Saturday in the sun

FINALLY... a day off from my academic obligations where the sun is shining!  I was a beautiful day in Dunedin, with many interesting things to be apart of.  Deciding against participating in the campus wide keg party that started at 10am (and I'm so NOT kidding), we headed away from the craziness to the Octagon.  Today locals celebrated the anniversary of finding gold in Dunedin.  I assume this is a big deal, because many were decked out in their finest  1861 duds.  It was actually pretty cool...

No festival is complete without the clergy!

Horse and buggy ride anyone?  I didn't get a pic of the riders, but my favorite was a kid dressed up like superman.  I totally get it...superman was critical in the discovery of gold here in NZ!

So, these festivals are fun and all...but I'd still rather be doing this...  

I never could resist a good play ground.  Mark assures me that this is intended for 8 year-olds that don't have to worry about their behinds dragging on the ground.  Surely not!

The best part about this weekend was Alana.  She's a friend from home (HP not Bama), who's backpacking her way around the South Island for a few months before she starts college.  Such a cool girl doing such a wonderfully brave thing.

Not so Poetic Justice

I survived another week of school!!  I know that sounds like, "ok, no big deal"...but for real...BIG DEAL!  It was another week filled with lectures and marathon library sessions.  But, this week (unlike the previous one), I actually made some progress.  As a reward I promised myself (and my poor husband) that I wouldn't touch my books until Sunday.  We were going to go out have have fun!  So yea... the weather was a drizzly disappointment.  And then OF COURSE on Sunday it was fantastic!  Bright, sunny, and warm.  This would be the torturous view from my desk at the library...

And this kid is SO doing what I want to be doing!!!

Shortly after I was off to a study session where the average age of the people (not including myself) was 18!  It was interesting to say the least.  We maybe got more chatting done about non-Physics related things.  You know...like the differences between Uni and secondary school (I forget what they call it).  One kid looked at me organizing my folder and was like...,"Do you have one of those for each class?".  I thought it was a trick question!  How OLD are these kids again?!?  It was hysterical!  I lugged my stuff home shaking my head , laughing the whole way.  Which leads me to my last comment before I have to leave to go to the infamous Physics lecture.  Some of you know I have a small issue with fitness as a means for stress relief.  This is why I workout...

Please note the metric system.  That would be 10.4 kg...almost 23 pounds.  Those are my books.  EW!  My bag is a deadly weapon.  If I could lift it far enough to swing it...I could do some real damage!  Ok now I'm going to be late to Physics. 

I Survived!

This is what I said to Mark when I walked in the door Friday evening after my last class.  And I just barely survived!  After my first week of attending New Zealand's finest higher education, I can say with all honesty...WOW!  These people are for real...and impressive.  The only photo I have from this week is this: 

This would be me laying in the grass looking at the sky thinking about the net velocity of a car rolling down a 15 degree hill with a 5000N frictional force while throwing a cricket ball at my head.  Yea...that tree didn't know the answer either, but at least it was pretty to look at (which is more than I can say for myself after 3 late nights of Physics).  Whose idea was it to go back to school again?  They are fired from all future decision making!  Have a great weekend...I'll post photos of the library, which is where I'll be this weekend.

School is in Session!

So, I don't have any wonderful photos to post...sorry!  Today, I officially became a college student again attending my first classes (Biological Physics, Cellular and Molecular Biology, and Human Body Systems 1).  Yes...just as thrilling as you might imagine they would be.  At least I have the company of 500 of my fellow students in EACH class to keep me company in my misery!  In my Biology class I had the great fortune of sitting next to a bright eyed energetic blond Kiwi who eagerly asked me how I was "finding" college (this would be their equivalent of how's it going).  I quickly realized that she thought, like her, this was my first time in college...you know being right out of high school just like her.  Quickly becoming my new BFF off that assumption alone, I didn't have the heart to tell her this is my second degree...first one having finished 10 years ago.  I should probably mention she would be the first person to mistaken me for a traditional Freshman.  So, I just smiled and said that I was finding it good so far.
Needless to say, whilst my fellow freshman were off enjoying their evenings of an "easy" week, I spent my night trying to remember things like...how do you find the angle of a triangle using tangent again...and good lord, how do you find tangent!?!  It's been too long since I've even muttered those words let alone recalled the equations!  And, I don't suppose the correct answer to the question: if you throw a cricket ball up in the air at 30m/s how far will it go...is...I don't know but I'm guessing several guys in sweater vest will run after it!  I love that their problems involve cricket balls!  Cracked me up.  So, I'll try to do something more fun soon...but if not, I'll take pictures of my lecture halls and the library since clearly I have some catching up to do.

