Events On Campus and Around Christchurch

The great thing about going to school in Christchurch is that there's always something going on. Since the first month or so of being here was the last month of summer, there were lots of end of summer parties and events.

Black Seeds Concert: The first week of being here was Orientation Week which consisted of concerts and events everyday on campus. Unfortunately they weren't free so the only one I atttended was the Amp It Up 2 concert (which I heard was by far the best). Headlined by the Black Seeds, the concert showcased some of New Zealand's finest dub and reggae bands and lasted from about noon til about 6 if I rememeber correctly. Since I'm a weirdo and of course had to download some NZ music over winter break before coming to NZ I knew all about the Black Seeds (prob NZ most popular band), Six 60, and King Kapisi the 2 other well known bands/artists that played in addition to some other smaller groups. Anywho, it was just my flatmate and Alex that went and we had SUCH a good time, one of the beset concerts I've been to (and I've been to a lot of concerts!) mostly because it was such a great atmosphere. It was at this small outdoor ampitheater on campus on a beautiful 80 degree day, sun was shining, the music was great, there was free sausages, and everyone was drinking which was so weird to go to a concert and see everyone legally drinking, and everyone was dancing just having a great time.

Chinese Lantern Festival: Went to the Chinese Lantern Festival in Christchurch one night to celebrate the Chinese New Year with a bunch of friends which was pretty sweet. Victoria Square was illuminated by hundreds of Chinese lanterns and displays of all shapes and sizes. There were vendors selling a bunch of different things one of them being coconut toast which was quite delicious. There were also 2 stages with live entertainment which was really cool (except for the group of teeny bobber girls doing karoke to some horrible pop song) and a fireworks display to comemorate the event. We had a great time just like every other night in Christchurch and continued our evenign by heading to Fish n Chips to dance the night away.

ENSOC BBQ: I also attended my first infamous ENSOC BBQ which was nuts. The theme was jungle fever so Alex and I got dressed up, put on some war paint and headed out to experience our first ENSOC BBQ which was as crazy as everyone says it is. Basically it's a 2 hour drink all you can eat all you can free for all with a live band and about 1500 students dressed up in crazy outfits. Needless to say we had an absolute blast and ended up meeting up with some of our friends once we were inside. The next bbq is tomorrow and the theme is time machine so we're going out now to find some cool costumes, can't wait!

A Typical Week Spent in Christchurch

Just to give you an idea here's what my typical week looks like when I'm in Christchurch.

Monday: 2 classes from 11-4, relax, cook dinner, get organized for the week, relax/hang out with friends/do whatever I want because I don't have class the next day

Tuesday: sleep in, no class, go grocery shopping, maybe do some laundry, do my online quiz due Wednesday, maybe some homework, take my time cooking a nice big dinner, relax, hang out

Wednesday: sleep in, maybe some homework, class from 3-5, dinner, whatever, LOST at Julie's at 9:30 (unfortunately NZ is behind a few episodes), bed at a decent hour

Thursday: class from 9-11, nap, homework/chill/beach/whatever because i have nothing the rest of the day, dinner, bed at decent hour

Friday: class 10-12, maybe nap, whatever, cook a big dinner, start celebrating the weekend in our flat or a friend's flat, sometimes dinner number 2 thank to Emir anywhere between 1 and 4 am, or lay low watch a movie and hang out

Saturday: hangin out, grocery shopping, maybe go into christchurch or Riccarton Mall, watch a movie, have people over to our flat, catch the bus into town, go to SOL Square (bar/club central in Chch) dance the night away, come home, dinner number 2 complements of Emir

Sunday: sleep in, relax, online quiz due Monday, maybe some work, relax


As you can see life in NZ is really chill and all about relaxation and enjoying time spent with friends with some occasional work. Honestly Kiwis and Aussies are the most relaxed people ever, it's awesome. As for all my relaxation and chill time this is what i typical do/do with friends: watch movies, watch Planet Earth, download music and movies on the hub for free, personal reading, just hanging out with friends, write, organize, cooking,whatever sounds appealing.

Sidenote: My grades don't transfer back to Geneseo, only the credits. Not that that means I'm going to take the Kiwi attitude and calculate my grade to figure out the minimum grade i need on tests to pass but it's sweet not having the additional pressure of grades.

