Wandering.

July 15

Today, I only had one class, then went out shopping for a bit with Una, one of the other international students from the States. I suppose my dad is right when he observes I've come all the way to New Zealand just to hang out with people from the U.S. It's not that I'm doing it on purpose; it's just easier to get close to people who are in the same situation as yourself. All us international students have one major thing in common -- we aren't from around here. So it's only natural we'd band together. Plus, Kiwi college kids seem slightly reluctant to open up to strangers right away. They already have their circles of friends established, and I would never be one to try to butt in.

But back to my day. Una and I hit up Cuba Street, and spent time hunting out boots (which we never did find). But it was still fun. I then met Andrea back on campus at 2, and we began our adventurous afternoon.

It began with a search for postcards. We were just going to walk down to Courtenay Place. But we kept walking, eventually ending up at Lambton Quay (pronounced “Key” like the Irish do) and beyond. We stopped in a post shop for postcards and stamps, then kept going. I stopped in just about every book shop along the way, in search of a book for Travel Writing, which I never did find.

We found the Simply New Zealand store and bought a few articles of souvenir clothing, then just kept walking. We found ourselves near Queen’s Wharf – we’d come almost full circle without even realizing it. We took a short tour of the Doulos, apparently the world’s oldest ocean-going passenger ship, that was moored in the harbor. It was free to get on the boat, so we did. It had some nice views of the city and harbor at sunset.

After snapping a few good pictures and wending our way through a slightly awkward on-board Christian book shop, we disembarked and continued exploring that neck of the city. We found ourselves in what I believe is considered the city center, where there's a small park with fountains and statues, and brick walkways. Also, suspended above the intersecting streets is this metal ball made up of intertwining New Zealand fern leaves. It looks a bit eerie, because you can't really see the wires holding it up.

We then walked all the way back to Tory Street, where we’d basically started. After a quick stop at the Warehouse, we went back to Andrea’s. I worked my apparent magic touch on all her electronics, and we watched “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” on her laptop while warming our hands over her space heater. It was a lovely ending to a lovely day.

We’ll have to try wandering again sometime, as today really seemed to work out well for us! There's just so much to see and do in this city that I think getting lost is the best way to find something new.