St. Patrick's Day and such

What's new:
Last week, the absence of journalism and advertising in my academic sphere finally set in, so I decided to stop by the Critic, Otago's student news magazine, to see if they needed any help in the ad department. They didn't, but instead I volunteered to be a photographer. I did two photo assignments last week at two different Dunedin art galleries that were published in this week's Critic. I'm hoping this experience will improve my photography skills!

I also did a tour of the Cadbury chocolate factory in Dunedin, which was delicious and heaven for chocolate-lovers! After being here, Cadbury is definitely my chocolate brand of choice. I also found out that the Cadbury we eat in the states is deceptively not really Cadbury, Hershey just bought the name. Hence, why Cadbury tastes better here. Boooo to Hersheys.

This past weekend was the first weekend I spent in Dunedin since my first week here. Thursday was Eric's 21st birthday, so we started our night drinking wine and then went to Curry Box for dinner. We then sang to him back at 480 and hit up the Bowler to watch Chelsea and Haley in the Lip Syncing Championship for $1000. (They came in 3rd) David and I had to leave early though b/c I wasn't feeling well.

Friday for St. Patrick's Day, Chelsea, Avery, Paige and I (who all live at 480) entered a Scavenger Hunt throughout Dunedin to win $4000. (NZ loves giving away free stuff, I already got a free MP3 player from my bank!) We didn't win but we had fun running all over Dunedin all night looking for random stuff.(dragging drunken Irish Timmy out of bed so he could do an irish jig at the Octagon pretending to be a leprecaun for one of our team points) Afterwards, we went back to the Octagon until 5:30am, which has classier bars than the student ones that are close to campus.

Saturday I went to my first New Zealand rugby game, the Hylanders (of Dunedin) vs. the Sharks (South Africa). Goulet and I did some face painting beforehand too. The Highlanders lost, but it was still a fun experience nonetheless. (I'd still prefer watching an Indians game at Jacob's Field over rugby!) Later that night we saw the Sharks rugby team heading to the bars, a conspicuous group of 20 ripped guys.

Sunday night Eric, Peter, Robin, Paige, Mike and I (all live at 480) drove 20 min. to Long Beach where were we walked on the beach until we got to this huge cave where we made a fire. Next time I think we'll bring our sleeping bags and then watch the sunrise.

Aside from this, during the weeks, I usually go to my classes, which most of the time are quite interesting (Hinduism and Maori) and then I try to take local hikes in the evening either with tramping club or on my own. Last week I went to Heyward Point right on the South Pacific coast where we saw seals and hedgehogs. This week I took a hike to see the glowworms at night, and tonight I did a hike through the botanical gardens up to Signal Hill. It was a very romantic view of Dunedin at night, and I enjoyed every minute of it. David came with me and we talked about what to write on our "Happy Thoughts board" on our refrigerator, haha.

Kia Ora!

New Zealand-the good and the bad

So since I've been here, naturally I've been taking notice of similarities and differences between the US and New Zealand. (which overall I'm actually surprised at how similar the US is to NZ) Here it goes:

• No dangerous animals to be cautious of when you're camping/tramping
• It's a no blame society, which means people don't sue each other, you just have to take more responsibility for yourself and your actions
• Sometimes when you walk into a building you have to walk up one floor to actually be on the first floor
• Not only do the cars drive on the left side of the street, but as a pedestrian you do the same, I'm still working on this one...it's harder than you think.
• Instead of "occupied/vacant" in the bathroom, it's "engaged/vacant," somehow this is very comical for me!
• They don't refrigerate their eggs!
• The no shoes, no shirt, no service policy doesn't apply here. On a nice day you'll find people walking barefoot in restaurants, the grocery store, etc. (eeehhhhh feet!)
• Because it rains so much, there are lots and lots of rainbows!
• Mullets are fashionable here, yes, they love mullets, yes, guys AND girls. It's hilarious.
• Jade, beef bone and paua Maori carvings are popular here, mostly made into neclaces worn by both men and women.
• People spread vegemite and marmite on their toast, I guess its an acquired taste.
• Hokey Pokey ice cream is amazing, its honeycomb, and really sweet and tastes amazing. Cadbury also makes Crunchie bars, which are the same flavor. I'll bring some home with me!
• Its not customary to tip here, not in restaurants, bars, or taxis.
• There are two buttons to press on the toilets here: a half full button and a full one, figure it out.
• All the buses I've rode in seem to somehow break or have issues. All these instances are funny stories within themselves, so I'll save these for later...
• Kiwis don't pronounce their vowels, they mumble, and are sometimes pretty hard to understand, especially Kiwis from the South island.
• Text messaging as a mode of communication is why you buy a cell phone, actual phone calls are pretty non-existent because its a lot more expensive.
• There's NO BLACK PEOPLE here! It's so hard to adapt to, I miss the diversity and even though I don't particularly like rap or hip hop, it's really weird being in pubs and parties without it.
• The wine is fantastically delicious and cheap!
• Roses of every color are everywhere, even in our student ghetto area, David likes putting them in my hair.
  
