Tsunami

So, I recently found out there was a 8.4 earthquake that sent a tsunami to Samoa. There were tsunami warnings here in NZ as well, although there was no damage. Unfortunately, that's not the case in Samoa.

I just wanted to make sure everyone knows that I am ok, and so is everyone else here. 

Speights Brewery Tour

subtitle: Things I will miss: Beer (slash wine) tastings and being really drunk really early, and it being relatively socially acceptable. 

The brewery tour was pretty cool. The best part was when I learned how barrels were made. It's a process most people probably already knew, but it was probably the only part of the tour besides the tastings which I found enjoyable. 

For those of you who don't know, at Speights, it starts with wood which has been imported from Siberia. Why Siberia, I don't know because there are massive amounts of trees here. Especially in the Southern Island. Why I didn't ask, I also don't know. 

Anyway, the boards are fat in the middle and skinny at the edges, and are smoothed on the inside and outside, although the edges are kept rough. Once one of the iron ring things is fitted, the whole contraption is steamed for an hour and a half. and then the planks can be bent and the second ring can be fitted. So sweet.

There was a pretty cool museum quality diorama of this, but of course I didn't take any pics of that. 

Other fun things I learned:

1. the origin of the term "skull it" which is akin to our "chug it." (From Vikings drinking beer from their enemy's skulls. Awesome.)

2. that monasteries often had breweries attached, and were the first to rate the quality of beer.

3. that Shakespeare's father was a beer quality assurance guy, and his job was to go to pubs, order a beer, pour it out on the bench and sit in it. If after a half hour Shakespeare Sr. was stuck to the bench, the beer was good. 

4. how to pour beer from the tap

family photo, me and Jenny

Other pics:

Some brewing equipment...

Captain Cook, who mapped NZ and also started the first brewery in NZ in order to prevent scurvy in his crew.

 Also of interest is the Southern Man ad campaign, which is a good example of unique NZ advertising and also is eerily similar to cigarette ads featuring cowboys. Youtube it.

things I will miss: The Ocean

Since I have now entered into the second half of my study abroad semester, I've begun to notice all the things I am going to miss a lot when I return to Rochester. I mean, it's not really Rochester's fault, seeing as Rochester isn't the most attractive or interesting place or anything.

So, today's post will be about how I am going to miss the ocean. I love watching the waves and feeling the sand between my toes. I also thoroughly enjoy the lack stench (ever been to Lake Ontario?). 

Also, beaches are key points to see people playing with their dogs, like throwing a ball and the dog fetches it. Also, the dogs here are really well trained. It is fun to watch owners motion at their dogs and the dogs come running. Oh, New Zealand.

Alrighty then, here are my pics in no particular order:

I'm the shadow that is mostly cut off

Here's a mediocre picture of people playing with their dogs. I felt like such a creeper, but it was such a happy sight, I still felt compelled to snap a shot.

 

Looking back from the beach from a top a lovely lava flow (I know its a lava flow, because I had a field trip of the Dunedin Volcano on Saturday!).

Looking down the beach. I guess this picture doesn't really require a caption... but let's just be consistent.

And, no I'm not actually in this picture. From left to right, Jen, Margot, and Jenny. Jen is my flatmate and Margo and Jenny live in my complex.

The Prerequisites of Psychology Departments

So today, I went to hand in the last of my essays (three were due this week) in the Psychology department. For the past two years, I've spent a good amount of time bitching about how Asbury Building at American is a clusterf***. I really thought the poor design of Asbury reflected on the poor administration at American.

Today, I realized that all psychology department buildings, by prerequisite have to be a clusterf***, and preferably should give whoever needs to find something in said building some sort of complex. 

I think this expert picture representation of the Otago Psychology Department will show you how confusing the department setup is. Just so you know, I had to walk down an ally, through a jungle, buzz a secretary, and walk down a flight to stairs to find the Psych 204 drop box. And then I had to eat three chocolate fish and a kiwifruit to feel better.

