Kiwi as!

So, kiwis tend to add "as" after things to emphasize it.  The most commonly used phrase is "sweet as," which actually just means "ok, cool."  However, if something is very stereotypical of New Zealand, it's "kiwi as" and, therefore, my weekend was kiwi as.

I went on a field trip to the Catlins area, which is just a part of New Zealand south of Dunedin with lots of native temperate rainforest, pretty beaches, and lots of waterfalls and very few people.  The field trip was good--we just got to walk around and look at different ecosystems and discuss them.  It reminded me of my Pingree summer field course, except no quizzes/tests/essays.  Oh, and the food was delicious!  Plus, we got 3 main meals, and 2 "snacks" during the day, all with desserts, so yes, it was another rough weekend for the healthy eating.  However, two highlights (and I only took one picture all weekend) were the first module we were on the beach and all the sudden a herd of sheep came storming through.  They really are everywhere! Second one--this morning we were on a different beach after a rainy night and there was a bright rainbow coming up from the ocean, over the beach and dropping back into the rainforest.  Very cool, eh.  It was also a great chance to meet new kids in my class and almost all Kiwis as I'm one of 2 Americans and add heaps of new Kiwi-words to my vocab!  Last thing I noticed--there are heaps of Canadians here.  4 of our 10 lecturers/demonstrators (in American, known as professors and TAs) were either born in Canada or spent a significant part of their lives there!

Next two weekends I will be doing shorter trips and just hanging around town I think, then the travelling picks up!  After checking bank accounts, my wallet needs a little rest!!