The End of Orientation

The end of orientation is here, and parting is such sweet sorrow. Corny I know, but I really enjoyed getting to know everyone from EAP. It felt like such a quick time we had to meet each other before we all separate to our various universities. While I believe all us South Island students will have a chance to see each other, I hope that I will also be able to see people on the North Island before heading back to California.

On Saturday night, the whole gang left to go out together. Of course, it didn't really last long and quickly broke up into two groups. My group went to a club we went to the previous night which was fairly large. However, Saturday night is the night to go out and the place was packed. None the less, we had an amazing time just being all together and dancing the night away. The other group went to a colorful gay bar and experienced kabobs (more like falafels than food on a stick). We all returned much earlier than the locals seeing that the streets were still packed as we walked back at 2 am.

Sunday was our first day of sleeping in and most people took advantage of it. We had a few lectures about EAP information and a Q&A session. After afternoon tea, Cayla and I got our NZed cellphones and had to rush down to the harbor to catch a ferry to Devonport. We had an excellent dinner at Duders and left in style in a double decker bus to drive back over to Auckland. After a few days of late nights, early breakfasts, and some serious walking/tramping (hiking) it was finally time for me to have an early night in.

This morning was the official end of EAP orientation and everyone began their adventures before school starts in a week. A lot of people are backpacking around the north island, some rented cars and are driving to the south island, and there are also people doing bus tours. We successfully bought an 8 seater van and a 5 seater sedan to fit our crew of 10 people. Our general plan is to head to Coromandel Peninsula (east of Auckland) and then move south from there. We hope to reach Wellington on the 13 and arrive in Christchurch on the 15th. From there, us Lincoln kids have orientation beginning on the 16 which I've been told most likely will include paintballing. Anyway, until then, I can't guarantee any updates. I will try to keep the pictures on facebook updated so check those out!