Last Few Days in NZed and back in MA

Finals were terrible. Especially when they were worth 70% of the final grade.  In between studying for these finals I was able to have a wee bit of fun.  Amy and I went on the hunt for the Pineapple track, which she was previously unable to find. We found it and climbed up to oversee Dunedin, it was a beautiful and clear day so we got a great view of the city.  Later that week we had a goodbye party for Amy who was the first person to leave us.  After saying good-bye to Amy on the 17th, Jane came to say a final goodbye to all the Arcadianz and buy us all a hot chocolate.  So it was a little bit of an emotional day with all the farewells and I still had to study for my last 2 finals! I got together with classmates to  do some last minute cramming and finally they were over! And to celebrate the end of finals I packed. Packing was extremely depressing because I did not want to leave my flat or the amazing country, but I did not have a choice because my visa was running out.  After packing and going out to dinner with Alexis, we all met up at Cat and Colyer's flat for some fun, music and storytelling about all of our adventures.  Then all of a sudden it was June 20th and it was time to leave our flats.  We had to be out of our flats at 10am, though our flight out of Dunedin was not until 5:10pm. So we had some time to kill before the shuttle picked us up at 3:30pm.  Our flight ended up being delayed 2 and 1/2 hours, which strained our time to make the connecting flight in Auckland to go back to the USA. They ended up having to hold the flight in Auckland for the 20 of us that needed to be on that flight.  The flight did not seem as long this time, maybe I was just more entertained sitting next to Nikki, Alexis, and Nia, or was it that I watched more movies, or slept longer than 2 hours.  Once landing in LAX we went through customs somewhat easily and had a 6 hour layover before the "night" flight (night for america, day for me) back to Boston.  My friend from Arcadia and my flatmate were on the same flight back, so I was not completely bored.  Finally after traveling for about 3 days, or so it felt like it, I was back in MA.  I thought I was going to sleep a little before starting my first day back, but I ended up staying awake and going for a walk to reacquaint myself with the town.  I then met up with my Best Friend Charlotte and went to Panera for lunch.  New Zealand does not have Panera and I really missed it.  After lunch and a little shopping at Target, I got home and took a 6 hour nap, then 3 hours later went to bed.  I guess not sleeping on the planes helped me adjust to the time here better.  Have not felt much jet lag since getting back, but it has not been an easy adjustment back here either. I had a party with my friends last night and it was great seeing everyone and telling them stories from NZ.  It just feels weird being back in the States, but it also feels like I never left and NZ is only a dream.   Hopefully I will start work soon that will help keep my mind off of how much I miss NZ and my friends I made there.

The Last Outing in Dunedin

Final Farewells

The Monday after we returned from the Kepler track I had my last Neurophysiology lecture and lab. It was a fun lab on the senses of taste, hearing, and the vestibular system.  Later that night Arcadia had the Farewell dinner for everyone.  The dinner was at an amazing Italian restaurant, that I wish I could go to again but it is fairly expensive.  At the dinner the winners of the photo competition were announced.  Guess who one the best picture for the people category and overall best pictures, that's right! This lady, right here currently in the corner of the library.  For winning, there were some prizes.  I received a nifty certificate and a laminated copy of my picture as well as a business card holder with a kiwi on it.  For winning the overall competition I got a sweatshirt! The sweatshirt says Sweet As (a very common saying here) and I will be wearing it all the time when I come home.  At the end of the dinner we also got "goodie bags" with a postcard from 'Mama' Jane and Dee (the student staff member) and an Arcadianz shirt.  So many new souvenirs for me to bring back! Do I have room for it all in my suitcase? - NOPE!

