Finals: Week 1 Complete!

Sunday, October 25: I woke up this morning and went with Joe and Amy to church. They warned me that it feels like you're on a game-show...and they were so right! I was more reminded of High School Musical, to be honest. It was held at a high school and the Church is called Arise. There's one in Wellington too, and it wasn't TOO different. Some parts annoyed me, like how every time the preacher started to raise her voice people in the front yelled "YaY!" or "Awesome" or "right right." It was distracting and too much like it was planned out or something. And there were very few old people...and even fewer little babies. Joe told me to pay attention and notice what was weird about them...there were none! I can definitely see it as a church that younger people like high school/college age would be interested in though. The sermon wasn't too bad. I felt like she repeated herself a lot and I always feel like they drag it on, which makes it feel like there's not a lot to it. ANYWAYS, after that we went to an Indian restaurant because I'd never had Indian and they were convinced to take me haha! It was really good and I enjoyed it. After that I went to the market for some souvenirs and then to the mall, where I spent way too much money to get my hair colored back to its original color (thank you Joshua). But now it's finally closer to back to normal and no longer driving me nuts since I got a few inches off as well. It was too long for me to handle. Anyways, after that I pretty much studied most of the night. Boring...

Monday, October 26: Today is New Zealand's Labor Day. So weird...it didn't feel like Labor Day at all haha! No parades, nothing of that sort. Just a day off work =). I studied most of today, watched House on my "break" from studying, and then studied some more. Quite a boring day.

Tuesday, October 27: So I woke up early in order to study some more before my final at 2:30, and realized that I'd been studying mostly for the wrong test...I somehow messed up the dates and spent half-an-hour freaking out before I was able to calm down and retain any information for the test that was TODAY, which was Philosophy. It actually went really well...I wrote as much as I could on the subjects and only finished 15 minutes early. Most everyone else had already left. Then I came back and went out to eat with Jayme, Nikki, and Sara at Spag's. It was delicious, as usual =). Afterwards I of course came back and studied for my Art History final, the one I'd been studying heaps for anyways. Ugh. I hate Art History, or at least New Zealand Art History. Yuck. My friend Kana from Wellington was staying here, but I was a bad host and spent most of my time ignoring her while studying..she was prepared for that though, I'd warned her. We went to bed relatively early (for college kids at least), around midnight.

Wednesday, October 28: Today was a beautiful day outside...and I spent it inside studying =(. Oh well. I finished my final and am officially done with Art History forever! Sooo happy! I really don't like that class. Anyways, now I'm updating you all on my boring life before I go for a run to get some books for traveling. Tomorrow starts my trip, and I'll be gone for a week basically. I'll update possibly on Halloween my time, so Saturday night your time =). I'm looking forward to seeing friends in Dunedin and then going out for Halloween...I don't have a costume yet but I'll think of one! Haha Sara's mom sent her a care package full of Halloween decorations, so we've been hanging them around our apartment. It still doesn't feel right though...I actually miss cornfields and scarecrows! That just signifies fall to me. Oh well though. Only a few more weeks and then I'm home! Can't wait!!! Love you all!

WWOOFing ExTRAVAganza!!!!!!!

OK, to start with, last weekend I didn't do much of anything, truly. However, I did go to Joe and Amy's church, ReChurch! If you haven't checked out their blog yet, please do, it's so interesting! Joe gave a great sermon last week about spiritual healing from God. We went through the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, and Joe preached about the source of our suffering from the Fall. It was really good. There were several people there, most of them new I think they said. I talked to a girl afterward and hopefully she'll come back next month. She said she's been looking for a church for awhile and just lives right down the road. ReChurch had sent out postcards letting people know about it, and that's how she'd heard. It was an awesome way to advertise! Anyways, after I was able to eat with the team...truly an amazing group of people who are so welcoming and encouraging to be around! It was really good for me to join in fellowship with other believers and I definitely praised Jesus for how awesome it is to know people are serving Him almost everywhere!

Now to WWOOFing!

Sara and I rode the bus Monday up to Motueka, a town right outside the Abel Tasman National Park (where I tramped/hiked during break). We worked on a Bed and Breakfast, and here's the link if you want to check it out: http://www.pahrd.co.nz/. The family we stayed with is young, and they rent out their other accommodation room for the winter to help with money. Now for names...Heidi (mom), Will (6 year old), Jack (2 year old), Cam (dad), and Moki (black lab). Let me just say that it was AMAZING! We got there Monday not knowing what to expect and were immediately included in whatever the boys were doing haha! We had delicious pasta for dinner and were given a room in the house (although we were offered the Loft in the garage...which we weren't keen on haha). The boys showed off all night before bed, and then Sara and I did the dishes. Heidi is so cool and laid back, and you can tell she grew up on a farm and was a huge tomboy =). She was so great! Cam wasn't around all week because he's taking classes on how to start a winery and is almost finished. They'll be starting one within the next year, which is pretty awesome. Tuesday morning we awoke to cows mooing at the neighbor's (Sara thought it was a phone vibrating hahahahhaa) and then got to work. We picked up sticks in the yard and were followed around by 2 lambs and several chickens! We stacked firewood, helped clean up the main guest room, and then trimmed some of the dead plants. It was easy work of course and just general chores. It reminded me of home (whenever I got around to actually doing what Mom asked). Anyways, we played with the kids that night, helped build space stations out of legos, that kinda thing. Heidi made mashed potatoes and I can't remember what else, but I haven't had mashed potatoes in forever so I was satisfied haha! That night Sara and I watched a movie and went to bed early as we were still trying to catch up on sleep from the weekend and bus ride.

Wednesday we did a lot of the same stuff as before, mainly working on the guest house since they had guests coming. It was pretty easy stuff, although I saw a couple spiders and had to kill them! Yuck! Mom's made us all paranoid...ugh. The guest room has an outdoor bath and shower, which is interesting and cool. The bath is an old-school fire bath and I guess really relaxing. We didn't get the chance to try it out ourselves though, which I'm OK with haha! Anyways, after chores we went on a run and then rode bikes to Kaiteriteri Beach. It's a really famous beach here in New Zealand and you can see pictures if you Google it. It took us about 30 minutes to get there, and it seemed most of the way was uphill! Plus, once we got there it was FREEZING! And of course I was in shorts and a t-shirt...New Zealand weather is so temperamental and ridiculous! UGH! Haha oh well though. We had a little duck come up beggin for food, and he was so cute I couldn't say no =). He just sat right at my feet the whole time haha. After doing some exploring, Sara and I decided to head back to the house. We walked our bikes up most of the hills =)...it just got too hard hahahaha! Oh well, at least our day was full of exercise! We played with the kids later that evening again and they're just so great! It was so nice to stay with a family and hang out with kids...days definitely go by faster that way!

Thursday we decided to work 8 hours and pretty much weeded all day. It was a long day...weeding is a very menial task! Plus I'm a slight perfectionist when it comes to doing chores (Mom's voice always rings in my head to "Do it once and do it right"), so it took me longer because I was determined to get ALL of the roots! Jack came out at one point to help us but didn't stay very long. He was so cute though and really good at weeding. By Wednesday we could finally understand most of his babble, and he said "Big roots, dumb roots, take THAT!" It was hysterical! I have an awesome farmer's tan now thanks to this wonderful task! I put heaps of sun-tan lotion on so I wouldn't get burnt, and I didn't...except the back of my neck, and only half of it haha! I don't really know WHAT happened, but it's back to normal today (Saturday) so that's good. Oh, I found out that Sis had her baby today!!!!!!!! Well, yesterday my time, sorta...the 21st of October! I was sooo excited!!!!!!!! I facebook stalked and found a photo of her...her name's Olivia and she's beautiful! She's going to look just like Sis I know it! I texted Mom the next morning and she went and saw her and sent me her picture =). It makes me sooo happy every time I look at my phone to know that I'll be meeting her in a few weeks and I can't wait! So praise Jesus for new life! YAY!!! Be blessed Olivia!

Friday, Heidi dropped us off at Abel Tasman and Sara and I spent the day hiking to Anchorage. It took us about 4 hours, and it was a leisurely pace! It was nice to walk the trail when it wasn't raining =). Plus, we did a little more exploring and stuff too. We then rode the AquaTaxi back and took the bus back to the B&B. That night Cam came home so we finally got to meet him. You can tell he's a wild child hahahaha! I don't know how Heidi does it! We decided she's got 3 boys, not 2 =). But he's very cool, really outgoing and really funny! Jack and Will put a concert on for us that night, and Will and I played rugby. Jack also played....he was the 3rd team hahha! We didn't know what he was going to do next....half the time he was chasing me tellin me not to "touch his brother" and the other half he was chasing and tackling Will and telling me to "block" him haha! He's so stinking cute that kid! Anyways, the concert was great! Jack LOVES pretending he's a superhero of some sort, Batman, Superman, whatever, and he danced around while Will jammed out on the keyboard. Then they switched, or were supposed to but Jack got bored jamming and went and danced with Will hahahaha! It was absolutely awesome and reminded me of summer nights at home, messing around when we were younger and catching fireflies and such. It was a gorgeous night out too!

And now we're at today...and it's been a long day. It took us over 12 hours to get back to Christchurch, and most of that time was spent on a bus. I did get to finally hear Joshua's voice, not on voicemail but real-time, and that was FANTASTIC! Apparently he's in Alabama for the weekend?! Haha oh jeez. Anyways, we took some pictures this morning of the B&B before leaving and I'll have to put them up on Shutterfly soon. I really loved everything about wwoofing...it went by soo quickly! The family was great, seriously. The only thing super "organic" about them was that they have an outhouse-type toilet. That's about it. And it wasn't that bad at all. It could have been much worse =). The dog, Moki, was also so fun to have around...it made me miss Cocoa so much though. His ears just weren't the same...Cocoa's ears were my favorite thing to pet. Moki's a great dog though too. He's really patient and good with the kids, and they climb all over him just like we did with Cocoa. And he's so fun to play with haha! He loves to play fetch, but his favorite is keep-away. Whereas Cocoa used to play tug-of-war, Moki likes for you to chase him haha! We had to watch him to make sure he wasn't ruining the boys' guns. Anyways, like I said before my wwoofing experience was superb! I would definitely do it again, hands down. We got to do so much stuff and didn't have to pay for a thing! It's by far been my cheapest week here haha! No groceries to buy, no rent, nothing. It was wonderful. And the family was so laid back and fun! I loved being able to stay with a family...I think that was my favorite part. Playing with the dog and the kids was fantastic. I admire Heidi so much, she has such a great family! But now I've got some studying to do for the next few days, finals on Tuesday and Wednesday, and then I'm off to Dunedin. It's going to be non-stop for the next few weeks and I'm going to be loving it! I'm so looking forward to walking off that plane and seeing Joshua and everyone (but especially him)! Anywho, I'll update you when I have something to update. Pictures will be posted soon! Love and miss you all!!! Goodnight!!!!!!!!


