So I don't remember the count I had going anymore, but I'm back in Christchurch and I remember updating from the weekend. What follows are my activities since I've been here...:
Monday - I did nothing interesting most of the day. I got on here around 3 my time and figured out how to skype Sydney and Liz, who were both on! It was SOOOO GOOD to hear their voices and catch up with them! It made missing home a little easier knowing I could talk to them! I will be sooo relieved to get off that plane when this trip is finally over and see Joshua, my family and friends all waiting for me! I skipped class to talk to them a little longer, and I promise that I will never again miss another class, but I'm glad I did this type anyways :)...
Tuesday - Again, I went to class and that was about it. I sat at the library forever reading for classes and being bored. I chatted with Erinn for a bit on facebook and was able to catch up with her, but other than that not much happened. Later that night I went with Sara and some of her friends to Coffee Culture. I met a girl named Yuka (sp???) who's sense of humor reminds me of JiHy (sp???)! She's great and her and Nicole are hilarious together (they're flatmates). Anyways, Sara and I listened to the rowdiness above us before we tried to catch some shut-eye....
Wednesday (Today) - I have done nothing constructive. I went to class from 10-2, came back to my flat and made lunch, and now am sitting on the computer wishing people would be on Skype and being frustrated because no one is. I have nothing more to do today except sit on my butt and watch movies. I may run to a coffee shop tonight and do some reading, or I may be too lazy and instead will just sit here updating my blog and putting pictures up on facebook. Eventually, I will get all my pictures up on Snapfish as well, but I hate using the internet. That is my non-interesting day. Oh, New Zealand TV consists of all the crappy reality TV shows from MTV and a few New Zealand soap operas. It sucks. K I'm now done ranting thanks for reading :).
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
QUEENSTOWN TRIP!!!
To start with, I need to explain a few things/people. Here goes. I believe I've explained that Arcadia is a university in the States, but also has agreements with schools around the world to offer study abroad. In New Zealand, there are four main Universities that Arcadia offers study abroad programs at: Canterbury (me), Otago, Victoria, and Auckland. Each university also has a "student support coordinator" that lives in the same city as campus or possibly on campus. There is also a program director, who is in charge of EVERYONE within New Zealand, the boss of the bosses basically. Her name is Jane Gunn-Lewis, and she also happens to be the "director" for us Canterbury kids. However, she does not live in Christchurch but in Queenstown, and travels all over New Zealand for Arcadia. Then there's Shane, who's in charge of the Otago students, Aislinn for Victoria, and Kate for Auckland.
K, now on to the good stuff :). This past weekend was awesome and definitely what I needed.
After a fitful night of sleep where I kept waking up and thinking I'd missed the bus, I woke up to Joshua calling me at 5:55, 5 minutes before I wanted to get up :(. I hate waking up! Anyways, after chatting with him and his family for about 20 minutes, I got ready and headed for the corner of Ilam and Riccarton to meet the rest of my Canterbury Arcadians. They all made fun of me for bringing my suitcase, which I only brought because I decided to bring a sleeping bag. Not really sure why, but oh well. We had a LONG bus ride, about 6 hours, with only 2 stops. We got to Queenstown and met up with our Otago friends! It was great to see them again! We were split up into two lodges, each with 4 rooms and 4 bunk beds in each room. After putting our stuff in the rooms, we headed off to ride in a Gondola up a mountain in Queenstown. Queenstown is located south of Christchurch and is a huge tourist town. It is absolutely beautiful and in the middle of the Southern Alps. It's great for skiing, snowboarding, and tramping.
