still queen of the green circles…

Day two at Cardrona was a huge success! I still managed to keep both skis on the snow and my butt off of it and I wasn’t nearly as sore as I thought I would be. What I did underestimate however, was how quickly my poor muscles would fatigue. After a long day yesterday that had a go go go attitude, today was much more relaxing and I quit before I got too ahead of myself. After all, you need to keep up with your skis right?

Thankfully today was made it to the mountain much quicker because we didn’t need to rent our gear again. The morning was very uneventful, besides waking up exhausted and a bit sore in my legs. But that’s definitely to be expected after 10+ years off the slopes. I stayed on the green runs today to work on my technique, and I was also a bit too tired to be bothered with the blues. But that was fine with me though. The runs were virtually empty and I didn’t have to worry too much about those around me since I was usually the only one there at any given time. So yeah, there was nothing too excited to report on the skiing front.

Lunch today was chicken pad thai and it really hit the spot. After enjoying the warmth and relaxing, I braved the slopes for a few more runs and then called it a day. My muscles began to fatigue pretty quickly and I didn’t want to tarnish my perfect no fall record. Also, it got pretty windy on the beginner side of the mountain and I didn’t feel like braving the black diamonds to get to the other side with more beginner runs. So yeah, I called it a day. But the great thing about quitting early is that you have time to treat yourself to hot chocolate. Yeah. It was definitely worth it.

Now we just have to return our ski gear and drive back to Lincoln. It’s going to be a long rest of the day on the bus but hopefully I will be able to sleep most of the way. Overall, my weekend in Wanaka and Cardrona was fantastic! It was a great trip with some awesome people and I braved the slopes once again. You pretty much can’t beat that. I can now cross “Ski in New Zealand” off of my list of things to do. Now onto “Horseback Ride the Southern Alps” next Sunday!

queen of the green circles…

I love it when the title of a blog entry pretty much explains the basis of the entire post. It really simplifies things and means I don’t need to give you all this background knowledge about NASCAR and redneck tendencies or any of that nonsense. Today was the first day in about 10 years since I was on a mountain skiing. First off, I need to give a shout out to my wonderful father who pulled me along behind him on my skis for all those years when I was learning. Dad, I now know how hard it is to propel yourself forward (despite having ski poles), let alone propel yourself forward while pulling a small, annoying child behind you. So Dad, for all your years of service, thank you!

There is definitely a big learning curve when you get back on the slopes for the first time. Let’s just say my first stop was the “magic carpet”. Yeah that’s right. I’m not ashamed to say that I went down the “magic carpet” bunny-before-bunnies-were-cool hill. But my excuse was I needed to make sure I remembered how to stop. It would have been really bad if I had gotten to the stop of the slopes and then realized I couldn’t stop myself. I am proud to report however that I didn’t fall today (although I now have probably jinxed myself for tomorrow) and by the end of the day I was confidently riding out the green circle runs. I know right? Yay me! Because five year olds don’t do that all the time. Oh well. Major accomplishment for the 21 year old on the slope!

It was so nice to get back on the mountain. You don’t realize how much you miss something until you go without if for a while. That’s how skiing was for me today. Although I tend to be very cautious and definitely take things very slow, I really enjoyed the atmosphere of the ski field and the beautiful scenery that surrounded us. Snowcapped mountains as far as the eye could see, lakes off in the distance and the sun shining beautifully overhead. And on top of that Cardrona isn’t a very busy ski field (unlike Mammoth or Big Bear), so you don’t have to worry too much about running over small children. Or big children. Or adults. Or anyone for that matter really.

I also skied with my Aunt Dorothy today. Well, not physically, but emotionally I did. She passed away about 7 months ago from a long battle with emphysema. She had an amazing zest for life and was an avid skier. In fact, she was a model, a ski diver, a sister, and an amazing aunt! And so, in memory of her, since I haven’t skied since she passed away, I carried a picture of her in my jacket today. I could feel her spirit around me and it made today so incredible. I spent most of the day skiing on my own. Partly because everyone else were taking the black diamond slopes which I am not ready for, and partly because I was just enjoying some time with my aunt. The most time I spent with her was the last year or so before she passed away and even in that short time she taught me some valuable lessons. Namely, take advantage of the time you have on this earth. Enjoy every run on the ski field and hell, even jump out of a plane once in a while. Do things you normally wouldn’t do and stop to enjoy the little moments along the way. Often times, those are the most important anyway.

So after a long day of skiing and exhausting my muscles, we headed back down the mountain and back to our home base for the night. Dinner that night was definitely Kiwi to say the least. It consisted of eggs in toast, sausage, beef nibblets, a green salad, white rice, and cheese and crackers. After a long day on the slopes, food tasted brilliant and I wasn’t too picky about what exactly it consisted of. Of course, it was even better that I didn’t have to cook it. A shower was next in line. I have decided that a hot shower after a long day on the mountain is the best thing in the world. Besides a hot plate of food that it. Although, I had to shower in the dark for about 2/3 of my shower because the lights flicked off on me. They are motion activated and since I was in the shower the whole time, the bathroom sensors didn’t detect any movement. So yeah, there you go.

And finally, to officially end the day, we had ourselves a campfire by the lake, sang “Wagon Wheel” and roasted giant marshmallows on the smallest sticks I have ever seen used to roast marshmallows. There were so many stars out last night. The entire sky was lit up by stars and it was so great to finally be able to see them. You can see a good number in Lincoln, but nothing beats seeing them around a campfire while you are out in the wilderness of New Zealand. Or the Holiday Park. But still, it’s all relative. Overall, it was a fantastic day. I fell asleep fast and slept hard all night. And that about sums out my first day on the slopes of Cardrona.

