An Epic Adventure

Well, as many of you know, or should know because I told you I was leaving, I just returned from a pretty awesome adveture. You guys can have a gander at a conversation I had with my friend John about it, it pretty much describes it in full. If you would like to see pictures click the photo on the top left of the screen and check out my Picasa Web Album. They are pretty awesome, just a heads up ;). 

John: tell me all about your trip

  what was awesome, what was a little substandard

  who'd you meet, what did you do?

 me: haha

 John: that sort of stuff

2:14 PM me: Well I went up to the Bay of Plenty area with a group of friends to stay with another friend in his house. That was awesome, he lives on this little strip of land so that a minute walk to your left you have the harbor and a minute walk to your right you have the ocean, or bay really.

2:15 PM We went sailing, his dad taught us all how to do everything around the boat, so that WE were litterally sailing, not just along for the ride.

  his dad is pretty awesome, he's a pharmacist too... and now I'm pretty sure I'm going to become a pharmacist. But anyway

 John: ay aye maty

2:16 PM me: we went to a few surrounding towns. Went on this huge sky swing thing, went luging all in Rotorua

 John: oh, well, less physics involved in that one anyways ;)

 me: very true :)

 John: I think I did that same sky swing thing!

 me: still going to be an engineering major though... but I'm done with physics so it's all good

  really?

 John: was it at a place that had a ropes course and a trapeze jump?

2:17 PM or am i crazy

  well, i mean more than usual

 me: hehe, it was at the place with the Luge. And it was on a mountain so when you swung out you were freakishly high in the air

2:18 PM John: opa, I was wrong

  continue though

2:20 PM me: heh alright. And then we went to Tauranga and I bought all my backpacking stuff. And then my friend Jillian and I flew down to Queenstown to meet up with Max and Jack, and we staying in the Black sheep hostel for 4 days whilst we were waiting for Brian to fly in. We just did a few walks around there, ate the best burger ever - a fergburger - and met lots of cool people. Jillian and I were staying in a room with this guy from London and there were actually a lot of english people there

2:21 PM John: jealous

 me: but anyway, then Brian showed up and we got a rental car and went on our way down to Te Anau. And then we decided to spend the night at Lake Manapouri instead so we drove there. And then we woke up in front of the lake in a very illegal camping location, but we didn't get caught, and then we bought cruise tickets to go around doubtful sound.

 John: not so much of britishness, I've met them too, but the burger and walking yes

 me: for the next day

2:22 PM a fergburger? have you had one?

 John: no no, im jealous of that

 me: yeah, you should have one. They are amazing

  they are the biggest burgers in the world

  and you know how I never finish my food?

2:23 PM well, you can't not eat all of that burger, it's that good

 John: goodness

  thats hard to imagine

  but yes, kudos on illegal camping, I think I may have done that once too, but oh well, was the lake side view impressive?

2:24 PM me: so then we were in Lake Manapouri and we had a whole 24 hours before the cruise. So we drove up to Milford Rd and we drove up to Gertrudes saddle and decided to climb it.

  the lake was amazing, one of the best things to wake up to

  it was the most amazing thing I had seen up until that point

  up until with climbed Mt. Gertrude

  and at the peak, looking out over the other side, you could see Milford Sound

2:25 PM it was incredible

  that's what my profile picture is on Facebook, and it doesn't do it justice at all

 John: and people don't understand why I bushwalk, I'm glad someone understands

 me: yes, it's incredible

2:26 PM John: wow, that is really cool

 me: so then we climbed back down the mountain, half way in the dark, and camped out that night along Milford Rd, where we ended up hitting a stump trying to find a camp site

 John: and I understand what you mean when you say pictures don't do it justice as well

 me: they for sure don't

 John: did you have a rental car?

 me: I just hope my memory doesn't fade

2:27 PM yes, we had a rental car

  we hit this stump going like 20 K too, not fast

  but our car like jumped up in the air and slammed back down. It shook us a bit, but nothing was wrong so it was mostly funny

  so then we camped out and the next day drove back to Lake Manapouri and rode the cruise around Doubtful Sound

 John: thats probably for the best

2:28 PM me: that.... that was the most spectacular thing I have ever seen in my life

 John: the doubtful sound?

 me: and the cruise had Kayak you could take out, so we Kayaked around the sound. Went out to the edge of the ocean and saw an island full of fur seals

2:29 PM John: awesome

 me: it is the less famous but by far the most beautiful of the sounds in the Fiordlands

  it was incredible

  and this whole time, it hasn't rained yet

 John: wow, lucky you!

