Now that I am home from New Zealand I have created a new, non-New Zealand, blog! The address is http://somewherebetweenlifeandliving.blogspot.com I hope you all check it out!
Monday, May 12, 2008
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Until Further Notice...
I will be in Australia and Fiji for the next week and a half. I have no idea what kind of internet access I will have. If you need to contact me then shoot me an e-mail and I will get beack to you ASAP. I hope everyone stays safe. I can't wait to see everyone again! I get back around 8:30 pm on April 21st. I love you all and I will see you soon!
Love,
Becks
Love,
Becks
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Underwater Adventure #1 – Paua Hunting
All right boys and girls buckle up. We are about to embark on another absolutely unbelievable story. Unfortunately I do not have pictures to prove parts of the story. But I do have some after shots. However, I swear to each and every one of you that every detail in this account is accurate as far as my own experience goes. So here we go…
The Duncan’s have this amazing friend named Roger. Roger is a master scuba diver and has all of his own gear, including two boats, a big one and a little rubber duck. Well Roger made the mistake of offering to take me scuba diving, because I have been bugging him ever since. Well finally on Friday he had the day off and decided it was time to appease the American! Thursday night we went over to Bruce and Karen’s, another neighbor and friend, to borrow a wetsuit for me. In the process of talking we were able to convince Karen to come along with us. So we were all excited for the next day.
Because Rodger is such a cautious and safe diver, he wanted to see how I would do in open water before we went truly diving with tanks and BCDs and everything. So as a trial Rodger decided that he would take Karen and I out in the rubber duck to Amaui Island to fish for some paua. Paua is probably closest in description to abalone. It is a really big crustacean, similar to a mussel. The flesh of the paua is black, and the shell is a very bright rainbow color. They are somewhat tricky to catch because not only are they hard to spot because the outside of the shell just looks like a rock, but also they clamp down on whatever they are sitting on if they feel you come too close to them.
Well, being the open-minded girl that I am, I was up for the challenge of paua fishing! I was seriously so excited to go that I couldn’t keep the grin off of my face. I sluffed school so that we could go when the tides were right, and ended up leaving the house at about 1:30. It was a pretty overcast day, and the rain sprinkled on us a couple of times, but luckily the weather held off enough so that it didn’t interfere with our adventure. We pulled into Sandy Point, which is just five miles or so down the road from my house, and unloaded all our gear and the rubber duck boat. Once Rodger pulled the car away and checked all the equipment and gas lines on the boat we were off!
The ride out to Amaui Island took a good thirty minutes or so. The tide was moving the wrong direction and we had a bit of a head wind. Fortunately this made for some awesome riding! Because Rodger was in a hurry to get to the island he cranked up the boat and we went skidding across the breaking waves. It seriously felt like I was tubing! Karen finally made Rodger slow down when we started flying three feet into the air and being able to just barely hold on, but I think she hesitated to tell him even then because I was laughing and grinning so much!
Finally after a bumpy ride we arrived at the island. Karen and I strapped our fins on, put on some weight belts, and jumped into the water. Karen took the Paua Plopper (the name I gave the straight metal tool we used to plop the paua off the rocks with) first and I held the catch bag so that I could watch how it was done. Karen is a master paua hunter because she would look under the water, take a deep breath, and then dive down at some invisible lump and come up with a beautiful paua. Suffice it to say, that I felt severely inadequate.
After about ten minutes Karen handed me the Paua Plopper, took the catch bag from me, and told me to give it a try. Well right when I stuck my head under water I heard a small exclamation from Karen, “oh look a seal!” Immediately I focused all of my attention on looking for the invisible paua shells. It wasn’t that I was afraid of seals, I like them actually, it was more the idea of being in the water with a large mammal, similar to how I felt with the dolphins at the Catlins. So anyway, I’m staring at the bottom of the sea with all of my attention, of course then the ‘seal’ decides to come right up close to us. Can I just say now for the record: IT WAS NOT A SEAL! It was a sea lion! I don’t know if any of you know this, but there is a really big difference between seals and sea lions. Seals are kind of like dogs or puppies, sea lions are mean!
This particular sea lion was ginormous, at least nine feet long from nose to tail-tip. It was after this first close-encounter and general sizing up that I latched on to Karen’s arm. I didn’t really make any noise, I certainly didn’t scream, but I was a little bit terrified. Of course it was then that I looked into the sea lion’s eye and saw what he was thinking, “Hmmm…American sounds good for dinner tonight. I haven’t had that in a long time!” So let me paint you all a little picture: I have been sitting in the water for a good ten minutes with this sea lion and Karen. Rodger is in the boat telling us that it is no big deal, that the sea lion is small, and that he just wants to play. Meanwhile, I am looking in Rodger’s eyes and I can tell that every word coming out of his mouth is complete crap and serving the express purpose of keeping me from freaking out. The sea lion, during this time, is getting braver and braver and showing his teeth, which are about four inches long! It isn’t too long after this that the sea lion starts nipping at our fins. Despite the numerous attempts from both Karen and myself to kick the sea lion in the head, he just kept coming and coming!
Finally Karen informed Rodger that the sea lion was going nowhere and that we needed to move because it probably felt territorial. That was all I needed to hear, I grabbed onto the side of the boat and started to pull myself up. It was then that I realized that the combination of extreme panic and ten-pound weight belt were never going to get me into the boat! Karen and Rodger realized this at about the same time, and luckily the three of us were able to get me in (Although I have to say, despite the panic I was feeling inside, on the outside I remained very calm and collected)! Feeling much braver in the boat I did my part by smacking the water and trying to catch the sea lion’s attention while Karen got into the boat. When we were all in the boat Rodger cranked up the engine and we were off! Of course, our friend the sea lion decided to follow us, I mean we were taking away his dinner, how rude of us! As soon as we rounded the point to get to the front side of the island the sea lion jumped into the air, flicked his tail, and headed back to his place. WHEW!
When we got around the point Rodger got as close as he could to the rocks on that side of the island. The reason we didn’t go to that side of the island first is because there are large swells that beat you into the rocks on shore. However, since our friend the sea lion was not very good at sharing the water, we were left with little choice. In the end, we should have been kissing the sea lion. After Karen did a quick scout and gave the A-ok, I hopped into the water. I had no qualms about getting back in because at this point I had blocked out every thought that was tied to large water mammals that tried to eat me, and focused solely on learning how to get a paua. What I realized as soon as I was in the water and looked at the ground, was that we had hit jackpot! There were pauas everywhere! Even I couldn’t miss the small, round, rock-shaped mounds sitting all over the rocks.
So after Karen got a few more pauas she handed me the paua plopper and told me to go for it! So I took a deep breath, dove down, and slipped the plopper under the paua and flicked…nothing! The paua totally saw me coming and clamped down on his little rock. Up for breath and another try. After a couple more time I picked out my paua, dove deep down, and didn’t grab anything I just stuck the plopper under him and pushed really had…FLYING PAUAS! This paua did not hear me coming! And he went flying through the water! It was really funny, it was like when you have a basketball or a softball come at you when you are not ready for it! I bobbled the paua a few times, grabbed it tight, and swam up to the top. Waiting for me was the cheers and congratulations of Rodger and Karen. I was screaming and screaming I got one I got one! Rodger told me to get to it, and after that I was a paua hunting machine! I easily caught my 10 paua limit and pretty soon it was time to go before we were pummeled into the rocks. We all hopped into the boat, made sure we didn’t have more than 30 pauas, and started to go back to shore. All this time I remained really calm and kind of quite. Then we got back to the Duncan house; that was when I lost it! As soon as I opened the door I said, “Mark, I almost got eaten by a sea lion!!!” Everyone was laughing at me and congratulating me and checking out the paua that we got. It was quite the adventure, and I am so glad that I got the opportunity to go. What an adventure!
The Duncan’s have this amazing friend named Roger. Roger is a master scuba diver and has all of his own gear, including two boats, a big one and a little rubber duck. Well Roger made the mistake of offering to take me scuba diving, because I have been bugging him ever since. Well finally on Friday he had the day off and decided it was time to appease the American! Thursday night we went over to Bruce and Karen’s, another neighbor and friend, to borrow a wetsuit for me. In the process of talking we were able to convince Karen to come along with us. So we were all excited for the next day.
Because Rodger is such a cautious and safe diver, he wanted to see how I would do in open water before we went truly diving with tanks and BCDs and everything. So as a trial Rodger decided that he would take Karen and I out in the rubber duck to Amaui Island to fish for some paua. Paua is probably closest in description to abalone. It is a really big crustacean, similar to a mussel. The flesh of the paua is black, and the shell is a very bright rainbow color. They are somewhat tricky to catch because not only are they hard to spot because the outside of the shell just looks like a rock, but also they clamp down on whatever they are sitting on if they feel you come too close to them.
Well, being the open-minded girl that I am, I was up for the challenge of paua fishing! I was seriously so excited to go that I couldn’t keep the grin off of my face. I sluffed school so that we could go when the tides were right, and ended up leaving the house at about 1:30. It was a pretty overcast day, and the rain sprinkled on us a couple of times, but luckily the weather held off enough so that it didn’t interfere with our adventure. We pulled into Sandy Point, which is just five miles or so down the road from my house, and unloaded all our gear and the rubber duck boat. Once Rodger pulled the car away and checked all the equipment and gas lines on the boat we were off!
The ride out to Amaui Island took a good thirty minutes or so. The tide was moving the wrong direction and we had a bit of a head wind. Fortunately this made for some awesome riding! Because Rodger was in a hurry to get to the island he cranked up the boat and we went skidding across the breaking waves. It seriously felt like I was tubing! Karen finally made Rodger slow down when we started flying three feet into the air and being able to just barely hold on, but I think she hesitated to tell him even then because I was laughing and grinning so much!
Finally after a bumpy ride we arrived at the island. Karen and I strapped our fins on, put on some weight belts, and jumped into the water. Karen took the Paua Plopper (the name I gave the straight metal tool we used to plop the paua off the rocks with) first and I held the catch bag so that I could watch how it was done. Karen is a master paua hunter because she would look under the water, take a deep breath, and then dive down at some invisible lump and come up with a beautiful paua. Suffice it to say, that I felt severely inadequate.
After about ten minutes Karen handed me the Paua Plopper, took the catch bag from me, and told me to give it a try. Well right when I stuck my head under water I heard a small exclamation from Karen, “oh look a seal!” Immediately I focused all of my attention on looking for the invisible paua shells. It wasn’t that I was afraid of seals, I like them actually, it was more the idea of being in the water with a large mammal, similar to how I felt with the dolphins at the Catlins. So anyway, I’m staring at the bottom of the sea with all of my attention, of course then the ‘seal’ decides to come right up close to us. Can I just say now for the record: IT WAS NOT A SEAL! It was a sea lion! I don’t know if any of you know this, but there is a really big difference between seals and sea lions. Seals are kind of like dogs or puppies, sea lions are mean!
