Soaking It In

I have no idea how it became June already. It feels like I just began my trimester at Victoria University and it is suddenly Study Week. I don’t have any exams until June 19 and so I don’t need to do too much studying just yet but I did want to get started on it this week since I will be away up north next week. A main goal of mine this week was to just take in and appreciate how I am currently living in Wellington, NZ while it is still true.

Monday June 5^th was a great opportunity to appreciate all that Wellington has to offer. My high school friend Elena whom I knew from AP Environmental Studies at Concord Carlisle was studying abroad in Auckland this semester and we arranged that if I was there or she was in Wellington, we would meet up! Sure enough, she came to Wellington and we met up! It was the first time we had seen each other in three years. We met down on Lambton Quay and took the cable car up to the Botanical Gardens so she could experience the classic scene.

We checked out the Cable Car Museum (I had never actually gone inside!) and then walked around the gardens for a bit. Elena knows a lot about plants so she kept telling me the names of all the ones growing in the botans.

After our walk, we took the cable car back to Lambton Quay and decided to get lunch. I learned Elena hadn’t tried a red kiwi yet so we made a pitstop at New World and bought some red kiwis. We decided to go to Fidel’s for lunch. This is the restaurant on Cuba Street that I went to with my theatre teacher’s friend a few weeks ago. It’s a really nice restaurant with delicious options!

We walked there along the waterfront and took the classic photos with the Wellington sign. Next up was the Te Papa museum.

It was my fifth time at the museum and we had a nice time walking around the various exhibits including Gallipoli, Natural History and an exhibit on Māori canoes. We also checked out an outdoor garden area they have at Te Papa.

The weather was pretty cold and rainy at this point but that didn’t stop us, we next headed over to Oriental Bay to see the beach. Then it started raining hard and that did stop us. So, we ran inside the boat café (I went here back in my first week!) and Elena got a coffee and I got a hot chocolate. We walked back to her hostel and I headed off to New World to do some shopping. It was a fun day.

Tuesday was a chill day. I talked with my grandparents Marian and Irwin who had just arrived home from Paris and then I went on a little trek into town. I went to the design campus and got eight more copies of my children’s book printed. I also went to the comic book store and bought some more New Zealand comics and of course, I got a crepé on the way home. They are just SO good! I also tried to donate my mom’s, grandmother’s, and aunt’s books to the library but they don’t accept donations so I’ll have to try a used bookstore instead. I had them because I thought it would be cool to leave their books on the other side of the world!

In the evening, I cooked up some veggies and rice for the week. I spend some of the evening trying to start my studying but decided I should probably come up with a plan for what to accomplish each day so that I am more productive in the future.

Wednesday, I was back on the hiking grind. There were still two hikes my friends and I wanted to do in Wellington and today was the day for Dry Creek. It is in the same regional park as where I played the dead body back in March. We invited a whole group but it ended up just being Lauren, Rebekah and I. We took the train out to Lower Hutt and went for the walk!

I brought my drone to fly but I didn’t have enough service to call Air Traffic Control and it was also pretty windy so I didn’t fly it. I did take some nice pictures from the ground though.

We had a lovely walk and then trained back to Wellington where we treated ourselves to Café Eis. Even though it was chilly out, I went for the chocolate and banana ice-cream. How could I not?

In the evening, I started completing my study goals by working through AI test questions from last year. There is a lot to study. I found that I focused well and was productive by working in the study room. 

Thursday was another hiking day! Today it was me, Rebekah and Skye and we headed out to Poirua to climb up Colonial Knob. Turns out the track we were on is part of the Te Araroa trail which goes from Bluff (southernmost point on south island) to Cape Reinga (northernmost point on north island). It’s like the Appalachian trail of New Zealand. So, now I can say I’ve hiked part of that. A small part.

The views at the top were breathtaking. We stopped and had our lunches while looking out at the landscapes. Then we walked our way back down and ended up in an industrial part of town near the Spicy Landfill. It made me laugh imagining people asking where I went today and I’m like “We finally got over to the Spicy Landfill. It is amazing!! Have you been?” and they are like “No…” and I’m like “Well, I guess you live here so there isn’t as much of a rush.”

We bused and trained home and went to Zelati Dessert Bar which I had never been to. I got Churros and hot chocolate. I have actually never had a churro so good to try them. I approve!

Thursday evening, I worked on studying and on a cover letter for a possible fall internship. They were also serving fresh-baked cookies in the hall so I went over there and chatted with some folks.

The following day was Friday. It started out with a lot of phone calls. First, I called my sister Elina and caught up. Then I Face-timed my friends Lauren and Jennifer from Brandeis. I hadn’t Face-timed them in a while so it was so nice to see them! Next up, I called my parents and sent them the cover letter to see what they thought. After all the calls, I worked on that AI practice test and ate lunch. I then took the bus over to Karori Park to fly my drone. I got some pretty shots of the area. Afterwards, I went to campus and met up with a friend from AI class to go over the practice test. It was helpful to talk it through but there is so much I still need to study.

In the evening, I got ready and packed for my adventures up north this coming week!

Tomorrow, I depart for Auckland! So buckle in for the next few blog posts in which I’ll be on the move in the Auckland and Northland regions!