Sunday, September 11
This morning when I woke up, I was able to listen to the commentary of the last set between Djokovic and Federer. I can’t believe Djokovic came back from two sets down and then down two match points to win the match.
I was supposed to meet Rayce so we could go to St. John’s morning service together, but he thought it started an hour later. So, I went by myself. It was their quarterly communion, and it was very much like Sunnyslope’s (no wine or communal cup this time).
After lunch, I met my international buddy, Mae, and we walked to Zealandia. Zealandia is a fenced off area that they are trying to restore to the point before settlers came. They’ve taken out all of the animals that were introduced, such as goats, mice, and cats. We bought tickets to both the exhibition area and the outdoor sanctuary valley. It was interesting to learn about the different animals and how much the settlers disrupted the environment. Mae and I were able to see a number of birds when we went outside, and it was so fun listening to them chatter. There were also some great views from the dam.
Tuesday, September 13
Today after dinner, I had choir practice. The songs are coming along nicely, and I am excited for the competition next Thursday.
Since I didn’t have much work to do tonight, I went to one of the TV rooms with a friend and watched ‘Grey’s Anatomy.’ It is interesting because the TV seasons are later here than in the US. I know that new seasons in the US are going to start in a week or so, and I am sad that I won’t be able to watch my favourite shows. The one I’m going to miss the most will definitely be ‘The Office;’ I really want to know how the show is now that Steve Carell is no longer part of the cast.
Friday, September 16
Today, I watched the All Blacks play Japan. I met Rayce and a friend from his hostel at Hunter’s Lounge, which is a café/bar on campus. We got there at 6 because we wanted to eat dinner there, and we also wanted to get good seats for the match. It turned out that we didn’t have to get there that early; there weren’t that many people there. But it was still nice to sit and talk to Rayce and his friend. A few people from Rayce’s group and a few people from his friend’s group joined us to watch the match. A couple friends from my hostel came later, too. The match itself was very one-sided. The All Blacks did not play their top players, and they still won 83-7.
Saturday, September 17
This morning, I met my friend, Misty, and we walked down to the town hall to watch a multicultural concert. It is part of the Festival of Carnivale that is going on during the World Cup. It consisted of performances from different countries. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to stay for all of it because I needed to get work done. I stayed from 10am to 1pm and then went back to my hostel to work on my linguistics assignment.