This particular sea lion was ginormous, at least nine feet long from nose to tail-tip. It was after this first close-encounter and general sizing up that I latched on to Karen’s arm. I didn’t really make any noise, I certainly didn’t scream, but I was a little bit terrified. Of course it was then that I looked into the sea lion’s eye and saw what he was thinking, “Hmmm…American sounds good for dinner tonight. I haven’t had that in a long time!” So let me paint you all a little picture: I have been sitting in the water for a good ten minutes with this sea lion and Karen. Rodger is in the boat telling us that it is no big deal, that the sea lion is small, and that he just wants to play. Meanwhile, I am looking in Rodger’s eyes and I can tell that every word coming out of his mouth is complete crap and serving the express purpose of keeping me from freaking out. The sea lion, during this time, is getting braver and braver and showing his teeth, which are about four inches long! It isn’t too long after this that the sea lion starts nipping at our fins. Despite the numerous attempts from both Karen and myself to kick the sea lion in the head, he just kept coming and coming!
Finally Karen informed Rodger that the sea lion was going nowhere and that we needed to move because it probably felt territorial. That was all I needed to hear, I grabbed onto the side of the boat and started to pull myself up. It was then that I realized that the combination of extreme panic and ten-pound weight belt were never going to get me into the boat! Karen and Rodger realized this at about the same time, and luckily the three of us were able to get me in (Although I have to say, despite the panic I was feeling inside, on the outside I remained very calm and collected)! Feeling much braver in the boat I did my part by smacking the water and trying to catch the sea lion’s attention while Karen got into the boat. When we were all in the boat Rodger cranked up the engine and we were off! Of course, our friend the sea lion decided to follow us, I mean we were taking away his dinner, how rude of us! As soon as we rounded the point to get to the front side of the island the sea lion jumped into the air, flicked his tail, and headed back to his place. WHEW!
When we got around the point Rodger got as close as he could to the rocks on that side of the island. The reason we didn’t go to that side of the island first is because there are large swells that beat you into the rocks on shore. However, since our friend the sea lion was not very good at sharing the water, we were left with little choice. In the end, we should have been kissing the sea lion. After Karen did a quick scout and gave the A-ok, I hopped into the water. I had no qualms about getting back in because at this point I had blocked out every thought that was tied to large water mammals that tried to eat me, and focused solely on learning how to get a paua. What I realized as soon as I was in the water and looked at the ground, was that we had hit jackpot! There were pauas everywhere! Even I couldn’t miss the small, round, rock-shaped mounds sitting all over the rocks.
So after Karen got a few more pauas she handed me the paua plopper and told me to go for it! So I took a deep breath, dove down, and slipped the plopper under the paua and flicked…nothing! The paua totally saw me coming and clamped down on his little rock. Up for breath and another try. After a couple more time I picked out my paua, dove deep down, and didn’t grab anything I just stuck the plopper under him and pushed really had…FLYING PAUAS! This paua did not hear me coming! And he went flying through the water! It was really funny, it was like when you have a basketball or a softball come at you when you are not ready for it! I bobbled the paua a few times, grabbed it tight, and swam up to the top. Waiting for me was the cheers and congratulations of Rodger and Karen. I was screaming and screaming I got one I got one! Rodger told me to get to it, and after that I was a paua hunting machine! I easily caught my 10 paua limit and pretty soon it was time to go before we were pummeled into the rocks. We all hopped into the boat, made sure we didn’t have more than 30 pauas, and started to go back to shore. All this time I remained really calm and kind of quite. Then we got back to the Duncan house; that was when I lost it! As soon as I opened the door I said, “Mark, I almost got eaten by a sea lion!!!” Everyone was laughing at me and congratulating me and checking out the paua that we got. It was quite the adventure, and I am so glad that I got the opportunity to go. What an adventure!
Monday, March 24, 2008
Welcome to Enzed, where left is right!
This is the account of all the things uniquely New Zealand that I have observed. Now I know that some of these things are found in other countries, but not America. Of course the first thing is that the toilet flushes in the opposite direction. I am here to tell you all that this really is the case! It is so weird to see the water start to spin and think, wait a second!
But wait, that’s not all folks! Not only does the toilet flush in the opposite direction, you also have choices when you flush! I am not joking you. There are two buttons on the top of every toilet that lets you choose if you want to do a half-flush or a full-flush! Supposedly this is for when you are going number one or number two, but it is seriously the weirdest thing you have seen in your life! I remember when I first saw a toilet here I was worried that one was the flush down button and one was the up button, and no one ever wants the toilet to come back up! Being the proper American that I am, I always chose the right button, which happens to be the full-flush. Which is also probably why it took three weeks for me to figure it out!
As most of you probably know cars drive on the left side of the road in this country. What many of you may not know is that I don’t know how to drive a manual transmission. Because my family lives so far outside of town they have a wee little car for students to drive on rainy days. When my kiwi-dad found out that I didn’t know how to drive a stick he was determined to teach me (mostly because he didn’t want to have to drive me everywhere!). So I’m sure you can all imagine me sitting in a very small car on a little dirt road with the prospect of driving. I will now quote my exact words as I prepared to turn the car on for the first time, “I am sitting on the wrong side of the car, on the wrong side of the road, driving a stick shift. This has PROBLEM written all over it!” Oh yeah, and did I mention that the stick shift was on the left? I had about a thirty-minute lesson before Mark (my kiwi-dad) decided it would be easier to drive me everywhere. That is the last time I have gotten into a car on the driver’s side!
Another thing New Zealanders have done to mess with their American visitors is change the place of the door handles. Instead of door handles being waist high they are actually up to about your chin. So when I first got here I was constantly grabbing at air when I tried to open the doors, and actually ran into a few of them as well! Eventually I got used to it though and started reaching up to open the door. Well my family apparently likes to mess with me. Because, when I moved into the smaller room after my roommate moved out I discovered that the only door in the entire house that has lower handles is the one that goes into my room! So of course I have rewired my brain to open doors higher up, and every morning when I am still half-asleep and not thinking I reach up to open my door and run headlong into it instead! No wonder I am starting to become a morning person, there are painful consequences if you don’t wake up fully conscious!
Finally, there are two things that I am convinced America does better. Actually there are lots of things, but two that are absolutely no question. The first is line-drying your clothes. Now I know that there are still people that do this in America, but my family has never line-dried anything. It is great for your clothes because they last longer and never shrink, but can I tell you that I will never underestimate the luxuriousness of fabric softener again! One of the things I am looking forward to coming home most is having soft, warm, and deliciously smelling clothes from the dryer. Long live mechanically drying clothes! The next thing is having only one tap on sinks. You know how in the old days there was always a hot tap and a cold tap, but they were always hooked to the same pipe so you could adjust the two of them to eventually find warm or luke-warm? We have perfected this process even more by reducing the sinks down to only one tap in almost all houses. Now you just have to turn the knob until the water comes out just right. Well, lets just say that New Zealand isn’t a little behind the times, they are in the last century behind the times! Now you may think I am joking about this, but I swear that every word is true. They have TWO taps and TWO pipes for the water to come out of. You have a hot pipe and cold pipe. Which means when you are washing your face you have the options of scalding hot, or freezing cold. When you are washing your hands you can either burn them off or freeze them off. It is seriously the most annoying and idiotic system I have ever seen in my entire life. LONG LIVE WARM WATER!
But wait, that’s not all folks! Not only does the toilet flush in the opposite direction, you also have choices when you flush! I am not joking you. There are two buttons on the top of every toilet that lets you choose if you want to do a half-flush or a full-flush! Supposedly this is for when you are going number one or number two, but it is seriously the weirdest thing you have seen in your life! I remember when I first saw a toilet here I was worried that one was the flush down button and one was the up button, and no one ever wants the toilet to come back up! Being the proper American that I am, I always chose the right button, which happens to be the full-flush. Which is also probably why it took three weeks for me to figure it out!
As most of you probably know cars drive on the left side of the road in this country. What many of you may not know is that I don’t know how to drive a manual transmission. Because my family lives so far outside of town they have a wee little car for students to drive on rainy days. When my kiwi-dad found out that I didn’t know how to drive a stick he was determined to teach me (mostly because he didn’t want to have to drive me everywhere!). So I’m sure you can all imagine me sitting in a very small car on a little dirt road with the prospect of driving. I will now quote my exact words as I prepared to turn the car on for the first time, “I am sitting on the wrong side of the car, on the wrong side of the road, driving a stick shift. This has PROBLEM written all over it!” Oh yeah, and did I mention that the stick shift was on the left? I had about a thirty-minute lesson before Mark (my kiwi-dad) decided it would be easier to drive me everywhere. That is the last time I have gotten into a car on the driver’s side!
Another thing New Zealanders have done to mess with their American visitors is change the place of the door handles. Instead of door handles being waist high they are actually up to about your chin. So when I first got here I was constantly grabbing at air when I tried to open the doors, and actually ran into a few of them as well! Eventually I got used to it though and started reaching up to open the door. Well my family apparently likes to mess with me. Because, when I moved into the smaller room after my roommate moved out I discovered that the only door in the entire house that has lower handles is the one that goes into my room! So of course I have rewired my brain to open doors higher up, and every morning when I am still half-asleep and not thinking I reach up to open my door and run headlong into it instead! No wonder I am starting to become a morning person, there are painful consequences if you don’t wake up fully conscious!
Finally, there are two things that I am convinced America does better. Actually there are lots of things, but two that are absolutely no question. The first is line-drying your clothes. Now I know that there are still people that do this in America, but my family has never line-dried anything. It is great for your clothes because they last longer and never shrink, but can I tell you that I will never underestimate the luxuriousness of fabric softener again! One of the things I am looking forward to coming home most is having soft, warm, and deliciously smelling clothes from the dryer. Long live mechanically drying clothes! The next thing is having only one tap on sinks. You know how in the old days there was always a hot tap and a cold tap, but they were always hooked to the same pipe so you could adjust the two of them to eventually find warm or luke-warm? We have perfected this process even more by reducing the sinks down to only one tap in almost all houses. Now you just have to turn the knob until the water comes out just right. Well, lets just say that New Zealand isn’t a little behind the times, they are in the last century behind the times! Now you may think I am joking about this, but I swear that every word is true. They have TWO taps and TWO pipes for the water to come out of. You have a hot pipe and cold pipe. Which means when you are washing your face you have the options of scalding hot, or freezing cold. When you are washing your hands you can either burn them off or freeze them off. It is seriously the most annoying and idiotic system I have ever seen in my entire life. LONG LIVE WARM WATER!
Wait a second. Haven’t I seen that outfit before?
Just in case some of you were thinking that you have seen some of the outfits that I am wearing in pictures a few times I wanted to set the record straight. When I came to New Zealand I knew that I had three and a half months and only two 50 pound bags to get me through that time. Unfortunately I also had to bring my backpacking bag, hiking boots, tennis shoes, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, headlamp, laptop, tripod, camcorder, Scuba goggles, fins, snorkel, and booties, plus a whole bunch of books. As you can imagine this left me with very little weight for non-essentials ie: clothes! I brought with me exactly two exercise shorts, two exercise pants, three t-shirts, one pair of nice shorts, and two semi-nice long-sleeved shirts. That is it. For three and a half months. My mom has sent me a couple of new shirts and I bought a pair of jeans while I was here, but still I could fit every article of clothing I have into two drawers if I had to! So for all of you wondering why I lack a total sense of style and why I wear the same thing over and over and over again now you know!
