ANZAC Day, Haircut, and Wilco

So the excitment since spring break has died down slightly, but the fun times keep on rolling. A couple of great happenings over the past few weeks, so if you have the time, i would absolutely love to share them with you.

On April 25th, ANZAC day was celebrated here in New Zealand. what does ANZAC stand for, you ask? well of course it stands for “Australia New Zealand Army Corps.” It is a day observed in remembrance of the memers of ANZAC who died during WWI. I heard about this and i thought, “my, what a cultural experience, i will have to partake in this.” Little did i know that this involved going to a dawn ceremony in front of parliament. I dont know if you realize how early dawn is, but its before the dun comes up. Though, the alarm rings, and i rise, wipe the sleep out of my eyes, the shaving razor’s cold, and it stings (not really, but i couldn’t resist the monkees lyrics). It was a really neat ceremony, a lot of people turned up for it being so early.

You could call it inspiration, or just an excuse, but after that day i decided to embark on a journey of my own. A Haircut. Now this was no easy task, as I do not like getting my haircut ever, and when i do get it cut  i like it to be someone i’m confortable with. well at the encouragement of some friends (they all concurred it was getting out of hang) i journeyed out to get a haircut. I found a place called Snips which was advertising a 15 dollar haircut. Hot damn what a bargain. i walked in and said i needed a haircut to which the nice lady responded, “yea, i can tell.” Now generally when i get my hair cut when its this long i will ask for an inch and a half off. Well once again i was bamboozled by the metric system. She did not know what an inch and a half was, so i had to get out my phone and convert is to roughly 3.8 cm. once these semantics were sorted out i also inquired about a beard trim, to which she replied, “you know what, you seem to need it bad enough that ill give it to you for free.” So SEE. if you let it grow long enough, people will cut your beard for free…..just sayin

the hair cut went off without a hitch, but the beardcut was a different story. When the clipper repeatedly got stuck, the nice lady informed me that beard hair, when dry, is as strong as copper wire. which explains my recent discovery of my beard being able to hold spoons in it. We ended up having to start with the biggest clippers she had, and slowly chisel away at the beard, layer by layer. but alas, i am now a slightly less grizzly version of myself

After this endeavour (see how i spelled endeavour with a “u” eh? eeeeeh?) i was satisfied, but nowhere near close to the satisfaction i would feel after seeing my favourite (eh?) band Wilco. They played for 3 and a half hours and sufficiently melted my face off. if you have not heard Wilco live, i cannot recommend it highly enough.

Other than that nothing terribly exciting to report. Only 2 months left, so ill be sure to try and cram as much in to that time as i can

2010
05/04
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How i spent my fall break (which was in April)

Its been a bit since my last post, and that is because i was waiting for something BIG to write about. Well my dear friends, this trip i took has definitely been the biggest. Two weeks around the South Island, no bed, no showering, 5 other dudes……can you smell the magic from there….its quite pungent

So the trip started with my fellow Wellington comrade Greg, and his friend visiting from home, Davey, hopping on the interislander ferry to take us from the north to the south island. It was early in the morning, it was crowded, and the ferry had probably 300 cows it was transporting (who’s smell proved to be an ironic foreshadowing to my odorous state at the end of the trip). The Ferry drops us in Picton, a lovely bay down, where we almost immediately hop on a bus to christchurch. We spent the night in christchurch, nothing too mindblowing to report from there. Did see a japanese man with dreadlocks contact juggling (look it up, its pretty cool). The next morning we got on our bus to Dunedin where we would meet up with the rest of our adventure crew.

Our bus driver on this leg of the journey was quite pleasant, so pleasant that he’d interrupt your nap with VERY pleasant facts about the areas we were drive through. Where was the birthplace of frozen meets? well know i could tell you it was in New Zealand. Where does the name “Dunedin” come from? Well of course it is the old scottish word for “Edinburgh.”

Dunedin was nice enough, but we only stayed there for a couple hours (maybe 2). We met up with Tim and Davis, Greg’s roommates from back home, and Paul, who also goes to school with Greg and Tim. They are all from California, so i tried to represent the east coast as best i could. it was kind of like Biggie v. Tupac…..except with 6 of the whitest guys you will ever meet.

So After leaving Dunedin we head to queenstown, the adventure captial of the world. We ate “Fergburger” which quite possibly the great burger place ever created. We will return here later in our tale. We spend the night on the lake, wake up to a glorious view, and then went to jump out of a plane.

