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!