Thriftin' and Stuff

This morning I awoke to the sunshine on my shoulders making me happy. The sunshine was actually everywhere and I got really hot under my covers really quick. So I got up. I moseyed and ate some cereal then decided to go thrift shopping for a few articles of clothing that I could mess up on field camp and/or hike in. So off I went. I wandered around a little bit then realized that I had no clue where to go to find a thrift store. No clue at all. So I dropped by the library to google it. I found a place that was about 10 min away (walking)...so off I went, with a destination this time. It was a wee thrift store...everyone says wee here so I'm trying to add it into the vocab ;)... but I found some running/rugby shorts, a black active wear/jersey type shirt, and a blue jersey that says "Zorb Everywhere" on it. Haha. I got that lot for NZ$5. Then on my way back I passed another very wee thrift shop that was really close to campus and I must have passed it multiple times by now and never noticed it. In this one I found a little boys blue safari type shirt with all the pockets and everything!!! It is great! Perfect for geology camp!
On my way home I went through campus ((which is crazy btw because it's O-week aka orientation week for all the freshies aka freshman)) so I stopped and talked to this one lady at a booth about recycling and I got a cool sticker for my water bottle and a biodegradable pen. AND THEN I GOT A BAG OF APRICOTS FOR NZ$2!!!. Came home and ate. Washed my new clothes and hung them on the line. Talked to Jessie and Sarah. Got online (which is a big deal recently).
IFSA planned a catch up dinner for all 47 of us butler-ifsa students this evening. So I walked with Mike and Jenna to the museum we were meeting. The museum was interesting, but I was so hungry that it was hard to focus for very long. Then we did urban rogaine aka picture scavenger hunt of the city. It was quite easy and I had a sweet group so it was fun. Then we went to Speight's Ale House for dinner. It was beyond delicious. I had seafood chowder, a steak, salad and fries, and chocolate cake and ice cream!! It was "Free" too!!! Meaning i paid for it with the program fee :) It was awesome. I had some interesting conversation with Luke about Church and stuff. He has never been to a church service...ever. We decided to talk/debate about religion/science/life origin type stuff some time. That should be really interesting and fun! The food was so good though. I can't get over it.
Then a bunch of people came over to Mike's house (which is connected to mine) and sat around and listened to music. Good times. I met a few new people. A new geokiwi included. Then I came up stairs to pack and now I have been on the internet instead :/
Tomorrow I am leaving on a 5 day geology field trip for my GEOL 252 class. I am so stinkin excited!! I will write down what I want to blog and type it up when I get back!
WARNING: The next few posts may be a little geology heavy! :)

MY flat MATES: Monique, Me, Sarah and Jessie :)

Grilled Fish

Today I hung at the flat with my flat mates. It was warmer than yesterday and sunny all day! We sunbathed, which is another way to say wasted a day getting all sweaty while doing absolutely nothing. And I got burnt a little bit...on my back. Other than that I am getting quite tan. However, I won’t be doing that too often. I would rather play at the beach. It was good to hang out with Sarah and Jesse though. For lunch we made salad and I grilled fish. It was really good, if I do say so myself. :) Then we met two new kiwi hosts that are living real close...they just moved in. One of them is a geology student and she had just gotten back from a 10 day field course. Pretty cool...plus she has beautiful ringlet curly red hair. Super cool.
Mia is Sarah’s friend from Cali. She was over too....so Mia, Sarah, Jessie, Monique and I walked down to the corner dairy to get ice cream!
Then I took a shower and got ready for church. We haven’t had internet at out flat for awhile so I went to campus with my computer to get some internet.....it didn’t work. Then I met Nina and Ginny from IFSA and we went to this really old/cool looking church that is downtown. It was a Presbyterian church and I could count all the people under 55 on my fingers. It was BEAUTIFUL on the inside though....stained glass, wood work, molding...it was interesting. The minister was a woman and the guest speaker was a woman from Scotland, she had some really good points in her sermon. One being: “Life start at the edge of your comfort zone.” Interesting in such a traditional church. The choir was quite good and the acoustics in churches like that are phenomenal. I had a few things that I didn’t totally agree with....at least on first glance...but there were also a bunch of things that were great about it. I’m hoping Ginny, Nina and I can go to a few more churches over the next few weeks and find a really awesome preacher and music :) that would be so great,
After the service Ginny, Nina and I went to this famous burger place and got a really good chicken sandwich that had avocado, bacon and much more on it. Then we walked to Chris’ flat...from IFSA...he had a BBQ earlier and then people were just hanging at his house talking.
I came back home and my flat mates were watching The Office....so we had to watch a few episodes :) now I’m in bed typing and the internet is still not working and my sunburn hurts a little.
I wonder what I’m going to do tomorrow.... I’ll set the alarm for 9ish, if the sun doesn’t wake me up before then.

.:BEACH:.

