So after a very tough week of work for uni, I had a odd, but awesome mix of activities for a weekend.
Thursdsay night myself and Dani (girl from Indiana) went to see the Royal New Zealand Ballet put on a performance of "From Here to There". It was made up of three separate shows with intermissions in between. The first performance was very traditional, with no very exciting costumes or sets. The dancing was beautiful, but not terribly exciting from an audience perspective. The second show was my favorite by far. The dancing was a bit more contemporary with a lot of cool lifts and more upbeat music. The set-up was really cool as well. A whole side of the stage was taken up by a huge white wall, and the only lights on stage were from the opposite side near the ground, so the big dancing shadows were projected on the white wall. It was a very simple way to make a really stunning performance. The third show was pretty cool as well. The dancing and music wasn't the most interesting, but the stage and costumes were done up quite elaborately with different colored moving walls and flowing drapey costumes. overall it was definitely worth it for a $25 student ticket.
Saturday a bunch of girls and myeslf decided to try out some surfing! I found an add for surf coaching in a booklet somewhere, and set up a 2-hour lesson. We had to take a short bus ride to the beach it was at, but it was definitely worth it. Our coach provided us with beginning surf boards and wet suits, gave us some preliminary instructions, and took us out into the water. I definitely have a better appreciation for surfing after that..it's hard work! You have to wait for the wave, paddle like mad, and then try to stand up and find some balance while a wave is carrying you...definitely not easy, and then there's the inevitable falling off the board. I hit my chin pretty hard on one fall, and swallowed far too much sea water, but it was alright in the end. I actually stood up on the board twice (not too shabby for the first time!). I really want to go back on my own and practice sometime. There are a few places you can rent wetsuits and boards for decent prices.
Another awesome thing the international people at Massey set up for us was a workshop with people from Weta, the costume and effects people who worked on The Lord of the Rings. They brought in props and costumes for us to play with, and told us tons of stories of the making of the movies. There was so much work that went into those movies, I can't even imagine. They were talking for a bit about 'hair punching'. When making any kind of model that's supposed to have lifelike fur, they have to insert every hair separately, to make sure they all flow in the right directions. One lady said it would take 4 women 8 hours to collectively do a 5 inch square section. That does-not sound fun.
I really just wanted to get those things down now, because now we're on our Easter break, and I'm leaving tomorrow morning for a week in the South Island! We're going to be camping and staying in hostels throughout the whole island, so I will have a ton of stories when I get back.
I hope everyone's Easters went well though, and I'll write again after my trip!
Monday, April 5, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
If I could marry a country..
My adventure for the past weekend was another trip put on by the international student group, this time to the top of the south island and Queen Charlotte Sound.
We (myself and four other international girls, along with our advisor Jayne) left for the ferry early on Friday morning. I hadn't been on it yet, so I was super pumped to see what it was all about. It was huuuge, at least it seemed to be based on my limited experience with ferries. There were 10 floors, a couple of which were for cars being transported. There was a cinema, a food court, a bar, a playground...it was crazy. I didn't spend too much time wandering around inside though, because it made me a little sick not being able to see the horizon while we were moving. It was about a three hour ride, most of which I spent taking pictures from the top deck of the AMAZING scenery. The weather was pretty nice, so we just stayed outside the whole time.
Once the ferry dropped us off at Picton, a small south island town, we grabbed some fish and chips for lunch, and met up with our kayaking guide! He drove us down a nauseating winding road to our launch point. After a lecture on gear and whatnot we headed out. I shared a kayak with Evelien, my Dutch flatmate. She had a few issues learning to steer, but quickly figured it out, and we were off. We were out on the water for 2 and a half or 3 hours, making our way along the coast, into sheltered bays and out into the wind every once in a while. (Here's a decent time to mention...the same trip was put on last weekend with a group of about 20 international students. while they were out kayaking, a freak storm hit, and they almost died. i think they lost some gear, but everybody made it to land safely. thankfully our trip was uneventful in that regard.) We kayaked into Mistletoe bay, a tiny place you only find out about by word of mouth really. It was really beautiful though. There was a bit of a beach, and the cabins we were staying in. They're all ecological, so use recycled water in the bathrooms, have a place to put compost, all kinds of awesomely hippie stuff. Hearing about it I figured they might be a bit run down or really bare, but they were fully decked out cabins with beds, sheets, duvets, nice furniture, a full bathroom, and a separate kitchen building with anything you could need to make a meal (minus the food). The people who manage all the cabins live on a farm right next to them, where there were a couple donkeys and llamas. That's pretty much all that was in the area though. There's no road access to the area, other than the water it was completely surrounded by mountains.
