Nathan and I will be living in Auckland while we complete our studies at the University of Auckland.
Auckland is where most of the international flights come in and is where the largest airport is in the country. Auckland is also the biggest city with a population of 1,000,000 people. The actual total population of New Zealand is a mere 4,200,000 people, not including the 52,000,000 sheep.
When we first arrive, we will stay with my parents in a suburb of Hamilton. It is about a 90 minute drive south of Auckland and is where I went to college.
I spent the first ten years of my life living in the northern suburbs of Auckland. My family then moved to a small skiing and farming town called Taumarunui in the central part of the North Island (pop. 5,000) where I went to High School. We then moved to Hamilton (pop. 130,000) nine years later when I was nineteen and starting college.
Wellington (pop. 195,000) is the capital of New Zealand and is located at the very southern tip of the North Island. Most of my extended family lives here and we visit often. It is an eight hour drive from Hamilton to Wellington.
English is the primary language of New Zealand with a similar accent to Australia. However, all schools do offer Maori as a second language which is unique to New Zealand. Maori is the language of the indigenous Pacific islanders whose ancestors immigrated to New Zealand in the 14th century. They make up 15% of the total population, the rest being predominantly of European descent.
Please be sure to note our contact information. All are welcome to visit us as we will thoroughly enjoy showing off our new home, me especially.
We love you all and will miss you dearly. Please do stay in touch with us as we will be very homesick for the USA and all the family anf friends we've left there.
- Phoenix
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