Just me and the penguin

Carla (from Italy) and I

Toroa soccer team (yes, I was the lone girl for my team)

Women Across Cultures Potluck

My female roommates Jenn (left of me) and Kim.

My flatmates Kim, Sam and Jenn being woken up by a man playing bagpipes.

My wonderful flatmates and I

This is one of the caves on Long Beach.

This is the mountain people climbed up on Long Beach

The beautiful beach

Look how cute the penguin is!

I got close!

This was Katchafire and opening bands of the concert

Once again, I accomplished a lot this week. There are simply so many things to do in New Zealand that it's difficult to not be kept busy. All of my roommates finally arrived. They are all awesome people. You will notice some photos of me and the roomies. A quick rundown of their international backgrounds: Kim is from California, Jenn is from Chicago, Thiago is from Sao Paulo, Brazil and Sam is from Dubai. We all get along amazingly for people who just met.

This week was week two of the University's Orientation program. I participated in a Residence Sports Day in which our hall won soccer. I rolled my ankle however, but that did not stop me from going tramping (hiking) a few days later up Mount Cargill. This was a good 3 hr tramp uphill then back down. It was a beautiful sight from uptop. I don't have those pics up yet, but will soon. I went to another beach this week. It was called Long Beach (last week, it was St. Claire beach). It was an incredibly warm and sunny day so I couldn't resist and went swimming. The waves were great enough to go out on boogie boards. It was probably one of the best times I've had in water in a very long time. We played sports and there was even mountain climbing on the beach. There were also caves on this beach. At one point, we even saw a penguin. It was incredible. However, I think the penguin was sick because it was rather odd to see her so late in the day on the beach, plus she did not move around much. All in all, it was the perfect day at the beach. I definitely felt like I was in an exotic location. The water is so clear and aqua colour. There are shells and crabs everywhere. I even burnt that day! I don't remember the last time I burnt from being out in the sun....wearing sunblock.

That night, I went to a reggae concert on campus. Reggae is huge in New Zealand. They are hugely inspired by Bob Marley, so you can imagine the atmosphere at the concert. The main act was Katchafire which is one of the biggest reggae bands in the country. It was an interesting concert to say the least, however I don't know if I will be going back to a reggae concert anytime soon.

We also got the opportunity to sign up for different clubs and specialty classes this week. I joined the tramping club who have hiking trips almost every weekend. I also joined an International women's social group called 'women across cultures'. The first event for this club was on Friday night which was a potluck dinner. Basically the purpose of this club is to meet women of all different backgrounds and cultures and hear about their experiences. They are also welcome to bring their partners and children if they have any. I met a lot of very interesting women already and plan on meeting with them again in the future. My roommate Jenn and I also signed up for a Wine Appreciation class. New Zealand has a reputation of producing some fine wines thus, we thought we should become educated :)

This upcoming week, I actually start attending classes. I am really really trying to get thursdays and fridays off so i can do some more travelling on the weekends but I am not sure how successful I will be. But wish me luck!

Next post, I will start a list of "Kiwi-isms" (strange but endearing things that Kiwis do).

Below are pictures at the beach. It's a beautiful beach with amazing waves but the water is sooooooooo cold. In the picture with me is Eva from Germany and one of my flatmates Kim from the U.S.













Above are pictures from the Rugby game. We cheered for the blue and yellow Highlanders (Otago) who won that day! There was also a live band at the game, "the feelers." There is also one random pic of me, Taka from Japan and Suloman from India at our residence BBQ.

These set of pictures below are from the classical concert I went to. It was called Last Night of the Proms. In the picture with me is Carla from Canada and Desmond from Singapore.






Below is a blurry picture of my University of Otago student card.

I have arrived...

I left Victoria International Airport on February 12, 2006. I arrived at Dunedin International Airport on February 14, 2006. Before you gasp, keep in mind that New Zealand is about 18 hours ahead of Ontario. All in all it took about 26 hours from start to finish. And to be honest, the flight wasn't half bad. The longest part of my flight was from LA to Auckland which was approximately 12 hours. I slept for almost 9 of those hours. I can't even believe it myself considering the uncomfortable and stiff seats. And my head sits at an uncomfortable angle on the headrest because I'm just a couple inches short of the standard. Well, I feel incredibly lucky for the swift and safe flight. However, I knew it was too good to be true.

Once I landed in Auckland, I had to switch to the Domestic terminal to catch my flight to Dunedin. I was running late so I had to transport my bags myself on a cart and boot it there. Of course, I'm still in Canada mode, so I'm "driving" my cart on the wrong side of the road. As I almost knock over a family, a kiwi shouts "you're in new Zealand now!" and then it clicks. Oh right, get on the left side. Well anways, ten sweaty minutes later, I'm standing in front of the Air New Zealand counter to check in when I am told that my luggage is 20 kilos over and thus must pay for the extra weight. Well, I'm glad Air Canada didn't tell me about this when I was still in Canada and could have lightened my load. I don't have time to argue, so I pay the hefty $100.00 charge ($5/kilo) and boot it to my flight. Finally, about 3 hours later, I am in Dunedin where I am picked up by a friendly shuttle bus driver who gives me a brief history of New Zealand during the drive to my residence. Of course, the first thing I see on the drive are sheep, hundreds and hundreds of sheep. I am pretty sure I saw them on the plane flying across New Zealand. In New Zealand, they say there are 20 sheep for every person.