I would like to dedicate this post to my Aunt. Rest in Peace Aunt Dorothy. I skied for you today and your soul lives on in the mountains.

this isn’t a bloody rugby trip…

Another day, another adventure in New Zealand. As I type this I am sitting on a bus headed to the Cardrona Alpine Resort in Wanaka for a weekend of skiing. Anyone who knows me really well knows I haven’t touched a pair of skiis in probably, oh, 10-12 years at least. So needless to say, this is going to be a great adventure and I am going to be very sore when this weekend is over. But you know what, I’ve heard getting back into skiing is like riding a bike and when will I ever get the chance to go skiing in New Zealand again! So yeah, yolo and let’s go! By the way, for those of you who don’t know: YOLO = you only live once. Just so we are all on the same page.

I ended up getting pretty sick this week which normally doesn’t happen. My immune system is pretty hardy so anytime I do get sick I am absolutely miserable. Good news is, I am feeling much better today and think I will have a great weekend of skiing and hanging out with new people. If nothing else, the fresh, cold mountain air will do me some good! I also had my first presentation this past week in my population biology class on genetic identification technology. I would say it went really well, but I haven’t seen the grades yet. So fingers crossed on that one. But classes have been going really well and I am enjoying all of them. I mean, I enjoy social psychology more than I enjoy biochemistry, but even biochemistry is enjoyable. It could be the fact that I only have class 3 days a week or that my weekends are filled with a variety of adventures. But regardless, school is going well.

I also have figured out what I am going to be doing for my two week break in August! Me and 3 girls I’ve met here are going to be renting a camper van and driving around the south island! We already have a huge list of things we want to do and see, so I’m sure we are going to have quite the adventure! And on top of that, we rented a van from Jucy, so we will be driving a big green and purple van around New Zealand. Not discrete at all. But that’s alright. Maybe people will be more inclined to move out of the way and be nice to me when I’m driving!

I am coming up on the one month mark since I’ve left home and I can’t believe I’ve been gone that long already! There are days when I feel like I’ve been gone for ages and others when I feel like I’ve just arrived here. In the almost month that I’ve been here I would say I’ve definitely done a lot. I think the best thing is that I have four more months here to keep exploring! Don’t get me wrong. Being away from my family and friends and boyfriend is really hard. I didn’t know that being this far away would be as hard as it is, but I have an amazing support system. Also, modern technology helps a lot. Although, I’ve already had to top up on internet. I mean, I guess my 5 GB lasted me this long right? That’s alright though. I’m locked and loaded with 30 GB that should hopefully last me a good while.

Well as usual, the bus ride to Wanaka was pretty uneventful. Anytime you get a bunch of Kiwis on the bus with beet though there are bound to be shenanigans. They started drinking around 2:00 PM and we had to stop about 3 times to pull over on the side of the road so they could pee. Yeah. That was entertaining. I think the best part was when the bus driver pulled over because on young man asked him to and pretty much every man on board decided to empty the bus. And that’s where he blog title came from. “This isn’t a bloody rugby trip!” Well, I’ve never been on a rugby trip, but no bus driver, I can’t imagine that was anything like a rugby trip.

I am continually amazed though at the beauty of New Zealand. It’s funny, but some of the most beautiful landscapes I’ve seen on this trip have been during my travels from one point to another. And you are rarely able to stop and take pictures of those. New Zealand is an amazing country because every hour or so, the landscape will completely change. And just outside of Lincoln and the Canterbury area, we entered some of the most beautiful farmland I’ve seen in a long time. Lush green pastures rolled through the hills that were littered with sheep and cattle. The sun was out and shining overhead and white fluffy clouds hung in the sky. It was something out of a book. This type of landscape just can’t exist in real life.

After a few more legitimate toilet stops and a quick take away dinner of fish n’ chips (kid size that is. It was much cheaper!) we made it to our rest stop for the night. While my iPod was on shuffle, I heard a great song by John Mayer called 3×5. Some of the lyrics are posted below:

Oh, today I finally overcame.
Tryin’ to fit the world inside a pictures frame.
Maybe I will tell you all about it when I’m in the mood
to lose my way but let me say,
you should have seen that sunrise
with your own eyes.
It brought me back to life.
You’ll be with me next time, I go outside.
No more 3×5’s.

I absolutely love this song. It’s so true that pictures can only do the world so much justice. And it’s also true that the more time you spend taking pictures, the less time you have to enjoy what is really going on around you. Yes, pictures are amazing and they are so important. But at the same time, they aren’t the most important. Hopefully the picture I post on my blog are enough to give you a snapshot. Alright, well with an early morning ahead of me and a very full day of ass kicking skiing, I suppose I better get some decent sleep. Just remember, this isn’t a bloody rugby trip…

long overdue sunday post…

I don’t know how many of you reading this blog have ever woken up on a Sunday morning in the infield at a NASCAR race and have seen the carnage from the previous night’s shenanigans. This is commonly known as “pond scum syndrome”. For those of you that haven’t, let me paint the scene for you. Beer cans litter the campsites, skid marks are all over the road from the slightly (or more than slightly) intoxicated trying to operate bicycles, skateboards, scooters, and various other vehicles. The “Walk of Shame” is quite popular at these events and you can just look at someone and immediately know they went a couple of rounds with Jack Daniels and lost! Well my friends, that is what waking up Sunday morning in the hostel was like. While I was snuggled up in my bed, resting and sleeping peacefully, virtually everyone else was out partying, dancing, and inevitably drinking just a bit too much. You could see it in the breakfast hall, namely because no one was there. You could see it on their faces: a few hours of sleep and a hangover doesn’t go too well with traveling for a full day bright an early the next morning. Especially when part of your travels involves a long tramp (hike) through the New Zealand countryside. Don’t worry. We will get to that in a moment.