Today a big group of IFSA kids headed to the beach! We took the bus and the beach was gorgeous!! I will add pictures soon! We all packed food for lunch...i brought two peanut butter and honey sandwiches, some fruit and water. Good stuff. We got there around noon...it was a beautiful sunny day and just a touch windy. The waves were really big and there was a surfing competition going on while we were there. Laura is another geology major, she and I hung out most of the time....we were the only girls who wanted to play Frisbee, rugby and soccer. Which we did! I love beach soccer! And rugby and ultimate for that matter. They were really fun, chill pick up games on the beach. My favorite kind of sport. ;)
[[I have realized that I really like to do a lot of things but I am average or borderline bad at them all. Like soccer, rugby, Frisbee, piano, guitar, ballet now, singing,....interesting thought. I still have fun though.]]
I met a bunch of new people, but sadly they were all Americans, except 3 of them...but they weren’t kiwis either.
I got a tad bit of a sunburn. It’s not too bad though. They sad that there are going to be only a few more days like this in Dunedin before winter hits :( So I’m soaking it up! :)
Laura and I were at the beach from 12-6....that’s a long time. We had exhausted our food supplies so we came back to town. I made food at my flat ASAP, then took a shower.
Then I hung out wit my flat mates....Jessie, Sarah and my kiwi host Monique for the rest of the night. We went to a flat warming party...which was a little lame/crazy. Then we went out dancing for a bit and came home. I think it was a really good time to bond with the girls. We don’t have too much in common so it takes a little work :)
Today was a great great day. I could have stayed at the beach forever if I had made enough peanut butter and honey sandwiches!

Mission Accomplished

This morning I woke up and it was sunny! I got ready for the day and headed to campus to course approve aka register for classes. It’s a paper process instead of being online....so I took my paper work to the first building got it started, next building I got it signed, next building they put it in the computer, then a really long line to get my new school ID card.

I’m taking:
Field Studies in New Zealand Geology ---- GEOL 252
Fossils, Sediment and Hydrocarbon Basins ----- GEOL 263
Introduction to Descriptive Statistics ----- STATS 110

I ran into Guy (our IFSA kiwi) on campus and he asked if I was going to try out for the women’s rugby team....Keri, who actually plays rugby at her school, and I were talking about it earlier in the week. I don’t think I’d be able to do well at all, but Guy was my coach at orientation and he said that he’s seen me play touch and I’d be fine. I don’t know all the rules though, that could be problematic. So I’ll probably try out, just for the experience. How many times do you get the chance to be rejected from a club rugby team in NZ?
I got a 2010 Calendar/Planner at the bookstore for NZ$1.99. Pretty sick. It has a flower on the front. When I was at the book store I told the lady my classes to know what books I need and she said I don’t need any!! Which is sweet...except I’m pretty sure they just haven’t been put on the list yet.
Then I walked all the way to the octagon with Jenna to get rugby tickets for the Highlanders (Otago....region not university) vs the Auckland Blues. Then I went home and ate. Then I blasted music and did the dishes, swept, read my bible and snacked in the sunshine. Next we got ready for the game and my flat mates and I joined a HUGE group walking (about 45 min) to the stadium. I met up with more people at the game. It was a good game....the Highlanders lost, but there were some really good plays. I wish I could focus better in a crowd.
We walked all the way back. I’m so tired and I can’t keep my eyes open. It was a good day, I got stuff done and had fun. Mission Accomplished.

Pineapple Trek and BBQ!

This morning was a typical NW day. Gray skies and drizzling, with cloud breaks and patches of sun. I felt right at home. The plan was to go on a hike, but with the rain I wasn’t sure. We braved the elements and went anyway. JJ, Julie, Bay, Mike, Emily and I found some food to take, walked to the isite(information center) in the octagon to get a map and hopefully be pointed in the right direction. We ended up getting on a bus to go to the beginning of the trail, our bus driver was very helpful. The hike was gorgeous...wild flowers [a few foxglove, daisies, monkey flower, a few others I recognized and a bunch I had never set eyes on before]. There were ferns that were trees. Literally tree ferns. I love the bush here. The trees have very interesting branches that would be so good for climbing and/or a tree house.
Walking up was pretty hard, we made good time, and there were a few sun breaks. At the top we ate food and took group pictures...the view was really really good! The hike down was MUCH easier. It was really good to get to talk to the girls on the hike, I hadn’t hung out with them much before.
We walked all the way back to town in the pouring rain. We were soaked. When “Tramping” in NZ you need to be prepared for all four seasons each day. I’m not even kidding. Weather changes so fast here. I suppose that’s what you get when your entire country is made up of beaches and mountains! Awesome.
None of us had food so on our way back a few of us stopped by New World (the grocery store) to pick up a few things....I got stuff for pasta (white and pesto sauce), chicken, bread, milk, coke, cheerios, peanut butter and honey, apples, bananas, KIWIs, salt, pepper, zip locks and Italian salad dressing. (You know I wrote that out for mom...she’s probably the only one that cares what I got at the store) ... we had to carry it all back to our flats though. Not an easy task.
The day before, my flat mates told me that there was going to be a BBQ at the flat today at 7pm...bring your own meat and drink. We provided chips. So I got back, I helped clean up, let a few people know about the BBQ, showered, skyped ANNE!, and went down to see what was up.
NO one was there, so the four of us divided into two groups and went to remind the neighbors. That went relatively well for the activity itself. Slowly people started to come until we had about 25-30 people there. It was really fun. Most of the people were from IFSA and I knew them, but there were a few others and a few kiwis that Monique knows. I grilled my chicken and fish and peppers for Sarah and Jessie...it turned out well! Sarah and Jessie were really glad I invited so many people and they felt like it was a successful party. :) I thought it was too.

