For those of you who don't have my address/couldn't find it at the end of one of my early blog posts, here it is:
Rachel Johnson
Unit 13
8 Claybrook Broad
Parnell
Auckland 1052
New Zealand
No pressure to write or send me anything whatsoever though - this is mostly for the two people who have asked me for it :)
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
going to take a chill day.
The past couple days have not been super exciting. Monday was really busy and I was gone from my flat for like 8 hours. Tuesday was really busy too and I was gone from my flat for 13 hours! It was weird. That wouldn't be super bizarre if I were at Gustavus but I'm definitely not used to that here.
Yesterday: had dance class, lunch, Italian tutorial, break, worked on my dance assessment, went to International House to hang out, had my Rarotonga meeting (!), got a free dinner at IH, talked with other IES people about our South Island trip, walked through the dark Domain to get back to PSV, watched Greys, went to bed around 1am!
The Rarotonga meeting got me really excited for the trip. Apparently we'll be staying at the "Paradise Inn" at the edge of the city. However, the name of the hotel is misleading - there is no air conditioning (and it's going to be hot weather) and we will be awoken by roosters in the morning. Mmm. However, there are plans for cultural learning and outdoor things. The one thing I'm not super looking forward to are the lecture. Lecture? Really? Oh well, hopefully they'll be no longer than an hour and I'll survive. I'm pretty excited about the trip though. And I met more of the original Christchurch people.
There are five of us talking about the South Island trip - on the first agenda is booking flights. It's stressful but we'll figure it out. I hope we'll be booking our flights by the end of the week! I will of course keep you all updated.
Since my last 5ish days have been really busy, I'm looking forward to just hanging around my flat. I need to do laundry, seriously look at my classes for next semester, and start looking at my assignments for next week, but it feels really good to be able to have a day where I don't need to do anything. And it's a really nice day outside which is a wonderful icing on the cake. I'm sitting on my couch in the living room of my flat right now with the sun shining in the window, Oprah on in the background, and my list of class options beside me. Ahhhhhhh. Chill days. Love em.
Yesterday: had dance class, lunch, Italian tutorial, break, worked on my dance assessment, went to International House to hang out, had my Rarotonga meeting (!), got a free dinner at IH, talked with other IES people about our South Island trip, walked through the dark Domain to get back to PSV, watched Greys, went to bed around 1am!
The Rarotonga meeting got me really excited for the trip. Apparently we'll be staying at the "Paradise Inn" at the edge of the city. However, the name of the hotel is misleading - there is no air conditioning (and it's going to be hot weather) and we will be awoken by roosters in the morning. Mmm. However, there are plans for cultural learning and outdoor things. The one thing I'm not super looking forward to are the lecture. Lecture? Really? Oh well, hopefully they'll be no longer than an hour and I'll survive. I'm pretty excited about the trip though. And I met more of the original Christchurch people.
There are five of us talking about the South Island trip - on the first agenda is booking flights. It's stressful but we'll figure it out. I hope we'll be booking our flights by the end of the week! I will of course keep you all updated.
Since my last 5ish days have been really busy, I'm looking forward to just hanging around my flat. I need to do laundry, seriously look at my classes for next semester, and start looking at my assignments for next week, but it feels really good to be able to have a day where I don't need to do anything. And it's a really nice day outside which is a wonderful icing on the cake. I'm sitting on my couch in the living room of my flat right now with the sun shining in the window, Oprah on in the background, and my list of class options beside me. Ahhhhhhh. Chill days. Love em.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
videos: Rotorua mud and dance at the Pasifika festival
mud boiling doesn't seem that exciting on video, but we looked so long to find actual mud pools instead of just cloudy water with steam
So I forgot to post the dancing ones from a few weeks ago, so here they are!
Rotorua
The game plan changed a lot this weekend. Before we left, we (my flatmate Adi and I) decided to skip Hobbiton (since it was raining and was predicted to rain all weekend) and make it a weekend in Rotorua. We learned that Rotorua could definitely be seen in a day, but we found ourselves busy nonetheless which was good. First off about Rotorua: there is lots of geothermal activity, so the place has tons of sulfur. It smells like eggs. It's not a booming city by any means and there are tons of backpacker hostels around, but most things you want to see cost money to get out to. That being said, it was still a really fun weekend.
