Absolutely crushed in the back seat of a Toyota 4 Runner, the 2 hour drive to Oamaru was not very fun. Luckily, the weekend shaped up quite nicely. The beach house was a three minute walk from shore and most of our time was spent laying in the sun. I was absolutely exhausted so I took a nap. The turquoise blue water was slightly too cold for me to get in, but the Kiwis did not hesitate at all. The first night we were with 6 Kiwis and 4 Americans, a nice blend of culture. They are more into taking facebook pictures than we are. I felt like I was a candid model or something.

One of the Kiwi girls was really loud and a little too much for me...she was constantly screaming and made it a point to not let anyone in the house sleep. We went hunting for mussels and Paua shells around just before the sunset and I found some amazing Paua. They are beautiful shells that appear is if they've been dipped in oil or something, giving off a rainbow shine. After hiking the beach and cruising on low tide, our group headed to a place that is famous for penguin colonies. Apparently the night before there had been 150 small blue penguins.

We had a low key movie night with lots of food. I consumed so many chocolate chip cookies dipped in peanut butter. I also got a double-scoop of icecream: boysenberry and caramel. It sounds like a strange combination but it was melt in mouth, both literally and figuratively. After the exhausting weekend and drive home, Paige and I watched a few episodes of entourage and hit the hay.

Today was my first day of class since December. My 400 level history class is taught by a Russian Kiwi. One of the weirdest accents I have ever heard. I am pretty disappointed because all of my basketball games would be on the weekends so I don't think I can play. There is one weekend in which all of the schools meet with all of their clubs and party, bbq and play sports for a get away weekend. I'm hoping to be able to participate in that. Cavs on a 3 game winning streak, keep it rolling!

The last few days have been really relaxing filled with indulging on sushi and chicken curry sandwiches. I have found some great deals and it has only been a week here. Chicken sandwiches are 3.50NZD, so like 2 bucks for a really tasty chicken burger.

Paige and I taught the kiwis how to play beer pong and now my flatmate Abbey is practicing in between classes. She is ultra competitive and president of the squash club. Paige plays college volleyball at Brandeis and she is also overly competitive: We went 16-0 at the table on our first night. It was ridiculous. Paige is like the Dikembe Mutumbo of pong, literally blew the ball out like ten times throughout the night. I have had enough time to workout the last 2 days and I am feeling really good about that.

Today I had preliminary classes; I got my syllabuses and found out when lecture times are. Grading must be exceptionally difficult here because an A grade is 80% and above.

I am leaving for the weekend and going to a place called Oamaru which is about an hour and a half north of Dunedin. It is a coastal town of 13,000 with amazing outdoor activities. Oamaru is also very famous for its large penguin population. I cannot wait to see wild penguins that are not in a zoo.

Classes start on Monday, and I also have basketball tryouts Monday night. I'm really looking forward to that. I'll check in after the weekend and let you all know how it went.

Today was full of motivation. Waking up at eight to go to an International Students lecture was SO not worth it. It was three hours long, but my group ended up leaving at around the midpoint. I walked over to the gym and got involved in my first pickup basketball game.

The three point line is further back. And the lane is much wider. I think that it is the same as European ball. It is definitely a big man's game here as no one really shoots from far at all. The kiwi players also use the glass from all angles and distance. However, the backboards are not glass at all, and the rims aren't orange. Everything is old school: Wood backboards, and strange rusty rims that are tilted up which makes it tough to shoot. They also play very robotic with no flair at all. I can see why Dave Hancock coaches the way he does. I definitely stood out as the most competent player on the floor as it is not a very popular sport here. I kind of play like Rajon Rondo here - mid range jumpers, mostly attacking the rim, but also lots of rebounds, assists, and steals.

Everyone here strives to be built like a Karsten Tindal/Zach Zosel hybrid. Rugby is the game of life. I am by far the skinniest person in the weight room every single time. The most odd part of the gym is that all the guys are lifting weights. Close to a 40:1 ratio to girls. All of the girls are on the cardio machines. Somewhere in the 10:1 ratio. After my workout it was about noon.

I came home and ate and did a little Yoga. AJ, a Kiwi that I might a few nights ago, came and picked me up to go to Flagstaff Summit. This is basically a mirror image the Spencer Butte in Eugene. For example, it is about 5 minutes outside of town and 3,000 feet up. I posted pictures on facebook of the hike. AJ is an awesome guy and he is working as a commercial entrepreneur as he called it. He basically listens to new ideas and tells the people at ground one whether to continue to try to be innovative. It was just the two of us so I definitely got a lot of isolated time to ask questions. I love learning all the Kiwi slang. I already know I am going to come back with some of it as well as a slight accent with certain diction. I learned today that Mcdonald's and every place with red meat is free range, that KIND OF entices me to try something. They keep their eggs on shelves, not refridgerated. They also only eat turkey on christmas and thanksgiving, so chicken is sliced in the deli.

