Day 1 June 8th 2011

First impressions, cultre shocks, and what i look forward to on this trip.

The first thing i thought when i looked outside was "Drat! It's raining". It took me a few moments to get over my pessimistic thoughts and notice New Zealand. It was hard not to be shocked by all of the green pastures and lush trees. On the bus ride i was CONSTANTLY taking pictures of the countryside.
As we walked to the bus, i think i was the first to tkae notice of the cars and their wheels. I was completely confused, but what do you expect? I was on a long flight! It took me a few seconds to remember that New Zealanders drive on the left side of the road. One day when im older, i hope to come back and try my hand at driving their way. And oh the accents! Some of the New Zealanders have a British-type accent while others have a more american accent.

In Hobbiton, Zoe Kaityn and I were walking down the street and some New Zealand teens asked us where we were from. When we told them "America" they were completely shocked. A few seconds later, some more of us wandered by and we could hear their gasps of"wow!" because they dont often see American teens walking around there. The New Zealand ppeople are so nice! I lost count of how many people smiled at me or said good morning. We walked inside one restaurant and the owner said "the bathroom is right through the back if thats what you were looking for", and not even in a condescending tone! In america, you have to pay for something to even think about using the toilet. Aslo, the men here dress somuch nicer than those in America. Here they seem to actually care about what they wear and try to match. In America, teens males just grab a random T-Shirt and some jeans. Alot of the guys even match their shirts with their shoes and scarves! Tomorrow, we are going zorbing! A zorbe is that giant hamster ball thing that people run around in. I am really excited to meet the kids from Rangitito. Having talked to them so much on Facebook, I can't wait to see what they are like in preson!

Today was really a day of adjusting to the time zone difference and getting used to New Zealand. We got off the plane and took a 3 hour ride to Rotorua. Beofre we arrived, we stopped in Hobbiton for lunch. Hobbiton is a tourist trap because many people want to see the area where Lord of the Rings was filmed. We only stopped there to get some lunch, and there were many options for food. We then continued to Rotorua and got our first experience with the fmaous Rotorua smell. Rotten eggs AKA sulfur deposits. We went Louging

 and went to the Jade Factory. Also we wnt to this awesome burger joint for dinner. Porbably the best burger i have ever had in my life!