It has now been almost two months since I've arrived in Vermont. My number one issue with returning home is the fact that my study abroad experience has ended. Just like that - 5 months, over. Studying abroad has always seemed like some magical imagery that would "happen next year", "next semester".. something I have always looked forward to since the college search began in high school. It was always something that I had been planning for, ie: taking enough classes so that I could go abroad, save money so that I could be unemployed for 5 months, etc. It seems as though everything has flashed before my eyes.
I can't even begin to express how this experience has changed me. I have met a variety of people from coast to coast of America, formed friendships with people from New Zealand, Australia, and Europe, traveled three different countries, took four classes (or "papers" in NZ terminology), and adapted to a completely different lifestyle- ALL in five months. Not to sound cliche- but I can not imagine moving forward with my life/career without this experience. I have learned to respect different lifestyles/cultures, accept people, gained an immense amount of travel knowledge, and most importantly, I have become more self confident. I think that has come from my intention of adapting to the new culture. And ultimately, I am proud of myself. I feel like I have conquered yet another experience and have really embraced it.
I have come across multiple awkward encounters regarding my return to home. A lot of people act interested in the experience and say "how was your trip". At this point, I feel confused and likely express a shocked expression. I mean, what trip are they talking about? I have traveled to over 25 towns/cities in New Zealand, vacationed in Fiji, and flew to Australia visiting multiple towns/cities there as well. I usually ignore that and start to explain some favourites from my NZ "trip". I then realize, this experience can not be summed up in five minutes (at most) of conversation. If you think about it, it would be like me asking you how your 5 months have been...if you have traveled to over 40 destinations. I usually just say "it was amazing. i miss it so much.. i hiked a glacier and swam with dolphins... i was legal to drink"... a VERY short summary of my life February-June.
My travels back to the States weren't bad, until I reached JFK. Of course, all of my baggage was overweight (50 kgs). It was smooth-sailing from Auckland to San Fransisco (which is the 13 hour flight). I took some sleeping pills, watched some movies, drank some wine. All was fine! Leah (a very close friend I met abroad) lives outside of San Fransisco (SF) and offered to pick me up for my layover. She and her boyfriend took me to In-and-Out burger for my first west coast burger experience. It was amazing! I loved reconnecting and trying that food for the first time. We also had time to cruise around in the convertible for a little while. I then flew to JFK and was there overnight. Awful. I had all of my bags and had to connect to different terminals with them. This meant taking the lifts to different locations. I must have taken the elevator at least 10 times that night. Especially since I was in search for food. Unfortunately, everything was closed and I settled for some weird/gross wrap at 2 am. I finally caught my flight to BTV at 8am. As I flew into Burlington and heard "welcome to Burlington, VT. Partly cloudy and mostly sunny"- I started to cry. Just a few tears but I think at this point I realized that I actually was arriving home and I was very excited to see friends and family. My mom organized a welcome-home party to give me the opportunity to catch up with everyone without being overwhelmed. I was extremely grateful for this. It was really easy for me because people just dropped by or hung out for a while. I didn't have to make plans with anyone.. which was awesome after my 35 hours of traveling!
We had heaps of snacks and drinks (including NZ wine, margaritas, and a log keg of Magic Hat).
I forced myself to stay busy and trained myself to avoid the jet lag. I woke up at 5/6am just a few times and usually went to sleep at a normal hour. I did tended to get grumpy around the late afternoon but I settled that with an iced coffee (which i missed DEARLY). It was also funny to be driving again. I was amped to get in my car and grab the wheel! I was generally okay with driving after running a quick errand on day one. However, I did catch myself once driving on the wrong side of the neighbourhood (hehe!). It's funny, I didn't think it would be a problem because I only drove once in Australia but actually living in NZ with the opposite traffic standards really screwed me up. I still have to think about the direction I'm turning if I'm really tired. It is starting to feel normal again but it's funny that I sometimes actually have to think while driving instead of performing second nature (pre-NZ).
My next step is unknown. I literally have no idea what is next for me and what I am planning for. And for some reason, this bothers me. I do know that I have been bit by the travel bug and that traveling is what I WANT to do next (after graduation). Right now, I am thinking of taking six months off after graduation to just travel around. I don't know where, but I do want it to happen. I have met a lot of friends from my international travels and would love to reconnect with them. Ghana is always a place I want to return to and I've been missing the kids at the orphanage quite a bit lately- so that's always an option. But this whole travel idea is unplanned as well. What if I get offered an amazing job? Basically, I need to stop planning for the next step because it seems like the next journey will just happen on it's own and needs to be unplanned. This all seems to weird to me. Literally, every large step in my life has been planned and as you know, has likely stressed me out.
Last week, Gin Wigmore played free and live at Battery Park on the waterfront. Gin Wigmore is the #1 singer in NZ and is extremely famous among Aussies and Kiwis. Her popular songs "I do" and "Under my skin" were well liked among the Burlington population too. I was SOOO excited for this event and actually got a picture with her as well. She was a very sweet woman and brought me back to Kiwi land. I sincerely wished that I could hop the plane with her and head back. Someday! Until then, I just have to reminisce on the good times I had down under. I am reliving the experience by drinking the wine (good excuse?), skyping with the Kiwis, talking to the Americans who were abroad with me, and obsessing over the pictures. New Zealand will always be considered my home away from home and I am so thankful for the opportunity and experiences.
I appreciate everyone's excitement about the blog and the encouragement that lead me to continue sharing my experiences.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Goodbyes/Heading South
Time has been FLYING- as expected.
I said goodbye to most people today as I will they will leave while I am in the South Island. It was really weird. It felt like I was leaving my friends back at home for New Zealand- but flip flopped. I guess that's a good thing because I definitely have made some great friends here. The best part of that is they live all throughout the world. US: West coast, mid west, south, east coast. Europe: Netherlands, Germany and of course, My Kiwis. So I'll have people to visit everywhere. What a great excuse to travel :)
Exams finished up and we have all just been hanging out and having a good time. Friday night I went to my favourite Kiwi band's concert: Six60. www.six60.co.nz .. they were absolutely AMAZING live. It was an awesome night and probably one of my favourites in Wellington. We started out having a nice dinner at an Indian restaurant on Cuba Street then headed to the concert. Apparently, Six60 was scheduled to come on at 12 and we thought 8pm. So we went back to the Cube and "prepared" for the concert a bit more. It was AWESOME. Then I had a stat exam the next morning. Oh how lovely Business Statistics is after 3 hours of sleep and drinking...hehe.
