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Published: August 5th 2007
Well I finally gathered the pictures of last weekend from all the various cameras on which they were taken so now I can share a few and show off some of my newly made friends.
I have had 2 full weeks of school and my classes are proving to have far more reading than I can... well, read. Lectures seem to be quite a lot more interesting than at UW but it's probably because I am learning about the motive behind spider-eating bugs, my history professor’s opinion of why Stalin was a psychopathic murderer, how to arrange the charcoal correctly to boil water in the strict art of Japanese Tea Ceremony, and the cyborg differences between the 1958 & 1986 versions of the movie The Fly. It's all a little more entertaining when you have to mentally translate each different accent into American to understand what they're trying to say as well.
The weekend kicked off with a Back to School party downtown hosted by a radio station. It was some sort of "exclusive" party so they came to Ilam Village and picked everyone up in a double decker bus. Costumes were required but thanks to the local Salvation
Praying for redemption
Our friend Jeff and the "priest" at the Back to School partyArmy mine was only $2. It was a warmer night than most which was a good thing because school uniforms require skirts 😊 .
After finally experiencing a little of the so called night life of Christchurch on Friday, we headed up to Hanmer Springs Saturday morning. Jana, the bravest of us all drove first as I rode in the front noting the strategy for going around a 2-lane roundabout clockwise and taking in the beautiful scenery. Out in the countryside we finally saw all the sheep that New Zealand is known for - 10 sheep to every person. We also saw a ton of cows but they were abnormally large. I think it's because they actually get fed and live normal cow lives here. Hanmer Springs is about 2 hours from Christchurch and is basically a little ski town minus the skiing. The hot springs facility was really nice and in contrast to down in the city, the weather up in the mountains was amazing. We got a bite to eat and toured some of the little shops, then I got to drive home. Aside from being super scared of oncoming traffic flying by me on my right-hand
The steering wheel is on the wrong side...
Even the turn signal lever is on the right. They're so confused. side on the windy mountain road, I think I did pretty well. It wasn't hard to get used to keeping left, maybe a little too left at times... but we made it home smoothly. At about $6/gal, we spent $44 on gas for our short little day trip so I'm glad I'm not driving much!
Wednesday I went to meet the family that I might babysit for. They have an adorable little girl that was excited to meet me and the parents were really nice. They even have a stray cat that hangs out there which is a huge bonus. I will only be filling in when their normal sitter is sick so it probably won't be often but at least I have a small potential income.
Wednesday night is Reggae night at a place downtown so I went with a small group and ended up seeing half the people I know there. 5 of the 7 people in my flat were there as well as Amy and 2 of her flatmates and a whole bunch of the people that live in Ilam Village. It was pretty fun to have everyone out together like that. This weekend Amy
Southern Alps and the South Island countryside.
Amazing how abruptly it goes from grassy foothill to completely white mountain peaks. and I are catching a bus down south to Dunedin for 2 nights. It's a college town but nearby you can see yellow eyed penguins in the wild. There's also a Cadbury chocolate factory that we will most definitely tour. Hopefully it won't take 8 years for me to post pics from that excursion.
The last few days have been in the mid 60s F which has been tank top weather after getting used to the cold! It's amazing. I don't think it's supposed to last though. But spring is just around the corner and if this place is so green now, I can't imagine what it will look like in the spring. Stay tuned...
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Jennifer
non-member comment
fun times!!
Hot springs are awesome!! Looks like it was a nice day to enjoy those. Sounds like you're getting to do some exciting things! I hope you have fun with those yellow eyed penquins. Bring one home for me okay? Lidon loves penquins lol. Miss you!