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?