Hey everyone,
This time last week I was an hour into my first exam, extremely well acquainted with the general library and my life was basically Eat-Sleep-Study-Repeat interspersed with a bit off stress. With Semester one done and a month of holiday ahead naturally I am pretty happy that the only thing on my to do list today is this blog.
After having a squiz at my past posts I have come to the realisation that it looks like I have done nothing but study this semester. Admittedly this was true at times, but it definitely wasn’t always the case and so I thought I would share just a few of the many great experiences I have had so far.
Pubs
‘Shadows’ is the student pub/club/rage on campus which is open till 12 and therefore is usually the first stop on an escapade to town.
Awhile back the Art Students Association announced that they would be hosting a Harry Potter Pub Quiz night at Shads. As an unashamed HP fan this was definitely up my diagon alley, so we conjured up a floor team of chosen ones and brushed up on our spells in anticipation of this magical night. When the day arrived, we headed to Shadows and wand-ered through the gryffin-door to find it was absolutely jam packed with muggles and there was not a seat free in the whole place, so we settled ourselves on the floor. The HP theme song was blasting from the speakers and the place was buzzing with excited chatter. Of course we had to try the Butterbeer which turned out to be delicious and I wish it was a regular on the shads menu. When it came to the quiz, our team ‘Snitches get B*tches’ did pretty well, with more right answer than Ron ones, but realistically we were never gonna win because we weren’t Sirius competitors. In all it was a good night and definitely will be back at it next year.
Clubs and Planting Shrubs
Yes, Auckland has plenty of nightclubs where one can drink too much and make bad decisions but that is not what this blog is about. This blog is about the other kind of clubs of which the UoA has plenty for just about anything you can think of, from the popular ‘Meat Club’ to the equally popular club with $5 vegan lunches. As a member of the Rotaract Club, myself and some friends headed to Motuihe island to help the conservation effort and plant a few trees. (If you’ve read my other blogs you’ve probably figured out I’m a bit of a tree hugger.) It was a great way to spend a Sunday and I thoroughly enjoyed the change from the usual city/student life. Easily one of the best $20 I’ve spent this year. 10/10 would recommend everyone take a ferry trip to one of the islands off the coast of Auckland.
That evening I also went along to the Pop Up Globe Theatre to watch Shakespeare’s classic Romeo and Juliet, ‘For never was a story of more woe than that of Juliet and her Romeo’ Did I know what they were saying half the time – Not really, Did I still enjoy every minute -Yes. ’Twas a very entertaining performance with lots of humour, plenty of tragedy and waaaay too much blood. The venue was pretty innovative, as the name suggests it was a mini temporary version of the real deal in London. Again dollars well spent although by the end of the 2 hours my feet were making me question my choice to buy standing tickets. Nonetheless, this is the kind of thing I love about living in Auckland – there is always new things ‘popping up’ around the place to see and experience and I look forward to more adventures with my Floorteen fam next semester 🙂
“Good night, good night! parting is such sweet sorrow,
That I shall say good night till it be morrow.”
Till next time, stay adventurous
-A