The Story of Becks
This is the account of the general thoughts and feelings that I have about New Zealand. First off, ‘Becks.’ As you all know my real name is Rebecca, but I go by Becky. Apparently Becky is a very uncommon name here. When people say my name, Becky, it comes out sounding like biky or something like that. So when I started telling people my name, they tried Becky a few times, but as they got to know me they started calling me Becks. Not Becky, not Beck, but Becks! This may seem inconsequential, but the funny thing is that EVERYONE does it! Almost every single New Zealander that I have met while living here now calls me Becks! Personally I think it is a wonderful new nick-name and it makes me laugh every time I hear it. I even got a few thank you cards from the kids that I have worked with here and they always start the card “Dear Becks,” what a great life I have!
So the next story I have has to do with my new name. I coach a softball team here, which my little sister Sophie plays on. They don’t have baseball at all in this country and softball is still relatively unpopular. However, because they don’t have baseball, softball is a coed sport here. So I coach about eleven kids, nine boys and two girls! My softball team name is the leopards, and to say the least, the struggle a little bit! Unfortunately the coaches of the other teams are really serious, whereas we just like to play for fun. The first game I went to I was putting up my chair to watch Sophie play when Sharon, the head coach, says you’re Becks right? Uhhh…yeah that’s me. Well get up here and run these kids through warm-ups! I looked over at my Kiwi-mum Vicki accusingly (that tattle-tale had told the coach I was a softball player!) and hopped up. I have been coach ever since! When I first started to coach I could tell that there were a few who really did want to learn the sport and get better. One of these kids was Jake, with his very supportive mum Andrea. Andrea and Jake started coming by the house every week for private lessons outside of practice and games. I finally convinced Jake that he was a natural catcher and away he went! It was so fun to see him implementing the skills and drills that I had been coaching him through. I really think that I might have found my calling! At the end of the season, which was about two weeks ago, I came home from my rock-climbing trip to find an oddly-shaped card with ‘Becks’ written on the outside waiting for me. Inside it said, “To Becks, Thank you for coaching me at softball. I have enjoyed our lessons and I have learn’t a lot about being a catcher. From Jake.” The card was enough to have me grinning from ear to ear, but inside the card was a little black velvet bag. Inside the bag was a beautiful jade fish-hook necklace. Now New Zealand is famous for Jade, it is the only place in the world that you can find this particular type of greenstone. Consequentially, being a tourist and all, I also happen to know how much jade costs, especially a large pendant like the one they gave me. I was absolutely floored. I seriously think I sat there with my mouth hanging open for a good ten minutes! The Maori have a superstition about jade, that it is very unlucky to buy jade for yourself. Of course, all of us BYU kids didn’t really have a choice, we had to buy it for ourselves. I had actually decided not to buy myself any jade, mostly because of the cost. So not only was I actually given my very first piece of jade, but it was also given to me by a real Kiwi. I have truly met some of the most amazing people here. They are all so generous and accepting. I have truly been so blessed to come here and have the experiences that I have. It is humbling to be here and see the simple way that people live. It is also inspiring to see how quickly a stranger will give you the shirt off his back if it meant that it would make your life a little easier, even if that were the only shirt he had. I think we could all learn a lot about the Kiwi way of life.
So the next story I have has to do with my new name. I coach a softball team here, which my little sister Sophie plays on. They don’t have baseball at all in this country and softball is still relatively unpopular. However, because they don’t have baseball, softball is a coed sport here. So I coach about eleven kids, nine boys and two girls! My softball team name is the leopards, and to say the least, the struggle a little bit! Unfortunately the coaches of the other teams are really serious, whereas we just like to play for fun. The first game I went to I was putting up my chair to watch Sophie play when Sharon, the head coach, says you’re Becks right? Uhhh…yeah that’s me. Well get up here and run these kids through warm-ups! I looked over at my Kiwi-mum Vicki accusingly (that tattle-tale had told the coach I was a softball player!) and hopped up. I have been coach ever since! When I first started to coach I could tell that there were a few who really did want to learn the sport and get better. One of these kids was Jake, with his very supportive mum Andrea. Andrea and Jake started coming by the house every week for private lessons outside of practice and games. I finally convinced Jake that he was a natural catcher and away he went! It was so fun to see him implementing the skills and drills that I had been coaching him through. I really think that I might have found my calling! At the end of the season, which was about two weeks ago, I came home from my rock-climbing trip to find an oddly-shaped card with ‘Becks’ written on the outside waiting for me. Inside it said, “To Becks, Thank you for coaching me at softball. I have enjoyed our lessons and I have learn’t a lot about being a catcher. From Jake.” The card was enough to have me grinning from ear to ear, but inside the card was a little black velvet bag. Inside the bag was a beautiful jade fish-hook necklace. Now New Zealand is famous for Jade, it is the only place in the world that you can find this particular type of greenstone. Consequentially, being a tourist and all, I also happen to know how much jade costs, especially a large pendant like the one they gave me. I was absolutely floored. I seriously think I sat there with my mouth hanging open for a good ten minutes! The Maori have a superstition about jade, that it is very unlucky to buy jade for yourself. Of course, all of us BYU kids didn’t really have a choice, we had to buy it for ourselves. I had actually decided not to buy myself any jade, mostly because of the cost. So not only was I actually given my very first piece of jade, but it was also given to me by a real Kiwi. I have truly met some of the most amazing people here. They are all so generous and accepting. I have truly been so blessed to come here and have the experiences that I have. It is humbling to be here and see the simple way that people live. It is also inspiring to see how quickly a stranger will give you the shirt off his back if it meant that it would make your life a little easier, even if that were the only shirt he had. I think we could all learn a lot about the Kiwi way of life.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Apologies, Sorries, many pardons, the works.
So here is the story my amazing family and friends. As you may have noticed my blog has been slcking a bit. Around the 11th of February I got really sick. Nothing serious, but enough to keep me from doing anything but sleep for a couple of days. This, as you may have guessed, included my blog. When I finally did feel better I still couldn't get up the energy to update my blog. Well as the days piled up, my blog remained neglected, and for that I am sorry. In looking back at my blog, however, I think this may turn into a positive thing. Instead of giving a day-by-day account I am only going to write about the big and exciting events. This will save all of you from having to sift through the mundane, and save me from the guilt of not updating everyday. I will go back and write about some of the cooler things that I have been doing, such as bungee jumping, sledging, jetboating, hiking the Routeburn, and learning to surf and kayak. Look out for the updates, they WILL be coming. I'm sorry again for the slacking off on my part and hope you all enjoy the blog even more now.
PS: I included the few days that I already had written down, the only real important thing from them is that I lost my roommate.
PS: I included the few days that I already had written down, the only real important thing from them is that I lost my roommate.
Day Thirty February 10, 2008 Sunday
This morning we woke up early and got ready for church. Taylor decided to come with me to church because she didn’t want to help with the ‘surf to city’ race that is going on this morning. We had to leave about a half an hour early so that we could get to the church before the race started. I think Taylor liked church, she certainly like Marcie who is a loud kind of crazy girl from our group! We did end up watching a movie in Sunday school though, so that was kind of lame. It was still a fun day at church though. Vicki picked us up after church and we came home for a little lunch. After lunch we decided to all go to the beach. The surf was good, but the waves weren’t very strong. I was only in the water for about 40 minutes because I felt like playing on the sand. While I was playing on the sand I started feeling a bit off, and not in a good way at all. We went to get ice cream cones after the beach and I ended up getting one against my better judgment. I laid down when we got home and took a short nap, but by the time tea came around I really wasn’t feeling well at all. I did make it to tea, but apparently my face was showing the sick feelings as well, because Vicki told me to head to bed after I didn’t eat very much dinner.
Day Twenty-Nine February 9, 2008 Saturday
This morning I woke up semi-early to go to Sophie’s softball game at ten. We got there fairly early so that Sophie could warm up with her team. Apparently word got around that I was a softball player, because I wasn’t in my chair five minutes before the coach turned the team over to me and had me running drills! It was seriously so much fun, I think I have found my calling! It was a little weird working with boys, because they don’t have baseball here. The game went well, my little team needs a whole lot of work, but they are cute. We ended up losing 16-10, which considering the other team was coached by a Bobby Cox wannabe, I thought we did really well! After softball we headed home to have some lunch. I worked with the girls to get my room switched over to the smaller room. I really like this new room, it is done in all purple and is really sunny. It is about half the size of the other room, so I don’t feel so lonely. While we were switching Jen got her two little girls ready to leave, they are going up to Auckland for a few days before they head back home to Port Douglas in Australia. It was a bummer to see them go, I really liked Jen, we had a lot in common, but we are facebook friends, so hopefully we will keep in touch. By the time we finally got the rooms totally switched around it was time for tea. No one is feeling very well so we are all going to bed pretty early.
Day Twenty-Eight February 8, 2008 Friday
Today was a fairly boring and basic day, sorry! I woke up early and biked to school, getting there a bit before nine. We had a quick service meeting to discuss times and locations for us to get our hours done. I have pretty much all of my hours already scheduled, so I really am not too worried about it. I went upstairs again to read and read my book for class for about four straight hours. At one I went to class and enjoyed my lesson very much. This family life class I am in is very nice and I think it will be a very good class. After class I answered a few e-mails and headed home early because it started to look like rain. When I got home I helped Jen a bit with the girls and we all ate tea. After tea we all hung around and did this and that. Around 8:30 I decided it was about time I introduced Jen to Music and Lyrics. She went crazy for it! I love introducing great movies to people who have never seen them before! After the movie we all went to bed, I am completely zonked!
Day Twenty-Seven February 7, 2008 Thursday
Today I woke up feeling much better. Erin and I slept in again as we didn’t have class until one, and got to campus around 11:30. We went to talk to Ken the program director for SIT to see what he said about Erin and the cat situation. When he finally met with us he told us that Erin was moving into the city today and I would be on my own in Otatara. At first I was a bit trepidatious at this idea, Otatara is a long ways away from the city and I will be living on my own, which is technically against BYU rules. I went upstairs our school to the computer lab to think and finish my homework reading assignment. As I was reading it dawned on me: I have lived in the city my whole life, and probably will for a good majority of the rest of it. I will never have the opportunity to live on a farm in New Zealand with a family I already know I love aver again in my entire life. There is no way that I could think of moving. The thought is just ridiculous. Will I get lonely? Probably. But the alternative is something I know I will regret. Now at least I don’t have to share my family! After school Erin said she was going out to the house to get her stuff. I really didn’t want to be there when she packed everything up, so I hung around town a bit looking at all the different shops. I finally decided to head home around at around five and began the first of many solo bike rides home. When I got home I had a bit of a welcoming party at the gate, Taylor was there and Jen with her two girls. As soon as I walked into the gate Taylor gave me a big hug and asked if I was ok. I had prepared myself to ask her if she was ok! I came into my room and put my stuff down and Vicki came in and gave me a big hug and asked me if I was ok as well. Well you all know me, I’m always fine until someone asks me if I am ok, just ask my dad! I tried really hard to hold the tears in though and only a couple squeezed out. Vicki told me that she and Mark would not be offended at all if I decided to move, and that it was easy for Erin to just leave, but it would be a lot harder for me to be here on my own, and that whatever I decided would be just fine. Have I mentioned that I really do love this family? We all had a bit of tea together and I watched the Biggest Loser with everyone and then went to bed to do a little reading. This room feels really empty, I’m glad that Vicki asked if she could move the girls into the big room and put me in the small room, it will be a lot better.