Last night we (Leah, Jarad, Dani, Jon, and Alex) went to Three Kings (huge sports bar) to watch the FIFA soccer game with NZ All Whites vs Argentina. It was an okay game, but ended amazingly! A Kiwi scored with 30 sec left and it ended up being a draw. That was a lot of fun just to see the culture of sports watching in NZ. The pub was PACKED. We got there an hour early and barely got a table.. hundreds of people were there. It was great! Before that, we went to dinner for Indian food (obviously)..that was great too! I'm going to miss the cultural food. There is so much Malaysian, Indian, Asian style food options here.
Today Jarad and I just walked around town and did some shopping. It was a beautiful, sunny day (I actually got sunburnt!). I'll definitely miss being the Wellington sunny-day walks. Everything is just so pretty when it's nice out. The waterfront is packed and people are out of hibernation. There's so much to do/see when it's nice out. Those days usually speed by. Oh, Welly! I can't believe it's almost time to go!
I'm off to bed. I'll be in the South Island for a week before my 3 1/2 day wrap up of Wellington. HOW did this happen?!
My itinerary is:
June
17: Christchurch
18: Scenic train Christchurch to Greymouth
19: Greymouth to Franz Josef (glaciers!)
20: Franz Josef to Queenstown
21: More Queenstown
22: Dunedin
23: Tekapo
24pm: Fly back to Wellington
28: LEAVE WELLINGTON
29: helllllo Vermont!
http://www.magicbus.co.nz/main/productDetail/index.cfm?productID=8
That's the link of my detailed itinerary. It has a map with descriptions of what each town is known for and what to explore. It's actually a really cool system. I purchased a bus pass for this specific journey and can decide how long I spend in each town, with a minimum 7 days. So someone could have a 3month travel pass, staying weeks at each place. So I'll be backpacking, but with a planned schedule. I am actually really excited and don't know what to expect. I feel like a kid on the first day of school, very anxious yet thrilled for it to start. YAYYY!!!
I said goodbye to most people today as I will they will leave while I am in the South Island. It was really weird. It felt like I was leaving my friends back at home for New Zealand- but flip flopped. I guess that's a good thing because I definitely have made some great friends here. The best part of that is they live all throughout the world. US: West coast, mid west, south, east coast. Europe: Netherlands, Germany and of course, My Kiwis. So I'll have people to visit everywhere. What a great excuse to travel :)
Exams finished up and we have all just been hanging out and having a good time. Friday night I went to my favourite Kiwi band's concert: Six60. www.six60.co.nz .. they were absolutely AMAZING live. It was an awesome night and probably one of my favourites in Wellington. We started out having a nice dinner at an Indian restaurant on Cuba Street then headed to the concert. Apparently, Six60 was scheduled to come on at 12 and we thought 8pm. So we went back to the Cube and "prepared" for the concert a bit more. It was AWESOME. Then I had a stat exam the next morning. Oh how lovely Business Statistics is after 3 hours of sleep and drinking...hehe.
Last night we (Leah, Jarad, Dani, Jon, and Alex) went to Three Kings (huge sports bar) to watch the FIFA soccer game with NZ All Whites vs Argentina. It was an okay game, but ended amazingly! A Kiwi scored with 30 sec left and it ended up being a draw. That was a lot of fun just to see the culture of sports watching in NZ. The pub was PACKED. We got there an hour early and barely got a table.. hundreds of people were there. It was great! Before that, we went to dinner for Indian food (obviously)..that was great too! I'm going to miss the cultural food. There is so much Malaysian, Indian, Asian style food options here.
Today Jarad and I just walked around town and did some shopping. It was a beautiful, sunny day (I actually got sunburnt!). I'll definitely miss being the Wellington sunny-day walks. Everything is just so pretty when it's nice out. The waterfront is packed and people are out of hibernation. There's so much to do/see when it's nice out. Those days usually speed by. Oh, Welly! I can't believe it's almost time to go!
I'm off to bed. I'll be in the South Island for a week before my 3 1/2 day wrap up of Wellington. HOW did this happen?!
My itinerary is:
June
17: Christchurch
18: Scenic train Christchurch to Greymouth
19: Greymouth to Franz Josef (glaciers!)
20: Franz Josef to Queenstown
21: More Queenstown
22: Dunedin
23: Tekapo
24pm: Fly back to Wellington
28: LEAVE WELLINGTON
29: helllllo Vermont!
http://www.magicbus.co.nz/main/productDetail/index.cfm?productID=8
That's the link of my detailed itinerary. It has a map with descriptions of what each town is known for and what to explore. It's actually a really cool system. I purchased a bus pass for this specific journey and can decide how long I spend in each town, with a minimum 7 days. So someone could have a 3month travel pass, staying weeks at each place. So I'll be backpacking, but with a planned schedule. I am actually really excited and don't know what to expect. I feel like a kid on the first day of school, very anxious yet thrilled for it to start. YAYYY!!!
Monday, June 7, 2010
"The truth is rarely pure and never simple" -Oscar Wilde
Lot's has happened since June 1st. Starting with last Thursday, June 3rd- a pretty eventful day :)
Leah and I scheduled massages at the cosmetology training school. It was $30NZD (about $20USD) for a one-hour, full body massage. It was great! My back has really been bothering me so it was nice to get a budget priced massage in.
We then went to Coyote, a little bar/restaurant on Courtenay Place for lunch followed by a lovely film: SEX AND THE CITY 2. I had been anxiously waiting for it to come out in NZ. Penny (Leah's new flatmate- sweet girl!) came with us. It was a great afternoon.
Also, it was Katie's 21st birthday back home in Vermont!!!!! I wish I could've made it to celebrate!! My friends here and I went out that night and I made them have a tequila shot for her (surprise, Katie!).
Friday morning, I left for Rotorua:
Kelsi was on the bus to her hometown for the weekend. So it was nice to have a bus buddy! It was about a 7.5 hour bus ride. However, I didn't really mind it. We watched a few movies and the scenery was beautiful! We passed a mountain with lots of snow on it and the volcano that is represented in the Lord of the Rings quite a bit. And yes, HEAPS OF SHEEP! It's funny.. the mountains and hills are so steep but somehow, the sheep just post right up. It looks like the might roll down but they really can control themselves. My friend joked and said that's why the meat is better here.. haha, could be true!
But $35 NZD ($20USD) was totally worth it to see all the scenery and make it to Rotorua!
Britta (international from NJ) met me in Rotorua on a later bus. So I got off the bus and had a few hours to figure out the hostel situation etc. Instead, I headed to the water and caught a beautiful sunset and gave my big sissy a phone call.