My Winning Photo! - taken at Moeraki Boulders

Tuesday in Dunedin a rare occurrence happened, it snowed! In Dunedin it gets fairly cold in the winter, but because of the low elevation there is little snow.  It was strange to wake up to snow falling at the end of May, but I love snow so I had fun.  It was funny to see how little prepared people are for snow as students were slipping and sliding on the sidewalks in their converse sneakers.  My friend also said that the university was trying to clear a pathway with a snowblower.  Throughout the day is changed from snow to rain to snow to hail! Yes there was a hail storm in the afternoon that brought back to memories of the one I experienced in Mexico on my mission trip. That night some friends and I braced the slushy streets and went to the Baaa Bar for trivia.  It was funk but as always we didn't do too great because of our lack of New Zealand pop-culture knowledge.

Friday was my last day of classes here in New Zealand, I was actually a little sad because 1. I did not want to deal with finals and 2. reality hits that you really do not have much time left.  However to celebrate the end of classes we had a movie night, that turned out to be another girls' night.  We ordered some dominos and made some banoffee pie and then watched Gladiator and Sydney White, and a little bit of Hercules.  Saturday, the first day of June I started to study for my finals.   Then that night there was a rugby game, that I did not go to, but I helped my friends get ready to go and met up with them after the game. my friend Cat found some abandoned Highlanders flags, so I now have one to decorate my room with next year! A couple of my friends just celebrated their birthdays, so we went out to an Indian Restaurant on the 7th, I couldn't go out with them after because I had a final the next day, but the food was delicious.

That is pretty much all that has happened in the last couple weeks. I have done a lot of studying and have finished 2 of my finals, so only 2 more to go, but they are not until the 18th and 19th.

A New Zealand Birthday

Since my last post I have had a paper and 3 tests to complete. It was rough, especially because I had 2 of the tests on the same day (Thursday the 23rd), but I made it.  After a week of studying and tests it was time to celebrate my birthday with some awesome flatmates and friends on Thursday night. There were 15 of us total at dinner. We went to an Indian restaurant that was BYO (meaning you can bring your own wine bottle there for a small cost) and the food was very good and actually spicy! New Zealanders are not big on spice usually.  After a fantastic dinner we went back to my flat for some music and games.  It was a lot of fun having so many of my friends over to celebrate my 21st!   The next day (my actual birthday) I went to lunch with Cat and then went shopping for our tramping weekend.  This was going to be another Girl Weekend out to the Kepler track with Cat, Amy, Alexis and Sarah.  We left Dunedin around 4:30pm and stayed overnight in a backpackers in Te Anau, though we had a little trouble finding it once we arrived in the town.  Then Saturday morning we were off to tramp up the mountain and stay overnight at Luxmore hut, but not before we all bought matching hats for tramp.  The hike was a lot more difficult than the Heaphy - so much steeper.  Once out of the tree line, the wind was strong and cold that it knocked me sideways and off the track a couple of times.  I made it though, and the views were more than worth the pain I put my body through. In the "hut," which was more a vacation home (without a stove or electricity), we sat my the fireplace and made some dinner of couscous and veggies. After dinner it was time for a well deserved message line.  When we exhausted we all went up to the bunkroom and cuddled up in out sleeping backs and had some girl talk.  It was pretty cold so the five of us were all up on the top bunk (usually 4 would be up there).  Trying to sleep even after a day of hard tramping was not easy when the wind was howling and causing the hut to shake.  Then in the morning, we found out the forecast was calling for Snow! And as we were having breakfast that cold Sunday morning it started to fall.  As Amy is from Texas, she rarely sees snow and was ecstatic.  It turned out to be extremely fun hiking in the snow, for a little while, as it turned to rain as we descended the mountain.  Thankfully the rain on this tramp did not cause any 'exciting' river crossings.  The drive home was filled with the singing of Disney and Country songs and then stopping for a little chinese food.  This was such an amazing weekend and birthday.

Thursday Night BDay party

Rainbow in Te Anau before starting the track

Matching hats!

