it. So the scene progressed. Eventually, Viggo glanced over at Orlando, did a double take, and whipped the daisy off, hiding it behind his back. When the scene was over, Peter was really excited, and said it was the best take yet. Until Emily came over and showed him the daisy and where it had been during the scene. She said that was the first time she heard PJ swear on set. I wonder if that’ll show up in the bloopers?

The trees in Fangorn Forest were, in reality, only about 3-feet high. They were also a form of weed brought over to NZ from Scotland. The art department went around to farmers, asking to buy these weeds. The farmers, of course, were only too happy to oblige, and offered other weeds for sale, too.

Fangorn, being built in a large, warm building, attracted not only bugs, but also a cat. Matt said there’s footage somewhere of what appears to be a gigantic cat stalking through Fangorn Forest. Apparently, a similar thing happened in the Moria miniature. But there, the giant creature was a sneaky lizard.

Everyone’s favorite prop was Grond. Matt said they even had shirts made up to honor him and his battering ram goodness.

In the Paths of the Dead, when the wall of skulls falls and almost drowns Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli, the skulls were made of foam (so as to not harm the heroes). The skulls “bounced like tennis balls,” according the Emily, who was one of the ones responsible for trying to pick them all up after a take. She said they were finding foam skulls everywhere for months afterward; they bounced into some odd places, apparently.

During the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, with 300 horses and riders to armor and dress, the stand-bys were in really high demand. In order to make sure they didn’t have to keep running on and off of the set, little “twig and canvas” huts were built in the middle of the field. So, after dressing riders, Emily was run into a hut. Then the ground would shake as 300 horses and riders charged all around her and the other stand-bys. So, when you watch the Rohirrim charge in, just think that somewhere, in a little canvas hut, Emily is hiding, hoping not to be run over.

Mirando Otto was “a goddess of a woman” to work with, according to Emily. “She’s 5-foot-nothing, and a size nothing,” she said, describing Miranda’s stature. But, she was tough. She was only one of two people who wore a full mail shirt as part of her costume (the other was Viggo at Helm’s Deep), and, when she battled with the Witch King, he really was wailing on her. But she never complained, not even when the mail started leaving huge bruises on her shoulders. Emily said Miranda spent the time in between shots lying on her back, to give her shoulders a rest.

When Frodo and Sam are disguised as orcs in Mordor, Sam’s costume is in peril of falling apart in every shot. Sean Astin apparently felt claustrophobic in his costume, so it was redesigned so that he could grip it at the shoulder and tear it off if he felt he had to. Matt called it the “stripper orc costume.”

Emily and Matt both commented that each “army” (Uruk-Hai, orcs, Elves, Gondorians, Rohirrim, etc.) took on an identity of its own. The Uruks were “the supermodels," the Gondorians didn’t have personalities, the Rohirrim were “trailer trash,” and the elves were sissies. During the scene where the elves are charging down a hill into a sea of orcs, Emily said they “lost at least one or two elves each take.” The Uruks, on the other hand, loved falling down. At Amon Hen, when they fell running down the hill, they would use their breast plates to literally body surf the rest of the way down.

They also talked a bit about certain scenes that were never shot. Like the battle between Aragorn and Sauron, Arwen fighting at Helm’s Deep, and showing Sauron forging the One Ring by cutting his hand and forming the Ring from his own blood. We saw photos of this last bit. Sauron got new armor for this particular scene. Originally, he had very spiky, brittle armor. When Aragorn fought him, bits of Sauron kept breaking off and getting buried in the sand. So, when they redesigned him, they dubbed him “Sauron the Beautiful.” This is what Emily referred to him as for at least five minutes, which was amusing.

A good way to show off things they’d created, but that were never used in the films, was on Decipher trading cards. Characters like Tom Bombadil, Goldberry and Radagast the Brown appear on these cards, even though they’re nowhere to be found in the films. Also, things like Theodred’s gorgeous armor and Arwen’s quiver are pictured.

Lastly, Matt noted how these things that Weta make often get categorized as “artifacts” when they’re sent off to museum exhibitions. He remembered helping to set up the exhibit at Te Papa. He found a bunch of Uruk spears wrapped in bubble wrap and being handled very carefully. “And we would toss those things around the carpark” during filming, he said.

This is so much to take in… but it was so cool to listen to them tell their stories! What I wouldn’t give to have been there…

I come from the swing state.

July 29

Today was an interesting day. It kicked off with a group assignment in Travel Writing where we were assigned a spot on campus to observe for half an hour, and then were asked to write a scene about it to share with the rest of the class. Laurel and I were assigned the library.

Now, I don’t know if you’ve been inside a college library at quarter past nine on a Tuesday morning. But, if you haven’t (which, if you’re a college student, I’m assuming you haven’t, unless it was during finals week, which doesn’t count), let me enlighten you: No one is in the library at quarter past nine on a Tuesday morning. For sure, no one is chit-chatting, whispering, or even interacting at all. Which is, of course, what we were supposed to be writing about.

So we decided to focus on what wasn’t there – sound. Yes, we wrote 230 words about how quiet the Massey library is. But, for something written within 10 minutes about a silent library, I don’t think we did too bad. John (our lecturer) seemed to enjoy it, too, so kudos to us.

For your reading pleasure:

The ticking of the small white wall clock overhead is the loudest noise to be heard in the far corner of the library. An empty table, walled-in by books, bears the signs of design students’ pencil smudges. The towering purple bookshelves are filled with colorful bindings, boasting titles such as “How to Lose Friends and Infuriate Your Boss” and “The Power of Inclusion.”

The book trolley trundles by, pushed aimlessly by a tall librarian in bright red tights. They roll past, and it is silent again. Occasionally, a bundled-up student wanders by, book in hand, without making eye contact.

Nearby, slightly hidden by the spines of books, the photocopiers drone soothingly. The clock’s ticking, however, is still loudest.

