Quaker City

Saturday 4 Southern Comfort Motel

After checking out the flea market around the lake, I hit up a few souvenir shops and met up with the group outside of Ferg Burger. Ramona had ordered us all Ferg Burger and The Noodle 

Canteen. I got some honey chicken from the noodle canteen and we all sat on the grass to eat. So today, after meeting people from countries that include, but are not limited to: Bangladesh, Holland, Sweden, England, Australia, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, I decided that I would begin to document by taking a picture with someone from every country I could. Too bad it was the morning we were leaving or I could have had a real nice collection of photos. Luckily we had Leann with us from Germany. She happened to be some of the other girls random roommate at the hostel and it just so happened her friend she was traveling with dad was diagnosed with cancer and had to go home. She is our age and super nice, but now left traveling alone because she booked all her flights already. She hung out with our group for the few days we had left in Queenstown and is headed to LA, Vegas, and NYC next week. Luckily she has a friend that booked a flight and will meet her in LA so she will not have to travel alone! I got my first picture with Leann to represent Germany. I also happened to see my friend Frank (pronounced Fronk) from Holland come walking by. Frank was the Base photographer while he was here vacationing. One day when I was talking to his friend Courtney he began to take pictures of me. Sort of creepy, but I was flattered. I told him it was only fair that I let him take pictures of my, that I get a picture with him. I think Frank was flattered! So we left with only 2 pictures, but I will continue on this journey trying to meet anyone from other countries I can.

The drive was not too bad. It was about 6 hours and we filled it with a nap, stopping for ice cream, and road trip games. We all shared stories of our first kiss and dating horror stories! Before we new it we had arrived to the Southern Comfort Motel.

I have never been so happy in my life. We are given a small motel room resembling an apartment and I just about died! There are 4 people in my room, Mallory, Kirsten, Mikaela and me!

The smallest things that make me happy:

There water can be turned on; you do not have to hold down the button

I do not have to wear flip-flops while I shower

I can leave my bath products in the shower

I will be able to wash my face easily with this sink

There are couches, a small flat screen, and a kitchen

I can make my own food and do not have to eat another PB&J

They have dishes, silverware, pots and pans, a stove, microwave, oven, and more!

They have a BLOW DRYER

There is free wi-fi if you sit in the office of the motel

There is a pool here

I have a QUEEN SIZED BED

There is a full length mirror in my room

I have my own room!

After singing Halleluiah and screaming out with joy for this glamorous motel we are staying in we decided we needed to venture out to get some dinner. Instead of the pricey meals like we have been buying in Queenstown we thought we would look for a supermarket. About 3 or 4 blocks from our motel we discovered a small strip mall that resembled the mile shops in the Planet Hollywood in Vegas. Amongst these shops was a Fresh Choice grocery store; we came and we conquered. I filled my basket with some cereal, eggs, cans of tomato basil soup, a loaf of bread, some chicken, milk, butter, and a curly wurly chocolate bar!

Being without something makes you so grateful for what you have. Our motel room resembles a grandparent’s small apartment. Between the pink couches and old floral curtains you can tell we are in a motel and nothing too nice, but the smallest things made this one of the happiest days of my life. We cook our cans of soup over the stove and make our slices of bread to dip in it. I take my bowl, layback on the couch, and watch Inception. Wow between my soup and kneaders, kneaders definitely wins, but mine came in a close second! I get ready for bed in the comfort and privacy of our own bathroom and crawl into my nice giant queen sized bed.

Sunday 5 A Day of Rest

I made a point of sleeping all night sprawled out and a bit diagonal just to truly appreciate the size of this bed. Trying to fall asleep without the bar and club music blaring all night was a breeze. I had the greatest nights sleep in a while. We have church today at 1pm with the entire group and planned a spaghetti dinner for us all just after! There was a classical concert in the park along with fireworks. We walked down to the park and walked around the tons of people. The concert was awesome, but I left early to get to bed. I heard they had music to the fireworks, which would have been cool, but it was nice to get to bed!

Monday 6 Happy Waitangi Day

One of my favorite exhibits was the art through fashion!

This morning we went to the Canterbury Museum and spent some time exploring. They had some fun exhibits! It is crazy to see the town here after so many earthquakes. So many buildings are being torn down, are fenced off, and closed for good. We spent a lot of today walking the city, which was mostly closed off. It is sad to see the destruction and the cracks in the streets. I think it would be kind of cool to experience a small one while I am here! They had a few earthquakes just 2 weeks ago and that caused more destruction to the town. Just on the side of the city they had many shops they called “container” shops. Most were overpriced boutiques, but they were fun to window shop. Mallory and I went to Ballentynes, which has been recently rebuilt with Mac, Chanel, Clinique, Bobby Brown, and more! It was so nice to feel at home! I have already mentioned things are overpriced here, but here is some comparisons: Mac eye shadows $38, Mac concealer $40, Mac foundation $56. Yes this place makes Mac makeup look so cheap! I bought the most delicious chicken yeero (basically just a pita) for lunch! Minus the breeze, the day was very nice. The sun was out so the group headed out to the beach. Luckily I brought a motel blanket because I bundled up and got in a nice nap on the beach. I went for the most amazing 6 mile run around the Christchurch Botanical Gardens! They are absolutely beautiful and it was an amazing run! I am down to the final 3 weeks before the half marathon! I am getting scared, but I feel more reassured I can do it! 

Tuesday 7 Cave Hiking

After much time spent thinking of whether I should do the ropes course or the hike through the cave I decided. The entire group loaded into our 3 vans and we headed up to castle hill. The rocks there were amazing. I felt as if I was in a mixture of Ireland and Narnia. I could just see Aslan lying there on the rocks barely hanging onto life as I shoved my fist in the air and shouted, “For Narnia!” I could definitely see where they used this for scenes of Narnia. After hiking around and doing some yoga on the rocks we headed up the road to a nearby river. This small river had a long cave that followed it through a mountain. We all got out our flashlights. I was one of the lucky few to have a headlight and it sure made the pictures great. As we came to the cave opening the water was just about calf level but as you got in it came up nearly to my chest. The beginning was the deepest part. The hike took just over an hour for us and we would turn off the flashlights for a period of time just to observe the pitch black. Inside the cave resembled some sort of cavern. It was so much fun and perfect training for my race I recently found out was through water and rocks on the beach! One we got back I was worn out. I spent the remainder of the night watching movies and skyping people. Somehow the internet just magically began working in the Southern Comfort Motel, sketchy right?