Friday we boarded the good old Naked Bus (seriously, that's the company's name) and headed to Rotorua. After a quick bus change in Hamilton (not the most impressive city is an understatement - all we saw were car dealerships, motels, and questionable food-fast places) we arrived in Rotorua tired and hungry. Hardly anything was open since it was around 10pm so we walked to the Dominos just past the Visitor's Center. The humorous part about eating there was that there was an alarm going off in the store down the street for the whole time we were at Dominos, yet the police station was just across the street. Oh well. After eating we wandered to find our hostel, Cactus Jacks. I wish I'd taken a picture because right when we walked in there were two different signs with arrows saying if no one was at the window to press an intercom button and someone would come. There was no intercom button to be seen.
Apparently my reservation was messed up but fortunately we were still able to get a 6-bed dorm for the both of us. The owner of Cactus Jacks asked us what we were planning on doing (zorbing, the Buried Village, and Wai-O-Tapu); after we mentioned zorbing the man told us how it was such a rip off because you pay about a dollar a second. He then told us about this deal going on about whitewater rafting - which we ended up doing instead. We wandered our way to our room (did I mention this place used to be a jail? It had a jail/Western/Mexican theme going on.. very interesting) where we woke up the people already sleeping and climbed into - lucky for us - the top bunks which we shared with random people. It was difficult to fall asleep when "Play that Funky Music" is being blasting in through the closed window from a bar nearby while overheating (because the window is closed to block some of the sound) and waking up everytime my bunkmate moved. 7:30am came early the next morning.
But, it was totally worth it. Adi and I cleared out of the room, reserved our spots to go whitewater rafting and headed to Zippy's Cafe for a quick breakfast. (I got my much-needed coffee - so wonderful.) Whitewater rafting was probably my highlight of the weekend. There were 8 of us total in our raft (seven of us plus the instructor). After changing into our swimsuits, wetsuits, and lifejackets, we had a quick lesson before heading onto the actual water. I was definitely panicking when I found out that it was a Grade 5 whitewater rafting experience with a seven meter waterfall. And after hearing what to do if you flip out and get stuck under the waterfall (!) I was good and scared. Adi and I even held hands while walking to the river. But it was SO much fun. The little waterfalls were fun (1m and 3m) and so were the rapids. The 7m waterfall was definitely scary - I think I shut my eyes just as we were barely starting to go over it. Fortunately, the worst thing that happened was I got half the waterfall up my nose - though after looking through the pictures, we really did almost flip. The instructor told me afterwards that I was also the most likely to flip out of the raft since I was at the back. I was very thankful he didn't tell me that beforehand. The raft after us flipped though - I was very happy that we didn't. We also did this thing where we'd go into the bottom of the waterfall and whoever was at the front would get soaked by the front of the raft being pulled under - the instructor sent me (and then Adi and I together) to the front to experience it at the end, which was fun. It was a wonderful way to start out the weekend.
After returning from rafting we went to the Fat Dog Cafe and Bar, where I got some fish and chips. Yum. We walked back to Cactus Jacks after deciding we wanted to go to the Buried Village. However, the shuttle was going to be $20 each - ridiculous. The guy at Cactus Jacks volunteered to drive us for $10 each. I think he felt bad for us because we kept talking to him, trying to figure out what to do. We definitely lucked out on that.
The Buried Village was pretty cool. It was this village that existed until 1886 when it was buried from the Tarawera volcano explosion. Some of the houses and whatnot were still preserved, and there was a museum devoted to information about it as well as information around the uncovered village. Apparently, before the eruption there were these pink and white terraces considered to be the eighth wonder of the world right next to the village. The village also lead us to Tarawera Falls, which was really pretty. And since it was rainy, we got 30% off of the price! Score.
Adi really wanted to go to this Polynesian Spa so we headed there after the Buried Village. I wasn't too enthused about spending my money on a spa, but it ended up being a nice way to spend a few hours, soaking in the outdoor mineral spa baths overlooking Lake Rotorua. It was still drizzling so it was a good contrast. And afterward, I got some amazingly delicious Indian food.
But seriously, whitewater rafting, Buried Village and the Spa were excellent rainy day activities. I was very happy with the day - and after talking to the guy at Cactus Jacks (again) and talking to three Germans who shared our room at the hostel, we went to bed, exhausted from the day's activities.