So after settling in and having dinner we went exploring a little bit. We went and saw the llamas, and while looking for pigs, ended up finding a sign for some hiking trails. It was mid-late evening when we started out, still plenty of light. We started hiking up, me and Evelien only in flip flops ('jandals'), and we just kept going up, looking for a 'hilltop lookout' we kept seeing signs for. It was getting to be a bit late though, and the sun was about to set, so me and Evelien wanted everyone to head back before it got dark. The other three girls insisted on continuing up the mountain though, so we went back without them. No one told Jayne where we were going, and no one had a cell phone or a flashlight, so we thought it was the smart thing to do. By the time we got back to the cabins it was pitch black, and we had no clue how long the other girls were going to keep hiking up the mountain. Evelien, Jayne, and I just sat outside waiting to hear their voices coming back. We were so worried that something would happen and we wouldn't know since they had no way of contacting us. They came out of the forest just fine after about 20 minutes, but it was really not a smart idea to go out there so unprepared. ah well, it all turned out alright.
The next day we got picked up by a boat right at the bay, and went out for some dolphin watching! It took a bit to reach an area with a good group, but once we got to them, it was fantastic. They're absolutely huge, 3-5 meters. When we got there the dolphins were feeding, but after a little while they finished, and we got into our wetsuits and snorkels to hop in with them. It was seriously amazing. A group of 10-15 gigantic creatures would swim within feet of you. None touched me, but I guess it doesn't happen terribly often. They are attracted to curious sounds, and noise travels way better underwater, so while we had our faces in the water we were supposed to make any kind of noises we could, which sounded hilarious from above the water. Personally I went with humming 'Under the Sea' from The Little Mermaid. With echolocation the dolphins can sense really minute differences between people's patterns of breathing and even heart beats. The guides said that the dolphins really liked our group because we had a couple small children whose hearts beat faster. They also love if a pregnant woman is in the water because they can sense the heartbeat of the baby inside. I thought it was fascinating.
Anyway, after a couple hours with the dolphins, the boat took us back to Picton where we got back on the ferry to Wellington. It felt like such a short trip only staying one night, but it was nice to have the rest of saturday and sunday to recuperate and get some homework done. There is a lot of that to be done in the next few days. It's a little bit overwhelming doing all these trips and being away so often when there is also a full class load to worry about, but I'm getting better at managing my time, and now that I'm getting a feel for the expectations of classes here it'll get even better hopefully. It's just over a week until Easter break (two weeks off!), so I just have a little bit more to get through before some good rest, and traveling of course.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Monster Blog.
I know it has been forever since I've posted anything...I tend to get lazy, and when adventures and things to write about started accumulating, I got even more lazy. hopefully this is my last monster-blog though, and I will try to start writing way more often. but yes, I am alive here, and come bearing gifts of pictures!!
Photo Album!! my orientation week and arrival in Wellington
So I've now gone through three weeks of classes here. There's a noticeable difference in how school works here, but when it comes down to it, it's still school. The main differences are a much higher emphasis on research, documenting every observation and thought you have on your project, and quite a bit more independent work outside of the classroom. The teachers ultimately assume you know exactly what you are doing unless you go to them with specific questions. There isn't much in the way of guided practice...you guide yourself. and then write about it in your 'workbook', 60 pages which they expect to be full (and then some) by the end of the course.
Here's a bit about the classes I'm taking:
Intro to Photography--I'm really enjoying this class. We only meet once a week to go over any questions or problems we may be having with our work, and to introduce any new software we may be working with. Our first project we're currently working on is to document a street in Wellington. Basically this involved me purposefully getting lost and finding a street I thought would be interesting to photograph. I picked one that runs straight into Mount Victoria, which looks out over the city. There is a long bus tunnel running through the mountain, and a playground next to the tunnel. I'm finding I really enjoy wandering around (or sitting in the playground) taking pictures, but I'm definitely not very good at it. One afternoon I took about 175 pictures, and ended up with about 10 that I deemed worthy of existence...ah well. I was worried at the beginning that we would have to buy our own SLR cameras, but the school has a ton of equipment that we can sign out for 24 hour periods. I kind of wonder how they can trust people to just borrow thousands of dollars worth of equipment, but I suppose if you break it, you buy it.
Critical Studies--This is the one class I don't care for quite as much. It's very geared toward first year students who don't really know how to write an essay, reference their research, or analyze anything. So, in that aspect, it's fairly boring to me. The subject matter all has to do with New Zealand (and specifically Maori) culture though, which makes an otherwise boring class one that's fairly interesting, and super-easy..score!
