Day the Second

This morning began with me waking up to my alarm, turning it off, laying in bed for just another moment, and next being aware of my roommate knocking on my door letting me know it was 9:45—fifteen minutes before we were supposed to meet with the rest of the group. Good thing I can get ready quickly.

For all my rushing to get out the door, we were a few minutes late actually setting out. That happens any time you have a large group of people all trying to do the same thing. No matter how hard you try to plan ahead, you are going to lag behind schedule. But our timeline wasn’t strict, so it didn’t much matter. Today was a day for laid-back exploration, and for buying cell phones.

Our advisors had called the mobile phone store letting them know there was a group of two dozen people coming in to buy pre-paid phones. We got there and learned that not only did they have only nine of correct model in stock, but the price had doubled since last they’d been informed. Requests to strike a deal for the group were denied, and we were told that another store around the corner should have enough in stock, but would be equally unable to strike any sort of deal. So we bought as many as they had and moved on to the next store. Lo and behold, they were willing to provide a discount! I was one of the unlucky few to get one at the first store, which means I lost an opportunity to save ten (New Zealand) dollars. But no matter. I had a new phone with which I would be able to contact my teammates, roommates, and advisors as necessary.

Our plan from there was to take the cable car to visit Zealandia, a nature reserve designed to protect the native birds of New Zealand, and also one of the project sponsors. But the line for the cable car was long, and we decided to walk up the hill instead. I think a lot of us regretted that decision. It was steeper than any hill I’ve encountered in Worcester, and much, much longer. And just as we reached what appeared to be the top of the hill, we got to climb some stairs! One hundred and twelve of them, to be exact. The exercise was good for me. I keep telling myself that, because while I may not be walking up hills like that on any regular basis, I will be walking just about everywhere. I may as well get used to it.

At the top was a small cable car museum, a gift shop, and a beautiful panoramic view of the city and harbor:

 We rested there for a bit before walking for another fifteen minutes (thankfully on level ground) to Zealandia. There was a café there looking out over the reserve—a very expensive café. The most popular item ordered was the lamb burger with chips off the kids menu, from which they graciously allowed us to order. Kids menu or no, it was a filling meal, and delicious as well.

On the way back down, we took a different route, through a botanic garden. It was huge, and sprawling, and… the word ‘beautiful’ does not do it justice. It’s the kind of place I would want to just spend a day reading a book, or wandering about, or holding a LARP event. There were trees and bushes and grasses and flowers from all around the world. As we neared the edge of it we encountered a cemetary dating back to the late 1800’s. It was awe-inspiring in every respect.

The only picture of note I took is this one. I can't for the life of me figure out how to rotate it. So just look at it with your head tilted at a 90 degree angle to the left.

Did you know, they have dandelions in New Zealand as well? That struck me as noteworthy. It was a little piece of home, of familiarity. In the form of a weed.

I was not able to appreciate the garden to the extent I should have. My feet hurt, and I was tired from the climb up the hill. The sun was threatening to burn my skin. I hadn’t thought to bring a bag, so I was carrying the box my new mobile phone had come in, which contained important information, the charge cable, and the card that told me what my number was, in my hand. It was a nuisance, not really a problem, except that at one point I put it down to take a picture, and did not remember to pick it up again until I was back at my apartment, well past the point where I could do anything about it. It shouldn’t be too much trouble; there are other ways of learning the number, and there are certainly charge cables I can borrow. But I’m frustrated and annoyed with myself for my carelessness, and don’t know when I’ll have an opportunity to go back and see if it is still there.

Blisters were beginning to form on the balls of my feet by the time we returned to our apartments around 4:30pm, but that wasn’t enough to discourage me from getting my computer and heading out on a quest for internet. I found myself back at Te Papa and learned two things: one, the museum closed at 6, and two, there was a distinct lack of power outlets. Still, I took advantage of the time I had to email home and catch up on what I could. When it closed, I relocated to the boardwalk outside, where the city provides free Wi-Fi. There’s something enjoyable about listening to the waves and the wind while talking to people from back home, even if it is hard to see my computer screen thanks to the sun.

But I was limited by my computer’s battery life, and as it ran out, I bid farewell to my friends (most of whom had fallen asleep by that point anyway), and decided to stop by the grocery store to pick up some things I missed yesterday. That done, I decided to head back home and relax for the rest of the evening. I didn’t quite remember the most direct route back, but I figured if I started in the right direction, I would remember. It was a good plan, except that I failed to start in the right direction. I realized as much quickly as I found myself walking through a part of town that had few to no businesses and simply didn’t seem very much inhabited. Ten minutes later I had managed to go in a full circle and found myself back in front of the store, flummoxed by my mistake. I started again in the right direction, only to take another wrong turn. Well, not a wrong turn, per se, but certainly not the one I’d meant to, or the one that would take me the way I’d been before. Instead I found a new way back to the apartments, likely a much longer and less direct one. But the important part is that I did make it back, and none the worse for wear, aside from sore feet and worsened blisters.

I had taken long enough naviguessing my way back that I arrived just as a group was heading out to wander around town and explore. They invited me to join them, but I decided that I needed dinner. So instead I returned home and made spaghetti with meat sauce. An entire half kilogram of spaghetti. It should be enough to last me a week, at least. But, hey, it tasted good, and I cooked it all by myself. That’s worth something.

Once again the entire class gathered in one of the apartments, this time to play a variation of charades. I joined them, but merely observed as I finished knitting a scarf. (That’s one knitting project done during my stay. I have a goal of finishing all the projects I brought.) When quiet hours came around we dispersed. We have an earlier morning tomorrow, and a little extra rest will be appreciated.