Thursday, June 19, 2014

Entry 2: New Zealand

It has almost been a month since I have written. I had planned to be consistent with a weekly blog, but the past month has been devoted to studying for final exams, so I have been too stressed and preoccupied to post anything. You all probably won't even see this, since you most likely have given up on me. I apologize.

I have a few things that happened right before my studies that I would like to cover including the intensity and endless hours I worked on a group project like I had never worked before, the Heritage Walk I experienced at the Botanical Gardens in Melbourne, a very insanely survival-of-the-fittest camping trip, and an dine-in I was invited to with some very famous Australian guest speakers.

I haven't been able to figure out where to start with those, so I am going to start off with another NZ Journal Entry first. It may be too long to get to anything else. I am really behind the times at this point. So, I am looking back more than I am thinking of the now. There isn't much to speak about on the last few weeks anyway, unless you want me to drawl on about my study habits. The one important present day event I will mention is there is an end-of-semester Super Secret Location Party going on tomorrow that I plan to participate in to relieve some of my stresses and get some much needed social time with friends who I may never see again :(.  A group called MOVE is hosting it somewhere downtown, but all they have been disclosing are hints to the location. I am not sure what I will wear, since it is extremely cold out at this point (and when I say extremely cold, I mean, night times are bitter sharp, while the days are like fall weather with the warmth of the sun keeping you going). They requested that we wear formal clothing, and I want to wear a dress, but unless I find a pair of leggings tomorrow on a quick shopping spree, I will be stuck with black pants, and a nice top (probably red), with a heavy coat on top.

I don't have enough energy to write about the other events I said I would cover. I am too exhausted after taking my other exam. I experienced a little bit of dramatic irony in my life when I say my Dad had posted me a message on facebook warning me not to do an all-nighter. Whoops! It wasn't an all-nighter, but it was damn near close. I have decided just to copy my Journal notes so here's Entry 2:

17 April 2014

"I had this impending doom feeling in the pit of my stomach while I waited for my next flight ever since I heard it was delayed 10 minutes. The reason for this concern was because I overheard another flight get cancelled entirely due to inclement weather. What if I got stuck in Auckland? It's not liked I expect Extreme Adventures to stay behind and wait for me.

It ended up being alright. I did miss a photo opportunity, though. I shouldn't have powered down my iTouch so early. It was more of a novelty photo, to say to all of my friends, 'Welcome to New Zealand!' in grand caps. The photo op amusingly was in the bridge between the terminal and the air plane. New Zealand was really milking the filming of "The Hobbit" being here, so they decorated the bridge to look like Hobbiton. That's as close as I will bet to Hobbiton on this trip. That's my one regret about this trip, that I don't control the itinerary, because that would have been on my list of stops.

After three sightings of the same girl, I decided it was either fated that I speak to her about the backpack she had on because I kept thinking of saying something only for her to be too far along in the terminal line for me to do anything, or she was going to the same trip as me. It turns out it was a little bit of both. The girl with the curly hair and the owl backpack from Fitzroy was from Peru, living and going to school in Vermont (she actually had been to North Carolina!) and going on exchange at Melbourne University. I was hopeful we would be going to the same hostel; she's going on the same trip as me but I guess there are two versions of the tour and her's was the reverse tour. What a coin toss! Too bad, she was nice.

It was a bumpy ride. It didn't help that I made a snap decision to take a complimentary 'cup' (not glass) of wine on the plane. I ended up having to gulp it down because of the shaking and bumping, which made the decent all the more dizzying. Ooops. I promise, I didn't get sick.

The next coincidence was Daniel from the UK. He had been sitting in front of me the entire trip to Christchurch, and here he was sitting in front of me in the shuttle bus. My fingers crossed again, and I asked myself, 'Was he going where I was?' Nope. I struck up a conversation with him (obviously, since I know his name). He studies politics and philosophy in Scotland and was saying that Scotland has finally made the decision to discuss breaking away from the UK soon.

The only reason I remembered Daniel from the flight in the first place is because of what happened on the plane. He sat down in my row, in the wrong seat. It didn't really matter, both people who were sitting in my  row were sitting alone, but if he hadn't have moved, I wouldn't have been able to amuse myself with being half in a conversation with two women in the early stages of grand motherhood. I asked for the time to the lady sitting next to me, but she didn't have a watch, so she asked the other woman. I hadn't really cared what time it was, I just wanted an excuse to start conversation. I ended up helping the other woman start some odd conversation about the new screening technology at the airport. The story was something about  a heat sensor, where she was amused by the screen picking up a large heat signal from her crotch. It was odd, and I think I had more fun listening into their conversation than being a part of it. Here were these two complete strangers, and their were discussing things of this nature for the whole hour, chatting like old friends, while I sat in my corner, watching the sky grow dark.

Three strikes and your out, right? There were three other parties on the shuttle bus: Daniel, two Asians and a girl in the back. The girl from the back, Heike, is guess where from? You guessed it! Germany! I swear, every travel trip I have ever been on, I have met at least one German. I had someone to practice on! She's studying Psychology at another university in Melbourne. I already feel close to her. She's bunking above me, and we spent the rest of the evening chatting lazily since we bother were tired from our travels. She was on the same flights as me, I just never ran into her until the shuttle bus.

Time for bed! Night!"

There you have it. Now just as I quoted myself, it's time for me to get so shut eye. Hopefully I will have more energy to catch up on the other more present events and things of importance that have happened since then end of May in the next few days. I have another exam, but I am not that concerned with it. I just need to reread and review a few articles. The professor was kind enough to tell us exactly which subjects to focus on for the exam and what type of questions they would be, so I am confident about it. Night!

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