Through the Ice and Snow

It was my last day in Christchurch today, and my Great Aunty Margaret and Great Uncle Rob decided they'd take me to the Antarctic Centre as a treat. I think they also wanted to spend some time with me before I left too so they kindly paid for me which was really nice!

I didn't have too much stuff to pack as I was pretty much living out of a suitcase during the whole week. While we were waiting around before leaving, Great Uncle Rob was just telling me about their canary and other things.

We finally got going and even though the Antarctic Centre was near the airport on the other side of the city, as Great Uncle Rob told me, nothing's far away in Christchurch!

The Antarctic Centre was pretty interesting. There were displays on the wall and models of the Antarctic land.  Once we paid and went in, we had to rush past a few displays as we were told the penguin feeding was about to begin. I wasn't able to see much since everyone had gathered in front of the window, but I did manage to get a glimpse of some penguins!

After it was over, my great aunt and uncle and I went downstairs to see the penguin tank from below water level, and we could see some penguins swimming!

We went back to the beginning to check out some of the displays we had missed. There was a room where people could go in and experience an Antarctic storm. I didn't think my great aunt and uncle would be up for it, but surprisingly they were! We all went in and took a few photos before the wind started to pick and up freeze us!

Once that was over, we carried on, checking out some stuffed animals, watching a movie on a giant screen about Antarctica, and ending in the gift shop. While my great aunt and uncle went to the toilet, I managed to get a photo with the wolf and penguin mascots of the Antarctic Centre! They also asked if I wanted to buy the photo of me with my great aunt and uncle that got taken at the beginning. I ended up buying it!

We were meant to meet Great Aunty Margaret and Great Uncle Rob's daughter Alison and her family for lunch at 12, so we left a bit early to get there on time. They didn't live too far away though, so that was good!

We arrived at their house early though, but luckily they got home from church not too soon after. After I introduced myself to Aunty Alison and her husband, daughter and her daughter's boyfriend, we all had lunch. I have to say it was quite European! I haven't experienced something like that in a while! We held hands as Aunty Alison prayed before we ate. We then got a choice between tomato and chicken soup, and had some bread and muffins that we could eat. It was quite nice to experience something different!

My flight was leaving at 2.50pm, so I had to get to the airport by 2.20pm. Originally my Aunty Sally was going to take me there, but there was a change of plans and instead Aunty Alison would be taking me instead.

When we got to the airport I checked to make sure I had a seat on the plane, which I did. I didn't get much time before I had to board the flight! I gave a hug to my aunty and said goodbye to my aunty and uncle before I had to go off and catch my flight.

Once again I had to leave good weather for terrible weather. We had to keep our seatbelts on throughout the whole flight because of turbulence. I got a bit freaked out by some mechanical sounds during the flight, but by the end of the flight I realised it was just from the plane wing flaps moving up and down!

I was relieved to be on the ground when we landed, and had to wait a little while at the airport before my parents came to pick me up. They had been over at The Warehouse shopping while waiting for me to arrive.

And that marked the end of my one week experience in Christchurch. It was good to get out of Auckland for once and check out the hospitals down there, meet my relatives for the first time, and check out the sights with an old friend. However I think it was just the right time for me to come home!

Exploring Christchurch

I was excited about today, as my old high school friend and fellow head student Heather was going to take me around Christchurch, something I've really been wanting to do all week but never had a chance to do!

In the morning before she came, one of my Great Aunty Margaret and Uncle Rob's daughters came over and I got to meet her. She showed me some photos on the electronic photo frame of her with her parents on holiday.

Heather finally came over by about 11am and we jumped in her car and she drove us over to the Porthills. We stopped at a few places to check out some sights. There were some very good views, such as one of Lyttelton Harbour, and one of the city where you could see all the houses and buildings. It was pretty cool as you could see the clouds hanging low above the buildings and the mountains in the distance!

As we were driving along the hills and checking out the sights, Heather would tell me all about the geology of the land which was pretty cool! She's studying geology so she knows what she's talking about! 

It was slightly past midday, and so it was time for lunch! We went down to this posh beachside area where we parked and bought some fish and chips from the nearby takeaways. Something that I found interesting was when a loud siren sounded (it was the fire alarm apparently), some people ran down the street. I'm guessing they were volunteer firefighters!

Once we got our food, we went to the beachside where we just sat and ate for a while before walking along the beach. Since the sun was out and the weather was great, there were quite a few people at the beach and I even saw Aunty Jill's friend there too!

After the beach, Heather drove us into the city and found some free carparking. We got out and walked to Cathedral Square before deciding to head to the old University of Canterbury building where Sir Lord Rutherford's hut was housed. As former students of Rutherford College, it's sort of a ritual you've got to go through! 

