Random Days, Exams, and Farewells

Lastly we had exams. I had 4 of them, so like most exam days, they were chock full of studying and procrastinating. Overall they went pretty well though. There were a few highlights in the last few weeks despite lots of studying.
First the All-Blacks (NZ’s National Rugby Team) who played France in Dunedin. A whole bunch of my flat went together but eventually got separated. I met up with a whole bunch of other buddies. The game was quite fun…I had my face painted and a NZ flag served as a cape. A few days later we had an Arcadia Program farewell dinner at an amazingly delicious restaurant. It was cool to have everyone back together in the same room sharing a great dinner.
Speaking of great dinners, the Frisbee team had a similar farewell dinner at Filadelphios, a great gourmet pizza place. Aftewards we hopped over to the sports center and played two hours of disc slightly tipsy and fuller than I cared to be. It was fun as always yet the wrap up hugs and hand shakes was a little sad. The next few days was filled with last nights with people and sad moments at the airport. Right now I’m one of the last international kids here in Dunedin, all alone in my flat. Both Dan and Shan are gone for good, while Emma is over in London visiting family.
Other random notes I just remembered. I went to Sandfly Bay one day to scope out the wildlife. Out on the beach are seals just lounging about and eventually, after
much patience and good timing, a few penguins emerge from the sea to hop up the side of the hill. Was quite cool to see, especially since the Blue Eyed Penguins I saw are the rarest kind. Right now I’m just waiting to go to dinner with a two friends and trying to figure out my weekend. Research starts Monday.
Reflecting on the whole trip now that everyone else is gone is bitter sweet. It makes me nostalgic for those who have left, but also elated recalling all the times in NZ. It has been the best few months of my life.

PS If you want to see all my other photos, check out my facebook which I recently uploaded almost all my photos.

Samoa!

The much anticipated tropical island vacation. So we slept outside of CC on Monday night at my neighbor Jono’s house. They made dinner for us and everything. Such sweeties. They drove us to the airport the next morning where we caught our flight up to Auckland then to Samoa. The plane ride was pretty uneventful, but pretty quick because of friends + movies. We had a brief layover in Tonga where we got our first encounter with a humid climate. Amazing.
We landed in Samoa around 10 where we quickly got through customs and found our bus driver waiting for us. His name was Micah and had a crazy laugh. Fun guy that’d we be chilling with for the next week. It was a 2 hour drive from Apia, the capital, to Taufua Beach where we would be staying in Fales (open air huts). It was pretty hot, but started to rain, cooling everything down. Finally we arrived at our beach pretty late but they had dinner prepared for us. So good. We all ate then found our ways to our beds.
The next morning was pretty early because breakfast was at 8-9. The food they served was delicious and plentiful. Our lodgings included both breakfast and dinner. We usually just bought from them lunch…and drinks.
Overall, there isn’t too much to say about Samoa except that it was the relaxing, beach vacation you’d always dreamed of having. The beach was beautiful, the water clear and warm. The fish would swim around by your legs if you stood still. Also there were snorkeling equipment to rent out which we all partook in and took turns exploring the reefs off shore. There were tropical, colorful fish everywhere. We spent most of the days lounging about on the beach, reading or playing in the water. One day we built an awesome sand-castle dedicated to Paige, may she be praised. Eventually the temple to Paige was inundated by the ocean after a valiant stand against the waves. 4-6 brought on happy hour which was a time for us to come together and sip on fruity beverages. Dinner was served shortly after. On two of the nights there were native dances performed which were nice, but the coolest was the firedancers. They would twirl around a long stick with each end on fire and do all sorts of insane tricks.
The one day that was out of the normal for us was when Micah took us on a tour of the island where we learned about some of the native plants, drank out of coconuts, saw waterfalls, swam in a cave, swam in a pool, went to a market, and played on the sliding rocks. The sliding rocks was the most fun part. They are named appropriately as they are just natural rock formations that form a waterslide. The only downside to the whole trip was some scattered showers (which actually kept it a pleasant temperature) and the fact that the water isn’t drinkable. Thus iodine tablets were necessary. It just made things a little tougher, although who could complain, we were in Samoa.
The trip home was tragic. We had to leave an island paradise to return to our cold flats and exams. The trip home was pretty uneventful.