I am looking forward to tonight because it is my Kiwi mate's birthday. Her name is Rebecca and I haven't even met her yet. We'll see where this leads....

PS: Cleo who is a great dog that I am friends with in the states is really sick and may need to be put down soon. I am praying for her. I hate hearing about sad things back home that I have no control over. If my dog Buddy dies while I am gone (which he may, he is old with lots of health problems), I don't want to know about it.

Thank god for iTunes and ESPN.com. I needed some Rolling Stones and sports updates today, and I found them both. While jamming to "Beast of Burden" I got some high quality reading done. 4 Oregon football players have been arrested in the last month, not including Jeremiah Masoli and Embry; this is terrible news for our program. I also saw that Jermere Holland was dismissed today for something he posted on his facebook account. Ducks football is sinking faster than Enron after a Rosebowl birth. I sure hope we live up to our #4 preseason rankings for 2010. Cleveland hasn't won a game since I left the country. No need to get into details about how I am feeling in regards to that. Tigers speech was horrific. He is a robot. I still love him and bought a Tiger poster at the local music shop for my room. I also purchased a New Zealand flag that coats a large portion of my wall.

I had a wonderful workout this morning that was extremely needed. You all know that I workout at least 6/7 days a week, and taking a week off was painful. I am back in the game now though so all is okay. Paige and I went to the grocery store and I FINALLY got my cell phone up and running. People don't call ever here, I mean never - only texts. I also purchased a few surprises that should reach the U.S. within a few weeks. I am missing a lot of people in the states, but not Eugene at all. I wish everyone could just move here. Other than that today has been really relaxing. I made some rice, chicken, and veggies for dinner. I also got to skype with my dad for like ten minutes. That was a real kick. I was so happy to see him in his office wearing lounge gear and a baseball cap. Classic Rob. I am waiting to skype Anne tonight when her chemistry is over and am really looking forward to that as well.

I made a bucket list after dinner. The list is about 25 events deep so I figure if I hit 60% of them I'll be happy. They include white water rafting, swimming with dolphins, bungy jumping, sky diving, to name a few. These rec events are all in the most breathtaking places on earth. I am in for the night because there is a huge Toga party tomorrow that I bought a sheet for, should be fun. The kiwis are playing a funny version of Kings Cup upstairs...gonna go play.

I said I wouldn't blog until Wednesday, but every day is a new adventure. I love it. I woke up this morning at around 9 after a low key night. I really needed it. Just hung out with a few flatmates and watched an episode of entourage. I walked around campus and found our rec center. It has everything I would ever need, and is about the size of the local YMCA in Eugene. The only difference is all the equipment and courts appear as if they are from the 1950s. Paige and I walked around town and got posters, 18+ cards (basically drinking ID), and lunch. Thai food and Sushi are both HUGE here. The food is phenomenal and it is cheaper to go out to eat than shop at a grocery store. I got a huge Yakisoba teriyaki noodle and 8 sushi for like 12 bucks (8 US dollars). They don't tip here which I find very strange.

Activities just don't stop here. Right after running all these errands my other roommate invited us to go to tunnel beach. It is world famous, just wikipedia it. Absolutely gorgeous - it kind of reminded me of the hobbit trail I go to with my Dad at the Oregon Coast near Florence. After taking the bus back to downtown, I got 8 more sushi and headed home. I was pleased to find one of my Kiwi hosts, Abbey, at home. I had not met her yet and she is very nice and so helpful (a common theme with natives). I really cannot believe how helpful everyone is. Everyone is so logical and reasonable. They never get stressed over anything, ever. It is the most laid back environment I have ever been, parallel to the Oregon Country Fair, but it is a real society. Basically an indescribable vibe. I feel like I am surrounded by Charlie Wilson-Mosess and Kevin Melias. I like those two guys a lot so this is great. I am sure hoping to take this mindset home with me. Police are only helpful, never trying to seek out a ticket to meet a quota. Everyone in the country has health care. Officers do not carry guns, and open container laws do not exist. I am learning more and more by the second.

I found out that I won't have to attend class which is amazing because my roommate Paige and I are planning to go to Melbourne, Australia to visit her twin sister. I think we are also going to go to Bali, Indonesia and Bangkok, Thailand within the next few weeks. Round trip flights are around $250.00. I am joining the Men's Basketball "club." Apparently they travel and play other teams and it is somewhat competitive. My kiwi roommate said I should excel because it is not very popular. Clubs and societies are huge here. I am also joining white water rafting, kayaking, tramping (hiking), and a norml club. The last club is about legalizing marajuana. Every Friday at 4:20 they sit in the Uni lawn and smoke, legally. There is also a day in May called normal J day and everyone goes to the city center (called the octagon) and smokes together: http://www.norml.org.nz/article633.html. I can't believe it and had no idea everything was so lax here. I should have assumed it though. I am teaching the kiwis beerpong tonight, that should be a blast.

