Friends and Family,
Happy New Year! I apologize for not having time to blog yesterday due to being in downtown Christchurch to welcome in 2010.
Thursday, December 31
Weather: cloudy and chilly in the morning, sunny and moderately warm in the afternoon.
Today our morning lecture focused on the history of New Zealand Agriculture. Retired senior lecturer at Lincoln University, Neil Gow, presented the lecture. Gow said the main differences in New Zealand agriculture from the rest of the world are the size of the country, dominance of pastoral agriculture, and orientation of production. One of the most interesting topics we discussed was centered around farm subsidies. New Zealand agriculture was totally unsubsidized until the 1980's and currently is only subsidized approximately 3 cents on the taxpayer dollar. I believe that American agriculture needs to take a lesson here. I like and appreciate the free-market structure. Producers need to be paid a fair price for a quality product. I look forward to further discussions about farm subsidies with producers when we visit farming operations in the coming weeks.
We concluded our morning lecture by watching a movie entitled, "The World's Fastest Indian". The movie was an excellent and entertaining depiction of a New Zealand man named Burt Munro who set a land speed record on his 1920 Army Indian motorcycle. His record still stands today. I plan to purchase the movie when I return home - let me know if you are interested in watching it!
After lunch our study abroad group headed on a bus tour of Lyttelton port. There we witnessed the export trade of New Zealand through the many container ships lining the port. We stopped for a couple of hours at Sumner beach and took time to swim in the ocean. I had forgotten how salty the ocean was! I would also recommend wearing sunblock. The ozone layer is very thin here and you can sunburn within 10 minutes. I am glad I packed SPF 50!
The evening activities involved a New Year's celebration in downtown Christchurch. A New Zealand rock group named Black Velvet performed in the center of the city. Our group enjoyed interacting with the locals and taking in the nightlife. It was interesting to be one of the first in the world to experience the new year; a full day before my family in Iowa.
Our University of Nebraska contingent capped of the day with the news of a Cornhusker shut-out victgory in the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl. The final score was 33 to 0. Go Big Red!
From down under,
Matt
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