I am staying at an International Residence apart of the University of Otago. The majority of its students are upper years. I would say the average age is 21. It is an international residence, however there are probably 20% kiwi residents as well. I share a flat with four other people. Thiago is from Brazil; Kim and Jennifer are from the U.S.; and Sam is from Egypt. There is an incredible mix of students here and I wouldn't be surprised if I met someone from every single country by the time I leave.

I have been here since Tuesday and have done an incredible amount of things and met an incredible amount of people already. Some of the things I have done include: a rugby match (Otago vs Auckland); a trip to the beach; a bizarre but entertaining classical concert; BBQs; tours, tours and more tours. I have attached some photos of some of these events. I will try very hard to update my blog on a regular basis, so check back often.

All in all, I have been having an incredible time. I haven't had time to think about being sad about being away from my friends and family....yet. So, please don't forget to e-mail me or write. My address here is:

Julia Paek
Flat Rua
Toroa International House
8 Regent Rd
Dunedin
New Zealand

If you ever wished to call me, this is what you would dial: 011 64 3-471-4516

Miss everyone lots!!!!

So it's been a while since my last post. But isn't that very me? Well you would have been able to read a post about me last week if I knew how to use my computer. I was in the middle of writing the most thorough and lengthy and somewhat exciting post last week when I refreshed the page by accident and lost it all. By that point, I had been staring at the computer screen for so long, my pupils were dilated. I had to stop for my own sanity.

But here I am, back at it. I am determined to write today. So, let me just give you a rundown of what's new in my life. Well, pretty much, my life has revolved around reading, studying, eating, watching tv, sleeping, hanging out with mom-ing and eating. But, you can take one more verb out of there now! NO MORE STUDYING!!! (for 2 weeks). I wrote the LSAT yesterday. That test is much toooooo long and standardized. On Saturday, I woke up at 7am, started writing the test at 9am and finished at 1pm. You're not allowed to drink water, so they practically scolded a girl for taking a sip of her nalgene! And it wasn't even during the timed session, it was right in between one section to another. Well anyways, I'm done and so relieved. Funny thing was that I wasn't nervous at all for it. Not once. I think it has something to do with the fact that I am 92% sure I am not going to Law School. While it once was a passion of mine, those flames have burnt out. Grad school is where it is at for me right now. It's like my parents say, you have to follow your passions in order to be happy in what you do. I don't think my parents always got to live by those words, but they're giving me and my brother the opportunity to. I once had passions to be a hairdresser and my parents always backed me up. But then I realized noone would want a hairdresser who cut crooked bangs.

Well onto some exciting news. My family is getting a puppy! I have been doing some extensive research over the break and we have settled on the small-ish white Bichon Frise. They are a small, sturdy dog who is very playful and cheerful. You would not believe how much a of dog lover and dictionary I have become over my extended break. I have learned random and useless facts about dogs but I have also learned really useful info about them. For example, do not buy from pet stores. Why? Because most of the time, these dogs come from puppymills that mass breed with no consideration for their general health and well-being in order to make lots of money on them. Pet stores will buy them all because people will pay upwards of $3000.00 on these puppies. I have come across some pretty gruesome stories and pictures of puppymills. The fact is, to purchase a reliable dog that will be fairly healthy and live a strong, long life, you ought to buy from a breeder (a responsible one). You should expect to pay $1000.00 usually, however, you are assured a higher quality dog and one who was ethically brought into this world with lots of love. However, I do very much support adopting from shelters. You probably won't know what you're getting yourself into, but if you have time, patience and experience, these dogs will be well worth it, so I am told.

See, I'm obsessed! Dogs have been consuming me...lol. Anyways, what else is new? Oh Yeah! I'M GOING TO NEW ZEALAND IN ONE WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!! WooHoo!!!!! Finally, the time has come. I leave on February 12 and will arrive on V-day in NZ. That's exciting because although I won't be with my valentine (not the dog), I'll get to spend it with lots of discount chocolate!!! Mmmm, truffles. This week will be crazy busy. Lots of packing, last minute shopping...still need to buy a hiking pack and hiking boots. I'm going all out!

Well anyways, I'm going to post this before I refresh it by accident. Miss everyone LOTS. Thanks for all the e-mails and phone calls. They have kept me saneeeeeeeeee! Or have they?

p.s. although the date says this was made in January....it was finished on Feb.5.