Though that and hanging out later, I think my flat mates and I are getting to know each other much better and I like them more and more. :)

HQ

First Full Day in Dunedin

This morning I awoke in a room bathed in sunlight...not just any room...my room...and not just any sunlight...NZ sunlight. My massive amount of windows woke me up but I was so happy to be in my own room that it didn't even matter. In the morning all the IFSA people met and we had our first meeting with the international office at Otago university (everyone in NZ just says uni)...they told us how/when to "approve papers" AKA register for classes. We then got a campus tour. The geology building is really old and it has huge rocks out front. I love it. Can't wait to go in.
Gerald, our bus driver here in Dunedin, took us on a tour of the city. We saw all the major stores we would need to visit, the octagon (center of town), the botanical gardens, grocery store (I have zero food), the top of some big hill and Baldwin Street. Baldwin street is the steepest street in the world. IN THE WORLD. we climbed to the top. What a workout.
Then all 50 of us were dropped off and told to fend for ourselves. I hung with Laura, Nina and Ginny and we went to The Warehouse to get cheap bedding and stuff. On the way we met Luke and Mike. On the way back we looked so silly carrying all our stuff across town!
I love getting to talk to and getting to know these people better! ..... I finally made it home and the flat mates were about to go out to dinner, I barely made it back, so we went to the octagon to a japanese restaurant and ate dinner. It was good, however, chopsticks always slightly impair my eating skills. Monique, my kiwi host, is great! I really like her.
After dinner we came back to the flat and hung out, I started becoming friends with everyone I know and have met on facebook, worked on my room a bit, watched part of a movie with Jesse and Sarah and now i'm so tired and I'm heading for bed.

FLAT DISCOVERY!!! 02/16/10

Woke up from the big maori slumber party and took a very quick shower before breakfast kai...then we cleaned up the big room and waited around for a while. Then we said farewell to two of the elders and gave them a plant, which is a good thing to do I guess. Then we once again piled onto the bus and headed to the Auckland Memorial War Museum. The museum wasn’t all about war. It had a whole section on volcanoes with a bunch of exhibits, including but not limited to a interactive eruption exhibit where the floor even shakes! There was also a man made Moa skeleton. A Moa is Kevin from the movie Up! Seriously, it’s a huge bird that went extinct about 500 years ago....I think. So Drew and Laura and I (geo majors) were making jokes., moa jokes. There were many great puns, but the one that took the cake Drew thought of on the spot....”What is a snake with wings called? ---- A MOA CONSTRICTOR!!!” HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAA I laughed so much....I just want moa and moa jokes. ;) Our group of geo majors was last to get out of the museum.
Then we went to the airport and flew from Auckland to Christchurch to Dunedin. Our home turf. We trucked all our stuff to buses and were dropped off at our new homes! I live right next to Mike, Adam and Jenna on Forth St in North Dunedin!! My house has a turret and everyone was joking that that was my room, but I totally doubted that I would get that sweet of a room. I did. My room is a turret! It has 5 windows that go in a circle a twin bed (or a queen, I’m not sure which size is which) it’s big, a desk, desk chair, lamp, fan, bookshelf, end table thing, drawers, little sideways hang clothes thing, extension cord, and I just found a hair dryer in the drawer!!! I’m so so so so happy with my room and excited. My Kiwi Host is Monique. She reminds me of a crazy Rebecca plus cousin Kelsey...I know...crazy stuff :) But she is really nice and chill. The two other girls are really nice as well. Sarah is from Cali and Jesse is from Virginia. They have both been in NZ for longer than I have but we all have arrived in Dunedin recently. There is only one shower, which is down stairs, but that’s not a problem. I will put up pictures soon :) I need to go get sheets, blanket, pillow, soap, FOOD, plate, cup and bowl tomorrow.
All the IFSA kids live pretty close and we are all close to campus. I’m so excited for this semester I can’t really contain my excitement. Guy signed up all the geo kids up for that GEOL 252 field studies class!! I can’t wait. We have a field trip starting next Tuesday. :)
The more people have been figuring out that I don’t drink, the more I hear that they say they are really impressed. No one has had a bad reaction to it and if I continue to hang out with everyone, regardless (not totally regardless, but within reason) of if they are drinking, I don’t think they will treat me much differently. I feel very good about how I can be a good friend in that sort of situation. It will be challenging though.
We had pizza tonight and all hung out and talked about our new flats. I met a girl who was with IFSA last year, but it now moving to NZ to finish school. She is a native peoples major....yeah, who knew that was a major. She also is a rock climber and she goes with her sister all the time!! We exchanged phone numbers so we can climb together!! Pretty good contact for my first day in town. :) I’m halfway unpacked and I’m showered. The internet isn’t working so I can’t post all these yet... I will figure that out tomorrow. Tomorrow we have a meeting about school stuff and a tour of the city.
God is so good! I could not have asked for a better situation. I love it.

