Recently by Hannah Mueller

While everyday life is going on as always here in New Zealand, my home country is in shock. 20 young people died in what was meant to be a festival of music, love and fun. But then it went horribly wrong. On top, far more than 300 were injured at this year’s Love Parade, many of them badly. The Love Parade had been around since 1989, where it started off as a small demonstration for peace in times of a separated Germany. Ever since, the event grew and grew, developing from a handful of people into a huge music event sporting up to 1.6 million participants at times. Too many, as we now know, as this year 20 people lost their lives in what appears to have been a stampede after masses of people panicked at the entrance of the festival; fighting for space, survival or whatever.

Obviously so, when it’s winter, you can go skiing – certainly you can in New Zealand. Both islands feature ski fields; the South Island has more fields, but they are smaller, whereas the North Island has the biggest ski field in the country: Mt Ruapehu. Compared to say North American standards, the ski field is not very large, but it definitely does the trick, plus it is usual quite empty because there are just not enough people to make it crowded. Only during school holidays, you might find bigger masses of people up the mountain, otherwise you will always find plenty of space to have fun and enjoy the snow.

The Soccer World Cup puts the world to a hold, at least a little. Certainly my world, in this case because it makes me get up in the middle of the night on a weekday to watch a game at the pub (we don’t have TV, which is not very common but it just happens to be that way, and I’m usually quite happy about it but not at the moment!), only to return to bed for a couple of hours to then get up in the morning for a full day at uni. I’m glad that this is only for four weeks at a time; slowly but surely I am starting to get super-ueber-tired. But of course, coming from a soccer-loving country, I find it’s totally worth the hassle to support and cheer for the team!

Last night, we watched the Germany-England game at an English pub. I felt rather daring, entering the room full of Brits with my German flag and all, but luckily I had my British-flag-waving flatmate to protect me, and a few other Germans scattered amongst the English. After the first half, feelings turned quite sour, but the clear victory at least got rid of any doubts about not-given goals.

The anger turned into rather silent long faces on the English side, and humble jubilations on ours. After all, it was a good game, and I think our win was well-earned. Sorry England!!

Generally, I was a bit gutted before the cup started because I realised that nobody (at least not many of those born in this country) really cared about soccer at all. With the rugby world cup coming up next year, the games seemed to be a non-topic, and it didn’t help that they were shown at inhumane times of the day. But then the miracle happened: New Zealand’s All Whites were not as expected completely bashed in the tournament, but remained unbeaten throughout their 3 matches, and almost made it into the next round.

And then, suddenly - soccer enthusiasm is everywhere, how wonderful. Thank you All Whites, for bringing attention to the cup. And good luck for the next one in four years. I am sure they will get even a little bit further. At least I wish!

As for our team, I will now have to go hunt out a pub willing to show the next Germany game on Sunday early morning. I hope to succeed, as I obviously don’t want to miss a match. But with England and New Zealand gone home, there seems only a minority of people left wanting to watch, but I might be mistaken. I remain positive that interest will not completely fade away.

May the best team win!

So I had the pleasure to spend last weekend in Wellington, New Zealand’s capital. I really like being in this city, because it is by the sea, and has lots of hills, and beautiful old houses. I also like it because it has a fantastic art scene, with heaps of theatre, comedy, opera, music, strange bars and crazy op-shops. This time, we stayed in the Museum Hotel, which is world-famous for its art collection – one of the biggest privately owned ones, displayed all over the hotel! It is also ridiculously central to everything, the waterfront, the Te Papa museum, bars, restaurants and shops. Worth mentioning in the hotel was the fantastic gym with rather long pool, spa pool and sauna, which we enjoyed to cheer up the rather rainy morning. It is a little more expensive than the backpacker option, but definitely recommended if you feel like splashing out for a weekend.

We spent the weekend catching up with friends, shopping, strolling along the waterfront and, the big highlight, enjoying a special night out with dinner and opera. (Again, relating to the rather more expensive variant, a beautiful place for dinner is the Matterhorn, very centrally located restaurant with AMAZINGLY good food!).

Based on this and prior visits, here is my very personal top 7 of things to do in Wellington:

1. Have breakfast at Fidels on Cuba Street
2. Go op-shopping (Cuba Street, try Recycle Boutique!)
3. Cycle out to one of the bays and try to spot whales or penguins
4. Take a guided tour through the House of Parliament
5. Stroll around botanic gardens
6. Go to a show at St James Theatre
7. Take the ferry to the South Island and enjoy the stunning views on both ends of the ride!

Personally I think Wellington is one of the cities that one should visit in New Zealand, not only because it is the capital and full of politics in its various shapes and expressions. It is also a capital of culture, with heaps of galleries, art all over the city, interesting museums, and uncountable small theatres. The people on the streets are very diverse, of all ages, cultures and ideologies. This makes for a very interesting stroll through the CBD, but also generally for a brilliant vibe that is otherwise only found in much bigger cities of the world.

Try not to miss out on this opportunity, because it guarantees good times whatever it might be you are looking for. Experience the buzz before it gets re-named Wellywood as if a cheap copy of the American movie industry!

Hello everyone out there (somewhere?),

I proudly present my first entry into this blog, and really into any blog. It is about time I endeavour to walk on new paths, and hey, why not write a blog about life, New Zealand, and our beloved Hamilton? AND about the university, of course – how could I forget? In fact, I am sitting in it right at this micro-historical moment of writing my first lines.

My name is Hannah and I am postgraduate student at Waikato, currently working on a Masters research degree which consumes a substantial amount of my waking hours. I was born in Germany (land of the poets and thinkers I was told), but went to the Netherlands to study undergrad at the Universiteit Maastricht. During my studies there, I got the chance of spending a semester abroad, and I scored – guess what – a spot at Waikato University and in 2008 I set upon my adventure to study in New Zealand for half a year (hence I know all too well of all the queries, but also the pleasures of being an exchange student for a semester, which is much scarier, but also much more exciting than just plain studying somewhere). After graduating last year, I returned back to Hamilton to continue my studies, which is a small hint that I got somewhat hooked up with the university (or was it the country? Or hang on, something different still??)

However, now that the romance of being an exchange student is long gone, I find myself being “just” a student at Waikato, slaving away for my degree... or rather, enjoying my studies with all their challenges, and their (postgraduate) benefits like my own office with view of the campus lake and – yes!! – free coffee. Indeed, student life is fantastic!

And because this is the case, I am happy to get the opportunity of sharing some experiences and valuable moments with you, dear wider audience, in the hope that there might be something good coming out of it, something like advice, information, inspiration or epiphanies even.

By way of a summary before I even really started I would like to emphasise a few general points I think worth noting about living and studying here: (1) Going abroad to study was one of the best things I have ever done, and I would always, always do it again. Don’t miss out on that experience; it will teach you to (even more) enjoy life, no matter where you chose to go. (2) New Zealand is an extra-ordinary country I can only recommend to everyone at least for a visit, yet ideally to live in for some time. (3) Waikato University is outstanding in its support for students, especially international ones. Whomever I approached, wherever I went with any problem, I always encountered people that were truly welcoming, supportive and warm. I never felt left alone, and there was always someone trying her/his best to make life easier for me.  And last but not least: (4) Hamilton is the city of the future people!

Thanks for reading. Next time I will hopefully be able to report on very exciting things that happened during my weekend trip to El Capital, Wellington, this weekend! Happy days!