- What I did today
So the day has finally come...! Eep!
After a lot of preparation, I'm packed, ready, and super excited for this trip!!! We've left Grayslake North at around 3:15, jumped on a bus to O'Hare Airport, and boarded our very first plane of the trip... Well, two, officially! Right after landing in L.A., we quickly boarded our next plane to Auckland. My very first loooooong plane ride! It was about 15 hours! I slept, and slept, and slept... I was soooo tired! Next thing I knew, we crossed the International Dateline and lost a day, so it's officially June 8th right now... Again. And in a wink of an eye, we landed in New Zealand!!! Who knew I'd be here right now?
We finally landed in Auckland, New Zealand. New Zealand was nothing like I thought it would be... Right after going through customs and all the "busy" stuff, I stepped on New Zealand ground for the very first time. I was completely speechless! Even throughout the entire 3-hour bus ride! At that moment, I didn't care how long it was, it didn't even seem like it at all... I was completely captivated by the beauty of this country! The rolling green hills, the far-off dark mountains, the "green-ness" of everything... It was a complete different atmosphere than back home. There were a million cows and sheep everywhere I looked! It was absolutely stunning! No words could describe the beauty of the nature around us; even pictures didn't capture the entire moment! It was definitely a moment and scene I will always remember!
After taking it all in, we stopped for lunch in a small, yet cute, little town called "Hobbiton" (Matamata). There was a small statue of a Gollum in the heart of the city, and once in a while, I would come across something closely relative to things in the Lord of the Rings, since this movie was filmed in New Zealand. For lunch, I had this kabob sort-of-thing with fried/cooked meat (I'm pretty sure it was lamb) and some chips (otherwise known as fries or wedges). My first "Kiwi" dish was simply delicious!
Not too long after, we went luging... Yes, luging! It's pretty much where you ride full speed in a mini go-cart down a scenic trail full of sharp turns, twists, and drops, down a hillside... And once you were done, you would take a gondola back up to the top of the mountain. I went down twice, but it definitely wasn't enough! I kept screaming all the way down, because even though I felt like I was about crash the whole time (and only wearing a helmet), that didn't stop me! I always had a smile on my face!
So, in order to go full speed on the go-cart, you had to push the handles forward to go forward, and pull them towards you in order to slow down or stop. Seems easy, right? Well, I got it pat-down very quickly... however, on my second time down, I was so excited, getting closer to the end, going at full speed, that I completely forgot what I was doing... I pulled the handles towards me right in a middle of the mountain! I was stuck. I didn't know what to do, so I started "scooting" my cart while trying to go forward, and before I knew it, there was a line of about 6 people behind me, all crashing into each other, all because of me!!! It was embarrassing, yet the funniest thing that has happened to me on the trip... After a long time of "scooting" and "tugging" my cart to go forward, I made it down the hill, stood up, and smiled! It's the least I could've done...
We also went to the Mountain Jade Factory, where we got a chance to learn about how Jade is made (after retrieving it from the mountains in New Zealand) into really pretty shapes, that can be used for necklaces earring, and other decorations. We also got a chance to buy some of them, too. It's not everyday you can buy Jade! I thought it was pretty interesting...
After our long day so far, we finally reached Rotorua. The first thing that hit me, was the distinct smell of rotten eggs. It smelled absolutely horrible at first, but as the hours passed by, I quickly got used to it. After having dinner at Burger Fuel, which has the BEST burgers I've ever tasted, we went to Pak n' Save, which was a local grocery store located pretty much across the street from our hotel.As soon as I got back to the hotel, I was "out of it" and soooo tired. I can't wait until tomorrow!
- Journal of the Day
When we first arrived in Auckland, I didn't know WHAT to think... Yes, New Zealand was pretty much on the opposite end of the world for me and seeing it, as well as being there, I couldn't believe I was actually here! However, because of the main language and how people act, I really didn't feel like I was far, far away from home. Rather, I just felt as if I was in some far, far away place from home in Illinois. But, as soon as I began to see all of the differences in this country, such as the atmosphere, I began to really feel like I was in New Zealand! My first impressions included seeing the enormous amount of farmland and nature. There were so many hills, a lot of open space, and everything that was green, was even greener! It was nothing compared to America, since it's all pretty much gone and covered with buildings and houses. And when you need a quite, nature-like place to relax, it's really hard to find one. Here, it was a different story... I felt connected with the world for some time, and I thought that this also made a small impact on the people here, too. One culture shock that I experienced on my first day here, is the enormous amount of cows and sheep that was everywhere. I learned that for every person living here, there's about 14 sheep, totalling in about 40 million sheep country-wide, which I think is a lot! Even though New Zealand is greatly known for sheep, I saw quite a lot more cows than sheep, which I thought was a little weird for a second.
Another culture shock that I experienced was that the people of New Zealand, often referred to "Kiwis", drive on the left side of the road, with the driver's seat also on the other side of the car. At first it didn't seem strange, but as we started crossing the streets and seeing the drivers on the other sides of the cars, it began to seem a little "out-of-place"... Finally, my third culture shock was the food and drinks. I expected them to carry similar brands of nutrition, or even make their food in a similar way, but I was wrong. They carried similar tastes in certain foods, like the L&P tasted like Sprite, but nothing close in name. And they even made their food differently, using different ingredients, like the mince pie, which was a pastry filled with a type of meat. This was definitely quite different, or at least I thought so. As this trip holds many more experiences and surprises, both in New Zealand and Australia, it's hard to say what I actually look forward to... Right now, while still in New Zealand, I can't wait until the Hangi dinner and meeting my Kiwi friends! It's going to be very exciting seeing a different aspects on culture, as well as learning about it and the country in general! One thing I can say, is that while I'm finally here, and STILL here, I will make the best of it!!!
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