Then I realized, it's dark, I'm backpacking alone, and have yet to find a hostel. I kind of made some moves and searched around town and came across one that was legit and worked out a little deal. I walked to the bus station and some Maori man just started talking to me. He was not harmful, maybe just had a little mental condition. New Zealanders make fun of the Maori accent because they talk like "bros". ie: "cheya bro, i wen dow to da mawket" something like that. Anyways, he asked what planet I was from (yes, planet) and asked if I had children. I said no and started laughing and he said he had never met an American woman without children. I thought that was kind of funny. After what seemed like ages, Britta arrived! We went to the hostel, dropped her stuff off, went to dinner, and passed out! We intended to wake up at 7:30 to start our only day in Rotorua but my "lovely" NZ crap phone turned off and my alarm didn't go off. I woke up around 8:30 and we were able to start our day at a reasonable travel time. We hopped on the bus to go to the Redwood forest. It was "world environmental day" and they gave us free fares. Awesome. Nothing (really, nothing) is free in New Zealand. We even have to pay for a size of sauce out to dinner.
Decades ago, the land was not able to be used for agriculture. People were trying to figure out the reasoning and brought a variety of species into the forest to determine what thrived best. Redwoods were quite successful! It was nice to be out of the Wellington city and breathing fresh forest air. I can't even describe that. So refreshing and just amazing.
Rotorua is built upon a volcano crater. So there are sulfur and mineral pools all over with geysers. It's so cool! In the middle of the park there will be a spot with boiling mud. I touched the acidic mud and it made my finger quite soft after. It's funny to see a little pit/pool of boiling water just in the middle of green grass. I took a video of it because it sounds like tea kettle. Something I've never seen before.
We then went to the Polynesian Spa. At the spa, there are five hot pools, two sulfur and three mineral. It was only $21 for admission to all. They were all full of natural water from the overlooking water.
It was awesome! We were really dehydrated from all of it. Also, there were little flakes of sulfur in them which was very cool. My skin was (and still is) very soft from all of that. We then walked around for a few minutes to catch out bus to Taupo.
And I ALMOST forgot to include the scent of Rotorua. If you can imagine: sweat with rotten eggs, that's it. It's from the natural pools and sulfur. However, I did get used to it and it was not bad.
On to Taupo. They were hoping to skydive the next day. We dropped bags off and went out to dinner. The restaurant was pretty cool. An Irish bar with great prices. What more could I ask for?
Then back to the hostel. The weather was iffy so we were trying to think of stuff to do if skydiving was cancelled. No ideas. Leah, Jarad, and I didn't really sleep. There were three other Germans in our hostel room and they were deep breathing and snoring all night. And, their skydives were cancelled!
I was up early and need some breakfast. I decided on having my first "Maccas" (McDonalds) breakfast. I feel like everyone needs to have experienced that at least once and I'm glad I had! It was yummo! I met up with the group again and we headed off to wander Taupo. It turned out being a fun day. We had to get past the rain-factor and enjoy our one time in Taupo. We shopped, went to a coffee shop, and went out to lunch. Last of all- KAFFE EIS! That is our favourite Gelato shop in Wellington and they had it in Taupo, It was great to experience it in a new location :)
Taupo is an hour south of Rotorua. It had a large lake and is popular for tourists.. often in the summer months. I preferred Rotorua though! Rotorua has a lot of culture to it. It's actually the one town/city in New Zealand that has a lot of indigenous people. It was cool to see and experience all of that.
We had a great trip back. The bus was pretty empty which was nice. Also, there was a Maori lady swearing and screaming on the phone which was hilarious at the beginning of the trip. It was hilarious and Jarad actually took a video of it.
So I've had the opportunity to travel a lot of the North Island and am ready for my South Island adventure! One week from Thursday. And actually today is my 3 week mark. I leave New Zealand three weeks from today! I'm excited/anxious to get home but also, am going to miss the lifestyle here. It will all even out!
A few photos from the trip:
Leah, Jarad, Britta out to dinner in Taupo
We're not really the best backpackers..
Rotorua reminded me a lot of New England in the autumn. Very beautiful... not quite Vermont style though :)
Sign to the park we visited. Lots of mud, vapor, and sulfuric pools
Rotorua
Natural mud pool
Lot's has happened since June 1st. Starting with last Thursday, June 3rd- a pretty eventful day :)
Leah and I scheduled massages at the cosmetology training school. It was $30NZD (about $20USD) for a one-hour, full body massage. It was great! My back has really been bothering me so it was nice to get a budget priced massage in.
We then went to Coyote, a little bar/restaurant on Courtenay Place for lunch followed by a lovely film: SEX AND THE CITY 2. I had been anxiously waiting for it to come out in NZ. Penny (Leah's new flatmate- sweet girl!) came with us. It was a great afternoon.
Also, it was Katie's 21st birthday back home in Vermont!!!!! I wish I could've made it to celebrate!! My friends here and I went out that night and I made them have a tequila shot for her (surprise, Katie!).
Friday morning, I left for Rotorua:
Kelsi was on the bus to her hometown for the weekend. So it was nice to have a bus buddy! It was about a 7.5 hour bus ride. However, I didn't really mind it. We watched a few movies and the scenery was beautiful! We passed a mountain with lots of snow on it and the volcano that is represented in the Lord of the Rings quite a bit. And yes, HEAPS OF SHEEP! It's funny.. the mountains and hills are so steep but somehow, the sheep just post right up. It looks like the might roll down but they really can control themselves. My friend joked and said that's why the meat is better here.. haha, could be true!
But $35 NZD ($20USD) was totally worth it to see all the scenery and make it to Rotorua!
Britta (international from NJ) met me in Rotorua on a later bus. So I got off the bus and had a few hours to figure out the hostel situation etc. Instead, I headed to the water and caught a beautiful sunset and gave my big sissy a phone call.
Then I realized, it's dark, I'm backpacking alone, and have yet to find a hostel. I kind of made some moves and searched around town and came across one that was legit and worked out a little deal. I walked to the bus station and some Maori man just started talking to me. He was not harmful, maybe just had a little mental condition. New Zealanders make fun of the Maori accent because they talk like "bros". ie: "cheya bro, i wen dow to da mawket" something like that. Anyways, he asked what planet I was from (yes, planet) and asked if I had children. I said no and started laughing and he said he had never met an American woman without children. I thought that was kind of funny. After what seemed like ages, Britta arrived! We went to the hostel, dropped her stuff off, went to dinner, and passed out! We intended to wake up at 7:30 to start our only day in Rotorua but my "lovely" NZ crap phone turned off and my alarm didn't go off. I woke up around 8:30 and we were able to start our day at a reasonable travel time. We hopped on the bus to go to the Redwood forest. It was "world environmental day" and they gave us free fares. Awesome. Nothing (really, nothing) is free in New Zealand. We even have to pay for a size of sauce out to dinner.
