A week and a half in and I finally looked the right direction before crossing the street. I got halfway across (looking at oncoming traffic) before glancing frantically over my shoulder to make sure I'm not hit by a car the opposite way. It's amazing how ingrained road rules are. That is the first difference that I haven't gotten quite used to; driving on the other side of the road. When I'm not thinking about it, I'll watch someone turn left or be in the right turn lane and have mini panic attack before I remember.
We left the US Tuesday, skipped Wednesday and arrived Thursday morning. When the sun came up, flying over the Pacific felt like being on the very tip top of the world; couldn't see anything but fluffy while clouds until the end of existence. Khuram met us on the other side of customs and we loaded onto a charter bus to the hotel. He said he was going to make sure we beat jet lag, and kept us busy the next few days visiting Devonport, getting our University ID cards... until we were picked up by our host parents on Saturday morning. People started coming into the conference room where we were all gathered with our luggage, taking us away one by one, like puppies waiting to be adopted. Melissa the pound puppy!
September 8th is only special because it's an excuse for other people to celebrate something. I had almost forgotten about it until one of the students asked, and I said, "oh! my birthday's tomorrow!" Part of this particular study abroad program is being in a New Zealand classroom with New Zealand teachers. I absolutely love it. I have three teachers I observe/ assist, all equally kind and helpful. One took me out during break and bought scones, cream, and jam for everyone in the department to celebrate my birthday. I'm glad they all enjoyed that. When I got home, we had dinner as usual and after, my host parents got me a present, and my host mom made me a cake. It was so sweet of them!
My host parents are English! They have a lovely home, with a nice yard. They are wonderfully kind and good humored. there's a lot of quiet time. I watch most of the world cup games with my host dad, Philip, and I watch the soap opera Coronation Street with my host mum, Sarah, twice a week. It feels so good to have a home to go back to after a long day of class, or a long day in the school. I feel very comfortable with them, as Sarah says, "look at you, already been one week and you're part of the furniture."
The first few days I heard more east asian accents than kiwi accents, something I wasn't expecting, but I shouldn't have been so surprised. New Zealand is a land of immigrants like the US, what's so interesting is the particular mix that this end of the world receives. It's refreshing and exciting to see so many different people in one place.
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