Day Twenty-Six February 6, 2008 Wednesday
Happy Waitangi Day! Today is the day New Zealand signed a treaty about land and ownership rights. Supposedly they try to make it New Zealand day, so basically our fourth of July on a much smaller scale. All of this translates into: NO SCHOOL! YAY! I woke up this morning around eleven, I am feeling quite a bit better, but still not a hundred percent. Erin threw up this morning at around 3:00 am, which was just shortly after Vicki. I guess what I had really was a flu bug, because it seems to be making its way through the household. Erin and I were driven into town this morning to save ourselves the exertion of biking because we have been so recently ill. We met up with a bunch of the girls around 12:30. We walked a bit into Queens Park and plopped down on a nice bit of grass somewhere in the middle about. I was finally able to eat a bit, but not very much. Most of the kids decided to play a rousing game of 500, but a select few, myself included, decided to read under one of the many beautiful trees. This sitting and reading went on for quite some time, and around three I ended up finishing my book, The Kite Runner. It was good, different from what I expected, but good nonetheless. Gina, Vicki’s mum, picked us up from the park around four and took us home. We ended up eating a nice spot of tea and just hanging around the house watching a spot of tv and getting to bed at a decent hour. Since the whole house is a bit off the weather it was a relief to get to bed and call it a day.
Day Twenty-Five February 5, 2008 Tuesday
I was sick today, really, really sick. Either I have a touch of the flu or that kiwi I ate last night really was as funky as it tasted. Anyway, there isn’t too much to report for today as a result. I threw up from about 3 to 6 am. I called my advisor Mark and told him I wouldn’t be able to come to school, sending Erin with the same message for my teacher. When Erin left at eight I was finally able to get a little sleep, although it was pretty restless. I got a package from my Dad today, which made me so happy I nearly cried, but I didn’t get the energy to open it for about four hours after I got it. At around 2:30 I gave my sister a call because I had promised to call her the day before but couldn’t due to the barbeque. After I talked to Maria I also called my mom to see how she was doing, because when you are sick sometimes you just need to talk to your mom! After I finished talking to her I decided to see if getting some sunlight and human interaction would help. I went out into the living room and watched a movie on the couch. Unfortunately, after about three hours this caused me to have a blinding headache on top of my achey joints and nauseous stomach. I went back to my room and took some advil and pepto pills that I brought with me and fell asleep again. Now it is eleven o’clock and I just woke up. I am feeling loads better, but still not 100%. The good new is that I haven’t thrown up for about 17 hours and was able to keep four crackers and two dry pieces of toast down. I think that I will be alright by midday tomorrow, at least I hope so. Sorry this was a boring update, but I guess we always have some of the bad mixed in with the good. Also, some people have asked if there will be any more adventures now that school has started. The short answer is yes, but probably only every other weekend or so. The long answer is yes, because every single day feels like an adventure, even with the constancy of school I never really know what I am going to get!
Day Twenty-Four February 4, 2008 Monday
Erin and I woke up early today to get to school. We met John Kappa today, who will be the instructor for our rec classes. He seems really cool, but of course we only had to be there for like two hours! So after school we didn’t have anything to do. We kind of bummed around a bit and checked out the local fanfare. We talked to Ken about Erin’s cat allergy situation again, hopefully they will figure it out soon, I hate being in limbo. Finally it was 5:30, which was the time Chase’s birthday bbq started. It was pretty fun and the food was really good. We ended up playing a bunch of totally ridiculous games that made us all look ridiculous but were way fun. After the bbq Erin and I hopped on our bikes and headed home. We stopped at a park on the way home and played around on the spider-web, zip line, and giant swing for a while. When we got home I was totally zonked and had a bit of a stomachache, I think I ate something funky. So I’m off to bed so that hopefully I will feel better.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Day Twenty-Three February 3, 2008 Sunday
Erin and I woke up to another beautiful day this morning. We each quickly took showers and I started my morning with a very focused fast, which was nice, as I haven’t done that in a while. Church was really nice. Despite the short sleep I got last night, I didn’t get sleepy in church at all, which was doubly amazing as it was fast Sunday! I considered bearing my testimony, but I think what I have to say needs to stew for a while longer, next month or the next should be good. In Sunday school sister Jenny (her last name is impossible to pronounce but it is something like Naewhooroo) told the most hilarious story about how she and her husband, the branch president, got together. Basically they went on one date and he proposed, and she didn’t even like him! Despite the fact that I would really like to marry for love, I think I would be all for an arranged marriage, I HATE DATING!!!!! Anyway, when church was over the Duncans picked us up and we changed clothes. Erin decided to take a nap, but I went with everyone else to Vicki’s nephew’s boarding school initiation. This was one of the most amazing experiences I have ever seen. I sat in a room full of eleven year-old boys who were scared to death and their families who were about to say goodbye to each other for the school semester. I cannot imagine going away to school at eleven! It was hard enough at 18! The whole experience was really neat, school is so different here that I just want to immerse myself in it. As pretty much everyone knows, school is just about my favorite thing in the world, and being here makes me kind of want to start all over again and experience it the Kiwi way! When we said goodbye to Ben after the light tea they served we came home and started fixing our own tea. The Duncans had to move the cows, so Vicki put me to work peeling, cutting, and seasoning the potatoes. I must say they make amazing potatoes down here, and I am going to come home with some rocking recipes! After tea we watched a bit of tv as a family and I colored in Erin’s coloring book. I know it doesn’t seem like I did much today, but I felt like I learned a lot. Now I am exhausted and am ready for my first day of school tomorrow (my first official day with an SIT instructor). The good new is, it is supposed to be beautiful weather through Friday, knock on wood!
Day Twenty-Two February 2, 2008 Saturday
Today Erin and I didn’t set our alarm because we didn’t need to go anywhere except the ward barbeque at noon. We assumed that we would have a nice lie-in but still have plenty of time to do everything else and get there on time. Yeah, that didn’t happen. Vicki had to come wake us up at 11:15! I guess this last week has really exhausted us because we always wake up early! We quickly got ready and hopped on our bikes to go to Donovan Park, which believe it or not, is actually farther than the church! We got to the bbq around 1:30 and had some delicious food. However, I think the combination of the food and biking made me a little sick. I decided to watch the sack races and egg toss because I was feeling a bit off and knew I had to bike home. I ended up sleeping a little in the grass, but not much. We have a really nice ward down here and it was fun to see all of us interact with everyone. After the bbq we rode our bikes back to the school to get on the internet. Unfortunately the school doors were locked, so Erin and I biked back over to the Warehouse to look for some church skirts because we are both completely sick of the ones we brought. After shopping a while we biked home. I asked Vicki about how far we biked today and she said it had to be at least 40 Ks, meaning a little over 24 miles! My thighs and bum are definitely feeling it, especially since it was the second day in a row of going that far. When we came home we helped out with dinner a bit and had another bbq with Mark’s friend Roger and his kids Kyle and Kimberley. I tried some Paua and blue cod, but mostly stuck with the venison, which was absolutely divine. The kids wanted to watch Eragon, so I watched it while I worked on my pictures for my slide show. I’m going to have to do another slide show because it only holds fifty, but I think it was a pretty good start. It was an absolutely beautiful day today, and the stars were incredible. I am beyond wiped and have to wake up early for church. So this is the conclusion of another day in the most amazing place on earth.
Day Twenty-One February 1, 2008 Friday
It rained. Hard. We biked. Today I woke up at about 7 in order to get to town by 9. I had some toast with peanut butter, since I now have that luxury! As I was eating breakfast I watched the rain coming down outside, it was coming down in just about every direction you could imagine! The only thing that was going through my head is: I have to bike through that! Despite my trepidations I donned all of the expensive rain gear that I bought back in the states and headed to my bike in the garage. I looked pretty funny with big black rain pants and jacket with my hood up, a bright yellow reflective safety vest, and a helmet and backpack! I wrapped the contents of my backpack in a garbage bag so that it wouldn’t get soaked, but the bag itself was on its own! When we were all decked out we hopped on the bikes and set off. We got to school pretty quickly and dragged ourselves sopping and dripping into our classroom at SIT. Everyone was laughing at everyone else, because we all looked like wet puppy dogs! We sat in our classroom and listened to Mark go through each of the different classes, I am taking two of the three classes, Family Life and the Religion class that goes through the history of the church in New Zealand. At about eleven we broke up for the day, however those who had family life had to return at one for our first class. I decided to get ahead a little on my reading for the class, eat my pack lunch, and check my e-mail a bit. Class was really good, I think I am going to enjoy it a lot. It is an in-depth look at the proclamation to the family. I think that I will be able to add quite a bit as a philosophy student and by having a divorced family. We went through and were talking about how in New Zealand families so seldomly stay together or even get married at all. I find it hilarious that I came to New Zealand to have a whole family and everyone else is experience the other way for the first time! When it all comes down to it though, I love my family here in New Zealand, but I wouldn’t trade my family back home for anything. After class it was about three and we had to be at the church at seven. I asked Erin if she would rather jus stay in town and hang out until volleyball. We actually decided to go to a movie, because both of us wanted to see Juno and it was playing at four. We got some sandwiches at the grocery store and snuck them into the theater. The movie was really good, I liked it a lot. Afterwards we went to the two dollar store and Erin got some coloring books and a watch. Then we biked to the church, which is again, another million miles away in the opposite direction from home. Volleyball was cool, but a lot of people in a very small gym (Smelly!). Erin and I ended up riding home at around 8:30. We got home at about 9:20 and watched a little tv. I checked my e-mail again and now I am finally going to bed at 11:30, I am seriously so exhausted!
Day Twenty January 31, 2008 Thursday
Today I woke up at about nine. I had some toast for breakfast and got my swimming suit on. Erin wants to teach me how to do pilates, so we spent about twenty minutes ‘doing’ pilates, but most of the time I was in hysterics, well I guess I still got an ab workout anyway. After our pilates exercises we hopped on our bikes and road out to the main road to meet everyone else on their way to the beach. We met up with them at about ten minutes to eleven and continued on down to Oreti beach. The water was full of seaweed due to the tide, so we got a game of Ultimate Frisbee going. That was a lot of fun, but we only played one game because it was getting too hot. After the Frisbee game I decided to just deal with the seaweed and jumped in the water. I brought the boogy board with me on my backpack, but the waves weren’t very strong. I went in after a few minutes and layed out on the beach for a while. It was getting close to one, so I decided to head back home so I could talk to my Mom. I finally got to talk to her and I loved hearing the news from Kentucky and telling her all about what I have been doing here. When I hung up with my mom I decided to give my grandma a call. It was really nice to talk to my grandma, and I am glad she is starting to feel better. She said she will do everything she can to make it to my graduation in April, and that is all I care about! After talking to my family I read my book for a while to kill some time. We had tea early because we wanted to go into town at six to watch our friends play in a rugby game. We got to the game, but it was touch rugby, and only 30 minutes long. It was really fun to watch our friends play, but a little more boring than I thought it would be. After the game Erin and I decided to walk around town a little. We ended up finding a dollar on the street so we decided to buy some ice cream cones. After the ice cream cones we went to the Countdown supermarket and Erin and I each got some peanut butter, because the Duncan’s don’t have any. I also got some yogurt because basically yogurt here is amazing! After Vicki picked us up we came home and watched a little tv. Now I am totally exhausted and school starts tomorrow.