Decades ago, the land was not able to be used for agriculture. People were trying to figure out the reasoning and brought a variety of species into the forest to determine what thrived best. Redwoods were quite successful! It was nice to be out of the Wellington city and breathing fresh forest air. I can't even describe that. So refreshing and just amazing.
Rotorua is built upon a volcano crater. So there are sulfur and mineral pools all over with geysers. It's so cool! In the middle of the park there will be a spot with boiling mud. I touched the acidic mud and it made my finger quite soft after. It's funny to see a little pit/pool of boiling water just in the middle of green grass. I took a video of it because it sounds like tea kettle. Something I've never seen before.
We then went to the Polynesian Spa. At the spa, there are five hot pools, two sulfur and three mineral. It was only $21 for admission to all. They were all full of natural water from the overlooking water.
It was awesome! We were really dehydrated from all of it. Also, there were little flakes of sulfur in them which was very cool. My skin was (and still is) very soft from all of that. We then walked around for a few minutes to catch out bus to Taupo.
And I ALMOST forgot to include the scent of Rotorua. If you can imagine: sweat with rotten eggs, that's it. It's from the natural pools and sulfur. However, I did get used to it and it was not bad.
On to Taupo. They were hoping to skydive the next day. We dropped bags off and went out to dinner. The restaurant was pretty cool. An Irish bar with great prices. What more could I ask for?
Then back to the hostel. The weather was iffy so we were trying to think of stuff to do if skydiving was cancelled. No ideas. Leah, Jarad, and I didn't really sleep. There were three other Germans in our hostel room and they were deep breathing and snoring all night. And, their skydives were cancelled!
I was up early and need some breakfast. I decided on having my first "Maccas" (McDonalds) breakfast. I feel like everyone needs to have experienced that at least once and I'm glad I had! It was yummo! I met up with the group again and we headed off to wander Taupo. It turned out being a fun day. We had to get past the rain-factor and enjoy our one time in Taupo. We shopped, went to a coffee shop, and went out to lunch. Last of all- KAFFE EIS! That is our favourite Gelato shop in Wellington and they had it in Taupo, It was great to experience it in a new location :)
Taupo is an hour south of Rotorua. It had a large lake and is popular for tourists.. often in the summer months. I preferred Rotorua though! Rotorua has a lot of culture to it. It's actually the one town/city in New Zealand that has a lot of indigenous people. It was cool to see and experience all of that.
We had a great trip back. The bus was pretty empty which was nice. Also, there was a Maori lady swearing and screaming on the phone which was hilarious at the beginning of the trip. It was hilarious and Jarad actually took a video of it.
So I've had the opportunity to travel a lot of the North Island and am ready for my South Island adventure! One week from Thursday. And actually today is my 3 week mark. I leave New Zealand three weeks from today! I'm excited/anxious to get home but also, am going to miss the lifestyle here. It will all even out!
A few photos from the trip:
Leah, Jarad, Britta out to dinner in Taupo
We're not really the best backpackers..
Rotorua reminded me a lot of New England in the autumn. Very beautiful... not quite Vermont style though :)
Sign to the park we visited. Lots of mud, vapor, and sulfuric pools
Rotorua
Natural mud pool
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Happy June! Although it doesn't seem like it could possibly be June already.
a) there was snow on a mountain this morning in visual distance.
b) I can see my breath in my poorly insulated flat
c) I was not prepared for winter in June!!!!
The funny thing is, last year at this time I was in Ghana, Africa. I guess June is my travel month! I am consecutively missing the early Burlington summers (which are my favourite). No complaints!
I was able to complete my last New Zealand assignments in the last week of classes. I have become a great procrastinator since living in New Zealand. Kind of a good trait if you look at it from a different perspective. I put off all the work, have tons of fun- but when it's time to do my work I am pretty good about buckling down and getting it done. ie, I understand that if I am on an Australian vacation for 10 days, I will be doing work for 2 days straight. So that's good!
Hopefully that works with my finals. I am starting to study tomorrow (Wednesday). All exams are 60% of my final great and are cumulative. Long story short, I NEED to study quite a bit. My exams are on the 8th, 11th, 12th, and 15th.
This whole week is supposed to be "study week"... an equivalency to UVM's one reading day.
Another reason I need to really be studying tomorrow and Thursday... I booked another trip!!!!!
Friday morning, I'm bussing it to Rotorua. It's about 7 hours away and has heaps of tourist stuff. It's known for representing the Maori culture and hot springs. I'll probably visit a hot springs spa for a few hours and do some zorbing
Saturday, I'm meeting Leah and Jarad in Taupo (1 hour bus ride). They are planning to sky dive if the weather holds out (cross your fingers!!). I'll either a) take pictures or b) wait for them to do activity 2.
We'll arrive back in Wellington on Sunday 8:30pm.
So that's definitely an exciting thing to look forward to this weekend. They've been planning it for a week or so, I just jumped in last minute. Another part of the North Island that I should be seeing. It would be a bit embarrassing to see more on the South than the North where I was living!
My kiwi friend Kelsi's best friend Ayden came up to visit for the past 5 days. She came up a few months ago and we loved her! So that was a good time having her in town. I picked her up from Courtenay Place on Friday and we surprised Kels! Ayden is moving to Texas for the summer to work for Camp America then Canada for 2 years. So it was her "goodbye nz" trip to Wellington. We hung in Friday due to the obnoxious cold and rain... then had quite an exciting Saturday! Shopping in the rain (not a great plan by us seven girls!!!) and had a crazy night. Matthias' friends were throwing him a going away party/Graduation party so we went there then in to town. Sunday- most unproductive day. I left the girls' flat twice. One being to get pizza and two being to meet up with a group at a cafe. We (Leah, Matthais, Dani, Jon) headed down to the Plum Cafe for a little weekend catch up. It was nice! But we headed back to continue our recoup!
I joined the nicest gym in Wellington for the week. It's called Les Mills and I pretended I wanted to join long term so they would give me a free week pass. I went yesterday and tonight and it made me miss working out so much! It's just nice to get your mind off things and move! I loved it! Can't wait to go back tomorrow! :)
Today, Kels, Ayden, Leah, and I went for a quick lunch and played at a park. It was awesome! The park was called Central Park, located in Brooklyn (the next suburb over from me). But no, it was not even close to Brooklyn, NY or NYC in general.
