Te Kotahinga or Bust

It's hard to keep this updated!
I like to send Brendan and my parents each a message, and by that time I'm not too excited about writing the same thing for a third time. So let's see.. what has happened since my last update..

I am getting a work out each day just from walking my brains out all over the city. My calves are sore and I have blisters on my feet! Yesterday Alexis and I woke up early because we were mistakenly told we had orientation that morning, but we didn't. Since we were up and ready to go, we went for a walk down to the harbor, which was nice, but too sunny for me without any sunglasses (I bought some later on at the pharmacy across the street), then we took the cable car all the way up to the Botanic Gardens which were a beautiful jungle to walk through. Whatever bugs are living in the trees make a deafening buzz like a million cicadas. Conversation is limited. The walk through the gardens brought us out right near the Terrace (our street) which made it a perfect long morning walk.

After stopping in our rooms for a little break I ventured out into the city alone for the first time. I needed a new hair straightener and blow dryer, since mine were both ruined by voltage converter confusion. I went to the grocery store as well and "cooked" myself my first real meal in the apartment: penne with marinara and a glass of wine.

Later Alexis and I took the cable car again to meet up with Kris at her house on Salamanca Road. That's when things got a little complicated for me. You see, I was thrilled about being smack dab in the middle of Wellington in a high rise little apartment, but when I saw Kris's BEAUTIFUL, gigantic house, with unbelievable views and 10 awesome roommates, I was extraordinarily jealous. Although living in the city was something I was excited about, since I've never lived in a city before, I think the Te Kotahinga houses are more what I am looking for out of this experience. The social aspect is really important for me, and I really want to immerse myself in Kiwi culture as much as possible, the Stafford house isn't as cohesive to those goals as this house would be. Not to mention it is MUCH closer to campus (cuts out about a mile long walk up hill) and are right outside the city anyway.

So I went to the Accommodations Office today and asked if it would be possible for me to move there. They said they couldn't promise anything, and I have already signed a contract to live in the Stafford house, so it isn't looking too good... but I'm still going to try. I feel that senarios like this have happened to me a lot so far in life, and usually I just make the best of the situation I'm in, and take what I can get, but this is a once in a lifetime trip and I don't want to have any regrets, so I'm really gonna try to make a change.
Wish me luck!

Oh and also I went on a harbor cruise today which was fun. Met a lot of people and it was beautiful. I MET SOMEONE FROM EAST LONGMEADOW WHO KNOWS PEOPLE FROM MY HIGH SCHOOL. "It's a small world" doesn't even BEGIN to explain that.

Here is a picture from the harbor cruise. I can't believe I took this picture. I can't believe I'm here!!