kia ora!

that means "hello" in maori. i learned it today, because i'm in NEW ZEALAND!
i'm chillin in an internet cafe right now... haha. all i can say is.... i am DEFINITELY coming back here. i've been here about 24 hours, and i LOVE it already. it's absolutely gorgeous! i had a window seat on the flight in, and i was seriously in awe of how green and beautiful it is here. it's just like in the movies. and even right outside the city it's beautiful and hilly and GREEN! so different to sydney... SO different. i probably won't write anything else about it on here before i leave, because i don't want to get on the internet anymore, but i figured i'd just give that little update :)
SEE YOU ALL SOOOONNN!!!!

saying goodbye...

man, it's amazing the things you can cram into 6 days. i feel like this week has been a non-stop string of last minute adventures and goodbyes. monday was spent sorting. i went through everything i have accumulated and tried to decide what i need to pack, and what i could sacrifice in order to avoid the overweight luggage fees at 3 different airports. i'm not sure if i was successful, but we'll see i guess...
tuesday was the last day of class! the asc got an introduction to maori culture before we go to new zealand... it made me even more excited to go!
the last few days i've spent with elle hanging out in the city and getting stuff done. we explored sydney uni (where we were gonna watch the election, but then didn't), went to manly beach, got some shopping done, rode lots of ferries... you know. wednesday night i did my LAST assignment for the semester, a take home theology final, which was a HUGE relief! i'm officially done with school for the semester! woohoo!!!
yesterday (thursday) i hung out with elle again and we went back into the city to get a gift for our host parents, then we went and got lunch at this delicious sandwich place. after that, we came back to get ready for the end of the year dinner, which is a thing wesley puts on every year. this year's theme was "swing the night away," so there was a live swing band (all wesley students... i'm telling you man, these kids got talent!) esther sang, too! she was great. the dance was SO much fun. the place was gorgeous... it looked like a wedding reception! and everyone was all decked out, and dinner was super classy. i ate calamari... it was actually really good! and guess what was for dessert... haha :) after dinner we all just danced and everyone was really into it, which always makes it a lot more fun. it was really bittersweet, though, because it was so fun, but i also knew it was the last time i will probably ever see most of my wesley friends! it was sad saying goodbye at the end of the night...
but after the dance about 8 of us asc'ers went into the city to have an ALL NIGHTER! we went out dancing to kill some time and keep ourselves awake, then afterwards we went to pancakes one last time :) then we went up on the overseas passenger terminal at circular quay to watch the sunrise over the opera house. it was beautiful... until a giant cruise ship came and docked right in front of us so we couldn't see it anymore. haha... it was actually really funny. it was a fun night though, and a good way to say goodbye to the city.
it's so weird thinking that i won't be in sydney anymore! it's gotten past the point of being exciting and become just a place that i live... but every time i pull into circular quay and see the opera house and bridge, i get excited all over again! it's gonna be weird not doing that anymore... and not going into class on monday, not hanging out with the townsends, not waiting for buses and trains all the freakin time...
i don't think it'll hit me really until i'm gone.
which is SOON!

egads!

this was a good weekend :) friday was the wonderful halloween party, which was awesome. saturday i went with elle, rachel, and missy to glebe (gah i love it!), paddy's (meh... it's alright), and OLYMPIC PARK. that's right... where the 2000 olympics were held. it was totally underwhelming. there was no one there... and we couldn't even go in any of the stadiums or anything. so it was just like a giant street full of empty buildings... lame as. it's actually about a 5-10 minute drive from my house, but we took a ferry from circular quay, so it took about 1 1/2 hours to get there. the ferry ride was fun... i love ferries! today we had a roommate lunch at this place called george's cafe that's right by the bus stop we go to every day... it was good! then this afternoon elle and i went to darling harbour because hillsong was having their 25th anniversary celebration there. there were heaps of people, and it was pretty sweet. we didn't stay very long though, so it actually wasn't that exciting because not a lot happened while we were there. we had to leave though because we went and had dinner with the people from newtown mission! i can't remember if i talked about newtown mission before, but it's where elle's service placement was and i started going with her a few weeks ago. i wish i had been going all semester... it was absolutely wonderful. the dinner was delicious, and the company was great :) it was just a really good time... now we're back getting ready to watch summer heights high (haha... so funny! don't worry... i'm bringing it home with me).
i'll be home in 2 weeks! in one week i will be leaving australia. 7 days. i can't believe it. i am really not sure how i feel about that. on the one hand, i'm SO EXCITED!!! i cannot wait to see everyone at home and be with the people i love the most in the whole world. i can't wait for Christmas time and snow and being together and cuddling up in warm blankets and not having any school work! i can't wait for MEXICAN FOOD! i can't wait to hold missy (it's true... i freakin miss my cat!) i can't wait to see the mountains! i can't wait to be on campus, and i can't wait to be at home! there are so many things that i miss so much, and i'm so excited to have them again. i know that there's so much more that i don't even realize i'm missing... but i'm stoked to remember it!
but i am also bummed about leaving. i feel like there are so many relationships i haven't formed, so many things i haven't done, so many places i haven't seen. i really think that one of the biggest lessons i've learned here is how to just be content. honestly, even though i feel like i could have, and maybe should have, done a lot more to make the most of my experience here, i am content with the experience that i've had. i know that God brought me to australia for a reason, and i have learned so much about Him and myself and the world and people. i can honestly say that i could leave australia tomorrow with no regrets, and that is a big deal for me. so, even though i'm still trying to cram in all the things i still haven't done before i leave, i am okay if i don't get it all done. the saddest part about leaving for me is the people. i don't even want to think about the fact that i have to say goodbye to the townsends. they are seriously just wonderful... i can't even imagine my time here without them. it's even harder saying goodbye to people here because, most likely, i won't see them again. so it's kinda just like, "hey, have a nice life! nice knowing you!" seriously?! that sucks! i'm just thankful that the chances of seeing my asc friends are higher because they're all in the states. i'm gonna miss them though!
it's just crazy to think of how fast my time here has gone and how soon i'll be looking back and remembering it.
but right now i'm still living it! so i'll embrace that while i can...