Their parks are ten times cooler than ours. They had this structure where you hop on a rope with a little saucer on it and swing to the otherside. It zooms to the other end where you honestly think you will run into the wooden poll, but two tires shoot you back and just bounce you around. It sounds so confusing. I'll have to go back and get a video of myself or someone else doing it. I was screaming and laughing- craziest ride ever.
Below: Leah gets the wild ride ready:
Here I am playing in one of the structures.
Central Park:
The design students have finished all of their final pieces and are starting to head home. One of my New Zealand friends Alice left today at the same time as Ayden. She lives in Auckland and should be back before we leave. But it was still weird/sad seeing her leave knowing she won't be here until the end of the month.
It made me think of saying bye to all members of our international family- which I am totally not ready for!
I love and miss everyone at home and am excited to go back but at the same time, I don't want this experience to end. I love it. Wellington, New Zealand, all my friends, the different foods, lingo, COFFEE, and just.. everything! I wish NZ was so close and I would be able to visit frequently. Unfortunately, that's not the case. I KNOW that I will be back sometime, but I just don't know when that will be.
Here's a list of all the places I will be in the month of June.. world traveling!
Wellington (obviously)
Rotorua
Taupo
Christchurch
Greymouth
Franz Josef
Queenstown
Tekapo
Dunedin
Auckland (airport)
San Francisco (airport)
New York (airport)
BURLINGTON!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'll check in after my Rotorua/Taupo trip! xx
a) there was snow on a mountain this morning in visual distance.
b) I can see my breath in my poorly insulated flat
c) I was not prepared for winter in June!!!!
The funny thing is, last year at this time I was in Ghana, Africa. I guess June is my travel month! I am consecutively missing the early Burlington summers (which are my favourite). No complaints!
I was able to complete my last New Zealand assignments in the last week of classes. I have become a great procrastinator since living in New Zealand. Kind of a good trait if you look at it from a different perspective. I put off all the work, have tons of fun- but when it's time to do my work I am pretty good about buckling down and getting it done. ie, I understand that if I am on an Australian vacation for 10 days, I will be doing work for 2 days straight. So that's good!
Hopefully that works with my finals. I am starting to study tomorrow (Wednesday). All exams are 60% of my final great and are cumulative. Long story short, I NEED to study quite a bit. My exams are on the 8th, 11th, 12th, and 15th.
This whole week is supposed to be "study week"... an equivalency to UVM's one reading day.
Another reason I need to really be studying tomorrow and Thursday... I booked another trip!!!!!
Friday morning, I'm bussing it to Rotorua. It's about 7 hours away and has heaps of tourist stuff. It's known for representing the Maori culture and hot springs. I'll probably visit a hot springs spa for a few hours and do some zorbing
Saturday, I'm meeting Leah and Jarad in Taupo (1 hour bus ride). They are planning to sky dive if the weather holds out (cross your fingers!!). I'll either a) take pictures or b) wait for them to do activity 2.
We'll arrive back in Wellington on Sunday 8:30pm.
So that's definitely an exciting thing to look forward to this weekend. They've been planning it for a week or so, I just jumped in last minute. Another part of the North Island that I should be seeing. It would be a bit embarrassing to see more on the South than the North where I was living!
My kiwi friend Kelsi's best friend Ayden came up to visit for the past 5 days. She came up a few months ago and we loved her! So that was a good time having her in town. I picked her up from Courtenay Place on Friday and we surprised Kels! Ayden is moving to Texas for the summer to work for Camp America then Canada for 2 years. So it was her "goodbye nz" trip to Wellington. We hung in Friday due to the obnoxious cold and rain... then had quite an exciting Saturday! Shopping in the rain (not a great plan by us seven girls!!!) and had a crazy night. Matthias' friends were throwing him a going away party/Graduation party so we went there then in to town. Sunday- most unproductive day. I left the girls' flat twice. One being to get pizza and two being to meet up with a group at a cafe. We (Leah, Matthais, Dani, Jon) headed down to the Plum Cafe for a little weekend catch up. It was nice! But we headed back to continue our recoup!
I joined the nicest gym in Wellington for the week. It's called Les Mills and I pretended I wanted to join long term so they would give me a free week pass. I went yesterday and tonight and it made me miss working out so much! It's just nice to get your mind off things and move! I loved it! Can't wait to go back tomorrow! :)
Today, Kels, Ayden, Leah, and I went for a quick lunch and played at a park. It was awesome! The park was called Central Park, located in Brooklyn (the next suburb over from me). But no, it was not even close to Brooklyn, NY or NYC in general.
Their parks are ten times cooler than ours. They had this structure where you hop on a rope with a little saucer on it and swing to the otherside. It zooms to the other end where you honestly think you will run into the wooden poll, but two tires shoot you back and just bounce you around. It sounds so confusing. I'll have to go back and get a video of myself or someone else doing it. I was screaming and laughing- craziest ride ever.
Below: Leah gets the wild ride ready:
Here I am playing in one of the structures.
Central Park:
The design students have finished all of their final pieces and are starting to head home. One of my New Zealand friends Alice left today at the same time as Ayden. She lives in Auckland and should be back before we leave. But it was still weird/sad seeing her leave knowing she won't be here until the end of the month.
It made me think of saying bye to all members of our international family- which I am totally not ready for!
I love and miss everyone at home and am excited to go back but at the same time, I don't want this experience to end. I love it. Wellington, New Zealand, all my friends, the different foods, lingo, COFFEE, and just.. everything! I wish NZ was so close and I would be able to visit frequently. Unfortunately, that's not the case. I KNOW that I will be back sometime, but I just don't know when that will be.
Here's a list of all the places I will be in the month of June.. world traveling!
Wellington (obviously)
Rotorua
Taupo
Christchurch
Greymouth
Franz Josef
Queenstown
Tekapo
Dunedin
Auckland (airport)
San Francisco (airport)
New York (airport)
BURLINGTON!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'll check in after my Rotorua/Taupo trip! xx
Monday, May 24, 2010
Well, hello there Sunshine!
Wellington winter weather has hit! It's funny because when I think winter, I'm picturing below zero Farenheit, ice, snow, slush. But here, it's wind, rain, and just dark/cloudy. I'm not sure which is better. But I am pretty sure it's been cloudy and/or rainy everyday since I've been back from Australia with an occasional sunshine day. It's also kind of nasty being in the city during the rain because it is an adventure (bad one) just to get to the grocery store, cafe, and uni.
So imagine waking up on a Saturday to BLUE skies and 65 F weather. Yes- EXCITING. Donna and I walked down to a great coffee shop right near Oriental Bay Beach. It was about a 30 minute walk in pure sunlight and beauty! I can't even describe how great it was to be walking in such great weather. I enjoyed a lovely coffee (first one in a few days!!!!) and we headed down to the waterfront. I kind of (really) went on a picture rampage. Here are just a few.