Oh, I forgot to mention this: the guy I was [lucky] enough to share a bunk with was a creepy, middle-aged, long-haired blonde (with a receding hairline) Scandinavian dude who liked to be shirtless, smelled, and overall creeped me out. That could have been better about Cactus Jacks.. made for a lot of laughs over the weekend though.
Sunday was our "free" day. Adi and I went to Zippy's again for breakfast and then headed to this park where we could see mud pools and steaming geothermal things. (We were going to go to Wai-O-Tapu, which is basically mud pools and hot springs plus a geyser, but it would have cost $60 including transportation so we nixed that plan and chose the free option instead.) The mud pools were the coolest part, I think. The lovely smell of sulfur at the park was even stronger than in the rest of Rotorua, but ah well. What can you do. I got used to smelling eggs all the time.
We wandered back towards town after a while, and after being caught up at a tacky craft fair, decided we would just walk to the Redwoods Forest rather than take a bus. It ended up being almost an hour-long walk along the freeway, but we finally made it. The redwoods were really cool. It was free as well, which was awesome. The forest smelled wonderful though and I'd never seen trees so massive before. It made me want to go see the Redwoods in California. That and go camping. We took about a 45-minute long walk through the forest and caught the bus back to Rotorua at the end.
The bus ride back to Rotorua was beautiful. This is cliché, but if it is possible to fall in love with a place I have done so with New Zealand, especially its countryside. There is every shade of green imaginable through the grass and trees, with herds of cows and sheep scattered throughout. The rolling hills and mountains are absolutely beautiful, and even though I hate the hills walking to class in Auckland, it is the hills and mountains that make up this beautiful country. No, not beautiful. Breathtaking. And we weren't even going through the most beautiful parts (I've heard) of New Zealand on this bus ride. I cannot even picture how much more beautiful this country can be, but I am really looking forward to it. I spent the whole bus ride gazing out the window, feeling tingly in my spine from how I felt looking at it. I mean, Minnesota is beautiful too but in a different way, a way that doesn't feel breathtaking but instead feels normal. I just love New Zealand.
This weekend gave me an itch to travel. I really want to go someplace this weekend, but as I have two tests next week and a paper I want to write before mid-semester break (which is in ten days.. scary academically/exciting otherwise) I don't know if that will work. I really want it to, though. Maybe it could be a day trip or something instead if need be. Ugh, the school part of study abroad sucks. :( But! We have a meeting tomorrow with IES about the Rarotonga (Cook Islands) trip, which we leave for on April 9th. SO SOON. We get back the 15th from Rarotonga and then I'll be headed to the South Island! Still have to work out the details on that.
It's weird to think that this experience is almost half over, at least academically, but it totally doesn't feel like it. And while I'm looking forward to some planned things over the summer (road trip to Ohio! woot woot), this may be the first time in a long time where I have absolutely no desire to count down the days until I leave. I don't want to know when this is over or how much time I have; I want to live in the moment and take in everything I possibly can. I can't imagine going home yet, and I think that's a good place to be.
Friday we boarded the good old Naked Bus (seriously, that's the company's name) and headed to Rotorua. After a quick bus change in Hamilton (not the most impressive city is an understatement - all we saw were car dealerships, motels, and questionable food-fast places) we arrived in Rotorua tired and hungry. Hardly anything was open since it was around 10pm so we walked to the Dominos just past the Visitor's Center. The humorous part about eating there was that there was an alarm going off in the store down the street for the whole time we were at Dominos, yet the police station was just across the street. Oh well. After eating we wandered to find our hostel, Cactus Jacks. I wish I'd taken a picture because right when we walked in there were two different signs with arrows saying if no one was at the window to press an intercom button and someone would come. There was no intercom button to be seen.
Apparently my reservation was messed up but fortunately we were still able to get a 6-bed dorm for the both of us. The owner of Cactus Jacks asked us what we were planning on doing (zorbing, the Buried Village, and Wai-O-Tapu); after we mentioned zorbing the man told us how it was such a rip off because you pay about a dollar a second. He then told us about this deal going on about whitewater rafting - which we ended up doing instead. We wandered our way to our room (did I mention this place used to be a jail? It had a jail/Western/Mexican theme going on.. very interesting) where we woke up the people already sleeping and climbed into - lucky for us - the top bunks which we shared with random people. It was difficult to fall asleep when "Play that Funky Music" is being blasting in through the closed window from a bar nearby while overheating (because the window is closed to block some of the sound) and waking up everytime my bunkmate moved. 7:30am came early the next morning.