P.S. I came home to a huge and wonderful chocolate bar left by Kana, a friend that stayed in my room while I was gone =). Guess I'll be going to the gym often this week haha!

NO MORE CLASSES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

CLASSES ARE OFFICIALLY OVER!!! ONLY FINALS LEFT!!!

Monday, October 12: Today I didn't do much. Researched for my project, went to class, that's about it.

Tuesday, October 13: Again, went to class, not much else. Then I stayed up til about 3 working on my paper that was due the next day...I finished it finally though :). Senioritis is not good to have....haha oh well! My paper was for New Zealand history, and I reported on Rogernomics. It was interesting to compare the sanctions imposed across New Zealand, USA, and UK. Plus, I understood what was being talked about, so that's a plus =)

Wednesday, October 14: I went to class, turned in my paper, did my presentation. That night Sara and I had fajitas, which was really good.

Thursday, October 15: I stayed up way too late researching for another paper, for my philosophy class. The paper was about God so it was interesting, and I argued for the existence of God against the argument of evil. Basically it says that since pain and suffering exist in the world, an all-powerful and all-loving God could not exist. Otherwise, there wouldn't be pain and suffering. It was hard to write about...I'm not very good at philosophy papers because I don't know where to end the arguments. So basically I discussed what we talked about in class, gave some other key arguments from other sources, and then added in some of my own arguments (although I ended up finding these arguments and didn't feel very original after that). There are so many arguments against God out there...it's crazy sad. The thing is, none of those arguments can either prove or disprove God's existence. Then of course, there's arguments about which religion to follow, how you know it's right, etc. Anyways, I am happy with the paper and stayed up til 4 working on it =).

Friday, October 16: I will be home exactly one month from today at 4 o'clock New Zealand time!!! I cannot WAIT!!! I'm seriously so excited. I'm tired of everyone telling me to enjoy my time here. Obviously I am doing that thank you very much. But that doesn't have to mean that I can't look forward to coming home. So, I'm eager to come home....very eager to see Joshua and my family and my friends. Anyways, we had a barbecue that night and hung out way later than I wanted to, but oh well.

Saturday, October 17: I haven't done much at all today. I got to talk to my Dad, which I haven't done in 4 weeks. I talked to Mom and the kids earlier this week, and Sydney and Kacie. I am going to go work out in a little bit, then come back and chill some more. It's cold and rainy here again today, which always gives me no motivation to do anything except read or watch movies. But then I get bored with that, so working out is a good outlet =). Tomorrow is Rechurch, and I'm really excited to go. I've invited friends who all have politely declined, but at least I tried. Hopefully I'll get to talk to Joshua tomorrow since we haven't really had the chance to talk in quite awhile and I'll be gone all the next week. Wwoofing should be interesting...Hopefully the weather will be nice so we can work outside and hang out outside at the beaches and such.

Surf's Up and Goodbyes!

Tuesday, October 6: Didn't do much at all...classes, working out, talking to people when I can. The weather was horrible.

Wednesday, October 7: Again, did nothing besides classes and working out. And bad weather again.

Thursday, October 8: Same...I wish the rain would stop!

Friday, October 9: Kate's birthday!!! Happy Birthday Babygirl!!! I love and miss you sooo much! Today I went to workout, then worked on a project all day with Sara at the library. Then chilled at home. I did freak out and vacuumed my place because I killed a bug in the bathroom and it creeped me out.

Saturday, October 10: Happy Birthday Jordan!!! I miss you and love you and hope you had an AWESOME birthday!!! I got to call my house, talk to Kate on her actual birthday, workout, went to a hangi (Maori BBQ basically with an underground oven) for my class with Sara, went to Spag's for dinner with a bunch of friends, called Jordan and talked to him on his actual birthday too =). Then we played Dutch Blitz the rest of the night. I found bugs in the tent we used during Kaikoura, two of them somehow still alive. Gross. Then I went to bed.

Sunday, October 11: Today was a brilliant day. I woke up, listened to a sermon online, worked out a little, and then went surfing. It was our last activity day with Arcadia and ended up being sooo much fun!!!!! Turns out I'm a natural and I'm not just saying that! The instructors were so impressed with me and kept telling me how good of a surfer I was, and they didn't believe I'd never done it before! I had some long rides and got some awesome waves, but after 2.5 hours, I was toast! It's exhausting work, especially when the water's so cold haha! We had been given wetsuits, but I couldn't feel my body by the end, for real. And my lips were purple too haha! I did have a great time though and I really enjoy surfing! I hope to do it a few more times before I come back home, especially when it gets warmer! The only downside is that I've never swallowed so much salt water in my life haha! It was pretty fishy-tasting. I didn't enjoy that part, but the rest was awesome. And it was a little hard for me to figure out how to cut through the waves with the board and I got completely flipped over a few times from not doing it right, but once I figured it out it was great.
After that, we all went out to eat at Dux de Lux. It's this cute little restaurant, but only serves vegetarian and seafood dishes. It was pretty good though and it was good to get to catch up with everyone as well. It made me slightly sad to know that some of the guys I won't be seeing before I leave. They're all such great guys and I couldn't have asked for a better group! Ashley, the other girl, is awesome too and it's been nice getting to know her these past few days. Anyways, leaving will be bittersweet...more sweet than bitter I'm sure, but still. I've had a good time here and gotten to enjoy myself, and I've had heaps of experiences that I just wouldn't have had in the States. And it's not even the end yet! I will miss Jane though, our program director =). She's so fun and crazy and cool. Anyways, I'm off now to bed I think...I'm quite exhausted after today's lesson! I love and miss you all so much! I'm looking forward to seeing your faces in a month!

6 Weeks and not a Minute to Spare!

My plans for the rest of my time here:

This week: write 2 essays.
This weekend: Saturday, gondola ride and Grand Tour, offered for free since I'm living at Ilam =), a $100 deal!!!
Sunday: church somewhere, a surfing lesson with the boys and Jane for Arcadia, then our "farewell dinner" with Jane at Dux-de-Lux (a fancy restaurant)!

The following week: 1 essay, 1 project.
The weekend: Saturday - going with Sara to Littleton, a suburb of CHCH that has a farmer's market! Then walking the Porthills hopefully home.
Sunday - RECHURCH! and hopefully spending time with Joe and Amy!!!

Monday the 19th - Sunday the 25th: WWOOFing

Then coming back to CHCH on Sunday, studying, and taking a final each on the 27th and 28th. The 29th-31st I'm heading to Dunedin and hanging out with my friends there.
The 31st I come back to CHCH for Halloween, then head off Nov. 1st (Joshua and I's 5 year anniversary) to Greymouth on the TransAlpine (the train, which makes me think of you Grandma)! We are going black-water rafting again to use my voucher. The next day, we are heading to the Fox Glacier to do a glacier walk, which is supposedly extremely awesome and I'll never get the chance to do it again. That night we are staying in Fox Glacier, and the following day heading back to Greymouth and then back to CHCH, where I will spend the next few days studying.
I have finals again on the 7th and 9th of November, and then am completely done with traveling and schoolwork! I'll spend my last few days here hanging out with friends, hopefully spending time with Joe and Amy, relaxing on the beach, buying souvenirs with whatever money I have left, and packing. My friend's birthday is on Saturday, and it will be my final night in CHCH. The next morning Sara leaves early, so I hope to spend that Saturday with her. Sunday morning I plan on going to church somewhere and spending my last day with Joe and Amy hopefully. I have to be at the airport around 1 and then fly to Auckland. I'm there til 7 p.m. and then we all fly to LA. I'll have 2 hours there to check-in to my next flight and am planning on begging to get a seat closest to the front of the plane. I'm going to pull every possible string I can =). Anyways, that flight leaves at noon from LA and arrives at 7pm in Chicago, where I have to wait an hour before flying to Bloomington, a flight of about a half hour haha. Pretty much Sunday, November 15th will be the LONGEST day of my LIFE, both literally and figuratively.

So that's what I'll be up to the next few weeks. I'm hoping that it will fly by...this last weekend was the start of my "Slide," as I've started calling it =)!!!

YAY!!! It's OCTOBER!!!!

Ok, I haven't updated in forever. I didn't do much last week. Sunday I went to church with Amy and Joe. It was really great to see them and catch up! Amy has a little baby bump!!! I'm sure some of you have seen it or her; she's back in the States now for 2 weeks and comes in the night before the second service of ReChurch! Anyways, we went to a Family Baptist Church I think near Riccarton, a major street in CHCH. It was different, as usual. I was expecting maybe a little less weirdness/spiritual talk because the preacher spoke about how he was raised Anglican, went to a Baptist Church during college, and found that there was no heart involved there, that it was completely a facade. It was an OK sermon...could have taken way less than 40 minutes but oh well. And there wasn't a lot of fire or passion to it...it was more like a lecture or something (as Joe pointed out). It was on the Beatitudes. After he was finished, there was an awkward time during worship where it just got really quiet and people were expected to speak out what God was telling them or something. Then worship started again...and they waved flags. I was singing and I saw this shadow behind me and just assumed someone was waving their arms, then realized as it got closer that it was someone waving a flag to the music. I seriously thought it was going to hit us, it was quite scary. I could feel Amy shaking with laughter next to me and thankfully I didn't look at her or Joe cause I would have lost it. We pretty much rushed out of there right after, Amy literally ran the last few steps to the car! It was so much fun. Anyways, we went for lunch after at a Mexican restaurant and it was DELICIOUS! I want to go back there again! After that I went home and did a whole lot of nothing...caught up on some reading, started writing my essay, etc.

