Flying to the other side of the world isn't as scary as I thought.

I know what you're thinking: "is that a airplane or a rocket ship?" Well, I can tell you from experience, that it is in fact an airplane, but is larger than your house and, when you sit five rows from the very rear (as I did), it sounds just like a rocket ship during take-off. You know that low crackling rumble you are familiar with when you watch a shuttle launch on TV, or the sound inside your skull you hear when you let the shower head spray directly onto your folded over ear? That's exactly what it sounded like. Count them: four engines. Point to the windows with your finger. There are two stories of them. That's outrageous?!? There were so many crew members on board that I didn't even see them all during my 13-hour flight. I ate roast beef for dinner, and an omelet for breakfast. WITH A TOMATO!!! BAM!!!!!!!

Hey is that the Space Needle in Seattle?!? Yo Drew, is that the CN Tower in Toronto? No! You're both wrong! It is actually the Sky Tower in Auckland. It kind of reminds me of that boring ride at Six Flags Great America combined with the torch that the Statue of Liberty holds. I walked past it on my way to the bank so I thought I would take a picture of it. Sorry I had to ruin the excitement for you.

Speaking of walking down the streets of Auckland, I would like to mention some funny things about that. First of all, they drive on the left side of the road in New Zealand, which isn't that weird. I heard that many countries, like France, who drive on the right side of the road, do so because they hate Britain so much that they do anything they can to smite it. New Zealand is an exception to that. They embrace their British driving heritage. Also, the crosswalks make funny noises. They sound like a Japanese cartoon bubble blower, but the bubbles are being fired out of a machine gun. I'm assuming it is for the blind New Zealanders who must have to had a habit of walking into busy streets before Super Mario put on his industrial engineering hat and solved the problem. Another New Zealand quirk is that some crosswalks in intersections of two busy streets coordinate their walk signals together. First the cars go, then the pedestrians go–both directions. This allows some to walk across the middle of the intersection (kiddy corner). It's a pretty great idea, I would say.