hullllo!
hope everyone's doing well, I am...now! What a week! After a great weekend full of kiwis, I was greeted by the reality that I'm actually still a univeristy student...woops. I have a large paper for criminology due the tuesday after break (oh yeah, on break now!) and other big assignments to prepare for the week I return. This past week I only had Maori midterm, which actually went really really well.
But I've also be dealing a lot with Vassar! Trying to get pin numbers for course registratoin and special permission from accross the globe is difficult! But I just got my pin and will register sometime over break. I've had little internet as our flat is switching servicies but am currently using internet up at Uni, though I can't skype anyone so, um Dad, for what it's worth: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, HAPPY BIRTHDAY DA---AD, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!
I've also fallen behind with keeping contact with a couple e-mails/facebook things and appologize but I've been soo busy with trying to organize my senior year classes.
So did anything interesting happen this week?
YES! Yesterday I attended a "Shut up & listen" hosted by my friend Tan. (Full name Tanydd "Tanyth" she's from Wales!) Everyone brought one song to road trip to, one guilty pleasure, and two others that they were currently digging. It was lots of fun, and I'll probably be brining this back to Vassar.
Also, in new zealand Easter is a big deal. As in good friday = NOTHING OPEN; the library is closed until monday which put a large dent in my paper writing. Good thing there's food in my flat becuase yesterday there wasn't much open. Even grocery store chains closed. TV commercials aren't allowed on Good Friday or Easter or Christmas...some differences that were a bit frustrating (no, not the lack of commericals...though Kiwi commericals are quite good!)
Wow, short entry, but alas that's all i really have time for. I'm trying to work on the paper that's due so that I can better enjoy break and thus should probably return to it. I promise to have awesome adventures and many pictures to share. I acutally brought a spare battery and memory card for my camera as on our north island road trip, my camera battery almost died and I filled up my memory card.
Talk to you soon!
Saturday, April 3
Sunday, March 28
Settled in classes; but a case of itchy feet
This week found me FINALLY feeling at home and settled with school as well as live in Wellington. And do you know what that means? Means I have a case of itchy feet and need to move around more. Lucky for me, it's almost our two-week Easter vacation, just one more week of classes to get through.
Saturday (last Saturday, not yesterday) found me on an IFSA-Butler Day Trip. We were told to meet at the train station at 7:45am, which I made just in time. We boarded…a bus? Not gonna lie, I was a bit disappointed as I really like trains. We drove to YMCA camp north of Wellington close to the Tararuas, where I had previously tramped with the tramping club. It reminded me a lot of orientation (if you remember we also stayed at a YMCA there—though YMCA’s here are not YMCA’s at home). We were split into groups for the day and my group took to white-water kayaking.
After some discussion about kayak’s and water, we scrambled into a bus and headed to the Hutt River (if you’ve seen LOTR, you should be familiar with this river as Peter Jackson used it a bit, most notably for the ending of the 1st film). We put on our kayak skirts and jackets and I managed to squeeze into my kayak. They were very small and shallow, not the longer ones that I’m used to on lakes.
We got into the water and paddled around a bit just getting used to being in a current (that likes to spin your boat!). Satisfied with our ability, our two guides led us down the river. Probably five minutes after we started, my boat had two inches of water in it as I was swept by a rapid into a rock, pinned to the rock, and then my skirt came off so my boat was filling with water. My only concern was my camera, which was in a waterproof bag, floating in the kayak. At the end of the first bit of rapids, I got a chance to drain my boat as we talked more about how to tackle rapids.
These rapids were noting to crazy and the river was pretty shallow. We did end up going down a two foot chute, which was awesome as you had to steer between two large rocks or else you’d get pinned at the top of the chute. We then practiced paddling upstream at the mouth of a chute because there is a point where you are riding the wave and it becomes easy to just stay where you are.
The final bout of rapid found us all bunched up so all our boats where together and we collided into each other, into rocks, and boy, was it fun! At the end I was not satisfied with how wet I was so I dove into the river. We then were carted back to the Y for some…KAI!
Kai consisted of quiche, which was delicious, lunch meat, croissants (think I had at least seven), and kiwifruit! So good. During lunch we talked with the other groups. One had gone to work with animals in the morning and the other had gone natural horseback riding. Anna had fallen off her horse when it decided to run full speed into a fence, stopping moments before. After Kai, I headed off the horseback riding.
As this was natural horseback riding, we had to bridle the horses (essentially catch them, though this was not a hard task). We groomed them, cleaned out their hooves, brushed, etc. We saddled them, and finally got on! I was on Raz, a 22-year-old who was apparently in love with Cleo, a 28-year-old. One of the horse, Dusty, remained tied up…perhaps he was the horse that bucked Anna? After being led around a trek (one student on the horse, one student leading) I was content, but after my previous adventure on a horse, I craved more. After returning to the horse camp, we put on the reins and were ready for actual riding.
As soon as Raz and I pulled away from the fence, I knew I had an awesome horse. He liked to go fast. As we progressed on the trail, every time he could he would gallop and I would hang on for my dear life! He was crazy, but that’s how I roll, so we made quite a good pair. When we arrived at a clearing, he raced full speed across. Our instructor was calling out things I could do to slow down, but I was laughing too hard to do anything but hold on. It was about here that I realized this was probably the horse that bucked off Anna. When we arrived back to the horse camp, true to form, Raz raced towards the same fence. I got him to turn around though and we did a few circles before he settled down. It was such a fun ride!
After we finished we returned them to their fields and I laughed watching Raz roll on the ground in the same manner my black lab does! Our instructor did mention she was worried about me riding once we took off, but I assured her it was the most fun I’d had on a horse yet.
