Well, it’s been an eventful week since last Sunday. I went through orientation and finished enrollment at the University of Canterbury. Going through orientation felt like I was a freshman all over again, but it’s a great chance to meet people. I’ve already met people from all over the world, even with only being here for ten days. Who knows how many more people I will meet in the five months.
Other than being busy with orientation, my roommates and I went and explored the “city”, which to us would basically be down town. It was interesting to see the remnants of the damage caused by the earthquakes in 2010 and 2011. One building could be completely new and the one beside it could still be ruined. After the earthquakes, I learned about the Re:start mall in storage containers they had here, but have since learned it’s no longer around. The shops have all moved to buildings again. While walking the city we found some fun spots to look at and hang around. For instance there was a Friday Street Food Market with a bunch of food trucks. We found a fun park for both kids and adults, even though we were the only adults there without kids! The city is also covered in street art and graffiti. See Below!
Today is Sunday, and some of my friends and I decided to go to the beach. We rode the bus to Sumner and got on a hiking path called Taylor’s Mistake. Let me tell you I was not physically prepared for that hike. It was a steep climb up and down to the beach. The beach was pretty fun. It was high tide when we got there and the water was really cold. Just the way I like it. To be honest, though, I think I forgot what the ocean tasted like over the years, and it’s not good. Once we left the beach we decided to keep hiking: YIKES. We hiked the Godley Head Walkway. Honestly, all these paths had a beautiful view, even though I could barely walk by the time we got back. I definitely will be hurting in the morning.
P.S. I’m sorry if the photos aren’t up for a while. Me being me, I forgot my phone at the apartment, so that equals no pictures. Picture credits will be from my roommates!
Anyway, now that THAT’S out of the way, next week involves my first week of school since December! Do I miss it? Well the answer to that is a double edged sword.
Hello
Goodbye
Good Morning
Until we meet again,
Kayla Ragaller