Anyways, we rode the gondola up the mountain and then each got 3 luge rides! It was so fun. Basically, you sit on these little rubber/plastic sleds that have bicycle-like handlebars to steer. Then you ride down these concrete tracks. It was soooo much fun! I tried to tip mine several times (which didn't work) but I did manage to almost fall out once (on accident) and could smell the rubber burning on the bottom from going around the corners too fast ;). It was so much fun though! After that, we rode back down the gondola, and a bunch of us bungee jumpers went to go sign up. This is where my weekend took a crazy turn...there were two separate bungee jumps offered. One is the Kawarau Bridge, which is cheaper, shorter, and the one shown on the Bachelor last season with Jason :). It's less scary too, obviously, and over a river where you can choose to get wet or not. The other jump is the Nevis and is the second highest jump in the world. It's over a huge ravine with a creek below, and is 234 meters high, or about 450 ft! I, naturally, wanted to do the bridge. However, when signing up, I was surrounded by all the guys and was completely pressured into "go big or go home." I was also under the impression that NO ONE else was doing the Bridge and didn't want to be the ONLY loser chickening out and doing the little one. So I gave in and signed up for the Nevis. After that, I learned that there WERE people doing the bridge, just not very many, and that everyone else not bungee jumping would be at the bridge to cheer people on. Great. I was so mad, and I blamed the boys the whole weekend...
Anyways, that night we didn't do much. A heap of us made pasta and frozen pizzas for dinner and split it, so dinner was about $4 (way cheap!). Then I hit the sack, and I was so thankful that I brought my sleeping bag because our sheets were dirty in our room and the comforters smelled HORRIBLE...I won't go into detail.
The next day we all woke up early. We were split into two groups again: our options were either tramping or snowboarding/skiing. I chose tramping with most of the other kids and we headed to a new tramp site that Jane had never tried before. We were originally supposed to do an 8 hour tramp up a mountain, but it was closed because they were poisoning the opossums. The trail was supposed to take about 2.5 hours up and 2 hours down, and we were going to eat lunch at the top. We all started with Jane in the lead, who is the most fit 50 year old woman EVER (she skis almost every day), and we ended up finishing a small portion within 20 minutes that should have taken us 40. Woah. After that, the trek was pretty much uphill, and it kept getting steeper and harder. I got to a point where I refused to stop because I was afraid I wouldn't start again, and I was pushing off my legs with my arms in order to keep going! We saw heaps of dead opossums, and the trail got to the point that only single file was possible. The scenery, however, was breathtaking in itself. We drank from a natural spring (Dad, I know you'd be proud), and finally made it to the top after shedding pretty much all of our layers. The coolest part was that, if you slipped, you were going down and there was no stopping. It was a blast though. After reaching our destination, which was a day hut called "Bonnie Jean," we all started putting our layers back on (it was quite cold) and sat down to enjoy the view and eat lunch. Some of the guys decided to tramp all the way to the top, but I was way too sore already. After everyone got there and the boys made it back to us, we started the trek down, which was much easier for me than up. Nothin like a tramp up a mountain to show you how outta shape you are :)! After tramping, we all showered and got ready for dinner. We went out for pizza and had this awesome desert apple pizza that was delicious. Karie, Malia, Dan, Barrie, Rachael, and I went for a short walk, ended up at a cozy little bar where I almost fell asleep. We decided to go back and wait til 10 to go out and sat around and talked til then, but I couldn't muster enough energy to go out and went to bed at 11 instead.
