Ooooosh! - South Island here we come!

As I've mentioned MANY times, time is FLYING here! We leave tomorrow afternoon for Auckland airport to fly down to Christchurch on the South Island. We will stay a total of 12 days, driving south from Christchurch to Dunedin, then west to Queenstown, where we will make a day trip to the spectacular Milford Sound, up the west coast to see the Franz Josef and Fox glaciers and finally cut east across the mountains via Arthur's Pass to complete the loop back to Christchurch airport. I am so excited, and looking forward to some fun road-tripping and city explorations with Erika, Sam and Gabe! As you've probably noticed, the four of us hang out quite a bit here (and by quite a bit, I mean everyday haha), so I think we'll be able to handle a few 5-6 hour car trips full of quality bonding time. Sadly, only three of the fearsome foursome will be taking over the South at a time (Sam with Erika and I for the first half, Gabe for the second), but I'm still expecting an amazing trip, beautiful sights, and lots of laughs!

I spent most of this week finishing some school assignments, writing and researching, in order to finish as much as I can before we leave, and studying for an exam. I'm happy that it's all behind me and looking forward to tomorrow. It's pretty dreary outside today, with constant gray rain, but I've been busy budgeting and doing my washing to get everything squared away. Tonight after "Fatty Friday" (fish 'n chips night) in the cafeteria, I'll be going to celebrate two American friends' 21st birthdays at their nearby flat, then up early tomorrow to pack, and leaving for Auckland after lunch!

I probably won't be corresponding while I'm gone, so check back after the 1st of September to hear about our crazy adventures down South... there's bound to be quite a few! :)

Love to all
xo Boo

PS: Happy belated birthday to Tim Deisler and Jeff Black - miss you both!! And to the amazing Nicole Bjorklund = I'm glad to hear you survived Vegas!
Happy early birthday to the lovely Alyssa Chaffee - have a good one!!! :)
Shout out to Jenn Tse - someone I haven't seen in a while :( but am anticipating an epic reunion at Xmas!
And much love and hugs to Emily Schauer who is now officially serving the Peace Corps in Senegal - I'm so proud of you and love hearing about your adventures through your blog. Good luck, keep it up, and change the world with your amazing energy! :)