NEW ZEALAND BITCHES!!!!

Briefly: I MADE IT TO NEW ZEALAND!!! (feel free to stop reading now if you are not interested in the boring details)
It took me over 36 hours to get here with my four flights; thankfully all my luggage arrived with me, and both of us remained intact. The hostel I'm staying at is just what I'd hoped it would be, quiet and out of the city (in a suburb). Yesterday, after 12 hours of sleep, I took a lovely hike/run up a volcano, which is right next door to the hostel. The view from the top was beautiful, you could see the whole city of Auckland, which in itself (the center) is not large, but there are tons of sprawling suburbs with very low houses. The one similar city I've been to is San Diego.
Currently, it is summer here, which is also lovely. Whilst the air isn't very hot (a nice 70-75 degrees) the sun is super intense, due to the giant hole in the ozone layer. I'm still getting used to walking without anything on my feet! I've spent the past month with heavy ski boots for 8 hours a day, and snowshoes whenver I went out for a hike! I feel light as a feather, but I have yet to resort to skipping down the streets (trying to retain some dignity).
Today, I hung out with my hostel roomie who is from Germany. We went to the aquarium and walked a ton around the city. All in all a good day.
Tomorrow, I think I'm headed to the beach for the day. Probably wrapped in one sort of shroud or another, but it'll be the beach none the less. Not sure yet what I'll do the other days I'm here prior to the rest of my program, but I'll figure it out in time.
I hope everyone is doing well.
Miss Maggie: it will get better in time (I know it sounds lame), but it's extremely hard to adjust to a new place, just get as immersed as possible so that homesickness doesn't overwhelm.
Much love to all
-Lily