Heading home/ JET LAG

I was lucky enough to have Devin be on my same flight which meant I didnt have to travel all by myself haha. We packed up all our stuff and set out to the airport. We were lucky that the weather was clear when we left because it was absolutely  pouring earlier in the day. Made it to the airport and after some weight issues with the bags we were on the plane back home! Ended up watching a movie and episode of Sherlock before sleeping for a bit. After 11 long hours we were back in LA!


I've been back for a few days now and have had major jet lag (one reason I've taken so long to update this). The first night back I slept ok, probably because I was so tired from the plane travel, but the last two nights have been brutal. Woke up like every 2 hours and I would feel wide awake. Last night was similar hopefully I get over it soon.

So after 5 months my study abroad experience has come to an end. New Zealand was amazing and I WILL be back. Thanks for all the memories!!

The last few days :(

It was really nice of Pai to let us stay with her for as long as we did. We even got lucky a bit and her roommate's rooms were left open which meant we had beds to sleep in (except for one night). Being in Auckland was so weird in that everywhere we went it was like coming full circle back to orientation. We met up with Juli and some of her friends from Huia Hall (pronounced like Hoo-Ya!) and did some shopping in downtown. They took us to a cool bar they liked called Father Ted's that night. It had a nice vibe to it and good live music, but it was super packed. It wasn't the best because we couldn't even really move and I kept getting bumped into by people trying to get through. Oh well at least I went out in Auckland.

The next day I got some really tough news. I found out that my Nana had passed away earlier that day. While it wasn't necessarily a surprise considering her health, it is/was really tough on me because I was abroad for 5 months and didn't get to say goodbye. I loved her very much and have had a tough time dealing with it and know that it wont get any easy for quite a while. Luckily, I was surrounded by friends who cared and gave me support. I was also able to skype with mom and dad and deal with some of the emotions I was going through. I tried to enjoy my last few days but it weighed heavy on me and is still very difficult because I've never lost someone who meant so much to me.

Leaving Hamilton for Auckland

So after I got back from an amazing time in Wellington, I had to pack everything up because I only had a few days left in New Zealand. We decided to throw a sort of going away party and invited everyone over for a major feast. There was so much food! It was nice to see everybody together for one last time and we even had Pai visiting for a few days from Auckland so we got to show her a bit of life in Hamilton. We grossly overestimated the amount of food people would eat, especially since a couple people had already eaten. We ended up with a Indian rice dish, a whole chicken, spring rolls, pasta, cookies, and probably a few more things that I'm forgetting. I was FULL.

Auckland Harbor

The next day, Teresa and I had to pack all our stuff in Ashi's car for the drive up to Auckland. It was no easy task since we had some giant bags. After a little bit of tetris practice we squeezed everything in headed up. We got to meet Ashi's family really quick and see her house, which was super nice. Teresa and I took the train into town to stay with Pai for a few days in Auckland. I hadn't been to Auckland (except the airport) since orientation so it was a little weird to be back.

Beautiful Windy Welly!!

After the All Blacks game I had to head straight to the bus station to take the over night bus down to Wellington for a few days. The bus ride was pretty brutal. We didnt really get going til about 11 and were supposed to arrive around 7:30 am Sunday morning. I had a tough time sleeping, especially because the bus driver had to keep announcing the stops... but I finally made it.

After finding my hostel (which was really nice) and catching up on some sleep, I set out to explore Wellington. My first stop was Te Papa, a huge museum of New Zealand history. There were several floors of different topics in New Zealand history. My favorites were the ones about the animals of New Zealand and the different geological formations. After that I met up with my friend Morgan who was studying at Victoria university there. She showed me some good places to eat and all the popular streets. After lunch I decided to hike up Mt Victoria. Its called a mountain but it was more of a hill overlooking the waterfront. I hiked up to the lookout and could see everything. I got really lucky because the weather was absolutely perfect the entire time I was in Wellington. I also wandered around and found the approximate area where they filmed a scene of LOTR on Mt Victoria.

The next day I walked along the waterfront before heading up to take the Cable Car up to the Botanical Gardens. I got another great view of the city and got to walk through the Gardens which was really relaxing. After that I had few hours to kill before meeting up with Morgan and Linda so I took the bus to Weta Cave. The "Cave" is a bunch of movie props and things that Peter Jackson's company Weta has created for films including Lord of the Rings, King Kong, Tin Tin, and Avatar among numerous others. They also had a cool little video that showed the behind the scenes for how they develop a lot of the effects and all the innovations Weta has brought to the industry over the years. That night I went to Strawberry Fare for dessert with Linda and Morgan. It was sooo good. We got a chocolate one and a strawberry and it was amazing, rivaling Max Brenner in Brisbane.