Skydiving was first on the agenda. At 820am, we loaded into the “NZONE” van, and got trucked out to a place where large men push you out of planes. From 12,000 feet is spun and flipped down to safety. After the initial free fall, my instructor pulled the parachute and we began gently floating back down to the ground. Queestown was definitely the place to do this, only there was one small snafu. We were approching the ground, say 500 feet up, and i hear my instructor say “we’re not gonna make it.”

Now, i’m not a professional skydiver, nor do i plan to be, so i quickly responded with “what the hell are you talking about,” said with the intonation of an 11 year old girl. He qualified that we weren’t gonna make it to the landing spot, so we landed in the bushes about a quarter mile to the right. we had to wait for someone to notice that happened to come help, so i had some quality time with my instructor.

After this adventure, i thought, “i’m not satisfied.” So i proceeded to the second highest bungy jump in the world. Seeing as Bungy was invented in queenstown, it seemed appropriate. You can see the picture on facebook and the video of it posted there to, so itll speak for itself. (here’s the video link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OusCol6QmVk) Tough to describe it. When you first jump, your body think you are killing yourself so it tenses up, but your mind knows its not so it freezes it. And as soon as you feel the first bit of tension on the bundy cord….its just shear euphoria. i HIGHLY recommend trying it out.

Fresh off the adrenaline rush, that night the gang drove up to wanaka, about an hour away, to partake in a night hike through Mt aspiring national park. This is a park where sheep and cows run free. pretty cool to turn your light on and see roughly 300 sheep gawking at you (also strangely terrifying). The Next morning we did some hikes around there, and then drove back to queenstown and ate more Fergburger. We discovered that you can ADD meat to any burger, so we all enjoyed a burger with beef, bacon, and chicken on it, as well as all the fixins. Simply divine.

THe next day was the start of the Routeburn Track. one of New Zealands 3 days great hikes. Best way for me to describe is just to direct you to my pictures on face book. But it simple terms, it started like Jurassic Park, the moved into Lord of the Rings, and then finished in Avatar. breathtaking views galore. After we finished this hike we went to Milford Sounds, the most photographed place in New Zealand.

Now, i’ve always been one for the aesthetically pleasing. I’ve been emotionally moved by a good work of art, or use of colors in a movie. Landscapes have never quite gotten me in that way. Then i saw the Sound at sunset. Literally i thought i heard music. It was unbelievable. and experience that will never be forgotten. I thought the views couldn’t get any better, but the next day we climbed up to Gertrude Saddle and the sound may have been topped. me and group stood in awe for about an hour, nearly silent, basking in the glory. We were so emotionally and physcially spent by the end of it…..we drove back to queenstown to get more fergburger. When they start recognizing at fergburger you really feel like you’re at home.

THe next was to drive about 10 hours north to nelsom to kayak the abel tasman seas. Along the way there were many stops, such as jumping into a waterfall with the coldest water you could imagine, seeing the pancakes rocks in punakaiki(which you could not eat), Seeing the most beautiful sunset in the world (they somehow kept topping themselves).

When we arrived in Nelson, it was aorund 11pm or so and couldnt find anywhere to camp. After an hour or so of looking, we decided to sleep, all 6 of us, in the small van named serena we’d been driving around in. Let me tell you, it is an experience that will not soon be forgotten…..no matter how hard i try.

Soon after this very odd experience, we began the Abel Tasman Coastal Track. Now, instead of being lame and just HIKING the whole track, we decided to rent kayaks and do most of it by sea. you know what that means……SEALS

there were seals (AND SEAL BABYS) o so much fun. such an awkward animal. yet so adorable. after two days of kayaking ans sufficiently blasting my pecks, we hiked the rest of the way.

We were then dropped off in Nelson, greg and i were back to wellington, and the adventure was over. 2 weeks that i will never forget. definitely check out the pictures on facebook, i got some pretty good ones.

until next time

2010
04/19
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Tongariro Alpine Crossing….and more playgrounds!!!!!

So i’m well into the grind of school and life here in Wellington. I’m starting to get into a routine with classes and work for them. I have a bunch of assignments at the end of the month that are being pondered over and have convinced myself its not a good idea to sit down and start writing them until i’ve fully formulated what I want to write in my head (just like home!) But seriously……itll get done i suppose.

