Real Life

Maybe I should rephrase my title... back to reality, responsibility, and work. haha.

I spent the last week catching up in school, going to classes, and planning mid-semester break. I caught myself complaining about having to write a paper and do work, only to stop myself to realize that 1. I am writing the paper in the botanical gardens in 75 degree weather (extremely hot and rare for this time of year)2.I only have four papers due, 1 project, and 4 tests for all my classes for the entire semester 3. its a paper... 4. im in new zealand! Isnt it funny how you easy it is to complain about EVERYTHING?! My kiwi host asked me what I did when I actually took 6 classes at Butler (complain ten times more)... I had to laugh. Whenever you ask a kiwi to imitate an American, they usually complain... mocking us. They will say,"I have a hang over. I feel sick. My head hurts" and then laugh and explain "of course you have a hang over, you drank 20 beers and a bottle of wine. suck it up mate" sad story. haha-

So lets see, I don't have that many updates! This was one of the first weekends I spent just hanging out in Dunedin... I thought it was a good idea, but i missed traveling! On Friday, Jess, Molly and I walked into town to see a movie (slumdog millionare)... amazing! The theater was so cute- it was a packed house with about 25 of us. haha- we had a great time. Yesterday I went shopping in town and got my haircut. They cut hair kind of funky, but I liked it... now only if I could gather the courage to have dreads or a streak of red or blue. haha--jk Today I wrote my paper and took a hike up to Signal Hill, which is a 5 minute walk away, 45 minute hike to a look out over the city. It was a perfect day for it, clear blue skies.

Oh... I have two updates... first, I have a new friend! His name is Stuart. Mom and Deanne had the pleasure of meeting him as well. he lives in my wall (hes a mouse). Every morning he wakes me with some scratches and I talk back with some knocks... I really like having my new friend, but I want to sleep in... so I set my first mouse trap today! jay and jeremiah told me they would take care of it if I caught it. how nice it is to have male roommates! This is quite normal for Dunedin... second, I am completely lactose intolerant. I've always had trouble eating creamy soups and milk, but it has been ten times worse since I arrived (weird?). I am hurled in a ball and laying in bed if I eat cheese, milk, milk chocolate (ah!), and worst of all, mcdonald's soft serve ice cream. well I was just informed of tiny little pills that I can take before I eat dairy to help... ill have to go to the chemist (pharmacy) and get some.

I now have internet at my fingertips.. well kind of. The wireless isnt working on pc's so we have a cable that we share. It is nice to just check my e-mail here, etc... but at the same time, I enjoyed the excitement of going to the library once a day to check it. It was much more thrilling! Oh, the little things. This means I finally have skype: lisam151. talk to me!

So I have two more weeks of class and then mid-semester break! Lynsey and I just planned a sweet trip! I will give you a small preview without ruining that post: 3 days tramping on beaches, 2 days kayaking, full day wine tour on bike!, dolphins, hostels, etc. We are going up to the northern part of the southern island which is full of beaches and warmer weather : )and we are meeting her boyfriend and some of his friends (they are all studying in wellington)... i'm super excited!

Alright, time for some reading- take care : )

Pictures

Pictures from road trip:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2074228&id=21105072&l=a0eae1a909

Pictures from Dunedin/21st Birthday:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2074232&id=21105072&l=90e62ff767

Enjoy!

Mom and Deanne Visit!

I apologize for not writing in a lonnnng time! Let me start where I left off…

In the first weekend of the month, we had an IFSA event. We went to the Taieri Plains to jetboat, white water raft, and swim. The entire day was a blast! It was a team based competition day, kind of reminded me of survivor. We were running in the bush, swimming down rapids and jumping off cliffs… insane! Then we hurried back and got ready for another Rugby game. Now that the entire student population is back, it was a blast. The entire stands were packed with students decked out in face paint and blue and gold.

My mom and sister were supposed to arrive on Tuesday, but they were delayed a day in the states, so they arrived on Wednesday morning. I went to the airport to meet them and I was able to walk right up to their gate (much less security than the states). We left right from the airport for our road trip!

We drove to Lake Te Anau up to Milford Sounds and did a 2 hour boat cruise. It was beautiful! We saw epic waterfalls and mountains (you have to check out my pictures). On the following day, we drove up to Queenstown. Queenstown is the adventure capital of NZ. You can do anything from jet boating to skiing to bungy jumping to sky diving, etc. etc. etc. It was a cute little touristy town. We went on a 5 hour wine tour to 4 different wineries in Central Otago. It was a great time! At night, we planned to go out in Queenstown, but somehow found ourselves in bed at 8 p.m. haha. The following day we woke up to bungy jumping! Deanne and I decided on the bridge jump, which is over a river. It is the first bungy jump in the world! It was crazy- much different than sky diving. The ground was just coming up, I wasn’t sure if I was going to stop---ah! Then we drove up to Lake Wanaka for lunch.

