Hey guys! This week I went on a snorkeling trip with six of my friends to Goat Island. At first I didn’t really know what to expect. I thought we would take a tiny boat out to the island where we would rent our snorkeling gear and be confined to swimming in a roped off piece of the ocean. How far from the truth I actually was! When we got to the shore, we all went to rent our wetsuits; little did we know they would be bright blue! We looked like the crew from Monsters Inc. After we got our gear we drove down to the beach where we were free to snorkel all around Goat Island (which is a nature reserve so we weren’t allowed on the actual island). The scenery was amazing; every which way I looked was breathtaking. Looking up the sky was bright blue, to the left was the island, to the right the beach with the green hills behind it, straight ahead were mountains, and below was the ocean. In the ocean, which was crystal clear, we saw things like a huge stingray, a lobster, and a bunch of bright colored fish. This experience was one that will be hard to top. After snorkeling we went to a beach about a half hour away that was also very beautiful. While everyone went off for a hike Haley and I decided to go for a longer walk on the beach and look out at the sunset over the water. It was so pretty to watch. What I find Ironic though is that when we came back that night we found out that at that same time we were admiring the ocean, there was a tsunami taking place in the same body of water miles and miles away.

The next day I had a trip planned to go to the Coromandel Peninsula but because of the Tsunami warning we canceled our trip. Instead we would up hiking Mount Eden and going to the Pacifica Festival. Mount Eden is a small mountain right outside of the city center in Auckland. From the top of the mountain we could see the skyline perfectly. There was also a huge crater right before the top of the mountain where there was once a volcanic explosion. Hiking to Mount Eden was something I wanted to do while living in Auckland so I’m glad we went.

After Mount Eden we took the van and went to the Pacifica Festival on the other Side of town. Once again we had no idea what to expect. We planned on only staying for about an hour or so, but yet again we were pleasantly surprised. The festival, we found out is one of the largest and most significant festivals in the south pacific. There were acres and acres filled with stages and posts set up. The Music was great, Pacific Island dancers and musicians were performing on stages about every 100 yards or so and on the perimeter around the stages booths and tents were set up. Bre, Kiri and I were walking past one tent looking very curious as Pacific Islanders were sitting Indian style around a large pot drinking this drink that looked a lot like coffee out of halved coconut shaped cups. Before we knew it we were being invited in to share the drink with them. As we sat down the natives clapped three times (to represent yesterday, today, and tomorrow). They explained to us that we were drinking cava, and what the bowl it was made in represented. They told us that since we were drinking the cava with them we are now considered family. After we left Kiri, who has Pacific Island relatives explained that cava usually isn’t shared with people other than family members so that experience was very special. After we left that booth we went to the next booth were we saw someone manually getting a tattoo with an ink filled chisel. Normally I would be hesitant to watch but it was very interesting. Before we left we each got a big plate of Samoan food which consisted of lamb, corn, noodles, and rice. This was a treat considering I’m on the meal plan at Huia and the food is not that good to say the last. As we ate our food we sat by a stage and watched Pacific Islanders sing and perform music. Although the trip to Coromandel got called off because of the tides, we still had a great weekend.

This morning I recieved an e-mail that my favorite professor had a heart attack and won’t be back in class until the end of the semester, so that’s really sad. Other than that I really enjoy all of my classes. I find my marketing class the most interesting. My first test is on Wednesday and I’m actually looking forward to it.


The cool thing about being here is not only do I go to school and go on trips, but I also find myself learning life lessons every single day. That’s part of what comes from traveling, you get to meet people of all different ethnicities, cultures, and religions and you pick up certain things and learn about aspects of people you might never experience staying in the same town or state your whole life. One of the most important things I’ve learned so far while being here is that you should never think you know someone’s background at a first glance. I know that’s something we’ve been taught since we were young but it never truly sunk in until I was put in the situation of meeting people from all over the globe. Some people who look like they are from China will start talking in a kiwi accent, and as you get to know them, they were raised here their whole lives. And others who you think look like kiwis, will start talking in an Australian accent, or even and American accent for that matter. I wouldn’t consider myself judgmental before I came here, but I would often make assumptions as to what ethnicity someone was by their looks, accent, or fashion. From being here I’ve learned that it’s worth the time to get to know someone because you might be surprised by what interesting story they have to share.