Intro to Printmaking--This is a really difficult class for me. I'm being introduced to completely new processes and techniques, but there are no real introductory kind of projects..you have to create and execute those on your own (and write in that workbook!). Our project is investigating your public vs. private self. I feel like this is quite a heavy topic to be exploring with a medium you've never used. I am, and will continue, to put quite a lot of work into this class. Hopefully it will pay off. If not, well...I only have to get a C for credit to transfer back to Drake. Speaking of grades, can I just mention that in high school, an A was a 92% and higher, an A here is an 85%, and it's not easy to get either. The grading is pretty strict.
Drawing the Body--A very studio-based class, we've been doing a lot of short exercises capturing the movement of the model's poses with loose gesture drawing that tends to look more like blurry blobs. We'll slowly work our way into more detail. those quick exercises get to be a bit stressful though. Doing sets of 10 or 20 30-second drawings just fries your brain after a while, not to mention uses up paper super quickly. We use sheets of 'A1' paper (it comes anywhere from A0-ginormous, to A5 which is about diary-sized. A1 is about as wide as my arm is long (I know because that's how i carry it)), and will use up about 20 sheets in one 3-hour class period. There is also independent work every week that we do and then discuss as a class.
So, those are my classes! Even though I only have 4 (I'm used to taking 6 at home) there is more than enough independent work and research to keep me busy. Everything is basically due in the next couple of weeks before our easter break.
Enough about school though, how about the adventure side of life in NZ...
After the first week of class, a few of the study-abroad students were feeling a bit down and wanting to take action on some traveling plans, so we pulled together and planned a road trip for the weekend to Lake Taupo, which is a huge volcanic crater that filled up with water smack dab in the middle of the north island. After finding some sleeping bags, cold sack, and a $10 portable grill, Libby (my Scottish flatmate), Kimberly (another girl from Scotland), Kelsey (American), Alicia (American), and myself all rented a car, named it Julio, and left Friday midday for our journey.
We left on Route 1, which leads out of Wellington right into Taupo. It works its way along the west coast for a short while, and then heads inland through some beautiful mountains, fields, and even a desert. Besides the beautiful scenery, the ride up there wasn't all that exciting. It took around 5 hours, so we had plenty of time to explore New Zealand's severely lacking radio selection and eat a few too many bags of chips.
By the time we got to the lake, it was around 5:30 or 6:00, so we started hunting for a camp site...and kept hunting...and kept hunting. We figured there would be tons, and there were quite a few, but none that we could find at the time based solely on road signs and our New Zealand books we brought along. We ended up driving about a half hour back the way we came to a spot mainly filled with camper vans, where we had to pay $16 per person for a spot. It was kind of ridiculous, but it was already getting really late, so we had to take what we could get. It was an absolutely gorgeous spot though, right directly on the lake, and we got bathrooms and showers, so it was all good. We successfully set up our tents, made some chicken burgers on our grill, and went to sleep. I did at least...apparently I kept up a couple of people with my snoring..thanks for handing on that gene, mom.
We woke up to a beautiful morning and took a quick swim in the lake. It was seriously the clearest lake water I've ever seen. After packing up our tents we headed off to the city of Taupo and an information center to make some legitimate plans. Our first adventure stop for the day was Huka Falls, really spectacular waterfalls on the Waikato River with intensely blue water (see pictures in album below!). We took a ton of pictures there, and then headed to Orakei Korako thermal park. There is a ton of volcanic activity in the area, so we got to see a bunch of geysers, pools of bubbling mud, and this spectacular cave they had with a pool at the bottom. The one downside was how hot it was. It was a comfortably warm day, but climbing up and down stairs in the thermal park, with steam all around you, and a sulfuric smell every once in a while..it got to be a little uncomfortable. We figured we would go for a swim after that, so we took a short ride to an area of the Waikato river that has hot water pouring into it. It was so weird climbing into freezing water, swimming a few feet, and being almost too warm. If someone kicked or moved too much we would get a cold blast from the rest of the water. We met some nice Swedish boys there who were at the very end of a trip through New Zealand. I never realized how much of a tourist spot this country is for people all over the world. It makes sense though, it's utterly gorgeous.
Anyway, after our swim we went to our campsite, recommended by the lady at the information center, and it was another beautiful spot. Since it was free it was a bit more crowded, but it was right along the Waikato River. The night brought an interesting story back with us. We were all about to go to sleep, when we heard a car pull up right near our tents. We stuck our heads out and saw a guy get out of this pickup truck that had a large dog in the back of it. We couldn't see much of anything because it was so dark, but it was definitely creepy at the time. The man opened the back door, and we could hear chains rattling around. He hauled those out and used them to tie up his dog to the truck. Then he continued messing around with something in the back seat. Of course being late at night in a strange camp site we figured he was about to pull out a shotgun and murder us all or something. He takes something from the backseat, we don't hear anything for a while. Next thing we know we heard the Who Wants to be a Millionaire music come on...he spent the next few hours watching tv shows and movies on his laptop. It was hilarious how freaked out we were about nothing.
