Foreign Shores

Update + Penguin

2010-09-01T18:31:00.005-04:00

Hey all! For any of you reading the blog at the moment, you'll notice that I have only uploaded the first 2 days of my trip through Ecuador. Don't worry, more is coming! However, I have some good news that is currently delaying the continuation of this story...

I have a job!

I'll be starting as a laboratory technician in Moorehead City, NC on Tuesday. Until then I am getting paperwork done, packing, and tying up loose ends here at home. I am also organizing my thoughts {and photos) on my trip, as I want my entries to be as informative, immersive and entertaining as they can be! So I promise your patience will be rewarded!

But for now, enjoy this...

"You are feeling very sleeeeepy... oh, and content with the upload frequency of this blooooggg...."

Day 2. Culture shock.

2010-08-19T15:04:00.001-04:00

I woke up to activity in the surrounding rooms. I only got a short glance at the house the night before, and chose now to explore it- but I knew there was someone there who I didn´t know. How was I going to meet them with no Spanish skills? I walked out to see a small, dark skinned woman grinning at me. This was Consuelo. ¨Hola,¨ I blurted, desperately trying to remember what little Spanish I had learned. Unfortunately, words like ball, sink, and moon weren´t much good at the present moment. After having a conversation which consisted mostly of Consue talking at me and me repeating ´´I don´t understand,¨ I heard a word I remembered learning- desayuno.

Breakfast.

¨Si! Yo tengo hambre,¨ I said excitedly, happy that at least Rosetta Stone had enough sense to teach their customers important words to keep them from starving. Incredible business model, that is.
After breakfast, and some exploring of the house (which was a very nice, custom built one level home with a central courtyard and covered from head to toe in hardwood floors), Irene´s brother called me over. I had met him before in North Carolina when he had come to visit a few months prior. We had a mission- we were going to pick up Irene, who was working at a summer camp for the next week or so. We hopped in the car.
I was immediately shocked at how different driving in Quito is during the day from how it was driving at the wee hours of the night during a weekday. There were people everywhere, naturally, but even more surprising was the traffic. I was told it was crazy here, but I wasn´t exactly prepared. There didn´t seem to be lanes, as much as spaces for cars to cram into. I saw taxis and busses stopping in the middle of flowing traffic to pick up customers, resulting in a flurry of amazingly rapid curses in a language that was still foreign to me.
But what really shocked me was the multitude of people just… existing on the sides of the road. There were men and women, not to mention children, just sitting at the side of traffic. At every light, something was for sale- oranges, crackers, candy, newspapers... I felt like the local supermarket had a drive through. The most unusual were the street performers, though. The first I saw in Quito was a kid, maybe 7 years old, who jumped in front of our car right after we hit a red light. Wearing an old sweatshirt and a spider-man mask, he started juggling. The weirdest thing about this was that he was actually pretty good at it. He had obviously had time to practice. After his impromptu performance, he ran up to the driver´s side expectantly. Irene´s brother, Gabriel, rolled down the window and handed him a dime. He went on his way.
¨Are those kinds of things common?¨ I asked.
¨Oh yeah, they are everywhere,¨ replied Gabriel.
I couldn´t help but feel bad for those kids- working on the side of the street for a few cents, put there by who knows what circumstance. It was only later that I learned more.
A lot of kids in Ecuador don´t have constant access to education. The system is very different from the states; there is no set age for work, and conditions are often bad for people in impoverished situations. In the weeks to come, I saw kids performing all sorts of tasks for money- from begging, to helping park cars, to watching those cars to keep them protected from ´theives´, though I am not sure what a six year old will do to stop a car from getting jacked. One thing that I noticed and continued to have reinforced in my mind is just how many things kids are doing to make ends meet. Not all of them, however, work to earn money to eat. I quickly learned from talking to some newfound friends that some of the kids go and use the money to buy glue so they can get high. Knowledge of the existence of such a self destructive cycle in children that are too young to even think of girls made me hesitant to give any of them anything- but eventually I did as all the others do, and go with it.
In the time spent in Ecuador, I saw all sorts of street performers. From that first kid to juggle with his spider-man mask, to tightrope walkers, mimes, acrobats, and firebreathers, I saw almost an entire circus on the streets every day. Eventually it became a normal sight, something to blend into the city. I guess people can get used to anything.
Speaking of getting used to things, allow me to shed some light on the city known as Quito, Ecuador. The city itself has many interesting and unique features that make it one of a kind. Quito is the second largest city in the country (behind Guayaquil), and is the highest legal capital in the world. The elevation at the city square is 2800m (almost 9200 feet), almost twice as high as Salt Lake City, Utah. Because the city is nestled inside of the Andes (and surrounded on every side by volcanoes, mind you), it is exceptionally narrow. The city is only 3 miles wide, but almost 25 miles long. This makes traffic a nightmare, especially getting from one side to the other. The city actually sits directly on the equator (perched barely in the northern hemisphere), meaning seasons are virtually nonexistent. Quito is known to be in ´eternal spring´, as the days are hot, with the nights being slightly chilly. Every once in awhile, a nearby eruption disrupts some of the city. The last one was in 2006, which covered the city in ash and shut down the international airport. Actually, Quito is the only capital in the world that is endangered by an active volcano. Certainly makes the whole travel thing seem a little more exciting, to say the least.
While doing some research, I also came across some statistics for employment in the city. The illiteracy rate is about 3%, but the unemployment is 9%. Way more surprising than this is the underemployment rate. Underemployment, as I soon learned, is a situation in which either 1) a skilled person is working as unskilled labor, 2) a person looking for a full time job can only find part time employment, or 3) a person is one of too many employees in a company, and as a result gets paid less than full time, or only has seasonal work. Do you want to know what the underemployment rate of Quito is?
Fourty-three percent.
That means that (including unemployment) more than half of the population does not work full time. The implications of this suddenly allow the multitude of people on the street to make sense.
Anyway, I am getting off topic. When I woke up that morning, I decided to administer a little test. With the city being almost two miles high, and never having been that high before, I decided to test my stamina. I started doing jumping jacks and pushups to see how quickly I would run out of breath. The results were pretty definitive- almost immediately I started to get short of breath, and had to stop. It´s amazing how much you take oxygen for granted when you have it. I am just lucky I didn´t get altitude sickness.

I´m back, baby!

2010-08-17T19:30:00.001-04:00

So, I am reinstating this long-dormant blog in order to share recent adventures in my travel! I have been very fortunate in the last year to be able to travel to 3 countries I had not yet been to. As any current readers know, I spent about 6 months in New Zealand, returning the last day of July last year. That counts as number one. My second chance was actually another study abroad, albeit a short one. During spring break of this year, I got to travel to the Island nation of Bermuda, about a thousand kilometres off the coast of North Carolina. The trip was for a Research field course at the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences, and it was incredible. Granted, each day was spent working from approximately 7am to 10pm, but half of that work was in mangrove ponds, coral reefs, tidal pools and sandy beaches. While that was a very interesting trip, that is a story for another day.
The third country I have been fortunate to visit since July 2009 is Ecuador. I was drawn to it by my wonderful girlfriend Irene, whom I met this past year at University. She was an Ecuadorian exchange student, and we almost immediately hit it off. I decided I would spend the last two weeks of summer visiting here in her home city of Quito- but as my time to leave drew more and more imminent, I changed my flight to stay an extra three weeks. With a total of five weeks in this exotic and exciting country, with almost no knowledge of the Spanish language, I reconnected again with what made me fall so deeply in love with travelling over a year ago. Here is the story of that journey, a little at a time.

Day 1- Touchdown.
As with seemingly every flight to South America, I first had to travel through Miami International airport. For those of you who have never been to Miami, it feels as though you got some sort of special customer ticket rate where they transport South America directly to your airport, to eliminate all of that hassle and worry of actually travelling there. For the first time in my country, I was hearing announcements in Spanish before English. I was hearing people ordering their food in a mix of the languages, resulting in my utter confusion. I had been learning Spanish for approximately 4 weeks, using Rosetta Stone to teach myself, and I highly recommend it- but I was not prepared to actually understand the language. Luckily, I knew I was going to get some practice in the coming weeks.
After ordering some food and wandering to see the sights (such as the smoker´s room, always a favourite attraction of mine), I headed to my gate. I was met with the always enthusiastically received flight delay. As I walked to the from kiosk to ask when our new departure time was, I was met by a short, dark haired woman whom I had never seen before.
¨Nowicki?¨ she said timidly.
¨Uh, yeah,¨ I managed to spurt out, totally bewildered. Who was this woman? Was she someone I had met before? Was she a friend of my family´s who had seen pictures of me? Could she be someone my girlfriend´s family had hired to make sure I did not get lost between the assuredly utterly perilous route between my plane and the check in at Quito? My mind raced.
¨I am Irene´s aunt,¨she explained. ¨She told us that we would be on the same flight.¨ This explains it, I thought. ¨My daughter is over there. Come sit with us, ¨ she continued. Grateful to have some Spanish speakers to aid me in case Ecuadorian customs tackled me for no apparent reason, I happily obliged. As we talked, I began to learn more about Ecuador in general, and Quito specifically. The beauty, the trouble, the new airport (which apparently is a logistical disaster) and everything in between was discussed. As we boarded our flight, I sneakily took the seat of a young gentleman with a large straw hat, and we continued talking. It didn´t take long until the long day began to have it´s effect on me, however, and I soon feel asleep.
A few hours later, I was awoken by the stewardess, who let me know that we were about to land. A few customs forms and some broken Spanish phrases later, I was in a car and heading for my girlfriend´s house, grateful to see her again. Being so late (well after midnight), I immediately got into the house after a short drive on completely abandoned roads, and crashed. I had a big week ahead of me, after all.

No, I haven't died...

2009-08-30T13:15:00.001-04:00

Just to let whatever readers are still out there no, this blog hasn't died. The last 6 weeks have seen alot of adjustment on my behalf, and as a result I haven't had alot of time to write. I'll have you know that I AM working on posts from my last month abroad (which was the coolest month) and that after that is done, I will continue to write about my readjustment and life here in America. Just stay tuned and in the next few weeks I'll try to post what I can. Deal?

Australia

2009-07-12T19:08:00.001-04:00

I apologize for not having updated in so long, but this is the first time I have had internet in weeks. Enjoy.

On Thursday we finally left student village (myself and friends Maggie and Brice). To say it was a sad farewell is a massive understatement. Everyone that I have met and come to love in the past few months is now split- the IG (International Group, as we became known) was about to fracture. Love was shared, good wishes sent. I shook the hand of every one of my wonderful friends, then embraced them. When I leave NZ for good, I will miss the people I have met way more than any bird, mountain or island. Even though I know I will see many of them once more (especially the Kiwis) I know that we most likely will never be together like this again- my hope is that if someone ties the knot, the IG will reconvene; that would be a day to cherish.
The plane trip to Cairns was two flights- Auckland to Sydney to Cairns. It gave me alot of thinking time, and I realized just how deeply and immediately I missed these people already.
After a long day of flight, we dropped into Cairns. I got in a van to go to the hostel, took the window down, and put my head out the whole way. Where Waikato had frost every morning, Cairns had easy, breezy 70 degree weather. I think I like this country.
After sleeping for about 6 hours, we woke up before dawn to get to our dive shop. We would be taking a liveaboard boat to go dive the Great Barrier reef, every marine biologist’s (and diver’s) dream. The boat held over 30 people, 5 or so crew (including a french chef, ooh la la!). We would be doing 11 dives over 3 days- normally, a day long dive trip consists of 2 dives. Our schedule was literally: Wake up pre dawn (5:45 am), Sunrise Dive, Breakfast, Morning Dive, snack, Noon Dive,Lunch, afternoon/ sunset Dive, Dinner, night Dive, Cake. It was tiring, it was repetitive, it was smelly and wet and crowded, and It. Was. Glorious.

First, let me say something about the great barrier reef. It is the world’s largest contiguous living organsim (i suppose that could be disputed, but it is massive) stretching over more than a thousand miles. Imagine a reef system, like you see in movies. Now imagine that pretty little reef extending in one form or another from Florida to Maine. Yeah, you could say it’s big. The best parts of the reef are actually quite shallow- most divers are certified to dive starting out to 60 feet- the interesting bits of the reef are usually shallower than 40, and once you get within 20 feet of the surface the brilliance is astounding. Every color of the rainbow (and some I didn’t think were even in it) is represented here. Fish that have no business whatsoever being so beautiful are abundant. You can never tell what will be around the next bend, except more reef, more oppourtunity for exploration. What’s next? clownfish? Maybe giant clams? Perhaps you’ll get lucky and see a green turtle as large as you are, or a white tipped reef shark lurking, aware of you ages before you saw it there. The things we saw were unlike many I have ever seen before. The GBR was an absolute dream to dive.

I won’t regale you with all 11 dives, as that would get tedious and repetetive for both of us. I will recap 8 of the dives, and tell of 3 in a bit more detail. In our dives we saw sharks, giant clams of luminescent colors that boggled the mind (and that were big enough for me to fit in if I was so foolish to try), clownfish and anenome fish that stayed close to their havens, fish of every shape, color, size, and mentality, and coral varieties that were astounding. Three dives in particular stand out. In one, we were at a pinnacle known as “The Whale”. We had a pretty standard dive, with swim throughs (underwater rock tunnels that you swim through; at the end, the entire ocean opens up to you- a very cool experience) and wildlife. As we began our safety stop, we turned around to see a shadow moving behind us- a shade, if you will. As we continued to watch, this gliding form came closer- a giant spotted eagle ray. This enourmous creature, about 7 feet wide, glided right past us, sailing effortlessly, almost as if an ethereal projection of this creature was all in my mind. It was the perfect end to a dive. At the second, we dove a reef known as “Gordon’s”. We dropped in the water around 4:30 pm, and descended onto a proverbial aquarium. The bommie, or pinnacle for non-aussies, became a wall that leveled out at about 6 feet deep. We went up there, and saw... another world. Normally red light gets cut out very rapidly in water, but at 6 feet much of it is still there. I never thought I would see neon in nature, but I did. The colors almost hurt. After continuing on this dive, we descended to a maze of bommies, and got lost. The result was awesome, of course- being lost in a wonderful, unfamiliar place, exploring wherever you want, knowing that all you have to do to get your bearings is look at your compass. We got lucky and found a green turtle about half my size chowing down on some algae- like more turtles we later would see on subsequent dives, this one was not afraid at all of us. We could have touched it if we wanted to, and it was unfazed. It was after this that I witnessed one of the coolest things of the trip: an underwater sunset. The idea of the sun slipping behind these under water towers, teeming with life, and watching the evening sun dance in the water before finally dipping over the horizon is something every diver (and I am tempted to say every human being) should experience. The third dive that I found exceptional was my first night dive ever. As the sun set, we began to gear up and get ready to get wet. The lights from the boat attracted a mass of fish, including sea bass, or some fish similiar to it. The chef began to throw our food scraps form dinner overboard, which of course got the fish excited, and soon more had come. After a few minutes, the school scattered. At first I thought it peculiar, but then I saw why- shark.
The shark was probably a reef shark, though I am not sure. It was larger than I was, but not by alot. It began to circle the school, dipping in every few seconds to try and grab one for dinner. What did we do now that there were sharks at our dive site, where it was too dark to see without a flashlight, and where anything could be lurking in the dark?
Well, we jumped in, of course.
Sharks tend not to like divers. They look funny, taste bad, and are loud, big and noisy in the water. Pretty soon what had come for a snack had left, and we continued the dive. It was eerie, to say the least. Imagine those movies in which a heroic space team embarks on an alien world, where shadow abounds. Strange pillars play with the light, and tones of grey and blue mess with your head. Now imagine instead of walking on this terrain, you are slowly gliding over it. This was my experience. I saw one very large fish, which was about 30 feet above my head- as soon as I illuminated it, it sank away. Except for the fact it was a night dive, this dive was nothing special. However, the aspect of darkness gave a whole new dimension to the water that I can safely say I am now addicted to.
Another thing that made this trip very enjoyable was the people that i met and dove with. Out of the 30 or so divers, i would say at least 25 were 30 or under, with the rest being under 40. The crew was similiarly aged. Most of the people were under 25- right in my age group. Though we were similiar in age, in nationality could not have been more varied. The people on the boat were Canadian, American, Australian, English, French, Irish, German, Dutch, Norwegian, Estonian, and Egyptian. We couldn’t ask for a better trip- the people were fantastic, the ocean was literally as clear as glass, the weather was warm and the sky was clear. I actually spent a night out sleeping on the deck of the ship, with not a light in sight except the vast expanse of the outer spiral arm of the milky way above me. It will be something I will never forget.
After our last day of dives, we went back to port, where we were greeted by a small American navy fleet (an aircraft carrier and about 4 or 5 other ships of various sizes and duties). They flooded Carins. I heard American accents as much as Australian. We checked into a backpacker called the northern greenhouse, at the suggestion of some of the people that dove with us. It was a very cool place to stay- it felt sufficiently bohemian and tropical, almost Jamacian, but it was very nice inside. There was a courtyard with a pool, a free barbeque, free breakfast, linens, a full bathroom and half kitchen in each room, and a very cozy feel, all for a good price. I was very pleased.
That night all of the dive group –and I mean all of them, including the tiny french chef of our boat- gathered together for some dinner and drinks at a place called the rattle and hum. Our night of conversing, laughing, eating and drinking quickly became a night of dancing we decided to go to a local venue. It was one of the best clubbing nights I have ever had. The running joke with the IG is that New Zealand has about 11 songs, and within an hour, you have heard them all. Because the Navy was in town, however, the music was fantastic- every song was a hit, a classic, or at least popular enough to dance to and sing along to. The only two songs I could think of that I didn’t hear were thriller and the eye of the tiger. One thing that I have always, always wanted to hear at a club was Bohemian Rhapsody- and boy, did I get my wish. Imagine 200 people all rocking out, singing to each other as they danced like crazy and shredded on air guitar to their heart’s content: they were totally oblivious to each other, with no shame and nothing held back, because, let’s be honest, everyone else was doing it too. All in all, I guess you could say I quite enjoyed Cairns.
The next day we flew to Sydney to spend a few days. Our flight got in at evening, and as soon as we checked into our backpacker we started exploring. Only a few blocks from our hostel, which incidentally was also right in downtown Sydney, we saw a crowd of people on a street, with police everywhere and cameras even more numerous. We decided to take a detour- boy were we suprised. The crowd was there to see none other than Brüno, live and in the flesh (and in a few other things) at a movie premier for his film of the same name. For those of you not familiar, Brüno is a character played by comedian Sasha Baron Conen, who became internationally famout for his film Borat, where he played a backwards Khazakstani reporter in America. Brüno, on the other hand, is a gay Austrain fashion critic, and this character is used much the same way as Borat, to humiliate the people he interviews for the great entertainment of the world. He is pretty famous, you could say.
So imagine my suprise when I saw Brüno come out of an alleyway with a white hourse, while coated in ridiculously shiny roman style armor, complete with equally shiny silver helmet. I’ll give Cohnen something- when he is in character, he really is. Cohnen was Brüno and nothing else. It was a real treat, especially since our chances of seeing it were completely random and astronomically low.
So, what about Sydney, ask you? Well, I consider Sydney to be my 2nd favorite city in the world, second only to St. Petersburg in Russia. What isn’t there to love? It is a city of 4 million, but it feels like a place a tenth of the size. Don’t get me wrong, Sydeny is huge, but it doesn’t feel like it on the street. It is nice and pleasant; people are nice, they don’t push or yell, taxis actually let you cross- try to think of any other city half the size of New York where cars actually stop for pedestrians when they don’t have to? In a word, Sydney is pleasant. The skyline is stunning, all glass and light. It’s skyscrapers flow, almost like waves or sails on the horizon. They most resemble Seattle of all the cities I have been to, but I would say Sydney even tops this. The Opera house and Harbour bridge are spectacular to behold- the opera house is much larger than people have told me, and literlaly took my breath away the first time i saw it. The water reflects the skyline perfectly, and makes for great photography. The alleyways are all well lit, clean, and safe looking. There are a million ways to get anywhere- up those stairs, throgh that alley, across the street, over the bridge, in between those buildings in a small avenue- the possibilities are endless, which gives the city almost a wonderous feel, as if you are doing urban exporation of sorts. This is what we did the first night.
We slept in the second day, and woke up to head down to Hyde park, located right in the middle of the city. This park is something to behold, let me tell you. In addition to the great architecture and wonderful urban aspects of downtown Sydney, it also has frequent and refreshing green spaces. Hyde park is one of these places, with Eucalyptus trees towering 60 feet overhead into a giant arch that shelters a stone path 30 feet wide, right in the middle of Sydney. It was a joy to walk through. Near the park is a cathedral called St. Mary’s, which I can comfortably say is the most beautiful Catholic Cathedral I have seen outside of Europe. As we went in, I sat down to have a quick prayer, and a bell rung. The patrons rose. We again had impecible timing, and stayed for mass. Afterwards we walked to the botanic gardens, and the art museum of New South Wales. The museum was free, and a good use of the afternoon- there were both contemporary and older works, from both Australia and around the world. The mediums were not limited to paint, either. There was video, audio, and interactive art as well. The fact that all of this was free, and that we were allowed to take photos, and that when we left a random person on the street asked us how we liked it, and told us where to find some more sculpture outside, really is a testament to now nice and friendly australians are.
After the museum we walked through the Botanical Gardens, which included multitudes of wild Cockatoos, Ibis (which are like the pidgeons of Sydney) and trees full of sleeping bats, in addition to one of the rarest plants found in the world, a conifer that was thought to be extinct for 150 million years until it was discovered in the Australian Bush. Another testament to Australia- it is a big place, with few people to explore it. We saw the sun set over the harbor bridge from the Opera house, and then and dined on the roof of a local pub overlooking the skyline. Afterwards we walked to Darling Harbour, and wandered back to the hostel for a good sauna and swim. I guess after the dive trip we were used to being wet.
Wednesday we switched hostels to the Wake up! Hostel only a block from the one we were at the past 2 nights (we couldn’t stay because it was booked). It is listed as the best hostel in oceania: let me say right now, nothing could be further from the truth. We checked in and immediately were struck by that fact that the elevator will not function without your card being swiped, which was perfect considering my card simply refused to read. This really helped contribute to the feel of the entire hostel being a mix of wannabe college fraternity house, google staff headquarters and nazi work camp. We went into our room, which was an 8 share dorm room complete with exactly 1 light and 1 outlet. This is for 8 people, mind you. The absolute worst part of the room (and the hostel in particular) are the intercoms. At random intervals throught the day, the intercoms in EVERY ROOM turn on, to accomodate a booming and annoying voice which of course begins with “wake up, wake up, wake up!”, followed by a list of inane, unfunny and infuriatingly annoying comments having actually nothing to do with my life in relation to this place. When I first heard them, I just stared at my companions and waited for the announcements to cease.
“That is going to get annoying.”
“Yup.”
“Really annoying.”
“Yup.”
Needless to say, we didn’t stay in the room for long.
We spent our day much the same as the day before. We walked to a cafe, had lunch, and continued to the Rocks, where the opera house is located. On our way, we went to the obervatory, a green grassy hill looking over sydney harbor, sitting for an hour or so, writing postcards and enjoying the balmy winter weather (which is something I rarely can say I can do). We walked to the Opera house and tried to get tickets for a show, but one was sold out and the other cancelled for lack of ticket sales. We grabbed some snacks (sushi) and walked to the harbor to catch a ferry to Darling Harbor. The ferry, at $5.20 AUD a ticket, is a nice cheap way to see the harbor. It took us about a half hour to get to Darling Harbor, and our first stop was the maritime museum, which was free admission. It had quite a few interesting artifacts in it, including original pieces from some of Captain Cook’s original voyage. Outside the museum were several ships, including a submarine, a warship of the 20th century, and a recreation (full size) of captain cook’s ship the Endeavour. The ship was quite large, and being the age of sail junkie I am, I naturally wanted to check it out, but it had closed only minutes before. The museum itself was only open until 5 pm, so we only spent about 45 minutes in it. Afterwards we walked back to our hostel. A few days later, we were back in Hamilton, ready to depart on our next adventure, which I will write about in the future.