Day Nineteen January 30, 2008 Wednesday
Today I had a bit of a lie-in. I guess that day at the beach really took it out of me! I woke up at about nine and got ready for a day in town. Erin had a meeting in Queens Park at eleven, so we headed out at about five after ten. The bike ride really is a very nice little ride. It is indeed quite a distance, but very doable. I’m really excited about it actually because my thighs are going to be amazing when I go home. We got to Queens Park with about ten minutes to spare so we sat by the big water fountain and waited for the rest of Erin’s group. Eventually they all got there and a couple of the other girls who had just come with their roommates decided to go to the school to get on the internet. I decided to tag along and see if I could get the wireless to work. I ended up loading pictures and talking most of the hour because I couldn’t figure out the wireless. At about ten minutes to 12 we rode our bikes across town to Pizza Hut for Tyler’s birthday. It was nice, but I didn’t want to eat there so I ended up leaving with two other girls on a hunt for wireless internet. I thought for sure that Starbucks would have it, since it is free in the states. However, after I got all situated inside I tried to log on and found that you had to pay to be able to use it! I was very discouraged to say the least. I decided to head back to the school by myself and at the very least e-mail the people that had written to me so that they got some type of update. Luckily after I was there for a while one of my friends came into the lab with her external flash drive (I had forgotten mine) and I was able to finally update my blog! I am amazingly behind in putting pictures up, but at least now everyone can know what has been happening to me. While I was in the computer lab my roommate told me that she talked to our director about switching houses because she is allergic to the cat. I started to panic a little because I love my house and family and I didn’t want to have to leave. I decided that I would go talk to the director myself. Luckily Ken assured me that even if they had to move Erin out that they would do everything they could to keep me here. Feeling better I hopped on my bike to meet Erin by the bridge at five to make it home in time for tea. The bike rides were both very pleasant today, although I know that my muscles will be protesting for the next few days. We came back home to a wonderful supper of curry and cooked cabbage which was absolutely divine! After dinner Erin wasn’t feeling too well so I went with Vicki and the girls to her friend Sandra’s house to do a little socializing. They actually asked me a couple questions about the church, none relating to doctrine of course, and I was amazed at how little they knew. BYU students have been coming down here for a few years now, don’t they ever open their mouths? I guess that I have earned my right as the ‘loud one’ as Vicki likes to call me! The funny thing about that is that Erin is louder than me when we are with our group and I have been the quite one for the last two years with Tanya, so being dubbed as the loud one is actually quite hysterical for me! I am totally spent, so I am going to hit the sack so I have plenty of energy for the beach tomorrow.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Day Eighteen January 29, 2008 Tuesday
Today Erin and I woke up at about 7:30 to get ready to go to the Catlins. The boys from our group picked us up at eight after we had some cereal, and Vicki was nice enough to make us our lunches. We piled in the van, picking a few others up on the way, and making it to the school just a tad later than 8:30 when we were supposed to be there. Everyone loaded into vans and we were off. It felt like old times again in the vans, and I have to say that I wasn’t quite ready for those times to start again! I read my book most of the way there. We finally arrived and decided to go to the petrified forest first. I don’t know what I was expecting, but not what I saw! It was a whole beach of big flat rocks that went out right into the ocean. When we got close it was easy to tell that the rocks were once in the shape of wood, but it was really cool. I got some amazing pictures with the ocean spray and the beautiful scenery. After the petrified forest we got back in the vans and drove about 35 seconds to the beach that was the Catlins. Now what I am going to talk about next will be absolutely impossible to believe, but I promise that every word is true, so be warned. I quickly ate a sandwich when we pulled up to the beach and changed my basketball shorts for my swimming shorts. When I got out I ran down to the beach with everyone else and threw my shoes off on the way. The water was absolutely freezing, so I decided that the best method was to run in and dive head first into the first wave that came my way. It was a little breathtaking, but I recovered and acclimated fairly quickly. Once I was in the water I played in the waves a bit, but not too long after we got there someone said the magic word: dolphins. I saw a few of the dolphins a ways out, and knowing that I am a fairly good swimmer I decided to swim out to about where they were (it really wasn’t too far, maybe 50 yards). Anyway, so I get out there pretty far and completely by myself and I think that for some reason the dolphins like me, because they came up next to me pretty immediately. We aren’t allowed to touch the dolphins because they have very delicate skin, but I can tell you this much, one dolphin came so close to me that I was able to look in it’s eyeball! It was about this time that I decided to analyze my situation: 50 yards out, all by myself, 4 to 7 five-foot mammals swimming all around me, yep time to go back! It was really cool, and I didn’t actually get scared, but it was a little unsettling how the dolphins move, its like they are in one place one moment and a completely different place the next! Once I got back in I told everyone what happened and of course they were all jealous, so some of them got a little bolder and started going out farther. In the mean time I grabbed a boogy board and went farther down the beach with about four other people to see if I could see the dolphins surf the waves and jump out the backs of them. On my way out to meet the others the dolphins again decided to come visit me up close and personal! This time there were about four of them and they were right next to me! Finally I got out to the others and watched the dolphins swimming the waves for a few minutes. Eventually we decided to go in because we were getting cold. Most of the others were faster to get into shore than I was because I was dragging the board with me. Apparently there was one point where they all looked back at me when I was on the tip top of a 15 foot wave and there were dolphins on every side of me and even under me! They were so close to me that my friends were worried they were going to hit me! I don’t know what it was, but for some reason the dolphins totally loved me! We finally got into shore and were telling anyone who would listen how majestic the dolphins were when they rode the waves together, like synchronized swimmers! At this point I had been in the water for about an hour and was really starting to feel the chill. I decided to lay out on the beach for a while. After about 40 minutes of laying on the beach we were all ready to go home. I went up to the vans to climb in, but the boys were taking forever, so I started reading some of the signs by the bay entrance. Most of the signs were about the dolphins. The kind of dolphins that visit the bay are called Hector’s dolphins. I guess they are a very endangered species and there are only about 3,000 left in the entire world! They are a very pretty dolphin, they grow only to about five feet, but they have many different shades of grey that make up their body, not just one like most bottle nose dolphins. It was seriously one of the most incredible things I have ever done in my entire life! We finally all climbed back into the vans and went to a cave, but unfortunately we had to pay to get in and we were running short on time, so we decided to skip it. We drove home to Invercargill and went to the bike shop to get our bikes. I have to say, I was expecting some fairly worn second-hand bikes. We were all shocked when we pulled up and saw 40 brand spanking new shiny red mountain bikes waiting for us! We all figured out what sizes we needed and picked out helmets and locks. Finally Erin and I got all checked out and started riding our new bikes home. I’m fairly positive it was the fact that we spent all day at the ocean and I had a million pound pack on my back, but the fact that we live so faraway was painfully clear this afternoon! We finally made it home at about half past six and I immediately went for the shower. When I was done we ate supper, an amazingly delicious Sheppard’s pie, and decided to all watch a movie together. We watched the Holiday because my family had never seen it before. Of course they all loved it. They laughed at the way that I laugh so openly during movies and things when I think they are comical. It has been brought to my attention before, but I figure it is always better to laugh in life than to keep silent! I hope the bike ride tomorrow is easier!
Day Seventeen January 28, 2008 Monday
Today Erin and I woke up at about a quarter to nine and had some breakfast. We have committed to exercising every single morning before school so that we can get in shape. This morning we took the girls to the little community center pool and did laps for about 45 minutes while they played. The pool was perfect, it is about 30 meters long and only a couple of feet deep, so it is the perfect lap pool. Also, there is a nice little bush walk by our house as well, so Erin and I figured we could jog through the bush walk to the pool, then swim laps for a while, then bike into town for class. If we do that every morning we will be in amazing shape! After swimming we came back home and took showers and got ready to go to town to pick up our bikes. Just before we left we had some sandwiches for lunch. We got to school at one and they told us that they didn’t have our bikes for us because they had been shipped a day later than expected, but they promised that they would be there the next day. This wasn’t really a big deal, except for the fact that we told Vicki she wouldn’t have to pick us up because we could just bike home. We felt really bad, but eventually we did end up calling her to come get us because when we tried to line up a ride with Tyler and Cameron they got a flat tire. It turned out to not be that big of a deal though. After we got a quick tour of the school we waited for about three hours to get our ID cards. When we finally got our cards we walked to the lollie shop so I could get a phone card, and then we continued on to The Warehouse (the equivalent to a small-scale Wal-Mart). Vicki came and picked us up from The Warehouse at about five. I came home and called my boys for the first time! It was so good to hear their voices, I missed them even more than I thought I did. I wished I could have called my mom and sister, but since they are on the East coast it would have been about 12:30 at night, so I decided to wait. I might not be able to call them until Wednesday because tomorrow we are going to the Catlins and may not be back until fairly late. Hopefully I will be able to talk to them soon though. It was great to hear from home, but I really am glad that I am here, I am learning so much about the world and myself. Just before I talked to my boys I found out that President Hinckley died. I was sad of course, but I know that he has done so much with his life and so much for the church that he is in good hands now and he will finally be able to see his sweet wife again. After a delicious dinner we all sat down and talked for a while. Vicki’s brother is here with his wife and two little girls, so it was fun to see them. They are from Australia. They decided to go see a movie in town and Erin and I decided to tag along. We saw Cloverfield, which was interesting, and very artistic, but one I would only see once. Now it is late and I have to wake up super early.
Day Sixteen January 27, 2008 Sunday
Today we woke up at about eight so we could get ready for church in time. Of course after we got all ready we received a phone call telling us it wasn’t until ten! I will never again in my life underestimate the joys of a hot shower and a mattress to sleep on, last night was heaven! We had cereal for breakfast, and a little bit of fruit salad, which was lovely. After breakfast we hung around for a bit and then Mark drove us to church. It is quite a long distance from the house, I would guess probably 7-9 km, which will not be very fun in the rain on bicycles! We went to church and met our new ward. Everyone was very friendly and happy to meet us. They didn’t give out specific assignments yet, but I think I am going to be teaching relief society one week. Church was a little long, they have trouble filling all the time they are given with their regular speakers, so someone from the presidency gets up and rambles for a bit until the time is through! One of the best parts about church was hearing about everyone else’s families. I am fully convinced that Erin and I have the best family far and away! When we came back from church we had lunch and ate these amazing sandwiches. After lunch we walked over to the eastern paddock to see the new calf that was born three days ago, it was very cute. When we said goodbye to the cows and the horse Mark and the girls suggested we go to the beach. We drove about 5km down the rode to the beach here and the girls and I took turns on the boogy boards. Erin didn’t want to get all gross again, but I just dove right in! After about an hour we headed back to the house to help Vicki get ready for the barbeque. Yes we had another barbeque tonight! Vicki and Mark had the food pretty much under control, so I went outside to take the clothes off the line. I must say that I will never again underestimate the extravagance of fabric softener! When I had all the clothes folded and off the line I came inside and the girls wanted to watch a movie until the barbeque started. I have to tell you about the barbeques in New Zealand, because I am convinced that it is how we should be doing it in the states. First of all, no one starts cooking until all the guests have arrived, just all of the preparations are done in advance. This is nice because everyone works together and socializes while the food is cooking. The next great thing is that everyone brings a little bit of everything. In America usually the host party will handle the meat, while guests bring dessert or a salad or something. Here, because everyone brings some of everything, there are about seven different kinds of meats, three salads, and at least two desserts! It really is a whole bunch of fun, and such a fine array of flavors! The barbeque was great and the food was incredible. I am kind of hoping that they don’t keep feeding me like this though, because I am never going to get in shape if they do! After we were done eating the girls wanted to watch Pride and Prejudice, so we sat down and watched it with them. Now it is late and I am stuffed and very sleepy, it has been another amazing day in paradise. (My arms are ridiculously dark now, and I still have three months to go, I can’t wait to see them when I get home!)
