I GOT THE CAMERA IN THE MAIL FROM MOM...

...so I went to the Dunedin Botanic Gardens and took pictures of flowers :)

Land of the Free. Home of the Brave.

The passing of the healthcare reform bill in the United States of America deserves a blog post. I'm not entirely sure what to think about the situation other than that I am extremely surprised that the US actually passed such a bill. I am also very very concerned for the future of our great country. Where is this bill leading us? The government of the United States is forcing the people to have a certain healthcare plan/coverage and there are consequences if the people don't comply. Does this sound like your America?

"A government big enough to supply you with everything you need, is a government big enough to take away everything that you have...." -Thomas Jefferson

"Nations crumble from within when the citizenry asks of government those things which the citizenry might better provide for itself. ... [I] hope we have once again reminded people that man is not free unless government is limited. There's a clear cause and effect here that is as neat and predictable as a law of physics: As government expands, liberty contracts." -Ronald Reagan

Freedom and Responsibility Video

"And look at how this bill was written. Can you say it was done openly, with transparency and accountability without backroom deals struck behind closed doors, hidden from the people? Hell, no you can't." --John Boehner

John Boehner: 'Shame on Us'

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither safety nor liberty." -Benjamin Franklin

This is my America.

BadAss Marine

Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!"

West Coast Wilderness Weekend

In two and a half days I experienced lakes, glaciers, waterfalls, rainforests, rivers, fern forests, swamps and beaches. Only in New Zealand.

I started this adventure with four travelling companions.

---Dushan: Dushan just finished his thesis for grad school on the ophilite belt terrane of New Zealand. He is our 252 lab teacher. Dushan is an interesting dude. He is quiet and sarcastic. You never really know what the heck he is thinking or if he is being serious or not. He doesn’t like Americans. It was really interesting that he took us on this trip. Favorite Quote: “Drew! You are the only person in the car that I don’t know everything about.” Dushan getting Drew to talk and the backseat of girls to shut-up :) “Nobody is starting that song until I come back.” About the song Fast Car by Tracy Chapman ... Whitney and I lost it for about 5 minutes after this one. Who knew Dushan liked Tracy Chapman? Lol! :)

---Drew: Drew is from Denver, but he goes to school in up-state NY. He is really funny and has a knack for puns. He enjoys the history of geology and paleontology and he likes hydrology. He kinda freaks out for fossils. :) He and I are lab partners in the Basins class and he is in the Butler program. Favorite Quote: “It’s not like America, New Zealand is SO much better.” Dripping with sarcasm because Dushan said that we always said something in America was like what we were seeing. “Well, 10 generations ago...” ...this is how Drew started when Dushan said he knew nothing about him.

---Whitney: Whitney is from LA. I didn’t know Whitney before this trip and I’m really glad she came and I got to know her. Whitney is not afraid to say anything. She has a really fun, bubbly personality. She is a junior, but she just recently switched to a geology major. I’m excited to hang out with her after in Favorite Quote: “These clouds are like decoration for the sky.”

---Jennifer: Jennifer is from Topeka Kansas and she goes to K-State in Manhattan. That is where my parents (and a bunch of aunts and uncles) went and it’s where my grandparents live. We bonded over Kansas chert and limestone. Next time I’m in Manhattan I’m going to call her up so mom and I can go through the geology building :) Anyway, Jennifer is really nice. I think this is her first time out of Kansas and the surrounding states. I had met her before this trip because she came with Butler as well. She is very excitable and it was contagious. Favorite Quote: “I love New Zealand!” ...after going through a big puddle 4-wheel driving and just about everything else. :)

They were the integral parts in an awesome group and a fantastic trip. I’m so glad these were the people who came on this trip. There are so many more favorite quotes, but either they wouldn’t make any sense or I can’t remember them. :)

Friday at 5pm was our departure time from the north side of the geology building. We travelled in Dushan’s 4-wheel drive which has 5 seats...it ended up being boys in the front and the three girls in the back. It worked out perfectly. On the back of the car there was a sticker that said “ I <3 Olivine”. Needless to say I was a big fan of that sticker. Olivine is my favorite mineral, Dushan’s favorite mineral and Jenn’s favorite mineral. All Dushan had to say about this was something to the effect of “it kind of ruins it when someone else has the same favorite mineral as you”. Lol sorry Dushan. As we were packing up Dushan mentioned that he had went through and made sure the four of our Maerewhenua projects were marked (graded) so that he wouldn’t be tempted to change our grades after he realized we had no idea what we were talking about after spending a weekend with us. He did mention that we all passed though.

