Mardi dernier, on a organisé une super fête à la maison pour célebrer Noël. Ouip, je sais. On est en plein mois de Juillet mais il fait tellement froid ici qu'on a l'impression d'être en Décembre, donc ma coloc Claudia, qui a toujours des idées de génies, a décidé de faire Noël. On a désigné à chaque invité un personnage, pour qu'il ou elle puisse apporter un cadeau, qui devait être offert à la personne qui était le personnage qui correspondait au sien (complicated, anyone?). On a décoré la maison et fait des cookies (qui faisaient un peu peur avec tout le coloured icing dessus!). Finalement la fête a commencé et c'était aweeeesooome! I mean, I got drunk at usual, but it was still great. Vous pouvez voir toutes les photos ici -j'ai la flemme de les reposter sur le blog, hehe. Il manque pleins de nos amis (ouh là, grand mot, disons plutôt connaissances) sur ces photos par contre. Aussi, pas mal de personnes qui devaient venir ne sont pas venues (nos amis danois ou les colocs de Fish, heeeeeem!!); mais c'était quand même super fun. Surtout que j'ai réussi à mettre les Strokes, les Arctic Monkeys et Arcade Fire à la suite et à fooooond, mwhahahahaha! Bon okay, je tenais plus debout à la fin mais c'était une de meilleures soirées qu'on ait eu ici à mon avis... En y repensant, on s'est aperçues qu'on avait fait environ une douzaine de fêtes sur les 25 jours depuis qu'on est arrivées. C'est quasiment un soir sur deux! Crazy... (et je tiens très mal l'alcool). Bref, ça va sûrement ralentir, parce que à ce rythme-là, étudier va pas être possible! Comment ça on est là pour ça...?
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Waiting for the penguins
Hey there everyone!
Sorry we haven't updated in a while, it's pretty hard finding some time to post here between two drinks (lemon vodka, anyone?), two parties and errr, classes (yeah, riiiight).
Hope Fish won't mind me posting without her, but I had to tell of our little tale yesterday (see what I did there?). Most of our friends from the international students' group went up to Christchurch to see the All Blacks playing against South Africa this weekend --we watched in a bar 'cause we couldn't make it there... We were kind of depressed that we weren't part of the trip but we had an awesome day in the end because we went to visit the Otago peninsula. We went there with about fifteen people --loads of German, people from France (obviously!), Denmark, Norway, Slovakia (actually one person from there but she's very nice). We started at 10am in the morning (oh alright, 11), went to see the albatrosses but didn't actually get to see any of them. We then went for a walk to a bay but I can't remember the name... It was actually really nice to walk on the beach, and breathe the fresh air, and it all sounds cliché but I loved it. It felt like New Zealand, exactly as I pictured it in my mind. We kind of got chased by a seal of some sort, too --more on that with the pics! On our way back, we climbed up a bit to get a view, and it was even more beautiful. Now comes the biggest part of our little adventure. Some of us wanted to go see the penguins because the peninsula is quite famous for it --it has the rarest penguins in the entire world. So the group split up and eventually, there were only eight of us left... To get to the hiding place (because penguins are easily scared so there's a precise place you have to get to in order to see them), we had to go down a very steep dune and then walk for a while. We actually had to get past a sea lion once we were on the sandshore, and we were all pretty scared to walk past the animal because they're easily bothered, too... We waited for the penguins to show up but they never did! And here was the hardest past: the return journey. And it was raining, freezing cold out there... It was soooo hard climbing all the way back. But we managed to, so all ended well!
Sorry we haven't updated in a while, it's pretty hard finding some time to post here between two drinks (lemon vodka, anyone?), two parties and errr, classes (yeah, riiiight).
Hope Fish won't mind me posting without her, but I had to tell of our little tale yesterday (see what I did there?). Most of our friends from the international students' group went up to Christchurch to see the All Blacks playing against South Africa this weekend --we watched in a bar 'cause we couldn't make it there... We were kind of depressed that we weren't part of the trip but we had an awesome day in the end because we went to visit the Otago peninsula. We went there with about fifteen people --loads of German, people from France (obviously!), Denmark, Norway, Slovakia (actually one person from there but she's very nice). We started at 10am in the morning (oh alright, 11), went to see the albatrosses but didn't actually get to see any of them. We then went for a walk to a bay but I can't remember the name... It was actually really nice to walk on the beach, and breathe the fresh air, and it all sounds cliché but I loved it. It felt like New Zealand, exactly as I pictured it in my mind. We kind of got chased by a seal of some sort, too --more on that with the pics! On our way back, we climbed up a bit to get a view, and it was even more beautiful. Now comes the biggest part of our little adventure. Some of us wanted to go see the penguins because the peninsula is quite famous for it --it has the rarest penguins in the entire world. So the group split up and eventually, there were only eight of us left... To get to the hiding place (because penguins are easily scared so there's a precise place you have to get to in order to see them), we had to go down a very steep dune and then walk for a while. We actually had to get past a sea lion once we were on the sandshore, and we were all pretty scared to walk past the animal because they're easily bothered, too... We waited for the penguins to show up but they never did! And here was the hardest past: the return journey. And it was raining, freezing cold out there... It was soooo hard climbing all the way back. But we managed to, so all ended well!
