Hey All,
It is currently Wednesday again, so I decided that it was time for another blog. I think I will start skipping some days because I don’t do much besides school. So, I last updated last Wednesday when I had just had an exciting weekend in Queenstown. I’m sorry to say that this post will not be AS exciting, but some eventful things did happen!
Wednesday – Friday: I had school! Classes are now getting more interesting and I am learning a lot of New Zealand laws/policies especially around family/childcare. (DID YOU KNOW that New Zealand has a legislation in place that you are not allowed to physically touch a child anymore. It’s basically an anti-spanking law, but has a lot more associated to it too. Just an interesting fact!). I slept over at Alex’s on Thursday night. Brie, Alex, Sophie (their Kiwi host) and I ended up baking some interesting oatmeal cookies and had made plans for the next day about going to a little French Bakery but as sleep has a way of us missing things, we didn’t end up going. I went to my class and when I came back, we decided to go watch a movie at a NZ movie theatre (which is basically the same layout as ours back in Canada). I went home after the movie as I wanted to relax before the bike trip out to the Dunedin peninsula we had planned for the next day. Greg and Celia were away for the weekend, so I had the house to myself, which was pretty sweet!
Saturday: The BIG Bike trip! I had plans of getting up early, walking into town, picking up a bike from my friend who had offered to let me use hers for the semester (I met her in class. Her name is Noora!), riding said bike to Alex’s and then we go off from there on our big adventure. BUT unfortunately, the bike rental place that Alex and the rest of them were going to rent from only had two bikes available. So, that was the end of that plan. Brie and I really wanted to do something physical as we felt like we were lazing, but Alex needed to work on an assignment that she had. So, Brie and I searched the internet on what we could do in/around Dunedin. And then we found it! A good hike up Mount Cargill! That would be great! And it was only 11km to walk there, not THAT far. So, Brie’s friend Emily joined and we walked, and walked, and walked....and walked some more, asked some people directions, went up, up, up and around and this way, and that way...until we finally reached the base of the mountain...2 hours later. We then got lost again, as we thought a very muddy BMX trail was the trail up to the top on the mountain. So, after climbing up that and sliding back down, we found our way to the actual trail. It was now around 6 o’clock and we were debating even hiking the mountain because it was getting late. Emily phoned her Kiwi host to see if he could pick us up if we hiked, and he agreed to. So, we started up the trail, and that is when I realized how out of shape I am. As Brie and Emily were totally fine walking up the trail, I felt like I was dying (I blame it on the 2 hour hike to get to the hike, but I think I should probably get to the gym sometime...). We kept asking people how far until the top, and they were discouraging as each time we asked they said 45 more minutes to the summit. At around 6:30 we decided that we should probably turn around because Emily’s Kiwi host was on the way. Luckily there was a lookout spot just down the trail so we took a look at how far we had got and realized that it probably wouldn’t have been a good view anyways because it was very cloudy that day. On the hike down, an owl swooped down to greet us, and we heard sounds that sounded like either a dinosaur or a dying sheep. New Zealand is a very odd place for wildlife. Emily’s Kiwi host picked us up and we went home, and I was sore as anything. I slept over at Alex’s again.
Sunday: Sunday was BEAUTIFUL! Such nice weather that it HAD to be a beach day. Alex, Brie, Emily and I went down to the beach and met up with Blake, Mark and Texas (Alex’s flatmate Matt, that will for now on be named Texas, just not to be confused with Matthew their other flatmate). Tanned and relaxed on the beach. Brie and I went in for a bit but it got cold really fast! We attempted handstands, cartwheels, and headstands before going home. Katie and I had been talking about going to a more student-y church so we decided to check out a church called “South life”. We decided after that it was an experience, one that we might try again, but we are thinking about going to another church called “Elim” this coming Sunday. So, we’ll see how that one is.
Monday – Wednesday: This week has been one of catching up on schoolwork that I should have been doing all along, but as I tend to be a procrastinator, the work has once again gotten plied up. I read three chapters of psych yesterday, and am planning on reading some more articles today! I am actually enjoying being back into school again. It gives my life a little more organization and routine, which is always a nice thing to have.
NZ things that I have learned:
1) 1.“Sweet As” – This term is used as anything from ‘sweet’ to ‘nice’. It is not “sweet as (insert something here)” just “sweet as”.
2) 2. “Cheers” – This term is used whenever you are given something, or do something for someone, (like Thanks and You’re Welcome)or leaving somewhere, or arriving (like Hello and Goodbye) BUT you do not reply ‘cheers’ to ‘cheers’.
3) 3. Boys wear short shorts – It is an odd thing in NZ to see a male wearing shorts that are longer than his knee. A lot of the shorts I first saw were rugby ones, so it was pretty standard length for rugby shorts, but NO, they are everywhere and not ALL rugby shorts. A couple days ago, I saw a guy who was wearing pink short shorts (like mid-thigh length) with long black socks on, who was wearing jandals (flip flops). This is just an everyday occurrence.
That’s all for now! Nothing too exciting, as I said. Yesterday marked one month of me being in New Zealand, so I guess that’s something exciting! I love being here! It’s just such a laidback atmosphere. Just my style.
Love and Cheers,
K
i wish i could like this!
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