We were off! Dushan as stony faced as ever and four visibly excited Americans. I just knew this was going to be a weekend to remember. There are few roads on the South Island for the amount of land there is, so we went south to Balclutha then headed west. We passed from Gore to Clinton on the Presidential Highway while a few snide Bush jokes were passed along in the front seat. None of that was appreciated by yours truly. We continued on to Riverdale were Dushan’s Ophilites were. Ophilites are cross-sections of oceanic crust that were accreted onto a continent at a subduction zone. So in this area you can follow the formation from oceanic basalt, down to more mafic rock all the way to peridotite from the mantle (which is mostly olivine). We followed a fault up a valley to a glacial lake where there was camping sites. We continued on past that lake to the next one, well past when the road became more of a trail. It turned into a 4x4 track, Dushan put it in 4-lo and we had a great ride!! We ended up at a DOC (Department of Conservation) hut out in the bush. The stars were magnificent and we jacked the mattresses from the hut and set up our sleeping bags outside. It was a chilly/windy night but I can’t think of anything as refreshing as sleeping under the stars in the middle of nowhere.


In the morning, and I use that term loosely because the beautiful stars were still out when Dushan woke us up, we woke up, ate, packed up and loaded up. A mouse had found my food that night, but that’s ok...they don’t eat much. Next we 4-wheeled out of the valley back down to the lakes. At about this point I asked if I could take a picture with Whitney’s camera because I didn’t have one. She agreed and I proceeded to be a shutter bug and take a bunch. Then she just said I could have her camera for the rest of the trip and take pictures. It was perfect, it made us both really happy because I love taking pictures and she loves to have them but she never takes enough. I was ecstatic!
Dushan told us that one of the places we stopped was where the ending scene of the Fellowship of the Ring movie was filmed. I was at the river where Sam almost drowns when Frodo tries to leave the Fellowship alone, right after they are at Lothlorien. It was gorgeous. We also stopped at a few crazy bridges. They had signs that said the amount of people who where allowed on the bridge at one time. One of them was only one...Whitney and I went together. We like living on the edge! The bridges are hard to explain so I’ll just put in a picture.



Next we headed back toward Riverdale (not Rivendell sadly) to continue west toward Fiordland. First we came to Lake Te Anau and the town Te Anau. It was beautiful, the lake is such a bright blue from the glacier and snow melt.
[[[I will keep telling you how beautiful everything is, but keep in mind that everyway you look and turn something takes your breath away and you feel the need to take a picture and stare. I will run out of adequate adjectives if I haven’t already.]]]
In Te Anau we stopped at a bakery and I got the most delicious chocolate croissant I have tasted since Starbucks in Shanghai with Grandmother! We filled up on petrol (gas) and stopped by the DOC office to take a look at some maps and look around. Dushan showed us where we were going and explained some of the larger scale geology of NZ that we didn’t know so well. It’s fascinating! There is almost every type of geologic phenomena represented in New Zealand’s geologic history.


So into the glacier carven schists of Fiordland we wandered. Out of the rain and the clouds rose the sharp peaks. As we entered Fiordland National Park we broke out off the trees to see only clouds...but as they rose and as we looked we could see the extremely steep, high walls of the U-shaped valley. Everywhere you look there was a breathtaking waterfall. We continued northwest and deeper into the sharp cliffs of Fiordland. At one point we stopped off the road a ways to get out and enjoy the view and the fine mist that was coming down. We could spot hanging valleys and landslides as our eyes took in the view. Right when we were getting back into the car we saw a huge rainbow inside the valley! It was beautiful and it reminded me of God’s promises... for some reason :) We gaped for a short amount of time and then were off again. We drove through Fiordland stopping at various short walks and rock outcrops. One of the stops was right before the tunnel that goes under a huge mountain. Before and after going through the tunnel I could look up and see waterfalls like veins over the stark, dead rock cliffs. Water is the life blood of Fiordland, the reason ferns hang to the rock faces and moss hangs from the trees. Water is plentiful, life abounds.