First two weeks in Auckland

Hey Guys I’m Ashley and I’m currently studying at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. I have been here in the city for two weeks now and I’m already having the time of my life. Getting here was beyond stressful; my flight from JFK was delayed three hours which made me miss my plane from LAX to Auckland. I had to wait 24 hours in LA to catch another flight. The entire time I was streaming with emotions, sadness leaving my family, nervousness arriving in a place where I wasn’t familiar with the culture, and excitement to start a new beginning in a new environment. The plane ride was rough but as soon as I saw the breathtaking mountains, I took a deep breath and relaxed, all my worries were gone. I knew at that moment that all the time and effort I put into planning the trip was worthwhile and good things were to come.

When I arrived at the airport I met up with other international students who were also attending The University of Auckland. Meeting and conversing with the other students made me realize how much I have in common with people of diverse backgrounds. When I arrived at the residence on campus where I’m staying, I instantly made a lot of new friends which made the transition really easy.

Last week was international orientation and orientation for the residence I live in. It would have been the smart decision to attend the international events to help adjust to the new lifestyle, but the events the residence held seams much more fun, so that’s what I did. A few days after I got here I came down with strep throat, tonsillitis, and a high fever which put a damper on some of the fun activities the school had to offer but all is well now. Some of the things we did included a sponge war, a scavenger hunt in the city, quiz night, a trip to the Auckland zoo, a bar night (and yes the University promotes drinking, there’s even a bar on campus!) and a day trip to the beach. The scavenger hunt was a ton of fun; we had to do things like smash an ice cream cone on our head, sing and dance on a park bench, run up a downward escalator, and do the haka in front of the sky tower. The bar party was a lot of fun too. The theme was forever young so a bunch of my friends and I dressed up like the spice girls.

The beach was beautiful but the city of Auckland isn’t where New Zealand gets its reputation from. Auckland is the biggest city in the country also known as “The City of Sails”. Although it’s considered a big city to kiwis, Auckland is still a great deal smaller than New York City. The streets are a lot less congested, the air is a lot less polluted, and there are no homeless people to be found. Down the block from my residence is a park called The Domain, it reminds me a lot of central park. It’s a beautiful place to go for a run, gather friends to play a game of cricket, layout at during the day, or even to drink at with friends when it gets dark.

What I’m really excited for is traveling the North and South islands. A few other Stony Brook students and I got together some of our friends we made here and we all chipped in to buy a used van, a 1996 Estima. This weekend we took our first road trip to Waiheke Island. It’s about a 45 minute ferry ride from downtown Auckland. Before I left I was getting nervous to go camping in a place where I wasn’t familiar with my surroundings. The girls (Keri and Haley, who are also on an exchange through Stony Brook, and Rafaela, who is on an exchange from Germany) all took a late Ferry and met the boys at the ferry terminal (Sean, from Stony Brook and Max from Germany). When we got there I was still feeling on edge, I’m a very nervous person. But the scenery was beautiful. On our way back to the campsite all the girls stuck our heads out of the sun roof and we screamed at the top of our lungs. It felt so good! That night we had a lot of fun cooking and hanging out on the camp ground. The next morning we woke up and went for a long hike on the trails. I feel as though nothing I can say or show in pictures really justifies the natural beauty of the land here. As we were hiking we came across a waterfall into a pond where we went swimming. After our hike we went to a few beaches in the area then headed back to the campsite to cook dinner. As soon as we got back to the campsite it started raining. From that point on the rain didn’t stop until we left. That night all six of us wound up sitting in a 3 person tent to get out of the rain. The next day, which was Saturday we decided to drive around the island and look at the scenery since the weather was stopping us from hiking and taking part in outdoor activities. Despite the weather, I had a great time. I feel like this trip really put me out of my comfort zone in the way I was leaving Huia (my residence) and venturing to a place I didn’t know much about to camp in the woods. I learned that although I might feel scared and intimidated I have the courage to get past that and follow my dreams. Coming back to Huia was nice after being stuck out in the rain, it made me consider Auckland my home, which is refreshing.