Mt. Cook and Glaciers

Leading up to this trip was insane. It was the end of crunch time for work, so I had a few final assignments to hand in plus I was leaving for Samoa on the subsequent Tuesday. We had off Monday for the Queen’s Birthday, and I and 8 others (Hillary, Andee, Sara, Michael, Louis, Paige, Nina, and Kris) were off to Samoa on Tuesday for the next week. It was a crazy departure, again late at night because I had to have a Samoa meeting plus pack my bags for the next 10 days. It got done and eventually we made it to Wanaka that night.
The next morning we spent checking out some of Wanaka and then pushing off towards Fox and Franz-Joseph Glaciers. It was a decently long drive into Fox, but the company was top notch. We even formed a band, Five-Ply. Then we stopped in and looked at Fox glacier which was pretty cool. The night we crashed in Franz-Joseph where the next morning we would hike up the glacier. We made dinner and I taught them Bang, which became a nice pass-time for the rest of the trip.
The next day was a little panicked as we couldn’t find Schwartz’ hiking boots or the keys to Estelle. Turns out I had the keys in my bag somewhere, stupid me. Anyways, half the group, Jase, LittleFoot, and Mike were doing the shorter hike, while Gwen and I tackled the full day excursion. The glacier was really awesome. You hike about 45 minutes up through the glacial valley where it used to be but has been receding for the past few centuries.
Once we arrive close to it, we had to swing around the side of it because of falling ice and rock hazards. The glacier sounds alive because it was creaking and dropping small stones and rocks down its side. We took a break before actually mounting the ice-giant to put on crampon and get instructions. The guides have to cut out ice stairs for you to climb so we waited while they did that and set ropes. Glaciers are constantly changing, so new formations appear quite often and old trails disappear. Every two weeks or so the guides find that the glacier is completely different and must cut out different paths. The whole experience was super cool, pun intended, but some of the highlights were climbing up the ice walls, the amazing blue color of the ice/water, a pool that was about 30 meters deep, and the cool ice caves you could climb through. Suffice it to say it was a unique and spectacular time.
Following the glacial walk, we hopped back in the car and to Wanaka where we spent the night. The next day we drove into Mt. Cook National Park and crashed there for the night. We had a good band practice with some Bang. The next morning we did the Hooker trail which lead us to a sweet lake with icebergs floating in it and another trail that lead to a cool view of the tallest mountain in NZ, Mt. Cook. It was a glorious day except that it was too cold for Estelle. Her battery isn’t her strong point, so we tried to push start her after searching for someone with jumpers. Finally, we conceded to calling the nearby Hermitage where they sent someone to jump us for $20.
Finally we headed back to Christchurch to drop me off in order to meet up with the rest of the Samoa crew. It was not Estelle’s day as she had some overheating problems on the way back, forcing us to pull over several times. Eventually we got her cooled down and made it into Christchurch where they left me. I found my way to where the other’s would be dropped off and ran into Louis. The rest of the tale belongs under the adventure of Samoa.

Milford and Kamuda!

So these two weekends saw the bolstering of our ranks by the noble Jeff Kamuda. It was so nice to finally see another face from back in the States and catch up with him. Good times.
Secondly, the weekend brought on the much anticipated Milford Trek trip, involving myself, Spencer, and Marissa. This was doomed from the start. With it being late in the season, snow fall and poor conditions were a realistic possibility. So as the date got closer and conversations between the DOC (Department of Conservation) took place, we found out that there was snow and avalanche warnings. We decided that since none of us had Alpine training, that it’d be better to err on the side of caution. Instead we planned on doing a kayaking trip through the sound.
We left pretty late for Te Anau hoping to get there around 11-12, but fate had another plan. With Marissa sound asleep in the back of the car, Spencer and I were chatting away about anything and everything. In fact, so deep in conversation that we missed our turn to Te Anau and ended up in Queenstown, about 1.5 hours still out of our destination and growing later. After laughing and cursing, we hit the road again, finally arriving in the ever elusive Te Anau. Apparently it is possible to get lost in NZ.
The next day we hopped in the car and headed into the Sound, about a 2 hour drive from the town. We stopped a few times to check out some trails and such. Mirror Lakes was a neat little spot where the still lake reflects the majestic mountains in the background. We also did a short few hour hike into a pretty alpine lake. On the hike in we heard 2-3 avalanches in the surrounding mountains, confirming our fears for the Milford trek itself. After spending some time around the lake, the hour was growing later, so we decided to head back, but again got caught up in conversation and Spencer led us astray. Fortunately, my superb tracking skills found our trail again and brought us safely to the car.
The rest of the drive was scenic, highlighted by the sweet tunnel that leads into the valley where Milford Sound lays. It was a weird tunnel because it wasn’t paved over with concrete on the inside, making it look half finished. The best part was the end where we emerge high up in the valley, looking down at a gorgeous view during sunset. So sweet. Our hostel was right smack dab in the middle of the mountains, which was awesome. We dropped our bags, made dinner, and played a game of scrabble (which I of course won). Marissa cheated, telling us that “quo” was a word while Spencer dazzled us with his vocabulary word, veld.
The next morning we got up early, had breakfast, and waited for the kayaking people. When they arrived they said that it was pretty windy out, thus might be too dangerous to go out on the Sound. And of course, it was. We got our money back, so instead booked a 2 hour cruise through the sound. It was a gorgeous and fun boat ride through Milford Sound which apparently is in the running for one of the new natural wonders of the world, so needlessly to say, its awesome. Despite some hiccups in the trip plans and executions, it was still a fantastic weekend.

