Queen Charlotte Sound Weekend!

This weekend I was blessed enough to be able to go on this trip to Queen Charlotte Sound. Its on the northern part of the South Island, and without a doubt one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. My mind kept telling me that what I was looking at wasn't real, that something that beautiful can't be real. But it is! I wasn't looking at pictures or a painting... I was looking at something God created. And I can't even comprehend the beauty of this physical place. How could I ever comprehend Him?

Anyways, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to go at first because I got really sick this past week somehow. I just got all these weird flu symptoms and I felt awful. I was the worse on Wednesday and thought I might just not be able to go at all. I even sent an email to the coordinator. But then, on Thursday, I was feeling SIGNIFICANTLY stronger and better. So I decided to risk it. And boy am I glad.

We took a 3 hour ferry ride across the ocean from the North Island to the South Island. It wasn't a ferry though... it was like an ocean-liner. It had a cafe, food court, reclining areas, bar, etc... I mean, when I hear "ferry" I'm thinking of the Statten Island Ferry. But no, this was a ship. lol. Anyways, I tend to get a seasick: I never throw up, but I always get super nauseous and my head hurts a LOT. So I slept for a lot of the ride which helped. And when I woke up, we were pulling into the Sound, this Bay-like area. It was gorgeous. And I happened to be lucky enough to be looking at the water when three dolphins popped out of the water for air briefly!

When we got there, we took a 20 minute drive to the bottom of our first hike: a 4-hour, easy walk. It was muddy since it had rained the night before, but hey, you can't expect to not get dirty! So we walked through the most scenic places for 4 hours (which seemed like 2 at most). We walked to our lodges, which were these little cabins. The place was run off solar power, the water used to flush was recycled (treated of course), the tap water was pure enough to drink, .. it was a very GREEN place to be. And it was fun!

The next morning, we woke up to frost and none of us wanted to get out of our warm sleeping bags. But we went kayaking on the SEA! Which is so weird! My mine couldn't wrap around the fact that we were paddling through the ocean, and not just some lake. My partner was Ben, who is just awesome. haha. He is the tallest guy, I'm definitely the smallest girl. Great pair. haha.

We saw penguins floating around, all sorts of bed, seals basking in the sun, and DOLPHINS playing! I couldn't get any pictures. But there were like 7 or 8 of them, smaller ones, just playing. They are so playful and so much fun to watch. They are beautiful and graceful. Ben and I tried going really fast and a few times they chased our boat. These things were swimming under our boats, jumping out of the air like 2 feet from our boats. It was incredible and i can't believe I got to see something like that.

Finally, the last day, today, we woke up, ate breakfast, made lunch, and headed out on our 3 hour hike. This hike was very different! It was SO hilly: nature's version of Stairmaster. Seriously. The roots of the trees were so gnarly and so tangled, they created natural stairs for us to step on. It was muddy on the track later, but it was also a very steep downhill. I fell down once (and I'm surprised ONLY once!). All of us were slipping all over the place, holding onto trees nearby. It was pretty comical.

All in all, a pretty awesome weekend. :) New Zealand has got to be the closest thing to paradise on earth there is.

Differences between Kiwi and American

There are subtle, and small differences about Kiwi life and culture than the Americans. They're not huge, any of them. But all together, it makes for an experience.

-Kiwis are super nice. The only rude people I've seen here are either drunk, American, or both.

-They call hiking, "tramping"

-Bell peppers are called "capsicum" here. Random right?

-People drive on the left side, and walk on the left side of the sidewalk

-they call flip-flops "jandals"

-instead of "lots of stuff," they say "heaps of stuff"

-the sausages here are really weird, i don't know if i like them.

-instead of ketchup, they have actual "tomato sauce"... and it tastes like tomatoes. Not a fan

-Cheese and stamps are ridiculously expensive

-tattoos, piercings, and food (generally) are really IN-expensive

-the younger boys wear really weird hairstyles--particularly this rat-tail thing. I've already discussed this in a previous blog

-people don't use their umbrellas, even if its pouring, because the wind will break them

-They really like mince meat pies and chicken pot pies here

-the tax and tip are included in the price: so if cheese is 5.50, you owe 5.50, nothing more

-Kiwis know a great deal about us, and we know nothing of them. Sad.