Taieri Gorge

Today was a big orientation day for international students...filled with lecture hall fun, life sucking financial aide discussions, AND Dunedin's infamous train ride that takes you on a journey through the rugged and spectacular Taieri River Gorge.  We got to go across wrought iron viaducts and through tunnels carved by hand more than 100 years ago.  The entire train was filled with international students and stopped at a VERY small town called Middlemarch.  Here we all fell out to a full BBQ lunch (surprisingly good!) and then hopped back on for the journey home.  The views were ridiculous, and not captured in these photos.  Plus, between the moving train, the moving sheep, and the slow American... many Kodak moments were tragically missed.  The severity of the mountains were in and of themselves fantastically disorienting.  So much so...this blogger is still a little dizzy from hanging out the window...just to see the mountain tops!  I only picked a couple of the photos I took, because eventually they start looking the same.  I loved that I was hours on a train with so much landscape that still seems untouched by people... very cool! 

For those of you who care...the yellow star is where I went:

 Inside of the railway car:

Taieri River Gorge:

 

Signal Hill Lookout

Signal Hill is a road just north of our flat with a VERY impressive hill.  If you ignore the voices in your head that say, "forget this mess...turn around and GO HOME!" this hill leads to a lookout that is amazing.  It shows all of downtown Dunedin on the edge of Otago harbor, and then the ocean on the other side of the peninsula.  It's breathtaking, and you feel like your on top of the world.  Today was my second time up Signal Hill Road (I convinced Mark to join me).  Still sore from recent stupidity at my local student gym, I wasn't as gung-ho about running up this crazy hill (I was more enthusiastic the first time).  Still feeling like I'd just done 10 miles of sprints, I reached the lookout...huffing and puffing (never mind the man darting past me like I was standing still).  Here's a glimpse of what I saw...

This actually was on the way up Signal Hill Road

Signal Hill Lookout

Just in case you don't believe I was actually there!

Mark and I have been trying all the local stores just to see who has what.  Have you ever actually seen a "Hot Cross Bun"??  It's not just a song...such a thing does exist.  Mark assures me that this is a normal thing, but let me tell ya...not in Alabama it's not!  Too funny! Sorry it's a little blurry.  The lady at the bakery was giving me funny looks (can't imagine why), so I hurried.

 

A Little Bit of History

Dunedin is a Scottish settlement from way back when (not to be mistaken for the days of yore and that of yesteryear).  Dunedin is the Gaelic name for Edinburgh (Scotland's capital).  The architecture and city streets mark a fine resemblance to that of any good Scottish city.  So, it came as no big surprised when we ended up smack in the middle of a Scottish Festival of sorts.  Actually, I think it was more of a battle of the bands...because you could hear the screaming cats for MILES!!  At least this is how one coffee vendor described the sound coming from the MANY MANY bag pipes.  Having never seen a "Pipe Band" competition...or really even just a pipe band in general, I was intrigued.  So as far as I could tell this is how it goes.  First the band marches into the designated area...

Then they do their thing...

Here's one of the judges.  I feel like maybe they didn't have Ray-Ban's way back when, in the days of yore, nor yesteryear...but who am I to say...

Then the band marches out...

For the most part the bands were comprised of younger people, but the sidelines were littered with an older crowd in full gear!

And lets not forget the ever so famous Scottish tradition of having a pint in your hand

while wearing a kilt... 

Neither of us were sporting our kilts, as they were both at the cleaners...permanently! 

Big Scottish fun for all!