The last two weeks have brought about the reality of saying our goodbyes. After Holly's birthday party and attending final lectures, friends have started to leave. We went out for one last time with everyone on Queen Street last Thursday, then had a huge potluck for Derrick on Friday. We made so much food and I was really proud of our cooking capabilities (even the guys)!! I'm two flatmates down and there are just the North Americans left. I've also had some dinners with Rachel, Ellen and Katie...including a Mexican fiesta =) Funny how get-togethers always revolve around some sort of food or beverage. I also took exam number one and it was fine. They're really hard-out on tests here. You get a number and sit at the appropriate desk in a room of at least 250 people and have like 30 proctors or something ridiculous like that. I felt like I couldn't breathe in that room. Anyways, two more to go...one Monday and one Tuesday. Maybe I should start studying...
In other news I took a day trip by myself (via bus) to Port Chalmers. It's a cute town on the coast that exports timber and has tons of resale shops. And a house with seashells instead of grass. It was a nice day to walk and think about stuff and I drank one of the best chai lattes ever. I also listened to or watched the entire Wings series with my Michigan friend, Jarrett. We were very disappointed in our boys but we figure that we should share the Cup once in a while...annnd speaking of sports I also attended an ALL BLACKS game =) For those of you who don't know, it's NZed's national rugby team and according to a bartender, "These games make the city alive with rugby".
The next day I headed out on a very last minute trip to the top of the South Island ("Ann we're leaving in 10 minutes. You're not packed? Well get packed and let's go!") Sam, a Kiwi friend, has a sister who lives in Motueka, which is the closest town to the Abel Tasman National Park so we were able to stay with her for free (and even watch some television. I was like a zombie in front of that thing.) We drove the 10 hours up on Sunday and had all day Monday to look around the area. The weather was absolutely perfect!! Sam showed us some really cool spots that we would have never found on our own...Kaiteriteri Beach (it's so cool that even Shania has a house there)
Abel Tasman Coastal Track, Harwood's Hole. There was a lot of water and sand and blue sky with mountains in the background. Wonnnnderful. Oh, and the hole is sweet. It's a 176 metre drop that leads down into a cave system. 
It's like that one episode of "Planet Earth" when the guy parachutes into that huge hole in the ground....anyone know what I'm talking about? Okay, well it was cool. Have you ever eaten a Braeburn apple? We passed their orchards on our way as well =) yumm
Tuesday we stopped for lunch at Nelson Lakes National Park and realized that the good weather was probably over. The frost line on the hills was almost to the road...and as we continued driving it got closer! Through Lewis Pass there were a couple of inches on the ground and it was the same as we got near Dunedin! I can't believe I'm seeing snow in June. This is my second to last update. I'll be home very very soon.
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