Shredding

Why does everything have to be so expensive? Here is a list of all the things I want to shred and how much they cost, please give me insight as to what I should pick:

• Wakeboarding (boat) - $100 for a boat for an hour (with more people the price is divided)
• Wakeboarding (cable) - $40ish
• Heli ski/board - $500-$900
• Speed Riding (Canopy and training) - $2000 (but they are offering a long term pricing package. Not to mention, this is #1 on my list of things to do in my life)

• Mountain boarding - $100+

• Kite boarding - $325

• SnowKite mountain boarding - $325

• Para gliding/Hang gliding - $150-$200

• Freestyle bungee - $180

• Downhill Mountain biking - $100-$200

I will definitely ski/snowboard at the resorts and ski fields here before I leave (hopefully SnowParkNZ will be open!)

Help!

New Kicks

I'm now a proud owner of Vibram 5 Fingers:

They are extremely comfortable, and are slowly correcting the way I walk and run. I hiked the Mueller Track in them and they gave me no problems. Stress fractures soon to be gone (Fingers crossed).

This model has a hybrid sole for pavement resistance and cross country traction. It also has a small amount of arch support.

Catlins National Park

We took a car full, and I mean full:

6 people packed in a 5 person wagon with gear for two nights to the Catlins, which is about 2 hours south of Dunedin. Matt chilled in the boot for the trip there.

We saw waterfalls, lighthouses, caves, coastlines, penguins, sea lions, beaches, and the southern tip of the south island. It was wet and rainy but we all had a good time and saw some cool things. Check out my Picasa page for more photos and descriptions.

McLean Falls

Nugget Point

Around Dunedin

We have all done a little sight seeing around the Dunedin area and the Otago Peninsula:

• Sandfly Bay: We went to see penguins at sunset

• Highcliff Road: an awesome one lane, windy, sometimes dirt road with tons of sheep, huge cliffs, and great views

• Royal Albatross Centre: On the very tip of the peninsula, there is a lighthouse and some cool bunkers where you can see Royal Albatross. Royal Albatross have wingspans of 8-9 feet

• The Octagon: Central Dunedin the streets form an octagon that is lined with shops, restaurants, and bars.

• St. Claire/St. Kilda beach: Beautiful beaches on the coast

• Baldwin Street: The steepest residential street in the world

Surf's Up!

Arcadia surf lesson today. So much fun! I got up first try and was making some turns. I still think surfing is the most boring action sport to watch and should be kicked off Fuel.TV but in the meantime, it's kind of fun to do.

Plus, I can throw shakas all day long  \mn/ bro.

The Kiwi Experience

Friday the 19th, the annual Hyde Street Kegger. This is what is commonly referred to as Dunedin's biggest "Shit Show." It is an entire block (a good quarter mile long) shut down for college students to party. 9,000 some odd kids all crammed together in costumes beginning at 9-10am. Interesting to say the least, but I dressed up as a pirate and had fun for an hour or so!

We all took off early and headed to our first professional rugby match. It was between the Otago Highlanders and the Canterbury Crusaders. It was so much fun!

On the way home, there was a HUGE rainbow across the sky!

p.s. - It became a DOUBLE RAINBOW!

St. Patrick's Day

St. Patty's day was spent in an Irish Bar drinking Guiness and watching Soccer. Does it get any better?

Contact Info

Mitchell Rovito
10 Mackenie Street
North Dunedin 9016
New Zealand

NZ cell: 011646988142
Google Voice: 5182900525

I can receive texts and calls internationally free on my NZ cell, feel free to call/text!

I can send and receive texts and calls from my google voice number. I can't answer calls but you can leave a voicemail and I can call you back - free for both ends.

Cheers,
Mitch

"10 MAC"

10 Mackenzie Street

North Dunedin

Our home.

This is a panoramic of our beat up, warn out flat that we call our home. It is a bit grungy and not taken care of, but with a little American love, it has been restored and we love it. It sits on a small one way "street" (more like an alley) and is about a 10 minute walk from campus. Unfortunately, it is only a 3 minute walk from McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Domino's, KFC, and The Baa (a pub)...

My bedroom

Common Room

 Hallway

Kitchen

Back "Yard" (at least we have a barbie!)

