Auckland Museum, AUT, Devonport

So this weekend was somewhat of a bust, since we were unable to go camping in the Coromandel Peninsula. There were severe storm warnings so we opted out of doing the two day hike, only to find out that the trail was closed due to flooding. After planning this trip, I was disappointed that we couldn't go, but we'll reschedule and it will be great! But now I can catch up on all kinds of things that I've been doing recently. A few weeks ago our friend Kahu took us to the University of Auckland marae. A marae is a sacred, traditional Maori meetinghouse and is usually intricately carved and decorated. Each post represents a tribe, or a god, and tells a mythological story. He taught us a bunch of stuff about the Maori and it was a lot of fun!



Also, this week marked the ending of our group class that took place every night of the week. Everyone was always so tired during the evening that a three hour lecture from 5-8pm after a full day of classes or internship was difficult. Luckily, we took our final exam and it's over! Now we will have our afternoons and evenings free to explore more of the city. The class took place on AUT campus, so here's a few photos of AUT campus, including Hikuwai Plaza, which is the main area of the university with the library, bookstore, gym, and food court.

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This week was also pretty great at my internship. On Monday all of the teacher aides had a lecture on Wheelchair Mobility and Vision Impairment that was really interesting. And on Thursday my class had a class trip to the Auckland Museum. The Auckland Museum is located within a giant park called the Auckland Domain. The museum is technically the war museum, but it encompasses mostly everything about New Zealand culture, including a huge section on Maori and Pacific Islanders. It was really fun to go there with all of the students. We brought their walkers with us and the kids had a great time using their walkers to maneuver around the museum. There was also a special exhibit called Kai to Pie, which showcased New Zealand food culture. It was a great exhibit, and my Gastronomy professor was even honored as one of the best Kiwi food historians. It was a great day at the museum.


So even though we're staying in Auckland this weekend, I think we'll have a good time. Tonight we saw Inception, which was a great movie. I haven't seen such a crazy and unique movie like that in a while. For dinner I ate at The White Lady, which is a famous Auckland truck that parks in the city and serves delicious burgers and milkshakes! Here is a photo of The White Lady.


On Sunday Rachel, Kavitha and I took the ferry to Devonport, which is a suburb of Auckland that is across the harbor. It's an old town and is known for its cute shops, restaurants, and great views of Auckland. We walked around the main part of town and found some cool used bookstores and poster shops. We also walked up to Mt. Victoria, which is an extinct volcano. We had a panoramic view of Auckland harbor and the surrounding islands and volcanoes. It was so beautiful! The first photo is of Devonport and Mt. Victoria from the ferry. We also stumbled upon an open house and we just had to go inside. It was such a unique house, from the 1900s, and so well decorated. Here's a picture of the house from the outside.



I hope everyone is doing well!

Love,
Dafna