They fed us carrot cake? Sure, why not! We boarded the bus and ended up by the Asian night market, which we explored while losing the group. My night ended up with me getting a lil’ trim from Hannah, who has a history of cutting hair, and trying to watch the movie Up. Though I feel asleep 30 mins in after such a long day!
Sunday – found me writing my first paper in New Zealand, which was only 1,000 words on a Maori composer: Ngoingoi Pewharangi. She composed such hits as “Poi E” and “E ipo”, maori music that successfully crossed over into Pakeha culture (pakeha = non-Maori Kiwis).
Monday – handed in that paper! And I went shopping for tramping gear, to calm my case of itchy-foot! But I bought NOTHING as easter sales start later this week.
Tuesday – woke up at 7:00 for Yoga with Briar at 7:30 at the gym. Second time in my life I’ve done yoga, and it was alright. The best part was how much sun flooded the room and the view of the city. I went to Maori language and Maori music; which are both picking up. After dinner I went to the tramping club meeting, mostly about their trip this weekend called bushcraft. Essentially trail-less hiking. The taught us compass skills.
Wednesday – happiest day ever. Woke up at 8:30 so that I’d close to Kathamandu by 9, the start of their sale. Today was for members only and members received an additional 15% off the total bill. And this was some sale! Almost everything was 50% off, with some things more and just a few things at 25%. I bought a pack, gaiters, boots, and many other pieces of gear that had me grinning ear to ear as I walked into Criminology. We have a test Friday! After my Maori music tut (tutorial), I went back to Kathmandu and purchased a couple things I hadn’t had time to get including shirts! I know own an entire outfit that contains 0% cotton and feel quite ready to embark on epic adventures!
That evening found me so happy that I couldn’t focus on anything and thus decided to try to make pancakes. My recipe called for buttermilk and my flat mates had never heard of it! It does exist here, though rare. However did you know you can make buttermilk with milk and vinegar? Because I do now! It seemed weird, but it made great golden brown cinnamon-banana-spice pancakes. I left Briar, who asked for one in the morning, a mickey mouse shaped panackae in the fridge. Such a great day!
Thursday – went to class, not much to report, except another test next week for Maori! We had tried to schedule a neighborhood BBQ for this evening, but it fell through as Dan, the neighbor who was organizing it, had gotten his wisdom teeth removed that morning. Why is this important? Because I cook on Thursdays and had no dinner plan due to the bbq! But I prevailed and delivered a meal consisting of French toast, banana-cinnamon pancakes, apple-cinnamon pancakes, and extra cooked apple bits to serve on top. I felt quite proud at my very nutritious dinner! After dinner I still found it hard to study for my test the following day and I ended up on facebook (what?) and talked with a neighbor Zach, who was headed to a concert Friday night. He invited me and anyone in my flat who wanted to come. So I bought my ticket for 20. Sophie was keen on going as were her friends Ryan and Tan.
Friday – Study, study, study with Armelle and Hannah. We wiped through all the crim material so fast Armelle and I had time to make chocolate chip cookies! However we were out of chocolate chips! So we improvised with drinking chocolate and banana. Interesting cookie, but not bad! We then had our test, which did not go as well as I wanted, but we’ll see.
Weekend had started and Hannah, Grace, and I headed off to see Max (another IFSA Butler kid). He lives in Stafford, where they have to check all guests in. But it’s a nice place, though it lacks an oven. He made a delicious dinner but I had to pull out early as I was eager to get to the show.
When I returned to my flat, it turned out Sophie didn’t get a ticket and that there was a chance we could get her one at the door. We decided to try and Zack, Matt (his flatmate), Sophie, and I got a ride from Liam (another of Zack’s flatmates). We found Tan and Ryan, and went in to the San Francisco Bathhouse, the concert venue to see Naked & Famous opening for Minuit, both NZ indie/electric bands. I was so stoked to see NZ music and thanked Zach over and over for letting us know. It was such a great show. Some woman thought I wasn’t into the music enough and gave me a glow bracelet that I could only wear if I danced, so I danced! But the moment I stopped she took it back. I pleaded with her that I could do better and she gave me a second chance. Probably the strangest interaction I’ve had with a Kiwi. After McD’s everyone was exhausted and went to bed while I went over to Hannah’s. My night ended up at Hannah’s house making some yummy food before Grace and I crashed at her place.
Saturday (yesterday) – up and moving slowly. Said I had a lot to do but I didn’t get much of anything done. Though I had a nice skype with my parents, went grocery shopping, and bought a loaf of French bread, such a good move! It made the best toasty I’ve had yet. That evening, I headed to Jo, Josh (alan’s bf), Alex, and Sylvan’s flatwarming! It was Alice in Wonderland themed and they had even constructed a rabbit hole for their door. I met some more kiwis, got to know some kiwis better, and had a wonderful time. Sophie and I cut out early as we were exhausted. It was great weekend full of Kiwis! Not bad for this American. It was also nice to stay home for a whole weekend for a change.
Peace!
Saturday (last Saturday, not yesterday) found me on an IFSA-Butler Day Trip. We were told to meet at the train station at 7:45am, which I made just in time. We boarded…a bus? Not gonna lie, I was a bit disappointed as I really like trains. We drove to YMCA camp north of Wellington close to the Tararuas, where I had previously tramped with the tramping club. It reminded me a lot of orientation (if you remember we also stayed at a YMCA there—though YMCA’s here are not YMCA’s at home). We were split into groups for the day and my group took to white-water kayaking.
After some discussion about kayak’s and water, we scrambled into a bus and headed to the Hutt River (if you’ve seen LOTR, you should be familiar with this river as Peter Jackson used it a bit, most notably for the ending of the 1st film). We put on our kayak skirts and jackets and I managed to squeeze into my kayak. They were very small and shallow, not the longer ones that I’m used to on lakes.