On the Kepler after getting out of the tree line

Snow in the morning

Finally some good Weather

After a weekend out on the town, there was a complex dinner on Monday put on by the uniflats office. You have to love free dinner.  It was nice to talk to people who live so close and that I hardly ever see.  After having a delicious and huge meal some of us went over to a neighbor's flat to play a couple games of Mafia.  Tuesday was my friend Cat's birthday so after class we got together for lunch and a little shopping.  Later that day Cat's flatmates, a couple of other friends and I went to a nice dinner.  Then it was nothing but classes and working until friday, where instead of camping (too cold and a unit rainy) we went to try and see some of the glow worms around Dunedin.  We were not successful, but we had a fun night-time troll though the woods. The car the we rented for the weekend (that I was not driving) was named Trixie, she was a very trusting car.  We got a VERY early start with Trixie on Saturday, heading out of Dunedin at 6:30am to spend a day in the Catlins.  The weather on saturday was amazing, even after it rained everyday that week before.  The first stop along the was was Cathedral Caves, we got there right at low tide so we were able to explore.  The cave was amazing.  After the caves we headed down to Curio Bay and walked along the beach and climbed the rocks.  The wind was pretty strong, so the waves were enormous and crashing all over the rocks - many good pictures were taken.  After climbing for a while on the rocks we went to a little store at the car park and got a thick shake (aka. an American milkshake).  After Curio Bay we decided to drive down to slope point, one of the southern-most points of New Zealand's South Island.  It felt strange being closer to the South Pole than to the Equator.  After Slope Point we headed to Purakanui Falls, even though I've been there before the falls were better this time because of all the recent rain.  After the falls we stopped at nugget point on our way back to Dunedin.  We got to Nugget Point just in time for an amazing sunset.  We got back to Dunedin in time for a late dinner. I didn't have much food so I made rice and peas with some apricot chili sauce.  Then I headed over to a friends flat for a little get together, because Haylie came down for a quick visit from Christchurch.  Some people went into town after a while, but as we were walking there I decided I was too tired and turned home for some good sleep.

Cat's Birthday Dinner

Cathedral Caves

This Was out car Trixie

The Southern most point of New Zealand

Nugget Point

The most amazing sunset.

Sunday was not too eventful, but there was an Kiwi Kai (kiwi cooking/sampling) put on by Arcadia (yay to more free food!).  There were delicious treats such as Anzac and Afghan biscuits (cookies), cheese rolls, asparagus rolls, and tea waiting for us.  The main part of the Kiwi Kai was making Pavlova. We each got our own individual pavlova to decorate. So good and I cannot wait to make pavlova back home in the States because it is super easy to make.

Our individual Pavlovas topped with kiwifruit, raspberries, and grapes

It may be a while until my next post because there are a lot of tests coming up and I won't be doing anything too interesting!

Relaxation

It has been a long couple weeks since the last time I posted. The most of last week was spent researching and writing my essay for my Environmental History class, with little fun in-between.  I spent a sunday Saturday last week in the gardens with my friend Cat before cooking dinner together that night.  Thursday during the next week, the night before my essay was due, I went out salsa dancing with a couple of friends for a little. And I was still able to complete my essay at a decent hour.

Friday night out.

Such a great day for Kayaking

The whole group together. Countries represented are USA, Scotland, Switzerland, and Germany

After I turned in my essay on Friday, this past weekend was strictly for fun. I did no work whatsoever.  Friday night I went out to the town for a girls night with Cat and my new friend Amy. We had a blast together and it was just what we all needed after a tough week of classes.  Saturday I got up pretty early and went to go Kayaking about the Otago peninsula with Cat, Amy, and Colyer.  The weather was perfect.  After kayaking, my flat has a red card challenge, which is also sort of like a dare.  We had to use 50cents and buy whatever we could and trade it with local stores.  It was pretty fun! After the red card we all just hung out and had a few drinks.  Most of my flatmates then went to the rugby game, as I went to get ready for a party at my friend's flat complex for cinco de mayo.  Overall it was a great weekend, but now it is back to class.  Next weekend I will be heading back down to Curio bay to see more waterfalls and a campout with some amazing people.

