Kiwi Life

So last week was our last week of classes... and I didn't have much to do. My first final is June 12, but I am not going to start studying until Monday. haha- So Jess and I rented Gossip Girls Season One and spent three days watching it! The show is great. I remember making fun of all the girls at Theta watching it, but once you start, you are hooked. Highly recommend it! Today I was going to go shopping, but it is hailing with gale force winds... so I am thinking of a backup plan! haha

I only have a couple more weeks here and then I leave to travel and go home. It is so crazy that it is nearing the end of my time here. A month ago I was ready to leave, but now I realize that I have a life here. It's crazy to think that in one plane ride, everything will change. I won't be able to run over to John and Julies and eat cookies, have loser nights and watch movies with all of my friends, go out to eat at Thai Over, or take a trip with David to New World. I've been trying to just embrace the time I have left and look forward.

I cannot be happier to return home though. There comes a point in time where it is just better being home and reunited with friends and family. My best friend from school just lost her father and I want to be there. I cant imagine what she is going through. It's times like these that make being all the way in new zealand hard.

I have fully embraced the kiwi lifestyle and have some interesting facts that I would like to share to show you more into the culture here:
1. Mullets, rat tails, and every other crazy hairstyle is completely acceptable! About 60% of guys have one... I don't know if it is more of a funny idea or if they really like sporting these cuts. Either way, its hilarious-
2. Boys wear jorts... Jean Shorts. That end above the knee and are skin tight. Don't Judge.
3. Overall kiwi fashion: everyone wears really tight clothing... skinny jeans are the norm. Only americans wear gym shoes everywhere!
4. College competition is different...high school seniors dont take any admission test to get into college. They just apply to one of the six schools they want to go to and most likely are accepted. The saying here is "c's get degrees". No one cares how the next person does. You put in the effort that you want to and you get what you put in.
5. Success overall is different here. If someone is rich and has done well, they say "good on ya mate" they arent jealous and most people here would rather enjoy life than have money, cars, and houses.
6. People rarely complain. If something is rough, they say "she'll be alright" meaning it will work out. No stressing or high strung attitudes here.
7. We are wimps in america. No central heating is hard to live with! They sleep in long underwear surrounded by hot water bottles. haha
8. Most people are active here. I love running to see others out running and playing sport. SPORT is LIFE here! Rugby is HUGE!
9. We are blessed with good tv in america!
10. The drinking culture is big, but I am also living on a college campus.
11. Most people aren't religious. I havent met a college student that goes to church on sundays. Most people don't grow up religious and I asked a couple of people and they said none of their friends went to sunday school or anything.
12. They think everything is grand and big in America. Including our portion sizes, houses, material items, clothes, etc. And that might be a fact. A medium drink here is comparable to a kids size in america.
13. No one does work past 6 p.m. After dinner is time to relax and enjoy yourself. The library empties at 5.
14. Not wearing any shoes is okay. They dont post signs saying "no shoes no shirt no service"... you will regularly see boys without shoes in the food store on a warm day.
15. the selection for everything is limited here. Its not, which mall do i go to? its do you want to go to the mall? Its not which lotion do you want to buy, its do you need lotion? haha-

I think that is all I have right now! Most of these are things I have picked up from college students. . . so... it might be different in the real world! haha...

Alright, time to get off the computer and do something- hope you enjoyed the entry!

Christchurch Weekend

Last week was the beginning of the end, if that makes sense. I had my last pilates class on Tuesday. At first, I did not like the class, but it grew on me after a couple sessions and I am going to miss it. But not as much as I am going to miss my wine class on Wednesday evenings! I signed up for the class back in February with two friends, David and Erica. After the first couple of weeks, we all kind of went our separate ways and this wine class brought us back together every week. I learned so much about wine, wine regions, my own favorites, and everything in between. It was a blast. For the last class, we went to our teacher's, Geoff Weston, winery. It is the southern most winery in New Zealand, about 15 minutes from campus. It is a cute little winery and when we arrived, he had glasses, food,and wine all ready. We each brought a bottle, and Geoff donated two bottles of Chardonnay (which was ammmmazing!). So we had about 11 bottles for the 9 of us. haha, it was a fun night to say the least! Time flew by as we chatted, tried new wines, and enjoyed the bread, cheese, fruit platter. Let me tell you a little about Geoff. He attended the University of Otago and earned a degree in biology. He wanted to go to America to specialize in a field of medicine (my memory is scattered from the night- haha), but he could not get the university to sponsor him. So he became a pilot. After realizing that he didn't have the eye sight for flying, he decided to open a winery. He started his winery and then remembered that he wanted to write a book about a game he played as a kid (he was losing me at this point haha). So he wrote a 3 book series and is now selling it on Amazon. The first one is called Surkling (sounds like circling). He also teaches wine classes every semester. What a character!! He is probably my favorite person here- so relaxed and just living his life in his own unique way.

