I hope you all have enjoyed reading about my mid-semester holiday. It was fun to write about, but it was also a little overwhelming. That, combined with the work for my papers, kept me from posting about my first week back at uni until now. Hopefully I will get back on a more regular schedule with my posts after this. Also, I do not have any pictures from this week, so I am going to post a couple more from holiday.
Monday, September 5
My first day back at lectures went well. I think the second half of the semester will be busier than the first half. Or maybe it just seems that way because on September 30, I have two essays and an assignment due. That’s going to require some serious planning and working ahead. I hope I have enough motivation to actually spread out my work so I’m not cramming at the last minute.
Tuesday, September 6
This afternoon, I met Rayce so we could share stories about our holidays. It was really fun catching up with him and hear about his adventures in Australia. It made me even more excited to go there after the semester is done.
I had choir practice tonight (altos only). It went really well, and I think we’re getting in form for the competition. I like the songs we’re doing; it helps that ‘Grease is the Word’ is a relatively simple song so we can focus more on ‘Adiemus.’
Friday, September 9
Today after lecture, I walked into town to buy some things at the store. I had just gotten back in my room and was putting things away when I heard a siren go off. Then an automated voice said ‘Please evacuate the building using the nearest fire exit.’ I poked my head out of the door and saw that two other people on my floor had done the same. It was hard to tell if it was an actual alarm because the siren seemed to go off in different parts of the building at different times, so we only heard it intermittently.
I went downstairs and waited with Nat and a couple of her friends. I didn’t keep track, but one guy said it took the fire trucks 15 minutes to arrive. After waiting around for a bit, we were told that there was no fire and we could go back inside. We got an email later in the day saying that a maintenance worker had accidently set off the alarm.
Today was also the start of the Rugby World Cup. I watched the All Blacks play Tonga in one of the TV rooms in my hostel with a group of friends. The first half was very entertaining, but there wasn’t as much action in the second half. The All Blacks won 41-10. I am excited to watch them again next week.
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| Pancake Rocks |
Saturday, September 10
So, one of the reasons I don’t like being in NZ is because I can’t watch video of US Open matches because they are not supported here. Fortunately, I am still able to listen to the radio broadcast of the big matches. This morning, I listened to the Nadal/Roddick match. It was a pretty dismal match for Roddick, but I still enjoyed hearing about tennis. After the singles match, I listened to the mixed doubles final, which wildcards Melanie Oudin and Jason Sock won.
I spent the rest of the day working on my linguistics assignment and reading ‘Autumn Term’ for child lit. It is a pretty entertaining book, and once I’m home, I may try to look up some more novels by Antonia Forest.
