College was closed for some weeks, then classes were in temporary accommodation, but he stayed through and finished his diploma
Now (just before Christmas) he is home and job hunting in Calgary.
He plans to move there at the beginning of January.
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While waiting for school to start, he joined the "Student Volunteer Army" to help with the immediate clean-up after the 'quake. One large job for volunteers was shovelling mud out from houses and their immediate surroundings to the streets, where earthmoving equipment could haul it away.
The earthquake damage is being steadily repaired, but it was a huge blow to the city.
There is more info on the quake at
Although study was the reason to be in New Zealand, there were other, more photogenic things to do.
The bungee jump is one of the highest in the world.
Biking in the hills beside Christchurch is quite good, although some trails were impassable due to earthquake damage.
Derek
and 4 friends hiked 5 days around the Abel Tasman Trail at the NW corner of South
Island, and also found some warm water.
http://www.cairnsdive.com.au/
Derek
had a trip to Australia where he saw a fair bit of the East coast from
Sydney up to Cairns .The holiday included 3 days living on a scuba diving boat at
Cairns
At home, winter came late, but that let us put Derek to work on house repairs for a while.
When the lake froze, and a little snow came, he got into winter fast.