Orientation Day 3: 02/15/10

I woke up this morning and ate some kai. It’s always very delicious. We got totally packed up, because we were spending the night at the Marae. Then we had two long/hot/semi helpful briefs about IFSA/Otago/school/drugs/alcohol/blah/blah/blah....with kai in between.
Then we said goodbye to our YMCA staff, who were awesome! The traditional Maori way to say farewell is that the leaving party lets a few people from their group say that they are thankful and what for on behalf of the group. I stood up and said a few words because I was very impressed with how hard they worked and with such enthusiasm. I am convinced that they have the best job. I would absolutely love to work at Shakespear during the summer!! A ton of kids groups come there. If they ever need someone to do the dishes, feed Trecle, make food, belay, teach simple geology....I would be there is a heart beat! No Joke.
Then we drove to the West Brook Winery in the beautiful rolling hills of the area surrounding Auckland! We got a tour of the vineyard and the wine making process and wine tasting. I thoroughly smelled the wine and got a little on my tongue. Some of it was good and some of it was not as good, but the descriptions were so entertaining! And they actually were precise and I could taste/smell some of the stuff....haha It made me think of Uncle Mike and Noosky Bacon. :)
After the wine tasting we went to the Maori “community center” called a Marae. They have tourist Maraes on the North Island, but the IFSA students are taken to one that is a home Marae. That is a very big deal. It was such an experience!! I can’t even believe it. So much culture/family/history/language it was incredible and it was intriguing to me with my previous knowledge of indigenous peoples of North America. The comparisons are numerous with the hardships and struggles, but also the Maori story and people are so unique. First, we were to stand at the far edge of the courtyard with the women in front and the men in back. A Maori warrior then came and did a fierce dance with a big stick and a ton of screaming, yelling, tongue movements and fancy footwork. The warrior then set down a small ear piece of feathers (it’s sometimes a leaf or stick). A chosen one of our young men was to keep eye contact with the warrior the entire time and pick up the peace offering of the feathers. We were all not to smile or move. It could be seen as a attack. ((they wouldn’t really have done anything, but long ago this was the process of letting people into the most inner part of the community space.)) It is still practiced today. Then we were lead in to a big room, in this room there were photos of deceased royalty and pictures were not to be taken of the photos. We were spoken to in Maori by two of the elders and there were a bunch of people in native dress. Next we introduced ourselves by selecting two of our men to speak on our behalf. Chris and Garret did so. They spoke in Maori they had been practicing. In order to introduce themselves they did not say their names...they said “My mountain is the ________. My waterway (sea or river) is the __________. And my people are the ________(usually this would be a subtribe or family name but they used their last name). I think this is an awesome way to introduce yourself :) very aware of your surroundings and it shows affinity to where you live, which I like because I love my home.
Kia Ora. My mountain is Silver Star. My river is the East Fork of the West Fork of the Washougal. My tribe is the Miami
and my family is Long.

Then a Maori performing group did singing and dancing for us. It was so interesting. They had movements to mean certain things and though I couldn’t understand I am sure the words were great. It is a very beautiful language. Then they had all the guys go up and take off their shirts and do the Haka. The Haka is the war dance of the Maori warriors. It involves a lot of slapping your legs and chest while yelling and stomping....needless to say this was one of the funniest things to watch! Our small white boys doing a war dance, barely able to do it and utterly unable to keep straight faces following 3 big brown men who knew how to do the Haka and looked like they might break you if you looked at them too long. But it was all in good fun and the warriors made fun of the boys and laughed with us all.
There were a few small girls around the Marae, I got to hang out with them for a bit, one of my highlights. An underground smoking crockpot is called a Hongi and it produces the most amazing potatoes and meat I have eaten. They fed us like chiefs. The big room we had been in previously was now where we were all going to sleep. Yes, all 50+ people. It was a giant slumber party...but we were very well behaved (no pillow fights) because this was someone else’s community home and we were honored to be guests. Waiwara, the elderly lady that briefed us on this trip, came and told us the history of the Maori tribe as a sort of bed time story. It was so interesting, saddening, enlightening, threatening and soothing, a lot of the students fell asleep, but I’m glad I stayed awake. She mentioned the beliefs of the Maori from their creation up to the “cultural genocide” and how they have fought back. She wrote NASA a email when they had a new article on “life on mars”, that pretty much said “yeah we have always known we came from mars and venus, don’t think you are the first one to figure this out!”....she didn’t get a reply. She’s feisty.
After that I had a very good and interesting talk with one of my friends Mike about Jesus and God and what he believes. Lol, he has a few pretty jacked up thoughts. Then we all went to sleep in the same room.