The next day we decided to go for a more thrilling adventure and go jet-boating. The five of us, two small families, and a couple of older ladies were given some life vests and we climbed into our small boat. It was then expertly driven up and down the Waikato River, going over rapids, inches away from rocks and branches, pulling a 360 turn every now and then. It was only a half hour ride (and just as most other tourist-y things, way over-priced), but it was a lot of fun, and we got a CD at the end of pictures they took of us (in the photo album linked below!).
Shortly after that we left to head back to Wellington, on a different route this time that took us to the east coast and through some mountains. We stopped at Napier, a very art deco town right on the east coast. It was a really pretty town, but we didn't have too much time to spend there.
The rest of our trip back wasn't too eventful, until shortly after it got dark, when we were on a winding mountain road (would have been gorgeous if it was light out), and we realized we were almost out of gas. We weren't too worried for a while, and just said we would stop at the next town. Well, the next town didn't appear until the gas light had been on for close to 20 minutes I'd say. We were very lucky to find a gas station when we did. We made it home safely though, at about 11:00 Sunday night.
Photo Album!! my orientation week and arrival in Wellington
So I've now gone through three weeks of classes here. There's a noticeable difference in how school works here, but when it comes down to it, it's still school. The main differences are a much higher emphasis on research, documenting every observation and thought you have on your project, and quite a bit more independent work outside of the classroom. The teachers ultimately assume you know exactly what you are doing unless you go to them with specific questions. There isn't much in the way of guided practice...you guide yourself. and then write about it in your 'workbook', 60 pages which they expect to be full (and then some) by the end of the course.
Here's a bit about the classes I'm taking:
Intro to Photography--I'm really enjoying this class. We only meet once a week to go over any questions or problems we may be having with our work, and to introduce any new software we may be working with. Our first project we're currently working on is to document a street in Wellington. Basically this involved me purposefully getting lost and finding a street I thought would be interesting to photograph. I picked one that runs straight into Mount Victoria, which looks out over the city. There is a long bus tunnel running through the mountain, and a playground next to the tunnel. I'm finding I really enjoy wandering around (or sitting in the playground) taking pictures, but I'm definitely not very good at it. One afternoon I took about 175 pictures, and ended up with about 10 that I deemed worthy of existence...ah well. I was worried at the beginning that we would have to buy our own SLR cameras, but the school has a ton of equipment that we can sign out for 24 hour periods. I kind of wonder how they can trust people to just borrow thousands of dollars worth of equipment, but I suppose if you break it, you buy it.
Critical Studies--This is the one class I don't care for quite as much. It's very geared toward first year students who don't really know how to write an essay, reference their research, or analyze anything. So, in that aspect, it's fairly boring to me. The subject matter all has to do with New Zealand (and specifically Maori) culture though, which makes an otherwise boring class one that's fairly interesting, and super-easy..score!
Intro to Printmaking--This is a really difficult class for me. I'm being introduced to completely new processes and techniques, but there are no real introductory kind of projects..you have to create and execute those on your own (and write in that workbook!). Our project is investigating your public vs. private self. I feel like this is quite a heavy topic to be exploring with a medium you've never used. I am, and will continue, to put quite a lot of work into this class. Hopefully it will pay off. If not, well...I only have to get a C for credit to transfer back to Drake. Speaking of grades, can I just mention that in high school, an A was a 92% and higher, an A here is an 85%, and it's not easy to get either. The grading is pretty strict.
Drawing the Body--A very studio-based class, we've been doing a lot of short exercises capturing the movement of the model's poses with loose gesture drawing that tends to look more like blurry blobs. We'll slowly work our way into more detail. those quick exercises get to be a bit stressful though. Doing sets of 10 or 20 30-second drawings just fries your brain after a while, not to mention uses up paper super quickly. We use sheets of 'A1' paper (it comes anywhere from A0-ginormous, to A5 which is about diary-sized. A1 is about as wide as my arm is long (I know because that's how i carry it)), and will use up about 20 sheets in one 3-hour class period. There is also independent work every week that we do and then discuss as a class.
So, those are my classes! Even though I only have 4 (I'm used to taking 6 at home) there is more than enough independent work and research to keep me busy. Everything is basically due in the next couple of weeks before our easter break.
Enough about school though, how about the adventure side of life in NZ...
After the first week of class, a few of the study-abroad students were feeling a bit down and wanting to take action on some traveling plans, so we pulled together and planned a road trip for the weekend to Lake Taupo, which is a huge volcanic crater that filled up with water smack dab in the middle of the north island. After finding some sleeping bags, cold sack, and a $10 portable grill, Libby (my Scottish flatmate), Kimberly (another girl from Scotland), Kelsey (American), Alicia (American), and myself all rented a car, named it Julio, and left Friday midday for our journey.
