haha... once again, sitting at mum's work. I am meant to be finishing off a Real Estate Course, which i will finish, i just need a break. although, in true deev style, i should be realistic and acknowledge that the course would be a break from the break. I am up to the last of the readings, currently on consumer protection. and once i've finished that, i just need to do the online exam, and i'll have my certificate. that just means i can help mum out a little bit.
\so. i had a lovely christmas in which i've done lots of things. still catching up with people. and spending a lot of time wich friends who have also just come back from overseas. that has been refreshing, because none of us are really settled yet, so we know how each other feel. a godsend when you start to feel a little down about was this the right choice. but i know it was the right choice, and i am really glad to be back.
i've done lots of thinking about life and looking at possibilities of work and extracurricular activities. i still haven't come to any amazing conclusions, but i will be moving out and living in cremorne and from there i will see where life takes me. so far the thoughts are live there, casual teach (hopefully get enough days to cover my rent and bills) and then volunteer and get some skills up in the social field. although i don't know if my plans will become reality, it's just a thought for now. i have a return ticket for the uk, that i need to use before october, and that is looking like a mighty-fine thing to keep in mind, even if only for a holiday.
so, had christmas. went back to st james (my old church) to visit some friends and go to the christmas carols. it was lovely, but it is now time to start looking for a new church in cremorne or close, so if anyone knows of any, let me know. and then hung out with a few friends in aus on the boxing day and had to pack for New Zealand. just got itchy feet i suppose. and two friends were off to queenstown for new years. so why not join them!!!
it seems as though everyone is in NZ at the moment, or were over the new years period. first of all i went over and met michaelmichael who flew in the day before me. he is mountaineering at mount cook for a month. so i drove him and his friend sean to mt cook before then driving onto queenstown.
once in queenstown, i found my favourite kiwi and his newly announced fiancee (congratulations guys!!!!) and their friends and our lovely lovely apartment close to the city. then time to relax and unwind kiwi style! it was lovely to see shane and claudia again and hopefully i'll be able to have a trip to chile for their wedding whenever that is.
i had an amazing time in queenstown. besides the people being great. and being beached as and not able to eat plankton, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdVHZwI8pcA the scenery was beautiful. i would love to go back and explore NZ in the future for a longer period of time. (any takers?? haha) we did the jetboating and the nevis arc... whoa, action packed adrenalin activities. fully recommend. next on my list is a skydive. we also just hung around, drank quality nz beer, vodka, played putt putt golf and watched lots of countdowns on the tv... gotta love cable. new years came around and we watched a mtv countdown and had dinner and aperitifs before heading out to the monties pub and watching the fireworks... then went back to the pub and made it home bu 2am to watch more of the countdown... haha... i can't believe i was so excited to see what number 1 was. and i can't even remember.
then time to say goodbye to my kiwi and chilean friends as they headed back to auckland before sunny warm london (currently been snowing there) and bummed around in queenstown for a few more days before exploring christchurch and it's parks. caught the bus up to christchurch (unfortunately it was the same way i drove down, so no new scenery) and ran into a beach mission friend danielle. and then had dinner with tami and ben christchurch. read 2 days away (and thought more about life) and caught up with jon, anneke (congratulations on getting married!!!) and katie and amanda from uni. then departed nz. lovely lovely lovely!!! unfortunately i missed mark as he was arriving on the sth island a little after i left.
oh, random story, i thought i was going to be killed in christchurch. i had seen a fight in the bus station street the day before i left. decided it was cheaper and better to sleep at the airport than to pay for a hostel room and then leave at 3:00am. so, i went to the bus station at 11:20 to catch the 11:40pm bus. there were a few people around, so i sat and read my book. when i looked up, there were only 2 people left. the lady turned to me and asked me if i was going to the airport. so i said 'yes'. then she said, christchurch is a dangerous place for a girl alone. 'oh, thanks, i'll be fine, i've travelled a lot before.' (oh no, is it really that dangerous??) then she said, especially at night time. you never know who could be around. (gee thanks lady!!!!). i just kept reading. then she turned around again 'so where you flying?' 'oh, sydney' 'you better be careful being by youself'. 'thanks'. she then turned to her friend and said, 'you ready'. oh gee, i nearly pooed my pants... ready for what?? to kill me, oh my goodness, i'm going to die at christchurch bus terminal. then as she left she turned to me and said 'remember, it's not a good place, if you miss the bus, get the police to take you to the airport'. ok, i'm outta there. when i get outside, i go to the bus stop and there were a few people around drunk and friendly. i felt a bit safer there. i made it home, so it wasn't too bad!!! haha.
so. that brings me to now. spent the last few days doing trivia (lovving it!!!), cleaning up my grandmas house and catching up with people. it's great. i'm moving next weekend and tonight... I GET TO SEE JANA cos she has arrived in aus for a whole year. woot woot!
well, today we have some photos.. hurrah!
and a whole lot of rambling. sorry.
hope you are all well,
see you when i see you
love
deev
xx
my welcome home 'do' at the pickled possum. tori, tami, francis, jeremy and me
the HUGE chess in christchurch
the putt putt... it was amazing... and indoor
the famous FERGBURGERS
the new years eve gang
the deadly drop
dikko and sean at lake tekapo
me, reyna, marissa and jordan at christmas
returned citizens; stu, helen, alex, mark and me...
have a happy day everyone!!
xx
