Loading...
Start a new Travel Blog! Blogabond Home Maps People Photos My Stuff

Kiwi-Travels


20 Blog Entries
2 Trips
54 Photos

Trips:

I'm going to live as a New Zealand Kiwi for six months!
EASTER!!

Shorthand link:

http://blogabond.com/Kiwi-Travels




More Amazingness

Dunedin, New Zealand


I believe I have hit that point in the semester where everything catches up with me at once. Homesickness, emotions, school work, travel galore, craziness, etc.
Yes, I have reached this point.
My work load is increasing and sometimes I am struck with an immediate realization that I am very far away from home and will not be returning for a while. This is not meant in a negative way. I'm just feeling a wee bit overwhelmed with my New Zealand home. But only good things, yes? Only good things.
That is another thing - I'm really starting to incorporate Kiwi lingo into my everyday conversations. I have started actually and seriously using words like "sweet as" "keen" "wee bit" and "cheers." It is funny when I catch myself saying things like that.
I am goimg to try and make this entry as quick as possible because I am going to go to a cafe after this and catch up on all of my reading and take amazing notes and feel like I have more control over my life by doing this. I am not slacking in my classes! I do not want any of you to think that I am forgetting about my classes. I have not yet missed a lecture and am keeping up with all my reading and assignments.
This past weekend was incredible - and last week as well.
I AM SO CLOSE TO BEING ABLE TO ROLL! Last wednesday I almost got it! I am so close I can feel it. Sadly, there are no more kayaking adventures. It is getting too cold in New Zealand and they have no more organized trips. I am still going to continue rolling every wednesday morning though, and I hope to find a white water kayaking club when I return to the States.
Thursday night was prom. Molly was curious as to what my prom outifit was =) I wore a black komono and did my hair up in chopsticks. The prom was held at Leith St, which is an apartment complex of about 40 students consisting of Americas, Kiwis, and a lot of Europeans. It was a great night, much better than any actual prom I ever went to.
Friday night I went cave camping with a group of writers I have been getting close with. We meet at a cafe once a week and bring our writings and ideas and read aloud and just talk and inspire one another. So Friday night we camped out in a cave and we all brought our writing and a book that inspires us. I of course brought The Little Prince. Other people brought Tao of Ching, The Celestine Prophecy, and a bunch of Buddhist literature. We had a sort of Dead Poets Society and read aloud and commented on each others work and I read The Little Prince aloud cover to cover to start off the circle. Jordan brought a Native American peace talking stick and we passed it around the circle and whoever was holding the stick could be the only one to talk. We had an incredible sky of stars and a great bonfire going. Lots of inspiration, really happy and moved that I found a group of wonderful writers out here.
Saturday we started our road trip out to Te Anau and The Milford Sound. I am living in Te Anau one day. It is this adorable little town right on the water and SURROUNDED by mountains. We camped out next to the water and went on a glow worm cave tour! It was the first touristy thing I have done so far - but so amazing! We hiked through a cave then went out on a boat into the depths of a cave and watched glow worms shine on the ceiling and walls of the cave! Sunday we did a boat tour of the Milford Sound in the Fiordlands - beautiful. Beautiful times a thousand. I cannot express how utterly gorgeous the Fiordlands are. It was the most beautiful place I have ever laid eyes upon. Every book tickets to New Zealand NOW and go see the Fiordlands. Huge mountains coming out of the ocean covered in trees and waterfalls and ahhhh it was so incredible. Google pictures because I do not have any to put up online.
Monday we did the scenic drive down through the Fiordlands and around the coast through Invercargill and such. We stopped at all these tiny beaches tucked behind the rocks.
Last night we chilled and watched Flight of the Concords. Cousin - people here LOVE the show just as much as the States except they can appreciate it differently when they make silly jokes about New Zealand. It's not that different from the States.
For everyone who has not seen the show, it is about these two Kiwi musicians who move to New York City to make it big. They are very awkward and small in the giant city and often talk about their lives in New Zealand with the penguins and they have silly accents no one can understand. It is a goofy show loved by both Americans and Kiwis.
Okay I have a lot more stories and details of my trip but I really need to get my reading done! My blog does not work from my own computer for some reason so it is difficult for me to post, especially pictures. I hope I will find a way to post more soon.
Open mic night at Backstage tonight, more rolling tomorrow morning - and Queenstown and Lake Wanaka this weekend! From April 17th-28th is my mid-semester break so I will not be posting for a while. I'm going to Tasmania and Australia with a bunch of friends. More later! Much love! Hope the springtime weater is bringing lots of smiles and happiness to the States!


permalink written by  Kiwi-Travels on April 7, 2008 from Dunedin, New Zealand
from the travel blog: I'm going to live as a New Zealand Kiwi for six months!
Send a Compliment

