IES orientation in Springfield

I just got back from our orientation in the small town of Springfield. I woke up yesterday at 8:50 (which was when we were supposed to leave), and had to throw all of my stuff quickly in my backpack and book it, leaving behind my towel, shampoo, and sunscreen, all of which had rather unfortunate effects.

Our driver was a Kiwi named Colin, whow was the owner of the hostel we were staying at. He was a nice guy who told us all about the area we were driving through. The first place he took us was a sheep farm where the farmer, a guy named Big Chris, showed us his sheep, which were for both wool and meat, as well as his alpacas (one that I took a picture with tried to kiss me), and his dogs (where he showed us off their herding skills). He also showed us how to sort the sheep, which was pretty cool.

Then we went to get lunch and walk down to watch the Coast to Coast race. This is a race that goes from the West Coast to the East Coast on bikes, kayaks, and on foot. Eunice's son was biking for one of the teams, and we watched where the kayakers switched over to bikes. Although we all kind of got separated from one another, it was fun to watch. There was a certain crazy energy to it that was addictive.

The next place we went to was Castle Hill, which was a beautuful natural rock formation where rocks shot out of the ground, bent over into tunnels, and spread out over the ground. We all had great fun climbing all over the rocks, exploring all the weird nooks and crannies. I avoided the edges, but some of the others didn't, and I was surprised that one of the guys, Greg, didn't end up with all of his leg bones broken.

We went back to Springfield and had dinner at Smylie's, the hostel we were staying at. It was delicious, and I personally loved the corned beef and mint sauce. After dinner we went to the Fire Station, where Colin was a volunteer fireman, where we got drinks and played pool (I didn't, but others did), and also this weird drinking game (sans the drinking, actually) where you tried to hammer a nail into a piece of wood in one swing. It was a truly frustrating, but strangely addictive game. I returned to the hostel after losing and fell asleep watching the NZ movie Second Hand Wedding.

In the morning we ate breakfast and then prepared to go off for our activities of the day. Beofre we left, however, we took pictures in front of the giant donut statue (in honor of Springfield winning the right to display the Simpsons Move first in New Zealand), and admore the cute kittens at an outdoor gear sale. Those of us who had paid to go horseback riding (which didn't include me) went horseback riding. The rest of us went jetboating, which was amazing as we went impossibly fast over impossibly shallow water, occasionally doing spins splashing everyone in the boat. It was a unbelievably exciting.

Afterwards we ate lunch (beef sausages, steaks, and lambburgers), then those horse riders who hadn't gone went and the rest of us swam in the Waimak River, which is apparently Maori for "fast moving and cold." Colin pointed us towards a tributary, which was slower and shallower, making it (slightly) less cold. After I got out I had to fight off the swarms of sandflies, which land on you and bite you, leaving very itchy bites. I don't know if they got me at all, but I hope not.

Our final stope before coming back to Christchurch was at the horse riding farm, where we saw more alpacas as well as Big Chris's kunikuni (or Maori) pig, Wilbur, a big fat and ugly creature that snuffled around for food.

After that we came back here. Tomorrow is the International Student Orientation, which should be alright, hopefully, and tonight I may try to go see the lantern lighting at a Chinese New Year's festival downtown. Anywho, I look forward to seeing what's what tommorow and this week, when I register for classes. I hope y'all are doing well as well, and I'll update again later.

David Lev