Shopping, Rugby, and more Shopping

So after the adventure of last week, it was time to get into the serious business of classes. We just finished our 2nd week and my schedule is now FINAL. Which is totally fine by me, because I like all of my classes. So really not much happened during the week until we went out on Thursday night. Normally, I am strictly a weekend girl, I don't particularly like going out on school nights (yes I am a nerd). However, Lincoln has these amazing things called Field Trip Days every few weeks where the classes can go on field trips if they want. None of mine did so that meant I was free on Friday, and free to go out on Thursday.

We took the shuttle into the city with all the other Lincoln kids (it was freeee! a nice change from paying $3 everytime). We got dropped off at the Mad Cow which was kinda uneventful at that time. We left to go hang out at the Yellow Cross again, where I saw one of the bartenders from the previous weekend (its probably bad if I start becoming a regular at a bar right?). We then migrated to a nearby one with comfy couches where we ran into grad students from Lincoln. We hung out with them for a while before we started a hunt for fish and chips. We fortunately turned the corner and had some of the best fish and chips I've had since arriving in New Zealand.

Half of the group decided to head back but Cayla and I decided to wait for the shuttle back into Lincoln. We got separated from the rest of the group staying out and decided to just go back to the Mad Cow (where we were getting picked up). At this time, they had a foam party in the back room which frightened me a bit at first, but figured why not. After dancing around in knee deep foam (god only knows what was in that foam), we headed back into Lincoln.

Friday was a self declared homework day while everyone else left for their weekend adventures. Nic, Cayla, and Val all took off to go hike in Arthur's pass, so that left Liz and I in Lincoln. We chose to make it a productive weekend and I guess you could say we did.

I began my morning with homework and moving. I had been hassling the housing office to move to semi catered (so I could eat dinner with everyone) and they finally made it happen. After that we really wanted to go shopping. Sounds silly, but the Kiwi girls are putting me to shame and I needed more going out clothes. Plus, my mom did say to go shopping instead of having her ship stuff to me. We went to the Riccarton Mall and after a good day of trying on clothes and deciding if the exchange rate worked in our favor or not, we went into Christchurch.

We met up with the grad students again before we went to the rugby game. I'm thinking at this rate, I should just get the season pass for the Crusader games. Anyway, they won once again and it was a much more eventful game with the competition stronger. Liz and I ran onto the field after and I met 4 players (including hottie from the previous match) before we went back into Lincoln.

Today we decided we needed to yet again go shopping. We went back to the Riccarton Mall and ended up making some "neccessary" purchases. The weekend total was a pair of leggings/pants, a nice going out dress, perfume, a bathing suit, two tank dresses, a beanie, and a nice tanktop. Due to great sales and my excellent shopping technique, it didn't add up to too much. It probably helps that the NZ dollar is equal to 70 cents US. Overall I'm quite satisfied with the purchases and now can stop looking like a slob when I go out.

Christchurch and Uni

Our roadtrip adventure came to an end as we hit Christchurch. We dropped Matt off at University of Canterbury and the group began to split. Team mazda, per usual went to find a field to sleep in, while us Lincoln girls stayed at a hostel. The following morning, we caught a bus to our official home for the next semester. Upon arrival we unpacked and began exploring our university. It's fairly small with about 4,000 students and is a strong land school (ag, viticulture, envs). The library is adorable; on the outside it looks like an old european building, but inside, its modern with a garden in the middle and mod red couches everywhere.

My room is in a self catered hall (meaning I don't have a meal plan) and is pretty much your typical dorm room. The good thing is, the closet is really big and therefore had lots of room for my suitcases to be stored away as well as all of my clothes. It even leaves some room for me to go shopping ;) Everyone else is in a semi catered (meaning they get dinner at the dining hall) and I have been trying desperately to switch to that. Its not like the food is much better, its just that I like to eat a lot, and the price of food is high and theres only one small grocery store in the small town of Lincoln.

So we arrived here on the 15th, and orientation began on the 17th. It was kinda silly to go to all the intro lectures because we had already experienced that at EAP orientation. We've met a lot of non EAP people, but so far, most are Americans. All the kiwis we've met are freshmen because they are the ones living on campus. We were all excited to have classes start to meet more people our age.

Classes started on the 22 and I'm taking four classes this semester which is normal for Lincoln. First, I'm taking an ENVS class called Environmental Resource Management. We get to go to some rivers and take samples to study in the lab. It's the first field class I've had so I'm looking forward to it. Also in the ENVS major, is a GIS class. This teaches you how to create maps and find the best location for a well, vineyard, farm, etc. It's a great tool to have as an ENVS major but unfortunately is not that exciting. I'm also taking a Maori studies class about the Treaty of Waitangi. So far, I've only learned some Maori words and a bit about the treaty but it should be a cool culture class. Lastly, I'm taking Resource Law which I was concerned about at first, but will most likely be fine. Thankfully NZ is on the common law system similar to the US and so the structure is fairly similar.

I've had a week of classes but its also been orientation week. We've gone to a Salmonella dub concert which is kinda like reggae style of music. They were pretty chill and it was a lot of fun. Also, the local rugby team, the Canterbury Crusaders came to practice at our University. It was pretty awesome watching them train; they are surprisingly better athletes than I expected. And not bad to look at either ;) I'm still trying to understand the game but I got a real chance to put it to use when I went to a rugby game this weekend.

Lincoln at last

Yay finally at my new home for the next semester. It's been quite a journey to get here and I will definitely fill it all in. So far I've uploaded about 400 pictures from the past week on the road on facebook, and over the next few days will post a section on each day on the road. For now, I'm going to enjoy being stationary for a while and begin exploring my new home. Till then, check out the pics!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=156745&id=665896295&l=5cf96f18a6

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=156750&id=665896295&l=adcb9da96b