The Second Half Begins

The two week break was so busy and jam-packed with fun but with that came the reality that I did only a little of the work I had to do. So, it was time to catch up!

I had a presentation for my Visual Narrative course about the graphic novel “This is not a pipe” which I made before break to get ahead but I still had to add a few slides and practice my presentation.

For my AI class, we had a big project where we were using Neural Networks and Evolutionary Computation to solve problems such as categorizing penguins. I made a bit of progress over break but I had to go to help desks to get the tutors’ help with concepts I was stuck on.

On Monday I opened my own New Zealand bank account so that I could pay my flatmates for common supplies (there’s no Venmo here) and also in case I get any paid extra roles!

Then Tuesday was ANZAC day (similar concept to Veteran’s day) so school was closed. I met up with my friends Skye and Rebekah. We got ice cream from Cafe Eis and caught up about our breaks. The tramping club meeting was held at a bar since the university was closed and thus it didn’t seem like a real meeting so we decided to skip that.

Wednesday was the day of my presentation. We could either present this week, next week or prerecord a video of the presentation. I decided to present in person and to just get it over with on the first day. I think my presentation went pretty well but I realized some things I should’ve added, oh well, that’s life! After class, I stopped by the comic book store and bought my professor’s book which I’m excited to read. I also stopped and got a crêpe and thought of Elina and my adventure on Saturday.

On Thursday, Jane, the leader of our study abroad here flew up from Queenstown and hosted a little pizza catch up at a nice pizza place called One Red Dog. I will definitely have to go back there sometime! We chatted about all our crazy adventures including that terrible ferry ride I endured hahaha! When I returned back to Everton, I stopped by the hall because they were hosting a mask-making night. The reason is the next day would be the big Inter-hall Masquerade Cocktail party. I found the last available mask and glued on some accessories. What can I say, it was a look!

Friday began with AI tutorial and then I zoomed with my grandparents Marian and Irwin. I also called Grammy and Grandpa earlier in the week. It is hard sometimes to find times that work for everyone but we try our best. In the evening, it was cocktail party time! I made my way over to the Hunter Lounge (the on-campus bar – yup, that exists!) and I met up with some friends. We played pool, danced, took pictures and just hung out. It was a super fun time.

The following day was hiking day! Way back when I first arrived in Wellington in February, I had heard about the Red Rocks hike where you see seals and red colored rocks. Naturally, I wanted to do it and so did my friends but we hadn’t had the time yet. Saturday was finally the time! We invited the whole crew from our Escarpment hike in March and we also invited a few other new friends.

The walk was a loop and the first part was extremely steep but it definitely got easier as we went. We stopped along the way for lunch.

It was a lovely walk! When we got back to sea-level, we spotted around ten seals! We also saw the red rocks from which the walk has gotten its name.

Our friend Utsav had some traffic on the way here so he said for us to go ahead. Then he was going on his own but hurt his leg 😦 but he sweetly waited to see us in the parking lot after the hike.

A few of us stayed to watch the sunset in hopes that we might also get to see the southern lights. The sunset was gorgeous but we didn’t have as much luck with the southern lights… Utsav was kind enough to drive us home and we ended up going to Lower Hutt for Thai food. Utsav even drove us around to show us the local arthouse theater. What a fun day!

Sunday was yet another eventful day! The hall I live in, Everton Hall, was having its 47th birthday. So, they were hosting a whole birthday celebration at a fancy hotel in town (the one we use the elevator in to go down to Lambton Quay). I feel like no university in the US would have a birthday celebration for a residence hall with champagne, a huge buffet, a guest speaker, a dance performer and members of the board. It was a huge event! Some people dressed up quite fancy. The guest speaker was an alum of Everton Hall and now the chancellor of the university. His speech was so motivational, I was thoroughly moved.

After the brunch, I headed into town to buy some fish. Skye, Rebekah and I were going to cook together again, something we hadn’t done since early March. I had to walk to the New World near Te Papa in order to find fish. Man, that grocery store is massive. I don’t know much about fish so I just went up to the guy behind the fish counter and said “what white fish do you recommend?” and then I bought the fish he pointed to. I face-timed my friends Lauren and Jennifer from Brandeis for a bit and headed over to Rebekah’s flat to start cooking.

I also brought that strange fruit from the last blog. Turns out it is a gourd and kind of bland. We also tried a horned melon which I found at the massive New World when I was there. That fruit looks a bit like passionfruit on the inside but it tastes like an unripe banana.

The fish came out well and after dinner we finished watching Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. And of course, we ended the night by going out for ice cream!

So I’m back to normal here in Wellington. Good thing “normal” is pretty awesome here!