My next big adventure was going up a couple hours north of Wellington to Tongariro National Park and doing the Alpine Crossing. It’s one of the most famous and most popular one day treks in New Zealand so i figured…..i gotta get me some of that. 8 of us took the trip up on friday. We rented a van for the trip (they let people like me rent vans here…..what a country). This meant that I got to drive…..ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE ROAD. It was quite exhilarating at first, but alas the novelty wore off quickly. After twice turning on the windshield wipers instead of the turn signal and having brief moments of shock and awe when I looked to the right and the window was right there and i looked to the left and someone was sitting there, i became comfortable and we carried on.

We got stuck in traffic on the way there, and the traffic builds up here as there aren’t really any interstates, just country roads so when a flock of sheep wander into the road it can cause some chaotic pandemonium. We rolled into the town of National Park, New Zealand around 1130 (my theory is when setting up the town someone was about to turn in the necessary forms and realized they had not picked out a name and the office was closing in 5 minutes, and naming the town “National Park” was the best that they could come up with). We stopped at a hostel to ask where there was a place in town we could set up some tents for the night. They apparently thought we were much more desperate than we actually were and allowed us to set up our tents for free outside of the hostel.

The next morning we went to the starting point of the crossing. The crossing take you through 3 volcanoes, all of which served as the setting for Mordor and Mount Doom in Lord of the Rings (look for some great gollum poses in the pictures). The trek started off harmless enough, walk up some hills, walk down some hills, over a few rocks, nothing crazy. Then we hit the devil’s staircase. yea…..its exactly what it sounds like. hundreds and hundreds of stairs going up the side of a mountain. You’d get to the top of one staircase……then there’d be another twice as long waiting for you. Some sort of cruel magic trick. I made it up only to find out this was the “easier” part of the ascent. Next we walked through a giant volcanic crater and saw my next task, reaching the summit. This is where it got REAL fun.

THe wind start blowing as we start to climb. Nothing crazy at first, if i had an umbrella it MIGHT have blown inside out. But then what occured is what the fancy scientists would call “gale force winds.” I could lean forward and not fall because i was supported up by the wind (I looked like Michael Jackson in the video for “Smooth Criminal”). But this was all made better because when i made it to the top, i made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Why is this so important, you might ask dear reader? Well its because I made a PB&J at 2500 meters up. EH? EEEEEEEHHHHHH?

Other than convincing myself my toes were going to fall off from blisters, the trek down was just delightful. First I got to “skreet Ski.” Bascially the ground is very finely ground up rock, almost feels like soil. and what you get to do is slid down on your shoes until your foot get buried and then you pull it out and leap again to more sliding fun. Many other beautiful sceneries would follow, the emerald lakes being my favorite. I’ll be putting up my pictures tomorrow.

Once we made it to the bottom, 20k and 7.5 hours later, our crew departed for home. Now my dear friends, you may remember me talking about the glorious playground we found in Rotorua. Well on the way home we found ANOTHER great playground. This one didn’t have as many spinning death traps though. This park had mostly large nursery rhyme themed fun. Anyone reading from the Baltimore-Washington Area, you could compare it to Cabin John park before the nursery rhyme stuff got taken down because kids kept getting hurt. The great thing in new zealand is that they don’t tear down parks jsut cuz some dumb kid gets hurt! Other highlights of the park included a giant dinosaur slide, a castle, and a zipline that would never be allowed in American playgrounds without supervision. it was glorious.

Now i am back in Wellington, at the library doing some reading and cathing up on some TV Shows that i’ve missed. Until next time i bid you adieu

2010
03/14
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First week of classes and cultural differences galore

So its saturday here and i’ve just completed my first week of classes here at Victoria University of Wellington. Nothing TOO mind-blowing happened classes wise, but I have made some delightful observations about them. Shall we?