Tomorrow is the beginning of O-week (orientation). Apparently they just go so big from Sunday-Sunday. I think I am going to go camping at the Milford Sounds. This is like a national geographic type beauty place. Check that out on wikipedia as well. I'll let you all know how O-week is going as it progresses.

I have officially reached the stage of intense deliriousness. I feel like it is hour 21 on night 6 of dead week before finals. I haven't really gotten a good night's sleep since Thursday night February 11th. The next night was a Friday, and I didn't feel very good. Saturday night was the big party night going out with Melia, Joachim, and Charlie. Sunday was the NBA All Star game - I suppose I slept fairly well that night. Monday I couldn't sleep at all because the trip was too close and I was still feeling like garbage from the weekend eating and drinking extravaganza. And Tuesday was my last night in town - I stayed up all night. Wednesday night I was on the plane from 7 p.m. Pacific time and didn't arrive in Dunedin until 9:30 a.m. Friday (Thursday night didn't exist for me because of the 21 hour time difference. If it is 12:00 in the afternoon on Thursday in Oregon, it is 9 in the morning on Friday in New Zealand.

I gave this explanation because if the money line is over or under 100 brain fart grammatical errors, I am taking the over and betting a grand.

The traveling was extreme. In no way am I exaggerating when I say that I pitted out my sweatshirt and jeans carrying all my bags through customs and everything in Auckland in order to make my flight to Dunedin (I kind of looked like Shaquille O'neal in the early 00s during the 4th quarter, you know, when he looks like he just got out of a swimming pool). They took my hiking boots because there was American soil and spider web remnants on them. That sucked, new boots are expensive. I was running around with 150+ pounds of luggage (they weighed it in Eugene) in a foreign country. It made my backpacking trip in Washington feel like a trip to Costco. My student visa wasn't recognized at customs either. I was too tired to be mad or frustrated about any of these things. The sleep deprivation had turned into brain damage by this juncture and the only thing I could process was reading my mom's itinerary page and getting to my flat. I was emotionless.

Waiting for me at baggage claim in Dunedin was a guy with a sign that said Southern Taxis; he was about 65 with a thick accent, and 5 other students were taken with me. We stopped and got my keys at the international students center, then headed towards the flat. I live in 4/46 Queen Street. I was so happy to get to my flat that I had an energy surge until right now. I am laying in bed, and I can't wait to finish this blog so I can sleep and rest up for tonight. I have hit the rookie wall as some call it. My key didn't work in my room, so I sat in my living room and used the wireless internet (thank god). 20 minutes later my Polish flat mat named Matthew came in with a key that worked. My room is pretty decent sized. I have the biggest one closest to a bathroom and shower, I don't know how I got so lucky. I brought my Jordan Wings and AJ 1 posters all the way from home - they were a real hassle while traveling, but definitely worth it. It was really cool that I arrived in the morning. I was unpacked with all my posters up by noon with a full day ahead.

Countdown is like the local Safeway and I hadn't eaten since Cafe Yumm in the SF airport. Food is really expensive here, and they don't eat turkey except on thanksgiving. I got a fruit smoothie, salad, bananas, oranges, chicken, bread, rice, and a razor. It was $90 NZ, which would be like 65.00 in the US. Everything is really expensive. Way more than I thought. I have spent a few hundred and only been here 28 hours. That better slow down when school starts, but I have only purchased neccessities. I am re reading each sentence so I can remember what i wrote for the next one. That is how tired I am. In classic Kevin fashion, I was extremely efficient on my first few hours. By 4:00 I had already gone to campus and gotten my student I.D. card, signed up for all my classes, gotten groceries, and bought bedding. The city has 130,000 people, and 20,000 students just to give you a picture of how much ground I have to learn. It is kind of like if Eugene were on an island in all honesty. I showered and ate dinner, and was invited to go to a Rugby match with my roommates Paige and Megan. They are from Colorado and Minnesota respectively.

