Last Few Days of [school-free] Summer

It seems odd to have been transported to summer from Canadian winter, but the transition wasn't too weird for me. I've been all over the place since classes ended at UBC in December - first Yelapa, then Englewood, then Tofino, then Kingston, and finally Christchurch. My body's became so confused about climate that it's been nice just to be in one place for more than two weeks. Sadly though, summer will be drawing to a close in the next month or so, and nothing marks that more than the commencement of CLASSES which start tomorrow. I'll let you know how they go!

The last week has been so all over the place that I wasn't really sure how to write a post about any individual thing, so I'm trying to mush it all together. 

SUNDAY
Downtown Christchurch isn't as big as Vancouver, nor is it as quaint as Kingston. But it's still beautiful. We explored the shops and sites, then spent some time in Cathedral square, the centre of the city. 

MONDAY & TUESDAY
International Orientation days were a bit of a write-off. Somewhat helpful, but mostly unnecessarily drawn out. The coolest part was the Maori welcome at the beginning, when we all got to sing together. 

WEDNESDAY
Went to New Brighton to get ma surf on. Angie and Drea came along, and we rented (or hired, in kiwi speak) boards from a shack right on the beach. It was Drea's first time and she was a determined pupil - she managed to stand up twice! I was very proud but don't think I can take the credit for it. Now there are a lot more people in Ilam who want to try surfing, so I'm sure we'll head back soon. Next time though, we'll have to put more zinc on our faces - despite lathering up twice in a four-hour period, we all ended up with pink faces!

Drea, myself and Angie about to head out

THURSDAY
Enrolment day - not exciting at all ... spent the day in line to get my classes confirmed and get my Canterbury card. The day picked up at around 7 when we started getting ready for the school's massive Toga party. The O-week shenanigans have begun!

FRIDAY
Recovery from the Toga party and preparations for the Vessel party / Peter's birthday (we hosted a gathering where one had to drink from something unusual - I used a purple vase).

SATURDAY
For three weeks now, Becks, Arleen and I have been going to a Saturday morning farmer's market that's about a 30 minute walk away from Ilam (Becks knew about it from last year). The number of people making the trek has grown each week, and yesterday there were about 15 of us. Pretty good showing for 9 in the morning! The market is held on the Riccarton House grounds, which is essentially a park. It's gorgeous, but I hadn't brought a camera till this week.

Becks, Lee and I taking a rest before walking back to Ilam

While walking from Ilam to the market, you really get an idea of why Christchurch is nicknamed the Garden City. The average house has a lush, almost explosive garden, and I always think about how much my mum, or grandmothers, would love the gardens!

Pretty glorious, eh? I think so. It's actually hard to resist stealing a few flowers to take home - of course I haven't done so, but maybe I'll fill that purple vase with a couple from a nearby florist ...

I'm saving the activities of today (Sunday) for my next post. I'm sure they'll be entertaining to recount!

Port Hills

After an attempt at a weekend trip to Dunedin failed (once again due to high tourism season), the gang regrouped and planned an outing for Saturday: an excursion to the Port Hills. These hills are visible from most of Christchurch (unless its foggy), sort of like the Northshore Mountains in Vancouver - just smaller. We had to take two buses to get out there, which meant that the trip took about 1.5 hours. However, when we were waiting for the second bus in the city centre, we got to see a performance by a young Maori group.

Maori Performance from Ally Stocks on Vimeo.

We were all fascinated - its too bad I didn't get a video of them doing the Haka. Though not quite an All Blacks rendition, it was still awesome to watch.

We made friends with a pair of Canadian couples while we waited for the second bus, who were also heading to the Port Hills. The ride was only about 20 minutes to the base of the Christchurch gondola, where our new friends would get a ride up, and where we would begin our ascent. The hike was hot and dry but it was well worth it - the views were unbelievable. Not to mention we kept pointing out rocks that we thought Frodo might be hiding behind, or where Pipin and Merry would be running away from orcs. Naturally, I began a boisterous rendition of the Lord of the Rings theme song that had other hikers giving us odd looks.

What's that, Frodo? Your shoulder hurts?

View down to Christchurch (left in the distance)

One of my favourites from the excursion

When we reached the summit after about an hour of walking up, there were spectacular views. We'd been looking back at Christchurch as we walked, but over the other side there was now a breathtaking view of the Banks Peninsula.

Banks Peninsula

Lee and I at the top

We attempted to sneakily take the gondola back down (not having purchased tickets) since normally the operators don't check on the way down. Unfortunately, the grumpy old gondola man decided to come check to see if the group of sweaty twenty-somethings actually had tickets ... so we got kicked out. Frustrated, we first tried to hitch-hike back down, but then in a spur-of-the-moment decision opted to run down. What took us nearly an hour to hike up took us SEVEN minutes to run down. Needless to say, our legs / backs have been sore for days since.


Til the next adventure!
Ally

Sumner Beach

OK, so maybe the sewage isn't completely gone yet, and it's not advisable to go swimming, but on a sunny day how were we supposed to resist? So on Thursday, Dylan, Becks and I took the 45 minute bus ride to visit the unbelievably gorgeous Sumner Beach. We bought lunch at a nearby fish & chip restaurant ... delicious! Kiwis are big fans of french fries (chips) and ice cream, which for those of you who know me well obviously means my stomach is getting along fabulously here.