Our final destination in Fiordland was Milford Sound. We got to the dock area where people usually get on a boat and go into the sound...which is actually more accurately called a fiord. We went around the back and jumped an eight foot tall DOC fence blocking a dangerous path that had a sign that read...
Passed this fence was a slightly sketchy wooden boardwalk, at the end you could look right to see a huge waterfall or look left out into the Milford Sound. Oh and it was raining the whole time :) On the way back we stopped at a few more locations to hope out in the rain, see something incredible and hop back in. One such place was called The Chasm. We hiked up to a bridge that over looked an insanely eroded river valley. There were holes and arches eroded by the constant power of water into the solid shist.



Dushan decided to take us up north to Haast pass (one of the few ways to get to the west coast) for the night. So we drove and drove and drove. One major good thing about this trip was that we had an iPod tape adapter. We listened to so many different kinds of music. We took turns with our iPods, sometimes we would all be jamming to a song and other times it was just what the DJ at the moment felt like hearing. After awhile Dushan popped in a cassette of some NZ classic best hits of all time. I really enjoyed most of the NZ music and it was a good change, I had exhausted my iPods selection. At about 10pm ish we arrived at the beach. We camped in a pavillion right past a sign that read “NO CAMPING”. I fell asleep to the sound of crashing waves.


In the morning we were greeted by a slight damp, ocean/salt-spray feeling and again the sound of waves. This would have been a perfect morning, except the dreaded sand flies. This was my first experience with them and I wish it could be my last. Sand flies are little tiny flies that look like fruit flies (maybe a little bit bigger) but they BITE! They swarm around your face, hands, ears...anything not covered and bite. The bites don’t hurt at first, it’s just really annoying to have them flying into your food/nose/eyes/ears. The extra kicker is that the bites start to hurt a day after you are bit and they continue to itch for about a week. Nasty little buggers. Anyhow, this morning we walked on the beach (Kansas (Jen) and Denver (Drew) are always quite excited to be by an ocean) then we walked inland about 2 min past our campsite to an estuary/tidal zone/swamp. We walked through the swamp on a boardwalk and looked at the tea colored water, dinosaur trees and listened to the birds.
Back in the car. Off to find jade.
We drove the west coast and went to a bunch of rivers looking for jade. Actually, you need tempered steal to know that what you have found is jade, so we were actually looking for jade-like green rocks that could have been anywhere in the range of re-metamorphosed weathered mantle rock. I won’t go into the geodetails here because I don’t remember them. :) I did find some pretty sweet green jade-looking rocks. The misty west coast was a lot like the northwest coast. Along the coast we stopped and tramped through a yellow eyed penguin nesting area to the beach (we didn’t see any penguins). This beach had huge basalt boulders...we wondered what basalt was doing (that is kinda curious if you know the geology of the area). It turns out that this is the first basalt that formed the ocean floor right when the rocks we now call NZ were separating from Gondwanaland and the Tasman sea was opening up. Not a big deal!! That’s awesome!

About this time I figured out that Jennifer and I both have done ballet for a large portion of our lives and we love to choreograph stuff in our heads. Super random and awesome. :) We did a short plie barre combination on a pier over the Tasman sea.

Next we headed back up to Haast Pass to go inland to head home. Two times during our drive we turned around to go back and photograph cute and/or weird look bovine. At one point Dushan just pulled over on the side of the road and said “everyone out”. We got out and wondered what the heck this was about. He then pointed to an area that was covered in grass but you could see about a meter of steep elevation change. That is the last movement of the Alpine Fault. THE Alpine Fault that runs the length of NZ and has shifted and squished up the rocks of NZ. WOAH. I got a picture where 2 people were on the Australian Plate and two people were on the Pacific Plate. IN-FREAKIN-CREDIBLE! :D


Then we went to Dushan’s 3rd favorite waterfall in NZ. It didn’t have a huge drop but it was an incredible amount of water going at an incredible speed. It was beautiful. We climbed down some boulders to get a better look...then I might have climbed out on a boulder over the water that could possibly have been dangerous. ;) It was an interesting thought knowing that if I fell in I would die. No other option.