I turned in my last assignment of the semester on Thursday and we left town on Friday. We drove up to christchurch, which is about a 4.5 hr drive North. When we arrived, we picked up our race packets for Sunday and I ran to the Ronald McDonald house which is right outside the city center. I wanted to see a house in New Zealand because I have done so much work with the Chicagoland house. I met the house manager and she took me around. It was great! The house was adorable and so welcoming- I wish I could have spent the weekend there ; ) It reminded me so much of the old U of C house. It kind of brought a feeling of home to New Zealand for me, which was nice.
We went to our hostel and watched Juno and went to bed.

The next morning, we woke up early and drove to Arthur's Pass, which is a great 2 hour drive from Christchurch. I guess I should tell you who was on our trip! It was James, Lily and I in one car, and then we met up with Lynsey, Danielle, Jessa, Kelsey, and Crystal- who drove up in a separate car. We stopped at Castle hill and played around on the limestone rocks/boulders. They were in Lord of the Rings in a couple of scenes... It was gorgeous with the sun shining and the snow capped mountains in the background. We continued our drive to Arthurs Pass. The whole road was surrounded by mountains. When I did a 360 turn, I saw mountains, mountains, mountains... so beautiful! We took a short hike to a huge water fall and then another small hike to a look out point. We turned around and went back to Christchurch for the night. We saw the most beautiful sunset on our way back. The whole sky turned pink! I wish I could have captured it, but my camera does not do it justice. At night we decided to go to the movies. I wanted to see a happy romantic comedy and my friend recommended The Reader. Great acting and overall movie, but I was not in the mood for it... It was so sad and serious- haha.I like the movies where the couple falls in love and then gets separated and falls back in love and lives happily ever after. I went back and when my friend (the one who suggested it) asked me how the movie was, I looked at her like she was crazy! haha.

The next day we woke up early to run a race. Lily and I signed up to run a 10K and James and Danielle were planning to run the half. The temperature dropped overnight and it was freezing! haha- We hurried over to the start of the race and stumbled through the 5000 people running. The start of the race was fun- they had music playing and kept us entertained while standing in the hail. haha. I just remember the hail coming down and all of us raising our arms, laughing. Once the race started, I lost everyone and just ran. It was so much fun. I loved just being with a bunch of people sharing a common interest and challenging myself. The race itself was great. I just wanted to get under an hour, and I did. I really liked the distance, I might have to do more 10K races... After the race we headed back to the car to go to Hamner Springs (the natural hot pools). I went early in the semester with my mom and sister but was convinced to go again. We drove up there, and it was snowing- the hot pools were awesome! it was freezing outside, but we were in hot pools with snow on our heads. The sky cleared a little too, so we got great mountainous views. Julie joined us for the day too- Such a fun day. We went out to dinner and then headed back to Christchurch for the night. A couple of us stayed up talking over some tea... we discussed going home, the end of journey and everything else. So crazy to think about- but thats a whole other entry!

Monday was the queens birthday- It is a holiday in new zealand, but I guess it actually isn't the queen's real birthday and people don't really care about it - except for the fact that they get off work. We walked around the art centre of christchurch. It was a cute little village with shops and cafes. Christchurch has really grown on me. I didn't like it at first, and now I love it! It is so cute and friendly. We headed back to Dunedin at night-

Monday night I watched a movie with John and Julie and then I was back to classes on Tuesday. This is our last week of classes and then 2 weeks of finals. So crazy that it is almost over. I am done with assignments and too lazy to start studying, so I have been hanging out with friends- catching up on emails-and doing... nothing. haha

Check out pictures from the weekend: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2078588&id=21105072&l=1890a05144