A brief sum up of my first few days here...

I arrived in Auckland after a 15 hour flight, trucked through customs with my huge bags, and was greeted by the IFSA Butler staff (the program I came here through). About 45 other American students and I loaded onto two buses and we traveled about an hour and a half to the camp site where we were staying. It just so happens that is was a YMCA camp...it followed me around the world. We unpacked, had some kai (food), and then were told to get into togs (bathing suits) and head down to the beach and grab a partner. We went down to find some kyaks and pulled them to the water and hopped it - thats right, I went kyaking in the Pacific Ocean my first day in New Zealand. We speant alot of time eating, getting to know each other, getting oriented, and also preparing for our visit to a marae (a Maori, native peoples, community). We had to learn songs in Maori and gain some further understanding of the culture. It was a really amazing experience and also a very unique one because most people who visit here will only witness a tourist Maori marae, but we were staying at a real marae that only allowed student groups to visit. We went through an official wellcoming session, and then we had the opportunity to see the food come out of the hongi, or earth oven. Dinner was delicious, and then we were taught some traditional songs and dances. About 50 of us all slept is one room; we all shared a bunch of mattresses with a bunch of people we had only known for 2 days - very unique experience. After we settled in, a Maori woman who played a key role in the "civil rights movement of New Zealand" spoke to us about her culture and her experiences fighting to revive it in its native land. Overall, this was an irreplacable experience, and one I will truly treasure. We had an offical goodbye and then headed back to the airport...my adventures in Wellington will follow soon! cheers!