Beach Ultimate Tournament-Sleepover Extravaganza!

So we were planning on doing a wicked night on the beach with a BBQ, sleepover, and a “surprise” (which we found out later was a hot-tub) and then an Ultimate tourney the next day, but alas the Dunedin weather prevailed, as it was rainy and cold. Not ones to be discouraged, the Hammer and Bass crew kept the dream alive, heading over to the Godfather’s, Tom Bond’s, house. We brought food for a BBQ and drinks for a fun night. Man o man was it fun. We had a delicious dinner and a better evening filled with games and the like. This solidified the love-affair that the Frisbee team all shared. There were far too many funny moments and stories to recount, but the hot tub picture sums up the night.

Its been such a long time

Oh man, it’s been a while since the last update, I’ve just been pretty busy with a lack of motivation to spend some hours blogging. But alas, the fateful day has come and gone where my fellow international students boarded the homeward bound plane. Things are quieter.
Regardless, its time to play catch up, so I’ll start from where I left off and progress through the weeks Tarantino style…so here we go.

First weekend after break…This is where work started to pick up. I had a rapid series of papers and work to accomplish. I guess I was going to school and that was the first time I was actually forced to spend some time in the library to write papers. That was lame as. I’m actually forgetting exactly what happened in the past few weeks chronologically, so I’ll just post stuff that I remember doing.

I had an excellent overnight trip to Christchurch with Gwen, Naomi, and Erica. We arrived in CC pretty late at night, tired and ready for bed so we just crashed. The next morning we went to a nice café and outdoor arts and crafts market. Saw a sweet statue of “The Fool” with neat quotes engraved around it. One of my favorites was “As the circle of light increases, so does the circumference of darkness around it." ~Einstein. What a poignant thought. Anyways, we spent the rest of the morning driving out on the Peninsula taking in the sights. Was a nice couple hour drive with pretty mountains and such.
Then we made the decision to check out Castle Hill, a cool geological formation. Now that may not sound very exciting but it was quite the contrary. Although I’m getting ahead of myself. Castle Hill is about an hour into Arthur’s Pass, the one I took to get to Wild Foods. What a drastic change snow makes on the scenery. All the mountains were white capped and gorgeous. The drive in was better than I
remembered. We got very luck and saw an amazing rainbow at the edge of cliff crossing a valley. Wow. Then once we arrived at Castle Hill, it was about a 5 minute walk up to the rocks. They were huge. Some of them were about 100 feet tall and probably 50 feet diameter. The place made you feel like you were in a fantasy book. And indeed, this was where they shot the last seen from the first Narnia movie. What a magical place, well worth the trip.

Busy as a Bee

Note: The pics aren't updating now so I'll do a separate pic post.


