Write Up Your Ali

2008-04-08T18:06:00.001-07:00

Whoa--the bullets in my last post, turned into weird Y's with dots on the top. Trippy... Well, they're supposed to be bullets. :)

Turns out--I'm going home!

2008-04-08T17:54:00.000-07:00

So I’ve been in New Zealand for a few months. If you didn’t know that, you probably should have been reading my blog a little closer. In church the other day (I was still listening, I promise) I started making this list and was surprised to see how long it had become. Enjoy!

In New Zealand, I've learned:

I love my family-- I missed them like crazy every day. Everything I saw and learned here reminded me of them and how amazing they are. The members of my family are my best friends and I would be nothing without their support and examples.
I am blessed beyond explanation-- Well….it’s beyond explanation.
I hate kayaking--Who knew? I always thought I’d love it. Why not? Turns out, I have never hated anything more. So what did I learn in NZ? What never to do again.
I love nature but…-- I always thought that I loved nature so much that I could just live out in the woods. Not so much. I do love nature but I love the comforts of home too; too much to abandon them for more than three days at a time.
I hate cold water-- Kayaking? Surfing? In this weather?!
I hate rain and nothing will ever change my opinion-- I realize that rain is necessary for replenishing the earth, but I only enjoy the experience of rain if I am safely and warmly indoors.
I have to know what I’m talking about before I share the gospel-- I have had plenty of missionary opportunities here and I’ve ruined most of them because I don’t know enough about what I believe--about how to explain it simply to someone on the outside. I have a lot to learn about that.
I love curry, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, mayo, 1000 island dressing…-- And a bazillion other things that I never would have eaten at home. Ok, maybe love is too strong of a word for most of those but, you get the idea.
I despise writing papers-- I felt like I had to write a paper a week here even though I only wrote a total of about five. But, I didn‘t enjoy any of them. Man, no fun.
I LOVE to read--I’ve always known this but through high school and college where time to read somehow disappears, I forgot that. New Zealand gave me time to read again and reminded me that I LOVE it.
E-mails are great but there’s just nothing like a phone call-- I e-mail my parents almost daily and yet, I yearn for the days, about once a week, that I get to call them. It rejuvenates me like nothing else.
I’m going to miss my bike-- I never had any strong feelings either way about bikes, but my bike here has represented my freedom and I’m going to miss having it--even if I have a car!
I take my healthy body for granted-- I can do SO much because of my body. I realized after I hurt my feet and couldn’t run for so long that I take that simple ability to run for granted. I can run! I can jump! I can bike! I can do so many things that so many people can’t do. How incredible.
This country is beautiful-- I’ve never seen anything like it. There is so much diversity in the landscape here.
There is great power in simple testimonies-- As I sat in church last week, I marveled at the power that is found in the bearing of simple, humble testimony.
I love BYU-- I already knew I loved that university but I have a new appreciation for it now after being at SIT for a few months. No one can smoke on campus, the campus isn’t tiny, it’s organized and… just great.
I miss my straightener-- I really do. Turns out, I’m high maintenance.
I’m spoiled rotten-- My time here has truly taught me this. We as Americans have an incredible amount of wealth. My parents spoil me (not that I’m unappreciative) and I am spoiled to live in such a great, free country. Just spoiled. Period.
Never underestimate the power of your influence--Wow. In this small branch, I was just astounded to see how the members marvel at us, and are just so happy to have us in their midst. Weird.
The prospect of being a missionary is scary-- I’ve always thought that I’d like to serve a mission--not that I will necessarily, but that I’d like it and be pretty good at it. Well, in my brief experiences sharing the gospel here, I am now afraid of being a missionary, preaching the gospel to people who will most likely reject me, and being so far away from my home and family for so long.
Share your talents!-- I just rediscovered a quote from John Bytheway today that says, “Silent pianos don’t attract crowds.” That quote obviously has a little bit of a double meaning for me. :) I have played the piano in every sacrament meeting and choir practice since I’ve been in New Zealand. It is incredible how grateful the branch is for what is for me, a very simple and painless task. The lesson--don’t hesitate--share your talents!! Offer what you can; it will be appreciated.
I’m not as tough as I thought-- I’ve always considered myself a tough girl, able to handle and do things that most other girls at least, might not be able to do. Well, turns out, I’M A PANSY! Really! I’m terrified of kayaking, I don’t like being dirty or wet, and there are some things (rocks, I mean…) that I just can’t climb. I might be tough, but there are plenty of people tougher than me, and plenty of things I’m not tough enough to do.
I get homesick-- This really surprised me. I’ve never really been homesick--ok, maybe at camp in 5th grade, but never at college or anything. But I was homesick here to the point of just feeling empty inside when I thought of my far-away family. Luckily, that passed pretty quickly but it made me realize that I may love traveling but I miss home too much to make a habit of doing it too often--or at least without them. :)
I’m proud to be an American-- Not surprisingly, we sometimes have a bad reputation as tourists, but I still love being American! There’s no doubt that even with all the problems our country might have, it is a great country. We are free and have so much. The land of opportunity--how true that is!
Cadbury chocolate is good-- It just is. It’s dang good.
I think I’m addicted to Solitaire-- I love playing solitaire on my computer. When I have a spare moment, or I’m trying to put off doing an assignment, I will sit and play solitaire on my laptop for…a long time. I’ll tell myself, “just one more game” a ton of times and end up losing multiple games before I finally make myself shut my computer. Good thing it doesn’t cost money. Or I’d be gambling. It’s still no good though, I get it.

This list is by no means all-inclusive. Some were just too personal to list on my blog. Others, I’ve simply forgotten. There are also definitely a lot of obvious things, like how to surf, tying knots and reading weather patterns that I purposely didn’t include. This list is more to remind me of the things that I really learned here. Things that I learned that might change my life. Things that I will always remember. As our wise instructors told us just last week, out in the elements, out in the rugged beauty of New Zealand’s nature, we are exposed for who we really are. I am grateful for that exposure, for it has helped me discover many things about myself and how I want to live my life that I might not otherwise have ever known. Thank you for sticking with me and sharing my experiences with me through this blog and through your e-mails. My time here has been unforgettable. As this chapter of my life closes however, I am filled with excitement for all that I have yet to encounter and accomplish. See you all soon!

The End of the 12-Passenger Vans: Can Life Go On???

2008-04-08T17:33:00.000-07:00

These last couple of days, we have been on our final trip. Monday--in Te Anau, and Tuesday in Milford Sound. When we arrived in Te Anau on Monday morning, we all kind of split into different groups for the day. I chose to stay with a group that was going to drive about an hour away and hike part of the Routeburn track. About half of our group hiked Routeburn in the pouring rain about a month ago, and I thought it would be fun to experience at least part of such a famous track. The road to Routeburn was extremely windy and I think about half the van was carsick by the time we got there. The whole thing was worth it though for the three hour hike that we did. It was beautiful. I found it very refreshing to be on such a nice, organized, manicured track after our most recent experiences tramping through the bush. There were definitely some fantastic views. I took this picture becuase I thought it would give my viewers back home an idea of what tramping trails are often like in New Zealand. Most of them are usually just dirt trails through forests but when you get up on towards the top like this, or have to traverse through bog land, they put these wood tracks up. It's very NZ-esque. That's an incredible view isn't it? It's sort of sad that I'm starting to take that for granted as just being what New Zealand looks like. I still love it though!

This was the whole group that went to Routeburn on Monday. We had fun!

When we got back into town that night, we ate at one of the many pizza places in town. It was SO good. I have been craving pizza for a while now and I was very satisfied. :) After dinner, we just wandered around town and looked in souvenir shops. Te Anau is a really small town, and we are a really big group, so before long, we had all found each other and were just hanging out in town. Stefanie also found her parents! That was exciting. We met up with them and the whole group had a fun time getting to know the Tanners

The next morning, we left pretty early for Milford Sound. It was about a two hour drive from Te Anau but turned into three since we stopped at every single lookout on the way there. It was okay though--the views were amazing. Fiordland is gorgeous. We got to Milford just in time to board our cruise! We ate lunch on the boat and they just drove us through Milford Sound. We stopped at an underwater observatory and had a look around for a while, and then they drove us back to the port. The whole thing was absolutely breathtaking. A fjord is one of those things that really makes you feel insignificant--everything is so massive and beautiful. After unloading from the boat, we started the four hour drive home. All in all, it was a good trip!