Undie 500

Since I know your lives are dull and meaningless with me on the other side of the world, I know you probably read the Otago Daily Times, well, daily. Anyway, you may have been concerned with or excited about recent news, depending on your nature. 

Now before you start worrying, or get excited (depending on your nature), I just let you know I did not participate in the Undie 500. 

The Undie 500 is a play on words (the Indie 500). Its a pub crawl from Christchurch to Dunedin and also a car rally. Basically, people buy a car for under $500 in Christchurch and drive it to Dunedin. They also pick a theme (I saw a vanbulance which was painted like an ambulance and a prostitute disposal team van, painted like a police van). There are prizes involved which I don't really  know about. 

Anyway, all this mayhem (and I mean mayhem--burning couches, costumes and broken beer bottles mayhem) took place on the street that runs parallel to mine, Castle St.

View Larger Map

In the end, 80 people were arrested and a bunch of police officers got beer bottles thrown at them. And Dunedin is all in an uproar about weather or not the Undie 500 should be allowed or not. Many students (including me) think that the police presence and the controversy started by the alcohol ban just rile up students and set expectations for chaos. Plus I heard the police officers were forcing students off their property to arrest them, but that source is totally unreliable. And for real, I read it in the ODT, the police ran out of pepper spray.

The point is, the Undie 500 is a major source of contention right now. So I thought I would share that with you now that I'm not having adventures right and left. Anyway, you can google and youtube it if you're really curious.

PS, tomato in mac and cheese is amazing.

Franz Joseph Glacier

So, Franz Joseph Glacier. Awesome. First, a little backstory. I first really got into glaciers in 8th grade earth science with Mr. Swain. Sara sat next to me in class and together we got way too excited about all things earth science, especially the glaciers unit. I really think Sara and I have earth science to thank for our steadfast heterolife partnership. The point is, is that I find glaciers incredible exciting, and therefore I was incredibly pumped for the glacier hike. 

Here is the glacier from afar:

Crazy huh? Looks like a frozen flash flood, or something. 

Anyway, so as much as I was looking forward to walking on the glacier I had no idea what to expect. I really though we were going to be walking around on a huge ice cube, and I couldn't figure out how that could possibly take a whole day. Honestly, I thought that after like 10 minutes, the whole thing would be boring. 

Well, I was wrong. We shuffled through cracks and crawled through tunnels and got to see a lot of the glacier. It was exciting and beautiful, and like any good Kiwi experience, the picture don't do it justice. 

I'm too lazy to put these pics in order, so I'm just going to narrate as they are. Suck it up.

Sweet waterfall in the valley. There was an hour walk from the car park to the actual glacier. Note the waterfall.

Just one of my many attempts at an artsy shot. 

Group shot in a pretty big crack. From front to back: Kirsten, me, Alex and Sara.

Artsy shot number 2 of this post.

Group shot in an ice cave. (!!!) From front to back: me, Kirsten, Alex, and Sara

Here's the part where we squeezed through cracks. And I mean squeezed. This one was one of more spacious ones. And yes, we got soaked in there because the glaciers melted all over us.

Conquerer's pose (Me and Kirsten). Always a must.

Right, so like any group of traveling girls, we totally did a bunch of photo shoots. Here's me and Alex in a crevasse. I won't bore you will all the pictures, but I wouldn't be surprised if America's Next Top Model did a shoot on the glacier.

 

Ah, yes, my other favorite pose. The serious face. Note the attractive bum bag (fanny pack for you Americans). 

Also, mom remember when you bought me the camera case and I was like "I don't need a clip!" well, you may have noticed that I use that clip all the time. Thanks!

So that was the end of my planned spring break events, but there will be one more post from the last day, the long drive home, so don't desert me!

Almost home

Nelson is a sweet as city, bro. The night after finishing the Abel Tasman track, we stayed with Sara (Carver)'s Kiwi host, Olivia, in Nelson. Nelson is a small city by my standards and a huge city by South Island standards. It's right on the coast facing the North Island. And Olivia's house, which was beautiful in its own right, sat on a hill overlooking the ocean and mountains beyond. 

