24 Hours

A lot can happen in 24 hours.  In my last 24 hours (by now it's actually more like 30, but let's not split hairs), I barely made it to New Zealand after nearly missing my connecting flight from Sydney, Australia.  I was pretty excited to be spending a good hour and a half chilling in the airport, until my flight from Sydney arrived late, and I landed hearing a voice on the intercom telling me it was "Final Call" for my connecting flight.  After running so hard my shins hurt (I'm not exactly athletic, btw), I made my flight just in time (and thankfully, so did my luggage).

 

Think this, only less dramatic and with more sweat.

It's amazing how quickly you can let down your "guard" when being in a country that speaks the same language you do.  Even though I've studied up on New Zealand and have been made aware of countless differences in both ways of doing things and the way concepts and objects are identified or labeled, I found myself constantly acting in ways that clearly show I'm not exactly from around here:  getting into the cab on the wrong side,  identifying objects that carry a completely different name (i.e. band-aids are plasters, it's more common to say "cheers" rather than "thank you," looking the wrong way when crossing the street to see if traffic is coming (because what's the worst that could happen with that?).  So much of what I think, say, and do is so deeply instinctual that I am now trying to overcome these impulses and acclimatize to this new environment.

Switch this map and legend around and it all becomes just a matter of perspective, right?  Sadly, it's not that easy for some.  Just like driving on the opposite side of the road (stay tuned to see if I try that one).

However, the students I share a "hall of residence" with have been very helpful.  Some of them already knew I was coming and welcomed me to the hall and were very proactive in initiating conversation and making me feel welcome at the university and New Zealand in general.  The hall I live in is called International House and about 40% of the students come from a variety of colleges and universities around the world.  Even though I've only been here for a little over a day, I've already found that this is a very close and positive community atmosphere.

However, Clive, the building's Head of Hall, was quick to point out that such communities are more an exception rather than a common practice.  A little over 1,700 students out of 18,000+ live on campus, while the remainder are all commuters.  This has led to the University of Auckland (UoA) putting in a great deal of effort to foster a campus community among its students, most of which do not identify strongly with the university because of the continual and direct presence of their life components that already existed prior to their enrolment (it has only one "l" in NZ and I'm trying to practice my spelling).  I imagine these are the sort of questions we will begin to deal with when Vivienne and I start work on Tuesday, June 5th (this upcoming Monday is the Queen's birthday, and therefore a holiday!).

The folks at UoA have pulled out all the stops for us (I'm also easily excited by door plates).

Speaking of, Vivienne (the other intern I get to work with and a BGSU HiEd Doc student) just arrived today having completed the NZ Study Tour.  Not only will I pick her brain on great places to go within the country, but I will also be seeing what other things she wishes to do throughout the country during the next two months.

I'll start posting more pictures of the campus and NZ later in the week, but for now, I bid you all farewell

"I am an International Business Man on an International Business Trip"

I am typing this first official blog post as I am waiting in LAX for my flight to Sydney, Australia. Unfortunately, LAX is a bad sport and doesn’t have free wireless internet, so this post will be put up the moment I have the opportunity to do so. (And I’d also like to state for public record how difficult it was to navigate this place. I mean, really? Vague signs? Sometimes no signs at all? Having to leave security and go back through? It’s a good thing I was able to team up with a group of random travelers to navigate this place. But I digress…)

Those who love How I Met Your Mother (hereafter HIMYM) will recognize the title of my post from one of the early episodes as Barney attempts to explain his way out of a suspicious situation with airport security.

Those who know me are fully aware that my track record with TSA is long enough to merit its own scrapbook (they’re just jealous of my darker complexion). Fortunately, no such problems existed this time, but if they had, I would tell them exactly what Barney did: that I am an international business man on an international business trip. I admit, although I’m flying to New Zealand (NZ) for work, my mind has been racing with the possibilities that lie ahead for exploring the country and experiencing everything that it has to offer.

 Up until recently, I had remained relatively calm about the whole situation until about 5 or 6 hours ago when I realized I’m taking off to a country I’ve never been to, saying “see you later” to everyone I know and love, and starting a job unlike any I have done before within a culture completely new to me. My mini-freakout lasted about 10 minutes, and then I remembered that I’m heading to NEW ZEALAND. (Other sources of stress relief: talking to Emma Vierheller (my partner of 3 ½ years), talking to Brendan George (my partner of 4 ½ years), and finishing up the last chapters of the Hunger Games trilogy (and I was happy about who Katniss ended up with).

But first, I must endure a 15-hour flight to Sydney, a 4-hour layover, and a 3-hour flight to Auckland (the city I will be living in for the next two months). Ouch. But I’ve got a new laptop, a Kindle, and the Pacific Ocean to keep me company. Here’s to the next two months, and a whole lotta airplane peanuts.