Saying Goodbye to Wellington

This is my city: Wellington

Unfortunately, 3 of my final 4 full days in Wellington involved exams.  Perhaps it was an underlying blessing because it did not give me time to dwell on the fact that I was leaving.  Saying goodbye to Wellington was bittersweet.  Bitter because I did not want to say goodbye; sweet because I was anxious about returning to the land I love: Wisconsin.  It was strange to walk out of my flat and see it exactly how it looked just 5 months earlier when I walked through the doors with my mobile home.  As I took one last look of my incredible view, I simply just wondered where the time had gone.  I am not sure if I will ever be able to wrap my head around the fact that my time abroad—something I had been looking forward to for as long as I could remember—was already coming to a close.  It was something that I never thought would happen, and there I stood, taking in my last view as this particular chapter of my life was coming to a close.  We do not always get to pick when certain chapters end in our life—they come to a close when we are least expecting it.  It was nice to have a chapter end with a smile and a few tears.

I wish that I could come up with the words to describe the emotions I was feeling in the moment I gazed over Wellington one last time.  I was in disbelief that the time had gone by so quickly; I was sad because I didn’t know when I’d see my friends that I made in Wellington again; I was proud because I set a goal and accomplished it; I was excited because I was going to be vacationing in Fiji for 10 whole days; I was ecstatic about the idea of going home and seeing everyone; I was satisfied knowing that I made the experience everything I wanted it to be; I was happy because I made my dream a reality; I was confident because I did so many things I never expected.  I think that sums up the moment pretty well.  Thinking back to it, I cannot help but smile.  When my flight out of Wellington officially took off, it was rewarding to know that I knew what things were as I flew over the harbor and bays for the final time.  I got to know Wellington pretty damn well.  That feeling is only comparable to when I fly over Wisconsin.

Studying abroad, living in a different country, traveling with friends, traveling alone, being away from my family/friends/horses/dog, and creating a new life were all incredible opportunities that I’d recommend to anyone, seeing that they apply to you, of course.  Times were not always “rainbows and butterflies” while I was in New Zealand.  Now that I am home, all the tough times seem so insignificant and they are not the first things to come to mind when I look back at the last 5 amazing months I was able to call Wellington, New Zealand, my home away from home.  I am thankful that my foreign home will always be Wellington.  It’s a great place and I don’t think there will be a day in my life where I do not think about it.  My mind often wonders to my mornings of climbing 8 flights of stairs to campus, my afternoons wondering around Cuba Street, and my evenings walking along the gorgeous waterfront.  It is an experience I will never forget and will feel forever thankful to have had.

Finals in New Zealand

After an amazing trip to Cairns, I had the pleasure of returning to Wellington to endure not only cold, windy, and rainy weather, but also to endure the pain and agony of studying for finals.  Okay, I’m exaggerating, but seriously, finals in New Zealand were anything but pleasant.  I took four courses in New Zealand.  To refresh anyone’s memory who has been reading my blogs and following along on this epic journey of my life, those courses were: 1) Global History; 2) Gandhi, India and the World; 3) Visual Perception; and 4) Business Environment Tourism.

I took 80 steps to campus each morning

 Courses are either internally or externally assessed in New Zealand.  If I had understood this when I selected my classes last December, I would have put forth more effort to pick internally assessed courses.  From my understanding (I could be wrong), internally assessed courses have a final the last week of classes and the final is not worth as much.  For example, my “Gandhi, India and the World” class was internally assessed.  My final for that course was only worth 25 percent of my final grade.  This is typically what I am used to from going to college in the Wisconsin for the majority of college career—with New Zealand being the only exception.  On the other hand, externally assessed courses have finals during a 3.5 week finals period.  That’s right, you read it right: 3.5 weeks of finals!  Unfortunately for me, three of my classes were externally assessed and carried a much larger percentage of my final grade—50, 50 and 60 percent to be exact.  Needless to say, I could not take finals lightly and the last 2.5 weeks I spent in New Zealand were not full of fun and adventure like I was hoping for.

The library on campus

 When I start a semester of classes at UWL, I instantly know what my entire semester will look like as well as what day my final will be held.  This was not the case in New Zealand.  In fact, I did not know my finals schedule until nearly May.  I found this to be rather frustrating because it was hard for me to plan trips.  Plus, I had my heart set on going somewhere in Australia, so that limited any amount of traveling that could occur during the finals period, or “finals month” as my friends and I all called it.  I was hoping I would get lucky, and that all of my finals would be at the beginning of the finals period.  This way I would be able to spend more of those 3.5 remaining weeks relaxing and taking day trips or extended trips around New Zealand.  Finals ended on July 4^th.  I was unlucky and had finals on June 22^nd, July 2^nd, and July 3^rd.  Translation: I could not have had a worse schedule.  That’s why I took my trip to Cairns early, and I remained in Wellington those last 2.5 weeks.  Aside from the large amount of studying I had to do, those last 2.5 weeks are what hold some of my fondest memories of my time in New Zealand with the amazing friends I made (a future post to come on this).