-They call french fries "chips"

That's all I can think of for now. There are "heaps" more. :) Maybe I'll jot them down as they come.

HAKA

I am sitting in my living room, about to watch New Zealand's pride and joy: The All Blacks rugby team. They've just finished the opening ceremonies which included the presentation of both teams (we're playing the Australians--darn Aussies--one of our biggest rivals), both national anthems, and the All Blacks Haka Dance. The Haka is a traditional Maori war-dance. It's meant to intimidate the enemy-and it does. Here, take a look:

These guys are HUGE and SCARY. I love Rugby, and I really love the All Blacks. (not to mention, they're all quite attractive!) 

I have so much adrenaline in my body right now!! This game is going to be epic! Go ALL BLACKS! 

First week down.

I just finished my first full week of academics here at Victoria Uni. of Wellington (here on out VUW). 

It's been good. Taking 3 classes (or "papers" as they call them here). The academics will be harder here than they are in the States for one reason only. My entire grade consists of 3 assignments in all of them. Usually its like 2 tests and a paper or something. My Psych class is two tests, each 50% of our grade.... so needless to say I'll be working my butt off here. 

Also, since it's been the first week, it was like their little student org fair. I found three Christian groups. I also found a pamphlet that outlined all 6 Christian groups on campus: I contacted all of them and 3 responded so that definitely narrowed it down. It also happened to be these same three groups that were at the Student Org fair. So I visited all the tables. WICF seems predominantly Asian.... which is weird, but I don't really want to be a part of that. I don't know why, it's just not appealing. but the other two groups are Student Life (which is a branch of Campus Crusades) and The Christian Union (which is  branch of IFES). 

Yesterday I met with this girl Kara for coffee, from Student Life. We talked for a good hour, just chatting. She wanted to see how interested I was in the gospel and Christianity, and I was curious about Bible studies and whatnot. So it all worked out. She was a real sweetheart and they have their big meeting tonight, so that's where I'll be. Yesterday evening was the Christian Union's meeting, and the people were super nice and fun to talk to. It's been good. 

I've been worried about not finding Christian fellowship here and God is answering my prayers right and left. ALSO, He has allowed me to find a choir in need of sopranos (which is weird considering most groups are soprano-heavy). So I don't have to go 6 months without singing! YAY! Anther prayer answered. God is good, my friends. I am having a wonderful time here. 

Next weekend I get to go to Queen Charlotte Sound for 3 days to hike (or tramp) and kayak for 3 days. Wonderful isn't it? I'm super excited! 

YAY NZ!

Earthquakes

So New Zealand exists because of two tectonic plates that are constantly pushing up against each other. This is the reason there are so many earthquakes here. In fact, it's the source of joking around here. 

In Wellington, (the south part of the North Island), there are a lot. But the vast majority of them are too small to even be felt by us here. 

Yesterday there was an earthquake, about a 6 on the Richter Scale, on the south part of the South Island. So I'm okay, considering it was quite far away. 

But in the rare event that there should be an earthquake big enough to cause damage in Wellington, my family will be notified by members of the program I am studying through. So all is well!! And now you have just a little more knowledge about NZ. :)

Hugs

I just got home after seeing the 6th installment of the Harry Potter series... it was fan-freakin-tastic by the way. :) 

And yes, I did cry. And I'm not ashamed to admit it. So there. 

It's so weird (and SO NERDY of me) that watching this movie has gotten me into a bit of a lonely mood. Weird right? I mean, come on, it's Harry Potter. But I really miss my friends from home... DC and Colorado. And, despite all assumptions, I'm lonely for companionship, not a boyfriend. I just want to clear that up. 

Harry Potter is the kind of thing I "celebrate" with my friends. I have been to all the midnight book releases with friends, have seen the midnight showing of the films as well... 

