Saturday is starting out great

Hello all!
First, let me describe my evening to you: Lauren McGuinness (my lovely babysitter) and I watched my first Kiwi rugby match last night over fish and chips. The Hurricanes (Wellington) were playing the Blues (Auckland) and it was a pretty awesome game. I can see why this country is so rugby mad (of course, even if I didn't, I'd have to lie and say that I did in order not to make any enemies).

Yesterday, my second full day here, I was able to find my way into Wellington proper. The McGuinnesses (I'll have to go into more detail about them later, as they deserve their own blog. Thanks Tracey!) live in an area called Lower Hutt and you take the train (or bus) into Wellington if you don't have a car. I know, coming from New York, the train system here doesn't compare, but never having ridden it before, being able to get into town on my own felt like quite an accomplishment.
Highlight of the train ride: about 7 minutes into the 20 minute ride, the trees drop away and if you look out the left side of the train, all you see is water, sky, and a few islands off the coast. I'm going to try to take a photo to really give you an idea.
One thing you'll have to do if you visit me in Wellington is ride the cable car. Truly impressive and fun. I took it up to Salamanca Road, then got off to walk up to the Kelburn campus, which is one of the three Victoria University campuses, and where most of my classes will be.
Wellington itself, or what I've seen of it so far, is nothing like what I expected, although no one led me astray in their descriptions. It's beautiful and hilly and has a very distinct personality. My least favorite part is the City Center, but that's only because the last thing I want to see right now is a city. I'm sure once I've been here a bit longer I'll appreciate it a whole bunch more.
Now because I've been staying with them and they've been so wonderful to me, here's a little about the McGuinnesses:
They are close relatives of my friend Tracey Bradley, whose acquaintace I made thanks to our NZ connection and who has become a very cherished friend. Any transition I make into life here is all thanks to her.
The McGuinnesses are made up of Jenny, "Uncle" John, Lauren, and Reece. John and Jenny have taken Reece down to University in the South Island this weekend, so Lauren and I have been holding down the fort till Jenny gets back on Sunday.
Then there are the various aunts, nephews, sons, brothers and spouses that make up the rest of the McGuinness clan. I've only met a few of them so far, but their warmth is definitely a common McGuinness trait.
Today, Aunt Jane is taking me into Wellington to explore some more. I'm hoping to do more of the touristy things to help me get more acquainted. Most notably, Te Papa museum, which is celebrating its birthday today and will have all kinds of things going on to celebrate.
I'll take photos, but you'll have to wait until I can hook my laptop up to an internet connection before I can post them.

That's it for now. Beautiful blue skies outside. I'm a little parched - perhaps I need some more water from the tap...

xoxo