A Thousand Stories to Tell

My time in Dunedin is coming to a close! It's been a bittersweet two weeks of making memories, saying goodbyes, and desperately trying to fit everything into my suitcases. I don't leave New Zealand for another month, and while I love it here and I'm not in any rush to leave......at the same time....

Four Reasons I Know I'm Starting to Miss the U.S.

1. I heard a John Denver song playing in the supermarket last week and got all nostalgic.

2. Sometimes I catch myself unconsciously walking on the right side of the sidewalk.

3. I became "that American" and bought a coffee at the Dunedin Starbucks. I forgot how awesome grande/venti sized coffees are - it's like they never end!

4. I stood dumbfounded (aka culture shocked) in the New World supermarket when I couldn't find canned pumpkin for my vegan chocolate chip muffins. Of course there isn't canned pumpkin here. I guess my body has been culturally programmed to crave pumpkin in November, so when the closest thing to pumpkin I could find was canned butternut squash soup, I was just... sad. Five months in New Zealand and apparently I still got culture shocked!

***Update*** I was just informed by a Kiwi friend that there is indeed canned pumpkin in the supermarket! Apparently it's located in the International Foods Aisle.... which, you know, makes sense... 

Anyway.

Here's some of what I've been up to the past couple of weeks, in addition to studying for and taking my tourism and sociology final exams (which isn't as exciting to talk about).

I HAVE THE BEST FRIENDS EVER! Genna sent me "Autumn in an Envelope" because she knew I was missing fall! :D

I got to spend the day with these lovely people! My friend Tess and our tour guide Nick. I got to see Dunedin's hills one last time...in addition to seeing adorable penguins, seals, and lambs! 

Life is rough being this cute...

AND THEN THIS HAPPENED!

Tess and I were so freaking happy. I mean, look at that fuzzy baby lamb face.

The sunrise from outside my flat. (No filter).

Saying good-bye to Emily - the best flatmate ever!

My friend Matt and I did the Cadbury Chocolate Factory tour! It's right here in Dunedin...and we got chocolate samples, so...

My amazing no-sugar-vegan-chocolate-chip-banana-cinnamon-date-and-coffee muffins...with whole wheat flour, wheat bran, flax seeds, and chia seeds... Yes, you can be jealous. 

Going to see the butterflies one last time!!

So those were some highlights of the past couple of weeks. Now it's time to say goodbye to Dunedin, because tomorrow I fly to Christchurch and hop on a backpackers' bus to spend the next 23-24 days touring around New Zealand! 

As always, feeling fortunate and blessed to be on this personal and cultural journey in New Zealand. 

One of my friends once shared the following story with me, and I would like to share it with you now because it definitely inspired my decision to stay in New Zealand this extra month:

"A wise man once told me on his death bed... 'Make sure you always live life to the fullest, so that one day, when you have grandchildren, you will never have to tell the same story twice. Always have a thousand different stories to tell.'  He told me to live without regret, to grab the bull by the horns and to give it one hell of a run for its money. There is nothing in this world not worth doing at least once, because there isn't an experience we can't learn from, and every experience is a new story to tell." 

So I'm gonna go create some more stories! Look for a new blog post around December 11th.

Love to you all.

Butterflies, Hang-gliding, and Falafel Burgers

Kia Ora!

I am now officially done with lectures at the University of Otago. WHAT?!?!? Time is crazy fast.

...Reminds me of that Pink Floyd song..... "You run and you run to catch up with the sun, but it's sinking / Racing around to come up behind you again... The time is gone, the song is over / Thought I'd something more to say."

Anyways.

Speaking of suns, how about some moons?? Hope everyone had the chance to see the gorgeous Blood Moon from last week. (Awesome picture courtesy of Thomas Or.)

Last week I also had the chance to visit the Tropical Discovery section of the Otago Museum, where there are BUTTERFLIES!!!! It brought me back about a decade to the time I went with my aunt and cousins to the butterfly museum somewhere in Colorado. Or maybe I went with my mom and brother... Holy Guacamole, where has my memory gone??