Afterwards we went to see the rugby game at a bar called the Arts and Crafts right on the Octagon (kind of the centre of the city centre, where all the good bars are) and it was wicked, too. They won 31 to 6, so everyone was pretty happy about that.
Anyways, the pics! I'm not too fond of having actual people on my pics (yeah weird), so it's all landscapes. Hope you'll enjoy despite the fact that I'm a crappy photographer!
This is where we were supposed to see the albatrosses, 'supposed to' being te keyword here. Still a gorgeous view, I can tell you that...
A somewhat blurred view of Dunedin from the peninsula...
On our way to the bay, some pretty amazing landscapes out there...
The view when we arrived, and it spread on miles and miles... You can't see the sandshore here, but it was incredible.
That's the seal that totally chased us when we were there! Heh. He really enjoyed the human attention, to the point where we actually got scared and walked away as quickly as possible. He still put on quite a show for us, it was lovely!
I took that pic on the way back. You can never get tired of it... And those trees made me think of Six Feet Under as well! As you can see, the weather was getting a bit moody and soon enough, the first raindrops fell.
That's the hill we climbed to get a bit of a view. Not sure if you can see it, but people were actually on their way down when I took the pic.
A typical Kiwi landscape, sheeps and all! The clouds were not a good sign, though...
The beach where the penguins were supposed to be... This pic was taken from high up, so I wasn't too exhausted to take out my camera :)
The sea lion we had to walk past by! It doesn't look dangerous here, but it is...
And after that, I was way too tired to take any pics --as I've already said, we made our way back through the cold, the rain, the hunger etc. But it was a really good day, I loved doing all that stuff! And it was enjoyable because we went with some very nice people too (except for one person maybe *cough*), so it made it easier.
This is where we were supposed to see the albatrosses, 'supposed to' being te keyword here. Still a gorgeous view, I can tell you that...
A somewhat blurred view of Dunedin from the peninsula...
On our way to the bay, some pretty amazing landscapes out there...
The view when we arrived, and it spread on miles and miles... You can't see the sandshore here, but it was incredible.
That's the seal that totally chased us when we were there! Heh. He really enjoyed the human attention, to the point where we actually got scared and walked away as quickly as possible. He still put on quite a show for us, it was lovely!
I took that pic on the way back. You can never get tired of it... And those trees made me think of Six Feet Under as well! As you can see, the weather was getting a bit moody and soon enough, the first raindrops fell.
That's the hill we climbed to get a bit of a view. Not sure if you can see it, but people were actually on their way down when I took the pic.
A typical Kiwi landscape, sheeps and all! The clouds were not a good sign, though...
The beach where the penguins were supposed to be... This pic was taken from high up, so I wasn't too exhausted to take out my camera :)
The sea lion we had to walk past by! It doesn't look dangerous here, but it is...
And after that, I was way too tired to take any pics --as I've already said, we made our way back through the cold, the rain, the hunger etc. But it was a really good day, I loved doing all that stuff! And it was enjoyable because we went with some very nice people too (except for one person maybe *cough*), so it made it easier.
That's it for now! Since Fish isn't here, I'm not too sure if I'm allowed to say more :p But there's a lot going on for us down here, quite a lot indeed... With all the people and parties and whatnots, it's been overwhelming, in the good sense of the word. We never believed we would lead that kind of life, but we do, and it's so fantastic that we feel as if we have to enjoy every last bit of it. And we have, perhaps with a higher alcohol level in our blood than predicted, but we certainly have! Heh.
Okay, here's a few tidbits I can tell you:
*We went to the movies twice since we got here --to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on its release day and Starter for Ten. We loved both films tremendously!
*We have a huuuge reading program for our paper on Irish literature, and we'll never be concentrated enough to get through it. There's a party every night here, or every two nights, it seems. With all the hangovers it entails, too...
*We love our New Zealand Foreign Policy teacher, which may or may not be due to the fact that he's young and interesting and good-looking. Emphasis is put on the 'interesting' part, beause he really is :)
*Here's a quick rundown of our flatmates: in Fish's apartment, there are two Kiwis, Karl and Ruth, and three Americans, Annie, Chris and Tristan. In my apartment, there also are two Kiwis, Conor and Helen, two Americans, Ashley and Brock, and Claudia who's German. If you're on Facebook, let us know and you might be able to see them :p In case you're asking, yes, we're actively looking for friends on Facebook, heh.
