Wicket! Wicket! Wicket!

So, classes have started! But this post is going to be mostly about non-academic adventures.

First, last Sunday, the day before classes started, a group of us went and wandered around in the Port Hills. They don't seem very high, but New Zealanders are apparently not in for the switchbacks approach and go more for the straight up the side of a mountain style. So, not very tall, but incredibly steep. Also, it was hot out in the open sun, which was not a problem once we got into the forested part of the trail, but at the very beginning, we were just out in the grasses.

We saw a World War II Anti-aircraft battery at the top of one of the hills. From there, we could see the ocean on both sides, Sumner, Lyttelton, and an unknown third town. Having just come from Lyttelton and knowing it was a pretty full hike going back, we decided to continue down to Sumner. The hike took more or less the whole day, but ended in ice cream and the beach (Sumner Beach is pretty amazing). It's a nice hike that I would recommend, although do it with people who have the same hiking values as you (meaning we are not hiking this together, Ben). The gondola also goes up, so you could also take the gondola, but that takes money and isn't nearly as fun or strenuous.

The next day, classes started. My classes all seem fine, except that I'm going to have to switch in and out of some, especially linguistics. Also, I had my first Earth Materials (mineralogy and petrology) lab yesterday, and it was basically learning how to use the optical microscope. The exercise was to come up with some characteristics one might use to differentiate minerals. So basically optical properties. One of the tutors (since recitations are called tutorials, all TAs are called tutors) came 'round and saw my paper and saw that I was using the actual terminology and had nearly identified all the minerals (except for one... I always get pyroxene and olivine confused), so he told me I could leave whenever I felt like it. I finished up the exercise and left early (but not first! Many other people left before me. I was trying to figure out what rock it came from, but then I realized it said it on the next page...).

Also yesterday, I WENT TO A CRICKET GAME!! For the first half hour or so, I was sitting there just going, what is going on? But after that, I moved over to by Tamar, who was having a nice Kiwi boy explain it all to her. I'm pretty sure this bloke was just sort of in to Tamar, but he was also very helpful. So they were playing 20Twenty cricket against India, which means each team gets twenty overs (an over is six balls/pitches/bowls). Each bowler can pitch for four overs (or maybe six? I forget now). Anyway, the bowler can only bowl for so many. Each batter (two up at a time, on opposite sides) goes until he gets out (he either gets a wicket or his hit is caught). A wicket is when the ball hits one of three posts behind the batter. Oh, or he can get out by "blocking with wicket." Because it's if the ball hits the wicket at all, not just as a result of a hit. If the bowler pitches and the batsman doesn't hit the ball and the ball flies into the wicket, that's still a wicket. So if the batter is considered to be blocking the wickets with his body to keep that from happening, he gets out. Anyway, so he gets out, and then he's done.

Batters can get points for hitting a home run, hitting the end of the field, or running back and forth between the wickets (like running the bases in baseball).

So, the inning ends after 10 outs, or twenty overs, or an hour and twenty minutes transpires, whichever comes first. In our case, both teams batted to twenty overs. Well, New Zealand only batted to eighteen overs, but I'll get to that :D

Basically, India went first, and they racked up 163 points in their twenty overs. Pretty good, I think, since India is supposed to be super fab at cricket. So then New Zealand went, and the first two guys went out on blocking the wicket. But, they batted for a long time before they went out. I think New Zealand only went through three batters.

They had twelve points left to go (to hit 163) and twelve balls left (so two overs), and then they had like, one and part of an over left and three points to go, and everyone was yelling home run home run home run! and I was like, if you put all that pressure on him, he's going to get out! but he hit a home run! I couldn't believe it. I mean, he could have just hit the side of the field, and that would have been four points and they would have won, but everyone wanted a home run (six points), and he did it.

That was probably way more than you wanted to know about cricket, but that's how it went, and it was super exciting because we won, and now I'm going to be late to class! I'll let you know how the rugby game goes on Friday! The Canterbury Crusaders are playing.

Bye!