Wellington Hurricane Rugby Game

Here are just some pictures of the one and only rugby game I was able to make it to while here in New Zealand. ENJOY!!

Wairarapa Wine Tour

Hello All!!!

Well it wasn't long after I got back from mid-semester break that I decided to do another fun outing near Wellington. Amy, Brenda, Lauren and myself decided to take a day trip to the Wairarapa region to do a wine tour. Seeing as we live less than an hour away from the best wine in New Zealand, it was perfect. AND we also thought it would be perfect to learn about the wine making process and what makes a good wine.

Although the day started off interesting, with all the rain and storms, it turned out to be a great afternoon in the Wairarapa area. We took the train in Wellington to the town just outside of Martinborough where our tour guide was going to meet us. The tour included stops at 4 vineyards, tastings, lunch and afternoon tea. Just like every other tour you take in New Zealand, and I'm sure anywhere else in the world, you get to meet very interesting people. On this particular day we toured with people from France, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and I'm trying to remember the last one, but it was a very unusual place like Iceland or somewhere like that. It was fun to hear everyone's different thoughts on their favorite wines.

We started off the day at Murdoch James Vineyard, with about 4-5 tastings. I personally liked the Trafalgar here even though I don't know much about wine haha. We also got to see a lot of behind the scenes making of the wine, seeing as it was just around harvesting time. Next we headed to lunch in the town of Martinborough, where one of my flat mates, Nina is from. Her family actually owns a vineyard in this area, but we weren't able to stop at their particular place. I did however buy a book at the end of the day, which ended up having Nina's dad and their vineyard in!!! After lunch we headed to our second vineyard, but really can't remember the name of this one. It was owned by one man, which was passed down from his parents. Here, we got to see the bottling process and the fancy-shmancy machine they use to bottle and cork the wine.

Seeing as we had tried a good 10 wines by now, we were all feeling a little bit more friendly with each other. Which made the third vineyard visit a lot better because we were all cramped in a little room for around 30-40 minutes. Amy especially loved this place...why is that? It is German owned!! lol The vineyard was called Schubert, and they more of desert wines, which Brenda really liked because she is not a huge wine fan.

Our last stop of the day was at Te Kairanga, which is famous for their Pinot Noir. After spending a long time taking pictures and tasting their wines, it was time to head back to the bus and train station. Overall, it was a successful day with some souvenirs in hand. Can't wait to start traveling again.

Until Next Time

OH and, we found a little gem in the train station in Wellington!! Gotta love Harry Potter references!!

Spring Break: NZ Style

Well, for the past couple of years, I have spent my spring break out in California with my sister, Heather. Seeing as I wasn't able to make it there this year, ha ha, spending my time in the Bay of Islands seemed like a good alternative. I hadn't planned much for my two week semester break, other than my bungee jump, which I wrote about before. It was a last minute decision and I was very happy it all worked out ok.I spent my first weekend of break with Rebecca, props to her for letting me stay with her and her family in Palmerston North!! They were great, and hope to stay in touch with them after I leave here.

After a few days at her house, I hoped on a bus all the wa

y to Auckland. Now, if you don't have a map of the north island of New Zealand, Palmerston North is near the bottom and Auckland is almost at the very top of the island. This meant that I had a long long 10 hour bus ride that day. After a few mishaps and overheating of the bus, i finally made it through a snow storm (crazy right?!) and to Auckland only an hour late. That night I stayed at the Nomads Hostel in the city where I met up with Amy, her roommate Brenda, Megan, and Morgan for the start of our trip up north.

Although, at this point I was completely sick of buses, we took another bus about 3 hours north to a town called Pahia, in the Bay of Islands. There aren't a lot of big cities in New Zealand, and this town was perfect for a little getaway from the hustle and bustle of Wellington. We stayed at this awesome hostel called the Mouse Trap (which actually had a huge mouse statue sitting in a lawn chair on top of the house, lol). We met a lot of interesting people staying here, including people from England, Greece, (probably china, we called this man Mulan), and Germany all of which were pretty nice.

