It’s pretty incredible what can happen to you as soon as you walk out of your front door. A couple days ago, I made plans to go to an organic farmers market with my new flat mates and the day just exploded from there. But first, I should introduce my flat mates.
There are five of us sharing a small flat in the Ilam Apartments on the University of Canterbury campus. The four guys I’m with are Henry, Kris, Khalid and Andrew. I’ve known Henry since our first Whitman days and we did the full field camp together. He’s a total biker bro from New Mexico (but if you want to have some fun, ask if he’s from Arizona). Andrew is the other American in our crew. He’s using the IES program to come abroad and get a quick breather from his home school back at Southern Methodist in Dallas. Then there’s Khalid and Kris. The word “homie” doesn’t even cut it with these two. Since day one, they’ve been unbelievably understanding with all of my stupid questions and we’ve had an awesome time getting to know each other. Khalid is originally from Sudan but he’s spent a long time in Wellington before finally ending up here in Christchurch. The two of us instantly bonded over our love of soccer (he’s a Liverpool fan and I’m all Arsenal) and we might even make plans to go to the Men’s Under-20 World Cup in June! And then of course there’s Kris. This kid is gonna be a sous chef someday because he is a wizard with food. We’ve been planning out meals every day and he’s always there to help cook up something delicious.
Man that was a long tangent! But totally worth it. Anyways, I made plans to go to the market with Kris and Khalid early on Saturday. We had a fantastic time wandering through the park, smelling the freshly baked breads, the tangy sauces and the sharp citrus juices being sold in the myriad of tents and booths. From there, the three of us went to the store and grabbed some essentials for the rest of the week. As we were walking back to the apartment, we ran into a couple of the Frontiers Abroad people. They invited me to come on a quick tour of campus, which I immediately accepted because I’m still figuring out this whole place. We wandered around for a while finding our classrooms and scoping out various spots around campus. After we found all of our classes, we came back to the apartments. As I was about to head back to my room, one of the people (Ashley) suggested going on a walkabout through the rest of campus or town. Not wanting to miss out on that kind of adventure, I instantly said, “Hell yeah!” Best decision of the day. We hadn’t taken 20 steps when we ran into another group of FA folks coming from a beer festival that was being hosted a matter of minutes from the apartments. And that was how I ended up spending the rest of the afternoon sipping on craft beers surrounded by good friends on a gorgeous Christchurch day. All it took was a step out the front door.
Til next time
David