Someone coughs around the corner. Pages shuffle, and a backpack is zipped up.

Over near the photocopiers, a guy in plaid shorts and a wooly jumper with a diamond pattern on it suddenly punches holes in the photocopies he’s just made. The noise is like a gunshot in the dark. His garish, multi-colored yarn beanie, however, is slightly louder.

After the hole punching, the quiet is restored momentarily. But just as the ticking clock regains its monopoly over the library sounds, something else tears into the silence.

A great, ripping, slicing noise fills the room, like a knife tearing ominously through fabric. Somewhere, someone is using the paper cutter.

It could use some editing, sure, but I quite like it. It makes me think about Literary Journalism, and how much I enjoyed that class. I like to tell myself this would make O'C proud.

After class (my one and only of the day), Una and I headed over to the Marae (Maori meeting house) for free lunch. The lunch turned out to be a strange (well, strange to me, at least) pumpkin soup and bread. I was not a fan of the soup, but the rolls were delicious. And it was free food, so I can’t complain.

While at lunch, a group of Indonesian men sat down next to us and started asking where we were from and other such standard questions that we, as international students, are quite used to hearing by now. When I told the man next to me I was from Ohio, he got very excited and said something very quickly that I didn’t catch because of his heavy accent. I asked him to repeat it, and realized he was saying something about “swing state” and “president election.” Yes, even the Indonesians are wrapped up in U.S. politics. When the man asked who I would vote for, I said probably Obama. He clapped his hands and grinned, and his friend leaned over to give me a high-five. I wonder who they’re rooting for?

After talking politics with the Indonesians for a bit, I headed back to the library (which had livened up a bit by then) for my routine Internet browsing, reading, and general lolling about. Andrea and I talked a bit about our plans for our South Island trip (which we plan to take with Jamie in October), and so I got excited and started looking up fun things to do down there. So far we’ve got whale watching, a train ride, jet boating, a Milford Sounds cruise, and perhaps even a helicopter ride on our list.

As I headed back to the Cube later, I realized I’d told Tina that I would pick up some toilet paper, as we have somehow already gone through 40 rolls since I’ve been here. I made a detour to the Warehouse, where you can pick up 40 rolls for $11. But I clearly hadn’t really thought things through. I had my bag filled with heavy books on one shoulder, my laptop case in one hand, and now 40 rolls of toilet paper to lug back to my flat.

By the time I got inside, my shoulders and back were aching. And, of course, the elevator chose tonight to go on the fritz, and so I had to haul everything up an additional 14 flights of stairs. My calves had better start looking damn good in the near future.

Did you know?

Every morning, on my way to campus, I pass a sign for “Mrs. Mac’s Famous Meat Pies.” This sign, without fail, leads me eventually to think about “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” and how I really want to read it again. I know that seems like an odd connection to make, but let me explain how my mind gets itself there:

Seeing the sign for “famous meat pies” makes me think of “Sweeney Todd” and Mrs. Lovett’s meat pies. (I actually said this once to Jamie and Andrea, making a joke about Mrs. Mac using the same sort of “meat” as Mrs. Lovett, but either neither of them have seen “Sweeney Todd,” or they both didn’t think it was funny, because they didn’t laugh. Oh well.) Thinking about Mrs. Lovett makes me think of Helena Bonham Carter, who played Mrs. Lovett in the recent movie. (Which then momentarily makes me think of how pregnant she was in that film, but that’s really neither here nor there). I then think about how Helena Bonham Carter plays Bellatrix Lestrange in the Harry Potter movies (and does so very well, I might add). Thinking about Bellatrix makes me think of her demise in “Deathly Hallows” by Mrs. Weasley’s wand, which makes me really want to read the book again. And so we go from meat pies to Harry Potter.

In my defense, I only read the last book once, and I really wanted to read it again. But I just never found time. Perhaps I’ll have to pick up a copy here and make it my travel reading on the way to Australia next month. I’ve seen it in bookshops, and not only is it not too expensive, but, in paperback, it’s a lot thinner than I would have imagined.

I suppose I have quite a few similar random things I could prattle on about now. Should I? Perhaps not. But I will anyway.

Some more amusing TV ads:

Picture this: A gorilla is centered on your TV screen. The opening strains of Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight” drift in, as the gorilla blinks and stretches its neck. The song begins, and you have no idea what this ad is about, or if it’s even an ad for anything. The gorilla sits there until right before the drums enter into the song. Then, the camera pans back to reveal the gorilla sitting behind a drum set. A drum set it proceeds to play along with the Phil Collins song. What’s the ad for? Cadbury chocolate, of course. A minute and a half ad for chocolate in which chocolate is never pictured, but a gorilla plays the drums. I’ll leave you to figure that one out on your own. I’m told that particular Phil Collins song is now back on the charts here in New Zealand. Go figure.

You can see it on You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKdQC-hbY7k

Okay, now this one: A woman in a sexy dress is in front of a pedestal sink and mirror, pulling her hair back, when a man (perhaps a husband? or at least a lover of some sort) walks up behind her and takes her hand. She turns around, and they start making out. The man lifts the woman up so that she’s sitting on the edge of the pedestal sink. But suddenly they both fall over, and sprawl out on the floor. The camera pulls back to show the pedestal part of the sink to be all rubbery and bent over – deflated, if you will. The camera then focuses on the man, who is curled into a near-fetal position on the floor. Text comes up that reads: It’s better when it’s hard. And it’s an ad for Viagra. Ha! I love it.

I’ve been learning more kiwi-isms in the past few days, too. I’ll add them all them to my previous list, but there are a few I’d like to point out:

Tina refers to eating a meal as “having a feed,” which I find both slightly awkward and brilliant at the same time.