But, it was totally worth it. Adi and I cleared out of the room, reserved our spots to go whitewater rafting and headed to Zippy's Cafe for a quick breakfast. (I got my much-needed coffee - so wonderful.) Whitewater rafting was probably my highlight of the weekend. There were 8 of us total in our raft (seven of us plus the instructor). After changing into our swimsuits, wetsuits, and lifejackets, we had a quick lesson before heading onto the actual water. I was definitely panicking when I found out that it was a Grade 5 whitewater rafting experience with a seven meter waterfall. And after hearing what to do if you flip out and get stuck under the waterfall (!) I was good and scared. Adi and I even held hands while walking to the river. But it was SO much fun. The little waterfalls were fun (1m and 3m) and so were the rapids. The 7m waterfall was definitely scary - I think I shut my eyes just as we were barely starting to go over it. Fortunately, the worst thing that happened was I got half the waterfall up my nose - though after looking through the pictures, we really did almost flip. The instructor told me afterwards that I was also the most likely to flip out of the raft since I was at the back. I was very thankful he didn't tell me that beforehand. The raft after us flipped though - I was very happy that we didn't. We also did this thing where we'd go into the bottom of the waterfall and whoever was at the front would get soaked by the front of the raft being pulled under - the instructor sent me (and then Adi and I together) to the front to experience it at the end, which was fun. It was a wonderful way to start out the weekend.
After returning from rafting we went to the Fat Dog Cafe and Bar, where I got some fish and chips. Yum. We walked back to Cactus Jacks after deciding we wanted to go to the Buried Village. However, the shuttle was going to be $20 each - ridiculous. The guy at Cactus Jacks volunteered to drive us for $10 each. I think he felt bad for us because we kept talking to him, trying to figure out what to do. We definitely lucked out on that.
The Buried Village was pretty cool. It was this village that existed until 1886 when it was buried from the Tarawera volcano explosion. Some of the houses and whatnot were still preserved, and there was a museum devoted to information about it as well as information around the uncovered village. Apparently, before the eruption there were these pink and white terraces considered to be the eighth wonder of the world right next to the village. The village also lead us to Tarawera Falls, which was really pretty. And since it was rainy, we got 30% off of the price! Score.
Adi really wanted to go to this Polynesian Spa so we headed there after the Buried Village. I wasn't too enthused about spending my money on a spa, but it ended up being a nice way to spend a few hours, soaking in the outdoor mineral spa baths overlooking Lake Rotorua. It was still drizzling so it was a good contrast. And afterward, I got some amazingly delicious Indian food.
But seriously, whitewater rafting, Buried Village and the Spa were excellent rainy day activities. I was very happy with the day - and after talking to the guy at Cactus Jacks (again) and talking to three Germans who shared our room at the hostel, we went to bed, exhausted from the day's activities.
Oh, I forgot to mention this: the guy I was [lucky] enough to share a bunk with was a creepy, middle-aged, long-haired blonde (with a receding hairline) Scandinavian dude who liked to be shirtless, smelled, and overall creeped me out. That could have been better about Cactus Jacks.. made for a lot of laughs over the weekend though.
Sunday was our "free" day. Adi and I went to Zippy's again for breakfast and then headed to this park where we could see mud pools and steaming geothermal things. (We were going to go to Wai-O-Tapu, which is basically mud pools and hot springs plus a geyser, but it would have cost $60 including transportation so we nixed that plan and chose the free option instead.) The mud pools were the coolest part, I think. The lovely smell of sulfur at the park was even stronger than in the rest of Rotorua, but ah well. What can you do. I got used to smelling eggs all the time.
We wandered back towards town after a while, and after being caught up at a tacky craft fair, decided we would just walk to the Redwoods Forest rather than take a bus. It ended up being almost an hour-long walk along the freeway, but we finally made it. The redwoods were really cool. It was free as well, which was awesome. The forest smelled wonderful though and I'd never seen trees so massive before. It made me want to go see the Redwoods in California. That and go camping. We took about a 45-minute long walk through the forest and caught the bus back to Rotorua at the end.