On our way back through Te Anau we stopped for petrol and Dushan bought us all ice cream, this was possibly the only nice thing he had done other than take us on this trip. :) It was delicious after my same dull food the entire weekend. He the said “Shania Twain lives over there.” Nonchalant. We responded with a “What?!” Then a lot of laughing. How random. Next thing we know Dushan decides to go see her house.....and the slot canyon right by her house. We listened to Shania Twain music the whole way there. I only had four songs, so we had to listen to “Man, I Feel Like a Woman” twice. Bummer :) Once we arrive to as close as we could drive we got out...Dushan got out and he had a black ski mask over his face. LOL if you know Dushan at all this is the most hilarious thing ever. Then we looked at the awesome slot canyon! It was really deep. The only thing I wanted to do was repel down, creek walk and climb back up. Next time I see Shania Twain, I’ll just ask if that’s ok.

On the way back we stopped by a few dams. They were kinda cool. On the way back to Dunedin we talked a lot. The girls in the back seat have talked the whole time ...and by this time we knew a lot about each other. And as a result of the close quarters, so did Drew and Dushan. Dushan said out of the blue, “Drew! You are the only person in the car that I don’t know everything about.” Hahahaha. Then Drew said “Well, 10 generations ago...” It was the best beginning to a story ever. It was really interesting to hear about Drew’s life and family and neighbors :) Right when he was done I told Dushan it was his turn. He said he couldn’t because he still had to have some dignity and be the teacher on Thursday. Then there was an awkward 30 seconds where no one talked. Then he started telling us about his grandparents, parents, sister, working at a florist and living in Auckland. Now we were all caught up on each others lives, we had a great weekend, it was incredible geology and we were back in Dunners.

Wearing my backpack and carrying the rest of my crap with my boots hanging off the back while I was walking back to my flat... I just started grinning. How blessed am I to be living this life? Seeing these sights? Meeting people who each have a story of their own? Just being me, living life to the fullest.

Promise

Is there a better thing to see when you wake up on a Monday morning than a beautiful painting in the sky reminding you of God’s promises?

“I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.” –Genesis 9:13-15

Embarassing Moment...

I am in a bit of a rush today getting ready to head out for the weekend, so this will be quick. I just really needed to share something stupid I did.

I got all my food for the weekend and brought it back to my flat. I bought water, it was sparkling, I didn't know. When I opened it it exploded and fizzed everywhere. That was a surprise. Calm, clear water suddenly erupting. Anyway, after cleaning up that little mess I added an orange drink mix packet. I thought that would taste really good in my newly discovered sparkling water. Well the mix got all stuck in the neck of the bottle and it started reacting with the water and fizzing a ton. It wouldn't mix in. It was super super weird. After I disposed of that whole mess and gave up on a sparkling orange drink...I went back to making some easy mac and cheese....but I couldn't find my cheese packet.

Oh bother.

Now I'm off on a weekend adventure to learn geology and experience God's incredible, impeccable, exhilarating creation.

Saint Pat and I have the same favorite color.

It’s St. Patrick’s Day. Today I had statistics class and tutorial. I got all my stats homework done during my tutorial and turn it in! That felt good.

