books, a bay & beer

Goodness! This past week was a good one. I definitely confirmed that I love being a biol/chem major. I was so happy to be in Ecology class!  I also attended the memorial service held on the 1 year anniversary of the major earthquake that took the lives of 185 people. It was held in Hagely Park, and there were thousands and thousands of people. I really enjoyed the opportunity to be surrounded by this resilient bunch, and I'm so glad to be here for the next couple months. I really think this city is wonderful, and I can only imagine what it was before and what it will become. Other than attending a few classes and the service, I joined the Ultimate Frisbee club, The Student Volunteer Army, and the Kayak and Canoe club. Tomorrow I actually have my first ultimate scrimmage. lets just hope I don't make too much of a fool of myself…. TOO LATE. I already mistakenly sent an email to the entire team distribution list (~100 people) because I didn't know what "to post to this list" meant…. it doesn't mean to sign up for this list if you're wondering… on the positive side, they probably all know my name. By Friday, I was ready for some more exploring. About 5 of us headed downtown to the Antigua boat sheds to hire a few kayaks to paddle around on the Avon. The Avon is like the lazy river, but slower. It runs through a park, and has weeping willows and all sorts of other beautiful trees and shruburry along the shore. It was perfect weather, and so relaxing besides the fact that after an hour on this extremely mild river, my arms were burning…. and i just joined the kayak/canoe club… I hope there are some patient instructors and maybe I should stick to 2 person boats. in fact, what about strictly canoe, where I can sit and marvel at this beautiful country while someone else works on their biceps.  That's more of what I have in mind. 

The rest of the evening was uneventful other than the fact that I had delicious fish and kumara chips form the joint around the corner from my house. OH, & the Christchurch Crusaders rugby team won by 1 point. 

Saturday, I met 6 other study abroad students to catch the bus to Lyttelton. Lyttelton is right on the coast, just outside of Christchurch. When we arrived, we made our way to the market. What we found was slightly disappointing. I've been on this quest for some homemade jam and local honey since I arrived, and have yet to succeed. So when we got off the bus, and found a decent sized garage sale, I was a bit deflated. Thinking this surely couldn't be what I heard was the best farmer's market around, I asked a local who so kindly pointed us down the street a couple blocks to a perfect market with everything i've been looking for. I don't know what it is about fresh fruits and vegetables, cheese, jam, pies(savory), fresh baked bread, and the staple chocolate station that really makes me happy. Funny thing is, I kept thinking… MAN! if only my mom was here, she would know just what to do with all this stuff. I seriously made about seven laps before I could figure out what to buy. Thankfully, I had decided honey and jam was a nonnegotiable purchase. That gave me some direction. I bought local clover honey, and blackboy peach jam. Both are DELICIOUS. I also picked up some sun-dried tomato & kalamata olive spread along with some kalamata olives. Naturally, I needed something to put all this on, so I bought a small loaf of sourdough bread. and because I hadn't eaten breakfast, I added in a bacon and egg pie. NO regrets. everything tasted great, and it was nice to have snacks the rest of day. 

After the market, we wandered around town a bit, and then finally found our way to the ferry. We took the Diamond Harbor Ferry across the most beautiful water I've seen. There were sailboats racing in the distance, the port hills surrounding this bay, and I could see the open water to the Pacific. When we arrived, we marveled at the scene for a bit, and then took off to explore. Our fearless scouts found a trail that seemed to follow the water line, which is never a bad plan. The view just kept getting better. I honestly am running out of words to describe this place. I  cannot believe how beautiful this area is. The people that live over there, and wake up to that every morning are doing something right!!!! I spotted a beach across the bay we found, and i'm determined to figure out how to get there. There were tons of sailboats in that area, and even a motorboat pulling some happy folks on a biscuit (tube). After an hour or so tramping around, we hit up the country general store for some ice cream and smoothies and went back down to the dock. There were kids jumping off into the perfectly blue water. All I could think about was how much Katy would LOVE to swim around, and swing off the rope there. We rode the ferry back, and caught the bus back to uni. After printing off our tickets, we headed down to Hagely Park for The Great Kiwi Beer Festival. First of all, what a great idea right!? There were about 40 breweries all set up in these tents, live music, and lots of food. It was PACKED full of people. We arrived sometime around 4, and they had run out of the mini steins we were promised. This may have worked in our favor though because instead we got 2 plastic cups. I didn't recognize a single one of the companies, so it was really fun wandering around trying to figure out which ones to try. Don't ask me which was my favorite, because I tried a lot of beer and I don't remember. I liked them all, and it got really confusing because most places I would ask for each cup to have a different kind. I tried to keep the brewery and beer type straight, but it was an uphill battle. While there, Erin and I ran into Lauren & James, my "second" host family, and then a couple other guys from our UC. It was really cool to find people we knew at such a huge festival. In addition to the beer tasting, there was some great live music, and my friend Erin and I split a Fritz's Bavarian Style Sausage. I was one happy camper with a beer in one hand, Fritz's in the other, the sun shinning, and music playing!!! :) On the way out, Erin and I found some unprotected/ neglected mini steins that clearly wanted to be taken home, so our admission cost was not for nothing. It was a well spent 22 dollars!!! After the festival, we met some friends who hadn't bought beer festival tickets at a bar just outside the park. They compensated just fine for missing out on the event. We all walked back to campus, and hung out playing cards for the rest of the evening. Apparently, when I was on the way home on the bus there was a 4.3 earthquake, but neither I, nor the bus driver noticed it. 