Days 112-118

2009-06-15T05:51:00.000-04:00

This week has been one of few distractions or events. Sunday I had a small get together officially for my birthday- it included a meal at the only Mexican restaurant in Hamilton (which was down a dark alley- it looked like every free meal would come with a complimentary mugging). The meal was great- and though it took much longer to make and was more expensive than it would be at home, I didn’t mind. I was surrounded by friends whom I loved and cared about, and likewise cared about me. While I was basking in this social happiness, I closed my eyes, and everything felt fundamentally right. I felt as if everything had aligned, and I was simultaneously reliving my past and embarking on an exciting new adventure. In a word, I could close my eyes and feel like I was home. Home. What a concept. Is it where we live, or where we are happiest? Can home really be constrained to a physical location, or is it something more? Is it a mental state inside ourselves? Is our true home our soul? Is home a house, a family, a familiar scent or breeze of wind, or is home a table halfway around the world, full of friends sharing jokes and letting laughter seep out into the cold night air? I can’t tell you. Perhaps home is something we each need to define for ourselves, but on Sunday, I could tell you exactly what home was for me. I could close those eyes and be home. I could be whenever I wanted, any time I desired- I could be last Christmas, or a hot day in July, or the first day of school. I could be at thanksgiving dinner or mother’s day. Maybe what I shared was just that feeling of intense… correctness, the knowledge that this is one of those fragrant life moments that I can look back on for years to come and never forget. Perhaps that is what links all of those memories I have when I close my eyes. Perhaps that is home.

I’ll get off my philosophical pedestal now.

The few days to follow were filled with little of importance. I have no exams until the 24th, which means studying before the 14th would be useless- I need to keep a constant flow of information going through my head in order to be effective, and I think that 10 days for 2 exams is already more than enough time. The week has been filled with sleep ins, trip planning, and relaxation. One could say I am mentally preparing for my soon to be stressful endeavor.
One thing I did do was visit the Hamilton gardens with a really good friend of mine, Anna. The Hamilton gardens are a collection of gardens in styles from around the world. There is a Japanese garden, an English garden, a Chinese garden, an American garden (which looked like someone vomited new age pop art over a block of downtown inner city Newark that had been abandoned for 40 years), an Italian/Greco garden, and an Indian garden. There were also a few other gardens (including a Maori garden, which was literally a pile of dirt. It made the American garden look like someone committed new age pop art over a block of lush, downtown San Francisco. Anna and I walked around, and I marked each garden on overall coolness, tranquility, beauty, originality, thematic elements, etc. The winner was the Indian garden (which was a large courtyard with 4 quadrants of flowers, with the Greco and Chinese gardens tying for 2nd place (the Chinese garden had an awesome hobbit hole type thing). Anna and I then walked to the river and had a good deep conversation until I could no longer feel my hands. Few things make me as happy at the end of a day than a really deep, meaningful and rewarding conversation with a friend.
I also took an evening and walk around the campus with a friend of mine to do some urban exploration- going to areas you normally wouldn’t think of. We walked up outer staircases on one of the blocks just to see the view- something I normally would not do, but I realized how beautiful the view is at night. Half the campus can be seen just from that one spot. The entire idea is to get a new perspective on things, a new viewpoint. We walked around for a few hours, until early morning, and it was great. This is a friend I normally don’t get much time to talk to, and it sure beat the pants off of sitting down and watching a movie, being antisocial.
The week has also been filled with a game I know I have described before, called ‘Who am I?’. The rules are simple. Each person chooses a famous person, Ex. Albert Einstein. I write his name on a sheet of paper, and give it to the person on my left. They stick the paper to their forehead- now everyone can see who they are except them. You can only ask yes or know questions to figure out who you are, and the questions go to the next person when one of your questions is answered as ‘no’. Example:
Am I am man? Yes.
Am I European born? Yes.
Am I Dead? Yes.
Was I known for music? No.
(goes on to next person). First person to figure out their person wins!

This game is incredibly simple but addictive- it is exceptionally fun and can get very challenging. People get very heated when they can’t think of who they are, and we often find ourselves saying ‘just one more game’. One night we played for 5 hours.

So, as you can see, my life here the past week has been fairly low key. If the weather was better or I was better equipped, I would travel, but circumstances just weren’t great for it. I will be traveling starting the 25th, all the way until the 31st of July, when I fly out.

I can’t help but think that after everything I have been through here, I am going to go home, sit down on my bed, and look at all of this as I would a dream. An entire semester, half a year, around the world, and I have come right back where I began. I already know it will be a powerful and surreal experience- but I also know I’ll come back some day, here to these islands. A seed has been planted- I can’t stay away.

P.S. A small update on swine flu. Level 6 pandemic level has been reached. The Waikato region of NZ has been affected, but minorly. I know that New Hanover county, where UNCW (my home university) is situated, has also had cases. Apparently if the infection makes it’s way into the halls here at Uni of Waikato, the containment procedures are fairly extreme- the uni shuts down, domestic students are sent home, internationals stay and are cooked frozen meals until it blows over. This is not an official statement, but I heard it from a source I consider reliable. I imagine it will only be a matter of time before the university gets hit- whether I am here or not, who knows. Apparently estimates in the newspaper today expect 50% of the nation’s population to get the virus in the next 2 years. It is pretty incredible how quickly information travels and situations can develop. 30,000 cases, 74 countries. That’s pretty impressive.

Days 105-111: Birthday Week

2009-06-10T21:17:00.001-04:00

So this past week was my birthday week! It wasn’t wild or crazy, but it was kind of busy. Allow me to elaborate:
The first part of the week was mainly working on assignments- My photography exhibition was on Thursday, so I spent a good deal of time scanning my physical prints in, digitizing them, and perfecting them in photoshop. I then got them printed out (A3 prints, 11 by 16 inches, in high quality full color for 60 cents each? Yes please!) and mounted. Our last class day was spent sipping champagne and listening to classical music, reminiscing about deadlines and stressing out. Liquor ban, eat your heart out. It was one of the best last days of class I have had.
Wednesday was my birthday! It was naturally preceded by Tuesday, which was not my birthday. It was on Tuesday I got my first birthday gift, from my good friend Anna. Anna is an interesting friend of mine- she is an RA, and thus is very responsible. In order to balance out her maturity, she often acts very childish, tapping people on the opposite shoulder to get them to look the wrong way and engaging in fanciful waves from great distances. Naturally, she got me a very childish gift in order to balance out my coming of age. I got a knock on my door right after midnight (my first technical minutes as a 21 year old), and had a gift shoved in my hand. Inside were two things: A set of cling- on pirate stickers (currently sticking to my windows and mirrors in my room) and a small wooden model pirate ship (ages 5+). Naturally, I was ecstatic. I played with the stickers and talked to Anna for hours (a naturally unhealthy habit that keeps me up until sunrise on some mornings) and finally went to sleep.
I woke up on my birthday to more gifts. I won’t go into them all, but they included a lot of chocolate, Guinness (YES), a small yard glass, a box of 30 ice cream cones (from a lactose-intolerant German girl, go figure) and other random bits and pieces, including some very nice cards. My Canadian friend gave me sunshine for the day- the weather could not have been nicer. I spent the day relaxing, staying in a hammock, not doing a whole heck of a lot, and loving it. That night a few friends and I went to an Irish pub we had hit up months before- it has a real pub atmosphere, and we were naturally the only students there. After a few rounds (all the good stuff, Guinness, cider, and Speight’s, a local NZ brand), we went to the bakehouse, a 24-7 bakery, and got some good eats. My birthday was low key and very enjoyable.
Thursday was a surprising day- normally it is my hardest, with class all day. Today, however, it was short with only 1 hour of class. I used this to my advantage to sleep in on my birthday. Oh yeah, it was still my birthday. One of the perk of living halfway around the world is that when you have your birthday, it starts on your time and ends at your home time. So, while I may not have had a massive thrashing party with dancing girls and beer kegs, I did have 40 hours of relaxation and enjoyment. I worked on some assignments, but otherwise didn’t have a terribly eventful day.
Friday likewise was less than… monumental. The three perks of the day were getting an assignment back (A+), hanging out on a stoop, and going to physio. At physiotherapy, to make my appointment time I had to run. Those of you who know me know that I have never been able to run a mile- my foot drops and I fall. I was astonished to not have this impending feeling of doom as I ran, that my foot was about to fall. I eventually did reach physio on time, and instantly told Jill, my physiotherapist. She told me to try and run a mile when I got back, so I did.

For the first time in my life, I ran a mile. The feeling was exhilarating. I decided that instead of doing cross training anymore, I would do running instead. The next day I ran an 8 minute mile (pretty good, considering that my last best time for a mile was in the 10th grade at 13 or 14 minutes). I decided to run 2 in a row, taking exactly 16 minutes. I have no clue where this falls on the fitness scale, but it was exciting. Have I found a passion I have thought so many others crazy for holding? Time will tell, I guess. For now though, the prescription from the physio is to keep it up, and that’s exactly what I intend to do.

My third good thing about the day was me sitting on a stoop with friends for over an hour, just hanging outside for no good reason. I felt like a city kid.

Friday was the engineering boat race- engineering students have been working on boats all semester, and it took place at the pond on campus. Both costumes and large crates of beer were encouraged. What did I do? I dressed up as a pirate. Naturally. I and a friend of mine dressed up, brought large sticks, and had swordfights on the opposite side of the lake in between races. It was totally juvenile and lots of fun.

Saturday included little except a visit to an art gallery showing scale models of Leonardo Da Vinci’s most famous inventions, including flying machines, war machines, and more (not to mention the first bicycle). The genius of the man is astonishing. Later that night me and Bryce went out to do some light graffiti, where one takes a long exposure picture of a subject, and then by manipulating light sources, is able to create an image similar to graffiti without damaging property. We spent most of the night walking around town, but did get a few cool shots near some abandoned buildings and in a graveyard. After a ton of walking we called it a night.

Days 96-104: Enter Witty Title Here

2009-05-30T21:53:00.005-04:00

I have an excuse for why I haven’t updated- classes are about to be over, and I had such an awesome weekend that I wanted to do it justice with a real post, not a pansy half post. Real posts, however, take time.
On Friday me and my dive mates went with the uni scuba club up to Tutukaka, up in the bay of Islands region of New Zealand. It was about a 5-6 hour trip up through Auckland. There were green hills and lush grass, as through all of Waikato. We got there and settled into our accommodation, which was a 12 person bunk cabin. We made dinner and went to the local place to watch the rugby game- Waikato Chiefs (yeah!) versus the Wellington Hurricanes. It was the first rugby game I had ever watched, and it was intense. The temperature was about freezing point, so when the teams fought for the ball (the scrum) the steam from them collectively rose as if the field was on fire. These ethereal ghosts wisped away as the plays continued. With 3 or so minutes to go, the Hurricanes had the ball and were only 5 meters or so from scoring, and that score would give them the lead. A fogbank rolled in instantly- within 20 seconds the field went from totally clear to so obscured that the only people who could see the game were the players actually playing it. The cameras couldn’t see anything, nor could the fans. The game was broadcast from a camera on the field. The Chiefs won- they will play in the finals in South Africa for the first time ever.
Saturday we had our first dive. The site we were diving is known as the Poor Knights Islands, and they have an awesome history. Allow me to enlighten you.

The first picture of me diving ever!

In 1823, the Maori chief of the tribe living on the islands decided to join other chiefs and their warriors to fight a war in the Waikato area. The chief and all the warriors left, while the women, children and elderly stayed behind. A slave from a neighboring mainland tribe was able to steal a canoe and escape during this time. He paddled the 22km to the mainland, and alerted his tribe how he had been mistreated, and how easy it would be to take the islands. The tribe attacked the Poor Knights Islands, slaughtering everyone except for the Chief’s wife and son, who were taken into slavery. The chief, upon return, saw the destruction and declared the islands sacred. It has been illegal to touch foot on them ever since. No one has lived there in almost 200 years.
Our first dive of the day was a series of underwater pinnacles (rock columns) called Trevor’s rock. The area was covered in kelp, clear blue water, nudibranchs, scorpionfish, moray eels, and tons of other organisms I won’t bore you with.

We swam under submarine arches, relaxed on the bottom, and had an awesome dive. The second dive of the day was called meditation wall, and I see why- it was colorful, full of life, and totally serene. There was even an undersea cave, but I did not enter- I don’t like overhead environments, and so I won’t dive in them.
Our second dive took us to the best dive spot on the Poor knights, and often considered the best dive in New Zealand- northern arch. The northern arch is an archway that is perhaps 10 meters across at the surface, but once you go underwater a few meters, the arch flares out to become much wider. It was breathtaking, literally. So literally, in fact, that one of our group had to surface without stopping to decompress because he used up air too quickly- as a result, we didn’t get to spend much time in the arch at all. It was astounding what I did see, however.

Our last dive was called Ann’s rock, and it was another undersea pinnacle. This time, we descended to 18 meters (60 feet) and began a spiral ascent, seeing everything that grew on the walls of the pinnacle. It is here that I, for the first time ever, got to handle an underwater video camera. The following is what you would have seen if you were me on Ann’s rock.

In some of the shots the fish look as if they are moving down and the entire shot looks like it is on its side, but it is not. Ann's Rock is an almost vertical surface, but it looks horizontal. The shots of nothing but blue are looking straight down- we couldn't see the ocean floor.

After the 4th dive, we visited Riko Riko cave, the largest sea cave in the world, at 8 million cubic feet. The boat easily fit inside the cave. It receives almost no direct sunlight- all light is reflected from the water into the cave, resulting in ferns that grow and hang from the ceilings. The water is crystal blue, the cave walls are every color of the rainbow, and they are filled with glowworms. Bands have played here, Maori have done haka here, Japanese submarines have repaired here, even a man brought submersible speakers here and played music- just to watch the dolphins come in and swim to it. The acoustics are fantastic. I want to be there now instead of writing this.

The cave photos were taken by me. The undersea photography was done by Brice (AKA Frenchie), my dive buddy. The underwater video was all my work.

Needless to say, the trip was… unforgettable.

Sunday night we made dinner and called it an early night. We got up at 5 or 6 am on Monday to make the half day trek back to Hamilton. When we returned we got unpacked and I went to class. The leaves falling and the scent of autumn in the air, combined with my supreme feeling of rightness, reminded me of when I was at NCSSM junior year, when all felt right. I love that sensation- it makes me strangely and happily nostalgic. Monday carried this feeling with it.

Tuesday was another good day- I got my photography assignment back, and I was given an A+. I worked long nights, weekends and lunch periods in the chemical soaked darkroom to get these assignments and shots exactly how I wanted them. I sacrificed time with friends and sleep to make them perfect. I wanted that A+, and I totally earned it. I felt like I was walking on air when I left that class. The rest of Tuesday was good as well.

Wednesday was filled with work, but not much else. Thursday was also filled with assignments and labs, and also was the day I took my SCUBA rescue diver certification test. I needed an 88 to pass, and luckily soared on by with a 92. All I need to do now is fill out some paperwork and get my first aid class in, and I will be golden! We went out to town on Thusrday, and we had a good time dancing- but due to my back acting up, I took off fairly early and went to bed.

Friday I went to physiotherapy (where I learned that I am likely going to have to do daily stretches and exercises the rest of my life to keep my back from shutting down). I then proceeded to spend 2 hours in a studio doing a photo shoot for a friend of mine- this was not for any classes or anything else- it is just good practice for me, and good pictures for my friend. I really, really enjoyed it, and I think this is a good sign in my steps to becoming better at photographing people. This experience is important for me. After the photoshoot, Fabian, Jens and I went out for a drink and some appetizers at a local place called Iguana. The music was awesome, the food delicious, and the atmosphere perfect. It was classy yet relaxed, a place where you could dress up if you wanted to, but you didn’t have to. One thing I have noticed here (and this is one of a very long list) is that it is quite a bit more expensive to eat out here than it is back home. I can count the amount of times I have eaten out while here in New Zealand on one hand- most of that is because my meals are covered by the cantine, but it also is because New Zealanders cook a lot more here than we Americans do back home. In fact, I know a few chefs that I have met here, who cook amazing dishes just to do it. I miss the food from home, but It is a paltry thing to long for in the midst of so much beauty here. Friday night I spent up staying up way too late hanging out with an RA I know. I love the RA’s here because they know that us internationals aren’t first year students- they know that we (for the most part) are responsible and mature, and thus they treat us as such. I am happy to say that many of the RA’s in Student Village have also become awesome, awesome friends of mine.

Saturday I woke up early and went with my German friend Jens (from the South Island trip) and we went to the local market here in Hamilton. In this market are local stands filled with all sorts of things- the entire market had a heavily Maori influence- me and Jens were definitely in the minority, and it was really cool. I actually have come to really love the Maori culture, and I feel that I am beginning to understand some of the contemporary issues that surround it; nonetheless, I love the Maoris I have met and know they will stay good friends for a long time.

The stands had anything from food, to groceries, to clothing, to toys, to bone and greenstone carvings. Jens and I easily spent 2 hours (and a good chunk of change, we left when he was broke) at this market, and I would happily go back, just to look at the work again. Most of the stuff was really reasonably priced, and I got a few good deals… but you will just have to wait until I return to see what I got!

Saturday afternoon was spent watching movies (as it was a rainy day and I had tons of work to do). I generally do not like watching movies here- I feel I am wasting my time- but sometimes one gets so tired and lazy during a rainy day that a movie seems the best way to relax. We watched Slumdog Millionaire, and it was a really good movie. At least twice, the tension was so palpable that I could feel my heart racing, with me and Zia shouting at the screen. That’s a good sign of an awesome movie, I’d say. After the movie we had dinner, and I proceeded to spend the rest of the day just veggin’ out, doing nothing but hanging out with friends, just like I used to do before life seemed to get so hectic. I, of course, got nothing done, but it was everything I needed and thought it could be.

