I'm done for three weeks and it feels quite great. I finished up last week by handing in a paper on Wednesday and taking a test on Thursday, both of which I think went well. However, I won't know what I actually got on any of my assignments until after the break is over so I'm choosing to not worry about anything academic related for a few weeks. I suppose I could start on some of the papers and projects I have to do after break (and I actually do have to do a short online assignment during break for one of my classes), but I'm going to put most of it off until after break and just enjoy the time off. After all that's what study abroad is for, right? I kicked off my break but going out for drinks with some friends and just chilling out for a few days. I literally slept and laid around for most of Friday, which was quite nice (even if I did feel a little worthless towards the end).
On Saturday I woke up early to go into the city to book some things for the break. I'm traveling around the North and South Islands, doing a smattering of fun activities with four friends whom I haven't had a chance to spend a whole lot of time with yet, so it'll be fun to break away from the people I hang out with everyday for a few weeks. Not that I dislike them or anything, I just like varying the people I spend time with and getting to know new people better. What better way to meet new people than to spend weeks crammed up in tents, hostels, and cars with them? Anyway we went and rented a car and booked some accommodations and activities on Saturday morning. After doing that we hopped in the car, went back to campus and packed our bags for an overnight trip to Akaroa, which is about an hour and a half outside of Christchurch (all the pictures in this entry are from Akaroa by the way). We had booked time to swim with dolphins and were cutting it close on time seeing as how we didn't have a concrete idea of how to get there, but we made it with a bit of time to spare which was good. We suited up in uncomfortable wetsuits that smelled of mildew and got on a boat and went out into the ocean searching for some Hector's dolphins (which I've learned are one of the most endangered species of dolphins in the world). It was a really cool experience to travel along the coastline of New Zealand and then get to go out in the wander and have pods of dolphins swim around you.
After swimming with dolphin's we went and checked into our hostel, which was a funky little pink building, and went to acquire some bottles of wine and beer. After eating a deliciously deep fried dinner at a local fish & chips place we went and sat out on the docks and just hung out for a few hours talking, drinking, joking, and skipping rocks. It was a really fun laid back time. Akaroa was a nice contrast to Christchurch. It has the vibe of a really small beach town, that gets pretty quiet once the sun goes down. We walked back to the hostel to drop off a few things and then went to a bar around the corner. Whereas the average age of the Christchurch bar population is around 20, I'd say this bar was pushing around 40. It was complete with a really corny DJ ("DJ Steve" specifically) who played some pretty good "bad music". It actually turned out to be a really really fun night, there was a mini-bachelor party that was going on at the bar which was interesting to say the least and it was just a really quirky scene altogether.
The next day, after going to bed at quite the late hour, we woke up early once again. We grabbed some coffee and quick breakfast and headed down to the docks to meet up with a guy who charters a fishing boat and takes people out to do deep sea fishing. It was the five of us along with a group of six or so 30-something guys. We ended up spending most of the day out on the water and just hanging out, fishing, and talking with kiwis. I caught a couple of fish (and one tenacious shark who was about 3 feet or so big). I'm not much of a fisherman, but it was still a lot of fun and a great way to kick off break with something new and different. We came back after a day on the sea and packed up our stuff and hit the road.
I ended up driving back (for the first time in New Zealand). It was a bit stressful being on the other side of the road especially since the drive back featured lots of hills, narrow roads, and very windy turns. However, I ended up getting used to it pretty quickly and I'll definitely be good to go when I drive on the rest of the trip. Speaking of the rest of the trip we're going to Fox Glacier tomorrow which is about a 6.5 hour drive. We'll be staying at a hostel tomorrow in a nearby town and then going on an organized hike around the glacier on Tuesday. Then we'll come back to Christchurch for another night before heading out on the long portion of our journey to Abel Tasman, Queenstown, the North Island, and various other spots. I'll have more pictures and updates on the break when I return. I'm not sure when my next update will be seeing as how my internet availability might be somewhat sporadic in the coming weeks, but I'll get to it when I get a chance.
