Week 3, Hard at "work"

Yes it is possible to send me flowers here! This gorgeous

bouquet arrived to welcome me to my new home (thank you!@).
Reading up on climate change in NZ, while trying

not to get sunburned
My home office, also with a view

So this week I promised you all some pictures of me hard at work, and as you can see I've been doing my best. Also a few of you have asked how "work" is going. Just to clarify, I don't actually work here (I'm actually not allowed to per the Fulbright) so I can still get in my 12 hours of sleep a night if I choose. That said, I've been trying to cut back to 9-10.

So what am I doing here, other than tramping, eating kiwis and avocados, and petting sheep? Well, this week I started to figure it out. The thing about the Fulbright is, you write a proposal and then you don't actually go to the country (if in the Southern Hemisphere) for a year and a half, so as you can imagine, a lot changes..... My proposal in a nutshell (working on the nutshell part) is to research the business development opportunities in the Central North Island land settlement of the Maori, within the context of climate change. Now a few things I've noticed about said proposal since I've arrived:

1. Its extremely controversial, the whole settlement process of Maori land claims is controversial, and then throw in the fact that I'm Pakeha (white) and not kiwi, makes everyone sort of grimace. Now I knew that it was somewhat controversial, but someone may have wanted to warn me off

2. My academic advisor is not actually closely involved with any part of my proposal, which makes it hard for him to advise, that said he's been very welcoming. When I met with my Maori advisor he suggested wine and learning Maori songs and dances (this is, of course, part of my "work"). Somehow he knew the way to get me to dance and sing was to offer me wine

3. Because its so controversial and a hot topic, if I am successful, it could be very useful, or at least I'll keep telling myself that

This week I tried to convince the Victoria Management School that they should give me a Masters degree for this research so that my time here can be a bit more useful (called a Masters in Commerce and Administration by thesis), and while it seems that I will be able to do this, I first have to take a research methods course in order to ensure that I know how to do research (hmmm, but okay). After having this conversation, the Management school decided maybe I'd rather be with the other "students" rather than have my own office. Umm, no, thanks for asking. So could be Masters for loss of office, trade-offs....

Okay enough of all that work stuff...what else did I do this week:

-drove on the left-hand side for the first time. Shifting with my left hand is the weirdest part, no car purchase yet, but maybe soon

-made mexican lasagna for Aaron and Alice, not as good, still figuring out Celsius with cooking

-went to Wellington's version of Screen on the Green, free movie in the botanical gardens

-laughed at a few more of my jokes

-went to an NZ Association of Americans happy hour, where one my fellow Fulbrighters had to explain that climate change is real, in other words it felt just like home

-found out that in order to enroll in papers (courses) I have to physically go to each professor and have them sign me in, so I decided while making the effort why not enroll in two more papers than originally planned, including Maori language 101

-watched highlights of the Olympics where the NZ sportscasters just take a piss (make a joke) about each of the events. While I may not be getting the coverage you guys are, I have seen some good interviews with Bode Miller about camper vans, and some good aboriginal ice dancing jokes

-signed up for a tramping club (yes, you have all made this joke, very clever)

-got Magic Jack up and running so feel free to call anytime (its free)

-finally made contact with some of the friends of friends that people put me in touch with here

-Kiwi hug counter = still zero, but one hug from a Brit and two American hugs

Tonight, trying to muster my energy to go out with the youngsters (other Fulbrighters) since i have yet to go out since I've been here ....Next week, first week of school!!!