December 2011
48 posts
Metal Chair
Everyone likes to have order, calendared events, familiarity; in “order” to preserve room for unexpected thoughts. I sit in a café, I sat here last week too. And perhaps eventually, I will find a certain portion of the deck, the same area, then the same chair and habitualize. Then it will be time to go home. It would be so easy to walk around but I am glued to the chair, the metal imprints on my...
Lost?
Sometimes a looming feeling emerges, especially when I’m lost; It’s not “what’s the point,” although some derivative to that effect; It’s “what direction am I headed, and yes on two different levels; literally and figuratively. I found myself at a rugby stadium, observing the league games. I was suppose to be at the Trusts Stadium, but that is besides the point. While I was a respectful, yet...
Aukland doesn’t even know I’m here.
A people’s museum, a parade of bodies. Sleepwalking zombies have taken over the streets and humans are doing nothing about it! Who knew there were sheep in the city center? Too appropriate for New Zealand, eh? Thoughtlessly following strangers in herds. Yet, sheep are more intimated. I could be silent for an entire day and nobody would even notice. It is as if I am watching them, completely...
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Kapa Haka Class
All of us girls are learning how to coordinate our bodies; foot movements, hand movements with poi and singing simultaneously. The teachers make it look easy, but it is actually really hard. Eventually it will become second nature… I hope. The guys are learning the Kapa Haka chant that the All Blacks recite before games. It is so intense! They have to chant loudly and stand in a squat position...
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Motuihe Island
Motuihe Island with tramping club. During the day we walked around the island and sun-tanned on the beach. I now have a permanent white bathing suit or “togs” print, compliments of the sun. You can even see how I tied my bow. I was reading a book by Ian McKewan (favorite author) and didn’t realize how long I had been lying on my stomach…too long, I know this now.
Unbeknownst to us “tramps,” there...
You Know Your A College Student When...
You know you’re a college student when you wash your clothes in the sink…roll a trolly (shopping cart) back to the grocery store from your appt…eat free sausages and hash browns on white bread…mix cheap beer and wine…use a grocery basket as your recycling bin…
Thursday. St. Patty’s Day. Class ended at 12 so I decided to learn how to wind surf. I am officially addicted. I found my way to Lake...
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Mt. Eden
Yesterday, Kelli (housemate from Wisconsin) and I walked down Queen St. (reallllllly long walk), found The Warehouse (NZ version of Wal Mart) and bought kid size sleeping bags because they were the cheapest ones. They had no more tents left so we walked to Khatmandu, half way between The Warehouse and Campus. They were having a sale so we bought a tent for $100 and sleeping bags for $15 (human...
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Canoe Club (why not kayak club?)
This morning Mel, Lauren and I went kayaking down a river with the boating club. When we arrived on campus to catch a ride there were about 50 people and not enough cars so we had to wait around for about an hour. Apparently that is normal. Canoe club time is two hours later than normal time. Half of us went down the river to the half way point and then the others went down the rest of the river....
Classes
I’m in class at the moment, “Intro to Planet Earth.” Its really hard to concentrate when you’re slightly hung over. I hope not all of the classes are like this. The teacher is standing in the front mumbling… I can’t make out half the things he is saying. There is a powerpoint with planets and different graphs. I don’t understand how I am suppose to absorb anything from this lecture. I could go...
Classes
I’m in class at the moment, “Intro to Planet Earth.” Its really hard to concentrate when you’re slightly hung over. I hope not all of the classes are like this. The teacher is standing in the front mumbling… I can’t make out half the things he is saying. There is a powerpoint with planets and different graphs. I don’t understand how I am suppose to absorb anything from this lecture. I could go...
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Back to Auckland
We have to take the bus everywhere!! It took 4 hours to register. I feel as if I should drag this sentence on just to relay the longevity of the situation, but I can’t relay an experience lasting four hours. Nobody would read this blog (not that anyone, but my parents do ha!) Nobody knows what we are going through. Its actually incredible that we can make it through this without going insane. We...
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The Earthquake(s)
“Where were you when the earthquake hit?” This was the question on the tip of everybody’s tongue after the quake hit. I was in the kitchen of my flat. It was just after lunch when the world lost its balance. I ran down the hall of the scariest fun house looking at Airini, not knowing what to do in the moment of panic. The electricity was shot. The television show we were watching flickered off and...
NZ Jargon/Culture
Mint-cool
Nuh-jk
Ta-thanks
Oi-hey
Just jokes-jk
Dieseled-wasted
Tosser-jerk
Gutted-sucks
Guys walking around in short rugby shorts
Learning how to surf
Barefoot culture
Hokey pokey
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Canterbury Flatmates
I really like my flatmates already. I just talked to Ian who is going to look for a surfboard and told him I wanted to learn how to kitesurf. He said he is going to rent a kite to practice with so I told him to let me know when he does that and we’ll go practice out on the fields. Apparently, Ireeni, the other girl who I met won the women’s open title for surfing, but Ian said she’s really modest...
