Welcome to Auckland!

I finally have a chance to update the blog, with the little internet that I currently have! It's Sunday morning right now and I have been in Auckland since I arrived on Thursday. It has been quite a whirlwind since I got here since I have been busy trying to get to know my new city, as well as trying to organize my room and outfit the apartment, while dealing with the jet lag. The flights over here were extremely long. I took two 12 hour flights with a layover in Bangkok. Luckily, I was able to squeeze in a pad thai dinner in the Bangkok airport! Once I arrived in Auckland and passed through the very strict customs, I made it to the UniLodge, where I am staying.

I spent most of my first and second days buying certain necessities like bedding and toiletries, along with getting a NZ cell phone. My cell phone number is 022-670-2158. I also had time to walk around the main streets of the city, including Queen Street, to get a feel for the city. I really like the city so far. There is a lot of Asian influence, with many ethnic restaurants on every corner. It also took some getting used to seeing the cars drive on the over side of the road! Auckland is so beautiful because it is mostly surrounded by water, as it is a big port city, and there are volcanic islands all around, that I can even see from my bedroom window. I can't wait to begin exploring!

The group finally arrived yesterday and it was so great to finally meet everyone that I'll be with for the next 4 months. The people seem really nice! We are a group of about 27 people. Most of the kids are from BU, with a few others from random colleges like UNC, UT, or Vassar. I have 3 other roommates, and I think we'll get along great! Yesterday was mostly orientation sessions about various aspects of the program. We also visited our universities to get our student ID's and our class schedules. I am officially registered for Introduction to Maori Society, Gastronomy, and History, Society, and Politics of New Zealand. I think they will be great classes! In addition to these 3 classes, I have an internship, but that doesn't start until August, so I will update more about that later.

We were treated to lunch at a tapas restaurant called Mezze that was just wonderful! It was a good chance to get to know some of the other kids in the program and eat some great Spanish food. We also went grocery shopping for the first time, so now I will be able to cook all kinds of creations for myself! Although it's winter here, it's nothing like the winter in Boston. It's usually around 50 degrees during the day, and 40 degrees at night, with plenty of sunshine during the day. And it's only going to get warmer from here on out.

Anyway, classes start tomorrow! So things are definitely moving around here. I am getting internet installed on Monday, so hopefully I will be able to skype with everyone after that. My mailing address is:

Dafna Goldwasser
UniLodge Auckland
Room 503
138 Anzac Avenue
Auckland 1010, New Zealand


The first picture is the sunrise over the port, that I could see from my window on my first morning in Auckland.




These three pictures are of the UniLodge. One is of the building from the outside, one is my bedroom, and one is of the living room in our apartment.

Love, Dafna