Wellington…

…Is a beautiful city right on the harbour of Oriental Bay on the southern tip of the North Island of New Zealand. The city skyline can be seen while walking down along the harbour.

from the harbour

…Is Windy!
Wellington is...

and is full of all sort of plants, both indigenous and introduced.

…Is the capitol city of New Zealand. One can stroll right outside of Parliment as they please- night and day! (Amazing, huh?) There are also free tours of the buildings on the hour daily. The far building is known as “The Beehive” here in Wellington. Apparently that end was meant to have mimmicked the other half of Parliment, but they ran out of room! The older half is made up of solid marble blocks taken from various places throughout New Zealand.

They

…Has everything within walking distance. Weekly I walk across the front of Parliment, working my way to the local grocery store, New World.

Grocery Store

…Is the home of the largest wooden building in the southern hemisphere, second in the world only to The Todaiji temple in Nara, Japan (Northern Hemisphere).

The law library...

This is the Victoria University Law School on Pipitea Campus (One of 4 Vic campuses throughout Wellington)

...is a giant maze!

…is easy to commute in and out of. There is also a free shuttle from the Railway Station to the Interislander Ferry Terminal for connection between the two islands!

Race transport...

…has artwork everywhere. This includes that all too famous bucket fountain designed in the 70s and still standing in the center of Cuba Mall. It’s uncertain whether the design of the fountain which splashes unaware people as they stroll by the lovely commons was intentional or not… Elijah Wood and Dominic Monaghan (Better known to many as the Hobbits, Frodo and Merry) Peed in this fountain, which has only increased the fame of this bizarre contraption.

Splash!

…Also has entertainment everywhere! (This includes various musicians, singers, fire eaters, unicyclists, beatboxers… performers of all ages, talents… you name it!) Live entertainment can be found at any time of day or night on Cuba Street.

crazy Cuba...

…has a national museum! Along with the permanent exhibits that take you through the history and progression of New Zealand, the is currently a temporary Lord of the Rings installation.

It's

Unfortuantely, photos are not allowed in this particular exhibition, but I can at least give you a taste of what was inside:

...

This is a 1:12 scale miniature model, and the only one needed for the entire film. “They filmed it dressed up in four different ways, then put the shots together digitally… Corsair Ship: Made by Weta Workshops. Made from timber, urethane, fabric, and paint.”

…The Exhibition is up through August, so, you know… if anybody happens to be in the area :o)
http://www.tepapa.govt.nz/Tepapa/

Wellington!…

…has Civic Square, a big, beautiful open commons right near the harbour.

Civic Square

It’s lined and decorated by various pieces of art as well as a gallery, the Visitor Information center (“i site”) and the city Library. If you get a membership at the city library, there are 3 dollar video rentals for a week!

cheap video rentals

… Is gorges?

Ithaca is...

???

Stafford House

I can remember sitting at my kitchen table back home in Groton, NY staring at what felt like an infinite number of options of where to live here in Wellington, New Zealand. I could flat with other uni students throughout the city, I could live with a family in the Wellington area, which would provide me with food and a place to sleep, but on the other hand I would have to find transportation daily into the city, and I’d be farther from other students. I could take advantage of the flatting provided through Victoria, which upon deciding to do, was presented with even more decisions! Did I want to live right in the city? What campus did I want to live near? What halls seemed to provide the most (electricity, furniture, internet, heat, etc…) and what combination of these was the most appealing? Did I want a meal plan? or to cook for myself? what were the best prices? Yikes! Decisions decisions (not exactly my favorite thing to make!)

I eventually came to the decision to live in the flats provided by Victoria, and Stafford House sounded pretty good to me, so I put it down as my first choice, and got in!

Stafford House......is tall!

Stafford house is on the beginning of The Terrace and not a 4 minute walk from the Parliment buildings. There is a delicious coffee shop right next door, as well as a dairy. The Terrace is parallel to Lambton Quay, one of the busiest streets in Wellington, and it provides about a 20 minute uphill walk to Uni… (You’re lucky if you’re not dripping in sweat by the time you get there- even on cooler days!)

40 The TerraceVic Uni flats

Stafford at eyelevel looks just like the base of any apartment building. There’s a glass awning over the entrance, so many people tend miss the overwhelming feeling of dizzy verticle stripes at the simple tilt of their head, but the modernized zebra-look is what helps Stafford to stand out in Wellington (though, there is one other building in the city painted up like a big zebra).

My view every morning...

This is my view as I leave stafford every day to wander the city of Wellington.

International students from all over!

In the lobby of Stafford House, there is a World Map with pins for everybody to share where they’re from. There are students from everywhere here- Aside from Americans and Kiwis, there are a number of Aussies, Europeans (from Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, France, Norway, Finland…) Asians, and Pacific Islanders, Indonesians- All in Stafford House! Everybody wants to come to New Zealand! (And I honestly can’t blame them ;o) )

Moving on to my flat!

...dining room?

our kitchenmeercat manor

Stafford house provides each fully furnished flat with a kitchen, a table and chairs, a bathroom, washer/dryer, and a couch. (And three bedrooms…) It is so nice to cook for myself, and be able to decide just what I want to eat. The pictures on the wall just so happen to be from the gorges town of Ithaca, and with one of our chairs that has fallen apart, my flatmates and I were able to rig up a decent television stand!

There are three bedrooms in each flat, all differently shaped and sized. I have only one window, but because our flat is quite high up, I get a decent amount of sunlight through my window.

The rooms each came with a desk, bed, drawers, lamp and a wardrobe. On the wall to the left of my desk I hung a huge poster up backwards so that friends (and I) can draw on my wall! It’s been one way to make my room a bit more cozy and feel lived in (seeing as I didn’t bring anything to hang up with me).
…You’ll notice the Ginger Beer bottles on my desk. Gingerbeer here is sooo good- sweetened with honey! (Genius!) It’s one thing I think I will genuinely miss when I leave in 4 weeks.