The bus ride back to Rotorua was beautiful. This is cliché, but if it is possible to fall in love with a place I have done so with New Zealand, especially its countryside. There is every shade of green imaginable through the grass and trees, with herds of cows and sheep scattered throughout. The rolling hills and mountains are absolutely beautiful, and even though I hate the hills walking to class in Auckland, it is the hills and mountains that make up this beautiful country. No, not beautiful. Breathtaking. And we weren't even going through the most beautiful parts (I've heard) of New Zealand on this bus ride. I cannot even picture how much more beautiful this country can be, but I am really looking forward to it. I spent the whole bus ride gazing out the window, feeling tingly in my spine from how I felt looking at it. I mean, Minnesota is beautiful too but in a different way, a way that doesn't feel breathtaking but instead feels normal. I just love New Zealand.
This weekend gave me an itch to travel. I really want to go someplace this weekend, but as I have two tests next week and a paper I want to write before mid-semester break (which is in ten days.. scary academically/exciting otherwise) I don't know if that will work. I really want it to, though. Maybe it could be a day trip or something instead if need be. Ugh, the school part of study abroad sucks. :( But! We have a meeting tomorrow with IES about the Rarotonga (Cook Islands) trip, which we leave for on April 9th. SO SOON. We get back the 15th from Rarotonga and then I'll be headed to the South Island! Still have to work out the details on that.
It's weird to think that this experience is almost half over, at least academically, but it totally doesn't feel like it. And while I'm looking forward to some planned things over the summer (road trip to Ohio! woot woot), this may be the first time in a long time where I have absolutely no desire to count down the days until I leave. I don't want to know when this is over or how much time I have; I want to live in the moment and take in everything I possibly can. I can't imagine going home yet, and I think that's a good place to be.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Pictures from Rotorua
delicious flat white (coffee)
we survived the 7m waterfall without flipping! score
being submerged in the rapids
success!
Maori art (beginning of Buried village)
detailed engravings
can you spot the sheep behind me?
loving the green everywhere
a warae (Maori house) that I believe withstood the volcano eruption
rapids!
Tarawera Falls
Cactus Jacks!
view from the Polynesian Spa
geothermal springs in action!
mud pools
the blue glass at the craft fair just reminded me of Grandma J's kitchen :)
this redwood is wider than my wingspan!
beautiful and green :)
silver fern! We think (this is the underside)
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Everybody's looking forward to the weekend
Like that Rebecca Black song! (No, I'm kidding, I promise. FUN FUN FUN FUN)
First off, this has absolutely nothing to do with study abroad/New Zealand. However, this video was just put up on YouTube and I felt the need to share it as I'm a proud ally. It's for the "It Gets Better" project - if you want to read what the website says about the project, click here. Anyway, Gustavus made one and it reminded me of how much I love my school so I decided that it needed to be shared so my [mostly] family can see it too.
Anyway, back to study abroad. Tuesday was a pretty boring day. I finally talked to my dance professor about my body issues (knees and post-surgery) and learned where she trained (she got her Master's at SUNY Purchase, which to be honest, surprised me). It bothers me though because she still can't always remember my name. I am the one new student in the class of 25, usually know what I'm doing (I was the only one who was counting the combination right in class. I wish I were exaggerating), I'm from the States, and I go talk to her practically after every class so far. Oh well. Whatever. She was understanding about my body issues though, which was good, and despite being slightly annoyed at her giving me advice about how painful bunions and bunion surgery are (I think I would know better than she) I felt the conversation went mostly well.
The play we had to read for my Italian class was actually hilarious. It's called "The Advertisement" ("l'Inserzione" I think is it's name in Italian) and it was just SO overdramatic and ridiculous. I seriously feel like I'm reading soap operas when I read Italian literature. In each thing we've read, there is at least one (if not more) of the following: an unhappy marriage, adultery, and murder/death. It's like a constant soap opera. Seriously.
Yesterday I went to see Bassnectar, which was pretty fun. We got there on the early side (like 10:30/10:45pm? the concert started at 10pm) so it was a while before Bassnectar was actually on. By the time that rolled around we were tired from dancing so we left around 1am only to go to another dance club for a short period of time. I got back late so I was exhausted for dance class this morning but I obviously managed. Strangely, my bunions were hurting so I marked through some of the movements after talking to PJ about it. I think I'm going to ice my feet after I eat lunch. And our dance assessment is next week.. joy.
