Auckland NZ

Hello Friends!
I'm writing to you from an internet cafe outside of Auckland NZ. We arrived early Sunday morning after a 12 hour planeride from LAX. It wasn't half as bad as I had expected. I sat next to a native New Zealand man who now resides in Texas and his 5 year old daughter. She was absolutely adorable! She had a southern accent but some of the mannerisms of her Kiwi father.
From the airport we went to the campsite we will be staying at for the next few days. It is in a national park and is really much nicer than I was expecting. We have electricity, running water, and everything!
There are 3 professors living with us, a cook/director, and a "student affairs manager". The professors are very interesting. The geography/ecology professor is named Siggy and of German decent. Botany is taught by Tim, an Aussie, and Environmental policy is taught by Rohan, who is from Tasmania. We had our first classes this morning and got an overview of the next few weeks. Then we ventured to the other part of the Park and had a field excursion to learn about the native plants and animals. So far it is pretty interesting. I'm ready to venture more into the rainforest!
The other students are from all over the country, especially the East Coast and South. It is so weird being with people who don't know about the Badgers!!

That's all I have time for now but more posts (and pictures!) to come soon!