I had my tourism class in this building

I am not going to elaborate on how incredibly frustrating finals were for me.  However, I will tell you a little bit more about how they are ran.  When final times were posted towards the beginning of May, I knew when, where, and what time they were being held.  All of my finals were in different rooms compared to where I attended lecture.  Luckily for me, they were still on the campus that I had the class at, but some of my other friends had to go to a completely different campus for finals—a huge inconvenience.  All of my finals were at 2:30 pm because the university I studied at only had two final times per day (a little unnecessary if you ask me).  Two of my finals were three hours long, while the other was two.  With the exception of one of my finals, I had to two essay finals.  To sum things up, I will be coming home with some higher quality study habits because studying for essay finals is way more intense than any other final I’ve ever experienced.

I had Visual Perception in Hunter Building

If a student is smart, you arrive at the room where your final is held at least 15 minutes prior to it starting.  This allowed ample time to be checked in (I had to bring my student ID with me), ditch my bags (inclusive of my iPod and cell phone) at the front of the room to avoid academic penalties, and find a spot to take the exam.  Exam booklets were laid out around the giant lecture halls, and I had to sit where they were placed.  I could only have pens, pencils, a clear water bottle, and a clear pencil case with me.  Oh, and I had to leave my ID face up the entire time for the people who ran the exams to randomly check to make sure it was still me (because somehow someone else could randomly appear to take my final).  Once I completed the exam, I had to be checked out and show them my ID one last time.  Basically, my rampage that I am on is that the finals in New Zealand are more intense than the ACT’s I took my junior year of high school. 

 The good news is that I survived all my finals.  I would like to thank anyone who took the time to read this rather boring blog, but it was part of my experience here in New Zealand so I felt it was important to talk about.  Also, I just wanted to complain about how much I did not like the school system in New Zealand, and I will forever be thankful for the education I received and will receive in Wisconsin.  I like the system much better!

Cairns

I have never experienced anything like my trip to Cairns, QLD, Australia this past week.  I am almost at a loss for words and I have no idea where to even begin.  My first time ever traveling alone was one of the most amazing experiences of my life.  I met some wonderful people, did some incredible things, and saw countless breath-taking sights.  I feel so blessed to have been able to do this trip and I hope I never forget any moment of it because every moment flew by.

Sunrise in Cairns the morning of my reef tour

I left my flat in Wellington around 3:30 a.m. in order to make it to the airport on time.  My flight to Melbourne was quite empty so I was able to lay down across three seats; however, I did not really find myself actually sleeping.  Customs went smoothly and before I knew it, I was on my second flight of the day to Cairns.  When I left Wellington, I was bundled up and found myself eagerly taking off my layers once I was greeted by the warm Australian sunshine in Cairns.  I arrived at my hostel, Gilligan's, around 1:30 in the afternoon.  Upon checking in, I went to explore the city and find where I was to depart for my tour on the Great Barrier Reef the next day.  I spent 4 hours walking along the Esplanade taking photos and going in and out of stores that surrounded the city center.  When I arrived back at my hostel, I met one of my roommates and we went to a BBQ that my hostel put on every Sunday.  By 9 pm I was exhausted and had been up for 18 hours, so I attempted to go to bed so I was not tired for my much anticipated reef tour the next day.  Gilligan's is a very social hostel, so I did not exactly get the best night's sleep.

