That’s University or College in NZ jargon. In NZ, College equals High School.
I am sitting in a Café area at Hamilton University while Ngaire is in a class she is taking. It is less than an hour away from her farm. There is a festival of some sort for new students, with booths sponsored by various groups that provide activities for students during the year. It is being held in an outside grassy commons area across from the food vendors. There is Lots of loud music. It is an exciting and enthusiastic atmosphere. There was a volunteer who did a rap a while ago. I had some Israeli Cous Cous for lunch, followed by a mocha latte with an extra shot of espresso. A mass of college students are everywhere, among, around the booths, sitting at tables. There have been sack races, a debating contest by volunteers invited forward. It seems to be a microcosm of the world – endless variety of ethnic backgrounds and languages represented. It appears to me that there is an epidemic of “tall” here. A short, white-bearded Geezer hardly fits in visually, but I have my small carry-on backpack on. That helps me blend in a bit.
Last night after lots of conversation with Ngaire and Mum Lil, I had a very restful night. Actually, I feel pretty good physically. Other than forgetting to get a bottle of water for the bus ride yesterday and getting pretty thirsty, I have not seemed to suffer much jet lag.
Last evening, watching the sun go down on one side of the house and seeing the light diminish on the mountains and clouds in the distance provided a steady stream of wonderful views. It was entertaining to go outside to see the chickens (referred to as chooks) situating themselves in the trees to roost for the night. Ngaire observed that they have very nice quarters built for them in which they could sleep. There was a hen and four almost grown chicks (baby chooks) huddled in their favorite spot in the branches of a tree in the hedgerow.
The drive here was good for me as Ngaire went over the rules of the road all along the way. She is very concerned for the well-being of all those coming toward me as I will try to negotiate driving a rental car on the South Island in a couple of weeks. She has contemplated trying to do some sort of public notification of those on the South Island who will be at risk on my account.
This has been day two of my journey, Tuesday, March 1st in NZ.
The Call to Live 