The rest of last week was pretty much the same. Although I did go to trivia night for Ilam (our apartments) on Wednesday, and we won 3rd place! We're so gifted haha! AND we played against HEAPS OF NERDS! So we felt smart...I didn't cause the only question I even answered was wrong. Well, besides the finance/econ/accounting ones. I finally finished a stupid Art History paper that I'd spent most of the week "researching" and basically avoiding at 2 that night, and then couldn't fall asleep after. Thursday night, Sara, Daniel and I made a Tim Tam cake for Jayme for her birthday Friday. Tim Tams are the best cookies EVER! They are currently being sold at Target and I'm making everyone eat them when I get home. I'm bringing them to Thanksgiving as well, and I'll teach everyone how to do a "Tim Tam Slam" with hot chocolate. It's delicious I promise. Anyways, we had a mishap with the cake since I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing (go figure) and had to go get more cake-mix since I ruined the first one. I put in too much milk...Sara took out the extra milk since we'd added everything else, but you're supposed to beat the mix for 5 minutes...we don't have ANY kitchen appliances so we did it by hand. Turns out that you really have to get it mixed in well since the first cake turned out horrible anyways and was completely flat. It was the cheapest brand so I didn't expect much. Anyways, we finally finished it, made home-made icing, and added Tim Tams on top =). It ended up being super chocolaty and sweet, overall OK. Friday we went to the movies and saw 500 Days of Summer for Jayme's birthday, then headed to Pizza Hut for dinner. We ate the Tim Tam cake after that and played Dutch Blitz. Our flatmates came back drunk and tried playing with us, which was entertaining. We called it a night around 8, then I had a friend from Dunedin staying with me that night. The next morning we left for Kaikoura!!!

Kaikoura is a small town north of CHCH on the East Coast of South Island. It's really well known for whale watching and swimming with dolphins. It has an annual Seafest, which we attended this year. I was expecting something like the Taste since it cost us $35 just to get in. Instead, you still had to pay for all food and drinks. I mean, it was cheaper considering it was seafood, but still. I was disappointed. We spent most of Saturday laying around (it was gorgeous out) and laughing at the different costumes (apparently someone wins 1st prize for best costume). Eventually we left, went walking around the super small town of Kaikoura, and then headed to our campsite after dinner. Sara and I needed help from Nikki and Jayme pitching our tent, but to be fair Jayme and Nikki had directions and practiced before we came =). Anyways, we had fun, snacked, talked, and played on the Flying Fox, which was this awesome toy at the playground. Pictures of it will be posted soon ;). Anyways, we were all tired since we'd been up since 6 and the bus ride didn't allow for sleep haha. When it finally got dark we all pretty much crashed, except me. Instead, I woke up around 10 and had to use the toilet like never before! I was so mad because it was so far away, and I held it for as long as possible and then was afraid I was going to pee my pants haha! I couldn't even run because I didn't want to add pressure to my bladder =(. I made it though, and then tried to creep back to the tent. I woke Nikki up and scared the crap out of her. Then I heard people arguing literally right outside our tent, which scared me so I was wide awake for awhile. The ground was cold and I was freezing, so I didn't sleep well at all and woke up a lot! I woke early the next morning and waited around for everyone else to move. Finally we started moving around 7:30 and headed into town after packing up our tents. It was cold and rainy Sunday, so there was no chance for us to walk to the seal colony. We did a wine tour instead, which was cute, and met a woman from Manhattan who recently graduated from Yale Law School...a-mazing. All I could think was that she must be absolutely brilliant. When I asked her where she had attended, she said Yale, but was really modest about it...we all embarrassed her since we were like "oooohhhhhhhh woowww" haha. We ended up chilling at the winery for about an hour, trying to pass time since we had til 4 before our bus came and didn't want to be outside. When we got back to town, we went on a "cafe crawl" haha and wasted time in different cafes talking. When we finally got back to CHCH, I talked with Joshua for a super long time and it was fantastic. By the time he went to bed, it was time for me to go as well. Sorry babe =).

And that brings us to Monday, which I was sick for. I have a horrible head cold and felt like crap all day. I went to class and then took naps and watched The Mentalist all day. Sara and I planned our WWOOFing extravaganza and started emailing people. We are hoping to WWOOF at a Bed & Breakfast near Nelson or Marlborough, which has nice wineries and beaches and heaps to do. WWOOFing is an organization short for Willing Workers On Organic Farms...but it doesn't necessarily have to be "organic" or a "farm." Anyways, in exchange for 4 hours of work a day, you get free accommodation and meals. It's like moving in with a family for a few days and I'm really excited about it! We're looking for families with kids, and some of the places offer crafts like pottery classes and such. So we'll see how that goes, but I'm definitely looking forward to it. So, that finally brings you all up-to-date. Sorry it's taken me so long. I'll do better to update this. And I'm not sure if I've posted all my plans yet, so I'll do that as well. Love you all! Miss you!!!

...My Chill Week...

Saturday, September 26: So today I didn't do much. I woke up, worked out, swam, ate a light lunch, then went to the mall and bought a new luggage piece since my other big one has a broken wheel and there was a sale going on. When I got back I finished reading Redeeming Love, then made marinated chicken breasts and corn for dinner. I had some popcorn and watched the season premiere of House again with Sara. Now I'm going to go journal and then head to bed. I am meeting up with Joe and Amy tomorrow, finally, and am really excited to see them! We haven't gotten the chance to meet up since before I left for break, so I'm looking forward to a good day tomorrow. Then I have to start my paper for Art History class...which I'm not looking forward too. Anyways, goodnight all! Sorry my day wasn't that exciting! Oh, although I did find out that I can fit inside my new suitcase...pictures of it will be posted soon =)!

Friday, September 27: Today was a really lazy day. I woke up, went to PUMP class, then ran after. When I got back, I was supposed to Skype with Anne, but she was unable to and I skyped with Marqui instead! It was sooo good to catch up, even though my skype was being dumb and not working properly. It's a good feeling, laughing and talking with friends from home! I also talked to Syd and Jan for a little while as well. After a long talk with Marqui, I took a nap. I haven't felt well all week so it was much needed. When I woke up I made soup for dinner and then pretty much chilled in my room all night. It was pretty boring I know, but it was nice to have a day to just relax after last weekend.


Thursday, September 28: This morning I woke up, ran, and then went to class. I skyped with Marqui I think, sorta. We chatted at least. I did some homework and then went to my other two classes. When I came back I read Redeeming Love and just chilled. I made mac and cheese for dinner, though it wasn't very good. I just didn't like the cheese I used...oh well. After that, I read a little for my Art History course (so boring) and then Daniel came over. We made brownies while our flatmates had a party haha. It was great. We pretty much chilled and talked. Aaron came over to do laundry and we all talked for a few minutes before everyone split up. Sara and I had a "moment" and got each other laughing so hard at some stupid nasty hair in the bathroom. It was soo funny...I would explain but no one would understand. Basically, she misunderstood something I said and it was great. I laughed so hard I couldn't breathe and had to leave the bathroom. Then, after thinking I'd recovered, I walked back in and saw her and started cracking up all over again! Then of course she had mouthwash in her mouth and had to spit it out, and more ended up on the mirror than in the sink! Oh wow. Hilarious, hands down. It was just a goofy night. Whew. Anyways, I finally went to bed after some hard core prayer time =). God is so good!



Wednesday, September 29: Today I woke up, attended all my classes, and then came back to Skype with Joshua. I was going to go work out, but by the time we finished talking it was too late and I didn't feel like it anymore. Instead I read Redeeming Love and then went to bed. I think this is my fourth time reading Redeeming Love...I just can't get enough of it. I know what's coming next, and it doesn't matter. Maybe it's only my third time. Who knows. Anne, I owe you sooo much for getting me this book! It's by far my favorite...the entire Harry Potter series is up there too...but different genres, so therefore I can have more than one favorite =). If you've never read Redeeming Love, I encourage you to! You can even borrow mine when I get back! It's THAT good. Even if you're a guy, you should read it. It's all about God's redeeming love, but also about what loving like Christ looks like, especially in a marriage. Such a beautiful tale! Anyways, sorry, I'll quit now. But that's all my day was.


Tuesday, September 30: Today I woke up, but didn't go to class. Oops. I ran and took my time, and then was going to be late so I didn't go. When I got back, I ran to the grocery store and then was supposed to Skype with Joshua. He cancelled, so instead I called him on the phone and got to talk to Tonya, John, and him. It was great to hear everyone's voice again and joke around just like nothing's changed. It made me slightly homesick, but I got over it when I looked at the calendar and realized how little time I have left here. It will go by swiftly for me I know. I'm looking forward to coming back to the States, but I want to make the most of my time here as well. I have almost every week/weekend planned from here on out, which is exciting and overwhelming at the same time. I just hope I will be able to do all the things I want to do still, though it's going to be crazy. Oh well. I've been searching for jobs as well...that's another scary prospect. To think that I have so much to do when I get home...I have to get "all grown up" in a matter of a few weeks. It's really crazy to come face-to-face with the realization that this part of my life is ending...no more college, no more messing around. It's real life now. AHH! I don't think I'm ready, but I don't really have a choice anymore...unless I go to grad school =). But I'd still have to wait a year since I don't graduate and therefore can't really apply to any grad schools haha. Oh jeez. Anyways, I went to my classes after grocery shopping. Colin broke his pen in our Art History class and it was by far the best thing that's happened in that class all semester! I was cracking up...he was busy trying to "fix" it and instead, the spring and everything in it flew out and across the desks and people sitting next to him! It was one of those things you see in the movies and don't ever expect to see in real life, but it happened. It was so great, I laughed so hard I cried, which hasn't happened in a LONG time! Oh wow. Anyways, I didn't do much else today.

~/~Windy Welly~\~

Thursday: So we arrived in Wellington around 9:30, met up with Kana and caught up with her before heading to bed. Pretty boring day, although we have finally started discussing God in my Philosophy class, so it should be rather interesting the rest of my time here. I'm apprehensive about it, but am praying it will only strengthen my faith in our Savior, not hinder it. Pray that for me as well, and that He'll give me the courage to stand up for Him if need be!!!


Friday: We woke up after a crappy sleep. We slept on the floor of Kana's room, which wasn't very comfy, and woke up several times throughout the night. I don't think I really ever fell into a deep sleep at all. Oh well. We walked around downtown Wellington, then Sara and I went to Te Papa, the free museum in Wellington. It was huge and we had fun. We rode "rides" which ended up being really weird, but oh well. We met up with Aaron (fellow Canterbury Arcadia student) and the people he was staying with for a little while. After about 4 hours there and awing over the only Giant/Colossal Squid on display, we headed to the grocery store for milk, cereal, and a gift for Kana. Then it was back to her place, where we spent about an hour chilling before heading out to dinner, we hoped with fellow ArcadiaNZ. However, Kana didn't have her phone and I had no numbers, so we weren't positive where they were eating. Turns out about 4 separate groups went to 4 separate places, and we didn't run into any of them haha. Instead we ate at an Irish Pub and watched the Canterbury Rugby team on the big screen. I ordered wings that were delicious! We had heard the news about Patrick Swayze at this point and went back to have a movie night watching Dirty Dancing and Ghost at Kana's. We didn't go to bed til after 1 and Sara and I were exhausted. I couldn't help but wonder about Patrick Swayze's family and what they must be experiencing. I was hoping they wouldn't or hadn't watched Ghost, cause I was extremely depressed after and can't imagine what they would have felt.

