this is it!

Hey everyone! I'm sorry I haven't written in so long but the past few weeks have just been a blur! Tomorrow I leave to go back to Minnesota and I can hardly believe it. I have no idea where the past few months have gone but it's already time to get back to the real world and responsibilities!

This past week I took another road trip, this time around the North Island. We left from Wellington and headed up the East coast towards Napier on our first day, stopping at castle point. The weather was pretty crappy the entire trip but every once in awhile, we would get a break in the clouds and when we stopped at castle point we got a little bit of sunshine which was nice. Castle point is just a lighthouse but of course the surrounding area is gorgeous and there is a little walk up to the lighthouse that my group did. Then we got back into the car and headed to Napier. It was the Queen's birthday weekend so finding a place to tent the first night was kind of a nightmare. Apparently, England doesn't even celebrate the queen's birthday but New Zealand does and the whole country shuts down just like it did on Easter. But eventually we found a spot and slept pretty well after a long day of driving. After Napier, we headed towards Taupo but the rain kept us from hanging out there so we just did a little shopping, I finally recieved my Pounamu greenstone from Chelsea so that was really exciting! According to tradition, you can't buy yourself a greenstone, it has to be a gift so we kind of cheated and I described in great detail what I wanted mine to look like and Chelsea gave it to me on our trip! I feel a little more kiwi everyday! After Taupo, we headed towards Rotorua where it all started at the beginning of my trip. We spent a night in Kiwipaka which is the backpackers my Australearn group originally stayed at my first week in New Zealand. It was exciting to be back there but it wasn't quite as exciting as the first time we were there. The weather was crap again so we just hung out inside, played cards and got some fish n chips.

The next day on our way out of Rotorua we stopped at the Redwood forest which was really cool because I've never really seen Redwoods before. They imported 150 redwoods from the U.S. as an experiment a few decades ago to see how well they would grow in New Zealand conditions and they definitely flourished. The forest was beautiful and we took a nice half hour walk. After the forest we headed up towards the Coromandel peninsula and found a really nice new backpackers to stay at for really cheap. We ended up there for two nights because the price was so nice and we got up to coromandel a lot quicker than we had expected so we needed to waste a day. We got to coromandel late that night so we just went to bed and got up early the next morning to head to Cathedral Cove. If any of you have seen the chronicles of narnia, Cathedral Cove is in the beginning of the movie :) We spent quite a few hours there because the weather was fantastic and we were the only ones on the beach which was also really nice. We made a sand castle, had a PB&J for lunch and just kind of hung out. It was a really nice lazy day. After Cathedral Cove we stopped at a few more little beaches on the way back to our backpackers, ended up at Cook Beach where they have a fun little tree swing that we hung out on for an hour or so and then had another chill night at our backpackers.

The next morning we woke up early and headed to Hot Water Beach where you dig a hole in the sand, it fills with hot water and you sit in it just like a hot tub. It has to do with the hot springs in the area but you can only dig the holes at low tide so that's why we had to be there so early. My group wanted to make a hole big enough for the four of us so it took probably half an hour to dig a hole big enough and deep enough for us to sit in. Luckily, it's not peak tourist season so there weren't as many people as there usually would be but it was still really cool. After hot water beach, we headed up the Northland past Auckland to Mangawhai where we stayed at another nice backpackers and played cards with some german guys. The next morning we did a 3 hour hike to see the beach at mangawhai and then headed to Auckland. I dropped my two big bags off at the airport so I don't have to fly them from Wellington to Auckland and then we kept on our way to Raglan. It was of course raining the entire time we were driving but we got to Raglan a little after dark, checked into our backpackers and then just watched a movie. It was really nice to relax, it had been a big driving day. We ended up stayed two nights in Raglan, and during the day we relaxed in the hot tub, walked around town, watched a movie and did Yoga with one of the surfer guys that worked at the backpackers. It was nice to just have a calm day without driving. The second morning, we woke up, checked out and headed to New Plymouth to see the All Blacks game! The All Blacks are the New Zealand national Rugby team and this year New Zealand is hosting the Rugby world cup so you see All Blacks stuff everywhere. We got to New Plymouth in the afternoon, went and set up our tent for the night and then got ready for the game. I found an All Blacks sweatshirt on sale so I wore that and we bought some face paint to really show our pride. The stadium was packed and they played Ireland, who they haven't lost to in 24 years or something crazy like that. Well, they ended up beating Ireland 66-21 but it was still exciting to see the famous haka before the game and experience the atmosphere of a Rugby game compared to American Football or baseball.

The next morning we woke up and headed back to Wellington. It was a great trip and this morning I took my last final for New Zealand. I can't promise my grades are going to be fantastic but I definitely passed all my classes which is good news! The whole study part of study abroad was a challenge for me but it was still amazing.

This experience has changed my life and taught me so many new things! I learned about the Maori culture, I went to my first Rugby game, I tried new food, met new people and had the time of my life. This was the greatest thing I have ever done and I will never forget about my time in New Zealand. I hope my blog was informative and considering I'll be home tomorrow...maybe we can just talk in person if you have any questions! I bought a really nice photo album that I want to put together sometime this summer so hopefully I can show you all the pictures that go along with the stories!

I think this is it for my New Zealand blog. I might update it in a few weeks to talk about how I'm feeling being back home. They told us the reverse culture shock was going to be much worse than it was when we arrived in New Zealand. I already know that is going to be true considering everything that has changed in my life in the past 4 months.

I hope to talk to you all soon and keep checking back for a post-New Zealand update!

Red Rocks

Not much to report from down under, just had a very relaxing weekend and me and a few friends did the Red Rocks hike today. I have a few blisters on my feet but of course the views were amazing and we saw a seal colony and got pretty close to them! They had a baby with them so I have a few pictures of the little guy as well. We didn't get to finish the whole hike because we got going a little later than expected this morning...we woke up late and then had to go to the market because missing that makes my week pretty sad without fruit and veggies. After the hike we went to Hell Pizza and I finally tried Kumara fries for the first time. It's like sweet potato but a little sweeter I think but they were really good.