---Quick side note: I’m missing the spring season all together this year. Easter is in winter in Dunedin. It all feels a little funny, although being in such close proximity to the Cadbury chocolate factory and massive amounts of sheep might even it out. :)

The next mission for the day was to go get a warm hat for my trip this weekend (it’s getting cold around here...10 degrees.....Celsius) and a wool blanket. My kiwi friend Sophie is very thrifty and she mentioned getting an awesome wool blanket from an op shop (thrift store) for $2. With that shopping list I set out. I first made it too a very international/hippie/granola type shop called Yaks and Yetis. I was told that they had epically warm hats. Well it turns out that they did and in all colors of the rainbow, however I chose one that was a combination of all the colors of the rainbow. I got a white wool hat with fleece inside and it has ear flaps and tassels!! It’s great! It will be very practical and fashionable here in NZ and back in WA and OH.
[This is kinda a stupid picture that I took with my computer, but I wanted to show you all my hat]

Next, I made my way down George Street to The Op Shop and started to peruse their warm blankets. They didn’t have much it seemed...but upon closer searching I found a 100% wool blanket that is cream with teal around the outside for $6!! It is so awesome and I hope it will keep me so warm. Shopping was a success.

To help you understand why this blanket, and hat for that matter, are so important, I will explain my room/sleeping situation. I live in an older house, I have 5 huge windows in my room, it’s getting cold at night, I can see my curtains move and feel the cold breeze on my skin (in my room with the windows closed), I sleep in thermals, fleece pants and a sweatshirt with the hood up usually, there hasn’t been a night I haven’t used my sleeping bag as a blanket. It really isn’t that bad and when I am properly prepared, as I explained above, I am cozy :) Needless to say, the wool blanket will be appreciated.

This evening the Irish festivities began. There were incredible amounts of intoxicated people decked out in green during the day and into the night and morning. I saw my first couch burning as I was walking back from tutorial. Otago is known for couch burning, interesting pass time. The police and fire department came just as I walked by and saw the scene.
I don’t understand St. Patrick’s Day, I supposed it’s just an excuse to wear and flaunt my favorite color.
In honor of this day I wore a green scarf and went to hang out with some geology friends. It was a really chill “party” (I use that term loosely and conservatively here). I discovered chicken flavored chips. They taste exactly like the chicken flavoring for ramen noodles, uncannily so. I enjoy them.

I just found out that my friend Laura is doing her senior thesis on the sediments of Vieques beaches!!!! Holy cow! I have been there. Uncle Mike owns a house there. I love it. I got so excited when she told me and I think it would be SO insane if I went to help her collect samples when she goes in January!! That would be a trip! :) We talked geology a lot, swapped stories, schedules, dropped some prof names NBD.

It is late and I am cold. I need some sleep so I can get well before the trip this weekend. I’m pretty sure Dushan leaves the weak behind. Only those who are fit as well as geologically and sarcastically astute shall return.

Getting Comfortable in Dunners

I’m just making a little pesto pasta for tea (dinner) and I suppose I should keep cyberspace updated on my life in Dunners (Dunedin). I have slipped quite easily into uni life, flatting and the geology department. I can honestly say that this is becoming “home” to me quicker than Miami did and I think I like it better :)

This is my first experience living away from home not in a dorm with dining halls around every corner. It has been so enjoyable! At first it was a little bit of a shock to make food for myself every meal. However, after a week of straight pb&j and a conversation with mom about recipes my diet has become much more diverse. My recent favorites have been pasta salad, pesto pasta, Nutella!!, my new strawberry jam (not even close to as good as mom’s), and fresh random veges (veggies). Flatting with three other girls has been really fun and only a wee (little) bit dramatic. There was only one big issue between two of the girls and it has been resolved and they have moved on, so that is awesome. This living experience is very good practice for my living situation next year. I’ll be living in a house with 7-8 of my good friends at Miami! I have discovered that I like to do dishes and laundry. I kind of can’t wait to be a mom and have a house of my own :) That is a stage of life that I am quite looking forward to whenever, if ever it occurs.