Our first official full day in the BOI(bay of islands) was a day bus trip, not too excited to be spending even more time on a bus, up to Cape Reinga. Fun fact: this is the most northern point of New Zealand and where the Tasman Sea and Pacific Ocean collide. You can kind of see the difference in color of the water in the pictures. After making some stops for photo opportunities and lunch, we headed to 90 mile beach (actually only about 60 miles, but they thought that 90 mile sounded better haha), on the west coast of the New Zealand. Here we went sandboarding down huge sand dunes and took some more typical tourist photos on the beach.

The second day trip was the Great Sights, Fullers Cream Cruise. It was so nice to be out on the water for the day, taking in the sights of the many islands in the BOI. We made our way around several private islands, must be nice to own one lol, and some cool black rocks. Our destination for the day was the Hole in the Rock, self explanatory. Didn't realize that we were actually going to drive through the hole, but we did with great success and some nervous moments as well. As we made our way back to Pahia, we were told we could swim with the dolphins. This day however, there was a baby in the pod so we were unable to get in the water with the dolphins but had an amazing time watching them swim along side the boat. We did have the opportunity later to go boom-netting. Basically, this is when we stand with a death grip on a net that is tied up on the side of the boat while it moves. It was definitely not as relaxing as the pictures in the brochure made it out to be. While that day was filled with sitting on a boat and sight seeing, the next day was much more active. We decided to take a walk to Haruru Falls, and the Waitangi Treaty House. We spent a good walking around the Waitangi Treaty grounds, checking out the Wakas (maori canoes), Flagstaff, and Treaty House. This might have been the first time, like EVER, that I was greatly interested in history. We learned about the Treaty of Waitangi, and how it was signed in 1840 between the English settlers and the Maori tribes at that time, in order tolive together in peace.

Later, we ventured onto the hour hike to Haruru Falls. It ended up being quite the ordeal walking there and back. We didn't realize how long the hike was going to be until we ended up at the Falls near sunset, which meant we had to walk back through the forest in the dark. With only our cellphone flashlights and my 'stay safe in the city' flashlight key chain, we made it back, but only after an encounter with one mean looking possum. It took us a while to realize what it actually was, and after finding out we bolted in the other direction.

Our last full day in the BOI, we spent in Russel. This was the very first capital of New Zealand, and was the capital at the time of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. We saw the first bar, and a cool printing press house as well. This interested me because I had learned about the process of the printing newspapers in my History of Journalism class here at Massey. That night, Amy, Brenda, and I treated ourselves to some amazing seafood at Only Seafood restaurant right around the corner from our hostel. 3 course meal for under 40$ I thought was a pretty good deal.

After our week of relaxing in Pahia, we all headed back to the Auckland, where the rest of the group caught a flight to Queenstown while I stayed another night. That next week I spent back in New Plymouth with Natalie and her family again. I got to meet a lot of her friends, seeing everyone was on mid-semester break at the time. I even met on guy that was completely obsessed with the Chicago Bears. Who knew that I could fly half way across the world and meet a Chicago football fan??!!

Natalie and I headed back to Wellington the sunday before school started again, which meant I had a ton of homework to do and papers to write. The month of May was the busiest I have been since being here in New Zealand, with 6 papers due, and a presentation in one of my classes. What a whirlwind of a time. I did however, get some breaks from all the school. Check out my next post for my next Wellington Adventure.

Until Next Time

A Mix of Everything

Well, it certainly has been a long time since I wrote last. I am forcing myself to sit down and recount what I have done in the past month, including classes, flatmate shenanigans, and weekend excursions. I can honestly say that I am now getting fairly comfortable living/studying in another country. I have taken it on myself to create a schedule for the week, which involves reading for my classes (always the hardest to keep up with), grocery shopping, and taking some time to look through my Lonely Planet New Zealand Guide book for fun weekend trips. There are times, however, where not everything goes as planned. But before I get into that, I'll start off with my first, REAL, weekend trip.