Basically, it was really nice be in an actual house, not a hostel or flat. A clean, complete house. And Olivia had a cat, which really made me happy. Although Spike didn't like his belly being rubbed, which made me sad because as you may well know, the belly fur is the best fur. Anyway, Olivia and her mom made us an excellent dinner. There were two lasagnas, a meat one and a vegetarian one. Interestingly, I favoured the vegetarian one. 

Side note: I eat beans now. They are a good source of protein and I'm too cheap to buy meat. I'd rather by coffee and beer (not at the same time, of course) than meat. So there you have it, I'm mostly vegetarian. 

Anyway, it was so nice to sit on a nice couch and watch a movie and relax. I love homes. So much. And home cooked meals. By the way, we watched The Boat that Rocked, and it was amazing. Watch it. Tonight. 

The next morning we went out to breakfast, which was most excellent since breakfast is my favorite meal to go out for. What is better than having breakfast made for you? It's such a treat. 

Anyway, then we walked around downtown for a while before heading to Franz Joseph for our glacier hike. It was a quick six hour drive. Sweet. I'm getting better at weathering road trips. I don't get as grumpy at the end now. 

Anyway, I guess you know what's coming next... the big glacier hike!!! 

My second and last tramp ever

Coastal track. No mountains. Day two was only three hours of walking. Beach huts. Sounds alright to me.

And then its day two and you're still fermenting in your own juices and you're, well I'm, once again questioning my own sanity. Why am I walking barefoot across a stoney estuary when its pissing down rain? Oh, right this is fun.

Actually, I don't mean to mislead you all. The Abel Tasman track was actually a lot of fun. It only rained one day, and although I seriously doubted it at the time, I totally did survive. We even boiled water for pasta on a rock over a fire. Very outdoorsy and rugged, if you can imagine. Here's a picture if you can't:

Pretty much how the track went was climb a hill, come out on the beach times 50 or something. I was alright with this. Because the closest body of water to me glows in the dark, I was pumped about being by the ocean. This is a feeling that hasn't left me. I love the ocean. So here I am standing in the ocean on the first beach:

Yes, the water was cold, but it felt so good on my feet. At first because I was tired of walking, and then later because it soothed the itching of my sandfly bites. 

Another aqueous part of the tramp was estuary crossings. I also liked crossing estuaries even though they were often rocky or had really coarse sand so after about like 5 steps my delicate feet began to hurt. Here I am crossing an estuary. I had to stop because my feet hurt.

Something to note is that unlike the Humpridge Track, Abel Tasman was not a circuit. Which means, of course, that we took an aquataxi back. And of course, we stopped to see seals. You already know how I feel about seals. 

(The only time in my entire life when I have found the color teal to actually be beautiful.)

Funny story: when we got back to the start of the track, we were in really shallow water. Then the driver pulled up the engine and told us it was important that we stay seated, especially on the road, which of course made no sense to any of us. How and why would the boat be on the road. And then we were moving through the water. 

So one of us (us=Americans) asks if the boat was a duck boat, to which Hannah (Kiwi Host) responds "No, we're being pulled by a tractor [duh]." (I put the duh in brackets because Hannah didn't say. I just wanted to make sure you got the right tone).

I mean, only in New Zealand would you have ocean tractors. 

With that being said, here are some of my favorite pictures from the tramp:

(Bluest sky and water I've ever seen. Amazing.) 

(group shot)

(me and Hannah, Kirsten's Kiwi host)

Here's a great shot from above. Kirsten and I totally climbed an extra mountain accidentally on the third day, but then I got these almost aerial shots. I hesitate to say it was worth it (I mean, its not like the rest of the track was butt ugly), but Kirsten and I made the most of it.

Oh, and by "making the most of it," I clearly mean complaining frequently and loudly. And then making Humpridge jokes. Kirsten got a great shot of how I felt:

Drunk By Noon and It's Alright

By far the biggest surprise was the wine tour. Seeing as I can't legally drink in the states and I most certainly did not do a wine tour while in Northern Ireland, I really had no idea what to expect on a full day wine tour. Other than being drunk very early in the day. So here is a shot from the first winery, Lawson's Dry Hills:

I've never really been a wine person, but let me tell you, that first sip of unoaked chardonnay was the best thing I've ever tasted. Until I got to the riesling. And then until I got to the late harvest riesling. 