Classes are going well. This is the third week of class and everything is going smoothly. Statistics lecture is getting more and more tempting to skip, but I haven’t done it yet. I think the only reason I would do so would be to go walk a dog for the SPCA (animal cruelty/pound place) some morning. I need a dog fix. Geology classes are awesome. Sometimes I just can’t help but smile in a lecture when I realize I’m in New Zealand learning about terranes in the NW United States that are “like Viking death ships”. My professor is an incredibly intelligent sedimentologist/paleontologist who has found many, many amazing fossils in NZ and was influential in discovering two new families of fossils. He’s kind of a big deal. I am thrilled to be learning about this beautiful world we inhabit.
In Basins class today we started “picking” our forams. This process is done with a TINY TINY miniscule paintbrush and a microscope. We find the microfossil/foram and pick it up with the brush and place it on a special slide. We then identify, orient and arrange then on the slide. This process will be going on for the next few weeks. Forams are stunning shells of single-celled ancient organisms. Under the microscope it’s like a whole new world that you have never seen anything like in the macroscopic world. Mom told me this before I left when we were talking about studying forams in this class...I had no idea how right she was. Making the foram slide is going to be a pain in the butt, but I will enjoy it! Here are pictures of a few different kinds of forams if you are interested...
Planktic Forams

Bethic Forams

I found a few that look like this one, I think the genus is Textularius



Geology 252 class, on the other hand, is quite quirky. I love it, but I never know what exactly I’m supposed to be doing. This is the class that is going to make me a “real geologist”. The class is split into two lab sections that meet on Thursday (other than this lab we just have field trips)...the teachers for my section are Dushan and Tim. Dushan is a sarcastic, masters student with a dry sense of humor and an intimidating demeanor. Tim is in postgrad as well, he comes off as mean, he’s not mean but he is extremely sarcastic and sometimes rude/crude. They are both really funny, if you this sarcasm is funny (I do). They love to make fun of Americans. They assured us that they will teach us how to be real geologist. I’m looking forward to that.
Lab class is vexing. I really like the exercises we do, but I am never exactly sure what is expected of me. Possibly by the end of the semester I will have a better grasp on this. Here are a few things I find helpful for geology in NZ:

GEONZ Helpful Hint #1: Always ask questions.
GEONZ Helpful Hint #2: Be content not knowing expectations.
GEONZ Helpful Hint #3: Don't be intimidated.
GEONZ Helpful Hint #4: Use sarcasm tactfully.
GEONZ Helpful Hint #5: Do your best.
GEONZ Helpful Hint #6: Try not to care.

Dushan arranges a few trips each year for international students. He said this is so we can go to some places we would never be able to see in NZ. This coming weekend a small group of Americans, yours truly included, are going to Fiordland and Milford Sound on the West coast. My friend Drew from Butler is coming too. This trip will include day tramps (hikes) and camping on the tops, four wheel driving, camping or sleeping outside, jumping DOC (Department of Conservation) fences and lots of driving. I am BEYOND excited.

My Missing Mobile

The day after I lost my camera in the ocean, I lost my phone. I had to laugh. “Seriously New Zealand? Are you going to eat all my electronics?” After a small pout, a frantic search and a good laugh I decided to keep a very close eye on my iPod and computer. It was slightly stressful to begin thinking about life without a phone. Sadly, even in a foreign country that I have only been in for a little over a month I am dependant on my mobile (aka cell phone). This served as a great reminder that I have been so blessed with friends here in Dunedin already, so much so that I was worried about getting everyone’s numbers again :) That is incredible. I thought I was going to send about 5 text a month in NZ...yeah right. Well after I had time to process this loss and search high and low, I went to Basins with my friend Drew. I asked if he would text my phone in case someone had picked it up. He did and about 6 hours later, after our Basins lab that afternoon, he got a text back telling him to tell me that my phone was at the security office!!! I was so beyond stoked at this turn of events. I thought it was gone for good. That is the story of me losing and finding my phone. It reminded me to be thankful for my friends and remember that material things, like phones and cameras and $, are just not as important as things that last much longer....like God, His word and people.

"Milo is New Zealands Gift to the World" -Monique

On this rainy day in Dunedin I have had two steaming mugs of Milo. I was introduced to Milo on the geology trip. When I went to the store, I couldn't help myself. Milo is a chocolate, malt hot drink. Delicious!

Beach 2.0

It’s Monday, my project is done and I only have one class! I sat out in the grass in the sunshine beside the river/stream that runs through campus and read a few geology appendixes about structural stuff I haven’t learned. I was struck by the beauty of the earth, the complexity of the earth and how this sunshine must be a gift from God for all the poor geology students who didn’t get much sleep the night before :) Sarah (my flat mate) was sitting with me between her classes and a duck came up and started eating her toe! Yeah...there are some very tame birds on campus.