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The Secret
In hindsight, I wish I would have saved all of my money from AK to spend in NZ! I am not very good at saving money, but now that I know my priorities I think I will be more money conscious. I am going to try to find some occasional work, maybe go down to the harbor and see if they need boats cleaned (ya jorj;) or babysitting and also look to trade work for fresh food.
You know when you are in a...
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The Secret
In hindsight, I wish I would have saved all of my money from AK to spend in NZ! I am not very good at saving money, but now that I know my priorities I think I will be more money conscious. I am going to try to find some occasional work, maybe go down to the harbor and see if they need boats cleaned (ya jorj;) or babysitting and also look to trade work for fresh food.
You know when you are in a...
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To Nelson
The first guy to pick us up was an Australian, taught us some history about the place
2nd- Finish man, French girl
Walked around the town, down to the end of the harbor, turquoise waters, sand banks
Hitched back with a guy from Israel, long hair with bangs and a pony tail, tan w/ blue eyes, down to earth, then with a woman who owns a campsite, they had to evacuate during the flooding, then dropped...
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Dolphins/Bridge Jump
The next events may or may not have occurred in the order they are written because I have lost track of time.
The next day the Germans were leaving and they had one more thing to check off on their bucket list; to jump off the bridge. I decided to wait until they jumped in to see if it was safe before I jumped in after them. I went twice and just remember my legs flailing everywhere until I hit...
Atlantis in Picton
We landed in Picton and our plans were to find a shuttle to Havelock (45 minutes away). There were no shuttles leaving when we arrive around 9:30 so we jump in the van with Tony who works at Atlantis Backpackers down the road. He is very nice (maybe just assume this about everyone I talk about) and says we can come back to the hostel and figure out taxi prices or stay the night and get a ride in...
Wellington Ferry Ride
Despite the very short length of time I spent in Wellington, I had a very good experience. There were tons of shops and restaurants, the Te Papa museum and a nice waterfront walk. I walked around the museum for a few hours, looking at sea life, animals and earthquake, volcanic, photography, fashion and painting exhibits. Then we walked along the waterfront, bought some ice cream from a honey shop...
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Yoga/Wwoofing w/ Sam & Mass
The next day we left around 8am and headed to Wanganui. It took all day because first the bus had to go to Hamilton, which is in the opposite direction then along the West Coastline. We got to Mass’ yoga studio around 5:30 and joined in. After class we stayed and meditated for 20 minutes with him and another student. My feet fell asleep, but it was an interesting and calming experience. Sometime...
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Hot Pools
About half hour ago we got back from soaking in hot pools at the Polynesian Spa (Rotorua). It was so relaxing. We were there for 2 ½ hours. I talked to two girls who were traveling together. One was from Whales and the other from Belgium. They had met at a hostel 3 weeks earlier and decided to continue on together. The girl from Whales was an Au Pere and studying to be a teacher, and the Belgium...
Couch Surfingish?
Today I think I ate my body’s weight in carbs. Because we are couchsurfing sort of (I’ll explain in a bit), you buy your own food. Since it was the first morning and the people we are staying with just got home, there wasn’t anything to eat, but you don’t complain and after a while it kind of fades away. When we got to “The Warehouse” which is kind of like the New Zealand version of Costco or...
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Auckland Casino
Two nights ago Chloe, Courtney, Brent (the other WWOOFers from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan…sp?) and I decided to go to Auckland to check out the city. I’m glad I got that out of my system. It was average and nothing much was going on so we bar hopped, buying beer at a sports bar, a Japanese restaurant, a hookah bar, an Irish Pub and then ate dinner at a Mexican restaurant. Basically we traveled the...
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Waitekere Ranges
It took about two hours with one transfer in Newmarket and Jane was at the station to pick us up. I had called her at the house and told her what time we were arriving because at this time I didn’t have a cell phone.
Jane brought us to our accommodation first, a giant tipi with two mattresses under mosquito nets and colorful sarongs surrounding the walls. Then she gave us a tour of their house and...
WatchWindy day on the dunes
Dean's house+Alex
January 19
Today we emptied out Dean’s garage. Very fun considering all of his automotive parts from racing, building stuff from his construction jobs, surfboards and about 20 wetsuits… we still haven’t gone surfing because the wind has been too strong. There is suppose to be a storm coming. Today was nice, but yesterday down-poured for most of the day. Chloe and I went on an aimless walk and...
1st day in New Zealand
Its still the January 17th even though I left on the 17th and flew for half a day…
Pukekohe. Try pronouncing it. It is if I am correct; puh keh ko ay. For some reason, after repeating our bus stop several time I still forgot how to pronounce it. Another one I had trouble with; Waitekere (why tek ehrie). I do know how to say Papatoetoe though, easy!
Chloe and I after about a twelve-hour plane...
Stranger on a plane
I wrote this a while ago in a different blog, but I deleted that one and decided to start over so her goes:
Jan 17th, 2011
Someone just coughed in my face! Who does that? A complete stranger sitting directly behind you in an airplane, that’s who, but I can’t complain because that’s the worst of it. At least compared to the man who was sitting next to me. On top of being moved from first class to...
“Most people are on the world, not in it-having no conscious sympathy or...”
– John Muir, The Wilderness
World of John Muir
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