June (oops...) 14, 2011

Yep so I've basically given up writing here, as I'm sure you've guessed. To be honest I'm focusing more on living and enjoying my last month-and-a-week here instead of worrying about blogging about it... which sounds reasonable to me! Anyway since I last wrote we have gone to the west coast as well as Wellington last weekend. On the coast we went to an abandoned coal mine for an incredible tour, and I had my first stay in a hostel on the beach (I can totally see myself traveling around in hostels with my friends!). We went down the Truman Track to what I have to say is the most incredible beach I have ever been to, and drove down to the "Pancake Rocks" which were interesting as well. The coast could very well be the most beautiful place I have ever been, I have to say. It was breathtaking - I can't even describe it! Last weekend we went up to Wellington for 2 nights and one day, which was awesome as well! We caught a late ferry, which was 3 hours crossing Cook Strait in the dark. And let me tell you, you can actually feel those waves. But all good, didn't get too sick, and it was actually very fun. We checked into our motel-apartment unit right downtown, and then the next morning got up bright and early and walked down to the shops. Basically we shopped all morning in awesome vintage shops etc. We went to the most AMAZING kebab place for lunch - it was SO yummy! And they gave us free chips to go with it - I had a lamb kebab and if I could eat that every day I would. In the afternoon we went to Te Papa, which was very fun and interesting, and then went to Alicja's cousin's house for a delicious curry dinner. The next morning we were up at 6:30 to catch an early 8 AM ferry, but we got to see the sunrise. We were on a really nice ferry, and they play movies while you cross (it was National Treasure 2). I went outside and saw a little seal playing in the surf, and later we all saw a HUGE pod of dolphins! It was incredible. I kept thinking of the last day I saw my mom - we were on the beach in the morning and saw a dolphin in the waves, and mom said it was good luck. It was beautiful. So yes it was a wonderful trip overall, and I'm very thankful I got to experience all of that.

This weekend is my AFS camp, which should be fun - it marks one month until I leave (this Friday). That's a bit of a damper on the weekend, but I'm excited to see everyone again. The week after that is international week at school, so I get to do a presentation on the U.S. and my life in MT for anyone who wants to listen. This thursday is NCEA day so no school for me! I keep trying to remember to send postcards to everyone, and I feel bad that I haven't yet, but I will try to get on that soon before I end up running out of time!

That's all for now! Probably won't get around to posting for another month... But oh well, at least I'm enjoying life, right??

May 21, 2011

Well, I haven't written for awhile. Nothing much going on here, I'm back at MGC which has been good. I have a lot of catch up work to do, but it gives me something to focus on. This weekend and next will be pretty low key, but things start to pick up after that! We have a 5 day weekend over the Queen's Birthday, and we might go to the west coast over that break. Then we're headed to Wellington for a weekend, I have my AFS camp, we have an international trip to Wellington, and then I go home a few weeks later. Its hard to believe I've already been here for 4 months!

With regards to school, I don't so much feel like things have changed as the way I look at them has. I really do feel like I do fine on my own, and I have decided to be happy and enjoy my last 2 months. Its funny though, how one comment, one person saying hi, one nice deed can completely make your day. Or make it worse, one or the other! I've been feeling pretty tired, but aside from that decent. I rode in the Tasman cycling races on Wednesday, which was a great experience.

Also we went to the Picton marae with the international girls, which was a blast! I didn't really sleep much but it was a fun overnight trip. I've been reading a lot, doing homework, and we have a netball game this afternoon. Things are ok. So yeah, thats about it! Just normal life here!

School and school holidays

Well, I think last time I wrote we were about to leave for the Otago Rail Trail. That was an extremely fun trip, and the scenery was absolutely breathtaking. For much of the trail I felt like I could have been in England or Scotland, and for the rest I felt like I was about to stumble upon a few hobbits or some orks. It was incredible. It was also awesome to get to spend some more quality time with my host family - I really enjoyed that a lot. Biking during the day, staying in the only B&B in the tiny towns along the track each night, eating, laughing... it was awesome. I would reccomend it to anyone who finds themselves down in the Central Otago area.

When we got back, I found a package from my family waiting for me full of easter treats! That was very exciting, it made my day! We were all quite tired so we got a good nights sleep that night, and then the next day I boarded a bus at 1 and headed off to Nelson to stay with my support coordinator Lisa's family at a bach on Jackett Island. That trip was incredible as well, I had so much fun up there. We basically hung out, ate chocolate, went to the beach/ocean, ate chips, played cards, ate more of both, and had a great time. I really appreciate being able to go up there, and was thankful to have been invited! On the way back to Nelson on Easter we went over near Golden Bay for a bit to look at the "cow mummy," literally a cow that died and the skin simply became petrified. It was the weirdest thing I have ever seen, but at the same time it was pretty awesome!