Today, James was nice enough to come over and help me fix up the bike Tess's coworker has loaned me for the semester. Now I just need to take it down to the gas station to fill up the tires and i'm ready to go!! I also got to call my friend Denise back home. It was so good to catch up! I sure miss my TCU family. This evening, Tess and I went over to her friend Carol's house for dinner. She was so hospitable and her husband prepared us delicious steaks. Afterward we all came back home and watched the final X-Factor Australia. Apparently, it finished in october, but it didn't play in NZ until now, so everybody knew who was going to win. No suspense. Anyways, tomorrow is another school day, and one day closer to when my family arrives!!! I can't wait to see them :) 

Funny phrase:

good on you= good for you or well done

schooool days

This past Saturday, I went with a coupe other IES students to check out New Brighton. It's a beach town East of CHCH. We got there around 11 to find a swim/ "kayak"/rowing competition going on. With the tide out, the contestants ran on the packed sand, swam out to the buoys, along the beach, back in and ran for the finish. From what I gather, the competition is between different 'beach clubs' in the area. Waimari Beach, Taylors Mistake Beach, New Brighton, etc. Once we got settled, it was cool to watch the competitions. They went on all day. There was a really nice pier and tons of little shops and restaurants just across the street. We had lunch at an Indian place. I spoke with the owner on the way out about the earthquakes. Just the day before, several more stores and restaurants were shut down because the Christchurch City Council building inspectors deemed the building unsafe. People literally have to drop there forks and go when this has been determined. He said they feel aftershocks every week, and he is always concerned he'll be shut down without any hope of reopening in the near future in sight.  It felt good to soak up the sun, but after a couple hours, I hid under my umbrella. I'm doing my best to leave the country without melanoma. It was a beautiful beach, and while the water was quite chilly it was great to relax and listen to the waves and precious children playing nearby. 

Upon returning home, Tess made a delicious meal as always and we watched X-Factor Australia and American Idol. I must say that our X-Factor was leaps and bounds above the competition for Australia's version. Maybe it was because I don't know the contestants very well, but I thought they were mediocre at best… I'll keep my mouth shut about that one though. 

Sunday, Tess and I ran some errands and then went to "have a spa" with her sweet friend Linda. Its really cool. Tess has known all her friends for a lifetime. They're just like sisters, and it reminded me of hanging out in Happy Valley :) If you're still wondering what "have a spa" is, the translation is sit in the hot tub… sometimes i'm sure we're speaking a different language. Also, you'd be glad to know I have a full report on another Tim Tam flavor. I tried white chocolate this time. I knew I wouldn't like them as much as the original, but I found that they're great to be eaten while enjoying afternoon tea. :) 

TODAY was the first day of school. Since I don't have class until 2, I met up with my German friend that I met in Sydney this morning. We walked around the Botanic Gardens and back to the RE: start area. It was great to see her again! After a delicious yerro for lunch… yes that is how they spelled it… I headed back to uni for class. It didn't go so well. I was rudely reminded that I am severely out of school shape. I kid you not, 20 minutes into the class they started talking about defining childhood and my eyelids became as heavy as bricks and I had an hour and 40 to go…. In my defense, the course is simply not my cup of tea. The class is called Childhood in Children's Literature, and today we discussed…. well what I remember is spotty, but it was something about the beginning of written literature and publishing specifically for children. All I can remember is something about a horn book. I guess it was a school book for kids that doubled as a playground toy used like a bat. I'll be prepared next time with snacks, a full bottle of water, and potentially a cup of coffee before class. Thank goodness my friend Erin is in the class with me. We're both science kids, and agree this is all a tad bit too metaphorical for our taste. 

After class I went to cross the street to catch my bus and nearly got flattened. 17 days here, and I still look the wrong way. ALSO… I realized that my family arrives in a little less than 4 weeks!!!! I CAN'T wait to see them :) 

Kiwi funnys

biscuits= cookies

stationary= school supplies

O-WEEK BEGINS

Well this week has been relatively uneventful compared to my action packed weekend. Tuesday was a painfully boring set of speakers for the UC international student orientation, though free lunch was provided. Wednesday, I enrolled in classes which I had to do in person at the library. It took almost 2 hours for me, and that was fast compared to some of the other IES students. I was incredibly thankful for fruit ninja while standing in the endless, slow moving lines. I set new records for both the classic and arcade versions. what an accomplishment! now that i'm set with a canterbury card, I can check out books from the library…. but something like 11 of the 15 floors are inaccessible currently due to earthquake construction… I can only imagine that the books i'll need will be on those floors. Speaking of books i'll need! I'm quite excited for my Childhood in Children's Literature class. The required texts include The Borrowers, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, The Secret Garden, Treasure Island and a few others. To receive credit for reading children's books… i'm doing something right! My "timetable" (schedule) is great! Just one class on Monday, 2 Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and one Friday. BEST SEMESTER EVER! One of the classes i'm taking is called Rebuilding Christchurch. Its a service learning course where I learn about the effects of the earthquakes, all the information about rebuilding efforts, and then I actually participate in a service project for my grade. It will be a great way to get involved in my new hometown. This Wednesday is the 1 year anniversary for the major earthquake that caused significant damages to the city. There are several memorial services happening throughout the city. I look forward to participating. 