AND NOW for my weekend plans! I'm going to Rotorua and Matamata with one of my flatmates (and possibly meeting up with some other people while I'm there). We're leaving Friday evening and getting back Sunday night, so hopefully it'll be an awesome trip. In Rotorua there's geysers with other geothermal activity (Wai-O-Tapu), Tarawera Falls/trails, a Buried Village not far from Rotorua, some awesome walks, ZORBING, and a really cheap hostel for us to stay at :) In Matamata there is Hobbiton! Hobbiton is where The Shire is in LOTR and they left the set up so it's a big tourist attraction. We decided to take the bus instead of rent a car, mostly because it was cheaper and easier for just the two of us. I'm super pumped though!! Gonna be an awesome weekend!
First off, this has absolutely nothing to do with study abroad/New Zealand. However, this video was just put up on YouTube and I felt the need to share it as I'm a proud ally. It's for the "It Gets Better" project - if you want to read what the website says about the project, click here. Anyway, Gustavus made one and it reminded me of how much I love my school so I decided that it needed to be shared so my [mostly] family can see it too.
Anyway, back to study abroad. Tuesday was a pretty boring day. I finally talked to my dance professor about my body issues (knees and post-surgery) and learned where she trained (she got her Master's at SUNY Purchase, which to be honest, surprised me). It bothers me though because she still can't always remember my name. I am the one new student in the class of 25, usually know what I'm doing (I was the only one who was counting the combination right in class. I wish I were exaggerating), I'm from the States, and I go talk to her practically after every class so far. Oh well. Whatever. She was understanding about my body issues though, which was good, and despite being slightly annoyed at her giving me advice about how painful bunions and bunion surgery are (I think I would know better than she) I felt the conversation went mostly well.
The play we had to read for my Italian class was actually hilarious. It's called "The Advertisement" ("l'Inserzione" I think is it's name in Italian) and it was just SO overdramatic and ridiculous. I seriously feel like I'm reading soap operas when I read Italian literature. In each thing we've read, there is at least one (if not more) of the following: an unhappy marriage, adultery, and murder/death. It's like a constant soap opera. Seriously.
Yesterday I went to see Bassnectar, which was pretty fun. We got there on the early side (like 10:30/10:45pm? the concert started at 10pm) so it was a while before Bassnectar was actually on. By the time that rolled around we were tired from dancing so we left around 1am only to go to another dance club for a short period of time. I got back late so I was exhausted for dance class this morning but I obviously managed. Strangely, my bunions were hurting so I marked through some of the movements after talking to PJ about it. I think I'm going to ice my feet after I eat lunch. And our dance assessment is next week.. joy.
AND NOW for my weekend plans! I'm going to Rotorua and Matamata with one of my flatmates (and possibly meeting up with some other people while I'm there). We're leaving Friday evening and getting back Sunday night, so hopefully it'll be an awesome trip. In Rotorua there's geysers with other geothermal activity (Wai-O-Tapu), Tarawera Falls/trails, a Buried Village not far from Rotorua, some awesome walks, ZORBING, and a really cheap hostel for us to stay at :) In Matamata there is Hobbiton! Hobbiton is where The Shire is in LOTR and they left the set up so it's a big tourist attraction. We decided to take the bus instead of rent a car, mostly because it was cheaper and easier for just the two of us. I'm super pumped though!! Gonna be an awesome weekend!
Monday, March 21, 2011
Waiheke and more
Hmm, let's see. What has happened since Wednesday..
Thursday was St. Patrick's Day. I had my normal classes (dance and then Kapa Haka, where we made poi (balls at the end of a string that the women dance with)) and then people came over to my flat, which was really fun. At first there were some people from PSV, but then they left and some of my IES friends came over. It was a really fun night besides being up late - my 10am dance class (and 8:30am wake-up) came far too early the next morning.
Friday I decided to keep my dance class because it was just easier. I talked with some of the people in my dance class and learned that some of them haven't really danced before and that PJ isn't really a good teacher in the department anyway. To which I responded that I haven't had any teachers recently in the states that care more about speed over quality. But whatever. The afternoon was pretty low-key, as was the evening. However, two of my flatmates and I went to The Chocolate Boutique! Adi and I have been meaning to go there (goal: try everything on the menu before we leave) and I got this delicious Death by Chocolate treat. It. Was. Amazing. And I got a truffle.
