Arrival and first 24 hours

I should have known when I sat by a middle-aged juicehead in a tight pink shirt singing "I Believe I Can Fly" under his breathe on my first flight, this was going to be a great adventure. Also, John Travolta introducing the in-flight safety video and sitting by a few members of the band "Rise Against" on my Auckland flight should have given it away.
I, thankfully, have arrived safely in Palmerston North and am fully moved into my flat. I will be living with 3 other girls. One of the girls, Sage, is also an international student and from Colorado. I actually met her at the Auckland airport while we were waiting for our next flight, so she was my first Massey friend and I am sure it is meant to be :). The other two are Kiwis who have not arrived yet. I am excited to meet them and for all of us to get to know each other.
Our flat in on Keiller Place in Atawhai (pronounced At-a-fi) at the top of the hill. We have to go up 169 steep stairs to get to our flat from campus. Basically, I am going to have to greatest tush when I get back. Haling groceries up has been the greatest challenge, so I will probably have great arms too.
I have also been spending a lot of time with two other American students, Josh and Magge. We met on the shuttle back to campus and have since been inseparable. We live on complete opposite sides of campus from each other, but this has helped us get to know campus a little bit better. The night we arrived we went downtown to get groceries and necessities for our rooms. We only had a bus schedule in cryptic numbers and letters and our student IDs (except for me because my photo got damaged in the mail, so I won't get one for 2 weeks). We just picked a stop and got off. It was a teensy bit far from where we wanted to go, but really it is all about the learning process. When we finished, we went back to the closest bus stop and waited... no bus. We ended up eating at Burger King and getting a taxi back to campus.
Yesterday we went back downtown with two students who know the "lay of the land". We got phones, more groceries, and rain boots (which are a must because it is always pouring and always windy). We also got our Harry Potter tickets! I was so nervous that I was not going to meet anyone with the same love for the formerly awkward preteen who lived under the stairs, but Sage, Josh, Magge, and the two other students are all equally excited.
Later that night, we went to the International student dessert awkwardly mingly time. We met a lot of students and many of which are also excited about Harry Potter, so hopefully we can get a bigger group together to go. I chuckle when I think of how nervous I was to meet people. Everyone is in the same boat as I am and we all want to make friends and be accepted.
Today is the first day of orientation and it will be fun to meet more students, play awkward get-to-know-you games, and learn all about the Kiwi customs. Life is good and I am so glad I am here (and see Harry Potter before everyone)!