I never knew that what I’ve learned at NASCAR races could be so practical. So once again, everyone who says it’s pointless should reconsider. The morning was all around uneventful, especially since we had to wait for everyone to get up, pack, put on their happy and sober faces and then load onto the bus. All in all, it didn’t take too long and I only wish I could have gotten pictures of the destruction. It was quite entertaining.

Our morning started off with beautiful weather and a drive towards the Dunedin Peninsula. You couldn’t have asked for a better day. Now, like I’ve mentioned earlier, the only thing that can effectively cure a hangover is a good New Zealand tramp! So we pulled off on the side of the road, unloaded the bus and headed down a trail that was supposedly going to take us to the beach. It’s moments like this when I realize that I am actually in New Zealand. It’s a bit hard to remember that when you’re in school and even in the busy, city centers you forget about the beauty that’s just beyond it. There was no shortage of beauty that morning though. We slowly but surely made our way down the trail, enjoying the sunshine and fresh air as we went. It turns out that tramping trails in New Zealand actually tend to cut through farmland, so we ended up at one point in a large field surrounded by huge flocks of sheep. It was absolutely breathtaking!

However, it seems that either the trails were not marked as they were supposed to be, or we missed a turn somewhere. Because no matter what we tried, we were not able to get to the beach. There were multiple forks in the trail and we ended up hiking quite a few of them with no luck. The brush was really overgrown and a lot of it was quite sharp from thorns and stickers. Not exactly the best stuff to try and weasel your way through. So, after spending a couple of hours on a hike that was supposed to take us one and a half, we cut our losses and decided to head back. And at that point we had two choices: take the path back up the hills that we had taken down or take what appeared to be a “short cut” straight through the farmland we had crisscrossed earlier. Well, being the adventurer I am, I took off with a group of people through the farmland and figured that cutting straight through the fields would be much faster than going around and back up the hills. I mean, the shortest distance between two points is a straight line right?

Well, geometry failed me. I mean, it is true, if you don’t have to climb barbed wire fences, scale large mud pits, rip your pants trying to avoid said mud pits, and then literally go straight up the final hill back to the road. Needless to say, it was an adventure and it was definitely the road less taken. Which I guess is what life is all about right? Finding your own path amongst the mud and barbed wire fences? It was a very character building tramp to say the least and I came out of it with a lot of stories and a ripped pair of pants. But I think the best part was when we had finally made it to the road and had scaled our last fence. Right as my feet touched the ground on the other side along the road, a herd of beef cattle came thundering through the pasture we had just tramped through. One of them stopped and gave me a sendoff, mooing contently and then taking off to join his buddies. I salute you too Mr. Cow! Thank you for letting me explore your pastures. Hopefully I didn’t mess us that mud pit you liked so much.

But we had made it. Tired, muddy, battered, and maybe a bit bruised, we changed and got ourselves on the bus again. The next stop for the day was Baldwin Street, the steepest street in New Zealand and the world evidently. Now, having just tramped for a couple of hours and being presented with the challenge of climbing said street, you can only imagine what we did next? We practically raced to the top! I mean, why not right? Looking at it from below, Baldwin Street doesn’t seem like it would be that bad of a climb. But just looking at it doesn’t do it much justice! You definitely need to get out there and climb it if you want to truly understand just how steep this thing is! It has about a 14 degree incline at the steepest point and yeah, you can feel it in your buttocks, your hamstrings, and your knees! There were even a couple of cars that managed (barley) to make it to the top. Kuddos to them. I don’t think my poor Versa could make it to the top and somehow a campervan managed. Yeah no. I won’t be trying that trick while I’m here.

Nonetheless, it was a great stop and definitely something worth seeing if you have the time. And I mean come on, I climbed the steepest street in the world and saw arguably the tallest chocolate waterfall in the world all in one weekend. You can’t really go wrong there right? But alas, all good things must come to an end. After treating myself to a chocolate ice cream cone and a cheap souvenir certificate saying I had in fact climbed and survived Baldwin Street, we loaded into the bus and began our long trek home.

We did have one more stop on the way though and that was the Moeraki Boulders. These boulders are massive rock formations that just litter the beaches along a stretch of the coastline. I’m not exactly sure how they formed, but they are beautiful stones that have managed to become perfectly smooth. They were very cool to see. And for anyone who’s wondering, the Pacific Ocean in winter in New Zealand is still really freakin’ cold. I decided I didn’t need to go swimming like some people did, but I did wade out to my knees to get a picture on one of the boulders. It was definitely worth it. A group of us each got an order of fish n’ chips from the café there and enjoyed some real food since we really hadn’t eaten since breakfast earlier that morning. We took a commemorative group photo like any good traveling group would, loaded up the bus for the last time that weekend, and headed back to Lincoln. Exhausted from our day of adventures, everyone slept on the bus. At least, I know I did.

It was so nice to get to go out and explore Dunedin. I know I thoroughly enjoyed that city and I can’t wait to go back over my spring break and for the All Backs game in October! And the best way to end a great weekend was to come home and Skype my wonderful boyfriend on the day of our 6 month anniversary! That was simply icing on the cake for a great weekend filled with amazing sites and wonderful people!

