Ahoy hoy!
So last night was fun. We felt too dumb in our outfits to actually act normal though, and spent lots of the night making faces and just being general goof-offs. Paul is really funny to hang out with. We also watched half of the All Blacks rugby game and then went home around 2am. The All Blacks are the New Zealand rugby team and EVERYONE is "fans". There were a lot of people up to watch a game being broadcast live at 1am. It was pretty cool, the All Blacks lost, unfortunately. I think the Cal rugby team stole the Haka from the All Blacks! Something in common!! The Haka (i think that's what it's called) is this maori dance/chant thingie that they do before every game. I think it's supercool!! This is a pic while they're doing it before a game:

Anyways, today I got up and went to breakfast and the fruit market across the street and did a bunch of reading and such. It was a fairly productive day.
So yesterday, during the day, Anne and I decided to go for a run up at the botanical gardens. It was an absolutely beautiful day. Sunny and warm, but not hot. So we took the cable car up the hill to the gardens and set off on our run. It felt so good to run around with the sun and the earthy smells and the paths and flowers and trees above our heads. Man it was amazing! After running for a while, we decided that we wanted to take a dip in Oriental Bay (part of the harbor), so we ran down the huge hill, down some street to the water and then around the harbor to Oriental Bay. The mini-beach at the bay was covered in people cuz it was such a nice day. They're all normal though and knew that the water is fucking cold. We knew that as well, but we said we would go for a swim, so we took off our shoes and ran in. It was so cold it completely took my breath away. Then we jumped out and walked back to our hostel (dorm) dripping wet. We were FREEZING, but we stopped at the crepe place on our way back and got crepes. The guys that work there know us and so we told them the whole story. One of em's kinda cute and really nice. = P
Today...we weren't very sore even though we had run about 4 miles. (that's a ways for people who haven't really run in a couple years or so). We decided to go for a run, so Anne, Caroline and myself went out for a 30 min. run around Wellington, we visited a few new places, went up a hill, in and out of a dark, creepy park. It felt so good to be out running again, and we're all about the same speed and have a great time running together. I think we're planning to stick to that schedule I posted in an earlier post. If I can get back in shape I think it will really help a lot of aspects of my life. Running makes me happier, makes me feel much more confident, and I really want to compete again in some way and see if I can get back some of that person that was an athlete. A real athlete. Having not done anything in so long, it's like that person is totally gone. Yes, it's me, but people who I meet don't think of me as an athlete like they used to. They don't think of me as that good runner-person who is healthy and strong and confident. I miss that so much. I also miss soccer, but I'm still working on that one. Running is something that I can do without having a team, although it's much easier to keep a running schedule when there's other people going as well. MMmmm...sleepy. At some point, I'll try to find a good online map of downtown Wellington and try to point out where I live and where my school is and stuff like that, but I can't be bothered to do it now cuz it's late.
I'm working on picking up a bit more Kiwi slang cuz we want to fit in here and not be so American and different. I'm totally looking forward to the day I call home or actually talk to someone from home and they say, "you have an accent" haha. I know that it might happen and I'd never notice it here. So funny! "I can't be bothered to do it...." from above is Kiwi slang. When I first heard it I thought, "that sounds kind of harsh, like it's not worth my time or something" but it's kind of a general dismissal, kind of like my "meh" or "i'm too lazy". Yeah, think that's it for now.
G'night...
cheers