We passed the art gallery which had a water fountain alongside one wall. According to Heather, you run your hand in the water along the wall in order to get good luck, so I had a go at that!

At the old University of Canterbury buildings there was a market going on which had all sorts of stalls selling food and a variety of other things. There was also this courtyard which archways which looked like something out of the Harry Potter movie! 

We went inside Sir Lord Rutherford's den which was quite interesting. There were all sorts of old machines in there, and there was even an old wooden lecture theatre!

The time was getting late and the fun had to end soon enough, so she took me home, where I found Uncle Rob outside putting something back up in the garage. I spent the evening loading videos on my laptop and watching TV with my great aunt and uncle!

Travelling in the Wrong Direction

This morning was the first time I’d be catching a bus into hospital. I got up early, had a shower and ate breakfast with Great Aunty Margaret before walking down the driveway and a few hundred metres to the bus stop. It was freezing cold and you could see the frost on the grass! One bus came by and I was about to catch its attention before I realised it was the wrong one and stood back. Not too long after the ‘20’ bus came and I got on.

The bus went through the Bus Exchange before stopping just opposite the Christchurch Public Hospital where I’d be at on the last day.

This time I arrived at the hospital before Joanne! When she finally arrived, we went with all the pharmacy technicians to this room filled with preserved body parts to hear one of the University of Otago professors tell us a bit of pathology. It was quite interesting! We were standing for a long time though!

After the meeting, I was taken by one of the pharmacists up to the neonatal unit where I got to see these really tiny babies in incubators and cribs! There were different parts of the unit. We started off walking through the intensive care unit where there was a little baby with cystic fibrosis which was kinda sad. As we kept walking through the unit we saw healthier babies which made things a lot more positive!

After checking out that unit, I was then passed on to this other pharmacist, who was the top intern in New Zealand last year! She took me up to the gastro ward, which just happened to be where the norovirus outbreak had occurred! Fortunately only some of the rooms in the ward were isolated and it was starting to clear up. I was quite tired by now after staying up late last night trying to finish off my work. I didn’t want the pharmacist to see that I was dozing off though!

Finally it was time for lunch. I couldn’t find Joanne so I went to a nearby café in the hospital, and ended up spending WAY too much on my lunch!

When I got back, I was then taken to another ward with another pharmacist. This pharmacist was cool, she taught me quite a bit and she even got me to fill in a yellow medicines card for a patient (it helps them remember what to take) and even explain it to the patient. She told me I did well, which was cool to hear because I don’t get too many compliments in pharmacy!

We arrived back in the pharmacy department slightly late. We were meant to be checking out the dispensary but they were too busy for us, so we just stayed in the office and discussed the remainder of our questions in our workbook before it was finally home time! We finished half an hour late but that was OK.

Joanne and I just walked down to the central city where we had a walk past a few restaurants she was thinking of going to for dinner with her friends, before we had a walk through Cathedral Square again, and this time went inside the Cathedral to have a look. All the chairs had been stacked in preparation for some kids’ event, so there was quite a bit of space!

Eventually we had to part ways, and I finally ended up checking out the Korean shop with all that Asian stuff in it! I was tempted to buy something but in the end I decided to save money. I did buy a thank-you card for my great uncle and aunt though.

I was sitting at one of the benches just staring at the intersection ahead of me, when these boys came over and asked me if I had any change so they could catch the bus. I told them I didn’t but that I would have a look. I tried to hide my notes though! I didn’t want them taking them! Instead I just gave them a few coins and they were on their way.

I finally decided it was time to go back home, so I went to the Bus Exchange and caught the ‘20’ bus that my great aunt had told me to catch. I got on and probably didn’t pay attention to where the bus was taking me…very soon I noticed the University of Canterbury sign and started thinking to myself that I didn’t pass the university in the morning!

I soon started wonder where I was! I got out the map and turned to the guy sitting nearby, and pointed to where my relatives lived, asking him if we were getting close to that spot. Instead, he pointed to the other end of the map! The bus I had caught was travelling in the opposite direction! What was worse was my phone had died, so I couldn’t text my great aunt to let her know what was going on! I got off at the very next stop, crossed the road and started walking until I found the next bus stop. It was just my luck that the next bus would be arriving in a minute! I jumped on and this time got home!

When I arrived home, I could see my great aunt in the window on the phone, saying something about being worried about me. I went inside and apologised profusely! Fortunately they were very understanding! At least I got to check out some of the sights of Christchurch…even though it was in the dark!