But once again, I was reminded why I am actually here when my alarm went off at 8:00 AM Monday morning…

churches, train stations, and chocolate…

My morning wakeup call came very early Saturday morning and it is safe to say I wasn’t the only one in the hostel who reluctantly drug themselves out of bed. But I managed to convince myself that an 8:15 AM wakeup wasn’t as bad as it seemed and I made my way to breakfast. The hostel provided corn flake cereal and toast for us in the morning so there was no need to run down to the McDonalds for some hash browns or to Starbucks for a coffee (although it was very tempting at one point). It’s always very interesting to watch people around breakfast time because their faces will tell you a lot about the kind of night they had last night. Although it was clear that people were out late and obviously had a great time, the carnage wasn’t too awful. A couple of two or three car incidents in Turn 2 but nothing major.

After herding our group onto the bus, we headed to our first tourist stop of the day: the Cadbury Chocolate Factory. I had expected something like Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory and that’s sort of what it looked like on the inside. There was a huge mountain of chocolate at the entrance with the Cadbury Bunny sitting next to it. We took a journey through their lobby that gave us a brief history of chocolate making and we were even allowed to taste a coco bean. Let me tell you, they aren’t as great as the milk chocolate we all know and love. In fact, it is quite bitter and nasty. I’m also not a huge fan of dark chocolate so that didn’t help. We began our tour shortly after arriving and were taken into a room to watch a brief film about the Dunedin factory itself. Dunedin had a pretty long history of being home to the Cadbury chocolate brand and production still continued after a massive fire destroyed almost all of the factory.

Well informed about the history of the factory, we began our tour. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to bring any cameras or cell phones on the tour for personal safety reasons. But let’s be honest, they didn’t want their secrets getting out of the world. Not that I blame them. So without cameras, cell phones, bags, or another else that could be a personal hazard, we headed into the factory. We explored a number of different pieces of equipment and saw a step by step model on how chocolate was made, from coco bean to chocolate bar. The factory had two old silos that used to house the coco beans after they had been shelled and we were able to travel up the old silo and watch liquid chocolate fall from the top and all the way down! It turns out, we actually saw the tallest chocolate waterfall in the southern hemisphere and arguably the world. Although, the Guinness Book of World Records hasn’t looked into the issue. We got to taste warm, liquid chocolate and even got a goody bag with some different chocolate bars in them. And best of all, they had a gift shop with every type of chocolate you could ever imagine. Let’s just say, I walked away with 4 massive bars of Cadbury Milk Chocolate. And it was so worth it! Oh, and I also bought a ticket for the Jaffa Race. Every year, Cadbury makes thousands of their small Jaffa candies and race them down Baldwin Street (the steepest street in the world). You can buy a ticket that means you have a Jaffa entered into the race. The first Jaffa to make it down the street wins $1,000 gas voucher and a $1,000 grocery voucher. Pretty sweet huh? I figured it was worth the $1 it cost to buy the ticket. Who knows? Maybe I’ll win big!

After everyone had finished the tour and bought enough chocolate to last them through the zombie apocalypse, we headed towards the Dunedin Farmers Market. Unfortunately, it closed pretty early (around 12:00 or 12:30) so we didn’t have too much time to enjoy all of the free samples and food. But trust me, that didn’t stop me. I tried numerous homemade jams and jellies, fresh bread from a local baker and about five or six different cheeses from a local goat and sheep farm and dairy. And as if that wasn’t enough to fill me up, I even bought a slice of fresh, wood oven margarita pizza ad savored every moment of that culinary experience. I had been craving pizza for the past week or two and having a ¼ of a pizza in my hands was phenomenal. And it tasted absolutely delicious. I suppose it isn’t true Kiwi food, but I was local and freshly made so I think that counts for something right?

Conveniently, the farmer’s market was right next to the Dunedin Train Station, which is apparently the second most photographed building in New Zealand. And now I can see why. The architecture is brilliant and the station even has stained glass windows and beautiful mosaic tile work. They offer half day train trips through the mountains as well. I might just have to do that. Once we had finished “oohing” and “ahhing” at the train station and had taken our fill of pictures, we ventured out into the city. The great thing about Dunedin is everything is pretty easy to get to. We didn’t venture far enough away to have to use their public transportation, because we were able to walk most places that we wanted to get to that were in the city. Dunedin has a huge Scottish influence because of their Scottish colony history, so the churches that were scattered throughout the town were absolutely breathtaking. Old stone buildings with immaculate stain glass windows were common theme throughout the downtown area and there were statues and monuments littering the parks in the various squares we walked through. Everything was celebrated and acknowledged; from Queen Victoria, to the First World War and their Scottish settlement.

I absolutely love walking through towns with rich history like Dunedin had. It’s almost like you are going back in time. I have never been a major history guru. I love reading autobiographies (Nelson Mandela’s is probably one of my all-time favorites!) and discussing great historical events with experts gives me a thrill. But I have never been one to enjoy reading long, technical texts littered with dates and names. I would much prefer to walk through an old square in Dunedin and simply re-live history. There is so much to learn from those old monuments if you simply take a moment to really enjoy them and listen to their stories. On our adventures we stumbled upon a free art gallery that we spent an hour or two walking around. It’s great to see the cultural differences in art and how geographical and philosophical differences come out. The galleries were all themed and it was fun to just get lost inside a warm building after walking around outside since morning.