Orientation Day 2: 02/14/10

Today was pretty awesome. I have felt like I have been at camp or something...no phones/clocks/computers/worries. I got up really early, actually I woke up at 5:45am to about 6 text messages from dad :) It was great. . .Then I took a shower, a very long shower, got ready and wrote in my journal for a bit. Then people started to get up and roam about so I talked to a few people before breakfast. They have the best food here.
So this YMCA historical house that we are staying at is awesome. It’s in a regional park that is beautiful! It’s also a working farm. The pig who eats the scraps is Trecle.
We then had a briefing where we did some random activities and learned about NZ. It was long and relatively pointless. At one point my team had to write a poem, I wrote it. Haha it wasn’t very good, but it was fun.
Kai. Sunscreen.
ROGAINE...It’s a game/competition where all you get is a map and you have to run around and find a ton of different places in the least amount of time! It was so fun and hard :)
Kayaking!!! INCREDIBLE. We sea kayaked in a bunch of two person kayaks. New favorite water sport? I think so. We went out to an old ship wreck and looked around. There was a beach cliff that had some awesome stratigraphy. Drew (a geo major) pointed out that there was a unconformity and it turned out to be an angular unconformity!!! So sick! So Laura and Drew and I got quite distracted, to say the least. We kayaked across a bay (which was further then it looks) to the other side. There were tide pools and sweet bouldering (well not really, I just tried to climb it all). Then on the way back across the bay my kayak partner (Keri) and I decided to go with the group that was going to “sail” back....so we made a raft of our boats and held up a tarp. It was awesome and it actually worked. On the beach I found a sweet shell. One of the YMCA staff, Sam, had a shell on a piece of leather as a necklace....so I found a little tiny screw driver and made a necklace. Sweet as. :)
Kai
Next we had another brief about going to the Marae the next day. An elderly lady from the Maori tribe came and told us what to expect when visiting. We learned a few songs and I got to know John a little better, because we were sitting next to each other and trying not to fall asleep. Here are the lyrics to my favorite song on the list we were given:

WHAKARIA MAI:
Whakaria mai Tou ripeka ki au,
Tiaho mai Ra roto i te po,
Ki kona au Titiro atu ai,
Ora, mate, Hei au koe noho ai.

Send forth the light Of your cross to me,
Shine down Through the darkness,
There will I be Watching and waiting,
In life and death Abide in me.

From what I was told about the Maori, they are not Christians as a culture. They believe they came from Mars mating with Venus and a few others things. However, this song screams Jesus Christ and His sacrifice, faithfulness and gift of eternal life. I love these lyrics. (We didn’t learn how to sing this one but we learned two others)
After the brief, we (finally) got to go outside again and hang out. We started to talk about sheep and I proceeded to tell dad’s story about what happens to sheep when they are stuck on their backs in the sun. Dad says their stomachs will explode, or something. NO ONE believed me. It was really funny and I probably will never live it down....Dad, is that true or did you make that up? I’ll google it.
The stars that night were spectacular! Better than Snag Mountain or the Salmon River, which is saying A LOT.

Orientation Day 1: 02/13/10

I didn’t sleep at all after the rugby game...I just packed up my stuff and took a shower. At 3:30am I needed to catch my bus to the airport. I was slightly nervous about walking to the bus stop and waiting around for my bus, but when I got to the ground floor of the hostel there were two American girls waiting for the same bus. Wow, God takes care of his sheep! I got to the airport a few hours early...lame...and there was nowhere to nap. I got a cup of coffee. I introduced myself to Alex and Guy at about 5:20am. Alex is the main IFSA person in NZ, she is from Wellington. She is super nice and does a great job with such large groups. Guy is out Student Services Coordinator in Dunedin at Otago with us. He is in PE grad school and he’s really nice.
After a bit more waiting the rest of the students showed up on the group flight. The first girls I met were geology majors!!! There are 5 from their school...crazy. And I ended up meeting about 4 more!!! This will be a very fun semester. I was so tired that I had no inhibitions and I felt quite comfortable in NZ by then ;) so I just decided to meet everyone. I think I did meet about everyone but didn’t remember all their names because my brain was in a sleep deprived fog. We loaded up our stuff and jumped on to a bus to head to the YMCA Shakespear Lodge at Shakespear Regional Park in the Auckland Area. The park is gorgeous and serene....rolling hills, sheep, close to the beach, pig, trees, peacocks, rock climbing wall, mountain boards, kayaks,...
Mike is the guy in charge of the YMCA. He briefed us on what we are to expect during our orientation. Today was packed so we would all stay awake and fight the time zone change. In Maori food is kai. Haha which is pretty funny to me. So the list of stuff to do for the day always had and incredible amount of “kai”. Kai all over...it’s like Pippin in the Fellowship...we had all the teas and scond breakfasts :) He also reminded us about the intensity of the sun down here (he wasn’t joking either) serious sun burn material we white people are.
First we unpacked, put on sunscreen and went for a “wander” up to the highest point in the park (where the proceeded to give us some food), then down to the beach to put our feet in. Kai. Sunscreen. Then the YMCA staff and the IFSA staff taught us how to play cricket and rugby!! I played touch rugby, it was 10 on 10 and we sucked. It was so fun though. I wish we had it back at Miami....maybe we do. Guy was our capitan and he was hardcore, but very gracious. He said I was doing well for never having played before. IT WAS SO HOT!!! So we jumped into the ocean and it felt great!!
Kai.
Next was the Waiwera (?) hot springs...hot hydrothermal mineral water straight from the earth, put into pools for our enjoyment and relaxation. It was quite fun. Andrew is one of the IFSA staff, he and his family live out in central Otago in a VERY small town that is right next too a national park. Very cool. He asked me about my life, so I kinda told him the whole story...Airforce, Delta, WA, Mexico, Mountain, Homeschool, Church, Miami Tribe, Miami University...He seemed pretty interested. It was a interesting conversation on public schooling and politics as well.
Then we went to a pub, I got coke (w/o rum :) ). Everyone had a beer and we headed back to the lodge. I slept SO well.

