i am getting excited......

i am a bit concerned that the kiwi's aren't ready for us as of yet....this week we made beautiful plans to be on the black beaches on the west coast of the north island for christmas. i am dazzled already. i will be driving a car!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!all backwards!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!we will hopefully take the scenic drive without creating a scene ourselves.....

anyway, excitement is in the air, even halfway across the world.

s&s

preliminary planning

ok, where to start? being one who is spastic about planning just about any kind of trip, i immediately began contacting everyone i could think of for planning this first trip to new zealand for my studies at victoria university of wellington [http://www.vuw.ac.nz/home/index.asp]. most helpful has been my contact through study abroad at vanderbilt [http://www.vanderbilt.edu/studyabroad/] who put me in touch with the institute for study abroad [http://www.ifsa-butler.org/programs/new_zealand/]. the contacts i received through them who are based in new zealand, and wellington in particular, have been extremely willing to help and very informative. in the end, we will probably end up where i started, staying at stafford house [http://www.stafford.maxnet.co.nz/], one of the college halls, but feeling much more confident about the decision. they have also agreed to give me an airfare quote, which i'm anxious to see.

for some awesome photos of new zealand, go to http://www.newzealand.com/English/
local time and date: http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/city.html?n=264

immigration/visa information: http://www.immigration.govt.nz/nzopportunities/unitedstates