The next morning we layered up and went jetboating!!! It's this awesome boat that can go through 4 inches of water since most of it is above water, and it goes an average 85-90 miles per hour! I wish I could have taken my camera, but we did 360s and such and got wet, so cameras were a no-go. But if you google "new zealand jetboating" it shows what we did. It was gorgeous and we were sooo close to hitting the giant rocks it was unbelievable! The whole time, all I could think of was how much my dad would love it, so I've decided that if I ever have the means to do it, we're taking a trip to New Zealand for him to experience some of this stuff! After that, reality set in that I was going to literally jump off a platform 450 feet in the air with nothing but a rope attached to me, and I got extremely nervous! We grabbed coffee at Starbucks and then checked in for bungee jumping. I was able to get on the internet for a few minutes before our bus left. We had a 45 minute ride out to the platform and plenty of time for me to freak out. Once there, we got strapped up and then headed out to the platform...it was so scary. I was freaking out, got really quiet, and then started projecting my anxiety into making sure that the people knew us Canterbury kids HAD to be on the 2:30 bus back because our other bus was leaving at 3:15, and if we missed it we were in trouble. The jump is set up so that each rope has a weight range, so the heaviest people went first. This meant that I was to go last, however, and that just was not possible for me and I was flipping. Once they switched cords and I'd watched most of the guys jump, I was up first. I really think they just wanted to shut me up since I was freaking out so much, but oh well, it worked ;). I sat down in this dentist/gyno looking chair and my ankles were strapped onto the bungee. Then the walk to the edge was the hardest thing ever. I was afraid my knees were going to give out. I kept telling the guy that I really didn't think I could do this, and I also told him I might pee my pants. At that, he said to make sure I pulled the black string that would allow me to sit upright so the flow didn't go down my face...funny eh? Anyways, I got to the edge, was trying not to look down, felt like throwing up, and he goes "3, 2, 1" and then I jumped!!!! It was AWESOME!!!! I can't even put it into words!!!! I was just falling it was so intense! And then I bounced back up, tried to pull the string but couldn't get it out all the way, and then i just hung there upside down looking at the water below and thinking "OH MY GOSH I REALLY JUST DID THAT" the whole time! It really helps to have people cheering you on! I finally was able to yank the black cord and sit up and enjoy the view as they brought me up. It was the most intense feeling ever! Very comparable to Joshua asking me to marry him, though slightly different :)! I still am on a high whenever I think about it and totally want to do it again!!!
Anyways, after that I didn't care if we missed the bus or not. I tried to talk to Joshua on Skype offered at the bungee place, but it didn't really work out too well. Tonya had answered and once she figured out how to work it I had to go :). Anyways, we made the bus with plenty of time to spare and then settled in for a nice long bus ride home. I met my new flatmate, Sara Young, who is awesome as well and then went to bed. What a crazy AMAZING day!!!!!!
K, now on to the good stuff :). This past weekend was awesome and definitely what I needed.
After a fitful night of sleep where I kept waking up and thinking I'd missed the bus, I woke up to Joshua calling me at 5:55, 5 minutes before I wanted to get up :(. I hate waking up! Anyways, after chatting with him and his family for about 20 minutes, I got ready and headed for the corner of Ilam and Riccarton to meet the rest of my Canterbury Arcadians. They all made fun of me for bringing my suitcase, which I only brought because I decided to bring a sleeping bag. Not really sure why, but oh well. We had a LONG bus ride, about 6 hours, with only 2 stops. We got to Queenstown and met up with our Otago friends! It was great to see them again! We were split up into two lodges, each with 4 rooms and 4 bunk beds in each room. After putting our stuff in the rooms, we headed off to ride in a Gondola up a mountain in Queenstown. Queenstown is located south of Christchurch and is a huge tourist town. It is absolutely beautiful and in the middle of the Southern Alps. It's great for skiing, snowboarding, and tramping.
Anyways, we rode the gondola up the mountain and then each got 3 luge rides! It was so fun. Basically, you sit on these little rubber/plastic sleds that have bicycle-like handlebars to steer. Then you ride down these concrete tracks. It was soooo much fun! I tried to tip mine several times (which didn't work) but I did manage to almost fall out once (on accident) and could smell the rubber burning on the bottom from going around the corners too fast ;). It was so much fun though! After that, we rode back down the gondola, and a bunch of us bungee jumpers went to go sign up. This is where my weekend took a crazy turn...there were two separate bungee jumps offered. One is the Kawarau Bridge, which is cheaper, shorter, and the one shown on the Bachelor last season with Jason :). It's less scary too, obviously, and over a river where you can choose to get wet or not. The other jump is the Nevis and is the second highest jump in the world. It's over a huge ravine with a creek below, and is 234 meters high, or about 450 ft! I, naturally, wanted to do the bridge. However, when signing up, I was surrounded by all the guys and was completely pressured into "go big or go home." I was also under the impression that NO ONE else was doing the Bridge and didn't want to be the ONLY loser chickening out and doing the little one. So I gave in and signed up for the Nevis. After that, I learned that there WERE people doing the bridge, just not very many, and that everyone else not bungee jumping would be at the bridge to cheer people on. Great. I was so mad, and I blamed the boys the whole weekend...
