Category: [Photos]

I’m enjoying every day of sunshine we get, which luckily is quite a lot still, despite the season (we should be deep in autumn by now). Today my flatmate Rathy and I used the afternoon and took Rathy’s car up to the beautiful Kapiti Coast. We went for a walk along Raumati Beach and then enjoyed a late lunch in Paraparaumu. It’s school holidays here, so there were lots of kids all over the place. Overall it was just a perfect little excursion:

In other news, apparently I still have no idea what lecturers here expect – my employment legislation essay, which I pretty much pulled out of my a** in desperation (seriously – I spent an hour complaining to my parents about it the night before it was due), ended up getting pretty good marks (22.8/30). Of course I’m glad, but it also confuses me a bit. Oh well, gift horses and their mouths, right? Btw, I have three more days to get my stuff together and write my assignment before uni starts again for me on Tuesday. Saturday doesn’t count, as I’m going to the sold-out Homegrown concert with Meredith – over 30 kiwi bands will be playing at the Wellington waterfront, I can’t wait!

So I had my appointment today – and I ended up with not only my beautiful book fairy (drawn by my friend Sandi) but also with an enlargement of my first lower back tattoo. I thought I’d have to get another appointment for it, but Roger was so quick doing the little elf that I couldn’t resist the chance of getting it done in one go (plus I didn’t have to pay extra *g*). Just look at the pretty:

I’m also thinking of getting another (probably my last) one done before I leave, a Maori design to commemorate my love for this country and this amazing year that I’m having. It’ll have to be a kirituhi (“skin art”), because true moko are tapu (sacred) and only meant for Maori, and I definitely wouldn’t want to offend. I only want a piece of New Zealand to carry with me…

But enough of tattoo talk, which I know isn’t for all of you (yes, I’m looking at you, Mami and Papi *g*). Yesterday I met up with Rachel, who I know from church, and we had lunch and went for a walk on Oriental Parade. We just talked and talked and had a really amazing time.

I’ve also been hanging out with Meredith and with my flatmates and some of Rathy’s friends, and Janne is back in town for a couple of weeks as well. The weather is pretty miserable, especially today (it’s been raining uninterruptedly all day), but with all the socialising I’ve been doing, I don’t really mind. I’m also not really getting any uni work done, but I still have time, so I’m not stressing about it just yet. 🙂

And it couldn’t go better, really! I went out to lunch with both flatmates and a couple of Rathy’s friends, to this place called ‘Strawberry Fare’. They specialise in desserts, so of course I had to try one after my pasta. Rathy and I shared the yummiest chocolate cake ever – it was really moist and came with raspberry and passionfruit sauce as well as icecream. Just… too delicious for words!

Afterwards I wandered along the waterfront before coming back home, enjoying the beautiful day and all the people. Tonight I might go out with Rathy and some of her friends, if I’m not too tired – right now I feel as if I could fall asleep in a heartbeat, from all that food and sunshine… 🙂

I still have uni this week, but no more deadlines until May 19, which is a load off my mind. I do have plans to do uni stuff over the break, but it does feel nice not to be under so much pressure. Anyway, just thought I’d share some recent photos.

First, my new hair without the benefits of a straightening iron:

Then, a couple of pics from when I last saw Kathrin before she left New Zealand – it was on St. Patrick’s Day, hence the decorations on Cuba St:

And lastly, a photo taken Easter Saturday at the San Francisco Bathhouse, out dancing with my flatmate Jessica and Philip from CouchSurfing, who I showed around Wellington that day:

I’m a tiny bit stressed, as I don’t really like having one deadline after the other (essays, group work, bargaining workshop) – I get frazzled if I don’t have days in my calendar with nothing to do. But things will quiet down considerably after next Monday, so I’m just trying to make it through in one piece until then. However, this afternoon I went to the hairdresser instead of writing assignments (probably not the best planning on my part, but I’d been looking forward to it for weeks so I didn’t want to postpone), and tonight I’ll go out for dinner with both my flatmates, which is a first.

So, instead of news, have some pictures taken with my webcam. Among other things I’m enjoying here is the freedom to experiment a bit in an environment where no one cares – which has led to some new clothes and (just this afternoon) new hair:

Obviously it’ll look quite different with my natural wave, so expect some photos of that in a couple of days. 🙂

I went to pick up a package from Sandra and Pascal this morning (for some reason they don’t deliver parcels, even when you’re home) – it was a Fasnacht (see link on the left)/birthday combo, which made me grin like a loon when I saw all the confetti and the “Schnitzelbängg” (political ballad-type poems). Thanks so much, guys, in case you’re reading this! (Also for the chocolate, as I’ve yet to find an adequate substitute here… *g*)

In other news, my parents are moving today. This is such a strange prospect for me, the thought that the place I call “home” just… won’t be there anymore. Or, well, it’ll be there, but it won’t be mine anymore. Oh well, that’s life – constantly changing.

Anyway, have some photos from the dinner I had at my place last week, with Adeline (from China), Meredith (from Korea), JV (from India) and Dan (the lone kiwi). We ate lots of cheese, in the form of fondue (ready-made, sent by my mom) and raclette (that’s the small candle-lit thingie on the table), and had a really good time.

I started the new semester this week. The three classes I’m taking are going to keep me busy, but hopefully not quite as stressed as the summer papers did. Anna left this morning and took the ferry to the South Island. One of my flatmates is moving out this weekend, and tomorrow evening I’m having some friends over for fondue. Also, I uploaded the 260 or so pictures from the last couple of weeks, most notably of course from my trip. You can see them here, in my Flickr album.

Yesterday me and Dan moved all my stuff from the residence hall to the flat. Afterwards I dove right in, unpacked and bought a couple of things I needed. I’m more or less all set up now, including some color on the walls (as it’s pretty much all grey-in-grey). That’s the good thing about carrying all my stuff with me – this room already feels like home…

Click here for more!

On Saturday we went up the coast to Tongapurutu (or something like that) – amid absolutely breathtaking scenery the six of us enjoyed a wonderful day! You can also find a couple of photos from last week, when I had to say goodbye to Masumi, who injured her knee and went back home to Japan a bit earlier than planned.

> More in my Flickr album.

[tags]taranaki, friends[/tags]

In my case this mostly means that I should be doing homework for class. However, so far I haven’t even cracked open the book. 🙂 Instead, this morning I met up with Denise and some of her family at Te Papa, the beautiful museum at the waterfront. I’m planning to go up to New Plymouth next weekend – I should still be able to get some studying done, and I don’t know when the next opportunity will present itself.

What else has been going on? Yesterday, I’ve filled out an application at Loafer’s Lodge. I’m not completely happy, as it’s the same price as I am paying now, but farther from the centre (and uni – it’d mean bye bye easy walking distance), smaller and with shared kitchen/bathrooms. Still, it’s brand new, the manager is really nice and I like the atmosphere. Plus, there are so few furnished options around, it’s a clear case of beggars can’t be choosers.

I’ve also been hanging out with some friends, most notably Tony from down the hall, who is on a plane to Australia as I type, so we made the most of our short acquaintance. Have I mentioned that I love the waterfront? Because I use every opportunity to go there. 🙂

[tags]wellington, friends, moving, accomodation[/tags]