I live with 5 other Americans from Arcadia. we were supposed to live with Kiwi's and other international students (which we did back in Chirstchurch) but because we were relocated to Dunedin so late Otago had to scramble to find us housing. We are a big family, thanks a lot to the earthquake bringing us together. I love all my flatemates and am so glad we all got placed together. My flat consists of:

Matt Kepler from Chatham, NJ

Noah Gorka from Voorhesville, NY

Ryan McKenna from Longmeadow, MA

Lauren Ribant from San Diego, CA

Jackie Martine from Vineland, NJ

and of course, our girl Wootie

Skydive

Today we spontaneously went skydiving. We drove to Wanaka (3 hr drive), and it was a great day to jump out of a perfectly good airplane with a complete stranger.

I had jumped in Ohio last summer, so I had experience, but the guys were excited and a bit freaked. It was so much fun to watch. We all got to go up in the plane together, and jump together. They all jumped from 12,500ft and I jumped from 15,000ft. The sky was perfectly clear, and it was real warm. AWESOME experience.

See for yourself!

Miss you guys <3

University

In NZ, college is called university, courses are called papers, class is called lecture, and papers are just called assignments/essays.

My papers:

• Maori Society
• Intro to the society and culture of the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand
• Media and Intercultural Communication
• Study of how media defines certain cultures and relationships
• Web Design
• Intro to HTML, CSS, Flash, Photoshop, and web design and layout
• Computing for End Users
• Work with CoralDraw and Photoshop

School out here is a bit different than back in the states for a few reasons:

1. Lectures are very large, usually a minimum of 100 people
2. Papers consist of lecture and a tutorial. Usually once a week, or bi-weekly. It's more like a typical class in the states; one on one time in smaller groups
3. Attendance is not taken for credit anywhere
4. There are typically no quizzes or Homework
5. There are a few essays and labs during the semester
6. The final exams are taken for anywhere between 40-80% of the final grade
7. There is a mid-semester break around Easter time for a week to three weeks depending on the university

So far uni has been good. All my papers will transfer credit back to RIT and I wont be behind at all. Hopefully those finals wont ill me I'm not a great test taker, but I'll have to learn!)

Also, my old flatmate from Christchurch, Kate, transferred here too! She hangs out with us all the time and is super fun.

Queenstown Activity Weekend

Friday: We got on a bus and headed to Queenstown with the Otago and Canterbury Arcadia students for the weekend. We got there, unloaded our gear in a motel, and headed to Shotover River Jetboats. It was awesome! 15 person jet boat with dialed in drivers going 60mph through rivers with crazy high cliff walls. 360 spins and turns inches from the walls. Very cool.

When we got back, we went to Fergburger and got some food. Biggest, tastiest burger ever. We also signed up and paid for our bungee jump...

Saturday: We got up early and hiked the Routeburn Track this day. It was a 30km round trip hike in a beautiful area. We got to Conical Peak (elev. 1515m) after a few hours. Snow capped rugged rocky mountain terrain, my style. It was a great day. When we got back, we got some pizza and hung out.

Sunday: We got up early once again, rode a sweet gondola up a mountain right behind our motel, and rode the luge sleds. It was similar to alpine slides, but way faster, higher risk, and so much fun! We finished then went to the bungee sights...

Nevis Bungee was an experience. 4X4 bus on 10 inch lift to get up there climbing a 45 degree pitch, ride a rickety cable car out to a suspended building with clear floors and people jumping out of it. More nerve racking that skydiving. The jump was awesome. Free fall kicks butt.

See for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQWJoYW0Hts

Great weekend!

Dunedin

Friday night we had to crash at some Otago students flats, then move into City College, a catered freshman dorm for 3 nights. My flatemate Jaisah came with us and we smuggled him in a spare room undetected. We hung out, and had a blast together checking out the area. This is Jaisah:

We registered for classes n Monday (they started this day too) and then my friend Matt and I took our new car back to Christchurch to pick up everyone's stuff. We got back later that night, and went to class for the rest of the week (well, tried to figure out what classes we were in and still enjoy the sunshine =]).

We moved into our new flat today. It is kind of grungy but we make it work. Ironically, I live with Noah, Jackie, and Lauren (the three people I met before I got the NZ) and also with Ryan (another RIT guy), and Matt (who became my closest friend beginning in orientation). We all enjoy hanging out and doing things as a group. It should be fun.

Tattoo

New Tattoo: A silver fern (still healing)

The fern is an iconic symbol of New Zealand. Ferns grow everywhere here, and the Maori people viewed ferns as significant. The Koru, or unbloomed fern, is a symbol of "new life" and "new beginnings." I thought this was perfect for me in my situation here.

Koru