As I was opening up my blog, I realized that this time next Sunday (my usual updating day), I’ll be back in Ellicott City (probably or more like hopefully asleep since it’s 2am EST!). It’s more than a little strange to think about. I rambled on for a while about leaving and changing and all that other fun philosophical stuff, but I think I’ll hold off until I’m back in the States to post the entry. Who knows, perhaps this next week has something in store for me that will further change my opinions and such.
The end is definitely drawing to a close. Suddenly there’s lots of talk about packing, suitcase weight, shipping, cleaning and most importantly, really fun volcanic ash! There are still flights cancelled, both domestic and international, although Air New Zealand is awesome and I don’t believe they’ve cancelled a single one. I will give them a bit of free advertising here as the best airline in NZ (think if they see this I might get a comp ticket? Har har har). I have four full days left in Wellington with Laura and Nicole, as we are flying as far as Los Angeles together. Jessica is leaving ridiculously early on Thursday morning for Sydney, so she has even less time. I had post-it notes of last-minute trips and other assignments to accomplish. We’ve been doing a fantastic job on the group outings, but the school-related and packing bullet points have yet to be fulfilled…oops.
Since the completion of finals last Tuesday, I spent a whole day hiding from wintery Welly (rain and wind everyday…it just depends on how much as to whether it’s a good or bad weather day) followed by some last minute souvenir shopping (and I’m still not done! Argh!) as well as some other fun. Nicole was the only one out of our group not to celebrate her birthday in Wellington, so we hosted an exciting half-birthday party on Wednesday complete with a microwave cake we learned at Sparky’s Backpackers. It actually turned out pretty good! I might have to bring home the ingredients, if I have a single bit of space in my luggage, eek! Besides that, we finally returned to pizza Mondays (we’re getting a picture with our waitress tomorrow) and were able to take the bus to another section of the Botanic Gardens, the Native Bush Reserve, on Saturday. Today (Sunday), all four of us took advantage of “gold coin” day, a Wellington promotion to allow ‘locals’ to experience all the touristy things Wellington offers for only a gold coin, before all the tourists descend in September for the Rugby World Cup. Apparently, Alex does not consider me a local, although I fought back with the mention that I had an address AND a NZ debit card—what else does one need?!
Anyway, we went to Zealandia, which has been on our to-do list for many months since our failed attempt earlier in the semester that was cancelled due to rain. We woke up this morning to rain (what a surprise??), but since it’s winter here now (so strange!), it’s to be expected. It was still fun to roam around in the mud, as I had my gumboots, and see some birds and such. Although there were a lot of people taking advantage of ‘gold coin’ day, Zealandia is so large that you never felt claustrophobic. I learned that New Zealand has over 200 different types of ferns, of which approximately 50% are only found here. Exciting, or at least I thought Mom would enjoy that bit of trivia. Jess and I trekked up to the gold mine, but there was a bit of a wait and I lost my nerve after hearing about the cave weta (you can Wikipedia this disgusting bug-like creature, ew!).
This last partial week will be devoted to getting my school transcripts and such in order, as well as having a chat with Australearn about the money that should be arriving back at home soon. The accommodation office put me in a shared room after I paid the single room price, so that will be quite a hefty refund. Also, since the houses were not complete when we arrive (see my complaints on the lack of trash cans and heaters), we should each be receiving $150 due to the inconvenience. It appears, however, that since I paid through Australearn, they have the option to not return this money to me or anyone else as it is not specified in their contract. Of course, I would never expect this of Australearn, but I will certainly be keeping an eye out for an e-mail and/or a check!
Still on the to-do list is another sunset trip back to Mt. Victoria to look out over the city, attempting to finish my photo books of the five months here in time for my return home (I’m about halfway through), and purchasing a dress that does not have any floral patterns. According to Laura, Jessica and Nicole, every dress that I own has flowers on it. Turns out the last five or six I’ve bought (some here) have indeed had flowery patterns. A first attempt at finding a different style was made last week but was unsuccessful…what can I say, I like the flowers! A last visit to our usual pizza, crepes, and gelato will also be made. I mentioned to my gelato person last time that they should open up a branch in the US to which he responded “Well don’t you guys have a lot of ice cream over there?” Do I really have to explain to the man giving me my gelato the vast difference between ice cream and gelato? Apparently. A bit saddening, but there’s always hope that it will catch on in the DC Metro area!
So I guess this is the last time you’ll be hearing from me in New Zealand. A little strange for you too? I know it is for me. I will certainly update once I’ve returned home with some excellent travel stories (perhaps ones that involve all of my planes being on time!) and some reflections. Until then, kia ora! And if you’re not looking forward to something you have to do later this week or next weekend, just remember that I’m en route to Ellicott City for 30+ hours and you’ll feel better about whatever it is you have to do!
: )))
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