This was taken from our cruise. Enjoy the beautiful views, but know that Stefanie took this picture--not me. I really like this one though. Thanks Stef! :)

Just one of the many random lookouts we stopped at. I must admit, at the end of this multi-month trip, I have started to lose my motivation to pull out my camera at every turn. So this last trip, I started letting other people take the pictures. Don't worry, I'll get them all eventually, but I just don't have them now. There was a point to this...oh yeah! We took a really great picture here that I don't have SO, just picture about ten people frolicking around in this giant field in front of those amazing mountains. It's great.

Most of our time here can be traced back to a trip in a 12-passenger van. It's kind of weird to think that our time in them is over. If you count up the amount of hours we've all spent together, traversing New Zealand in large, bumpy vans, I'm sure it'd be close to 100. So can life go on without these vans? A resounding--YES. :)

My Last Sunday

2008-04-08T17:19:00.000-07:00

Remember how I have to bike to church? Hopefully you all got a chance to see the picture of Stefanie and I in our Sunday biking outfits; church shoes, gym shorts and a backpack. Every Sunday, we sit in our room and pack our backpacks full of the things we need for church; a pen, notebook, scriptures, Joseph Smith manual and the all-important skirt. Every week, I almost forget my skirt. As I run through my mental checklist, I realize that I don’t have it and hurry and put it in my bag. Just last week, Stefanie and I mused on the way to church what would happen if one of us actually forgot our skirt one week. We both decided that it would just be too bad, and we would just sit through church in gym shorts and church shoes. Little did I know, that just one week later, I would have the opportunity to put my resolution to the test. That’s right--I forgot my skirt. And I realized this within feet of the church building. I didn’t have time to go back and get it anyway. Stefanie and I had a good laugh about it, but then I just resolved to go through the awkward experience of being inappropriately dressed for sacrament meeting. However I forgot in my flustered state, that I AM THE PIANIST!! Not only did I have to sit through sacrament meeting in gym shorts, but I had to sit in front of the entire congregation and play the piano. It was quite the experience. At least I sort of matched. Most people told me they didn’t even notice until I said something. So, all in all, it wasn’t that terrible of an experience but it was inevitable I suppose--the last Sunday in Invercargill, I do what I’d threatened to do every Sunday since arriving here--I forget my skirt.

Also on Sunday, I said goodbye to my favorite pair of jeans. They have been so good to me but the crotch is ripping, and there is a hole in the pocket that is beyond repair and slowly spreading down the whole leg. I decided I didn't want to tow my delapidated jeans back home so...I ripped them up! There's a video too but here's a picture of the aftermath. Sad, right?

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Mountain Biking

2008-04-08T17:07:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, I had my first mountain biking experience. It was so fun. I also found it difficult and terrifying (in fact, the scariest thing I've done in New Zealand--minus kayaking of course), but I’m excited to do it again. The best part of the whole experience was by far the crash I had. I went over a log, and the next thing I knew, I was stuck head first in a pile of sticks. I didn’t feel any pain, so I had my comrades take a picture before prying me out. The picture is a little blurry, but hopefully it gives you some idea of my predicament. :) Really, I just wanted to share with all of you my new and very inexperienced love for mountain biking. The end.

The tramp to end all tramps

2008-04-02T18:10:00.000-07:00

If I talked you before leaving on our last tramping trip, then you know that I was anything but excited to go. For about two weeks prior to our trip, our instructors had been leading us around the deep bushland of New Zealand with maps and compasses with seemingly little purpose but to get us frustrated and lost in pokey bushes and trees. After some humbling experiences and discussions, I have realized that of course, there was a purpose to all of this. I just took me a long time to see it.

Monday morning we set off from SIT. The drive took a couple of hours and the whole way, I was relishing the time in the van. When we got to where we would begin our "journey" as they liked to call it, I did NOT want to get out of the car. I waited until the last possible moment, then jumped out and donned my pack. Our instructors gave us a little information about how the next three days would go and that it was a time for us to reflect on our lives and particularly our time in New Zealand. All of it sort of went in one ear and out the other for me as I was in a very terrible mood.

They gave us the coordinates of our destination, told us to work as a team and then sent us out into the bush. There was a trail, but we were banned from taking it. Luckily, the weather was really nice and we stayed dry and warm. Unfortunately, none of that helped my mood--even though it should have. After a lot of group discussions and wrong turns, we made it to our campsite. I was surprised at how quickly and effectively we made our bivvy that night. I was toasty warm and though I didn't sleep that great, I slept much better than I thought I would.

Because of my bad awful mood, I didn't really take any pictures the first day, or the whole trip really (these pictures are mostly supplied by Stefanie's ever-present camera), but this one is worth posting:

The man you see who looks naked other than his very large coat and red beanie is Tony, one of our instructors. If you look closely, you can Jason, another instrutor, in the background, effectively sporting what they insist is typical New Zealand tramping garb. The outfit is as follows: no cotton, just polyprop shirts and other fleece insulating layers as necessary, "stubbies" (aka--very short shorts), gaters and boots. They look ridiculous but insist that its the only way to tramp.

Call me a sherpa

2008-04-02T16:45:00.000-07:00

Turns out the off and on rain from the night before was mostly on for all of Tuesday. It was pouring when we finally made ourselves get out from under our shelter and embark on our tramping for the day. It was more of the same, with our instructors telling us where we needed to end up and then letting us loose. It was easier today because we could see our destination pretty clearly--the top of a mountain. We struggled through the bush all day, soaking wet and walking uphill the whole time until finally we popped out of the trees, into sunlight, and stared at the large mountain looming in front of us.

Unfortuately, we had to sit, exposed in the wind for two hours and wait for group B (the other half of our class) to catch up with us. That got very cold. Eventually, we were on the move again and made the slow trek up and over the mountain. By the time I'd reached the peak and was headed back down the other side, the wind had picked up and the rain turned to hail. As it pelted my face, I stopped, looked down at myself and thought, I have got to get a picture of myself. Hopefully you can see in this picture why...

I looked like a sherpa. I was wearing big wooly gloves, using a stick to hike with, carrying a ginormous pack, and charging up the side of a mountain peak. I thought it was pretty funny. Hopefully some of you can find the humor as well.

I call this one: Huddling behind a giant rock.

Shock of all shockers, we had to wait, huddled behind a giant rock AGAIN for group B to catch up to us. This time was even colder than before. From there, our instructors had us all stick really close together so we wouldn't lose anyone considering the pretty intense weather. We completed the remainder of our hike to the campsite by about 7:30 that night. We set up our "bivvy" (or shelter) as quickly as possible, had some hot dinner, and then all climbed into our sleeping bags as close together as we could muster.

This is me unloading for the night. Unfortunately, that outfit is actually what I wore for three days straight--except replace the chacos with hiking boots. It's not about style, just comfort and warmth.

For some reason, we were all slightly hysterical that night and the bedtime conversation was hilarious. That probably explains why Stefanie and I took more crazy pictures of ourselves. I woke up about 1am absolutely famished!! I had no idea how I was going to make it 'til morning, especially considering how I also had to go to the bathroom and I couldn't feel my toes. At about 4am, I realized that half of our group was awake and we all started talking about how cold, hungry or thirsty we were. It was hilarious. That was probably one of the highlights of the trip for me. Thankfully, I had my iPod and a good book to read in my sleeping bag as I didn't do much sleeping that night.
Here is a shot of the inside of our bivvy. The piece of wood that you can see on the left side of the picture is the middle of our shelter--that stick was holding the whole thing up. That's where I slept. I found out the hard way that if I bumped it, it fell over and the roof sort of caved in. Oops... The guy you can see at the bottom of the picture is none other than John Kappa, our instructor. I know you can't tell, but he was basically laying right on top of me and my stuff. Whatever it takes to be warm I guess. Don't worry--he didn't sleep there. He was just there visiting.

The Frosty End

2008-04-02T16:25:00.000-07:00

Wednesday morning. The final day. It dawned beautiful and...FREEZING!!! We woke up to find all of our belongings, including our fancy tarp serving as our shelter covered in a nice thick layer of frost. We all crammed around camping stoves attempting to regain some kind of feeling in either our toes or our fingers. When everyone was finally ready, we hit the road. It was only about an hour hike back to our vans and when they came into view, we all cheered. Because of the short hike, Wednesday was pretty bearable.

