A warm hello from Auckland! This Monday marks the beginning of my third week away, my second week in Auckland, and my first time using internet since I've left! Our first week was spent on the small island of Rarotonga, living in little apartment-style rooms at the "Paradise Inn", going for morning snorkel excursions, eating heaps and heaps of passion fruit, searching for the perfect cowrie shell along the beach, and occasionally drawing some palm trees. I went on my first SCUBA dive(!!!) since certification which was AWESOME to say the least. I felt like I was inside a giant aquarium. The water was SO clear and SO blue, and some highlights were seeing a spotted eagle ray and a shark! I can't wait to go again when we get to the Great Barrier Reef. Saw some pretty cool fish while snorkeling as well--two rays, a sea turtle, giant clams, a large school of trumpet fish, and two very large flounder hiding on the bottom.
For the past week in Auckland, we have spent every day in the print studio from 9-5 with a break for lunch. I chose to do relief prints, so I did my first woodcut last week and am starting in plastic this week. My first print was a tree--wood on wood, so "meta" right? It's a lot of fun, and I really like how tactile the wood is to work with. The studio is located very close to the busiest section of Auckland (which is still incredibly tame compared to every other city I've been to) which means any variety of foreign cuisine is available for lunch, from Korean pancakes to Chinese dumplings to falafel kebabs to excellent sushi to mango lassis. It's lovely, and it makes up for the terrible dining hall food for dinner. In the evenings, I've been exploring the city with friends, trying out different gelato places and walking to the wharf to sketch the boats and sit in the wind. It stays light until about nine PM, which is great. Tomorrow I'm going to see Crystal Castles, which should be really fun. This past weekend the whole group went to a Marai to stay with a Mauri tribe. We were welcomed into their home like family and slept in one giant room all together. We went swimming in the river and ate some yummy smoked eel for dinner! The whole family was so sweet, and there is much more to say about how heart-warming the experience was, but I'm running out of internet time! So I will elaborate more on that later. Anyways, warm greetings from New Zealand, and I will write again before departing from Auckland on Saturday.
For the past week in Auckland, we have spent every day in the print studio from 9-5 with a break for lunch. I chose to do relief prints, so I did my first woodcut last week and am starting in plastic this week. My first print was a tree--wood on wood, so "meta" right? It's a lot of fun, and I really like how tactile the wood is to work with. The studio is located very close to the busiest section of Auckland (which is still incredibly tame compared to every other city I've been to) which means any variety of foreign cuisine is available for lunch, from Korean pancakes to Chinese dumplings to falafel kebabs to excellent sushi to mango lassis. It's lovely, and it makes up for the terrible dining hall food for dinner. In the evenings, I've been exploring the city with friends, trying out different gelato places and walking to the wharf to sketch the boats and sit in the wind. It stays light until about nine PM, which is great. Tomorrow I'm going to see Crystal Castles, which should be really fun. This past weekend the whole group went to a Marai to stay with a Mauri tribe. We were welcomed into their home like family and slept in one giant room all together. We went swimming in the river and ate some yummy smoked eel for dinner! The whole family was so sweet, and there is much more to say about how heart-warming the experience was, but I'm running out of internet time! So I will elaborate more on that later. Anyways, warm greetings from New Zealand, and I will write again before departing from Auckland on Saturday.
