Summer Days

Out with the cold & in with the hot. Summer has arrived in Middle Earth bringing with it hotter and sunnier weather. While Canada disappears under mountains of white snow, New Zealand bakes under the sun. Trees & bushes flap freely in the gentle summer wind, not caring that Ilam Village has turned into a ghost town overnight.

The majority of rooms at my residence complex have been vacated. Only a few remain occupied by summer students. I can hear the grass growing and no longer have to endure loud drunken partying students at night. Unlike my older brother in AUS, I didn’t have the joy of collecting or inheriting unwanted possessions from departing students.

Two students have already moved out of my flat, with another doing so this weekend. If I remain the sole resident, I may be instructed to move into a different flat even though I wouldn’t mind having an entire 5 bedroom apartment to myself.

Two weeks ago, students in my program held a semester end party at their flat, and from what I gathered was that everyone was satisfied with the first half of the program. Some will be staying to work while others will be travelling abroad before classes resume on February 9^th, 2009. 2009. Less than a month away. Hard to believe how fast the years go by when you’re not pay attention.

I’m planning on visiting my brother in AUS sometime during the summer. We just need to work out the details such as airfare, what sites to visit, and when to go. I so want to take a picture of a road train.

To save money in the long run, I purchased a mountain bike, helmet, and bike lock from a Canadian friend for $200NZD. Using it saves me around $6 of bus fare per day, and I’m able to use it for exercise.

I’ve been keeping myself up-to-date on current events happening on the international stage via the Internet, such as the Mumbai Terrorist Attacks, the American economy, the situation in Thailand, the Air New Zealand crash in France, and Canadian politics. All I’ll say is that India will recover from the attacks, Obama will fix the economy, Kiwi tourists will be rescued from Thailand, and Liberal Leader Stephane Dion will save Canada by ousting the current Conservative government by forming a coalition government with the left leaning NDP.

I completely forgot about the Grey Cup until I read a recent post on my brother’s BLOG. The only sports mentioned here are rugby & cricket, and they are played everywhere right now, especially in Hagley Park. The Canadian Football League (CFL) runs a tournament consisting of 8 teams battling it out for the chance to win the Grey Cup in late November. The American equivalent would be the Super Bowl, organized by the National Football League (NFL). I usually watch the Grey Cup & Super Bowl with my father & brother, but I guess this year will be an exception. I will miss the memories of downing soft drinks and munchies, while my father & brother add their own aural commentaries to the action, as well as their trademarked cheer, ‘He! Could! Go! All! The! Way!’, all while my mother quietly shakes her head upstairs.

Perhaps I should take up a sport like cricket, because even after watching the game, I still can’t figure out how the scoring works and why some players can only catch the ball with their bare hands? Catching mitts should be allowed cause they really whip that ball. If I was daring enough, I would consider rugby but due to my size, I’d get trampled.

Until next time, I’ll leave you with a popular Internet video titled Elephant On Trampoline.