RUGBY!!! Go Blues!!

The rugby match was incredible!! It was the Auckland Blues against the Wellington Hurricanes. We got a little face paint, like the stripes under you eyes, and it was blue and white. So we rooted for the Auckland Blues. They lost. :) but it was so interesting to learn about rugby. Everyone really likes to talk about it, so it was easy to ask question and get someone to give detailed answers. I learned a ton. Rugby has so many rules and facets, it’s intriguing. I’m pretty sure rugby is in my top 3 favorite sports....soccer, hockey, rugby. At this point at least.
In the bus on the way to the game I met a guy named Rob (I think) who is from Kansas, goes to school at UC and HE IS GOING TO THE SAME UNIVERSITY AS ME!! He wasn’t a quality gentleman but maybe I’ll see him around campus and recognize him. I already have a friend at school :) kinda.
I held the bar for bus limbo on the way back from the game, a girl from NY won. We also played telephone. The DJ/leader person was welsh and really funny...I haven’t played telephone in quite some time :)
I had a very interesting conversation with a gentleman (and I use that word loosely) about why I didn’t drink. He was very smart and called me out for using a circular argument. It was a really fun conversation and it was interesting to see what arguments he used to drink (which I think is fine) and which ones he insinuated to get drunk.
I said goodbye to Cassandra, Teresa and Laura :( It was really sad, but we all have each others phone numbers and if they are ever in Dunedin they are going to call me! I’m really glad I met them and I think it is for a definite reason. Cassandra said she felt like she had known us for a really long time already. That happens when you go somewhere and know absolutely no one.

This will be a very short night and I will meet the IFSA group at the Auckland airport. On to new things!!

Goodbye Auckland, it was a pleasure....Hello IFSA orientation!

In Devonport with Auckland in the background and Teresa and I mud wrestling. :)

INTERNET

I finally paid to get internet for a few minutes!!! Sorry all these posts are at the same time.

Today I still have mud in my fingernails and my ears and I smell like rotten eggs. My hand has a big bruise and I’m kinda scratched up. Totally worth it!

The only plan I have today is a RUGBY GAME!!! NBD!! Auckland vs. Hurricans. I’ll tell you how that goes soon!

:: BEST DAY ::