My first class is Media 103, Popular Media Studies. I was supposed to take a 200-level media class (you know, being a 3rd year and all) but that had a time conflict so i was in this one. Filled with 350+ first year student and a Dutch lecturer named Joost (unfortunately it is pronounced like “yoast,” i was hoping to eventually start a chant for when he enters the rooms yelling “JOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOST.” But so id life. First year students here are just as neurotic in classes as first year students back home. The girl next to me wrote down everything the teacher said (including his name, where he’s from, how long he’s lived in New Zealand, and where his degrees are from) and she looked at me bewildered at the fact i was not imitating her behavior. the class should be quite easy. In NZ there are usually only 3 assessment per class, meaning you only turn in 3 things the entire term. This class has two 600 word essays and a 1500 word essay…..i think i’ll live

My other classes are film studies courses: History of film and criticism, East Asian Cinema, and Auteur Study. All of them seem great, auteur study we’re watching every tarantino and Almodovar film, should be great. Though it is taught by a woman of ambiguous nationality with little to no personality, but when you have a good answer she says its ‘brilliant’ and it makes you feel fine and dandy. The history of film class is taught by an older, australian patton oswalt with hilarious diction, and east asian cinema is taught by an american…..kind of anti-climactic.

Other than courses I’ve been culturally adjusting to life in Wellington pretty well. Still get homesick from time to time but overall alright. My flatmates are very, there are owen and claire, who are kiwis, Liz, who’s an american, and Alex, who is Welsh. We all seem to get along very well, some strong personalities but nothing that we can’t handle.

But now, here are some cultural differences, particularly phrases, that have blown my mind since i’ve been here:

  • THe preferred way to express delight or excitement for something is to say “sweet as.” sort of an equivalent for awesome or excellent. “As” can also be added to the end of pretty much any word. “Aw man, i am hungry as!” “That guy looked like he was angry as!”
  • People are so much more polite here. If i said, “hey you wanna go to the movies.” if you didnt want to instead of saying “i dont want to” you say “I can’t be bothered with movies today because…” and then you give a legitimate reason
  • All candy is called “lollies” because apparently they want pick the most whimpy name they could think of
  • the center of a peach or a plum is the “stone” not the “pit.” I kept trying to tell them that a stone is a rock off  the ground, but they wouldnt listen to reason
  • “cheers” means hello, goodbye, thank you, your welcome, and interestingly enough not for clanging drinks together
  • this one is very troubling, a brownie is a brown chocolate cookie, but cookies here are called biscuits (i felt like a dog when i was offered a biscuit). what we call brownies are called American Brownies. Seriously, thats a true statement.
  • TO say someone is your partner does not exclusively refer to a gay couple, but rather any couple that has been together for a while and isn’t married. Learned about this one the hard way. “you need to meet my partner.” “I’d love to, what’s his name?” “You mean her name.” “Right….i mean…..what?”

Overall things are good. Next weekend i’m heading to Tongariro National Park, which is the filming site of Mordor, so i should come back with PLENTY of good picture.

2010
03/06
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Jurrassic Park

So after getting all settled into Wellington (met my flatmates finally who are all just lovely lovely people) i decided it was time to travel somewhere (why not?). Me and some of my new crew decided to head up north where its extremely nice and sunny and visit Paihia, a coastal town right on the Bay os Islands. For those not famililar with the bay of islands, it is exactly what it sounds like. A bay made up of various islands. Simply breathtaking. I’m going to be posting all the pictures up tomorrow, simply spectacular.

So we arrived and just kind of hung out around town for a bit, it was a 15 hour bus ride from wellington, overnight, so it was a bit exhausting. that night me and my friend greg took part in a global summit of sorts in the form of a beer pong tournament. QUITE exciting. Apparently no one else in the world has heard of beer pong, so me and greg easily tore up our competition, some swedes, some dutch, a pair of brits, and a chilean. While we weren’t playing we served as coaches for the other teams (“its all in the knees and the extension of the arm”) we ended up in third and were glad we were able to tshow the world what america does best

The next day we took a ferry across the bay to an island called russel for some swimming and relaxing. After some R&R i decided i wanted to adventure a bit, so i went to the edge of the shore to slimg over some rocks. This rocks were great fun to climb and it was a merry time indeed. Merry time until i got to the other side of the rocks to discover a nude beach which seemed to cater specifically to the 50+ crown. Ah, c’est la vie…..but seriously,….some disturbing stuff. That night we were lucky enough to witness a yearly occurnece in the small town of paihia, called the “golden Jandal” (jandel being what they call sandals). This is a three legged race where the teams of two dress up in crazy costumes and run around down from bar to bar, chugging (or as the kiwis call it “skulling) a beer. There were 7 stops along the race, and the winning team won in under 15 minutes.  That 7 beers, and running over a mile in a three leged race in under 15 minutes. Needless to say there were some colorful characters to befriend that night.