I saw the film with my flatmate, Maddie, who is also from the States. I was glad to have someone to go with, but I still don't know her, or anyone else, well enough to really just let myself go. I am always myself, always bubbly, old me. But I haven't really gotten to "hugging" terms yet with anyone. So it's kind of weird because I'm a really huggy person. All the kids I got close enough to hug on Orientation ended up going to different parts of the country. :/

 I wish I could have seen this movie at midnight with Jamie or Kevin or Kaia or AJ or Wade. It would have been so much more fun. But hey, I'm here for a reason. I gotta trust God in all of this. There's something bigger than me going on here too and I can't be selfish asking why, after only a week, I haven't got a hugging buddy. :) 

I suppose I wrote this blog to just let you all know I miss you. 

Sebastian

Sebastian... is my other flatmate. He is here for the whole year, so when the rest of us arrived, he was on vacation. So I met him for the first time last night. 

How? well I'll tell you. He was standing next to me with his back to me, and then suddenly was stumbling into me. That's how I met him. He was TRASHED beyond all reason--like he fell over several times, and couldn't stand on two feet without wobbling back and forth. It was comical, in a sad "wow-how-much-have-you-had-to-drink" sort of way. But I'm told he's a nice guy with a good heart. So we'll see how it all plays out. For now... I think I'll be quiet so his hangover isn't quite so bad. :)

Wai-te-ata

This is the name of the apartment building I live in. I have the most incredible view ever. It overlooks the city and the ocean and mountains. I love my life. 

New Zealand is just rolling, green hills. Walking to and from places is a literal workout. Im going to have the best legs and butt by the time I get back! I love everything here. The people are so cool. The accents are really easy to pick up. Apparently I've said a few words here and there with a Kiwi accent... and I don't even know it! YAY! I'm going to be so cool when I come back. hhaha, just kidding. I'll still have my american accent. Stupid sauce. 

I am currently sitting in an internet cafe because my apartment doesn't have internet yet. I have to wait for someone to get back from vacation before that gets all figured out. I am taking three classes and spent the better part of my day yesterday in orientation and standing in lines so I could simply sign up for 3 classes. Everyone in America: please be happy about the way we register for classes, because goodness gracious its hectic and unorganized here. 

One thing I've noticed is that all the boys between ages 13-23 have this weird rat tail hairstyle going on. EWW. Its like a mini-mullet. Some of them have mohawks and they just aren't put up so it looks weird. Thats fine.. but there are SO many guys here who have like a short haircut and then this little, awkward rat tail at the base of their head.... why?! All of us were just shocked as to how many people have this hairstyle... ha. Anyways, I thought I'd share that with you because i personally find it really funny. I wish I had pictures. I still have to upload all my pics because I am all paranoid that when I plug it into the outlet something is going to blow up.

I gotta say, if there's one thing that needs to be universal, it should be the outlets! 

Anyways, I think thats all for now. Classes start Monday! :) 

Orientation :)

So there are 50 of us future-kiwis that are studying abroad through Arcadia University in NZ. 4 schools. My program, as mentioned before has 14. The biggest group is the group to Otago University in Dunedin--26 kids? Something like that. Anyways, its been pretty epic because all the people are super outgoing and gutsy. There's not a single person who can't strike up a random and fun conversation. Everyone is so happy to be here and its WAY fun. 

So I spent 2 days in LA with my cousin and that was a TON of fun! 

We went shopping, ate lots of good food, saw Michael Jackson's memorial in Hollywood, and Frank Sinatra's star (YAY!). We saw Oscar from the Office, and she got recognized by a fan! YAY!!!

So Orientation has been about 3 days long and its been awesome sauce! If interested: this is what has happened. :) 

DAY 1: 

We got in around 6:30 am on the 4th of July... saw the sunrise. I watched 3 movies on the plane and actually slept a good 7 hours or so. On and off that is. We got to check into this little hotel room, and meet our "roommate" and try and stay up and beat jetlag. I think I won. We walked around Auckland and did a few things: We walked up this dormant volcano and saw these beautiful, everlasting, rolling hills. Everything is green and beautiful and its simply wonderful in all ways. After that we went to Sky Tower, which is the highest tower in Auckland. And there's this thing you can do--you can jump off it! For $195, you can jump off this building with a bungee chord. Only you don't bounce... you simply land on your feet, get unhooked, and then off you go on the rest of your day. Two of our friends did this, and one of them was my buddy Cassie from CO. I would have if two conditions had been different: 1) it was sunnier. It was raining, pretty hard when they did it. And 2.) It was cheaper. I mean come on... for 50 bucks mre I can go skydiving. So there. 

