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Hello to everyone who has been curious as to my whereabouts and going ons!
Sorry for the lack of communication, but these last few weeks have been hectic. My computer broke just over a week ago so I sent it in for repairs (which was a lovely expense..I now have a giant hole in my pocket) Nevertheless I am back online and hope to speak to most of you either on skype or msn in the near future. First things first, for those that were curious 'Baby' is now officially Olivia McCalla Lyons. I can't wait to skype the fam so that I can see how much she has grown already- thank you Nicola and Katrina for being the only two to dote out name suggestions ;) Love you ladies!
Back to my adventures. I flew from Auckland to Wellington almost two weeks ago, which was very convenient. It was either a 10 hour overnight bus trip or flying for an hour for 20$ more. I like to take the easy route! Though this country is beautiful, and had the bus trip been in daylight I may have reconsidered. I arrived in Wellngton and booked myself into a hostel where I had to live out of a suitcase while searching for flats. Luckily all my roomates were wicked. The best part about traveling is meeting people from around the world. I now know people I can visit in Ireland, France, Germany, Holland, Scotland, Australia, Hawaii..it just keeps going! As you can tell from my pictures, we've been having some good times. With my irish crew, we went to the opening game of the Hurricanes rugby team against Australia. It was really fun and seeing the Haka was a cool experience. (If you do not know what that is google it, it's worth it) Wellington is really urban and so much is always going on. There are tons of festivals this time of year to wrap up summer, and the bars are open till 5 or 6, something I'm definitely not used to! Though I still can't really make it past 3. The city itself is gorgeous, and despite all the rain, the sun has made its appearance so I can work on my tan! Flat searching was virtually a nightmare..as soon as I got here I went to accomodation services and they pretty much said they had nothing available. Before I had a minor breakdown, they told me there was room in Stafford House, an apartment style residence not far from campus. I got the offer, and fearing I would be homeless if I didnt accept, got myself a flat. While its not my ideal, its actually a nice place. Small but homey..my room is a good size. Im on the 13th floor (top floor) in a corner room with a view of the harbour and of the valley. Furniture is included and there is heating (beileve it or not it gets cold here in winter! No central heating and bad insulation in houses). Downsides: no real common room (we have a couch next to our kitchen table, which is tiny) and no oven!:( Luckily I can't cook anyways so it's not like I'm truly missing out, but now I'll have to find alternatives to frozen pizza. Stayovers are also hard, a guest can only stay 2 nights. There is a large common room downstairs with satellite TV, a cool place to chill. Its probably a good thing not having a tv in my apartment..I am in New Zealand therefore I should be doing other things! The place is super clean as well, I managed to check out a couple of flats before accepting and they were pretty grungy. Think Queen's Ghetto but with major electrical issues and more internal damage. Apparently most of the houses are like that, so I'm glad that is also something I dont have to worry about. Unfortunately it is a 20 minute UPHILL walk to campus (and when I say uphill I mean calf burning, I will be fit but I will also be sweating on my way to class!) Luckily there is a bus that runs up to campus, but Im going to try and avoid it 1 for the exercise and 2 as a money saver. My flatmates are wicked, Alex is from France but sadly moves out in six weeks. No idea who my new flatmate will be but hopefully it is someone who likes to binge on oreos and loves late night chats (I miss you 280 girls!!) Alex's boyfriend is Canadian, so I feel like we have forged a bond over that. On the bright side, she is giving me some of her stuff that I need in my room when she leaves, so sad to see her go but happy to benefit! Marcel is my German roomate. He is 24 and really nice, he even came out with me and my Canadian friends one evening. He is also a new climber, and there is a climbing gym close by so it works out well! My goal is to be fluent in German by the end of the semester, I swear it can be done!
Classes start on Tuesday and I am looking forward to them. Taking some interesting classes relating to New Zealand life and culture. I am also joining the tramping (aka hiking) club, who do trips almost every weekend. While I am not the most outdoorsy person, I am prepared to try new things and camp out if it means seeing the country. Climbing outdoors will be amazing. Ive only seen two big cities, and I know the best parts are when you leave the city. Can't wait to get to the South Island, though I may have to wait till term break over easter. (We get two weeks off in April) Thinking about renting a car, which is really cheap to do here, and going with a few girls from here to check things out. It is unbelievable how many Germans and Americans are in this country!! I feel like I have hardly seen/met any Kiwis. I am very happy to say I am Canadian, even though people tend to apologize profusely when they ask me if I am American. I think its funny, because it never upsets me, I just correct them. Its like calling a New Zealander Australian, it is expected but there is no point in freaking out. We really don't sound that different from most people in the States! And the American girls I have met here are good fun, and really sweet. All down to earth, we have a good group going on..the three of us Canadians from Queens (though Martha is actually from Boston) and about four Americans. But it will be nice to branch out once school starts, and mingle with some locals. Yay for Kiwi bonding!
I enrolled for courses today, and I will never again complain about QCARD (Queen's online registration program) New Zealand may have been the first to give women the vote, but they sure aren't up on their technology! I had to go to about 7 different people to get all my documents processed. Most people went on Friday, and I had friends waiting in one of the lines for 3 hours just to see someone!! They have to sit down with you and manually put your courses into a computer, it is SO tedious. It took me about 2 hours and there wasn't even really anyone else in the lines. And its not just like that for exchange students, domestic students have to go through a similar process. Crazy! Also, internet here works a lot differently, as in wireless costs much more to get. So at my rez, we work by the megabites, and everyone gets a certain number of megabites a week. When you start to go through them, they send you an email telling you you're almost out, and if you want more its expensive to buy. Therefore watching movies or television shows online is virutally impossible to do, it eats up my internet time! It works like that across the country, so unlimited acess to internet is a rare thing to find. Once again, when I get home, I will never again complain when my wireless kicks out. At least then I'll be able to watch The Office online again! Groceries are also fairly expensive, but there is a fresh produce market every Sunday, about four across the city. The university also apparently gives away bread to students every Monday and Wednesday mornings. Sweet!!
Missing home and all of you however my adventure has just begun. It feels like I've been here for ages, and it hasn't even been a month. I applied for a work student visit, so starting next week I should be able to job hunt. Definitely not serving since no one tips here! Its not worth the extra stress
It definitely wont be as long until my next update. Hope all if well on all of your ends and that no one has drowned yet in snow! Good luck to all of those with midterms (weird that I have not even started school and you guys are almost done!) Much love!
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