Cool picture, right? This is one of the advantages of being a sweeper--you can get some great pictures at the back of the group.

The whole thing came to a culmination when we got back to the vans. Our instructors had us all sit down in a circle and told us that this was the end of our program. We were through. That hit a couple of people pretty hard. But they just had us reflect on our time here and things we'd done and learned. It's incredible to look back on all the experiences we've had together. I mean, I kayaked--I can do anything!! Really though, as we sat there and talked, I realized that I have learned a ton from these guys and from being out in nature where we are all exposed for who we really are. It was really interesting to just sit there in the cool, beautiful air and think about...everything. The last few months of my life have just been one unforgettable experience after the other. I think I'll have to get back to you on my complete list of thoughts about this whole experience. But those are the things that I thought about this week. Meanwhile...some views that as usual, made it all worth it...

Looks like something out of a movie, doesn't it?

The Spaniards invade New Zealand!

2008-04-02T16:15:00.000-07:00

As I wrap up my last tramping experience, I just had to pay a tribute to a lovely bush we found on the trail that is called a "spaniard".

This bush might not look very dangerous but it is deadly! Those leaves are sharp. As we were pulling ourselves up mountains in the wind and rain, these spaniards were a nice additional obstacle to our assent.

This picture is just a random view into New Zealand. There are something like 40 times more sheep than people in New Zealand. That's a lot of sheep! As we drove home yesterday, we had to take a small detour around the sheep lining the road. Just one more crazy thing that happens in this country...

Hangi!

2008-04-02T16:06:00.000-07:00

For RMYL 301, we had to do a gigantic class project. As a class, we decided that we wanted to throw a hangi for the branch here and for our homestays. What's a hangi you may ask? Well, hangi is a Maori feast that involves burying a pig, chicken, a ton of veggies and stuffing in the ground, covering it with hot rocks and dirt and then letting it cook for four hours under ground.

On Saturday morning, we all gathered at the church building to prepare the food to be cooked. I was put in charge of making steamed pudding. We had a recipe and all the ingredients sitting on a table in front of us. The only problem was, none of us had any idea what steamed pudding was. But, we set to work following the recipe as closely as possible. Come to find out, steamed pudding is basically spice cake and--it tasted great! That was definitely a relief. That's a sure way to ruin a party--ruin the dessert.

The steamed pudding team! Way to not ruin it girls!

For awhile there, I was pretty sure that the entire hangi was going to flop. We had two dead pigs on the back lawn of the church, peeled and cut vegetables everywhere and fry bread being made by the box load in the kitchen. It was complete chaos for a couple of hours. Much to my surprise, the guests started arriving at about 4pm and the food followed soon after that. And it was a success! Everyone loved it! Hangi food has a very interesting flavor. It tastes like some combination of smoke and dirt. Anyway, most people like it, but I...had sort of a hard time stomaching it. I loved the meat and ate a lot of salads (ones NOT cooked in the ground) but I had a hard time eating the vegetables and the stuffing.

In the end of the day, we had over 100 people there, about three times the number of Polynesians than I've ever seen at church and a TON of food. I think the night was a success. Defnitely the biggest class project that I've ever participated in.

Tramping: An In-Depth View of New Zealand's Finest Bushes

2008-03-24T20:44:00.000-07:00

Alright! Here it is--the long awaited details of my three days in New Zealand's wilderness. For those of you who don't know, Kiwis call hiking, 'tramping'. It's kind of strange, I'll admit, but that's just the way it is. Hopefully, as you read the details of our trip, you will realize the double meaning of my 'in-depth' view of the bushes. Read on, and enjoy.

Thursday, March 20

I was supposed to be ready to leave by 7am. Experience thus far has taught me that 7 am really means about 8. However, I was ready at 7 and just read good old Eldest. At 8:30, Jacapo came to the door. I threw my bag in the trailer and hopped into the van with my other eleven comrades; Cameron, Tyler, Jacapo, Ramsey, Taylor, Julia, Lisa, Katie, Megan, Janelle and Kathy. I couldn’t help but smile as I smelled incense and noticed Jacapo burning some in the front seat. Of course. The smell blended nicely with his 1920s smooth jazz CD playing in the van. Eventually, I used my iPod to drown that out.

The before picture: Look how clean and happy we all are!

We started our tramp at the Borland Lodge. For about three or four hours we ust walked up a gravel road. It was a nice, warm day and we sweated as we trudged along. We stopped for lunch at a beautiful river and about an hour later, Jacapo and Ramsey stopped the group, pointed up a mountain, and we started climbing. Yeah--straight up a mountain. It was fun mostly. By the time we reached the top, my legs were completely scratched up to my knees. For about two hours probably, we used strong grass and bushes to pull ourselves up the face of the mountain. Literally--the method was: stick both of your arms up, grab tufts of grass, find a good foothold and heave your body up and hope the grass you’re holding is stronger than it looks. When we got to the top, we had to inch along a ridge and up some more bushes and finally--we were at our camp. It was just some random, tall grass at the top of a mountain. We fond a decent spot for our tent and then cooked dinner.

Notice how you can't really see us. That's because, the bushes are so tall and there's no trail!

Our camp site. So...where do you camp? Exactly what I thought. But hey--it worked.

Taylor, Julia, Lisa and I all shared a three-man tent. I was plenty warm, thanks to a sleeping bag of Sue’s (thanks Sue!) but a large mound of grass in the middle of my sleeping area was preventing me from finding sleep. So… I didn’t really sleep. In the morning, we found out that none of us had slept. We should have all had a party. That would have been more fun--and a lot less frustrating.
Our lovely morning faces. We slept pretty poorly...

Day 2: Day of Frustration

2008-03-24T18:55:00.000-07:00

The view in the morning. It was beautiful but...

...cold and windy.

Friday, March 21

In our food group of four (Lisa, Cam, Tyler and myself) we had oatmeal for two breakfasts. Well… we ate it all Friday morning. The wind howled all night, which also prevented me from sleeping, and it was no better in the morning. We struggled to take our tent down in it. Bundled up, we prepared to hike. Thinking the wind would be better if we weren’t on top of a mountain, I figured we’d be heading down as soon as possible. Not so. I followed Ramsey and Jacapo, our fearless leaders, up the mountain. The wind literally blew me over three times. Three!! Twice, it was just funny because the hill wasn’t that steep and come on--people falling over like bowling pins in a 40 lb pack is just funny. The third time however, wasn’t humorous at all because I was on a mountain peak! It was so windy. We marched up and over the highest peak of the mountain which was cool but frightening in that wind! Words can not even describe it. Cameron physically pulled Lisa and I down to the ground at one point, insisting that it was too dangerous for us to walk. So… we crawled up the mountain for a while.

Ok, if you look closely at the above picture, you can see us walking along the edge of the mountain. About where we're walking, is where we camped. See the tallest peak of the mountain in the picture? That's the one we decided to walk up and over.

Remember that peak? There it is.

Once we started down the other side of the peak, the wind died down a little bit. We also found that the best way to get down the mountain was to get on your backside, put your feet up and slide. Effective--and fun. When Green lake and the hut came into sight, Cameron, Tyler and I just wanted to be there so we started down the mountain. The rest of the group took a different--and smarter--way down. We picked our way through a creek all the way down to the bottom. As we tramped/slid, I expected the hut to appear closer. It didn’t happen. At one point, I was pretty convinced that it was a mirage. That and the lack of trail by that point had driven me to utter frustration. Cameron was leading our small group of three and I started yelling at him to stop going around the mountain and just go down the mountain at one point. I just wanted it to flatten out--and it wasn’t happening! Finally, it was flat but every other step through the waist high tufts of grass landed my foot in a mud hole. By that time, all three of us trudged along in frustrated silence, willing the hut to get closer. Finally, we made it. It was only about 2pm. We had lunch and then--played cards. All day. It was surprisingly fun. And SO great to just sit around in the warm hut. It also started pouring about 20 minutes after we got to the hut. What luck! It rained pretty much all night too. The hut kept getting more and more crowded as the night progressed. There were three people there before we arrived. The hut only sleeps twelve. When bedtime rolled around, there were over 30 people in the hut!! A few pitched tents and we stuffed nine of us on the top bunk. A few of the boys slept outside.

