Weekend: Part 1

I feel as though I should have posted a long time ago because I have actually been doing stuff! So, here goes:

Friday morning I woke up, and it was so cold! I went to my BodyPump class, got all energized, walked out back to the street, and the coldness had turned into the most brilliant day Wellington has had since I have arrived! Really, I don't think it could have been any more gorgeous. It was about 55F with minimal wind, so it wasn't cold, either! Really amazing, like I ordered it out of a catalogue. I had been waiting for a gorgeous day like that to go ride the cable car and explore the Botanical Gardens, so I decided to change my plans for the day and go do that.

I went back to my room, convinced my flatmate (V) to go, and then we headed out. The views of the city were breathtaking. It is winter, which means a lot of the flowers weren't blooming, but there were still some blooming, and everything was really green. The water down in the bay was crystal clear. No kidding, I took 105 pictures. V left a little before 2 to go to her class, so I went over to the Carter Observatory and explored there. I went to a planetarium show, so I got to learn about stars in the southern hemisphere, and I also got to look at the sun through the giant telescope. No worries, it has good filters. There is even one that only shows hydrogen or something like that, so I got to see some solar flares. It was really a good afternoon. I even got to spend some time over by the rose garden sipping on a latte. Very peaceful.

That night I went with Bex and Louise up to Eastside Bar at the university to hear some bands play. They knew the people in one of the bands, Moped, which is why we went. They were really good. The following they had reminded me of everyone going to see Poolstick in Atlanta. Afterwards, we really just wanted to chill, so we headed off to Espresso-holic for some dessert (for them) and a chai tea latte (my second of the day!). I got a text from another one of our friends, so we went and met Dave and Dan at the Base Bar for some pool. Hopefully I will be better when I get home; we decided I am bad because I have such an aversion to physics and don't want to think about the angles and force in the game.

This morning I got a text from Meredith asking if I wanted to go with her to a BodyJam class at Les Mills. Of course! I had been planning to do a different class, but this one is fun to do once a week. It is a hip-hop kind of dance aerobics class, lots of latin music and dancing that reminded me of being in a music video or West Side Story. This kind of class is so far outside my comfort zone that I can't even describe it. It is really good for me to push my boundaries and do it, though, and it really is a lot of fun. Jason is the instructor for the Saturday class; he is a young guy, classically trained dancer, and he says "So hot right now!" a lot. Nice.

I still have not done any of the work I have been meaning to do since Wednesday. I have two essays to do, another one for GT, plus reading. I was going to do some of it today while I did laundry, but I got distracted. I am not complaing though! Check it out:

If we can find cheap enough tickets, Marianna will visit me for fall break!!! I really don't think I can describe how excited this makes me. If she skips one day of class, October 20th, she can visit me from October 13 - October 24! That is a super long time! Fall break + classes only on TR = lots of time to be in NZ! I really really want this to work out. The timing is perfect because my classes end on Oct 7, and I don't start class again until Nov 7. I have a final in there somewhere around the 15th, but I will have all that time prior to her coming to study. This would be the most amazing thing ever! I have really been missing having her here to talk to, and we could travel around NZ because the weather will be starting to get nicer. We have established a fun, the "Fly Marianna To Katie" fund, and we are most definately accepting donations! Of course, everyone is welcome to visit me as well. I am not going to kick any of you out of New Zealand for visiting me!

OK, that is it for this post. I will definately post again tomorrow. I am not putting pictures on today because this is long enough, and I post pictures on Sunday anyways. I also have fun plans for tonight, so that will be discussed, I am sure. Also, I have many impressions about cultural stuff, so look for that to come up!

Cheers!