Last week was uneventful but I have been working pretty hard on finishing my essays for my classes considering I only have 22 more days here and I have to fit in a road trip in there as well! My next two weeks will be very busy. This weekend I didn't go out either night which was kind of nice...I just got to hang out relax before my busy week coming up. I did go shopping yesterday and finished off my souvenir list. I think I have everything I've been meaning to get but fitting it all in my suitcase is an entirely different story.

Well it's time for a movie and then bed for me. Hiking for 6 hours really takes it out of you!!

Cheers everyone!

Only a few weeks left...

With time flying by I've been trying to fit everything in and hang out with as many people as possible before I have to head home and back to reality. Only two weeks of school left but I still have 3 papers and 1 test before I'm in the clear. I did get a test back last week and got an A so that's a good sign! The school year here is so much shorter than ours, by about 7 weeks, that it feels like I haven't even started.

This past weekend we just hung out around town, nothing too exciting. Saturday I did go to the Wellington Food Show which was held in the WestPac stadium. You pay $20 and you get to walk around and enjoy all the free samples of wine and food. It was really exciting and I got a few fun things to bring home with me :)

Next weekend I think we are going to do the Red Rocks hike which is a day long hike to one of the suburbs of wellington and I hear the views are incredible so I'm definitely looking forward to that. I'm hoping to squeeze in one more weekend trip before I'm done and then the last week before I leave I think I'll be doing a short little North Island road trip. I can't believe how fast time is flying by!!

Sorry this post isn't as long as others but there isn't much to report! Next weekend I should have something good though!

Cheers!!

wild weekend in wild welly!

I feel like I never run out of things to do! This past weekend was filled with fun and I am so tired now it's been really hard to get motivated the past few days...

On Friday night a whole group of us went to see Mt. Eden and a type of music called dubstep. I don't fully understand what it is or what it means but it was really fun. It was a concert with multiple artists and DJ's and it was between two clubs, Sandwiches and Temperance which are both pretty fun places to hang out but they were sooo packed you couldn't even move once you were inside. About ten minutes into the first club I lost one of the girls I was with and I left the crowd to go find her and couldn't so I ended up at the other bar by myself for awhile until some people came around that I knew. (Don't worry Mom, it's really safe and I didn't ever feel threatened) Anyways, I hung around there for an hour or so but it was just too crowded for me so I met up with some other friends and played pool for a little while before heading home.

Saturday night was the Nexus ball :) It was a masquerade so we all got dressed up and our hall advisor set up free hair and makeup people to come in and make all the girls pretty and we got free coffee and it was just a nice leisurely day of pampering. The ball started at 8 and we got shuttled over there because it's kind of far to walk in heels. Everyone looked really nice and they had rented out a section of a club for us to use until midnight so it was just people from our residence hall and their guests. After the ball we stopped by a few more bars to hear some live bands and then headed home. My feet hurt soo bad though because me and heels have never really gotten along. On Sunday, I didn't have a super eventful day but I did go see Iron Man 2 which isn't out in the states yet so that was exciting! The movie theatres here are definitely an experience! You get an assigned seat and the tickets are 16 dollars but the seats are really big and relaxing. It's just something different than I'm used to but I love experiencing New Zealand the way it should be experienced.

I think that's all for now...I got invited to a flat party (apartment party) on Saturday night so right now that is my only plan for this upcoming weekend but who knows. Something exciting always comes up! It's getting late and I should get to bed so sorry if a few of my sentences dont' quite make sense...

back to reality...

A two week easter break was a really bad idea...having to go back to Uni and actually do work is 10,000,000,000,000 times harder than it was before we got to travel for two weeks.

Last week I had a lot of homework to get done considering I didn't really get anything done over break. I had a big group project to get done and even though we finished it, 2 of our 7 group members were completely useless but that always happens when group work is involved. Then I was supposed to have a test on Tuesday but my professor got stuck in an elevator on the way to class so it was postponed until Thursday. Pretty entertaining...she was fine but it worked out well for the class. Then on Thursday after I took my test, the entire southern half of the island lost power for over an hour. Apparently they were doing tests at the power plant and someone made a mistake so my class was cancelled that afternoon because there wasn't any light in the lecture halls. I have never really seen a massive power loss before...all the stoplights stopped working and everything.

Anyways, I went and saw a New Zealand made film on Thursday night which was really interesting because there were things I didn't understand that those who have lived here their whole lives would. It was still fun. Then friday night a big group of us went out to the bars to dance and hang out. We usually go out Saturday night but this weekend ANZAC (Australia New Zealand Army Corps) day was happening which is equivalent to our veterans day but they take it much more seriously. For national holidays, the entire country basically shuts down with the exception of mcdonalds and a few gas stations. On Sunday morning, they had an AM memorial service that I went to at 545 in the morning. It was super early but they do it to commemorate the time the first soldiers went away to WWI and it was very moving. One of the generals gave a really good speech and it's so different compared to a speech you'd hear from America. This is a very humble country and even though they are small they are very proud and also very peaceful. They aren't out to conquer the world like the US, they just want to do their own thing in the world and I find that so amazing. It almost makes me embarassed by some of the things our leaders are saying and proclaiming to the world. It was a very cultural moment for me and I really enjoyed it.

On a much different note, I finally recieved the dates and times for my final exams and I will officially be back in Minnesota on June 15th. It's much earlier than I had planned but that's just how the tickets worked out and it's my cheapest option. I am so sad to leave this place and all the incredible people I've met. The rest of my group will be here for another two or three weeks after I leave and the fact that I won't get to be there to say the big goodbyes is really depressing but I have obligations at home unfortunately and the real world is waiting for me.

I don't want to make this entry too depressing so I'll make sure to live up my last 7 weeks here! I think this upcoming weekend I'll be going to some new zealand concerts and such so that should be fun!

I think that's all for now!

South Island Road Trip

What an adventure! Sorry for the long break between entries but I just got back yesterday and this entry is sure to be a long one so brace yourselves!

Day 1

We hopped onto the ferry around 8 in the morning on Saturday April 3rd. The ride was absolutely beautiful and even though halfway in I got something in my eye and spent an hour trying to get it out, the ride was still awesome. Up on deck the wind was blowing so hard you had to hang onto the hand rail in order to not fall over.

Even though it was super windy, they view from the boat was absolutely beautiful. It was a three hour boat ride but we were always able to see land on at least one side of the boat.

