I've been back in Fairbanks since Wednesday night. The semester hasn't started yet, but as usual, I'm hard at work, revising my syllabus and course calender, cleaning and reorganizing my cabin and (hopefully) office, and making plans for my trip to New Zealand.

The conference I'll be attending is put on by the Australasian Universities Languages and Literature Association. I only just found out my paper was accepted on Monday, so it's been a bit of a rush getting things together. The conference theme is "Storytelling in Language, Literature, and Culture," especially in relation to indigenous cultures, so it fits right in. I'm looking forward to hearing what others have been studying related to storytelling and how it might help me deepen my own understanding of my subject.

I am now officially registered for the conference and have booked plane tickets. Since the conference is Monday through Wednesday, and I won't be able to make it back in time for my Thursday class or Friday teaching, I decided to take some extra time there to explore Auckland. My flight out is an evening flight on Saturday, so I'll have almost three days free to enjoy the city. Now the question is: what to do?

I'm pretty sure everything I know about New Zealand, I've learned from Flight of the Conchords. Perhaps it's time to do some real research.

I also went up to Murphy Dome for some hiking today. The days are much longer than when I left -- 5 hours as opposed to 3 -- and the temperatures have been in the single digit negatives, though there's wind up on the top of the hill, so it feels colder. The mountains were what I missed most during my time back in Iowa. Seeing them was worth the stinging cheeks, I think.