Only in New Zealand

It was a gorgeous Sunday yesterday, so Morgan and I took a walk up the steepest street in the world (apparently).  I have been meaning to walk up to the top for awhile--it is just something you kind of have to do!    Anyway, on our way back we heard a "baaaaa" coming from inside a house!  Since everyone leaves all their doors open on sunny, warm days here, we could see a little lamb walking out of the house.  It was one of the cutest things I have ever seen.  Morgan remembers growing up feeding pet lambs at her grandmother's house...so it is not an uncommon thing here which is brilliant!  Here is a video:

After our walk, we made our way to the Octagon (the city center shaped like an octagon)  to watch the semi-final of NZ versus Australia outside with lots of All Black fans.  It was a very good game (AB's won!) and the final is next weekend.  New Zealand vs. France!  I cannot wait :)

Fiordland National Park

So far in my 19 years, this is one of the top 5 prettiest places I have been to! And I only went to a portion of it...geez save some beauty for the rest of the world!!  Located in the south west corner of New Zealand, Fiordland National Park has fiords (valleys carved out by glaciers), wildlife, rivers, creeks, lakes, valleys, mountains, and my heart. hahaha!  I left on Saturday morning with two of my flat mates to Te Anau, which is pretty much the gateway to Milford Sound and the National Park.  Spent the day walking along rocky shores, soaking up the sunshine, swimming in the iciest water for about 4 seconds, hiking around a lake, trying to climb up a river bank and slipping all the way down (on video....it seems as if I cannot escape my clumsiness anywhere!), leaping over fallen logs, and taking pictures.  We camped by Cascade Creek and I only slept for about an hour due to my horrible syndrome called Can't Sleep Anywhere But A Bed.  Normally, I can sleep at least 6 hours camping, but I was a bit more unfortunate this weekend.  I ate my first noodles in a cup for dinner, which lived up to it's expectation: mediocre.  I managed to get out of my  sleeping bag around 6:30 am, and quickly realized I really only got one hour of sleep because I stumbled to the bathroom not so eloquently.  Some pictures of the beginning of Fiordland NP:

Hollyford Valley

Again, with the camera at ground level.

A perfectly clean swamp...eels are supposed to be here but none were sighted.

Gunn Lake--where we hiked.

Beech forest, with some back light. So pretty.

Other side of Gunn Lake. Perfect AM reflection with some fog.

After I had successfully woken up (or got out of my sleeping bag because I was awake most of the night), we ate and drove to catch our 9.15am boat cruise around Milford.  From our camp site, we drove about 30 km.  We had to drive through Homer Tunnel, a dark, skinny 1200 meters!  My aunt Laura told me about this tunnel, and how she was drove through it and got claustrophobic midway into the tunnel.  I remember imagining it, and it was crazy to think that I am living the exact moment she described when driving through it.  Once the tunnel ceased, an amazing Cleddau Valley emerged. On the cruise, there were people from all around the world, most of them visiting for the Rugby World Cup and just taking a quick side trip.  I drank two cups of coffee to wake me up on the boat...but am not sure if it was the caffeine or the views that ultimately made me feel alive again!  Anyway, the cruise lasted for about an hour and a half which seemed more like 15 minutes.  Just stunning!  It was carved by glaciers ages ago and now is the home to seals, dolphins, and penguins!  I unfortunately did not see any dolphins, but had the privilege to witness seals and a couple of penguins playing around a waterfall. I kept circling around and around the boat to make sure I did not miss anything! Sweet as...this is New Zealand.  I cannot believe I am fortunate enough to experience this.  Bless!

Panorama of Milford Sound

Myself at Harrison's Cove

Stirling Falls--the 2nd largest permanent waterfall at Milford

It was simply stunning!

Cleddau Valley

I 

Again...absolutely beautiful!

 On the way home, we stopped by Mirror Lake, but I think my other reflection picture is more epic.  I got sunburned from the rare 2 days in a row of sun, only a small price to pay!  

Mirror Lake, the wind was slightly blowing.

