The academic semester is definitely starting to pick up. This past week, I had my first Genetics test on March 6th, an internship meeting on the 7th, and the first Internship essay due on the 8th. But little things like how my lab partner and I finished 40 minutes early, how I’ve been independently using the bus system more, and how comfortable I am with cooking now are all really great signs of how I’m acclimating to everything.
Although for the pre-requisite test for Genetics, I got a 48…But in New Zealand that’s still a D! So, silver lining, I guess? Also, the professor is giving us two cracks at the test, and the next opportunity is scheduled for this Wednesday. I’ll be using the next two days to study my butt off, and hopefully I will be back next week with a better grade!
On the 7th, I was lucky enough to catch the early bus to Phillipstown Community Hub where I met up with Ms. Tanya again to discuss my responsibilities during the internship further. It was great learning more about the workings of that organization and the Refugee Network’s. I met more employees and Mr. Ahmed of the Refugee Network again, and the plan is that this Tuesday will be my first time helping out at the Homework Center and meeting some local Christchurch youths.
After the meeting, I decided to stay in the city for a while since I still had 5 hours before my next lecture. So, I ate lunch at the Little High Eatery and treated myself to ice cream for dessert. Then, I walked to Turanga, the new public library in Cathedral Square that opened up last October. I wanted to check it out because 1) I love libraries and basically grew up in my hometown branch 2) I made it a goal to start reading for pleasure again 3) As a past student library worker, I’m interested in the the similarities and differences of resources and 4) The exterior of the library just looked really cool. And the interior did not disappoint! The library has 5 floors, each one with different themes such as Identity, Discovery, and Creativity. The floors are organized by genre—children’s and young adult, nonfiction, fiction, etc. The building also includes two cafes, a recording studio, and computer labs. However, I think that the coolest thing they offer is access to a 3-D printer! I didn’t have a chance to try it out that day, but the librarian who helped me said that it’s free to use, just priced by weight of the printed product. Definitely a thing to try out next time.
For now, I’m content with the two books I checked out: “The Pisces” by Melissa Broder and “In Xanadu: A Quest” by William Dalrymple. I spied Broder’s interesting cover as I was browsing the fiction shelves and recognized it as one of the novels on many ‘Best Reads of 2018’ lists. So far, I can definitely see why so many people enjoyed the novel; it’s dark, hilarious, absurd, and oh-so-relatable. I haven’t started “In Xanadu” yet, but I spontaneously decided to check it out because I could use a little inspiration in my life right now. The author wrote the novel when he was 22 years-old, which is coincidentally how old I currently am. So, here’s hoping that this 20th-century travel book will incite some 21st-century travel adventures for me soon.