After enrollment, I moved into my new homestay. I'm living with Lauren's mother, Tess. It was really nice to get moved out of my suitcase! Yesterday, I noticed her copy of Edmonds Cookery Book, a staple to each NZ household. It was really fun flipping through the different recipes. Her copy is a very old edition. The measurements are still in pounds and ounces. I plan to pick up the latest edition and try a few of the recipes. Tess says she makes a mean Pavlova and that she'd teach me!!! I can't wait!!! 

Today, I went up to campus for another welcome event. I heard there was free food, so several of the IES students were there. While wandering around, my friend Lisa and I got suckered into participating in a wheel chair race. I thought it would be just a quick short run down the side walk… boy was I wrong. About when I was nearly tipping over backwards wheeling up this incline to get to the library, I realized I had bit off quite a bit more than anticipated. Half way through, I had to make 3 shots into the net ball goal (it's like basketball without a backboard). Then down a hill, which was exciting and 7.5 minutes later I returned to start. Funniest thing…. they haven't contacted me to award me the prize for fastest race time. Maybe Monday. 

After the welcome event, 5 of the IES students rode a bus to central station and then up the hill to Victoria Park. Eunice claimed we could get Hokey Pokey ice cream at the sign of the kiwi, about a 40 minute hike from the start of the park. We hiked up, and when we got there… the ice cream place was closed due to earthquake damage!!!! SUCH a let down. Even though I didn't have a hokey pokey ice cream in hand, the views were amazing!! I saw WATER!! I AM on an island!  

Tomorrow we're headed down to the Lyttleton Farmers Market and then to the beach!!! can't wait! 

Bahhhh

Alright, orientation weekend part 2. After dinner, I went to email my host family to find out when they would be able to pick me up, and let them know I was thinking about them during this tough time. They responded and said they were looking forward to meeting me the next day. I thought everything was still all set. Also while checking email, I received a message from one of my professors back home. I learned that my dear, dear friend Denise has metastatic liver cancer, a relapse of the breast cancer she survived a couple years ago. It broke my heart to hear such news at this time. Thankfully, Eunice and Nicole, my advisers here were really great in comforting me as I processed this information. She has been on my mind everyday since I left Fort Worth, and I miss her a lot. I'm asking that you pray for her and her family as they navigate all the decisions and struggles that come with a diagnosis like this one.

The next morning after a delicious breakfast (as expected from Kaeko), we headed off to Rubicon Valley. We arrived at the sheep farm of a man named Chris. Our first activity was Jet-boating. If you're not familiar with a jet boat, here's the story. In the 40's a man named Bill Hamilton dreamed up the idea of a boat that required very little depth to travel at high speeds. In the 50's and 60's the jet boat was created, and this is where the jet ski was born. There's a water intake valve at the back of the boat which sucks up water and propels it out the back to advance and steer the boat depending on where it points. Our guide said it cycled 500 liters of water every second!! So all 20 of us climbed in and off we went. Best I can describe it is like Tokyo drifting on water. I've never done anything quite like it. The boat requires 3 ft to start and stop, about 2 ft to do a complete spin (which we did several times) and only 3 inches or so when cruising. The water in the river is all run off from the mountain snow and glaciers. It's appropriately named Waimakariri River. The Maori translation is River of Cold Water. It's highest temperatures range from 6-7 degrees C. Once again, I cannot even explain how amazing this adventure was. We were flying across this river, occasionally in only 1-2 inches of water in the most beautiful area. The water was almost crystal clear. The guide said some days you can see straight down in 35 ft pools along the edges. Speaking of the guide... people are really into extreme sports around here, and man did he like to push those limits. At some points we were inches from these bluffs that lined the river. YIKES! I decided her probably knew what he was doing, so I shouldn't worry. It worked out pretty well. :) When we had driven about 20 minutes up river, he stopped and pointed out this area between two mountains in the distance. He said in the winter, that turns into an ice field, and that's where another scene in Narnia was filmed. This location is really remote. there is a 4X4 trek, but most of the equipment etc. was carried in by helicopter. He actually said that when they were filming, he'd come sit and listen to the battle above. Pretty COOL! Then we headed back, and it was a THRIL ride. The speedometer was broken, so I don't know how fast we were cruising, but it was a blast! 

This just does not do it justice, but here's one picture to help you visualize the optical feast my eyes were experiencing!! After the boat ride, we came in for morning tea. I must say, that's one thing in the Kiwi Culture I absolutely LOVE. Tea all the time. AND SCONES! oh the most delicious scones and jam. These scones were so delicious I took a picture... tell me this doesn't look amazing! 