Saturday: We woke up and headed for the zoo around 10:30. The sleep this night was the worst of the entire weekend for me, since I slept on the floor again. Sara slept on a mattress she rented for $5 NZ, but I didn't have any cash and figured I didn't care that much. The zoo was pretty cool and really interactive, and the exhibits were so much better than anywhere I've been in Illinois. They were much more open and weren't "cage-like." Instead, there were motes around "islands" where the animals were, except of course the really dangerous ones. We got to feed a giraffe, see a kiwi, and throw fruit to chimps. It was cool and a good day. Plus I got to see both a tiger and lions, which are my favorite. It makes me sooo sad and miss Zimbabwe every time I go to a zoo though. I was pretty absorbed in how much I missed it after standing and watching the lions. I always feel bad for the animals too. They live the most boring lives EVER! The characters in Madagascar had the right idea for sure haha! Anyways, we had a few hours to chill after the zoo and before the game. We dropped our stuff off at Ewelina's (pronounced Eveline) before heading off to the All Blacks rugby game!!!!!! IT WAS SO AWESOME! I LOVED IT!!! Rugby is just amazing. Anyways, we got to see the famous "haka" dance of the All Blacks at the beginning. We had a mentally handicapped man sitting right in front of us, but he was also drinking...he stood up and "danced" to the haka as well. Or tried. He was very intense, but left during half-time and never came back. We were confused. Our seats were pretty close for being the cheapest ones. After the game we went to Liz's, another Arcadian, and had an "Arcadia" reunion. It was OK. I finally got to sleep on a couch this night though, so that was nice. I was really sad about not being able to attend Joe and Amy's first service though. I thought about them all day Saturday and prayed everything would go well and God would reach out to the community through ReChurch. I'm really excited to hear about how it went and meet up with Amy and Joe before she heads back to America for a visit!

Sunday: Ewelina's flatmates are really rude and I was woken up at 7 a.m. to someone washing dishes! At 7!!! I was really angry, and there were 2 more instances after of pots banging again! If the place was clean, I could understand a "clean freak" but it was filthy, so no. It was really frustrating. Ugh. Anyways, we went to a food market and got some free samples. I bought a little chocolate turtle because it was so cute and they didn't have any chocolate frogs left ;). After that we went to the Botanical Gardens and just had a chill day, taking our time and enjoying the city. We ran into two friends also visiting Wellington from Christchurch, Nikki and Jayme. We decided to all meet up for dinner at Burger Fuel, this cool restaurant slightly classier than fast-food. They offer various kinds of burgers obviously, except these burgers are huge and the fries are delicious! Anyways, we were pretty tired and just went our separate ways after that. Sara and I read back at Ewelina's before heading to bed around 10.


Monday: We woke up early today, around 6:30. We packed and then met up with Kana again, dropping our stuff at her place since it's more central and closer to downtown where we needed to catch our bus. We then walked to the wharf, expecting to take a ferry to the Matiu/Somes Island, but we'd read the times wrong and misinterpreted the schedule. So instead we went to Wholly Bagel, which is pretty famous. I've read about it in one of my case studies for business, so I was keen on going anyways, and Sara had read about it in her little Wellington Travel Guide. It was pretty good and we chilled there for an hour and a half before heading back to the wharf to catch the right ferry. The Island was OK...slightly boring because it was windy and not sunny enough to enjoy the beach. We got to see sheep (go figure) and some cool parrots. I also held an almost-extinct grasshopper. AWESOME. It was a really awkward creature...they're so big that they can't jump or move very fast, and they're often eaten by tuatara, the lizards/iguanas native to New Zealand. The island is really strict about preservation. After riding the ferry back, Sara and I went to Parliament building, known as "The Beehive" because of its design. Google-Image it, it's cool. Anyways, the best part of the weekend happened here...we got to see the Prime Minister! Up close! He was only 5 feet away! His name is John Key and he's been the PM for less than a year I think? It was really cool because that would NEVER happen in the States! He was actually on his way to New York, supposedly to meet for a UN meeting or something. We heard a rumor that he's making an appearance on Jay Leno though, so maybe he's doing both? Who knows. Anyways, we took a tour of Parliament, and you see much more than you do in the States. It was cool but we were both really tired, so it was hard to focus. After that we grabbed our stuff, thanked Kana for the upteenth time and then headed to the airport. When finally getting back into Christchurch, we made popcorn chicken, fries, and pumpkin soup for dinner (which was delicious as usual) and then I've been trying to update pictures and read all the emails from the girls =). It was a long weekend and I'm glad to be back, although I do have to start doing some serious schoolwork this week. Oh well. Only 4 weeks left of school! Please pray for my motivation, and mainly that God will give me some! Love and miss you all!

My 9th Weekend

Monday, September 14: Today I got to wake up and talk to Joshua. It completely made my day =)! It was good to actually Skype with him and be able to see him and talk to him, since it's always been either the phone or just through chat. After he had to leave, I went to class and then finished a book I was reading. It was a cloudy day out and didn't help to motivate me at all to do anything. I went shopping for food but didn't get much, just some awesome cereal. I drank this aloe juice stuff today too...it's supposed to be really good for your skin? It was different. I also called home and got to talk to my Grandma, which was really nice and wish Mom a Happy Birthday on her birthday in the states ;). After class I got talking to Syd, so I didn't go to my workout class and will have to go tomorrow instead. It was sooo good to catch up with her today too, see her face and hear her voice as well! I miss the girls so much and it's so good when I get the chance to talk to them! Anyways, I had left-over taco meet on nachos for dinner, then had made homemade salsa since I was planning on doing it last week. It turned out OK. One of my friends said it's honestly the best homemade she's ever had, so that was nice. There's too much lime in it, but still, it's pretty good for my first time, I'm proud of myself. Then Sara and I finished her project and then watched the Bourne Supremacy. It was awesome, as usual and a good way to end the night. Now I'm off to bed!


Sunday, September 13: HAPPY BIRTHDAY IN NEW ZEALAND MOM!!!
My flatmate, Sara, ran in a half-marathon today in Christchurch. I ran to the park this morning as my workout to watch her and support her. Then I ran the last 2 laps with her, all in all about 6 miles. I'm pretty happy about it. After that, we had a brunch because it's also my other flatmate, Emma's, birthday. There was pancakes and french toast and eggs and hash browns. It was delicious! Sara and I cleaned up since Ash and Hannah had cooked. After that, I sat outside and read my book, soaking up the rays. It was such a glorious afternoon. Later that evening when I finally moved, I did some cool projects with Shutterfly and my albums, but haven't posted them yet. Then I hit the sack...sun and running wore me out!


Saturday, September 12: Today I talked to Joshua for a little while and then Sara and I headed to the market. I bought mom's gift and we walked around a small part of the Botanic Gardens! It was really pretty, but I really can't wait for the roses to bloom...there's a center area just filled with rose bushes, and I know it's going to be breathtaking and sweet-smelling when they finally do bloom! We also went into this weird house looking thing...Sara joked they kept dead people inside, haha, but when we walked in, it was like walking into a rainforest! There were palm trees and a banana tree with real fruit! It was really humid but so cool! I never knew it was there; it's not advertised at all! They also had a flower room that smelled A-MAZING! There was a desert room as well, and another room with some pretty, calming/relaxing plants. It was definitely sweet that we found it. I got a new SIM card since I lost my other one in Sydney, and I tried on some authentic New Zealand jeans. Problem is, they only come in one size for lenght: long. They were all WAY too long on me, so Sara and I had fun making fun of me and how short I looked in all the pairs! I tried on bootcut and skinny even, but the skinny were way too tight and way too long, as was everything else. The bootcut was too loose, but I couldn't go down a size since they wouldn't fit. Jeez. It was fun though. After that, we headed to the Canterbury Rugby game where they were playing for a shield or something. We had pretty cool seats for only costing us $10. There were a bunch of rowdy Otago students behind us though...that wasn't cool. Haha rugby is such a fun game. I think it's funny that I'm always in awe of how muscular their legs are...and then I realized today that it was because they all wear shorter shorts haha! You wouldn't catch anyone wearing those types of shorts in the US anymore! Cracks me up...I'm no longer in that much awe, though I still find it hilarious. The game was pretty good and Canterbury won and got to keep the shield. After the game Sara and I came back and made dinner, then watched Runaway Jury or something...it was really good! I liked it. Very suspenseful. After that, I went to bed.

End of the Week!!!

Friday, Sept 11, 2009 *8 years*: It's really strange to think that 9/11 happened 8 years ago. I just find it crazy that so much time has passed, yet I can still remember the events and that day vividly, and I didn't even have anyone I loved affected. I can't imagine what the families and friends of victims go through every year...It must be so hard, still.

I worked out this morning. Then talked to Joshua finally. Then to Marqui finally. I finished editing my paper, turned it in, bought food, and made dinner for the Canterbury students at Arcadia. Mox, Colin, Peter, Dan, Ashley, and Trevor all showed. It was a pretty good turn-out actually. I just made simple spaghetti, but it was still delicious and we had garlic bread too. It was good to meet up with everyone and hear about everyone's breaks and adventures. We have 5 weeks left of school...that's crazy short. I booked a weekend adventure in Kaikoura, which I'm looking forward to. It's really well known for whale-watching and its marine life. It'll be good times. Now I'm going to watch a movie with Sara possibly, or just hit the sack. I'm really tired today...overworked myself in PUMP class =). Miss you all!


Thursday, Sept. 10, 2009: I worked on my paper. Was supposed to talk to Joshua, didn't. Was supposed to talk to Marqui, didn't. I hate philosophy. I stayed up til 1 finishing it, then went to bed.


Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009: I did nothing. Went to class, was supposed to talk to Joshua, didn't. That evening I went and worked out, then Sara and I had roasted chicken for dinner and corn, which was delicious. I had a scoop of the chocolate ice cream I have left over even though I'm on a "diet." Oops. No caffeine still! Then I worked on my paper for philosophy.

Sydney Vaca!