News around here/home:

 I watched the All Blacks vs. Argentina semifinal game when I got back Sunday night with a couple of my Kiwi friends.  New Zealand is in the quarter finals!!!!  Joining them is Wales, France, and Australia.  Christchurch had another earthquake last night, so crazy! I am so glad that I do not live there...I would constantly be worrying!  They call it Shaky Town, if you don't know why, google "define: earthquake" ;)

Happy Birthday to my Dad and little brother! And congratulations to my sister Bridget for completing 26.2 miles this weekend in Chicago to raise money for diabetes research.  My whole family went to cheer her on, and I thought of you and Brynn often!  I will give you an appropriate hug once I return in one month and 2 days (ahhhh no/yes).  I am excited to see my family and friends in Minnesota, but not so excited to leave my family here. The last week of classes started today, and it does not feel like it at all.  I am already getting sentimental about things...such as this is the last time I might do this, see that person, or see something.  I do not think I will ever come back to Dunedin (unless I meet my soulmate in less than a month hahahahahhahaha just kidding), but I would love to come back to visit my friend in Wellington!  Someday...

Oh and here are some really cute twin babies! I cannot wait until January for some twin babes to be born, God willing! :) :) :) :)

October, Presidents, and Food

Greetings from the island across from down under!  I am in denial that it is October already. One day it was September 20, and the next day it was October 1.  No joke, I sat at my computer staring at the date in disbelief for about 10 minutes thinking it was tricking me!  Ahhh so much to do, so little time! Actually, I only have 2 more things to complete on my mini bucket list here and 40+ days to do so! I am done with classes in less than two weeks, then have about 12 days to explore the island aka road trip, then I come back to Dunedin for 4 final exams, then fly home the day after my last exam :( :( :( Speaking of, I have not booked my flight from LAX to MSP yet because I am going to see how much money I have left to maybe travel California for a bit.

Today, I just found out that one of my classmates who I sit next to in my Understanding Contemporary Media paper is running for president of the student association at Uni. He never spoke of it all this time, then I see his ad in the student magazine here...so random and cool! I feel kind of terrible that I just found out about it, but he is really modest so maybe I didn't talk about myself too much?!!!! I hope that is the case at least! In conclusion, I kinda know a 'famous' person here, and they were telling the truth when they said you never know who you will meet!  Here are more spring fever pictures! 

Found this while exploring with my friend Morgan

On my walk to school. Lucky right?!

Oversized flowers...never seen these before!

Oh and more good news. Surprising news.  I filled out a rugby bracket a while back for the Rugby World Cup, and currently am the leader. Who would have ever thought?!  Kind of, may have made my day :)

 And I am really proud of my slightly improved cooking skills.  I made a stir fry with some chicken, broccoli, mushrooms, onions, and sweet chilli lime sauce for dinner!  AND I cooked rice for the first time.  

My mum would be so proud!

Since food is on the mind, there are some differences in what Kiwis call certain foods.  Raisins are sultanas, Rice Krispies are Rice Bubbles, kumara are sweet potatoes, muesli is granola, prawns are shrimp, biscuits are cookies, jelly is Jell-O (ALWAYS), golden syrup is molasses (I bought it thinking it was maple syrup, and was sadly mistaken),  and mince is beef (ALWAYS)!!!  Also, they don't have any sugar cereals.  And potato chip flavors are chicken, salt and vinegar, and chive...in other words I have not bought them here.  Now that I made you all hungry, go eat and I hope you enjoyed Kiwi Food Culture 101. 

By the way, I DO realize (in NZ it would be realise) the randomness of my blog posts...someone pointed out how sporadic my posts can be...I guess my mind is always spinning haha!

Spring is Here!

Today was the nicest day here in Dunedin!  It was 18 degrees Celsius, which I will make you convert to Fahrenheit.  I sat outside my flat soaking in the sun for about 4 hours today, while me and Chelsea kept on making attempts to start our essays that were due tomorrow.  I have been SUCH a slack lately.  Seriously, I have never in my life been such a bad student.  It is hard to go to class when I don't really have an interest in the subject matter (O-Chem, I miss you xoxo).  So, I usually just end up being entertained by my friends here.  Long story short... we did not start our essays until later after we watched Ellen, two cooking shows, ate lunch, drank tea, and discussed the endless love we have for sunshine.  I did end up finishing my essay, my LAST ONE for the semester. It feels so good!  I had to write an essay in every one of my classes here, and I now know that I am inclined to do something in the realm of science/health, where essays are lab reports. 