We had good pizza that night, and I was home by 7:30 pm, out by 8. It was wonderful. 

DAY 2:

I got up at like 6 am and lie in bed till 8, when we had to be up. My roommate is so cool, her name is Karie and she is from Hawaii. Instead of breakfast, I had 2 cups of coffee.. cuz i can. We drove to Rotorua, a 3 hour drive, where most of us actually fell asleep, despite getting 10 hours of sleep. haha. 

Rotorua has these awesome hot springs and is known for it--particularly for that rotten egg smell the sulfur gives off. I think I've become immune to it now. 

We went straight to this "farm show"... it was kind of weird. Sheep are like.. the big thing here. There are 10 sheep for every person or something like that.. EVERYWHERE. So this farm show demonstrated how sheep are shorn (and we witnessed one poor guy get all his fleece shaved off), and how sheep dogs round them up. It was fun, in an awkward, "why am i watching this" kind of way. haha. But still kinda cool. 

Then we went to Rainbow Springs, which is this wildlife conservatory. There we saw the national bird, the kiwi, which is the national nickname for the New Zealanders here. Finally, we checked into our hotel rooms, had dinner (I had Korean food...score), and then off to the Polynesian Spa!!! We got to soak in hot springs water for like 2-3 hours, just relaxing and having fun. For people in Colorado, it's like the Idaho Springs Hot Springs... but better. :) Then we went to this place called the Lava Bar to chat the rest of the night away. 

DAY 3:

This day is by far my favorite. 

We went to a Geothermal park called Waiotapu. For those of you who have been, its exactly like Yellowstone National Park. We saw their version of Old Faithful, and its called Lady Knox. We then ate lunch and went Zorbing. 

Ok. Zorbing is a RIDICULOUS amount of fun. Some guy who thought of it must have been drunk, but thank goodness it turned out to be a fun sport! 

Zorbing is rolling down the hill in a giant hamster ball.... in a nutshell. Its 2 people at a time, and inside this giant ball is another, smaller giant ball that the people sit in. In this little place is warm water (for winter days). So you and  your buddy are wearing swimsuits, in this giant ball, and rolling down this giant hill. I can't even begin to explain to you how much fun it is. It got the adrenaline pumping, and all you can do is just giggle and laugh the WHOLE way down. It was pretty freaking epic. 

Finally, we went to the Tamaki Maori Village for dinner. This is without a doubt the highlight of my entire trip so far. We chose our own "chief" who was our buddy Paul. It was his 21st birthday, so that's why we picked him. Now, him and 3 other guys from 3 other big groups were to be subject to a traditional Maori ceremony. They must not show any fear or anxiety or really any emotion while their 4 huge warriors try and intimidate them. From that, they place a peace token in front of the 4 chiefs and one of them is chosen to be the bearer of it. The bearer must pick it up, and walk backwards, never turning his back to the chief of the village. After that, we all followed them into the village (which was a microcosm of the real thing). Here we got to walk around the forest, talk to the real Maori people, get pictures with them, ask questions, etc. We then watched them perform a show of traditional Maori dance and song (which was AMAZING), and then dinner. 

The Maori thing was definitely what I had been looking forward to the most and it was incredible. Above and beyond anything I expected. I even bought a CD of their music. AND, my advisor here tells me there is a class I can take that will just teach me Maori songs. AWESOME SAUCE. 

Today we are all going our separate ways, to our separate schools and to our separate apartments. I look forward to NOT living out of a suitcase, but am a little sad to be leaving the cool people I've met. O well, we're going to have to see. :) 

More to come later! LOVE you all!