the end

so i'm home now :-/

the last week was pretty busy, and kind of a blur now, so i'll just do a quick summary. my last 2 finals were language and identity in nz, which was 3 essays and i was dreading taking, but i think i did an ok bs job, and anthro, which had 3 essays plus short answer and multiple choice, which i probably should have studied more for than i did. but it really doesn't matter as long as i pass because no important bio people are going to care how i did in an anthropology course, and the grade doesn't affect my gpa.

the last weekend was a mix of studying (my anthro test wasn't until monday the 30th) and lots of goodbyes. friday night we used the rest of the marshmallows and graham crackers from serita to make s'mores with the ih kids (lucy was the only remaining kiwi from ih) and natasha and colm both came as well. saturday i studied and then went to colm's birthday party at his flat. sunday i studied all day. monday i took my anthro final, and then kendall, sophie, ej, michelle, rachel, and i did a bunch of last minute errands and souvenir shopping to use up our remaining nz cash. i got tim tams and pineapple lumps and some gifts for people.

monday night was an aucc party at the mustang saloon and sophie and ej came with me and it was fun, and i said goodbye to heaps of people and it was really sad. tuesday i packed and said goodbye to sophie and kendall, and colm gave me a ride to the airport where we found a whole bunch of other aucc people giving rides and saying goodbye. espen, who is from norway was taking his kayak home with him, and he had filled it with stuff. however, apparently it was over the weight limit, because when i arrived i found him in front of the baggage check desk with kayaking gear and clothing strewn across the floor. he arrived at the gate just as we were boarding the plane, wearing about 6 shirts and at least 2 pairs of pants and looking rather sweaty ha ha.

there were a bunch of other americans i knew on the flight to la, and my seating arrangement could not have been better. i had a window seat right at the front of the cabin so i had lots of leg room and no one in front of me, and BOTH of the seats next to me were empty. it was pretty awesome. my 10 hour layover in la wasn't too awful, i found a plug and played games on my computer most of the time. after the next flight to chicago my butt was tired from sitting for so long so i lay on my stomach on the floor by the gate for awhile. the last flight to buffalo was only an hour and a half, and when i arrived it turned out one of my bags had not made it on the plane from chicago, but they said they'd deliver it that night or the next morning.

then the family took me to brunch at a diner by the airport, and we went home (via tom wahl's for ice cream) and then after showering serita and i went wakeboarding in canandaigua with uncle boz and ryan. and then i slept for most of wednesday night and thursday during the day. and that is the end of my trip to new zealand.