My flat's last night together!



All of the 2A flatmates decked out in our bright and tight gear.



Natalie and I in our colorful outfits at our neon party!



Matthias, Tara, Kate, Natalie, and I showed our skills (or lack thereof) at the local ice skating rink.



Our wonderful IFSA-Butler tour guide and bus driver, Gerald!



Natalie, Drew, and I at our IFSA-Butler farewell dinner. Fancy shmancy!



I'm afraid I have reached the beginning of the end here in New Zealand, as folks are starting to leave and the exam period is underway. We took my flatmate, Andrew, to the airport on Friday morning and he has since arrived at his home in Scotland, 30+ hours later. There were two carloads of us that took him to the airport for an even sadder good-bye than I had anticipated. All of my friends have been a bit dispersed recently, as many are using the long exam period as a chance to travel to Australia, the North Island, etc. As for me, I'm trying to take advantage of some quality time in Dunedin with some of my favorite people that I have met since I arrived.

I have a total of four exams and have completed one with three left to go. My first was last Wednesday, Media and Intercultural Communication. This was both my hardest and favorite "paper", as I loved both my lecturer and tutor and really felt that I learned a great deal. I have my Gender in New Zealand final on Tuesday, Sociology of New Zealand Society final on Friday, and another Communication final on Monday. Each of my finals ranges between 40% and 60% of my final grade, which is a bit nervewracking, but the fact that I am on a pass/fail system is reassuring. Nonetheless, I will be quite relieved when they are over. My computer also found it to be a good time to go a bit bonkers on me, so I have been out of a computer for the last several days. Fortunately, I have a computer whiz to walk me through all of the tests, hardware back-ups, and safe modes. Matthias has been invaluable in figuring out the problem and getting in touch with Dell - hopefully they will be coming to the flat sometime this week. Fingers crossed! In the meantime, Matthias has so graciously lent me his computer for extended periods of time and I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the German keyboard. ߧEÜÄÖµ!

Winter temperatures have definitely hit Dunedin, making scarves, gloves, and a hat quite the necessities. That is, inside the flat. You might recall that New Zealand does not have central heating, and so we are averaging between 45 and 50 degrees fahrenheit inside my lovely abode. And surprisingly, we have one of the warmest University flats in Dunedin. I am happy to say that it hasn't been nearly as bad as I had expected it to be, simply an adjustment. My sleeping arrangements include the following: polypro pants, heavy sweatpants, polypro longsleeve shirt, another longsleeve shirt, heavy sweatshirt, and wool socks. Of course this does not include my stellar bedding combo of a fitted sheet, sleeping bag (with fleece liner), sheet, wool blanket, and comforter. With all of this said, I have been sleeping like an absolute baby.

These photos are an assortment of activities from the last couple of weeks. Our IFSA-Butler farewell dinner, ice skating, a neon party that my flat hosted, and my flat's last night all together.

I will be arriving back in Virginia exactly two weeks from tomorrow. I absolutely can't wait to see so many of your shining faces. Sending you all heaps and heaps of love from New Zealand!