When we arrived in Picton and got off the ferry, we made our way to the car rental place and of course, there were problems right away. The original car we were supposed to get had been in an accident so we were told we had to wait an hour or so until another car was returned and then we could have that one. No big deal right? Well, after we started the paper work for the new car, the guy realized the tabs were going to expire four days into our trip and if we didn't get them renewed we would not be able to drive the car. Well, in New Zealand, you have to go get your car inspected before you can renew the tabs so we were going to have to drive to a vtnz car place and get the car checked out. Well, for our troubles, he gave us two free days for the car. That was nice. This wasn't the end of our troubles...but I'll keep going with the road trip first.

I was the first one to drive on the wrong side of the road and it was crazy! The blinker is on the other side of the steering wheel and your right turns have to be wide and you can turn left on red lights...all the rules are backwards! After we left Picton, we drove for about two hours until we reached Nelson, with a few stops along the way. We stopped at the Peiorus River which had these cliffs that you could jump off of...so we did :) The water was freezing but it was a great start to our holiday! Once we arrived in Nelson, we found a campsite and just hung out the rest of the night, eating our first meal together as a group :)

The next day, we drove from Nelson to Abel Tasman and on the way encountered an Easter Festival that we stopped at and did some shopping and had lunch for a few hours. It was a nice little surprise and gave us something to do for that day. When we got to the outskirts of Abel Tasman National Park, we stayed at Old MacDonald's Farm for the night and booked our kayaking and water taxi trips for the next few days. From Old MacDonald's Farm, we walked to the beach and took some pictures, it was low tide so the water seemed really far away from us at the time.

The next morning we were up super early to start our Kayaking trip of the coastline of Abel Tasman. We had a one hour safety and preparation meeting and then we headed out to the ocean!

After we all got into our kayaks and started our five hour trip, my motion sickness kicked in and the group had to drop me off on the coast and continue without me :( I was way to sick to continue and I didn't want to hold them back...so I walked the hour and a half back to where we started and just hung out for the rest of the day and had dinner ready for the group when they got back. I'm a little bummed I didn't get to see the entire route but I did get to see one of the islands off the coast. We had a sausage sizzle that night and just went to bed early because everyone was so exhausted.

The next day, day 4, we took a water taxi to Bark Bay and hiked the 7 hours back to Old MacDonald's Farm. Because of the low tide, the water taxi had to be pulled by a tractor probably half a mile out to where the ocean got deep enough for the boat to take off.

It was pretty entertaining seeing 15 or so tractors pulling all of these boats out to the water. The day before, when we left for kayaking, we starting paddling right off the shoreline. It was really amazing to me to see how drastic the difference is between high tide and low tide.

After the water taxi dropped us off at Bark Bay, we started walking the beautiful paths through Abel Tasman and I took way too many pictures.

Most of the paths were really nicely laid out for us and the walk was just incredible. It was a really long day but it was definitely worth it. At one point on the hike, there is a path that takes only half an hour if the tide is low, but if the tide is high you have to walk around for an hour and a half, and of course, it was high tide by the time we got there. It was really nice to walk around but that was about four hours in and half an hour sounded much nicer than an hour and a half detour. We did get to see some really cool things along the way including a few swing bridges and Cleopatra's Pool which is in the picture below. The whole park was just beautiful and the water is so clear it's amazing.

We made it back around 5 or so from the hike with a few blisters but it was an incredible day. The next day the fun really began with the car problems. We had to bring the car back to nelson to have it inspected and of course, it didn't pass inspection. So after I spent an hour trying to reach the car rental company, they told me we'd have to bring the car to an ace rental place and exchange it for a new car. Well, that meant us driving all the way to Greymouth in one day, which was not what we had planned. But, we needed the car so we started on our way and left nelson at probably 10 am. Along the way we stopped at a seal colony which was on this incredibly beautiful beach.

We hung around there for about an hour taking pictures and such and then kept driving. Our next stop was my favorite from the entire trip. We stopped at Punakaiki and watched the sunset over the pancake rocks.

The rocks themselves are really cool, they have multiple layers which makes them look like pancakes and we were there during high tide so we also got to see the really amazing blowholes that seemed to be everywhere. It took about an hour for the sun to set but watching the sun disappear from the horizon was just incredible.

It was an incredible moment and probably something I'll remember for the rest of my life. After we saw the sunset and got a few pictures afterwards, we kept on our journey to Greymouth to return the car. We were told that we had until 10 pm to get the car there so we arrived in Greymouth around 8:30 and decided to get something to eat first since we had some time. Well, we didn't arrive at the rental place/holiday car park until 9:30 and the guy who was helping us was not very helpful at all. He was rude and angry and I had been told we would be refunded for our day since we had to get the car exchanged and he didn't believe us and it was just ridiculous. Originally we never received a contract for our other car so he also thought we had stolen the car or something, which is crazy but whatever. In the morning I called the woman I had previously talked to and she sorted everything out for us so in the end, we ended up with 3 free days, a free tank of gas and we didnt' have to pay for our drivers. Not a bad deal, but the hassle was pretty inconvenient.

The switching of the cars....

Alright, now that the car situation was over, we could finally enjoy our trip :)

The next day, we left greymouth and headed towards the Franz Josef glacier. We stopped in Hokitika for lunch and some shopping and then just walked up to the base of the glacier, we didn't want to pay for an actual glacier hike, although it was a beautiful day.

I had never seen a glacier before and certainly not up close so this was a really exciting part of the trip for me! The scenery was of course gorgeous as well...the walk to the base took about two hours round trip and then we checked into our campsite and went on a pretty scary walk through the bush to find some glo worms. Although they were few and far between, we did see a few! Nighttime in New Zealand can get pretty creepy because there is absolutely no light pollution from cities or anything so I was definitely clutching to Chelsea during the glo worm walk. I'm still a little afraid of the dark....

Anyways, the next day we headed towards Fox Glacier and although they were different, I didn't get as close to this one because I wasn't as excited about it. Fox did have some pretty incredible rivers and streams running off of it though. Beware though...

After Fox Glacier, we drove to Lake Wanaka, which is absolutely beautiful and met up with some friends from Wellington and tented with them for the night. On our way, my wish came true to run through a field of sheep :) The sheep wanted nothing to do with me but it was still exciting.

