the clouds have been looking especially rad today

The weather has been super nice and sunny the last couple days. And yeah, sunshine and relative warmth is pretty great, but MAN, the clouds have just been Blowing My Mind. Clouds are SO Awesome. And the best part is that THEY'RE EVERYWHERE!! Seriously though, besides in outer space and in the ocean (which are both pretty awesome in themselves), clouds seem to be basically everywhere. This is Rad.

Soooooo, THE FAMILY CAME TO VISIT!! They were only here for a short time but it was still pretty fun showing them around Otago and Dunedin. Highlights from the family visit (besides just hanging out with everyone) include:

1) Moeraki Boulders = Super large, spherical boulders lying on Koekohe Beach (a little ways north of Dunedin)

2) Botanical Gardens = I had to run to New World (the grocery store) really quick and so I showed them my usual grocery-store-route through the Gardens. Basically, my walk to New World is really pretty and I have a greater appreciation for trees because Trees Are Awesome.

3) Otago Peninsula = Beautiful as always

4) Seeing Penguins at Pilots Beach = After sunset and just when the last bit of light is fading from the sky, hundreds of little Yellow-Eyed Penguins hop up onto Pilots Beach and waddle up into the grass and shrubs to find their nests for the night. Penguins are pretty cool, and I think my family was pretty excited to see them out and about in the wild, so that was really fun :) - University of Otago = Yay, School! Campus is pretty small, so we basically just wandered around so that they could check out the Central Library, St. David's, and the Clock Tower. Basically, that was the Uni (because I'm So Kiwi and all) in a nutshell.

5) The Whisper Dishes = They are AWESOME... I don't really know how else to describe them sorry.

6) Otago Museum = This was only the second museum that I've visited in New Zealand. The first was the Waikato Museum in Hamilton on the North Island... I guess that means this was also my first South Island museum visit... so basically, we've got two museums total. I am pretty content with this number because (as much I enjoy visiting museums just in general) I feel that although New Zealand lacks a ridiculous number of museums, it makes it up in clouds, moutains, lakes, caves, and Great Walking so it's All Good. ANYWAYSSS, the Otago Museum really nice (and FREE!). It had a lot of interesting stuff about Maori culture, Pacific Islanders, and the South Island and Otago region. There was a really cool room about all the different animals that existed and/or still exist around New Zealand so that was really fun because then I got to show my family the different animals (mostly birds) that I've seen, and then I got to tell them about where I saw them and what I know about them from my own experience. Yay for being a good tour guide!!

7) Good Food = Got my family addicted to Pineapple Lumps (the standard Kiwi candy), Rob Roys Ice Cream is SOOO YUMMY, Turkish Kebabs, Anzac Biscuits (kinda like a cross between a date scone and an oatmeal cookie dipped in chocolate), Steak Sandwich, Seafood... basically, hanging out with my family = good food and a happy tummy

After the familia departed, I had to work on a presentation about an analysis of Social Power and the film The Pianist. It all turned out really well and my powerpoint was pretty SWEET so that was really nice to finish. Now, all I've got is three papers (one for next week = easy peasy... and two for the week after = potentially might be a struggle, but not too worried about it) and then just one final exam. YAY for being Almost Done With Classes!!

In terms of just everyday type shenanigans... Yesterday(Friday), I didn't have class and it was really nice out, so a couple friends and I borrowed some surfboards and drove out to the peninsula, attempted to going surfing, but basically just messed around in the water at Allans Beach. Today is Kyle Rhatigan's birthday and he is awesome and one of my bestest friend and I've known him since Kindergarden, YESSSSS!!! Happy Birthday Kyle!!! So today, in honor of Kyle Rhatigan's Birthday, I went to the Farmers' Market, got some pears that I've never tried before but they looked pretty delicious (I got to wait until they ripen up though), failed to find the 24hour book sale that was meant to be going on in the Octagon, and ended up checking out Dunedin's Public Art Gallery (Really Rad, like I really really really liked it and I'll probably go back because its super free and That Is Neat). Tomorrow is also my friend Jenny's Birthday so we are going to go out and celebrate tonight. Yay Birthdays! AND my half birthday on Tuesday! I am so close to being twenty-one and a half years old, YESSSS!! SO CLOSE!!! the closest.