Anyways, that night we didn't do much. A heap of us made pasta and frozen pizzas for dinner and split it, so dinner was about $4 (way cheap!). Then I hit the sack, and I was so thankful that I brought my sleeping bag because our sheets were dirty in our room and the comforters smelled HORRIBLE...I won't go into detail.
The next day we all woke up early. We were split into two groups again: our options were either tramping or snowboarding/skiing. I chose tramping with most of the other kids and we headed to a new tramp site that Jane had never tried before. We were originally supposed to do an 8 hour tramp up a mountain, but it was closed because they were poisoning the opossums. The trail was supposed to take about 2.5 hours up and 2 hours down, and we were going to eat lunch at the top. We all started with Jane in the lead, who is the most fit 50 year old woman EVER (she skis almost every day), and we ended up finishing a small portion within 20 minutes that should have taken us 40. Woah. After that, the trek was pretty much uphill, and it kept getting steeper and harder. I got to a point where I refused to stop because I was afraid I wouldn't start again, and I was pushing off my legs with my arms in order to keep going! We saw heaps of dead opossums, and the trail got to the point that only single file was possible. The scenery, however, was breathtaking in itself. We drank from a natural spring (Dad, I know you'd be proud), and finally made it to the top after shedding pretty much all of our layers. The coolest part was that, if you slipped, you were going down and there was no stopping. It was a blast though. After reaching our destination, which was a day hut called "Bonnie Jean," we all started putting our layers back on (it was quite cold) and sat down to enjoy the view and eat lunch. Some of the guys decided to tramp all the way to the top, but I was way too sore already. After everyone got there and the boys made it back to us, we started the trek down, which was much easier for me than up. Nothin like a tramp up a mountain to show you how outta shape you are :)! After tramping, we all showered and got ready for dinner. We went out for pizza and had this awesome desert apple pizza that was delicious. Karie, Malia, Dan, Barrie, Rachael, and I went for a short walk, ended up at a cozy little bar where I almost fell asleep. We decided to go back and wait til 10 to go out and sat around and talked til then, but I couldn't muster enough energy to go out and went to bed at 11 instead.
The next morning we layered up and went jetboating!!! It's this awesome boat that can go through 4 inches of water since most of it is above water, and it goes an average 85-90 miles per hour! I wish I could have taken my camera, but we did 360s and such and got wet, so cameras were a no-go. But if you google "new zealand jetboating" it shows what we did. It was gorgeous and we were sooo close to hitting the giant rocks it was unbelievable! The whole time, all I could think of was how much my dad would love it, so I've decided that if I ever have the means to do it, we're taking a trip to New Zealand for him to experience some of this stuff! After that, reality set in that I was going to literally jump off a platform 450 feet in the air with nothing but a rope attached to me, and I got extremely nervous! We grabbed coffee at Starbucks and then checked in for bungee jumping. I was able to get on the internet for a few minutes before our bus left. We had a 45 minute ride out to the platform and plenty of time for me to freak out. Once there, we got strapped up and then headed out to the platform...it was so scary. I was freaking out, got really quiet, and then started projecting my anxiety into making sure that the people knew us Canterbury kids HAD to be on the 2:30 bus back because our other bus was leaving at 3:15, and if we missed it we were in trouble. The jump is set up so that each rope has a weight range, so the heaviest people went first. This meant that I was to go last, however, and that just was not possible for me and I was flipping. Once they switched cords and I'd watched most of the guys jump, I was up first. I really think they just wanted to shut me up since I was freaking out so much, but oh well, it worked ;). I sat down in this dentist/gyno looking chair and my ankles were strapped onto the bungee. Then the walk to the edge was the hardest thing ever. I was afraid my knees were going to give out. I kept telling the guy that I really didn't think I could do this, and I also told him I might pee my pants. At that, he said to make sure I pulled the black string that would allow me to sit upright so the flow didn't go down my face...funny eh? Anyways, I got to the edge, was trying not to look down, felt like throwing up, and he goes "3, 2, 1" and then I jumped!!!! It was AWESOME!!!! I can't even put it into words!!!! I was just falling it was so intense! And then I bounced back up, tried to pull the string but couldn't get it out all the way, and then i just hung there upside down looking at the water below and thinking "OH MY GOSH I REALLY JUST DID THAT" the whole time! It really helps to have people cheering you on! I finally was able to yank the black cord and sit up and enjoy the view as they brought me up. It was the most intense feeling ever! Very comparable to Joshua asking me to marry him, though slightly different :)! I still am on a high whenever I think about it and totally want to do it again!!!