Beaumont

Dunedin, New Zealand


Another beautiful Kiwi weekend...this time with the kayak club - I am officially addicted to the club and so sad that this may have been my last weekend with them. We went to Beaumont, which is only an hour and a half away from Dunedin. It's a very small town but absolutely beautiful as it is hidden amongst the rolling green hills of the Otago region. Both mornings we woke up around 9 and drove down to the river and it was early enough that the fog was still settled in the valley, yet slowly rising as we made our way down the river. The sun broke through the fog and its rays slowly warmed our chilled bodies secured in our kayaks. This river was much more challenging than the last time. The rapids were stronger and there were many boils and a giant whirlpool nicknamed "Big Whirlie." We arrived around dinner time on friday, set up our tents, and spent the night playing games and getting to know the new members. Saturday we did the course bright and early and it was pretty rough. I flipped twice. One time when I exiting an eddy and second time Big Whirlie got me. Today was a lot smoother. I didn't flip once and my group finished the difficult part of the course early so we spent some time cooling off jumping into the water from a rope swing. When the other two groups caught up we rafted - we all make line with our kayaks, holding onto the kayaks on either side of ours as we go down the river and took turns climbing out of our kayaks and running down the line of them on the noses then jumping off the ends of them if we actually made it that far. Great fun, exciting weekend.
It's the most gratifying feeling for me - dominating nature. It is a balance of embracing it and domination at the same time. I want to own the river and fly down it in my kayak, yet at the same time I need to hold a level of respect for the river because its water can flip me and claim me as its victim at any moment. It's a huge rush, unlike anything I've experienced before.
This week consists of yoga tomorrow night, Backstage tuesday night - open mic there every tuesday. There is a fireplace and we bring sticks and marshmallows and roast them while listening to good music. Rolling wednesday morning and prom night thursday! My classes are going well. I have a big test in my Pacific Societies class on thursday. I have to memorize capitals, population, head of government and state, and dates of independence for all the countries in the south pacific. I'm a little frightened, but I've studying so I should be ok. My Theories of Social Power class is incredible. We have class discussions outside in the sun and just ask questions about how much power the state has and how it uses and abuses power.
Time for study. It's been an adventure-packed weekend, but now I need to work.


permalink written by  Kiwi-Travels on March 30, 2008 from Dunedin, New Zealand
from the travel blog: I'm going to live as a New Zealand Kiwi for six months!
Send a Compliment

Easter Break!!

Dunedin, New Zealand


Okay so I thought nothing could get better than last weekend andddddddd...it did. Easter break weekend consisted of a five day adventure to the Catlins and Stewart Island...Stewart Island is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. I feel like I say that about everywhere in New Zealand, but seriously, this place is GORGEOUS and everyone reading this needs to go there.
Our first night of our trip we went camping in the Catlins. We being myself, Lauren, Jill, Dan, and Ethan....a few great people I have met. All Americans. The Catlins are about two and a half hours south of Dunedin and reminded me a lot of Ireland. Beautiful tall cliffs next to ocean ocean ocean! We camped on the beach and the sound of the ocean lulled us to sleep. Before bed we met this AMAZING couple from Arizona who were in their mid 40's and they were telling us all about their adventures biking around the world...yes, the world. They rode their bikes all around South America, Southeast Asia, and now they are in New Zealand. Listening to their stories I said to myself "These people are my future - how do they make money?!" So, naturally, I asked them: what do you two do for money? And they responded... "We are travel writers."