So this is going to be pretty brief as I didn't do too much in Sydney. It's a beautiful city and I enjoyed walking around it. I flew Emirates over there, and it was the best flight I've ever been on. I would highly suggest them to anyone and everyone! The seats are so roomy (even for economy class), it's comfortable and there's sooo much to choose from, between games and TV shows and movies it's amazing. You can also pay to get online as well and check your email or facebook or whatever. It's fantastic. And the food's pretty ok too, obviously not great since it's air food but still. Anyways, my first night there I just stayed in Central City YHA hostel. I walked around town, found an internet cafe and got online. I found out that all the McDonald's in Sydney have free wifi, which ended up being pretty bad. After using the internet, I went back to my hostel, read a little bit, journaled, and then went to bed. The next morning I woke up and ate breakfast at McDonald's after checking out. I talked to both Chase and Cook online, which was really nice. After, I tried to figure out how to get to Coogee Beach, which is where Jeff lives. I waited for a specific bus at the wrong bus stop for 40 minutes before giving up and taking a bus that was supposed to take me to Coogee. I was trying to follow the directions on my computer, but they sucked. I got off at a bus stop not too far from where I'd been, still trying to follow the directions on my computer. I waited for 20 minutes for a bus that never came, got bored and started walking to the previous bus stop, only to watch the bus I'd been waiting for pass me. I was so done with everything by then because I'd been lugging around all my luggage as well. Finally, the next bus came, I found a hostel in Coogee and booked 2 nights on the spot. Then I went to go find internet, but really didn't want to sit in McDonald's again and eat it twice. I found a free wireless hotspot (which are all over Sydney I guess) and was able to send Jeff a quick message and get his correct phone number since I'd been texting the wrong one. We finally met up as I was ordering nachos and grabbing a very late lunch. After that he showed me his place, I dropped off my computer there and we went into downtown Sydney, near Circular Quay. I got to see the Opera house up close and we tried to break in but it didn't work. Then we walked around the botanical gardens and I fed these cockatoos, which was really cool. After, we ate at a little Indian restaurant back in Coogee and I really liked it. Grabbed some ice cream and then watched a movie at his house before heading over to one of his friends' parties. At the party, I really didn't know anyone and it was awkward and I was exhausted still from the time change (New Zealand is 2 hours ahead of Sydney). So I finally left around 11:30 and went back to my hostel and back to bed. Or was going to, until the guy that slept below me kept talking to me, and then at one point got up on my bed (which really creeped me out) before I was finally like, "It's 1 a.m. and I really need to go to sleep sorry." He kept pestering me to go swimming with him in the morning, which I refused adamantly. Then he changed the time he was going to go to later to try to get me to come. Um, no thanks. Really leave me alone. Thankfully he was out when I woke up the next morning. I got ready and then dropped my stuff off at Jeff's before heading out to another part of town to find Nick and Daniel, who were staying with a friend of Dan's in another part of Sydney. When I got to the place where he told me to get off the bus, he hadn't contacted me back yet with further directions. I ended up walking around this little suburb-type area of Sydney looking for the University of Sydney for over an hour. I finally found the place and had sent numerous texts to Dan, clearly showing I was irritated at how he hadn't gotten back to me and asking where the heck they were. When I finally found the place, it was 2:15 in the afternoon and the free BBQ I was supposed to attend at 1 was over. I sat there for 15 more minutes before giving up. I walked back to the main street (King street) and found this little Mexican restaurant that reminded me of Chipotle. I was so excited to eat there, and I also grabbed a book from this secondhand store. I rode the bus back into Sydney and walked around downtown and central city, looking at all the shops and malls. I found myself in Victoria Square, which is a quite cool mall with heaps of shops. Once everything started closing down, I rode a bus back to Coogee and got ready for the next morning. I watched the rest of a stupid movie with Eva Longoria in it. I'd asked Jeff if he could take all my stuff since it was my last night at the hostel and he came around 11 to take it back to his place. Then I went to sleep.

My 4th day there, Monday, I woke up at 5 and got ready for a day trip to the Blue Mountains. I planned for being there an hour early in case I got lost, which was a good thing because I ended up getting there right on time. I took the wrong bus at one point and had to retrace my steps. Anyways, I finally got there and got on the bus which took us to this quaint little town for brekkie. After that we reached the Blue Mountains, were able to take some pictures from a scenic spot, and then headed down closer to explore. I rode this train-type contraption that's the steepest in the world, with Indiana Jones music playing in the background =). It was really short though, and when we reached the bottom we were in a National Park. I walked around, took way more pictures than I needed, and was asked if I was traveling alone. When I responded "yes" the guy told me "HAHA no one loves you!" and then walked away with his girlfriend/wife. I was like "um, nice, thanks jerk." UGH! I do NOT like traveling alone. It's boring. Anyways, I went off-trail at one point because I got bored with everything and had time to kill. Then I realized I probably shouldn't be going tramping around off-trail in Australia with all the deadly creepy-crawlies they have there. So I went back to the trail, rode this little gondola thing back up the mountain, and then ordered chicken nuggets for lunch. After eating we traveled back to Sydney and went to the Featherdale Wildlife Reserve, which was the best part of my entire trip! I got to see heaps of animals and the little wallabies hopped around freely. I fed a kangaroo and an emu and was able to pet a koala! It was a small place, actually, but still fun. We finally headed back after that and I searched around central city/downtown to find a hostel that was closer to Circular Quay. I thought about a hotel, but the cheapest room available at the first one I walked into was $100, and I was definitely not going to pay that for the next 4 nights. I finally found Westend Backpackers and got a good deal, 4 nights for the price of 3. The place was pretty shanty and not as nice as Central YHA, but oh well, Coogee hadn't been that good either. Anyways, I was in the room alone for the first night, so I read my book, watched Friends episodes on my computer, and finally went to bed around 11. I woke up the next morning to people moving in, which was slightly disappointing at first but ended up being really nice. They were both from England and had been traveling around Australia for the past few months. The mindset about travel in Europe and Australia and New Zealand is soo cool. I love it! They just randomly quit there jobs, get a work visa, and go travel to other parts of the world, "settle down" for a month or so when they're running low on cash, and then travel around again after. It's a really laid-back view and I love it. You don't really hear about people doing it that often in the States, and if you do, you're impressed and like "wow." Most of the people staying in my hostels were from Europe doing the same thing. It was just cool.

Anywho, I finally met up with Dan and Nick on the 5th day. I went and laid on the grass in the park, and we all figured out that Dan doesn't get my text messages until 3 hours AFTER I send them, which causes problems obviously. Anyways, I'd had a little mishap that morning because I freaked out thinking I'd lost my Debit Card, but then realized I was comparing the wrong cards and expiration dates (it's kinda a long, complicated story where basically I'm just a moron) and I found that I lost my New Zealand Vodofone sim card the day before. Great, I know. Anyways, Grandpa I'm sure you're not going to like the phone bill for last month....sorry bout that! Mom said she'd take it out of my account for me to pay you for it. Anyways, Nick, Dan and I finally met up and went to the Aquarium, which we'd heard "great" things about. It ended up being small and kinda lame, although it was the first one I'd ever been to so I enjoyed it. After that I rode with them back to Newtown (the place they were staying) and met the friends they were staying with. We had some pizza and then went and saw Harry Potter again in the IMAX theater, which is the BIGGEST IMAX IN THE WORLD! It was quite awesome even though I don't really like the movie. AND the first 15 minutes were in 3-D, so I felt like I was really in Harry Potter =). AWESOME! After that I walked back to my hostel and went to sleep.

On Wednesday, I met up with Dan and Nick in the morning (around 10) and we rode the ferry to Toronga Zoo. We got some beautiful pics of the Opera House and met this little couple that was visiting Sydney. They offered us free passes into the zoo on their cousin's zoo pass, since it included up to 4 people and they only had two. That way, we only had to split the cost of 1 ticket between the 3 of us. We gladly accepted and got to pretend we had a "mom and dad" in Sydney =). They were so cute and sweet and nice, I just loved them. Once in the zoo, we went separate ways, but it was still awesome. I regret not getting their names though, I would have loved to send them a Thank You somehow! The zoo ended up being fantastic! It was so much better and bigger than the aquarium, and we got to see heaps of animals again! I really loved it! I decided, however, that I will never take an infant to the zoo unless I have an older kid that can be excited and appreciate it. I saw heaps of couples with a baby no more than 1 year old. You cannot convince me that that baby will remember "going to the zoo when s/he was 1." Really? What a waste of money! I mean, maybe the parents like zoos I guess. If it was free or cheap, I could understand, but 1 ticket was around $40 if you didn't have a discount! That's just ridiculous. AND we also walked around the corner to see this little kid peeing/pooping in the bushes on the side! We all started cracking up! There were toilets within viewing distance to this kid and his mom, and she just said "hurry up before people see you!" Oh wow it was hilarious. Anyways, we followed them to a bird show, which was pretty cool. After that we finished walking around the zoo and then headed to Manly Beach. A bus driver told us it would only take us about 10 minutes to walk to the bus stop we needed to get to the beach, and it definitely took us 40. Ugh. When we finally got there, it was late in the afternoon and chilly. I would have been disappointed, except I had brought my book and had something to distract me. Nick (stupidly in my opinion) decided to go swimming anyways. Manly Beach also has the highest amount of shark attacks in Australia, and it was getting near dusk, which is when they feed. He's a genius I tell ya. Ugh. After riding the ferry back to Circular Quay, we all parted ways. I went out to eat by myself and then went to bed rather early again after hanging out with people from my hostel. The next day I was determined to go souvenir shopping, but it rained. I was disappointed because the morning looked like it was going to be really nice. I got lost (go figure) and walked around looking for downtown Sydney for a really long time, walking in the rain. I wasn't really happy at all. None of the souvenir shops I visited even had anything cool in them either. I finally found a relatively big one compared to the rest and gave up, grabbing a few souvenirs. I then walked back to my hostel, but on my way found a book store that was closing down and grabbed 2 books. Nick and Dan went to see the orchestra play that night at the Opera house, but I didn't want to spend $70 on a ticket for something I really am not interested in. If it had been an opera, I would have gone, since I really want to see one and why not see one at the world's most famous Opera House? But it wasn't, and I wasn't interested. Instead I hung out with people from my hostel again, got free pasta (which sucked of course) and watched the girls I'd made friends with sing Karaoke. At around 11:15 I went back to my hostel, packed everything up and talked with some of the other girls, and then went to bed.

The next morning I woke up early (5:30) and went to catch my shuttle. I was really tired because I hadn't slept well the night before. We didn't lay down to go to sleep til around 1:15, and I kept waking up and thinking that I'd missed the shuttle to the airport. When I finally got there, I'd been so bored with everything and traveling alone that I thought I'd have some fun on my last few hours in Sydney, and I started talking in a French accent. It worked well and people kept asking me where I was from =). I either avoided the question (a.k.a. acted like I didn't understand) or said "Paris." Haha it was fun. I checked in and found that my flight was delayed an hour, so I grabbed some brekkie and coffee and read. Dan and Nick met up with me after customs and I was able to catch up with them before boarding. On the plane I had a window seat and the other two seats to myself :)!!! It was glorious. I watched the stupid movie The Proposal with Sandra Bullock and stretched out, but couldn't fall asleep thanks to the coffee I'd drank. I decided on the plane that I was going on a diet when I got back to New Zealand, meaning no more sweets or caffeine. So far so good :). Anyways, after landing and getting back home, I unpacked and then talked to Joshua, which was nice since we hadn't really spoken at all in the past 2 weeks. After, I had friends from my program from Dunedin stay over, and I stayed up late chatting and catching up with them. It was SOOOO NICE to talk with girls again! I mean it was fine traveling with guys, sure, and its' better than traveling by yourself, but it's nice to have a group of girls that you really get along with and are comfortable around.