Day 3: Peanut Butter, Scroggin and Victory

2008-03-23T20:04:00.000-07:00

Ramsey and Jacapo. Our fearless leaders.

Saturday, March 22

We woke up to a cool, clear morning. I slept like a baby in the hut. It was magnificent. We didn’t leave the hut until about 10. Every morning, we did something the Anasazi boys (Ramsey and Jacapo) called the “sacred circle”. We all stand in a circle, turn around, and say a prayer/have a moment with nature. Where we’re all done, we turn around and leave. I liked it.
Saturday was probably my favorite day. WE HAD A TRAIL!! Bushwhacking has its perks and adventures, but after a day and a half of blazing my own trails, I was more than ready for a trail. It was gorgeous! It led through this beautiful, green forest. Up and over logs, across rivers, under logs, through mud holes… It was great. Most of the day, I hung in the back of the pack with Lisa, Cameron, Tyler and Katie. It was nice. Usually, I hurry through hikes but I liked just being in the back, taking it all in, pushing each other along. We had fun--our little group. By the end of the day, we were talking about our favorite restaurants and desserts and we even had about 15 minutes of official complaining time. That was funny--and therapeutic.

One of the views that made the whole dang thing worth it.

Part of the trail that I loved oh so much.

I had an apple with peanut butter for breakfast that morning, since I’d downed my oatmeal the day before and we didn’t have lunch with us. So, I had a LOT of scroggin (aka--trail mix). And I mean-- a LOT. We didn’t get back to the van until about 5:30 where luckily, we had planned ahead and had peanut butter, jelly and bread waiting for us in the car.

It’s amazing to me after all the pain and difficulty associated with tramping that I can get home and say I had fun. Day two, was definitely my low light. I was so frustrated--with the lack of trail, with the wind, with the far away hut, with Cameron, with Ramsey and Jacapo for leading us there… Just angry. I finally made myself stop, look around, take some deep breaths and remind myself of what was really important. Every time over the trip when I felt that frustration or that “get-home-atis”, I would force myself to stop, or at least slow down and remind myself of where I was and what I was experiencing. I learned a lot from forcing myself to do that.

I also learned to love Egyptian Rat Screw! I hate that game. Or I did until Friday. We played for hours, until Jacapo told us to stop because the slapping was waking up people on the bottom bunk. And I actually started to like it.
Well, that about sums it up I think. I’m happy I went and I’m happy I’m home. The end. :)

You can thank Cameron for this lovely panoramic. I hope you can see it because--it's amazing!

Orienteering 101: Bushwhacking

2008-03-23T19:25:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday, the day before our tramping trip, our instructors sent us out into the wilderness with a compass, bearings and a map. Ben and I were partners and together, we set off into the wilderness. We went through a gigantic, very thick pine forest; up, over and through bushes, up and over sand dunes... we even sprinted across a golf course and landed ourselves in the middle of a clay pigeon shooting range. That was exciting! Ben and I were looking down at our feet thinking, 'what are those little pieces of clay disc-looking things?' and at the same moment, realization struck, we looked at each other and Ben yelled, "Run!!" Oh man. It was funny. Little did I know...it was just a small glimpse of what I would be doing for the next three days...

PRAWNS!

2008-03-23T18:40:00.000-07:00

See the eyes, the legs and the whiskers?? Yuck!

Eating food that looks back at you has never been one of my strong points. Mags announced the other day that we would be having prauns for dinner. Prauns? In my ignorance of seafood, I didn't even know what those were. In case any of you might be in the same boat, they are basically giant shrimp. Seeing as how I don't even like shrimp, I wasn't too thrilled at the idea of eating GIANT shrimp. Nevertheless, I tried. I was even more disgusted as I sat down at the table and watched Mags give me a tutorial of ripping of the head, sucking the juice and taking off the shell. I couldn't help but sing to myself, "Pull off their heads and suck the juice and throw their skins away..." Sick. However, I tried them. And, once you get past the eyes, and the crunchy legs you have to rip off, they weren't half bad. Another fear conquered in New Zealand! Just don't ask me to get back into a kayak...

My trepidation...

...and my triumph!

Stay Tuned....

2008-03-23T18:30:00.000-07:00

So, I'm back from backpacking!! I spent last night preparing a lovely blog post for you all. I saved it on my jump drive but alas, I saved it in the incorrect format. So, I can't open it on this computer. I'm sorry, you'll all have to wait a day or two to get the dl on my trip. I just wanted to write this to let you know that I didn't forget about my blog. I just hit a small roadblock. So, stay tuned for some good stuff in the next couple of days! Happy Easter! :)

Last Post of the Day

2008-03-13T21:01:00.000-07:00

I'm really sorry that I post in these spurts. I just like to do it all at once. It's easier for me, but not as enjoyable for the reader. I apologize.

I got special permission from Stefanie to post these pictures, so I'm going to. :) I think you will all enjoy them. I hope so at least, because they crack me up! The important thing to know before viewing these pictures, is that we didn't plan them beforehand. Stefanie just stuck the camera in front of us, and we each just struck a pose. These kind of photo shoots are fun. I definitely reccommend them to anyone who hasn't yet tried. So, as my liast post for today, and for awhile probably, I hope you all enjoy these wonderful photos.

Take 1.

Take 2. My personal favorite.

Take 3; shaky style.

And take 4. The end. :)

Rockin' the Rocks!

2008-03-13T20:38:00.000-07:00

Neat picture, huh? Too bad, I completely posed for that one! Stefanie was sitting at the top of the cliff snapping pictures of everyone. I was only allowed to move at her command and here, I think I was told to look really intensely up toward the camera but not AT the camera. I think I made a pretty good model...

Wanaka, NZ

This was the view from our campsite. Absolutely gorgeous. Everyday, on our 3-day rock climbing trip, we would wake up and hit the rocks by about 9am. This trip was my first ever experience with climbing real, outdoor rocks. And-- I LOVED IT!! It's such a great challenge, and so rewarding when you get to the top. Basically, there's not much to tell about the trip, other than we did a lot of rock climbing. The stars were beautiful at night, and we learned a bunch of southern hemisphere constellations which was fun. The second day, it was rainy and windy, which makes for an interesting climbing experience... The third and final day was by far the best. I got to climb Tombstone. I don't think you can tell from the picture, but it was hard, straight up, and really high! It was so fun though. Especially when I got to the top, after thinking I wasn't going to make it.

This is Tombstone. And that is me sitting on the top. SO FUN!

The first day while our instructors were setting up our climbs, a group of us went exploring. We waded through a creed and then tried to jump up onto these rocks by the side of the creek without getting wet. After pulling our shorts up as high as they would go, this still proved impossible. But we didn't give up! Through a lot of teamwork, some mud and a little bit of splashing, we all got up so we could take this fantastic picture. As for getting back into the creek? Yeah, it was a disaster. We all ended up...wet.

And PS- I was wearing those striped thermals under the those shorts. In that very position, I succeeded in taking them off while staying completely modest. I know, it's pretty dang incredible! My talents multiply every day... :)

No more surfing: The end of an era

2008-03-13T20:21:00.000-07:00

So surfing ended. Yes, it's sad. But, it is autumn here now. Which means--I do NOT want to be getting in any oceans anymore. And, I did awesomely on our last day, which also happened to be the day we were tested! It was great. Here's just a litte tribut to the great sport of surfing. Of which I am now an expert, obviously...

This is Wayne, the surf master. He went surfing with us every time to show us the ropes. Basically, he's a hippie. This shirt he's wearing here is one of his tamer ones. He's just the greatest though. When we tried to thank him the first day for taking us out, he told us, "don't thank me, thank the universe!" And, that basically defines him. He's an artist and a beach bum, and a really good time.

I took this picture through a cave that we climbed up into at the beach. We saw this whole in the rock and obviously couldn't leave it unexplored so we climbed up and found the coolest little beach shack built on the side of the mountain. It was so cool! But, the best part was the view out the window--to the beautiful beach!

Being the beginner surfers that we are, some waves are a little over our heads still--literally! This picture is an example of this. These girls are contemplating how much they like being alive before they step out into the insane surf. Oh man, that was a funny day. I was in the second group, so I just stood on the beach and watched people try to get out to the waves for about 20 mintues and only get a few feet in the from the beach. These girls were wise to consider the consequences of getting in the water before they dove in.