For those of you who know me, which most of you do, if not all of you...THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT I WANT TO DO WITH MY LIFE. So they told me all about it, and I sat there drooling and loving everything they were telling me about.
The next day we woke up bright and early and took a road trip down to Invercargill, explored the town a bit, and then went down to Bluff to catch the ferry to Stewart Island.
Stewart Island was the highlight of my trip. We got off the ferry, gathered our packs and started tramping! It was hardcore tramping. We had our backpacks on full of clothing, food, everything, our lives, and we were tramping through lush thick rainforests. Up muddy hills, down muddy hills, across beautiful beaches, and repeat. We did eight hours our first day, and just about when all five of us were ready to collapse and die, we reached our destination. We threw our packs down in the sand and were greeted by a rising full moon over the ocean....it was amazing. It was beautiful. The beach was entirely ours. We set up camp and ate some delicious rice, and fell asleep once again to the sound of the waves.
The next day we took it easy. I wrote a lot in my journal - I was so inspired, yet somewhat sad. Actually I was very sad. It was my Easter and all I could think about was my friends and family back at home. So I decided to write letters to everyone back at home because I was so homesick. A family showed up on the beach and I played with their two little boys around the ages of four and six and they told me all about their Easter egg hunt in the rocks and how the Easter bunny lived in a cave and I felt very happy to be part of the family for a short while. They reminded me of my boys back at home.... I feel like the Universe blessed me with their presence to give me a taste of home.
That night we had an amazing sunset over the water and all huddled together and read The Little Prince aloud as the stars came out.
The next day was another long day of tramping/backpacking...after waking up to the sunrise. We all huddled close together eating our oatmeal, brown sugar, and raisins and watched a bright orange and pink sun rise over the water. That is what I love about New Zealanders! One person says "The sun is rising! Come see!" and there are no moans and groans of people not wanting to get out of bed...everyone flew out of their sleeping bags and ran to ocean to watch the sunrise.....But anyway, this time we tramped to a hut, which was great because we were able to meet a lot of Kiwis and international friends. We played card games and exchanged stories all night and once again, read The Little Prince to all who wanted to listen. I think that is a new goal of mine... to travel and read that book and have discussions afterward about what the book may be about.
Then today we woke up with the sunrise again, packed up our bags after breakfast, and did another four hour tramp back to the bay. Arriving back to civilization, we soothed our aching bones with a delicious lunch at an adorable cafe called Just Cafe. We hoped on the ferry at four, and had a great roadtrip of craziness from lack of sleep, and back massages for hours.....
I feel like there is so much more to say. I cannot express how amazing this weekend was. I was fulfilled mentally, physically, and spiritually. Constantly. The beach was the most beautiful beach, and we had it all to ourselves, away from any town, and sort of civilization...it was amazing. IT WAS AMAZING. You cannot understand. I just wish you all were with me.... that is all I kept thinking about. Monday morning when we were tramping at 9 in the morning I was thinking about all of you on your Sunday at 3 in the afternoon gathered and celebrating Easter. I tried to picture it. I hope there was spring weather! I hope the Bunny Cake was yummy! I hope you all were smiling and loving being together as family. We have such a sacred family....
I need to go now. I need to wake up at 6 in the morning to learn how to roll! I will get this down. I want to roll!
Cheers everyone!!!!! Love love love love soooo much love I miss you all!!