Also, apparently they don’t use the word “period” here to describe that little dot at the end of a complete sentence. They call it a “full stop,” and tell you you’re crazy if you say anything different. Dani even called it “disgusting” when I referred to it as a period. It’s strange, because I had no idea that wasn’t a standard part of grammar. Like, you know, the comma. Why don’t they have a special word for comma? This is quite confusing to me. And whenever I think of calling it a “full stop,” the only thing I can think of is that scene in “The Sound of Music” when Liesel and Friedrick are “writing” telegrams to each other before they dance/sing in the rain. “Dear Friedrick. Stop.” Except the stop is actually the period, or “full stop.” Which, I suppose thinking of it in that way, actually makes perfect sense. Huh.

A wet weekend.

July 29

My weekend was fairly uneventful. It was rainy and cold, and so I don’t think anyone felt like going out much. On Saturday, Andrea and I were going to go to dinner and see the Dark Knight, but tickets were sold out by the time we got there (it just came out here in NZ last Thursday). So we ended up getting dinner at the Hog’s Breath Café (yum!), stopping by New World for candy and Mountain Dew, and ending the evening with TV at my place.

Sunday was much the same, except I didn’t venture into town. I braved the rain and went up to the library for a few hours to get some reading done. Normally, I would never do this. At home, I certainly would never do this. But the library is heated, and my flat is not. So my cold fingers and toes won out, and I drug them and the rest of me to campus. When I got back, Dani and I watched “Just Like Heaven” on TV, and I went to bed far too late.

It was back to classes on Monday, with me being really productive in the in-between time. I read about half of “Songlines” by Bruce Chatwin, which is one of the books I’m reading for my Travel Writing class. It’s really interesting, and very well-written. Chatwin has this theory that humans – all of us – were designed to be nomads, and that we weren’t actually meant to settle down and stay in one place. Our boots (or, really, our feet) apparently really were made for walkin’. So, in this book, Chatwin is in Australia, trying to learn about Aboriginal songlines. A songline is a sort of “map” of the country, with each song representing the path an “Ancestor” took back when the world was being created. The Aboriginals believe that everything that exists on earth was sung into being by the ancestors. And, when following in the footsteps of your particular Ancestor (because everyone has a certain one, be it Perenty Lizard, Bandicoot, Wallaby, etc.), you have to sing the correct songline so the world can be “re-created” as you go along. I’m probably not doing a very good job explaining it, but it really is interesting. Especially since it gives two looks at the Aboriginal people – the view of the common Westerner, and then the view of those who actually know and work with them. Cool stuff.

After lots of reading and such, Jamie and I went out to Chicky’s for dinner. It’s a chicken place right down the road from me that makes really good sandwiches and decent fries. It was a tasty way to end the evening. Then it was back to the flat to chill out with the girls and watch some TV. And lend Tina my phone so she could text a guy. A guy who, since then, stood her up for a date. I take no responsibility for this.

Baby, it's cold outside.

July 25

I haven’t had much to report the past couple of days. Life hasn’t been very exciting in this dismal weather. Wellington is going through a wet, chilly spell lately. Meaning the temperature is dipping below 50, with the persistent winds making it feel a lot more like the kind of winter I’m used to. My toes are currently nearly numb. But it’s still not cold enough to snow – just almost cold enough to snow, but plenty warm enough to rain. All I have to say is that I’m impressed by my little lime green North Face – it’s performing admirably well here, keeping me nice and toasty (not to mention dry) while outdoors.

Today at least has been a brief respite from the rain. It’s cooler and windier today than it has been so far this week, but I’ll gladly take that over cold rain any day. The sun is even shining right now, peeping through the clouds.

I spent most of my waking hours today in the library, reading about early journalism and printing off various things. I also was finally able to buy my travel writing books today. Two 300-page books set me back $44, which I wasn’t really too happy about. But I suppose it can’t be avoided. Now I need to get to reading one of them.

With random expenses like that cropping up, I’m forcing myself to implement a measure of frugality now. Which is a really ugly word, now that I think about it. Regardless, however, I need to save money. My shopping trip with Ash yesterday set me back a bit when I bought a NZ hoodie. Although, in my defense, it was practically necessary in this weather. It’s very toasty and warm, and I certainly don’t regret it. But I do need to start being more careful.

I’ve taken to writing down my daily expenses, along with estimating what I’ll need to set aside while I’m here. I’m doing alright so far, am I’m pretty confident I’ll be okay. I’ve discovered I can refill my water bottles on campus for free (there are swivel faucets on every water fountain specifically for this purpose), and a liter bottle of Coke ($3.20 at the convenience store) can be stretched to last at least half a week, if not more. So that’s good news, at least.

But I’m just rambling now. I know no one cares how much a liter of Coke costs.

I don’t have much else to go on about, however. Tonight, Andrea and I watched a couple of episodes of Grey’s Anatomy (she’s got seasons 1 and 3 on DVD), and then we finished off the night with “We Are Marshall.” Hopefully tomorrow we’ll think up something else fun to do. Though, at this point, it’s really just about getting through this next week before we have our adventure in Auckland!

Lastly, I will leave you with this: Last night on the news, there was a story about a judge who ruled that parents should be penalized for “giving their kids silly names.” It made me think of Ernie Brown at the Vindy, and all the stupid names I’ve heard recently. It made me very happy.

Random Observations

“Windy Wellington” is a pretty accurate nickname. However, when the sun does shine, it’s a stunning city. The sun seems to shine brighter here somehow.

They serve lamb just about everywhere – even Subway has lamb on the menu.

This really is the best place to be for the more-than-likely outbreak of WWIII: New Zealand is thousands of miles from the nearest superpower; it has no nuclear weapons; it has no oil or other sought-after fuels; and there would be absolutely no strategic advantage in invading/overtaking the country.

It’s easy to pick out the Americans here – they’re usually the really loud, obnoxious ones wearing various North Face articles.