We got into the water and paddled around a bit just getting used to being in a current (that likes to spin your boat!). Satisfied with our ability, our two guides led us down the river. Probably five minutes after we started, my boat had two inches of water in it as I was swept by a rapid into a rock, pinned to the rock, and then my skirt came off so my boat was filling with water. My only concern was my camera, which was in a waterproof bag, floating in the kayak. At the end of the first bit of rapids, I got a chance to drain my boat as we talked more about how to tackle rapids.
These rapids were noting to crazy and the river was pretty shallow. We did end up going down a two foot chute, which was awesome as you had to steer between two large rocks or else you’d get pinned at the top of the chute. We then practiced paddling upstream at the mouth of a chute because there is a point where you are riding the wave and it becomes easy to just stay where you are.
The final bout of rapid found us all bunched up so all our boats where together and we collided into each other, into rocks, and boy, was it fun! At the end I was not satisfied with how wet I was so I dove into the river. We then were carted back to the Y for some…KAI!
Kai consisted of quiche, which was delicious, lunch meat, croissants (think I had at least seven), and kiwifruit! So good. During lunch we talked with the other groups. One had gone to work with animals in the morning and the other had gone natural horseback riding. Anna had fallen off her horse when it decided to run full speed into a fence, stopping moments before. After Kai, I headed off the horseback riding.
As this was natural horseback riding, we had to bridle the horses (essentially catch them, though this was not a hard task). We groomed them, cleaned out their hooves, brushed, etc. We saddled them, and finally got on! I was on Raz, a 22-year-old who was apparently in love with Cleo, a 28-year-old. One of the horse, Dusty, remained tied up…perhaps he was the horse that bucked Anna? After being led around a trek (one student on the horse, one student leading) I was content, but after my previous adventure on a horse, I craved more. After returning to the horse camp, we put on the reins and were ready for actual riding.
As soon as Raz and I pulled away from the fence, I knew I had an awesome horse. He liked to go fast. As we progressed on the trail, every time he could he would gallop and I would hang on for my dear life! He was crazy, but that’s how I roll, so we made quite a good pair. When we arrived at a clearing, he raced full speed across. Our instructor was calling out things I could do to slow down, but I was laughing too hard to do anything but hold on. It was about here that I realized this was probably the horse that bucked off Anna. When we arrived back to the horse camp, true to form, Raz raced towards the same fence. I got him to turn around though and we did a few circles before he settled down. It was such a fun ride!
After we finished we returned them to their fields and I laughed watching Raz roll on the ground in the same manner my black lab does! Our instructor did mention she was worried about me riding once we took off, but I assured her it was the most fun I’d had on a horse yet.
They fed us carrot cake? Sure, why not! We boarded the bus and ended up by the Asian night market, which we explored while losing the group. My night ended up with me getting a lil’ trim from Hannah, who has a history of cutting hair, and trying to watch the movie Up. Though I feel asleep 30 mins in after such a long day!
Sunday – found me writing my first paper in New Zealand, which was only 1,000 words on a Maori composer: Ngoingoi Pewharangi. She composed such hits as “Poi E” and “E ipo”, maori music that successfully crossed over into Pakeha culture (pakeha = non-Maori Kiwis).
Monday – handed in that paper! And I went shopping for tramping gear, to calm my case of itchy-foot! But I bought NOTHING as easter sales start later this week.
Tuesday – woke up at 7:00 for Yoga with Briar at 7:30 at the gym. Second time in my life I’ve done yoga, and it was alright. The best part was how much sun flooded the room and the view of the city. I went to Maori language and Maori music; which are both picking up. After dinner I went to the tramping club meeting, mostly about their trip this weekend called bushcraft. Essentially trail-less hiking. The taught us compass skills.
Wednesday – happiest day ever. Woke up at 8:30 so that I’d close to Kathamandu by 9, the start of their sale. Today was for members only and members received an additional 15% off the total bill. And this was some sale! Almost everything was 50% off, with some things more and just a few things at 25%. I bought a pack, gaiters, boots, and many other pieces of gear that had me grinning ear to ear as I walked into Criminology. We have a test Friday! After my Maori music tut (tutorial), I went back to Kathmandu and purchased a couple things I hadn’t had time to get including shirts! I know own an entire outfit that contains 0% cotton and feel quite ready to embark on epic adventures!
That evening found me so happy that I couldn’t focus on anything and thus decided to try to make pancakes. My recipe called for buttermilk and my flat mates had never heard of it! It does exist here, though rare. However did you know you can make buttermilk with milk and vinegar? Because I do now! It seemed weird, but it made great golden brown cinnamon-banana-spice pancakes. I left Briar, who asked for one in the morning, a mickey mouse shaped panackae in the fridge. Such a great day!
Thursday – went to class, not much to report, except another test next week for Maori! We had tried to schedule a neighborhood BBQ for this evening, but it fell through as Dan, the neighbor who was organizing it, had gotten his wisdom teeth removed that morning. Why is this important? Because I cook on Thursdays and had no dinner plan due to the bbq! But I prevailed and delivered a meal consisting of French toast, banana-cinnamon pancakes, apple-cinnamon pancakes, and extra cooked apple bits to serve on top. I felt quite proud at my very nutritious dinner! After dinner I still found it hard to study for my test the following day and I ended up on facebook (what?) and talked with a neighbor Zach, who was headed to a concert Friday night. He invited me and anyone in my flat who wanted to come. So I bought my ticket for 20. Sophie was keen on going as were her friends Ryan and Tan.