At the Clubs and Socs (clubs and societies) building there is $3 lunch everyday of the week. It’s Indian food. Today is was curry, noodles and veggies. It’s always vegetarian :(. The dessert is usually an apple crumble or something like that. It is always a good amount of food and I always see someone I know. :) As I was debating what to do with the rest of my beautiful sunny day, I had the epiphany GO TO THE BEACH! Of course. This is supposed to be one of the last sunny summer days in Dunedin. Where else would I rather be?
From that moment on I was on a mission. I asked everyone I ran into if they wanted to go. Within an hour and a half I was in a bus with Kaite, Simon and Kimberly heading to St. Clairs. St. Clairs is the nearest beach to Uni. It started getting cloudy, but we resolved to have an awesome time regardless. We got there and very few people were on the beach, but there were a few older ladies walking their dogs. I got to talk to one lady for a while so I could pet her two dogs :) We set up out towels and tried not to fall asleep. It was a little cold to be sunbathing, but not too cold for a nice nap. I read some Proverbs and 1 John. I haven’t had too much time to read recently. It was such a great time to relax, take in the beauty or the beach and be reminded of the wisdom that is offered to those who seek it and the unconditional love offered to everyone!



Katie and Kim fell asleep so Simon and I [[ps: it’s so weird that someone else is named Simon other than my brother! New Simon is very nice and a good friend....but I do wish sometimes that is was Brother Simon that was here]] went on an exploration walk down the beach. Our inner geology psyche lead us to a huge sea cliff down at the end of the beach. It was beautiful! There is a huge species of seaweed/kelp stuff that was all over. It looked like a living, breathing beast when the waves moved it. We bouldered a little bit, well we didn’t really at all, we just held on long enough to take pictures ;) hahaha. It was a good walk and talk though. We both, like everyone else, have no idea what to do after college. We are just both happy to be in New Zealand at the moment.

The four of us headed back to our flats for dinner. I think I had grilled cheese or something.
Laura and I planned a little ice cream social for 8pm at Rob Roys. They have the hugest ice cream cones for $2.20...they are double scoop for the price of single scoop! So a bunch of Butler people, Whitman people, geology people and a few kiwis (namely Sophie and Charlotte who are geology majors and Sophie is the kiwi host in the flat behind mine.) It was really fun. I got hokey pokey ice cream. It is seriously the best flavor in the world! It was invented in NZ, it is vanilla ice cream with small pieces of toffee in it! After ice cream a few of the people I don’t know as well were heading to the beach for a night time jam session and Frisbee session. They have bought cars so Laura and I hitched a ride with them. Beach 2.0 for Jena today! We could barely see the Frisbee, but one of the guys brought a guitar and we sang some classic American songs...such as rock me mamma like a wagon wheel, twist and shout and brown eyed girl. Well, as we were singing brown eyed girl (at the top of out lungs) a big wave came (because the tide was coming in) and I had buried my feet (like you do at the beach)....so....I freaked out and started jumping and running. THEN MY CAMERA WAS NO LONGER IN MY POCKET. NOT GOOD. I rushed around looking for it, but that was a lost cause...the ocean had eaten my camera in a torrent of angry water and seaweed under the cover of darkness and clouds. MASSIVE LOSS 1.0. :( I might have a few less picture for a little bit, but mom is going to send me her old camera soon. So don’t worry too much.
I think I am learning about handling disappointment and inconvenience. These things don’t seem to matter in the long run and in the moment they aren’t worth freaking out about.
So we continued to sing and dance around on the beach till we got too cold and headed back home! I’m really bummed about my camera but such is life. Not everything is always pleasant and when it isn’t I’m still going to be. :)

