Aotearoa!

Well, it's Sunday night, so it's Blog Time!!
First of all, I'm going to try (keyword, try) to make this one shorter and more readable.
Alright, alright, I'll get to the title.  Aotearoa (goodluck pronouncing it) is the Maori name for New Zealand translating to "The Land of the Long White Cloud."  Maybe my facebook album name makes sense now?!? How does that relate to this blog? It doesn't, but I thought a foreign language would get your attention.  Well, I guess there were long white clouds in the blue skies, but they were great (except for picture taking).

Anyway, first of all, I jumped! 134m (440ft) off a perfectly good ledge for no reason other than because I wanted to (and paid tons of money to)!  It was incredible!  Such a rush as you free-fall for 8 seconds head first to the ground!  It really was so much fun and totally worth it, plus I got a free t-shirt for doing it!  Oh, and it's the highest bungy jump in Australasia and owned by the guy who invented bungy jumping.

We also stopped at a few wineries on the way, as we were in the heart of Pinot Noir country with heaps of vineyards everywhere--plus they have free tastings of actually good wines!

However, Queenstown is an awesome little town!  Very touristy, but sits on a beautiful lake, with tons of shops, food, a garden, ski resorts, bars, and is the "Adventure Capital of the South."  Oh, it's expensive too...  But, they have a place called Fergburger, known for massive, delicious burgers.  I'm sure you'll all be shocked to know I devoured it with no problems.

Then, Saturday night (after bungy and Fergburger), we drove the "Gateway to Paradise" to the start of the Routeburn Track.  What an amazing drive along the shore of Lake Wakatipu (pronounced just how it's spelled)! Bright blue water with huge peaks behind it!  I would love to waterski there--just throwing that out there!  We hit a traffic jam though--sheep were being herded across the road...

Then, we went to go hike the Routeburn Track--one of Lonely Planet's top hikes in the world! I see why.  First of all, you hike along the river with the clearest, turquoise water imaginable. We stayed at a hut next to some falls and the night skies are incredible here but I can't get them in a picture, so you have to believe me!  We got up at 5:45am and walked up to the Harris Saddle at 1277m to watch the sunrise.  There is also a lake up there and it may have been the most beautiful place I'd ever been!

The colors are so vivid here!  The water is so blue, the grass/forests are so green, the mountains are so picturesque and gray with some snow!  This experience has been so incredible so far!  I know every blog says "this was the coolest place ever" but I think this one may have actually been, but around every corner here there's new mountains, rivers, lakes, etc that are all so amazing! The land down under the "Down Under" has been absolutely amazing, but I can't wait to see what Australia's get in store next week!!  P.S. Happy belated anniversary ma and pops.  Sorry I missed it, but hope you did something fun!  Love you and miss ya!! Captions: Lake Wakatipu from Queenstown Gardens, Remarkables behind Lake Wakatipu, the Routeburn River, Lake Harris

All Kinds of Things

Ah, where to start...

Let's start with Thursday.  Dunedin is hosting the International Film Festival for 3 weeks, which is featuring 74, I think, films from/about all sorts of things.  I went to the opening film called Antarctica: A Year on Ice.  The director was actually at the showing with his wife--he was a kiwi and she was American.  They met in Antarctica because the NZ and American bases are the closest two and he proposed on the ice with a huge ring carved out of ice, then they had a very makeshift wedding in Antarctica (how cool)!! He has spent 15 summers and 9 winters there and she was something like 10 summers and 8 winters.  A few of the coolest things were that he said they have 4 months of complete sunshine and 4 months of total darkness.  They discussed how your perception gets messed up over time--his wife once asked him how the weather was and his response was "not too bad" but then when they thought about it 1-she asked if the weather was nice in the middle of winter in Antarctica and 2-he said "not too bad" when it was -40 with 100mph winds and they hadn't seen the sun in 3 months! Also, the southern lights looked AMAZING there.  They work hard though--6 days/week, 7:30-5:30!  Anyway, just a really really interesting and cool documentary.

On to Friday.  We went to Long Beach.  It was definitely near the top of the list for the coolest things I'd done! First of all, I've always wanted to camp on a beach.  There are sweet caves you camp in there, so no tents even needed!
It was so warm as well.  I was sleeping in a cave, on a beach, with a fire, and listening to the ocean waves crashing maybe 50m away, but it gets better!! (that speaker you got me, Andrew, was sweet again) To make things better, we could walk out to a point on the rocks and you just pull mussels off the rock.  We cooked mussels on the fire in tin foil for dinner and breakfast, then I brought a bag home for lunch as well!  However, when we woke up, the sunrise was awesome, and I got the fire going again and was in

paradise.  The fire was roaring, the waves were crashing, sun shining, life was great!  We even went in for a little swim (ya, it was cold), but the sun warmed me right up after!  At several times, whether sitting by the fire eating chicken, potatoes, and mussels, or passing a soccer ball on a beach, listening to the ocean crash while laying in bed, or just watching birds fly around during sun rise I had several moments where I truly felt in heaven.  I was awake first and there is something about having a little bit of quiet (except for the birds and ocean of course) that make you really appreciate what you've got and the experience I'm having.  There were several "is this real life" kind of moments.  We'll get back to that though. I'm learning new things with these picture too if ya can't tell!  Anyway, there are heaps more pictures on Facebook, but I've got more to tell ya if you're still with me!

