**Need 4 postcards

So it's been about, oh, a day since getting to New Zealand. After a 3-hour flight to LA, a 3-hour layover, a 12 1/2-hour flight to Auckland, NZ, a 1-hour layover, a 1-hour flight to Christchurch, we were all excited to finally be here.

(Mom, watch "The Queen." I saw it on the plane and I know you'll really like it.)

Here are some highlights so far:

1. Seahawks won! Our LA layover was dedicated to dinner and watching almost the entirety (all but the first quarter or so) of the game. Sucks to be #9.
2. It's me plus fifteen females.
3. I have a single room and it's really nice. I live in the same wing as Michelle, Kim, Katrina and Eeeeemily. We've named ourselves "Team Wilderness." I'm represented by The Penguin.
4. Went to a restaurant called "Sticky Fingers." We were seated at the bar while we were waiting for a table to clear, which just made the majority of us feel stupid since we'd never had that experience.
5. We have a LOT of freedom here. It's nice. We're downtown and we just have to be back at our dorms by six where homemade mac and cheese and salad will be waiting for us.
6. They have really cool accents here. It's true.
7. They drive on the left side of the road.
8. I SAW PENGUINS!!! And rode in a cool truck thing at the Antarctic Center. And experienced a blizzard. And it's warm and humid here. And it's tons of fun. So much cool stuff. Okay, bye.