As for classes, it’s a lot like school at home. I’m taking a bunch of DEC requirements while I’m here which the kiwis don’t understand as they finish their degree in 3 years and aren’t required to take general education classes. All in all despite the flight delay and illness I couldn’t have asked for a better first two weeks here in Auckland!!

Sorry I haven't been updating recently!

I've been bogged down with end-of-the-semester-itis + I have to study for finals.

In studying for genetics I was faced with this question, that I thought was amusing:


6. The Minister of Finance, Bill English, is seeking to clone the gene for a novel
protein called diptin, which has recently been discovered as a major component
of the eggs of a new species of butterfl y, Taxpayer subsidii, found fl ying wild in
his historic family residence in the wilds of Southland. The diptin protein causes
those who consume it to lose all interest in investing the property market and to
save all their spare cash in long-term deposits. Mr English wishes to express large
quantities of the protein in transgenic plants so that Dr Bollard can put it in the
water supplies of key suburbs in the wealthy regions of Auckland and Wellington.
You are told that diptin protein binds tightly to another protein called perkin,
which has been purifi ed from fi lters in the air conditioning units of the beehive. A
good way to clone the diptin gene would be to:
1. Construct a genomic library from Taxpayer subsidii and screen the library
by colony hybridization using an oligonucleotide designed from the known
protein sequence of perkin.
2. Construct a cDNA library from mRNA isolated from eggs of Taxpayer
subsidii, and screen the library by colony hybridization using the gene for
perkin as a probe.
3. Purify the diptin protein using a perkin column, sequence the protein and
design an oligonucleotide probe, and use the probe in a Southern blot
against genomic DNA isolated from Taxpayer subsidii
4. Construct a cDNA expression library from mRNA isolated from eggs of
Taxpayer subsidii, and screen it using antibodies prepared against perkin.
5. Purify the diptin protein using a perkin column, inject the purifi ed protein
into rabbits to produce antibodies, and use these to screen a cDNA
expression library made from mRNA isolated from eggs of Taxpayer
subsidii.

..just goes to show that professors can, and will, in fact make questions out of anything haha

Genetics lab

Only in New Zealand would one stumble upon a genetics lab with a kiwifruit plasmid cloned into E. Coli!

-Khushbu

The do's and don'ts that I've learned so far...

Do...

• Go to the museum

• Ask questions, generally people will have no problem answering them

• Learn some Moari words...Kia ora!

• Walk around Symonds St. With ‘Team Jacob’ written on your face (it was yesterday’s immunity); like so:
  

• Call ‘sprinkles’, ‘hundreds and thousands’

• Tell Bush jokes – it gives you a common ground to build upon.

• Listen to some local music (Tangaroa by Tiki Taane)

• Buy an umbrella...actually, buy 2...it rains here every day.

• Watch ‘Boy’ and try to imitate the Kiwi accent

• Start spelling ‘color and humor’ as ‘colour and humour’

• Go to class and pass them

Don't...

• Say you love eating kiwis...people will think you’re a cannibal. Specify them as ‘kiwifruit’

• Start telling NZ jokes before you make friends that understand your humour – you might offend people

• Drive on the left hand side of the road

• Do anything illegal, and get caught

• Try to sue anyone, because you can’t sue in NZ

• Get too comfortable...go exploring as often as you can

• Wear white nail polish – people will think you put ‘twink’ on your nails. But do start calling white-out, twink

• Leave your room without your camera and an umbrella (did I mention how rainy it is here?)

• Eat Vegemite or its equally bitter half-sister, Marmite. It’s an acquired taste, and you will not acquire it in the short time you are in NZ

And I'll leave you to ponder about my next blog post...I will be!- Khushbu

(That is today's immunity by the way, and I have to do it singing the Eye of the Tiger haha)

"Did Grafton have a swine flu outbreak?"