The next morning, we woke up at 5:30 to hike up Iron Mountain to see the sun rise over the valley. It was a pretty hard uphill hike which took about an hour but of course, it was worth it!

After our hike, we headed back to the campsite, packed up our stuff and made a quick stop at Puzzle world before we continued on to Queenstown. Puzzle world was just a silly little shop, very similar to the Cosmos in the Black Hills of South Dakota. After we arrived in Queenstown, we booked our Bungy jump for the next day and then hit up Fergburger, the best burger place I've ever been to in my life. We found a nice little campsite near the lake and went to bed early, I was super nervous at Bungy though!

We woke up early the next morning to face our fate! The day had finally come to Bungy, and of course it was off the third highest in the world! 134 meters, which is 440 feet approximately. We got suited up with all our gear and then headed out to the platform!

I jumped first :/ and it was the most incredible experience of my life! I got the video so everyone at home can see that I actually did it, but it went so quick it's almost hard to remember! I survived and I'm sooo glad I did it!

When we got back to Queenstown our group celebrated with another trip to Fergburger! We were all worn out by the time afternoon rolled around we just had a lazy night and went to bed early again because we had to be up super early the next morning for our trip to Milford Sound. We parted ways with our friends from Wellington and left early to drive the five hours to Milford Sound. Chelsea, Flo and myself took the cruise around the sound and even though it was raining, the views were still incredible!

The mountains come straight up out of the water and continue straight down into the sea for at least another 300 feet. Our boat got right up next to the cliffs and stuck it's nose into a few of the hundreds of waterfalls that had formed because of the rain. The mountains were streaked with all the waterfalls and it was such a cool thing to see.

After the cruise, we looked for a place to stay in Milford but everything was booked so we drove an hour and a half back to Te Anau and slept in beds for the first time in ten days! It was so nice and because it was really raining that night, it probably kept us dry as well.

From Te Anau we drove down to Invercargill which is on the southern tip of the south island. The city didn't have much to offer but we did stop by the beach which was really nice, even though it was raining. We could drive the car right onto the beach and we just hung out there for about an hour taking pictures and eating some PB&J.

Our pretty little rental car :)

After the beach, we stopped at Splash Palace for a few hours because admission was only $3.40 for students and they had a hottub, sauna, waterslide and diving boards. It was a nice break from the car and from sight seeing! We decided to try KFC that night, it is not the same at all and I was very disappointed. They didn't even have their delicious biscuits! Oh well, we learned our lesson! From Invercargill we drove about an hour to Slope Point and stayed at the backpackers there. We were the only ones at the backpackers and it was a really creepy drive out there because it was on a gravel road which felt like it was leading us to the middle of nowhere. Fortunately, the backpackers was really nice and we survived the night!

The next morning we went to Slope Point which is the southernmost tip of the South Island.

It's not that exciting but it's fun to say that I've been that close to Antarctica! I dont' really know how close it is but it was freezing and windy so it felt like it was right next door!

After Slope Point we made the long drive to Dunedin, which was definitely not my favorite city. Chelsea had a friend who goes to school there though so we stopped for a few hours and had dinner with her. We did drive the Peninsula in Dunedin and got to see a seal up close!

He was just hanging out and probably loving the attention! After we parted ways with Chelsea's friend, we did take a quick detour to the steepest street in the world! The car definitely did not want to go up it...it sits at a 19 degree angle which doesn't sound big, but it was ridiculous! After we had our excitement on the street we headed towards the Moeraki Boulders and camped that night just off the beach. Chelsea and Ben woke up early to see the sunrise over the boulders, I was a little lazy and didn't get that far, but I'll steal their pictures and make sure I have some to show everyone when I get back :) We packed up our tents, and headed to Christchurch, our final destination on our crazy long journey around the South Island! We dropped Ben off at the airport, he had a flight a day earlier than the rest of the group, and then found a backpackers and pretty much called it a night! We did go out for drinks and pizza but nothing too exciting, we just wanted to commemorate our trip. The next morning we had to wake up super early to catch our 6:45 plane back to Wellington and when we finally got back, I never thought I'd be so happy to see Nexus again!

It was a great trip, and after 13 days of sleeping in tents, seeing sunrises and sunsets, it will be a holiday I'll never forget :)

Rugby and Hell Pizza

I got to see my first Rugby game last Saturday night! The Wellington Hurricanes played the Sharks, a team from South Africa. It wasn't as exciting as I thought it would be but I didn't really know what was going on either so maybe next time I will try to learn the rules instead of just cheering when everyone else does. The game was only 80 minutes long but it was really interesting to see a completely different sport than I'm used to! American football doesn't really have anything on Rugby :) One guy's eye was bleeding but he kept playing! It was pretty awesome.

After the game a group of us went to Hell Pizza which is the first real pizza I've had since I've been here...usually they put bbq sauce on everything and it's just not my style. But Hell pizza is kind of like Mesa pizza in Dinkytown where anything you want on your pizza you can get :) It was delicious and we ate 3 pizzas, between 7 people so it's not as bad as you think.

Other than that, this weekend was pretty non eventful, I'm working really hard to get a bunch of my school work done before break because I'll be gone for 13 days on a great road trip to the south island :) I'm sure I'll have a huge blog about that when I get back but so far, we are going to be living out of our rented car and a 4 person tent that we bought off of new zealands version of craigslist and we are going to have a LOT of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

I do have to register for my University of Minnesota classes while I'm on break so I'll be on the internet at least once but other than that i don't think I'll be on much but when i get back I'll try and call a lot of people because I'll have a phone to hook up to my magic jack, right now it doesn't work very well with me just talking through the computer.

I hope everything at home is going well and I hear the weather is getting nice! I'll talk to you all soon!

where has time gone?!

I can't believe how fast this week, actually all of the weeks are going! It's almost April already and that means my halfway point is fast approaching! When I get back from my trip to the South Island I will be over half done with my trip!

It's so hard to believe that I only get to spend five months in this incredible place. I definitely could do this for a year or even years and never see everything! This trip does make me want to travel more and see more of the world and even of the United States! I will definitely come back here one day and do all of the small islands surrounding it and Australia of course but that would be a month trip all on its own.