Some other self-discoveries I have made here:

I am oddly obsessed with ice cubes.  Chelsea makes fun of me because I put an ice cube in almost everything I drink. Tea, soda, water, and juice.  And following my father's suit, I put the newly filled ice cube tray on the bottom so the next person (which is usually me) doesn't spill all the unfrozen H to the O.  I know I can survive without coffee.  I used to drink coffee all the time, and then I came here to expensive coffee land, and I figure my life can do without. It has, and without any withdrawals, thankfully. I love mushrooms and broccoli.  I never cooked either in my life before this experience, and it is so cliché and untrue and I am really trying to find another way to say it, but my life is complete.  My life isn't really complete, but it just expresses mi amor for those vegetables.  Ah, that's enough for now!

So I seem to have forgotten what I was originally going to write about.  It will probably come back to me, when I do not feel like blogging any more!  Such is life in the land of the Kiwi bird...that is why NZ people are called Kiwis by the way.  That is a bird that is only found on Stewart Island, NZ.  I don't think it is pretty/cute by any means.  The Kiwi people are far more attractive! :) 

Regarding my introduction, the weather is lovely because spring has arrived.  We just had daylight savings, and all the trees are in bloom.  Due to personal requests, people have asked me to take some pictures of the campus and so I will show off the Otago campus along with showcasing some epic blooms.  Two birds with one stone.

Cherry blossoms. heart heart

Unofficial center of the campus

The international building

Cool little pathway

Back entrance to the campus

Where I attend lectures...most days ;)

Bridge over the Leith River

Leith River

Kiwi Music

I love finding new music, and what better way to immerse myself into the culture than listen to Kiwi music! Here are some songs from famous NZ bands.

The group Six60 actually originated in Dunedin, and all were students at Otago.  They lived in a flat addressed 660, hence the name of the band!  This song is quite appropriate for all people my age...the lyrics are a good lesson and reminder for me on this journey.  The only thing holding me back from living here is my family, and trust me...it is my dream to have my family relocate here!  Have a listen and I hope you like it as much as I do!

Skiing and a Little Thing Called Bungy Jumping

I am kind of worried that I have may just have lived the best weekend of my life.  It does not feel real at all so I am living the dream?! I have been wanting to go skiing and bungy jumping here ever since I booked my flight back in April or something.  No plans arose to do it until last Wednesday when a total of 4 of us spontaneously decided to go away for the weekend to do both!  I was the solo girl, and got a view into the man's world for a couple of days.  Yes, they do piss whenever and wherever they please in case you wanted verification. :)

We left early on Saturday morning, and drove about 4 hours to Cardrona ski resort near Wanaka and Queenstown, in the heart of the Southern Alps.  The only skiing I have done prior is skiing down a golf course hill and getting pulled behind a snowmobile.  I had to rely on the fact that I can balance, and that my siblings are all able to stay alive while shredding the slopes.  Overall experience was grade A, perfect 10, five star, etc. Aka EPICCCCCCCC!  I crashed about 4 times and had really sore shins from the ski boots, but otherwise I loved everything about the experience...talking to people on the lifts, stopping at the end of the run, laughing/smiling at the beauty of everything, warming up in the lodge, and feeling the rush of not knowing if you will fall or not.  Ah, epic.  The guys offered me good advice too, couldn't ask for better slope mates!

The slopes

My rental skiis

Nice

Highly recommend

After skiing from 9:30-3:30, we headed down the mountain to Queenstown to find a place to pitch our tent.  The scenery of the whole trip was so beautiful, especially the drive to Q-town.  Queenstown is a very touristy town, and is very upscale.  Veryyyy gorgeous location though!  We ended up checking out a backpackers lodge called Bumbles that had a backyard for tents.  At first, we could not find the backyard and ended up setting up the tent wayyy far away, in a completely different campground.  We ended up carrying the tent down the road, with the joke that we were a 'wide load'...so funny!  Then we checked out the town, ate at the famous Fergberger (best burger I have ever had), and attempted to find a grocery store but failed.  We chilled at the campsite for awhile and discussed life while stargazing only to go back into town to watch Ireland defeat Australia in rugby (such an unreal upset!!!!).  They had this really cool outdoor setup for the game, with a huge flat screen and fire.  The Irish people went a little crazy!  I met some local Dunedin people who also go to Otago, and they somehow convinced me to do four backflips...but I made them spot me.  There was a professional photographer there, and he kept getting the timing wrong so I had to do it again and again.