permalink written by  Kiwi-Travels on March 25, 2008 from Dunedin, New Zealand
from the travel blog: EASTER!!
Send a Compliment

This weekend in Lake Tekapo

Dunedin, New Zealand


Hello everyone!
This past weekend was amazing and probably my favorite weekend so far being here. I am now an official member of the kayak club and this weekend we all went to Lake Tekapo.
There were about thirty of us and we all carpooled for the five hour ride across the country to a beautiful turquoise lake in the moutains. The color was identical to the color of the water of the lakes in Alberta, Canada. The color is the sentiment from the glaciers and when the sunlight hits the water it creates this amazing bright, turquoise blue.
We arrived late friday night and had a bonfire while sharing stories and laughter. A few of the kayaking members are fire jugglers (my two kiwi flatmates do this, too), and they light the ends of a pole on fire and juggle it. It's quite impressive. This was a great opportunity to get to meet other members as well.
We pitched a tent - ours was HUGE. A lot of the Kiwis joked about how us Americans march in with a huge tent that dominated all the others. It was all in good fun though.
The sky that night - incredible. We were surrounded by nothing but mountains and water and we could see so many stars. It reminded me a lot of the Grand Canyon - that feeling where you are unable to comprehend how many stars there are in the sky and that there are millions more besides the millions you can actually see. It made me sad to go to school in Boston. In the city we get excited if we can see six or so stars.
I don't know why I chose to go to school in a city.
I'm really not looking forward to going back to Boston. I know I shouldn't be thinking about that now, but I am just so happy in nautre. I am fulfilled. I feel at peace here.
Anyway! We woke up bright and early the next morning because that is what Kiwi people do - party late, sleep for five hours, then wake up and do some extreme sporting.
I have NEVER kayaked like I did this weekend.
We were in wetsuits and helmets and skirts which wrap around the pit of your kayak so you are securely placed in there and the way to get out is you have to pull this red emergency rope and lift yourself out of the kayak. Intense!
We started off on course II rapids. I cannot explain to you how afraid we all were. I will post pictures of the course soon - it was so intimidating. We didn't have to do the course if we didn't want to. We were practicing other things like turning and stopping and such, but I felt confident enough to give it a go. My heart was beating and all I keep saying in my head was "paddle, paddle, paddle!" because that is what you are supposed to do in rapids - keep the nose of the kayak facing straight ahead and paddle your face off. So that is what I did. And somehow I didn't flip. The course started off with a HUGE hole - meaning, the water shoots straight down very heard and creates a hole that you have to reach your paddle up and around to get over and out of.
This is what I love about being here - these kind of adventures that I never thought I would get into elsewhere. My confidence is skyrocketing right now. It is so important to challenge yourself on a constant basis. Always break out of your comfort zone, always test yourself, see what you are capable of. There were about 12 instructors, too, who were protecting us and making sure we wouldn't die so I felt safe, don't worry. I know you are worrying.
But it was so insane! And I did it again and didn't flip and I felt so so so good...then we spent the rest of the afternoon practicing rolling - still can't get that down. It's difficult, but I will conquer it by the time I leave!
Then the night came and a few of us drove into town and took pictures and explored Tekapo. Afterwards we had another bonfire with more dancing and fire juggling and what not. My kayak instructor is my new favorite/inspiring person in this world. His name is Jethro and he is only 19 but he doesn't extreme kayaking, surfing, snowboarding, and the first time he went bungee jumping he was six! He was born in raised in Queenstown so that isn't too much of a suprise - that's the adventure capital of the WORLD.
Another beautiful night of stars and another early morning the next day on Sunday. Sunday was great, we kayaked down an actual river...of course with crazy rapids, but I did not flip, I came close a few times though - but it such a rush! Such a rush! I cannot even explain! It takes HUGE amounts of mindfulness, too. All I am concentrating on is my boat, the rapids, and where the rocks were.
Afterwards we went swimming and sunbathed.
We packed up our belongings, said goobye to Lake Tekapo, and headed back home.
On the way home we took the scenic route - although that doesn't even make sense because no matter where you are in New Zealand, no matter what road you are on it is the scenic route because there is beautiful everything and anything EVERYWHERE. This is most amazing country I have ever been to - have I made that clear enough by now haha =)
We drove through the mountains and the sun was shining with no clouds and all of a sudden we turned the bend and there in front of us was Mt. Aeoroki (Mt. Cook) standing stoic and brave before us. It was across another beautiful turquoise lake and had snowcaped peaks and it really felt like the king of New Zealand - the same way the Pru feels like the king of Boston - and I started crying.
We pulled the car over and I cried and cried and cried and writing this now is bringing tears to my eyes because I am remembering how amazing it felt. I have never seen a mountain like that before. I was overcome with happiness and my friends began to cry, too, because the people here are beautiful and cry when they are overcome by nature's beauty. And I knelt down in the dirt and stared at Mt. Aeoroki and the beautiful lake and let myself cry and was aware of each and every breath I took thinking "I am alive I am alive and I'm in New Zealand and I'm alive...."
Coming home through the green rolling hills I was so excited to see Dunedin! Whenever I drive into Boston I normally feel sick to my stomach.
I know that sounds awful, but I feel my stomach get weak and I get somewhat sad.
Dunedin does not make me feel sad. It empowers me.
I am home.
I spent my night with a new friend of mine - Jake. He is from the states but is actually going to school here. Lucky....
We sat drinking tea and taking about philiosophy and life and nature and religion and everything I love talking about with people here.

SOOO much more to say but I need to turn a paper in in the next five minutes! I haven't even told you about my classes or my flatmates in detail! I love my Theories of Social Power class - it is amazing and nothing like back in States and everyone loves that I bring an American perspective to the class. I love it I love it I love it!!!
So I guess more later...
This weekend for Easter we are going on yet another roadtrip. We are going to camp out for five nights. We are spending one night in the Catlins, driving to Invercargill...maybe going to Stewart Island, going to the Fiordlands (AHHH!!!!!!) for two nights, then Queenstown for two nights (AHHHH!!!!!) and I want to bungee jump!!
LIFE LIFE LIFE! I am so amped and love New Zealand and I love and miss you all at home and am very sad I will not be here for Easter this year!
I told Aunt Helen to eat an extra piece of bunny cake for me!
I love you all. Pictures later I promise! Only good things...only good things...just let go, no worries (Kiwis love to say "no worries" !!!), and only good things. I promise.


permalink written by  Kiwi-Travels on March 16, 2008 from Dunedin, New Zealand
from the travel blog: I'm going to live as a New Zealand Kiwi for six months!
Send a Compliment

