Real Life

Maybe I should rephrase my title... back to reality, responsibility, and work. haha.

I spent the last week catching up in school, going to classes, and planning mid-semester break. I caught myself complaining about having to write a paper and do work, only to stop myself to realize that 1. I am writing the paper in the botanical gardens in 75 degree weather (extremely hot and rare for this time of year)2.I only have four papers due, 1 project, and 4 tests for all my classes for the entire semester 3. its a paper... 4. im in new zealand! Isnt it funny how you easy it is to complain about EVERYTHING?! My kiwi host asked me what I did when I actually took 6 classes at Butler (complain ten times more)... I had to laugh. Whenever you ask a kiwi to imitate an American, they usually complain... mocking us. They will say,"I have a hang over. I feel sick. My head hurts" and then laugh and explain "of course you have a hang over, you drank 20 beers and a bottle of wine. suck it up mate" sad story. haha-

So lets see, I don't have that many updates! This was one of the first weekends I spent just hanging out in Dunedin... I thought it was a good idea, but i missed traveling! On Friday, Jess, Molly and I walked into town to see a movie (slumdog millionare)... amazing! The theater was so cute- it was a packed house with about 25 of us. haha- we had a great time. Yesterday I went shopping in town and got my haircut. They cut hair kind of funky, but I liked it... now only if I could gather the courage to have dreads or a streak of red or blue. haha--jk Today I wrote my paper and took a hike up to Signal Hill, which is a 5 minute walk away, 45 minute hike to a look out over the city. It was a perfect day for it, clear blue skies.

Oh... I have two updates... first, I have a new friend! His name is Stuart. Mom and Deanne had the pleasure of meeting him as well. he lives in my wall (hes a mouse). Every morning he wakes me with some scratches and I talk back with some knocks... I really like having my new friend, but I want to sleep in... so I set my first mouse trap today! jay and jeremiah told me they would take care of it if I caught it. how nice it is to have male roommates! This is quite normal for Dunedin... second, I am completely lactose intolerant. I've always had trouble eating creamy soups and milk, but it has been ten times worse since I arrived (weird?). I am hurled in a ball and laying in bed if I eat cheese, milk, milk chocolate (ah!), and worst of all, mcdonald's soft serve ice cream. well I was just informed of tiny little pills that I can take before I eat dairy to help... ill have to go to the chemist (pharmacy) and get some.

I now have internet at my fingertips.. well kind of. The wireless isnt working on pc's so we have a cable that we share. It is nice to just check my e-mail here, etc... but at the same time, I enjoyed the excitement of going to the library once a day to check it. It was much more thrilling! Oh, the little things. This means I finally have skype: lisam151. talk to me!

So I have two more weeks of class and then mid-semester break! Lynsey and I just planned a sweet trip! I will give you a small preview without ruining that post: 3 days tramping on beaches, 2 days kayaking, full day wine tour on bike!, dolphins, hostels, etc. We are going up to the northern part of the southern island which is full of beaches and warmer weather : )and we are meeting her boyfriend and some of his friends (they are all studying in wellington)... i'm super excited!

Alright, time for some reading- take care : )

Pictures

Pictures from road trip:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2074228&id=21105072&l=a0eae1a909

Pictures from Dunedin/21st Birthday:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2074232&id=21105072&l=90e62ff767

Enjoy!

Mom and Deanne Visit!

I apologize for not writing in a lonnnng time! Let me start where I left off…

In the first weekend of the month, we had an IFSA event. We went to the Taieri Plains to jetboat, white water raft, and swim. The entire day was a blast! It was a team based competition day, kind of reminded me of survivor. We were running in the bush, swimming down rapids and jumping off cliffs… insane! Then we hurried back and got ready for another Rugby game. Now that the entire student population is back, it was a blast. The entire stands were packed with students decked out in face paint and blue and gold.

My mom and sister were supposed to arrive on Tuesday, but they were delayed a day in the states, so they arrived on Wednesday morning. I went to the airport to meet them and I was able to walk right up to their gate (much less security than the states). We left right from the airport for our road trip!

We drove to Lake Te Anau up to Milford Sounds and did a 2 hour boat cruise. It was beautiful! We saw epic waterfalls and mountains (you have to check out my pictures). On the following day, we drove up to Queenstown. Queenstown is the adventure capital of NZ. You can do anything from jet boating to skiing to bungy jumping to sky diving, etc. etc. etc. It was a cute little touristy town. We went on a 5 hour wine tour to 4 different wineries in Central Otago. It was a great time! At night, we planned to go out in Queenstown, but somehow found ourselves in bed at 8 p.m. haha. The following day we woke up to bungy jumping! Deanne and I decided on the bridge jump, which is over a river. It is the first bungy jump in the world! It was crazy- much different than sky diving. The ground was just coming up, I wasn’t sure if I was going to stop---ah! Then we drove up to Lake Wanaka for lunch.

We were headed for a 4.5 hr drive up the west coast to Franz Josef. Well after 6 hours, we realized that mapquest was incorrect and it was actually an 8 hour drive! We also didn’t know that the west coast had very few towns with very few gas stations. When we realized our gas light wasn’t lying, we stopped at a farm and asked for gas. We had about an hour left to our destination, but after a half hour, the sun set and we our friendly little gas light was back! We finally reached a town... but the gas station was closed. We made a decision and found a motel for the night. After getting in our room, I insisted we go to the pub for some drinks. It turned out to be one of our favorite parts of the road trip! We met some crazy locals and had a blast!