The rest of our afternoon was filled with shopping, the Otago Museum, and McDonalds French fries and ice cream. Overall, it was a fantastic day. A few of us went out for Japanese food for dinner that night and the atmosphere of a small group in a warm, loud restaurant was so welcoming and relaxing. I love how many people I am meeting and the new cultures I am getting to experience. That’s part of what is so cool about Lincoln. Not only do I get to meet the Kiwis, but I am meeting people from all across the world as well. It’s been an amazing experience. I stayed in Saturday night since I was starting to get sick. Being stuck on a bus for 5+ hours with a dozen or so sick people usually doesn’t end well for anyone. My body certainly appreciated the rest and I got to work planning my upcoming two week vacation traveling around the South Island. The great thing is, and I didn’t know this at the time, but more adventures awaited me in the morning.

well toto, we aren’t in lincoln anymore…

There are always adventures to be had in New Zealand. I survived my first major trek outside of Lincoln and Christchurch since arriving in New Zealand and it is safe to say that I had an amazing time! This past weekend a group of about 45 of us ventured into Dunedin, an awesome city located about 4 or so hours south of where I am studying. Since I didn’t have internet access while I was there, I am going to need to flood you now with updates from my weekend. So, for your own mental sanity, I will break it up into three posts: Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Alright…here goes nothing.

Friday was pretty average overall. I took care of a few “house keeping” items: mailed a letter, packed for the weekend, Skyped home, and contemplated doing some reading for my biochemistry class. I got as far as putting my book on my desk, looking at my book, opening the book, and then deciding I was hungry, at which point I got up and made ramen noodles with broccoli. I suppose the saying “It’s the thought that counts” doesn’t apply in this scenario. But if it makes you feel better, I did pack my book and highlighters in my backpack just in case I found some time this weekend to do some reading.

All packed and ready for my adventures in Dunedin, I got on the bus at 4:30 PM and we began our drive there. It turns out the bus ride was pretty non eventful. It took us a while to truck everyone to Dunedin and within an hour or so it was dark so there wasn’t much to see. Most people fell asleep and I again contemplated reading but decided that sleeping was a much better option.

Now by the time we arrived it was past my dinner time and I needed to find something to eat for dinner. Our group invaded one of the downtown hostels and that was to become our home base for the next two days. I had five roommates over the course of the weekend and the rooms were pretty small with three bunk beds in each. Every hall in the hostel consisted of 6 rooms with one bathroom at the end of it. So about 36 people for one bathroom. Thankfully the showers were just in the next hall over so it wasn’t too awful finding a sink to brush your teeth. A group of us took off in a search for food and stumbled upon a burger place. Now, having been deprived of good burgers for the past three weeks at least, this sounded like a great options for a lot of us. I ordered an Angus Burgh (not burger. It was called a burgh) and anxiously waited for my food. It was one of the best burgers I’ve had and the meat was perfectly seasoned. And of course, much like a home, you never know what your dinner conversations are going to consist of. I learned that camels are kosher under Jewish law and that there is a theory among some of the international students (namely one who shall remain nameless for their own protection), that if we ate a rabbit’s diet of fruits and vegetables, we would all have better sex. Logically, rabbits reproduce rapidly and that has to be linked to their diet. Yeah, I’m not sure I’m going to jump onboard with that one. But it made for some good laughs in a public restraint around 11:30 PM.

A number of us got our second wind after eating and decided to head out in search for the Dunedin night life. In the city, there is a place called “The Octagon” and that is the central hub of the city. Everything branches out from there and oddly enough, that was right down the street from our hostel. Funny how those things work out huh? So we ventured onward and found a great little pub with a live band. So we pulled up some chairs and socialized there for a while, enjoying the awesome music. Now, most cover bands are a bit under par, especially if they happen to be performing in Turn 4 of the Auto Club Speedway during that weekend’s NASCAR race. But this band played everything from Train, to the Rolling Stones, to Shania Twain and Johnny Cash. Best of all, they actually sounded good. As time ticked by the younger crowd started taking over and the pub got louder and louder. Eventually, someone caught wind that there was a club downstairs and we decided to abandon the expensive beer and loud covers for a dance floor and cheap $5 shots. Of course, I haven’t been drinking since I’ve been here so it didn’t matter for me. If I am going to save money on this trip, it is going to be by not drinking. Alcohol here is ridiculously expensive!

The club was great and we all enjoyed cutting loose and dancing for a while. Well, a while might be a bit of an understatement. We were there until about 3:00 AM, so about 2.5 hours or so. Give or take a bit. But the music was good and there were a good number of people there. I found a group of 5 or so girls and we managed to find ourselves a corner that we could dance in that was out of the way from the main dance floor. Let’s just say, none of us wanting much part of the dancing shenanigans going on in the middle of the dance floor. But we danced and we laughed and we sang and I almost lost my voice. It has been a while since I danced to more of the popular hits, but it was fun and definitely worth staying out for. I finally drug my butt back to the hostel around 3:00 AM and fell asleep the moment my head hit the pillow. It was definitely a great night to get acquainted with the city before my adventure really began…

slowly turning kiwi…

It’s been about a week since I last posted and I must report that there really isn’t much new news to report from the south island. Class is class and I’m chugging along threw my days on a busy schedule. Wake up between 8:30 AM and 9:00 AM, first lecture at 10:30 AM, three back to back lectures after that with the last one ending at 2:30 PM, break until 3:30 PM, and then a 3 hour lab until 6:30 PM (thankfully we rarely go the whole time in lab). I do that three days a week and then have Wednesdays and Fridays off. Thank goodness. It’s not bad schedule. This is the first time I’ve ever had a day off from classes, let alone two days off from classes. So I’m definitely not complaining. I already have a lot of reading and studying I need to do to make sure I stay on top of my papers (what we would call our classes or courses) and am slowly finding the time and motivation to do that work after my longer days.

But don’t feel too sorry for me and the crazy amount of school work I have ahead of me. This weekend I am going to Dunedin (about 4 hours south of here) to explore and then next weekend I am going on a ski and snowboard trip to Wanaka which is just outside of Queenstown. And then the following weekend a group of us are going on a 3 hour horseback riding trek through the southern New Zealand Alps. It is safe to say that I am not suffering here. So don’t offer too much sympathy.