Its been sometime since I've last updated, not for the lack of adventures more likely the opposite. Lets see, I have about a month of memories to shoot into the blogosphere. So lets just take it one weekend at a time and hopefully I won't forget anything important, although its bound to happen.
First weekend after the Wild Food fest I spent back in Dunedin just living and loving. The highlight of the weekend was twofold. First was a flat-warming thrown by my friend Mike which was super fun and I learned how to play beer die. Good times. The night of partying was perfectly capped with a metal show that I hadn't heard about but go to see Ashes of Eden tear it up. Good times. Second big event was the Highlander's, Dunedin's rugby team, game. Twas a good time, we won although apparently both teams on the pitch were abysmal. I got a picture with the mascotthe Highlander who was fantastic. I got to hold his sword (not sexual). It was a pretty relaxed weekend all in all. I also did a hike by myself up the "Pineapple Trek" outside of Dunedin which was amazing as always.
Next weekend was a big one...NZ Nationals (for Ultimate). Our Dunedin team brought out 10-12 brave souls for a long drive up to Wellington. Our team is Hammer and Bass and we got sweet shirts. Now let me quick show my love for these guys. This Ultimate team is a dream team both on and off the field. They're so much fun to hang out and to play with. Man am I blessed to have found these kids. The actual games at Nationals were just so-so due to extremely blustery conditions. The wind was howling that day (and the next). Despite our stellar team we don't have amazing handlers, so wind was a problem. Even though we didn't win a game in the tourney we won what really counted...spirit. There are too many memories and a lot of inside jokes that arose from the weekend to recount, but we all got nicknames. Mine's Swampy. Don't ask.
Spring/Fall/Easter Break! We've been planning on doing the North Island for a while so we finally got together and formed a trip. The players were... Myself, Hillary, Kris, Mike, and Spencer. In order to get our butts up and around the warmer half of NZ we needed a ride. Enter Estelle De La Feuge. She's our car. $1000 split 4 ways for an '89 Toyota Corona. She's a beauty.
Now armed with a ride we hit the road on Thursday before Good Friday. We drove up to Christchurch and crashed with a fellow ArcadiaNZ. Free rooms are nice. We hit the road early and got into Pichton to take a ferry to Wellington, the capital. We spent the night in Wellington and tried to celebrate Hillary's 21. Little known fact is that NZ, a normally secular country, shuts down completely for Good Friday through Easter. A quiet night on the town brought us to the San Francisco Bathhouse for a comedy show. Twas strange and not very good but still fun.
The next day brought us to the Tongariro (sp) Crossing, one of NZ's Great Walks. The best part about this hike is that it is up a volcanoe which happened to be the one and only Mt. Doom. Man o man was I excited. Armed with a ring, I hiked up and threw the ring into a crater, saving Middle Earth. Check it off the to do list. The rest of the hike was gorgeous and well worth the small drive. Once we got back to our backpackers we cooked up some food and wanted to watch a movie. This is where I stumbled across one of the best surprises in recent memory. I was looking for boardgames and scoped out a wardrobe that might contain games. Upon opening the door Aslan's face greeted me. I finally found it, Narnia. I was so excited I ran in and found a room filled with beanbag chairs and a movie project plus screen. It made my trip. We watched Point Break, a shitty albeit hilarious surfer/FBI movie with Keano and (it gets better) Gary Busey. So happy.
The following day we traveled up to Lake Taupo, the biggest lake in NZ for some fun. We went on a small hike that brought us to a waterfall which was a brilliant blue color. Blue as. Upon returning we found some hot springs that fed into the river in which you can bathe in. Just a natural hot tub on the side of the path. NZ is awesome. We enjoyed a soak then headed back to our hostel where we met up with Lisa Feurerstien, a fellow Hamiltonian abroad in NZ.
The next day brought Spencer and I into a plan 12000 ft above the ground. Skydiving was amazing. You should definitely try it if you get a chance. It was a tandem jump and I was paired up with Freddy, a hardened German dude. He's a guiness record holder and has done over 17000 tandem jumps. I was in good hands. Once again on the ground, we headed up to the Bay of Plenty to relax and spend some time on the beach. Fortunately Kris made a Kiwi friend back in Dunedin whose Mom graciously let us stay with her. Free housing.
The beaches were very nice and the water not too cold. Mike and I built some sweet sand castles that had their own river systems. I love the beach. Our last night there we gathered drift wood and built a bonfire under the stars. We had a few drinks (some of us had more) and had a great time. We all passed out and left the next morning. That was when we got a text from our gracious Kiwi host asking if any of us had peed in a laundry basket. None of us remember such a lude act, so the mystery still remains although we're trying to gather evidence. Fortunately our host thought it was quite funny. No damage done, except for the basket.
Finally we ended up in Waitoma where there are caves to explore. We stayed at a lovely bed and breakfast on top of a hill, which Estelle had trouble with. The caves are awesome but I couldn't bring a camera. There are glow worms on the ceiling that illuminate the top creating a nice atmosphere. We tubed through the caves on a guided tour, although it was overpriced we all had a good time still. Finally we drove basically 20 hours straight down back to Dunedin to arrive on Sunday. Good times, good trip.
Flyers are down 2-1 in the series right now and tomorrow is the next game. Wish them luck! Peace!

Did I eat that?