Then the sheep farmer Chris started to tell us more about his farm. He has 3 thousand Romney sheep on 2 thousand acres. Their wool is only carpet quality, but their meat makes them profitable. They're fatter sheep unlike those that are run in more mountainous areas. The mountain ones are smaller, and their wool is a far better quality. Romney sheep wool is about $3/ kilo and the mountain sheep wool is $35/kilo. HUGE difference. After the spiel we headed out to feed a couple of older sheep he kept around as pets. They generally stay on a farm only 5 years. At that point, they're no longer producing as many offspring and their meat is no good. These sheep were FAT and old. After sheep feeding, we headed over to watch a sheep herding dog demonstration. He has 5 dogs for all his sheep. Each dog can manage ~100 sheep. The two we got to meet were Blue and Tess. They're both border collies. Tess is 12. Her working days are really over, but she likes to do easy work like this. Blue is only 3 and still has some training to do. It takes years to train a sheep dog. All the training is done by praise, and its done in short increments over a LONG period of time. Anywhere from 2-4 years depending on how instinctive the dog is. Most times the farmer and dog are 1-2km apart, so verbal praise must be enough. No time to run back for a treat. Blue was hysterical. He wants to chase sheep all day everyday. It's about containing his excitement and channeling it to what you want him to do. Also, the dogs only listen to Chris. They don't even flinch when any of us said the same commands. It was really cool to watch. He would just speak to them firmly and BOOM they were gone. NOTE: herding lingo..

if you want your dogs to approach the sheep from the right, you say come out. 

if you want your dogs to approach the sheep from the left, you say come by.

and to put more pressure on them, walk up.

if you want them to jump over a fence, you say, come over. 

then sit and stay.. they only ones i can think of that Charley occasionally complies to... haha! 

They were incredible to watch. they worked together and herded the sheep wherever Chris directed. Then he got us involved. He had a male and female volunteer to act as Tess and Blue, and then I was the sheep herder. I even got to hold his staff. All I was missing was a giant belt buckle and sweet leather hat like his. This, I'm sure, was quite entertaining to watch. I was supposed to tell them what to do and they "herded". We got them all but 2 within 5 feet of the gate, then lost all but two. They were seriously 2 feet from the coral, and then bolted!! We successfully herded ZERO sheep. Guess we'll leave it up to the dogs and Chris. Next was our introduction to Alpacas. What funny creatures. Chris told us the males are worth around $900, but the females can be worth up to $9000!! We all took turns taking pictures hugging them. We thought they were SO soft, but Chris said that was considered coarse... Can't imagine what really soft alpaca feels like. 

Now it was time to learn bout sheep shearing!! We came inside and sat in front of this sheering platform (purposely slippery to prevent the sheep from getting any traction). He showed us the old school sheers and the new electric sheerer. For the sheep in the mountains, they use the old school shearers because it leaves a 1cm coat to keep them warm. This costs about $2.80 per sheep, while electric sheering is $2. Each sheep produces about 1 kilo of wool, so from some quick math, it's clear that there's little money in sheep wool unless it's the mountain sheep wool. But because we've intervened and bread sheep to grow longer wool, they must sheer them twice a year or else they will die. Native sheep only grow their wool an inch or 2 long. (not at all profitable) He brought out a sheep, man handled it between his legs and sheered away! Several folks in my group also got to use the old school shearers to cut some wool to take home. After about 15 minutes of sheering, he mentioned that the record for sheering 3 sheep (that includes catching them and pinning them down) is 29 seconds!!! I'll have to do some youtubing. this sounds crazy. It's really hard work. In fact, its now number one in terms of manual labor jobs that still exist. now, it was time to eat again!! (or so they told us) Naturally, we had mutton along with some sort of lamb patty and sausage. Then a baked potato, several salads and fruit and cake for dessert. Once again... stuffed! Chris's farm is SUCH a beautiful place. It overlooks the river we jet boated on, and on the other sides is surrounded by the southern alps. absolutely perfect views from every angle. He does Horse Trekking which sounds like it would be really great! This is a must for the Amy, Tanner, Bridger visit. Also, I'm thinking Bridger should start looking for a jet boat for summertime in MT... They're a blast! 

Once we left Rubicon Valley, we headed over to help a conservation effort run by the DOC (department of conservation). There are tons of efforts to regrow native trees and other plants to NZ. Also, they're trying to create safe environments for Kiwi Bird conservation. We went to this area just outside of Springfield where they are in the process of planting 4000 trees over a 50 hectare area. Brian, the man coordinating the effort was great! He taught us how to do it and set us to work. We planted 206 trees in an hour. The goal was to beat the local primary school who did 216 in 2 hours... I say we won, but it was much debated. 

By this time, I was zonked! We got back on the bus and headed for Christchurch. When we arrived, I thought i'd be meeting my family, but I soon found out that the mom caught the flu upon arriving back Christchurch!!! What luck! Thankfully, Lauren and James (my current host parents) are willing to let me stay here until things are sorted out. I'm not sure what will happen. I may be assigned to a new family altogether. Regardless, I'm so thankful for my current host parents taking me in. That evening, Sera, James, Lauren and I ate dinner and sat around talking about the weekend. After they went to bed, me and Sera watched the fist Lord of the Rings. (now i understand my happy birthday Bilbo display.... thanks Kara and Dane) haha! Now, i'm just waiting around to hear from the homestay folks. We'll see!! 