Anyways, after that I didn't care if we missed the bus or not. I tried to talk to Joshua on Skype offered at the bungee place, but it didn't really work out too well. Tonya had answered and once she figured out how to work it I had to go :). Anyways, we made the bus with plenty of time to spare and then settled in for a nice long bus ride home. I met my new flatmate, Sara Young, who is awesome as well and then went to bed. What a crazy AMAZING day!!!!!!
Day 20: Bad Day :(
Today was a really awful day for me. I'm going to just sum it up by saying that I had a meltdown this morning and was ready to throw in the towel and come home. Literally. I got overwhelmed by the financial situation I'm in, the flat I'm in, the people I can't seem to relate to at all, the fact that I'm half a world away and spending money I don't have, and finally because I have NO IDEA why I am here. It all got to me today and I broke down. I even went so far as to email my program director, Jane, and ask about withdrawal fees and such. I just hit a really low point and had no desire to do anything or see or talk to anyone either...HORRIBLE feeling.
Anyways, after my freak-out, I got a call about 5 minutes later from the office telling me I could move that day. Completely out of the blue and not what I expected at all, since I was under the impression I would have to wait quite awhile and possibly not moving at all. But God works in mysterious ways I guess. I spent the next hour packing, then ran to town briefly before moving all my crap into my new (and thankfully still empty) flat. Another American girl named Sarah will be moving in tomorrow, but I am leaving for a weekend trip to Queenstown with Arcadia and won't meet her until Sunday. So hopefully, we'll see how it goes.
Another refreshing moment was when I opened my Bible to Jeremiah (which I've never read) and came across verse 17 in chapter 32. It reads "Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you!" It was definitely what I needed to get through that day, as well as Joshua's encouragement. He encouraged me that I could do this, and that I would regret it if this was the one thing I ever gave up on. He also reminded me that, once I finish here, I'm completely done with school and will have a heads up on job hunting since I'll be done before most everyone else graduating in December. Talking to him was awesome, and of course he told me everything I needed to hear. So thanks baby :).
Anyways, I do have a washer and dryer here, so I'm off to finish some much-needed laundry and then to bed. I leave tomorrow morning at 7 for Queenstown, and it's a trip I'm looking forward to! Goodnight!
Anyways, after my freak-out, I got a call about 5 minutes later from the office telling me I could move that day. Completely out of the blue and not what I expected at all, since I was under the impression I would have to wait quite awhile and possibly not moving at all. But God works in mysterious ways I guess. I spent the next hour packing, then ran to town briefly before moving all my crap into my new (and thankfully still empty) flat. Another American girl named Sarah will be moving in tomorrow, but I am leaving for a weekend trip to Queenstown with Arcadia and won't meet her until Sunday. So hopefully, we'll see how it goes.
