Sunday, March 14, 2010

A weekend of beaches

I know I have no room to complain-but I never want summer to end here. It is absolutely incredible out, and I'm loving the sunshine. I can't really grasp the idea that it is going to start getting colder soon... it just doesn't make sense!


However, I have been fully taking advantage of summer while it is here. Last weekend was glorious.


Friday after classes I had an "International Student Welcome Party," complete with cheesy games and yummy food. After the party I went to a different kind of party at the Ferg, a doctors and nurses party to be exact. My friend Jenny and I dressed up as patients, complete with bandaged heads and sharpie cuts. It wasn't as packed as the freaks and geeks party, but we still had a great time dancing.


Saturday we had an early start (well, for us) and headed to goat island to go snorkeling. We stopped in a little town on the way for lunch, then headed to hire our gear. The guy at the shop was a funny lanky guy with a knack for guessing people's shoe size. We got all our gear and headed to the island. It is a beautiful, black sand beach, and the sand is hot enough to burn the bottom of your feet. We suited up and headed into the water. Once we were out there and I was past the initial excitement, I realized one of my flippers was not fitting correctly. After checking that I hadn't switched one with someone, I decided to go back to shore and ditch them so I didn't get blisters. The swim back out to meet up with my friends was a tiring even because I was fighting the current and flipperless, but I made it. My favorite fish that I saw where these big silver and blue ones, and I also saw a manta ray. We eventually headed back to shore to lay on the sand for a while. We were all a bit tired, and my legs had just had a nice work out. The miss-sized flipper ended up working out well for me, because I got a $9 refund (the total gear was $25) and my legs are nice and sore, a feeling I love. After falling asleep in the sun (luckily Mark woke us so we weren't too burnt) we headed out and went to Jess's favorite beach. It was a bit of a drive on a gravel road, but 100% worth it, especially to me because I wasn't driving.

On Sunday I had a lazy morning then went to another peach in the afternoon, Long Bay, this time with my friend Scott. I lazed on the beach and had a nice long swim.

One fun thing that happened this week was a visit from Sue Jackson! I was one of the luck ISEP students who got to see her. She came to my Molecular and Cell bio class (unfortunately for her it is the only class I have on Wednesdays). She also introduced me to passion fruit, we bought some from a stand on the way back from class, and it is amazing! I can't believe we don't have it in the states, I'm already anxious that I may not be able to find any. Then we had a delicious dinner at a Thai restaurant.

This weekend, which ends in 45 minutes when my first of the week begins, was fun as well. Friday night I went to a party at Dale's massive house and lost a few rounds of pong, and Saturday I went to Piha beach. It was a little chilly, and I was tired, so I avoided the water, but it was still gorgeous, and i had fun walking around the sand. I was tired from a lack of sleep Friday night, so I opted to stay in on Saturday night and crashed by 11:30, and didn't wake up until nearly 11 on Sunday. I did a bit of studying, went to the gym, and Sunday night went to a "Young Nats" function where I met John Key, the Prime Minister of New Zealand! (See photo below) Pretty awesome, even if I still don't really understand NZ politics.


Overall, an exciting last couple of weeks, now I'm off to class!

2 comments:

  1. I love the pictures. Especially the one with the flippers. Not so sure about the pong. Sounds like you are having fun. Glad you mentioned studying at least once. Love you. Mom

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  2. Pretty soon your freckles will amass into a blob which makes you look almost tan.

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