There’s a bar on Massey’s campus.

Here, being an artist is just as acceptable as being a lawyer (or “barrister”).

It’s hard to tell if the toilets really do flush the opposite way, because they don’t really tend to swirl at all. But they do have a half or full flush option, to save on water.

It’s all about conservation and being environmentally friendly here. Plus, electricity is expensive.

I’m learning the art of performing the “smell test” on my clothes before re-wearing them, because laundry is expensive here. And, the dryers don’t actually do a very good job drying clothes.

There is no central heating here. Or screens on windows.

Gas is sold by the liter here, and is ridiculously expensive (over $2 per liter!).

Tights, boots, long sweaters and skinny jeans are very popular here. The skinny jeans with both sexes.

Practically the entire country is smoke-free. Technically, smoking is forbidden in all public places (meaning even sidewalks and streets), but that isn’t actually enforced very much.

Easy Mac just doesn’t taste the same here.

They have crosswalks here with no lights or stop signs. And yet, they work. Cars actually stop to let pedestrians cross!

NZ television doesn’t seem to be censored for language. You can hear plenty of “fuck”s and “shit”s on the tube. Also, I saw Janet Jackson’s boob appear during primetime TV.

There’s a pizza place here called “Hell.” The names of its pizzas are entertaining (such as the seven deadly sins), and they even have one named “Mordor.”

Some slang:
Upset = Gutted
Straight forward, blunt, etc. = Straight up
A lot = Heaps
Getting drunk = Getting pissed
Peanut butter and jelly = Peanut butter and jam (jelly here is Jell-O or fruit snacks)
Elevator = Lift
Trash = Rubbish
Trash can = Rubbish bin
Band-aids = Plasters
American football = Gridiron
Grilled cheese = Cheese toastie
Cool = Flash
Do you want to? = Are you keen?
The letter "Z" = "Zed"
Tasty = Yum (As in, "That was yum!")

Spelling is also quite different – oftentimes arbitrary, it seems. They’re fans of the British “re” instead of “er,” as in centre, litre, etc. I’ve also seen “tires” spelled “tyres.”

New Zealanders also seem fond of open-ended similes. The one I hear most often is “sweet as.” As in, “That was sweet as!” But what it was as sweet as, you never find out.

This certainly is not an all-inclusive list. It’s just what I can think of so far.

Auckland plans and Janet Jackson's boob.

July 22

Today was a rather slow day on campus. The weather turned back to crap (and seems like it will remain crap for at least the next week), so after my one morning class, I holed up in the library to read, upload new pictures, and write out some postcards. Having accomplished all of that, I booked rooms for Andrea, Jamie and I at a backpacker’s hostel in Auckland. All of our plans are officially made now, so that’s exciting.

The weekend is set to play out as such: Leave Wellington at 8 a.m. Friday, August 1. Arrive in Auckland around 9, when Una, Melinda and myself will meet up with Vic James of Red Carpet Tours and head down to Matamata (Hobbiton!) while Jamie and Andrea explore Auckland. I’m meeting the girls for dinner later at the Sky Tower. Saturday morning, weather permitting, we’re going horseback riding on the beach. That evening, it’s off to see the New Zealand All Blacks take on Australia in what should be an exciting match of rugby. We have Sunday to do whatever we can think up in the city, and we fly back to Wellington that night. Fingers crossed for good weather and lots of fun!

After sorting all of that out, I made my way back to my flat for some soup and chips (actual potato chips, not fries). Then I sat down to watch some TV with Tina, Dani and Ash (Tina’s friend who technically lives next door, but who really basically lives in our flat, which is fine because she’s cool).

It’s Maori language week here in New Zealand, so all of the news casts were peppered with Maori “words of the day” and such, and one segment was totally in Maori with subtitles. It was interesting, because you don’t really see anything like that in Ohio. Then again, I suppose if Ohio were a bilingual state, it wouldn’t be so uncommon. Regardless, though, it was kind of neat to see and hear.

The other interesting thing was that, on NZ’s version of Nightline, they were running a story having to do with Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction” at the Superbowl a few years back. They kept playing the clip, except that here they don’t censor it. Since I didn’t actually see it happen on TV, and because I’m not really the type to go and seek that sort of thing out on the Internet, that was the first time I’d actually seen it. But there it was, Janet’s boob just flopping out in the open on public television. It was strange, but I guess that’s just one of the wonders of primetime TV in New Zealand.

After that, we watched a quiz show called “The Rich List,” followed by “Outrageous Fortune,” an apparently wildly popular New Zealand sitcom/drama about a dysfunctional family. It was quite good. Ash was saying they’re supposed to be coming out with an American version, and I really hope they don’t. We Americans really have a knack for ruining good television.

Sunrise, sunset.

July 21

As Monday seemed like it was going to be the only decent day this week, Andrea, Jamie and I decided it would be as good a time as any to make our return trip to Mount Victoria to try and catch a sunset. Monday indeed turned out to be an absolutely gorgeous day – warm temperature, light breeze, and a brilliantly blue, sunny sky.

My 9 a.m. class was cancelled, so I woke up early to walk down to Briscoes for a duffel bag (for the trip up to Auckland the first weekend of August), and then I ran over to New World for some groceries. I got serious this time: soup, peanut butter and jelly, bread, salami, snacks, and of course some more kettle chips. I loaded everything into my new duffel bag, and lugged it back up to my flat with just enough time to spare. Then it was off to campus.

I went to class, then met Jamie and Andrea at the library around 4. Looking at the bus timetable, we realized we only had 40 minutes to grab dinner, deposit our bags, and make it down to Courtenay Place to catch the number 20 bus at 4:42.

