Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
This time I have SO much to write about given that it's been about six days since I last provided you all with an update! Hopefully I will remember the majority of what has happened, but there's quite a bit to catch up on!
Monday: We went to a pub quiz on this day! It was great because here in Eugene we have just merged in with local culture, hung out with ordinary Americans and so on. We spent this evening with some of Matt's class mates. However most of the questions were pretty random and Matt and I were absolutely no use to the team. But it was nice to hang out at one of the bars and we walked home afterwards which took about thirty minutes and saw RACCOONS! They're so big and fluffy argh! We also saw some bats, and an ugly American possum which looks like a giant rat.
Tuesday: I think this was the day Matt and I looked around university quite a bit. We even went in to meet some of the graduate advisors about doing our postgraduate here! I don't want to give a lot away yet since we're only at the start of our trip and there's still many opportunities to come, but I received a frickin amazing offer for some time within the next few years… Also one of his friend's he met during his exchange last year also came to stay with us for a few days, so it meant he got to catch up with someone else too which I know he really enjoyed :)
Wednesday: On this day we went for a walk around 'Delta Ponds'! It was pretty hot though so we didn't stay out too long. We just saw heaps of birds and tadpoles.
In the evening we decided to have dominos for dinner! What I did notice is that dominos is more expensive here - however there is a lot more variety. As a vegetarian of course I had limited choices, so I ended up custom making one pretty much the exact same as what I would order in Dunedin, but it was a lot more expensive. In Dunedin it is NZ$5, whereas in the US I paid almost NZ$10 for the same thing! When we were walking there we walked over a bridge and saw three cheeky raccoons in the stream. They were so funny trying to scurry up the wall to hide in one of the big holes… Then when they had made it up they just glared at us for ages until we had finally gone. It was a really nice walk because the sky was clear so we could see heaps of pretty stars! The light pollution is far less of a problem here than when we were in California. Also I noticed they barely have street lights here - which in terms of light pollution is great, but I'm not sure about its effects crime wise…
Thursday: Wah I can't remember. Honestly we have spent most of the time just chilling out and trying to live as locals! Although I do remember going out for dinner to a place called Olive Garden which was crazy… I paid US$10 for unlimited salad, garlic bread sticks and pasta. We also got a little bit of free wine with that too. It was really yum pasta and I saved some for my lunch the next day :)
In the evening we went out drinking with some of Matt's other classmates! One of his friend's called Anna very kindly hosted it at her house and provided us with alcohol and plastic cups :) We were taught a few drinking games, and we taught them some back in return and had lots of funnnnnnn. The only thing was that I am really dumb when it comes to biology so I had no idea what everyone was talking about half the time. We ended up going to the bars in downtown afterwards though which was cool, especially since Matt wasn't old enough to check them out himself when he was here last time.
Friday: I ended up having to go out and buy a new laptop on this day because my old beast of one broke :( But the timing was as good as it was ever going to be - Oregon has no GST and their technology is pretty up to date! My new laptop is quite mini (which is perfect for me), and is touch screen!? Also most laptops here no longer have CD drives which I thought was quite crazy too. But then again everything seems to be either on a cloud online or on a USB stick so it does make sense that CD drives are becoming quite outdated.
After this we went out for lunch to a place called Buffalo Wild Wings. Sooo much food argh! There was hardly anything for vegetarians, so I ended up eating carrot sticks, celery sticks and stealing all of Matt's fries. But that was ok! The place was crazy though - it is a sports mad restaurant and bar with heaaaaaaps of TV screens and projectors, plus lots of cabinets with sports related stuff in them such as cheer leading outfits, helmets, and so on.
In the afternoon we ended up going for a really lovely walk up Mt Pisgah with Matt's host family. They are actually the most amazingly kind people and I'm so happy we got to spend time with them! The walk was really stunning and we saw some incredible views. And at the top we had a super yum VEGETARIAN picnic which they had prepared for us - and it included lots of veggies (some of which they had grown themselves) and BASIL PESTO, Tofurkey (AHH!) and many other yummy things. Afterwards we went back to their house so I could meet their lions (MASSIVE, MASSIVE CATS) and have some yummy dessert (cookies and cream cake with cookies and cream ice cream and home grown raspberries). I was actually in heaven and their hospitality is a reason in itself to come back to Eugene some time soon.
