Springtime in Christchurch is so amazing

Tuesday, Oct. 19:  2031 earthquakes and counting!  Had a huge one today - 5.0 but it was so shallow that it had an intensity of 7.0!!! http://www.suite101.com/content/the-christchurch-earthquakes-continue-a-stocktake-and-update-a298478

Thursday, Oct. 21: Today was my last day of classes in new Zealand! Now I have three finals starting next friday.  Ugg, wait,  I actually have to study here?

And now for Courtney and my amazing Christchurch adventures.  Instead of gallivanting around the country, we decided to stay in Christchurch and explore our home town more.  Spring here is absolutely beautiful and we definitely have a greater appreciation for "The Garden City" and its super friendly atmosphere.

Greatest smelling flower at Mona Vale

Punting on Avon River

Gondola

Saturday, Oct. 23:  I had an amazing day with Courtney!! :) ...  We did the Christchurch Grand Tour!  We hopped on the bus at Cathedral square and our first stop was Mona Vale - a historic Christchurch homestead surrounded by beautiful gardens.  We mosied around the gardens along the Avon river and stopped to watch the ducks, smell the flowers, and take in the beautiful sights and fragrances around us.  We got some amazing pictures of the flowers because I have never seen flowers so vibrant!!  And one pink flower was the best smelling flower I have ever encountered.  I want to figure out what it is!! Then we went punting down the Avon river through the botanic gardens.  It was so comfortable and incredibly relaxing.  I love all the baby ducklings that splash around in the clear water.  Then we drove up really high to a lookout point where we could see all of Canterbury.  Usually you can see the Southern Alps in the background but it was a bit too cloudy.  The view was still incredible though!!  Then we drove along Evan's Pass to Sumner.  The views from Evan's Pass were stunning and Sumner was awesome as usual.  Courtney and I ate lunch at Joe' Garage.  I had a delicious mushroom dish and chocolate ice cream.  We then drove through New Zealand's longest road tunnel carved through the crater wall of the extinct volcanic caldera that forms Lyttelton Harbour.  Here we rode the Christchurch Gondola.  We were lifted 1500 feet to the top of the Port Hills where we had amazing views across the city, Canterbury Plains, Southern Alps, Banks Peninsula, Lake Ellesmere, the Pacific Ocean, and Kaikoura Peninsula.  I got an amazing book in the bookstore called "Smile" by Anders Blomqvist and Gerar Toye.  It's full of amazing pictures of people smiling from all over the world and really cool quotes about happiness...

"There are hundreds of language in the world, but a smile speaks them all."

Tribute to the Firefighters

We rode the gondola back down with a friendly Australian couple who talked to us about cool stuff to do in Sydney.  On the way back to Cathedral Square, we stopped at an awesome sculpture on the banks of the Avon River called "A Tribute to the Firefighters."  It is 5 steel girders from the WTC that was gifted from the NYC to Christchurch to be used as a tribute sculpture to firefighters worldwide.  The suspended component or "spear," in its red hot state, fell from the 102nd floor of the World Trade Center Tower Two, piercing the subway below. 

Once the tour finished, we decided to use our tram ride ticket the next day and go to the free Band Togther concert in Hagley Park!  It was a gift to lift the morale of Canterbury due to the earthquakes. 130,000 people attended!  Court and I chilled in the grass, listened to music, and ate our free sausages.  Such an amazing day.  Wow Christchurch, I love you.

Band Together Concert

Snowboarding at Mt. Hutt

Saturday, Oct 16:  Stephanie and I had such an epic day at Mt. Hutt!  We woke up at 6 am to catch the "Snowman" bus that took care of our transportation, rentals, and all day lift pass.  I was super excited for my first time snowboarding and what a place to begin - the largest and most popular ski/snowboard mountain in New Zealand.  Its summit is 2190 metres above sea level!!  The drive up to the mountain along the narrow and steep access road was stunning and the final view from the top took my breath away.  It was a clear day so I could see all the way across the patch-worked Canterbury Plains out to the Pacific Ocean.

