The Weekend

Today was a really great day. The weather is still pretty good, although a bit colder today. The one thing I cant get over is how dry the air is here, my nose is having a little trouble adjusting and my lips and face get dry too, from the wind and the lack of humidity. So I am making sure I drink lots of water to compensate. Bottled water here tastes a bit funny, like its really soft. I tried to buy some milk today but apparently I bought buttermilk instead. It smells like yoghurt but is really only good for cooking. That was a bit of a laugh. People here don’t seem to drink a lot of milk as there are only a couple of bottles for sale in the stores I have been to, and the rest is UHT milk. I bought the buttermilk because the only words I recognised were ‘melk’ and a picture of some grass, and some French words about protein and calcium content. Think I might swap to milk powder anyway as there is no room in the fridge here to store it. But I was really looking forward to having a cuppa! I ended up having black tea J. Anyway, today was super-great because I met up with Erin, a Waikato Uni student who has been here since last semester when she had her exchange. She is here until the 11^th Feb, and is staying in one of the other halls so I went to visit her. She is really lovely and gave me lots of hints and advice about registering here and her experience in general, which was reeeeeeeeeeeally handy. Plus it was great to talk to someone from home, as she actually is from a farm on Tauhei road, Morrinsville, right close to Woodlands rd! Plus her birthday is the 13^th Feb, so we have February in common too. We got on really well and I wish she was staying! But im just really grateful that she was still here at all, and had the time to chat. Also, she donated a whole bunch of stuff to me, and helped me lug it all the way to my halls, which was great! Stuff like pots and pans, utensils, a duvet, towels, some food and folders and stuff for uni – amazing! It was especially handy as I had no utensils or plates or anything before that, as most of the shops are closed over the weekend and so I hadn’t been able to buy that sort of stuff yet. Also she gave me the contact details of some friends she made at uni who are staying on for this semester too! Apparently there are a few Scots, Irish and Americans here, but the rest of the exchange students are European, mostly from Spain and Italy. We have the welcome day for exchange students on Thursday, so I get to meet everyone then which will be exciting. We also learn all about the uni and how to get around and whats available in the city, which will also be handy as I’ve not been here long enough yet to figure out what’s what.

I hope you all are well back home. Lots and lots and lots of love,

Renelle xxx ooo xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxoox