May 3: Class takes time, Super-Sister-Vacay, Winter in Aucks.

Ok, it’s been a while. I apologize. I can’t say it won’t happen again, on account there’s not much to write about, except various assignments that need to done, banking issues that need to be sorted, Internet complaints, dorm complaints, and the like. As I’ve said, my day-to-day life is pretty well established, and is pretty much a regular day-to-day life anywhere else, but with bad TV shows and fewer places that accept credit.

When school started in March, my sister asked me if I wanted to move to or live in New Zealand. If I wanted to, I could be very content living in a suburb outside Dunedin or Christchurch, maybe even Wellington, but I don’t think I can stand the rainy winter of Auckland. Temperature wise, it’s not that different from Dallas. But Auckland winters are muggy. Layering is essential, as you’ll find yourself freezing when you walk out the door and sweating bullets by the time you reach your destination. The rain is also enough to drive you nuts. Raincoats and umbrellas work fine, yes, but the wind blows it at an angle, directly into your pants, sousing your whole lower body. It is useless to try and save money on the cheap umbrellas, as the wind will destroy them. Better to invest in something with hydraulics and shock absorbers to buffer you from the wind as well as keep you dry.

In other news, Sarah came down during the mid-semester break I had about two weeks ago. We rented a car and tripped around the South Island’s northern tip, avoiding the rain as much as we could. Despite being significantly colder, it’s still more beautiful. As Sarah matter-of-factly put it, as we drove past more pastoral wonderland and craggy, snowy mountaintops, “Well, I’m stunned.”

Though brief, the trip was considered a rousing success by all involved. There were many stops at beaches and hot springs and hostels with hot tubs, as it was winter and most buildings in New Zealand have poor heating or no heating at all. Once more, I shall sing the praises of the Budget Backpackers and Hostels guidebook, for while we managed to stay at one or two total clunkers, the four or five other hostels we found were top notch. We took long walks through the rainforests and tea tree forests, scooted over the dunes at Farewell Spit, saw some baby seals and dissolved into cooing, giggling girls, hung out at the waterslides of some hot springs, tramped through pastures and down cliff faces, and witnessed many a “changing environ,” as Sarah liked to put it.

What else, what else. I wrote a column for the student magazine. Dan, the editor, sent me a text one day during class, asking why I hadn’t written anything for him.

“Remember the time I quit?” I wrote back.

“Lame. I need something on American politics, and you’re the only American I know.”

“…I’ll see what I can do.”

2,000 words and one side bar later, I had my piece ready and I think it’s due to run on Monday. I’ll save a copy for my peeps when I come back.

It was fun to write, even though it’s got pretty much all the opinions floating around in most op-ed columns I’ve read from US media sources. And I wouldn’t call it reporting, but it was fun to research. (And it made me feel so out of touch! Apparently there's movies coming out that I've never seen previews for, and gas is $4 a gallon. Who knew?)

Yep, life’s pretty good. I’m going to get some sushi and do some more reading. Love you guys.