We were headed for a 4.5 hr drive up the west coast to Franz Josef. Well after 6 hours, we realized that mapquest was incorrect and it was actually an 8 hour drive! We also didn’t know that the west coast had very few towns with very few gas stations. When we realized our gas light wasn’t lying, we stopped at a farm and asked for gas. We had about an hour left to our destination, but after a half hour, the sun set and we our friendly little gas light was back! We finally reached a town... but the gas station was closed. We made a decision and found a motel for the night. After getting in our room, I insisted we go to the pub for some drinks. It turned out to be one of our favorite parts of the road trip! We met some crazy locals and had a blast!

The following morning, we drove to our original destination, Franz Josef, and went on a half day glacier climb. It was cool to actually be on a real glacier! Then we continued our drive up the west coast. It was a beautiful drive through rain forests and coastal roads. We arrived in Punakaiki, which is famous for its pancake rocks. It was a cute little town in the middle of the rain forest, with no gas station or food store and only one pub! We watched the sunset over the pancake rocks (they actually look like stacks of pancakes). Then, we made a tasty spaghetti dinner and drank the wine that we bought on one of the tours. We had our own cabin for the night, which was adorable!

The following day was my 21^st birthday! We traveled across the country to get to Hanmer Springs. The drive was once again, epic, and we walked across a long swing bridge and stopped many times to take pictures. Once we arrived at Hanmer Springs, we indulged in a spa day. We had a half hour private steam room, a half hour massage, and a half hour facial, and then we relaxed in the hot pools. It was quite a treat! We went out for a nice dinner and I enjoyed my first “legal drink” (although I have been legal for 2 months in NZ) haha. It was a fantastic birthday! (thanks for all the birthday wishes from home!!)

The following morning we drove down to Christchurch and went shopping. We left Christchurch, stopped at the Moeraki Boulders (it is a beach with these huge spherical rocks). We went out for Italian food in Dunedin and ended the night back at my flat. We were exhausted! The road trip was great, we drove over 1300 miles, but saw the whole island! It was full of good laughs, scary drives, and epic scenery.

Since Mom only had a day left in Dunedin, we booked it full! We went on the Cadybury Chocolate Factory tour, the Speights Brewery tour (the beer of southern New Zealand), and out to the Bog for St. Patricks Day!

Deanne and I dropped my Mom off at the airport the next afternoon and then we went to the Gutbuster race up Baldwin Street (the steepest street in the world). We did a walk/jog up it (and we were sore for 2 days). We spent the next fews days hanging around Dunedin and then we went back to Queenstown on Friday. We went with a group of students from Dunedin. We had the chance to experience the nightlife in Queenstown, which was you guessed it, amazing!

The next day we shopped around Queenstown and Deanne was scheduled to go sky diving! We drove out to the place, she got in her jump suit and was about to jump in the plane when they cancelled it because of severe winds. Bummer!

I just dropped Deanne off at the airport and I am in the process of putting my life back in order and catching up in school. It was great to have visitors and see some of my family : )Alright, now that I bored you to death- Take care! Also, pictures will be up in 2 days when I finally get e-mail in my flat (sorry for the slow response to emails and everything, etc.)- we are still waiting on internet-

First Week of Classes

I just finished my first week of classes!

On Mondays I don't have class, so Lynsey, Daveen, and I decided to take a day hike because it was beautiful outside! We went to Mount Cargill, which is a about an hour walk from campus. We hiked on a little trail for a couple hours to get to the top. It is the highest point in Dunedin, so the views were epic! Along the way, there were waterfalls... it was beautiful! The weather has been gorgeous all week- I finally feel like I am in summer! So we hiked to the top and then went to take a different way down. We were walking on the side of a road for over an hour and we realized that we were far from home... and tired, hungy, and sore. So we started hitchhiking (it is common in new zealand). Finally a lady picked us up as she was headed right past campus to the gym. She told me that she had to stop because the three of us looked desperate. haha. It was quite the adventure!

On Tuesday I went to all my classes- well all four of them starting at 8 a.m. It was quite a rude awakening! I've been out of class since the middle of December. haha. All my classes are huge lectures! My biggest class at Butler was about 35 kids and my biggest class here is 205, my smallest is a little over 100. It is crazy! I went to my last class, sport organisation (yes, nz spells it with an s)... and the professor told me that friday lectures were mandatory. We also had mandatory tutorials and papers due at every one. Needless to say, I dropped the class. I am taking 3 classes, 3-4 classes is average. I wanted to pick up another class, adventure education, but the professor told me that I could come to lectures and participate without signing up, so that I don't have to do the papers or exams. sweet deal. I love all of my classes! I am taking a philosophy course about ethics... the class is lively as everyone likes to voice their opinion and fight. I am taking a sport psychology class, which is by far one of my favorite courses! I love it! very interesting, and the professor completed his doctorate at university of illinois- I am also taking exercise prescription, which will be cool at otago because we have labs and use all this fun equipment!