We have officially booked our tickets to the South Island so I will be gone from April 3rd through the 16th so 13 days of travelling...I am so excited! We are taking the ferry down and then flying back super early in the morning on the 16th but it will be so much fun. There is a group of 5 of us and we will be sleeping in the car and in tents the whole time...should be an interesting experience!

Other than my excitement for my trip there isn't much to report! I'm keeping it low key for the next week so I can have a little more to spend on my trip. Tonight one of our flatmates has a singing gig at one of the local bars so that will be fun!

The weather here has been so crazy every day. Yesterday it was pouring rain and the day before it was beautiful and sunny. But the day before that the wind was so bad that they had to close entrances to our school because the doors kept opening up. I have never seen wind like that before!!

Until next time, I hope everyone at home is enjoying the beautiful weather! I hear it's getting nicer everyday!

Tapu te Ranga Marae

Where do I start?!

This weekend was another completely new and exciting/exhausting experience for me! For my Race, Gender and Development class we had to spend a weekend at a Marae, which is a Maori meeting house. I think I've wrote about it before but I don't remember. Anyways, we had to sleep, eat and have hours and hours of lectures from Friday afternoon through Sunday noon. It was exhausting and there were some very frustrating moments but overall it was a great experience.

A little history about the building...this picture is just the driveway and the front of the building...it has 10 levels, 2 of which are underground and it is made completely of recycled materials and wood. It holds the world record for largest wood-only building. The inside also holds the worlds top three records for largest deer heads. It is a communal living environment and as of now around twenty people live there full time, including Bruce, the owner and his many children and grandchildren. He is 73 years old, has 13 children, the youngest of which is only 8. Age definitely hasn't slowed him down! :) He has over 80 grandchildren and a few great-grandchildren as well. I could go on and on about him because his story is just so great but I'm sure someone will write a book about him someday.

About the Marae, it is unlike any other marae because it is so large and doesn't follow traditional standards for the building layout. I don't know the details but that's what we were told. The way the building was built is completely illegal in New Zealand but Bruce was friends with the Mayor of Wellington at the time so he got a free pass. Apparently they still have issues with the council but Bruce just overlooks it and keeps doing what he's doing. It's like a hippie version of the Maori and it's great!

As far as the school part of the trip that was no fun. We had 4 hours of lecture Friday night, 8 hours of lecture Saturday and 3 hours Sunday morning and all of the lectures required us to be sitting on the ground on a hard wood floor for hours...I am sooo sore. My whole body aches and I didn't retain much information but I love learning about the Maori culture so it was really exciting. I am glad that weekend is over!!

Coming up I have so much to do it's overwhelming! Break starts the first weekend in April so I have to start planning that trip and figure out all the logistics. I have more school work than I can handle and I have to get groceries and do laundry very soon. So much to do so little time!

I will talk to you all very soon! Cheers!!

St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

What a night it was! Our housing staff arranged a harbour cruise for our house. It was only ten dollars and they drove us around the harbour for about an hour. Seeing the city from the water at night was incredible. It was abnormally cold yesterday which made being outside on the boat slightly miserable but it was worth it for the view. After the boat a group of us just went back to our housing to get ready and then we headed out on the town! Wednesday nights are usually pretty busy because their Wednesdays are equivalent to our Thirsty Thursdays but because it was St. Patty's Day it was crazy everywhere! New Zealand doesn't have green beer though, so I'll have to experience that next year.

As far as the rest of the week, I made a good old American meal with burgers and corn on the cob for a few people and then we of course had ice cream for dessert :) It reminded me of summer grilling and I must say, the burgers weren't half bad!

Cooking for myself is much more challenging here because I feel like I'm never getting proper nutrition and meat is so expensive so it's hard to get my protein. The milk doesn't taste right here, it's almost sour it seems like but not completely and it leaves a weird after taste in my mouth so I haven't been drinking much milk. I have plenty of pasta and juice though because those are both cheap and easy. The peanut butter from home is going fast and I have at least one PB&J everyday. That's pretty much the only thing I can bring up to campus with me when I have long days in class.

I had to write my first paper this week in the New Zealand format which made it more difficult for me because I am so used to just essays and paragraphs but here they require headings and subheadings and a different way of citing sources so I think it took me much longer just for that reason. I don't know what they expect so after I get this grade back we will see!!

This weekend coming up I basically have a 3-day field trip for one of my classes. We are visiting a Marae in Island Bay and I still haven't figured out how I am getting there but it will all work out I'm sure. A Marae is basically a Maori meeting house and it is the most sacred of their rituals. There is specific protocol we have to follow so I have been very intimately learning about the Powhiri (Ceremony) Process and everything that goes along with it. I have had tons of readings this week in preparation and because I'm not native to New Zealand I never had the introduction to Maori concepts and traditions in primary school like everyone else. It's really exciting and interesting to learn about but very challenging as well!

I think that's all for now! I'll write again after my Marae experience!

not much to report!

Sorry everyone for not writing this week but there hasn't been much excitement! I'm into my second week at school now and tutorials started this week so I've been pretty busy walking up the stairs of death multiple times a day. A tutorial is like a tutor session with about twenty people in it and you just ask questions that will hopefully deepen your understanding of the readings and the lectures. Most are mandatory so I'll be busy every week now! My first assignment is due this coming monday and it's a pretty hefty paper so I'll be working on that all weekend!

Hmm...this past week I did go see two movies...Alice in Wonderland and Shutter Island. Alice was not as good as expected...but I'm sure those of you who saw it at home understand why. It just wasn't funny or as entertaining and I had hoped. Shutter Island was incredible. I would definitely recommend that one!

I've started planning my spring break trip to the south island. It's going to be interesting and I hope everything works out! My plan so far is to fly down to one of the cities that are farther south and rent a car there and drive our way back up to the ferry and take the ferry back across to Wellington. Cars are pretty cheap to rent and that way we aren't suck on a bus with no opportunity to deviate and take a random day trip somewhere. I'm getting excited...it should be quite an adventure!

Oh, one interesting thing that happened! Last night we had a pretty intense storm here that knocked down a bunch of trees and tore some roofs off of buildings. I had been inside so I didn't really know how intense it was but it was a bad one! It's the only real bad weather we've seen so far in Wellington!