 

I admit... I was scared of the butterflies. Yes, me - a grown woman - took half an hour to muster the courage to approach a little butterfly. I had to learn how to pick them up by observing that cute little girl do it. But after an hour I was like a pro! Hooray for conquering fears!

And speaking of fears... on Sunday I went HANG-GLIDING in Queenstown! But what's funny about that is I'm NOT afraid of heights. In fact, hangliding was actually a bit underwhelming. I think I was expecting more of a 'roller coaster' effect - but instead it was more like watching a movie. But it was still awesome! Gliding over the trees and hills, wind roaring in my ears. I could run off a mountain cliff like that every morning. ;)

This was the view:

I went with my friend Michele. She's super awesome!

Yay! We did it!

Awesome big tree! 

This picture shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who knows me.

Where else in the world can you eat Kiwi and Hokey Pokey truffles???

We ate tofu and falafel burgers for lunch! I LOVE BEING A VEGETARIAN! So yum.

Kiwi accents make 'willow tree' sound like 'blue tree' to me.

Oh, and we got to Queenstown by hitchhiking! NOBODY FREAK OUT! Hitchhiking is common in New Zealand and is relatively safe. The rules are you go with a buddy and you don't get into a car you feel isn't safe. Plus just look at how damn cute we are! Who wouldn't want to help us out?

 So the rest of this week is studying and prepping for my tourism and sociology exams, which aren't until the beginning of November, and because I don't want to study for a full month, I'm going to go on a wee 'South-South Island' trip. I leave on Sunday for Invercargill and Stewart Island for a few days, then head to Te Anau and then Milford Sound where I will do sea kayaking. Then I'm going to do a three day, two-night 'Great Walk' - the Routeburn Track - followed by a night in Queenstown before heading back to good ol' Dunners, just in time for Halloween.

Life is good. God is good. I'm so incredibly blessed to have this opportunity to learn and grow and change and love and live. Last week I made two lists (because you know how much I like making lists). I listed all the things I love (and will miss) about Dunedin, and then I listed all the things I love (and do miss) about Denver/Parker. Both lists make me very happy.

"Insert Witty Blog Post Title Here"

Five Blog-Worthy Things from Abreana Land This Week 

Also... a list of my favourite 

Kiwi slang is at the end of this post!

1. I spent 30-40 hours in the library writing a paper on tourism sustainability in New Zealand.

Read between the lines... Yes, I do go to school here! I have not been adventuring lately, and I'm pretty sure you don't want to see photos of me drowning in books at the library... hence why there have been only three blog posts this September. 

2. I voted like a responsible U.S. citizen.

Read between the lines... I am a 'grown-up' now. I figured out the absentee voter form all by myself, and I even found some time to research the candidates/issues on my ballot, even though I was tempted to flip a coin at times. (I mean... choose 3 of 7 candidates for Parker town council? I'm sure they're all lovely people...) Oh, and hell YES to the GMO labelling initiative! 

Colourful letter from my friend Genna

3. I got more mail!

Postcard from my Godparents and Hannah

Lovely handwritten letter from Dani's mom, Monique <3

Read between the lines... My family/friends make me feel so loved!! <3 Thank you for adding to the sunshine in my life. 

4. I took a break from my responsible, grown-up life to have a much-needed colouring date with myself.

Read between the lines... Who are we kidding? I'll never grow up... Thank you to Genna for mailing me the pictures and to Ryan for lending me the coloured pencils!

5. I also took a little day trip to Quarantine Island, which is the largest island in the Otago harbour.

Read between the lines... I HAVE PICTURES! 

Map of the little island 

Cool wrecked ship from the 1800s...or something.

There is always a playground to find!!

I like rocks.

Lying in the grass, watching the clouds. 

Graveyard on the island - not a bad view to find a final resting place, eh?