Finally Updating

Dunedin, New Zealand


So I haven't been able to update in a while because whenever I bring this website on my computer, the Internet shuts down - not sure why.
I bought my plane tickets for spring break -- I am going to Tasmania for five days and The Great Barrier Reef for seven days. Very excited, but very expensive.
This past weekend I went cave camping. We went up north a little bit and found a huge cave, which became our home for the weekend. We did some rock climbing as well.
When we returned home there was rugby game to go to. Go Highlanders! Rugby is definitely a new obsession of mine.
This weekend is Wild Food Festival in Hokitika, which is a six hour drive north from where I am. It is on the northwest coast of the southern island. Apparently it is a huge New Zealand event that a lot of students go to. A lot of my friends are going, but I am road tripping with my two kiwi flatmates, their kiwi friend, a few Americans I met through my Butler program. We are camping on the beach, and the Southern Alps are on the other side of us. We have to go through Arthur's Pass to get there. I'm very excited - we're going to get to eat strange exotic food like kangaroo and grasshoppers.
I am joining the kayaking club. I am part of the tramping club, but feel as though I need more water in my life. Every wednesday morning I wake up at 6:30 to get to the pool downtown to learn how to roll. That is when you flip yourself over then use your paddle to flip back up without leaving your kayak. It's extremely difficult. I still can't do it. This is intense kayaking, too. It isn't gentle lakes with quiet water - it's kayaking with helmets down roaring rapids and you flip over about every 15 minutes.
I'm working on getting a volunteer job; I have an interview on friday so I can figure out what kind of work I would be best doing. I'm also working on getting a job. I'm running out of money a lot faster than I thought I would.
Tuesday night was my catch-up dinner with the Butler crew. It was great being with everyone again. We went up the coast about an hour, had an amazing fish dinner on the ocean, climbed rocks, saw penguins - it was a blast.

More on classes later...and the Wild Food Festival once it occurs.
Ta Ta!

permalink written by  Kiwi-Travels on March 5, 2008 from Dunedin, New Zealand
from the travel blog: I'm going to live as a New Zealand Kiwi for six months!
Send a Compliment

Pictures of my hike!

Dunedin, New Zealand


No time to write much, but I posted pictures of today's hike. We hiked Mt. Cargill - tiny mountain, but only THIRTY MINUTES away from my house! So basically all those beautiful pictures of hills next to ocean and me in bushes, that is Otago Penisula A.K.A MY BACKYARD A.K.A MY PLAYGROUND!!

Oh and I posted a picture of a black sanded beach - that's not near my home. That's on the northern island west coast.
Beautiful, right?
New Zealand truly is nature's playground. Kayaking trip this week! More pictures and stories later!

permalink written by  Kiwi-Travels on February 24, 2008 from Dunedin, New Zealand
from the travel blog: I'm going to live as a New Zealand Kiwi for six months!
Send a Compliment

Pictures of hiking Mt. Cargill!

Dunedin, New Zealand


No time to write much, but I posted pictures of today's hike. We hiked Mt. Cargill - tiny mountain, but only THIRTY MINUTES away from my house! So basically all those beautiful pictures of hills next to ocean and me in bushes, that is Otago Penisula A.K.A MY BACKYARD A.K.A MY PLAYGROUND!!

Oh and I posted a picture of a black sanded beach - that's not near my home. That's on the northern island west coast.
Beautiful, right?
New Zealand truly is nature's playground. Kayaking trip this week! More pictures and stories later!

permalink written by  Kiwi-Travels on February 24, 2008 from Dunedin, New Zealand
from the travel blog: I'm going to live as a New Zealand Kiwi for six months!
Send a Compliment

Orientation Week in Dunedin!

