Johnson Family

Hey Everyone! Here's a quick update of my life overseas, plus some pictures :) Things are still going really well! I can't believe I've been here for almost 2 months...time is sure flying by! Classes are going well...they are challenging, but I think I'm doing ok. A few weekends ago, I went up to the Bay of Islands, which is 4 hours north of Auckland. It was beautiful (except for the crappy weather...we got the tail end of the hurricane that was in Australia...so lots of rain). Next week is my last week of classes before break. We get 2 weeks of for mid-semester break (I think American schools should adapt this :) ) The first week, I will still be in Auckland, doing random trips around here. The second week, I am flying down to the South Island and me and 4 friends are road tripping! We're going bungy jumping, jet boat riding, street luging, glaicer hiking, and kayaking through the most beautiful part of NZ (at least that's what I'm told). It should be an awesome time!

The pictures above are from a few days ago when I went to the sky tower. It's the tallest building in the southern hempisphere. It's in the center of Auckland. The first picture is of it lit up at night...it changes colors every month or so. The second is a picture of Auckland from the top at night. The last picture is of me laying on the floor of the sky tower (obviously, it's glass). There are a bunch more pictures at:
http://community.webshots.com/user/Little03Heet2

Oh, and just for your information, here are some differences between USA and New Zealand:
1. They call bathrooms/restrooms "toilets"
2. On the toilet, there are 2 buttons...a big one and a little one. Little one is used for number 1 and big one is used for...well you know :)
3. People walk around bare foot all of the time. You can go no shoes anywhere...even in the grocery store (which is kind of gross)
4. "Sweet As" is a very cool saying
5. People can tell that I'm American, and when they find this out, they immediately talk to me about politics
6. There is no grape jelly
7. The cereal selection sucks haha
8. portions of food here are much smaller
9. Fish and Chips is pronounced "Fush and Chups"
10. NO TIPPING!!! You don't have to tip for anything...it's amazing
11. "Dang it" is an American thing to say
12. All of the cheese here is white
13. No one knows where Michigan is, let alone understand why I whip out my hand and point to where Kalamazoo is
14. They don't believe me when i say there really is a Kalamazoo
15. When it gets below 70, people are wearing winter coats...no joke

That's it for now! Miss everyone!!
Lisa