Hi again!

...And I know you're all interested in knowing if, indeed there is an outbreak in my hall. Unfortunately its just a building-wide game of Assassins, where you 'kill' your target by putting a sticker on them, and every day of the week there is a different 'immunity' from being killed. Yesterday the immunity was to cover your nose and people went all out so not to die on the first day - scarves, masquerade masks, numerous surgical masks (why people though there was a epidemic going on in the building), fake beards, ties, you name it! Today's immunity, by the way, is doing Micheal Jackson's Thriller walk. So living here has been incredibly funny, and paranoia-filled at the same time. I'm not dead yet and I'm trying to keep it that way until after I kill my target. Muhaha.

So I got asked a question today that I've been getting asked all the time: Why New Zealand?
I suppose the answer is simple - If I didn't go to New Zealand to study abroad, I would have never came to this region of the world. Its one of the last places of the world to be 'found' by Europeans and colonized, so the culture is very much alive here; the history isn't buried in ruins and history textbooks, and I really like that. And besides, I've already been to Europe, Asia and South America. There were of course other factors in me coming to NZ - making sure my credits would transfer over, if it was safe, the currency exchange rate etc, but mostly, I wanted to go somewhere new and exciting, and here I am! =)

More to come soon,
Khushbu

New Zealand, two months in.

Hey there!

I'm Khushbu, just your typical senior year Psychology major, Bio and Chem double minor SBU student...except I've been in Auckland, New Zealand for about 2 months now. I am currently attending Auckland University, in the biggest city in New Zealand. Auckland, the 'City of Sails', is a really diverse - the people, the culture, the things to see and do, it almost reminds me of NYC. Raised in Brooklyn my entire life, I can definitely say the the pace of the city is slower here though, and MUCH slower in the rest of the country. Its true what they say about NZ - the sheep really do out number the people living here!

And you don't need to be here 2 months to figure that out...you can't go 20 minutes outside the city without seeing sheep or cows.

I currently live in one of the many subherbs of this super-city, in Grafton, in a dorm building. The interesting thing about Grafton Hall is that you don't need to be an Auckland Uni student to live here...in fact, my roommate goes to a completely different university thats nearby. I love it...you get to meet so many different people this way. And for the first time in my college career, I'm living corrider style! Its so weird because guys and girls live on the same floor and share the same toilets and showers! This hall is also catered, so you don't have to worry about grocery shopping or making your own meals (although there is a kitchen if you want to use it). I'd highly reccomend other people to live in a catered hall...its less to worry about!

Although I'm a psych student, I'm taking some general education classes that are really interesting (and fulfill some DECS/Skills) - Sociology of Auckland, Anthropology of the Pacific Peoples, History of Sex in Europe and America and I'm also taking a Genetics class. I really enjoy my athro and soc classes because every week I learn about the history and practices of where I am right now...it just wouldn't be the same learning the same things from a textbook in Stony Brook without being emerged in it. If you're going to study abroad take some similar classes - if nothing else, if you learn about the city you're in, you won't get lost so easily!

The rest of my time not spend in class has been amazing as well...I've been skiing (we just entered spring in the southern hemisphere) and to geo-thermal parks and even petted a sheep or two amongst other things. I haven't seen a kiwi bird yet though, NZ's national animal is actually endangered. Over our mid-semester break I went to Sydney (only a 3 hr flight away) and to Surfer's Paradise (where I learned to surf!). Flights in NZ are reallyyy cheap and it only takes an hour or so to get to most other cities domestically. The flight to NZ from NY was another matter altogether though! It took me 2 days with a 12 hour layover in LA to get to Auckland. It didn't take me too long to get over the jet-lag though, as I slept on the entire flight from LA!

Otherwise, my study abroad experience thus far has been a fantastic slurry of meeting new people, learning new things and having daily adventures! Want to study abroad? I would say do it!

'Til next time,
Khushbu