Finally getting around to starting a blog, this first one might be a bit long because its been a crazy start to my study abroad year. After an amazing few days in Singapore with my Uncle and Aunt. It was time to jet off to sunny Christchurch. After barely getting accustomed to the heat of Singapore, my body took another hit when stepping out of the plane in shorts and a t-shirt at -2C! 

After lugging  a 34kg  suitcase through the airport and getting through customs where the security guard thought I looked particularly suspicious it was finally time to step foot on New Zealand soil. My first thought was 'Oh my god its freezing!' and then realised I'd been awake for 30 hours and it was only 9am! 

That night I spent settling in with my new house mates and getting to know them. It wouldn't surprise some of you to know I couldn't be bothered to cook so just had a microwave curry and  I have to say, it was pretty good. 

The first week seemed like a bit of a blur. The next day I  visited the city centre with some friends.  It was incredible to see how much damage the earthquakes caused and how the city is still recovering. There's an amazing area called Re:Start where old shipping containers have been converted to shops and café's. Its a great idea and doesn't even look out of place, 

 

 

 

Saturday night was a 'maori experience night' there was singing and dancing and a traditional meal cooked in a 'hangi' (underground pit filled with hot stones). That night we went in search of a pub to watch the lions match, unfortunately I missed three of the four tries because I was getting drinks but a win is a win!  

On Monday, Sadie and I caught a bus to the beach. It looked a lot like Aberavon beach but without the gigantic steel works! We spent a good half an hour walking around the town looking for a fish and chip shop but found one just as we were about to give up but it was well worth the search.

The highlight if the first week must have been a hypnotist show at the student union. At first I was sceptical but it was absolutely hilarious to watch. One guy was hypnotised so that when a phone call played  he thought that people's shoes were phones and that he was expecting a really important phone call so went around the audience trying to rip off our shoes to answer the 'phone'. When he came to me and my double knots there was no way my shoe was coming off so I ended up being dragged off of my chair and pulled along the floor, thankfully the music changed before more damage could be done!

That's all for now! I'm sure I've forgotten a lot but there's plenty more to come!

See you all soon! 

Owain