We left on Route 1, which leads out of Wellington right into Taupo. It works its way along the west coast for a short while, and then heads inland through some beautiful mountains, fields, and even a desert. Besides the beautiful scenery, the ride up there wasn't all that exciting. It took around 5 hours, so we had plenty of time to explore New Zealand's severely lacking radio selection and eat a few too many bags of chips.
By the time we got to the lake, it was around 5:30 or 6:00, so we started hunting for a camp site...and kept hunting...and kept hunting. We figured there would be tons, and there were quite a few, but none that we could find at the time based solely on road signs and our New Zealand books we brought along. We ended up driving about a half hour back the way we came to a spot mainly filled with camper vans, where we had to pay $16 per person for a spot. It was kind of ridiculous, but it was already getting really late, so we had to take what we could get. It was an absolutely gorgeous spot though, right directly on the lake, and we got bathrooms and showers, so it was all good. We successfully set up our tents, made some chicken burgers on our grill, and went to sleep. I did at least...apparently I kept up a couple of people with my snoring..thanks for handing on that gene, mom.
We woke up to a beautiful morning and took a quick swim in the lake. It was seriously the clearest lake water I've ever seen. After packing up our tents we headed off to the city of Taupo and an information center to make some legitimate plans. Our first adventure stop for the day was Huka Falls, really spectacular waterfalls on the Waikato River with intensely blue water (see pictures in album below!). We took a ton of pictures there, and then headed to Orakei Korako thermal park. There is a ton of volcanic activity in the area, so we got to see a bunch of geysers, pools of bubbling mud, and this spectacular cave they had with a pool at the bottom. The one downside was how hot it was. It was a comfortably warm day, but climbing up and down stairs in the thermal park, with steam all around you, and a sulfuric smell every once in a while..it got to be a little uncomfortable. We figured we would go for a swim after that, so we took a short ride to an area of the Waikato river that has hot water pouring into it. It was so weird climbing into freezing water, swimming a few feet, and being almost too warm. If someone kicked or moved too much we would get a cold blast from the rest of the water. We met some nice Swedish boys there who were at the very end of a trip through New Zealand. I never realized how much of a tourist spot this country is for people all over the world. It makes sense though, it's utterly gorgeous.
Anyway, after our swim we went to our campsite, recommended by the lady at the information center, and it was another beautiful spot. Since it was free it was a bit more crowded, but it was right along the Waikato River. The night brought an interesting story back with us. We were all about to go to sleep, when we heard a car pull up right near our tents. We stuck our heads out and saw a guy get out of this pickup truck that had a large dog in the back of it. We couldn't see much of anything because it was so dark, but it was definitely creepy at the time. The man opened the back door, and we could hear chains rattling around. He hauled those out and used them to tie up his dog to the truck. Then he continued messing around with something in the back seat. Of course being late at night in a strange camp site we figured he was about to pull out a shotgun and murder us all or something. He takes something from the backseat, we don't hear anything for a while. Next thing we know we heard the Who Wants to be a Millionaire music come on...he spent the next few hours watching tv shows and movies on his laptop. It was hilarious how freaked out we were about nothing.
The next day we decided to go for a more thrilling adventure and go jet-boating. The five of us, two small families, and a couple of older ladies were given some life vests and we climbed into our small boat. It was then expertly driven up and down the Waikato River, going over rapids, inches away from rocks and branches, pulling a 360 turn every now and then. It was only a half hour ride (and just as most other tourist-y things, way over-priced), but it was a lot of fun, and we got a CD at the end of pictures they took of us (in the photo album linked below!).
Shortly after that we left to head back to Wellington, on a different route this time that took us to the east coast and through some mountains. We stopped at Napier, a very art deco town right on the east coast. It was a really pretty town, but we didn't have too much time to spend there.
The rest of our trip back wasn't too eventful, until shortly after it got dark, when we were on a winding mountain road (would have been gorgeous if it was light out), and we realized we were almost out of gas. We weren't too worried for a while, and just said we would stop at the next town. Well, the next town didn't appear until the gas light had been on for close to 20 minutes I'd say. We were very lucky to find a gas station when we did. We made it home safely though, at about 11:00 Sunday night.