Saturday was also really relaxed. I woke up at noon, skyped with Britta and Chelsea (yay!) and went grocery shopping. At night, I went ice blocking with some friends. I'd never been before, and it was only halfway successful, but it was fun nonetheless. (Ice blocking is where you slide down a grassy hill on a big block of frozen ice. My friend who wanted to do it is from California - she said it's their way of sledding?)
Sunday was absolutely awesome. I went to Waiheke Island! It's this island about 35 minutes off the Auckland coast known for its beaches, vineyards, and being just overall beautiful and touristy - though nothing like touristy places in America. And let me tell you, it is. Right after we got off the ferry we realized we needed to get across the island because there was a vineyard tour we wanted to go to. The vineyard was absolutely beautiful. It was so green and there were olive trees and grape vines and palm trees all over. We learned that this particular vineyard has been around for a long long time and it is organic - which is why the wine is so expensive. We got two tastings, and while I usually do not find wine especially delicious, the wines we tasted were. If it wasn't so expensive I might have gotten a glass, however I didn't want to spend $15 NZD on a glass of wine. No thank you.
After the tour we walked a loooooong way down the road with no sidewalk to get to the beach. Onetangi beach was absolutely beautiful though. It was mostly sunny and the water was really clear and it was just stunning to be there. I fell asleep multiple times and didn't even get burned! I seriously love the beach. It was so peaceful to be there, as the only sounds were from the ocean (and the occasional child shouting to his/her parent). And the ocean is awesome. Obviously it's saltwater so one is more buoyant, but there are all sorts of cool shells and live sand dollars and little seaweed off the shore. Seeing the tide go out is really awesome too - Minnesota lakes do not come to par with the ocean. However, no worries, I still have extreme love for lakes and always will. I am just living up getting to see the ocean literally every day. (I can see it on my walk to class.)
It was getting late so a couple people went back, but three of us decided that we should do this walk instead! The walk didn't really work out (the directions were not clear on my map), so after finding a herd of sheep off of a road and talking to a local we finally found the "lookout" - which looked over the harbor one way, and was surrounded by cows blocked by an electric fence the other way. Seriously, these cows were about fifteen feet away from us and did NOT look happy that we were there.
Today was my long day of class (12-1, 2-5) and it really isn't bad except for my Italian lecture. I die of boredom. It's bad. Fortunately we got out early, so I was able to head back to PSV for about a half hour before leaving to go get Mexican food in town. It was so wonderful eating out since I've rarely eaten out and I was craving a burrito like nobody's business. My chicken burrito and strawberry margarita were extremely satisfying. It was interesting because I went out with a bunch of people from PSV who were mostly American and Canadian, none of which I know very well at this point. I don't think I have been around that many North Americans (there were 12 of us total) at once in over a month. It was a strange feeling. But it was cool to talk to some new people - especially since they all live within 2 minutes of me.
It's so strange to think that I've been here almost five weeks already. I wish the school part would hurry up and the abroad part would slow down. I have been procrastinating to the max on my homework (I did my homework for my 2pm class at 1pm today). I don't actually have anything important in any of my classes for a couple weeks but I seriously do homework once a week. On Monday. Before class. And then after class I write up a summary for my tutorial, which is tomorrow (Tuesday). I wish I loved all of my classes as much as I love Kapa Haka..
And pictures! :)
Thursday was St. Patrick's Day. I had my normal classes (dance and then Kapa Haka, where we made poi (balls at the end of a string that the women dance with)) and then people came over to my flat, which was really fun. At first there were some people from PSV, but then they left and some of my IES friends came over. It was a really fun night besides being up late - my 10am dance class (and 8:30am wake-up) came far too early the next morning.
Friday I decided to keep my dance class because it was just easier. I talked with some of the people in my dance class and learned that some of them haven't really danced before and that PJ isn't really a good teacher in the department anyway. To which I responded that I haven't had any teachers recently in the states that care more about speed over quality. But whatever. The afternoon was pretty low-key, as was the evening. However, two of my flatmates and I went to The Chocolate Boutique! Adi and I have been meaning to go there (goal: try everything on the menu before we leave) and I got this delicious Death by Chocolate treat. It. Was. Amazing. And I got a truffle.