Day Fifteen January 26, 2008 Saturday
Today I woke up around eight. I had some breakfast and packed up all of my sleeping gear. The girl who usually assists with packing the trailers was injured a few days ago in Christchurch. I decided that today would be a good day to use my muscles and show my stuff. I packed one of the trailers with all of the bags, and did a pretty bang up job. The trailers are small, and they have to fit a whole lot of different sized bags, it is kind of like playing Jenga! After we were all packed up we hopped in the vans and rolled out of Cromwell at about ten. We drove for a couple of hours and ended up stopping at the Kaurau river bungee jumping site that I have been telling you all about. It was a little shocking to be there, and no one really wanted to jump today because we wanted the feelings of anticipation, so we just watched a few jumps and got back in the vans. We pulled over for lunch a little ways outside of Queenstown right alongside a beautiful lake, that was absolutely breathtaking. Finally after lunch we all piled into the vans again and headed off, knowing that our next stop would be home! We arrived in Invercargill at around three, to a spectacularly beautiful day. It is so gorgeous here, and the city is small, but very diverse, and I can tell it will be very fun to explore. We pulled into a small car park across the street from our school (SIT) and unloaded our trailers. When we were all unloaded we sat back and waited for our family, the Duncan’s, to come and pick us up. Everybody’s family kept coming except mine and Erin’s. It was a little sad for a few minutes, we felt kind of like the ugly puppies that only get adopted after all of the cute ones are gone! We needn’t have worried though, our family came in the end, and the saying good things come to those who wait has never rung truer! My mom’s name is Vicki and her husband Mark. They have two girls, Taylor who is 13 and Sophie who is 10. They are all white, big, and blonde, so I fit right in! They are not Maori, but they were all born and raised right here in Invercargill. We hopped into Vicki’s car and we headed to the house. The Duncan’s live a ways outside of town in a little village called Otatara. They are going to give us a car, but there is a problem, it is a manual transmission, and neither Erin nor I know how to drive one! We aren’t planning on driving it often, but to church would be nice! I have no idea what we are going to do! Here is the best part though, the Duncan’s live on a ten acre patch of land with cows and chickens! My dad has always said I should live on a farm, well I live on a very small scale one today, so I guess he will be happy! I am seriously so excited, my family is so nice and sweet and they told us that we really live there, that we are just one of the family. One of the cows calved yesterday and a batch of chicks was born two days ago. Also there is a dog named Ziggy, who is almost as cute as Buddy and about the same age. I am so glad she is here, because she will keep me from missing Buddy too much! Once Erin and I unpacked and got settled the Duncan’s asked us if we wanted to go to a barbeque, of course we were thrilled to meet some other New Zealanders and heartily accepted! We all piled into the car again and headed off to their friend’s house Gordon and Deborah. Some other friends named Gregg and Lisa were there too. All the adults were drinking of course, but the conversation and food was so good that the time just flew by. Gordon and Deborah had just returned from a trip to America, and it was so fun to hear some of the same reactions they had about our country that we had about theirs! Before we knew it it was ten and Erin and I could barely keep our eyes open. I am so exhausted that I think I might fall asleep right this second, but it has been an amazing day. I seriously cannot believe my luck with my family. I realized this will be the first time I have lived in a traditional family setting for about six years. I am so excited for the next three months that I need to go to sleep now so I can wake up and start having a blast! (Too bad we have church tomorrow!)
Day Fourteen January 25, 2008 Friday
Today we woke up at 6:30 in the morning. We were packed up and ready to go quickly, with muffins in the van for breakfast. We all piled into the vans and headed out. We stopped not too far into the drive at a glacial river. It was seriously the color of glacier freeze flavored Gatorade, I wonder if that is where they got the name? We then drove to an actual glacier and took a small hike up to get to a point where we could really see it, It was amazing! Our third stop we made at the biggest glacier of all, it took up the whole side of the mountain, and was all different colors. It was absolutely beautiful. What was really amazing to me was that there was this huge glacier coming down the side of the mountain, and all around it were hills of lush tropical-forest type foliage with waterfalls and sheer cliffs! It was an amazing thing to behold, and really made me appreciate some of God’s finer creations. After the last glacier we had lunch and piled in the vans again. The whole trip took over ten hours, and at least eight of them were in the vans, if not longer. We watched two movies and talked a lot. It goes without saying that we are all extremely sick of each other and ready for this last van ride tomorrow that will finally bring us to Invercargill. When we finally reached Cromwell we lounged for a while, then ate dinner. I played some volleyball after dinner for about an hour, and that was fun. Now I am really ready for bed.
Day Thirteen January 24, 2008 Thursday
Today we woke up super early and packed and grabbed breakfast on the run. We piled into the vans and headed across the island to Greymouth. The drive seemed to take about a hundred years, but I can’t say it wasn’t beautiful. We drove through Arthur’s Pass, which was breathtaking. Also, after we had lunch we did a short hike called the Devil’s Punchbowl up to a gorgeous waterfall! It was a beautiful hike, and a wonderful finish. After our hike we all got back in again and started driving for another few hours. All told we probably drove about six hours today. When we finally arrived in Greymouth everyone got really excited because we are literally on the beach. Not joking I am probably a hundred yards from the Tasman Sea at this moment separated only by a couple of bushes. When we got here we all went out to the beach and fell asleep and talked in the sun. We would have played games, but it is a rocky beach, not a sandy one. We eventually had dinner and then went to the grocery store to by supplies for tomorrow’s van ride. When we came back we all went out to the beach again to watch the sunset, which was absolutely breathtaking. Now I am ready for bed. We have an insanely long van ride tomorrow, at the very least ten hours, because we are driving from Greymouth to Cromwell. We will get in really late and then arrive in Invercargill Saturday morning. Man am I ready to have a home and a bed, I can’t wait to meet my new family!
Day Twelve January 23, 2008 Wednesday
Today we were able to sleep in a bit, which was really nice. We ate breakfast around 9:30, got ready for the day, and headed to Christchurch around eleven. Luckily, the weather couldn’t have been more opposite from yesterday, it was beautiful!!! When we first arrived a bunch of the girls decided to go to the jade factory. I got a couple of presents for people, but nothing for myself. I was tempted, but my rational side reminded me that I really don’t wear necklaces, and green doesn’t look that great on me anyway! After the jade factory we broke up into smaller groups. I ended up spending almost the entire day with my tent buddy Julia. I totally love this girl, she is easy-going and probably the sweetest person I have ever met. First when we got to cathedral square we checked out the little souvenir shops. We didn’t really find anything that was well-priced and non-tacky. After the shops we saw a man that was called Lord Livingstone, and that was exactly what he was. It was a man dressed in a stone-like outfit that pretended to be a statue, it was incredible! After the funny man we checked out some of the statues and went into the cathedral. Our first reaction was shocked awe. The cathedral was done in the neo-gothic style, and it was so incredible inside we were both amazed. We decided to fork up the two dollars to climb to the top of the tower so we could look out over the whole city. I have to say the view was worth it, but there were so many steps we both decided they should be paying us! After the cathedral we went to the little outdoor marketplace. It was full of all sorts of cute little shops and fun handmade knick knacks. Again I was tempted, but decided not to splurge. After the little market place we went to lunch at a little coffee house called the coffee club. Words cannot describe how good my sandwich was after a week and a half of pb&j for lunch! Julia and I decided to split a slice of boysenberry cheesecake, and I’m not even going to try to describe how amazing that was, I’ll just end up salivating uncontrollably! After lunch a bunch of people went back to the jade factory, but Julia and I decided to check out the local art gallery. The pieces were mostly by students, but they did some truly amazing things with everyday oils and materials. Finally we ended our trip to Christchurch by getting pulled over for not wearing our seatbelt! (just our driver, but still it was $150!) When we got back to our little apartments we had some dinner and hung out and talked a lot. I played a super competitive game of Ultimate with some of the kids, but it got dark really fast so we had to cut it short. We finished the evening by starting the Holiday on my computer, but most everyone fell asleep, so I ended up turning it off after an hour.
Day Eleven January 22, 2008 Tuesday
Today, despite the promise that we were going to be able to sleep late and take it easy, they woke us up bright and early and told us we had half an hour to eat breakfast and pack up camp. After scrambling around we finally pulled out of our camp around 8:30. We hopped in the vans and drove for a few hours. Most of the time I read my book, but we also played a few car games that were really fun. One game we played was called make the link. Basically one person would come up with two actors and we would have to make a chain of movies and other actors to get from one to the other. So for example, Meg Ryan and Pierce Brosnan: Meg Ryan was in Kate and Leopold with Hugh Jackman, Hugh Jackman was in X-Men with Halle Berry, and Halle Berry was in James Bond with Pierce Brosnan! It sounds kind of dumb, but it is actually really hard and fun! Finally when we got to Christchurch we pulled into the LDS church and had lunch on the lawn: cliché? Yes. After lunch we went to the Christchurch botanical gardens. This was quite possibly the most beautiful garden I have ever seen. The best part was that it wasn’t just flowers, there were gigantic trees everywhere with grass and winding paths. We did find one greenhouse that had a section called flowering plants, this room was full of the biggest most beautiful flowers I have ever seen in my entire life, some were bigger than my head or a large rock! After looking at the flowers for a while I walked into town with my friend Janessa to find a bank so I could finally get rid of my American money. After we found the bank it started to rain pretty hard, so we all piled into the vans to check into our campsite. Little did we know that they had a surprise for us: We get to sleep in beds! There are four of us to a room, but we really get to sleep on beds with mattresses and everything! Who knew a bed would be the best gift you could ever get? Once we all settled in I went to the store with another group and bought some really cheap jeans so that I would have something casual to wear other than basketball shorts and track pants. When we got back the dinner crew made grilled cheese and tomato soup, which was absolutely heavenly! After dinner I took a shower so that I would be ready to go into town. Unfortunately the rain had picked up so most of the cool things in town were cancelled. Most of the girls ended up staying here and we all crowded into our bedroom and told stories. I am really excited to explore Christchurch tomorrow, I sure hope it stays dry!