A truly bizarre occurence happened the following morning, more bizarre the a middle aged nude beach. I heard my name called out while i was sitting and turned around to find jen ross, a girl who graduated from Miami last year and used to give tours with twice a week. No idea she was gonna be there, what a crazy happenstance, you know? halfway around the world. This led to a fun night with her and her candian friends. Karaoke was sung (i sang a certain song by afroman) and fun was had.

Then the NEXT day was truly the highlight. We signed up to go on a day long trip on a sailing catamaran. It was a tad pricey but we figured what the hell. It was well worth every penny. We went deep into the bay and visited two islands, Roberton Island and Urupukupuku. This islands were unique in that there were the site of Jurassic Park. No, not where they filmed the movie, but im fairly positive that jurassic park actually happened on these islands. I have no hard evidence to support this, but there is nothing to prove the contrary. Though i didnt see any actual real dinosaurs, the scenary was too much to not believe that some shenanigans involving dinosaurs happened there

Made it back home safe. The internet was supposed to be functional by the time i get back, but alas its not. what are you gonna do. I am going to put pictuers up tomorrow and try and find where my classes are seeing that they start on monday.

2010
02/27
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The Land of Jacked Calves

Ah Wellington, my new home. It earns the nickname “Windy Wellington” quite obviously in that the winds are quite strong here. I learned that because of its location (very bottom tip of the north island) much of the air that travels between the mountains of the north and south island has no where to go but blast down through the city.

But the nickname I have bestowed upon this city is “The Land of Jacked Calves.” Good lord, talk about hills. Being built on a mountainside has made the city a series of large hills. I’m talking STEEP hills. And one of the steeper hills I’ve come across is the one I am going to have to walk up to school everyday. Thus, by the end of my time here, my calves……will be jacked.

BUT these hills are not hindering my good time. After flying out of Rotorua, I arrived in Wellington and was taken to my flat. I am living in Everton Hall, which are University apartments about a 5 minute walk away. It’s a 5 bedroom apartment, 1.5 bathrooms, large living room, and a kitchen. I’m the only one living hear right now, I’m going to have 4 kiwi roommates who move in this Sunday I believe.

Bought a Cell phone, unlike the states there are only 3 cell providers, telecom, vodaphone, and 2 degrees. 2 degreesis brand-new and prepaid so I went with them. Got an oldschool phone with snake on it, which is just wonderful.

Went through orientation yesterday. It was the first time it really hit me that I am considered an international student. Of the international students, it is mostly Americans, also a lot of Germans (met a crazy guy named Heinrich) and quite a few Swedes, very curious. Today we did registration, it seemed to go well but then when I looked at my schedule and two classes overlapped (it let me register for it, that’s how the system works, curiouser and curiouser). I worked it all out and set my classes. Then after I rewarded myself by climbing a mountain.

Me and some new friends climbed Mt. Victoria up to the top. It was spectacular. Made it to the top and got the absolute most breathtaking view of my like. I’ll post some pictures, but I don’t think they will be able to do it justice. It was just out of control Also look for a charming shot of me on a tire swing. Also saw many great lord of the rings filming places on Mt Victoria. This is where much of the beginning of the first movie was filmed. Right out side the shire, think when Frodo yells “GET OFF THE ROAD” and where they hide under the tree. I ran down the hill they fall down. Unfortunately the tree is no longer standing, it actually never was (it was built by WETA workshop)

I am writing this on a Saturday morning and had to walk up the hill to the nearby park to pic up internet access (I haven’t gotten it in my flat yet). Its Saturday morning at a park in the summer, you know what that means, little league. But not baseball, mind you, but little league cricket. It seems similar to our little league, one kid is clearly the coaches son and gets to be the pitcher, quite a few kids clearly don’t want to be there, and one kid is way in the outfield, too far where anyone could hit it that far, just sitting playing with grass (this was me in little league)

2010
02/19
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Playgrounds, Maori’s, and caving!