I stole this picture from the news but it's the storm front moving across Wellington Harbour! Pretty intense!

Well I think that's all for now! Sorry about the delay in postings! I'll try and write more frequently this next week!

martinborough

Well it has been a fun weekend!!!

On Friday afternoon, me and 5 other girls went to Abby's house, one of our Kiwi flatmates houses in Martinborough. We took the train an hour north and her parents picked us up from the train station. The train ride was incredible...there is never a bad view in New Zealand and the train cuts through the mountains to go faster and one tunnel takes 15 minutes to get through.

Once we arrived, her parents showed us around their 3 acre farm. The farm itself is little and now they only have cats and chickens but they want more animals in the future. Most of their farm land is owned by the family behind them but their house is absolutely incredible! It was built in the 1800's and was a slave owner home so there is a separate area that has a shower bathroom and sleeping quarters. All of the ceilings are vault ceilings and have art deco designs on them. The doorways and window frames are all bordered with a new zealand wood that is just beautiful. There are 7 bedrooms and so many random rooms that it's hard to keep track of where you are in the house. The garden has a path and multiple bridges over the little creek that runs through it and they also have a tennis court that is fenced in and everything.

I am still blown away by what the house looked like and how easy going her parents were and how much food they gave us! We sat outside and ate in the garden at night after her parents had a new zealand style barbeque which consists of grilling chicken kabobs basically and sausages. We had potato salad and wine and garlic bread. It was fabulous!

We stayed overnight and Saturday morning we went to the Martinborough County Fair which had tons of vendors and food and stuff. I got a lot of touristy stuff and some really fun souvenirs which I can't wait to bring back and show everyone! I'll try and post some pictures later but once again we still don't have internet so it's hard to get pictures uploaded when I don't get more than ten minutes on my computer.

Who knows what this week will bring...I'll keep everyone updated!!

Finally 21!!

Well my birthday was a blast :)
During the day I just went to class and took a nice little nap and then a group of probably 30 or so went out to the bars...we even went to a karaoke bar!! yes, i sang but I didn't go willingly!
I am proud to say I remember the whole night and it was just so much fun. Probably one of the best 21st birthdays anyone could ask for :)
A few of us at the first bar

The karaoke bar!!!

Some of my favorite ladies :)

The whole group!!!

address change....again :(

so sorry everyone but the address that I gave you to send packages too apparently doesn't exist so just send everything via the accomodation office...

sorry...the disorganization is worse here...

and I still don't have internet...lol

1st day of classes

Well, I made it through my first day of classes at Vic Uni. I only had two so it wasn't that bad and I got to take a two hour nap in between. This whole not working thing is really great :)

Tomorrow is my 21st birthday so hopefully it will be fun! I don't have much planned...just going out for a few drinks because most people have class the next day. I am going to miss my annual dairy queen ice cream cake though and my trip to Beni Hana. Oh well, maybe when I get back I can go.

In my first class today, Gender, race and development...we ended the class singing a traditional Maori song and I had no idea what was going on. I have never sang in a lecture before but I guess it's a new experience! My second class is Maori society and culture and we were going to sing but no one knew enough of the words to make it sound nice. So I guess I'll have my own little choir practices each week.

The classes seem involved but not hard...or at least not yet. The first day is always hard to judge but apparently Kiwi's are silent studiers. They claim to just hang out but I guess they study all the time. Maybe I'll have to follow their example. It is nice though to think that I only have 11 weeks of class as opposed to 18 that I usually have at a semester at home. My spring break is only a month away..I guess I should start planning now if I want to go to Australia!!!

Hopefully I'll have a really exciting birthday and have something to write about next time! Until then...cheers!

permanent address

This address is for letters or postcards or whatever:

Leah Post
Nexus Accommodation
Victoria University of Wellington
PO Box 600
Wellington 6140
New Zealand

and this address is if you want to sent me a package:

Leah Post
Nexus Accomodation
Victoria University of Wellington
8 O'Reily Avenue
Wellington Central
New Zealand


I STILL don't have internet in my building so until then I won't be able to check my email and such as often.

But I do start school tomorrow so I'll be up on campus more often and be able to check my email and blog more frequently :)

some pictures

One of the vineyards we visited...out of 6 lol

Downtown Napier...it's a beautiful city

Some peeps I live with...Chelsea, Laura, Alex, Me, Sammie

A man down by the pier...we were going to jump together

The beach at wellington

Napier

Well, my little trip by myself is turning out to be the greatest thing I've done for myself lately. I'm in a little town called Napier in the Hawke's Bay Region which is about a 5 hour drive north of Wellington. I took a bus there and am staying in a hostel and my hostel roommates are two guys from London...they are really fun and have made good mates to hang out with the past few days.

This morning I woke up with no plan and walked around for awhile then found an Art Deco self-guided walking tour that I did with Pip, one of the guys I'm staying with. Then I signed up for a winery tour which turned out to be hilarious fun. We went to six different wineries and at each one tasted at least 6 different types of wines, I was definitely feeling it by the time we reached the 6th winery. It is all very cool and nice.

When I got back from the winery tour I went to the Ocean Spa and paid $8 to sit in a variety of spa pools that look out on the ocean and I chatted with two other ladies from London who were also from my winery tour. It was very relaxing. I am just now getting back from the most ridiculous game of trivia I have ever heard of. The questions were ridiculous and nothing made sense at all. Oh well, it's all good fun.

Who knows what tomorrow brings, still no plans but if it's as good as today it should be a fun time :)

nothing new...

Well there isn't much to update on. The past few days I've just been hanging out, watching movies and walking around town. I did go to the beach yesterday which was beautiful but I got a little burnt :( Apparently, there isn't really an ozone layer down here so the sun burns you twice as fast as it would at home and because it's so windy you can't feel yourself getting burnt. But it's not horrible and I know it will turn into a nice tan.

The housing issue is getting a little frustrating. I wish AustraLearn would have been better prepared for us to come. It seems like we are the only group that got shafted and because so many things have gone wrong, the front desk staff doesn't like us very much. Oh well, all I can say is that I would never go through this company again.

I never thought I'd say this but I am actually excited for school to start. I need something to keep me busy and my trip that I wanted to go on for next week fell through so it looks like I'll be exploring Wellington this week. That's alright, there are lots of free things to do and little day trips I can go on.