I was looking for somewhere to escape the rather familiar Wellington. It's not that I don't like the city, but it was getting old pretty fast and I needed toget away for a little while. I came across a place called Waitomo, which is located in the northwestern part of the North Island, just south of Auckland. It didn't seem too exciting until I read about the Waitomo Glowworm Caves, and Black Water Rafting. Now, this I had to try. Mentioning my interest in this unique adventure during one of our week night dinners, my flat mate Natalie suggested she would go along with me and that we could stay at her housefor the weekend in New Plymouth. That is exactly what we did. We left that next thursday morning, too early for my taste, and headed off to her house.

While I visited Natalie and her lovely parents, we had an extra day to explore her town before our Black Water Rafting trip. That Friday, we climbed Paritutu Rock (top) and took a little trip to see Mt. Taranaki, or Egmont Volcano (bottom). New Plymouth was exactly what I was looking to escape to: quite, yet had plenty to do, and of course free accomadation!!

The next day,we got up early, yet again, to drive the 2 and a half hours up to Waitomo. It was an amazing drive, so I didn't mind that I hadn't gotten much sleep the night before. Once we arrived, we checked in and looked around the cafe they had there. We spotted a map of the caves around the area and laughed at the funny names they had, like Pete's Kitchen and Banana Smoothie. Next, we met our tour guides, along with the other 5 people that were to join us on our trip. We suited up into our wet suites and funny looking helmets and harnesses and drove to the starting point. It began with a 40m ab-sail down a hole in the ground (some squeezing and manuvering were invovled) to get us down into the cave. We then took a little walk to a point where we had to use the "flying fox" to get to the next point. In other words, we ziplined down onto a huge rock! From there, I along with one other guy jumped with our inner tubes into the water. Take note that we weren't able to see how far down the water was because it was pitch black! After that excitement, we floated down the river, shivering in the freezing water while looking at the glowworms on the ceiling. Also note, the glowworms are actually maggots that are burning off their poop in order to attract food...lol gross I know! The next hour or so involved more walking through "drunken stumble" and climbing up two waters to finally emerge into themiddle of forest. (Picture below)

Like the title says, this post will be a mix of about everything in the past month, including classes. I thought it would be cool to show everyone why I am actually in New Zealand. Below are some pictures of campus and the views I see almost everyday walking to and from class. Right now I am on mid-semester break so I don't have to worry too much about reading and class work. I'll leave that till I get back to Wellington in a couple of weeks.

Again I am going to switch up the topic in the post and jump to the present. As of right now, I am staying at another of my flat mates house, Rebecca. Her and her family are very nice in letting me stay here for the weekend, in Palmerston North. Why, you might ask am I staying in Palmerston North? Well, it was the closest place I could stay to Mokai Gravity Canyon. If you haven't already looked at my facebook pictures, then this means nothing to you...yet. Yesterday, I experienced my first bungee jump!!! It was the most insane, craziest, and scariest thing I have ever done in my entire life, and I don't think anything could really compete with that. It was definitely a personal challenge, standing on the edge of a bridge, looking down in the canyo

n, with just a bungee strapped to your ankles, and making myself jump. I took advice from Rebecca, that when they counted me down 3-2-1 BUNGEE, I jumped right away. If I had waited just a couple of seconds after I don't know if I would have had the guts to do it, but I d

id and I am so happy. I AM ADDICTED!! I for sure want to try again, seeing as that the camera there wasn't working and I was unable to get a DVD of my adrenaline rush. Rebecca was nice enough to take some with my camera (below), but the pictures definitely don't do it justice. But as for now, I am going to enjoy my time here in Palmerston North until I head up north to take a trip around the Bay of Islands, which will probably be my next post so be on the lookout for that!!

Until Next Time!!

Home Sweet Home: Wellington

OH BOY! It has been such a long time since I last posted, very sorry about that. It has been a hectic first few weeks here in Wellington, but am finally settled in now that classes have started. It's difficult trying to describe my experiences so far, but I will do my best to give you an overview what has been going on here. (photo below is the view from my flat window).

My first week in Wellington consisted of finding a grocery store, which I could identify the food sold, getting a phone sorted out, buying sheets, laundry detergent, and some other essentials. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to get around in the city. You can practically walk anywhere you want, unless it is in Lower Hutt, that I would suggest a bus. Although, some days when it is quite windy and rainy out, I would like to have some sort of car or transportation to and from New World(cheap-normal grocery store), which is about a good 15-20 minute walk away from my apartment. Other than shopping for things to make my flat more homey, my first week also was a week of waiting; waiting for my flatmates to arrive and for classes to start was a bit nerve-racking.