Friday – Study, study, study with Armelle and Hannah. We wiped through all the crim material so fast Armelle and I had time to make chocolate chip cookies! However we were out of chocolate chips! So we improvised with drinking chocolate and banana. Interesting cookie, but not bad! We then had our test, which did not go as well as I wanted, but we’ll see.
Weekend had started and Hannah, Grace, and I headed off to see Max (another IFSA Butler kid). He lives in Stafford, where they have to check all guests in. But it’s a nice place, though it lacks an oven. He made a delicious dinner but I had to pull out early as I was eager to get to the show.
When I returned to my flat, it turned out Sophie didn’t get a ticket and that there was a chance we could get her one at the door. We decided to try and Zack, Matt (his flatmate), Sophie, and I got a ride from Liam (another of Zack’s flatmates). We found Tan and Ryan, and went in to the San Francisco Bathhouse, the concert venue to see Naked & Famous opening for Minuit, both NZ indie/electric bands. I was so stoked to see NZ music and thanked Zach over and over for letting us know. It was such a great show. Some woman thought I wasn’t into the music enough and gave me a glow bracelet that I could only wear if I danced, so I danced! But the moment I stopped she took it back. I pleaded with her that I could do better and she gave me a second chance. Probably the strangest interaction I’ve had with a Kiwi. After McD’s everyone was exhausted and went to bed while I went over to Hannah’s. My night ended up at Hannah’s house making some yummy food before Grace and I crashed at her place.
Saturday (yesterday) – up and moving slowly. Said I had a lot to do but I didn’t get much of anything done. Though I had a nice skype with my parents, went grocery shopping, and bought a loaf of French bread, such a good move! It made the best toasty I’ve had yet. That evening, I headed to Jo, Josh (alan’s bf), Alex, and Sylvan’s flatwarming! It was Alice in Wonderland themed and they had even constructed a rabbit hole for their door. I met some more kiwis, got to know some kiwis better, and had a wonderful time. Sophie and I cut out early as we were exhausted. It was great weekend full of Kiwis! Not bad for this American. It was also nice to stay home for a whole weekend for a change.
Peace!
Monday, March 22
For Johnny, Week 3
The following is a poem, written by my flatmate Briar. I meant to share it before and just found it! Enjoy.
"There was a light
once shining
In a far off land
First it looked quite scary
Then it took him by the hand
Feeding you kai
And promising adventure
You didn't know yet
That there was more
There was us four
Pioneers of 4 GT
Two boys and girls three
Let's step out and beyond
the wild trees ahead
Heaps keen
Let's all let ourselves be led
(And now I'm off to bed)"
Good stuff, especially bc she wrote it in like 4 mins.
"There was a light
once shining
In a far off land
First it looked quite scary
Then it took him by the hand
Feeding you kai
And promising adventure
You didn't know yet
That there was more
There was us four
Pioneers of 4 GT
Two boys and girls three
Let's step out and beyond
the wild trees ahead
Heaps keen
Let's all let ourselves be led
(And now I'm off to bed)"
Good stuff, especially bc she wrote it in like 4 mins.
Friday, March 19
Startling to settle in to uni
Update for this week, here we go!!!
Monday I awoke very happy after my wonderful week of tramping. I looked up my work and realized I actually had some! Monday evening found me taking part of an IFSA-Butler event: A night on the town. We met at Te Papa, Welly's museum and went inside where a theatre is located. The "play" was called Mark Twain & Me in Maoriland. I say "play" as it did feature some singing and was not really a narrative, felt much more like story theatre in presentation but without a concrete idea of where the story was heading. What was it about? Good question! I'm still asking myself that. It was about colonialism in Aotearoa (NZ) from the eyes of Mark Twain, who despised such ideas secretly in his journal when he visited New Zealand and saw the clash between Maori and the Europeans. It was well done, i think, I'm just not sure what was done.
After dinner we got a real treat: any dessert we wanted as Strawberry Fare!!! Where desserts are served as dinner portions (though keep in mind NZ dinner portions are not American dinner portions). But they were still pretty large! I had Pavlova, a traditional NZ dessert that has enough sugar in it to make anyone diabetic, or so Hannah quickly surmised. And boy was it sweet! The dessert was created in honor of Anna Pavlova, a Russian ballet dancer. There was much debate as to whether it was created by NZ or Australia, but apparently it's NZ. It's essentially egg whites + sugar whipped up inside a hard meringue shell. It was served topped with Kiwifruit and Passion fruit sauce. Actually I had my first Kiwifruit in New Zealand that night! Though apparently they aren't a native species...whatever still delicious. Apparently they used to be called Chinese gooseberries (as they are from China), according to my prestigious source (Briar Rose Davies, one of my lovely flatmates, if you remember and remember her you should!).
Tuesday found me at Uni in class and learning a bit of new Maori as well as some Maori songs with gestures, though I must admit the music class moves quickly and I failed to pick up on much of it. It time I will! But anyways,
Ko Johnny taku ingnoa. No Chicago ahau. Kei te pai ahau. Ko Jim toku tuakana. Ko Nancy toku whaea. Ko Larry toku matua. Kei te pehea koe?
Translation: I'm Johnny. I'm from Chicago. I'm good. Jim is my older brother. Nancy is my mother. Larry is my father. How are you?
Pretty basic in terms of my vocabulary, but the language is quite fun! A very different structure than spanish or english and it focuses much more on one's relationship and place in life. There are 6 different ways to say "my" because in Maori you identify if your possessions/friends/family are superior/inferior to you. Also most words don't have a plural form, instead you change the possessive word like my to indicate more than one. I also had my first tutorial and now have a vocabulary test next wed and a listening assignment due thursday, which I'm proud to say I've completed!