The rest of the break passed without much of note happening, I hung out a lot and just relaxed, which was quite nice. The only other big thing happening for me is that I am switching schools this term, because MGC wasnt working out on various levels. Tomorrow is my first day at Queen Charlotte College, and I'm excited but also really nervous. Fingers crossed that it goes well!

Pie a la Mode

Tonight I made the most American thing I could think of in the food category that doesn't exist here - fresh apple pie! It actually came out really well, I was quite proud of it! Sonia and I made dinner tonight which was really fun and delicious, so between that and dessert I am quite full. All good fun though, I love apple pie so much. Tonight we are packing to leave on our Otago Rail Trail trip tomorrow, so we will be gone for 5 days biking through central Otago. Should be lots of fun. Other than that nothing too newsworthy... today was pink shirt mufti day so we all wore pink and brought $2 to support anti-bullying. That sentence seems like a bit of a contradiction but it doesn't make sense if you say it was to not support bullying... Anyway yes I think I wore pink for the first time today, at least the first time in a few years. Not really my color, you know. So yep enjoying NZ, looking forward to the holidays!

AFS Camp

April already, wow time sure goes by quickly! Last weekend I had my AFS camp, which was why I was away from the internet and facebook and my blog for a few days. We drove down on Friday (I spent Thursday night at my support coordinator Lisa's house) for 6 hours and when we finally got there we got to meet everybody for the first time. It was akward at first but also very interesting. The rest of the weekend was spent getting to know people, playing cards, staying up late and having all sorts of fun (with a bunch of orientation thrown in there, but that wasn't the enjoyable part!). It was an awesome weekend, I had SO much fun and it really made me realize why I chose to come with AFS. It was such a community and everyone got along so well, and we all had that common tie that brought us together. It was an amazing experience. I barely slept all weekend, seeing as we went to bed at 2:30 the first night, got up at 7:00, then went to bed at 4:00 the next night and got up at 8:00, so I was pretty trashed on Monday, but it was well worth it. It was almost like a giant sleepover, except with people you had only known for a day and felt like you had known much longer. To be honest there was so much that happened that I can't really write it all down for fear of leaving something out, but if you look at any photos anyone took you get a pretty good idea of what we did all weekend. I think it is safe to say everybody was feeling pretty sad as we left and realized we had to go to school the next day and couldnt stay at camp forever. This week... happened. I think I will leave it at that. Tonight though was my parent-teacher interviews and all my teachers said they loved having me in class, which was great to hear! It was also mufti day to raise money for Japan. One more day and then the weekend - then in a week we have school holidays! We are leaving a week from tomorrow to go on the Otago Rail Trail, which will be fun. Then I might spend a week at a batch up near Nelson, which I am also excited for. So yeah, had an incredible weekend, and I am looking forward to break!

A Day in the Life

M'kay so it has once again been far to long since I have updated my blog. But not too much has been going on, so I guess thats ok they probably would have been boring posts anyway. Last weekend Kasia, Yurie (our 2-week Japaneese student) and I hung out on Saturday and watched Sound of Music. Awesome movie. I love that movie so much. And then Sunday Yurie, Alicja and I went for a walk in the Withers in the rain, and went to the Chocolate Factory and to a little village-thing near the wineries. Overall a low-key but fun weekend. Earlier this week I was feeling awfully homesick, I have to admit. I'm not really sure why, but I literally thought about home every waking moment. I found myself missing the silliest things. Driving to Home Depot with my dad. The Leaf and Bean. Walking into Mom's office after school. Our silly good-night rituals at home. Simple things that I have found make a huge difference. It was a tough couple of days. Yesterday afternoon I went to cycling though, which helped. Today was much better - I played squash with Lara after school and had a decent day of classes, other than ending with physics which always sucks. I think it also helps that I am super excited for the weekend. Which brings me to part 2: This weekend, I have my AFS camp!! Woo! Everyone from the South Island is going, which will be awesome. Tomorrow after school I am getting dropped off in Nelson for the night, and Friday morning we leave to drive down near Christchurch. I hope it is a fun weekend, and I have the feeling it will be! On Friday I have officially been here for 9 weeks. Term one ends in two weeks and then we leave for our Otago Rail Trail trip. Unfortunately I have to wrap up now because my new favorite TV show is almost on - "Packed to the Rafters," an awesome Aussie show about a close-knit family with 3 older kids and a new baby, and their relationships, troubles, etc.

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Sooo yeah we didn't go to Wellington. I was basically feeling miserable all evening yesterday and I would have had a yucky trip. So we've rescheduled in May. Now I get another day to do nothing! At least I should be feeling better by Monday. Its kind of crazy how quickly everything becomes routine - to be honest I keep forgetting I'm actually in New Zealand! We have another exchange student from Japan coming to stay for 2 weeks on Monday, so that should be fun. Nothing else of extreme importance going on that I can think of.