2:30 PM me: there are only 50 days out of every year that it doesn't rain in the Fiordlands. Yeah, it was amazingly fortunate

  so the next day we were driving back and about 18 dolphins start playing around in our wake

  doing flips, showing off, it was awesome.

2:32 PM and then after the cruise we drove back to Queenstown on our way to Mt. Cook because Jillian bought a plane ticket to go home. She wasn't feeling well. But along the way we decided to check our oil because the little warning light was flashing

 John: sweetas

 me: or rather flickering on sometimes

  so we stop, turns out it is completely empty

 John: uh ohs

 me: dry

 John: that isn't very healthy for a car

 me: so the guy at the shop pours a liter in, and it all spills on to the ground

  yeah... it was pretty amazing we didn't blow up considering how far we drove

2:33 PM so they look and there is this hole in the tank... that may have been caused by, I dunno... a stump for instance

  so they take it up and weld it and it didn't really cost that much, but Jillian was pretty nervous about her flight

  but it was really just hilarious looking back on it

2:34 PM John: thats really funny

  I mean, after it all works out at least

 me: so then we get on our way again and we drop jillian off on the airport to board her plane and we continue on our way to Mt. Cook, the tallest Mountain in New Zealand though I'm pretty sure you knew that

2:35 PM hah, I was laughing before it worked out. It was funny, Jillian was pretty not amused though

 John: nice

2:36 PM me: so when we arrived at Mt. Cook it was dark, so we camped out and the next day woke up near the base of it, which was awesome because we had no idea how close we were. So we watched the sunrise and then walked around the base of it and some trails for the rest of the morning, saw the Tasman Glacier

  it was pretty cool, after the Fiordlands though, not as amazing as it could have been

 John: woot tasman

 me: haha

  yes

  Tasman

 John: sorry, couldn't resist

 me: hehe

  no worries

2:37 PM And then we were on our way again to try to make it to Franz Josef glacier again by nightfall, and we had to drive back down almost to queenstown and then back around to the west coast and then north.

 John: busy day

2:38 PM me: But we made it and the next morning we walked out to see Franz Josef, which was cool just because of how clean it was, and then we continued driving north to Fox Glacier and saw that too. We didn't go on them or anything because we didn't have the time or resources, but they were cool to see.

 John: yeah, I'm told they're still pretty massive

2:39 PM despite some climate changes best efforts

 me: yeah, they are. They are resisting. Fox is actually growing a little bit

  and it is one of the fastest moving glaciers too, pretty nifty

2:40 PM And then we headed out again that same day to go as far north as we could and ended up staying the night in Nelson. Where we hung out in a burger king and played cards for most of the night and then camped out again.

  And when I say camping out, I mean sleeping in a car

  all of these times I've said camping out, I mean our car.

 John: I've also done that

  .....when I had a car that is

 me: yeah... they are useful things

 John: do you guys have a tent?

 me: I'm glad ours didn't die

2:41 PM the guys brought a tent, but they were two two person tents and three guys to one girl, I just decided I'd sleep in the car the whole time

 John: despite some of your best efforts, and that of a lonely stump

 me: exactly

  olga was a beast

 John: I can see why you did it that way

2:42 PM was taht your car's name?

  or that of the stump?

 me: car

  hehe, we didn't name the stump... probably Goliath though. That'd be fitting

 John: well, maybe david is better, it was smaller than you, and I think it won

2:43 PM me: no, we won. Olga didn't die, and she definitely should have

  heh

2:44 PM but yeah, then we drove to Picton the next day after cleaning our car to the best of our efforts and we dropped Olga off at the rental car place and dropped our bags off at the ferry... which was scheduled to be taken the next morning at 6 am

  so we had another night to stay in Picton, without a car or any tents or anything

  so we stayed in Cafes and Bars until 1 am when everything closed and then slept in bubbles that were part of the local parks playground

2:45 PM John: thats awesome!

  I'm so impressed

 me: haha agreed. We were such bums, I was proud really

  I think everyone needs to be a bum at some point in there life

 John: were there no hostels or were you just cheap?

 me: cheap

  and it's more awesome this way

2:47 PM So after the bubbles became too wet and cold and wind filled to deal with anymore, because this is the only day in our entire journey it decides to rain and be really windy

 John: agreed, being a bum is character building ;)

 me: we went to sit on the floor of a womans restroom for another hour

  and then we boarded our ferry.

 John: I don't know, this is starting to lean toward sad

  just saying

2:48 PM me: yeah... that last part was a little bit. But it's all part of the bum lifestyle... and it made me appreciate my bed so much more

  and that's pretty much the end.