Well I haven't been updating weekly like I planned. Kinda busy with plenty to write about, but I just haven't been motivated. With that being said I'll provide a short synopsis of the going ons as it were.
I attended the Wild Food Festival in Hakatikia (spelling?) which is about 7-8 hours drive from Dunedin. Its on the west coast of NZ and so we got to drive through the fabled alps. It was gorgeous. Speaking of driving, I got my firsttaste behind the wheel of our rental car, the demon. Twas a fun adventure that took up the whole weekend. We did it roadtrip style, stopping where we felt like there were deserving attractions etc.
At the festival, everyone dresses up in crazy outfits/costumes and you go from stand to stand buying weird sometimes disgusting food. I ate...Huhu Grubs, Deer Heart, Bull Testicle, Kangaroo, Shark, Liquid Sunshine, Rose Wine, Bison, Wild Boar, and Wild Waffle (which were basically waffles, maybe a little unruly, but definitely not wild). Most were not as bad as one would think and often quite tasty. Good times. Also to note that the hostel we stayed at was awesome and we did a nice hike on the way home. If you want to see the slew of pictures from the trip, and my entire trip for that matter, I have them up on facebook because...
I got wireless for the flat. Hell yea. This past weekend the highlight was a Rugby game that we got tickets for which was a fun outing. Also yesterday I put a deposit down for a '89 Toyota Corona which we'll be receiving in a week. Look out NZ I'm on the road. Peace!

PS I cannot forgot two important people we met. Jesse is the first. A cool American backpacker just living the dream in NZ for a few months before college starts who accompanied us on our Wild Food Festival extravaganza. Also Stacy, a mid 30 year old Kiwi who befriended us in a junk yard. He was hammered. He cracked beer open with his teeth and chased us around. Also he did a head beer. I must note that for what he lacked in sobriety he made up for in perseverance because man he must've whacked that beer on his head at least ten times before it started to spray. Hilarious.

Here's why you should visit

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New Zealand is amazing. To start, as I am typing his I am eating a bowl of Hokey Pokey ice cream. A Kiwi treat, Hokey Pokey is vanilla with honey comb/honey mixed in. Maybe my new favorite ice cream. If that isn’t enough to make NZ great here’s a short list of reasons…

1. About a thirty minute walk away from Dunedin is Mt. Cargill, a lovely 3 hour round trip hike that has stunning views of the town, ocean, and surrounding mountain scenery. Right in my own backyard. Me and some friends decided to do this hike last week and we happened to pick a gorgeous sunny day. Sweet as.

2. A wave of sunny days it translates to ocean waves. Beach time! I hit up the same beach again on Wednesday and it was quite fun. No surfing this time because the rentals were all used up but still a nice day in the sun. I even ventured into the Pacific without a wetsuit to do some body surfing. After all your body goes numb the water isn’t that bad.

3. I went to a late night metal show on campus, so there’s a small underground hardcore music scene. The night included three NZ bands, Ashes of Eden who opened, Made in China, and Incarnate. The latter two are kinda metallica like metal so it’s not quite my style. The opener and local heroes (they go to the Uni), Ashes of Eden, are quite awesome. A mix of scream and sing with some nice metal twists make them perfect for me. I’m going to go pick up their EP from the drummer’s flat once I text him. Note that they don’t have a myspace and there’s another Ashes of Eden metal band that isn’t so hot when you search myspace.

4. We traveled this weekend on a group activity weekend (so that means the Arcadians) rolled into Queenstown. It’s about a 3-4 hour bus ride which stopped a few times for lunch to get lunch (I had meat pies which are good despite the name) and to a local fruit stand that had amazingly delicious fruit. Once we arrived it was rainy, which has been the only downside for this trip so far, so we didn’t get to go luging (like an Alpine Slide in the States). Instead we just kicked it around the hostel for the rest of the night. Queenstown is nestled next to a big lake and in the middle of the mountains. I named it Rivendell.

5. The next morning we went on an 8 hour hike called Routeburn (or something like that). Giving further proof that this place isn’t real on the bus rise to the trail head we saw numerous rainbows (both full ones and double ones). I kept expecting to see mythical creatures or dinosaurs walking around this magical place. The scenery was breathtaking. It’s right by where they filmed the Misty Mountains from LoTR and the whole last sequence in Fellowship of the Ring. Despite the misty/rainy weather it didn’t detract from the experience at all. The hike was about 13 miles roundtrip so we were pretty beat when we returned.