The next day was my last full day in Wellington and I started it off by heading to see Victoria University. Its a really nice place with a great view of the city, the only downside is you have to walk up a big hill to get to most of the buildings. Would get annoying if I was there for more than a day. After my little tour of the campus I headed over to Parliament and walked around for a bit before taking a tour of it. I got to see the members of Parliament actually debate stuff which ws really interesting, even if it was just them shouting at each other haha.

Finally, I took the bus back in the morning and slept for most of it. It was relatively drama free until one of the passengers had an epaleptic seizure at one of the stops. Another guy and I had to run to go find the bus driver who had locked the bus for lunch with his medicine inside. He was fine after that but it was still more drama than I would have liked on my way back to Hamilton.

All Blacks Game!

In an effort to be as Kiwi as possible before heading back home, 3 of us decided to go to the All Blacks vs Ireland Rugby game. We had the standing room only "seats" behind one of the endzones. We were all worried that it was going to rain, it was supposed to pour. However, it was a nice night which was good because I had to walk to the bus station to head to Wellington after the game.

The game itself was awesome! They had so pretty cool pregame stuff capped off by the All Blacks performing the Haka. It was incredible to finally see them do it live and they were so loud we could hear them even as far away as we were. Once the game started it was pure domination by New Zealand. The scored try after try (think NFL touchdown) and built a commanding lead. I was glad I got to see them dominate especially because the game against Ireland the week before NZ almost lost, needing a last second kick to win by 3. This game was a totally different story... the domination continued in the second half and NZ ended up winning by a score of 60-0. The match set a new record for largest margin of victory over Ireland. It was the perfect game to go to because now I feel like I was able to witness a small part of rugby history (a MAJOR blowout) even if it was just an exhibition game.

The Shire and turning 21!

So I'm a week late updating this because of my exam and lack of computer...


Last week Morgan came up from Wellington to spend a few days with us in Hamilton. Both of us really wanted to go to Hobbiton to see the the Lord of the Rings tour. We borrowed my roommates car and drove to the tour which is literally in the middle of farm country. It was so cool to see all the "Hobbit Holes" and the set of the Shire. Our tour guide had been working there for 8 years and knew A LOT about all the different part of the tour. We got to hear about the people who own the farm and how they got selected. Apparently they were watching rugby when they were approached about the farm being used and almost didnt answer the door. They lucked out! Morgan and I had a blast nerding out at all the different stuff they had.

The next day was my birthday. It was weird because I was 21 but the drinking age here is 18 so it didnt even really make a difference. I just had a really relaxing day. We all watched the NBA Finals on TV but unfortunately the Thunder lost. That night a bunch of friends came over and we just hung out, it was a fun low key night. I guess being 21 will be a bigger deal when I get home

Waitomo Caves and Glowworms

Yesterday Danielle and I got up early and took the bus to the Waitomo Caves. The cool thing about the caves is you can take a tour where you get to float on a tube down the river and look at the glowworms along the way. We were doing it winter which scared me a little because I was afraid the water was going to be freezing... and yea I was right. We started out by getting loaded up with wetsuites and headlamps and a ton of gear that was supposed to help us stay a little bit warmer in the water. We bussed over to the entrance to the cave and they showed us how to jump of a ledge and land in our tube, which we would have to do inside the cave as well. When I landed in the river for the first time, after my practice jump, my breath was taken away it was so cold. I gradually got used to it though. Once we got into the cave it was really cool (and cold). They showed us the glowworms. The glowworms are actually maggots but nobody would take a maggot tour! They told us that the way they eat it by catching insects on these neurotoxin webs that paralyze them and then they get their brains sucked out through their head. It is supposed to be National Geographic's 4th worst way to die. I want to know what number one is because getting your brain sucked out doesn't sound too fun at all.

The glowworms were really cool to look at though and we just kind of floated along staring up at them. The only problem I had was that the light on my helmet wouldnt turn off so at times I had to cover it with my hand which made paddling my tube tougher. It was still a really cool experience to float down a river in the middle of a cave. Unfortunately they wouldn't let us take cameras, so I dont have any pictures. After the tour we got hot showers (which were much needed) and nice warm soup... so good. We just relaxed in a coffee shop because we had to wait a few hours for our bus. I just passed out because I was so tired haha. All together it was a really fun day and by far the best maggot tour I've ever been on.