Oriental Beach- right near the cafe.
The waterfront of Wellington reminds me quite a bit of the Burlington wharf. It is definitely larger and more "hoppin" but it just gives me the same vibes. When it's sunny, people flood to the dock and are running, roller blading, etc. I wish I could just capture the waterfront theme of Wellington and bring it back to everyone! It's SOOO great. These pictures aren't of the section where all the people are. I was too busy eating gelato to really think of snapping pictures. :)
Donna and I met up with Dani and continued to enjoy the weather with a bit of shopping and strolling on Cuba Street. With time catching up, it was time to get our drink on! After a night of the usual clubs, we ended at Burger King. the CLASSY Burger King. Is this not the prettiest BK you've ever seen? And yeah, I ate BK at 3am. That's beautiful too.
Sunday- rainy again. I started my essay with a nice hangover but proceeded to watch movies and eat a pie. Not a real American pie.. but a meat pie. A meat pie is a little different. It's about the size of my palm and you can get it filled with steak and cheese, mince (ground beef), egg and bacon.. basically any type of meat. I don't really eat them much but I reckoned this was the day for it.
Classy BK:
Cuba Street (Wellington's Church Street x 10)
I've been contemplating a tattoo also. I went Friday with Jarad and Leah to research and backed out. Jarad got his and it looks amazing! It's hard because I really want one, but can see myself regretting it in 10 years. I want someone simple and small on my foot with the Maori (New Zealand natives) word aroha (love) or Aeotera (New Zealand). I have wanted one since March and have recently been getting into the idea more and more. But I am trying to be logical and think it through. So I guess we'll see. I am an extremely simple person so I can see this idea not happening. I mean, I look a bit nervous in this picture but you never know! TBA!
Wellington is the "creative" city of New Zealand. Literally, that's what it's known for. Massey (my uni) is the best design school in NZ. I think I've mentioned this before- but many of the students are design students and really into photography, drawing, fashion. For some reason, I feel like the artsy feel has warmed up in me. I love taking pictures and could probably spend hours editing them. I mean they don't always turn out well and I don't really know what I'm doing (though I think I do!). I am pretty eager to just go out and explore by taking pictures on the next sunny day. Could be a while.
I don't really have much to work with either. New Zealand is BEAUTIFUL!!!
I was also able to grab heaps of New Zealand music from my Kiwi friend Kelsi this past weekend. It's different than American music in that most of the lyrics are pretty positive and happy.
Some of my favourites:
"Don't forget the roots" by Six60 - suggests that you remember where you came from... family, friends etc (ironic, huh?)
All songs by Midnight Youth (kind of an alternative, folky band)
Gin Wigmore (Amy Winehouse/Kate Nash mix)
The Opposite of Adults by Chiddy Bang (upbeat, hiphop/mix, some MGMT feel)
MORE TO COME.
But the songs usually have a great bit of meaning behind them. American usually does too but these are just peppy, uplifting, and just feel good music. A nice pick me up!
This is the last week of classes. Really, how did this go so fast? My semester in New Zealand is ALMOST over? I have this 3 more days of classes in Kiwiland. Then a week off to study for finals, which commence the week of the 6th.
As expected, I have heaps of work to complete this week. I was at uni from 10:30-6 today. I realized how abnormal that was when I walked outside and it was completely dark and I hadn't had lunch or snacks all day. Craziness.
I don't know how it's going to fly next semester when I'm back in real school. The internationals here actually call studying abroad "fake school" because it certainly lacks the reality of typical uni. We just have bigger things to worry about, ie- traveling :)
Still working on booking my South Island trip. it likely will be from June 17-24th (give or take a few days).
xo
So imagine waking up on a Saturday to BLUE skies and 65 F weather. Yes- EXCITING. Donna and I walked down to a great coffee shop right near Oriental Bay Beach. It was about a 30 minute walk in pure sunlight and beauty! I can't even describe how great it was to be walking in such great weather. I enjoyed a lovely coffee (first one in a few days!!!!) and we headed down to the waterfront. I kind of (really) went on a picture rampage. Here are just a few.
Oriental Beach- right near the cafe.
The waterfront of Wellington reminds me quite a bit of the Burlington wharf. It is definitely larger and more "hoppin" but it just gives me the same vibes. When it's sunny, people flood to the dock and are running, roller blading, etc. I wish I could just capture the waterfront theme of Wellington and bring it back to everyone! It's SOOO great. These pictures aren't of the section where all the people are. I was too busy eating gelato to really think of snapping pictures. :)
Donna and I met up with Dani and continued to enjoy the weather with a bit of shopping and strolling on Cuba Street. With time catching up, it was time to get our drink on! After a night of the usual clubs, we ended at Burger King. the CLASSY Burger King. Is this not the prettiest BK you've ever seen? And yeah, I ate BK at 3am. That's beautiful too.
Sunday- rainy again. I started my essay with a nice hangover but proceeded to watch movies and eat a pie. Not a real American pie.. but a meat pie. A meat pie is a little different. It's about the size of my palm and you can get it filled with steak and cheese, mince (ground beef), egg and bacon.. basically any type of meat. I don't really eat them much but I reckoned this was the day for it.
Classy BK:
Cuba Street (Wellington's Church Street x 10)
I've been contemplating a tattoo also. I went Friday with Jarad and Leah to research and backed out. Jarad got his and it looks amazing! It's hard because I really want one, but can see myself regretting it in 10 years. I want someone simple and small on my foot with the Maori (New Zealand natives) word aroha (love) or Aeotera (New Zealand). I have wanted one since March and have recently been getting into the idea more and more. But I am trying to be logical and think it through. So I guess we'll see. I am an extremely simple person so I can see this idea not happening. I mean, I look a bit nervous in this picture but you never know! TBA!
Wellington is the "creative" city of New Zealand. Literally, that's what it's known for. Massey (my uni) is the best design school in NZ. I think I've mentioned this before- but many of the students are design students and really into photography, drawing, fashion. For some reason, I feel like the artsy feel has warmed up in me. I love taking pictures and could probably spend hours editing them. I mean they don't always turn out well and I don't really know what I'm doing (though I think I do!). I am pretty eager to just go out and explore by taking pictures on the next sunny day. Could be a while.
I don't really have much to work with either. New Zealand is BEAUTIFUL!!!
I was also able to grab heaps of New Zealand music from my Kiwi friend Kelsi this past weekend. It's different than American music in that most of the lyrics are pretty positive and happy.