Dunedin, New Zealand


So I have been in Dunedin for exactly a week and I'm finding it difficult to find the words to explain how amazing my experience has been so far.
First - the town of Dunedin is precious. It is a tiny city on the east coast with rolling green hills wherever you look. The people here are all about outdoor activity. We stay up late and wake up very early. The town has a adorable dowtown area called the Octagon. There are so many cafes and pubs - and a lifesize chess board! We've spent our days going downtown, to the beach, walking through the hills, and we spend our nights dancing and pub hopping. My two kiwi flatmates both do fire performance. They have a long stick and the two ends light on fire and at night there are fire shows on the side of the streets. I live in a college town - it reminds me a lot of Burlington VT, but a lot crazier. Kiwi people have no off button. Orientation week has been the most insane experience of my life. I'm not trying to worry my family back at home but there are couch burnings which turn into crazy street parties around burning couches, fire perfomances on the side of the road, BBQ's in almost every backyard - and there are low fences separating each lawn so it's really easy to hop the fence and go visit other yards, and blasting music wherever you walk. I was warned from my program coordinator that O week was complete insanity, but I did not expect this!
I'm getting my flatmate's bike fixed up because in a city like this I NEED a bike. I need to tear up this town in every way possible before I leave. I've found a few great cafes as well. One is a vegan cafe with the most delicious chai smoothies and potatoe and pea tortillas. They have board games - I actually just got back from there - we played a game of clue over wine and chai smoothies. There is also another favorite of mine called The Green Acorn where there is a patio with waterfalls and comfy pillows to sit on.
I'm absolutely in love with Dunedin. It is exactly the kind of place I've been wanting to live in.
I took a train trip the other day (you can see pictures that I posted). It was a six hour train trip for all the international students so that was a great way to meet other study abroad students! It was beautiful, and I feel silly saying this, but it was my first up-close Lord of the Rings experience.
I've been doing a lot of camping since I've been here, too. My flatmates have a tent and a few nights this week we went to the beach and slept next to ocean. We also went camping in backyard, which isn't that exciting, but sleeping outside is just better than sleeping inside so I was still pumped.
Oh! And I registered for classes. Im taking Pacific Societies, Theories of Social Power, and Post-Colonial Literature. I met with the Anthropolgy and English departments and they said my classes work really well together. As fun as these two weeks have been of outdoor activity and partying, I'm ready to be a student again. I can't wait to experience the Kiwi classroom!
I joined the Tramping Club, which is a club where we do things like tramping (hiking), mountaineering, mountain biking, and some water activities. Tomorrow we are going on our first hike to Mt. Cargill. For the month of March we have some beach camping planned, a trip to the Fiorland (yea!!!), and some other small day hikes. I'm already itching to get out to the bigger hills and mountains - I need to see all of New Zealand!
I love having conversation about politics with people here. Everyone knows about American politics and when they hear I'm from Boston (everyone so far LOVES that I'm from Boston -- "Oh Boston!!" And they want to hear all about it) they want to get into policital conversations. I never feel discriminated against though. Everyone is just curious and wants to know what it is like to be an American, how I feel about the war, the president, etc. I've been learning a lot about international politics as well. I've been reading the New York Times everyday and sparking up some very stimulating discussions with people.
Well, I have a BBQ at Leith St. to get over to, so Im going to end the post here. I'll have more soon about classes and my hike tomorrow!
I send my love to all of you back at home, I miss you all so much! I wish you could be here with me in this beautiful country! This trip is a natural stimulant and it just emphasizes the one thing I want to do with my life - travel. Take advantage of every moment of your life, no matter how young or old. There is an amazing world to be seen with fascinating people and places! Embrace the day! Be blessed with each breath taken! We are alive! Smile and celebrate!


permalink written by  Kiwi-Travels on February 22, 2008 from Dunedin, New Zealand
from the travel blog: I'm going to live as a New Zealand Kiwi for six months!
Send a Compliment

I'm in Dunedin!!

Dunedin, New Zealand


Kia ora! (Maori for "hello, thanks, cheers, good health")

I am now in Dunedin - I have reached my destination and couldn't be happier! I have done so much so far and I haven't even been here for a week.

I will start from the very beginning.

Staying with Jerry in Palm Springs was the perfect beginning to my journey. We did some hiking and traveling, and him and I had a lot of cousin bonding time, which is always refreshing with Jerry. My last night in Cali Jerry, Steve, Josie, Albert and myself went out for dinner before I was dropped off at the airport. My flight was to leave at 9:30 p.m., and we arrived at LAZ airport around 7:30 so it was perfect timing....until I was informed that my flight was delayed six hours. Not so great. But on the positive side, a six hour delay was a great way to meet all the kids in my program! There were thirty of us, and I'm already close with a lot of them. Amazing people - adventurous, kind, passionate.

We arrived in Auckland around 12:30 in the afternoon on my wednesday, USA's tuesday. We gathered our bags and hoped on a bus that took us a few hours north of Auckland to Whangapaoroa. We weren't off the plane for more than four hours and they had us in kayaks. Kayaking is my favorite outdoor activity so I was super excited to start my Kiwi adventures that way! We played a "bonding" game where we had to pile up our kayaks out in the ocean, setting them up like a tic-tac-toe board, and with us balancing on this structure. We made it pretty high with only a few more people to go when the entire thing collapsed on top of us. Afterwards we dried off, had delicious kai (food) - a lamb dinner, and the entire group went for a hike along the hills to watch the sunset. That was not organized by our program, we all just decided to absorb the beauty ourselves. It was a very strong group of people - I am so blessed to have had them in my first few days in this beautiful country. After a long day of activity, we all crashed after the sun set.

We woke up bring and early for an interesting breakfast - spaghetti and toast! It's a Kiwi breakfast, and actually quite yummy. The Kiwis are all about kai. Every few hours we were fed. After breakfast we did some rogaining - a navigation game that involved us breaking off into groups and running through the hills at 9 oclock in the morning looking for different landmarks. It was fun, but pretty exhausting. Kiwi people are very active, very early. After that around noon (of course after more kai - tea and fresh fruit) we played rugby!! Rugby is a new obsession of mine; it was so much fun. I got really brusied and muddy, but it was a lot of fun. After rugby we had more kai, and then moved on to more outdoor outings! We did about a hour and half of mountain boarding. Basically you go down the side of a mountain on a skateboard with really big wheels. I wasn't too graceful doing this, and gathered a few more bruises. This was followed by a few hours of rock climbing. By the end of all of this at seven, - I was exhausted. We had more kai, visited the beach for a few hours and went to bed around midnight.