This day was incredible! I got up at 8am and organized my stuff, I found that my dad put the book Crazy Love in my bag!!! So I went down stairs ate granola, read Crazy Love and listened to NeverShoutNever and Owl City. I had a little time before meeting Cassandra to go to Devonport, so I went to a store to replace my converter that goes from NZ plugs to US plugs that someone STOLE yesterday :( I also found a store that was all maps!!! AND THE HAD GEOLOGIC MAPS of all of NZ!! As well as a book on the minerals of NZ :)
Cassandra and I headed down to the docks to get on a ferry to Devonport. Devonport is an island of the north coast of the north island. It was a beautifully sunny day. When we arrived Cassandra freaked out because she forgot her lonely planet book, which turned out to be the best thing. In order to get some sort of map we went into the i-site. Inside was an elderly Kiwi man who assured us that al we needed was this simple map of the immediate surrounding area that had numbers of interesting things to see. We did the first few (they were boring), then we got really off track to find a sweet beach that we thought we remembered from another map being “just around the corner”. After awhile we found it and it was awesome! [I wish I could put up all my pictures so you could see everything!] We walked out REALLY far and it was still up to our shins. I found a starfish. Cassandra found a crab and a dead Monarch butterfly. There were purple shells everywhere. Along the far side of the cove we were in we saw cliffs and rocks, so we went to explore. With our backpacks we walked a long way around this point to another beach.
GEOLOGY NOTE: There was a new(ish) lava flow from the last time Mt. Victoria blew up...very rough, dark basalt. Along the the cliffs there was a coarse sandstone and a clay based sedimentary rock/sediment. The layers shifted as we walked until they were VERTICLE!! And I took a picture of a really good syncline. Some of the layers looked volcanic and weathered much slower than the other layers. This caused fins to form of this type of rock. It was very iron rich because it oxidized and looked like a piece of metal all purple and orange. It was so awesome and fun to climb around on. I was totally over my head geology wise...so much interesting stuff and I have no idea about the surrounding geology that would have caused such formations.
Once we reached the other beach we had to figure out where we were and find out how to get to Mt. Victoria. Mt. Victoria is the highest place around, it used to be a military area so there is a bunker and a huge cannon thing. Great place to take pictures. We found it, hiked it, took a bunch of pictures, met a cute kid (approx age = 3) from South America and talked in Spanish a bit and ate a not ripe peach right off a tree. When we were on top we heard a band playing, so on our way down we decided to find them. We followed the sound of the Proclaimers to a cottage-looking “Art Space”. An Art Space is where artists can go and use a room to practice. The door was open... so we walked in. The first room was a big dance floor, then a room with a sink was next, then a hall way with a bunch of studios on either side...we walked down it to find the origin of this rocking out. In the very last room there were three guys, two guitarists and a drummer. They had just lost their singer and he took some of their lyrics, so they were practicing for their new singer who was coming the next day. They played two songs for us and they were really good. The guitar solos were so epic and the drummer was solid! They are the Beautiful Collision. Watch for them they will be the next big thing from New Zealand. As we left they said we were their two biggest fans, lol, maybe their two only fans as well.
As we were hiking back to town, we passed a French food shop. Cassandra is a foodie, so we went in. The sign on the door said “Fresh Rabbit” and there before us was a fresh rabbit....awesome. Seriously, salad is what food eats. Cassandra explained to me that there was so many Julia Child type food. Then we spotted a pastry cart and it was over. After a lemon tart and a chocolate mousse tart, we were ready to trek on. The next thing we came upon was a quaint restaurant with very good looking, not expensive food. I got a salmon quiche...yummy. Next we found the best book store ever! [at this point we both decided that if we were staying in the Auckland area we would stay in Devonport. It is so quaint/artsy/beachy/foodie and awesome.] Looking into shops and art galleries as we go, we headed towards the dock. We found a fruit market and bought Kiwi Berrys....small kiwi like things, no hair and you eat the whole thing...new favorite snack.
Swimming was one thing we wanted to do, to make that happen we found the nearest beach that was deeper then our shins and jumped in. The water was a little cold at first. It was 4:20. High tide was 4:30. Our stuff on the beach got all wet. Dang. Then we dried off in the sun until a big gray cloud got in the way. Then we ran to get on the ferry. The top, open level of the ferry was empty so we stood at the front rail with the wind in our faces whipping our hair into a mess, it was great! :)
We headed back to the hostel to shower and get ready to meet Cheryl at 8. Cassandra had met two sisters Teresa and Lauren. They are from Canada too. Haha. Lauren is older and going to be in NZ for 8 months and Teresa is younger than me and she’s here for 6 months. They are going to pick fruit then work at ski lodges during the winter. :) We made it to Cheryl’s hostel. She said there was MUD WRESTLING down the street at the Camel Bar and right then a dude came up and started telling us about this epic event...then he mentioned that they still needed two girls...and there was NZ$1200 dollars worth of prizes. Teresa and I said “Heck yeah! We’ll do it!” .... hahaha so we went back to the hostel to get clothes we could get dirty and came back to the Camel. In the middle of the room there was a tarp with a kiddy pool in the center that was full of geothermal mud from a hydrothermal area of NZ from a spa. Supposedly it is good for your skin. Teresa and everyone else decided to get a beer before the even to get stoked and calm the nerves. I didn’t....I was already SO stoked and not nervous!!!!! Bring it on! They gave us goggles and knee pads. (They also mentioned taking off our jewelry and not wearing it for 3 days because it will turn back...I put my rings on later and now they are all black...no joke). There were 7 girls competing. The mud smelled like sulfer, which smells like rotten eggs. The rules: Everyone has a band on one wrist and one ankle. Whoever gets them off first, wins. No biting. No scratching. No kicking. (all of which happened to either Teresa or I). ..... I was first against a small scrappy girl from New York. It was so crazy! Cassandra took a ton of pictures of my camera, don’t worry! [[She ripped of my anklet from Mere from two(ish) years ago...that’s a pretty epic way to go, it had a good life.]] I WON!!! I had mud in my mouth and EVERYWHERE... The rest of the prelims were not so muddy as NY and I. Then it was Teresa and I, semifinals. Bring it Canada! Ahahaaha it was so crazy we were being so intense, no holding back. It was a tie because we went for SO LONG....it was a really good match ... she won by applause. Then she wrestled this other girl who was big and gross and Teresa kicked her butt!!! It was incredible!!! They told us to go clean up then come back for our prizes. Our hostel was about a 10 min walk through downtown. We got a few funny looks and comments to say the least. I met my new room mates covered in mud. They think I’m insane. I was probably the most polite person covered in mud they had ever seen though. I got mud everywhere. It took forever to get it all off. I got it in my eyes and it hurt so bad. I threw away the clothes. Cleaned up my mess. Found Teresa and Lauren followed the mud foot prints back to claim our prizes!! Teresa got a TON of stuff...free skydiving, bungee jumping, spa, .... I don’t even know what all was in there. I got $50 off transportation with Magic transportation and a free AeroJet boat ride!! :) I glad Teresa won because with school I wouldn’t have time to do any of that sweet stuff. Team North America (which is what we all decided to be) rocks!
Then we went and got lamb pizza because we were starving and tired from the workout. As we were sitting there this crazy kiwi guy pulls up a chair and says “I’m lost. I’m looking for the intersection of stunning good looks and great personality, but I think this might be it.” Hahaha I was so funny! He left pretty soon after that.
They wanted to celebrate, so we went on a sort of wild goose chase for a cool irish pub with local music...it was closed. Then we ended up in a sketchy part of town (but this whole time we were very safe, we were all together and on the main streets.) They told me I was going to pass out on my 21st birthday and be an alcoholic if I don’t let them teach me how to drink. We discussed a “Canadian Drinking Program for Jena in NZ” lol I graciously declined. Hahaha. They are really nice and they found out that we can joke about it, but they aren’t getting me to drink anything. We walked back to the hostel and went straight to bed.
What a day!
I think I should write a guide book....”Auckland in Three Days with Canadians”, best seller. ;)

