Brookfield Bog Challenge

Obentos and Mud Races

Kia Ora! This past week has bee pretty laid back. I have spent a lot of time in the library because I have two exams this week, one tomorrow and one the following day, plus I have a research paper due. So I have been pretty busy in that sense. A few people I know went away for the week since we had no classes, so it was quieter here which was nice for studying. My two friends Lauren, who is from Queens, and Tatiana, from Nebraska, spent a lot of their time at our flat studying with me, so that was nice. They were mine and Khali's adopted flatmates. We got in the habit of cooking big 'family' meals every night. I really enjoyed having them stay with us. After studying all day it was nice to just kick back and listen to music (Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros = my new obsession) while sitting around the table talking.

Wednesday morning I went downtown to this cafe on George St., Cuba Cafe. I sat there and read some for my exams It was nice to be able to get off campus but still be productive. Everyone came back Saturday night.

Sunday Alyssa, Anke, Mike, and I drove down, almost to Wellington, where we ran a cross country race. We all ran a 3k, except for Alyssa who ran a 12k the crazy girl. It was one of the coolest things I have done though. It was a true cross country race where we had to run through streams and up this massive hill through the bush (woods). The weather was rainy, which was perfect so everything was super muddy and the pond we had to go through was extra high which meant me and Anke were swimming. Keep in mind it is going on winter here so it wasn't exactly war either. They also had tires you had to run through, and other obstacles. We had mud everywhere by the time we were finished. The worst part was the hill because it never ended and I felt like I was hiking up a mountain and then when it finally turned into down hill it was through all these pine trees and the ground was coated with them so it was super steep and slippery. I took a few falls. It was hard not to. But I would do it again in a heart beat! I attached a short video of what the course looks like, but I must say that wherever you see them in water, it was much higher when we ran it. It was almost always at my knees or higher at all points.

So I am studying for my Food and Eating exam at the moment and I was just reading through some of the articles we read through the semester, since I need to incorporate them into my exam essays. The one I am looking through now is all about these elaborate lunchboxes, obentos, that Japanese mothers create for their children in school. It is all about how the mothers and the children's role in society are reproduced through these obentos, but I'm not going to go into that. What I found so cool was how intricate these obentos are when I googled them. Google image 'obenots' and you will be impressed too!

I suppose I should stop procrastinating and get back to work. I will definitely be happy come the weekend because I will only have one exam remaining and the All Blacks vs Ireland game is on Saturday and a huge group of us are going! Less than a month now and I will be home. It has been raining like crazy here. Its insane! Some sun when I get home should be nice.

Just a few thoughts:

• Today is the Queen's birthday
• Gisborne, where Khali is from, is the first city in the world to see the sun daily (learned that on a Tui bottle cap)
• "Ko ___ toku ingoa" means "My name is ___" in Maori
• cuz, mean, cheers, and choice are some popular NZ phrases I have been hearing lately
• I met Kahli's mom and she has the moko tattoo on her chin, which is a traditional Maori tattoo. I really like her.
• The Cardigans, Cat Power, Great Lake Swimmers, Metric, Band of Horses, Imogen Heap, Florence and the Machine, and as I mentioned above Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros are some of my new favorite bands that I have been listening to. Look them up!

I have been awfully terrible at keeping up with this blog. It has been a while, and lots has happened. I will try to, again, highlight some of the things that have happened without writing a novel. Some things include my two weeks of semester break, birthdays, and lots and lots of papers being written (after all I am still going to uni over here).

So first off, my two week break: Alyssa, Anke, and I all traveled around together. We started in Wellington, New Zealand's capital on the southern tip of the North Island, where we stayed with a girl, Danni, who goes to Massey on the Wellington campus. We had a nice Easter brunch with her and her friends. A few days later we flew out of Wellington and into Christchurch, which is located on the east coast, half way down the South Island. And thus started our true adventure. We rented a car, and to our lovely surprise we were given this tiny little pearl pink car. We had been joking earlier about how it would be funny if we got a pink car, and sure enough that is what we got. So after getting our car we drove out of Christchurch, across to the west side and started heading south. And yes, they drive on the opposite side of the road here. It was definitely an interesting experience and it was surprising how natural it felt to be on the left side of the road by the end of the trip.

The South Island is much different from the north. It is more mountainous and less populated. About 76% of New Zealand's population is in the North Island, and a quarter of it in Auckland alone. It only has a population of a little over 4 million. So anyway, the South Island was more spread out with a lot of really adorable towns and farm lands. The drive was gorgeous the entire time with a variety of mountains, ocean, and just gorgeous scenery. The people were also lovely. We ran into so many nice people that were just completely willing to help you out in any way.