Day Ten January 21, 2008 Monday
Today we woke up a little later than usual, seeing as we had nowhere we really needed to rush off to. I ended up waking up at about 8:45 in the morning and packing up my tent by myself because my tent-mates were on cooking duty. After I got done packing up my little campsite I headed over to the internet station and was able to talk to Alex on IM. It was so great to talk to him and so many other people the night before, I miss everyone, but I truly am having a blast. After we finally got breakfast around ten we loaded up the vans and drove the short distance to the Queen Charlotte Trek. I guess the trek is known world-wide and very long. We ended up only hiking about an hour up the trail and then back. The trek was beautiful and the lake below the trail had beautiful blue water and there was jungle and rainforest all around us. After we got back to the vans about two hours after we started we drove another hour back to Blenheim where we had church. While we were there we went to the grocery store and everyone bought a whole bunch of different New Zealand items. My van buddy Stephanie and I decided to get some foccacia bread that looked and smelled amazing! Finally we got back in the vans and drove another few hours south to the town of Kia Kora. The town is a little touristy, so we didn’t stop, but on the way there were some amazing beaches with thousands of seals sleeping on the rocks! It was really cool to see, like something straight from the Discovery channel. We also stopped on a black sand beach and played around a little as well. When we finally got to camp we set everything up and ate dinner, we had skipped lunch in the process of everything so everyone was starving! After dinner we went to the beach for a while, but there were huge waves and it was rocky and rainy, so we couldn’t really play ultimate Frisbee or go swimming. When we came back from the beach we decided to play three-minute murder, which is a hilarious charades game that you play when you have a huge group of people. After playing that for a while we all started to wind down and are getting ready to hit the sack. It is amazing how easy it is to go to bed at a decent time and wake up at a decent time when you fill your days with so much activity!
Day Nine January 20, 2008 Sunday
Today was Sunday, technically my second full day of the week in New Zealand. We all woke up really early so we could eat breakfast and drive the hour to Blenheim to get to church. The faces of everyone when we walked into the chapel were priceless! We easily doubled the numbers with our little group. I enjoyed listening to the accents and seeing the wonder and respect in the people’s eyes as they talk about the leaders of the church. I have always loved and respected President Hinckley, but he has always been just a few miles away. For these people he is half-way across the world, and probably always will be. All three hours for the girls were held in the chapel. After Sunday school the boys went out into the hall for priesthood. After we got back pretty much everyone decided to take a nap. Our advisor, Mark, asked us to really make today a day of rest because we have been going so hard for so long and we still have a week before we get to Invercargill. So my tent-mates and I brought our sleeping pads and bags outside and took a nap under a big tree in a field. It is amazing how quickly I have acclimated to sleeping on the ground, because I fell asleep immediately! When I woke up I got to get on the internet for just a few minutes and then we had dinner. After dinner we all got in a group meeting to discuss some of the problems we have been having. I guess we have been a little too loud during meals and at night. We stay in Holiday family parks and so we forget sometimes that we are surrounded by other people with kids and stuff who are also trying to have a good vacation. Our group is going to really work on it so that there are no more problems. After the meeting we hurried to go on a quick hike to a nearby waterfall, but unfortunately we didn’t get to it before we had to turn around and come back for devotional. Maybe I will go again in the morning before we pack up. As for now I am totally wiped and ready to go to sleep so I can continue my adventure tomorrow!
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Day Eight January 19, 2008 Saturday
Today we woke up amazingly early so that we could get to Wellington at a decent time. We had bagels and cream cheese as we sat in the vans and headed out in a hurry. I was able to get a quick cat-nap in the van, and then we chitty-chatted the rest of the way. When we got to Wellington we made sure that we could find our ferry loading zone, then we made our way into town. Once we got into town we headed towards a free museum close to where we parked. It was pretty neat to look at the Maori artifacts and comparisons to what New Zealand used to be and what it is today. Once we walked around for a while a few of us found a little restaurant row and got some lunch. Unfortunately we only had seven dollars, so all we could afford was McDonalds. I guess I could have spent my own money, but I really like the equality and balance that we have struck among our group. I decided to get McDonalds just like everyone else, and it was delicious. We looked around the museum a little more after lunch, and then we drove over to the ferry that would finally take us to the south island. I was so excited, not only because I had never driven onto a boat before, but it felt like we were taking a big step towards home! I know that sounds silly, I haven’t even seen my Invercargill home, but I literally can’t wait to meet my family and sleep in a bed and call one place home. Well after waiting for a while we finally drove onto the ferry and headed up to the passenger deck. It was fun to be on a boat, but there was little to do, so I ended up working on pictures and charging my computer and talking to friends a lot. That is another thing, I honestly can’t believe that I have been lucky enough to be put together with this group of people. One girl made the comment that she had the nicest and sweetest tent-mate, and before she could tell me who it was it occurred to me that she could say any of the 34 names and I would agree with her. I love each and every person that I am on this great adventure with. I am learning so much about myself and how life is meant to be lived, free and happy with friends at your side and a positive attitude about what is ahead of you. I love this experience and I only expect it to get better. After the three hour boat ride we landed in Picton, the little shore town on the very tip of the south island. We loaded back in the vans and drove to our little campsite. The site was beautiful and there was a great sense of peace throughout the camp after the hectic day we had had and the exhausting hike the night before. Immediately I was put in charge of managing the wireless internet (apparently the advisors think I should be in charge of everything that deals with technology!). It was ok though, I was able to get on for a couple of minutes, and hopefully I will be able to update my blog tomorrow. We ate a really disgusting dinner of ramen, but I don’t think anyone cared that much. After dinner I was able to take a hot shower (gasp…AMAZING!), but wait it gets better, I was also able to blow-dry my hair for the first time in a week!!!!!!!!! I can’t tell you how easy it is to appreciate the smallest things when you are in this country. I realize now how lucky I truly am. I know that a lot of my friends and family are living a whole lot better off than I currently am, but I literally felt like the luckiest girl in the world with clean dry hair. I know that it is pretty impossible to top all that (I mean literally!). But in addition to all that extravagance, I was also able to wash all of my clothes in an actual washing machine, and dry them so they could no longer smell like mildew! Could this day get any better? I submit that it could not! Well I have to admit that I am insanely exhausted and we have to wake up bright and early to drive to church an hour away. Have a wonderful night everyone, I know that I will and am.
Day Seven January 18, 2008 Friday
I guess the only way to comment on this day is WOW…or maybe OW!!!! We woke up in Taupo and had crumpets for breakfast and quickly packed up the vans. We drove out of the city a ways, maybe an hour and a half. Finally we arrived at our hike, Mount Doom! The hike was roughly 12 miles long, but the first 4 ½ were so steep and rocky that it seriously felt like we were rock climbing rather than hiking. A lot of the out of shape people stayed behind, but I decided to go for it. As a result I ended up being one of the last people back to camp, and a little outside or target time, but I finished it! I can honestly say that I don’t think I have pushed myself harder had a more challenging physical experience in my life! I know that 12 miles doesn’t seem like a long hike, but until you see the terrain you could not possibly begin to understand how difficult it was! There were some amazing views, and it was really cool to see all of the places that they filmed Mordor and the Mount Doom scene. I saw some brilliantly aqua-blue lakes, and a red mountain, plus some beautiful country-side! Despite all the amazing things I saw, I still don’t think the absolute exhaustion was worth it. But I did realize something though, even if the views weren’t worth it, the experience was. I learned a lot about myself today, and I want to think that I grew a lot too. I have never had to convince myself to put one foot in front of the other or push myself so hard in my entire life! The hike took about six and a half hours, so we literally got back to our vans, drove to Palmerston North and set up camp. Now I am so tired that I don’t think my own will can support my body a second longer. I am off to bed because we have to wake up super early tomorrow so that we can get to the ferry on time to travel to the south island. Good night!
Day Six January 17, 2008 Thursday
We woke up at around eight today. I went to bed right after I finished my journal last night, so I think I got about ten whole hours! It felt amazing to get a good long night’s sleep. We quickly packed up the campsite and had breakfast. I had New Zealand cereal for the first time today, and I have to admit, it was a little weird! Almost every kind of cereal is some form of Wheat Bix. I had the crunchy kind of Wheat Bix, because I like my cereal to crunch, but even the crunchy kind was pretty soggy. I had a look at some of the other kinds after the milk was added, and it was pretty much soup, ick! After breakfast we all climbed into the vans again and head towards Taupo. The car ride was fairly long and every single person in my van fell asleep It was pretty funny, because I shared the backseat with this really sweet girl named Stephanie and she layed completely out on the seat and put her legs over my left leg, so that made me want to lay down so I layed down and put my right leg over her! So basically we were all completely out cold because when we woke up and everyone looked at the positions they had gotten themselves into we all started laughing hysterically! A little ways outside of Taupo we stopped at Huka falls to check them out. I have to be honest, I have never seen bluer water in my entire life, If I wasn’t looking at it with my own eyes I would swear it was fake! After the falls we had lunch and then went the rest of the way into Taupo. When we pulled into Taupo we played a little Frisbee and set up camp. After we got camp set up we all drove down to the beach. Because I had gotten fried the day before I decided to go with most of the rest of my previous-day beach cuddies to walk around town. The shops that we went into were pretty cool, especially the All Blacks store went to, which is the rugby team down here. We walked around for a while, but again most of the stores were closed. We finally decided to go to an internet café and check our e-mails. Because all of my information is on my laptop I was unable to update my blog, but it was nice to e-mail my Dad, who happened to be on at the same time! When we came back to camp we had some dinner and played a rousing game of ultimate. A few of the girls helped put some aloe on my back, and all I got was gasps, so I guess it is pretty bad. Now it is bedtime again because I have a very intense hike tomorrow! Love ya all!
Day Five January 16, 2008 Wednesday
Today I had to wake up at about 6:15 to fix breakfast. It was my group’s day to cook, and it was a really long day! We spent about four straight hours in the kitchen cooking breakfast, putting together sack lunches for everyone, and marinating the chicken for tonight. Finally at around 10:30 the group split into two, one went to town and the agrodome, the other went to the beach. I chose to go to the beach, although I think I am regretting that decision now. Not only did the other group seem to do some really cool things, like zorbing, but also, despite the copious amounts of sunscreen I lathered on, I am completely fried. The beach was beautiful and the waves were huge, the biggest I have seen in my life. We buried one of the girls in sand and went boogie bording. Finally I had to come home a little early to get dinner ready. However, I got home before most everyone else, so I took a shower and washed my clothes while I was at it (yeah, I washed my clothes in the shower with one of those travel Tide packs!). After dinner we went to the Maori cultural center and watched some traditional New Zealand performances. It was really neat, we saw both poi and haka dances. When we came back we had ice cream, and I discovered that somehow I managed to cut the middle of my foot really really deep. I cleaned the cut and put a bandage on it, but it is so deep that it hurts to walk. Suffice it to say that even though it is only 10:00 and everyone is still up, with my foot and sunburn I am more than ready to go to bed. We leave Roto Rua early tomorrow morning to drive to Taupo.