Some of my favourites:
"Don't forget the roots" by Six60 - suggests that you remember where you came from... family, friends etc (ironic, huh?)
All songs by Midnight Youth (kind of an alternative, folky band)
Gin Wigmore (Amy Winehouse/Kate Nash mix)
The Opposite of Adults by Chiddy Bang (upbeat, hiphop/mix, some MGMT feel)
MORE TO COME.
But the songs usually have a great bit of meaning behind them. American usually does too but these are just peppy, uplifting, and just feel good music. A nice pick me up!
This is the last week of classes. Really, how did this go so fast? My semester in New Zealand is ALMOST over? I have this 3 more days of classes in Kiwiland. Then a week off to study for finals, which commence the week of the 6th.
As expected, I have heaps of work to complete this week. I was at uni from 10:30-6 today. I realized how abnormal that was when I walked outside and it was completely dark and I hadn't had lunch or snacks all day. Craziness.
I don't know how it's going to fly next semester when I'm back in real school. The internationals here actually call studying abroad "fake school" because it certainly lacks the reality of typical uni. We just have bigger things to worry about, ie- traveling :)
Still working on booking my South Island trip. it likely will be from June 17-24th (give or take a few days).
xo
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
"if you have faith, you will live"
That quote is what Sammi said to me yesterday. Sammi is the owner of the coffee shop I go to regularly, Cafe Doria. It’s funny that he just randomly said it and I’m still not sure what his reasoning was behind it. But I showed up Tuesday morning to grab a mocha and read the paper before class- feeling a little tired, grumpy, and missing home.
It’s amazing how just a coffee and genuine person can change one’s perspective on the day. I can’t get past how ironic it is that he almost knew I wasn’t pumped up for the day. Sammi always takes the time to ask about my day, weekend, or whatever- even when it’s busy. I don’t know what I’m going to do when I go back to Burlington. I HIGHLY doubt that Starbucks and/or Dunkin Donuts has the potential to provide me with such a barista.
My goal this week is to attend all lectures. So far, so good. I am currently sitting in my consumer behaviour class that I haven’t been to since March. I don’t think I will make it to all labs and tutorials though...don’t push it. I have a paper due next Tuesday- no need to overwork me! :)
I was talking to a girl from my Popular Culture and the Media class, which I had a presentation in last week. She mentioned that it was “sweet as” listening to my accent during the presentation. I still can’t get past the idea that I have an accent.
Today I’m going to lunch with Britta. We haven’t caught up in quite a while. She lives in a homestay and doesn’t live right in the Wellington city.
Then for dinner, a few of us are going to The Flying Brothers Burritos on Cuba Street. It is the only Mexican restaurant in Wellington. I’ve been there once and it was a-m-a-z-i-n-g. Needless to say, I am a bit excited for that. We’re also going to the Southern Cross, another restaurant where there’s live music. I think we’ll stop there for a coffee or tea. Wednesdays are the student night in Welly.. we’re taking it easy tonight though. I still haven’t been sleeping right. I went to bed at 2, woke up at 5. It might have to be a movie night or something low key after dinner and tea.
anyyyways.. enjoy your day and have a little faith :)
That quote is what Sammi said to me yesterday. Sammi is the owner of the coffee shop I go to regularly, Cafe Doria. It’s funny that he just randomly said it and I’m still not sure what his reasoning was behind it. But I showed up Tuesday morning to grab a mocha and read the paper before class- feeling a little tired, grumpy, and missing home.
It’s amazing how just a coffee and genuine person can change one’s perspective on the day. I can’t get past how ironic it is that he almost knew I wasn’t pumped up for the day. Sammi always takes the time to ask about my day, weekend, or whatever- even when it’s busy. I don’t know what I’m going to do when I go back to Burlington. I HIGHLY doubt that Starbucks and/or Dunkin Donuts has the potential to provide me with such a barista.
My goal this week is to attend all lectures. So far, so good. I am currently sitting in my consumer behaviour class that I haven’t been to since March. I don’t think I will make it to all labs and tutorials though...don’t push it. I have a paper due next Tuesday- no need to overwork me! :)
I was talking to a girl from my Popular Culture and the Media class, which I had a presentation in last week. She mentioned that it was “sweet as” listening to my accent during the presentation. I still can’t get past the idea that I have an accent.
Today I’m going to lunch with Britta. We haven’t caught up in quite a while. She lives in a homestay and doesn’t live right in the Wellington city.
Then for dinner, a few of us are going to The Flying Brothers Burritos on Cuba Street. It is the only Mexican restaurant in Wellington. I’ve been there once and it was a-m-a-z-i-n-g. Needless to say, I am a bit excited for that. We’re also going to the Southern Cross, another restaurant where there’s live music. I think we’ll stop there for a coffee or tea. Wednesdays are the student night in Welly.. we’re taking it easy tonight though. I still haven’t been sleeping right. I went to bed at 2, woke up at 5. It might have to be a movie night or something low key after dinner and tea.
anyyyways.. enjoy your day and have a little faith :)
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Wellington weather is a lot like Burlington. I have learned to accept that I have not escaped the unpredictable, windy weather. It's currently raining and a bit chilly. As was the plan for the weekend. We lucked out and were able to have some nice mornings of sunshine. Saturday was absolutely beautiful and all of a sudden turned cloudy. Weather moves along quite fast here.
My attempt to attend every class last week did not happen. I skipped more than usual remember I can just "get by" here. Oh well!
We actually only have 2 more weeks of classes before our mega exam break. UVM gives us a day or two of "reading days"...Massey is giving us over a week. I might consider traveling during that.. but I also need to read up on the entire semester's course work. Exams are 60% of my grade. Something tells me it's time to get serious that week. Hm.
I'm still trying to plan out a South Island trip. I am thinking of going with a bus company (Magic) that allows you to hop on and hop off. So if a place doesn't suit me, I could just keep moving and move on to the next. There are few buses that just circle the islands. I was a little nervous to do it on my own but I think it will be okay. Everyone has been to the south island (during break either with family or in the massive group that rented vans). People are also pretty tight on money and as much as they'd like to go with me, it's not realistic. I talked to Jayne (the international student advisor) and she told me everyone on those buses is alone or with one friend. So it could be kind of cool and I doubt I'll get lonely. It's only a week that I'm doing anyways.
I just refuse to leave New Zealand only seeing the wine region of the South Island.
I started missing family and friends a little more this week. Obviously I have missed everyone throughout my journey but it just seemed to be a bit more apparent this past week. I haven't been depressed so to speak, but it's just on my mind. But I also refuse to sit in my room and mope about it so I've been good about keeping up and ignoring the feelings.