Thankfully I have been able to find time to be social and enjoy the people around me. Every Tuesday one of the dorms hosts a movie night and they are always pretty popular. Last week we saw The Hobbit and yesterdays’ film was Skyfall. I really enjoyed it and I love being able to relax and watch a movie every once in a while. We don’t have a TV in my flat so we don’t have the opportunity to watch TV or movies often. And to make movie night even better last night, Annie and I enjoyed a fantastic dinner with two of our Norwegian friends Venera and Marip. We had beef stir fry and whole grain rice and it was so great to share a meal together. I think that is where a lot of the bonding happens when you travel. Sharing food (regardless of whether or not it is cultural to you specifically) is a really special thing and it is something I’ve always valued. And will continue to value from this point on.

It is safe to say that I am adjusted pretty well to life in New Zealand. I usually remember to yield left instead of right when encountering someone on the walking paths (if you yield the wrong way I promise you they won’t move to compensate. You WILL end up walking through the mud in your tennis shoes) and I have embraced some of the local slang to help seem “less American” and more Kiwi. It’s really crazy to think that I’ve been here for 3 weeks already and I have already learned and experienced a lot. I can’t wait to see what this weekend in Dunedin holds for me. I promise you there will be an excellent (and long) blog post to follow come Sunday night or Monday morning. Stay tuned my friends!

so this is why i’m here…

After a week of fun and getting acclimated to the New Zealand culture, it’s back to the grind of lectures and assignments. I suppose it makes sense. That is why I’m here right? To gain knowledge through the lens of another culture and to broaden my educational horizons. It’s just too bad I have to do it in the classroom setting with formal lectures and grades attached to it. Oh well. That’s incredibly minor on the scale of things.

Four classes for a semester isn’t too bad of a gig. Considering I’ve done 6-7 classes a term before, I think I can handle myself. It’s weird to think that marks (grades) here are all based on 3-4 assignments and exams, but the lecturers really don’t baby you here at all. It’s a very independent learning experience when you are not in the classroom. The first day was pretty much course outline day. The lecturers took time to go over our assignments (the two or three we had) and the exams (again, the two or three we had) and then even jumped right into the course material and lectures. I very quickly realized that I had bitten off a bit more than I wanted to chew while I was here when I discovered that all of the lectures I signed up for had a 3-4 hour lab attached to it somewhere in the week.

No thank you. I dropped my soil management class (which is fine, because I didn’t feel adequately prepared for that one anyway), and replaced that class with social psychology. Turns out, I actually only have class on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday and each of those days I go from 10:30 AM – 6:30 PM. Thankfully, I have a break from 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM but it makes for long days with lots of learning involved. Guess it’s a good thing I’m here for school huh? Although I definitely can’t complain. I don’t have class Wednesday or Friday so I would say I have a pretty good schedule. Bust my bum for two days, take “hump day” off and then bust my butt again to be rewarded with a three day weekend. Sounds pretty sweet to me.

So while I’m here I’m taking Beef & Deer Production, Population Biology (a combination of genetics, ecology, and evolution), Biochemistry (brought into existence by the devil himself), and Social Psychology. Every class so far has been enjoyable and I think I am going to learn a lot this semester. It is safe to say though that my favorite class so far is my social psychology class, believe it or not. Yes. It has happened. I have broken away from the strict sciences and am embracing the social sciences. Study abroad is all about broadening horizons right? Looks like I’m doing well in that department so far.

This week hasn’t been too eventful, which is why I decided to save my blog post for the end of the week. It’s mostly been adjusting to my routine of classes and getting back into the academic swing of things. I’m finding time to go to the gym and am going to some work out classes (trying to set some good habits that will hopefully translate back once I get home). Overall, just adjusting to this new life of mine. There is a large group of us going on a trip to Dunedin next weekend, which will be great to get out and see parts of New Zealand over the weekends. I want to start doing that every other week maybe. Something like that. As long as I am able to balance school and stay on top of that business, I don’t see why that would be a problem.

So yeah, that’s about all that’s new on this side of the world. I’ll keep you posted as more develops. Hopefully as the semester develops I can fill this blog with my academic discoveries (or my cultural ones; whichever are more interesting).

Wow. I am definitely a few days behind. Bear with me as I try and catch you up to the present…

Sunday was another beautiful day in New Zealand. I woke up at the crack of dawn, actually it as before the crack of dawn, to head out to Hanmer Springs with a bus full of international students. My wakeup call at 7:00 AM was met with many moans and groans, but I managed to drag myself out of bed, pack a lunch (peanut butter and jelly sandwich, kiwi fruit, banana, and an apple), stuff all of my things into a backpack and make it to the bus at 8:10 AM. That was definitely the earliest I have woken up since I got to Lincoln and it seemed like everyone was feeling the effects of a late night up hanging out and the following early morning wake up call. But everyone made it on the bus in one piece and we were off and on our way.

The first stop on our drive to Hanmer Springs was the Mud House Winery for some wine tasting…at 9:30 AM. Yep. Wine for breakfast. Sounds like a great plan right? Once I got off the bus I was instantly reminded of Napa Valley. The winery building itself was kind of small but the land surrounding it spanned as far as the eye can see. The sun was rising above the hills and it was absolutely breathtaking. We tried about six or seven wines and there were a few that I liked. I think wine is one of those things that would require a period to get the acquired taste and I’m not sure if I have the patience to get to that point. However, there was one that I really liked. It was a Late Harvest White Wine that was fantastic. And it of course had 20% sugar. No wonder I liked it. It tasted incredibly sweet, but it was still one of those wines that you couldn’t have a large glass of. I’ve just decided that I don’t care for much alcohol in general. Unless it’s ridiculously sweet. Then I like it.