Before school officially started, I did a few fun things in Wellington, including going to the beach (should be obvious to anyone who really knows me), shopping down Lambton Quay, and sipping chai lattes at eclectic, and vibrant cafes on Cuba St. Everyone can agree with me when I say you always have some expectation when you travel somewhere new. In this case, Wellington definitely exceeded my expectations. I say this only because when I arrived in Auckland, I wasn't sure if I was going to like Wellington more or less because I liked Auckland so much. However, it is very hard to compare these two cities because they are so different. I very much like Wellington for it's unique style of urban-living. Having lived in the city of Chicago for a summer, I know what the hustle and bustle of city life can bring, but Wellington has it's way of keeping you calm. It's incredibly refreshing.

Ok, now on to the nitty-gritty stuff, classes. I have had two weeks of class and have already had more than 10 hours of reading, and a presentation to do. They really don't waste anytime here getting to work. While the workload is tough, I keep reminding myself where I am and how lucky I am to be here. With that said, I am lucky enough to be taking four classes, which include the following: History of Journalism (English, American, and New Zealand), Travel Writing (thought it would help my blogging, but it doesn't seem like that so far), Hollywood Cinema (had my presentation in last monday-went very well, I think!! lol), and finally Popular Culture and the Media. All have both interested me and kind of turned me off by the amount of reading and work we have to do. I am pushing through, and trying to enjoy the weekends, which have been beautiful (sunny and in the 60s).

On a lighter note, taking a break from studying, one of my flatmates and I are planning a trip for our break in 5 weeks time. We still are figuring out the little details, but it looks like I am going to visit her home in New Plymouth in the north island for a night or two, then we will fly down to Dunedin in the south island, where we will spend another couple nights before going to Queenstown. I am sure most of you can guess what I will be planning to do down there, but I'll give you a hint, it involves a bridge!!

I promise that from now I will keep up with posts and things going on here down under. If for any reason that a natural disaster should hit Wellington, since it there has been stuff, earthquakes and tsunamis, effecting a lot of places around me, I will for sure let everyone know what my status is. For now, I am safe and enjoying my adventures!!

Till Next Time! Cheers!

Orientation...Is this real life?!

Whew, what a week! My time here in New Zealand is flying by already, but have done so many different and unique things that it seems to be almost a dream. After the pre-semester trip to Fiji, I flew into Auckland, New Zealand. I had some expectations for this particular week just because of the stories and photos I’ve seen of other people’s experience abroad. Museums, bus tours, group activities and perhaps a nice dinner here and there were a few things I mentally jotted down. I was right, for the most part, however The Education Abroad Network went straight past my expectations and more.

When I first arrived, along with the rest of the group from Fiji plus one, we quickly had some lunch and had a little discussion about what to anticipate for the following five days. We later checked into our rooms, and settled in. Prior to our welcome dinner, we took a walking tour around the city of Auckland. Now, before you freak out, the city is not at all that big, yet there are HUMONGOUS hills that you must trek to get anywhere from our hotel. Besides that small detail, Auckland took me by surprise by its cleanliness and gorgeous waterfront harbor. You can try to compare this city to other’s in the world, but wouldn’t come close to its unique style. Fast paced, VERY DIVERSE, and a great nightlife is just the beginning of what I experienced.

As soon as the introduction to the city and to the program, TEAN, was complete I was able to explore the city in my own way. Of course it included several trips to the Gelato shop, high-end fashions boutiques, and the oh-so-sketchy bars filled with locals and travelers alike. I won’t ever forget that first night out without any guides or leaders. I now understand why people say that Kiwis are very friendly people, some more than others. Anyway, it was a great first night in New Zealand and had to get to bed early because of what I was about to face the next day.

My 2^nd day in New Zealand consisted of a 20-30 minute hike UPHILL, then repelling down cliffs and waterfalls, all while trying to take-in the scene around me. Everyone had his or her own experience with Canyoning, as for me, it was one I will NEVER EVER forget or regret doing. I would for sure do it again if the opportunity came around, as for now I am proud that I accomplished something extraordinary.

