It cost me 15 cents just to make it to this page. Paying for bandwidth
is a concept that I am going to have to force myself to get used to
(and monitor).

Well anyway, I am managing to settle in and
recover from the jet lag. When I arrived on Saturday morning, it was
raining very hard in Auckland. The rain stopped about 5 seconds ago.
Everyone says, "If you don't like the weather here, just wait 5
minutes." Sounds a lot like Michigan, right?

After I was
assigned to my room on Saturday, I ate lunch and took a bus to downtown
Hamilton. The city is full of shops, bars, and places to eat. I did not
expect it to be such a lively place. It reminds me a lot of Ann Arbor,
but it is a lot cooler because I didn't see any bratty intellectuals
running around (hehe).

On Sunday I wandered around campus and continued to make myself familiar with my surroundings.

At dinner on Sunday, I met a kid from Norway. The conversation went something like this:

Me: "So what are you studying?"
Norway: "To be a trainer, telemark skiing."
Me: "Nice, you know of any good skiing around here?"
Norway: "Yes, south."
Me: "I need to try to get down there. I'm itching to ski."
Norway: "I have a car."
Me: "Yea?"
Norway: "Let's go."
Me: "Yea?"
Norway: "Yea. Thursday?"
Me: "Serious?"
Norway: "Yea, a couple days?"
Me: "Deal."

So that was that. On Thursday (your Wednesday and also the 4th
of July) I am going Skiing at a ski resort just a couple hours south of
Hamilton. I will be sure to take pictures and try to upload them as
long as it doesn't cost me heaps of money.

Monday greeted me
with a bit of trouble in terms of getting my money squared away. I went
to set up a bank account at the National Bank of New Zealand with about
$250 cash and $2,000 in bank drafts. I didn't have trouble cashing the
money, but the bank draft created a bit of a problem. According to the
banker, the bank draft could take up to 1 month to clear, and could
cost me $150. This is not an option as far as I am concerned. I was a
bit irritated because when I withdrew money bank home, First Community
Bank told me that the bank draft was the way to go. Now, I have to go
through all of themalarkey . It seems like it's just one thing right
after another. Until I get my financial matters settled, I only have
about $300, which should be enough to get me to the ski hills and back
(rentals included).

Last night I went into town with an American
I met and another student from Norway. We got super drunk at a couple
pubs and ended up at a casino with some guy named Mario. Don't worry
Mom and Dad, I didn't gamble, but I did wonder to myself "How in the
hell did I end up here?" I've been asking myself that question a lot
lately, and it feels good saying "I have no idea." I am constantly
being put out of my comfort zone, and without the help of the nice
people of New Zealand and the folks back home, I don't know where I
would be.