Saturday: Our last dayyy! :( It was quite a crazy day. We woke up early to get prepared for the football game - even though it was at 1pm! They do this thing here called "Tail Gating", which is basically hanging out before the game. Except heaps and HEAPS of people park up all around the stadium and have like little bbqs, set up a TV screen, etc. There were honestly hundreds of cars everywhere. I got quite in to it with a brand new DUCKS t-shirt, ducks sunglasses, Oregon stickers on my cheeks and a green Duck Store cap :) We also watched the cheer leaders and University of Oregon dance team do some of their dances! One of the main leaders in the Oregon dance team is friends with Matt and it is her and her boyfriend's place which we have been staying at so it was extra special watching them! I personally preferred the dance team over the cheerleaders. Not just because I knew one of them, but because the cheer leading seemed to be more about boobs and flimseying around whereas the dance team was more serious dancing. I don't know if that even makes sense, but I'm sure you all get the jist of it. Although some of the cheerleaders did some really insane things like backflips high up in the air.
The game was mental. At least 50,000 people, 31*c heat, etc. There was so much going on all the time. Whether it was the band playing a crazy tune, the cheer leaders doing insane acrobatics, the Oregon football team destroying the opposition, or the Duck mascot crowd surfing. The whole thing went on for three and a half hours and it was so hectic but so much fun! The final score was like 66-3 or something similar. Every time the Duck team scored the duck mascot would have to do push ups to meet the updated score! (poor guy, especially given the high score!). We also saw one of Matt's other friends who was down for a short while, but she left Eugene half way through the game.
In the evening we had dinner with one of Matt's class mates called Sam. He was so lovely and gave us a really cool present to remind us of Oregon! It's called a Thunder Egg which is the Oregon stone. It's like the shape of the egg but it has been sawed in half and polished - but it's kind of cute that Matt and I have half each! It is also special because Sam picked it out himself when he was out with his family - so it wasn't just bought from a store :)
After this we went to a volleyball match at the Matthew Knight Arena (I think). It was pretty quiet as I'm sure everyone was exhausted after 3.5 hours watching the football in the heat, but it was still a good experience as Matt had told me heaps about this place! I can imagine that the basketball games during the term time get really hectic so it would be great to go to one of those when we come back here!
Tonight we are packing up. Its saaaaaad because we have been so settled in here. This city is very similar to Dunedin - just with a bigger emphasis on sport. The people here are also so lovely and I'm so grateful to Jake and Taylor so letting us stay with them. They have made us feel so at home and driven us around everywhere, made sure we are well fed etc! Guys if you are reading this, Matt and I pinky swear that WHEN (not if) you make it to Dunedin we will do the same! You have spoilt us so much and made staying in Eugene the best part of our trip so far. This city is so beautiful and we will definitely be coming here again sometime… Hopefully within the next two years! I LOVE THIS BEAUTIFUL EMERALD CITY!
I know this blog entry Is really scattery but I just wanted to update you all on the kind of things Matt and I have been up to whilst here in Eugene before I finish my packing! Tomorrow we leave for Portland, and then to Seattle! So things are going to get VERY manic from now until we settle in Warsaw around the 23rd of September! I'm quite looking forward to settling down once we arrive in Warsaw. I didn't realise how stressful living out of a bag would be. I even under packed heaps, with my bag weighing just 15kg! (8kg spare). But it's such a hassle having to re-pack things all the time, trying to find specific stuff etc. And also I'm trying to avoid buying things such as a good sized bottle of moisturiser, exfoliator and so on because I'm already so stressed with how much stuff I have! But it means I always feel yucky.
Photos will be up soonish! I'm sure I'll remember heaps of stuff which I would have forgotten to write here but I will add it to tomorrow's blog!
Miss you all!
Steph xxx
- comments