So, on to Saturday.  We were going to camp in the Catlins, but decided to just kind of chill for the night instead, so we did and went into town and even did some homework (added that for you Pops!)  Going in to town was also a kind of special time because it was my first real weekend night here and I ran into tons of people I know in town--not just Americans, but kiwis too--and it was the first time when I really felt like this town is becoming more of a home then a place that I'm staying for a little while!  Except, if I want to fit in I've got to stop wearing hoodies and sneakers, but they're too comfy to give up!

Now that Saturday night bored you,  we're on to Sunday.  Just did some homework in the morning--really sucks that school work is picking up a bit--then went with a friend to watch the Dunedin Thunder of the NZIHL (New Zealand Ice Hockey League) play their final game.  What a, umm, I guess we'll say "show!"  They were bad.  As in, significantly worse than CSU's club hockey team.  Check them out in the video if you want!  However, it was really cool.  How many people can say they've been to a NZ "pro" hockey game (it's technically amateur hockey)?  With that said, I think I could play here, in all honesty.  Told ya I could be a pro hockey player!  Then I had to make flat dinner, so we had paninis--easy to make vegetarian or throw some meat in.  I ended up slicing three of my fingers open on a tin can though--never thought I could hurt myself making a frickin sandwich!

Alright, if you're still with me, this is the last paragraph.  In all honesty, I don't know what I will learn from this study abroad experience.  I know I will learn tons and am learning things now and these experiences will stay with me whether I ever make it back here or not, but it's hard to put a finger on exactly what the "it" or "these" are right now.  However, I've been reflecting some.  First of all, before we even left, they warned us at some point 1-2 months in lots of students go through a period of being kind of on edge, where little things bother you and you don't know why, then you snap out of it ideally.  I think the weekend for Christchurch was that for me.  My friends were annoying me, the city was annoying me, I felt I was missing something, not sure exactly what it was, but something was wrong.  So, that's why I said I wanted to back away from home a little bit (yes, I still love you all), but I just want to immerse myself in NZ and not worry about all that's going on back home.  It'll be there in November and I've got a great support system if I ever need it, no matter what.  They told us, when you snap out of it, you'll realize again how special this place and opportunity is--that's where I am now!  When I graduated HS, there were paths to take.  Enter the workforce, go to college, go play junior hockey, etc, but college seemed an easy choice.  International seemed like a big, scary thing.  I graduate college in 9 months.  There are jobs everywhere.  I know now that there is nothing wrong with other countries, other cultures, other people!  This is such a huge planet with so much to see.  I feel Americans are often surrounded by the "we're the best and everyone else is inferior" culture.  In lots of ways America is the best, but there are plenty of other amazing places.  It's also a little bit shocking how much everyone knows about us, when we know little to nothing about them.  Everyone here knows Obama, but do you know who John Key is?  With that said, this weekend was amazing, I am absolutely loving every second here, soaking up as much as I can, and the more I reflect (which I'm sure will be tons when I'm home), the more I realise I really am learning and changing!  Anyway, off to Queenstown (just booked a 440ft bungee, sorry!) this weekend and will spend Saturday night in the Routeburn Falls hut.  Then off to Australia the next weekend!  Can't believe how fast time is flying!  Check out facebook for more pictures!

Christchurch and things

A few random things from the week before I discuss Christchurch.

1. I scored my first points in netball....and also seemed to get a penalty every play (I learned what offsides was, I learned that you can't be within 3 feet of the person you're defending, and I learned that no contact really means NO contact).
2. I met a Caps fan from McLean, VA (yes, I wore my Caps hoody to a bar...)
3. I was told that I "reek American" (maybe I shouldn't wear my Caps hoody to a bar...)
4. For those of you who haven't seen, I did a little blog-style write up of some of the work I've done on Poplar Island with my internship and they've posted it on the Northeast Region blog site and the Dept. of the Interior employee page.  Here's the write-up

Now, for my weekend in Christchurch.  Let's start off by saying, thank the lord I picked to study in Dunedin, not there.  On Saturday, we went to Akaroa, a small peninsula town that's supposed to be pretty scenic, and did a 3+ hour hike.  It was a nice walk, but the low clouds were higher than the peak we climbed.  The views from Stony Bay Peak were awfully white.  I also gave my new $15 Walmart rain-pants their first test...they failed.  Within 30 minutes of walking, they ripped, so I learned that lesson--sometimes, cheap isn't always worth it. Then after Akaroa, we went into Christchurch--what a boring place.  I'm glad I went and saw it, but it is still very messed up from the earthquake and there really is no "downtown."  From what locals say, there never really was.  Even some students who study there (Kiwi students) asked "If you're from Dunners (Dunedin's nickname), why would you come to Christchurch?"  I forgot my camera, so I have no pictures, but lots of buildings and roads are blocked off and show obvious signs of damage.  Then today, we were going to walk around the hills near town and maybe stop by the beach, but it was foggy and dreary with a chance of rain, so we decided to do a high ropes adrenaline course instead.  That was fun (and surprisingly cheap!), but I forgot my camera so sorry there's no pictures, but we didn't see much picturesque.  We stopped in Oamaru on the way back to hopefully see some blue penguins, but we didn't see any--it was $20 to walk to the edge of the peninsula to see them, so we jumped the fence, didn't see any penguins and got yelled at--oh well!  Anyway, as of now, no plan for this weekend, so we shall see.  I may actually spend my first weekend in town!  Goodnight from here!