Where do I begin?
My room is beginning to look empty & barren, as I slowly pack everything that I’ve chosen to take with me into two large suitcases & my laptop carrier. After choosing what will be left behind & recycling the academic waste, it still looks like I’ll be taking a lot of stuff with me. In a way, the cleaning & packing makes me feel like the secret police, completely erasing all traces that this room was occupied for 51 weeks.
When I shut & lock my room door for the last time, I’ll be closing another chapter of my history. The memories & interactions from this chapter will remain in people’s heads, in digital pictures, and of course, through this BLOG. It’s most likely I’ll return to this isolated archipelago in the southern hemisphere because of all the positive moments that have occurred, (and it’ll give me a reason to continue this BLOG).
This past week, I’ve been relying on pre-made food such as pizza, Subway, & sushi (two packages for $10!). Hopefully, the business establishments that I frequently visited, such as, Woolworths, Subway, Hell Pizza, & Blockbuster, will be able to survive without my financial input.
Reflecting on the Graduate Teaching Program, I’d have to say that the teaching quality is quite good, the atmosphere is mostly welcoming, and overall it’s a program worth attending . . . that’s if you want to be a teacher & have the finances to spend (around $30,000CAD). Studying overseas has taught me why universities like international students so much – they’re willing to pay double the home tuition to get the same piece of paper.
One thing that’s for certain is that I have to take up guitar before I start teaching music in high school. Learning guitar is probably the most popular instrument students want to learn – because of portability, & frequent use in popular music (electric & acoustic). I already have melody & rhythm down pretty good thanks to piano & drums, but now I need to transfer that onto guitar.
Even though I was unable to start an electronic music show on RDU Campus Radio, I’m glad to have been given the opportunity to review 7 NZ & international electronic music albums for CANTA Magazine – it’ll look really good on my CV (my last two reviews will be forthcoming in early July). The best part was that I got to review high profile NZ artists such as Sola Rosa, State of Mind, & Optimus Gryme.
The last week of lectures has mostly been devoted to ‘Thank You’ speeches from professors, course evaluations, and parties put together by the graduating body. I have to admit that my food/alcohol expenses were higher in the last few weeks because of all the celebrations (because we completed the program), and mournings (. . . because we completed the program & will not see the friends we’ve made).
On Thursday, to mark the end of Professional Studies, the class went to Drexels for brunch. The layout of the restaurant is quite contemporary but the menu reminds me of Denny’s in North America. I was surprised to see that they had real Canadian Maple Syrup, and they served 250 dozen eggs per week! After staring at the menu for quite some time, I settled for Eggs Benedict with a hot chocolate.
For Friday evening, the entire gang flocked to Santorini’s, a lively Greek themed restaurant near the Avon River in downtown Christchurch. We took up an entire corner of the restaurant because there were so many of us.
While dining on exquisite food & filling up on exquisite alcohol (Heineken in my case), the entire establishment came to life when two males started playing traditional Greek music. This led to several female waitresses encouraging customers to join in on circle dances. And who could forget the traditional Greek song & dance, ‘The Macarena’? Several birthdays were also acknowledged by having the person dress & dance on top of a barrel with one of the waitresses. The evening festivities were concluded by a friendly limbo contest. Yeah, Greeks sure know how to party. While all of this was happening, I was frequently looking around the restaurant, trying to spot the supposed cameras that were filming a possible My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2.
But the night was not over yet, despite the weather turning cold & into a light wet drizzal. Upon leaving Santorini's, the whole gang hopped across the river to The Bog Irish Bar. There, we were met by the February intake students & we dined on Guiness, Tequilla shots, while dancing to live modern music. (As always, the sound was quite loud). Well, I only opted for Guiness (dark chocolate milkshake looking beer), because I can't handle straight Tequila, along with a side order of Bog Fries for $6NZD. The rest of the night was all a blur but I made it safely home without a scratch & slept in bed for some time before realizing I hadn't starting packing.
My final thoughts will conclude in the upcoming post, ‘Top Ten Moments of My Middle Earth Stay.’ After that, I’ll be documenting my journey back to Canada, except it may take some time to load it up due to jet lag & the busy schedule awaiting me in the Great White North.