Unfortunately, this picture doesn't do this beach justice. It was beautiful!! If you know anything about me, then you know how excited I was about the fact that the small island behind us is called Monkey Island. Yeah, for real. :) It was great.

So, farewell surfing. Thanks for a good time. I hope we meet again someday soon.

They don't make clouds like this in the states!

2008-03-13T20:05:00.000-07:00

Welcome to one of the wonders of New Zealand--the clouds. It makes sense to think that clouds are one of those things that are the same everywhere. Not so! Notice these clouds:

Have any of you Americans every seen clouds like this?!? Well, if you have, I guess I need to come live near you. Anyway, I just wanted to share one of the wonders of this small island with you all.

Here's another thing about New Zealand. This one is definitely not as great as the cloud feature but it is still interesting. Kiwis LOVE their barbeques. I have been to... a lot since being here. Probably somewhere close to ten. Anyway, at Mormons Helping Hands day on Saturday, we had a nice barbeque for lunch. The first thing to know about Kiwi barbeques is that they never have buns. Never. Just slices of bread. We thought, ok, it must be because they don't have buns here. Not true!! They totally do. So, we think they are just cheap. :) Anyway, this barbeque on Saturday consisted of sausage, bacon and onion sandwiches. Hmm. If you are questioning the sanity of that combination, you are not alone. I decided to pass on the sausage, I'm not the hugest fan, but I went for the bacon (which is canadian bacon, actually) and the onion. Mostly against my will, the branch president also squirted a nice amount of tomato sauce (basically a less sweet form of ketchup) on my onion and bacon. To my surprise, it was not too bad. Not something I'd want to eat every day, but definitely something that could grow on me.

The Stuff of Life

2008-03-13T19:52:00.000-07:00

It's the simple things in life, the day to day stuff, that really creates meaning in life. For example, the package I received from home a few weeks ago. It was incredible! It took a little money and a little thought, but was a simple gesture that really made my week. Those arch supports are helping by the way Mom--thanks! Having already dwelt on cookies quite a bit, I won't delve into how much I loved getting soft, American cookies in that package as well. And, I've been rationing the Reese's eggs and still have a few left. :) Stef and I were very excited about the bunny that we each got to hatch. We decided to save one for Easter but we already hatched mine! I caused a lot of controversy when I tried to help it out of its shell prematurely, but I'm happy to say that it has grown into a large, healthy bunny, quickly overtaking the glass it is currently soaking in.

Going to church is a weekly activity that is an experience in itself. I finally decided to get a picture of our traveling-to-church outfits last week because they basically define our sabbath day. If you can't tell, we are wearing our church shirt on top, basketball shorts, church shoes and a backpack containing a skirt to change into (assuming you remember to pack it...), scriptures, manuals, etc. What you can't see is that for some reason, there is an unearthly strong headwind every week. Every sunday, without fail, the wind attempts to knock us over on our way to church.

What would life be like without some quality ward/branch service projects? We all showed up to the church last Satuday morning on complete faith. All we knew, is that supposedly, it was "Mormon Helping Hands Day". So heck, we figured we'd show up and lend that helping hand. We ended up at this house, doing a little bit of painting, a little bit of gardening and a lot a bit of what we see us doing here--standing around. But hey, at least I got to wear that neato little bib thing.

And, give us a break on the facial expressions--it was sunny!

And PS-I WON THIS CARD GAME!!! If you don't know what it is from the picture then don't worry about it. Just know, that I have been playing this game for years and I don't think I have ever won it without cheating. Mostly, I think just Megan might understand this one. :)

I'm Proud to be an American, where at least...we eat cookies!!!

2008-03-13T19:41:00.000-07:00

For anyone who has done traveling overseas, it is no real shock to you that the majority of the rest of the world has no concept of a "cookie". They think they do, in their hard, insufficient biscuits, but really, they're missing the point. All 34 of us study abroaders have been suffering from massive cookie withdrawals since being in New Zealand. There are biscuits and Cadbury chocolate bars galore but a simple cookie? Nowhere to be found. To solve this unfortunate problem, a few of us decided to get together one night and make cookies. We actually had a little bit of a cookie bake off. I don't think I've ever eaten so many cookies in such a concentrated amount of time. Yikes. I would not recommend it. But, after a nearly three month dry spell, I felt a small cookie binge was warranted.

Above: the whole group. We biked, against a ridiculously strong wind the entire time, out to Cameron and Tyler's place for our bake off. Their homestays were

so excited. :) The dad actually hovered around the kitchen all night and was usually the first one to sample the cookies. It was fun to see them all so excited about this new treat. For the bake off, Stefanie and I decided on making my personal favorite and specialty--no bake cookies. It was also convenient because we didn't have to fight for the oven. Maggie made chocolate chip cookies, Lisa and Ashley whipped out some delicious snickerdoodles, and Cam and Ty astounded us all with the most amazing peanut butter cookies I have ever had and some pretty great chocolate chip ones.

And....here's what happened after we'd all had a few too many. This was a Saturday night, and all through church the next day I was on a ridiculous sugar high. This was unfortunately accompanied by a massive sugar headache. Not extremely pleasant, but dang those cookies were good. :) So rest assured everybody, we are doing our best, making sacrificing and coming together to make sure we don't forget who we are, where we come from, and the important values that our country embraces. Cookies basically sum all of that up.

Freezing in Paradise

2008-03-04T17:32:00.000-08:00

I really do consider New Zealand a form of paradise. I spend just about every other day on the beach, my schooling involves surfing, tramping, kayaking and the occasional paper. I even take tests on the beach. This post is for all of you who might be getting a little too jealous of me. Just because I spend all of my time outside, does not mean that it is always sunny and warm and beautiful. Well, I take it back, it's always beautiful. For example, the other day they drove us to the beach to go surfing and I looked at them like they were crazy (and they are). I was standing on the sand, wind blowing me every which direction, watching the waves beat down on the beach in my thermals, three shirts, fleece and beanie. "You guys want us to get in the water?" I stammered, disbelieving. That is exactly what they wanted us to do--and that's what we did! Don't get me wrong, it was totally worth it! The things we do here...

This particular picture was taken Sunday. Luckily, we got a ride to church in the morning because it was pouring. By the time we got home, the rain had stopped but it was FREEZING!! I spent the afternoon huddled as close to the heater in the living room as I could be. I kept coming back to the room intermittently to add more layers. PS- I was STILL cold even with all of this on. I even sat and ate dinner in this smashing outfit--complete with the hood. I am sporting my newest kiwi purchase--striped thermals! Not only are they the most comfortable things I have ever worn--they're STRIPED! :)

The bottom line is, for all of you reading my blog wishing you were me here in paradise, you can keep on wishing because it's amazing! BUT--don't forget that here on this little island, summer is winding down and fall is starting up! Besides, how hard core would I be if I never got cold doing any of this cool stuff?

Amendment to my family

2008-03-02T19:33:00.000-08:00

The US Constitution has all kinds of amendments. Twenty-six I think. I'm a little embarassed that I can't remember but anyway, I figured, if all those amendments just make the constitution better, than this amendment to my last post will just make it even better. Dave Giles--the amendment to my family. :) Sorry Dave, it's true. I should have added you earlier. But since you complained, you get to live with this picture of yourself on my blog. :) Here's what I should have said about Dave, in someone's wise words, "Dave, you are the coolest brother-in-law a little sis could ever dream for. I only hope that one day my future husband will be as tall, strong, handsome, and intellectually stimulating as you are. I'm so happy that I have the picture book you and Sara gave me for Christmas as it inspires me daily. I can't wait to see you this summer!!" But really, you are great Dave. Thanks for making my sister so happy! And--I did bring that picture book to New Zealand with me. :)

Family 101

2008-02-24T17:33:00.000-08:00

One of the things I really love about being here in New Zealand are the classes I get to take. I’m not just talking about all of my outdoor classes. I really love the two lecture classes I take; family life and family recreation. These are classes that I never would have taken in Provo. They don’t relate to my major but have everything to do with life. It’s sadly ironic to all of us that here we are, thousands of miles away from our families, and we are forced to reflect and talk about them every day in class. We all have stories about the great things our families do, and often it seems to form into a type of competition; who can share the story that proves they have the best family? I am always tempted to join in this fight but after awhile, I force myself to sit back and realize that for me, there is no competition. I know all of the stories, the trips and the traditions. Every time, my vote is unanimous. I have the greatest family ever. I wish there were words to describe how I feel about them. I know that I have always loved them but it would be a lie if I didn’t say that the distance between us has really made me realize just how much I love and rely on them. What would I be without each of them and the influence they have on me? I guess this is just a shout out to my family in an attempt to make up for all of the times I have forgotten and most likely will forget that. If you guys don’t already, this will teach you to keep tabs on my blog!! :)

Mom and Dad--You always have what’s best for me in mind. I know that behind all the decisions you make and questions you ask, your love for me is paramount. Thank you for raising us to know the gospel and love the Lord. Thank you for showing us how to truly love and appreciate your spouse. Thanks to Dad especially for always staying true to not yelling at his wife unless the house is on fire! Mom, it will never be possible for me to repay you for all you do for me. Thank you for making the sacrifice to stay home with us kids growing up. I believe it made all the difference.