Queenstown.

Relocating the tent. haha

Fergberger

Our campsite..not exactly rural, but sweet as view.

The peaks look kind of like a crown.

Little fish and chips never hurt anyone..cute shack by the water.

Q-town

Backflippping

The next morning, we woke up and had breakfast by the lake.  We casually strolled into town to make the bus to go bungy jumping.  At this point, I was not feeling particularily scared or nervous, and didn't get scared until we drove up the mountain and saw the bungy hanging in the middle of the valley.  We got weighed in, and harnessed up as soon as we stepped off the bus.  From there, we stepped into this shuttle (which was more like a metal cage) to bring us out to the bungy.  This is where my freaking out majorly started.  Seeing the ground a million miles down was a wake up call to me!  We entered the little 'house' and all you hear is extremely loud dubstep music playing.  It makes the experience way intense, and I jumped around to calm my nerves.  Eight people went before me, because they have different bungy cords for each weight category.  There were 2 other Americans (who just got to NZ 4 hours prior to their jump), 2 Russians, and 2 Chinese, and 4 of us.  As I was watching all the others before me go, I kept thinking I was going to get up there and change my mind.  Complete opposite thing happened.  Time went by reallllyyy slowly and I felt as if I was dreaming, and trust me, I was not on any sort of drug (just high on life, I suppose)!  They hook your harness up to a cable so if you trip, you won't go plummeting to your death without a bungy cord.  Then you sit down in a chair, and chain the bungy cord to you, and put a strap into the ankle harness that you pull once you are upside down to put you upright as they haul you back up.  After that, they tell you to walk the plank.  This is where I shuffled my feet right to the edge...and looked down.  I have never felt so calm.  My mind was completely clear for the first time in my life, and I don't even remember anyone talking.  3,2,1, BUNGY!!!!! I dove off and then after a couple of seconds, I screamed.  Then you are free falling for about 5 seconds, and your mind is just thinking "holy craaaaaaaaaaapppp!"  BEST FEELING IN THE WORLD. I would do it all over again in an instant. And again.  When I got hauled back up, I think I just laughed for about 5 minutes straight in sheer happiness.  Then we all discussed how we are forever changed people, aww bonding!!  Just grand!

The shuttle...with the 'house' in the distance!

Waiting...

On the edge.

CYA! Best best best best ever.

After that, we drove back to Dunedin where I immediately crashed.  No words can describe what a fun weekend it was. I love love love experiencing new things with new people!!!!  Crossed two things off my bucket list! Check and check. Ah, I must be dreaming yo!

Ex-pectations

Walking to the grocery store today in the pouring rain, I contemplated something.  Why do some people treat their lives as a game?  I used to.  I used to expect certain things to happen to me just because I did this or that. I waited for a great outcome, and got outplayed and defeated.  A good friend from a while back is experiencing a rough patch due to too many expectations.  Having no expectations for EVERYTHING is honestly the key to it all because whatever happens will be bloody brilliant!  Then all those inspirational quotes you love to say will be a reality, and not some far off distant fairytale of a life.  Not saying my life is perfect, but everything after quitting the game has been pretty dang good.  So go ahead and start reading the quotes that are now your life.

The beach at sunrise.

Do you get my blog title now? ;)

Rugby, Rugby, Rugby, repeat.

It only happens once every 4 years I reckon, and New Zealand's unofficial 'official' religion is the fad.  The Rugby World Cup is located in NZ this time, and it is crazy.  Literally everyone is either at the game, or watching it at home.  It is almost as the Olympics have arrived...the opening ceremony was a spectacle!  I filled out a bracket for it, and spent my time last night googling the history of each team...a new side of me you could say!

One thing that I learned last night is that when two Pacific Island teams face off, they each perform a traditional dance native to their indigenous tribe.  It kind of hypes them up in a way, and the crowd loves it.  Quite different and cool!  Check it out:

And one craze I may or may not have fallen into is the Dan Carter fan club.  Dan Carter is #10 on the All Blacks and is so handsome! All the girls here adore him, and I can see why they do.  It is comparable to the David Beckham/Joe Mauer obsession, except a way better candidate for the job ;)

Dreamy hey?!