That's it for now! Tomorrow is going to be quite huge as there's a party planned and we don't have any classes on Monday (not yet for Fish anyway), so wheeeee! Take care folks!
Sunday, July 01, 2007
The pics so far
Bon on a pris très peu de photos parce que 1-on était waaaay too tired pour prendre des photos, 2- il fait souvent trop froid ici pour qu'on ait la force de sortir notre appareil photo (yeah, on va aller loin nous...)
Mais quand même, voici des petits clichés:
L'aéroport d'Auckland, où on est restées une ou deux heures... On était complètement crevées, on venait de faire plus d'une trentaine d'heures de voyage. Mais le soleil brillait et on était drôlement contentes de mettre les pieds sur le sol kiwi. Si seulement il pouvait faire aussi chaud à Dunedin *whines* ... J'espère qu'on aura l'occasion d'y retourner!
Fish à l'aéroport... Admirez le flou artistique (pas intentionel mais bon)!
The Little Hut Café, un restaurant 'sous-terrain' dans le centre-ville de Dunedin qu'on a tout de suite adoré! Quelque chose me dit qu'on va souvent y retourner...
Le célèbre 'clocktower building' de notre fac... Comme vous voyez, il fait très gris, mais surtout très froid.
C'est tout pour le moment! Si vous vous attendiez à des photos de moi avec mes albums des Strokes, ce sera pour plus tard (haha dream on!)...
Mais quand même, voici des petits clichés:
L'aéroport d'Auckland, où on est restées une ou deux heures... On était complètement crevées, on venait de faire plus d'une trentaine d'heures de voyage. Mais le soleil brillait et on était drôlement contentes de mettre les pieds sur le sol kiwi. Si seulement il pouvait faire aussi chaud à Dunedin *whines* ... J'espère qu'on aura l'occasion d'y retourner!
Fish à l'aéroport... Admirez le flou artistique (pas intentionel mais bon)!
The Little Hut Café, un restaurant 'sous-terrain' dans le centre-ville de Dunedin qu'on a tout de suite adoré! Quelque chose me dit qu'on va souvent y retourner...
Le célèbre 'clocktower building' de notre fac... Comme vous voyez, il fait très gris, mais surtout très froid.
C'est tout pour le moment! Si vous vous attendiez à des photos de moi avec mes albums des Strokes, ce sera pour plus tard (haha dream on!)...
In Transit...
Bonsoir à tous!
On a finalement trouvé le temps de poster. Nous sommes bien installées dans nos petites maisons (non pas de Hobbits) mais c'est très mignon quand meme! Les jours de voyage ont été très éprouvant, à notre plus grande surprise on est passé par Hong Kong! C'était dur de ne pas vomir la nourriture de l'avion *glamour*... (sauf le boeuf bourguignon). Quand on est arrivé le chauffeur de taxi était super friendly:), il nous a chambré sur notre équipe de rugby (bouuh). Tout le monde a été très accueillant pour le moment. On a dormi 15h d'affilée une fois arrivées au motel, du coup on était réglé à l'h néo zélandaise. On a visité un peu la ville, on est tout près du centre. C'est très pratique, très mignon... Après on est allées voir notre fac (qui ressemble à Hogwarts).
On a finalement trouvé le temps de poster. Nous sommes bien installées dans nos petites maisons (non pas de Hobbits) mais c'est très mignon quand meme! Les jours de voyage ont été très éprouvant, à notre plus grande surprise on est passé par Hong Kong! C'était dur de ne pas vomir la nourriture de l'avion *glamour*... (sauf le boeuf bourguignon). Quand on est arrivé le chauffeur de taxi était super friendly:), il nous a chambré sur notre équipe de rugby (bouuh). Tout le monde a été très accueillant pour le moment. On a dormi 15h d'affilée une fois arrivées au motel, du coup on était réglé à l'h néo zélandaise. On a visité un peu la ville, on est tout près du centre. C'est très pratique, très mignon... Après on est allées voir notre fac (qui ressemble à Hogwarts).
Pour l'instant on a pas trop parlé avec des Kiwis, sauf le coloc de Liz (très amical), quant à moi j'ai eu la surprise de voir 15 étudiants dans mon salon assis en train de siroter leurs bières...yeah!....du coup je squatte chez Liz mdr...enfin son ordi surtout :P...mais faut dire que les colocs de LIz sont sortis boire leur biere ailleurs héhé.
Voilà, nous sommes très heureuses d'être ici, on espère ne pas mourir de froid cette nuit..brrr.
BIsous à tout le monde!
ps: (c'est Liz là hein) J'voulais juste remercier infiniment Pariss et lui envoyer ma gratitude éternelle pour m'avoir envoyé les chansons d'Albert Hammond Jr without which I couldn't have survived so far. Thanks so much dear!
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