Autumn in Auckland

Well, since we returned from the South Island, we went on a mandatory Loyola trip to Taupo and Rotorua, which I think I'm going to let slip through the cracks...
Well, okay. I'll give you a teaser:
Waitomo glow-worm caves, buffet, dinner, buffet, thermal valley walk, Rotorua, buffet, Department of Conservation presentation, buffet, activity of some sort, buffet, I'm sure, Sheep Show, Zorbing (rolling down a hill in a huge inflatable plastic ball with a little water in it that affords one a slippery journey), huuummm, oh- buffet, a tour of a wildlife reserve/ natural spring?, a trip to mud geysers and geysers at a Maori sacred ground, buffet, buffet, luging, and a buffet. And I'm not exagerating about the amount of buffets...
So after I rolled myself back into my dorm room, it was back to work. Huia Residence felt a little boring right after I got back from 2 and a half weeks of travel. I was actually worried that I'd get bored, but luckily this isn't France in that I actually have WORK to get done while I'm in Auckland. And work I have. I tried to argue the concept of rights from a deontic standpoint versus a consequentialist standpoint in a case where an innocent man can be thrown in jail to spare town riots breaking out. If you can decipher what I mean by all this, I'd love to know.
I'm currently working on an Anthropology paper that expores whether or not globalization is contributing to the homogenization of cultures worldwide. I'm to discuss this point based on an ehtnographic study that I'm to conduct on the Yanomami tribe in the Amazon, whose land is under threat by others who would choose to exploit the land for more lucrative purposes. Wow, I missed academic writing. Feels good to work again and I'm slowly getting back into the habit of concentrating- it's tough though, believe me.
Hm what else? OH! I found out that I was chosen as president for the Belles for next year. We have a lot on our plate, but I'm so looking forward to organization and extracurricular activities to keep me on track. This is coming out as such a nerdy posting...
My residence hall had a "formal" dinner last Friday, which was at Skycity complex. If you've never seen photos of Auckland, there is a skytower here that is comparable to the Seattle Space Needle, or whatever they have in Toronto. Below the tower is a complex with hotels, casinos, bars, and this random restaurant that we expected to be quite posh. We all walked in, some wearing floor-length formal gowns, and were met by the stares of Asian tourists dressed in t-shirts, eating tons of fried and finger food that would eventually be our dinner as well. No, no scraps, but it was pretty funny to walk into this place decked out only to have an entire restaurant in plain everyday clothing stare at you like you're nuts. That's when I started telling people that we were a travelling bell choir whose members were recruited all over the world to come perform at the speed boat racing championships that were taking place in the harbor the next day. Ha, not.
What else about Auckland, and New Zealand life in general? My new favorite coffee is a Flat White. It seems to be the caffienated beverage of choice: a double shot of espresso, I believe, with that whipped milk. NZ is like France in that all their coffee is only espresso based. Starbucks is the only place I have been able to find filter coffee. And there is no creamer here, only regular and non-fat milk. But at least the portions are larger (Hm, I sound American..) None of those thimble-sized take-away cups for a sip-sized "coffee" like in France... I suppose coffee is one thing about which I remain particular whilst traveling.
Also, New Zealanders say "quite" a lot. "Keen" as well. These are fun words to throw into the mix. "Biscuits" are small cookies. And so on...
I'm running to an inter-floor debate right now to watch my friends compete...the first question to be argued was whether or not Marge Simpson is a good role model. This next question should be good.