The next morning (Saturday now) we went to the market in central city Christchurch. It was a lot of fun and the market is always fun to be in. The girls needed to leave around 4 and dropped me off before heading back to Dunedin. I was able to talk to Joshua again (briefly) and then my flatmate Sara was home! We caught up and went grocery shopping together, and I don't remember what we did the rest of the night, but it was probably sleep. The next day I did a whole lot more of nothing but work out, then hung out with Sara and her friends as we all caught up after break.

This past Monday, the 7th of September, I went to class, talked to Marqui, and worked out. Yesterday I started research for my philosophy paper that I really don't want to or care to do. I absolutely abhor philosophy and couldn't care-less about it. I've never vehemently hated a subject in all my life. I hate it more than geometry even. UGH! Oh well...I ate pancakes for dinner last night (tuesday) and they were delicious! Then today (wednesday) I went to class, came back expecting to talk to Joshua, instead we rescheduled for tomorrow I guess, and am now going to work out and then finish this dumb paper. It's about color and whether it's inside us or outside us...I don't really care either way, it is what it is and you can't claim it's inside you because there's physicality to it and you can't claim it's outside you because how do you know what everyone else sees is the same as you? Just like how can you know if everyone else is conscious and not just zombies? See why I hate philosophy yet? It's dumb. K sorry for complaining and sorry to anyone that really enjoys philosophy...I'd rather just have my numbers thanks. I'll try to update more often and I'm sorry this is so long. Miss you all and hope you had a good Labor Day weekend!!!

PHOTOS!!!

Hey all! I will update you with Sydney stories soon, but I created a photo website as well through Shutterfly. Sorry if it's a hassle to check both sites, but it's much easier and quicker to upload them through Shutterfly than through this blog site. Hope you enjoy! The site is http://kansaspettit22photos.shutterfly.com.

Abel Tasman Trip Update!

All in all, this was a good trip. The weather sucked, but that just makes me want to go back again and explore when it's bound to be nicer out. I really enjoyed the short little "road trip" and the scenery was awesome, as always. I had plenty of time to reflect on things and talk to God, which was nice. I ruined and then lost my shoes, but that's really the only thing I have to complain about the trip. And that we didn't get to go black-water rafting. Major bummer. And that it rained. A LOT! Let me explain the trip though.


So, Day 1 of the trip, Saturday, was pretty fun and unplanned haha! We were supposed to leave at 9, but of course didn't until after noon sometime. We drove up to Nelson, about a 6 hour drive I think. Then we walked around trying to find a stinkin place to eat and directions to Marahau since we didn't really research anything like that at all. It was pretty fun. I went with 3 guys: Daniel, Patrick, and Nick. Patrick ended up being hilarious and we had fun the entire trip; he quickly became my outlet for laughter! The guys were pretty much on good behavior, besides the random "That's what she said" jokes, which I apparently set up perfectly. At one point I just stopped talking because every word that came out of my mouth was a perfect set-up. I guess it's good that I don't have my mind in the gutter all the time. Anyways, we ate at this little Italian place (we were sooo hungry) and Daniel found a piece of plastic in his salad, which wasn't cool. I had to call my flatmate Sara from the road to get directions to Marahau after, and Dan was in a pissy mood, but other than that it was fun. I learned to roll with the punches early... Anywho, that was Day 1. When we got to our hostel, we all got ready for bed and then talked for awhile before drifting off to sleep.



Day 2: We woke up, packed, and walked to meet the water-taxi that took us to a spot on Abel Tasman (we walked back to Marahau from this spot, a 4-day tramp/hike). On the way we got to see a seal eating an octopus, as well as heaps of seals sunbathing. It wasn't really sunny out though. Although it wasn't raining, so that was good. We finally started our tramp and hiked for about 3 hours or so I think, maybe longer. We reached an inlet-crossing, where you have to wait for tides to go out before you can cross. We waited for awhile, but it started getting dark, so I took off my shoes and decided to go barefoot. It was a bad idea; my feet got cut up by all the sea shells and such. Oh well. I had a peanut butter sandwich for dinner and an apple. Not very filling, but I found out that you can survive on nuts/dried fruit mix, a peanut butter sandwich, an apple, and an orange a day and get along fine. I was hoping I would lose weight, but I don't think I did. Disappointing. Anyways, that night we met 2 other American girls in our hut, played cards with them, and then went to bed at around 9. So boring I know. I did get stared at by a possum as I was brushing my teeth. That was slightly freaky; I tried to scare him but he wouldn't budge. Oh well. Dan and I slept in the hut and met some American girls traveling the South Island. We played a few games of Bull S*** with them before going to bed.



Day 3: When I woke up this morning, I found that the lining from one of my shoes had pulled away from the side and curled up, so I could barely get my foot in. It caused me to get even more blisters, which I was certain wasn't possible...I was wrong. Anyways, we woke up and got started around 9 (although we'd planned on 8, go figure) and then started walking in the rain. This was by far the worst day. We didn't play many games, it rained harder than ever, and then wind was added to the mix. It was completely miserable. The sun showed itself for a few glorious moments at one point, and then it went downhill after that. We really didn't speak much and tried to walk as fast as possible. My bag was the heaviest of all because I used Joe and Amy's sleeping bag, which was great at night cause it kept me warm but was ultra heavy. My pack had to weigh at least 50 lbs, and that's not an over-exaggeration. Plus, I carried the food that Daniel and I shared. My back and shoulders are still sore! And the pack was pretty much as big (tall) as me, so that didn't help either. Anyways, we finally made it, but we took a longer route because I downright refused to walk through any more inlets. It ended up taking us 4 hours, and it was the hardest part of the trail as well. We did get to stop and see Cleopatra's Pool, which is a really cool rock formation. We were unable to cross though because the river was overflowing due to the rain =). Oh joy! And we got to set our packs down too, which was AMAZING and I felt like I was floating! Anyways, we reached the hut pretty early, around 1 I think. I changed and then set my stuff to dry again. We had previously talked about going all the way back to Marahau because it was so miserable, but there was no way I would have made it. Then, the weather got extremely bad! It became a storm, with lightning and thunder that shook the entire hut. I thought we would have to abandon it at one point because I was certain it was coming down. It didn't though, thank goodness haha! I also learned that you can pass HOURS by doing absolutely nothing. It was soooo boring. We were all exhausted, Patrick ran out of food and went to bed at 4 in the afternoon, and the rest of us just sat. Literally. I thought about heaps of stuff, read this boring poster of New Zealand fish, etc. Then I got out my Bible, read a lot, and then grabbed a pen I'd brought and started doodling. I never knew you could just sit and pass time for the sake of passing time haha. Nick, Dan and I stayed up talking, and were joined by some Chilean (we think) women a little later who got pissed at the fact that we took up so much stove space ;)...oops! We talked about Harry Potter, and then I learned that Nick's dad had actually passed away this summer from cancer. It was pretty shocking and extremely sad...you just don't have words for that situation. I felt really bad for him; it sounded pretty rough. Anyways, he headed to bed around 8, and Dan and I stayed up talkin til about 10 and then tried to fall asleep, but the storm was sooo loud. Eventually, I did though...



Day 4: Today was our last tramp!!! We had 4 hours to go, and that's all I could tell myself. Plus, the storm blew itself out during the night, so of course it ended up being absolutely beautiful weather, around 65 and sunny. I was too happy it wasn't raining to be bitter! We all had a good time, and I got to lead, for once! We played 21 Questions again, and talked a lot, and just walked. I was tryin to book it, but about 1/4 of the way my feet started hurting soooo badly that each step was painful. I couldn't stop walking because I knew if I stopped, I wouldn't start again. We also reached a spot where there had been a landslide during the night, so we had to climb over mud and plants and trees to get on the other side of the path. New Zealand trails are just so much more "natural" with extremely few guard rails (if any) and stuff like that. Basically, the motto here is that if you mess up, it's your fault. I like it. Anwyays, I seriously considered walking barefoot about halfway, my feet had never hurt so bad in my life. We finally got back and I can't tell you how relieved I was! I just kept a rhythm in my head going of "ALMOST THERE ALMOST THERE ALMOST THERE" over and over! We finally reached the hostel we'd stayed at 4 nights ago, were able to shower (thank goodness) and then headed back to Nelson. I literally couldn't walk and had to buy new shoes...and then somehow between then and Christchurch my shoes got lost. I blame the boys, since they "rearranged" things in the back often. I was frustrated but I'm over it. Anyways, we then drove 4 hours after eating a REAL MEAL haha! We made it to Greymouth with not much problems. I was co-pilot today and Patrick drove. We had a ton of fun and laughed most of the trip. Once it got dark, the talk turned pretty philosophical and got kinda deep, and I kept my mouth shut for the most part because most of the words being used were way too big for me to try and follow (they were talking astro-physics). It was interesting. Anywho, we did hit a bird as well. Sad day. We made it finally (after turning into a road with a complete dead end) and stayed in the Penguin Room at this hostel known as Noah's Ark. I LOVED IT! Nick and Dan stayed up to watch The Mummy, but Patrick and I headed for bed. My head hit the pillow around 10 and I was out.