Here are pictures of the trip! Lake Taupo road trip
Another small adventure I went on was some wine tasting. New Zealand is well-known for its wine, and the people at Massey in charge of international students decided to put together a trip for us to experience it. There are a couple of other trips they are setting up for us too, all at really discounted rates, which is awesome. For tasting at two wineries, and the bus ride, they only charged $25 NZ (19-ish US dollars). We went to the Wairarapa, which is an area about an hour and a half away from Wellington. The ride there was beautiful. We took a winding mountain road (I think it was the same one we almost ran out of gas on) to the vineyards in the heart of rural New Zealand. We stopped at Te Kiranga Vineyard for the morning, and then after lunch went to Alana Estate for a bit more tasting. Considering my lack of knowledge about wine, it was really good. It was nice to learn a little bit about wine itself and its influence on New Zealand.
Well, those are the major goings-on of my life here so far. I will try my hardest to make posts more often now so you all can get a better feel of the day-to-day life here. Hope things are well with all of you!
Another small adventure I went on was some wine tasting. New Zealand is well-known for its wine, and the people at Massey in charge of international students decided to put together a trip for us to experience it. There are a couple of other trips they are setting up for us too, all at really discounted rates, which is awesome. For tasting at two wineries, and the bus ride, they only charged $25 NZ (19-ish US dollars). We went to the Wairarapa, which is an area about an hour and a half away from Wellington. The ride there was beautiful. We took a winding mountain road (I think it was the same one we almost ran out of gas on) to the vineyards in the heart of rural New Zealand. We stopped at Te Kiranga Vineyard for the morning, and then after lunch went to Alana Estate for a bit more tasting. Considering my lack of knowledge about wine, it was really good. It was nice to learn a little bit about wine itself and its influence on New Zealand.
Well, those are the major goings-on of my life here so far. I will try my hardest to make posts more often now so you all can get a better feel of the day-to-day life here. Hope things are well with all of you!
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Intro to New Zealand
So I’m finally settled into my new home at Massey University in Wellington. Sorry it's taken so long to post something, but we don’t have internet in the apartment yet because some kind of wiring is screwed up. Once that is up and running I will add some pictures to the blog. For now I’m working out of the school’s library.
My apartment has an interesting mix of people. My ‘flat-mates’ consist of two RAs, Tim and Simon, who’ve been friends since high school and seem really amusing, Libby, who’s from Scotland, and Evelien from the Netherlands. The bedrooms are really quite small, but the living room is good-sized. Anyway, enough about where I am now, how about where I’ve been.
Getting to New Zealand took quite a long time—four hour flight from Chicago to LA, five hours waiting in LAX, and then 13 hours on the plane to Auckland, New Zealand. The plane got in at 5:30 in the morning, and then we had a whole day planned out, so it was pretty exhausting. There were around 20 US students in the group with our study abroad program. We all came to Auckland for a week of ‘orientation’ (aka exploring, adventuring, and getting acquainted with the country), and then split up to our respective universities throughout the country.
The first day of orientation (Wednesday) we spent quite a while walking around Auckland getting familiar with the area, and stopped at a phone store to set up cell phones for our stay here so we can keep in touch with the locals. In the afternoon we took a short ferry ride to Devenport and took a bit of a hike up a hill to North Head which was once used for army barracks. We got a spectacular view of Auckland and the surrounding area on the bay. I absolutely could have sat on the grass staring at the landscape for hours.
Thursday we went on a lot of different adventures. We started with a visit to some hills the Maori people used live on. The hills were terraced (basically cut into steps), and houses were built on each level—the higher up on the hill, the higher the status. Each level was surrounded by increasingly taller fences to keep enemy tribes out. If a tribe managed to reach all the way to the top of the hill, they gained control over it.
My apartment has an interesting mix of people. My ‘flat-mates’ consist of two RAs, Tim and Simon, who’ve been friends since high school and seem really amusing, Libby, who’s from Scotland, and Evelien from the Netherlands. The bedrooms are really quite small, but the living room is good-sized. Anyway, enough about where I am now, how about where I’ve been.
Getting to New Zealand took quite a long time—four hour flight from Chicago to LA, five hours waiting in LAX, and then 13 hours on the plane to Auckland, New Zealand. The plane got in at 5:30 in the morning, and then we had a whole day planned out, so it was pretty exhausting. There were around 20 US students in the group with our study abroad program. We all came to Auckland for a week of ‘orientation’ (aka exploring, adventuring, and getting acquainted with the country), and then split up to our respective universities throughout the country.
The first day of orientation (Wednesday) we spent quite a while walking around Auckland getting familiar with the area, and stopped at a phone store to set up cell phones for our stay here so we can keep in touch with the locals. In the afternoon we took a short ferry ride to Devenport and took a bit of a hike up a hill to North Head which was once used for army barracks. We got a spectacular view of Auckland and the surrounding area on the bay. I absolutely could have sat on the grass staring at the landscape for hours.
