Oh, Carolina, You Keep Calling Me Home

My last week in Dunedin has been filled laughter, crazy shenanigans, heaps of fun, and lots of mixed emotions.  After we arrived back to Dunedin following our epic road trip, we hung out with Marvin and Wynton that evening since it had been a whole week since we saw them last…serious separation problems J

The next day, we walked around town and went shopping for last minute gifts and such with Colleen and Anna.  That evening, we celebrated Marvin’s last night with Rachel, Anna, Erin, Kelly, Emma, Jono, Colleen, and Wynton.  We were the only people in basically the only bar/club that was open in Dunedin, but we didn’t care one bit and actually enjoyed dancing around the place by ourselves.  They even played “Wagon Wheel” just for us!  And Emma decided to write all over my arms “Emma’s stick together,” which didn’t come off for a couple days!

Friday, I got up super early to say goodbye to Marvin when the shuttle came to pick him up for the airport.  That day I mostly just hung out with friends, ate Hell’s Pizza for the first time, and watched Mean Girls with Emma on her last night.  It was the first time she had ever seen it!

 

Saturday was another early morning as we said goodbye to Emma when she got on the shuttle.  Afterwards, we went to the Farmer’s market for one last crepe in Dunedin.  I also went to say hey to my wwoofing host, Shaun!   Then we walked around town and the university taking pictures of our favorite places!  During the afternoon, we walked to the rugby field and played a little football, soccer, and kickball.  My foot still has a bruise from playing kickball barefoot!  That night we went to town again for our last Saturday night in Dunedin and Wynton, Erin, Jono, Jenny, and I stayed out until 5am!  So tired the next day, but it was great and I didn’t want it to end. 

Sunday turned into a beautiful day, so we slept in and then headed to the beach.  Jono introduced us to a new beach called Snails, which was awesome and there was barely anybody else there.  So we layed out in the sun for a while, took a short nap, and then played a little kickball in the sand (with a softer ball this time).  Afterwards, we were pretty sweaty so we ran straight into the ocean, which was chilly, but surprisingly not as cold as I thought it would be.  After I hopped out, I don’t think Jono believed I was wet enough as he picked me up and threw me into the water.  I crashed into a wave making such a scene kicking and screaming.  But all in good fun J 

After the beach, we drove into town for our last trip to the Rob Roy Dairy for ice cream.  We had challenged each other to eat a full double scoop before we left, so Jono, Rachel, and I got that.  It was four giant scoops of ice cream on a cone.  The real challenge was finishing it before it all melted, but we did!  And afterwards, I ate only vegies for dinner J  That evening, we watched Love Actually to get us in the Christmas mood!

Note: I also ran up Baldwin Street a couple of weeks before and forgot to mention it in my last post.  But that was one of my goals for the semester: SUCCESS!

Monday, we went to town in the morning to pick up a couple last minute things for our trip home and then I began packing.  Starting to pack was definitely the hardest because I refused to actually open my suitcases for a while realizing that once I did, it would start to feel real that I was leaving soon.  Eventually I did and packing was not too hard and went by pretty quickly.  That evening, the gang went to Indian Spice for our last meal and BYO there and to hang out with Wynton during his last night in Dunedin!  Afterwards, we watched Black Sheep, which is a poorly made NZ horror film about genetically altered sheep.  It makes you laugh more than scream though!

Tuesday morning, we said goodbye to Wynton as he got on the shuttle and then finished packing the rest of the day.  We ran a few errands and made one last walk around the university before going to our favorite fish ‘n’ chips spot for dinner.  We also dropped by the Bog, our usual Tuesday and Wednesday hangout spot, for one last Speight’s Beer and Open Mic Night.  Since all the students are gone, there was literally nobody in the bar besides the guy who runs Open Mic, so Colleen encouraged us to get up and sing “Wagon Wheel” as a group.  So Erin, Anna, Kelly, Rachel, and I, after a little persuading, sang the theme song of our whole semester at the bar!  It was a fitting conclusion to the most amazing semester ever!  We sat and talked for a while until it was finally time to head home and get some sleep…of course I didn’t actually sleep that much though.

 

And here I am now, sitting in the Auckland airport after my first flight.  This morning was filled with many tears as I said goodbye to Margaux, Colleen, and Dunedin.  New Zealand has become a home to me and will remain that way forever!  Home is where the heart is and part of my heart will always be in New Zealand and with all of the people that I met.  Looking back over the semester, I wouldn’t have changed a single thing.  I formed friendships that I know can withstand distance, learned so much about the world and myself, and had the time of my life.       

Right now I’m headed down south to the land of the pines, thumbin’ my way into North Caroline with memories of the most incredible experience with me J See you all so very soon!  I’m leaving home to go home.