Kiwi phrase of the day that I think it's really funny:
Cooler = Chilly Bin

FOR NARNIA!!

wow. prepare yourselves, this is going to be a long one. Saturday morning we hopped on a bus and drove about 50 minutes to Springfield which is a little less than half way across the island (east/west wise). It's a very small town with a wonderful hostel/motel called Smylies. It's run by a dutch man who's been in NZ most of his life and his sweet Japanese wife. They've owned the place 25 years. They're wonderful, and boy can she cook! (more on that to come!) We stopped off to drop our bags and then continued up into the Southern Alps. We drove all the way to just beyond Arthurs Pass. On the way, our wonderful bus driver Gus shared all sorts of great intel about the local area. There are a couple ski fields just outside of Springfield that I can't wait to visit when it snows! (I'm scouting them out for when my ski fanatic friends come to visit, I'll know just where to take them!) One of the things he talked about was all the species that have been introduced to the country. The land is used to grow things that are not native. For example, there's actually a red wood plot not far from where we were that an American company started. Didn't catch why, but it's certainly a fun fact. One of the tree farms that spans the foot hills to the alps is the lone pine (if my memory serves me...) It's been a terrible problem according to Gus. When they planted the farm on the hillside, the wind caught the seed and scattered it all over the plains. To do our part, we cut down/ uprooted several of the pines in a nearby field. Here's a picture of the little buggers. They're much harder than you'd think to pull out of the ground. Didn't realize I was in for some manual labor! 

After some mass destruction, we headed back a bit to this trailhead that overlooked a stream. There, we enjoyed a sack lunch sitting out on the hillside completely fixed to the sights around. I'm going to start sounding like a broken record, but really... it was BEAUTIFUL. 

It was really hard for me to pick, but here's one of the pictures (more pictures=FAR longer to publish the post) Go check out my Facebook for more. By the way, if you can tell, the rock field at the top of the picture looks similar to the one used to film one of the battles in Narnia. The actual rock field is not far from here. COOL! After lunch, we threw the frisbee and learned how to through a rugby ball from Gus. What a blast!  Then we went back to Castle Hill. This... best I can describe it is a big kids playground. It's a giant rock field which doesn't sound very interesting, but check out the pictures!! We all had SO much fun running around climbing up and down the rocks checking out the fabulous views from every direction. To give you an idea of what i'm talking about heres another picture. 

At one point, we found this rock that had a peep whole in it. Once we found how to get up there, it was like a little club house. Shaded, cooled by the rocks, and with incredible views! One of the guys in my group was crazy! He somehow managed to climb these steep flat surfaced rocks like a goat. (glad his mother wasn't around)  we sat up on this tall rock and played where's Thomas. He kept appearing in his bright blue shirt further and higher down the rock field. There will be a where's Thomas?! section of pictures in the Facebook album.  I'll just take a minute to note that as I visit these awesome places that are so close to Christchurch, I imagine what we'll do when you all come to visit me. Castle Hill is a must for Andy See's visit. 

Once we left Castle Rock, we went to meet the kayak to bike exchange of the coast to coast race. It's a running, biking, kayak race from the west coast to the Christchurch (relatively on the East coast). For the hard core folks, the run/ bike from sea level to 6500ft in the first day. It's pretty intense. The exchange was pretty cool to see. The kayakers would come off the river to their last leg, a mere 70km bike ride back to Christchurch. This is the first time I was down close to the river. The water was nearly crystal clear, and it shown beautiful shades of blue in the sun. What a treat to be around for this race. My program coordinator, Eunice's son did the race a few years ago. I don't intend to sign up.

Once we left there, we headed back to Smylies in Springfield. It's a great place to stay if you find yourself in Springfield, NZ. Soon after we arrived, Kaeko had dinner ready for us. Let me be more specific. Kaeko prepared a FEAST for us complete with lamb, chicken, meatloaf, chicken curry (best i've ever had), scalop potatoes, kumara(another type of potato that has a purple skin!! GO FROGS), pumpkin(i don't know why we don't eat that like squash in the states), a cold rice salad and regular salad. And that was just the main food. After dinner we had strawberry short cake, fruits with ice cream, and some sort of pudding in this gingerbreadish edible cupcake wrapper thing. It was the best meal i've had since I left home, and i was sure to tell her several times. Man... my mouth is watering just thinking about it, and believe me... I have NOT missed any meals today either. 

Ok, i have to take an interlude before I finish telling about the weekends activities... My current roommate and new friend, Sera, convinced me to watch the first Lord of the Rings tonight. It's REALLY late now, so i'm going to stop here and finish tomorrow morning. I will also add pictures to Facebook for all of orientation so far. 