After leaving Christchurch our next big stop was Fox Glacier. This is where me and Alyssa skydived. It such an amazing experience. The plane ride alone was just so breath taking. They allow you to take your cameras up with you, one of the few that does, giving you one of the world's most spectacular photo ops. A 360 degree birds eye view of the Tasman Sea, the Southern Alps (including Mt Cook, NZ's tallest mountain at 12,316 ft), reforests, and the glacier. While I was being mesmerized by the view, the door of the plane swung open, snapping me back to the 12,000 feet of open space below me and next thing I knew I was hanging over nothing but sky and then free falling towards the ground. After 45 seconds of free fall the parachute was pulled and once again I was faced with a spectacular view of mountains, ocean, reforests, and glaciers. My jump was my instructor's 3,987th jump; almost 4,000 jumps! I pretty much lived off of the adrenaline rush the rest of the day.

There were many little stops here and there between places, but the next big place was Queenstown. I loved it there. It was nestled in the mountains on Lake Wakatipu. Here we met up with some of our friends from Massey for the two days we were there and hung out around town and what not. We hiked to the top of the skyline gondola, since it would have been 20 some dollars to take it up and had a nice view of the city and the mountains. Queenstown if quite an active place. The gondola brings you up to an adventure center with bungee jumping, luge rides, zip lines, and views of para sailing. And just to show how small this world really is, I was waiting for Alyssa to come out of the bathroom and someone asked me if I needed help with anything, because I was looking at the pictures form the gondola ride that other people had taken, and he asked me where I was from. It turns out he recognized my New Jersey accent. He even asked what exit I was! He is from New Brunswick and was traveling through NZ and ran out of money so he ended up finding this job in Queenstown. It was just so funny to run into someone from home so far away.

After Queenstown we did Milford Sound, which was gorgeous, even though we didn't spend much time there. We did a hike right outside of Milford Sound, Key Summit. The hike was about three hours return, and gave great views of all Fidorland National Park has to offer. From here we drove on and our next big stop was Dunedin in the province of Otago. We spent a few days here. It was rainy the first night we got there so we saw a movie. Boy was the name of it. It is a NZ made movie, but if anyone ever sees it anywhere in the States, I highly recommend it. It was basically about this boy named Boy and his life and relationship with his dad who had been missing from his life. Anyways, Dunedin was another city. We attempted to see some penguins here but they never showed up. There were some really nice scenic drives we did also. One thing i really liked was that all the cities had really cool artwork all over the city. After we left Dunedin we tried to see penguins two other time and still they never appeared. It was quite disappointing.

After Dunedin we made our way back to Christchurch where we spent the remainder of our trip. We met up with some of the same people we met up with in Queestown and celebrated my Birthday. My favorite part, however, was staying at the Stonehedge hostel where we met some really cool people. One of the nights we all made our dinners and then sat down and shared it all together. One girl from Finland made an enormous loaf of bread that was delicious! It was really cool meeting everyone from all over. Christchurch had some interesting things to offer too. Alyssa loved the giant chess board in Cathedral Square. They also had a market while we were there that was fun to walk around.

The entire trip was awesome and there is so much more to tell, but that would take ages. I loved the South Island. When we finally got back to Palmy I was bogged down with work, and I still am, and so that was a bit of a stress, going from vacation right back into everything, but now there is one week of classes left and the finals. Time has really flown.

Since I have been back I haven't really done anything too exciting. Last weekend we did go camping in the bush. That was a lot of fun. There was a lot of us and the site was right along a stream. Some of us jumped in the stream off this large rock. The water was quite frigid.

This past week a huge group of us did a 40hr famine where we didn't eat or use any electricity, except for watching a few documentaries. It was interesting realizing how much we eat just because we are bored and not because we are hungry. I realized that more than anything I just wanted to taste something, I wasn't necessarily hungry.

Some other things; Khali tried to teach me Maori, and Anke has tried to teach me German. Both are pretty difficult. We had a big fiesta for Cinco de Mayo. None of the Kiwis knew what it was, which is funny since it isn't even an American holiday, but we decided to celebrate anyway. We had nachos, enchiladas, guacamole, and other delicious foods. My flat has been cooking some delicious meals together and we all sit down and eat like a family. I am slowly learning my way around the kitchen.

The weather is slowly getting cooler, although it is nothing compared to our winters at home, it is more like fall weather at the moment. I am slowly preparing myself to come home. It is definitely going to be a bittersweet experience. As much as I am excited for summer, no school work, and seeing everyone, it is going to be very hard to leave everyone here not to mention leaving this gorgeous country. I have loved every aspect of New Zealand and all it has to offer. The people are so kind, and very genuine in everything they say and offer. they never try to fool you and if they offer you an invitation for something it is absolutely sincere. Not to mention the basic fact that the country is just flat out gorgeous!

So I will leave it there. I do not expect to write another blog, but then again who knows? I am looking forward to seeing everyone at home and hope everyone is doing well. It won't be long now. But until then, I intend on taking advantage of every second I have remaining here in New Zealand!