View from Mt. Hutt

Magic carpet hill, right before my fist snowboard run ever

The first funny thing that happened was my sunscreen exploded all over me.  The elevation was too much for the bottle to handle!  Stephanie and I just stood in the middle of the lodge laughing so loud.  Finally we got all our gear together and headed out into the snow.  Stephanie had only gone snowboarding once in her life and I was completely new.  However we decided against lessons to see if we could figure it out ourselves.  I had no idea what I was getting myself into.  It was so awkward in the beginning - I didn't even know how to walk with a snowboard attached to one foot!  Some guy suggested we start at the beginner's "magic carpet" hill.  We were supposed to pay extra for a magic carpet ticket this but a nice guy let us on for free.  As I was thanking him, I stepped into the tunnel that we had to go through to get to the top of the hill.  It felt like I stepped on something slippery, my feet were taken out from underneath me, and I completely WIPED OUT!!!!  I was so stunned!  What just happened??  Then I realized that the "magic carpet" was a moving walkway.  Hahahahaha.  Stephanie was crying laughing by this point and I was just sitting on the moving walkway confused and laughing.  The guy didn't know what to do so he stopped the walkway for me as I stood up awkwardly.  I couldn't believe I wiped out before I even put my snowboard on both feet.  SO HILARIOUS!  My ride down the small hill was a complete fail since I had absolutely no idea how to snowboard but we decided to venture up the chairlift anyway.

We somehow awkwardly mounted the chairlift and enjoyed the scenic ride.  I was so nervous to get off.  I basically rolled off haha.  The first run down the long hill was horrible.  I fell soooooo many times and it hurt so bad!  Once we finally made it down we took a break to relax and eat lunch.  Then we got out there again.  Something clicked on my second run and I didn't fall as much.  It was actually pretty fun!  The third run down I got really fast and then we stopped halfway down to take pictures of the epic view.  I felt so legit the rest of the way down, I hardly fell at all and built up more speed!  Unfortunately it started getting super windy so the chairlift had to be shut down.  But that's ok because my body was tired and I felt very accomplished.  I've always wanted to learn how to snowboard and there is no better place to learn than New Zealand!  I am the sorest I have ever been - I have too many bruises, my butt hurts to sit down, and my wrists and arms feel sprained.  But it was so worth it.

Mt. Hutt

The simple pleasures in life

Wednesday, Oct 13: I didn't wear shoes all day today - I love New Zealand!  No one wears shoes!  I love feeling the sensations under my feet - hot, cold, hard, grass, bumpy, sharp, smooth, I just realized the Maori building has heated floors!

Thursday Oct 14: Today I jumped on a bus to make my appointment at Northland's Medical and Sports Care to check out the numbness in my back and side pain.  My doctor is a cranial therapist and osteopath.  I learned so much he is amazing!  We talked about chiropracty, osteopathy, and reflexology.  He showed me what points in my back correspond to the organs in my side.  He massaged and cracked all these vertebrae that he said were super tight and misaligned.  He said that my back could have caused my side pain and then was set off after the super uncomfortable plane ride from Rarotonga.  I love this kind of stuff!

Sumner Beach

Friday, Oct 15:  Oh, the simple pleasures in life.  Today was a beautiful day so I took a bus by myself to Sumner.  I walked along the beach soaking up the rays and beauty all around me - from the bluest clearest water and softest white sand to the craggy rocks.  I laid and read my book (Eat, Pray, Love) under the sun in the warm sand by a grassy dune.  My apple tasted so much juicier and sweeter and crunchier than normal.  I thought to myself; four weeks left, Shona, four weeks left in this paradise.  I know I will return here someday.  Maybe not to this very spot, but definitely to this dreamland.  I know when November 13th comes around I'm not going to want to leave.  I'll probably have an emotional breakdown when Steph and I part each other and New Zealand.  But life after New Zealand is going to be amazing also.  I'll make sure of it ... My conscience slips back to Sumner.  What a moment, what a place, what a day, what a life.

I ventured into town and slipped into a nice looking cafe called Tuti.  I asked the cashier to order me her favorite tea,  Turns out it was Japanese green tea with lime.  It was so hot and delicious.  I don't know how she knew exactly what I wanted!  As a sipped the soothing, warm, green liquid I read some more.  As I left, I eyed a small tub of NZ made organic chocolate ice cream and had to buy it.  It was the best chocolate ice cream I have had in a while!  I ate it while waiting for the bus to take me home.

