Haere Mai!

Skyline of Wellington, NZ

the Weir House

That is what I was greeted as I approached customs after 36+ hours of traveling. Welcome to where you will be spending the next 1 month and 10days, according to my visa. I cannot be more excited we finally made it. The journey started at 6am on Thursday morning as I exited my house, and left all that was familiar and comforting. It ended at 2pm Saturday as we arrived  at the Weir House.

A little background might be necessary for all of this to make sense. I am participating in the Pacific Program through Georgia Tech. It is a 12 week study abroad semester spending 6 weeks in Wellington, New Zealand, 3 weeks in Sydeny, Australia, 2 weeks in Brisbane, Australia, and 1 week in Heron Island, Australia. There is a group of 30ish students, professors, and TA's embarking on this adventure. While in New Zealand, we are stationed out of the University of Victoria's main campus, also referred to as the Weir House. It is an opulant hotel like building surrounded by the beauty of New Zealand.

My first word I could find to describe New Zealand  was crisp. The air  is amazingly clean. The sun is brighter. The colors of the amazingly greener and flora are stronger and more abundant. The house are as colorful as the flowers that surround them. The water and sky provide an amazing backdrop for this sight. I cannot get over how amazingly and simple beautiful everything is. My second impression was the friendliness of the people. Minus a few custom officers, everyone has smiles on their faces and a pep in their voice. You can immediately sense their love for their country and their desire to show it off. The are warm, friendly, and joyous.

My Dorm

 We settled into our new homes. Our dorm is an extremely modern building located behind the actual main building. We each have our own rooms with all the amenities. Fighting jetleg, we managed to find enough energy to explore town a bit. I successfully located two Starbucks and McDonalds. I guess some things will never change. After a bit of exploring the city, I got to check off the first thing on my todo list: running in the botanical gardens. My dorm is located near the top of a giant hill, however on the top of this hill is a giant botanical garden. It isnt so much a garden as it is a forest with endless paths and beautiful plants. I will one day bring my camera on my run, but for now exploring the limitless possibilties of trails is my first task. The gardens make you feel like you have really escaped from the city. It was completely possible for me to run for miles with out seeing another person by wandering aimless through the dirt paths trails that crisscross the entire locations. Something tells me I am going to be running a lot more now....

I am completely exhausted, worn out, and yet cannot find my self able to sleep for the fear of missing something. This has been an incredible welcome to what I am sure will be an amazing adventure.