Days 86-95: A super busy week

2009-05-21T18:59:00.001-04:00

So, this past week has been amazingly busy. I had a biochemistry test on Monday, on the Electron Transport chain, Beta oxidation, Oxidative Phosphorylation, Lipid and carbohydrate biosynthesis, release and uptake… you get the point. I spend literally my entire weekend in the cafeteria, where there are whiteboards for announcements. We would get in early after breakfast, use the whiteboards, study all day, take breaks for lunch and dinner (where people were giving us funny looks for what we had drawn up on the boards, entire diagrams of how electrons move in cells, and other unintelligible things) Friday, Saturday, Sunday and half of Monday were taken up on this. As soon (and I literally mean right after) as I finished my test, I ran to the darkroom and started working on my pieces for my second photography assignment. I will post them up once I put up my exhibition pieces, but they are all thematic- they deal with seeing biology in everyday life, and seeing everyday life in a biological context. I spent all my free time Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and yesterday working on this project. I have 24 hour Darkroom access, so I worked until early in the morning hours a few times. All the security guards know me by first name, and a few are photographers. So, as you can see, there hasn’t been much to write about or much time to write about the nothing I have to write about. I will write about this, though:
I am beginning to miss home. I don’t miss my house as much as I miss North Carolina. I don’t want to pick up and go home by any means (I am in love with this country way too much) but I appreciate more every day how lucky I am to live where I do. Two things have catalyzed this feeling. The first is that I have started going through photos of home, to edit them. I have about 8000 pictures, and I want to slim it down to maybe 2000 (a lot are duplicates). So, going through them has reminded me of the beauty of my state. The second is my civil war class- we watch a lot of movies and documentaries, where the misty green hills of the south are illuminated by sunrise. I miss the southern drawl the historians have as they describe a war that almost tore our country in twain. I miss the southern accent, despite how annoying it sometimes get, it has a sort of congenial warmth I miss. I am not regretting staying here in the least, but it makes me proud to be a North Carolinian. To take a quote from a friend:

“The red clay of North Carolina runs through my veins.”

How true. Once a Carolinian, always a Carolinian.

Day 85: Dylan’s birthday

2009-05-15T04:13:00.002-04:00

Dylan is one of my friends here, from NY state. He turned 20 today, and as a result we had a little celebration for him. After a long day of class (which was mind draining) some of our group started cooking for Dylan and the rest of us, with the groceries I had bought the day before. By the end we had 2 chicken pasta bakes, baked potato, and pineapple for desert. It felt good to have home cooked food again. After dinner, we went to our friends room and gave Dylan his gifts, which included a necklace with a strawberry on it (as he dressed up as a strawberry for a party at the start of the year, he never really got over the stigma), and a bottle of Jagermeister. We were all in these rooms, having a few drinks and wishing Dylan a happy birthday, when we decided to play a game I hadn’t played since my high school days, during the winter months at Cold Stone Creamery. The game is simple: write the name of a famous person on a scrap of paper- give it to the person next to you, without them looking at it. Take the paper that you have received, lick it, and stick it to your forehead. Everyone now knows who you are except you. Then, by answering yes and no questions only you must determine who you are. The game is exceptionally fun, but I came in last place (I had a crappy person, Matt Damon). Other people had Napoleon, Jesus, Albert Einstein, Stalin, and Gandhi, among others.
After our game, we decided to go to town to celebrate the birthday. Two interesting things happened while we were there- first of all, our bus driver looked very familiar. In fact, he looked almost identical to Jermaine Clement, from Flight of the Conchords.

Jermaine is the one on the right. Our bus driver had the glasses and all.
Once we were in town, we went to a student club that we frequent. The running joke among us is that the clubs all over NZ play only 11 songs, and they take about an hour to repeat. This night they added a 12th song to the list: I think it is something along the lines of “I’m on a boat”. This has been a pretty popular song in the past few months, but I can’t help but cringe at the fact it is escaping beyond the realm of the internet scene, where I am sure it was made as a joke. Go look it up on YouTube if you want- but I warn you: it contains really strong language, and repetitive, idiotic yet strangely catchy lyrics. If you do know what song I am talking about, then kick your head back in laughter at the mental image of 150 people shouting at the top of their lungs “I’m on a BOAT! I’m on a BOAT! Take a look at me I’m on a ************* BOAT!” while bobbing to the beat. The night ended up being pretty fun, despite the constant rain. Dylan enjoyed himself.

Days 83-84: Getting back into things

2009-05-13T08:16:00.000-04:00

So, Tuesday was a pretty uneventful day. I got some work done, worked with my first film shot on Saturday, and did a bit of studying for my Rescue Diver test scheduled for Wednesday. Later that night I shot my second film of the project with one of my subjects, models, whatever you want to call them. The focus of the main piece was about breast cancer, and ideas I really want to develop with it. I got a pitiful amount of work done the rest of the night.

Today I woke up to Waikato weather- during the winter, it gets chilly, but not piercing cold. The lowest temperatures here are around freezing. Winter is more like the rainy season here- for days it has been partially overcast, raining a few times an hour then stopping. This is normal, from what I have been told.
Anyway, I woke up and began to study for this SCUBA test. I spent the entire day working on the rescue diver manual. My first reaction was that I was a fool for putting this off so much- there is so much to know, and no possible way to determine it all in only one day. This would take at least a week of constant preparation to understand, and months to master. I slaved over the book, absorbing every detail as quickly and thoroughly as possible. Night came, and it was time to go and test my skills. I walked a half hour in rain, at night, to get to the dive shop. I arrived precisely at the appointed time. I was one of 3 people there.

Thanks to my wonderful, glorious, amazing internet service here, I did not receive a fairly critical email that notified the rest of the class that the test had been postponed a week to next Wednesday. Half relieved, half annoyed, I trudged back a half hour through the dark rain to uni. I used the rest of my night to study for an impending biochemistry test (on Monday) and developed the film I had shot the night before. On my walk back from the education building (where the security guards know me by heart since I am in there more nights than not, working on photography), I was listening to classical music, and walked past an artistically lit pond that I cross every day and most nights. I realized I was in no real hurry to get back to my room. I began to slow my pace, began to meander a bit. Perhaps it was just the music, or mood I was in, or the fact that my back was killing me, but I decided to lay on a raised portion of the wooden boardwalk and watch the stars as I listened to Anton Dvorak’s 7th symphony. Sipping the crisp autumn air, listening to an energetic symphony poorly chosen for something as passive as stargazing, a sense of peace and happiness came over me. Ask yourself, how often do you look up, stop everything you are doing at a whim, and stare at the unobstructed night sky? It is humbling. We go about our days and nights, our busy schedules and dramatic existences, and still the stars burn. They look down on us with constant and cold eyes, distant observers in a universe so old and vast that some of them have already winked away, unbeknownst to us. They sit, day after day, night after night, millennia after millennia. It makes one want to take life just the slightest bit slower. It made my night better.

Tomorrow is my busy day, with obligations from sun up (okay, 9 am) to sundown. Every assignment creeps the tiniest bit closer, but I think I’ll take it one step at a time. The assignment will get done, and the stars will still burn as bright as ever. No point in adding stress.

Days 69-82: My apologies

2009-05-11T22:19:00.001-04:00

When I began this blog, I promised myself (and a few of you) I would update every day, to imitate the valorous ones who had done so before me. Well, as can be seen, I have failed in that promise. I would like to make excuses, and say that my internet has been down, that I have been too busy, or that I have had nothing to write about, but those all would be lies. The truth is, no matter what I do, sometimes I just don’t feel like sitting down and writing about it after a long day. Let me tell you, the days here are long. I often (especially when traveling) look back at the end of the day and wonder if what happened in the morning really was the same day. Here I will make a rather pitiful (though full hearted) attempt to remember the important features of the past 2 weeks. Here goes nothing…

My last post was on the 30th of April. On the weekend (the 2nd and 3rd of May) I began training to become an SSI certified rescue diver. The training involved an all day pool session on Saturday, with a trip to a lake in the Rotorua region on Sunday. We worked on rescuing panicked divers, unconscious divers, and tired divers. We learned to improvise on the fly, how to take control of a situation, and various other useful skills. The lake itself was freezing- the water was in the upper 50’s (think winter swimming in Wilmington) and we were in it for several hours. The wetsuits were absolutely necessary- without them, we all would have become hypothermic and died, and that would probably reflect badly on the instructor. After working out some skills at the lake, the instructor threw some surprises our way. First, while we were eating lunch on the shore, 2 of our team slipped off, got on gear, and jumped in the water. They swam out and began to ‘panic’. All of a sudden we had a group of inexperienced rescuers without gear on who had to go get these two before they passed out or drowned. I was the first one to be ready: and when I mean ready, I mean I had on fins and a woefully inadequate half of an under layer wetsuit on. I swam out in the freezing cold water with almost no gear, calmed diver number one, and began to tow her back. I got switched out to a properly equipped diver, and got up to help bring them to shore. This was the easy task we had to do (and this wasn’t just me acting, this was the entire team). Later on, we went out for paired dives with our buddies. Surfacing, we saw a panicked diver in the distance- her mask was on her forehead (a big no no) and she was flailing about. Again, me and my partner got to her first (as we were the first to surface) and found out her dive buddy was missing. Let me just say that the visibility of this lake was about 6 feet- any further and everything became murk. To find an unconscious diver underwater, with no visibility in an area a hundred meters or more on each side is HARD, let me tell you. Eventually after towing the first diver back to shore and calling an ambulance to treat her for shock, I stood on shore and looked for bubbles, the only way you can really find a diver instead of finding a body. Eventually we found the bubble stream and brought the diver to the surface, at which point she stopped breathing. We had to tow her to shore while giving rescue breaths, bring her up to dry land, and administer oxygen. We had ‘saved’ her- but it was a sobering experience that truly gave us an appreciation for how much could go wrong so quickly.
Our dive group was quite diverse, and included members from NZ, USA, France and Germany. I found the course (which isn’t finished yet) quite useful- I actually feel that I was unsafe diving before having started it, and I am sure that I will feel even more safe and secure underwater than before. In fact, I think my next step will be to be oxygen certified, so that if someone needs it I’ll be able to administer it without blowing everyone up.
After this tiring weekend was a week full of class. I had to turn in one paper, but not much else happened. On Thursday (day 75) a bunch of us hung out and had a few drinks at a friend’s flat- it was a nice relaxing night in the midst of stressing about photography and chemistry. This was only the beginning of a very good weekend.
Friday me and a few friends watched two very good films. The first was a German film called The Lives of Others, about East Germany in the 1980’s. It was an absolutely mesmerizing film- it was exceptionally long, but good. It took us over an hour to prepare for the film, because the dvd player would not work correctly. We tried to sort it out for 20 mintues, then failed. We eventually decided to play it through a computer onto the TV, so 45 minutes, 3 laptops, a VGA cable and very damaged speakers later, we had the movie running- on half of the screen. After we got it sorted and ate a snack, we watched The Boondock Saints, my favorite film. This viewing marked the 19th time I had seen the film, and I still will gladly see it 19 times more. The scary bit about it, though, is that now I can recite pretty much the entire movie by heart. It is so incredibly good.
Saturday, I did quite a few things. I used the early afternoon doing a photoshoot for my photography class, developing some ideas. The first half of the afternoon actually was spent developing my ideas, as I spent 2 hours with my models doing shots and then subsequently finding that I had no film in my camera- how I missed this crucial step can only be explained by my absentmindedness. I ran back, reshot the poses, and got even better shots than I anticipated. Once again, I am excited to work in photography. Saturday, I had promised I would go out with some people who live on my floor (they went out Thursday and were disappointed I was not going out with them then). We went to a local club called the Outback, which is split into two different parts. They had rented out half of the venue, which was awesome. We stayed late into the night, and it sure was interesting. I went in knowing only one or two people, and left after being initiated into about 3 families. By the end, several people I had talked to for hours (about everything from fireworks to evolution’s role in religion) had started calling me their brother, and introducing me to more people as such. It was fun because it was a true experience for me- I was the only non New Zealander there that I could tell (until later in the night at least), and I really feel like I connected with several people on several levels. It was the highlight of the weekend.
On Sunday, about 25 people from Student Village went to Waihi beach and a nearby gorge for Mother’s day. It was something I decided to do because, among other reasons, I needed to be around people and occupied on that day. We drove in a very bumpy route, and stopped at a gorge that used to be host to gold mines. We walked through the completely black tunnels, with nothing to light our way. My geologist friend marveled at the mineral deposits in the rocks (there were geodes sticking out the side of the rock walls that you could take out if you had the right tools). In the middle of the gorge was a flowing river, deep at some points with pits from erosion, littered with rapids and boulders. It was a refreshing scene.
After this we went to Waihi beach. After a non-wetsuit swim in 59 degree water, we went along looking for shells. The sheer abundance and diversity boggles the mind- back home, people will be walking early at the morning to get shells that here would be so subpar you wouldn’t even give them a second glance. Here, if you pick up a shell and it isn’t perfect, you can just toss it away- there are 200 more literally within an arm’s length that will suit you just fine. I have been coming back from every beach trip with shells, every inland trip with rocks. This can’t be healthy. On the beach we also caught dinner- Pipi, a type of burrowing bivalve. We gathered a few dozen and later cooked them up. After the beach, we went to some local hot pools- for 7 bucks, you could go into a series of pools of varying degrees of temperature that got their water from a geothermically active spring 200 meters below. It was quite the day- I was so relaxed on the way home that I just fell straight asleep. To finish off the weekend, I caught up with a few friends and watched a series called ‘Black Books’, a British comedy. I don’t watch TV anymore- I find that it takes away time I could better use to things that aren’t as passive- but this show is hilarious. The humor is so incredibly dry (my style) that I was in stitches for 3 hours. I highly recommend it.
Monday was full of work, a ‘top secret’ project, and a few bits and pieces, including *gasp* lecture. I have a test next Monday that promises to be a killer, so I guess I have some work to do.

Days 60,61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68- Slacking off

2009-04-29T08:48:00.000-04:00

So, you’ve read this far? You still want more, do you? You haven’t had enough? Alright, fine. I’ll give you even more. I’ll write until your eyelids close, until your head begins to dip, until you are fast asleep, drooling all over that fancy keyboard of yours. How will I accomplish this? I’ll cram 8 days into one post, of course.

Seriously though, I do actually have some stuff to write about. On return, I found that our rooms had been bombed for bedbugs. Right before we left for break, there was a small outbreak in our pod, but it got chemically treated. As a result, all of my food, electronics and clothes were in separate plastic bags on my bed, and my room had never looked cleaner.
Tuesday we had no class, as it was Kingitanga day, the Maori King’s birthday. This gave me a day to recover from my trip, get sorted, and ready for class. I had already missed a lecture by returning on Monday, but it’s only biochemistry. No big deal, right? Wrong.
Turns out that after a half semester, the professor for our biochemistry class switches. Out old lecturer, the dry yet incredibly humorous (unintentionally) professor who has spent his life researching honey, was gone. I missed him- I had gotten used to his teaching style and wit, and if anyone knows me, I freak out the first part of each semester as I try to determine the teaching style and grading style of each professor I have. Now, as the professors switch, I lose that inherent familiarity, and it makes me uncomfortable. Walking into class on Wednesday gave me a taste of what I was in for. Enter power points, overhead slides, whiteboard drawings, notes, printed lectures, lecture books, and of course, the textbook. Unlike the first part of the semester, this would require nightly revision and hours in the library. Luckily, I have the time and the willpower. After all, metabolic pathways won’t learn themselves, will they? No, they won’t. Metabolic pathways are lazy as.
Thursday was a day for developing photography ideas. I turned in (frantically) my first project before leaving for south island. Now, on return, I had to begin brainstorming for project 2. I decided I wanted to take a certain direction with this second photographic process. I wanted to shoot people- not with guns, but with a camera. I have never been good at capturing people in photography- those of you close to me, or those of you who have ever posed in front of my lens know this. I decided that here, now, is the perfect time to develop that skill. I know where I need improvement- in creative thought and in assertion of that thought. I want to be able to tell people exactly how and where to pose, why to make a certain face or turn their head. I want to tell them when they’ve got it right and when they’ve got it wrong. I want to be able to control the frame as I can with a still life, with a sunset or a landscape. I want to turn people into a medium I can control. I personally find it the most difficult subject to take, but the most important. People are emotion- they are what we connect to as fellow human beings, and thus I think they give us the strongest weapon we can have as photographers. They allow us to connect with the soul of our audience, through laughter, tears, pain, strength, wit, creativity, and energy. We can portray in one photograph the entire span of human emotion. While a picture of a flower or a waterfall can portray majesty, beauty or even awe, it seems to fall short. These photos have a place, of course. It’s just that I feel my house has become too small. I have become to comfortable doing what I do, and I want to step out. I want to get uncomfortable and grow, and let my work grow. So, as you can see, I am pretty passionate about this new project of mine. The question is, where do I get the models? I have the ideas- pieces about the circular nature of life, about religion, science, drugs, cancer, death, life, joy, wit, communism, and a few that are just meant to make you think ‘what the hell?’ yeah, a few of my ideas I created just to mess with my audience. Whether those particular pieces become reality though, the next few weeks will tell.

Wednesday and Thursday were fairly uneventful. Friday likewise was uneventful. The past week I have been hit by a serious of lethargic, rainy, depressing days. They were long yet gulped up in an instant at the same time. My desire to do everything, anything, faded. This occasionally happens to me- I will get in a funk, and become unproductive. Luckily, not much was breathing down my neck, so there weren’t bad side effects. Every time I get in a rut like this, something different pulls me out. Sometimes it is friends, or a book, or music. This time it was work. Sometimes, after a few weeks of vacation, nothing feels better than pulling out that biology book and getting to work. It feels good to get the hands dirty, to tell someone ‘sorry, but I can’t hang out- I have to study’. Call me a nerd, but it makes me feel busy and important, and that completely counteracts and neutralizes any feeling of inadequacy or lethargy I accumulate.

Saturday was ANZAC day. ANZAC stands for Australian New Zealand Army Corps. The day commemorates the day the soldiers sent to war during WWI (in 1915) landed at Gallipoli. The day is marked by dawn services across the country (and Australia too). It is like our independence day, but more solemn. There are no cheers or drinking or baseball games. There are salutes, and ‘The Last Post’ is heard echoing through the cemeteries where those soldiers still lie. Stores by law cannot open before 1 pm. I did not take part in any ceremonies or watch any parades. I was in a funk, remember?

Saturday night a bunch of us got together to cook a dinner for Kristen’s birthday, which was over the break (we were in the car all day, probably the most boring day of the trip). To be honest, we decided to do cooking because I missed it. Even being away from a kitchen for a week was getting to me. I fear I may have caught the cooking bug. I guess there are worse hobbies to have, right? After dinner (which took several hours to cook) we went out on the town and danced for hours. We called it a night at 1 am (early nights here, remember?) and went to sleep.

Now I guess I’ll go into something I figure I should write about: the Swine Flu. Now, if you want to stop reading now, that’s fine- I am writing this so that I’ll have a record of this thing if it ever does seem to get out of control. I wish I had written on my first reactions after 9/11, Katrina, the Tsunami, the Washington snipers, and other events I feel have shaped our world in the short time I’ve been on it. If I write about this and it blows over and is forgotten in 3 years, that’s fine with me- no electrons wasted. If, however, this does become a longer hitting news piece, I’ll want to remember how I felt about it now while it was still pretty small. Either way, here goes.
Saturday is when I first heard about this thing. My friend Dylan came up to me and told me about some flu that was spreading from Mexico to America, killing people. I looked it up, and saw no real cause for alarm, but it was still peculiar. It had gotten into the US by this point, April 25. I kept it in the back of my mind.
All throughout Sunday the news began to spread. There were more possible cases of flu in the US, even more in Mexico with the death toll climbing. It started to look like it may be something more than just some media hype. I think it was Sunday that the UK got its first unconfirmed case, meaning it might have slipped over the Atlantic. Well, on Sunday it slipped over the Pacific too- it got to New Zealand. What a peculiar feeling- to see this virus go from my home country all the way to New Zealand, on the other side of the world. It made breaking news here, and friends of mine went to school near or at the school that was infected. People here started to freak out that there might be spreading here in NZ and in the Waikato region, but it didn’t seem that big a deal to me. No deaths or serious complications in people outside of Mexico. Even if it spreads, it seems to me like it will be pretty mild. Maybe that is me being naïve, but I just don’t see that much reason for alarm.
Monday, 2 days ago. Over a dozen countries might have the virus, including Australia, NZ, parts of Europe, America, Canada, and Central/South America. This really began to pique my interest. I began to follow the story closely, and see the infections map pop up over the web. A Newspaper article for the day listed the flu as its main headline, saying Waikato region was going on alert.
Tuesday, yesterday: The main headline reads that 2 people coming back from Auckland have entered Waikato and may be infected. I still can’t believe how quickly this thing has traveled. The idea that this virus, hitting news less than a week ago, may have already made it to my area? In NZ? Luckily, later tests confirm that these 2 do not have the virus. We are flu free for now. The US is not as lucky though- already by this point over a dozen states may have the virus: at least 4 or 5 have it confirmed. Canada has several provinces with confirmed infections. It’s all people are talking about at dinner. Still, I think the media are hyping it up, but they are doing a good job- I am staying interested.
Wednesday: today. Looking up on the internet, I see over 30 countries with possible infections, including 9 confirmed. NZ is now one of these, along with Mexico, US, Canada, UK, Israel, Germany, Spain, and a few others. Most of Europe has possible cases, as does most of South America. The spreading of this thing is starting to get a bit… surprising. It really shows how quickly the world moves its human cargo. Look up a time scale map if you are keen. You will see how quickly these cases pop up. It looks nice and impressive, almost like a coloring book being filled in. The thing that has to be kept in mind is that if a single case in Russia is suspected, all of a sudden a sixth of the world’s landmass turns orange for ‘possible case’. In reality, of the over 200 million people in the country, one person has minor flu symptoms. While these maps are cool, they seem to be a tool for… unsubstantiated drama. They blow this thing out of proportion a bit.
Tonight we had a compulsory swine flu meeting. One of my friends wasn’t there. I later found out that he went to take his friend to the hospital, for flu symptoms. I have heard nothing else except they are both fine, but it leads me to wonder how easy it would be for the flu to get here. Anyway, for anyone that cares, everyone here is fine. I am fine. I see North Carolina may have some cases, New Jersey and New York definitely have some. I’ll be monitoring the progress of this over the next few days, and will probably be writing about it some. I hope nobody minds too much.

