There is no place like NZ...

Hi everyone :0) Today is a bit overcast, so I thought I would head over to the library to update my site and post up some new pictures for you to look at!

Lots of crazy stuff has been going on here in the land down under! I posted some pictures last week but didn't write about any of them, so I will try my best to update everything. We had Silly Sports Day for all of the students living in the halls (all the pictures of us in orange) and it was a blast...even though we were slaughtered. We cant help it that the guys here are giant rugby players!! They dominated every sport that required strength. They play some odd games here but it was fun to learn all of them.

After silly sports, a big group of us went into town to a bar called Dux de Lux (a fancy club type place) then to Mikey Finns for some dancing. There are a few pictures up from that night of all my roomies in our hallway.

Sunday morning we headed out to Taylor's Mistake, a beach about an hour from campus. It was ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL. It got so incredibly hot though... It was our RA's and another friend's birthday as well, so we celebrated with a BBQ and cake for them.

I learned how to play a new game that is popular here called Mafia...apparently people play it in the states too....although I have never heard of it. It is a card game where each person is assigned a role and you have to guess which person is in the Mafia (who goes around killing people)...its kind of like that murder mystery game.

Wednesday night we got dressed up for the big Toga Party. The theme for the year at Lincoln is Year of the Gods...so naturally we celebrated with togas. It was so much fun to see everyone all dressed up...although many of the guys ended up in stubbies with their togas falling down or running through the crowd naked.

We had a big hypnotist show on campus and one of my roommates was hynotized. She is a really shy girl and he made her think she was Britney Spears and she was dancing and singing across the stage. The guy doing the show was HILARIOUS...everyone in the audience was laughing hysterically.

Saturday morning we got on a big bus with 50 other people and headed out to a beach town called Kaikoura. It was a 4 hour bus ride but it was so much fun. I stayed in a hostel with my roommates and a few other girls...it was called THE LAZY SHAG. Saturday night we went to a bar called Strawberry Tree...home of Sheep Shaggers Lager. A great band played the whole night...and at the end we realized the kids in it were 14 years old...they played oldies and new songs and I really couldnt believe how young they were! On Sunday, we were going to go whale watching but the boats were all filled (and lucky we didnt go bc the seas were rough and one of our friends got REALLY seasick and said everyone was throwing up!). So instead, Kelly and I and 2 of our other friends (Graham and Alex) walked to the Maori Leap caves. It was crazy to go inside and see all the crazy underground statlacmites and stalactites (not sure if I spelled that right!) We had lunch in town....we got Souvlaki....they are like Euros but better, then caught the bus back to Lincoln.

Monday was so incredibly hot that we all ended up driving over to the river and going for a swim! It was freezing glacier run off so it was sooo refreshing! We found out that it hit 95 degrees during the day...which means we probably shouldnt have been outside! The ozone layer is really depleted over here so we have to wear sunscreen ALL the time.

Other than that, I am having an absolute blast. Occasionally I feel really backwards... people pass you on the left...I turn the key in my lock the opposite way...the light switches flip down to turn on...but I laugh most of the time. Mullets on guys are really popular here...I cant even explain how funny it is to walk around campus with all the giant rugby guys with mullets...I will get some pics up when I can. May is mullet and mustache month, so all the guys start growing them now. My roomies and I all joined the Wine Appreciation Club and the Alpine club, so that should bring some good activities our way soon!

I hope everyone is doing FANTASTIC! Mom...I hope you and Cindy didnt stalk too many movie stars this weekend... Kristen- CONGRATS ON THE OFFICIAL ENGAGEMENT! Miss you all (but not enough to come home!! hahaha)