Day 5: Today Nick, Dan, and I woke up early and headed out to go black-water rafting. Basically, you get an inner-tube and are able to ride it down the river, and then you enter a cave where you have morning "tea and biscuits" before riding back out with the only light being that of the glowworms in the cave around you. It's supposedly a ton of fun, even in the winter. When we got there, we were given tons of clothes and wetsuits to put on in order to keep us warm and dry. Obviously it was slightly weird putting on long underwear that didn't belong to me, but whatever. It was raining all day and our guide was really cool. I can't remember his name now of course but we really liked him; he was pretty funny and we basically had a "private tour" since we were the only people scheduled =). We drove through some country and were stopped by feeding time for the cows, who stand in the middle of the road and refuse to move. When we got to the river, we followed our guide upstream to a specific point, and then jumped into our inner-tubes and rode downstream. There were heaps of natural waterfalls and such off the cliffs above us because of all the rain, and it was really fun! The only part of me that got wet and cold were my hands, and that's to be expected. Other than that, I was sweating in all the layers! Anyways, we reached the cave with no one falling out of their inner-tube (which I guess happens a lot) and got to ride this sled down a "natural slide" into the river! Then, we tried to go into the cave...but the water-level was way higher than normal and the current was sooo strong. We abandoned our inner-tubes and tried again. Me, being so short, got about two steps inside before my life-vest did its job and buoyed me up, including my feet, so that basically I was hanging onto the straps of our guide and Dan was trying to walk through the current and my flailing feet! It was absolutely hilarious and frustrating. I kept pushing myself down and tried sooo hard to keep my feet on the river bottom, but it was impossible. The river bottom wasn't firm anyways because of the current, and after 3 unsuccessful tries, our guide decided there was no way we could get into the cave :(. So, instead, we jumped off a little waterfall, with our guide waiting below to catch us haha! We warmed up after that with some hot chocolate, and then jumped off the side into a deep part of the river for one last "hoorah!" It was really fun despite the rain and our guide was so nice he gave us vouchers to come back again! YES!!!! So we get to do it all again!!!! I was really excited about that. When we got back to the place, we were all given muffins and drinks of our choice, and chilled in the hot tub. It was nice for awhile, then we got out, ate at McDonald's, and drove home. I actually drove! On the other side of the car and the other side of the road! It wasn't too hard at all honestly. It was very hilly since we went through the mountain range again, but there was always something breathtaking to see. When we reached high altitudes, however, the car didn't work as well....at one point I had the pedal on the floorboards and we were going up a mountain at a crawl! Then, of course, I pulled over and it started snowing. It just came down to the fact that uphill was bad for our little "budget" car, cause downhill we were cruisin! Anyways, by the end of 4 hours I was ready to be back in Christchurch, and I have this awful habit of not reading the FULL sign or not really reading at all even though I see it....it just doesn't click in my brain or something. I definitely saw the word "Christchurch" and pulled into the Christchurch prison haha! The guys all made fun of me and I was like "I just want to be back!!!!" Once we made it though, I did some laundry and then packed for Sydney, finally falling asleep way past the time I wanted to....

BREAK!!!!!!!! For 2 whole weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!

Friday: Today I did heaps of more nothing. I got up and Amy dropped me off for coffee. I called and talked to Dad (which I haven't done in forever), found out my loan money FINALLY came through (praise Jesus) and then came home to Skype with Joshua. It was sooo good to see his face and talk to him for a whole 2 hours!!! We haven't had the chance to do that in a long while, so it was good, especially right before I leave. And here are all the updates about my trip: tomorrow morning (Saturday) I leave at around 9 to go with Daniel, Patrick, and Nick on a tramping (hiking) trip. We are going up to Abel Tasman to do a Great Walk, which I'm really excited about! It's rated one of the top 3 in the world by some Traveler's Magazine, so I know it's going to be absolutely stunning. I'm looking forward to the long walks and getting into shape, as well as the beauty that I know will be constantly breathtaking. And we are planning on taking our time to enjoy every second of it! It's a coastal walk as well, which means we'll be right be the ocean and beach! AWESOME!!! Then, Wednesday night we are traveling up to Greymouth and going black-water-rafting. This is basically white-water-rafting, but in a cave! I know, how cool is that?! Amazing eh?! We depart that Thursday after the caving to head back to Christchurch, where I will have a night to pack all my crap and figure out how to get to the airport by 1 the next day, and probably catch up with Sara (my flatmate who I already missed because she left today) before we leave. Then I'm off to Sydney next week! I will definitely update this blog next week before I leave, but again I don't think I'm taking my computer to Sydney with me. I'm just a little nervous as I will be staying in a hostel most nights. Don't worry, it's an all-women's hostel and I will have my cell phone by my side every second and will not go ANYWHERE without telling someone. Jeff Rohalla, a friend from school, is studying in Sydney, so I will be meeting him there and most likely hanging out with him often. I checked the weather for Sydney already though, and during the day it's around the 80's!!! AWESOME!!!! Too bad I lost one of my swimsuits eh? Oh well, I still have one left (thankfully)!!!! I CAN'T WAIT FOR SOME BEACH!!! Anyways, I will be there until the following Friday, and then fly back to Christchurch. However, friends from Dunedin will be here in town upon my return and hopefully some of them will be chillin at my place with me! I'm really excited for that and to catch up with them (it'll be my first time hanging out with any girls in two weeks)!!!! They leave Saturday morning though and then it's back to writing an essay that I should have already done but don't care enough about because it's only 1000 words and a philosophy paper, so basically I just have to argue about whatever I want to argue about and throw in a bunch of crap about why the sky is blue and what color really means etc. etc. Pretty boring. Anyways, I'm off to bed now finally after packing and spending my day doing absolutely nothing besides reading and trying to feel better. I might have forgotten to mention I was sick, but I am. Oh the joys of spring!!! Goodnight all! Love and miss you!!!!!


Thursday: Today I did a bunch of nothing. I skyped with the girls again (Syd and Liz) and it was AWESOME!!! And I don't know if I mentioned the other day but I also got to chat with Jana on facebook, which was also amazing since I haven't talked to her since I've been here! I LOVE MY FRIENDS!!! They make me happy =). Anywho, I went to class too, although it was quite boring and pointless because no one was there really. Then I headed over to Joe and Amy's. Amy left out some burritos for me (I'm so thankful for them both) and then I chilled at their house since I didn't feel well all day. Plus, we were having a party at my flat (my flatmates did ask if it was ok, which was nice of them) but I decided against staying because I felt like crap. Joe and Amy were at another friends' house though, so I literally ate dinner and then read all evening. It was awesome. I went to bed kinda early (for me at least) and was tucked in around 1. It was a fantastic day that I definitely needed!

Almost to break!!!

Day 47, Wednesday: This morning I woke up, went to class, sat in a room alone for 20 minutes before I figured out that the class was probably canceled, came back and skyped with Syd and Liz!!! YAY!!!!!! AND because I was talking to them...I completely forgot to turn in my essay!!!! SUPER BAD!!! Instead, I went to workout and then ran to the store to grab some cookies to make for Sara (who's sick), and then remembered about my essay, emailed my Professor, ran books back to the library, came back and made dinner with Sara. We had meat sauce for spaghetti; it was delicious! And I made chocolate-chip cookies too, and then took a bunch of pictures from Tyler's stash of cool pics, and then I pretty much went to bed.


Day 46, Tuesday: I finished my essay last night! YAY! I woke up and studied, then went to class, then studied some more, then took my Art History test, which was ridiculously hard and I messed up the dates by like, a range of 2-3 years. Then I skipped my Philosophy class and revised my essay, procrastinated by watching Friends with Sara, then stayed up super late revising and editing my essay. That's about it. For real, my life's been revolving around this essay and my test.



Day 45, Monday: Today I went to class, then Sara and I went to Kathmandu, an awesome outdoors store here. However, our trip was unproductive, so we walked down to the library so Sara could get a few books for break...and they had none of the ones she wanted, so the trip was even more unsuccessful. BUT we got really good smoothies! Haha so that's good. Then I came back and typed my essay, went to class, went to PUMP, ran to the grocery store, came home and finished my essay. Boring life.

I WILL BE ON A PLANE HOME THIS TIME 12 WEEKS FROM NOW!!!

Day 44, Sunday: Today was a good day. I woke up and went to church with Joe and Amy, and then was able to hang out with them after for lunch as well. They had friends from Auckland down who have a 5 month old baby girl named Emily. I got to hold her and all I could think about was that Elly will be as big as that baby when I get home =(. But Emily didn't cry at all when I held her, so hopefully Elly won't hate me either! Anyways, we had burgers on the grill, which was soooo good because I've been craving a good burger since I got here! Then the boys played some games on the Wii before Amy and Joe dropped me off at the library to meet my flatmate, Sara. We wanted to grab a library card and some books to read over the break, and I was supposed to grab some books I needed for school. However, turns out I couldn't check the books I needed out, but it worked out because I've decided to write about a different topic anyways =). Probably NOT smart to change my essay topic when it's due in 3 days, but oh well. Then we went to Kathmandu, this awesome store here in New Zealand that is having huge sales right now...but it was closed. So it was pretty much a pointless trip into the city. When we got back, I changed and started reading and that's when I decided to change my essay topic. Also, I found out that I read about 4 chapters of the wrong book. Awesome. UGH haha! At around 8, heaps of people came over because my flatmate Hannah's friend brought over a chocolate fountain. All the friends that Sara and I invited didn't show, which just proves how lame they are because it was definitely a great night! We had strawberries, kiwi, New Zealand marshmallows (which are different than US), and other lollies and things, cantelope, and bananas to dip into the chocolate. It was delicious! And Sara and I made chicken marinated in Sweet Chili Sauce with Mango flavouring, and some pumpkin soup. It was delicious. However, if anyone reading this (I'm pretty sure no one does anymore) knows how to NOT burn/blacken the bottom of chicken when frying it, I'd really like to know. Because we burn/blacken the outside EVERY time we make chicken, which is kind of a lot. So if you could leave a comment under this post telling me how not to, that'd be great. Thanks! Anwyays, after that I went back to my room to do some more work, but as you can see I'm now updating this and therefore not doing work. I really have to go write my essay! UGH! So I'm off to bed now. I have an essay to write for Wednesday, a test Tuesday, and another essay due Thursday that I haven't even looked at. Although that one doesn't have to be turned in until after break, so I probably won't turn it in ;). New Zealand unis are awesome. I better get straight A's =). OH AND THE MOST FUN THING ABOUT TODAY!!!! MY FRIENDS ARE EMAILING ME AGAIN!!!!!! The FORCE have had an email going around for awhile now on facebook. I got tired of being the only one to ever really write in it so I stopped last week because I was bitter that none of them care. But, they're all going back to school now = no work = procrastination = more time to skype and email me!!! AND Jana is able to get on facebook again, and I'm sooo happy! I haven't heard from her since I got here! So, all in all, I'm glad my friends actually love me again and are soon going to be as bored as I am trying to procrastinate from work haha!!! Anwyays, I'm really off to bed now. Cheers!