After my SCUBA dive on the Great Barrier Reef

On Monday I woke up an hour before my alarm and was at the Marlin Wharf about an hour before my cruise ship was to depart.  I grabbed breakfast and enjoyed a beautiful sunrise.  When I boarded my cruise ship at 8, I was immediately given coffee and cookies so I was a very happy girl.  While enjoying my cookies, I was given a liability form to read and sign for my SCUBA dive.  I have definitely read more comforting documents in my life and realized I might die while doing my SCUBA dive.  The nearly two hour cruise out to the reef we were snorkeling and SCUBA diving was spent trying to calm myself down--I was pretty nervous.  I also spent much of this time in disbelief that I was going to cross something off my bucket list that I never thought I'd actually do: SCUBA dive the Great Barrier Reef. Upon our arrival to Michaelmas Cay, we were able to do a tour of the reef via a glass-bottom boat.  It was so unique and made me eager to be in the water myself.  We enjoyed a delicious seafood buffet and by 12, I was on a beach and ready to snorkel.  There really are no words to describe the magnificence of life below that water in the ocean.  It is peaceful and breathtaking.  Snorkeling was a very enjoyable experience, but the real fun began on my SCUBA.  Yes, I actually was able to calm myself down enough to actually complete my SCUBA.  We spent about 40 minutes swimming around the reef.  During that time I was able to touch some of the coral, kneel on the ocean floor next to a clam to experience the power of how quickly it shuts when things get close to it, and see clown fish as well as many other brightly colored fish.  It was amazing and went by so quickly.  Concluding my dive, I was able to enjoy the beach for about 20 minutes before we departed back to Cairns.  We were well fed on this cruise.  After snorkeling and SCUBA diving, we had fruit and more cookies and coffee.  Later, we even got cheese and crackers.  They knew how to keep me happy!  I could go on and on about this tour, but I feel as though I have already wrote too much.  Keeping my blogs short is something I have never been great at.

The Boulders

Tuesday was my tour to the Atherton Tablelands.  My tour was called "Uncle Brian's" and it was recommended to me by my friend, Heather.  I am so glad she told me about this tour because for the entire 12.5 hours I was on it, I was smiling, laughing, having fun, taking in gorgeous sights, and doing things I never thought I'd experience.  Our first stop of the day was at a place called The Boulders.  It was a gorgeous hike to a scenic spot that was concluded with our first swim of the day as well as morning juice and cookies.  Next, we headed to Josephine Falls where I was able to slide down a real rock slide.  I remember doing "slip 'n' slides" as a kid, but nothing could compare to riding a waterfall down an actual rock.  It was so fun that I was able to ignore that fact that the water was freezing.  From there we had a long drive to an amazing view of the Atherton Tablelands where we enjoyed dessert, lunch, and dessert again.  After we couldn't eat anymore, we headed to Millaa Millaa Falls.  It was here that everyone on the tour became models.  Our amazing tour guide, Brad, had us stand about knee deep in the water with the gorgeous waterfall in the background, get our hair wet, and whip it back to get an awesome photo.  It was pretty fun and made me thankful once again for my long, thick hair! Afterwards I swam out to the waterfall, went behind it, and actually swam under it...definitely something I never thought I'd get to say I'd do.  As hard as I try, there are not words to describe how awesome of an experience it was.  I mean, c'mon!  Who swims underneathe waterfalls in their lives?!  Our last stop of the day was at a warm volcanic crater lake at sunset.  We attempted to spot some platypuses at another location before enjoying muffins and hot chocolate to warm us up after a full day of swimming.  I still cannot believe I got to do the things I did on that tour.

Millaa Millaa Falls

Wednesday marked another early morning and another full day tour.  This tour was probably my least favorite of my trip, but it was still very enjoyable.  It began with a scenic drive on the Captain Cook Highway.  We stopped in Port Douglas to see 4 Mile Beach before we headed to our first tour of the day: a river cruise.  On this cruise I was able to see a lot of crocodiles as well as gain a better understanding of their habitat.  I was quite fascinated to say the least.  From here we went to see Alexandra Lookout.  It was here that I met a man originally from West Allis, WI.  He said that in his 31 years of living in Australia that I was the one person he met that lived closest to his original hometown.  I thought that was pretty neat.  We had lunch at a restaurant in the Daintree Rainforest, and afterwards I was able to enjoy a swim in a warm water hole.  After lunch we headed to Cape Tribulation - "where the forest meets the reef".  It was neat to see; however, I wish the tour allowed enough time for us to actually swim because the ocean was the warmest I had ever felt it.  Afterwards we headed to Mossman Gorge which was similar to The Boulders that I had seen the previous day.  We had tea and biscuits before heading back to Cairns.  It was amazing to see the sunset along the ocean as we drove on Captain Cook Highway again.  It was such a full day, and it wasn't even close to ending once I got back in Cairns around 7. 

Scout, a 7 year old croc

In between the tours and minimal sleep, I met some amazing people at Gilligan's.  We all headed down to the Esplanade for a BBQ.  There was a rugby match on a big screen TV outside, and tons of people were grilling food, drinking beer, and watching the game along the water.  It was a moment I'll never forget and it's amazing how these people that I barely knew felt like friends I'd already known for a lifetime.  Once it got cold we retreated back to the hostel for a movie night--we watched Cool Runnings, a classic.