We spent a few hours there and then loaded back onto the bus for the rest of our drive. Annie and I grabbed a few pastries from their restaurant for the road and we enjoyed probably another hour and a half of gorgeous New Zealand countryside scenery. We drove through a few canyons and across vast expanses of farmland. Sheep littered the hills and everything the eye could see was green. There were massive streams flowing through ravines and the mountains were covered with snow and a few lingering clouds. It was shaping up to be a perfect day.

But of course, as soon as we got to Hanmer Springs, the rain came pouring down. I was right at home seeing as the rain comes down in Oregon all the time. I had brought my rain coat but wasn’t exactly prepared in the shoe department. Oh well. My poor tennis shoes got a good breaking in and were covered in mud and water by the time the day was done. But that’s alright. They got a nice washing in the shower once I got home. Anyway, a group of us decided that first we would grab some coffee and hot chocolate before beginning our treacherous mountain hike. I must say New Zealand hot chocolate (at least the kind I had) is quite different than the kind I make at home, but it was drinkable and warm, so that’s what matters. We snacked on our lunch at this point too and managed to steal some chips (French fries) from a family that decided they wanted to just leave them there when they left. There was probably at least half of a pretty large basket left so my friend Meredith grabbed them off the table next to us and we went to town. Hey. There are no limits to what poor, hungry college students will do for food…even when they are abroad.

Properly fueled, hydrated and rested, we began our ascent to the top of the mountain. We had to make one stop along our way before we left town to grab a plastic poncho for Bill, who didn’t want to get absolutely soaked in the now sideways rain that was coming down. He spent about $6 on that poncho and would have been better off getting a giant trash bag from the coffee shop we ate at. It was quite small on him. Our hike was relatively short and quick compared to some of the hikes I’ve done in the past. And by the time we reached the top of the hills, the rain stopped, the clouds blew away, and we had the most beautiful view. From above, Hanmer almost looked like a small European village, but the towering mountains above reminded us all where we really were. Moments like this are so awe-inspiring and in these moments I can’t imagine not being here to experience it all.

We traced our footsteps back down the hill and found our way back to the village. Stumbling into the closest pub with a fireplace, we made ourselves comfortable in the lounge and ordered some hot drinks. Low and behold, the NASCAR race was on, and I once again proved that NASCAR isn’t completely pointless. After being chilled to the bone and soaked in the rain, it was nice to sit and relax. We wandered around town for the rest of our time there and enjoyed meandering through the wool shop, outdoor adventure store, and candy extravaganza outlet. There is never a lack of things to do here. No matter what you always seem to go go go.

When it came time to leave everyone boarded the bus and was ready to head out, but the bus driver figured he would make it interesting for us. He decided he wanted to run one of the back windows of the bus into the bus shelter and completely shatter the window of the bus. I’m not talking about a crack or a couple pieces of glass missing. There was literally no window glass left in the frame of the window on the bus. Thankfully nobody was hurt and we didn’t have to use the air conditioning on the way home. Although it was so cold we wouldn’t have anyway. Oh well. It made for an exciting five or so minuets.

Driving back the same way we came and seeing all of the scenery from another angle, I had a lot of time to think and process my time here so far. I cannot believe how incredibly lucky I am. To say I have been blessed is an understatement. I have been so fortunate to have been given this opportunity and I couldn’t have asked for anything better than this experience. Yes I miss my family, boyfriend, and friends terribly and I can’t stand not having multiple animals running around making my life chaotic, but I feel like I am growing a lot through this experience. I am learning a lot of things about myself and am most of all slowly releasing the incredibly amount of control I always have to have. Don’t worry, I will always be a stickler for the rules and will never let myself get in a bad situation, but I am accepting the way of the world here and am going to kind of let New Zealand kind of happen to me. I feel like that is truly the best way to experience this island country. You just ‘gotta be ready when it calls for you.

and then there was a toilet…

There is something really cool about getting to meet up with friends from your home when you are half-way across the world in a foreign country. I got to spend the day with the Waldron duo and boy did we go on an adventure! It was a day filled with many laughs and “oooohs” and “ahhhs” and a number of “keep left”-s and “curbs”. But it was great to get to spend the day out and about exploring the south island. This is really the first time I’ve gone outside of the city since I’ve arrived in New Zealand and I’m so glad I got to spend it with them.

Once we connected at the uni (aka Lincoln University. The Kiwis call it the “Uni” so we will go ahead and give that one a go), we headed out of Lincoln and towards Arthur’s Pass. New Zealand is covered in acres and acres of lush green pastures with cattle, sheep, and deer to be seen for miles. I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned this before earlier in my blog, but they actually commercially produce venison in New Zealand. It’s pretty interesting to drive by the farms because there is probably a 4 foot fence that they could easily clear but they have been so domesticated they don’t even think about it. They’re kind of like sheep in a way as far as domesticating goes but I’m sure they are brighter than sheep are. It’s not third hard to be. Our drive through the more rural parts of south island were great. The Southern Alps were out backdrop as we drove and plenty of snow caked the mountains. It was absolutely breathtaking. There were a number of random photo stops where we would pull over on the side of the road and take pictures of the scenery. Michelle and I would strategically roll down our windows so we didn’t actually have to get out of the car, but Aaron always went on a walk to get the best possible angle on every shot!