Don't be expecting to hear any good news about the USA rugby team.  They are not that good...yet.  Actually, funny story.  I had a guest lecturer from North Carolina in my Contemporary Media class (which I am starting to enjoy actually), and I think he was trying to gain a few Kiwi friends when he apologized on behalf of the team and how bad they were going to be.  Very un-American!

A Year Ago

It is crazy how much life changes in a year!  I just remembered that a year ago today I was flying home from Alaska.  I had completely different friends, and my outlook on life had only just begun to unravel itself before my eyes.  That is one thing I love about growing up...the variety that life brings is at a much faster pace.  I remember when all I had to worry about was which barbie doll I was going to play with that day, or how to convince my little brothers to play pretend with me.  Whether that variety it good or bad, it only makes me learn more about myself in how I deal with it.  I don't mean to be all heartfelt by any means (I guess I kinda do...), it is just easy to get into a mode of reflection and contemplation halfway around the world.

 One thing I did know a year ago today was that I was going to study abroad coming the next fall semester.  I clearly remember discussing this with my mother at the dinner table, not knowing how she would take it.  Looking back, it makes me a little emotional thinking about how important that moment really was to me...getting her approval.  I love how she didn't even hesitate to reply in favor of it all.  Love you for that, and everything else :)

Ok, here is some things I did awhile ago that are worth mentioning.  I feel like I am blogging up a storm lately, but I just realized how stupid I am for not keeping a personal diary of all the things I have done, so I just don't want to forget all the little moments! Awwwww.....

I explored more of the cliffs nearby my flat:

I realize a lot of the coast pictures are similar, but trust me: It NEVER gets old looking at it!

I went sailing for my first time with my neighbor, glad he knew how to sail! And got completely soaked with freezing cold ocean water while still maintaining a decent enough body temperature.  I have never taken a longer hot shower when I got back though...haha!  Funny story that comes along with this experience (that will expose my gullibility..yikes!)  We were sailing back into the harbor and the boat had some water in it, so Ryan tells me to take the plastic container and scoop out some of the water.  So I get couple scoops of water out, and I drop the container in the ocean.  He tells me that I need to start scooping it out by hand before the excess water sinks the boat.  Of course, I believe him because he sounded so serious and I personally did NOT want to drown!  I do this for about 30 seconds before I realize he is laughing at me.  And this is on video too.  Lovely! 

One of the bigger sailboats in the harbor.  The one I went on was heaps smaller.

I hiked to see the glow worms at night (one of the two places in the world where they exist).  Crazy cool, it was like glow in the dark stars, but better.  I could not get a good picture of them, but here is their life cycle:

I saw them in their larvae stage.

Right near the glow worms, are Nichols Falls.

It was so green.  Tarzan was going to swing through at any moment.

I also bought my first box of tea bags...I never knew how good it is!!!  Or maybe I have just been missing caffeine. Whatever the reason, I feel like a sophisticated lady sipping my tea in the morning! Oh gosh...

MN is Famous! (kinda)

Before this completely eludes my memory, I would like to share how I recently experienced a taste of home right here in Dunedin!  I was listening to the radio here and the news came on after a song played.  It started off with a story about 2 young Minnesotan girls in pajamas from Mankato were caught walking around town in the wee hours of the morning with a stolen goat from the zoo.  They apparently had wanted a goat and didn't get one, so they stole one!  It was so amusing to hear halfway around the world, on a local radio station of all things!  By golly, it is a small world :)  I told this to my dad, and he said it made the news in MN as well...I sure hope it would if it travelled this far!  The goat is safely returned I believe.  Made my day!

While the subject of radio is fresh on my mind, I find it rather funny how random the radio is here.  They don't have one station dedicated to a certain genre...one of the station literally plays "60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and today"! And within those decades lies country, pop, blues, rock, hip hop, etc.  Hahaha! Also, they quite like their commercials and incessant news breaks, which frequent the radio about every 2 songs...with the song Mr. Saxobeat being one of the most played songs! Oh gosh, I am laughing just thinking about it.