Deadly Tired Day

We made it to Auckland NZ at about 5am. ... baggage...customs....hazardous material check (which included my trail mix that I had just purchased in LA for dinner and the dust in the cracks of my hiking boots that I had cleaned right before I came ...haha)
I finished jumping through the hoops with all of my bags with considerable ease... ;) (I only brought a small roller, a backpack, and a duffle BTW). Justin is letting me use his NZ phone, so I was able to text my parents and they texted back. That was very fun. Then I found the bus stop....and who was there? Med student buddy...her name is Cheryl. We were very happy to see each other and we were going to the same area to stay in hostels. There was only one other person on the bus, Cassandra and she was going to the same hostel as me. Cheryl and I introduced ourselves and started talking. They are both Canadian. We all decided we wanted to meet for lunch then go on a ferry to Devonport Island later.
Well we left Cheryl to go to her hostel and decided where to meet. ...well she wasn’t there. So Cassandra and I went to find her hostel. We did. She wasn’t there. Moral of the story I lost one Canadian. We walked down to the warf and it was very pretty and sunny. She had an orientation/meeting but we had decided to meet at 12 in the hostel lobby for lunch. She said I should look at her Lonely Planet New Zealand book while she’s gone, because I didn’t have one. Well, she didn’t show. Moral of the story I lost the other Canadian. ....She’s staying in this same hostel so hopefully I will be able to return her book to her...or else I will feel terrible.
I lost both my friends, I couldn’t wait any longer to go eat so I walked and got some food. Good stuff. Just like the US so far.
I studied my New Zealand Geology book, but it’s quite hard to focus when I’m so tired.
HOSTEL: This hostel is sick! I really like it. It’s more like a laid back hotel than any hostel I’ve been to before. It’s not like a house at all. I’m staying in the part called the Sanctuary. It is all girls, the beds have sheets, 2 bunks to a room, they gave me a towel to use and soap, and you get a free Bubbly/champagne if you go to the bar. Haha. I’m stoked about the soap. In the hostel there are a ton of computers a coffee shop kinda, a kitchen, 2 TV rooms (one of which is always sports and they were playing a soccer game...naturally). Everyone is really nice, but I can’t decide if I just think that because everyone has an accent. Even bad words sound proper with an accent. :)
Auckland is a big city...not a huge fan. I could be in any English speaking country. NBD so far. One of the biggest things I’ve noticed it that the green light guy that tells you when it is safe to walk actually walks!! Instead of standing still. AND when you can go it makes a sound that sounds like a video game gun...it’s epic. If I wasn’t by myself I would dodge the bullets and shoot back.
It’s kinda cool how normal this feels, it’s just like America...people eating, drinking, rushing, strolling, scowling, smiling, living, loving....just doing their thing.
It’s 4:30pm and I just want to go to sleep...but I really should stay up so I get back on track. I guess I can go to bed really early and get up early because in 2 days I need to leave for the airport at 3:30am to meet my IFSA orientation group.
Sorry this is such a crazy, all over the place post...no sleep is not becoming to me....maybe that’s why my friends left :) jk.

747-400 ::: 12:55

Biggest Plane Ever. I really really want to ride on the top level of a 747. Guys this plane has STAIRS!! so awesome. Someday before I die I will ride on the top of a 747 and it will be epic.
I sat in the middle between a dork and a med student :) the guy is really socially awkward...it kept things interesting. He got a beer (you can do that in coach for free apparently on Air New Zealand) Then he proceeded to ask why I didn’t get one...I said I’m not old enough...he was surprised then he said I could because it’s New Zealand...I then reminded him that we weren’t there yet (we had left LA mere minutes before)...and I like Coke better. I feel like I might be having this conversation a few times over the next few months. On my other side was a med student, she has applied to be a family practice doctor. She’s Canadian. She was really nice.
I watched the 3 hour long BBC version of Emma. That is such a good movie! I then tried to sleep for the remaining 10 hours. I don’t think my secret power or spiritual gift is plane sleeping. Bummer. The food was pretty good...dinner and breakfast. I only got up once. That is a lot of sitting.

FIRST POST!

Hey!

I'm in LAX with Dad, my flight leaves in a few hours to Auckland International Airport (AKL). WooHoo! His flight leaves in a few hours to go back to PDX. :)

My mom and dad took me to the airport this morning and Kaile and Anne met us there. It was so good to be with people I love before I leave. Thanks! I am convinced that this is going to be no different than me going to Ohio for everyone in the states....except I'm BLOGGING. :) NBD.

So the future holds a very long flight (with good books and music), a 45 min bus ride to a hostel on the water front, hostel, 3 days of exploring Auckland, then meeting the IFSA kids for orientation. Hopefully I will write again before then so you all know I am alive. I will be but you won't know.

THEME SONG: What a Friend We Have in Jesus.
Favorite Line: What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!

THEME VERSE from Mr. Jackson's sermon: Joshua 1:9 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

Bring it on world!!!

-Jena