Akaroa and First Week of Classes

First off, my apologies for not keeping this updated. I've been so busy having fun and travelling that this has fallen to the wayside. However, I have been taking notes and writing in my journal so I won't forget a single moment. I'll try to catch you up as quick as possible.


Akaroa: My first trip outside of Christchurch was a day spent with Julie and my 2 flatmates Jacob and Alex in Akaroa on the Banks Peninsula. We arrived after an hour and a half bus ride and hired kayaks to spend our afternoon kayaking around the harbor on a quest to find some of the rare Hector dolphins which Akaroa is known for. The weather was just as beautiful as the scenery which consisted of turquoise water, clear blue skies, and grassy mountains and hills surrounding the harbor. Jacob and I shared a kayak, swapped life stories, and thoroughly enjoyed singing I'm On A Boat (something that's been occuring quite often recently since I've been on so many boats). After an hour and a half or so of kayaking we decided to get out at this little rocky beach and climb up the side of one of the hills to get a good view. After climbing over a small electric fence and passing a few cows/bull we got to the top and turned around for a spectacular view. It was absolutely stunning and I was quite disappointed not to have my camera on me. Thankfully since it was the first stunning experience and landscape I had encountered in New Zealand I don't think it's something I will ever forget. After we walked back down and found some awesome seashells and paua shells on the beach we hopped back in our kayaks and paddled against the current back to the village still in search for some dolphins. Just when we had about given up hope b/c the village was in our sights and the dolphins are usually found out at the other end of the harbor by the sea, 2 dolphins swam right up to our kayak about 3 feet away. It was absolutely one of the coolest experiences of my life! I was totally in awe and incredibly excited since one of the main things I wanted to do in NZ was swim with dolphins in the wild. The pair continued to swim alongside us at a further distance for about 15 minutes, ah it was just so cool! By the time we got back after about 3.5 hours of kayaking we were exhausted and starving. We got the most amazing seafood lunch at this little seaside restaurant and had our first taste of Monteith's Crushed Hard Apple Cider which we fell in love with. Luckily for me hard cider is a huge thing here and it's sooooo gooooooood! After lunch we returned to Christchurch exhausted, sunburned, and overjoyed with our awesome day in Akaroa.







Classes: So as compared to the typical 5 classes per semester in Geneseo, the typical course load in NZ is 3-4 classes and it's even possible to take 2 and still be considered a full time student. I'm taking 3 classes: strategic management, international business (referred to as IB which always makes me laugh bc it makes me think of the IB in Geneseo) and marketing research, all of which are counting towards my degree back home. I have 2 classes on Monday, none on Tuesday, and 1 on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday…it's great and my earliest class is 10 which is even better. Only 1 of my classes requires homework which is 2 online quizzes per week. Other than I have 1-3 tests/projects per class and a final . Since there are 25,000 students enrolled class size is about 100-120 for all of my lectures. I'm shocked at how small the campus is for so many people. Honestly it doesn't feel that much bigger than the Geneseo campus. It's definitely bigger but not nearly as big as I expected it to be. Since class sizes are bigger, there's fewer classes, and some buildings have more than 2 floors the campus is quite compact. Unfortunately people don't go to class as casual here as in Geneseo ie: no sweatpants and t shirt combos. However heaps of people (guys and girls both) go to class barefoot and on skateboards and long boards .

Lectures are pretty boring just like back home but what's really nice is that all the lectures and powerpoints are posted online before class which makes note taking so easy. In my 2 or 3 week (I cant remember) I had to give a group presentation in this huge lecture hall in front of my 115 classmates which was pretty nerve racking but it's over now and I don't have that much to worry about for the rest of the semester. I've also taken 1 test which unlike home was quite formal. It was like taking a Regents exam in high school-had to arrive early, bags had to be left at the front of the room, exam booklets, pencils, and answer booklets were laid out every other seat and it was timed. Also exams are all at night and not scheduled during regular class time.

Something random: my group memebers thought it was crazy that I've never seen a bear, they think they're all over the U.S….they don't have bears or really much other land wildlife besides birds here oh and possums which are actually quite cute and fuzzy compared to the scary nasty variety of possums we have back home.