Day Four January 15, 2008 Tuesday
Today I woke up at about 8:00. I felt 100% better from the night before and ready to start the day! First thing we did was have breakfast, It was amazing, French toast, fruit, whipped cream, and syrup, mmmmmm! After breakfast we packed up our tents and said goodbye to all of our friends at the backpackers lodge and headed to Rotorua. The car ride was fun, my friends had a ‘get to know Becky’ session, so I got to tell my life story. Also, my friend Stephanie fell asleep on my shoulder and drooled a little on me, it was hilarious! When we pulled into this new lodge we were amazed at how every single place seems to get better and better. The bathrooms at this place are absolutely amazing and we have a big kitchen too! Once we had our tents pitched and everything and ate lunch, Mark told us that we were going to go to a luge and gondola ride. Now I have been on the luge at park city, so I was expecting something similar to that, but I could not have been more wrong. This place was like a go-cart race track down a mountain with no guard rails and sharp turns! I swear, the best thing about New Zealand is that they have absolutely no regard for personal safety! We rode up the mountain in a gondola that over-looked one of the most amazing views that I have ever seen in my life. We all got our tickets for our five luge rides and got in line. I was on video duty of course and got a few interviews and impressions about the luging. When I finally got in line and was ready to go I decided to film the actual ride itself. So there I was barreling down a hill holding onto a thin little metal crossbar between the handles and trying to keep the camera steady while not crashing to my death! Frankly I think the picture of me would have been fairly hysterical! After I finally got down the hill I got on the chairlift to go back up and put the camera away to enjoy my other four rides. The luge was very fun and exciting, and has basically ruined all wussy American luges for me for the rest of my life! After the luging adventures a few people went swimming in the lake, while others went shopping. Because I forgot a towel and conditioner I decided to go with the shopping group. The most amazing thing about New Zealanders is that they don’t like to work. Work is just something they do until they go home, not an integral part of life. As a result, almost all stores close at 4:30 pm! Because we didn’t get to town until 6:00 we were pretty much out of luck. It was really fun to walk around and look in the windows though, and we did finally find a supermarket that was open that I was able to get a towel, shampoo and conditioner, and some toothpaste, which I also forgot. When we came home we were supposed to have dinner, but the burners were being slow, so we didn’t end up eating until 9:00. In the mean time my tent buddies and I had a small tent party with about five other girls, so there were about eight people in our little three-person tent! Also I got to play doctor to a few people who had cuts and stuff. Eventually dinner was finally ready and it was delicious, and finished off with amazing ice cream. After that I took a shower and shaved my legs, I will never underestimate the beauty of a good shower and shaved legs again in my life! When I got back to my tent I was trying to read my scriptures and write in my journal, but my roommates and I ended up having a giggle-fest for about an hour! Now they are both finally asleep and I am about ready to pass out too, goodnight!
Monday, January 14, 2008
Day Three January 14, 2008 Monday
This might be the last time I can update for a while, so I am going to do it now so you can see the amazing stuff from today!
This morning we woke up super early, 6:45 to be exact! When I first climbed out of my tent I looked out on the fields that are surrounding our campsite, and there was a misty fog covering everything but the treetops, it was absolutely gorgeous. The mist made me feel a little like I was standing in a sinking ship or looking at a mystical forest or something. I put on my swimsuit as quickly as I possibly could and brushed my teeth and hair. There was no time for breakfast as I was in the very first group to go black-water rafting. We only had to walk across the little lane to the caving place. The first thing we did was sign release forms. Then they took us down to the open little area where they fitted us with wet suits and helmets with lights on the head. Putting on the wet suits was pretty funny, and we broke out into song more than once! Once we were all suited up we drove about two miles down the road to a little clearing with a stream running through it. We picked out our inner tubes and practiced jumping backwards off the dock so that we wouldn’t freak out when we had to jump off the waterfalls in the dark cave. After we got our inner tubes we hiked a ways up the hill in our wetsuits to the opening of the cave (PS: wetsuits are quite possibly the most uncomfortable hiking clothing of all time!). Finally it was time to climb into the caves. It was really rocky and jagged, but kind of cool too. We had to hike a ways into the caves before we got to the river part, but that was fine, the caves were really interesting. We stopped in a little tunnel and learned all about the glowworms. It was pretty cool, they basically live in a cocoon for nine months eating food that is attracted by their glowing bums and then live for two days, just long enough to lay a couple hundred eggs. Finally it was time to get in our tubes as we paddled and pushed our way through a labyrinth of tunnels filled with glowing worms on the ceilings. At one point we had to jump backwards off of a ten-foot waterfall, and I happened to be the lucky first contestant! We spent probably an hour and 15 minutes underground, and it was a total blast. After we came out of the tunnels we floated down a little stream for a while until we reached the vans again. When we got to the vans we all piled in and went back to the main place and stripped off our wetsuits. They gave us tomato soup and bagels when we got back, and I don’t think I have ever had more delicious soup in my entire life! When we came back we bummed around for a while and I did some picture managing. Around one we had some lunch and then hiked down the road a ways to the angora rabbit shearers. We walked into the little shop and rounded the corner and I found myself face-to-face with the fluffiest bunny I have seen in my entire life! They shear the bunnies to spin the wool and make some of the softest clothing of all time. When they shear the bunnies they actually tie all of their legs up and spin them around, kind of like a pig on spit! It was so funny watching this little bunny getting shaved, I wanted to feel bad, but I could tell that the bunny was so happy to just get a haircut! After the bunny shaving tutorial we walked back to camp and hung out for a while longer. It was nice to just sit and relax after the days we have been having. I was able to blog and get a few pictures up. After a while we had dinner and talked. I started to feel a bit queasy so I took a shower and tried to take it easy. Hopefully I will feel better in the morning. I’m sure I will. I have already had to doctor a few injuries and sicknesses. I am definitely keeping busy, and having a total blast!
This morning we woke up super early, 6:45 to be exact! When I first climbed out of my tent I looked out on the fields that are surrounding our campsite, and there was a misty fog covering everything but the treetops, it was absolutely gorgeous. The mist made me feel a little like I was standing in a sinking ship or looking at a mystical forest or something. I put on my swimsuit as quickly as I possibly could and brushed my teeth and hair. There was no time for breakfast as I was in the very first group to go black-water rafting. We only had to walk across the little lane to the caving place. The first thing we did was sign release forms. Then they took us down to the open little area where they fitted us with wet suits and helmets with lights on the head. Putting on the wet suits was pretty funny, and we broke out into song more than once! Once we were all suited up we drove about two miles down the road to a little clearing with a stream running through it. We picked out our inner tubes and practiced jumping backwards off the dock so that we wouldn’t freak out when we had to jump off the waterfalls in the dark cave. After we got our inner tubes we hiked a ways up the hill in our wetsuits to the opening of the cave (PS: wetsuits are quite possibly the most uncomfortable hiking clothing of all time!). Finally it was time to climb into the caves. It was really rocky and jagged, but kind of cool too. We had to hike a ways into the caves before we got to the river part, but that was fine, the caves were really interesting. We stopped in a little tunnel and learned all about the glowworms. It was pretty cool, they basically live in a cocoon for nine months eating food that is attracted by their glowing bums and then live for two days, just long enough to lay a couple hundred eggs. Finally it was time to get in our tubes as we paddled and pushed our way through a labyrinth of tunnels filled with glowing worms on the ceilings. At one point we had to jump backwards off of a ten-foot waterfall, and I happened to be the lucky first contestant! We spent probably an hour and 15 minutes underground, and it was a total blast. After we came out of the tunnels we floated down a little stream for a while until we reached the vans again. When we got to the vans we all piled in and went back to the main place and stripped off our wetsuits. They gave us tomato soup and bagels when we got back, and I don’t think I have ever had more delicious soup in my entire life! When we came back we bummed around for a while and I did some picture managing. Around one we had some lunch and then hiked down the road a ways to the angora rabbit shearers. We walked into the little shop and rounded the corner and I found myself face-to-face with the fluffiest bunny I have seen in my entire life! They shear the bunnies to spin the wool and make some of the softest clothing of all time. When they shear the bunnies they actually tie all of their legs up and spin them around, kind of like a pig on spit! It was so funny watching this little bunny getting shaved, I wanted to feel bad, but I could tell that the bunny was so happy to just get a haircut! After the bunny shaving tutorial we walked back to camp and hung out for a while longer. It was nice to just sit and relax after the days we have been having. I was able to blog and get a few pictures up. After a while we had dinner and talked. I started to feel a bit queasy so I took a shower and tried to take it easy. Hopefully I will feel better in the morning. I’m sure I will. I have already had to doctor a few injuries and sicknesses. I am definitely keeping busy, and having a total blast!
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Top is me in front of the Hamilton Temple Welcome sign with my friend Alison. Second row isa group shot with all of us loking in different directions in front of the temple on the left and on of our twelve passenger vans with the trailers on the right. The third row is a beautiful valley on the left and the Hamilton Temple on Right.
Day Two January 13, 2008 Sunday
Today we woke up around eight. The first thing we did was clean up a little bit in the bathrooms, then we ate breakfast. It was fairly good for being microwave eggs and unthawed hashbrowns and mushy bananas! It is amazing how everything seems to taste a hundred times better when you are camping. As it was Sunday we kind of took it easy. After breakfast we packed up our bags and our tents and cleared out. The vans we are in are actually pretty cool. There are three big vans for the 34 students and one van for Mark and his wife and three kids. Mark’s van is like a mini-van, but ours are full-on 12 passenger, biggest you can get. The seating is actually pretty cool too, there is a front bench, with the driver on the right of course. Also, the vans are manual transmissions, and the stick shift is on the left too, not very easy for our right-handed drivers! The next seat back is just a two-seater right behind the driver. The next row is a similar two seat and then one lone seat on the left with an aisle in-between the two. The seat is very uncomfortable, but there is a lot of leg room (I sat in this seat today). The next row back is another two-seater on the right. The final row is a three-person bench that takes up the width of the van just like the front. The really interesting thing about this seating arrangement is when you think about it there are only three of the twelve people on the left side of the car! Anyway, back to the day, after we loaded up into the vans we drove about three miles out to a little stretch of beach and had our own little church devotional. We didn’t have the sacrament, but we had a hymn, prayers, and three short little talks on gratitude. I know that the sacrament is important, and that the goup setting, with all of us in our jeans and shorts wasn’t really spiritual, but I don’t think I have ever felt more grateful for my life as I did when I was looking out on that beautiful little beach cove. Not only was I grateful for the beauty that was right in front of my eyes, but also for the opportunity I have to be here, how much everyone I love contributed to getting me here in their own way, and how lucky I am to have so many people care about me. So right now, I just want to say thank you to everyone, thank you from the bottom of my heart right up to the top. When our devotional was over Mark and the boys went to fill up the vans, so the rest of us sat on the beach and meditated for about 45 minutes. It was gorgeous and I really enjoyed sitting there thinking about how incredible this was, how beautiful my surroundings were, how wonderful the light breeze was on my face, and how bad I felt for all the pale people back home while I was turning a nice golden brown! When Mark got back we loaded up again and started to drive towards Hamilton. About an hour or two outside Hamilton we stopped for lunch in a little town called Paura which is actually the town that they make L&P drink, it stands for lemon and Paura! Apparently they make it there because the water is soooo pure. The pure water fountains were turned off in the park we ate at, but our ham, salami, mayonnaise, mustard, and potato chip sandwiches were delicious after so much driving. After lunch we packed back in the vans and drove to the temple in Hamilton. The temple literally sits in the middle of a field, with nothing around it! The temple was beautiful and we had fun taking pictures and talking to the few people milling around. The visitor’s center and temple were closed for Sunday, but it was still fun to see it. After hanging around the temple for about an hour and twenty minutes we got back in the vans and drove about another hour to Waitomo and to our little campsite. I have to say that I really like this campsite, the grass is soft and springy, and they have really cheap internet! Internet was only $2 for 40 minutes, so I finally got to talk to everyone. After dinner (amazingly delicious spaghetti) I got on the internet and did my thing. As soon as my time ran out they called a group meeting and we talked about the things we needed to be aware of and any announcements for tomorrow’s activities. Tomorrow soudslike it is going to be an absolute blast, but I won’t spoil it in advance! Now I am VERY ready for bed, another beautiful night under the most gorgeous stars of all time. Its good to be alive.
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