Maori music has kept me busy with an essay due monday. though i've yet to start writing I have been able to find some good sources by visiting the library this morning and getting a library card for Wellington's library! My essay is on Ngoingoi Pewhairangi, a Maori contemporary composer most famous for her songs E Ipo and Poi E.
Criminology is still quite interesting, today we discussed green and human rights criminology, both very unique approaches as well as peacemaking criminology, which is inspired by Ghandian and Buddhist principles.
Wednesday was St. Patrick's day! An Student night! So everyone was out and about and green. Quite a big holiday here as well. I attended a Kiwi party with Alan and Briar (flatmates) and then hit up some places in town with some of the Americans. It was a nice night.
Thursday I made sweet and sour chicken and fried rice for dinner, spending far too much time on it in an effort of procrastination. When I finally arrived at the library that night I ended up uploaded the 100 best NZ songs onto my computer. Procrastination? Yes! So happy with my decision? YES! And E Ipo and Poi E are on the best list and I need to listen to them for my essay anyways, so it sorta counts, right? Things I learned from the best 100 that How Bizarre was composed by Kiwis! I had no idea!
Friday found me getting that library card (which involves proof of residency, ID, second address, phone numbers, etc.) and finding more sources! I also went to town with all four flatmates (Sophie, Anna, Briar, and Alan) and we found a cheap place to eat delicious food and an outdoor summer cafe with live music for a spot of coffee. It was a very nice summer night, which was a welcome change as it's been quite cold this week.
Tomorrow I have another IFSA Butler event. More details to come...
Questions/Comments also welcome!
Monday I awoke very happy after my wonderful week of tramping. I looked up my work and realized I actually had some! Monday evening found me taking part of an IFSA-Butler event: A night on the town. We met at Te Papa, Welly's museum and went inside where a theatre is located. The "play" was called Mark Twain & Me in Maoriland. I say "play" as it did feature some singing and was not really a narrative, felt much more like story theatre in presentation but without a concrete idea of where the story was heading. What was it about? Good question! I'm still asking myself that. It was about colonialism in Aotearoa (NZ) from the eyes of Mark Twain, who despised such ideas secretly in his journal when he visited New Zealand and saw the clash between Maori and the Europeans. It was well done, i think, I'm just not sure what was done.
After dinner we got a real treat: any dessert we wanted as Strawberry Fare!!! Where desserts are served as dinner portions (though keep in mind NZ dinner portions are not American dinner portions). But they were still pretty large! I had Pavlova, a traditional NZ dessert that has enough sugar in it to make anyone diabetic, or so Hannah quickly surmised. And boy was it sweet! The dessert was created in honor of Anna Pavlova, a Russian ballet dancer. There was much debate as to whether it was created by NZ or Australia, but apparently it's NZ. It's essentially egg whites + sugar whipped up inside a hard meringue shell. It was served topped with Kiwifruit and Passion fruit sauce. Actually I had my first Kiwifruit in New Zealand that night! Though apparently they aren't a native species...whatever still delicious. Apparently they used to be called Chinese gooseberries (as they are from China), according to my prestigious source (Briar Rose Davies, one of my lovely flatmates, if you remember and remember her you should!).
Tuesday found me at Uni in class and learning a bit of new Maori as well as some Maori songs with gestures, though I must admit the music class moves quickly and I failed to pick up on much of it. It time I will! But anyways,
Ko Johnny taku ingnoa. No Chicago ahau. Kei te pai ahau. Ko Jim toku tuakana. Ko Nancy toku whaea. Ko Larry toku matua. Kei te pehea koe?
Translation: I'm Johnny. I'm from Chicago. I'm good. Jim is my older brother. Nancy is my mother. Larry is my father. How are you?
Pretty basic in terms of my vocabulary, but the language is quite fun! A very different structure than spanish or english and it focuses much more on one's relationship and place in life. There are 6 different ways to say "my" because in Maori you identify if your possessions/friends/family are superior/inferior to you. Also most words don't have a plural form, instead you change the possessive word like my to indicate more than one. I also had my first tutorial and now have a vocabulary test next wed and a listening assignment due thursday, which I'm proud to say I've completed!
Maori music has kept me busy with an essay due monday. though i've yet to start writing I have been able to find some good sources by visiting the library this morning and getting a library card for Wellington's library! My essay is on Ngoingoi Pewhairangi, a Maori contemporary composer most famous for her songs E Ipo and Poi E.
Criminology is still quite interesting, today we discussed green and human rights criminology, both very unique approaches as well as peacemaking criminology, which is inspired by Ghandian and Buddhist principles.
Wednesday was St. Patrick's day! An Student night! So everyone was out and about and green. Quite a big holiday here as well. I attended a Kiwi party with Alan and Briar (flatmates) and then hit up some places in town with some of the Americans. It was a nice night.
Thursday I made sweet and sour chicken and fried rice for dinner, spending far too much time on it in an effort of procrastination. When I finally arrived at the library that night I ended up uploaded the 100 best NZ songs onto my computer. Procrastination? Yes! So happy with my decision? YES! And E Ipo and Poi E are on the best list and I need to listen to them for my essay anyways, so it sorta counts, right? Things I learned from the best 100 that How Bizarre was composed by Kiwis! I had no idea!
Friday found me getting that library card (which involves proof of residency, ID, second address, phone numbers, etc.) and finding more sources! I also went to town with all four flatmates (Sophie, Anna, Briar, and Alan) and we found a cheap place to eat delicious food and an outdoor summer cafe with live music for a spot of coffee. It was a very nice summer night, which was a welcome change as it's been quite cold this week.
Tomorrow I have another IFSA Butler event. More details to come...
Questions/Comments also welcome!
Tuesday, March 16
From the Tramping Club trip...
The first bridge that we crossed, much more stable than the second.