The city is a beautiful place and we got our Kiwi roommates but they are all temporary and it's hard to make friends when they are all going to be moving to the other side of the city in a few weeks. But, I am staying optimistic and hopefully this week will be fun. We still don't have internet at my house but we are being promised it sometime this week. Who knows when it will really come but until then, the internet cafe will just have to do.

I definitely miss having a vehicle. I am getting tons of exercise but from the grocery store back to my place it would be really nice to have a car to just put it in quick. I must say though that driving on the other side of the road would be really difficult. I'm kind of scared to do it and probable won't because I want to avoid a crash.

As soon as I get internet I will upload videos and pictures on here so everyone can see where it is I'm living :)

uh oh...the negative blog :/

Well, although the city is amazing and just the fact that I am in New Zealand is incredible, there have been a lot of problems.

First off, the housing situation is ridiculous and out of control. I still don't have my permanent room assignment, i woke up this morning to a broken fridge which means all of my perishable food I bought yesterday, had to be thrown away and today there was no hot water. We still don't have internet in the building because the wires are too old and they may have to replace everything, which means no internet for another 2 weeks.

I have been having a hard time fitting into one of the many cliques that have formed so most of the time, I am by myself walking around the city. I love the city and I really don't mind being by myself, but sometimes it's nice to have a little company.

I don't know, this is just a low point I think. I am trying to arrange a trip to the south island for next week but I'm not sure who will go with me. And a week from Monday I start school here so hopefully that will allow me to meet many more kiwis and other international students.

On the upside, the weather has been beautiful the past few days. It rained for awhile but now the sunshine is out again!!!!

relaxing...

Well, things have finally settled down over here, I am mostly settled into my housing, I have done some shopping and gotten some things I need, I enrolled for classes today and got my new student ID and i think I am putting together a trip to the South Island for next week.

Things left to do:

1. Get my final room assignment, which hopefully will be coming tomorrow afternoon, but I don't get to move to my final room until Sunday morning.

2. Get to the warehouse, the kiwi version of target, and get my hangers, soap, check off all the things on my post-it note and not get lost getting there!

3. Make another big run to the grocery store...it's hard to cook for just one person!

4. Get to the farmer's market this weekend to get some fresh veggies and fruit...

5. Make it a goal to walk up the stairs of death at least once a day, if not more. I need those buns of steel!!!

For right now those goals seem pretty manageable. Getting the trip organized for next week might be a little stressful but hopefully it will all work out. I am really trying to get to queenstown so hopefully that all works out. I haven't really bonded with anyone from my original group and it's a little depressing sometimes but I am making new friends and working on finding some Kiwi friends to guide me around the city.

I think tonight is the first night I'll be actually going out on the town. I haven't really gone out or used my power of 18+ drinking yet, but tonight is the night! (Maybe)

I think this weekend I'm going to spend most of my time exploring the city, checking out the shops and even though I live 3 blocks from the ocean, I still haven't made it there yet :( Oh well, just another thing to add to the list!

It's a weird combination of being busy but also having nothing to do all at the same time...it's tough to balance!

I hope all is well at home and with everyone, if anyone wants to contact me my email is postx072@umn.edu. I think i already posted that but I haven't gotten any emails yet!!! :( Otherwise I'll be in touch on here and on facebook!

Cheers!

my temporary address

Hey all :)

My temporary address until our building can receive post.

Leah Post

Nexus

Accomodation Service

Victoria University of Wellington

PO Box 600

Wellington 6140

NZ

I know it's really long but it's only for like a week but I would love mail :)

FINALLY to wellington :)

I can't believe I'm finally here!

We arrived in Wellington today, my new home. The city is incredible and it has a really fun atmostphere but the hills...there are sooo many! My walk to school everyday is going to be very strenuous.

But backpedaling to yesterday, I went caving in Waitomo. It was probably the greatest experience of my life. We had to put on thick wet suits, harnesses and wear helmets with the little lights on top of them and then we were hooked up to a rope and had to lower ourselves down 20m into a black hole. I don't even know how to describe what I did because it was so amazing. We were climbing up waterfalls and crawling on our hands and knees and it was just so much fun. I will put the pictures up soon, I'm at an internet cafe so I don't have my pictures with me.

Today, we had to check out of KiwiPaka, the backpacking accomodations we had been staying in for the past 5 days and take a small plane from Rotorua to Wellington, the flight was less than an hour but it was kind of rough because the plane was so small. After we got here we were shuffled to our designated housing locations and I am a little disappointed in mine but it's a place to sleep. Our housing is overflow so it's not exactly the classiest but at least I get my own room, a desk, a dresser and a closet. Our flatmates aren't moving in until Sunday so we have a few days to get settled in but until then I am only living with the American students that I have been hanging out with the past week. That's alright but I'm ready to pick up the sweet Kiwi accent.

The walk to the grocery store from my housing is about 20 minutes and school is ten minutes but it basically straight up a mountain of stairs. I will definitely have buns of steel when I get home.

I start orientation tomorrow so hopefully all goes well. I'll keep everyone updated :)

If anyone wants to get ahold of me and doesn't have facebook, my email is postx072@umn.edu

Thermal Village

February 15, 2010

Today was an interesting but exciting day. We went into Whakarewarewa Village which is a living Thermal Village. Rotorua is extremely geo-thermal, which means it is basically sitting on a giant fault line and volcano and can and will erupt some day at some time. The village we visited and toured is so amazing it’s almost hard to describe. They use natural hot springs for their baths and to cook. They use “microwaves” which are hot boxes to cook most of their meals. To give you an idea of what they can do, a frozen chicken can cook completely and be falling off the bone in just one hour. Everything in the village is shared between families and there are only 25 families living in the village. New construction is not allowed because of the fragile environment and the environment is so exciting.

There is steam rising from almost every crack or hole in the ground, and although it is sulfuric and has a pretty potent smell, it is still amazing to see. They have huge mud pools where you see just bubbling mud everywhere and it is extremely helpful not only for cosmetic uses but it is a remedy for arthritis and other joint ailments. The effects usually last up to 3 months and then most people return for another treatment. There is a catholic church and an Anglican church in the community and the families were divided many years ago when the chief just chose the left half of those standing around him to be catholic and the right half to be Anglican. It is not a rivalry in any sense and after services, everyone comes together to eat and socialize.