Thursday we went on a lot of different adventures. We started with a visit to some hills the Maori people used live on. The hills were terraced (basically cut into steps), and houses were built on each level—the higher up on the hill, the higher the status. Each level was surrounded by increasingly taller fences to keep enemy tribes out. If a tribe managed to reach all the way to the top of the hill, they gained control over it.
We went to the top of One Tree Hill (yes, like the show) and learned about its significance along with seeing another fantastic view (pictures to come).
Then we went to the Auckland museum, which specifically highlights the Maori culture. Inside was a beautifully carved meeting house where Maori community events would take place. If a member of the community passed away, the entire extended family would sleep in the meeting house for several days to allow people time for mourning and recovery. After that time everyone, including the departed, could rest in peace. We also saw a huge waka (canoe) that would have been used for war.
After the museum and a lunch of fish and chips, we went to a black sand beach on the Tasman Sea. It’s supposedly the most dangerous beach in New Zealand because of such strong rip tides. Several people are rescued from the water every day, and it’s not even a very large beach. We were careful though, and were only allowed to go in just above our knees. Next to the beach was the towering ‘lion’s rock’ that looks like a lion lying on the beach looking out over the water. If enemy Maori tribes landed at the beach, high status women/girls (princesses in particular) would climb up to the top of the rock to try and avoid kidnap. If an enemy warrior made it up the rock, the girls would jump off to commit suicide, which was preferable to being forced to marry men that killed their own people.
We ended the day with a rain forest walk where we learned about all kinds of native plants, and a few animals. We got to see the iconic silver fern that New Zealand uses in logos everywhere. In the jungle, they were frequently used as path markers. Because the underside is distinctly silver, bending over the tip of a leaf once in a while along a trail left an easily seen path, which could then be just as easily erased.
Our tour guides for the day taught us a little bit about the Maori beliefs on the world. They believe the world was created by Earth Mother and Sky Father, and that we live in the world of light that lies between them. Their children are wind, sea, trees, etc. and we as humans are the youngest children. Therefore, we don’t own Earth Mother, and should treat her like the mother she is. As an interesting note, a LOT of the aspects of the movie Avatar were based on the Maori culture. Their beliefs on the sacredness of the forest, the language, and even the touching of noses as a greeting (called a Hongi, sharing the breath of life) are similarities.
Friday was quite an excursion as well. We took a 3-hour bus ride to the Waitomo Caves, where we did some black water rafting, essentially underground tubing. It was fantastic. We got dressed up in wetsuits (which were super-flattering by the way) and went climbing/trudging into the caves. At points where the water was too deep to walk through, we would hop on our inner tubes and float along for a while. There were also two small waterfalls we got to jump off of, probably 6 ft.-ish. We jumped backwards holding the inner tubes behind us so we just sort of plopped down and kept on floating. I’m content with omitting the plopping part though and just saying I jumped off an underground waterfall…sounds much cooler.
Our tour guides for the day taught us a little bit about the Maori beliefs on the world. They believe the world was created by Earth Mother and Sky Father, and that we live in the world of light that lies between them. Their children are wind, sea, trees, etc. and we as humans are the youngest children. Therefore, we don’t own Earth Mother, and should treat her like the mother she is. As an interesting note, a LOT of the aspects of the movie Avatar were based on the Maori culture. Their beliefs on the sacredness of the forest, the language, and even the touching of noses as a greeting (called a Hongi, sharing the breath of life) are similarities.
Friday was quite an excursion as well. We took a 3-hour bus ride to the Waitomo Caves, where we did some black water rafting, essentially underground tubing. It was fantastic. We got dressed up in wetsuits (which were super-flattering by the way) and went climbing/trudging into the caves. At points where the water was too deep to walk through, we would hop on our inner tubes and float along for a while. There were also two small waterfalls we got to jump off of, probably 6 ft.-ish. We jumped backwards holding the inner tubes behind us so we just sort of plopped down and kept on floating. I’m content with omitting the plopping part though and just saying I jumped off an underground waterfall…sounds much cooler.
The coolest part of the caving journey was the glow worms. Everywhere we walked/floated, there were hundreds of little glowing green lights above us. We had to turn off our lights (we had fun little lamps on our hardhats) to see them, so it was kind of scary not being able to see where we were going, but the fairy-like awesomeness of the glow worms made up for it.
On the way back from the caves, we stopped at a kiwi house, and got to see some of New Zealand’s famous flightless birds. It’s almost impossible to see them in the wild, partially because they’re nocturnal. The kiwis we saw had their sleep cycles shifted so that during our day they’re in a dark room and think it’s night time. Kiwi birds are intensely funny-looking by the way. Most flightless birds still have wings, even if they aren’t usable, but kiwis have nothing. They just look like walking balls of fluff with beaks. I want to take one home :P
Saturday was a free day for the group. We all decided on taking a ferry to Waiheke Island for the day. We did a ton of walking around and enjoying the views, and took busses to several different beaches. It was beautiful. Visiting that island made me realize what I liked so much about the country so far. It has such a perfect balance of adventure paradise and everyday living. There are vacation-worthy locations and picturesque landscapes at every corner, but it seems like such an easy place to settle down and lead a normal life as well. If the rest of my life weren’t on the other side of the world, I would most definitely consider living here.
