One Week to Go...

Today is a big day.  It is my first day of finals.  The final is for my marine vertebrates course, which was my favorite course this semester, one where I built a solid relationship with my professor, and ultimately, one in which I have a lot of emotional investment.  I can’t do any worse but stellar on this exam, and I will.  Today though is also a big day because it marks the one-week count down for my departure from New Zealand and my return home.  One week from today it will all be over.  I will be standing back on Colorado soils… crazy. 

This last month has been a really interesting experience.  I’ve gone through a lot of emotional swings.  Two weeks ago I began to get very antisocial- moving back and forth between the library and hiding in my room watching TV shows (which is very unlike me).  The only socializing I was getting was my morning walk to the gym with Stina.  I had no desire to hang with any of my flat mates, would walk in and say hi and retreat right to my bedroom.  I didn’t make the effort to see anyone else either.  For that entire week I was feeling too down to interact.  I had already mentally and emotionally started to check out of New Zealand.  I felt like my lack of investment in New Zealand was infectious, or at the least disheartening to those around me and so I just stayed away from them- they wouldn’t understand anyways. 

Then that antisocialiality changed in nature.  The next week I felt happy to be by myself.  Relieved.  I had a week until finals, at which time I’d be studying vehemently and entertaining to visiting friends, one at the beginning and the other at the end of finals.  It was good to have time to myself.  A time to refuel for I had been socializing for nearly ten months straight and would be bombarded with people the minute I got home.  I needed time with just me.  And it felt very good.  It felt good to space out on TV shows, learn more knitting stitches, and get started on projects that would keep Stina warm in Dunedin’s winter after I had gone.  My time.  I was happy socializing with me. 

I heard somewhere once that you can never be lonely if you like who you’re alone with.  I whole heartedly agree with this statement and my time alone gave me a great opportunity to reflect on what I’ve learned over the past year, what I’ve learned about myself, and how I want my identity to proliferate into the future.  In some respects it’s kind of scary- I’m nowhere near perfect- but I’m taking measures to get some things sorted once I get home. 

 And slowly but surely I’ve felt rejuvenated.  I wake up very early, spend my days knitting instead of partying, and go to bed early.  My friends refer to me as the Old Woman in Room 2/6 and I don’t mind.  I’m listening to my body and my internal voice and sidestepping things it doesn’t want to do.  On the weekends I’m refueling my soul with the last of my beautiful New Zealand road trips north to Kaikoura and south to the Catlins.  There I can socialize and be in nature and appreciate it all. 

It’s strange to think that this chapter will be over in a week.  It’s also very overwhelming.  I have a very big summer ahead of me that I dive straight into the minute I’m back in Colorado.  I’m taking on a lot, maybe too much, but I hope my excitement to be home and this last pretty relaxed semester will have helped me energize for some hard work and hard fun.  Seven days.  Start counting…

This is what I see in my mind when I think of New Zealand... not to mention I think how jealous I am of these sheeps' view.  Mountains on one side, ocean on the other.  Prime real-estate.  

The pool of baby seal pups was fantastic.  It's literally a ten minute walk up this stream that feeds into the ocean.  The females pup here and make the treck up from the ocean to feed them.  Here the pups play and rest and grow.  It was adorable to watch the rowdy ones do their thing but also the dopy ones lull to sleep.  Their heads would tip back so far as they drifted off they would regularly almost tumble backwards but would wake up and brace themselves just before.  

And then of course checking out the paparazzi upside-down is definitely the most efficient way of doing things.  

The trailhead for the Kaikoura Peninsula Loop.

And the crazy goose guarding his little plot of land...

We didn't lay out those rocks, but they could stand for Jenny and Mom if they wanted too...

There were some really high winds.

This emaciated seal was pretty friendly.

 

Like I said... windy.

Stupid amounts of fun...

Not really sure what this is.... but it wasn't worth the money.   Tasted like old cucumber.

Dunedin in the early morning before the rains...

I love the swirls in the water.  They were more captivating than the sunrise if I do say so myself.

The Catlins::::::::::

This is so cool!  It's an elasmobranch egg case.  I'm not positive whether 

or not it's a stingray, a chimera, or a benthic shark, but my best guess is that

a little dogfish- a type of chimera- emerged from it.  Pretty darn cool.

Then we got warned off by a massive sea lion.  The other three people I was with ran the minute this happened.  I don't know if I just knew it was a warning and the sea lion wasn't going to do anything, if I have slow reaction speed, or if I'm just plain stupid, but I just moved back a little while still watching it.  You should never really lose sight of an animal that may or may not be pursuing you.

I'm really going to miss Stina....

BABY GOATS!!!!!

Nugget Point.

The nuggets...