Sara--You probably caught on to this but I always wanted to be like you, especially when you were in high school. Everything you had; every pair of shoes, every article of clothing, every CD, I wanted just because you had it. Thank you for always being such an outstanding example of a great way to live life. I will never forget your kindness for your often annoying little sister.
Jen--Soulmate! I truly feel that we have some kind of a special connection. It seems we are able to understand each other in our miseries, whether it be boys or headaches. J You are always the first person to offer me help and support, and always there at my door to pay me a surprise visit or bring a surprise gift. Those small gestures do not go unnoticed. Thank you for all you do!

Brian--Living so close to you last semester was a blast! I know I’ve always kind of tagged along with you and your friends, ever since high school, but it has meant the world to me. Growing up with your influence and companionship has taught me so much. I should learn a little bit more from your study habits… :) Thanks for being the best big brother a girl could ask for.
Hopefully I didn’t make everybody too jealous by writing about how fantastic my family is, but I just couldn’t hold it in! You guys mean the world to me and I just haven’t been able to get any of you off of my mind as of late. Thanks again and keep reading my blog! :)

Run! The American Girls Are Coming to Attack Us!

2008-02-24T17:28:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, I had the opportunity of participating in New Zealand’s version of Relay For Life. Mags spent all day walking and by the time she dropped home for tea, Stefanie and I were convinced that we wanted to go back with her and Carol that evening. So we did! From about 9 to midnight, we walked around Rugby Park. That’s right, midnight. We had to drag those ladies home too! I was exhausted after a day of cleaning cemeteries and the walking in circles really put me over the edge somehow. I was glad to be able to go though. I still don’t really understand how the whole thing works. Like, I get that the whole point is to raise money for cancer but how walking around in circles correlates to the amount of money raised I haven’t quite mastered yet. However, I have decided that I want to get involved. It’s something I’m going to try and do when I’m back in Provo. I remember I did it in high school once and loved it. Time to Relay For Life again!

Walking around a track at that hour of night, one is bound to see many humorous things but the best one by far that we caught was this man. Nothing comes between a kiwi and his rugby--not even cancer. We followed this devoted fan around the stadium for a couple of laps attempting to nonchalantly capture the best picture of his commitment. At one point, the live band started playing “American Pie”. Stefanie and I, being American, got excited and ran over to the stage. Upon arriving, we noticed a group of about 12-year old girls who seemed to share our enthusiasm for the song as they were dancing wildly. We decided to go over and dance with them. No sooner had we arrived that one of the girls yelled, “Go Americans!” Suddenly excited that we were being thus praised, Stefanie and I both starting yelling, “We’re American!” The girls got pretty excited about that and we danced together for a few minutes.

Being American in a foreign country definitely has its pros and cons. The title of this post comes from one of Mags’ grandsons. We went outside to play with the kids and one of them yelled to his brother as Stefanie and I followed them out of the house, “Run! The American girls are coming to attack us!” That was a new game to me, but evidently one that kiwi children enjoy quite a bit. Unfortunately, when you get past the little girls screaming for you and little boys wanting to play games with you, there’s also some downsides to being American in a place where Americans have quite the reputation. Mostly it just involves people making fun of our accent, looking you over with that knowing “you are an American” look. Nothing we Americans can’t handle. :)

Trust In the Hand of God

2008-02-24T17:19:00.000-08:00

I am a bad kayaker. Well, maybe not. But I don’t like it. I guess I can’t like everything we do here though. I like water. I like paddling fast through the currents, feeling the water splash my face and slosh over my kayak. My fear for one factor of the experience overpowers any and all of these joys, however. When (that’s right, when--not if) we flip over in our kayaks, we are simply to calmly tap on the bottom of our boat three times and wait for the nearest kayaker to come rescue us. From there, usually the person will reach over and perform what is known as a “hand of god” by reaching over and flipping me upright. On occasion, we also use t-rescues where I am responsible for pulling myself upright, using my rescuer as a lever. What they fail to take into account, is that during this time when I am supposed to be “calm” I am upside down, strapped in a kayak--underwater!! On our last day of kayaking, we actually experienced real rapids and eddies. Before each rapid, I would tell myself that if, or maybe when, I flipped, I would not panic, but tap and wait for the rescue. Well, I flipped three times, and bailed three times. I never even took the time to wait, I just got out of that dang kayak as fast as I could. Oh well. On this one thing, I am very satisfied with being forever labeled as a pansy. Or maybe just someone with complete lack of trust in the hand of god.

School goes on however. Our newest endeavor, surfing, suits me just fine. It is right up my alley as far as watersports go and hopefully I will be able to improve the more we go. We also get to start rock climbing this week which is sure to be a good time. For my more academic classes, I continue to be kept busy with lots of readings about families and how to someday have my own successful one. So really, can life get any better than this? I spend half of my week outdoors, learning skills I’ve always wanted to learn. I spend the other half of my week learning eternal truths that will help me have a loving and successful family of my own someday. Every day of the week, I am in the same beautiful, yet mostly undiscovered country. And, when I’m done here, I get to go home and back to regular life while always holding onto and remembering the great things I’ve done here. Can life get any better? I submit that it can not!

To Queenstown and Beyond!

2008-02-24T17:11:00.000-08:00

Queenstown, NZ, the Adventure Capitol of the World. It definitely lived up to its reputation. I partook of the adventure and I am still alive to tell about it! What great news! We embarked on the two hour drive up to Queenstown early last Friday morning. We started the trip off with a bang by driving out to Kawarau Bridge, the site of the first bungee jump ever in 1988 (a good year, I must say). Bungee jumping was awesome. I wasn’t really nervous at all until I stood up, with my feet tied securely together and they made me hop out and hang my toes over a ledge that was about 120 feet from the ground. That was a little scary. But oh man, I would do it again in a heartbeat! I screamed louder than I think I ever have but, I still wasn’t the loudest screamer… The most awkward part of the whole thing was walking around with my weight scrawled in bright red marker on my hand. That’s always a great thing to broadcast to the world.

We spent the rest of Friday exploring the wonderfulness that is Queenstown. I loved that place. Yes, it has tourist town written all over it. But who really cares when you are a tourist? We went in about a million souvenir shops, found some good food and just had some fun out on the town. We stayed in a nice hotel. This may not seem like that big of a deal, but when we are talking about a group of 40 college kids traveling together, anything nicer than a tent is a miracle.
After one long night of screaming girls in my bathtub and birthday parties in the middle of the night, we spent the morning getting breakfast at a bakery in town and yet again, shopping. In the afternoon we went river boarding. For a better idea of what exactly this is, just picture boogie boarding down class 3 rapids. That is what I did. It was fun and challenging. Turns out, I am really awkward once flippers are put on my feet. The guides kept asking me why I was running into the rocks on the side of the river as they pulled me back into the center flow. I thought this was a question I should be asking them. It’s not like I was purposely trying to ram myself into rocks.

By the time we made it out of the river alive, we had enough time to grab a very large, delicious burger before heading back home and collapsing in bed. What a weekend!