Saturday: I studied today. I was going to go work out but woke up with a headache that started the night before, so I read books instead ;). I didn't write any of my essay because it's a history essay and I have to do LOADS more research than anyone else because I know nothing about New Zealand history at all! Not fun =(! Oh well though. After doing some work off and on and e-mailing Joshua, I headed over to the Palms to meet Amy and Joe. Joe went to a movie so Amy and I took Laine, one of the other couples' 1 yr old daughter. She's soooo cute and it was a lot of fun to get to play with her!!! Amy and I struggled to get the door unlocked at the house too, which was fun, and Amy ended up crawling through one of her windows to get in hahhahaa! It's a good thing she's so stinkin tiny cuz I would definitely NOT have fit through it haha! Anyways, Joe came home and then ran to get a couple of movies while Amy and I lounged on the couch and watched Friends episodes!!!!!!!! I always love hanging out with them because they make me forget about missing home! Plus, they're tons of fun of course! They've been sooo busy with church stuff though and having guests that we haven't really gotten to see a lot of each other, and so tonight was good to hang out and catch up. They think they have a place now, which is really exciting! I'm so happy for them! It's going to be awesome for sure, and it's a small place that they may have to expand on but it will work for the first couple of church sessions, which are only going to be once a month until February. Anyways, we had a good time and then I ended up going to bed super late, but it was still fun.


Friday: I TALKED TO MARQUI!!!!!!!! I LOVE HER!!!! It was really, really good to talk to her on Skype, and we got to see each other too! It definitely made my day and I didn't do any work because I ran out of time ;). Oh well. I also went to this cute little exercise class, and my instructor was Spanish and just adorable. I liked her a lot haha! She was just more informative than the other people have been and walked you through the steps. She also went around to make sure everyone was using the right technique, which would have been nice the first time I was there. AND she told you how much weight to use if it was your first time, which would have also been helpful for me since I'm awesome and did about 40 lbs. my first time and killed myself. Anyways, I booked plane tickets to Sydney...I'M GOING TO AUSTRALIA!!! I have a 2-week break after next week!!! Then I come back and only have 6 weeks left of classes! We get another week-long break before finals start after that too! So awesome eh?! Anyways, I think I'm going to go on a Great Walk over the first week of break and not spend money. It'll just be a lot of hiking for days on end, and some traveling on a bus! Then, I leave for Sydney on Friday, August 28th at 3 p.m. I'm soooo excited!!!!!! I'll be there until September 4th. I want to spend most of my time in Sydney, but I am going to try to take a train up to the Cairns on the Gold Coast and do a day of snorkeling and introductory scuba diving! I found a day-long trip that includes breakkie, lunch, and wine and cheese on the way home, all snorkel and diving gear, and an introductory snorkeling class so I don't have to have a license! I'm very excited and will probably spend 2-3 days up there, chilling on the beach and snorkeling whenever I want! It'll be awesome and I'll take HEAPS of pictures, I promise! Anyways, after talking to Marqui and planning my trip, I went to the Canterbury Rugby game with all the boys. It was a lot of fun! The guys are always fun to hang out with and I enjoy watching rugby. There's so much that I don't understand, so it's nice to try to figure things out. Plus, Canterbury completely smoked Waikoto, the other team haha! The final score was 39-14 or something I think. It was great. After that I came back and studied, and then went to bed early.


Thursday: I didn't do anything constructive today either. I picked up some books at the library to do my paper and Peter came over to do laundry. He almost broke the washer by putting too many clothes in it! But it's ok =). I went to class and then went to the gym to workout I think. I can't remember. I need to update this daily again so I stay on top of things!!! OH I WENT TO SPAGS!!! That's what I did today! I went to Spag's with the crew from Tuesday and we spent our $50 on pizza! It was really good and very fun. After, we played a game of Dutch Blitz at our place (and I almost won for the first time ever), and then we went to bed. I started some good reading for my paper and that's about it.


Wednesday: I did nothing too special today. I went into town and bought Canterbury Rugby tickets for Friday because Jane is in South Africa and still thinks I'm more responsible since I'm the only girl going. It's quite funny. Sara and I had dinner together I think, and I was supposed to talk to Joshua but it got too late for him, so our chat lasted very briefly. Definitely a bummer. Then I did some more of nothing; watched Friends because I've become addicted, and facebook stalked people of course, and finally made myself get off the computer and go to bed after spending some time in the Word. I've decided to read through Acts...I just felt like it would be good to have a more "mission-oriented" perspective on things here. That's about all.

Day 39 and updates since!!!!

Day 39: Tuesday, August 11, 2009

I don't think I'll ever get a "good" night's sleep here. Just not possible. I wake up so early here...every morning between 7:30-8. No lie. Oh well. So of course, this morning was no different...woke up at 7:30 when I'd gone to bed at 2. Ugh. I went back to sleep, or attempted to, only achieving a half-sleep half-dream state and waking up again at 8, 8:45, 9:30, and 10:30. I finally got up and moving at 10:30 since I didn't have class til 12 anyways. After class I was able to Skype with Grandpa, Uncle Dewey, Mom, Cody, Colton, and Kate (who I REALLY DON'T WANT WEARING MY CLOTHES MOM SERIOUSLY)!!!! It was really good to finally talk to them since I haven't in about 3 weeks now. I was supposed to Skype with Joshua but we rescheduled for tomorrow night instead, and it worked out great. I talked with them for awhile and was able to fill Grandpa and Uncle Dewey in on my life here and what I've been doing. I also made Mom watch the video of the Nevis Bungee, which is awesome and you can all watch if you so choose...It's not of me, because it would take me 9 hours to upload mine, but it's basically the same thing and shows what I did. I'll leave the site address on the bottom =). Anyways, that pretty much made my day!!! I went to class after talking to them and got back and made soup at 6. Then Sara, Nikki, Jayme, Daniel, and I went to a bar called "Fat Eddy's" where they have a "Quiz Night" at 8:30. Heaps of places actually hold Quiz Nights on Tuesday nights, actually. Anyways, it was really fun! We were pretty much the ONLY people there and competed against the bartenders and one other guy on his own team! We ended up winning the entire thing, which gave us $50!!! Hahahahaha it was a lot of fun...there were some other contests along the way, like choosing the best team name and such. We decided to spend the money on pizza at Spag's and have a date for Thursday before our game-night! It was heaps of fun and we plan on going every Tuesday now! After, Sara and I came back to find that our two girl flatmates, Emma and Hannah, are having a small party. They've been real sweet about it though and we're just hoping the place is cleaned up tomorrow cause we don't want to do it! Anyways, that's my life so far. Pretty boring. OH, I did get to talk to Maria today too!!!! It was really brief but such a blessing!!! Anyways, that's all. Goodnight!!!



Day 38: Monday, August 10, 2009

Today Sara woke up and bought us tickets to the All Blacks (national rugby team) game in Wellington on September 19th! I'm really excited! We are staying with some friends I know from Wellington and are making it a 4-day weekend since we don't have class on Fridays. It's going to be really fun! Anyways, I went to class at 10, then came back, went to the library with Sara, went to class at 4, and then went and worked out. I forgot that the gym I am going to is currently renovating its fitness center, so I did two classes instead of running like I'd planned. The first class was a cardio class and extremely fun actually. The second was PUMP and was even better....sorta. I think it was just because of my instructor. So, let me explain him. This guy walks in, and he's ripped, just massive, looks like a body-builder with his huge muscles and bald head. And he's wearing this red T-shirt that hits him right in the middle of his thighs with black athletic shorts on. However, the black athletic shorts are ridiculously short and therefore it looked as if he was wearing nothing but an over-sized T-shirt the whole time! I couldn't stop smiling about it and tried not to giggle too loudly. Anyways, after that I came back home to a dinner already made by Sara =). We had grilled chicken and pasta, and it was delicious! After that I came to my room to find that Joshua was on Skype at 3:30 a.m. there, talked to him for about 15 minutes, and then waited around until 9:30. Sara and I decided we needed to go get bread from the grocery store and spent 2 hours there pretty much. It was hilarious. AND they didn't have bread...so we bought stuff for our Thursday game-nights and stuff. They don't have chilli here though and we want to make chili-cheese dip this Thursday, so we're not sure how that's going to work out. Oh well. AND when we asked the ladies working there, they completely ignored us at first, and Sara and I just stood there really awkward like looking back at them, and they were talking about us as well, and then when the lady realized we were talking to her she seriously said "Oh my head was off with the fairies then eh? I'm so sorry girls!!!" It was so funny and sooooo awkward, I couldn't stop laughing and neither could Sara...probably a "had to be there" moment but still, hilarious none-the-less. Anyways, it was pretty late when we got back but Aaron had dropped off his laundry and had to come pick it up. He then sat and talked to us for another hour or so, before he left, only to text me once he got home at 12:30 claiming he had "female polka-dotted underwear" in his pile of laundry...hahaha! One of my flatmates...oops! I finally went to bed after that, but I continued to show Sara my amazing discovery about Aislinn (pronounces ASHlinn), the mentor or whatever for the Victoria students. She's this little blond, mid-twenties, very sweet and so nice, and absolutely gorgeous (no over-exaggeration). AND she River Dances...Professionally. Like, actually travels around with the International River Dance Team. It's insane. I stalked her on facebook and found out that she's a HUGE deal! She was the "Rose of Tralee" last year for New Zealand and went to Ireland to compete against about 30 other international Roses!!! INSANE!!! She even has her own YouTube video of her dancing...she's soooo good! I was really impressed because I had no idea about this at all. And the "Rose of Tralee" is somewhat like a pageant, except for the girls are of Irish descent and judged on personality and a series of interviews, not beauty. There is no "swimming-suit/evening gown contest" at all. And they also dance, of course. I was so excited to learn this and am so excited to hear her response when I question her on it. I just couldn't believe it! AMAZING! Ok, sorry if my stalkerish ways offend anyone...I get kinda bored over here sometimes during the week =).


Day 37: Sunday, August 9......

So today I didn't go to church...instead I woke up and walked all the way to the City Centre with Nikki and Jayme. It was an extremely pretty walk and only took us about 45 minutes. We went to the market where we met up with Sara who took a bus because she's training for a half-marathon and has bad feet. Anyways, it was a good day. We got to look at all the little shops at the market, eat some food, and souvenir shop. I paid $8NZ for some Chinese food and got a HUGE amount of food...I advise everyone to make sure they have someone to share it with cause it's heaps of good food! We also went to the souvenir shop where I gave in and bought myself a NZ fleece, which I love and have used every day since. The most interesting part of the day, however, was when these random men, about 6 I think, dressed in furs, faces painted all black, pointed beards and wearing these horn-type things went walking through the square carrying something covered in-between them all and whistling. There was absolutely NO EXPLANATION for this at all...completely random and hilarious. After that little episode, we walked into an arcade where Jayme succeeded in showing off her AMAZING DDR moves...it was intense and she was awesome!!! We walked home after that and Sara and I pretty much chilled in the flat the rest of the day, watching Friends episodes. And I watched Taken the night before, but I can't remember if I put that on here or not. Anyways, that was Sunday and it was a good day...