Kiwiana

Today was a LONG, action packed day. We started with more orientationy details and then walked from uni (yes, this is what they call college here. University of Canterbury ---> UniCant ) to downtown. It ended up taking about an hour. We went through this historic region where a very prominent Kiwi family homesteaded back in the day. They're original house is still right next to the Riccarton House which they built when they became wealthy. It's BEAUTIFUL! In fact, the host parents I'm with now got married there. I think it's as good of time as any to mention that New Zealand has THE most unique trees I have ever seen in my life!!!! I can't describe them, and pictures do not do them justice. They all look straight from a fairy tale book, and each type has serious personality. I know you think I'm crazy, so you should come visit and see for yourself. On the way to town, we also tramped (hiked/ walked) through  the Christchurch Botanic Gardens. WOW! Everything was SO colorful I couldn't believe they were all real. We ate lunch at this cafe right in the middle of the gardens. It was really great to sit and talk with the other IES students. Our group is really cool. Everyone is very different, and brings so much personality. After lunch, another scavenger hunt commenced.. I must say that TCU Hazing folks would be quite appalled to know that we've done 2 "hunts" and the semester hasn't even begun. (for those of you who are not fellow frogs, it's illegal to hold scavenger hunts on campus… it's obviously hazing.) This one took us to several iconic spots of Christchurch. The Museum was awesome!! One exhibit is called WearableArt. It's all these crazy outfits designed from common or super bizarre things. My favorite was a full ball gown made from copper scraps. The glow in the dark Monarch dress was certainly a close second. The other really cool exhibit was one that had thousands of hearts arranged all around a big room on the walls like a rainbow. They were sent from all over the world after Christchurch suffered its big earthquake in Feb. last year. The anniversary is coming soon actually. There will be a big memorial that i'm pretty sure the whole town will attend. The final super crazy thing I learned about at the museum was Pavo Shells. There was a couple from Bluff, NZ (south of me) who were arguing because the husband was leaving his collected and shinned shells on the floor where his wife could not vacuum. They decided to put them on the walls where the vacuum does not venture often and before they knew it, the entire "lounge" (living room) was covered with Pavo Shells. So logically, they decided to open their home to the public 7 days a week 8 hours a day, and people actually came to see it!  It takes quite an eccentric couple to be able to handle living like that. [Pictures possibly below, and for sure on Facebook if internet is finicky]  They became an icon of Kiwiana, things completely kiwi like Pavlova (like merengue with kiwi fruit on it), rubber sandals, fish and chips and the kiwi bird!!!  

Anyways, we then headed towards the center of town. It is really interesting to see how things literally stood still after last years Feb. earthquake, and stayed that way all this time. There are restaurants still with food on the tables, bars with broken glass everywhere. It's really crazy to see. So because Christchurch is awesome, they started this RE:start initiative. Just off the center of town, they arranged all these shipping containers, and now they're little coffee shops and stores. It's really cool! The picture will help you picture it. They're all brightly colored and with glass on the front. I love it down there! 

I know this is long, but i'm getting close to the end! 

After RE:start we rode the bus to Willowbend Wildlife Park. It's a neat place as well. This where we learned/ were exposed to Maori culture and traditions and some native animals. It was this interactive tour where we were approached by a "maori tribe" and our elected chief had to accept the peace offering from this intense maori warrior. Then they preformed for us, and had us all participate in some funny maori activities. It was pretty cool to watch. The main observation I had from the experience was that they make CRAZY EYES!!  again, come visit so you can see yourself. I'll try to post a video at some point. We also had a traditional Maori feast. It was complete with muscles, salmon, lamb, pork, stuffing, carrots, kumara(like sweet potato), salad, and Pavlova with Hokey Pokey ice cream. The main course is cooked in the traditional manor called hungie…. I think that's right. It's basically a giant under ground steam cooker with hot volcanic rock. pretty cool! I bet Charley could help me dig a whole to give it a try when I get back to HVAP in July….. not sure where i'd get the volcanic rock though…. before i forget, hokey pokey ice cream is a flavor. it has sort of butterscotch bites in it. It's really good!!  

After dinner, we went to see the kiwi birds! if you're not aware, they're the national animal of NZ. While I think the birds are pretty interesting creatures, they certainly have nothing on the bald eagle. They're native to NZ, so they were here before all the Eurooeans showed up with their predators. (cats, dogs, ferrets, possums, rats, and the list goes on and on) The long and the short of it is, they have no defense mechanism, because it was not previously needed. Now, on the other hand, they're having a tough time surviving in the wild. In fact, the (DOC) Department of Conservation is actually dropping 10-80 which is a chemical that kills land mammals. it's quite controversial, but they're trying to completely eradicate rats, possums, etc.. some islands off the coast had been completely cleared of other land mammals and the kiwi birds have done just beautifully. While there are still predators, the DOC runs a program that takes kiwi eggs once laid by the mother and protected for 70 days by the father to places like Willowbend to be incubated and hatched, kept alive and trained to survive in the wild until they're 6 months old. (kiwi bird boot camp) Currently, only 5% of the Kiwis that hatch make it to 6 months. & oh by the way, the kiwi egg is 20-30% of the mothers weight. They actually showed an x-ray where her poor organs are all crammed into this tiny place, and the rest of the bird is FILLED with egg. The guide said that's like us giving birth to 15lb babies. YIKES!!! When we went through their habitat area, it was indoors and really well set up. It simulates being in the wild quite effectively. I got a couple really cool pictures even though the birds were just trying to find hiding places to sleep for the day… they're nocturnal.  Anyways, they're pretty cool and I could go on an on with new facts i learned about them.. i'll spare you. 

tomorrow i'm headed toward the southern alps (no, not alps as in Austria). It's an overnight field trip, and i anticipate it to be BEAUTIFUL. I'll update soon! Hopefully next time I write i'll be all moved in with my permanent host family!!! 

EARTHQUAKE // SLIP, SLAP, SLOP

To start. Last night I experienced my first earthquake. I guess it was a 4.1, but I didn't even realize that was why my bed as shaking (dumb). It lasted about 20 seconds or so. Honestly, uneventful!  This morning, the homestay coordinator picked me up and we went to the airport to get one of the girls in my program Sera. I'm staying with her and her host family this weekend. I got my New Zealand phone working thanks to Julia Smith!!! I'm quite grateful!  Then, we came to her hosts house. I'm SO thankful they're willing to take me in this weekend. They are really great! Theres a 5 month old baby boy in the house who is a complete doll! All smiles! We ate traditional kiwi lunch prepared by my temporary host mom which consisted of bacon and egg "pie". It was delicious! The rest of the day was orientation. It was orientationy complete with a scavenger hunt and some singing. ohhhh ice breakers. Everyone seems great! One thing I learned was the slogan they use to promote protecting yourself from the sun. SLIP on a shirt, SLAP on a hat, and SLOP on some sunscreen. now ya know. Tomorrow should be fun, They tell me i'll get to see a real live kiwi bird!!! i'll take pictures for sure! 