The next morning a few of us were able to drag our aching bodies out of bed to watch the sunrise. It was the most beautiful sunrise...it was right over the ocean. A feeling of pure happiness overcame my entire body. I thought to myself, "Yep - I've been waiting for this for months and now New Zealand is my home." I feel so at home. In this one week of being here, I have seen more natural beauty than I have seen in my entire life. We started this day with a visit from a Maori man who taught us basic Maori pronunication. He was preparing us for a visit to the Marae the next day. We learned a song:

Tutira mai nga iwi
Tatou tatou e
Tutira mai nga iwi
Tatou tatou e

Whaie te mormatonga
Me te aroha eng a iwi
Kai ko tapatahi
Kai kotahi ra
Tatou tatou e
Tatou tatou e

We also learned a song that goes like this:

Te aroha
Te whakapono
Me te rangimarie
Tatou tatou e

It translates to:

With love
With faith
With peace
We are all one together

We spent the rest of the day learning Maori and learning about the Maori culture. That night we had a safety/health lecture, and then went to bed early for an exciting day awaiting us.

Waking up, we had kai, packed up, played some quick cricket, and then got on a bus to take us to the west coast of the northern island to a real marae. It was not a tourist marae, it was the real deal. It was a beautiful drive, we went through Auckland and got to see the city for a bit, and climbed Mt. Eden (a volcano in the middle of the city) and had a wonderful view of the city and ocean from the top.

Then came the part I have been waiting for - the marae. Arriving at the marae, we had to wait at the gate while a Maori woman sang a welcoming song, inviting us into their home. We sat on red benches facing the marae, and two male speakers from our group introduced our group in Maori. Then we sang the two songs we learned. While we were singing the first song, it started to drizzle a little, but the sun quickly came out again and a full rainbow was painted in the sky. One end touched the river. I had never seen the end of a rainbow before. We then did the traditional Maori welcome - hongi. This is where you touch noses and foreheads with another person and share the breath of life, offering them peace and luck. This is when I noticed a little Maori girl watching me. When it was our turn to exchange the hongi, she whispered "you are very pretty...." and squeezed my hand. After the hongi we went to a haka and poi performance. This is where the young boys of the marae do the haka dance. They slap their thighs and chant and open their eyes very wide and stick out their tongues trying to look as scary as possible. Then the young girls performed poi. They had beautiful beaded blue and white dresses and carried poi - two white and red poms poms on a string. They whipped their wrists around and danced and sang a Maori song.
Then it was our turn.
The boys in the group had to do the haka dance - which was hilarious, and the girls in the group had a try at the poi. That was even funnier. We kept hitting ourselves in the face with poms poms - the little girls made it look so easy! This was of course followed by a huge kai dinner of fresh fish and shellfish. They cook their meals in the ground. They place the food on burning coals, then cover the pots with burlap sacks, then cover the sacks with dirt and let it cook. The food was AMAZING. I mean AMAZINGGGGGGG. I have never had fish like that before.
After kai we played what I think was called Bull Rush. The kids of the marae stood in the middle of the field and we lined up about twenty feet away from them. They called out a color and if you were wearing that color you had to run and try and reach the other side before they tagged you. Or they could yell "Bull rush!!" and the whole group had to run. This was followed by a quick game of rugby - those little girls are tough! They were really beating up some of the guys in our group.
Then we prepared ourselves for bed. We slept in the marae, a large building with one open side and all along the walls were pictures of Maori ancestors. The pictures were like wallpaper there were so many. Then the eldest Maori woman, Waitara, came and talked to us about the ancestory of her people. It is a Maori tradition to gather everyone into the marae at night and everyone shares stories about their ancestors.
Her talk was one of the most powerful speeches I have ever heard.
She talked about Abel Tasman coming over to New Zealand, and without even setting foot on land he gave it the name New Zealand after the county in Holland he came from, even though the Maori people had already given it a name. They were completely disrespected. Then James Cook came to New Zealand and he too never set foot on land, but the highest mountain in New Zealand was named after him - Mt. Cook. Waitara said the only thing the white Europeans brought to their country were diseases. That year thousands of Maori people died from influenza.
She spoke of the lack of equality and respect the Maori people received from the Europeans. She spoke of the oppression of her people in her own country. She spoke of change - of present day change; change that she herself was working toward. Change that would help the Maori people keep their culture alive. She asked us if in the application for our visas to come here if there was any place where the Maori were mentioned - did we get their permission to come here in any way? No. We didn't. Then she said, "Consider us inviting you to stay here as our personal stamp in your passport. This is our blessing to you." That is when I thought: "This is exactly how I want to spend the rest of my life - hearing stories like this." Experiencing authentic culture. The richness of individual cultures. Being at the marae I experienced the most intense spiritual feeling I have ever felt. I could barely sleep as I focused on all the faces of the ancestors covering the walls. I questioned my own heritage. I questioned my own spirituality.
I am an American. Sometimes I do not know what that means. Sometimes thinking that makes me feel very detached and disconnected.
I wish you all could have heard that speech. It gives me chills thinking about it.
I ended up going back outside to the river because I couldn't sleep. My friend Ethan had the same idea I did and we talked about Waitara's words while staring up at a blanket of bright stars looking down at us.
I felt protected by something more powerful than myself.
It was my first real spiritual moment. For the first time in my life I felt whole thinking about a higher being. In all my years of attending mass every saturday night, I never felt connected to "God," to the Universe, as I did in that moment.
Two Maori men came over to us and we stayed up for a few hours talking about America and New Zealand.
A few more students came out of the marae and joined our conversation.
We brought out our sleeping bags and lay under the stars. Then it began to rain, and we retreated back into the marae. I slept very well that night - I was lulled to sleep by a peaceful presence.