Another refreshing moment was when I opened my Bible to Jeremiah (which I've never read) and came across verse 17 in chapter 32. It reads "Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you!" It was definitely what I needed to get through that day, as well as Joshua's encouragement. He encouraged me that I could do this, and that I would regret it if this was the one thing I ever gave up on. He also reminded me that, once I finish here, I'm completely done with school and will have a heads up on job hunting since I'll be done before most everyone else graduating in December. Talking to him was awesome, and of course he told me everything I needed to hear. So thanks baby :).
Anyways, I do have a washer and dryer here, so I'm off to finish some much-needed laundry and then to bed. I leave tomorrow morning at 7 for Queenstown, and it's a trip I'm looking forward to! Goodnight!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Day 19: PRAYING FOR PATIENCE!!!
There are four days til Ev's birthday! I have no idea what to get him, but it's going to count as both a souvenir and a birthday present bro, sorry :).
Anyways, a pretty boring day...I went to my only class at noon after skyping mom and the kids briefly. Then I ran back to my room to grab a bite to eat and then went to go get on the bus to go to my tutorial at the Arts Gallery in the city centre...unfortunately, I jumped the gun on the bus and got on the wrong one! I rode for over an hour in the completely wrong direction and got motion-sickness from reading to try to distract myself. Lovely. I finally got on the right bus and made it to the Arts Gallery, where I chatted with a Psychiatrist Professor on Sabbatical and his sister, both originally from England, but the sister lives both in England and France. He is a teacher at a college in San Diego, California. It was a fairly brief conversation, but it broke the monotony of the day and was good to have some human interaction with such an interesting man. He said he'd just been from Australia, and also visited India and rode down the Nile in Egypt. AWESOME! Anyways, I stood around staring at pictures for my tutorial, then walked down to the Central library and used their internet. Apparently, they put a limit on how much you can use, and I used all of it in about an hour. Whoops. Then I realized I was going to be way late for my tramping club meeting, so I grabbed a bite to eat at KFC (I know how American right?) and rode the bus back. I was so late that I didn't end up going to the meeting, but came back to my room hoping to settle down with a good movie and some hot tea. However, my cup is missing, one I specifically bought so I wouldn't have to share with my flatmates. Selfish, yes, but I'm beyond the point of caring. So, I'm rather irritated at that, and the fact that I still can't move! AND my new cell phone keeps telling me I have no credit even though I paid an extra $20 for credit!!! UGH!!! So, the mixture of everything negative has finally gotten to me today and I'm extremely close to the edge of a meltdown, which I have thus far held off. It's 8:45 exactly, so I'm just going to pop in a movie and let the rest of the night disappear. If you're in the mood to pray, please pray that my living situation gets moving ASAP and that I can be out of this place and somewhere that I'm actually comfortable moving around in!!! Oh, and did I mention that my flatmates have a TON of people over tonight and I have an 8 a.m.? Awesome. Ok, forgive me for complaining and being negative. Now that's all out, I'm done. But at least on here, if you don't want to read it, then don't. I can release the stress by typing it though. Ok, off to a movie and bed. Hopefully my mug will turn up soon...sweet dreams everyone! Love and miss you all!