Day 59- Our last day in South Island

2009-04-29T07:52:00.000-04:00

So, our last day we left for Christchurch, but not before cleaning out my bottle. It was full of mud and rocks, which were easily removed. However, it soon became clear that one rock was too big to come out. That seems rather impossible: how could it have gotten in if it was too big to get out?

Turns out the rock was really a rock crab. The poor little guy went in when he was small, and grew inside the bottle. I tried to take him out, but could not. I decided I would take him with me, filled the bottle with water, and packed him up.

We went into Christchurch for a few hours before our flight, and wandered. We went back to Cathedral square (which has the most beautiful war memorial I have ever seen), and then down to old Otago university, where Ernest Rutherford worked on his theories about the atom (he was a Kiwi scientist, a fact they are quite proud of. He is also on the 100 dollar bill). Before we knew it it was time to go. We boarded our flight (where we got dinner and beer/wine free of extra charge) and were back in Hamilton before we knew it. Thus ended the last day in our massive adventure. As you can imagine, you are tired of reading and I, frankly, and tired of writing. What can I say in summary of this trip?

The trip acted, more than anything, as a sampler of South Island. I now have a list 4 times longer than when I started the trip of things to do. I feel like we traveled around enough to get a taste of the island, but didn’t get the time to really feel at home in any one place. I also feel like we really bonded- by the end of the trip I really felt like a family with these people I came to know. We did everything together- from cooking to traveling. Not once did someone snap at another, something I was fully expecting. There was almost no tension over 18 days.

Something else that struck me about the trip is how it kindled my passion for traveling. I feel like I know nothing about my home country, or even my state now. I want to return and go to Canada, to the Southwest, Louisiana, Utah, Montana, California, Alaska, Massachusetts… I want to see everything. My first thought when I saw those mountains on day 2, after ‘wow’, was ‘now I’m really living’. I still feel that way. It makes me wonder how much time I and other people spend wasting their lives on things so utterly unimportant to them. I am not saying that everyone should go out and see the world- I am just suggesting that you find a passion, and stick to it. Life seems so much better with it. I don’t feel like I am missing out on these experiences anymore, and that is a message I am happy to walk away with.

Day 58- Redefining the nuclear family, and a French Flair

2009-04-29T07:51:00.002-04:00

We woke up, had breakfast (we were quickly dwindling on food) and dropped off Dylan and Fabian at the airport. We then drove to a small town called Akaroa, about 70 K’s away from Christchurch. It was something we decided to do on a whim- by word of the Brits we encountered days before, and it was a great suggestion.

A ways through the trip, we reached the highest peak in the area, at a few hundred meters tall. Below us was a pastoral scene- green rolling hills covered in morning sunlight. To the left was a series of gentle mountains, and rolling down them was a thick bank of fog. The low lying clouds were acting like foam from an overfilled beer- they spilled over the crests of the peaks, and into the valley below, keeping right to the ground. They moved so fast that we could see the specters advancing onto the fields below. We sat and watched. It was perfect- it was content. It was out of a movie, or so it seemed.

We drove the rest of the way to Akaroa, and were hit by a feeling of… rightness. Everything was pleasant here. The town was the only French settlement in the country, and the influences are obvious. Nestled in a bay, which itself is nestled in a bay, which itself is on a peninsula forming a bay, Akaroa is a peculiarly situated town. The population could not have been more than 3 or 4 thousand. Sailboats flocked in the quiet harbor. I felt as though I was in an 18th century Caribbean French settlement. The sun was shining, the breeze was light, the grass was green and the water blue. Out of all the places we visited, this was one of my most favorite, because it was just right. There were no extreme mountains or raging rivers- there were no bungee sites or glaciers. It was a pleasant town, and while I normally abhor the idea of a perfect place, I didn’t here. I suppose I tend to associate perfect with boring, but here the two don’t even begin to overlap.
We checked into our hostel, to learn it was the highest rated hostel in all of New Zealand. The beautiful historic farmhouse had large rooms, a pear tree, chestnuts, walnuts, free fruit, right on the coast, with pastoral views on all sides. I wrote a postcard and watched a shepherd herding sheep in front of me. We walked out on the coast, and walked to a peninsula which was originally a Maori Pa, or fortress. Imagine a bay. Jutting out of the bay is a peninsula that is quite large at the tip, but where it meets the mainland it is so narrow that at high tide only a footpath is exposed. This footpath is about 30 feet in the air, with no railings on either side. Drop off, and say hello to a face full of rocks. We didn’t drop, and got to the top. At the summit there was a group of exposed limestone outcrops, similar to a smaller version of Castle hill. We watched the sun set behind the hills, and watched the fog roll in, which it did quickly.
Walking back along the beach, we came across beach glass. I love beach glass, and picked up over 20 pieces. I at last found an entire beach bottle- it had been tossed in the waves, but not recently. It had organisms growing on it- obviously it had been in the sea for awhile. It was full of mud, but I took it back. We went to sleep early that night.

Day 57- Back to Christchurch

2009-04-29T07:51:00.001-04:00

We woke up and got on the road again. Today was a long drive- we had to go all the way back to Christchurch, around 400 Kilometers, much of it through windy mountain roads. We stopped for lunch at lake Tekapo, a small settlement on an astoundingly blue lake- there seem to be a lot of those here. We briefly lost Kristen, because she went into a café and met a childhood friend from Minnesota. By this point we were fairly sure that God was playing a practical joke on us- “See, it really is a small world!”. We shook our heads- surprise had turned into expectation.

We eventually made it into Christchurch with a few hours of daylight to spare, and checked into our hostel, which was a historic building. We walked around city center, and saw cathedral square (where there was a fire juggler). I picked up a free book I found on some steps- they were given out all over the city. We wandered through historic squares and streets, and eventually decided to stop for food. We chose Chinese, but barely over a Russian restaurant. After eating (the atmosphere wasn’t great, but the food sure was), we wandered around and decided to visit an Irish pub for a drink. We enjoyed a pint, and on our way out, we hit another preposterous coincidence; we met Mareka, a German exchange student from Student Village- we eat dinner with her at uni more days than not. The chances of seeing this German girl we know, in an Irish pub, in a city of 360,000, is remarkable. It was almost like the icing on the cake for us- just to drive the point home that this was a truly phenomenal series of events. We walked home and slept in the most comfortable beds I had ever laid on. I slept like a baby.

Day 56: Wanna go to Wanaka?

2009-04-29T07:50:00.001-04:00

So, the next morning we performed a ritual which by this point was second nature: wake up, pack up, ship out. As with every morning, I was the last one to grumpily awake, eat a quick breakfast, and get rolling. Unlike most mornings though, we had a detour. It was time to go bungee jumping.

We had signed up for the jump the day before, at the first bungee site in either NZ or the world (not sure on the details). It was a 43 (150ft) meter drop to the river below, over an old disused bridge. 4 of us would be jumping- I didn’t dare risk it for fear of my back being injured again, but the other 4 guys were…enthused. As soon as they had paid before there was a range of emotion: Dylan was instantly regretting the outflux of cash, Fabian was immediately regretting that he now had to jump off a bridge, Jens was calling ‘shotgun’ on first jump, and Andrew was stuck in silent contemplation (probably wondering if gravity worked on Canadians).

We drove to the location, which was almost painful in its beauty. The river was a bright aqua blue- the trees on the cliff’s edge had just began to turn, and were a beautiful golden hue. The cliff walls were reflecting the morning sun- it was a perfect day to die… I mean jump- it was the perfect day to jump.

The jump, I was told, was exhilarating. There was no feeling of falling, no pit in your stomach. It was universally described as utter freedom. I wish I had risked it. All 4 jumped, and each had a different style. Jens, the first, silently plunged to the water below, barely missing it- he let out a victory yell. Fabian, second to go, spread his arms, screamed an utterance is German, and succumbed to gravity himself. Dylan, a six foot 200 pound fellow, had the most graceful jump I had ever seen- he dove and almost reached the river, and then began his springy ascent up a few feet. Unlike the others, though, Dylan became an acrobat- he arched his back and sailed through the air. There was every indication this man was flying, with all the confidence of a raptor. He looked over the ground he was defying, and seemed to command the altitude he desired. It was something to behold, especially behind a 200mm camera lens. To round things out, Andrew got on the plank, gave his usual thumbs up, and shouted “To infinity, and Beyond!” before jumping with abandon. He went straight first into the river, and then was yanked back up by the cord, spiraling as water flung from him in every direction. All four styles were unique and wonderful to watch.

After the jumps (totally worth it) we drove among mountains and hills to Wanaka. Wanaka is as beautiful (nearly) as Queenstown, but not nearly as touristy. Also on a lake (Lake Wanaka), the town boasts kayaking, biking, and free glacier trekking/mountain hiking. Fabian and I rented some bikes and took some pictures along the lake- as the sun set between the peaks, it illuminated the far side, which was a series of grassy steppes, unlike anything I had seen before. As we rounded a bend, we then came across a shore that looked like Tuscany (so I was told by Fabian). It still amazes me how quickly the scenery can change here in this country.

After our bike ride (only cost us about $8 USD) we made dinner- salad! We had to hurry, though, because we had a surprise for Dylan and Fabian- something a Canadian we met suggested to us more than a week before. We hit up the cinema.

The Wanaka Cinema is a piece of work- the closest thing I had seen since was Galaxy Cinema in Cary, NC. The entire seating arrangement consisted of armchairs, couches, loveseats, and even an old car (drive in movie, anyone?). It is like sitting at home in your comfy sofa, with a 30 foot TV screen. The place makes food to take in, soda, water, tea, coffee, popcorn, beer, wine, and best of all- cookies. The show (we watched The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) had a 10 minute intermission, which coincided with cookie time. They were soft, gooey, homemade, and giant. This was the best film experience I have had in a good long while. We walked back under the Wanaka stars, talked about physics, string theory, and multiverses (multiple or an infinite amount of universes), and called it a night.

Day 55- Queenstown

2009-04-29T07:49:00.001-04:00

We drove the 3 hours to Queenstown, situated on Lake Wakatipu. The drive is what we were used to by this point- majestic peaks descending into crystal clear lakes of a color blue I have only seen in postcards. The lake is long- it took us almost an hour to drive up half of its length to get to Queenstown. It didn’t help that on the way we almost got run over by a house. As we were driving down this narrow 2 lane road (which serves as the main highway), cars ahead of us were passing a truck and pulling onto the grass. Strange. The car then passed us and told us to do the same. We did, and perplexed, saw a utility truck with the strangest sign I have ever seen on top of a pole from the bed: House Follows.

I’m sorry? A house is following you? That sounds like a personal problem. It is here when we see a very stressed looking flatbed towing a very whole house. It is then that we realized this was everyone’s problem. The house was attached to the truck by a few seemingly pitiful cables, and as it neared we noticed it probably wasn’t going to fit, smashing our van to pieces and sending it careening to the lake below, all so that someone could move their domicile to a better location. Luckily, the truck knew what it was doing, and we narrowly missed what was sure to have been an utterly horrendous multinational catastrophe. After that completely bizarre encounter, we were on our way to Queenstown.

The town itself with a population of about 13,000, is labeled as the adventure capital of the world, and it lives up to the name without a doubt. The town itself is not much of an exciting place- out of the whole of the south island I would personally label it (though I would not be the only one to do so) the most ‘touristy’ place. Unlike most of the other towns and locales we had visited, this place had bars upon bars, tons of souvenir shops, more restaurants than there ought to be, and other instruments of a busy society. The streets were packed and fast, and the town itself was quite condensed. The town being unremarkable didn’t bother me much, though- the majesty of the area around me kept my eyes diverted away from civilization. We got in and were immediately struck by the position the town is on the terrain- it is settled in between two mountain peaks, overlooking a placid lake that itself is surrounded by mountain peaks. The lake, which stretches as far as the eye can see left and right, is only a mile or two across. The other side was easily approachable and visible, but uninhabited (which made the view even better in my humble opinion). With only a day in Queenstown, our options for adventure were limited (as was our budget). Kayaking, Skydiving, Jetboating, helicopters, flying, paragliding, and a whole host of other options were cancelled out. We decided in the end to split up. I decided I would hike a small mountain.

I don’t remember the name of the peak, but it was within sight of Queenstown, and was pretty steep. Our initial climb was the hardest- roads that went straight up the slope to the ritzy new developments were the most taxing. Once we were on the trail however, the path flattened out and took a more meandering course. After a 90 minute walk to the summit, I wasn’t ready to call it quits. I said goodbye to my friends who hiked with me, and decided to set out a bit on my own. I found a small narrow footpath, barely large enough to walk on. I later determined it was probably a route for sheep, as this was a farmer’s land that he granted public access to. I walked along this for another 40 minutes or so, simply wandering wherever the path took me. The forest up the other side of the mountain we had hiked (which was reminiscent of Appalachia more so than anywhere else I had yet set foot on) was replaced by rolling, flowing golden grassland. On top of his peak were swamps, ponds and fantastic views. As I rounded the mountain and came to the far side, where Queenstown was just a memory, I was hit by one the most beautiful sights I have ever beheld. The pasture gave way to steep declines, which allowed me to see a rustic mountain valley, bathed in the late afternoon sun. The golden peaks were split in the center by a steep valley, which flattened at the bottom for a few kilometers, then rose itself into a third, middle mountain range. These red peaks were either barren or coated in golden grass plains. The sunbeams were visible- they illuminated the central ridgeline, making the light and shadows in the scene almost palpable. It was a sight to behold- and for once, I am glad I didn’t bring my camera along.

That night in Queenstown we went out to a local bar/pool hall and played a game or two, and met both our friends the Brits from the two days before, and the German Pals of Jens and Fabian. Kristen also made a new friend (as she does everywhere) and we added a Dutch girl to our ensemble. After a night full of conversation (surprisingly deep conversation, I might add) we called it a night.

Day 54- Milford Sound

2009-04-29T07:48:00.000-04:00

We woke up early to get to Milford Sound, in Fjordland national park. The drive was only 120km, in 100 kph zones, but it took over 2 hours to get there, because the drive was too beautiful to speed through. We stopped on several occasions to take pictures and enjoy the scenery. Our drive took us through golden plains, rain swelled alpine creeks (which we drank from), moss covered rocks, and glacier topped mountain peaks. We eventually reached the sound, and hit yet another coincidence- Fabian and Jens, our two German companions, met two of their classmates here, literally halfway around the world from Germany. They ended up cruising the sound with us, which was one of the most fun experiences I have done here in NZ. As the ship went out into the sound, the wind immediately picked up. It continued to blow from a breeze to a gale to a force I had never felt before. Standing on the upper deck of the ship, one could lean over perhaps 20 or 30 degrees into the wind and stay balanced due to the force of it pushing on the front of the body. Several of the passengers decided to hop into the air, just to see if the wind would carry them. It certainly did- a vertical jump quickly became a frightening, exhilarating, and probably very stupid horizontal journey as the wind took the people and flew them like kites. They all landed safely only a few feet back, but a few looked as though they may take off for good. To get a taste of really how strong this wind was, two peculiar things happened. First, the wind was blowing across the water so hard that it was literally vaporizing the topmost water layer, then whisking it around and up away from the water line. Another thing that I saw that I never thought I would were waterfalls that went up. As water would fall over these peaks and descend into the sound, they often hit such strong wind that the water never made it to the bottom; they too would vaporize within a few meters of falling. Some waterfalls were in such windy spots, however, that as soon as the water crested over a ridge to fall, it would be blown straight up, creating a strange reverse waterfall. It just seemed to defy logic- it was a surreal feeling.

After the sound tour, we returned to Te Anau, but took a few stops along the way. One of these stops is the Chasm, an area where waterfalls have carved massive round holes into the side of the rock, resulting in pits of beautiful shapes, all covered in moss. As I was crossing the footbridge to overlook the chasm, I hear a voice behind me: “Are you from UNCW?”

No way.

I turn around to see a girl and guy my age, looking inquisitively at me. I then remembered that I was in fact wearing a teal UNCW move-in shirt, which would make me a target to seahawks a mile away. I spoke with these two, and found that one, Daniel, was a UNCW student- the other was a former student who had transferred to Maryland. Both of them lived in Seahawk Village, within sight of my apartment back home in Wilmington. Surely there are no coincidences.

On our return to Te Anau, we went back to our hostel to prepare dinner, where Fabian’s german friends check in. We all have dinner, and we meet a group of Brits who are heading along the same track we are, to Queenstown. During dinner (which by this point in the trip easily lasts 2 hours) we sat and had a conversation and discussion on whether denominations are a good thing in the Christian faith and tradition. It was a great conversation, because it included the viewpoints of 3 countries, 4 denominations, and both believers and non-believers alike. Everyone contributed, and the entire conversation was an open minded search for truth by all- it was one of those dinners that you wish could last all night.

Day 53- The road to Te Anau

2009-04-29T07:47:00.001-04:00

After waving goodbye to Dunedin, we headed inland to the town of Te Anau. The drive went through rolling hills, with mountains in the background. Te Anau seems to be a relatively unremarkable place, except that it has a population or 3000 people and caters to a half million tourists and travelers per year. The town doesn’t really have anything to distinguish itself, but the surrounding area is quite beautiful. Te Anau is right on the edge of Fjordland national park, NZ’s largest national park. We checked into our accommodation, which were a series of cabins overlooking the mountains. The area was situated on a deer farm, and was thus sparsely inhabited. We saw the sun set over the sound, and watches the stars peek out of the evening sky. I quickly noticed two things- first, there was no noise- no cars, no televisions, and no airplanes. Second- there were no lights. In front of me was a 180 degree field of view, with no headlights, streetlamps, illuminated windows or billboard signs- it was the most uninterrupted view of land at nighttime I have ever seen. We cooked dinner and met a few brits who were following the same route we were, and this is where we hit another astounding coincidence- Dylan met someone from back home who lives 20 minutes away from him, and Kristen found a girl who graduated with her sister and had her father as a professor, and lived in the same small town back in Minnesota! The coincidences that have and continued to follow us throughout the trip are uncanny- it makes one wonder how many chance meetings are missed by deciding to stay at hostel A instead of hostel B. One by one we went to sleep, and I decided to get some reading done. Soon most of the lodge was gone, except for me and a few French people, who invited me to come share a glass of wine and some conversation with them. We talked for well over an hour, and I then retired for the night, but not before one enjoying that spectacular night sky, uninterrupted by humanity.

Day 53- The road to Te Anau

2009-04-29T07:47:00.000-04:00

Day 52 Dunedin and Moeraki boulders

2009-04-29T07:44:00.002-04:00

On the road early, we had a short drive to Dunedin, so we decided to take a brief stop at a natural attraction called the Moeraki boulders. These are large stone orbs, some larger than 2 meters across, strewn on the beach. They are known as Ooliths- minerals form around a nucleating agent, causing the round shape. Over hundreds of thousands or millions of years, these boulders are formed. Some of the boulders had been split open by elements, revealing their internal nature, which was quite impressive- veins of stone and mineral interlaced in an intricate pattern. Think of an old soccer ball, where the seams are beginning to darken, widen, and come apart.- now imagine it is 6 feet wide, thousands of pounds, and millions of years old. Thinking about it is pretty humbling- it makes you just begin to appreciate the age of the mountains around you.

Visiting the boulders made me realize another thing that had been niggling at the back of my mind for the entire trip- something I had just realized. All of the south island (and you could even say this for all of New Zealand) seems to be run by Karma. The entrance to the boulders was a one dollar payment, put in a box by good will. Some hostels didn’t even have locking doors. People gave you the benefit of the doubt- hitchhikers were common and safe. Trust abounded, and goodwill seemed to ooze from the land. The realization hit me, and made me smile. I like this place.

Within a few hours we had reached Dunedin, which I was told is Gaelic for ‘Edinburgh’. The town is situated on a bay (a peninsula, really), and extremely hilly. In fact, Dunedin has the steepest street in the world- we didn’t have time to visit it, though.
Dunedin is quite an interesting place. It boasts a population of 122,000 people, but a third of them are temporary residents; the university of Otago boasts several thousand students, which are temporary. Many overseas doctors and hospital staff are also temporary, not to mention tourists and travelers that are staying for months at a time. Despite only having 120,000 people, Dunedin is the third largest city in the world. The city limits (from city center) extend 30 kilometers south, and 60 km west and north (the Pacific ocean is to the east). The result is a massive metropolitan area, most of it uninhabited hill or farmland. Dunedin is also New Zealand’s richest city- every bank, insurance company, and major national company began in Dunedin; because it is so rich, it has beautiful cathedrals. Most of these cathedrals were built in the mid 19th century, and are a result of the settling population, which were mostly Scottish. As a result, most of these churches are Anglican or built for the Free Church of Scotland- pardon the lack of knowledge, for I don’t know the history of the latter in the least. As I said before, Dunedin is very hilly- most of it is built on old volcanic formations- as a result, the city was originally divided by a small volcanic ridge, which was carved away decades ago. The result of the carving is that an entire street was left up 30 feet in the air- a special staircase had to be built to allow access to it.

