First, I officially completed my studies at the University of Otago. All in all, I'd have to say returning to school and switching back into student mode after two years of official adult-dom was a lot more difficult than I anticipated. While the extra free time and generally low responsibility level was great, the inconsistent schedule, essays, exams, and rowdy freshman got a bit draining. Nonetheless I gave it my best and finished with a pretty darn good grade report.
Second, I decided I am not ready to say goodbye to the land o' Kiwi, and have managed to secure both a work permit and a job. While I will always love the States, I feel I've made a real connection with the Kiwi lifestyle, and have managed to carve a space and path for myself that deserves seeing out. While I'm actually back home in South Carolina at present for the holidays, shortly after New Years I'll plant my fanny once again in that narrow, uncomfortable plane seat and make the 30+ hour trek back across the planet to return to Dunedin. So far it's slightly surreal to be surrounded by twangin' Southerners, but being reunited with my family and sharing in the holiday spirit has been wonderful.
Now that that is out of the way, I'll get on to more pressing matters: (drumroll please) the FINAL reader question:
Ask Sarah v 7.0
Are there any attempts at controlling the sheep population? Are they owned by anyone or managed by the government in any way?
From Mary Dyer, Principal, Hunters Creek Elementary
Amazingly Insightful Answer:
Congrats Mary, you get a special prize for being the official final question asker. It should arrive in 8 to 10 business days. Hopefully you'll have room for in your yard for a sheep.
As far as the sheep go, I feel I should clarify a bit. Yes there are tons of them. That being said, they aren't wild sheep. Those millions of animals all have their own respective homes, whether it's a small family farm or large international argriculture company. While I'm sure the occaisional one or two get loose and head for greener pastures, there aren't roving bands of ferral sheep clogging up roadways and destroying gardens. The sheep industry is tightly regulated by both the business and government sectors.
On that note, I recently found out that the dairy industry is actually usurping the agricultural sector and dethroning the poor sheep as king of business. I'll have to get back to you about why exactly that is though... It may be quite interesting to see who wins the ruminant mammal battle for best pasture space in the coming years!
And with that, in the words of that pentagon of articulation, Porky Pig, ehbehdee-ehbehdee-ehbehdee-That's all folks! Happy Holidays, and see you again in the New Year!
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