Well hello! It has been a couple weeks since my last blog post. Sadly, it is getting closer and closer to the time that I will have to leave this great country. This next week is the final week of classes and then finals begin. Finals are a pretty intense time around here, because about 70-80% of your grade in the class is weighted towards your final grade...whoa! Not sure how I feel about that. Time to hit the books. It's not terribly hard to study here because the weather is cold! Today, we got a light dusting of snow which was a nice change to the 5-day long spurts of freezing rain. Staying positive.
Well, where do I begin with my updates. A few weekends ago, Andrew, Dylan, Chris and I got our final backpacking experience of the South Island in when we took on the Kepler Track. This is a great walk of NZ located out near Te Anau, a nice little town that sits at the gateway to Fjordland National Park. Te Anau is on a nice little lake and is very peaceful. We headed there on a Friday morning and made our way to the trail head. I realized that I had forgotten my hiking boots and was going to have to stick with my walking shoes. The first part of the walk was a decent climb -- a bunch of switchbacks and a heavy ascent. We made it to the top of the ridge and got to walk a nice flat section to Mt. Luxmore Hut, where we'd be staying the night. Andrew and I cooked our signature tuna fish/salami/hot noodle/tomato mixture thingy, played some good gin rummy, talked with a couple from Spain who were on vacation from their usual post at the Occupy Spain movement (no comment), and hit the sack. Saturday was a very long day - we hiked across a long stretch of mountain ridge while humming the Lord of the Rings soundtrack, rapping the Fresh Prince of Bel Air theme, rapping Bang Bang by Dispatch, and even some freestyling. It was a good day. The sunrise over the lake had given us the energy to trudge through a lot of snow that was up to mid-calf in some spots. We made our way down into the valley after about 60-70 switchbacks that seemed rather endless, and ended up at our hut 30k's later after hiking with our headlamps in the dark. I really enjoyed getting to know the guys a bit better on this trip. On Sunday morn, we hiked a long flat walk through a very exotic forest and continued to play 20 Questions to keep ourselves mentally engaged in just making it to the end of the great walk. Success.
The weeks of school have been filled with hanging with people, classes, tutorials, ultimate frisbee, sitting down and having coffee one-on-one with anyone not from America, playing music with friends, playing music with the choir at Holy Name Parish, attending the examen on Wednesday nights that Fr. Mark has set up, getting ice cream, and cooking for my flat. Ultimate Frisbee was very fun during the good weather because it is very laid back in NZ - the co-ed teams arrange pick-up games at Logan Park and play for a long time (even under the lights!) on the crisp autumn Tuesday and Thursday nights. I still can't forehand-flick a frisbee worth a damn, but everyone's very encouraging even with a slight grimace...I've been able to work through it.
I've been able to play and write music while being out here, and it's been awesome to find some vocalists/pianists/guitarists/cellists that roam these lands. Alfred is one of the guys that runs the choir on Sunday nights. He's a phD student here at Otago and is a brilliant guy to talk to. Alfred is classically trained on the piano but also excels at the guitar and cello. He's always got a great way with words whenever you ask him about something musically or about his opinion. Easily one of the friendliest people I have met in NZ, Alfred is cheerful in every way that isn't overbearing - something I really enjoy in a person. Sneha is another member of the Holy Name crew that I have been very fortunate to get to know and play some music with. Her voice is angelic and her and Alfred are a fantastic singer-pianist combo. The first time I heard them play together, I knew I had to get in and play some music with them. It's been an awesome time getting to know these two and the communities they are a part of ...something I will really miss once I leave NZ.
I'm trying to soak up every experience that remains here in the final weeks of my adventure to Middle Earth. Toward the beginning of my abroad experience, I didn't really feel as if I had settled in here (completely normal I'd say), but after you spend some time in a place, you begin to realize how important the people are to you. Had I had the opportunity to come to New Zealand for a full year, I would have taken it. Unfortunately, it wouldn't have worked out with my degree/restrictions at the time. The reason I bring this up is because my abroad advisor, Esther, was correct about going abroad for one semester: Once you feel as if things are slightly right where you have gone, once you feel as if everything is slightly in place, or maybe you finally feel part of multiple networks of good people that make one community, it will be time to go home. Unfortunately, this is what I have to face, and it will be bittersweet to leave. I had a nice cultural experience this past week where some members of the Uniflats gathered (after walking in the DELUGE of rain outside) at Edward's flat to learn the Haka Dance. The Haka is the dance that the New Zealand All-Blacks do before a game and is an important part of Maori tradition. It involves some slapping of the legs, chest, and scream/chanting some Maori words that sounds plan terrifying. Please refer HERE if you've never seen the dance. Unreal. One I will definitely have to teach the cousins.
This past weekend, Joe, Kim, and I made a trip out to Wanaka for a day hike through the Rob Roy Valley, and shot over to Queenstown for dinner and to hang out. Before we got to Wanaka, we stopped at the site of Elephant Rocks as well as a Whale Fossil site inside of this cool rock valley. The elephant rocks were these massive 30-foot tall boulders that were scattered in a grassy field, with a mountain and rolling hill backdrop. Joe took a video of me chasing some sheep who were just too fast to catch. It was very enjoyable.
Wanaka was just gorgeous. It was a beautiful lake town that wasn't touristy or anything like that - it would be an amazing place to visit in the summer if you were a Kiwi, or to retire to. The valley hike was a nice walk out to the Rob Roy Glacier situated in a 360 degree view of the whole valley, which we enjoyed. It was fun third-wheeling with Kim and Joe who are recently engaged in New Zealand! I was able to enjoy a Fergbuger in Queenstown (legendary! and this time I avoided my dumb mistake of last time when I ordered a burger with no meat, thinking it was some sort of amazing deal to have all of those extra goodies on it). We hung out in the casino and stopped by a couple souvenir shops before heading back to Dunedin.
This week I am finishing up classes before finals which run from June 6th-June 15th. On the 15th, I hope to embark from Dunedin for the North Island, and travel with Joe to see some places like Tongariro, Waitomo Caves, Hobbiton, etc. Those are the plans at this point. For now, it's all about spending as much time as possible with everyone I know here. I'm proud to say that New Zealand has become another home for me, and will be dearly missed. I will write a decent reflection in a bit, but hopefully this blog has helped you to travel vicariously with me through my times in this country. I do apologize if the sections seemed a bit long or redundant, but this is my main way of recounting my time in NZ in journal form. I am sure I'll be thrilled to return to it 30 years from now and look at all of the photos from this time. Anyways, I look forward to updating you on the rest of my time in Dunedin and the North Island. Time to keep hitting the books!
KIWI WORDS/PHRASES:
Gutted - a substitute for the American version of "Bummer"
Avo - afternoon
Rattle your dags - means "hurry up," a direct reference to a sheep's excrement that hangs from its rear and shakes around when it runs from place to place...sorry if that's TMI...my blog, not yours
Muftie - another word for "undercover"
Twink - white out
Ja-juice - Kiwi pronunciation of the word "deduce" (ha)
Sorted - used to describe something that has been accomplished/gotten done
PHOTOS: (CLICK on first photo and use ARROW keys on keyboard to scroll through)
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