One last thing that I found quite interesting in Dunedin was the graffiti- most population centers in NZ, even pretty small ones, have a problem with graffiti, but Dunedin is different. Dunedin has a good deal of graffiti, but much of it is creative, positive, beautiful, or even funny. Walking across the city, I noticed certain themes, certain graffiti characters reappearing. One (which I sadly didn’t capture on film) was a very simply drawn giraffe- it was only a yellow head with dots- I saw this critter everywhere- in alleyways, peeking out of windows, in small, hidden and otherwise forgotten spaces. Sometimes the giraffe was happy- sometimes sad, sometimes inquisitive. Other areas of town were tagged by an artist known only as ‘Jester’- his stencil, Banksy-style work was captivating and though provoking (if you don’t know who Banksy is, I highly suggest you look up his work). Dunedin also has commissioned some professional graffiti work on some public areas that otherwise would be boring, concrete and unsightly. Dunedin takes an attitude towards this cultural urban phenomenon that I have not seen before, and I loved it.

So, we walked around Dunedin for awhile, and that night decided to do a tour of the Speights Brewery. Speights is one of 3 or 4 major beer companies in NZ (and my favorite). There were 5 of us for the tour, and we were told we would be paired up with 2 random extra people. As luck would have it, we knew them! We got paired with two girls who live in the same dorms as we do back at Waikato university- this coincidence would be one of many that would occur in the next few days. After an hour long tour (and an hour of tasting) we decided to walk down to the city center, known as the Octagon. It is here that we encountered a strange establishment- it was known as “Probably the smallest bar in the Universe”. It consisted of 3 bar stools and 1 bartender- I could outstretch my arms and touch a wall with each hand. After an hour or two there (and 3 kilograms of peanuts), we left and walked back to our hostel, which we picked because it was advertised as having a ‘free ghost’. We didn’t get a glimpse of it, however, and went to sleep.

Day 51- Oamaru- the Canadian gets his wish

2009-04-29T07:44:00.001-04:00

Our next day involved a short (3 hour) drive to Oamaru. This town was fairly large- I would estimate about 20+ thousand people in the city, though it is incredibly difficult to tell when you are only there for a day. Unlike the other cities, towns and * ahem * villages we had visited, Oamaru had a distinctively European feel. The buildings and courthouses are stone, with columns and fancy engravings. The streets are wide with houses on the hills in English style. It was a nice refresher- after a week of passing through places that seemed to have little or no architectural history, a flair of old Europe was welcome. We walked through botanical gardens, had lunch, and then piled in ‘the space ship’ (our van). We drove up a ridge to a yellow- eyed penguin colony. This is where the title of the post comes in.

Andrew, our resident Canadian, loves penguins. He gets excited when we drive past a penguin crossing road sign (and believe me, there are quite a few). His favorite includes a silhouette of a penguin, with the word ‘penguin’ below it- there is no explanation, no ‘penguin Xing’, or ‘watch for penguins’. It is almost as though the sign was a small contender in a country wide animal matching game. As we drove to the colony (on top of a cliff) I saw the first wild penguin of my life- and it was right in front of us. Andrew was as happy as a kid on Christmas day- he was literally jumping up and down, on the verge of pushing children over the railing in order to get closer to this peculiar bird. We snapped some photos, and the penguin waddled away down the cliff. How it got from the beach up this shear rock wall, we didn’t know. In an instant it was gone.
We spent the next hour or so sitting on the cliff edge, watching the penguins swim up to shore and waddle through the waves to their nests. As soon as they stood up, they would begin to march past the waves in an awkward yet charming fashion. Unfortunately, they were on the surf- we were 80 feet up on a limestone cliff. It began to get cold, and some members began to walk back. Those that stayed (me, Jens and Andrew) were rewarded when another penguin came up even closer than the last, literally within reach of us. We got some pictures, Andrew almost had a heart attack, and before we knew it we were fed up with the cold and on our way back to town. On the way we stopped for a brief tour at a Blue penguin colony- but this one wasn’t free, so not all of us went. It turned out the tour was an hour long- those that didn’t attend read newspapers to catch up on current events (of which there were quite a few- North Korea, UK terrorists, Pirates, and Fiji’s new dictatorship). We finally returned to the hostel (over 100 years old), made dinner, and soon went to bed.

Day 49- Kickin’ back in Kaikoura

2009-04-29T07:34:00.000-04:00

We woke up the next morning with no definite plans for the day- we had to stay in town until the next day (as Jens wanted to swim with dolphins the next morning), so we decided to go walk along the peninsula. We completed the walk over grassy farmland (heading straight into the sea via limestone cliffs) in a few hours, and walked back to see seals on the shore. These walks are immensely enjoyable- each one is different, and they all promise to be interesting with great sights. This walk was no different- we ended up with views of the surrounding mountain ranges and the brilliant blue water crashing over limestone formations. According to a geologist friend of mine, all of New Zealand is marine sediment, meaning it was all originally ocean that got uplifted over time above sea level. Unlike Hawaii, which is volcanically raised (and thus made of igneous rock I presume), New Zealand has these sedimentary deposits everywhere- which is why limestone prevails and makes such cool shapes and arches as it erodes. This leads to dynamic shifting coastlines that are a wonder to behold- it is one of the keys to the beauty of the country, I would wager. After this small trip, we returned and had a few hours to kill. We decided to split up and do whatever we wanted. I decided to go visit the shops, and had a few good conversations with locals, but didn’t purchase anything. We spent the evening relaxing, but unlike our other stops we didn’t meet anyone interesting to have a conversation with. We slept in and slept well.

Day 48- On the road again

2009-04-29T07:27:00.000-04:00

We woke up the next day, checked out, and got on the road, heading for a town on the East coast called Kaikoura. I don’t know what the entire name means, but I know ‘Kai’ is Maori for ‘food,’ and the place has a legend attached to it- it is where a Maori demigod anchored his foot to catch a whale in the sea. Before we began our drive, we headed to an area called Waikoropupu springs. These springs boast the clearest freshwater in the world (supposedly). Looking in, I would believe the claims; it looked as though there was but a thin film of glass over the bottom, and nothing more. Everything was completely clear and detailed- it made a fine morning stop.

The rest of the day was again driving. We arrived in Kaikoura in late afternoon, just in time to check into our Backpacker lodge and see the sun set between the snowcapped mountains, the first snow we had seen since the glacier. It was a glorious sight- to make it better, we sat outside in the free spa after dinner and stared at the magnificent mountains as the full moon rose and illuminated the snow.

Day 47- Abel Tasman

2009-04-29T07:26:00.000-04:00

The next day we decided to hike part of Abel Tasman National Park. The area where Abel Tasman is located is known as the Golden Bay. It has clear, blue water and orange/yellow sand that looks like it is out of a postcard. We began our hike up the wooded hills, and eventually hit a sheltered cove filled with beautiful sand. This was the most beautiful place I had seen yet in New Zealand (see the trend of increasing beauty?). We started walking along the beach to where the trail picked up again, and I was struck by something. There was only one other pair of footprints in the sand. It was a beautiful April day in an astonishing natural park, and we seemed to be the only ones enjoying it. We sat down in this locale and enjoyed our lunch, then continued on. We continued on this pattern of beach, hills, beach, hills. On the coast I felt like I was in a pirate movie- in the jungle-esqe wooded hills I felt like I was either in Jurassic park, Indiana Jones, or Lord of the rings (take your pick). Jens, our well traveled German friend, pointed out areas that looked like different parts of Europe. Throughout our day walk, we tallied up areas that reminded us of different places- the Caribbean, the Appalachians, the jungle, and the Mediterranean. We returned to our hostel and made dinner- which was a step up from our meal the day before, and way above our first pitiful night, hoarding our free soup. We met a few people this second night at Shambala- 2 women from England and Argentina, 2 more from Spain and France, and a man and woman from Switzerland and England, respectively. Me and the other 2 guys traveling with me went down the street and got a homemade beer that evening (which was amazing) and talked to some of these people for the rest of the night.

Day 46- Truman Track and heading north

2009-04-29T07:01:00.002-04:00

The next day we woke up and decided again to head north to try and reach Abel Tasman, our proposed destination for the day before. By advice of the nameless Canadian before, we decided to stop at another point of interest known as Truman Track, which is a better-known coastal cove area. After this mini excursion, we began our excruciatingly long drive north- there is no way that the trip could have been made in one day. During the drive we began to see another subtle change in scenery- the mountains began to get a little dryer. The skies opened up a bit, and the rain ceased to follow us. We got to our backpacker, after a 2km drive through private dirt road that was surrounded by serene farmland that looked like the shire. Our stop: Shambala.

This backpacker lodge is as self sufficient as it could be: It gets all electricity from solar power, all water from rain collection, and all heat from a wood stove. The hostel was beautiful, serene, and trusting- the doors had no locks. The view was astounding- a clear, unobstructed view from the private balcony did not go wasted. The best part was the price- though this was one of the more expensive hostels we stayed at, it still was only $29 NZD a night- that is $15 USD. For a place with these amenities back home, I don’t know how much it would cost, but it wouldn’t be cheap. We spent the evening exploring the coastline and collecting shells. It was overall a fairly uneventful day. Interesting finds on the coast: Tons of cool shells, a small inlet to the river, which we waded across, a destroyed dock, limestone outcrops that looked as though they would eventually become caves, and peculiar rock spirals in the sand, most likely due to erosion. Combined with the atmosphere of the Shambala, it seemed almost mystical.

Day 45- Movin’ on up- to the West Coast

2009-04-26T01:32:00.001-04:00

The next day, we bade farewell to our Backpacker Lodge, to Monique, and to our free soup, and headed north up the West Coast. Our aim was to head to Abel Tasman (at the tip top of the South Island) and relax for a few days. After a few hours of driving, we stopped for a rest in a (very) small place called Ross. It was once we had gotten out that Kristen, one member of our roving party, remembered something. “Wait! Steve lives here! We need to find a jade shop!” Turns out that a friend of hers had come here a year before and bought jade from the only jade craftsman in the town. We quickly found him by the massive chained goat outside his shop (I guess the ‘Jade’ sign in front of the shop might have helped as well). He told us everything there was to know about jade- how to tell if it’s fake, how to decide what is a good purchase and what is overpriced, and (of course) what the symbols they are carved into mean. Jade (and bone) pendants are worn quite commonly here in New Zealand- there are several shapes meaning several different things (I won’t go into detail here). When we were at polyfest in Auckland, all of the Maori Kapa Haka groups had pendants, as do all of my friends from New Zealand. I inquired about them, and the significance of jade (AKA greenstone). Apparently, you are not supposed to get a pendant for yourself- they must be given to you. Often, they are blessed (though it doesn’t have to be by a Maori person). It is something that is worn with pride- and I stood with rapt attention as all of this was being explained to me. We spent a few minutes with Steve from Ross, then went on our way. We quickly discovered that the windy mountain roads are too long to allow the trip in one day, however, and after 4 or 5 hours of driving, we decided to stop at a place called Punakaiki.

Punakaiki is right on the shore- and it makes Franz Joseph look like New York City. It has no gas station, no grocery store, no nothing. It has 2 cafes, and some lodges, and that is it in terms of human amenities. What it lacks in these, however, it more than makes up for in natural beauty. Punakaiki is located near a national park, though that is no surprise. National parks cover so much of the south island that it is a wonder that any place can be more than an hour’s drive away from one.

We got into our lodge and set about exploring. The area looked like southeast Asia, according to a traveling friend of ours who had been there. Again, rainforest coated mountains went straight into the sea. We walked along the beach, and found rocks of all shapes, sizes, and colors. We decided within 5 minutes that we should all quit school and gather pretty stones to sell to tourists- you couldn’t walk 3 steps without finding a stone that caught your eye. Along the beach were rock formations jutting out of the water- they looked almost like ships about to set sail, their tops cloaked in greenery. I walked to the end of the beach to one of these pillars, and marveled at it- beaches back home don’t have this. Hell, it’s flat for hundreds of miles from the coast where I live; this sight was incredible, unreal, and unbelievable.

To complete the picture, I walked past a ridge falling into the ocean, and came upon… heaven. Beyond this ridge was a private bay- no houses, people, no nothing. It was surrounded by limestone walls coated in trees and shrubs, and had a supreme view of the sunset. Unfortunately for me, it was only mine for a small while- within minutes the German guy in our group (his name is Jens) ran into the bay with a large stick, planted it in the sand, and claimed the land for himself. I was now standing on private property- the diminutive kingdom of Jensland.

I don’t think I have ever seen a place so beautiful as this (similar to when we drove through the mountains). The sun was perfectly tilted in the late afternoon sky- the area was peaceful, serene and secluded. And once again, there were no people. Back home, even ugly beaches are surrounded by beach homes, bars, surf shops and fast food joints. Here, there is nothing. There are abounding rivers, and beautiful seas; pristine coastlines and ecologies that make a biology major want to work here forever, and it is empty. I felt truly blessed.

We got back for dinner, and made a simple pasta meal (a step up from the free soup we had been living off the past two days). One thing that I love about these places is that at dinnertime, you meet people from all countries and walks of life. The kitchen becomes alive with strange aromas and languages both familiar and foreign. It really is the heart of the hostel. At dinner we met another Canadian (Andrew kept getting lucky) who told us all of the cool places to go on our second week of the trip. Turns out he had pretty darn good advice.

Day 44- Ice, Ice, everywhere

2009-04-26T01:17:00.004-04:00

The next day we headed to Franz Joseph Glacier to do a half day hike. We loaded our gear and went to our location, where we would hike to a riverbed and follow the icemelt to the glacier. In order to do this, however, we had to hike through rainforest. Interestingly enough, in this dense area of wood, the clearest paths were on creeks. We climbed creeks up the side of hills until we had cleared an icemelt river below, and then walked the extra kilometer across the stones to the Glacier itself.

Glaciers are interesting phenomena of nature- snow builds at the top of a mountain range, and gets packed until it becomes ice- it slides down the side of the mountain, creating crevasses in it as it goes. Think of it as a giant frozen river, hundreds (if not thousands) of feet thick, moving at the astonishing rate of 5 feet a day. This means that every few days, new paths may need to be carved in the glacier to accommodate the new shifting of the ice.

As we ascended above the valley floor on a staircase carved into the ice wall, we began to see how large this behemoth truly was- it stretched on as far as the dense misty air would allow us to see. The rain gave the ice a deep blue sheen, and kept it smooth and reflective- it was really quite breathtaking, not counting the loss of feelings in limbs.

As we reached the pinnacle of our journey up this insultingly large slab of ice, I saw something that I really didn’t expect to: a parrot. To be precise, it wasn’t just any parrot, but a Kea (or Kia), the world’s only alpine parrot. It was a dark brown color, with red wings that were tucked away and invisible as it sat on the ice. It stared us down, and seemed to take a liking to me. As I was in a staring contest with this strange feat of the ornithological world, our guide mentioned that the Kea is a very smart animal. It will find the backpacks of hikers, undo the clips with its beak, grab the lunchbox, open it, and help itself to the tasty morsels inside. My personal theory is that if a bird can open a lunchbox and get to my midday meal, it deserves it. Anyway, as the Kea eventually flew away (displaying those beautiful red feathers) we began our descent. It is here that I got ambushed, even if only verbally.

A Kea. (This one is my photograph)

I have a friend named Andrew from Canada- and I never let him forget it. I poke fun at him all the time for being Canadian, for no good reason. He knows it is a joke, and he goes at me too, but he is normally outnumbered. Well here, on this slab of ice (where else?) he found another Canadian named Monique, and the tables quickly turned. On the way down I was ganged up upon- the jokes came so fast that I couldn’t keep up- and we all quickly began to like this new Canadian. We ended up hanging out with her for the rest of the afternoon. That night we went to the (only) bar in town and played some free pool, and saw whom else but that group of Americans from Castle hill. It really is a small world (in New Zealand). Turns out they know some of the Americans at our University in Hamilton as well.

Day 43- Saturday: Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Rohan

2009-04-24T19:41:00.005-04:00

Please pardon the delay on this- actually, the writing isn't what took me so long: the pictures are. The loading has been super annoying. Enjoy, won't you?

Also, about the map. Every light red section is the travel for the day; the maroon is the travel so far on the trip. Light red circles are where we stopped for the night.

The past 2 weeks have been one of indescribable surprise and adventure. This promises to be a ridiculously long post, so grab a pot of coffee, put on your comfy slippers, and settle in- it’s going to be a long winter’s tale.

This was Day 1 of our actual journey around South island. We had flown into Christchurch the day before, as was detailed in my last post. After waking up and leaving what we began to affectionately call ‘home base’, we fueled up on petrol and hit the road. As we were about to leave the city (of 360,000, the largest population center on the entire island), we came to a thought. We wanted to hike glaciers more than anything, but they were last on our list. Chances were that if we hit any delays we would end up without enough time to hit the glaciers; so, on the verge of leaving town, we made a simple plan amendment- we turned left instead of right. By making this choice, we now switched our entire route for the first week on its head- our first stop was now our last, and vice versa. What did this mean for us? It meant we were to drive through the heart of the mountains, straight through the South Island.

And what a drive it was. Imagine driving on a straight road, with plains on either side of you. Everything is flat, except for the massive byproducts of geological uplift in front of you. You are staring at the Southern Alps, a formidable mountain range that spans most of the South island. Those that live near the Rockies would look upon these peaks and barely gaze- they are not as large as that good ol’ mountain range back home- however, they are much larger than the Appalachians, and desolate. These mountains have almost no growth on them. The reason for this is something that is known as the ‘rain shadow effect’.

The rain shadow effect is a weather phenomenon that actually is very simple. As moisture comes in from the sea (or anywhere) and meets a mountain, it does one thing: rise. As the moist air rises, it cools (higher heights = cooler air, of course). Cooler air holds less moisture than warmer air, so it begins to condense and form clouds. The scientific term for this (if anyone cares) is adiabatic cooling. If the mountains aren’t very high, these clouds will condense but can get over the peaks. If the mountains are high enough, however, the clouds will continue to rise to try and get over the peak, until the air can no longer hold the moisture, and it precipitates. The Southern Alps are in this second category- the result is immense amounts of rain on one side, and perpetual dryness on the other. We were just entering in on the dry side of the range.

We began our journey through the mountains, and immediately were hit by a few things:
1. They were empty. There were no houses, no hotels, McDonalds, bathrooms, or stores. We would have to drive through the entire mountain range before we even hit a gas station.
2. Technology stopped. Cell phone, radio, all reception stopped. In North Carolina at least, most mountains have radio towers to transmit cell, TV and radio signals to mountain towns. This is not the case in New Zealand. I would find as the week went on that cell service would be a luxury.
3. Everything was smaller here. The highway we were driving on was a main road, but it was only one lane either way. This was a shock, even though I had been in New Zealand over 6 weeks. This main highway was literally as wide as my neighborhood street back home! As we passed through the mountains we would later find that most bridges were only one lane- one side had to yield to the other. Occasionally, these one lane bridges not only accommodated 2 opposing lanes of traffic, but also the trains- it is the first time that I can remember driving on train tracks, thinking ‘oh God, oh God, please don’t let there be a freighter on the other end of this bridge’.

After a few minutes of driving, the car had become quiet. The wisecracks and small talk that had possessed us as we were heading to the hills had ceased to exist. The only word uttered out of our mouths for about 3 hours was simply ‘wow’. I will not attempt to convey here the beauty that beheld us- nothing can. Pictures fall short- video is insufficient. Words are pitifully weak in this field as well. All I can say is, well, wow. I was naïve on that first day- I thought that this would be the most beautiful part of the trip.

A few hour into the mountain pass (known as Arthur’s pass, though I don’t know why they even bothered to name it, as it is basically the only pass through the Southern Alps), we got sick of not stopping to catch fantastic views of mineral lakes so blue they looked fake- we decided to take a small pit stop and catch some sights. We were making good time, after all, and hey, that is what we were here for in the first place. We pulled off at the last moment into a place called castle hill. Boy, did we choose well.

Castle hill, or castle rocks (depending on what map you use) is a limestone outcrop in the middle of a mass of mountain peaks. This picture is but a small representation of everything there- the place was wonderful- I wish we could have stayed for an entire day. The area is a series of large limestone formations, some of which are the size of boulders, some of which are much larger. Inside many of these (or in between the) rocks are tunnels that run between them, allowing easy access through seemingly impassible areas.

The closest thing I can relate this place to is Rohan from Lord of the Rings. I know I have said it before, but I will once again defend my claim that these movies are some of the best ways to get to know the geology of New Zealand. The most accurate representation is in movie 2 where Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli are chasing after the orcs carrying the hobbits. As much as it makes me cringe to make these comparisons (believe it or not, I did NOT come here to see where the films were shot), they are precise and do give the reader a good idea of what these areas look like.

On these rocks we met a pair of Germans and a few Americans- the Americans were heading the same place we were- Franz Joseph Glacier. We exchanged pleasantries and went on our way.

After another few hours, we noticed more vegetation on the hills and countryside- the area must get more rain. We saw a gradual, and then a very sudden change into a very wet environment. As we rounded a mountain, we essentially had our entire panoramic view changed in an instant. The mountains went from dry and desolate to alive and very, very wet. Waterfalls began to appear- and as we drove into the western side of the mountains, we began to hit clouds. The skies quickly turned from bright blue to overcast. The scene had changed totally- we had gone from scrub mountain range to rain forest in minutes.