Here is a fun video from Pitch Perfect:

I wish I could go out and explore more

It has been a while since I last posted in my blog, which I realized when my mother emailed me asking to write some more.  Not much has happened since Mid-semester break, just a lot of studying.  I have had 3 tests over the last few weeks in Sensation and Perception, Music in Western Culture, and Neurophysiology.  Apart from studying I have done a little baking and movie nights with my friends. 

Last week was a bit rough however because of what was happening back home in Boston.  I have never experienced ‘home-sickness’ to that degree ever, I just wanted to be home and be there to support my community.  There are a few of us here from MA, so I was able to talk to them about it all.  My friend Cat and I decided we needed to lighten the mood so we made some chocolate chip banana muffins and watched ‘Despicable Me’. Here is the trailer for "Despicable Me 2",  I cannot wait.

  I found it incredibly hard to study for my music test I had that week, but I tried my best and I think it went fine.  Thursday night, a couple of friends and I went to the Science club’s trivia night and we did better than we usually do, four teams did worse than us! Yeah, we really are not that good at trivia. Friday night I had an Archery competition, which marked the end of the beginner lessons. I got a certificate and now I am able to shoot during specific times of the week that I cannot remember.  After archery I headed over to my friend Alexis’s flat to finally start the 3^rd LOTRs movie, and we barely got 1/2 way, we were all so tired. We decided to continue it during the day on Saturday.  Saturday morning I went to the Farmer’s Market with a few friends I bought some raspberries, strawberries, pears, and Apricot chili sauce.  Then after dropping my goodies off at my flat I headed over to my friend Sarah’s flat to bake some chocolate-chip cookies and to continue to watch LOTRs.  I did a little studying during the movie for my upcoming Neurophysiology test.  Then I studied most of Sunday and Monday and Tuesday since the test was at night – Tuesday Night.  I am not a fan of night exams – I was stressed all that day and had to suffer until 7:30pm to take it. 

So that is all the happened since Mid-Semester break, not all that exciting. I really want to go out and travel and hike more around NZ, but because school work is picking up I am having trouble finding the time.

Here is the new Hunger Games Trailer! I have watched it at least 5 times already.

Mid-Semester Break

Mid-semester break started with a bus ride up to Christchurch at 8am Thursday morning (28th of March) with my friend Nia.  Once in Christchurch we got some amazing Indian food for lunch and played some cards before meeting up with our friend Haylie who we were going to spend the night with.  Our friend Sarah also arrived from Dunedin later, so there were a lot of us that Haylie housed that night.  It was not a particularly eventful night, and it was early to bed for Nia and I for we had a bus leaving at 7am.  Since it was Good Friday and very early in the morning the city buses were not running and we had to get a cab to take up to the pick-up point.  The final destination for the day was Nelson, but we had many stops along the way.  One stop was in Kaikoura, an amazing beach town known for whale watching.  I would love to return there sometime this semester.  When we got to Nelson we knew we had to pick up a few more groceries before starting on our 5-day tramp the next day.  But of course it was Good Friday and hardly anything was open.  Thankfully, the market at a gas station was open and we were able to get the last few things we needed.  The hostel in Nelson was very nice.  It had a pool and sauna and they fed us dinner and breakfast all available with the cheap dorm room we got.