Stafford House takes a lot of pride, I think, in housing so many international students, and to express their appreciation for living with them, Marie and Stewart (The wonderful owners of Stafford), took everybody leaving the building out to dinner just last night. It was such a brilliant way for everybody to interact, and for us to hang out with Marie and Stewart beyond the walls of our building a little.

The food, too, was wonderful! And the proportions HUGE.

Emma, me, Erin

Stafford has been an excellent place to live. I feel so situated in this area of the city. The grocery store is close, the Botanical Gardens a 10 minute walk up behind my building, and I know my walk to Uni by heart: the businesses, coffee shops, crosswalks, the tall buildings that reflect the rest of the cityline, and the shortcut through the woods that I take every chance that I get. Marie and Stewart are great, I have had so much fun cooking for myself, and both my flatmates and building…mates have turned out to be wonderful! Stafford has become my home and my family for my stay here- so far away from my home and family in the States…

…And though I can’t wait to return to them, I’ve got to say- it’s going to be difficult to say goodbye here. :o)

A drizzly, reflective evening…

The past two weeks have been busy with sunny weather, rainy weather, finishing up big trimester projects and organizing what time I have left way down here. As I had mentioned in a previous blog, I spent my mid trimester break back packing and hiking around the South Island. Despite the rain, I experienced some magnificent views and met some pretty awesome people who I’m sure that I will never forget. While much happened on that trip however, I’d like to reflect a little bit more on my return to Wellington.

Before I hopped on the Ferry and headed to the South Island, I couldn’t wait to get out of Wellington- this city that I had spent the past couple of months living in- I couldn’t wait to check out the wonders of the South and jump into the adventures that it held in store (positive that they would be more brilliant than I could imagine). Ironically, my return to Wellington very well may havebeen the best part ofthe trip! As I was walking down Lambton Quay (pronouced “key”), the biggest shopping street in Wellington, on the way back to my flat, I suddenly realized that it felt different to be there. It was the first time that I no longer felt like I was visiting Wellington, but rather understood that I was returning to it. It was a home base. I entered my building only to be welcomed by hugs from friends I had never hugged before, and exchange some pretty amazing smiles. Throughout the next week or so jumbled full of catching up with friends over coffee, taking walks to my favorite parts of the city, getting to know people better, and decorating the walls of our flat (finally!), I gradually felt more and more like I belong here. That I live here. And so, as it goes, Wellington has become mine. Wellington is a home to me!

I’d like to share a little bit more of the life around Wellington, but due to the raininess that winter brings here on the bay, I’ll have to wait a little while to get some more decent pictures…

In the meantime, I hope that everything back home is going well and that finals are wrapping up brilliantly!

A Romp Through the Renaissance

Upon the start of Spring Break, I was in for my most intensive art history lesson yet. Rather than looking at slides of Florentine Art and Architecture, I was actually seeing the churches, palaces, paintings and sculptures with my own eyes! The “Art and Architecture of Renaissance Florence” Study Trip was an amazing opportunity.
Dome

My friend Reimi, who is from Japan, also signed on for the class and was a fun travel companion. We left our rooms at Middle Mill hall at an unearthly hour to make the trek to Gatwick Airport, during which we saw the sunrise. When we met up with our professor and fellow students, we recognized a rather unfortunate situation; my professor, Ros, had her arm in a sling. Just a day before, she had broken her arm while placing a book back on the shelf at home. Ros had such strong enthusiasm for guiding our trip that one would never guess she was wracked with pain.

On the plane, I enjoyed a window seat which awarded me amazing views of the snow-capped Alps

Alps
We arrived in Pisa and drove an hour south to Florence. One of the most interesting aspects of the Italian landscape was the form of the trees. I always though Renaissance artists were using creative license when painting such vertical and closely-clipped trees, but I saw that the forms were indeed real.

The Hotel Cordova was rather old fashioned and authentically Italian. We were staying on the same street as the Palazzo Medici, and just a short walk from the Duomo and the Bapistery of San Giovanni! Mopeds, Motor Bikes and cyles are the mode of transport in Florence. It was funny to see such modern technology zipping by the landmarks of the Renaissance.

DavidDuomo
David, the Duomo, and a portrait of the dome’s architect Brunelleschi

Upon seeing the Duomo for the first time, I uttered a word that I cannot repeat here. The sheer enormous size of the building, as well as its intricate inlaid marble facade kept my eyes busy for awhile and must have put me in a trance. Of course, I jumped at the sight of Brunelleschi’s famous dome, one of the most amazing feats of engineering in the world. At the Bapistery, just a stone’s throw away, I presented Ghiberti’s bronze door panels to my class, thereby freeing myself of academic stress for the rest of the trip!

Arno
The Beautiful Arno River

To be quite honest, the trip’s schedule was set at such a rigorous pace that it is impossible to do a day-by-day breakdown. We saw so much in such a short amount of time, that experienced numerous episodes of sensory overload. By the end of each day, I was so exhausted that I went to bed by 10:30 each night! The last time that happened was probably when I was in middle school!

In addition to seeing the major sites and works, the best part about my experience in Florence was the element of surprise. It was great to stumble upon my favorite pieces that I hadn’t expected to see in Florence, but elsewhere in Italy. I would also like to extend a huge “Thank You” to Ros Ormiston for being such an awesome professor and guide despite the pain of her broken arm.

The trip was so much fun that I had forgotten I was taking a class! However, I just remember that it was a class and I am off to write the paper now!

Next Entry: Switzerland and Germany!