Considering yesterday marked three months in New Zealand for me, I figured I should commemorate it with a list of some of the common slang and sayings I’ve picked up on. Some Kiwi slang is similar to Australia slang (i.e. keen), and some is more English (i.e. biscuits). These fun, colourful words go along quite well with the New Zealand accent! 

afghan - chocolate flavoured biscuit made from cornflakes

brekkie - breakfast 

boot - car trunk

bush - refers to the forests with native trees 

dairy - corner store, like a small convenience store selling groceries, sweets, dairy items, etc.

cheers - good bye, thank you

chilly bin - insulated cooler for food

Dunners - Dunedin

eh - used at the end of sentences sometimes, but with more of an ‘a’ sound

fizzy drink - soda

fringe - bangs 

gumboots - rubber boots

heaps - a lot of something 

Hokey Pokey - type of delicious ice cream flavour with honey toffee in it

jandals - flip flops

jug - kettle 

kiwifruit - the fruit that is called a kiwi in the US (never, ever call a kiwifruit a kiwi in NZ)

keen - to be interested/totally down for something ('I’m keen on that, mate!')

kumara - sweet potato 

lolly - pretty much any sweet or confectionery item

muesli - granola (so yum)

‘en zed’ - how NZ is pronounced, like when giving an Internet URL address ending in .co.nz)

op shop - short for ‘opportunity shop,’ which is just a second hand store

petrol - gas

sammie - sandwich

scarfie - university student 

scrogin - yummy trail mix with nuts, raisins, etc.

sweet as - awesome or cool; ‘as’ is also used to intensify other adjectives (i.e. hungry as, keen as)

ta - thanks

togs - swim suit

toilet - restroom, bathroom

Falling in Love with Aotearoa (Part II)

Kia Ora, my readers!

At long last, here is Part II from my spring break trip! I have yet to get the group pictures from my friends (I assume I will get them eventually) but in the meantime, here are some other pictures I can share with you from that trip, as well as some random ones taken the past couple of weeks... 

We visited the beautiful Archway Islands, which are at the northermost part of the South Island 

It looks like I have a hat on! ;)

We were so proud of this shot. 

Ran into this fella on the drive back from Nelson! The Kea is the world's only alpine parrot, and a very mischievous bird.

 

Coming home from my trip and seeing postcards from my friend Kayla (left) and my Uncle Ron and Aunt Krista (right)! 

Vegetarian stuffed peppers. I love my life.

It's SPRING in Dunedin!! Flowers are blooming everywhere.

 Bone carving classes! My first piece of work.

Also....I have a very special treat to share with you...My friend took videos of our horse trek a couple weekends ago and we pieced them together into this gloriously epic film. So sit back and enjoy!(Video courtesy of Matt Stolfi.)

Rest assured I have not forgotten my homeland. On the contrary, I have been thinking about home a lot lately. Maybe it's because I read another web article about the droughts in California. Or because the seasons are changing to fall in the Northern Hemisphere and it occurred to me that I have never 'skipped' autumn before (but hey, at least I get two springs this year!) Oh, not to mention the University of Denver's quarter just started - and I know this because I wake up every morning to a fresh batch of twenty emails from DU to sift through. (This is not entirely an exaggeration. Fellow DU students will understand.) 

But life here is good. "Wherever you go, there you are." I'm still me, struggling with the same defects I deal with back home. Sometimes I get so caught up in what has happened or what will happen that I need to be reminded that, "If you have one foot in the past and one foot in the future, then you're just pissing all over today." So I wake up, eat porridge for breakfast, go to class, spend time with friends, hit the gym. Beauty and joy in the mundane, everyday things of life. One day at a time.

It's become less about "falling in love with Aoteaora" and more about falling in love with myself. I built up my life around notions of perfection and used to beat myself up for (inevitable) failure, and now I'm slowly learning what it means to cultivate self-love... If I love God, other people, and myself, then I could be anywhere in the world and be happy. New Zealand just happens to be an extra-awesome place. ;)

So thank you for reading about my crazy adventures - or just my mundane, everyday adventures! I love you all.