My life is a postcard

Whew!  I've been through sooo much in the past two weeks, and one of the best might have to be that I FINALLY have internet in my apartment!  So now I can skype, and blog, and post pics, and respond to everyone who's been trying to get in touch with me!

First I'd like to give a shout out to my bestie LTF, in the hopes that she might actually read this.

So I just got back today from Paihia, in the Bay of Islands, which is in the most northern part of New Zealand.  It was just absolutely beautiful.  I don't have any better words than that!  I know looking at pictures of a place you haven't been gets repetitive, but I can't help taking and sharing pics because I want everyone to see how great it is!

On Tuesday, about 15 of us (all part of the Australearn orientation I did when I first got here) took a bus about 4 hours north to Paihia, which is a really cute beach town.  Wednesday was SKYDIVING DAY...which I thought might be the last day of my life.  As I told all my friends and the instructor, I don't like roller coasters, scary movies, the DARK -- so this was really amazing that I did it.  I just feel like I'm here for the semester to get out of my comfort zone and try new things, and I'm trying to do something that scares or challenges me as often as possible.  I wound up being so glad I did it.  They put you in a little prop plane for about 20 minutes that flies out over the Bay, so it's a really beautiful view.  I got a disc and DVD of the jump, so I'll try to upload some of that to give you an idea of what I jumped over.  I tried to calm myself during the flight by thinking about how beautiful everything was - when it's time, and I'm strapped to the instructor, all I had to do was put my feet out of the plane and he jumped!  My heart probably stopped for a second, and I had to force myself to open my eyes, but the freefall was really fast and then we just floated down, looking out over everything.  Ahhhh.... it was great!

The next day, we went on a dolphin boat (but didn't see any dolphins), but it was really nice to just be out on the boat, relax, and see even more awesome scenery.  We did see BABY HAMMERHEAD SHARKS, and little penguins that were the cutest thing ever.  Halfway through the day, they stopped on one of the little islands where we got to hang out for about an hour.  There was a big hill in the middle of the island, and when I hiked up to the top of it, I could see tons of islands and water out in every direction - the most beautiful view I've seen yet.  I just kept taking pictures, and reminding myself to thank God for his beautiful creation.  It was amazing.  We went swimming in the crystal clear water as well, and some people snorkeled, and we got to lay out for a while before heading back.  Also, I successfully did NOT get sunburned!  Which is a feat, for me, especially in New Zealand where there's apparently no ozone layer.

I'm still trying to figure out posting pics on this, and I will try to put up my skydiving video as well.  I look TERRIFIED.  School starts on Monday, so the adventures (and spending money) may stop for a while... 

Much love! --M

Kia Ora!

Hi everyone!!!
I decided to follow the trend of blogging abroad, mostly so I don't have to fill everyone's inboxes with my email updates - if you wonder what I'm up to, you can just check it out here!
Unfortunately we are still living in the dark ages, and I don't have internet in my apartment yet. So I'm going to save my long post and uploading pictures for next week.
The basics though - I got to New Zealand on Feb 15 (after conveniently skipping Valentine's Day over the international date line!), where we met up with the rest of the Australearn group and took a bus to Rotorua. We stayed at a really nice hostel there for 4 days, and went caving, Zorbing, to a SHEEP SHOW, and saw the hot springs in the town. It was a cool time to get to meet a bunch of other Americans who are all doing the same thing. We also got to learn a lot about the Maori culture - the indiginous people of NZ. We learned the "haka" which is their traditional war dance - the costumes they put the guys in were hilarious.
On Thursday we got back on a bus and drove into Auckland, where we moved into our apartments. Auckland is really amazing - a lot like New York City, but even MORE diverse, and right on a beautiful harbor. My university, AUT is right in the middle of the city, and we're just a couple of blocks away from it. There is so much to do and I know we've barely scratched the surface.
Today we're going to the beach, and tomorrow leave for a trip to the Bay of Islands, where we'll get to swim with dolphins, see sand dunes, and... SKY DIVE. I'm terrified. But I'm going to do it (hopefully.)

I can't wait to share my pictures and everything, so I will update again ASAP!

If you want to get in touch with me, my mailing address is:
Meredith Elkins
Apartment 3F/5
8 Mount Street
Auckland 1010
New Zealand

I have a NZ phone as well, that you can call with an international plan - +64 021 0309 365. I also have my bberry with me, so I can receive texts for free, but I may not text you back. Feel free to bbm me if you have a berry as well!!

Love to all,
Mer