6. Sunday (today) gave us a taste of Queenstown that makes it such a tourist attraction, extreme sports. So to start off the day we did something called jetboating. This involves your group getting into these big, red, fast boats that whip you through a rocky canyon. The drivers are amazingly good and slide you within a few feet of these big rocky cliffs. Not only are they fast and dangerously close to the walls, but every now and then the driver can make the boat do 360’s. Needless to say it was pretty sweet. Then came the big even, Bungie Jumping.

We had the option to do a bridge jump, which is the first bungie jump in the world, or a bigger one. Go big or go home. Although the bridge jump allowed you to be dunked into the river below, which is a gorgeous blue color because of the glacier melts. The bigger jump, Nevis, is three times higher than the bridge jump, a whopping 134 meters (about 450 feet) up. This jump is from a suspended gondola car that you take a short ride out into the middle of this canyon with a river far below. Even the bus ride to the gorge was somewhat scary with a windy road that teeters on the edge of the cliffs. Once we were all harnessed up, we went out to the big platform-gondola thing. It has some glass floors so you can view your fate. I wasn’t that nervous despite my previous incident. Once they call your name, you get into a chair that resembles a dentist chair near the edge. They strap you in (the bungies around your ankle and again to your harness). Then you kinda waddle out to a small platform that overlooks the gorge with nothing in front of you but open air. That part was a little scary. With an attendant holding your back so you don’t fall forward, a count down progresses and then off you go.

I had my arms out in a crucifix-esque position (I’m a good Christian and figured it’d help my chances) and took a giant leap off the edge. The freefall is unreal. It’s just you and the ground for a few seconds as you plunge into the chasm. Not a thought crossed my mind because I was so in awe of what I was doing and just caught up in the moment. After a few second straight freefall, the bungie starts to kick in. Scary enough as is but for me but it felt a little loose around my ankles, yet still held up much to my relief. You bounce a couple times until your hauled back up to the gondola. It was amazing and the biggest thrill of my life. I definitely suggest it if you get a chance. After the whole group went, we hopped on a bus and returned to lovely Dunedin.

7. We went out to eat at a Thai restaurant after we exited the bus and dropped off our stuff. Since NZ is pretty close to Asia there is a lot of Indian, Thai, Japanese, and Chinese places. It’s all so delicious. Even the regular food is better than home. Everything just seems more fresh (kinda like in Germany, but the food is just better). Also since Dunedin is a big college town there are many options.

It was an amazing weekend. Hopefully soon I will return to Queenstown to cash in my voucher to do the luging. Additionally I will hopefully go white water rafting and ultimately sky dive. Thankfully I returned in one piece with no accidents. Still alive and kicking.

Oh, one more thing. My friend had pretty big party at his place over the weekend. There’s a tradition at Otago to burn couches and furniture. I experienced my first taste of this there where a few chairs were torched. Cops showed up (but didn’t break up the party, kinda silly) and the firemen put out the blaze. Additionally as I was walking over to the party a large gathering of people were down the street surrounding something. Upon further inspection they had flipped a car. Crazy kids.

So it begins...

The sun shines and it is good. I think its crazy how much weather can change my mood. So far in Dunedin its been 70% crappy rainy-ish cold weather, although recently the sun has been shining reminding me that it’s summer here. Don’t get me wrong, even in the rain I’ve been happy, but when the sun shines I cannot stop smiling. The Kiwis (New Zealanders) assure me that it’s not usually like this.
So the flat is pretty sweet. It’s got a common room joined with a nicely sized kitchen, 4 bedrooms (we all have our own room), a small bathroom with just a toilet and sink, and finally a bigger bathroom with a shower, washing machine/dryer, and sink. It’s set back from the street a bit and we also share the house with another group of flatters, so we enter through the back of the house. There’s a nice little lawn for the kids.
Otago (my university) is not far and the center of campus is about a five minute walk, making it a pretty sweet location. It’s a pretty school, with neo-gothic architecture. There’s a nice river that runs through campus and by my flat. Sweet as (that’s the Kiwi version of cool). I really want to and probably will tube/raft down it. I’m excited.
I’ve just been getting acclimated with the town (aka going to bars) and exploring the area. It’s “O”-week right now which is Orientation week. This translates into a week full of debauchery. It’s a big drinking fest with some musicians and entertainment that come to campus. It’s been pretty fun but classes and a semblance of a schedule will not be bad. We had surf lessons the other day (happen to be the first awesome sunny day since my arrival). The beach is about a 10 min bus ride from Dunedin and is amazingly beautiful. Surfing was a blast and a half. I even got up on the board a few times. After surfing we played some touch rugby on the beach and then went to a cliff side that overlooked the water to have lunch. Man o man was it gorgeous along with the fact that the food here is damn delicious.
Additionally, I’ve been playing Frisbee about 3 times a week, along with tennis, soccer, etc, regardless of the weather. The ultimate team is a bunch of good guys and I’m making some friends I think through that, beyond the Arcadianz (we’re named Arcadianz, the nz for New Zealand). We hiked a nearby mountain, about a forty minute trek to the trailhead then a 3-4 hour roundtrip hike. The sight from the top and along the way is breath-taking. It reaffirmed my choice to come here.
Classes started this past Monday, so vacation is over. I’m taking 4 classes and the 3 I’ve had so far seem pretty engaging. We’ll see what happens once work starts to pick up soon. We’re also getting internet soon in the Flat which is very exciting because that means I won’t have to tramp down to the library to check my mail. Speaking of mail, if you want a post-card, letter, etc please get me your mailing address so I can send you stuff. After class I think I’ll be going surfing again, so we’ll see how it goes. Oh and there are sharks here (great whites among others I think) although most people I talked to say that its not a big problem, although Kiwis are notoriously laid back about that kind of stuff. Wish me luck!