• Tim Tams are so good. They are chocolate coated cookies that are so addicting, my flatmates and I often do "Tim Tam Slams" when you have hot drinks to eat them with.
• I swear to god I've heard Bon Jovi's "Living on a Prayer" every single night I've gone out, Kiwis absolutely love screaming this song. Oh, that and the techno version of "Country Roads," which I'm pretty sure they don't even know where West Virginia is...
• If you're lucky, when you travel to Queenstown you'll see shoe fences, where for 1/4 mile you'll see hundreds of shoes draped over a fence.
• Kiwis are very friendly and helpful.
• Not nearly as much homework!! Just lots of reading instead.

Queenstown (paragliding, bungy jumping etc.)

Kia Ora!
This past Sunday in Queenstown was honestly the best day of my entire life, let me recap:
1. Jetboating
2. Mountain Luging
3. Paragliding
4. Bungy Jumping

I've learned a lot about myself and how my life should be lived in one word: SPONTANEITY.

The full story:
I left Dunedin Friday morning with the 19 Arcadia kids (the study abroad program I'm here with) and Jane, our outgoing, motherly study abroad advisor. We drove 3 hours to Queenstown and spent Friday checking out the city. Saturday morning we woke up early and drove an hour to the Routeburn Track, one of NZ's Nine Great Walks, where I had been the weekend before tramping a different track. We hiked for 8-9 hours, stopping for lunch at Falls Hut. The weather wasn't as good as the weekend before so we couldn't see as many mountains, but the cloudy weather made everything look like we were in King Kong, seriously.

I've learned that the Nine Great Walks that are supposed to be the prettiest in NZ are truly majestic, yet not nearly as physically challenging as the hikes with OUTC (tramping club). I guess it is so that older tourists can still go on them.

That night we ate at a popular place in town called Fergburger's, and hit up The Buffalo Club for drinks and dancing, fun fun!

SUNDAY!
As I mentioned above, we woke up and went Jetboating (with Shotover Jetboating). About 12 people fit in each boat and for a 1/2 hr we were speeding around boulders and fiords (all the while surrounded by mountains), doing random circling stops to make big splashes. The cool thing about jetboating is that you only need 3 inches of water, so we could fly around the shore without worrying about the depth.

After that we went up a gondola to a viewing area to take pictures, and then did 3 runs of mountain luging. Luges are little motorless racecar scooters, haha, that have steering and brakes. You roll down the mountain on a 5m wide cement track, with the choice of a scenic route or an advanced fast route. (which I did both) It was "heaps and heaps" of fun, aye?

We then were supposed to have a 2 hr lunch break when these two guys came up to Goulet and I and asked us if we'd ever thought about paragliding, emphasizing how they take care of young American girls. (ppl either hate Americans or love 'em here) The weather was clear and it sounded like an amazing opportunity so Goulet and I signed our life away in two minutes. We took the gondola up the mountain and then hiked the rest of the way to the top. I learned that the guy I was tandem paragliding with (Thomas) was a New Zealand champ, so that calmed my nerves. Within a few minutes we put on gear, waited for a gust of wind, and then Thomas and I jumped off the mountain. We were only supposed to be in the air for eight minutes, but the weather was so ideal we ended up gliding for 25 minutes! This is all relative, b/c when you're in the air, time feels a lot longer, so I felt like I was up there for hours. I expected to feel nervous and sick because we were above mountains, Lake Wakatipu, and all of Queenstown, yet it was actually very calming and relaxing. No, surreal would be the best word. It was such a clear day that you could see all the different mountain ranges in the distance. Thomas took lots of pictures and a few video clips, which turned out really good. Although it was windy, we could hear each other just fine. He even let me steer for a while! We smoothly landed in a school soccer field and then were given cards to go to the pub for free microbrew beer!

