The First Day of Class...

After a month of just enjoy New Zealand for what it is, I have finally embarked on my formal pursuit to EDUCATE MYSELF. Today I have Contemporary American Poetry and Pacific Music and Dance.

In Poetry class, we listened to some CHET BAKER jazzie-jazz and talked about language. Some of the living poets we will be reading are: Bruce Andrews, Bernadette Mayer, Charles Bernstein, Lyn Hejinian, Ron Siliman, Susan Howe and Harryette Mullen. You can listen to them read at Penn Sounds, www.writing.upenn.edu/pennsound/

In Pacific Music and Dance we are studying polynesean traditional dances from the Cook Islands, Tonga and Samoa. We are gonna wear serongs... it is gonna be grrrrreat. Today we learned a basic Hawaian 'Hela' dance because most Polynesean people originated from Hawain people.

Love your guts, you too-busy-to-blog family! xox, p

Guess what?I MAAAADE ITTTTT!!!! Day One exploringAuckland has beenexhausting,sweaty and grrrrrreat. It all begazn witha misty sunrise over the airport parkinglot,then a winding bus ride into the city, then a nap on a park bench. I walked along the harbour and then through the university. The city is very cosmopolitan and I like the hill top views from the uni buildings. Then I walked through AucklandDomain,anincredible and enormous urban park that has sound many treebugs,itisliterally buzzing with life. Many ferns,palms and waterfalls too, I suspect it will be one of my favorite city spots. I also checked outMt Eden quary, a popular climbing cliff located right behind a grammar school. I got a smoothie and now am in an internetcafe typing to YOU, you lucky person. I'll catch the bus back to the airport in a couple hours andcontinue on to Christchurchwhere I'm meetingSARAH from camp, she is wonderful and I am excited to see her.

Love you all loads, phoebecat

p.s.- Mom and Dad, thanks for seeingme off at the airport, that was very very nice.