DISCLAIMER

by the way. One of the main reasons i'm blogging is for my own brain. I know i will forget most of this if i don't write it down. so when the details get annoying, just skim faster. I feel funny blogging. Like i'm asking people to read something I wrote. This seems absurd because we all know that's not my forte. Anyways.. hope its somewhat entertaining! haha 

PS I added pictures to Facebook! check them out  if you like :) 

Christchurch!!!

I MADE IT TO CHRISTCHURCH!

I rode over on Emirates. I will take just a minute to point out some of the cool things about the airline.

1) flight attendants look exactly the same… they even carry the same purse and it seems like the same lipstick. One thing that puzzled me is they all cary these bags that are TINY. Compared to what the fly attendants in the states carry around, its like a handbag. I think theres more to the story. Maybe they only walk through the airport with those, but have bigger ones already not he plane. Seriously, its that ridiculous. 

2) First class offers fully horizontal massage chairs. While this didn't pertain to me… It was cool

3) They serve a full meal on a 2.5 hour flight to the folks in the back!! ME! Though I must say, it wasn't that tasty. 

4) The coolest thing in my opinion was that they have cameras mounted in 2 places on the airplane, and you can see what they see from the convenience of your personal viewing screen. 

ok thats it. Overall, it wasn't quite all it's cracked up to be (in economy at least). 

Landing in Christchurch was so exciting to me. After being in Sydney (big city), I was SO glad to see big fields…….and MOUNTAINS!!!!! :) I haven't seen that much, but it is BEAUTIFUL! No K9 search for my salsa this time in customs… DULL.  Ben, a guy from the program that sets up my homestay picked me up from the airport. He drove my to my hostel which I'll just be in tonight. On the way he told me a little more about my family. The Ashdownes emailed me and told me that Emily, my soon to be kiwi mom is expecting. Unfortunately, Ben informed me there are some complications with the pregnancy, and Blair and Emily are away in Aukland for the weekend addressing them. That's why I couldn't move in a day early. In fact, I'll be staying with another girls host family for the weekend until they return. I'm bummed I don't get to meet them tomorrow, and concerned about Emily and the baby. I hope everything gets sorted out in Aukland. I can't wait to meet them!  When I arrived at my hostel, I found my room and then ventured off to the super market. It took me an hour to walk there and back, but it was quite enjoyable. I really like Christchurch. Even though the center is still blocked off, and the east side still shows scars from the earthquakes, it's a beautiful city. Very laid back compared to where I came from. I am glad to be somewhere that feels more like home. When I returned, the hostel provided a BBQ dinner. I was very thankful to not have to go find food. I picked up some fruit and a little bread thing (not sure what it is actually, but it looks great) for breakfast tomorrow before Ben picks me up. I'm looking forward to orientation to begin tomorrow! 

PS: when I FINALLY get to reliable internet, I will add pictures. I'm only allotted a few mega bites at this hostel, so no pictures today. 

PPS: Once again, people think I'm Canadian or English..... They say I have no accent!! I seriously need to start playing up the Texas a little more!! haha

just lovely.

Well. The last 12 hours have been quite the series of events. Last night, I went to visit the victoria room where Caitlin used to work. It was a really cool place, and I met Max and Luke, a couple guys that knew her. When I returned, Jenn and I got on the bus to go to Palm Beach. She read in her travel book that it was a quick 40 minute bus ride to a beautiful beach where you can see the stars so clearly! Sounds great right?! HA! When we finally got on a bus, it was 9:15, but we thought it was still fairly manageable to get out there and back. We rode the bus for a little over an hour before we realized, we were the last people there and we were in the middle of no where. Finally, I asked the driver if it was going back to Sydney any time soon. He said no. There was one bus we could meet in "2-3 minutes" or the last doesn't come by until 2 am. oh man…. The guy let us off and told us where to meet this bus. We literally stood in the road to make sure it wouldn't miss us. It was the longest 5 minutes of my life waiting for that bus. THANK goodness it came. we were not at all worried about getting to the beach or seeing any stars, we just wanted the lights of Sydney. After another hour and a half of busses back, we made it to Kings Cross. I was SO glad to see the bed! Looking back, I should have known anywhere thats far enough from Sydney to see stars is too far after 7pm… None the less, it was an adventure. We got to see a lot of different parts of the city. I've decided Australia is a cross between Hawaii and England. Interesting place. As you might imagine, 6am came VERY early. I quietly escaped my hostel room, found and unoccupied bathroom to brush my teeth in and was out at the curb to meet my shuttle 5 minutes to 6:45 just like planned. the bus did not come until almost 7:30 and I didn't get to the airport until 8:10. Thankfully, there were no lines at the Emirates desk. When I went to weigh my luggage, one of the handles broke and will not go down… also, I found out i was over weight by 3 kilos and it was $15 per kilo. She recommended I hold my computer and rearrange some weight to my carry on. It's always humbling to be on the floor with your luggage open in the middle of the airport. I was just glad there wasn't anything too awkward on top. I got things moved around and started through security. When I pulled out my liquids, my face lotion had decided that my lip gloss, mascara, and everything else in the bag needed some moisturizing. Also while standing in line, I realized I had moved the toiletries bag into my carry on with SEVERAL liquids larger than whats allowed. THANK GOODNESS nobody stopped me. Finally through security I made my way to the gate, and went to find food. Seriously, everything is VERY expensive. I got a ham, cheese and tomato sandwich for 8 dollars. YIKES! Anyways, I'm hoping this stretch of bad luck is over now. I can't wait to get to Christchurch! Oh, and remember how I said something about the intense sun. It's way more intense in New Zealand. I've been using sunscreen everyday, but I'm still toasted. Several people have recommended investing in a hat…. I'm not usually a hat girl, but if my face gets toasted one more time, i'll seriously consider it.  ok, i'm off to board my flight! I hope Emirates doesn't let me down. I'm still hungry! 

