Yes, contrary to the impression you have probably gotten from all of my previous posts, I AM actually in New Zealand to attend the University of Auckland. (Well, at least that's the official reason!) So while I've had my share of adventures here, and there still are more to come, the past couple of weeks have been pretty laid back. Everyone is starting to run low on funds, so we can't really be off traveling every weekend like we did when we first got here. We're still having a great time though and do have one more big trip planned. (I'll keep you in suspense about that...it's not for another couple of weeks.)
So in the meantime, we've been hanging around Auckland and doing school stuff. It seems like everyone (and I can defintely vouch for this personally) has been pretty busy lately with lots of papers and other such school stuff. I actually just finished writing a paper for my history class. We're still finding time to enjoy ourselves though - don't worry! We've had several birthdays lately to celebrate, which always makes for a good time. Last weekend, we had a girls' night where we went to dinner and a movie. A big group of us also went bowling, which was a lot of fun. Since school back at home just got out for the summer, we've also been getting some visitors. Several people have family member, friends, boyfriends and girlfriends coming to visit.
Last weekend, we also did a volunteer project where we took a ferry to a nearby island and planted trees for the day. The island is uninhabited, and the Department of Conservation is trying to preserve the island by restoring it to it's original natural condition. We did weeding and planting for most of the day, but the highlight for me was when Kim, Nick and I were asked if we could "help dig a hole." We agreed, and the 3 of us were then taken on a ride out to a secluded beach where we were told that there was a dead baby dolphin that needed to be buried! It was so cute, even though it was dead. We dug the hole and before we put him in, we all got to put on gloves and touch the dolphin. I wish it had been alive, but still, that was a really unique experience getting to bury a baby dolphin.
ANYWAY, I'm getting off track here. The point of this post was to show you around campus a bit. My dad was asking me about the campus and I took some pictures a while back for him. So, I figured I could share them here. The facilities here are actually pretty nice, so take a look and see what you think!
"The Quad":
The Statistics computer lab, where I work on my assignments (notice all of the iMac computers!):
The Engineering Building:
The Rec Center (with the Skytower in the background, of course):
Cafe outside the Student Center:
Main area of campus:
Some random building, not really sure what:
The University Marae (Maori meeting house):
Pacific Studies Building:
The Business School:
Pretty nice, right?
The Rec Center (with the Skytower in the background, of course):
Cafe outside the Student Center:
Main area of campus:
Some random building, not really sure what:
The University Marae (Maori meeting house):
Pacific Studies Building:
The Business School:
Pretty nice, right?
No comments:
Post a Comment