'Auflauf' and other answers to the question 'what's the German for that?'

Hello friends.

So it's all busy busy in Auckers. Before uni started I was working at Greenpeace full time for two weeks, but now term has started again I'm just going in part time. The place has such a great vibe, everyone's so dedicated and passionate about the work they do, but they also have a lot of fun. I've been to quite a few drinks parties and BBQs which has been great to get to know people and I'm really in to the work I'm doing as well. The first week I had a lot of meetings and inductions with various key people which was interesting and I am finding it fascinating to see how the organisation is run. My job involves sifting through numbers of records about our members and looking at why people sign up to donate and then never do, or donate once, twice, three times and then cancel. At the end of it all I'll make suggestions on how to retain these people who cancel, where possible, and give a presentation on my findings. So interesting. And it's giving me an idea of the kind of work I'd like to do when I'm a Grown Up too.

Then I'm back to uni too, which it turns out is much harder than going to work - I have to listen and take notes, I can't access Facebook the whole time, I can't access free coffee the whole time, I have to go from one location to the next and worst of all I have to do homework! But my courses are interesting, I guess, a bit of Anthropology for variety, which is really cool, and then Applied English Grammar (boo), Advanced Phonology (seemingly no less advanced than anything I've previously done) and Conversational Analysis, taught by a woman who's been lecturing on it for twenty years. In he last two classes there's only about 15 of us, so you get to know people better, and in CA the second half of the lecture is a kind of practical analysis of conversations and I really like actually getting to use the knowledge we've just been given. Au contraire, in Anthro it's a first year course and the tutorials are like being back at school. Ugh.

I'm also still enjoying living in my new flat. I'm big in to cooking now and luckily the place has about twelve of everything so all resources are available for carrot cakes, samosas, falafel, banana bread, pizza etc. Newest recruit, German Marc, is also handy to have as a resource, as he likes to help and he's got a handy logical, efficient German mind. He's a student at AU like me (whereas the other flatmates are Real People) so we get the bus to school together and I probably would miss the first ten minutes of my classes if it wasn't for him. Everyone in the flat is still enjoying the summer too, with afternoons and evenings sitting on the balconies with the occasional beer, guitar or in my case, book. We can also see any fireworks at the harbour from the balcony and hear any concerts in a nearby park, Western Springs. Sweet as, bro.

A few weeks ago school friend Jess arrived in NZ on her gap year, which was great. She spent a few days staying at mine and it was great to hang out and see a familiar face. We also went off for a day trip to the Waitomo Glow worm Caves, where we went black water rafting. This involved floating through rocky caves on inner tubes, staring up at a ceiling peppered with glow worms, which looked like stars. It was a pretty neat adventure. Now Jess has gone off galavanting around NZ, but we'll meet up at the end of her trip in Christchurch and I'll join her in Melbourne, where she's headed next, to hang out more and catch up with Rachel, Nick and JJ, who have moved there now.

Right, there are a few other things to report, but it depends what happens in the next few days before I fill you in. I hope you're all well, A x