PS: I've never seen so many 747s in my entire life. Quantas is crawling with them. at one time I could see at least 8!!!!! And if it's not 74s its triple 7s EVERYWHERE!! 

The Bridge!

It feels like its been a week since I wrote the last update.... apparently that was only yesterday...?  Anyways, yesterday evening I met a girl in the hostel who's also traveling alone. Her name is Jenn and she's from Germany. She invited me out with some of her friends to meet at the Opera Bar. As you may have guessed, its right outside the opera house. It was SO beautiful to be there at night with the bridge all lit up. I took some great pictures with my new camera. If the internet was better, I'd add them. Maybe when I get to Christchurch I'll catch up with the pictures. (I'm headed there tomorrow) It was a really nice evening and I met some very nice people! We came back pretty early which was nice because I was VERY tired. This morning I got up and met Jenn to go walk over the Sydney Harbor Bridge!! We didn't go to the top, we just walked across and then went up the tower. It was 6.50 vs. 200 dollars and I think just as good. Again, some awesome pictures will come soon! I'm so glad I met Jenn. Not only is she super nice and friendly, but she has done her homework about the city and knows just where to go all the time! The rest of the day we wandered around talking and checking out some great spots! One GREAT part of the day would have to be when she introduced me to Tim Tams.... oh. my. goodness. It's the Aussie equivalent of the elmer fudge cookie but 100 billion times better. I thought about buying some to bring home in 5 months... hahaha but I knew the truth was that I wanted to eat them all. Maybe they'll have them in New Zealand!! Anyways, I'm repacking my things, and Jenn and I are making plans for my last evening here. Tomorrow the shuttle will arrive to pick me up at 6:45am. should be just lovely.

Pass on the left

Well, I've made it to Sydney & it's already been an adventure. I'll start with the fact that YOU NEED A VISA IF YOU'RE PLANNING TO BE IN SYDNEY FOR MORE THAN 12 HOURS. Learned that in L.A. when I was trying to get on the plane... Thankfully a sweet Delta agent helped me apply for an electronic one, and I was set to go about 40 minutes later. The flight was great! It left LA at 10:45pm and I slept almost the whole way save the part where a man from Wellington told me about how destroyed Christchurch is, and how there's little hope for the city to be fully reconstructed. That was probably my favorite part. (sarcasm...) Guess I'll see for my self soon enough. When I got to Sydney,  I was going through customs and I declared the chips and salsa I'm bringing to my new kiwi family. The man did not know what salsa was and sent me to have the K9 treatment. So after having all my luggage sniffed, I wandered around until I found the shuttle bus. Talk about being cramped.... there were 14 of us in this TINY "bus" and of course I was the last off 1 hour later. My hostel is nice, the people that run it are very friendly. They thought I was British... I need to work on my Texas accent a bit I guess. I ventured out and found my way to the opera house and sydney harbor bridge. It was GREAT! I walked through the Royal Botanic Garden and popped out right in front of the opera house. I then proceeded to take a couple very awkward I'mtravelingbymyself pictures. They're lovely I'm sure. after several hours of wandering around I made my way back towards to hostel where I remembered seeing a Thai place with a great lunch special. YUM! Thai food was a perfect... About now, I know I should be out and about exploring, but this is like the day that never ended. Apparently "today" I got on a plane in Dallas... I keep thinking surely its time to got to bed now... but it's only 2:30 in the afternoon. Anyways, I ate a big lunch so that I can check out The Victoria Room where my friend Caitlin worked for a while when she lived here in Sydney. Word is I can probably only afford appetizers. Tomorrow it's supposed to rain. I hope not because I'm planning to do something interesting. Another guy in the hostel said he's heading to this blue mountain tour thing and has an extra ticket which could be fun. I may also try to head over to Bondi Beach. We'll see! Alright, I think I've gathered the energy to venture around some more. I'll update again soonish!
PS: the sun is super intense here. there are complimentary sun block pump things everywhere. There are literally times during the day that you are "required" to wear sunblock or cover your skin when you're outside. YIKES! My skin has been in pants/ jackets since August.



pass on the left: I find it very hard to remember to go to the left of people on the sidewalk and when going up stairs... not at all intuitive/ makes for some funny awkward moments.