After shoveling down some food and booking it down to Courtenay Place, we thought we’d missed the bus. We arrived at 4:41, just as two buses were pulling away from a different timetable that said the 20 bus actually arrived at 4:40. Jamie was ready to call it a day and go in for ice cream. I told her Andrea and I would wait for a few more minutes, just in case, and that if the bus came, we were leaving without her.

She went inside, and, naturally, the bus came. I couldn’t be that cruel, however, so I caught her before she put in her order, and we boarded hastily.

The winding drive up Mount Victoria was tense. Not only because we started to feel nauseous, but also because the sun was sinking dangerously low to the horizon, and we were afraid we would be too late.

But as we exited the bus and were told to be back at 5:35, we realized we’d gotten there just in time. We climbed to the lookout, and had a great view of the city, bathed in the orange-gold rays of near-dusk. The harbor was calm and still, planes were taking off and landing at the airport, and we were the only ones up there to take it all in.

Our cameras flashed out immediately, and we began snapping picture after picture. A jogger soon joined us, and after I took a photo of him, he took one of all of us. We spent half an hour or so watching the sun set over the city, as the lights below slowly started to flicker on.

At 5:30, we made our way back to the bus. The driver, apparently with nowhere else to go, had simply waited for us, and seemed startled to see us return. He asked us if we’d seen “the other side,” and when we looked confused, explained how we could walk down the road to a second lookout with a better view of the harbor and Oriental Bay. He told us he’d meet us down there.

We eventually found our way, just as the last pinks and violets were fading from the sky. Wellington really is a sight to see at dusk, especially from that vantage point. The harbor was absolutely breath-taking.

A whistle from our bus driver guided us to where we had to meet him, and I think it’s safe to say we all left feeling satisfied with our trip. But, by that time, we were also glad to get back onto a warm bus. Mount Victoria gets quite chilly after sundown.

When we got back to Courtenay Place, much to Jamie's delight, we finally got that ice cream.

Settling in, more or less.

July 20

I survived my first serious bout of homesickness today. I was postponing my 120+ pages of reading, and my mind started wandering to what people at home would be up to. I started picturing Mom and Kitty curled up in the living room in front of the TV; Dave playing tug-of-war with Bailey, or perhaps sitting in front of his computer with a beer (I figured the latter would be much more likely, though the former is much cuter to think about), and it made me quite sad. It’s starting to set in how long I’ll be away from them.

But once I forced myself to do some serious reading, the homesickness passed. I met up with Andrea for a movie at her place (we watched “In Her Shoes”), and just being out and about and not all alone in my room made me feel much better.

I’m starting to settle into life in Wellington. I’m getting used to all the city sounds below my window at night, and taking the elevator up to my flat doesn’t seem as awkward anymore. I’m even used to kiwi accents now. It’s very strange, but I don’t even find myself noticing them much anymore. I mean, yeah, I notice that people have accents, but it’s not all that I notice anymore. While watching TV, it often takes a few minutes for me to realize we’ve switched from a kiwi show to an American one. But I suppose that’s not a bad thing.

I also am really loving the sheer abundance of things to do around here. It’s not like Boardman, where a “night out” consists of a movie and mini golf. There are so many options here, and many of them don’t cost anything more than a bus fare.

Tomorrow, Andrea, Jamie and I may hike up Mount Victoria after class, hopefully to catch sunset, weather permitting. We’ve been talking about it for over a week, so hopefully the weather cooperates. Sometime in the near future, we also want to do a Red Rocks Coastal Walk, which is a hike along the southern coast of Wellington, where you can see across the Cook Straight and can eventually end up at a fur seal colony! I never expected to be able to see wild seals here, so that’s exciting. Both hikes are free; we only have to catch the bus, and we're on our way. Which is a great thing, as I'm already getting nervous about my funds.

We’ve also planned most of our trip to Auckland, which is coming up in two weeks already. It should be a jam-packed weekend, which is just fine with me. On the docket are a trip to Hobbiton (for me, while the girls explore the city while I’m gone), dinner at the Sky Tower, horseback riding on the beach, and an All Blacks rugby game (versus Australia, to boot!). We’re such good little vacation planners. I can’t wait to plan our trip to the South Island!

Monkey poo and maxi pads.

July 18

Friday started out wet and chilly, and it was looking like plans for a trip to the zoo might have to be postponed. But by the time noon rolled around, the sky was clearing up and the zoo was a go. (This was, of course, after Jamie overslept, got lost in the woods on the way to catch her train, and was directed by an old man with one arm. But that’s her story to tell.)

When Jamie, Andrea and I were finally in the same place, we hopped a bus out to Newtoun Park and Wellington Zoo. The sun decided it did want to come out afterall, and our trip was actually pretty pleasant.

The zoo was a lot of fun. They had the usual lions, tigers (and bears, oh my!), giraffes, zebras, chimps, monkeys, and various birds and reptiles (though some were native to NZ). But they also had a lot of animals I’ve never seen before. First and foremost, they had kiwi birds! We saw a couple in this little hut that was pitch black save for a few infrared lights. You could see the birds hopping around in the underbrush. They’re much bigger than I pictured them being, and also much cuter.

We arrived at the zoo just in time for a kiwi talk, where a zoo keeper brought out Tahi, an apparently famous kiwi bird. Tahi only has one leg, and has a prosthetic (made by Weta Workshop) that he doesn’t like very much. He prefers to hop around on his one good leg and amuse spectators. I was upset I couldn’t get a decent picture of him (no flash cameras allowed), but it was still very cool to see one of the endangered birds up close.
Along with kiwis, we also saw a Malayan Sun Bear – the smallest bear in the world, and one that doesn’t hibernate. The one we saw also walked down stairs backwards, but I’m not sure if that’s true of all sun bears, or just this particular one. We also saw kangaroos and wallabies, but they didn’t appear very interested in humans.

