dah sampai, yea!

Arrival in Christchurch at around 1130pm, local time. After getting our bags and stuff, we were greeted by Prof. Chris Eves, the person Mama was going to be working with for the entire month. Mind and body tired from all the travelling. Biological clock also gone haywire due the changing time zones. To make things worst, it was a cold 7 degrees Celsius night outside the airport. And all I was wearing was a simple top and a small jacket; something I’d be wearing to a movie in Malaysia. The moment I stepped outside, I started sneezing- enough proof that it was just too cold.

We were brought to Oaks Smartstay on Cashel St. It’s a really neat place. Since the place was all locked up, we had to call somebody to let us in. a Chinese guy came down, and apparently, he’s from Malaysia too. Studying Medic and doing a part time job. These people studying abroad really have the time to do all these things. While we’re stuck with books, assignments, books, books and more books.

There was some mix up about the room and finally we were given a hotel room for the night. We all bundled up in the Queen sized bed without changing, unpacking or cleaning up. Sounds gross, I know, but we were just too tired to think about anything.

Around noon, local time.

My mom woke us up and told us to pack stuff as we were moving to the 6th floor, where we will be staying permanently for the month. The room is superb, and it was nice to finally settle down. Chris came to pick us up later that day and brought us around town. He also drove us up one of the hills called Sugerloaf Scenic Reserve which was previously part of a volcano, which at present is inactive, thank goodness. I was kind of dizzy actually, but I enjoyed the whole experience, nevertheless.

After the long tour, we headed for Chris’ house where he handed over his old car for us to get around, and also Navman the GPS system to help us get around. He has a lovely garden, with roses in 3 different colours. He’s got a dining room overlooking the backyard which is absolutely to die for. I’ve fallen in love with NZ the same way I fell for UK. Simply wonderful.

Later, we headed back home, with the guide of Navman. But we deviated from some of the given directions, and got lost, obviously. We stopped at Countdown (like one of the hypermarkets in Malaysia) on Columbo St., and did some shopping. Things aren’t cheap here, but if we didn’t buy them, we’d probably starve to death.

Headed back home and had some lunch. The bread is absolutely scrumptious! I could get used to this, you know. Took a shower and watched TV all night. There was some news about an iceberg which was supposed to melt but somehow managed to get near the South Island of NZ. People are fascinated and some even wanted to get married on it. They were told that that was virtually impossible. They’d freeze before they even got the chance to kiss the bride. We then called it a day.