Maerewhenua Strat Column, Measured Section and Cross-Sections

Maerewhenua Map

GEOL 252: Maerewhenua Project

After the awesome flatwater rafting team building experience I went home, showered and started working on my 252 project in the library. It is due Monday. This is Sunday. Not good. :)
I had such a fun weekend and I am in NZ, I like learning, mapping and writing about geology so I couldn’t help being in a good mood....even now. So I worked in the library till it closed (at 11pm), then I came back to the flat and worked till about 1am when I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I woke up at 6:30am and worked on the paper till the thing was due at 9:00am. It was such an incredible relief to get that done! It is not the best work I have done and I could have made it better give more time. I’m happy with it though. Next time I turn in a big project, hopefully, I will know what they are expecting and wanting from me. This was a bit of a shot in the dark :)

Flatwater Rafting with IFSA

So the 263 field trip was Saturday and on Sunday we had a IFSA Butler “whitewater rafting” trip titled “The Wild Side of the Taieri Plains”. Ha, what a joke. :) Saturday night I stayed in the geology building till 2:30am. There were a few kiwis blasting rock music and working on their maps, so it was interesting and they kept me awake. I showered and went to sleep by 3:30am and I woke up at 6:30am to get to the bus. I made it, with a nutella sandwich and a few minutes to spare. It was about a half an hour bus ride to the Taieri Plains. We unloaded the bus and were given wetsuits. This was the first time I had ever worn a wetsuit. It reminded me of a really thick rubber unitard, I suppose that’s exactly what it is.
We went on a small jet boat up a flat calm river to a little beach/park area. There was a kiwi named Callum there and some morning tea. It was quite pleasant. I asked Callum where the whitewater was and he said that the place they normally take people there wasn’t enough water, seeing that it’s the end of summer here. Once everyone had arrived they told us the plan for the day. This was going to be a big team building competition. I was feeling a little cocky because I had quite the incredible team (Laura, JJ, Kaite, Sam, Garret and I). Team Name: BROverwhelmed by Dirty Moas.
The challenges included: Paddle to the otherside and get all the flags and come back. One person jump off a rock and swim to your team in the boat go out to the middle of the river and flip your raft completely and come back. Run up the path (in wet suits) and make a human tower to get a flag. (afternoon tea AKA lunch). Raft race. Three people jump off a cliff and swim to a boat with two people in it and lift a person up, whilst in the raft, to unclip something from a rope hanging. Steal as many paddles from the other boats as you can.
It was a very different experience than I expected but I had a great time and my team dominated all the events!! Go Moas! At one point over half our team was bleeding...there was blood everwhere. I had a little cut on my foot, garret’s finger or something, Mike’s hand and Laura got bit by an EEL http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_longfin_eel!!! So intense!!
{Sorry I don’t have pictures...I’ll put some up if Guy ever gives us the ones he took. It was too wet to have a camera around.}

Oh, just another field trip :)

On Saturday of the weekend before my 252 project was due I had a 263 field trip. This trip lasted from 8am to about 7:30pm....it was quite the day. I LOVE GEOLOGY HERE! It’s field trips and field trips and labs and sweet lectures!

For the field trip we went up the east coast from Dunedin almost to Oamaru. We followed a stack of strata that continues north in the Canterbury Basin. It started at the bottom of the Taratu formation at some coal measures.

So there was a layer of coal, river sediment, sandstone, greensand, limestone, greensand, limestone....or something like that.

At one outcrop on the beach (yeah on the beach...no big deal) there was sweet tilted strata that has a layer of round algae balls. They are called rotoliths I think...it’s like stromatolites by small. They formed in a shallow marine environment where there was sediment starvation and enough energy in the system to keep them moving but not too much. It was awesome. We weren’t allowed to hammer the outcrop....BUT .... I found a piece of it, a big piece, and I took it!!

We rode in vans and stopped at a bunch of outcrops. That’s how the Otago Geology Department rolls. Anyway, at that some stop I also found a paua shell [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paua] , it’s beautiful! It is going on my rock and shell collection shelf. Some of the students found sting ray teeth in one formation. At another locality there was a coal bed that had PYRITE forming on fossilized roots and stuff! I got some awesome samples!! I love minerals.
I am really enjoying getting to know more people in my geology classes. It’s slow sometimes getting to talk to people, but it will be worth it. Field trips are really good ways to get to know people, way better than class. Maybe that is one of the reasons I like working in the field so much.