I think my favorite animal of the day was the red panda. I’ve never seen one before, but I found the one I did get a good look at to be adorable. They don’t resemble pandas very much, but are apparently in the same family. They actually look more like foxes or raccoons. They scurry around and spend most of their time in trees, which was good for us because it meant we got to see them. Fun fact about red pandas – they’re endangered because they’re incredibly hard to breed. The females are only in heat one day out of the whole year!

Baboons, on the other hand, seem to be quite the opposite. We saw two baboons repeatedly having sex. (I say repeatedly because we weren’t allowed to leave until Jamie caught them at it on film.)

The monkeys here in general were slightly disgusting… We saw a female chimp (with a very cute baby) picking her butt and eating her own poo. Now if that’s not appetizing, I don’t know what is!

Along with the amusing animals (and perhaps as a testament to the general attitude of most New Zealanders), the zoo displayed a bunch of signs warning visitors about what not to do. They don’t sound too different from the “don’t feed the animals” signs you can find in the States, but what really made them stand out were the cartoons that accompanied each warning. My favorite (other than all of them that warned “If you feed the [insert animal here] it will get sick and may die.”) was this one that warned you’d fall in if you sat on the fence. Ha, I really wish we had things like this at home.

After the zoo, we stopped for dinner at Courtenay Place. We ate at the Hog’s Breath, which turned out to be both very good and very affordable. I think we’ll definitely be going back there in the future.

Jamie and I had planned to drag Andrea out with us that night, but she refused. Jamie and I ended up exploring on our own, and mostly went in and out of clubs to check out which ones seem interesting and which ones we wouldn’t really want to pay a cover to get into on a Saturday night. We found a few that seemed promising, especially a new three-story bar called Temperance. Not only is it a brewery and bar, but it’s also a dance club and projects rugby onto very large screens. I even got hit on by an old man while there, so it must be a good spot.

In between clubs, we ran into some New Zealanders standing in a doorway who waved us over. Or, rather, they waved Jamie over to ask her if she would have their babies. Haha. But they were only joking, and actually turned out to be quite interesting. One of them, Scott, had fallen while running in the subway, and had gashed open his elbow. He was holding a maxi pad to it, and asked us if we had any more. There was also Mark, who was very upset that Temperance wouldn’t let him in wearing tennis shoes, and Adrian, the one who took a liking to Jamie. But Adrian and Mark both disappeared, while Jamie and I stayed with Scott and talked football (or gridiron as he called it). He apparently is very into the NFL, and was naming all his favorite players. Then he asked us to go by him band-aides for his elbow. Which we did. But when we got back, he’d gone to get stitches. So we walked around with a $4 box of band-aides for the rest of the evening.

All in all though, I think it was a pretty successful Friday.

Pizza and wine.

July 17

Thursday was a fairly lazy day – and fairly crappy weather-wise, too. I met Andrea on campus at 3, and then we ran into Una and decided to go grab something to eat at Tussocks (the bar/café on campus). We waited until the rain let up around 5, then all made our way back to our respective flats.

Una texted me around 5:30 to say Josh and Jen (more Americans) were making pizza at Josh’s flat, and that I should come over. So I did. On the walk over, I ran into Una, Melinda (a German exchange student) and Ben (another American). I went with them on a wine run, and then we went to Josh’s.

The pizza was pretty amazing, and we just sat around eating, drinking and talking for a few hours. I met one of Josh’s kiwi flatmates who had a name that sounded like he could be a long-lost Marx brother. Ben spent a portion of the evening with a paper bag on his head, and Jesse created a bag puppet that was later christened “Sinbag.”

After we had finished the pizza, the three bottles of wine, and the three liters of hokey pokey ice cream, everyone wanted to go on a walk. So Josh, Jen, Una, Melinda, Ben, Denise and myself took a walk down to Oriental Bay around 10 p.m.

It was interesting because a few of them were tipsy, and I was acutely aware of how loud and obnoxious we were being. But oh well. Not much I could do about it.

Once we got down to the bay, Josh and Una decided they really wanted to go skinny dipping. Except that the water is freezing (it is mid-winter, and we aren’t THAT far away from Antarctica), and so it didn’t quite happen. They did the dipping, followed by the skinny, but not quite at the same time.

While all this was transpiring, Denise and I built a little sandcastle. The sand was quite cold, but was perfect for packing. We also walked to the end of a pier and attempted to take photos of the bay at night. It was really pretty – all the lights twinkling off the water and all – but my pictures definitely don’t do it justice.

After Josh and Una were satisfied (and after they both made vows to come back and do the real thing sometime before they leave), we headed back up town.

I have a feeling many similar random evenings are in store in the future with this bunch.

Bits and bobs.

So this is kind of going out of order, but I realized I never did talk about another of our side trips as part of our international student orientation. The first week we were here, Jayne planned an afternoon outing for any of us who wanted to go to the Weta Cave and Te Papa Museum. It seems she’ll be planning lots of little day trips like this for us, including a wine tour and trip to the South Island within the coming months.

The trip to Weta Cave was something I had been looking forward to, even if very few others knew what exactly we were going to see. Luckily there are two or three other Ringers in the international group, so I at least wasn’t totally alone in my excitement.

It was small. That’s for sure. But it had some interesting things both for show and for sale. We watched a 20-minute video about Weta and all the work they do, and then we had time to wander around the place. We played with a Peter Lyon-made sword (I’m fairly certain it was one of Aragorn’s), and we took pictures of armor, orcs and even Gollum.

Next came Te Papa, which I visited last time I was here, but I didn’t remember all that much about it. I remembered the “From Land to Sea” floor simply because there were lots of bright colors and interactive things to play with. Along with fossils, bones, and various stuffed things lying about. It was just as neat to wander through the second time around.

This time we (we meaning me, Andrea and Denise, another of the girls from the States) actually had a more thorough look through the museum, although we certainly didn’t see everything – the place is too huge!

