Goodbye Forever?

17:16

So I've left Farm Road for good. I've binned all my schoolwork. And I've left people that I will never see again. Sounds sad but just keepin it real. I'm still in New Zealand, but moving out of Lincoln was the symbolic end to a very interesting trip.

Painful

The last few weeks at Lincoln were quintessentially Lincoln. And by that I mean they were filled with crazy parties, farm animals for days, and a healthy serving of strange kiwi lingo.

When I say crazy parties, I'm mainly referring to one: Garden Party, the school-sponsored end-of-term event that champions wearing low-effort costumes and drinking copious amounts of certain beverages at ungodly hours of the morning. They say a picture's worth a thousand words...

My flatmates and I were characters from Finding Nemo

I think those are worth a little more. And they're all from before the actual event.

After all that insanity, I crammed in as much farm animal time as possible before I left. I've always been obsessed with animals but in Lincoln it turned into a full-on addiction. Ok I was addicted before. But you get the point. Did I hop five fences to play with lambs? Yes.

lil farm buddies

Chloe and friends

the curious incident of the lambs in the nighttime

And aside from wildly adorable farm animals, no NZ blog would be complete without the obligatory list of hilarious kiwi sayings, which I have vowed to use at UCLA no matter how much of a tool I sound like.

My personal faves:

Good on ya = good on you

Pin your ears back (+ get into it) = get into it

Yeah nah = yeah or nah. kinda depends

(Sweet) as = cool

She'll be right = it'll be fine

Far out = what is this the 70s

Aye / Ay / Ae = what are we Canadian pirates

Chuck (it in the boot) = put it in the trunk

Yarn = story / joke / chat

Some other interesting words:

crook = sick

ta = thank you

bench = kitchen counter

ute = truck

boot = trunk

paddock = pasture (maybe I just didn't know this because I'm a townie)

townie = someone from the city

kiwifruit = kiwi

kiwi = New Zealander / country's pride and joy wrapped up in a bird

jandals = flip flops

stubbies = short shorts (worn by men)

pissed = drunk

scull = chug

goon = wine bag / box

pakeha = European settler, essentially white person

zed = pronunciation of "Z"

Weird food stuff:

tea = dinner

milkshake = flavo(u)red milk

thickshake = milkshake

capsicum = bell pepper

ice block = popsicle

lemonade = lemon-lime soda (Sprite, 7 UP)

L&P = awesome lemon-flavored soda

kumara = basically NZ sweet potato

weird flavo(u)rs that are really popular:

In desserts: passionfruit

In milkshakes: lime

In crackers / chips: chicken, bacon, burger
In scones: cheese, date (you will find these two at EVERY SINGLE cafe)

All the while during this last week I was trying to figure what to make of my semester. Was my time well spent? What did I learn? What will I miss? How did it make me better?

You could tell this question started to affect all of us. People started getting weird.

But luckily I was just too busy to get philosophical. I finished my exams on a Tuesday and moved out on a Wednesday. Sometimes the stress was too much to handle.

exam-induced bed burrito

I'm almost grateful for the rush because it was a lot harder to be sad about leaving when I had to focus on passing my classes and cramming my whole life into a suitcase (weighing in at almost 70 lbs my bad).

I left this behind

for a final NZ road trip with these two goofballs.

stopped in the road for feral pigs eating fish guts and other bloody carcasses

Much like our trip to Australia (post to come later), we planned this trip the night before we left Lincoln. First we went to the Coromandel Peninsula:

Are words really needed? Don't think so. It was the perfect way to get over the mild devastation of leaving our little farm cabins forever. After Coromandel we brought Caitie back to the airport and she boarded her flight home. Chloe and I continued on to Tauranga and the Bay of Plenty.

"look at the babies!"

Clearly the animal obsession was shared between the three of us and continued throughout the trip.

trying to coax the sheep

chasing them when the coaxing failed

But one cannot stay in beach paradise forever. Unless you live there in which case your life is great, well done. So I dropped Chloe off at the airport and she flew off to LAX, where her friends would be waiting to bring her to UCLA. I admit I was a little jealous.

My NZ adventure isn't over quite yet. But consider the Lincoln chapter closed.

Thanks for the mems.

NQ takes NZ