Where did Friday go?

Somewhere between San Francisco and Auckland, I lost Friday. After realizing my first flight from Chicago to San Francisco was delayed over 3 hours, I flew standby on another flight to San Francisco so I would have time to make my connection to Auckland. Of course flying standby means you do not get your choice of seat. So I ended up in the third to last row in a middle seat. Thankfully, I had great neighbors and we got along great. My biggest fear was my bags weren't going to make the connection since they were still on the first flight.  Saying a prayer and goodbye to my family on the phone, I boarded Air New Zealand flight #7 to Auckland. It was a 12.5 hour flight and I was not sure how I would do for that long. I read for a bit until dinner was served, watched a movie, fell asleep until I was awoken for breakfast 2.5 hours before we landed, watched another movie and we were on the ground in Auckland. It was 9:45pm on Thursday in San Francisco when I left and it was 5:40 am on Saturday in Auckland when I landed. aka NO FRIDAY. oh well, I'm here and I couldn't be more excited.

New Zealand- Auckland is on the North Island at the skinny part

Unfortunately it was still dark when I landed so I couldn't see much of the beauty I expected to see flying in, but one thing I did see was headlights driving on the left side of the road. Yep, no longer in the States. It was kind of scary being on the roads just because I am not used to it. I just hope I get used to it soon cuz I need to look to the right more than the left when crossing the streets these days to avoid being hit.

Today I got a chance to walk around Auckland a bit with Melanie, my roommate here and the other nursing student from UVA here. We explored The Domain (a big park nearby) which hosts the Auckland Museum. It was a really cool, huge museum- very interactive and interesting- where I learned a lot about he Mauri people. I learned there are three types of kiwis: the fruit, the bird, and the people here. The fruit was actually named after the bird. Do you see the resemblance??

The Kiwi- only found in New Zealand

Well it is 10pm now and I have worked hard to stay awake all day (literally since 5am) and now its time to sleep. Did I mention it is winter here and the sun set way too early (like by 6pm during dinner)? Well, I was bummed about the sun setting early but it's actually not to cold. Today it was about 60 degrees F, or should I say 17 degress C. One more day before classes begin.