2008-02-12T20:07:00.000-08:00

This picture basically describes what I do everyday. New Zealand is an island. This means that the weather is very unpredictable and can change hour to hour. For this reason, if we are going to be gone for the day, kayaking for example, we have to bring sunscreen, thermals, sweatshirts, shorts, pants, sandals, shoes, socks, a towel, food, water... Bringing all of this stuff along in a vehicle wouldn't be too bad but you must remember--my only means of transportation is a bicycle. I usually end up wearing layers even if I don't want to just so I don't have to carry them in my backpack.

I'm being exposed here to a lot of new things here. Most of them are cultural differences like eating a New Zealand shell fish called Paua (pronounced powa). As you can hopefully tell, it looks a little green and I was very uneasy about eating it; mostly because it was green but also because I'm just not the biggest seafood person. Anyway, I tried it and it wasn't so bad. I didn't love it or eat the whole bowl or anything but it was...decent.

Some new things I have tried are things that could have happened at home but just never did. For example, eating mussels. This is another seafood that just by looks and smell alone turns me off. At the same barbecue I tried paua, I was pressured into trying a marinated mussel. It's hard to turn down a group of 15 people that all love what they are trying to make you eat. So, I tried one. It was...ok. Again, not something I'd be in a hurry to do again but, bearable.

That's the update on my recent cross-cultural experiences.

Livin' Life

2008-02-11T20:05:00.000-08:00

Ok. I know I've already written a little bit about how school is going, but I've actually got some experience and some pictures under my belt now so I figured I'd update you all. First off, we started with kayaking. The first day, we just went to some really calm, practically unmoving water and just learned strokes and got comfortable on the water. Today, we went to a river that actually had a little bit of current and learned how to rail, or turn ourselves in the water using our bodies, how to get in and out of eddies, and of course, practiced more rescues. I have to say that I think I've found my biggest fear in life--being upside down in water, stuck in a kayak. Man, I hate it. The fact that someone will save me, and if they don't I can simply pull myself out doesn't seem to quell my fear. Hopefully I will get more used to it soon though.

We also went to a ropes course yesterday. That was fun although not really as much of a rush as kayaking. After a full day of being unstable 40 ft off the ground, I was ready to be done with heights! Mostly, it was just balay prepping and practice for when we actually go rock climbing.

I am pretty much pumped because on Monday, we are going surfing!!! That is going to be a great time. Hard, but fun. This Friday, we are going to Queenstown for the weekend. I can't wait! There's so much to do there.

Kiwi Ingenuity

2008-02-07T19:11:00.000-08:00

Meet the jumping pillow! If you've been reading my blog, you will know that this is the wonderfully kiwi invention that we ran into in Christchurch. I thought it was an absolute blast. Some people, however, had less than optimal encounters with the jumping pillow. You see, on a dry, sunny day, the jumping is just pure clean fun. Add in some rain and wet sand--and the jumping pillow turns deadly. This is an example of the one of things that is so wonderful about New Zealand. I don't quite understand but it's something like they have no liability laws here. Thus, allowing them to be the adventure capital of the world, and put things like the jumping pillow in playgrounds designed for small children.

See what I mean--FUN.

Notice the very small child to the far right of this picture. If college-aged people can't keep from hurting themselves, I don't think the three year-olds should be allowed on this thing.

Afternoon Tea To Go

2008-02-07T15:21:00.000-08:00

Mags and her friend Carol. The best two old ladies around!

A nice perk of going to new countries is the random national holidays we get to enjoy! My first experience with these was Wednesday, or Waitangi Day! We got the day off of school to celebrate the signing of the treaty between the Maoris and the English in 1840. Mags took Stefanie and I to a little town called Riverton. It was a great coastal town with beaches everywhere. We basically spent the day walking around on beaches and picking up beautiful paua shells. It was fun. Mags' good friend Carol came with us too. Stefanie and I had a good laugh about how we spent our day off of school hanging out with two old ladies. :) They are just the best though--and always good for a laugh.

This is Stef and I showing off our big "mussels". Pretty clever, eh? Yeah, it was Stef's idea...

Around 3, we were still out on the road in Riverton and Mags' mentioned that it must be high time for afternoon tea. We watched amazed, as she and Carol pulled tea, coffee, drinks, muffins and assorted fruit out of the back of the car. Good news--even when you are away from home, you can enjoy the benefits of afternoon tea. Oh man. It was funny.

School

2008-02-04T16:36:00.000-08:00

This morning, I went to school. We all met at "Splash Palace", the local indoor swimming pool and park. Then, for 2 hours, we played in the water with kayaks. Can life get any better? So, Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, we have our "Adventure New Zealand" classes which consist of a mixture of kayaking, surfing, tramping, and ropes courses. Then on Thursdays and Fridays we sit in class all day with Mark. Even those aren't bad, so far anyway...I find them pretty interesting. So that's life as I know it right now. Tomorrow is Waitangi Day! Hence, a day off of school. Woot. Pictures to follow...I'm using a school computer and don't have any pictures on my flash drive. I've got some new ones to post here eventually. Until then, take luck!

WARNING

2008-01-29T19:45:00.000-08:00

Dear blog reader,

Sorry. I'm new at this whole blogging thing and it appears that all the entries I have done today are out of order because the ones you write first are at the bottom. Generally, this is a good idea and makes sense. Unfortunately, my last few posts have been about places we visited in chronological order. If you are confused on the order in which I actually visited these places, please refer to my list on the side of the places we have visited. Thank you.

2008-01-29T19:41:00.000-08:00

INVERCARGILL!!

And tada! I’m here. We met up with our lovely homestay, Mags, on Saturday and she is just great. It just feels like being at grandma’s house when we’re here. She takes very good care of us; feeds us much more than is necessary and won’t let us touch the laundry. Mom, you would absolutely love her. She worries and frets over me more than you do if that’s possible. :)

We went to the branch in Invercargill today. We got there a little bit early and I started playing the piano. Unfortunately, I got caught and about five branch members came up and told me that they hadn’t had a pianist in weeks. Yep. I got to play in every single meeting. Hopefully, we’ll be able to spread it around a bit more because I know there are a lot more of us that play than just me.

2008-01-29T19:34:00.001-08:00

GREYMOUTH

We took off from our comfy beds the next morning to make the drive across the country to the west coast. We drove through Arthur’s Pass, stopping in typical fashion every 20 minutes or so (this is about the most obnoxious thing ever, by the way). We stopped for a hike up to a beautiful little waterfall around lunch time and made it to our next campsite by about 4. We spent the evening on the beach and I just walked up and down the beach with Cameron, Tyler, Ashley and Stefanie. We all have a good time together.

We stayed up pretty late that night just talking and looking through pictures. We all went to the grocery store in town that night too to stock up for our 10 hour drive to Cromwell the next day. We all rigged the seating in the van the next morning so that Cam, Tyler, Ashley, Stef and I could all sit together in the two front seats. It was a long drive with again, lots of stopping. However, we got to visit the two really cool glaciers here in NZ; the Fox and the Franz Josef glacier.

Stef and Tyler trying to get the perfect picture.

CROMWELL

There’s only one time when I’ve felt unsafe in New Zealand; that was at this holiday park in Cromwell. Oh man, it was a creepy place. A few minutes after we got there, Tyler and Cameron both cornered me and told me not to go anywhere alone by myself there. We ended up staying up pretty late again looking through pictures in the van and Tyler and Cameron stood guard outside the bathroom while Stef and I brushed our teeth. Cute.

2008-01-29T19:20:00.000-08:00

The bed I got in Christchurch!!!!

CHRISTCHURCH

If I could choose anywhere to live in New Zealand, I would choose Christchurch. It’s a nice medium-sized city that is just nice and quaint. I’m not sure what it was about it exactly, but I just loved it. We stayed in Christchurch for two nights, in beds, and it was great. We timed it perfectly too considering those two nights were the only nights it rained on our whole trip! Can’t beat that. Unfortunately, we all had a little too much fun jumping on what the kiwis call a pillow in sand in their playground. One girl knocked her front teeth out, one girl hurt her back, and Stefanie actually hurt her foot and dislocated her thumb. I was just fine and got back on the next day! We spent all day in town, looking through shops and watching the local busker festival. It was a great time. Sorry, I don't have any pictures of the jumping pillow as of now, but I'll put them on here as soon as I aquire some.

Touring around the city. This is from the top of the belltower in the middle of Christchurch.

Playing in the botanic gardens.