So, clearly, I like the sweet wines. However I also enjoyed the sauvignon blancs, seeing as that is what New Zealand is best known for. I'm not the biggest fan of Pinot Gris, and I thought the Pinot Noir I tried smelled much better than they tasted. I open to more tasting though.

Here are some more shots from wineries:

Bouldevines

Highfield Estate

And now, a list of the wineries I went to:

Bouldevines, 

Drylands, 

Mahi (they say this is NZ's best wine), 

Allen Scott, 

Lawson's Dry Hills, (bought you a bottle of unoaked chardonnay) 

Highfield Estate, 

Framingham

And a list of my favorite wines, in order or most preferred to less preferred:

1. late harvest riesling (who needs cake when you can have this?)

2. riesling (when you can't wait for dessert)

3. chardonnay (tastes like ships sailing on my tongue)

4. sauvignon blanc 

5. the german one

6. pinot gris

7. pinot noir 

I'm looking forward to trying more wines. In the mean time, I have a paper about antebellum trends in post Civil War America to write. 

Up next, Abel Tasman, my second and last tramp.

Morakai Boulders and Christchurch

Thursday August 27^th consisted of going to classes (Psych, 9:00am; History 11:00am; and Geology, noon; I skipped Maori society) and then packing so we could leave by 4pm. Surprisingly, we actually did leave by about 4pm, which meant that we got to the Morakai Boulders around sunset.

At first, I thought the boulders were lame because it appeared to be just a beach. And then I realized I hadn’t seen the boulders at all. Here they are:

Quite similar to what you would imagine dragon eggs to be, eh?

Here I am frolicking on a boulder:

Now, on to bigger and better things. Christchurch: the Garden City. Unlike the Garden State, Christchurch is aptly named the Garden City because it has 750 public parks, according to our punting guide/punter.

We walked around the city and went to a couple of art museums, which were interesting and fun, and in this museum, a little scary (you know how creepy contemporary art gets).

We found a public market, where I bought some sweet as manuka honey, which is unique to the south island and expensive in the rest of the world. Check it out, its awesome honey.

And finally, we ambled our way to the Botanic Gardens, where as usually, I took a bunch of pictures of trees. Blame cross country for my unwavering penchant for trees.

And then all hell broke loose. Just kidding, we just went for a wee punt (aka gondola ride, Venice-style).

Our punter was actually a British Fashion designer on break from the cutthroat world of fashion. He was supremely entertaining and introduced me to the phrase “legs akimbo” which I’m not positive is a popular saying, but it is fun to say. Try it. The best story he told us is that one time a river eel ate a duckling in front of a punt full of kids. The story included hand gestures.

Also worth noting, are the cool sculptures around ChCh.

And for those of you curious about the pub-crawl… I suppose I can summarize the night by saying I met a lad named Alistair who told me “If you stayed in New Zealand I would have to hunt you down until you fell in love with me,” to which I replied, “I leave Christchurch tomorrow.” For those of you who always ask if I have a boyfriend, now you know why the answer is always no.

Anyway, we got to see some cool bars and meet some random people. Basically the pub-crawl was mostly other tourists like us and not locals. Accept Alistair. Apparently he regulars the pub crawl…

So, I guess that’s all that is going to make it to the blog. Up next: The Wine Tour. 

I'm back (and alive)

Yes it was indeed epic, it being my spring break. You'll all be happy to know that I'm seeing lots of little lambs running around and its starting to warm up.

So, basically I took 400 pictures over the week and did a ton of stuff. I'm going to break up my week into individual posts, so check back regularly. 

Here's the table of contents for the next few posts:

1. Morakai Boulders and Christchurch

2. Wine Tour 

3. Abel Tasman Tramp

4. Franz Josef Glacier

If you're feeling impatient, please remember, I am a student. I just don't post about class because I want people to read my blog.