My my my my. So much to discuss. Well let’s start where I last left off, zorbing. If you haven’t heard of zorbing, it is basically getting into a giant ball, some water is put in with you, and you are pushed down a gigantic hill. I put some pictures up on facebook of the experience. It was quite exhilarating. I was feeling adventurous so I decided to go in the same zorb as my new friend Greg, which proved to be quite rewarding as we simply kicked and pushed each other so hard and laughed and smiled like infants. Check out the pics, they’re great

Later that day me and some people ventured into town and ate some Mcdonalds, what we consider to be the American embassy of this country. I got a BBQ bacon cheeseburger, not available in the states. This is when I learned that bacon here is Canadian bacon, and our bacon is called streak bacon (get it?). Lesson learned.

On the way back from Mcdonalds we stumbled upon a simply grand discovery. A playground. Now friends, this was no ordinary playground. This is the greatest playground ever built. A 20 foot high jungle gym made up of a series of ropes was the center piece, surrounded by various of death trap for children, most of which spin you around at incredible speeds. I’m putting pictures up of it, its spectacular.

The next day was community, where the people in my program go out and do a volunteer project somewhere in town for the day. We were assigned to help out at a Maori Village called Tewhakarewarewatangaoteopetauaawahiao. Yes, that’s the full name, called Whaka for short (in Maori the ‘wh’ is pronounced with an “f” sound, so as you can guess, when saying it many laughs were had). We first took a tour from a man who sounded alarmingly like Jemaine from flight of the conchords. The entire village is reliant on the sulphur hot springs. It is used for cooking, cleaning, bathing, heating, among other things. This most fascinating thing about the village to me was the religion. Half are Catholic and half are Anglican. This happened because a hundred or so years ago, there was a big meeting for the chief to decide what religion the Maori would adopt. The chief stood up and said everyone to his left would be Anglican and everyone to his right would be Catholic and that’s how it would be. I think more people should solve problems like this. Just one arbitrary decision to decide matters of the such would greatly reduce the amount of bitching and moaning that exists in the world. We also ate some corn cooked in the hot springs, which tasted like and a rainbow hitting your mouth and making all your dreams come true. For the community service part we helped maintain the natural wild life and plant life by cutting loads and loads of bamboo.

After going to the authentic village we went to a recreation of a pre-european Maori Village and saw a show complete with spears, guttural screams, and bulging eyes. Another fun fact, when the woman was giving birth in the village, her husband would have to be given tattoos on his upper (way upper) thighs until the birth was over, so that each of them shared in the pain. I figured it might just be easier to kick the guy in his manhood, but who knows what a better system would be. We then ate a traditional hangi dinner, food cooked underground, which was delicious. Chicken, lamb, fish, mussels, stuffing, cranberries, and an ugly trip to the bathroom. Worth it.

Then TODAY. O TODAY TODAY. We went caving in Waitomo. Oh my goodness, words cannot describe. Our cave was called the “Haggis Honking Holes,” a very well received Dr. Seuss reference. We rappelled 20 meters down into pitch black, then down 2 large waterfalls, crawling in crevasses, completely submerging in water 100 ft below the surface. It was unreal. Check out some of the pictures, didn’t get many inside the caves, but some good before and after ones.

Tomorrow I am departing for Wellington, where I will be studying. Sorry my post is so long winded, just a lot to talk about. Check out my pictures on facebook!

2010
02/16
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Auckland and Rotorua…..

Flight went spectactularly. Lucked out cuz in my row there was only 3 people so we had an empty seat between us. Guy i sat next to was named David, from NZ travelling home from business. “What kind of business are you in?” i politely asked David, expecting some sort of answer such as business, government, or something of the sort. “Horses and ponies,” David replied, offering little qualification to that statement, but i just went with it. Flight was fairly uneventful, Air New Zealand won airline of the year, and it definitely showed.

We arrived in Auckland around 6am, got our bags, made it through customs. We were searched by a police dog. Not a german shepeard, but a beagle. a search beagle. thats how they roll here apparently. First thing i noticed was the smell of New Zealand. It smelled like what i imagine the truffula trees in the lorax smelled like. So fresh, so clean. and it was around 75 degrees when we landed (not rubbing in…maybe a little)  We boarded the bus and made our way to the hostel in auckland. Made some new friends, everyone seems nice. Nervous, but excited. Saw some gorgeous scenery (took loads of pictures, uploaded them to facebook, I’m going to make an alternate site later, so no worries)

first thing on our itinerary was a “informal sausage sizzle.” its exactly what it sounds like. we sizzled some sausages…informally.  after that we proceeded to explore the city. Took a ferry to Davenport, an island near Auckland and explored. We found a nice tree to climb and a beach to walk on. Then we had dinner at the waterfront cafe. This is where the fun began