My room is beginning to look empty & barren, as I slowly pack everything that I’ve chosen to take with me into two large suitcases & my laptop carrier. After choosing what will be left behind & recycling the academic waste, it still looks like I’ll be taking a lot of stuff with me. In a way, the cleaning & packing makes me feel like the secret police, completely erasing all traces that this room was occupied for 51 weeks.
When I shut & lock my room door for the last time, I’ll be closing another chapter of my history. The memories & interactions from this chapter will remain in people’s heads, in digital pictures, and of course, through this BLOG. It’s most likely I’ll return to this isolated archipelago in the southern hemisphere because of all the positive moments that have occurred, (and it’ll give me a reason to continue this BLOG).
This past week, I’ve been relying on pre-made food such as pizza, Subway, & sushi (two packages for $10!). Hopefully, the business establishments that I frequently visited, such as, Woolworths, Subway, Hell Pizza, & Blockbuster, will be able to survive without my financial input.
Reflecting on the Graduate Teaching Program, I’d have to say that the teaching quality is quite good, the atmosphere is mostly welcoming, and overall it’s a program worth attending . . . that’s if you want to be a teacher & have the finances to spend (around $30,000CAD). Studying overseas has taught me why universities like international students so much – they’re willing to pay double the home tuition to get the same piece of paper.
One thing that’s for certain is that I have to take up guitar before I start teaching music in high school. Learning guitar is probably the most popular instrument students want to learn – because of portability, & frequent use in popular music (electric & acoustic). I already have melody & rhythm down pretty good thanks to piano & drums, but now I need to transfer that onto guitar.
Even though I was unable to start an electronic music show on RDU Campus Radio, I’m glad to have been given the opportunity to review 7 NZ & international electronic music albums for CANTA Magazine – it’ll look really good on my CV (my last two reviews will be forthcoming in early July). The best part was that I got to review high profile NZ artists such as Sola Rosa, State of Mind, & Optimus Gryme.
The last week of lectures has mostly been devoted to ‘Thank You’ speeches from professors, course evaluations, and parties put together by the graduating body. I have to admit that my food/alcohol expenses were higher in the last few weeks because of all the celebrations (because we completed the program), and mournings (. . . because we completed the program & will not see the friends we’ve made).
On Thursday, to mark the end of Professional Studies, the class went to Drexels for brunch. The layout of the restaurant is quite contemporary but the menu reminds me of Denny’s in North America. I was surprised to see that they had real Canadian Maple Syrup, and they served 250 dozen eggs per week! After staring at the menu for quite some time, I settled for Eggs Benedict with a hot chocolate.
For Friday evening, the entire gang flocked to Santorini’s, a lively Greek themed restaurant near the Avon River in downtown Christchurch. We took up an entire corner of the restaurant because there were so many of us.
While dining on exquisite food & filling up on exquisite alcohol (Heineken in my case), the entire establishment came to life when two males started playing traditional Greek music. This led to several female waitresses encouraging customers to join in on circle dances. And who could forget the traditional Greek song & dance, ‘The Macarena’? Several birthdays were also acknowledged by having the person dress & dance on top of a barrel with one of the waitresses. The evening festivities were concluded by a friendly limbo contest. Yeah, Greeks sure know how to party. While all of this was happening, I was frequently looking around the restaurant, trying to spot the supposed cameras that were filming a possible My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2.
But the night was not over yet, despite the weather turning cold & into a light wet drizzal. Upon leaving Santorini's, the whole gang hopped across the river to The Bog Irish Bar. There, we were met by the February intake students & we dined on Guiness, Tequilla shots, while dancing to live modern music. (As always, the sound was quite loud). Well, I only opted for Guiness (dark chocolate milkshake looking beer), because I can't handle straight Tequila, along with a side order of Bog Fries for $6NZD. The rest of the night was all a blur but I made it safely home without a scratch & slept in bed for some time before realizing I hadn't starting packing.
My final thoughts will conclude in the upcoming post, ‘Top Ten Moments of My Middle Earth Stay.’ After that, I’ll be documenting my journey back to Canada, except it may take some time to load it up due to jet lag & the busy schedule awaiting me in the Great White North.
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