  I had showered once that entire time, btw. On the cruise ship. So you can imagine how long of a shower I took when I came back

2:49 PM John: that is an excellent adventure

  3 minutes?

 me: a little longer than that...

The Beach and Bree

Kia ora!

I know it's been a very long time, school has been beginning to take it's toll on my adventures and free time. However! I do have something new to share with you. I went to visit the Bree, which if you are not an LoTR fan you would be interested to know is the village that Frodo, Samwise, Merry and Pippin ran through on their way to the Prancing Pony in the Fellowship of the Ring. But anywho :). I have many many pictures on my Picasa page.

In addition to visiting Bree, we spent the morning and afternoon on Foxton Beach. One of my friend's Philosophy professors has a beach house right on the coast, the cutest little cottage. One thing that is completely true of most Kiwis is that they are the most hospitable people you will ever meet. Jillian's professor Adrian happily drove us to her beach house, showed us around, fed us a fantastic lunch, and drove us back. It was unbelievably nice.

The dog you can see in the picture is one of the two beautiful Bernice mountain dogs that came along with us on the trip. So much fun! As we walked along the beach you could vaguely see the islands out in the distance, and there were all kinds of whole shells washed up on the shore. In addition to the array of decaying fish and sharks, which was just kind of interesting.

After we said goodbye to the beach and Adrian and the dogs, we went to a traditional Maori Hangi. It's a ceremonial welcoming tradition that the Maori people have upheld to this day. There was a specific way we needed to enter the ground, announce our presence, and then we were ceremonially welcomed after singing songs from our home country and hearing a speech in Maori. We then did the "Hangi" which is the same name as the ceremony, but it is the act of touching noses as a sign of friendship in the Maori culture. Which was extremely awkward, because not everyone touches noses, especially if you are a girl. To girls, they sometime kiss cheeks. Which is something that you never knew because they don't always kiss cheeks, sometimes the bump noses. So you might go in for the nose, but they are going for the kiss, so it's awkward because then it's almost like you were about to kiss your professor on the nose... But after that confusion was over, we were treated to some traditional Maori song and dance. Of course including the Haka, which is the most intense chant you'll ever see. It's most widely known as the tradition that the All-Blacks (New Zealand's National Rugby Team) upholds before every game, they go on the field and perform this to intimidate the other team. You'll see why...

After that they felt the need to do a chant with audience participation... and I was pulled up to do a dance with poi, with is just to balls connected with rope, that you need to twirl around in certain ways and is surprisingly difficult to do... luckily (for me) I do not have any pictures of that at this time :). We then were pointed in the direction of dinner, which was being cooked in the ground, the traditional method of cooking food at a function such as this. 

Unfortunately, I didn't find the meal to be as satisfying as it was intended to be. The method of cooking I'm pretty sure the made everything a bit squishy and taste like fire. None the less, it was a very awesome experience that I'm glad I had the opportunity to partake in. Well, that's all I have for now. 

Or wait, one last thing. I have been making plans for this mid-semester holiday, and they are going to be quite amazing.... stay tuned :)!

Freshers: Bridge Swing over Manawatu Gorge

Kia Ora!

I apologize for the long delay, it's just taken me a while to be able to write this entry. Last week Saturday I attending the Bridge Swing through the Massey University Alpine Club. It was tremendous fun. You can see my video below... which was quite terrifying/awesome. 

The reason this entry was so difficult to write, was that later on in the afternoon there was a fatality on that bridge. A club member by the name of Catherine Peters lost her life during her second bridge swing. If you'd like to know more details you can google it, there is plenty of information in the New Zealand press, but needless to say it was quite a horrific experience. 

However, after having time to reflect and process all that I saw and experienced, besides an extreme sorrow for her family and loved ones, I've learned what it is I need to take away from this experience. The main thing being, that even though terrible things happen like this on rare occasion, it would be unhealthy and unwise to live my life in fear from now on. It's thrills like this that are a part of who I am, just as they were a part of who Catherine was. So while I will be much more careful of whose hands I put my life in, and of course double checking that those hands did their job, to banish these experiences from my life forever would be cutting off a piece of myself. It might take a little while to work up the courage, I'll get back out there again, keeping my loved ones' sanitys in mind as well. 

So I apologize again for the long silence.

If you would like to see all of the pictures I've taken on my journey, you can click the picture on the right hand side of my blog, or follow this link: http://picasaweb.google.com/lafflilmoore

Until next time....

From Freshers

Gorges and Wind Mills

Kia ora!