The Restart in Christchurch. They are still rebuilding after the Earthquake

Then it was off to the start of the Heaphy Track for 5 days and 4 nights of some hard tramping of about 78km.  We had a beautiful day to begin the track,  it was sunny and warm.  Almost too warm because the first day is uphill the entire way, all 17.5km.  But we made it to the hut a little bit before the darkness and rain.  Our 2nd day out was shorter, but it was raining and a but windy which made the two footbridges a bit difficult to cross. But what is like without a little adventure and risk? When we got to the hut we met the ranger in duty name Karen, she was in her 60s if you can believe it! She made us some Easter scones, which were absolutely delicious after tramping in the rain.  The 3rd day was not too far to go either, well at least compared to the 1st day.  We met some very interesting people at this hut. There was a camper from Washington taking a year off after graduation and traveling around as well as a guy from Scotland.  But most impressively there was a 71 year old walking the track with her son. They were all very fun to talk to before we fell asleep at about 8:30pm.  The next day, the 4th day of tramping, was going to be longer, longer than the first day at about 20km.  However, this part of the track is mostly downhill or flat, aside from a few bumps, so it seemed to be much easier and the weather on this day was fantastic.  The last hut we were going to stay at on the track was extremely nice and it was on the beach. So once we got there we jumped in the ocean, and then sandflies attacked us. To those reading back home sandflies are like misquotes, only worse.  I received many bites in only the 15min we were outside.  I got a pretty good nights sleep in this 'hut', which looked more like a vacation home so I was ready to start the next day. We were expecting rain, and on the 5th day of the track it was a downpour.  I know I told many people this story already, but it is just so great.  Because of the heavy rain throughout the day there was a bit of flooding.  This caused some river crossings that normally you wouldn't even get your feet wet, to become deep and  a strong current.  And yes, we crossed them, all 3 of them (or 4, I was mostly paying attention to surviving and not the number).  The last river was the strongest. I went first with Nia behind me and we used her hiking poles to connect to each other for more safety.  But I still lost my footing for a couple of seconds and moved a few inches down with the current.  I then lost my head and Nia had to take the lead.  So, we thought we hit the worst of it when we saw a sign that said we were only 20min to the end! We went a little further and I saw nothing but water in front of us, then I saw a path going around the corner thank goodness. But no,  a few seconds later the track was nothing but a flood plain. At that point we thought- we have come so far, we may as well, we are already soaked.  Thankfully this water did not have a current, it was just overflow from a nearby lake, but at some points the water got up to our waists.  After about 10 min in this water we thought that this could not possibly be the track, until we saw another sign saying 10 min to the shelter (aka. end of the track).  At this point Nia and I just started to laugh as we kept walking. Finally we reached the end of the water and the end of the track.  We ran into a group going out for a day walk to an outlook, we warned them about the water.  We waited at the shelter at the end of the track for a shuttle to take us to Karamea for a nice hot shower at the backpackers and some chips at a nearby restaurant. There was no cell service whatsoever so I had to wait until the next day when we caught a shuttle to Westport.  I called my mother at Westport and discovered that she emailed the hostel I was going to be staying at that night in Franz Josef to make sure I got there ok. WOW.

This is the hut we stayed in our 2nd night. The huts on the 1st an 4th nights were newer and nicer.

Land Snail!

I experienced so many beautiful sunsets

Koru! they symbolize growth and new  beginnings 

View from the hut on our last night.

Part 2 of break started in Franz Josef where Nia and I met up with Sarah and Alexis who just finished a tour of the glacier. I am extremely jealous of their pictures. After a night spent in Franz Joseph we caught buses down to Queenstown.  In Queenstownwe spent 2 nights.  While there we did a lot of souvenir shopping for our friends and family and on the first night we checked out the Ice Bar. There were many ice sculptures and the drink I got was really good.  Then the next day Alexis, Sarah and I went horseback riding. The scenery was amazing and we passed the Misty Mountains as seen in the Lord of the Rings.  Sarah even rose a horse that was used in the opening scene of Prince Caspian (Narnia movie)! After horseback riding Alexis went to go parasailing and Sarah and I went to see Nia bungy jump!  The next morning we caught our bus back home to Dunedin and I had a good nap before starting to study for my exam this Thursday.

The Franz Joseph Glacier in the sunrise

The misty mountains of LOTRs

It has been a couple of days since break and I have been busy with class and studying for my exam.  I am super nervous for my exam this Thursday, but lets hope for the best!