Not too long into our drive we passed through this small town for a bathroom break and low and behold, we ended up at the smallest farmer’s market I’ve ever seen. There were five or so cars that people were selling goods out of and there was everything from vegetables, to fruit jams, to pastries, and wool knit hats. Obviously, since we were on our great adventure to Arthur’s Pass and Castle Hill, we had to stop for some snacks and fresh farmer’s goods. A block of smoked Gouda cheese (cut into three pieces) and the largest brioche I have ever seen were the perfect snack foods to take with us. And boy, were they good! The cheese was fantastic and we downed that pretty quickly. The brioche survived until after our Castle Hill adventure but we devoured that one just as quick.

Properly fueled for our adventure, we continued through the small townships until we entered the mountains. I am blown away by the sheer beauty of the mountains and they are covered in the most beautiful layer of snow right now. It is absolutely breathtaking. There were a number of photo stops along the way; including a stop by a large snow pile to build a New Zealand snow man. This snow man, named Fred, was rather disproportionate but built out of the blood, sweat, and tears of me and Michelle’s labor. Actually, I ended up falling up to my knee in a “snow sink hole” so the tears were from laughing as hard as humanly possible. But our efforts were not in vain, because I can now say that I built a snowman in New Zealand in the middle of a giant snow pile by a lake in the mountains. Yep. That one can be checked off the bucket list.

It wasn’t long until we reached Castle Hill, our official destination for the day. Castle Hill was recently named one of the most spiritual places in the world by the Dali Lama and I can see why. Giant sandstone rocks tower above the ground and provide the perfect terrain to climb, explore, and meditate if you so choose. Michelle, Aaron, and I hiked through these massive rocks, taking some of the most amazing pictures along the way. The best part is, we found one of the five most scenic toilets in New Zealand. A small composting outhouse on the side of the hill overlooked the valley, parts of Castle Hill and the magnificent mountains. Until this point, I didn’t actually believe I was in New Zealand. Well, I guess I knew I was here when I was at the rugby match but the scenery since I’ve gotten here has been relatively “normal”. I am used to seeing farms and fields in Corvallis but Castle Hill was what I expected New Zealand to be like. I was half expecting Gandalf to come running through the rocks or to see Aslan battle the White Witch for the freedom of Narnia. Nothing like that happened, but we did hear the “bahhing” of sheep in the distance. That was the icing on the cake.

We then backtracked through the mountains and ended up in Springfield, New Zealand which is apparently home of the famous “Homer Donuts”. There was even a giant donut that you could take a picture with (as seen in Simpsons episodes throughout the years). Quick cups of coffee were on the menu and we were on the road yet again after our brief stop. At this point Aaron thought it would be a great idea to try some “London Lollies” that he had bought at the store the previous day. We each popped one in our mouths and immediately spit them out and proceeded to throw them out the car window and towards a field of sheep. They tasted something like black licorice, which I personally think should never have been invented. Red licorice is infinitely better than black licorice. Done. I really hope the sheep didn’t get them. I don’t think they would have like them anyway. They probably would have spit them out and thrown them back towards the road and into a passing car.

Our trip took us back into Christchurch so that Aaron and Michelle could check into their pub hotel for the night. Little did we know how damaged the city would still be and how complicated it would be to navigate. It is actually really sad driving through the “red zone” of Christchurch and seeing all of the destruction from the earthquake that hit over two years ago. It’s amazing how much is still in shambles and how much time it is taking for the city to get back on its feet. It seems like progress is slowly being made, but the sadness that surrounds the city is thick and heavy. I’ve seen pictures before the quake and Christchurch seemed like an amazing, vibrant city that was so full of life. It isn’t that way right now that’s for sure. But the spirits of the people there seem to be on the rise. Hopefully the next time I come back after my study abroad adventure the city will be rising from the destruction.

Now, remember how I said produce was expensive in New Zealand? Cucumbers were $7 and avocados were $3? Amongst the destruction and chaos that was Christchurch, I found my salvation. A small, hole-in-the-wall farmer’s market store thing had $0.59 avocados. They are kind of funny looking things and are much smaller than the ones we have in California, but I grabbed about five of them so they could tide me over for a while. I also grabbed a few heads of broccoli, seeing as that was much cheaper there as well. It is safe to say that eating a healthy and well balanced diet here will be an adventure in itself. Who knew you would have to shop for deals on food like you would on designer shoes and other clothes?

And as our day came to a close, we drove aimlessly around Christchurch trying desperately to find a good place to eat dinner. We hadn’t really had a solid meal the whole day so we were very ready to eat. We had plenty of options to choose from but always managed to pass the restaurants too quickly to commit and pull over. And since the roads here are so crazy, we decided it would be best not to try and turn around. And then there was the issue of parking on the opposite side of the road. Aaron did so well yesterday, but on our last attempt at curb parking of the day we managed to side swipe the curb and scare a group of about five people sitting on a beach three or so feet away. After a full day of curb warnings and reminders, it finally happened. It was going to happen sooner or later. At least it was at the end of the day when we were all delirious and hungry. We had a good laugh about it that’s for sure. We finally landed at The Flying Brother’s Burritos for dinner and it was quite funny that we ended up eating Mexican food while we were in New Zealand. FYI, if you ever end up eating Mexican food in New Zealand, capsicums are bell peppers. And they come in green, yellow, and red. I ordered fajitas and asked the waitress what capsicums were and she simply told me they came in green, yellow, and red. So yes, don’t make the same mistake I did. Capsicums are bell peppers.

We had a great time trying to find our way back to Lincoln in the dark. But we finally made it and I got back to my dorm in one piece. It was a great day exploring New Zealand with some amazing friends. Tomorrow should be another interesting adventure in Hanmer Springs. And then we have the start of classes. See…I forgot we have this thing called classes. It’s interfering with my travel plans.