Well this weekend was exciting, I had the chance to spread my wings a little bit more. The International Students on campus were taken on an "Operation Friendship" excursion through the Manawatu Gorge (the Manawatu is the region of New Zealand that I live in, you can think of it as a county of sorts) and up the mountain to visit the Manawatu Wind Farm. Operation Friendship is a campus organization sponsored by Christian fellowships around Palmerston North who's goal is to help international students acclimate to Kiwi life. We only just drove through the gorge, but I took a few good shots along our way to the farm.

 I think that I am going to make an online album so that you can look at all of the pictures I take a little more easily if you would like to, and I'll just post a few up here. Stay tuned for the URL.

Anyway, finally we made it up to the wind farm. The weather was a bit testy as you can probably see from some of these pictures, so the haze from the wind and rain clouded some of our view, but it was still a beautiful sight to see. We carpooled with a Kiwi gentleman by the name of Greg who is the post man in Palmerston North. Like many of the Kiwi people, Greg was very hospitable and offered his and his wife's home to us for afternoon tea or dinner any time we would like.

After escaping the rain at the Wind Farm we were all brought back to enjoy afternoon tea in a Kiwi home. This couple was Karen and Ishmael, and they were members of one of the local churches who were helping to put on the event.
 

That's all I have for now, in the mean time I'll work on getting that album set up, and I believe next time I'll share my experience of jumping off of a bridge over that Gorge pictured above. Until next time...

and so it begins...

Kia ora!

Well, class officially started Monday, and now that I'm four days through the first week, I have a pretty good feel for how each of my classes are going to be. Classes in New Zealand, I'm finding among other things, are much less structured then the lectures you'll find in the States. For example there are no correlating Monday Wednesday Friday, or Tuesday,  Thursday classes. My timetable (what they say instead of Schedule) is completely random, and I hardly ever have the same lecture in the same classroom at the same time two days a week. Which is going to make it quite difficult to memorize my classes. 

But besides that, all of my classes are small. I'm accustomed to the 300 person lecture halls back at ISU. Well, the maximum amount of people I have in a class here is 50 in my Psychology lecture. The Minimum, is 4. In my Physical Thermodynamics course there is a total of 4 people in lecture, myself and 3 other guys. It blows my mind really. My two other classes Religion and OChem have about 20 people in them. The lecturers all vary in teaching methods, which is something you can find in the states, and they are fairly easy to catch on to and understand. Though I am finding a bit of a culture shock in the different notation and jargon in my Termo class, that is going to take some getting used to.

So all in all, life is going well around campus. I've joined a few student groups, including the Alpine Club (they just do a bunch of extreme sports, not just what we would consider "alpine" in the States), the Surfing Club, the Massey University Christian Fellowship and the Fire Club. 

 Additonally, I had an interesting opportunity at the Alpine Club booth. I'm sure you are all are aware of what a Cicada is. Those annoying, hornet like insects the buzz and bite and sting?

This particular species is unique to New Zealand, as are all that can be found in this country. At the clubs table they were frying them up in a pan, in a sort of stir fry style. I had the pleasure of eating one, wrapped in a leaf of some sort. Surprisingly, it really didn't taste that bad, only slightly discomforting when it's leg or wing became wedged between my teeth. But, it was definitely an experience that I'm not likely to have again, but at least I know now that I can eat bugs if I need to ;). But none the less, I'm pretty excited about the Clubs I joined, and hopefully they will give me more opportunities to get out and about and off of campus.

Speaking of getting off of campus, this weekend I plan to go Tramping (Hiking as the non-Kiwis say it) with a few friends in a local gorge. I'll take lots of pictures, so you can look forward to that. I apologize that this post was neither extremely exciting nor congested with pictures, I promise the next one will be.

Noho ora mai.

Spaghetti for Breakfast...

...and other weird / strange / different / unique things about New Zealand that I have come to discover:

1. Seriously, Spaghetti and Baked Beans are legitimate breakfast food here. They serve them on toast next to eggs. So strange...
   
