Seems like time flies when you’re having fun.
It’s almost been a month since I arrived in New Zealand. So much has happened, and I’ve noticed so much. For example, I’ve heard the words “heaps”, “keen”, and “cheers” more during my time here than in my entire life. Getting off the bus, walking out of a store or chemist, and a friendly “Cheers!” gets thrown my way. I’m not complaining at all – in fact I think it’s fantastic. I definitely wish that more people would adopt that in the United States. Who knows what else Americans might learn from some quality time with heaps of friendly Kiwis?
I think it’s great that I get to live with four other guys, all of them living here in New Zealand for a least 7 years. I’ve learned a lot from them so far (and I hope that they can say the same!). After speaking to some of my other IES friends, it seems like I’m especially lucky to have them around. Many are living with other international students, and they tend to stick to themselves. My flatmates, on the other hand, love socializing with each other – establishing something for us all to do together almost every single night. Ranging from card games to movie nights to letting me experience some fine New Zealand cuisines from local restaurants, they know how to have fun.
That isn’t to say that we haven’t been keeping up with my schoolwork, though. My roommates acknowledge when someone can’t join because of their studies (or, what they refer to as “work for uni”). Besides, with my schedule I have, I’m fortunate enough to both like all my classes and have a relatively small workload during the week. My class schedule consists of physics, astronomy, political science, and forestry. My favorite of these classes definitely has to be astronomy (and who wouldn’t love a class called “Imaging The Universe”?), while the class that requires the most attention is physics.
Student life, from what I’ve experienced so far, isn’t just homework and classes, though. Many people go to downtown Christchurch, the Riccarton Mall (the largest mall on the south island), and to rugby games. There’s always something going on with some sort of club sponsored by the university, too. Tonight, there’s even a student group that wants to try to break the Guinness world record for the number of people speed dating at once, with the record being 485.
It seems that wherever I go, something interesting is always happening. I really can’t wait for whatever tomorrow will bring!
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“Astronomy compels the soul to look upwards and leads us from this world to another.” – Plato