When we arrived in Franz Joseph in the late afternoon, we had a look around town before arriving at our backpacker’s lodge. What we encountered was a town of about 300 people. It was really more of a village than a town- there was one gas station and half of a supermarket- there wasn’t a police station, fire house, library, courthouse, or anything else that one might think important in a town of any respectable size. The person who made and delivered pizza in town also was in charge of the Internet café and the town’s laundry services. All in all, the town was charming. It was also situated in the middle of the rainforest.

New Zealand has rain forests, but they are not what most people think. These are temperate rain forests- they aren’t tropical, but boast a wide variety of flora and fauna. Rain is a certainty, as you can imagine. It rained every moment we were there, but it was still beautiful. The mountains were continuously capped in clouds, so their true height could never be determined. They were majestic and mysterious- in a word, captivating.

As soon as we got out of the car, I heard the most beautiful bird call in my life. I would hear it quite often whenever we went into the bush in the next week. We got our accommodation, and went into our room. As we got there, we realized something strange- above our room was the sign ‘fire exit’. Peculiar, I thought. Turns out that our room WAS a fire exit- the sign in the room labeled the main exit out the front door. The secondary exit? The window. We were on the second floor.

Day 42- the answer to all of life

2009-04-03T06:08:00.003-04:00

Alright, so maybe I lied about that title there. But seriously, it drew you in, right? Anyway, as you can see, I have internet access. Why is that? Well, pull up a chair and get a cup of coffee. I have a story to tell.
So, today we drove up to Auckland to get our flight to Christchurch, for our trip to the south island. Our ride was a New Zealander named Simon, who claims to wayward foreigners that he is half hobbit, and he has the car to prove it. Imagine a jalopy- wait, no, a smart car- no, even better yet: a clown car. That is how it seemed, at least. We stuffed in, and drove up to Auckland, listening to (what else) several CD's of elevator music that Simon had in his car. After we got at the airport, we checked in (easy process, everyone was quite nice) and had a short 90 minute flight to Christchurch. Seeing the mountains from the air was breathtaking- the peaks are so forboding, but at the same time challenging and welcoming. It is almost as if they are saying: "I have been here for eons, waiting for you. Climb me!"

This is a breathtaking feeling indeed. Upon landing, we got a rental car we had booked prior and drove to downtown Christchurch for a place to stay. We ended up at the university of Canterbury, which is a very nice place- large trees and really modern looking buildings everywhere. It is very appealing to the eye. Now, here is where the story gets strange.

We meet a guy in a black t-shirt and jeans. I didn't know where we were staying (I hadn't arranged, it, one of the 3 people I was with did, Kristen). We say hi to this guy, who is set up to meet us here; he introduces himself as Josh. I had obviously never met him before; neither had Kristen. Josh is a friend of one of Kristen's friends- someone we had never known. He decided to let us have full use of his flat for the next two weeks, as we pleased. We get up the the flat; it is post modern and boasts floor to ceiling glass walls, and this is on campus accomodation, mind you. It is clean and beautiful looking. We get in, and Josh shows us around. He offers us his room, his bed, with extra bedding and pillows for everyone- he even leaves us a bar of chocolate. He offers us the food in his fridge, the use of the shower, dryer, and everything. I honestly began to wonder if the guy really lived here, or was just letting us use someone else's place. We had known him literally a half hour, and he gives us the keys. He gave us everything.

Once we got over the shock of the utter unbelievability of the hospitality of this person, we got to exchanging pleasantries. We each say where we are from, and I tell him I am from North Carolina. He brightens up, and tells me he goes to school in N.C. I ask where, and where does he list, but Wake Forest University.

Here I am, thousands of miles away from home in the South Pacific, literally on the other side of the world- and I meet a guy who goes to school in my hometown! I really can't get over this fact. I start throwing out names, and it turns out he knows several people I know, including Professor Whaples, head of the Econ department (and father of Nina Whaples)! I literally am writing on the computer of a Wake Forest Student, telling you all back home (some of you at WFU) about my stay in New Zealand. Fate is not without a sense of irony.

So, Christchurch basically rocks. The city reminds me of Wilmington, Charelston, and about 3 cities here in New Zealand all mixed to one. The beach itself was phenomenal (as usual) and full of really interesting and unique rock formations. I had a blast.
Tomorrow we are driving through the heart of the south island to Fox Glacier. If I have the option I will update when I can.

The past 2 weeks, and the next 2 to come

2009-04-02T15:37:00.002-04:00

Alright, so the past 2 weeks have been a whirlwind. I was sick as a dog with a cold, and then had 4 very major assignments due. I just finished the last one last night. Why the rush? Mid semester break starts today, and I am going to be spending 17 days in the South Island of New Zealand. I find the North island astonishingly beautiful, but apparently it is nothing compared. People keep telling me I'll never come back to uni, because I won't want to. I am totally psyched.

Because me and my friends will be constantly on the move for the 2+ weeks, Internet will be spotty. It is possible you will see no updates from me during this time, and if that is the case, I apologize. I will, however, be writing daily in a journal, and will be able to put all of that up here when I return. I'll also be bringing my camera, so photos will abound.

Again, sorry for the hiatus, but expect a regular daily update once I return again!

Days 23-28: A grandaddy post

2009-03-22T21:07:00.003-04:00

Okay, so this is getting a bit out of hand. Updating once a week now? Come on. I really need to get back into shape with these blogs, so they don't become once a week and 14 pages long. Anyway, here goes:

Last Sunday: Consisted of studying for an American Civil war test on Tues. We did a quick cafe stop in town, but nothing much else exciting happened.

Last Monday: More work, and lazing about. Worked on some pictures, and did the norm (hang out with people, read some, homework some, some pictures as well).

Last Tuesday: Had physio in the morning, which was complimented by an 11 am Civil war test. I did well- I am expecting 100 percent. The amount of domestic students who don't study here is appalling, however. It seems worse than home- many of them just don't seem to care if they pass or not. The same is true of the management classes, according to my German friend Fabian. Now, for those of you who didn't drink to the point of coma, last Tuesday was St. Patrick's day. Me and Canadian Comrade (Andrew) decided to go out and see what was up on this day, but we weren't joined by anyone except a random 26 year old Canadian we found at the bus stop who looked like his brains had been perma-fried from smoking too much pot over the past 10 years. He apparently goes to the same home university as Andrew. Anyway, after an empty bus downtown, we decide to hit the irish pub we had gone to a few days earlier.
Wrong move.
The place was packed, with almost no room to move. Guinness had almost doubled in price since the week before, and I felt that if there was an allergy to the color green, I might drop to the floor from anaphylactic shock and be a goner within seconds. Luckily, that didn't happen, and we got out of there after surveying the scene and saying hey to the bartender we had met the week before.
We hit up another place that we frequent, a student bar, but it was the same story. After a minute or two, we decided to leave there as well. As we walk downtown, we realize that everywhere is either irish themed and packed, or operating normally and empty as a post gold-rush ghost town (some of the bars are actually themed that way, oddly enough). Feeling cheated, we decided to bus home.
After walking to the bus stop, we realized we missed the last one home not 10 minutes before. Oh well, we thought, we'll get a taxi (they are cheap here). That didn't work either, as none seemed to be anywhere tonight. We ended up walking back. It was actually pretty nice, being able to have a nice conversation with no worries of someone having to run off to class or dinner- there was just walking. The walk is pretty safe, except if you are a lone female, but we encountered no problems. After we returned, I hit the sack. So much for St. Patty's day. Looking on the bright side, though, at least I remembered mine, which is more than some people can say.

Last Wednesday: consisted of getting things ready for the inter-semester break, and homework. I got some photography done with a friend of mine, as I had a role of film to develop by Thursday, but otherwise not much else happened. Played some basketball on an outside court adjacent to campus with some American, NZ and Italian friends. I feel much more limber and athletic now than I did 6 months ago- my back is getting better through a routine of daily exercises, and I feel that I might be able to run without tripping over my left leg. I won't chance it yet, though, because I still have restrictions. I can't, for example, lift weights yet, which is driving me nuts; I can feel my muscles atrophy every day.

You may notice that when I tell you who I hang out with, I give nationalities. I don't do this to try and convince you of how multicultural I am, or how much cooler my friends are by virtue of their different origins. I have always been fascinated by people of different cultures coming together and sharing an experience that more often than not is life changing- this is why I work at an international house back home, and why I decided to hang with international students here. They are more adventurous, open minded, and in my opinion interesting than hanging out with a group of domestic students from any country (though I do that as well, mind you). So, when I list nationalities, it is not only an easy way for me to remember years from now where these friends of mine came from; is my way of trying to get you uni students out there who are reading this to realize that alot of good comes from the exchange programs universities set up, and the people you meet from other countries can be some of the most interesting friends you will ever make. I encourage you all to reach out and see what international programs go on in your university, and make the most of them; you'll be glad you did.

Thursday: Consisted of a full day of class, followed by intense planning for a 2 week trip down to the South Island of New Zealand. The idea is to take 4 of us down to south island for a week, rent a car (you don't need a NZ driver's license to drive down here. I can drive on my NC driver's license. The same goes for almost any developed country's driver's license), and camp for the first week around the island. In week 2, we are going to pick up 2 more travelers, and hit up the more popular spots of south island, including geothermal springs, volcanoes, beaches and mountains, and of course, glaciers. This took a great deal of planning and strategizing between 6 people to get to work, but we met an accord. That night we went out and heard a live guitarist play some of the best songs of the past 10 years for free (no cover charge on most venues and bars here). It was awesome.

Friday: Woke up, and bussed up to Auckland for Polyfest. We weren't attending the festival until the next day, but we bussed up and stayed with a friend named Estee and her family. A few words about the drive:
The bus was cheap (18 USD for both ways, and it isn't a trivial drive), but beautiful. We saw Auckland from a distance, and the closest city I can compare it to is Seattle, Washington. I don't throw this comparison out because they necessarily look alike, though they do give me the same skyline vibe. I compare them because Auckland is the first city (over a million people) since visiting Seattle in 2006 that I instantly liked. It is clean, beautiful, and on the water. It is the size of Charlotte, NC (1.3 Million people), but you'd hardly know. It is easy to traverse as a pedestrian, from what I saw. Anyway, I didn't see the city up close until Sunday. We arrived at Estee's house, which is an awesomely typical NZ home- the house is surrounded by succulents- Aloe vera, cacti, and yucca, just to name a few. Included are these succulent plants that look like black roses- but they are the flesh of the plant, not a flower. Thus, they stay that way as they technically aren't blooming. The house was one story, but fairly large for a NZ house. It had enough room for 5, out of a family of 6. Cinder block construction, with an A frame roof. The deck had a view of the ocean and surrounding mountains- I did not take photos because I saved all my memory for Polyfest.
Another interesting thing I have noticed here in NZ: No worries from nature. there are spiders with webs, ants, and wetas (large cricket-like things) everywhere, but none of them really pose a threat. I have yet to see fire ants, and only one of the spiders is dangerous, and I have yet to see it. There are no large predators here (there are no large mammals on the islands, and most the predators were birds, who are now long extinct), so really there isn't much to worry about from nature. For all intents and purposes, the people are nice and safe as well. As a result, we all slept in Estee's garage over the weekend, with the doors open- and it felt great.
So anyway, Friday night we went out for fish and chips with some of Estee's local friends, and I stayed up talking to them for awhile while my com padres slept. They are interesting people, and I hope to meet them again.

I also started reading Bill Bryson's "A Walk in the Woods", which details his hiking of the Appalachian trail ( a 2100 mile endeavor, for those of you who don't know). The book is hilarious to start, and gets more and more serious as it goes on- Bryson grabs the reader at first, has his admiration, and then delivers his message in a candy-coated shell of laughter and hilarious true happenings. I have been unable to put it down for 3 days. I highly recommend it.

Now, I didn't include polyfest in this because this post is already of a behemoth size, and it deserves it's own post. Trust me. As soon as I get some proper pictures to demonstrate how awesome it was, I will post. Prepare to be entertained.

Days 19, 20, 21 and 22- Back to Tauranga

2009-03-18T06:57:00.000-04:00

Well, I haven’t been updating every day, but twice a week isn’t too bad, right?
I apologize for the delay in this post. Homework and other things have come up. This chronicles the past 4 days.

Wednesday was an uneventful day- nothing but lectures and homework. Thursday was my busy day again, but was much enjoyable than the week before- it was less tiring, and more interesting (in terms of lectures and labs). Speaking of tiring, I sort of unintentionally have taken myself completely off caffeine. I decided this year to get rid of soda (cola, pop, soft drinks, call it what you will) for lent, something I have never been able to do. So far, I have been doing quite well in the process. For the first week or so, I would drink tea 2-3 times a day to keep me going, but I can’t get it to taste good here, and it stains my teeth pretty significantly, so I stopped drinking that as well. I don’t drink coffee or energy drinks, so those are out as well. As a result, there is no caffeine in my system, and hasn’t been for about 7 days. I think I am fully ‘detoxed’ now, and I feel… peculiar. I do miss the caffeine, but at the same time it is nice to know that the energy I have is my natural energy. I don’t ever crash, I don’t have as many weird caffeine tics or random blurts of speech. In any case, it feels pretty good. I do think I’ll go back to caffeine when lent is over, but for now I am doing a little experient with how my body feels. I will say one thing- there is no way in hell I can stay up past, say, midnight. I have become an early sleeper, but still not an early riser. As a result, I sleep like 9 hours a night. The sleep is nice, but I think to really be effective I will need soda again in a few weeks.
So, Thursday. After labs and lectures, a few of us just met outside and decided have a little get together in someone’s room to commemorate the start of the weekend for most of us. We had a few drinks, and some people decided to go downtown. After they left, we moved to the RA’s room (not my RA, mind you) and talked there for awhile. The RA, Koji (from japan) is a limnology student. I am studying marine biology, or biology of the sea. Limnology is freshwater ecology, so naturally the two have a bit in common. Well, after getting on the topic we start having the nerdiest conversation ever, in the presence of a few confused and probably bored non-science majors. He showed me a report he wrote, with responses something like this from my side:

“This is… which lake? Oh, I see. That’s a big one. Wait, you only had one sample point? Oh, you could only afford one? Hmm, you’ll have to buy more buoys in the future. Wait, is this the thermocline? Wow, okay, I see. And this one here, this graph? Mixing? No way! How many times a year does this lake turn over? Holy crap!”

Anyway, as you can see, it was an extremely gratifying and at the same time useless conversation between two eager science students who’s nerd centers had been amplified by knocking back a few cold ones.

So, on Friday a few of us went downtown to go get bus tickets for Auckland next weekend for something called “Polyfest”, which is a festival of all the pacific islander cultures in the Auckland area (and there are A LOT). We booked our tickets and were walking to the grocery store, when my friend Zia got a phone call and had to go back and change tickets. I went with her, and then we walked around downtown a bit looking for a bus. While downtown, we stepped into a secondhand bookshop and browsed through it, buying a few old books. I have since made a list of classics that I have to read- something about being in an old bookstore with another person who loves dusty old literature sparked my love of reading again. I got 2 cheap random books (one I had never heard of, a captain’s journal of some kind, and a mythology book). After we got back, I got some work done and then we all went out to an irish pub for some hanging out. Funny story: On the bus ride to downtown to get our bus tickets earlier in the day, we met a random girl on the bus who worked at the irish pub. She told us to come over, and we said we would. An hour later I am walking with my friend Zia to the bookshop when I see her across the street, dressed as a cop. I am confused at this point, but as I am crossing the crosswalk she hands me a ticket. Needless to say, I am bewildered but take it anyway. I read it, and of course it is a promotion for the pub (money off of a Guinness). Later that night we walk there, and are the only people in the pub, aside from the bartender girl we saw earlier. We order a drink, play some pool (at a perfectly round pool table, quite weird) and talk. She gives us free food, and each a lottery ticket. I won a Guinness T-shirt! After a few hours, we leave and head home.

Saturday was another trip to Tauranga, just like last weekend. Before we even hit Tauranga, though, we went to some waterfalls, called McCleary (not sure if the spelling is right) falls. We hiked trails through rainforest, and found some really spectacular small waterfalls. Once we had gone through there, we went to the large falls- which is really a massive rock formation. I have pictures which I will put up, but the place was astonishing (and probably pretty boring to the kiwi driver Anna that brought us). There were massive boulders sitting under pools of water, just sitting there, for God knows how long. The rocks were polished smooth from the running water, and stones boulders and pebbles were all smooth. The entire formation was perhaps 60 to 70 feet tall, from top of river to bottom of falls- but it occued in a step pattern so as to not make it one large fall. One of the most interesting features of this area were that there were perfectly cylindrical indentions into the rock, apparently from flowing water from previous millennia. Imagine a solid rock ground, on which you stand. It is smooth and complete- all one rock. You go ahead, and see a perfectly circular pool 2-3 feet across or more, and one and a half times that deep. It is an almost perfect cylinder. At the bottom lie smoothed pebbles. One thing I will say about the rocks here- they all look fake. Go to your local miniature golf course that is jungle themed (Jungle Rapids for you Wilmingtonians) and look at the fake plaster rock. Well, that is all real in NZ- none of it is fake, though it looks it. After spending a few hours at the falls, we headed to Tauranga.
We started off by visiting a rose garden, which was stunning. Afterwards we went near the same location as last time: We went to the mount this time- which was a daring hike. The mount is about 700 feet high, with sheer cliff faces. Where the mount isn’t sheer cliff, it is extremely steep. The paths are perhaps a foot and a half wide, with maybe another foot of error space on the side before you fall off. There are no handrails, or anything else. It was exhilarating.
It was pretty intense, but the view was incredible at the top. Imagine this (soon you won’t have to, because pictures will be up): surrounded by sea on 3 sides, with clouds barley letting rays of raw sun get through. Beyond the water are rising peaks as far as the eye can see. It looks like heaven.
Once we got to the top, we saw 3 guys with very large packs do something I didn’t expect- fall off the side of the cliff. They were parasailers, and once their parasails were inflated with wind, they just hopped off the side of the mountain and cruised all around us. It was a pretty awesome sight. Once we got down the mountain (and felt like we were hiking through the shire) we went down to leisure island, where the blowhole was last week. This time I brought a camera, but the weather was much nicer, and the blowhole wasn’t acting up like it was before. We climbed all over the place, to the edge of the sea and back again. Climbing there looks treacherous, but it is, like I said last week, very easy and fun.
After leisure island, we went back and had fish and chips in the same place we got it last time (and for under 3 bucks USD, mind you!). We drove home (it was night by this point) and stopped once we got over the mountain to see the moon rise over the hills. Once we got back we hung out with my friends Talana (NZ, part Maori, cook islander, Samoan, and about 3 other things), Estee (NZ), Andrew (Again, Canada) and Zia (Italy). We made fun of Estee, because she can contort her body to look pregnant at will. I enjoy the company of these friends, because we constantly bash on each other (Estee on Talayna because she is Maori, Talayna on Estee because she isn’t very bright, me on Andrew because he is Canadian, Andrew on me because I am American, and, well, Zia just kind of watches), all in good fun. Another exciting weekend- they seem to be becoming the norm here.

Days 16, 17, and 18- Week 2 of class

2009-03-11T00:45:00.002-04:00

So, the past 3 days have been fairly uneventful. They have consisted of me going to class, and trying to get some travel planning done, all while reading, studying, hanging out with new people, and deciding what i am going to take senior year when I return, in addition to research opportunities, financial aid headaches with the university, and...
Well, you get the point.
So, let's talk about classes, shall we? My most enlightening and enjoyable class thus far is...
American Civil War. The teacher is a New Zealander, and is damn good at his job. He speaks in a way that keeps you at rapt attention. I would love to record his lectures, but we aren't allowed. He teaches the class much differently than at home. The outside perspective is doing significant good for my understanding of the historical period. On Tuesday, I got guilted into becoming the class representative for my history class- it isn't hard, it only requires one day a month to go to some meetings, but it will look good on my CV (Curriculum Vitae, or resume, for you uncultured heathens out there). I also joined the magazine committee for the student village (where I live), which basically consists of me taking tons of photos.

My photography class will be fun, but we haven’t done any photos yet- we know how to work our cameras, but currently we are only working with photograms. A photogram is like a photograph. When you use the darkroom equipment to make a photograph from film (you use something called an enlarger), light passes through the film and hits the paper, exposing parts of it. Well, when you want to, you can just not put in any film, and place objects over the paper. For example, I put a spoon over the paper, and expose it. The paper turns black when developed, except where I put the spoon, which stays white (as it was not exposed). The results are interesting and high contrast images that are very easy to make. They allow us to learn our darkroom technique before we try on film.

My biochemistry class is a mix of boring and hilarious. The closest personality I could match my professor with is that of the mad scientist Walter from the tv show ‘Fringe’. He is very serious, and takes his job seriously, but he is old and absent minded, and inadvertently says the most hilarious things without realizing how funny they are.
Example:

He refers to babies as ‘it’, not he or she. When describing how babies need to be flexible to come through the birth canal (no idea what bearing this has on biochemistry, mind you) he gives a practical example. If an old person falls, they are likely to break something. If you are changing a baby’s diaper, however, and it falls off the table, it won’t break. It’s elastic! However, babies have to harden quickly, or they will be eaten by other, baby-eating things.

So those are my classes. Much more work than I anticipated.