The Maori culture just keeps surprising me every day. Their views about the world and the environment and religion and society are just so fascinating and ahead of their time. Every single person is welcomed and equal no matter your race, color or religious affiliation. As long as you respect their culture, they will respect yours. Also, they don’t have crazy stories about how the fault lines were created, they understand how the world works and how nature will take its course and they embrace that. I was just blown away and the day isn’t over yet. Tonight we are visiting a separate village to eat a traditional meal and see a performance.

New Zealand Valentine's Day

February 14, 2010

How to act like a stupid American:

1. Ask for American cheese at subway in New Zealand

2. Ask for a $5 footlong at subway in New Zealand

3. Buy ginger beer at a gas station and then be shocked when it is alcohol free

4. Go to a community festival and tell a native Maori man that we Americans use pliers to take our hooks out of fish, not those old traditional ways

5. Tell people you are nice because you live in Minnesota

Yes, it’s true. I did all of these things today and as embarrassing as it is, it will make for a really great story later (hopefully).

Today was our day of adventure. I chose the adrenaline package and there were only 3 people in my group, the others were Kevin and frank, both cool guys, and we went to AgroAdventures, this like mini theme park on a mountainside and got to choose 2 out of like 6 crazy activities to do. I chose the Shweeb, which is basically a self propelled roller coaster (youtube it) and then I also did the AgroBoat or speed boat. Both were really cool but I really wish I would have done the skydiving simulator, it looked like a lot more fun, even though mine were both really fun. After we got pack to KiwiPaka (where our group is staying for the week) I went into Rotorua with Kevin and Ben and had a really good time. That is where all of my Americanisms happened. We ate at subway, got ice cream cones and then walked to the queens gardens to check out the local scene. I got a little sunburnt but not too bad. Walking back though we did get a bit lost and had to back track a few blocks in order to find our way back.

It was a very tiring day but also a lot of fun. I’m finding it much easier to make friends with the guys than the girls, but that is typical for me.

It’s hard to be away from home like this. I am a creature of habit and being away from the familiar is definitely putting a strain on me. I think, or at least I hope, that once I get moved into Wellington, I’ll be much happier and will be able to relax a bit.

One goal I have is definitely to lose weight and be much more fit, but also to travel a lot and make a lot of friends. I want to be able to have those lifelong friendships where you can go 5 years without seeing each other and then pick up right where you left off. I really want that. I want to be able to travel to nearly any state and stay with a friend that I went to New Zealand with. I also want to meet Kiwi’s because they seem very nice.

I’m off to bed. Until tomorrow…

First blog ever :) days 1 and 2 NZ

February 13, 2010

Well I am still without internet access so writing in Word will have to do for now. The absence from facebook is somewhat of a bittersweet blessing. It’s nice so that people can’t stalk you, but there are a select few I am dying to be in touch with. New Zealand really is an incredible country. Everything is so neat and clean and yesterday, in Auckland, the air smelt like fresh flowers. It was beautiful

The plane ride was quite an adventure in itself. I was in the exit row but in the middle seat and the seats were not made for someone with a booty such as mine. It was incredibly difficult to sleep but I think I managed at least dozing in an out because there were 6 hours unaccounted for in my memory. Once we landed, customs was extremely easy but we landed at 5:10 AM so we had a full day of riding a bus and many other fun activities I wasn’t aware of when I signed up for this trip.

First, we were given a $10 calling card which turns out works better for internet so when you place calls it is like $3/minute and you can only talk for approximately 3 seconds to each person, that is if you can figure out how to work the damn thing. After I made my three phone calls, more like, left three messages, we got on a big coach bus with our group and headed off. They drive on the opposite side of the road here so it is a scary feeling making wide right turns. Our first stop was this giant Volcano crater that looks out over the city of Auckland. The view was incredible and it was much cooler outside than it was on our bus. I don’t think New Zealand believes in air conditioning. After the volcano we got back on the bus and headed down to the pier. Turns out our driver was just killing time until we were supposed to be at ACB, our home for the evening. Once we got to ACB we had to shove all our bags, from probably 70-80 people in 2 rooms until we were able to check in. In that time, we had a 2 hour orientation talking about safety and blah blah blah. The usual. After orientation, we were FINALLY able to check into our rooms, take a shower and relax a little. The shower felt amazing but I was dead tired and my feet were already killing me. Oh, I forgot to mention, for lunch they had a weenie roast. The sausages weren’t that good and their ketchup is quite interesting. I don’t think they believe in mustard either. For dinner we went to a restaurant in Auckland called the Waterfront where we ate a meal as a group and then went on our separate ways. Me and a few other girls just headed back to our rooms to crash. I fell asleep at 9:00 and had the most glorious sleep I’ve ever had in my life.

The next morning I woke up at probably 6:45 or so. It’s really hard to judge time here. There aren’t many clocks and the clock on my cheap little cell phone is army time so something I’m not willing to do the conversion. Everything here is also very expensive. I have already spent over $100 NZD and had to take out $200 more today. I’m not sure how the ATM is charging me so hopefully it isn’t insane amounts of money. I hope to get online sometime this week but I can’t guarantee that. Anyways, after I woke up, I took another shower, went and had a “continental” breakfast which consisted of either toast or cereal, and then hopped on the bus again to head down to Rotorua, where I am now. Today was much more productive and less pessimistic because I had a shower and a place to sleep the night before. We got to Rotorua around noon where we ate lunch, a sandwich with a piece of fruit and then had a second orientation dealing with schooling. After that, we broke up into 2 groups, one went to learn Rugby, which was my group, and the other went to learn the “Haka”, a traditional dance of the Maori people, the natives. It is a very angry dance that involves a lot of yelling and slapping of the legs. I have it recorded on my flip cam so no worries, you will see it soon enough. After each group had their time we switched so everyone got to learn. After the Haka, we ate fish and chips at the bar here in KiwiPaka, the backpackers sight we are staying at for the next four days. Then a few of us ran to town to get some money out of the ATM and then came back, sat in the sketchy hottub and now here I am in my room.

I will write more when I have more time but for now… Kia Ora.