The following morning, we drove to our original destination, Franz Josef, and went on a half day glacier climb. It was cool to actually be on a real glacier! Then we continued our drive up the west coast. It was a beautiful drive through rain forests and coastal roads. We arrived in Punakaiki, which is famous for its pancake rocks. It was a cute little town in the middle of the rain forest, with no gas station or food store and only one pub! We watched the sunset over the pancake rocks (they actually look like stacks of pancakes). Then, we made a tasty spaghetti dinner and drank the wine that we bought on one of the tours. We had our own cabin for the night, which was adorable!

The following day was my 21^st birthday! We traveled across the country to get to Hanmer Springs. The drive was once again, epic, and we walked across a long swing bridge and stopped many times to take pictures. Once we arrived at Hanmer Springs, we indulged in a spa day. We had a half hour private steam room, a half hour massage, and a half hour facial, and then we relaxed in the hot pools. It was quite a treat! We went out for a nice dinner and I enjoyed my first “legal drink” (although I have been legal for 2 months in NZ) haha. It was a fantastic birthday! (thanks for all the birthday wishes from home!!)

The following morning we drove down to Christchurch and went shopping. We left Christchurch, stopped at the Moeraki Boulders (it is a beach with these huge spherical rocks). We went out for Italian food in Dunedin and ended the night back at my flat. We were exhausted! The road trip was great, we drove over 1300 miles, but saw the whole island! It was full of good laughs, scary drives, and epic scenery.

Since Mom only had a day left in Dunedin, we booked it full! We went on the Cadybury Chocolate Factory tour, the Speights Brewery tour (the beer of southern New Zealand), and out to the Bog for St. Patricks Day!

Deanne and I dropped my Mom off at the airport the next afternoon and then we went to the Gutbuster race up Baldwin Street (the steepest street in the world). We did a walk/jog up it (and we were sore for 2 days). We spent the next fews days hanging around Dunedin and then we went back to Queenstown on Friday. We went with a group of students from Dunedin. We had the chance to experience the nightlife in Queenstown, which was you guessed it, amazing!

The next day we shopped around Queenstown and Deanne was scheduled to go sky diving! We drove out to the place, she got in her jump suit and was about to jump in the plane when they cancelled it because of severe winds. Bummer!

I just dropped Deanne off at the airport and I am in the process of putting my life back in order and catching up in school. It was great to have visitors and see some of my family : )Alright, now that I bored you to death- Take care! Also, pictures will be up in 2 days when I finally get e-mail in my flat (sorry for the slow response to emails and everything, etc.)- we are still waiting on internet-

First Week of Classes

I just finished my first week of classes!

On Mondays I don't have class, so Lynsey, Daveen, and I decided to take a day hike because it was beautiful outside! We went to Mount Cargill, which is a about an hour walk from campus. We hiked on a little trail for a couple hours to get to the top. It is the highest point in Dunedin, so the views were epic! Along the way, there were waterfalls... it was beautiful! The weather has been gorgeous all week- I finally feel like I am in summer! So we hiked to the top and then went to take a different way down. We were walking on the side of a road for over an hour and we realized that we were far from home... and tired, hungy, and sore. So we started hitchhiking (it is common in new zealand). Finally a lady picked us up as she was headed right past campus to the gym. She told me that she had to stop because the three of us looked desperate. haha. It was quite the adventure!

On Tuesday I went to all my classes- well all four of them starting at 8 a.m. It was quite a rude awakening! I've been out of class since the middle of December. haha. All my classes are huge lectures! My biggest class at Butler was about 35 kids and my biggest class here is 205, my smallest is a little over 100. It is crazy! I went to my last class, sport organisation (yes, nz spells it with an s)... and the professor told me that friday lectures were mandatory. We also had mandatory tutorials and papers due at every one. Needless to say, I dropped the class. I am taking 3 classes, 3-4 classes is average. I wanted to pick up another class, adventure education, but the professor told me that I could come to lectures and participate without signing up, so that I don't have to do the papers or exams. sweet deal. I love all of my classes! I am taking a philosophy course about ethics... the class is lively as everyone likes to voice their opinion and fight. I am taking a sport psychology class, which is by far one of my favorite courses! I love it! very interesting, and the professor completed his doctorate at university of illinois- I am also taking exercise prescription, which will be cool at otago because we have labs and use all this fun equipment!

My professors are laid back and fun- I will have a lot of extra time this semester, but it will be great. I never just take time to relax and enjoy life. its quite nice.

Last night, lynsey and I went to a car auction to buy a car for the semester. Imagine two girls going to a car auction alone... knowing nothing about cars. We made friends with an employee who showed us the cars and explained the process. The place asked us if we wanted to test drive. We said, "well we dont know how to drive on the other side of the road, so if you could drive, well just sit in the back". They laughed at us probably wondering why we were buying a car. haha. We bid on a car, but I think it was too low- the owner never called today. bummer- haha but it was quite the experience!

Other than that, I have just been hanging out and running around. Tomorrow IFSA-Butler is taking us on a day trip to bush walk, jet boat, and swim, and then we are going to a rugby game! Deanne and Mom will be here next week and we have an insane road trip planned- which will be stellar! I'm psyched to see them : )

Check out my new pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2072888&id=21105072&l=57438