We went back to Countdown grocery which is about a 20 minute walk and got this drink called Scrumpy. It is 1.25 liters and looks like 7-up. It is an apple cider that is like 6% alcohol (a martinelli's and champagne hybrid). The three of us walked thirty more minutes and partied in a flat courtyard with a bunch of other students. Then walked to the Rugby match - longest suburban walk of my life. The stadium is huge, holds about 30,000. The Otago Highlanders are the home team. They lost the match but I had fun time cheering with the die hards in the general admission section. We had to take a taxi home because we were too drunk to walk back. That was really cheap. Only $14.00 for like 5 miles. I probably walked close to seven yesterday. My Kiwi hosts have cars, but they don't get here until tomorrow. Paige and I may buy a car and sell it before we leave. She is my best friend here so far. I also met a kid that goes to Butler named JJ (John Joseph is his name). I am the youngest person I have met, everyone else is either a senior or junior. I am also the only one taking 300 and 400 level classes. Everyone I have met is taking 100 levels and they are P/NP. My GPA transfers over. It is bullshit. I may change my entire schedule and blow this term off to get As in all introduction classes, then just graduate in 5 years and enjoy life more. I have to make that decision within the next week. Classes don't begin until March 1. Last night after the game Paige and I walked across the street to a party and were really outgoing. We just walked into a Kiwi house. They were all so friendly and were offering drinks. Everyone is really out and easy going. An amazing combination. The best way to describe it here is with a metaphor that is literally true. They don't need the 750 additional channels that the United States has. They are satisfied and overly happy with 70. People here seem to have such a better grasp on what is important in life. I guess that is easy when you live in a college beach town on an island and it is 80 degrees and sunny. The metric system takes getting used to, everything is in Celsius as well. I order 200 kg of chicken yesterday from the deli and got like 8 slices.

Paige and I befriended two native Kiwis last night, and today they drove us around and helped with getting accustomed to Dunedin. They have been so outwardly kind and helpful it is unbelievable. They showed us cheap eats like pizza, sushi, thai, etc. Sushi is huge here and huge for Kevin. If you know me, you know I love my sushi. I didn't even know that going into this trip. Thai restaurants are very common, and I also love thai food. I can see why they don't really allow immigration, this place is paradise. There is no question in my mind that I will come back here and take people when I can. I really hope Joachim or Kevin makes the trip over here if it is in any way a possibility. You were both born to be here. Or if Brooksie can get a concert over here, I would love that. I also went to the beach today. The water is a different color of blue. It is insane that the Pacific Ocean is the Oregon coast too. They smoke weed here and I didn't know that at all. It is about the same prices as in Eugene if you do that conversion rate, but it is much worse. I don't think I am going to very much at all. That leads me up to this minute. I will go into less detail in future blogs, but I thought I would let everyone know how this thing started off. Also, Cleveland has lost two straight. Jamison trade was amazing and I hope they pick it up. LBJ had like 43,15,13,4,2 line a few nights ago against Melo. Read that again. And again. Are you kidding me? We are buying a dish that is $40NZ month so I can watch the tournament and NBA finals. End of discussion. I am going to sleep and will hopefully wake up to skype with a few people tonight and then MAYBE doubtfully go out. I'll get back to you all in a few days. Say Wednesday?

I already posted this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eh-0knDpn5g on facebook, but I feel like it is the best way to introduce my blog considering it is a visual summary of where I will be for the next five months. My skype name is kevinmcbaron and I will be dying to video chat with my friends and family. Email is baron@uoregon.edu - this will probably be the best way to get in touch with me on a more personal level.

I would like to thank Jakey Gelrod for the blog inspiration. On his trip last year to Israel he used this website and I thought it turned out well.

I haven't been academically motivated since spring quarter of 2009, so I am hoping my writing will improve with time and the blog will be easier to follow. For now, just bear with me.

I have had nearly three full months off from school, and I am actually ready to go back. I wish it didn't have to be until next fall. However, I am forced to take classes on this trip because it is a "study abroad" experience. My last few weeks in town have been wonderful. An excessively wild Saturday night led into an all-you-can-eat brunch at my dad's house on Sunday morning. I could not be more appreciative for both of my parents emotional and financial support throughout this process - I would be lost without them (as well as Jolene and Steve).

I wanted to give individual thanks and shout outs to all of my friends, but the group is so extensive I didn't want to leave anyone out. You all know who you are.

Of course my first flight is delayed from Eugene to SF, darn fog...

JJ - You are my number one partner in crime. You bring out the best in me. I cannot think of a single time in life that we have been together and not lived it to the fullest. We go all out, balls to the wall. You are always optimistic and looking forward to what's next. You make me feel like my swagger is on 100,000 everywhere I go with you. I am already a confident kid, but when we are hanging out I feel unstoppable with any mission or goal I have. I am so thankful and lucky to have you around. You better make your way down to NZ for the tail end of this trip, we'll be in touch. If not, hold it down in the classroom and gym for me in the 541, and I'll see you at our new crib this summer.

Ann - I really appreciate the ride. Not just to the airport, but also for becoming so close this year. I trust you with everything. You are one of my best friends. I am sure that I will be in touch with you more than anyone else on this trip, I am not worried about a thing. Good luck with finishing out school and tryouts. You are a wonderful person. I'll finish this later, I'm boarding.