Fuck Zorbing

The story continues. Warning, this one is long because it recounts a jam packed orientation. If you have a short attention span skip down to the Zorbing story. Last I left off, I was chilling out in LAX and Andee had just arrived. I met up with her and Hillary shortly joined us and I found the giant group of people that were part of the Arcadia Crew. Greeted by friendly faces and welcomings, the group immediately seemed friendly and people that I could get along with. It was much like those first days of college where for the most part everyone is outgoing and trying to make as many friends as possible. I spent the rest of the time hanging out with these new found friends then before I knew it the plane was boarding.

I ended up next to Andee and the window seat so it was nice to have a familiar face for the long flight. The plane was gianormous and had TV’s in the back of all of the seats which helped pass the time. There were something like 80 movies, a bunch of TV shows, and games that were all free. The take off was weird because the airport is right by the water, so when we finally left, LA is this glowing expansive myriad of lights which ends abruptly where it meets the Pacific. There was a weird isolated feeling due to the complete blackness of the ocean, yet the good company and movies made it all go by quickly. I watched two Simpson’s episodes, 12 Angry Men, and most of W. Got about 6 hours of sleep and it was all over before I knew it.

We landed in Auckland, NZ which is the largest city in New Zealand boasting 1.5 million people, making up almost half of New Zealand’s population of 4 million. The airport was nice and we go through customs relatively quickly. The big deal in NZ is the BioSecurity so they make sure you don’t have any food, animals, plants, or dirt from where ever you are traveling. After getting through all that, we piled into a bus which took us to our first hostel. The weather was in the 70s with high humidity.

After checking in, we quickly left to go check out a nice beach that has a hill that overlooks the city and the water. Awesome view and beautiful blue water. I also got my first taste of the pacific when we all went for a swim. It was a nice refreshing plunge after the long flight. The plants are really cool there. The trees are massive and are in interesting shapes and patterns. The limbs are more tangled and start lower on the trunk which make them perfect for climbing. Also there are more palm plants and ferns.

Next we went to a miniature aquarium place where we saw penguins, sharks, fish, and a giant sting ray. It was a cool little place. Then we hopped over and grabbed dinner at a pizza place, which serves gourmet pizza with lots of interesting combos. Apparently that’s all the rage in NZ. After making sure we stayed up all day so we could beat the jet lag quickly, they let us retire to our rooms around 7. Instead of trying to sleep, myself and a few others hit the town to see the sights. Stayed up until around 11-12 (missed a fire alarm wake up, score one for me) and fell asleep rather quickly.

The next day we packed up our bags and headed outta Auckland for Rotorua, about a three hour drive south east. We drove through lovely rolling hills with lots of pastures and farmland. It was the area where The Shire was shot for LoTR. We stopped at a small town for lunch which was proudly self proclaimed Hobbiton. Quite cool and snapped a few shots of some of the cooler pieces, like the Gollum statue. Tried a NZ staple, the meat pie which is basically a pot-pie filled with whatever meet, gravy, and cheese you desire. Not too bad.