Only other 2 things I can think of is that last night (Tuesday night) we had a horror night for our block, and watched “strangers”. The movie wasn’t great, but it was a good bonding experience and my entire pod of 6 people showed up. I feel like it was a good way for us all to get to know one another better, and I almost feel like we are a little family. Also, we consistently laughed at the Chinese guy behind us (who went caving with us) who screamed like a little girl at each jumpy moment. Ahh, good times.
Well, I have to go to dinner. That is all, for now. Until later, keep reading!

Days 13, 14 and 15- my first true adventure

2009-03-07T21:36:00.006-05:00

So, these past 2 days have been my best here. This will be a long post, so I will spare you the pleasantries and jump right in.
My 13th day was a Friday. Now, seeing as I have no class on Friday, my friends and I decided to get out of town and see some of the surrounding region. Our destination: Tauranga. Please excuse my prior spellings of the town as Toronga, or other derivations- I had only heard the town name, not seen it, and as a result of accents I guessed as to the proper spelling. There were 5 of us that left friday morning: Myself, Kristen (American, Minnesota, my neighbor), Dylan (American, New York), Andrew (Western Canada), and Anna (NZ, Tauranga). Our drive was scenic to say the least- rolling grassy hills covered in cattle and pasture. We saw suprisingly few sheep. The drive requires about 45 minutes over rolling hills, then climbing a mild mountain called mount Mauganui (again, spelling uncertain). The weather was overcast on our way up, and due to something called the rain shadow effect (which should trap all the clouds on the side we were coming from), the other side, and thus Tauranga, should be clear. We were, in fact, dead wrong. After a very cool drive to the top of the mountain, we were hit with a deluge which persisted the entire day. On our way into town, we stopped at Anna's house so she could see her family. Only her father was home- this home is about lower-middle size for a normal American suburban home- one level, with I think 2-3bedrooms and 1 bath, with a new one constructed. Anna's father was very hospitable, and told us all about NZ and the housing. Apparently, many more families want more rooms in their homes, and are expanding. After the house (and seeing the pet chicken that traverses the property) we drove behind the property, past avacado orchards, to a lookout on a cliff. As soon as we got there, though, the car got stuck in mud. We proceeded to get out and push, which worked just fine- in the pouring rain. After this, we drove into town, and went to a park. The park was full of puddles, which we proceeded to gleefully jump in. We had brought bathing suits ("togs" in NZ) with us, as we were going to go to the beach. After a while, though, our clothes were so soaked that we decided not to change. After the park we went to a local place for some fish and chips- it was the best fish and chips I ever had, and the cheapest (3.50$ US). After this we decided to hit the waves. We went to a place called the mount. It is a small mountain, or a really large hill, at the end of a peninsula. The view is breathtaking. Here is a picture- note: I did not take this.

This is the mount, and the main beach of Tauranga. When we went, the waves were really strong, and because of the storm, you couldn't even see the top of the mount. The place the picture is taken from is known coloquiolly as the peninsula. It actually looks like an island from far away, but it is barely connected to the beach. Here is a photo of the peninsula from the mount- the peninsula is the lower bit of land, not the upper island.
Once we got on it, we climbed it- at it's highest it is maybe 60-80 feet above the crashing waves- going down into steep cliffs below. We split up and explored the entire islandish land form. At the top, where this photo is taken, is just a platform of grass and shrubs, surrounded by cliffs. As I climb up there, staring out to the sea, I feel totally alone- and I am. It is a wonderful, secluded feeling. I peer down one of the cliffs, only to be astonished to see the crazy canadian scaling the rock wall down to a lower platform below! When I say scaling, I do mean it- while it was not a sheer wall, it certainly required some climbing to be able to get to. Below me was a platform of weathered rock, polished clean and full of pools from the sea spray, full of sea critters. The platform is maybe 20 feet above the rough water. We all climb down (and I swear, the sea carved such perfect hand holds and footholds that no indoor climbing place could make the climb easier), and are standing on a whole stonescape utterly alein to us. With tide pools are the most fantastical carvings and shapes nature could make, shaped by millenia of water, spray and wind. At the very edge of this platform is something I later found was called 'the blowhole'. For those of you familiar with the term, you will know of what I speak. Imagine a cove where waves come in, but there is a bottleneck at the entrance. As a result, more water comes rushing in than there is room for, and it has nowhere to go but up. Thus, a huge spray of water, much like a geyser, forms. On a normal day, the fluctuations aren't that bad. We, however, got it on a pretty rough day. We stood on the edge of that blowhole and just watched in awe as a wave would roll in (after the water level dropped 10 meters or more within 5 seconds), get stuck, and come rolling up towards us. We got utterly soaked. I don't know if I had ever felt more alive. While the others continued to enjoy the blowhole, I explored the platform a little bit. I found an alcove about 10 feet up a wall, and climbed it. I sat down. It was carved like a throne- I enjoyed my little kingdom, and before I knew it we were climbing back up onto the main island. Once we trekked back down to the beach (and dove in the water fully clothed), we went on a drive. I didn't know where we were going, but we soon found out.
After a few minutes, we stop at a house in town. We got out, and were greeted by a group of people I had never seen before- it turns out they were friends of Anna. One was Sarah, a 25 year old chef. Her sister, Theresa, 20 years old, also lives there with her husband Paul of 1.5 years (I think it is so cool they got married so young). Their 4th is a girl who's name I can't remember. We were invited in, given showers, clothes, food and drink, and good conversation. These people had 2 houses and tons of gardens all to themselves, and they were more than willing to share. They gave us brownies, pizza, bread, and apples. They were phenomenal, and I will definately return. I was tickled to think of this place as a sort of commune, but it almost was. As I was walking to take a shower, one of the girls just walked out of a random room in full biker gear (helmet and all) and just walks past me. It left me a bit confounded, and totally amused.
After our wonderful drive back, we crashed for the night. It was the best day I had had so far here, but the next would be even better.

Saturday, we woke up bright and early to head to a place called Waitomo. Wai, in Maori, means water, while Tomo means cave or hole. Thus, it is fitting that this area of the country is covered in subterranean tunnels and caves. We had 8 of us going this time: Anna, Kristen, Andrew, Dylan and myself from the day before, and 3 new adventurers: Simon (NZ, claims he is half hobbit), V (from Thailand), and Mendy (either Thailand or China). We got there after a breathtaking drive through grassland and pasture, into mountains and then hills. Once we got to the place, we made a peasant lunch of foods we had gotten from a grocery store on our way- breads, cheezes, and salami, and fresh fruit juice (no sugar, literally only juice!). Of course, Anna provided chocolate (she loves chocolate). Once we got in the van, we were underway to the cave site, a 20 minute drive. The surrouding country looked like a movie. Put in lord of the rings. Look at the shire. Now multiply that by at least 3, and you will get how beautiful this place is. If I could use two words to decribe the place, they would be:
Utter Serenity.
Jutting out of the side of hills were rock walls- but they were so perfectly and evenly carved, they looked exactly like man made stone walls. They were, of course, all natural. Here's a pic of what we saw EVERYWHERE.

So, we don our gear- gumboots (galoshes), red helmets with lights, and wetsuits.
Wait, wetsuits?
Yeah, heavy ones too. Very similiar to the one I own, actually. This was a 'wet' cave experience. Thus, wesuits are definately needed.
We trekked in our gear to the cave we would be wandering through. We eventually got to a tiny pit no larger than a manhole cover, with a ladder. A ladder going straight down.

I slipped into total blackness. I hit the ground, the world of light above me and vanishing quickly. I flicked on my light and looked around. Is this what a cave looks like? It is so... dark. I was expecting a cavernous entrance to a well lit pathway, but what I got, was, well, a cave! I walk down to the first meeting point so everyone can get down, and walk through an underground stream. When I get to my point, I flick off my light.
Total darkness. Total, utter darkness. Space is not this dark, not night, not in the depths of your deepest closet. This is darkness so complete that your brain thinks you see things, while searching for the closest semblence of light. After a few seconds, there was some light to be found. It wasn't from people though- it was from gloworms.
The Waitomo caves are known for their gloworms. Here is a photo of them that does absolutely no justice, followed by a picture of them from farther away, showing the light they produce better. Neither of these are good shots, and neither are mine. The second shot also is something we did not do- we took no boat (though we did swim some of the way) and our cave was not lit like this picture. Thus, all the light we had was our helmets, and when those were off, the worms.

The worms, for those of you who care, are about 3 inches long and hang on the walls. They have a small glowing orb inside of them that moves around- this attracts prey (mainly, the adults of the species, which are flies). They lower dangly gooey strings to catch this prey, and bring it back up to eat it. The dangly bits you see are the strings, not the worms. Think of a spider, and that is how they work.

Anyway, the cave was amazing. I fit through spaces I thought I would get stuck on, I feel into water where I had no clue how deep it was, I sang Bohemian Rhapsody with a bunch of random strangers while swimming underground, I saw awesome little bioluminescent creatures, I climbed things I have wanted to do since I was a kid, and I took 0 pictures of it. I didn't even bring my camera (didnt want the poor thing to get ruined). I did, however, take a few other pictures with someone elses camera. I've tried to upload them, but I will reduce them in size and do it tomorrow. The internet is being buggy right now.

Today, I didn't do much. It doesn't hold a candle to the awesomeness of the two days prior.

Let me just reiterate: I cannot capture this place in words and pictures. It must be lived and experienced. You all might want to buy a one way plane ticket here, because you won't need the return trip- you won't want to leave...

Day 12- The longest thus far

2009-03-05T06:56:00.002-05:00

So, Thursdays are not going to be particularly great. I started off with a 2 hour session in the darkroom for my photography class (which rocked the day out early) followed by a one hour lecture in my American Civil war class. Both teachers are exceptional- especially the civil war teacher. It may sound silly, but I have learned so much already in this class- the outside perspective is doing wonders for me already.
Those two classes were followed by an hour break, in which I ate lunch. After the break I went to another Biochemistry lecture- this is not an easy class. The professor is all over the place, and seems to jump around at random. I am lucky I took an Organic Chemistry class last semester- otherwise I would not understand half of the stuff that the was talking about (and the pre-requisite for this class is only basic chemistry). After my lecture, I had a 1 hour break, which I used to get more work done in the dark room on some Photograms. A photogram is similar to a photograph- it is the result of differential light exposure on a light susceptible surface. Instead of film, however, the image is made by the absence or presence of objects on top of the paper. Thus, if I were to put a clothespin on top of the photo paper, and expose it, when I developed it the clothespin would be solid white, while the rest would be black. I did 4 of these, then went to my biochem lab. By this point in the day I was totally dragging from exhaustion, despite the fact that I got more than enough sleep. This is the equivalent of a normal day back home- I don't know why it was so hard here. After a greuling 3 hour lab, I got back, picked up my photograms (just before the building closed for the night) and went to dinner, which I almost missed. After dinner, I had a good conversation with my neighbor from Minnesota, who is an evangelical christian (we have good philosophical, moral and religious discussions). After about an hour, we packed up and went out on the town for the night. I just got back about an hour ago, after about... 4 hours on the town. Our group of friends is tight knit indeed. After a ton of dancing and hours of strobe lights, I am ready to hit the sack. I will say something- I went out dancing with my RA today- never before has my RA been in the same club as me, and it was a really cool experience; there was no tension at one being seen by the other in a public place, which is much different from home.

Well, I'd better get some sleep. Tomorrow we are leaving bright and early for a town called Taronga, which is on the coast. Some people who live there are driving us int'l students for free. The next day we will be in the Waitomo glowing caves, doing a cave rafting trip. On Sunday (the day after that) we will be going to the other coast, to a town called Ragland, again for free. In 2 weeks we will be heading to Auckland for a cultural festival (with great food, i've heard) and the week after that we will be white water rafting, but I don't remember where. So much to do- I still can't believe I am here!
-P.S. Remind me to tell you about ISTO tomorrow.

Day 11- so this is uni, eh?

2009-03-04T05:20:00.002-05:00

So, classes have started. They are quite different from home- I feel as if everything has been switched up on me- I feel relatively unprepared for everything. All three of my classes- Biochemistry, Creative Photography, and American Civil War history, seem so different from what I am used to, that I can't help but feel like I've got no bearing at all on the subjects. I am sure within the next 2 weeks or so I will indeed get my bearings, but at the moment I feel very exposed, very... unintelligent. The classes aren't difficult, but I guess through all the changes I have been going through in the past 2 weeks, I feel unprepared even for simple classes. Once I have settled in a bit more, I guess things will get better.

I do feel, by now, that I have a pretty solid group of friends. They students from America, New Zealand, England, Germany, Italy, Tonga, and Canada. All in all I feel like we are a fairly tight knit group. For example, on Tuesday a bunch of students were going to a local bar, as during Orientation Week the local places run a bunch of price specials. Me and my friend Fabian (from Germany) were turned away, as we didn't bring our passports as ID (and honestly, who is stupid enough to bring a passport out to a bar anyway?). We walked down the block and found a cool upscale place, and for 10 bucks got some really tasty bread and dip, and a drink each. We talked for over an hour, and it was one of those moments where you are just happy to be you, happy to be exactly where you are, and grateful that you have met the people you have.
Yesterday I had history and photography- the classes weren't bad, and I am excited about my creative photography class. The woman who teaches it, who goes by 'Panda' (though I don't know why) really wants to push creativity in the classroom- I am looking forward to getting to do some photography work while I am here. My history class seems to have a good lecturer, but the videos he shows are so incredibly bad it is laughable. I am sure once we actually get into the war, things will be much better.
Today I only had 1 lecture. After dinner we finished a game of risk that we had started on Saturday (I think) and I helped an Italian friend of mine with her chemistry homework. I am obviously way too tired to be able to effectively blog, so I am going to sleep. I have been sleeping a ton lately- averaging almost 10 hours a night. I can't seem to get any less than that- otherwise I won't function. I did give up Soda for lent for the first time ever- maybe the lack of caffeine is the reason for my sleepy demeanor.

Hey! Maybe I won't be lazy and will update tomorrow!

Day 9- O week begins

2009-03-01T17:04:00.003-05:00

Before I do anything else, let me just say...

Mary James (Masha) and Alexandra (Shura) say hi!

These are my two cousins I talked about a few posts ago. I finally got around to getting some pictures of them up, and boy am I glad I did- I had such a great time with them, and hope to visit them again after I return home.

2 days ago, after I posted, the rest of the day was fairly straightforward. It was raining all day on Saturday, and there wasn't much to do. However, the campus gets very very green and beautiful after a rain, and I sat outside. Not a minute after I sit outside, eating dinner, with my feet in the luch green grass, in front of a lake with trees and greenery everywhere, that I hear bagpipes. I quickly looked around, ran back to my room, and got my camera. I ran to the sound, to see a lone bagpiper doing rounds across one of the buildings. My first thought, after seeing the well dressed procession, was funeral. In fact, my Mom's Dad had bagpipes at his funeral. The sound was so eerily beautiful, I recorded it. I may post it on here, if I can find out how. As I was taking pictures of the bagpiper, I was one-upped, and turned to see a man with a massive camera on a tripod (could'nt tell what brand). Following him...
The bride and groom, of course! A wedding! I gave the newlyweds my congrats, and went on my way to finish eating in the wonderful 'scottish' rain.
After dinner we started a game of Risk. It was me, 2 other Americans, a Canadian, and a German. I was winning for a while, but then got screwed over by one of the Americans (Dylan) and the German (Fabian). I am still alive in South America, but am borderd by two superpowers (Fabian and Kristen, the other American who has been friendly to me all game). I am unable to break free, but I am biding my time until one of them is weak- then I will divide and conqur! We played at 6:30 pm, and went on to 11 pm- the game still isn't finished, and no one has even died yet. All in all it is a good game.

So, yesterday might have been the best day yet here. I woke up, and a few of us met to go to mass at a Catholic church called the Cathedral a few minutes away from campus. The mass wasn't great. Several new members who had completed RCIA (Right of Catholic Initiation for Adults, I think the acronym stands for) were elected to become catholic on Easter Vigil mass. The Bishop was there (for the local Diocesan) but as a result of all the official business, the mass was rather dry. In addition to that, there was a Maori woman with two young kids behind us, and one of the kids (about 2 YA) continuously got his pants off and ran up the aisle as the Bishop was speaking, only in a diaper. It was funny, yeah, but I wish the mother had just gone into the crying room, as the kids were quite noisy. They sure were cute, though.
A funny bit: There is a bit of graffiti outside the church on the sidewalk. What does it say?
"Jesus Loves You"
That certainly made me smile.
After this, we were driving back to the Uni when I saw people peddling items on the side of the road- I thought I saw a hookah among the items, and some of the people here have been looking for one, so I got back, alerted the friends, and we went hookah hunting. We found no hookah, but we did get some old piano music books for the 'library' upstairs in the Mezzanine. After this, we went back for lunch, followed by inter-hall sports games. The games included mud sliding, dodgeball, barrel rolling, tug of war, and other wacky games. I took nearly 500 pictures, so some of them better be damn good! Our hall (Student Village) ended up winning the games, much to our delight.
After dinner, we went to the hamilton Gardens and enjoyed an absolutely spectacular show- the Waikato city orchestra performed pieces of opera, sets from West Side Story, Disney hits, finished with... what else, but- The 1812 Overture. These guys certainly know how to do it in style- there were cannons and fireworks to go with the music, and it was astonishing and phenomenal. It was such a wonderful night, the finale was the icing on the cake. there were 11 of us, 5 Americans, 5 Kiwis, and 1 from 'all over the place'. Once it got dark, we were just sitting on the lawn, heads to the sky, watching the stars. The stars here are very bright, and after a while we could see so many. Once enough time went on, we started seeing sattelites, streaking across the sky- I saw at least 8 or 9 over the course of the evening. There was just something about looking at the southern night sky, listening to opera, and watching these man-made objects go 18,000 mph above our heads that just made me supremely happy. I got pictures, and will post them eventually. We got a taxi home, and then me, Estee (NZ), Talana (Maori NZ), and Zia (Italian) all hung out and talked for hours. Talana is teaching me a new Maori word each day. Currently I know Poi (a Maori dance piece, its a ball on a rope), Kai (food) Te Whara (pronounced te fahdah, which means... to go, if I remember right). I also learned orange, but forgot it. The big phrase is Kia Ora, which means, hello, thanks, your welcome, yes, and a ton of other stuff. If you are in doubt, just say Kia Ora, and you will be set. The way it is pronounced, it really is Kiora, as it is said so quickly, but I won't get into the details.

So, today so far, I went to the physiotherapst here (for free, as usual) to work on my back. Today is the first day I could lean to my left without any pain at all- it is working! I am so excited, and my physio person is so nice. Afterwards, I walked back with a mince pie in hand, and came back to blog and do some exercises- I am joining the gym today, so I can stay strong. Unfortunately, I am not allowed to lift weights :(

Until next time, keep reading!

Day 8- the Whirlwind

2009-02-27T22:04:00.002-05:00

So, life has been nuts for the past few days. I have been neglecting this blog, but I have an excuse- Everyone moved in on Wednesday!
Shocking to me, almost everyone (unless they are an RA or int'l student) is a Freshman. I am living with about 300 of them. I was not expecting this, and as a result, there has been a ton of parties- I assume these will die down when classes start, and I am all for a good round of drinks with friends, but some of it seems a bit out of hand. Then again, thinking back to the first week of school my freshman year, it seems very similar. I didn't drink back then, though.

So, the scene is downtown. There are pubs, clubs, and bars there, some with live music. Alcohol prices aren't too bad, a few NZ bucks for a handle (which is a normal glass for most). Cut that cost in half and that is how much it costs in USD. There are few brands I recognize here, except for Becks and Corona. The local brands are pretty good- Speights, Tui, and Steinlager are all good, as is something called Export Gold (almost a carbon copy of rolling rock... mmmm...). Spirits are a different matter, though. Most of them i recognize, but they are incredibly expensive. I won't go into price comparisons, but some bottles are twice what they are back home.

All in all, I like the town of Hamilton. I already know it better than most people who are here- the public transport is nice as well. The bus is less than 3 NZ dollars one way into town (about a 30-45 min walk), with a voucher for a free ride back on the same bus within 3 hours. If you get a Busit card, which costs $5, you get a dollar off of each fare, so the cost is only $1.80. If you get a nice bus driver, you get your ticket for $0.90 :)

There are thrift shops here as well, called OppShops (Oppourtunity Shops). Their prices are good :)

Two days ago I got a cell phone! There are two cell phone companies here, Telecom and Vodafone. Calling is incredibly expensive here- the basic 30 dollars a month plan gives you 30 minutes a month to use. In addition to that you get 2000, but only to members of the same company. Texts to or from other companies cost you at least 20 cents per. The unfortunate result of this is the fact that most people have both Telecom and Vodafone. Telecom does do a deal where you can get 500 texts to both companies a month for 10 bucks a month, but you have to buy the phone from Telecom, and it costs at least $150. I decided to buy a used phone and go with Vodafone. We went a a hole in the wall phone shop, where the shopkeeper barely spoke english. It turns out he was a PhD student at the University of Waikato (where I go for you who haven't kept up) from India. I got my phone for 55 bucks- it is very basic, and I only use it for texting. A friend of mine named Kristen got one for $40, and when she turned it on she found it was full of contacts already from someone else! Whether the phone was turned in by the owner or stolen, we will never know. Anyway, with the phone, SIM card, and texting, it was only 85 NZD (about 50$ back home). It is 10$ a month to keep up the texting, a good deal. That was my adventure for the day.