The floor of New Zealand history was interesting, both for the Maori artifacts and for the information on different immigrant groups. I had no idea the Scots had such a presence in NZ!

Te Papa really is one of the nicest museums I’ve ever been to. It’s not only got a nice variety (including an art gallery), but it’s architecturally gorgeous, too.

After experiencing slight sensory overload and agreeing it would be best to save the rest for another time, the three of us wandered outside to where Te Papa has a few nature trails out by the harbor along with a replica of a cave. We stayed out there until sundown, and then eventually made the trek back into town.

I’ll say this – I’ll sure be in shape after this trip and have feet of steel from all this walking!
Also, simply because this photo really amuses me, there's a really good burger place down here called Burger Fuel. They have the most massive burgers EVER! (As you can clearly see.)

Wandering.

July 15

Today, I only had one class, then went out shopping for a bit with Una, one of the other international students from the States. I suppose my dad is right when he observes I've come all the way to New Zealand just to hang out with people from the U.S. It's not that I'm doing it on purpose; it's just easier to get close to people who are in the same situation as yourself. All us international students have one major thing in common -- we aren't from around here. So it's only natural we'd band together. Plus, Kiwi college kids seem slightly reluctant to open up to strangers right away. They already have their circles of friends established, and I would never be one to try to butt in.

But back to my day. Una and I hit up Cuba Street, and spent time hunting out boots (which we never did find). But it was still fun. I then met Andrea back on campus at 2, and we began our adventurous afternoon.

It began with a search for postcards. We were just going to walk down to Courtenay Place. But we kept walking, eventually ending up at Lambton Quay (pronounced “Key” like the Irish do) and beyond. We stopped in a post shop for postcards and stamps, then kept going. I stopped in just about every book shop along the way, in search of a book for Travel Writing, which I never did find.

We found the Simply New Zealand store and bought a few articles of souvenir clothing, then just kept walking. We found ourselves near Queen’s Wharf – we’d come almost full circle without even realizing it. We took a short tour of the Doulos, apparently the world’s oldest ocean-going passenger ship, that was moored in the harbor. It was free to get on the boat, so we did. It had some nice views of the city and harbor at sunset.

After snapping a few good pictures and wending our way through a slightly awkward on-board Christian book shop, we disembarked and continued exploring that neck of the city. We found ourselves in what I believe is considered the city center, where there's a small park with fountains and statues, and brick walkways. Also, suspended above the intersecting streets is this metal ball made up of intertwining New Zealand fern leaves. It looks a bit eerie, because you can't really see the wires holding it up.

We then walked all the way back to Tory Street, where we’d basically started. After a quick stop at the Warehouse, we went back to Andrea’s. I worked my apparent magic touch on all her electronics, and we watched “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” on her laptop while warming our hands over her space heater. It was a lovely ending to a lovely day.

We’ll have to try wandering again sometime, as today really seemed to work out well for us! There's just so much to see and do in this city that I think getting lost is the best way to find something new.

Catching Up

July 14

Classes have officially started, but I’m having trouble actually making myself realize that I’ll have to buckle down and do work soon. I don’t want to! I just want to keep exploring this city!

Saturday was overall a shitty day – rainy, windy and chilly. I played mah jong on my laptop for hours, finally venturing out around 3 p.m. to head up to the library on campus. There I uploaded pictures on Facebook, and met up with Andrea.

Sunday, however, dawned bright and beautiful, if a bit chilly. Wellington weather really amazes me – it’s even more moody and volatile than Ohio’s!

On Sunday afternoon, Jamie, Andrea and I ventured out to the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary. We spent two hours hiking the trails and taking in the gorgeous scenery. We did not, however, really see much wildlife… just a few birds here and there (and no kiwis, either!). But I suppose just being there was enough. It would be a great place to return to for some serious tramping.

After the Sanctuary, we spent some time trying to find our way home. We planned to take a bus up to the top of Mt. Vic at sunset, but soon found out the particular bus we needed does not run on Sundays. In fact, a lot of bus lines apparently don’t run on weekends at all. So we wandered aimlessly for a while, made our feet really sore, and eventually made our way back to Courtenay Place much later than we’d planned. We ate dinner at Sweet Mother's Kitchen, a New Orleans-style restaurant, and then parted ways for the night.

When I got back to my flat, I met Danielle, my third kiwi flatmate. She seems friendly, if perhaps a bit quiet. The other two are Tina (very bubbly and perhaps a bit wild) and James (a karate-practicing music major who doesn't seem to ever be around much).

Monday dawned and brought with it classes. History of Journalism seems alright, and I think Travel Writing will be really fun. After class, Jamie, Andrea and I moseyed down to Courtenay Place for dinner, and then we stopped at New World for some groceries. That place seems to be packed at all hours of the day. But, then again, it is the main large chain grocery in the city, so I suppose it’s to be expected.

I finally got my wireless working in my flat that night, which was an especially joyous occasion.

Things are looking up.

July 11

I moved into a new flat with considerably cleaner (and seemingly friendlier) flatmates this afternoon. My room has the same view, just one floor up, which is awesome. I can see a good portion of the city, all the way down to Lambton Harbour. Andrea, another USAC girl from Ohio, and I took a walk down there the day before yesterday, and walked the length of the harbor and Oriental Bay. It was sunny and around 50 degrees, and was absolutely beautiful. For winter, I’ll take it.

I’ve been getting acclimated to Massey, my fellow international students, and New Zealand in general over the past few days. Everyone and everything is very nice, and I think I’m growing to like the city life. As part of our orientation, we all went on a city tour. The best bit was probably going up to Mount Victoria, where you can see the whole of Wellington sprawled out below you. It's really quite a sight!