This just reminded me of Fern Gully, as a new seed is growing out of an old tree. Life starts anew.
The river we followed for most of the hike
This is what a temperate rain forest looks like.
hannah
Bit of a view, but the hike wasn't really about climbing anything, more just a tramp in the woods.
Sunday, March 14
Trekking, Take One, Action
hulooooo!
I am back from my first ever trekking experience. (Trekking = tramping overnight and tramping = hiking.) After a friday spent doing a bit of work and only one paper (class), I packed in only an hour or so and headed off to Hannah's for some grub. Together we walked to meet Vic's Tramping club, boarded a bus, and headed out from Wellington.
The weather in Welly was rainy, with high winds, and some cyclone-action. As we drove out of Welly we lost much of the wind, but the rain seemed to be everywhere. After a two hour bus ride, we left the bus and began setting up tents in the dark in the middle of nowhere! Thankfully, almost everyone had taken the list of things to bring seriously; sooo many head-torches (torch = flashlight). In fact too many head-torches. Seriously, the situation was reminiscent of driving with brights, you know where if you see another car you turn them off? Well, no one turned them off and blinding lights were scattered around our camp site. The club provided some chips/cookies and many trampers had taken the offer of bringing alcohol. After socializing a bit, I left the lil' hut where we were staying dry (as the rain had returned) and headed into my tent, though tent is an understatment. One tarp on the ground, one tarp suspended by poles above. Basically a tent, though a bit drafty and rainy. I was a bit too long for our setup and after a rough night of sleeping with a storm, I awoke with a bit of dampness in the end of my down bag. Down bags are great and warm but sure don't do well with water. The trip was off to great start...
But in actuality, I was still having a great time as I was so excited to try one of my one-square meal bars! With 700 calories and 33% of you daily needs, it is the ultimate way to start one's day, I paired this with a banana-flavored up & go. Banana flavored up & gos will not be purchased by me nor anyone else I come into contact with. Also, when we woke up we actually saw where we were and where we were was wonderful (try saying that ten times fast!). Camp was surrounded by high hills and quite a bit of temperate rain forest. This was the Tararua range, two hours north of Welly.
Fueled with breakfast, we broke down our "tents", repacked our large bags (I was borrowing Anna's big bag) and started hiking. My group was last to leave the campsite, which we liked giving us no rush and a chance to be slow and take pictures. However half of our group including myself go quite fast for taking our sweet time! From gabbing about ourselves and the beginning, we switched to gasping at the beauty of the hike.
Giant trees (well, in my opinion), ferns that were almost my size, and furry branches gave us much to marvel at. Not long after starting we came across a bridge. This would not be the last of many many many river crossings. It had a load of 8 persons and was about 30 meters or so across. Designed to give in to NZ wind, it swayed a bit, but not too much. Crossing and seeing the river down below did raise my heart beat and gave an instant adrenaline rush.
A few hours later, we hit a large river crossing, in which we had to take off our shoes/socks in order to wade across. Some of the trampers, simply walked right through, boot and all. My half group made it to the lunch spot soon after wards, some rocks/boulders on the river in the sun. I attempted to toast my ham+cheese sandwich in the sun on a rock, but to no avail. After lunch, Hannah and I waded into the water, which was extremely frigid and numbing. So naturally we had to jump right in, though the swimming lasted less than a minute. Regardless we felt proud and continued onward, having lost her group and mine.
After trapesing through mud that rivals the Adirondacks in New York, Hannah and I made it to the campsite, where many students had tried the water. Feeling brave we went in again! Though there was an epic wind, which made me crawl out sooner than I wished. Some trampers were sitting around some food and having swigs of wine and after a couple swigs for myself, I was determined to try the water again! Finally I got to swimming for almost two minutes! Then had the pleasure of putting on dry clothes.
My group combined our ingredients to make guacamole, probably the best I've ever had, and pasta with onions, zucchini, carrots, and my two cans of sauce. Like before on my road trip, two parcels of spaghetti is a lot for seven people, but after tramping all day we where able to finish all of it and most of the guac and not all of the dessert. Apricot pudding (pudding = ??? cake/tart/just general dessert?). After such an excellent and filling dinner, I joined the group 'round a big ol' bonfire. Before I sat down I tried to fill up my nalgene from the river, because apparently that's safe...i wasn't too trusting and intended on using it for emergency water only. As I reached down to fill it up, I slipped and off went my nalegene. I starred at it floating away weighing the pros and cons of the situation before the logic of "I love that water bottle" swayed my judgment. Stripping off my socks I ran down the river back (all rocks mind you) retrieved my nalgene and then tripped in the water plunging my new fresh pair of socks into the water. :( <-- that was my face.
I went to the bonfire with all my socks and wet clothes and boots to dry them by the fire, when I got the brilliant idea to tie my sock to a stick and dry it over the flames. It was working! Steam was being released and they started drying. Feeling even more brilliant i just unrolled the whole sock and stuck a twig through the sock and put that over the fire. The winds frequently caused much smoke to travel my direction and I got the even more brilliant idea of planting part of my branch into the ground as do I could close my eyes. All was well and good until someone added more wood to the fire, causing more smoke, causing me to look away for TOO long. I looked up to see more steam rising, until ti realized it was more smokey. I pulled my sock back to find a small hole in the middle of a dark burnt patch. As I picked it off the twig I watched in horror as the burnt part disintegrated in front of my eyes.
:( <-- my face x 10. Such sadness, but really such stupidity!! But alas, I have plenty of socks back in my flat for other excursions.
Feeling disheartened, which soon just turned into heartened via a roasted marshmallow, shooting starts, and the clearest Milky Way galaxy I've seen, I headed towards or tent, which was located on some tall grass giving it wonderful cushion. I slept so much better and could even recall a dream (which oddly enough I have been able to do more times in New Zealand than I have ever been able to do in my life).