I apologize for my long period of absence. I haven't been doing a lot, but at the same time I have been busy. So I shall attempt to highlight the past few weeks without going on for too long.

Here we go...First of all, I started playing soccer on Friday nights. It is so much fun. We play against other halls, but ours, Atawhai, didn't have enough people so we joined with another hall. I forgot how much I love playing soccer. Also, I have been playing a lot of ultimate frisbee. Alyssa got me hooked, and I am actually getting pretty good at it. I have been trying to stay active and it is lots of fun just fooling around with friends.

I handed in my first two big assignments this past week, so that is pretty much what I have been doing. Classes are going good. My semester break starts on Friday. I have two weeks off!! Sweet, sweet relief! So on Saturday I will be traveling down to Wellington before flying out to Christchurch on the South Island. It will be Alyssa, Anke, and me traveling around the South Island, and hopefully we will meet up with some other people along the way. I am pretty pumped for that!

This past weekend I went camping for a night with Kayla. She was going with a friend of hers, Amos, and invited me to go along. So I found out Friday morning and left that afternoon. It was spontaneous and great! Her friend, Amos who is a Kiwi, drove us. We drove about fifteen minutes out of town and hiked to the site. It was right on a river and the night was so still and perfect. We hung around the fire and made s'mores! There ended up being me, Kayla, and five Kiwis. And the Kiwis have never had s'mores before! Imagine that! However, the s'mores were makeshift. We had to use chocolate chip cookie biscuits instead of graham crackers because they don't have graham crackers out here. Kayla and I decided that the cookies may have been better anyway. I enjoyed being around the Kiwis too. I am getting so used to their accents I don't even notice it anymore. Especially with Khali.

Being out here I have had many encounters with creatures. There is a little hedgehog that lives in the bushes outside of our flat. He is adorable. Then there is this cat Mikit, as we named it, that visits from time to time and will actually wander into our flat. We also have adopted a walking stick bug, Limb. He just chills on our house plant. We found a pray mantis the other day too. I was very happy to hear that there are no snakes here though, and no large animals either. I think you won't see anything larger than like a possum. The possums are nasty.

I am having trouble recalling everything that has been going on, so I will attempt to keep this blog more updated! I am missing everyone. I hope everyone is doing well!

Taupo

I spent the past weekend in Taupo with a group of friends. Taupo is north of Palmy and is situated on Lake Taupo and surrounded by mountains. We caught a bus in on Friday and set up camp right outside of town. Our campsite sat right on a river. It was very picturesque. There was virtually no one around. So there we were, all 9 of us, with nothing but the river, the woods, and the gorge (although the road was actually a fairly short walk away).

On Saturday I got a little bit adventurous. My flattie, Anke, and I thought it would be a good idea to bungy jump. So we did. Next thing I know I am standing 47 metres above the clearest water I have ever seen clutching poor little Anke as hard as I could to my side, with nothing but my feet attached to the bungy. There was no turning back! A quick wave at the camera and we were free falling through the air. I must say, it was quite a thrill! It was over so quick, though, it is hard to even remember it.

After the bungy Anke and I did a "swing" at the same place. We were placed in a harness and attached by the hip. As they were preparing us we were sitting in the harness like a seat and suspended in the air. They told us to wave at the cameras, so we did, and with no warning they detached us, so once again we were free falling through the air. I am pretty sure my face went from smiling at cameras to complete and utter shock! Once again, the free fall was over so quick.

So after the two adrenaline junkies got their fill, the group moved on. We hiked along the river to Huka Falls. The hike was fairly easy, but the views were spectacular. I have never seen water so blue, and so clear! There really are no words to describe it, and pictures never do it any justice. It was clearer than anything I have see, even in Hawaii. Even in the deepest spots you could see straight to the bottom. And the falls, though short in height, were so powerful looking. Definitely a sight worth seeing.

After taking a dip in the water a little further down the river, we headed back to town for some food and we watched the Iron Man race. I got to see the first place woman finish, and also found out the the third place woman was from the US. Both nights the stars were out. There were so many. I love being able to see so many stars!

Finally on Sunday, before catching our bus back to Palmy, we ventured to a cliff jumping site, but decided that the cliff wasn't high enough. So instead we did a rope swing into the lake! Following those adventures we took a dip in the hot thermal pools in the lake. I knew that they would be warm, but I was so surprised to find out that the water was as warm as a hot tub or warmer! It was painful to get into at first. It was really cool to see such a thing!

So those are the main highlights of the trip. I wouldn't mind going back to Taupo. There is so much to do. I also cannot wait to see more of the North Island!