The hardest adjustment (other than the jet lag) has been not having regular phone service or internet. It’s killing me to come home at 5 or 6 and have absolutely nothing to do. Even though I’m in a city of roughly 600,000, I feel very disconnected. I’m sure that as I meet more people it will pass, but I feel very out of the loop at present. It’s currently 4:39 p.m. and I have no foreseeable plans for the evening. Haha, I guess it’s early to bed once again! Andrea and I may go check out the shopping at Lambton Quay tomorrow, though, so at least there’s that.

Wellington itself, for being a large city, isn’t bad. It’s clean – the air is so clear and fresh! – and feels very safe. Even though we’ve been warned not to venture down to Courtenay Place after midnight alone, I find it hard to be afraid here. It’s not like in the States where you look at everyone coming at you on the sidewalk as a possible threat. Which is a very nice and comforting thing.

The scenery, too, is gorgeous. The little houses set into the hillsides are adorable, and when the sun is out, everything looks fresh and new. The harbor at sunset is really a sight, as well. The water is nearly perfectly clear, and reflects everything like you wouldn’t believe.

Kiwis are as nice as I remember, too. Everyone at Massey has been more than helpful and accommodating. I really owe Jayne a lot; she’s been so good with answering our every question. I really must buy her something before we leave.

I hope to start picking up on some of the slang here soon. It’s quite different from what I’m used to, but fascinating at the same time. My flatmates are all Kiwi, and I have to make a conscious effort not to stare at them with my mouth agape when they talk amongst each other. It’s still English, yes, but it’s so very different! I’ll probably start saying “eh?” a lot more thanks to them. Haha.

I’ve also discovered a new delicious candy – better even than chocolate fish! They’re called Jaffas, and they’re basically just balls of chocolate coated in a hard orange-flavored shell. They are amazing, and I’ll have to remember to bring some back home with me in November.

A not-so-warm welcome.

July 7 – Day One

I finally made it. After more than 24 hours spent in airports and aboard aircraft, I finally touched down in Wellington, New Zealand. The short flight from Auckland to Wellington had been picturesque. The clouds were thin, and every white-capped ocean wave, every hilly island jutting out from the main land mass, even every wooly white sheep was visible from our cruising altitude of 36,000 feet. I was in such good spirits as Oriental Bay came into view that not even the turbulence caused by blustery winds fazed me.

As I was picked up from the airport by Cherie, a representative from Massey, I was feeling good. The jet lag had yet to hit me, the sun was shining, and I was confident that this was the beginning to something new and exciting. And it was, in a way. Just not quite what I was expecting.

When we pulled up to the Cube Complex at last, I was pleased. It was located perfectly; within walking distance of everything I needed: shopping, food, the campus, and even the harbor. The supervisor was friendly, and helped me up to my room, pointing out things like the bakery café and laundry room on the way.

There had apparently been some confusion about my room, and so I didn't end up in 6J2 as originally planned. I was placed one flat over, in 6I. And as soon as Andrew the oriental supervisor unlocked the door, I knew that, whatever I had been expecting of great roommates and fun apartment living, wasn't likely to come true.

It wasn’t the apartment itself that I didn’t like (because I did – it had a great view), and it wasn’t necessarily my first flat mate I was introduced to (though, he was probably the beginning of it). It wasn’t even really the fact that the rugs and couches were unswept, the bathrooms were grimy and I found out I was living with three guys. No, the thing that really hit me (and I mean nearly literally hit me, like a hammer hitting an anvil or a bus hitting a pedestrian) was the smell. Think rotting food (or perhaps spoiled milk?) mixed with the overpowering scent of marijuana. It had my stomach turning somersaults from the get-go.

I was later informed by Sam (the only one I met during my first day, and who actually turned out not to be an actual resident -- he was simply flat-sitting for a friend) that the place used to be much worse, when five guys had been living there.

“Nothing ever got done,” he said. Which worried me that this was the state of something getting done.

Sam then gave me a tour of all the damage done in the apartment – the hole through the bathroom wall, the scuff marks on the ceiling, and the offensive plastic bag filled with what appeared to be the rotting contents of the refrigerator that were waiting to make it out to the rubbish bin (though they never did make it there that night).

By the time I found myself back in the safety of my tiny (yet un-smelly) room, I was desperately trying not to lose it. Call me a naïve American, or perhaps even just naïve, but I had never really considered the possibility of being assigned male flatmates. It’s just not something that generally happens at schools in Ohio. I suppose I wouldn’t have had as much of a problem with it if they were clean. Or even if they just smelled decent. But they didn’t, and I was going to have to deal with it.

Tomorrow I will see if there are any other rooms available in the building… preferably ones that don’t smell like Bob Marley’s up-chucked dinner from 1966.

Leaving on a jet plane.

Well, perhaps surprisingly, I made my way halfway around the country with little incident. None of my flights got cancelled or delayed, I didn't lose any of my luggage or important documents, and I didn't even get charged for my overweight luggage (though I did get a stern talking to by a U.S. Airways woman about how my extra pound of stuff was going to hurt the backs of the guys loading the planes....).

I even had a buddy once I got to LA -- Jamie, another USAC student from Ohio. We were on the same flight o Auckland, and braved the various airports together.

The most difficult part about all the flying was dragging my luggage around the LAX and Auckland airports. I made the mistake of not getting a luggage cart in LAX, because I thought I was going to have to get on a shuttle over to the international terminal. Turns out Air New Zealand now operates out of the same terminal as the domestic flights, so I ended up wheeling my mountain of stuff for what felt like miles (but was probably in actuality a lot less) and getting quite sweaty. I didn't make the same mistake in Auckland, however, which was a good thing because we did in fact have to walk roughly 10 minutes from the international to domestic terminal.

I was so happy to finally touch down in Wellington after spending over 24 hours in airports and aboard airplanes.

But, I will give Air New Zealand this -- their flight was the best I've ever been on. I had my own personal TV, with a wide selection of movies, TV and games to occupy myself with. You go, Air NZ!