I think it's the fact that everyone is now on summer break and I just want to relive summer 2009.
Last week was Matthias' birthday so a few of us went to J.J. Murphys (Irish pub on Cuba Street) for a few beers and played pool. Yeah, I played pool. Leah and I were terrible and ended up being on a team one round and literally just laughed the entire time. It was a good time. And when my Monteith's beer (craft, similar to Magic Hat) is in the picture- I'm a happy camper!
It was nice to be back in the swing of things in Wellington since all my travels.
Saturday Leah, Kelsi, Emily, and I went to his soccer game in Newtown. It is about 30 minutes from Wellington and was a nice walk. That day, it was about 65 pre-rain/clouds. Leah, Kelsi, and Alice also planned a party at their flat for him that night. Parties here start at like 8-8:30 because we're in a dorm and quiet hours starts at 10. A bit ridiculous. So I'll probably come back to the states ready to pregame at 6ish. It was SO nice to be out on the town in Wellington last night. Everyone was out and we all ended up meeting up throughout the night which was awesome. Donna and I stopped at Burger King before heading back. It was my first time stopping at an American fast food place while in NZ. I vouched that I wouldn't end up in one through the 5-months but I failed at that. I ended up seeing so many people in there that I knew which made the experience ten times better. I think it's safe to say that we all had a good night and rough Sunday. I've been incredibly unproductive day. I started out going to the Victoria market to get my fruit and veges. I know I've explained how cheap it is.. but this is crazy. I got 5 bananas, 4 apples, a pepper, carrot, onion, and potato all for $2.20 NZ, which is about $1.50 USD. Out of control. I also think it's best to stay away from that market after a night out. It's pure chaos there. Everyone is digging for their stuff, traffic jams everywhere, people screaming their fish prices. Wow. It was so overwhelming.
I was talking to Donna about her next semester and about my replacement. I can't imagine someone else living in this room. I guess that's good because it is my home and MY room! It's going to be really weird stripping the walls, packing, etc. I have a love/hate relationship for the cube. It's a 9-story building with crammed housing in a cube shape. So there really is no privacy. I look out the window and see someone else in their window. And there are also heaps of freshmen running everywhere. I know it's only a 3 year difference but there is just so much growing from freshmen year to SENIOR (sounds weird!) year. But it's also great having the ability to stay inside and visit someone else's apartment. I say I hate this cube, but I think i genuinely like it.
I haven't been sleeping normal either lately. It's so annoying! I'll try and go to bed at a normal time but end up going to bed around 2, then waking up around 8ish. Even after this weekend when I got about 7 hours total, I can't sleep now. Hence, the blogggging!
xo
My attempt to attend every class last week did not happen. I skipped more than usual remember I can just "get by" here. Oh well!
We actually only have 2 more weeks of classes before our mega exam break. UVM gives us a day or two of "reading days"...Massey is giving us over a week. I might consider traveling during that.. but I also need to read up on the entire semester's course work. Exams are 60% of my grade. Something tells me it's time to get serious that week. Hm.
I'm still trying to plan out a South Island trip. I am thinking of going with a bus company (Magic) that allows you to hop on and hop off. So if a place doesn't suit me, I could just keep moving and move on to the next. There are few buses that just circle the islands. I was a little nervous to do it on my own but I think it will be okay. Everyone has been to the south island (during break either with family or in the massive group that rented vans). People are also pretty tight on money and as much as they'd like to go with me, it's not realistic. I talked to Jayne (the international student advisor) and she told me everyone on those buses is alone or with one friend. So it could be kind of cool and I doubt I'll get lonely. It's only a week that I'm doing anyways.
I just refuse to leave New Zealand only seeing the wine region of the South Island.
I started missing family and friends a little more this week. Obviously I have missed everyone throughout my journey but it just seemed to be a bit more apparent this past week. I haven't been depressed so to speak, but it's just on my mind. But I also refuse to sit in my room and mope about it so I've been good about keeping up and ignoring the feelings.
I think it's the fact that everyone is now on summer break and I just want to relive summer 2009.
Last week was Matthias' birthday so a few of us went to J.J. Murphys (Irish pub on Cuba Street) for a few beers and played pool. Yeah, I played pool. Leah and I were terrible and ended up being on a team one round and literally just laughed the entire time. It was a good time. And when my Monteith's beer (craft, similar to Magic Hat) is in the picture- I'm a happy camper!
It was nice to be back in the swing of things in Wellington since all my travels.
Saturday Leah, Kelsi, Emily, and I went to his soccer game in Newtown. It is about 30 minutes from Wellington and was a nice walk. That day, it was about 65 pre-rain/clouds. Leah, Kelsi, and Alice also planned a party at their flat for him that night. Parties here start at like 8-8:30 because we're in a dorm and quiet hours starts at 10. A bit ridiculous. So I'll probably come back to the states ready to pregame at 6ish. It was SO nice to be out on the town in Wellington last night. Everyone was out and we all ended up meeting up throughout the night which was awesome. Donna and I stopped at Burger King before heading back. It was my first time stopping at an American fast food place while in NZ. I vouched that I wouldn't end up in one through the 5-months but I failed at that. I ended up seeing so many people in there that I knew which made the experience ten times better. I think it's safe to say that we all had a good night and rough Sunday. I've been incredibly unproductive day. I started out going to the Victoria market to get my fruit and veges. I know I've explained how cheap it is.. but this is crazy. I got 5 bananas, 4 apples, a pepper, carrot, onion, and potato all for $2.20 NZ, which is about $1.50 USD. Out of control. I also think it's best to stay away from that market after a night out. It's pure chaos there. Everyone is digging for their stuff, traffic jams everywhere, people screaming their fish prices. Wow. It was so overwhelming.
I was talking to Donna about her next semester and about my replacement. I can't imagine someone else living in this room. I guess that's good because it is my home and MY room! It's going to be really weird stripping the walls, packing, etc. I have a love/hate relationship for the cube. It's a 9-story building with crammed housing in a cube shape. So there really is no privacy. I look out the window and see someone else in their window. And there are also heaps of freshmen running everywhere. I know it's only a 3 year difference but there is just so much growing from freshmen year to SENIOR (sounds weird!) year. But it's also great having the ability to stay inside and visit someone else's apartment. I say I hate this cube, but I think i genuinely like it.
I haven't been sleeping normal either lately. It's so annoying! I'll try and go to bed at a normal time but end up going to bed around 2, then waking up around 8ish. Even after this weekend when I got about 7 hours total, I can't sleep now. Hence, the blogggging!
xo
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