2. They drive on the opposite side of the road. (yeah I know that's a lame one, but it counts)
3. HOWEVER, the traffic laws are crazy. For instance, when we are wanting to make a right turn back in the states, you all know how we have the right of way ahead of someone wanting to take a left turn into the same lane. In New Zealand, it's the opposite law. Someone wanting to make a RIGHT turn (remember that they drive on the opposite side of the road) has the right of way before those turning left.
4. "Fizzy Drink" is what you would call a soda or pop. You say pop and they'll wonder if something is wrong with you.
5. They call Skim Milk, "TRIM" Milk.
6. Ketchup doesn't exist... it's "Tomato Sauce". So careful when you are buying tomato sauce to make spaghetti (for breakfast...), it might not be what you think.
7. You have Rubbish Bins, not trash cans. *
8. likewise, Garbage and Trash = Rubbish *
9. "as" is added to the end of everything we would consider "cool".
   i.e. "Sweet as" "Fresh as" *
   i.i.e Fresh = Cool
10. "No Worries" is something they really do say all the time, that wasn't a Hollywood creation or anything. *
11. I know many of you wanted me to check to see if the water in the toilets spun the other way, but sorry to disappoint you when I tell you the water doesn't spin in these toilets. And they have too different flush buttons, half and whole. So, if you just did number one... you can flush half and not waste as much water :D.
12. Also, the place where you go to use such facilities is not called the Bathroom. That's where you go to take a bath. It's called the Toilets.
13. They make you pay for plastic bags in stores.
14. Flip flops or Thongs are really "Jandles" **
15. What we think of as Cookies are "Biscuits" over hear. There is no word for what we consider a Biscuit.
16. People don't wear shoes here, hardly ever. Going to lecture, going to the dining hall... bare feet.
17. Everything comes out here about 4 months late. Music, Movies, TV shows... books aren't as late, but still late.
18. Guys have mullets and wear short shorts. Not kidding. I would take a picture, but I think that would be rude.

*All things asterisked mean that I think they are awesome and plan to use them when I come back to the states.

** Double asterisked means that I most definitely will use them.

Oh strange New Zealand... this is just a little list that I've been wanting to make. If I've forgotten anything I'll add to it, same as when I come across something new. Similarly, if you know something or I've told you something that I didn't add here, comment to remind me. 

Mā te wā!

Nau mai

Kia ora. 

Well, these past few days have been quite busy. I've been attending International Student Orientation, along as just the general (freshman) orientation. But it's been fun really. The orientation here, and maybe that's partly because of Massey and partly because it's New Zealand, is so different from back home. For one, they took us out on farm tours, where we saw cows, deer (which they farm) and sheep. The cows were nothing new, same with the deer... however I had the chance to see a farm deer, close up, as in right next to me. And then of course sheep, because what would the Kiwi's be if not the watchers of sheep. But really, it was cool to see the sheep dog at work, and amusing to see how the sheep reacted to our presence when corralled right next to us. Sadly, I didn't bring my camera to the farm.

But the next day was easily just as unique. We attended a commencement ceremony, where we had a Master of Ceremonies who was Palmerston North's designated Town Cryer. She looked like a pirate. The entire evening was incredible though. The university staff were dressed in what looked like eloquent graduation robes, they had a formal procession, sang the national anthem (which sadly I couldn't really hear or understand), and then there was this fancy dinner. I sat with some friends that I made who are also American, but they are pretty cool. It's nice to have people you see regularly again, the lack of company would have been my only complaint about New Zealand up until that point.

(From left to right) Jillian, Michelle, Jack and Me.

The Staff in their robes. I met and had a nice chat with the Vice-Chancellor that evening as well, he's sitting sixth in from the left.

Stage, with a view of the tables.

The Pirate Town Cryer

So far things are going well, I'm excited to get started on the semester, hopefully I can get into some fun Papers (Classes). Until next time, mā te wā!

Look at all the Ducks!

Kia Ora!

And Happy Valentine's Day! I know that's a little bit early for all of you, but still. Well, I've been adjusting to life in New Zealand, it's been for the most part quiet around campus, not very many people have moved in yet. But there are a few people who have been in my dorm since I've arrived, and about 4 more Americans moved in today, which is nice just to have more people around. But these past few days I have just been getting acclimated to life here. One thing I've come to notice is that time goes by very slowly, which makes you take life a little more slowly, which is refreshing really. So often we get caught up in everything we have to do that things go by in such a flash. I've noticed that now I do things much more deliberately, paying much more attention to the little things. Just looking out the window, washing dishes, walking around... I feel I take more things in and just breathe. It's a very cool feeling. 

Over the past few days I've had the chance to take in a little more than just the campus. I went out into Palmy (which is what the locals call Palmerston North) and walked around, did some necessity shopping, and of course took some pictures. 

Most of those pictures are taken in and around the square, which is about the central part of Palmy. I don't think they quite convey how pretty it is. But for me, the thing that can't not bring a smile to my face are the ducks. They are all over the area all around campus and this area, similar to squirrels would be in the Midwest. 

There are so many of them! They always seem to lighten the day when I see them, just waddling around everywhere. Well, time for me to go get to know some more people. Have a wonderful day!