Anyways, a pretty boring day...I went to my only class at noon after skyping mom and the kids briefly. Then I ran back to my room to grab a bite to eat and then went to go get on the bus to go to my tutorial at the Arts Gallery in the city centre...unfortunately, I jumped the gun on the bus and got on the wrong one! I rode for over an hour in the completely wrong direction and got motion-sickness from reading to try to distract myself. Lovely. I finally got on the right bus and made it to the Arts Gallery, where I chatted with a Psychiatrist Professor on Sabbatical and his sister, both originally from England, but the sister lives both in England and France. He is a teacher at a college in San Diego, California. It was a fairly brief conversation, but it broke the monotony of the day and was good to have some human interaction with such an interesting man. He said he'd just been from Australia, and also visited India and rode down the Nile in Egypt. AWESOME! Anyways, I stood around staring at pictures for my tutorial, then walked down to the Central library and used their internet. Apparently, they put a limit on how much you can use, and I used all of it in about an hour. Whoops. Then I realized I was going to be way late for my tramping club meeting, so I grabbed a bite to eat at KFC (I know how American right?) and rode the bus back. I was so late that I didn't end up going to the meeting, but came back to my room hoping to settle down with a good movie and some hot tea. However, my cup is missing, one I specifically bought so I wouldn't have to share with my flatmates. Selfish, yes, but I'm beyond the point of caring. So, I'm rather irritated at that, and the fact that I still can't move! AND my new cell phone keeps telling me I have no credit even though I paid an extra $20 for credit!!! UGH!!! So, the mixture of everything negative has finally gotten to me today and I'm extremely close to the edge of a meltdown, which I have thus far held off. It's 8:45 exactly, so I'm just going to pop in a movie and let the rest of the night disappear. If you're in the mood to pray, please pray that my living situation gets moving ASAP and that I can be out of this place and somewhere that I'm actually comfortable moving around in!!! Oh, and did I mention that my flatmates have a TON of people over tonight and I have an 8 a.m.? Awesome. Ok, forgive me for complaining and being negative. Now that's all out, I'm done. But at least on here, if you don't want to read it, then don't. I can release the stress by typing it though. Ok, off to a movie and bed. Hopefully my mug will turn up soon...sweet dreams everyone! Love and miss you all!
Day 18 and a half: Christchurch, Tuesday Night, 21st July
I never finished last night. So here goes now: I met my friend Daniel, and we rode a bus to the city center. Apparently I called Mom on this bus ride from my cell phone, multiple times; sorry for the roaming charges Grandpa! Anyways, I wore new flats, and it ended up being a horrible idea. I got us lost, all turned around and confused, and ended up with multiple blisters all over my feet. When we finally got to the Arts Centre (45 minutes later), we couldn't figure out how to get INTO the Great Hall!!! We spent an extra 15-20 minutes walking around and through the courtyard (the Arts Centre is a block of connected buildings with a courtyard in the middle), and we finally got in over an hour late! We got to hear the last 5 minutes or so, and then it was Intermission, haha! A plus was that we got to walk around downtown Christchurch and found it to be extremely pleasant. And, it was a warm night, only about 60 degrees. Anyways, it was the Canterbury orchestra, and it wasn't that great. Really. Oh well. After that, we rode the buses back home and I met Amber and Victoria. Amber's parents are missionaries in Nairobi, Kenya!!! I was extremely excited to find someone who shares both my passion for Africa and Christ! She's pretty and petite and studying to be a teacher, and she wants to do missionary work with her degree, which I thought was awesome, of course. Victoria is a bio major, is planning on getting her PhD (I was blown away) and then work for the government in biotechnology! CRAZY! Anyways, after that I came home and went to bed. All's well!
Monday, July 20, 2009
Day 18: Christchurch, Tuesday, 21st July
Today's a bad day so far. I had a fitful night of sleep and couldn't tell you why. I found out that I can't move into the flat I really wanted to because the other two girls now like where they are and don't want to move. I might ask if I can just move in and let people filter in around me, since I really do despise where I'm living and just want to get out. That and last night pretty much put a damper on my day today. At least it's nice out I guess (60's today). I joined a tramping club and a kayaking club, which is sweet. They're going to teach me how to kayak, which I'm excited about. I think I should be in class right now, but I'm not sure where it is or if tutorials start this week or not. If so, I missed the first one. Awesome. And I bought a sim card, but last night it said I didn't have any prepay amount on it, which is a lie since I paid $20 extra for some amount to be put on it. I think I'm going in tomorrow to complain. AND I really want to put the sim card in my phone, but forgot to unlock it when I was in America, so now I have no idea if I can even use it or not. All in all, it's a pretty crappy day.