I woke up to my small Maori friend smiling at me. She took my hand and gave me a tour of the marae. We ate breakfast together, and I gave her a few piggybacks. I taught her how to use my camera and she took so many pictures - she was so fascinated by it! She told me she was eight years old and that her name was Njatwahoua. She held my hand wherever we went. When it was time to leave we said our goodbyes, did another hongi, and we each said our thanks for our kind and welcoming visit. As I gathered my bags she began crying and gave me a huge hug. She asked me if I would come back. She gave me her bracelet, and I gave her a necklace of mine.
I left with a bigger heart. I left feeling at peace.

On the way to the airport we went to a black sanded beach. We stayed there for about 45 minutes and then boarded the bus to go back to Auckland. We flew to Christchurch and then from Christchurch to Dunedin.
Finally we arrived at Dunedin!
My flat is great - I live with two 22 year old Kiwi guys, one Italian girl, and another American girl from New Hampshire. We have two bathrooms, each have our own bedroom, a large living room, and kitchen, -- and a backyard! One of the Kiwis has a car and he drove me to get bedding today and gave me a short tour around Dunedin. Last night, our first night in Dunedin, a bunch of us went out dancing and met some other student Kiwis. Everyone here is very friendly and has a very warm and outgoing personality.
I already feel so at home. Right now, this is exactly where I am supposed to be.

I'm going to end this post here because I think it is long enough! I had a lot to say - so much has happened! Tomorrow I am going to register for classes and get a tour of my campus. More on that later!
I miss you all so much, and hope you are all having wonderful experiences back in the states and for those abroad, I'm sure you are having a blast as well!
I cannot wait to hear everyone's stories.

Kia ora! Love love love!

permalink written by  Kiwi-Travels on February 17, 2008 from Dunedin, New Zealand
from the travel blog: I'm going to live as a New Zealand Kiwi for six months!
Send a Compliment

"Adopt the Pace of Nature; Her Secret is Patience"

Boston, United States


I haven't actually left for New Zealand yet. Clearly. I do not leave for another week and a half. But - I have been doing the majority of the grocery shopping lately, and I have been measuring my time left by the expiration dates on the gallons of milk I buy. Whenever I check the expiration date before placing the milk into my cart I think, "Wow, when this milk is expired, I'll only have a week left before I leave!"
When the gallon of milk expires that I bought today - I'll be in New Zealand.
Farewell dear January, you have been a blissful month of excitement and raw anticipation caused by milk expiration dates. But alas - the month I have been waiting for is finally arriving.
February, I welcome you with open arms, as you represent the month when all the big adventures begin! Bring on the Kiwi magic!


permalink written by  Kiwi-Travels on January 31, 2008 from Boston, United States
from the travel blog: I'm going to live as a New Zealand Kiwi for six months!
Send a Compliment

Viewing 11 - 20 of 20 Entries
first | previous | next | last



author feed
author kml

Heading South?

Online Spanish lessons with a live personal tutor FairTutor can hook you up with Online Spanish lessons with a live personal tutor. It's pretty sweet! Online Spanish lessons with a live personal tutor www.fairtutor.com
Navigate
Login

go
create a new account



   

Blogabond v2.40.58.80 © 2024 Expat Software Consulting Services about : press : rss : privacy
View as Map View as Satellite Imagery View as Map with Satellite Imagery Show/Hide Info Labels Zoom Out Zoom In Zoom Out Zoom In
find city: