For Dani

My dear friend Dani, who has been my roommate for the past two years, just demanded that I write her a new blog post. Apparently it has been ages since I last posted something, so this post is for her!

I have officially been in New Zealand for a month... POOF! That time is now gone. Crazy.

The past couple of weeks have been a combination of lectures, studying, kickboxing classes, and random walks/tramps on the weekends. Oh, as well as three-night marathon to watch the Lord of the Rings movies -- extended editions, of course. 

After a while I stop carrying around my camera, but here are a few things I've taken shots of! 

From the Botanic Gardens:

Looks like a crazy hair do, right?

 

Last weekend I volunteered at a little horse stable where disabled people can ride the eight ponies they have there. We fed the ponies dinner, refilled their water, and mucked out their stalls. Loved it!

It was also the first time I have ever used a wheelbarrow! So of course I took a picture.

This is an AWESOME tree house, not too far from the University. 

And here is the first panoramic shot I tried to take on my camera. It was taken from Flagstaff - another hill not too far from where I live. It was a sunny, but blustery day. The rain clouds on the right half of the photo finally caught up with us on our way back to campus. We were cold, hungry, and tired... but definitely still happy!

Now for some random Kiwi observations I've made lately...

• People like to put old couches outside--back yard, front yard, in a tree house, wherever. The idea is that you have somewhere comfy to sit when you're lounging outside... but what if... I don't know... creepy crawling things decide to live in your couch? And, at least in Dunedin, it rains all the time. Can mold grow on couch fabric? 

• "Bangs" (as in the haircut style) are called "fringe" here. Makes way more sense. 

• There's really no such thing as "New Zealand cuisine." I suppose traditional/common NZ meals would be based on seafood, seeing as it's an island-country surrounded by sea. Otherwise it's like a meat-and-potatoes, fish-and-chips kind of place. 

So there you go, Dani! (And all of my other readers.) Thank you for your patience. :)

Capturing Moments

I am currently slurping down a bowl of the vegetable, rice, and lentil soup that I made all by myself--it is quite delicious!--and browsing through the 300+ photos I took this past week, and I am reminded of something I said to my mom earlier this year:

"I don't want to experience New Zealand behind the lens of a camera."

Yes, well. 

Since I am here, I might as well remember it. (My mom is probably thinking, I told you so.)

Also, in a very literal sense, I'm never behind my camera lens for more than a quarter of an hour every day, so the other 23.75 hours are still available for me to do the first-hand experiencing. 

I am now going to borrow one of my friend's blogging techniques: the numbered list. 

This is Why I Took Three Hundred Photos This Week

1. My foot therapist gave me the "OK" to start adding back in physical activities.

2. I think he used the word "gradually," but I have selective memory problems, so I don't remember. 

3. I have four day weekends this semester, with only one hour of class on Thursday and no Friday classes. 

4. The sun was shining three days out of the four this past weekend.

Soooooo.... If you know me at all, and were able to put #1-#4 together....

Here are some of my favourite pictures! 

These first few are from the harbour, which is only a ten minute walk away from where I live.

(I thought that bird was hilarious. He, or she, held that pose for at least a minute!)

These next ones were taken from the top of Signal Hill. My friends and I had to walk back in the dark using our phone flashlights, but the sunset views were totally worth it! 

This next set was taken from some other hill in Dunedin (there are so many hills!)

Lots of pastureland and open space. Gorgeous day. 

OMMMGGGG SHEEP!!!!!!!!! I literally squealed and ran up the hill to take a picture. The sheep were just everywhere--it was so New Zealandish!

Also--cows!!! Look at what they're eating... kale, spinach, squash, oranges, pumpkin, bananas, eggplant. They were free to just roam around the hills, and they were so happy! Hooray for the humane treatment of animals!

Oh, and this next one is of me running down the hill! The air was crisp and it was windy, which made for a pretty epic moment. "I was like a mountain goat!" I told my friend.

Moving onto Tunnel Beach! My Kiwi host, Georgia, drove me there. Absolutely stunning cliffs.

This is all on private property! The guy who owns it carved out a staircase through the rock so his kids could get down to the beach below. His kids are grown up now, but he still lets anyone come and see.

This is me at the top of (what I call) Pride Rock. There are so many places for epic shots here - I just had to take advantage.

DUMPLING NIGHT!!!!!

As promised, Samantha and Catherine taught us how to make Chinese dumplings, which were made vegetarian style with leeks, cabbage, carrots, spring onion, and eggs.

Catherine (left) and Samantha (right). Georgia, my Kiwi host, below.

So delicious! Then in return, Georgia and I taught the Chinese girls how to bake cookies (or "biscuits," as they are called here in NZ). It was their first baking experience! 

And then finally, at the end of my long weekend... I found a piece of home in this small Orthodox parish. Number of parishioners? Less than ten. But I was welcomed with open arms.

Life is lived moment by moment. So if carrying around a camera means I can try to capture a few of those moments, then I will do so quite happily! 

Oh, and don't worry, my faithful readers.... my foot still feels great!

Grilled Cheese and Belonging

Today was the first clear, sunny day since my first few days in Dunedin - and how nice it was! I love blue skies!

The other highlight of my day was helping Samantha, my flatmate who is from China, make her first grilled cheese sandwich. She was going to microwave the cheese with the bread, but I said, "No, no, no. We're going to do this the proper way."

So we got out the frying pan and a stick of butter. We buttered up that white bread and let it sizzle, then melted some brie on top. It was a beautiful grilled cheese, if I do say so myself. Crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside. 

I also demonstrated for her how to properly eat an American grilled cheese: cut in half and then eaten using hands (not with a knife and fork). Unfortunately, we didn't have any tomato soup to go with it... But it was a fun afternoon. Samantha said she would teach me how to make Chinese dumplings, vegetarian style. Yum!! 

Some other highlights from this past week....

Seeing my first New Zealand beach, St. Claire Beach, which is just five kilometres from the city centre in Dunedin. There were some cute cafés and restaurants looking out on the water. By "some," I mean just three or four.

Beaches here, especially on the South Island, are practically clear of people - at least compared to the southern California beaches I've become accustomed to. Yes, it is winter, but still...

New Zealand only has 4.43 million people. California has 38.04.

Last Friday I took some time to stroll along George Street and the city centre. Just by myself, to observe and listen. Dunedin is one of New Zealand's oldest cities, settled by the Scottish sometime in the 1800s (hence the architectural influences). I have been told by some of the locals that Dunedin isn't representative of any other NZ town or city.

Here's a musician on George Street... I've seen tap dancers, too! Some of them children.

Ah, yes, the seagulls. I love them almost as much as the ducks and pigeons, although I admit they are sometimes just as rude as the ones I knew in California. But maybe they're just cranky on some days.... I reckon if I show them enough love, they can change!

But then again...this seagull in the back of the photo, with the glaring red eyes and frizzled hairdo, doesn't seem to share my enthusiasm...

I love how the crazy things just watch each other. In my head, I think of the seagulls squawking, "Hey, mate! Hey, mate!" in a Kiwi accent.

Starbucks is taking over the world. Help!

Then on Saturday night I had the privilege of watching an Okareka Dance Company performance: Mana Wahine. It was an all-female work.

Beautiful, powerful, empowering.

In the dance, there were many references to traditional Maori culture. I didn't understand the references, which reinforced the fact that I am a foreigner here. There is, at least right now, a cultural rift. I may speak the same language, but I didn't hear the stories about Papatūānuku as a child. I didn't grow up with a love for the native birds, associating their chirps, calls, and songs with home. 

Which begs the question, what is home? What is belonging? At what point, and under what conditions, does a traveller or immigrant become a Kiwi? Or become a part of any culture, for that matter?

......I don't know how my blog post just went from grilled cheese to the meaning of belonging....But, on that note, I'm going to make some dinner.

Cheers! :)

The Sometimes Not-So-Glossy Side

Study abroad blogs are great at portraying the highlights of an experience, but in reality, life still happens. For example, I caught a cold this week. I also found out I have an inflamed tendon (or something) in my right foot, so I've been slightly limping to and from class this week, all the while sniffling from my cold.

My foot just requires "rest," which is a word I am very unfamiliar with. Apparently it means avoiding hiking, long walks, gym workouts, etc. So.......not sure what that leaves me with..... 

Oh...yeah...homework!! Hooray! 

By the time I burnt my hand last night trying to pour a cuppa tea, I just laughed. Because this is life. Up, and down, and sideways. It may not be as glossy as the pictures portray, but I guess with the right attitude there is always something to learn from.  

I'm very excited to be taking classes at this University... I have mostly intro-level classes, which will transfer back to DU as electives: tourism, sociology, and dance. It's been nice to take a break from business classes and get a little artsy!

Look! Ducks!

"You like a lot of things, don't you?" 

At least two of my friends have asked me this in the past week, so I guess they caught on to me fast. I'm like a little kid. I will point out all the little things that I see and find interesting, fascinating, beautiful, new, and/or amusing. 

Like this awesome plant. 

Or this bench. (Moss and lichens really do fascinate me...)

Or this tree trunk. I will literally say something like, "Hey! Look at this awesome tree!" Just in case someone else failed to notice it...

But today, what I really liked was this adorable duck pond at the botanical gardens. 

Speaking of which, I have developed a strange love for ducks while I've been here... 

They're just too funny. 

Today my friends and I got to feed the ducks some granola...very exciting!!! But I'm not sure who was more excited - the ducks or me. 

The pigeon just looks cross. 

So yes, I like ducks. Just be thankful I spared you from the thirty or forty other photos I took... 

Actually, in some ways, today was less about the ducks and more about the people. I enjoyed observing other people interacting with the ducks and pigeons -- it's therapeutic for some, exhilarating for others (like me). But it just amazed me that something as simple as a duck pond could reconnect people with nature and bring out the human in all of us.

New Zealanders seem to have a deep love and appreciation for their land, scenery, and wildlife... And I think it's contagious.