Tattoos and 21st birthdays

Courtney got a tattoo!!!  Steph, Cathy, Sarah, and I all went with her.  It's so beautiful - it is of New Zealand and the swirls in it represent different aspects of her life including her parents, friends, and new beginnings. 

This past weekend we celebrated two 21st birthdays.  Happy birthday Ryan and Stephanie!!  I still haven't accepted that I am in my 20s.  Nope.  I will be a kid forever.

I never want to leave this dreamland

So many sleepovers!!  Cathy's host family is in Australia for ten days so Steph, Courtney, and I have been hanging out and sleeping over at the house.  It is so much fun and so nice to have a huge house to ourselves.  Steph and I sleep in the luxurious guest room.  The bed is heavenly!  We watch so much Jersey Shore and cook fabulous meals.  We have made exotic fish tacos, spring rolls, wantons, carrot and vegetable patties, pasta, and tons of cups of tea.  I have all of them addicted to black tea with milk now, I'm so proud!

Sunday Cathy, Steph, Courtney, and I kayaked down the Avon River.   After, we got coffee and sat in the grass along the river and talked.  It was a great way to start a Sunday!

Kayaking the Avon River

Last Monday night we had our IES final dinner.  We all dressed up and enjoyed a delicious three course meal on a moving tram through Christchurch.  I love IES! 

IES Family

It was so sad receiving all the parting documents titled "Goodbye New Zealand, Hello America."  I never want to leave this dreamland.  A few months ago I stepped onto New Zealand soil for the first time and so much has happened since then, more than I ever could have imagined, and I have grown and seen more than I can ever describe.  I had to adjust to new people, new accents, new classes, and new land.  I've worked out how to find the best deals for travel and accommodation, I've spent every weekend and holiday exploring the country.  I've made new friends, some whom I will be friends with forever.  We all come from different backgrounds and we all came to New Zealand for different reasons, but we have experienced it together and these people understand what I feel when I look over a bay from the top of Abel Tasman, find magical plankon in the water, stand at the top of the Nevis Bungy, drive the west coast in a campervan...  I am not the same person as the one who arrived here in June.  My knowledge has expanded, my attitudes have changed, my view of home, people, and issues have changed.  This truly is one of the greatest chapters of my life.  I think it is going to be more difficult returning home than arriving here.  I must prepare myself for reverse culture shock.  I know I will miss New Zealand intensely.  Instead of returning to my old life, I am going to view it as starting a new chapter of my life after NZ.  I can't just be content with my life.  I need to live my life by going on adventures and traveling and exploring and having fun constantly doing different things.  And I will get my friends to do it with me.  Everyone needs to study abroad.  The purpose of my life is to find beauty.  I find it every moment here in New Zealand and I my goal is to continue to find it where ever my future holds.

But I still have a few weeks left!  And Stephanie and I just booked our flights to Australia for October 4th through October 11th.  It is so hard planning a huge trip like this!  When we finally figured out the general plan, "We are the Champions" started playing and we both went crazy with excitement and belted out the song.  We are the champions of New Zealand, and soon to be Australia and the world.

Kaikoura Seafest

This weekend was awesome!  It started out with my first time playing lazer tag thursday night.  A group of over thirty people including all of IES played.  We played boys versus girls!  The boys won but I still got second place out of the girls and beat half of the boys scores!  I think I found my calling haha.  

Drive to Kaikoura

Friday so many people ventured up to Kaikoura for the Kaikoura Seafest - "one of New Zealand's premier events."  I rode in Max's car with Max, Steph, Cathy, and Lindsay.  Luke drove Jess, Mike Frost, Tom, and Brad.  The stunning scenery in Kaikoura blew my mind again.  Friday night we went to the Big Top Bash concert.  Cover bands played all great music and we danced all night.  That night we camped out in Luke's friend's yard.  Some people pitched tents but I slept in Max's car with Max and Cathy.  

Kaikoura Seafest

We woke up Saturday and walked to the Seafest.  It was packed with thousands of people from all over enjoying Kaikoura and the best seafood and wine there is to offer.  Many people were dressed up.  There was an impressive variety tents.  I tried mussels for the first time and loved them, although I still think they look so gross haha.  We spent most of time in the cuisine tent hosted by the Teppanyaki Queens.  They showed us how to prepare amazing meals with fresh seafood and meat.  The best part was the free food and wine samples!

Teppanyaki Queens