Tui, Terradatyls, and Treaties

I have noticed that everything around here smells fantastic because of all the lush, green flora. And along with the abundance of plants comes the loudest insects I have ever heard, and a variety of very peculiar sounding birds. The Tui bird has a wide range of vocal abilities, as I have learned, some of which are beyond human hearing abilities. Tui is the Maori name and the bird is native to New Zealand (Aotearoa). It is known in English as the Parson Bird because of a small tuff of white feathers under its neck that resemble a parson's neck piece. Khali told me that if you were to tell someone in Maori that they are a Tui bird it is a big compliment because it means you have a good singing voice. Tui is also the name of a large NZ brewery. I see these little birds all over campus.

I believe the other bird I hear is a magpie. It is a nasty sounding bird. If I were to imagine what a terradactyl might sound like, that is what it would sound like. I will be sitting in my room doing work or taking a nap and all of a sudden I will hear this awful screech and see just the shadow of a bird fly by my window. I swear those things are out to get me.

Yesterday in my Food and Eating class we talked about sustainable food systems and food regimes. It was pretty interesting. We discussed the idea of "food from somewhere to food from nowhere, " as in knowing exactly where your food came from or producing it yourself to having it appear "magically" on the shelves of a supermarket. We talked also about the future of water and she put up some virtual water contents for different things. For example; In a single slice of bread there is 40 litres of water, in a single sheet of paper 10 litres goes into making it, in a pair of leather shoes there is 8,000 litres, and in a 150g hamburger there is 2,400 litres. I thought some of those were pretty surprising!

Last night I did my laundry and it started to torrential downpour out of nowhere, so that was fun! I also found out that there is apparently an Iron Man competition in Taupo this weekend while we will be there. It should be interesting!

Today I had a 9:00 tutorial for my Treaty of Waitangi Treaty in NZ Society paper. It was over in the Maori studies building. We were in this room that is used for Maori welcome ceremonies (i think, I have to clarify this next time) so we all had to take off our shoes and sat on these cushions on the floor. So that was really interesting. Just a little bit of background, the treaty of Waitangi was a treaty signed by most of the chiefs of the different Maori tribes and the British Crow. The British Crown had already recognised the Maori as a sovereign state in NZ, so therefore in order to colonise NZ a treaty had to be signed. It could not simply be occupied. IT is very controversy because it is debated that the Maori were mislead and that the translations of the treaty into Maori have a completely different meaning than it does in English, so therefore the Maori did not know to the full extent what it was they were signing. That is pretty much what I will be exploring further in this paper.

Aroha. (the concept of love in Maori)

February 28, 2010

First off, I just want to recognize how terrible it was to hear about the earthquake in Chile. An 8.8 magnitude. The largest ever recorded was a 9.5 magnitude. It kills me to hear about things like that. I have a friend who is studying in Chile (Hixon, to all you UVMers). I found out he was ok via facebook, thank God.

I received a phone call at 3:30 in the morning from my dad yesterday morning (or I guess it was this morning), and I knew something was wrong. Tsunami warnings were in place for New Zealand, especially the east coast where Khali is from, and Hawaii as of last night, but I was glad to hear that nothing too destructive or powerful ever amounted.

But on a lighter note, the weather here has been wonderful! Pretty much every day this entire past week has been sunny. Of course the burn time around here is something like 9 minutes considering how the ozone layer is more or less a gaping hole above New Zealand.

Yesterday we organized a game of ultimate frisbee on campus. It was really casual, but a lot of fun. However, there tended to be little prickers in the grass, and we were all barefoot (as I mentioned before, everyone goes around barefoot). Somehow I tended to be drawn to them, so it was pretty uncomfortable when you stepped on them, but then you get over it pretty quick.

After frisbee a bunch of us got together at the common area around our flats and had a BBQ. We had burgers, pasta salad, chips and dip, corn, fruit salad, and ice cream. We also had Heinz Ketchup! Now this may seem a strange thing to be overly excited about, but it turns out that the Kiwis use this ketchup-like stuff that is actually tomato paste. I'm not even too sure how to describe the taste. Maybe sweeter than what we are used too? Nonetheless, it definitely does not compare to good old Heinz Ketchup!

Following the BBQ we ventured down to the Square where they had some live music. It was an outside venue set up right in the middle of town. Everyone was dancing and just having fun. I always enjoy live music. We heard some more live music later at a local bar, Murphy's Law. They played awesome music. You know those songs that you can never resist singing along to? That is what they played all night long! I loved it.

Other than yesterday the rest of my week has been pretty low key, just hanging out, staying on top of my work and what not. But this weekend I am headed to Taupo! It is supposed to be beautiful, situated right on Lake Taupo with all kinds of outdoors, adventurous, and cultural activities. I am excited to see what we end up doing!

So anyway, not too much else has been going on. I do miss the snow at home. I have always had a weak spot for winter, so that is a little disappointing, hearing about all the snow, but I of course would never dream of trading places!

peace.