My Kind of Weekend

Hey everyone!

I had a pretty sweet weekend, so I thought I’d write about it, since I’m already sitting at my computer, having a sing-along with Coldplay and no doubt annoying Sina. In my defense though, at least it isn’t ELO. Anyway, some friends and I had been talking about going paintballing for awhile now, and on Friday we finally did! PT’s friend Dan set it up, and because it was a dismal rainy day, Nora and I ended up being the only ones going from our group. The paintball place Dan chose has a World War II theme. They divided the 21 of us into a team of 9 Americans (actual Americans + some Kiwis), and the other team had 12 Germans. I’m not sure how the teams got distributed so catty-wampus, but oh well. The first game was D-Day, and we had to charge the “beach” from the “landing craft,” and so on. We played 7 games like that, and then for the final game, we took turns sniping each other. It was hilarious. Nora was wounded worse than I was; I didn’t get hit as much because of my characteristic cowardly MO of taking shots from behind trees. Know how usually in the States the paintball refs say you have to demand surrender at a certain point rather than shoot someone from five feet away? Kiwis have no such rule. I got shot twice from like three feet away. Ouchies. Nothing like that yellow paintball bruise Rachel had for six weeks last spring, but it still hurts.

On Saturday, the sun finally came out after a week of rain, so Nora and I went to the park! We walked to the Botanic Gardens and all the way into town. We both took a ton pictures—after deleting the bad ones, I still have 70 or so of pretty flowers and such. We accidentally wandered onto Hereford Street, so naturally we had to go to the Coffee House. It’s tradition now.

DST started in New Zealand yesterday, so now we’re 17 hours ahead of the East Coast. We went whitewater rafting for our final Butler event yesterday, and the general consensus was that the morning we spring forward is a terrible day to get up for an event. Pete said that Kate requiring us to be up so early was like breaking up with someone on their birthday. I love Pete’s words of wisdom. Actually I was kind of excited, because Shelby, the Butler rep who took all of my panicked phone calls with study abroad questions last semester was joining us! She’s spending 2 or 3 weeks in New Zealand and Australia. She made the 2-hour bus ride to the Rangitata River even better because oh-my-goodness she brought Reese’s. Guess what, New Zealand does not have those. Kiwi candies, or lollies, are way too sugary and fruity for me. So if you feel inclined to send me a present (you know you want to), send Reese’s. Rachel’s mom already sent her some—thanks Beth : )

So, rafting was sweet as. It was pretty chilly, but they dressed us in thermals and wetsuits. It was my first time in a wetsuit, and I personally did not care for it. I looked and felt like a penguin. We divided up into four rafts. The bros got their own of course, and my raft consisted of Katie, Briana, Nora, Jas, and me. Our guide was a Kiwi named Bob, and he was delightfully inappropriate with his stories and comments. We loved him. One of the awesome things about sharing a raft with a bunch of girls (and Bob) was the freedom to SCREAM all the way through the rapids. Not in a terrified way, more in a celebratory way. We had rapids ranging from Class IIs to Vs. Super cool. I managed not to fall out of the raft, but I did fall into it a lot. Oops. Speaking of dysfunction, I was also too scared to jump off a 9-meter rock into the river. I made the mistake of looking over the edge first and then there was no way. I probably would have drowned anyway. You try swimming in such an ill-fitting wetsuit. I looked like a reflection in a funhouse mirror.

On the way home, I introduced Kate to Blue-Collar Comedy. I’m not sure whether it helped or hurt her already dim view of Americans. Warmed my heart, of course, but that’s because I miss the South so much. Today we started our fourth week of classes, so we’re ¾ of the way done with them! Bahaha it’s so exciting.

Keep the letters coming. We miss everyone!
love-
Carie and Rachel