Mmm ... Veggie burger and hot chips wrapped in paper

The sand was scorching hot, the sky was clear, and the photos basically took themselves. Check em out!

I definitely fell a little bit in love with this beach so I'm sure I'll be back again sometime soon. Anyone up for some beach volleyball?

Exploring the Garden City

Due to high prices and low availability in the car-rental industry (it’s peak season) I’ve been forced to delay any major trips around the South Island. However, getting to know Christchurch has been an enjoyable alternative. 

Many of Chch's churches lost their steeples in the earthquake. It's now common to see them in front of the church as opposed to on top!

Botanic Gardens

On Tuesday, Becks, Lee and I ventured to the Botanic Gardens, a massive park about 45 minutes from campus whose flowers rival anything I’ve seen before. The flowers were ginormous, and they had everything from cacti to huge rose gardens to flora disguised as fauna (see my new friend below!).

Later that afternoon we were joined by Dylan and John (also Ilam residents) on our trek to Jellie Park, a massive indoor / outdoor pool complex. I’m hoping to get a pass so I can rock the good ol’ circle back tan once again. Lee’s got an underwater camera, so we managed to capture quite a few funny moments.

The weather’s gorgeous and I’m always itching to be outside, so I’m sure I’ll have a few more stories to tell before O-week begins!

Ally

No Poo Beach

What do you do when it's so hot outside it feels like a Bikram Yoga studio?

You go to the beach. 

 

The past two days were scorchers, with temperatures reaching 35 degrees Celsius, humidity nearly 90%, and UV Index 11. Naturally, once chores were out of the way (like getting a cell phone, an embarrassing but delightful shade of pink, and picking up dish soap), my new mates and I were drawn to the beach like magnets. It's about 30 minutes away by bus, or faster if you're lucky enough to have a friend with a car. 

The kiwis of the group were torn between New Brighton and Sumner, but due to a recent sewage leak at the latter beach, the "No Poo" option won. On Saturday, despite the sun in the city, the beach remained under permanent cloud. We had better luck on Sunday, when the sun was shining brightly enough for us Northerners to hang in the water for a little while, that is until our legs tired of fighting the massive rip tide threatening to pull us out to sea.

New Brighton Pier

The ladies (l to r Beck, Livvy and Arleen) catching some rays

I apologize to all those back in snowy Canada who weren't quite as fortunate to be able to spend Waitangi Day in the sun. Instead, I'll pepper your day with a few of the latest New Zealand antics, brought to you by the grocery store: chicken flavoured chips (Becks says they're delicious, not sure I agree), eggs sitting out on shelves (apparently they don't warrant refrigeration here), my trusty cereal Raisin Bran disguised as Sultana Bran, and dog food packaged like a hefty sausage.

Till the next adventure,

Ally

p.s. Felt my first earthquake on Friday (don't worry Mum, it was only a 4.6 ... just enough to shake the building a little bit) ... check out New Zealand's latest here!

Arrival in the Land of the Long White Cloud

"Kia Ora!" said the friendly New Zealand Air stewardess, and a hilarious safety video followed, starring Rico Suave (part sloth, part Latin lover). I immediately knew I'd picked the right country for my exchange.

Having spent nearly 30 hours travelling from Victoria, BC to Christchurch, NZ (via Vancouver, Los Angeles, and Sydney), I was feeling a little bit out of sorts. The trip went smoothly except for a slight misunderstanding in Sydney - I was told in Vancouver I'd be able to collect my bags and check them for my NZ flight, but I'd been misinformed. It seems you need a Visa to get into Australia at all. Luckily, my bags were collected and put on my flight while I nervously waited in the airport, unsure that they'd even make it on my plane. 

We landed in Christchurch at around 3:00pm on February 2nd, making me 18 hours ahead of my family in Ontario, and 21 hours ahead of British Columbia. Weird. I was driven to the University of Canterbury campus to my new apartment, the Ilam Apartments (Eye-lamb). I'm living in a 5-bedroom apartment but still have yet to meet any of my roommates (although the mysterious and illusive Andrew has moved in, but remains unseen ...) Luckily on my second day I met two girls living in different apartments on the same floor, so it hasn't been too lonely. 

Bedroom, sweet view of other rooms!

Bedroom, kitchen through the door

As you can tell, my room is definitely enough to keep me happy (much larger than some UBC rooms I've had). Plus the bathroom, kitchen, and common areas are pretty great too. We even have a balcony, and if you crane your neck there's a decent view of the hills!

I've only been here for a few days, but immediately some things about New Zealand have stuck out. For example, people walk around barefoot all the time. We're talking to the grocery store, in the mall, on the road - you name it, there are shoes off. Which, in my opinion, is pretty fantastic. I've decided to adopt the habit whenever possible, hence the name of my new blog. Additionally, there are some great new phrases to learn, like "Sweet as," "Gutted," and "Tramping." Unfortunately I'm not such a fan of the rampant use of the c-word, which has way less meaning here. 

As I get settled in, I'll be updating this blog on my adventures and hopefully adding some more exciting photos than those of my new bedsheets. To everyone back home, I'm always thinking of you.

Cheers!

Ally

p.s. Check out Rico's antics in this video