So while waiting for my food me and my new friend haley decide to go up to the bar and get a beer. i then hear behind me, “Do you know who you look just like?” This is a statement i’ve grown quite accustomed, and tired of, hearing. BUT, coming from a kiwi accent it was almost endearing. So after my resemblence to seth rogen and zach galifianakis was established they went on to make fun of me and haley for many things. Turns out New Zealanders just make fun of eachother all the time. No matter what. About anything. Since witty banter is one of my favorite things, i told one of my new kiwi friends that he looks like jude law if jude law was a drug addict who just got beat up. This comment got me a free beer because I “look like a cross between seth rogen and jesus.” For anyone planning to go to NZ, this is of the utmost important. Slightly look like any american celebrity and people here will buy you drinks. I’ve had 4 drinks bought for me because of this. Its quite fantastic

The next day we left auckland and went to rotorua, a town with a large Maori population and a lot of tourism attractions. We are staying at this awesome place called kiwipaka. There is a bar in the hostel with a happy hour from 2pm-10pm (more like a happy day, am i right!?) Rotorua is known for its natrual hotsprings, and there is a thermal pool naturally heated by this. Quite amazing. Its like a giant bathtub and last night there was around 40 people in it and we just had a good time and laughed and laughed.
THe highlight of yesterday though was learning the Haka. Those who dont know, the Haka is a Maori dance that is used for many things. THey do it before battle, to show respect to elders, and other things of the sort. Check out on youtube the New Zealand rugby team, the all blacks, doing the haka. scariest thing you will ever see. This man Tiki taught us and chose me to be the leader of our group. Apparently because of my beard i was a shoe in. the leader always has a beard. We got out faces painted and dressed in loin clothes and performed our dance. I have welts on my legs from slapping so hard. you all are probably thinking, “I wish i had seen that.” Well do not fret, i have a DVD copy of out performance and a picture of me hold a large knife looking crazy. So you all have THAT to look forward to.

Today we woke up, took a soak in the hot tub and im about to go zorbing (look it up, its gonna be awesome) But check out my pictures on facebook and ill update this again soon. later days

2010
02/13
CATEGORY
Uncategorized
1 comment

The Great Migration

Of course. After a year and a half of preparations, countless forms, payments, bookings, plannings, Snow decides to destroy the baltimore washington area. Seriously? I was originally supposed to fly out of Dulles to LAX at 1230 on the 10th. Canceled. So i got moved to 445 out of Dulles on the 9th. Canceled.  So the only solution was to drive all the way down to Norfolk, VA and fly out of there. Thanks very much to Aunt Jojo and Uncle Mike for puttin me and my mom up for the night before.

So i get on my plane at Norfolk. 725 AM, connecting in Chicago and then the LA. As soon as i get on the plane the gentleman next to me is checking the news on his phone and informs me that there was an earthquake in Chicago this morning (cant make this up) and their syaing it could possibly delay flights. What force is trying to keep me from NZ? Well we get off the ground, ends up we only got delayed a little and then a nice flight to LAX.
Get to LAX, have to get my baggage and recheck it for my international leg. Don’t you hate waiting at that baggage carousel waiting for you bags. Staring at that little portal in the wall that has the power to either get you on your way with your bags or ruin everything. That feeling of hatred you get when the person next to you sees their bag and you long for the moment you and your bags will be reunited? Well one of my bags comes out, the other does not. Initially the lovely Dutch lady at the baggage counter said they did not know where my bag was. Awesome. I give them my cell phone number and i proceed to wander like a homeless man around LAX for an hour. I then get a call saying the bag will come on the next flight at 330. Thank goodness.
So i get my bag, check in for my flight, get to the terminal. Then excitment hits. I pass a film shooting of sorts, and they are shooting an episode of Modern Family. If you have not seen this show i HIGHLY recommend you check it out. Funny stuff. So i of course want to sneak a picture with my phone. As I’m taking it i realize i am standing directly in from of the camera in the distance. I assume in the editing room they will have found the perfect take but it was ruined by some jerk taking a picture on his phone. O well, worth it.
But now i’m sitting at my gate, my flight takes off in about 4 hours. I will be sure to update everthing as soon as i get there! Wish me luck.

2010
02/11
CATEGORY
Uncategorized
7 comments
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