My professors are laid back and fun- I will have a lot of extra time this semester, but it will be great. I never just take time to relax and enjoy life. its quite nice.

Last night, lynsey and I went to a car auction to buy a car for the semester. Imagine two girls going to a car auction alone... knowing nothing about cars. We made friends with an employee who showed us the cars and explained the process. The place asked us if we wanted to test drive. We said, "well we dont know how to drive on the other side of the road, so if you could drive, well just sit in the back". They laughed at us probably wondering why we were buying a car. haha. We bid on a car, but I think it was too low- the owner never called today. bummer- haha but it was quite the experience!

Other than that, I have just been hanging out and running around. Tomorrow IFSA-Butler is taking us on a day trip to bush walk, jet boat, and swim, and then we are going to a rugby game! Deanne and Mom will be here next week and we have an insane road trip planned- which will be stellar! I'm psyched to see them : )

Check out my new pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2072888&id=21105072&l=57438

O-Week!

Orientation week is here! It is called o-week and it is a big welcome back celebration (remember everyone just returned from summer break to start their first semester). Campus is finally alive! All day long students are hanging outside their flats and at night the streets are full of people, loud music, and parties. All of my flatmates are here as well! Nikita is our kiwihost, she is from the North Island. Mariah is from Michigan, Jay is from New York, and Jeremiah is from Minnesota. They are awesome! It is going to be one crazy semester!

O week is full of concerts, events, specials, and parties. All week there are tents around campus from local organizations. On Tuesday, we attended the annual Toga parade, which is a Dunedin tradition. All the freshman “freshers” dress up in togas and parade downtown. It is tradition for the upper classmen to egg them. I found myself hiding behind bushes, dodging the crazy egg throwing and running to the next street to watch the chaos all over again. The police had no control, it was insane!

Wednesday was the annual cook-a-thon. I convinced Lynsey, Mariah, and Nina to go with me instead of going to international orientation. We woke up at 8 am and dressed up as 80 workout girls to walk to the bar at 9 am. The bar opens at 10 am and serves breakfast and lunch for $10. Everyone dresses up in crazy outfits and stands in line. We were at the bar until 5. It was a blast! The kiwis really know how to party.

On Thursday, I attended the clubs fair. I joined the tramping club here, which is a hiking club that takes trips every weekend. I also signed up for a wine tasting class on Wednesdays in May, which will be fun to actually be knowledgeable about what I am drinking.

On Friday we took a train trip though central otago with the International program. It was a cute, old fashioned train, and they gave us a free barbeque dinner at the end. After that we went to the Blackseeds Concert on campus. We danced to sweet reggae music. We stayed for a little while and then went out to the bars.

Today I went to the farmers market, which is every Saturday morning in town. It has plenty of fresh fruit, veggies, organic food, and homemade goodies. It is worth the early wake up call. O-week continues until next Saturday (March 7^th) and classes start on Monday… well Tuesday for me! I’ll write again soon!

Road Trip!

I just got back from a 6 day road trip with a couple of my friends! Right before we left, we went to a rugby game right in town. A group of us made dinner, drank some local beer, and painted our faces for the big game. We took the bus to Carrisbrook stadium and watched the Highlanders. Rugby is intense! There is a huge student section in the stadium, which makes the atmosphere more social and fun.

On Saturday, David, Erica, Hannah, Zach, and I rented a car to tour the southern coast of the south island. Originally it was only three of us, so we rented a tiny Nissan. It was quite comical trying to fit all of our clothes, tents, sleeping bags, and food into the car. Haha. We also thought that peanut butter and jelly would be sufficient for 6 days, so we neglected to bring real food and cooking utensils. Oh and don’t forget that New Zealand drives on the left side of the road!

It was quite the adventure! We drove the southern coast and stopped at numerous beaches, lookout points, and waterfalls. We stopped at Nugget Point lighthouse, which was beautiful! Our first campsite was right on the ocean, so we enjoyed our first dinner of pb and j and wine on the beach. The weather was sunny and perfect during the day with occasional rain, and at night, it was quite cold! Many people think New Zealand is warm, but they are mistaken. I will wake up and it will be rainy and freezing, by midday it will be hot enough for a t-shirt, and then by three p.m. it will be back down to 50 and cloudy. Typically, you experience 4 seasons in one day. Craziness! Anyways, back to the trip. The following day we saw a couple waterfalls and tunnels and slept on Curio Bay, which is a petrified forest. At night we went out to the beach around sunset and watched 15-20 penguins come in from the sea to meet their families and return to their habitat. We were 10 feet from real live penguins. It was crazy! Sea lions were also everywhere, we had to camp at a certain spot, so we wouldn’t wake up with them on our tent! The next night we camped at Invercargill at the Amble on Inn… haha, we got a kick out of the name. It was an interesting campsite next to a sheep farm, a road, and a carpenter.