I woke up excited for ONE SQUARE MEAL (which was NOT accompanied by a banana up&go) as well as less excited for the absence of a toilet/outhouse. After reenacting a Charming commercial, I woofed down by breakfast and headed out for the final day of our journey. Today we would be ascending 400 meters in an hour, which had some people a bit nervous. After passing by the Totara Flats hut, where you could spend a night in a bed with toilets (= lame), we came to a large bridge. This time it had a maximum load of ONE PERSON! And was swaying in the wind. It had steel bars every foot or so with chain-link mesh between. Not my idea of sturdy, but it held all 200+ pounds of me plus my large pack.
Our next obstacle was another large stream, all of these smaller streams feed into the Waiohine River (I think that's the right name, not sure). Instead of taking of boots, it seemed more cross-able and those days of track and field which included the triple jump really came in handy!
After the stream we finally started the main ascent. I decided to time myself and managed to pass the leaders in front and get to the top much faster than I thought I could. Though I was not exactly sure where we were headed but I asked some kind trampers and found my way to a nice lookout, where I eventually encountered some of my old group. We hiked down after having a spot of lunch and were greeted with a kiwi BBQ from the leaders who had sprinted ahead. (Kiwis don't use buns...I don't really know why, something about excess carbs/food. Instead they just use bread...I'm starting to get use to it, but so want to show the what they are missing). The bbz spot at the end of the tramp was also located by a river and Hannah and I again dove in, lasting maybe seven seconds. Refreshed, fed, and de-shoed, we headed for the bus and returned to Victoria, this time able to see the scenery. I sat next to girl named Hannah (different than the other Hannah, confusing, no?), a Harvard grad on semester program at Vic. It turns out she currently resides not too far from my place.
After being dropped off I walked barefoot to my flat. I was greeted with warm dinner by Sophie and chocolate from our neighbors. Finally getting my shower, I found the time to update my blog! Still need to check the homework situation, but I have all tomorrow for that...
It's been, yet again, another unbelievable Kiwi experience. Hope all is well with you!
Cheers,
Johnny
I am back from my first ever trekking experience. (Trekking = tramping overnight and tramping = hiking.) After a friday spent doing a bit of work and only one paper (class), I packed in only an hour or so and headed off to Hannah's for some grub. Together we walked to meet Vic's Tramping club, boarded a bus, and headed out from Wellington.
The weather in Welly was rainy, with high winds, and some cyclone-action. As we drove out of Welly we lost much of the wind, but the rain seemed to be everywhere. After a two hour bus ride, we left the bus and began setting up tents in the dark in the middle of nowhere! Thankfully, almost everyone had taken the list of things to bring seriously; sooo many head-torches (torch = flashlight). In fact too many head-torches. Seriously, the situation was reminiscent of driving with brights, you know where if you see another car you turn them off? Well, no one turned them off and blinding lights were scattered around our camp site. The club provided some chips/cookies and many trampers had taken the offer of bringing alcohol. After socializing a bit, I left the lil' hut where we were staying dry (as the rain had returned) and headed into my tent, though tent is an understatment. One tarp on the ground, one tarp suspended by poles above. Basically a tent, though a bit drafty and rainy. I was a bit too long for our setup and after a rough night of sleeping with a storm, I awoke with a bit of dampness in the end of my down bag. Down bags are great and warm but sure don't do well with water. The trip was off to great start...
But in actuality, I was still having a great time as I was so excited to try one of my one-square meal bars! With 700 calories and 33% of you daily needs, it is the ultimate way to start one's day, I paired this with a banana-flavored up & go. Banana flavored up & gos will not be purchased by me nor anyone else I come into contact with. Also, when we woke up we actually saw where we were and where we were was wonderful (try saying that ten times fast!). Camp was surrounded by high hills and quite a bit of temperate rain forest. This was the Tararua range, two hours north of Welly.
Fueled with breakfast, we broke down our "tents", repacked our large bags (I was borrowing Anna's big bag) and started hiking. My group was last to leave the campsite, which we liked giving us no rush and a chance to be slow and take pictures. However half of our group including myself go quite fast for taking our sweet time! From gabbing about ourselves and the beginning, we switched to gasping at the beauty of the hike.
Giant trees (well, in my opinion), ferns that were almost my size, and furry branches gave us much to marvel at. Not long after starting we came across a bridge. This would not be the last of many many many river crossings. It had a load of 8 persons and was about 30 meters or so across. Designed to give in to NZ wind, it swayed a bit, but not too much. Crossing and seeing the river down below did raise my heart beat and gave an instant adrenaline rush.
A few hours later, we hit a large river crossing, in which we had to take off our shoes/socks in order to wade across. Some of the trampers, simply walked right through, boot and all. My half group made it to the lunch spot soon after wards, some rocks/boulders on the river in the sun. I attempted to toast my ham+cheese sandwich in the sun on a rock, but to no avail. After lunch, Hannah and I waded into the water, which was extremely frigid and numbing. So naturally we had to jump right in, though the swimming lasted less than a minute. Regardless we felt proud and continued onward, having lost her group and mine.
After trapesing through mud that rivals the Adirondacks in New York, Hannah and I made it to the campsite, where many students had tried the water. Feeling brave we went in again! Though there was an epic wind, which made me crawl out sooner than I wished. Some trampers were sitting around some food and having swigs of wine and after a couple swigs for myself, I was determined to try the water again! Finally I got to swimming for almost two minutes! Then had the pleasure of putting on dry clothes.
