Piha Beach

I just walked around the most beautiful beach in the world. Kind of dangerous to swim in because of the waves but it is perfect for viewing. Pictures are worth a thousand words so:




This is a nearby waterfall hidden in some jungle:

Kelly Tarlton's Aquarium

Today we went to Kelly Tarlton's Aquarium in Auckland. It was awesome- heaps of different kinds of fish, and octopus, turtles, stingrays, penguins...

Then we went to explore Parnell Street- this cute street with lots of shops and restaurants. Some of us ate sushi (I got some really good udon :) )

We walked around Queen Street in Auckland too. Beautiful day...we did a lot of shopping :) Shopping with girls is the best!

First Week

It's been one week since I first stepped foot on this lovely country. So much has happened- I feel like I've been here much longer and I don't want to go home! My host family is the kindest, most generous, most awesome people I have ever met. Amy and I feel like queens. They have a son named Junior who's way talented in the DJ arts and a teenage daughter, Cherish. They're so great, they make us laugh and they like driving us around a lot.

I also had the pleasure of having the experience of being bitten by an anonymous bug. Theories: bed bugs, fleas, mosquitoes, hives....i think it's fleas but no idea. i've never had so many and all clumped up together like that- all around my neck, my arms, legs, stomach...my roommate, Amy doesn't have as much but she has itchy hair. We've been using special cream and special bath solution and it's getting better.


Amy, Lauren, and I also took a journey into Auckland by ourselves. It was fun to be free to explore. We went shopping on Queen Street. We'll come back to explore more in the near future. It was interesting trying to find buses to go back. We took a little detour, but nbd (no big deal)- we found our way home.

We've been able to visit a couple beaches as well- Long Bay Beach, some other beach, and Piha Beach. Beautiful.

Other than that, it's just school all day. It's been nice taking walks though to lose everything we've been eating..haha

First Week

Thanks to all those including my dear roommate Amy for inspiring me to create this blog just for my time in New Zealand.