Anywho, I've decided from now on, I'm going to avoid my apartment as much as possible. I did get to meet up with some of the guys from Arcadia, and we're all excited about this weekend. It will be good to get away and to have stuff planned for us, and to meet up with our Otago students. I'm going to try skiing I think since it's free, and some of the guys said they'd try to teach me how, which should be interesting. Maybe I'll try snowboarding first. Who knows. As for the rest of tonight, I get to go sit through two more hours of class, then grab a quick bite to eat before I go watch the orchestra play. Hopefully the day gets better as time goes on. I'll let everyone know later tonight...
Anywho, I've decided from now on, I'm going to avoid my apartment as much as possible. I did get to meet up with some of the guys from Arcadia, and we're all excited about this weekend. It will be good to get away and to have stuff planned for us, and to meet up with our Otago students. I'm going to try skiing I think since it's free, and some of the guys said they'd try to teach me how, which should be interesting. Maybe I'll try snowboarding first. Who knows. As for the rest of tonight, I get to go sit through two more hours of class, then grab a quick bite to eat before I go watch the orchestra play. Hopefully the day gets better as time goes on. I'll let everyone know later tonight...
Day 17: Christchurch, Monday, 20th July
Hello. So, today's been another up-and-down day. I woke up extremely early, laid in bed and was lazy, checked Skype and the internet, then actually started moving for the day. Around 11:30 I went to Riccarton Mall where I bought a sim card so I actually have a means of communicating with the people around me, found some leggings (yes Morgan I gave in) and made the decision that I'm no longer going to the mall here. It makes me want to spend money, and I don't have that so I'm not going there anymore. Unless it's to meet Amy or something. Anyways, I wasn't able to move into the new flat today either, so I came back and Skyped with Joshua for a little while. I got to see Marqui too, which was really good cuz I haven't seen a single one of my friends since I've been here, besides the pictures I have up that don't count since they're not real-time. I got to talk to Joshua a little more before I had to leave for class, which was extremely boring and hard for me to stay awake in. After that, I came home and ate some leftover spaghetti, and I just remembered that I had leftover pizza at Daniel's from last night and was going to eat that for dinner. Maybe tomorrow?! Anyways, I watched Love Actually tonight, and it made me happy. I just got explaining to the girls how the first scene makes me think of coming home. I can't wait to step off that plane and into the airport, greeted by friends and family that I've desperately missed! It will be so good to get to see Joshua in the flesh, and hug him and everyone else, and getting to REALLY see people will be great as well, instead of through the computer. The movie made me realize that some people are separated from their families and friends for even longer periods of time, or for different circumstances than I'm in now. I guess some are just braver than I am; I at least came to a city where I knew two people. Many of the kids I've talked to also left behind boyfriends and girlfriends and came here knowing noone at all. I guess I just realize that it could be worse; I am making friends and I am finding stuff to do. I've decided to join a gym here too, which will also take up time with different classes and such. Anyways, I'm off to bed now and am excited for tomorrow. It's Club Day on campus here, which is kind of similar to Quad Day at U of I. There will be lots of free stuff and clubs to join up for, which will help me to fill my time slots (which is much needed). I am definitely joining the "tramping" (hiking) club here, and will see about any others offered tomorrow. It'll be a good way to get to explore the South Island with others, and I think a couple of the guys from Arcadia are joining it as well. Then, tomorrow night, I think I'm going to see the Canterbury Orchestra play, which I'm excited about as well. So, I'm expecting tomorrow to be a good, long day, that will keep me occupied and my mind off how far away I am. Until then, goodnight and cheers! Miss you all!
Oh, and please continue to pray for venue options for Amy and Joe's church. And Joshua, it's the other pronunciation you asked me about, not the one I told you. I asked this weekend :).
Oh, and please continue to pray for venue options for Amy and Joe's church. And Joshua, it's the other pronunciation you asked me about, not the one I told you. I asked this weekend :).
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