Saturday was also really relaxed. I woke up at noon, skyped with Britta and Chelsea (yay!) and went grocery shopping. At night, I went ice blocking with some friends. I'd never been before, and it was only halfway successful, but it was fun nonetheless. (Ice blocking is where you slide down a grassy hill on a big block of frozen ice. My friend who wanted to do it is from California - she said it's their way of sledding?)
Sunday was absolutely awesome. I went to Waiheke Island! It's this island about 35 minutes off the Auckland coast known for its beaches, vineyards, and being just overall beautiful and touristy - though nothing like touristy places in America. And let me tell you, it is. Right after we got off the ferry we realized we needed to get across the island because there was a vineyard tour we wanted to go to. The vineyard was absolutely beautiful. It was so green and there were olive trees and grape vines and palm trees all over. We learned that this particular vineyard has been around for a long long time and it is organic - which is why the wine is so expensive. We got two tastings, and while I usually do not find wine especially delicious, the wines we tasted were. If it wasn't so expensive I might have gotten a glass, however I didn't want to spend $15 NZD on a glass of wine. No thank you.
After the tour we walked a loooooong way down the road with no sidewalk to get to the beach. Onetangi beach was absolutely beautiful though. It was mostly sunny and the water was really clear and it was just stunning to be there. I fell asleep multiple times and didn't even get burned! I seriously love the beach. It was so peaceful to be there, as the only sounds were from the ocean (and the occasional child shouting to his/her parent). And the ocean is awesome. Obviously it's saltwater so one is more buoyant, but there are all sorts of cool shells and live sand dollars and little seaweed off the shore. Seeing the tide go out is really awesome too - Minnesota lakes do not come to par with the ocean. However, no worries, I still have extreme love for lakes and always will. I am just living up getting to see the ocean literally every day. (I can see it on my walk to class.)
It was getting late so a couple people went back, but three of us decided that we should do this walk instead! The walk didn't really work out (the directions were not clear on my map), so after finding a herd of sheep off of a road and talking to a local we finally found the "lookout" - which looked over the harbor one way, and was surrounded by cows blocked by an electric fence the other way. Seriously, these cows were about fifteen feet away from us and did NOT look happy that we were there.
Today was my long day of class (12-1, 2-5) and it really isn't bad except for my Italian lecture. I die of boredom. It's bad. Fortunately we got out early, so I was able to head back to PSV for about a half hour before leaving to go get Mexican food in town. It was so wonderful eating out since I've rarely eaten out and I was craving a burrito like nobody's business. My chicken burrito and strawberry margarita were extremely satisfying. It was interesting because I went out with a bunch of people from PSV who were mostly American and Canadian, none of which I know very well at this point. I don't think I have been around that many North Americans (there were 12 of us total) at once in over a month. It was a strange feeling. But it was cool to talk to some new people - especially since they all live within 2 minutes of me.
It's so strange to think that I've been here almost five weeks already. I wish the school part would hurry up and the abroad part would slow down. I have been procrastinating to the max on my homework (I did my homework for my 2pm class at 1pm today). I don't actually have anything important in any of my classes for a couple weeks but I seriously do homework once a week. On Monday. Before class. And then after class I write up a summary for my tutorial, which is tomorrow (Tuesday). I wish I loved all of my classes as much as I love Kapa Haka..
And pictures! :)
Death by Chocolate: chocolate ice cream, chocolate whipped cream, chocolate mousse, a chocolate fish, chocolate syrup, chocolate-covered peanuts, and a chocolate cone thing at the top.
AMAZING
AMAZING
me iceblocking! (note the terror on my face)
Stonyridge Vineyard Cafe
apparently, people had gotten married here earlier in the day
the vineyard!
me in front of the vineyard!
ciabatta bread with olive oil + olives = me in heaven
I was sitting directly underneath this while eating my bread and olives
Onetangi beach
the sheep to person ratio in this country is ridiculous
these paths were made for hobbits.. I had to crouch the whole path
plants!
angry-looking cows did NOT like us at this lookout
the lookout on Waiheke!
so Maddie brought Sam and Frodo to New Zealand..
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