"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.

Falling in Love with Aotearoa (Part I)

Gooood morning, Dunneeeedinn!!! I am back!! 9 days and 500 photos later.... And, no, that's not an exaggeration - I originally had over 700 photos before I deleted all the crappy ones.

How do I begin to describe such a fantastic week without giving a detailed hour-by-hour itinerary? Let's start with the blogging list and see where that takes us...  

What I Experienced, Learned, Adventured, and Laughed About 

During My Mid-Semester Break

1. Backpackers (more commonly known as hostels in other countries) are the best! 

Especially for independent, money-saving travellers, like myself. 

I spent NZ$25 a night at this adorable backpacker in Nelson, where I stayed in a room with three bunk beds. Spotless bathrooms, plenty of lounge space, a spacious kitchen to cook meals in, and complimentary fresh bread from the local bakery delivered every morning. There was also an in-house vegetarian café (I mean, really, how could I not be at home here?)

The location was great, too, because it was right next to the "main" street (which, ironically, looks like the main street of almost every other New Zealand city). 

My little home for six nights!

The Cathedral right next to my hostel 

NZ inspired stain glass in the Cathedral

Found this familiar Orthodox icon there! 

Best vegetarian burger I have eaten. Ever.

Live music at the cafe

My first (non-alcoholic) ginger beer - essentially carbonated
water, sugar, and ginger. Sweet and delicious.

2. Three words to describe Nelson: sunny, beachy, and friendly. 

In Dunedin, student pedestrians are unwanted pests, hideous to behold, and forever in the way of The Almighty Cars and Buses. There is no such thing as pedestrian right-of-way. But in Nelson, drivers actually stop at the stop lights and wait for pedestrians to cross the street. They might even smile, wave, and/or acknowledge the pedestrian's existence!

Also, Nelson really was as sunny and beachy as people have told me. Its residents are mostly empty nesters or retired couples, although there are plenty of young families, too, which makes for a laid-back night life. Nelson is supposedly a great location for second-homes and so it gets quite busy in the summer months with all of the tourists and what not.

Lovely view of Nelson. The best part? Beach and mountain views in one beautiful location. Winning combo.

This was my lucky shot of the week!!

 

Happy flowers smiling at the sun

3. This week was really about me spending time with myself. 

There was a yoga studio just two streets down from my hostel, so I bought an unlimited week's pass for just $30 and did yoga once or twice a day for the duration of my time in Nelson. It really gave me a chance to slow down, put my body back into balance, and reflect on the past couple of months.

I also wandered around town by myself, like to the Queens Garden, where there were lots of happy flowers, a duck pond, and a cute café. 

4. It must be spring!!! Baby calves and baby lambs galore!!

I used to say (and I quote!) "I could never be a vegetarian because I love lamb too much." And then...after I became a vegetarian, but before I came to NZ.... "I'll break my vegetarianism just once while I'm there - I have to! They're known for their sheep!"

But New Zealand softened me more than I was expecting... Just look at those sheepies!! I can't do it. Even if I were starving in the wilderness and my life depended on killing and eating a rabbit or something, I'm not sure I could do it... Sorry, dad. I've become too damn soft.

5. One does not experience the power and majesty of this landscape without leaving unchanged.

My favourite part of break was when I tramped around Nelson Lakes National Park for a day. It was something I wanted to do by myself, so I picked out a couple trails appropriate for my fitness level and set out to explore (with lots of snacks, of course).

Lake Rotoiti at Nelson Lakes National Park

It was so quiet and peaceful. If I had to choose a moment from my time here in which I felt changed in some way, it would be sitting at the top of the parachute rocks, looking across this beautiful lake and the surrounding mountain range, and feeling like I found myself.

I know that sounds incredibly cheesy and like something that would be used in a tourism marketing campaign, but I don't know... there's just something about this place. My pictures don't do it justice.

No filters/enhances needed for these photos - it really was so blue and clear that day.

6. Driving along scenic routes is a great way to see New Zealand.

Most of these following pictures I snapped while we were driving, so it's amazing some of them turned out as nice as they did. (Admittedly it was a lot of trial and error. Blurry trees often got in the way.)

West coast beach sunset. (No filter on this photo either.)

The sheep have no idea how lucky they are. This is as close to heaven as it gets for them.

More scenery that looks like it came straight from Lord of the Rings 

A view of one of the routes we were driving on. Paused at a scenic lookout point here.

I loved these mountains, with all their shades of greys and browns. 

Okay...can you tell I'm addicted to this landscape yet?  I'll stop now.