Sunday I took a short plane ride from Auckland to Wellington. It was clear out, so I got some really nice pictures out of the plane window (yay window seat!). Landing in Wellington was really interesting. We flew in over a bay, and the landing strip started almost right where the land itself did. It really felt like we would skim the ocean on the way down.
I got picked up at the airport, got to my apartment, bought everything I needed, and settled in. We’ve had a week in the apartment getting settled, sorting out classes, and exploring the city, and classes started yesterday. That just about brings it up to speed! I’ll write again after I finish my first week of classes (..wish me luck!)
Saturday was a free day for the group. We all decided on taking a ferry to Waiheke Island for the day. We did a ton of walking around and enjoying the views, and took busses to several different beaches. It was beautiful. Visiting that island made me realize what I liked so much about the country so far. It has such a perfect balance of adventure paradise and everyday living. There are vacation-worthy locations and picturesque landscapes at every corner, but it seems like such an easy place to settle down and lead a normal life as well. If the rest of my life weren’t on the other side of the world, I would most definitely consider living here.
Sunday I took a short plane ride from Auckland to Wellington. It was clear out, so I got some really nice pictures out of the plane window (yay window seat!). Landing in Wellington was really interesting. We flew in over a bay, and the landing strip started almost right where the land itself did. It really felt like we would skim the ocean on the way down.
I got picked up at the airport, got to my apartment, bought everything I needed, and settled in. We’ve had a week in the apartment getting settled, sorting out classes, and exploring the city, and classes started yesterday. That just about brings it up to speed! I’ll write again after I finish my first week of classes (..wish me luck!)
Saturday, February 6, 2010
A Whole New World
I have two more days until I leave for my semester abroad in New Zealand, where I will be going to Massey University in Wellington. Two more days until I part with my family, friends, and home for almost five months. I am going to be in a whole new world...I won't know anyone, I won't know my way around town, I won't know what the classes will be like, I won't know anything about living there...
Sounds a lot like starting college to me. Been there...Done that.
I'm just terrified I'll get lost in an airport.
Besides that, there isn't too much adventure to write about yet...attempting to pack my life in two suitcases, talking to people at banks who don't seem quite qualified for existence. So why make a blog entry, you ask? To enlighten you to some of the random information I have gathered on my new home, of course :)
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The indigenous people of New Zealand are the Maori..I'm still not positive how to pronounce that..or anything in their language honestly. I'm sure I will learn. From what I currently gather, it sounds somewhere in between 'mowri' and 'mari' . They have an amazing culture though, which I won't take forever elaborating on. Go do some research.
The indigenous people of New Zealand are the Maori..I'm still not positive how to pronounce that..or anything in their language honestly. I'm sure I will learn. From what I currently gather, it sounds somewhere in between 'mowri' and 'mari' . They have an amazing culture though, which I won't take forever elaborating on. Go do some research.
"Aotearoa" is the name for New Zealand in the Maori language. It means "land of the long, white cloud"
The majority of the country speaks English, with an accent somewhere in between Australian and British..they get mad if you say Australian. there's quite a rivalry between the Aussies and Kiwis.
The country is actually made up of over 700 islands, although primarily consists of two--the north and south (I am on the very southern tip of the north island). On those two islands, there are rain forests, glaciers, and everything in between.
New Zealand was the first country to grant women the right to vote
They were also the first to bungee jump
The country is obsessed with rugby. Their team, the All Blacks, is the most successful in history, and they make sure everyone knows it. Before every game, the team does the Haka, a Maori dance that would traditionally be performed before battle. It's intimidating.
The largest city, Auckland, gets twice as much rain as London, but also twice as much sun
"There's a real purity in New Zealand that doesn't exist in the states. It's actually not an easy thing to find in our world anymore. It's a unique place because it is so far away from the rest of the world. There is a sense of isolation and also being protected." --Elijah Wood
Speaking of Elijah Wood, the Lord of the Rings movies were filmed there, as were many other things I didn't know about: The Last Samurai, King Kong, Chronicles of Narnia, Avatar, and my favorite, Xena: Warrior Princess.
The country has 4.2 million people...and 40 million sheep.
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All I can say is this journey is looking like it will be one heck of an experience. I can only dream of the adventures that lie ahead.
Oh, and wish me luck with those airports.
--Jill
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