At this point I thought the rest of my day would entail watching 8 crazy kids in my group bungy jump off Karawauo Bridge, yet once we where there, with all the adrenaline still rushing through me, all I could think about was how insane of an experience bungy jumping would be. Somehow at that moment, jumping off a 43m. bridge into a river didn't sounds scary. I promised my mom I wouldn't bungy jump, but I knew I'd regret it for the rest of my life if I didn't go then. Besides, the weather and view was absolutely stunning, not to mention that Karawauo Bridge was the original site that AJ Hackett first jumped from in 1988. I wasn't nervous until right when my toes were hanging over the edge of the bridge, watching the Karawauo River rush underneath me. I looked over to where the Arcadia kids were viewing and yelled, "Tell my mom and dad I love them!" Usually the guys that fasten you up do a countdown, but I ended up jumping before they got to one because I knew if I waited I wouldn't go. I dove off and got wet up to my chest, and then flailed around in the air for awhile until a raft came and got me. All I could do after was laugh as I looked back up to the bridge.

Thinking back, I realized that the random spontaneity of my day was part of what made it so ecstatic. That and the drop-dead gorgeous scenery that constantly surrounded me. Coming back on the bus Rach and I were listening to "oooh, heaven is a place on earth," and honestly, although this is the corniest statement ever, I really feel like New Zealand is heaven for me. I hope that once I finish college, I can come back and work for a few years here because I already know I won't be able to get enough of this place in the 5 months that I'm here. Everyone should make it a point to visit New Zealand before they die, it's a remarkable country.

Paradise trip and such

This past weekend I spent my time on a trip to Paradise which is near Glenorchy and Lake Wakatipu, in Mount Aspiring National Park. About 100 people from OUTC (Otago Univ. Tramping Club) took one bus and two vans, and split into groups of 10-15 people for the different tramps. We slept under flies, which are tarps tied to trees and anchored down with rocks.

Saturday my group, made up of ten lucky people, started out on the Routeburn track(one of the Nine Great Walks of NZ), and eventually split off to a tougher, steeper and non-paved track, called Sugarloaf Tarns. We hiked to the top of the mountain where you could see a remarkable view of various other mountain ranges. At the top we also blew up an inflatable raft that we used to float around in a shallow pond. Our hike, compared to the others was rated easy/moderate, yet for most of the new OUTC members, it was the toughest hike we'd ever done. NZ tramping standards are completely on another level compared to the US hiking, its ridiculus. Once we reached the bottom, we started preparing Mexican food for the gourmet cooking competition which we later in the night we won! (it pays to beAmerican in this regard!) Oh, and the river next to our camp had amazingly clear and clean water!

Saturday evening was a worm wrestling competition, where we had sleeping bag wrestling battles on a tarp. They were country battles, as well as cities: Chicago(Rach) vs Cleveland(me!). Fun fun. Sunday we took a small hike to Lake Wakatipu, and then passed through Queenstown on our way back to Dunedin. I met a lot of new and cool people on the Paradise trip, and most of all I was glad it was a dry weekend!

Other than that, I've been going to my classes (Hinduism and Buddhism, Maori Society and Governing Bodies/Women and Gender Studies) as well as hanging out at 480 where we had 5 days of consecutive birthdays. Lots of celebrating, cake, singing and yes, absenth for the birthday kids. Robin, my neighbor was sick for her 21st yesterday so my flatmate Cat, decided to take it back 10 years, and have a little kids bday party. It was seriously hilarious. 25 of us played "Pass the Parcel," "Musical Statues," and "Lollie Scramble," all the while listening to Disney music. It was great to hear the Europeans singing Disney in a different language.

It's also a great week because I'm finally over last week's sickness that I had.
Cheers!