Yesterady we went Oppshopping for clothing. Last night a BOCS party was held downtown- BOCS are the first letters of the 4 places to live on campus- Bryant Hall, Orchard Park, College Hall, and Student Village (where I live). You had to dress up as something that began with the first letter of your residence- my letter was S, so I dressed up as a Soviet. I didn't bring my camera, but I am in a ton of other pictures, so I will post them when I get them. This party was hosted by the university at a downtown club. My costume consisted of a black suit with a red tie and a small soviet hammer and sickle. I did an accent as well (a terrible one I might add). One guy went as a suitcase- which is to say, he cut holes in a suitcase for his legs and head, but not his arms. He was walking around armless all night- and if he had fallen over, he probably would have stayed that way.
Anyway, thrifting! Everyone bought a few random things, but the big find was a random box of hangers (for free!) and a warehouse plank. The Warehouse is the equivalent of Wal-Mart here. Everything in their store comes in big wooden crates- they are painted red with 'THE WAREHOUSE' spraypainted in black stencil on the side. I really wanted a few planks to bring home (assuming customs will let me), because they look wicked. I will post a picture of me with the plank I took from their pile of crates out back. I then walked into the store with it, and walked back out, following some friends. I got some weird looks, but not much else. I was pretty excited about it :)

Well, it is pouring here, and almost dinner time (early 5 pm dinner! Arrrgh!) so I had better go. Classes start in 2 days, and then things will REALLY kick into gear.

Stereotypes, misconceptions and surprises:

2009-02-23T17:57:00.002-05:00

Misconceptions we may have about NZ:
There are more sheep than people, true- but there are more cows than sheep.
Not everyone knows everyone else by first name.
This isn't some naively safe country. Stuff happens, but it is still relatively safe as long as you are not alone at night.

Surprises:
There are many gang problems in NZ. There are wannabe Bloods and Cripps here- in fact, I saw a bit of grafitti that said "West side Cripps" in sharpie last night. According to the New Zealanders, all of these people are posers who would love to come to America and join these gangs. Not only would they not last 2 seconds if they did go over, but I also think they have no idea what it actually entails. TV is to blame I think.

Speaking of Grafitti: Everything is tagged. Grafitti is everywhere. Most of it is like back home, mindless and stupid, but some of it is clever, uplifiting, or funny. I'll try and get some pictures up of it.

Parkour (freerunning) apparently is pretty big here. This is according to the people i have met, but it may be a misrepresentation.

American stereotypes here:
We are all big, dumb and loud, and ignorant of other countries.
We all carry guns and can and will shoot you if you piss us off.
We are very work oriented, and don't relax enough.
We say words like Aluminum and Methyl strangely. We spell Sulfur (Sulpher) and Color (Colour) and such words 'wrong'.
We like to talk about America alot.
Apparently a guy here convinced some Americans he was half hobbit. I refuse to believe anyone could be that stupid.
Also, apparently some Americans tried to convince one of the NZ students here a year ago that NZ was the 51st state. Again, I really don't think anyone could be that stupid.

So, yeah, not the best stereotypes. I do, however, find it funny that people think that everyone in America carries concealed guns, and are extremely dangerous. It makes me feel... more intimidating, almost :) Who knows, I might just be a regular old gunslinger!

I hope that people here will put these preconceived notions out the window when they actually get to know me, and I think they will. I just find it sad that these are the stereotypes being portrayed through the media the world sees. I'm going to show them that they are untrue!

Until later!

Days 2 and 3: Getting my bearings

2009-02-23T16:57:00.002-05:00

Well, technically it is the morning of Day 4 here in NZ, but I will write on the previous two at the moment.
Internet is not free here. In the words of one of the NZ students I met, NZ has the worst and most expensive internet in the world (probably not true, but it sure wasn't free). I had to buy a plan to use internet. The company that provides it is called lightwire, and they charge plans based on the bandwith you use in addition to the time you use it. For example, the plan I got is introductory, and is 1.5 Gigabytes of usage over a 90 day period- after 90 days what I don't use is lost. The cost is $20, and I so far have used about 2% of my allotment just checking email, facebook, etc. This will be good for me- the less internet I use, the more time I will be out actually enjoying myself and my surroundings.

So! My past 2 days: Well, my first day I was the only person in my building except for my chinese comrade- I now rarely see him. We have perhaps 8-10 people in the building now, with at least 2 other americans. One, named katie, is my neighbor. My pod of 6 has 1 more student moved in- his name is Karein, and he is a New Zealand education student.
I toured around, and saw a good deal of the campus. It really is magnificent. There are the most interesting plants everywhere, and massive trees- the largest I know of back home is in a wildlife preserve in Brunswick county, NC, and it is over 1000 years old- these are bigger. Not all, but a few of them. I can't wait to climb them and take a nap in my hammock!

Day 2 we had a bit of an adventure. Myself, Cameron (a New Zealander), Dylan (USA) and Andew (Canada) went downtown to find Dylan a fan (the rooms aren't air conditioned, they just have massive opening windows). We hit 8 electronics stores, all of which were sold out of fans. The 9th store we went to had just closed up shop (it was on Sunday) and we stood outside. Andew turned around and joked "Damn! I bet they had a ton of fans, too!" The manager walks out to his car, and turns around, saying: "Fans? Nah, we sold out weeks ago!"
Dylan: "When will you get more?"
Manager: "Hmmm... hard to say. Sometime in 2010, I imagine!"

Yesterday we set up bank accounts, got our class schedules, and our ID cards. When I went up for my ID card, to get my picture taken, the guy looked at his computer screen strangely. He said I had already had a photo taken. I look at the screen, and there is a girl of about 18 with long brown hair as MY ID picture! Needless to say, we had to retake.

A word on how the New Zealanders do things: They are very laid back. For example, orientation starts tomorrow, and I have no idea where to go or what to do. No one does- not staff, or RAs, or residents. I presume we will find out tonight. People don't go a whole lot out of their way, and if there is a discrepency, they send you to someone else. It is a very different way of doing things than I am used to- and it is pretty beaurocratic. I imagine if I grew up here I'd be the same way, but people really are just pretty laid back.

On a completely unrelated note: quite a few people want to learn to dive here. Needless to say, I am coaxing them as much as possible!

On day 3, after doing all the banking and ID and classes, we had dinner. Mealtimes are an hour long:
Breakfast 8-9am
Lunch 12-1pm
Dinner 5-6pm

Dinner is really early- I still haven't gotten used to it. Partially because of the meal schedule, everyone starts their day earlier- I have been getting up before 7:30 on most days so far, getting up as early as 4:45 on day 2. The drinking rules here are elaborate, and I may talk about them on a later post, because they are interesting.

After dinner on day 2 I taught a whole circle of New Zealanders how to play poker (5 card draw). After they got the hang of it they really liked it- and small time gambling is legal here, so people play for a few bucks just so they care about what is in their hand. Last night I taught a few more how to play 5 card draw, texas hold 'em, 7 card stud, follow the queen, and follow the sticky queen. It is quite fun actually, and from what I have seen I am the most expereienced player by far.

After poker we went out to a bar downtown- we were the only 6 there, as it was 10pm on a monday night. We each had a beer, and returned to campus (which is where I played that second game of poker).

You may have noticed that everything I have talked about is pretty haphazard- that is because the days have been haphazard- it is pretty hard to put it all into order sometimes. Considering almost noone has a cell phone (international students anyhow) the only place we meet is mealtimes, and hang out afterwards. Nothing is going on for most of us, and the majority of students don't move in until tomorrow, so there are only maybe 50 of us at absolute maximum, in a village for 400. Our motto at the moment, when someone doesn't want to do whatever the rest of us are going to do, is "What else ya gonna do?"
I like it.

So, I will post again at the end of the day. hope this hasn't been too long for you.

Day 1: I hit the ground running

2009-02-21T11:48:00.002-05:00

So, My day technically started on the Air NZ flight. Let me say that the difference between ANZ and USAIR was dumbfounding- free meals, free lemon water in glass cafres, and strangest (and best of all), free booze! Let me repeat that:

Air New Zealand gives you free meals and alcohol on their flight. Like, as much as you want.

They had a selection of several wines to choose from, which helped to knock me right out after dinner. (I had about two 2 oz glasses, but the Canadians next to me just kept knockin’ em back.) I slept for a few meager hours, due to sitting is not very comfortable for me, and I decided upon awaking to watch an in flight movie (over 80 to choose from!). I decided on rock-n-rolla, a british film similar in style to Snatch and Lock, Stock and 2 smokin’ barrels. It was enjoyable, particularly a fight scene with a couple of Russian heavy goons (I won’t ruin it, only say that they do Boris the Blade justice). The meals were great, and hot, with tea afterward. They also came around with glass pitchers of water with citruis fruit in them (to keep you hydrated). All in all, Air New Zealand was the best airline I have ever flown on by leaps and bounds, and I would fly it again in an instant. I would almost visit again just to fly it…
We landed, and after customs and baggage claim, I got on a mini bus with a Maori (Pronounced Maudi) woman named Cindy and a pair of students. One was an American from Ohio, and another was a German girl. After a scenic drive through beautiful countryside (of which many more cows were spotted than sheep) we finally arrived on campus and I checked in. My room is pretty awesome- it is perhaps hald the size of my room at UNCW, but it has a few advantages over it- for example, everything, from the bed to the desk, is built into the room- you may think this is bad because it limits your freedom, but in fact it is great because it is the best possible use of space. It has a floor to ceiling window that hinges out towards the sky- and I might add that sun finally comes into my room- something I have never gotten to enjoy before in college. I have set everything up, and I am pretty much unpacked already.
I live in the student village. Student village is one of 4 residence areas. It consists of 10 blocks (buildings), housing anywhere from 48 to 6 students. My block, block 3, houses 36. All have single rooms, and there are 6 pods of 6 people- 2 pods on each of the 3 floors. I am on the third. I am alone in this pod for today, but there are apparently 4 girls and 1 guy living in the other 5 rooms. There is one other student here right now, from China. His name is Bo, but he wants to be called “Wibba”. He says this is his English name, but I am not sure what he actually means by it- he may mean William, and may be mispronouncing it.
I met my RA as well- a really nice, genuine fellow. After I settled in, I went and had lunch. At lunch I met some New Zealanders, and they took me shopping for groceries and other things. We went to a general store (similar to a sam’s or wal-mart that doesn’t sell food) called the Warehouse. It is a great deal. We then got groceries at Pak-N-Save, where you have to pack your own groceries to save you money. In addition to some basic things, I also got some New Zealand treats, including some local chocolate and some marshmallow cookies. All in all things aren’t too pricey here- the NZ dollar is in decline, and as a result my dollar goes further. Imagine everything marked up by about 20%, so a $100 USD item may be $120 NZD item, but with the exchange rate, that item will cost you about $65 USD. So, I like it 

I have been riding on 45 hours with only 2-3 hours of sleep, and am about to crash. Soon I will take pictures and get everything sorted out. Until then, I think I will pass out on this comfy looking bed.

Departure day

2009-02-19T08:39:00.003-05:00

Well, I am in the Charlotte, NC terminal awaiting my flight to California. After a layover in San Francisco, I will be in Auckland, NZ, where I will take a bus to my university, about 100 km away (60 mi for us). So, let's get the record straight:

I will leave NC 9:35 EST
I will arrive in NZ at 11:00 EST TOMORROW.

Considering that I awoke at 5 am with 6 hours of sleep, and Won't even get in until 11 am the next day, that means I will be awake for 30 hours when the plane touches down. take into account that i will arrive at 5am there, and then you see the dilemma- once it is time to go to bed at a decent time, I will have been awake for 40 hours. So, I guess I should learn to sleep on the plane...

Plane will be boarding soon. Until later.

P.S. I AM GOING TO NEW ZEALAND! AHH!

p.p.s. I will post the cousin pictures in the next few days.

PART 2:
Alright, so I have survived my flight to San Francisco. I have a piece of advice: If you are going to fly US air, please pack food and drink before you leave- it was $2 a drink (including water) and $5 a snack on board! Beer and sandwiches were $7 each! Beware!

On the bright side, I had a very nice woman sit next to me, who reminded me of my great aunt Barbara (in looks and in mannerisms). We talked for a good long while on the 6 hour flight, from where we were from to what I was going to school for. It was a very enjoyable flight for only 2 reasons: First, this woman. Second, I got a window seat with a spectacular view. Imagine this: Rolling green hills past the Appalachian mountains, followed by over a thousand miles of purely flat grid- the entire Midwest was covered in identical (I assume 1 mile square) grids for planting crops. I seriously can appreciate how our country is fed now. After this, the plane flew over the majestic Rockies, which I literally stared at for hours. Due to the rain shadow effect, the area near the mountains was nothing but dry, seemingly barren land- scrub plain interspersed with craggy, snow covered peaks dotted with pine trees. Once the last mountain range was passed, however, the difference was like night and day.

For those of you not familiar, let me briefly explain the rain shadow effect. In this case, moist warm air is blown in from the Pacific towards the Rockies (west to east). When it hits the first high mountain range, that air must rise to go over the mountain. As it rises, it cools and expands (adiabatic cooling). This causes clouds to form, and heavy rains on the windward side of the mountain. The leeward side (which is the eastern barren side) gets very little precipitation because all the moisture coming from the west is blocked. Thus, there is the strikingly different environment on each side.

After those mountains came the verdant fertile hills of California. I don’t think I have ever seen so much green before. Words could probably describe the beauty pretty well, but I am not going to ruin it, just in case I mess up.

I am currently in the San Francisco airport, and boy is it totally different than Charlotte (or any other airport I’ve been to, for that matter). The people are nice, helpful, and joking around (even the people at security). I got in and went straight to the terminal for internationals, only to find I had 3 hours to wait until the ticketing opened. I wandered, and found an library/museum of flight. I went in, and was amazed to see this stone and wood magnificent chasm opening up as if I were the long passenger on a modern day titanic. In laymen’s terms, it was pretty swanky. I would have taken pictures, but my new lens is not good for indoor shots (not a wide enough angle) and my old lens is packed away. Alas, it was awesome. A totally quiet are to study, reflect, and write some. They even had a climate controlled room that housed the books and journals from the days of balloon flight- the 17th century! I wanted to go in and look at them, but I had not enough time to make an appointment.

After this I decided it was time for some food. There were a multitude of choices, and sorry Jessica, but I couldn’t find an in-and-out, even though I looked everywhere. I had a Chinese dish- duck noodle soup. It actually was pretty bad. I managed to eat it all (minus the random duck bones) and went to make a phone call, to find the payphone dead. Once that was sorted out, I checked in. I found out that AIR NZ apparently does a wonderful job for their fliers, and we shall see- it appears to me already from the service I have received that this will be a magnificent flight. I will check back in later.

P.S. Not all of my posts will be this long, so don’t fret- it is only because of a 6 hour layover that I am writing about every mundane detail about my day.

1 day until departure

2009-02-18T01:03:00.002-05:00

Before I start my post, let me say this: The ecogeek link to the right of the page has been fixed- if you clicked on it before it led you to a broken page- that is because instead of the correct adress suffix of .org, I had .com. No longer a problem!

---

Well, so much for making this a once a day project, eh? In all actuality, I have been excessively busy over the past few days, so I will be content with the excuses I make.
The past 2 days were spent in and around Boone, NC- a surprisingly beautiful and majestic place. I stayed a night in a rented cabin (my first cabin experience, though for you campers out there I was hardly roughing it). I stayed with my uncle and aunt, and my two young cousins (4 and 2 years old). I will post a picture in a later post.
I am now going to take a paragraph and talk about my adorable cousins- if you wish to skip to the next paragraph to hear about wonderful, modest me, then you may do so. This is the first time I have really spent any time with these two cousing. Their names are Mary James and Alexandra James, and they are half Russian (my aunt is from Russia). They are both bilingual (even the little one) and put me to shame to what little Russian I can speak and understand. Alexandra, though only two, has already tried to teach me some Russian words, such as pacifier. They each also have two names, one English and one Russian. Mary James is called "Masha", and Alexandra is known as "Shura". They are wonderful girls and excessively cute to an almost overwhelming degree. I hope in the future I will be able to see them more often than, say, once- which is my current record...

Anyway, back to magical me. Today was a day of preparation, both physical and mental. I packed my bags (two suitcases and two carry ons for 4 months abroad) today- one entire suitcase is filled with nothing else but scuba gear. I really hope to be able to get some great diving in while I am there. I would also like to get additional certification if I am able. I actually have been thinking about getting a job at the local dive shop in wilmington, though I am not sure how feasible this will be with my current low level of experience.

Anyway, we are now 32 hours and counting until I am on a plane to a place I have thus far only dreamt about. Tomorrow, God willing, I will talk about that camera company I love to hate, and maybe some more about my day.

As a final note, I would like to add to my post:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANTONINA WHAPLES!!!

Antonina, my closest friend, turned 21 today (the 17th). I realize this post is an hour and a half past deadline, but heh, it's the thought that counts, right? I wish her the best of luck in the year to come, and I sincerely hope that her 21st year is her best yet. Everyone buy her a beer, or a kitten, or a 21 cannon salute. You know what? If you can find someplace that sells 21 cannon salutes, clue me in. I'd like to get one for myself.

P.S. I watched the film "Fool's Gold" today. It was quite entertaining- I found myself scrutinizing the scuba gear and technique more than anything else, which was actually quite good. The movie seemed like my ideal life, actually. I very much enjoyed it.

Until tomorrow, ta-ta.

8 Days until departure

2009-02-11T19:17:00.003-05:00

So, time is ticking down until I leave. I drove down to Wilmington today after taking photos around downtown Winston-Salem last night with my friend Nathan. I got down this afternoon and played some softball (well, hit some balls). I took some pictures as well- maybe I will put them up soon on beachguise.com.
What is today's topic, you ask? Well, the answer is simple:

New Zealand money, of course!

I got some from the bank the other day. It is colorful and actually quite beautiful, as you can see. Each bill has a famous person on one side, while the other side has a different bird- I assume they are all native birds from the country. The bills, if you look closely, have a clear plastic oval on the left, and a clear plastic leaf in the bottom right. I assume this is a security feature. What you see are all the denominations- there are no single bills- those are covered by coins, which I don't currently own.

For those of you who don't know:
New Zealand uses NZD, or New Zealand Dollars. One USD buys almost 2 NZD, but this does not neccesarily mean your money goes twice as far over there like someone from the UK might think about coming to America.

I will be in Wilmington until Saturday morning, when I will go back up to W-S to finalize my packing and everything else for my departure in just over a week. Tomorrow we will talk about a particular camera 'company' I love to hate, and maybe about some facts about NZ!

Short Hiatus- 9 days until departure

2009-02-10T14:10:00.000-05:00

So, the past few weeks have been more... eventful than I originally imagined they would be. The result is a lack of time (despite the fact I am home all day) due to preparation for my trip, mentally and physically. Thus, this blog has been neglected.

BUT NO MORE!

I will now be writing on a regular basis of a few times a week, if not every day. Currently I am still at home, but will be visiting Wilmington tomorrow to see everyone one last time. I will miss my friends while abroad, but I hope that touching down in a foreign country with not a single person I know for thousands of miles will make me a better person. It's got to build character, right?

In fact, I think this is really what I need right now. I need to be off on my own, I suppose- I need to discover what is right for me, what I stand for, what I believe. I need to be self sufficient and be able to support myself and others- what better way to do this, than be on my own for 4 months? I will of course make friends there, but the point is that this country will be a new canvas for me, in which I can imprint the image of myself as I want to be. I think I have the power to make that image a reality.

In other news, I finally got my Xmas gift to myself! Introducing....

The nikon 55-200mm Vibration reduction lens!
This lense has about 12 or so acronym suffixes attached to it, but I'll spare you. Basically, what you need to know are 3 things:

1. It is a nikon lens, which means it is superb quality (even for a budget lens) and can fit on almost any nikon ever made (though film cameras won't get a fully exposed pcture with it).
2. It is a 55-200 mm, which is a measure of the lens's zoom capability. For example, the general starter lens for a digital budget nikon SLR is 18-55mm, which is to say moderately wide angle to decent zoom. This picks up at the decent zoom and brings it to 'pretty darn good' zoom.
3. It has VR, vibration reduction. This reduces the blurriness from camera shake, meaning you can shoot the same subject at a slower shutter speed and get less blur from it. After all the reviews i've read, and after using it, I would label it as invaluable, although it does eat up battery like crazy.

So as if it even needs to be said, I'm psyched.

Tomorrow I'll tell you a little about the city I'll be in in New Zealand, a bit about their currency, and the university where I'll be staying. Until then...

First post ever!

2009-01-20T13:53:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Blog 1.1! My original blog, which was supposed to catalog my trip to Australia, got changed do to an unfortunate series of events this summer. The point is, now I am going to New Zealand! I have chosen to study at the university of Waikato in Hamilton, NZ on an exchange program- this means one lucky student will be able to come on up to Wilmington, NC and pretend to be me for a semester! Hopefully within the next few days, I can get everything situated on this blog. Until then, I guess you will have to find some other sort of entertainment. I hear hockey is nice, as long as you aren't particularly fond of teeth. Your own, that is.

Actually, on second thought, just enjoy this. Courtesy of LOLCATS, of course.