Cape Tribulation

I spent my morning packing and wandering around Cairns one last time to grab breakfast before I headed to the airport.  It was bittersweet leaving Cairns.  I knew I'd be leaving gorgeous weather for the cold and windy city of Wellington.  Traveling by myself was very enjoyable and I loved every minute of it.  It is a trip I will never forget and always be grateful for being able to do.  I cannot believe how quickly it went by, but as I previous mentioned, I hope I never forget any moment of this trip.

Mossman Gorge

Putangirua Pinnacles Road Trip

On Friday, June 8th, I was finally able to say that I was finished with my classes here at Victoria University of Wellington.  Unfortunately, I still have 3 final exams to take over the next three weeks, but that's not what is important at the moment.  My friends and I decided to do something fun to celebrate classes being done so we took a road trip to Martinborough which is about 2 hours East of Wellington to see the Putangirua Pinnacles.

Sunrise

We left around 5 on Friday and drove in the dark through the Totatora's, which are some really windy mountains. I was a little scared, but my friend, Suzanne, is a great driver and got us to Martinborough safely.  The hostel we stayed at was a home stay and the owner forgot about us.  Despite a sketchy beginning, it was a very pleasant stay and it was quite nice to feel as though I was staying in a home rather that a hostel or flat.  We went out to dinner at an adorable restaurant for the evening called The Bach.  I love how all the places I eat here have such a unique atmosphere, and this place was no exception.  We retreated to our home stay since we were beginning our drive to our hike at 7, but spent the night eating junk food and watching the Princess Bride.  Normally, my friends and I watch movies on a tiny computer screen.  It was quite nice to watch one on TV.  I've learned that the little things in life really are the big things.

View of our hike to the Pinnacles

We had a gorgeous sunrise to accompany us on our drive the the Putangirua Pinnacles.  We even got to see the ocean along the way.  The hike was very enjoyable although I will admit I was slightly uncomfortable during it.  The pinnacles are formed out of rock and clay.  After a rainfall the previous day, it looked as though we could have experience a rock slide.  The track had a lot of clay on it which I found to be unique.  We had to cross over a river numerous times which proved to be a bit of a challenge at times, but we made it and had plenty of amazing sights of the pinnacles once we arrived.  Although the pinnacles may look like solid rock formations, they really were just a combination of rocks.

The Pinnacles

We headed back to Wellington to explore Shelly Bay and have lunch.  We saw a seal swimming near the beach.  I honestly thought it was a giant snake at first, but nope, it was just an adorable seal curious as to what my friends and I were up to.  We headed up to Mt Victoria because we had some extra time with the car we rented.  It was quite nice to drive around Wellington versus walking around it.  Again, it's the little things in life that I seem to take for granted.  Overall it was a great trip and I really enjoyed having one last adventure with the incredible friends I've made here in Wellington.

Shelly Bay

Indulging in Life

I often find myself justifying a lot of decisions that need to be made with the thought of, "It's okay, I am in New Zealand."  Usually this thought pertains to eating gelato, buying another package of Tim Tams, or eating any amount of chocolate.  This chapter in my life is the "Chapter of Indulgence."  While it may appear that I am indulging mostly in unhealthy foods and packing on the pounds in the process, I feel like I literally indulge in every aspect of life.  I try new foods, I put myself in new situations, I do things that terrify me, I do things in the moment, and I do not put as much effort into school because I do not want to miss a unique opportunity.  What is most amazing to me about these indulgences is that I do them effortlessly; I do not think about things - I just do them.  I am so afraid that I am going to regret it later because after all, it is not every day that I am in New Zealand.  But, it is not every day you are any location, place, time, or moment.

I feel like a completely new me.  I have learned so much about myself in the past three and a half months, and I am anxious what the remaining five weeks have in store for me.  I feel like this new me has come from the fact that I have chosen to indulge in life.  There have been many experiences that have reminded me how short life really is.  It is important to live while you live.  I have always been a work-aholic.  I have had a job since I have been in seventh grade and not working has driven me to insanity, but simultaneously shown me the beauty of life and the beauty of enjoying every last day of it.  I am thankful for this experience because it has shown me the beauty of life - something I have been missing out quite a bit on since I have spent so much of my life working.

I recently read a quote that said: "What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it."  Often times, I waste so many days of my life not doing anything special, but in New Zealand I have learned to approach each day with the mentality that every day is a special occasion.  I really hope that when I do arrive back home that I can approach life with the same mentality and live in the moment more.  It is amazing how experiences in life can teach you things you never expected, but I am fully thankful to have learned it sooner rather than later.