When the adrenaline pumping activity for the week was over, we had a day off to relax and get immersed in the Kiwi culture. One thing I was excited for, just because I am always excited regardless of where I am, was the food. New Zealand has a lot of similar restaurants and fast food places as we do in the states, but with a little twist. Yes there is Burger King, McDonald’s, and even a Subway, although I try to avoid those places altogether. Sandwich shops and kebab stores were on my list to try out before anything else.

On the 3^rd day, which was Saturday February 12^th, my group that went Canyoning on Thursday, went on a Maori Tour. This day included a visit to the Auckland Museum, where we watched Maori’s do their traditional dances and Haka. We then moved onto a black sand beach and a hike to a waterfall where we did some flax weaving. I did find out that I am not a very skilled weaver. Lol At the end of the day, the whole orientation group got together one last time and had a nice dinner at SPQR and a champagne toast to celebrate the beginning of our study abroad experience. I’m not going to lie, I will miss some people in our group and the leaders that were really helpful in getting me where I am today, but am excited that I have an excuse to go visit other places in New Zealand.

Can’t wait to explore this amazing country!

Till next time! Cheers!

BULA!!

So, it's been a while since I have posted last but I have been going nonstop since the minute we arrived in the Southern Hemisphere! I'll give you guys a little overview of what my trip to Naviti Island, Botaira Resort was like and of my first couple of days in Auckland, New Zealand.

Besides the whole "SURPRISE, you have to pay more money for another bag"deal at the LAX airport, the beginning of my trip went pretty smooth. We arrived in Nadi, Fiji on February 5th at 5:30 in the morning, and had to pack a backpack of clothes to use on Island we were going to. After dropping off our bags at a hotel, we headed down to the wharf to catch our three hour long ferry boat ride to our island. Of course, everyone in our group wanted a great view, so stupidly we took the top deck of the ferry...don't get me wrong, the views were incredible, and it was so nice to be in the warm weather. However, I, along with most of our group, only put on a little sunscreen, so we all got fried!!! I know I'm speaking for everyone when I say that first night in the bunks was rough. Other than the sunburn, Fiji was the most amazing place. They have no sense of time so you knew when to eat when your heard the drum! Very peaceful, relaxed and chill place, which helped a lot with the jet leg.

Everyday I got up, ate breakfast, sat in the hammocks, went for a swim and just enjoyed the scenery. Although, everyday was not all chilling out on the beach, playing volleyball and snorkeling, we also made a hike to the village where the staff members are from. Ok, so it said on the black board that it was a walk to the village of Sosa, haha i beg to differ. This was an intense, hike and climb you ass up the mountain and hope that you don't fall because it's a long way down kind of journey. It was the single most difficult thing I have ever done in my life up to this point. I'm so proud that I did it, and it was sooo well worth the hike because the views were incredible and the people were very gracious. Never have I ever met so friendly and giving people. I honesty admire them, and wish I could view the world the way they do. Not needing anything but a roof over my head and food for myself and family. A very humbling experience if I say so myself.

Every night, we would have dinner and then some sort of entertainment afterward. One night, the choir from the village came over and sang for us. Another night, some staff and other village members did a dance number for us, which included them grabbing us from our seats and letting us join in on the fun. Later we sat around in a circle and did a Kava ceremony. Alright, before I talk about anything else, you should know what Kava really is...

What Kava is: Literally, "bitter". An intoxicating drink brewed from the root or leaves of a plant of the pepper family.

They told us that if you consume too much Kave you could hallucinate, so that was little nerve racking when accepting each bowl they gave to you. It really wasn't the best tasting thing in the world, kind of like soap, but I tried it!! So, overall, the Fiji trip was a great success and I will never forget it. I am, however, glad to have a shower and air conditioning again haha

I am currently in Auckland, New Zealand doing my orientation to the TEAN program. I will be leaving in a few days for Wellington, which is where I will be living for the next 4 months!!! Ill update again about my orientation soon!!

Till next time! Cheers!