I'm done for three weeks and it feels quite great. I finished up last week by handing in a paper on Wednesday and taking a test on Thursday, both of which I think went well. However, I won't know what I actually got on any of my assignments until after the break is over so I'm choosing to not worry about anything academic related for a few weeks. I suppose I could start on some of the papers and projects I have to do after break (and I actually do have to do a short online assignment during break for one of my classes), but I'm going to put most of it off until after break and just enjoy the time off. After all that's what study abroad is for, right? I kicked off my break but going out for drinks with some friends and just chilling out for a few days. I literally slept and laid around for most of Friday, which was quite nice (even if I did feel a little worthless towards the end).
On Saturday I woke up early to go into the city to book some things for the break. I'm traveling around the North and South Islands, doing a smattering of fun activities with four friends whom I haven't had a chance to spend a whole lot of time with yet, so it'll be fun to break away from the people I hang out with everyday for a few weeks. Not that I dislike them or anything, I just like varying the people I spend time with and getting to know new people better. What better way to meet new people than to spend weeks crammed up in tents, hostels, and cars with them? Anyway we went and rented a car and booked some accommodations and activities on Saturday morning. After doing that we hopped in the car, went back to campus and packed our bags for an overnight trip to Akaroa, which is about an hour and a half outside of Christchurch (all the pictures in this entry are from Akaroa by the way). We had booked time to swim with dolphins and were cutting it close on time seeing as how we didn't have a concrete idea of how to get there, but we made it with a bit of time to spare which was good. We suited up in uncomfortable wetsuits that smelled of mildew and got on a boat and went out into the ocean searching for some Hector's dolphins (which I've learned are one of the most endangered species of dolphins in the world). It was a really cool experience to travel along the coastline of New Zealand and then get to go out in the wander and have pods of dolphins swim around you.
After swimming with dolphin's we went and checked into our hostel, which was a funky little pink building, and went to acquire some bottles of wine and beer. After eating a deliciously deep fried dinner at a local fish & chips place we went and sat out on the docks and just hung out for a few hours talking, drinking, joking, and skipping rocks. It was a really fun laid back time. Akaroa was a nice contrast to Christchurch. It has the vibe of a really small beach town, that gets pretty quiet once the sun goes down. We walked back to the hostel to drop off a few things and then went to a bar around the corner. Whereas the average age of the Christchurch bar population is around 20, I'd say this bar was pushing around 40. It was complete with a really corny DJ ("DJ Steve" specifically) who played some pretty good "bad music". It actually turned out to be a really really fun night, there was a mini-bachelor party that was going on at the bar which was interesting to say the least and it was just a really quirky scene altogether.
The next day, after going to bed at quite the late hour, we woke up early once again. We grabbed some coffee and quick breakfast and headed down to the docks to meet up with a guy who charters a fishing boat and takes people out to do deep sea fishing. It was the five of us along with a group of six or so 30-something guys. We ended up spending most of the day out on the water and just hanging out, fishing, and talking with kiwis. I caught a couple of fish (and one tenacious shark who was about 3 feet or so big). I'm not much of a fisherman, but it was still a lot of fun and a great way to kick off break with something new and different. We came back after a day on the sea and packed up our stuff and hit the road.
I ended up driving back (for the first time in New Zealand). It was a bit stressful being on the other side of the road especially since the drive back featured lots of hills, narrow roads, and very windy turns. However, I ended up getting used to it pretty quickly and I'll definitely be good to go when I drive on the rest of the trip. Speaking of the rest of the trip we're going to Fox Glacier tomorrow which is about a 6.5 hour drive. We'll be staying at a hostel tomorrow in a nearby town and then going on an organized hike around the glacier on Tuesday. Then we'll come back to Christchurch for another night before heading out on the long portion of our journey to Abel Tasman, Queenstown, the North Island, and various other spots. I'll have more pictures and updates on the break when I return. I'm not sure when my next update will be seeing as how my internet availability might be somewhat sporadic in the coming weeks, but I'll get to it when I get a chance.
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