The next day was amazing! We drove up to Te Anu and went skydiving! We met a lady at one of the stop offs and she told us how she went skydiving in Te Anu, so we looked into it and booked within 5 hours. We were signing our papers at this small little hut and we asked the owner if we could check the box that said “I have heard all the rules and precautions, etc. etc.” and he said, “oh yea. Well there is the bathroom, we keep the planes there, and you go up one at a time.” And the box was checked! I think it was this point that I finally realized that I was in New Zealand. The sheet also said that if anything were to happen, it is almost impossible to sue in New Zealand. LeeRoy was the skydiver that evening and he was awesome! We each went up separately with only LeeRoy and the pilot in the plane. He gave us a tour of Fiordland National Park. The scenery was beautiful! You could see lakes, rivers, mountains, etc. After a 20 minute tour we were ready to skydive! LeeRoy attached our harnesses and pushed me towards the edge. My favorite part was when LeeRoy pushed me over the edge, so I was floating while he was sitting on the edge of the plane. We freefell for 60 seconds and it was epic! We were head first flying down while looking at the mountains and sky. Then he opened the parachute and we floated, flipped, and turned all the way down to the ground. It was such an adrenaline rush! I highly recommend skydiving!

We slept on Lake TeAnu the next two nights. It was a beautiful lake with mountains right behind it. The next day we drove up to Milford Sound, which was full of mountains, glaciers, valleys, and water! It was gorgeous. I am excited to do a cruise there when my mom and Deanne come in a couple weeks.

Overall our road trip was a blast! We returned to the rainy, cold weather of Dunedin. I registered for my classes yesterday. I am excited for school to start. My professors seem amazing and the exercise science/physical education department here is sweet as. I couldn’t get into a class because I did not have the prerequisites, so I asked a professor if there was anyway I could still take the paper (what they call a course). He went to talk to the other professor and came back and said, “Can you bring a six pack to the first class?” I laughed and said yes…and that was it, he signed my paper. Haha I am taking psychology of sport, exercise prescription, sport organization, and a philosophy course over morals and ethics. I only have class Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays… and therefore, I have a lot of free time in my schedule.

Orientation week is about to start, which sounds insane! It is full of concerts, tents, parties, and events. Everything here is great. I am getting used to life in New Zealand, the ups and the downs. It is interesting to not have internet at my fingertips, limited electricity, and no central heating, but I am slowly getting used to it. I am stoked for all of my flatmates to arrive and more students!

Check out my pictures:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2072150&id=21105072&l=4345e
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2071711&id=21105072&l=4e9b1

Cheers-

Across the World!

Hello from Dunedin!

I am finally all moved into my flat, which is right off campus. It is a cute little gated house, and we are on the top floor (it is like 4 or 5 flats in a house). I have four roommates, but only my kiwi host is here right now. My other roommates will be arriving right before registration on the twentieth. I have my own room, with a desk, dresser and double bed. I have been spending most of my time getting organized and running around town.















On Sunday, a group of us went to St. Clair beach, which is a 10 minute bus ride. The waves were HUGE and there were riptides...even after swimming for 10 years, I decided to sit on a towel and watch the crazy surfers. haha.













On Monday, we caught the bus to go to Larnach Castle, which is supposedly the only castle in the southern hemisphere (were doubtful of this). We got off the bus to find out we had a 4km (45minute) walk up a STEEP hill. haha. It made arriving at the castle ten times better. The lookout from the castle is amazing, but we saw rain and fog. haha. Then we hiked back down the hill to catch the bus home. It was quite an adventure!

We have also been spending a lot of time in town. The main center of town is in the shape of an octagon and there are restaurants and stores everywhere. It is a nice 15 minute walk from my flat.

Everyone in New Zealand is friendly! I love their accents and have been trying to pick up on their slang... cheers, sweet as (meaning cool or sweet... we don't understand why it isn't sweet as candy or something, but nz is a place of its own... haha), hire out (rent out), skull (chug).. etc!

Tomorrow the Institute for Study Abroad is hosting an event. We are taking a bus to the peninsula to see the penguins and seals and then back to Dunedin for dinner. It will be great to catch up with everyone. My friends and I rented a car for the next five days. We are planning to do some day hikes in the Catlins and then a road trip along the coast of the southern part of the island, stopping at some sweet places. I will be sure to blog after that!