My group combined our ingredients to make guacamole, probably the best I've ever had, and pasta with onions, zucchini, carrots, and my two cans of sauce. Like before on my road trip, two parcels of spaghetti is a lot for seven people, but after tramping all day we where able to finish all of it and most of the guac and not all of the dessert. Apricot pudding (pudding = ??? cake/tart/just general dessert?). After such an excellent and filling dinner, I joined the group 'round a big ol' bonfire. Before I sat down I tried to fill up my nalgene from the river, because apparently that's safe...i wasn't too trusting and intended on using it for emergency water only. As I reached down to fill it up, I slipped and off went my nalegene. I starred at it floating away weighing the pros and cons of the situation before the logic of "I love that water bottle" swayed my judgment. Stripping off my socks I ran down the river back (all rocks mind you) retrieved my nalgene and then tripped in the water plunging my new fresh pair of socks into the water. :( <-- that was my face.
I went to the bonfire with all my socks and wet clothes and boots to dry them by the fire, when I got the brilliant idea to tie my sock to a stick and dry it over the flames. It was working! Steam was being released and they started drying. Feeling even more brilliant i just unrolled the whole sock and stuck a twig through the sock and put that over the fire. The winds frequently caused much smoke to travel my direction and I got the even more brilliant idea of planting part of my branch into the ground as do I could close my eyes. All was well and good until someone added more wood to the fire, causing more smoke, causing me to look away for TOO long. I looked up to see more steam rising, until ti realized it was more smokey. I pulled my sock back to find a small hole in the middle of a dark burnt patch. As I picked it off the twig I watched in horror as the burnt part disintegrated in front of my eyes.
:( <-- my face x 10. Such sadness, but really such stupidity!! But alas, I have plenty of socks back in my flat for other excursions.
Feeling disheartened, which soon just turned into heartened via a roasted marshmallow, shooting starts, and the clearest Milky Way galaxy I've seen, I headed towards or tent, which was located on some tall grass giving it wonderful cushion. I slept so much better and could even recall a dream (which oddly enough I have been able to do more times in New Zealand than I have ever been able to do in my life).
I woke up excited for ONE SQUARE MEAL (which was NOT accompanied by a banana up&go) as well as less excited for the absence of a toilet/outhouse. After reenacting a Charming commercial, I woofed down by breakfast and headed out for the final day of our journey. Today we would be ascending 400 meters in an hour, which had some people a bit nervous. After passing by the Totara Flats hut, where you could spend a night in a bed with toilets (= lame), we came to a large bridge. This time it had a maximum load of ONE PERSON! And was swaying in the wind. It had steel bars every foot or so with chain-link mesh between. Not my idea of sturdy, but it held all 200+ pounds of me plus my large pack.
Our next obstacle was another large stream, all of these smaller streams feed into the Waiohine River (I think that's the right name, not sure). Instead of taking of boots, it seemed more cross-able and those days of track and field which included the triple jump really came in handy!
After the stream we finally started the main ascent. I decided to time myself and managed to pass the leaders in front and get to the top much faster than I thought I could. Though I was not exactly sure where we were headed but I asked some kind trampers and found my way to a nice lookout, where I eventually encountered some of my old group. We hiked down after having a spot of lunch and were greeted with a kiwi BBQ from the leaders who had sprinted ahead. (Kiwis don't use buns...I don't really know why, something about excess carbs/food. Instead they just use bread...I'm starting to get use to it, but so want to show the what they are missing). The bbz spot at the end of the tramp was also located by a river and Hannah and I again dove in, lasting maybe seven seconds. Refreshed, fed, and de-shoed, we headed for the bus and returned to Victoria, this time able to see the scenery. I sat next to girl named Hannah (different than the other Hannah, confusing, no?), a Harvard grad on semester program at Vic. It turns out she currently resides not too far from my place.
After being dropped off I walked barefoot to my flat. I was greeted with warm dinner by Sophie and chocolate from our neighbors. Finally getting my shower, I found the time to update my blog! Still need to check the homework situation, but I have all tomorrow for that...
It's been, yet again, another unbelievable Kiwi experience. Hope all is well with you!
Cheers,
Johnny
Thursday, March 11
Because sometimes language can't quite describe...
So for some reason the pictures were order in reverse chronological order...perhaps something I can improve upon in the future. I'll leave you to take in the pictures but will add a couple quick comments
End of Tongariro crossing
note that black lava flow on the left
red crater
mt. doom again
scree on left and right, rock stream if you will in the middle, that's how you get down in 30 mins
on top.
Mt. Ngauruhoe (Mt. Doom)
Starting the Tongariro Crossing
Lake Taupo
The Dark Night, our trusted rent-a-van
Rotorua, NZ complete with mud pools
riding horses through rivers
We turned a corner and BAM! so beautiful...
The dusk view from our flat
Wellington
View from my french toast...
On the Marae, us boys doing part of a Haka, though we didn't actually learn any words. The meeting house for Whare (prnc. far-ay), can be seen in the background. No photos allowed inside.
Truly New Zealand, complete with sheep. One of the first pictures I took.
End of Tongariro crossing
note that black lava flow on the left
red crater
mt. doom again
scree on left and right, rock stream if you will in the middle, that's how you get down in 30 mins
on top.
Mt. Ngauruhoe (Mt. Doom)
Starting the Tongariro Crossing
Lake Taupo
The Dark Night, our trusted rent-a-van
Rotorua, NZ complete with mud pools
riding horses through rivers
We turned a corner and BAM! so beautiful...
The dusk view from our flat
Wellington
View from my french toast...
On the Marae, us boys doing part of a Haka, though we didn't actually learn any words. The meeting house for Whare (prnc. far-ay), can be seen in the background. No photos allowed inside.
Truly New Zealand, complete with sheep. One of the first pictures I took.
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