This was in an attempt to take some kind of a picture.

Evidently it didn't work.

The Last Two Weeks Continued.

2008-01-29T14:33:00.000-08:00

According to my blogging mentor, it is a sin to create a post as large as the last one I did. So, I thought I'd break it up a little in light of that new info.

PALMERSTON NORTH

This place is hardly worth mentioning. I think we were there for a total of eight hours. After the hike, we didn’t get to the campsite until about 11pm and then we left at about eight the next morning.

WELLINGTON

We drove to Wellington from Palmerston North and spent a couple of hours in the city exploring the museum and eating lunch before we loaded up on the ferry to cross over to the South Island. A ferry! How exciting. That was definitely a new experience for me. The ride was about three hours and I just read and played cards most of the way across.

We landed in Picton on the other side of Cook Strait. Picton was probably the most beautiful place we’ve been yet. As we drove to the campsite, I had my arm out the window the whole time trying to snap pictures of the beautiful harbor and landscape. The place we stayed at for two nights here, Smith’s Farm, was another winner of a place. They gave us fresh muffins as we pulled in. That was really a treat.

The view from the road to Picton. Gorgeous.

We finally got to go to church the next day in Blenheim. The branch was tiny and it was funny to hear them talk about the week a couple years ago when the BYU group had come through. It was like it was some epic event, the way those guys talked about it. We more than doubled their attendance. Afterward, the branch members fed us sea urchin in the parking lot. I made myself eat some--it was about the nastiest stuff I have ever tasted. Yuck. We spent the rest of the afternoon back at the campsite taking it easy and just hanging out.

KIAKOURA

We hiked some of the Queen Charlotte track the next morning before driving to our nest destination, Kiakoura. We had a beautiful drive this day. It was right along the east coast of the country and we drove past waves crashing against seal-covered rocks for hours. Just another day in New Zealand! The camp site we scored in Kiakoura was one of the most ghetto places I have ever seen. Lucky for us again, we were only there for one night. We picked up early the next morning to take off to Christchurch where…we had beds!!!

I've gotta go, but I'll pick up in Christchurch when I come back! Enjoy these pictures for now!

The Last Two Weeks of My Life

2008-01-29T13:53:00.000-08:00

And as in last, I mean the two weeks previous to right now not like the last two weeks of my entire life. Just to clarify. Ok, brace yourselves for picture and info overload. I might repeat a little of what I’ve included in my previous posts but this way, you’ll get the whole picture. The following is my best attempt at summarizing these last two weeks on the road.

AUCKLAND

The best thing to note about our travels across the ocean is our seatmate on the plane. Meet Matthew. Our good friend Matthew is a homosexual originally from Auckland who now lives in LA with his partner. He went into great detail about his relationship, how his family feels about it and some interesting experiences throughout his lifetime including his teenage years full of drug and alcohol experimentation. As we climbed on the plane, he pulled out a backpack-sized carry on full of nothing but prescription drugs. “Don’t worry, I’m a doctor,” he assured us as he pulled out a few of what he claimed to be the new and more effective form of Ambien. As he drifted off to sleep, he told us that he was also bipolar and suffered from an anxiety disorder. What a well-rounded guy! If you refer to Stefanie’s blog, you might hear about her interesting experience with Matthew’s scotch.

WHITIANGA

We stayed overnight here and went to a beach. The end.

HAMILTON

We didn’t actually stay here but we stopped at the temple on our way down to Waitomo. It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon and we spent some time at the temple grounds with some locals. The best part was (as I mentioned before I think) that there were some kids from New Caledonia there that only spoke French! I got to talk to them for a little while and translate for the group. One of the best experiences I’ve ever had.

These are some locals we hung out with at the temple. We sang and chatted with them.

WAITOMO

Here we stayed in my favorite place of the whole trip--a random backpacker’s lodge called Juno Hall. The people there were amazing and we got to camp there for two nights. We all loved it. Waitomo is a cool place too. We used our group budget to all go blackwater rafting. That was a cool experience. Unfortunately I don’t have any pictures of it since it was in a dark cave full of water. Bummer. The guides were hilarious though and we got to see some glow worms as we floated through the cave in wetsuits and big rubber tubes. I love these kiwis and the things they think up.

Later that same day, we got the completely kiwi experience of watching an angora rabbit being sheared. The best part of the experience for me was watching the little old lady give us a rundown on rabbit shearing.

ROTORUA

The worst thing about Rotorua was that there was too much to do! We all had so many options that we couldn’t make up our minds. I’m sure it’s not hard to imagine how tricky it can be to align the opinions of 34 college students. We again used the group funds to go down the luge. That was a good time. If you’ve ever experienced the alpine slide in Park City, just imagine that but 5x more intense and you’ve got yourself the Rotorua luge.

We were at this holiday park for 2 days. It was another good one, complete with river, paddle boats and ping pong table. Stefanie and I had a few tough competitions. It’s true, Stefanie came out on top in the end but it was probably the most intense ping pong I’ve ever played. The last game even went into double overtime! Anyway, the second day we were in Rotorua, we ended up going to the beach with about half of the group. It was a beautiful beach. It was there that I purchased my first bottle of sunscreen; for a mere $20. That was slightly shocking. This day at the beach also opened all of our eyes to the ferocity of the New Zealand sun. Evidently, there’s a hole in the ozone around these parts and the sun just beats through. Needlesstosay, we all got a little pink but quickly learned the ways of the sun.

TAUPO

As soon as we arrived in our next destination, everyone’s first idea was to go to the beach. There were a select few of us that were feeling rather crisp and decided that it might be a better idea to hang out in town that night. We did a little souvenir shopping, but mostly stuck to window shopping seeing as most things closed down at 4pm.

The next day was one of my favorite of the whole two weeks. We hiked at a place called Tongariro Crossing; probably more familiar to most people as--Mordor!! That’s right, I hiked through Mordor. I don’t know if you can tell from the pictures, but it was incredible. It was about a 12-mile hike that we managed to do in about five and a half hours.

This is the best picture I've gotten this trip so far! (the one above...)

The view from the top.

The South Island!!

2008-01-19T00:48:00.000-08:00

Today we took the ferry from Wellington to Picton on the south island. It is absolutely beautiful here! Better by far than anything we've seen so far. Still no pictures...sorry. But, I'll be in Invercargill and settled in exactly a week from today and I'll get on those pictures first thing for sure. Everything is going great. Sure enough, the camping is getting a little old, but the group is fantastic and we have an absolute blast! That's all I have time for right now but...talk to you again soon! With pictures!!

New Zealand Here I Am!

2008-01-13T18:35:00.001-08:00

Well folks, it's finally happened--I'm here!!! I don't have much time but I just wanted to drop a quick note on here. We got here early Saturday morning and have so far been in Auckland, Whitianga, Hamilton and Waitomo. We're staying at a backpacking lodge in Waitomo right now. They're pretty random places where we just pitch our tents for a couple of nights before moving on to different towns. We spend a lot of time driving old clunky vans with trailers packed with our luggage across beautiful landscapes. I love it. :)

Yesterday, we went to the temple in Hamilton and we ran into some New Caledonians that only spoke French! I got to translate for the entire group. It was definitely one of the coolest things I've ever done. This morning we went blackwater rafting and then watched a sheep being sheared. Pretty great stuff. And of course I have pictures of all of those wonderful events but unfortunately, you're all going to have to wait a couple of weeks until I can get on my own laptop instead of some gracious person's macbook.

Next stop is Rotorua tomorrow morning and then on down the coast to the South. I'll get back to you when I get to Invercargill! So far the consensus--I love New Zealand!! Besides the studying, the trip is great. :) Talk to you soon.

I'm really going!

2007-12-19T14:04:00.000-08:00

The fact that I'm going to New Zealand has been pretty abstract for about a year now. It was always something way off in the future, something to be worried about later. Unbelievably, that time has passed!! Now with a mere 22 days until I leave the country there is an amazing amount that I need to accomplish in a relatively short amount of time. As of this afternoon however, I'm feeling good--I have in my possession my passport and plane tickets! It's really happening. Just one more final to finish up today and then it's time to hit the packing. That is sure to be an adventure. Bear with me as I try to teach myself how to manage this blog thing. It's a very new concept for me and I'm doing my best. Merry Christmas to you all!