Finally we arrived in Rotorua which reeks of sulfur because of all the geothermic activity. We went to a “farm show” with loads of different sheep and they sheared a sheep right in front of our eyes. Also they showed off how a herding sheep dog and how it worked. Sounds lame but was really cool. We also did a quick hike through a park that had some of the local fauna. We settled into a really nice hotel and grabbed some delicious dinner food. They don’t tip in NZ which is clutch when going out to eat. We hung out on a beach for a while and then went to a geothermal spa at night. The next day we saw some of the sights, a boiling mud pit which only needed dinosaurs to be complete. Went to a geyser which shot up 20 feet into the air and did a tour of the surrounding area. Apparently the whole place, including Rotorua is a caldera volcano spanning 50 km in diameter. Quite impressive with some really unique geological sights to see.

To cap off the day we went Zorbing which is an extreme sport activity started in NZ. This is where it kinda got crazy. We were all really excited to try this sport. You and two others get into this giant plastic ball filled with some lubricating water and roll down a hill. Sounds simple and nice right? Not so much for me and my group. First we all laid on the hill and let it roll down across our backs then got in line to head up the hill and subsequently back down. I went with Andee and my friend Justin. After a quick ride up the hill, we jumped into this giant ball. We had talked earlier that we’d see who could stay up the longest before succumbing to gravity. We started off alright, but after a few seconds things got bad. The inside bubble developed a rip in it, tossing us into the outer one that has a mess of cords that keep the Zorb shapely. So instead of a smooth ride down the hill, we were getting slapped and cut by these wires. Not to mention the fact that we were slamming into each other. The scariest part was when my head and neck almost got caught up in the spinning wires, which in hindsight was very close to serious injury. The ball deflated about halfway down and we eventually stopped after a terrifying ordeal. Andee was laying at the bottom of the Zorb and I quickly went over to ask if she was ok, which much to my chagrin she said no. Fortunately she was just upset from the freak accident. Justin was hanging by the cords and dropped down to safety. We all walked away from the accident with a whole bunch of cuts and bruises. They said it was only the second time this has ever happened. After filling out some paper work we were given free T-shirts as an apology. I got my ass kicked by a zorb and alls I got was this lousy T-shirt. I’m just thankful everyone walked away. I had a good bruise/scrape down my face, on my leg, neck and arm. Andee definitely got the worst. That night we went to a Maori (the indigenous people) village where we were entertained with traditional stories and dances. Also they cooked a mean dinner for us. Cool people with an interesting culture.

The next day we parted ways with the kids who were studying at Auckland, and the Otago group flew down to Dunedin (pronounced Do-need-in). It was a quick flight with an hour layover in Wellington. Dunedin has been unseasonably cold, needing long pants and hoodies with unrelenting rain. Still is a pretty place. My flat is nice, with a big room to myself. I have three flat mates, Emma my Kiwi host, an American named Dan, and a Canadian named Shannon. We all get along well. The past few days have been spent getting acclimated with the area and living situation. Everyone is really nice and we’re all having a blast. Finally it got warmer today and I played Frisbee with the club here at Otago. Things are good. Until next time.

The Journey, Not the Destination

Lets start by saying that the title of the blog is a nerd sniping trap, so if you understand where its from...NERD. Anyway, I left C-wood early this morning (although I'm so confused about time right now it could've been two days ago) and flew out of Philly. The flight to LAX had a surprise stop at Las Vegas, although the friendly folk at Southwest wouldn't let me off the plane to gamble or buy a Valentine (hooker).
Took about 5-6 hours. On the bright side, the crew of the flight were quirky in that the flight attendant sang to us a few times and had a trivia question with a prize! How much fuel (in gallons) does it take to go from Philly to Las Vegas (~1900 miles)? I was lucky enough to guess the closest, although I must admit the flight attendant helped me cheat. The answer is 4300 gallons and I guessed 4500. I won a crown of peanuts, I'll post a picture later, and a barf bag full of snacks. Also, it being Valentine's Day, we got a complimentary drink, vodka and cranberry. Oh, the trip is off to a bang. It was the highlight of my day, accepting my crown in front of a tired, irritated plane. They clapped regardless.
I had been sitting with a couple with whom I chatted with about whatever for some of the flight, but after the stop in Las Vegas I moved seats in order to give some space to them. I was then accompanied by a friendly couple from Nebraska, although the woman spilled beer on me. Made me miss Hamilton. Regardless of her less than stellar coordination, she and her husband were pleasant company for the short jump from Las Vegas to LA. It's bright, sunny, and warm. Just like Cali should be. The kicker is that I will be sitting in the terminal from 2:30-8:30 waiting for my flight. Andee just arrived and Hillary is no where to be found. Hope she's ok. Thats all I got. Oh, and for shits, this is a picture we took of Dan two nights ago trying to investigate how Skullface works.Peace. Miss you all already!