Top spots in Auckland

So naturally, the main reason I chose to come to New Zealand was to explore the beauty of the landscapes and to take in the sights. You’d think coming to Auckland kind of defeats the purpose of that... Okay, it kind of does, but honestly it's a pretty nice city. I’m not from a big city, nor have I really spent a lot of time in big cities so it’s been a really different experience for me. I would have definitely preferred to go to a smaller town, but it's all part of the learning process. I think being surrounded by people makes me even more introverted. I just feel exposed and if I do anything weird people will see me and judge me for it or something. That's probably not the reality, but I would still find myself seeking out the nice quiet spots away from all the hustle and bustle.

Also, I'm bad at decision making and when I have too many options for places to shop or eat... just forget about it. I'd rather someone else to choose where to go, or to already know where the chilled places are. Luckily, I now know some of those places, so if you go to Auckland I'll save you some trouble. You're Welcome. But first you are probably wondering, "Where did you even go to school?", "What does the campus look like?". Well, here you go, my friends:

The University:

It was almost a little strange to be in the middle of the city, and at the same time be on campus. You walk down the street and all of a sudden you are immersed in the culture of the streets of Auckland. I was pleasantly surprised that the University of Auckland has a lot of little areas to sit and it feels like you are not as close to the city as you really are.

                            

By far, my favorite way to walk to and from campus was through the pacific studies complex. I really like the style of the buildings and it was generally refreshing to see so many plants and trees around. To me it feels really peaceful, so when I was stressed out it almost relaxed me just to walk down that street. It is tucked a bit more away from the hustle and bustle, and less people tended to walk through that way.

It is also interesting to me how different each building on campus really is from one another. You have really new and modern looking building like the OGGB that are really open and big, then cute older ones that belong to the arts. Then there is always Old Choral Hall and the Clock tower that give off a British architectural style feel.

Art buildings

OGGB

Old Choral Hall

The Clock Tower

Apart from the academic buildings, they have a really cool recreation center, but it is just about the most confusing gym I’ve ever been in. I am used to American style, wide open space with machines everywhere. But since this is in the middle of the city, it is pretty compact. There are multiple floors, with stairs branching off from area to area. The best part is the offer free group classes like yoga, weight training, cycling, and others. They also have a rock wall I never climbed (I'm really sad about this) and a basketball court. I did try out the cycling classes a few times and it was just not a pleasant form of exercise for me. If I'm on a bike I need to actually be going somewhere.

Recreation Center

And like all campuses they have a library with you know… books (exciting, I know). They also have a student center where you can get pretty much everything you need like Course books, food, mail, a health center, pharmacy, and a nifty study lounge that I utilized with my tutor. Shout out to Anka.

My least favorite thing ever about being in the city and what I actually missed about URI was the freedom to jaywalk. I had to cross this really busy street every single day on campus and it takes literally 2 or 3 minutes for the cross walk to let me know I could go... it was the worst. And if you did dare to jaywalk, you better do it briskly because people in Auckland do not slowdown for you. I could no longer preach my slogan of, "I don't stop for cars, cars stop for me"... or no, more like "If you wanna cross, you better hurry the heck up, because ain't nobody stoppin' for you. That's fo' sho".

Around the City:

But enough about the university, let’s move onto the city, because there are some really good places to check out.

Mezze bar was one of the places we ate when my study abroad group arrived. I didn’t know what kind of food it was they were serving me, but come to find out it is Spanish. The food was very good and normally you would order at the counter, so it gives it a café type of feel. They brought out the entrees and we tried a bit of everything. The atmosphere was vibrant and the staff were friendly. I would recommend going there.

Giapo is a classy and quite fancy gelato place if I ever did see one. They top each cup off with these cute decorative things so it is definitely Instagram worthy if you are into that. The only drawbacks are the price and it can be busy at times. So it is a little crowded, but the line goes pretty quickly and the staff are really kind. The best part is they let you try every flavor before you buy. I was will some friends so I did not get a $7.50 scoop of gelato but I did get to try the delicious flavors. Seriously, good. If you ask me, it is very well located and generally cute and trendy.

Cassette bar is the place to go if you like to go out. I hear it’s a cool place when they have a good DJ. They have a bit of seating and it still has a dance floor, but very small. Apparently, they serve cocktails in teapots for $15, which serve four glasses or multiple shots. It looks a bit hipster-ish, with a dark atmosphere and interesting decorations.

No. 1 Pancake is right on the corner of Wellesley and Lorne Streets in the city center. If you want a good quick cheap food, it is the place to go. It always has a few people waiting outside, but all the food is made to order so it’s hot and fresh. It is Korean style pancakes with flavors like beef, chicken, and ham, all with cheese, or chocolate or cinnamon sweet pancakes.

Depot Eatery and Oyster Bar just recently reopened due to a fire but the food is delicious and I believe it really captures the essence of Auckland. With a neighborhood bistro feel and very friendly workers

La Cigale French markets is a bustling market for your French needs. I don't think it is exclusively French but there is a lot of French produce, especially patisserie, cheese, crepes, etc. Other things there were selling were soaps, jewelry, smoothies, and honey. They even had a live music performer, which I really liked. You could just sit on the side, enjoy your food, and listen to the music.

The Domain is a beautiful park. It is an excellent place to go running if you are visiting the city and want a safe place to run. It also has some nice places for a picnic. It is the largest park in Auckland, complete with a winter garden, fish pond, museum, and café. Although, the Museum will cost you to enter. It just provides a nice space separated from the noise and bustle of Auckland.

Lastly, Oh Calcutta is on METRO'S Top 50 Best Asian Restaurants. From what I hear, it is incredibly delicious Indian food. It has really high rating and positive reviews. My flatmate says it is hands down the best Indian food she has ever had. The restaurant is open to the street and has outdoor seating available.

Day trips:

If day trips are more your thing… Our group went to Waiheke which is really nice. It has a nice beach, small wineries, and a lot of art galleries and craft stores to check out.

Waiheke Coastal Walk

Other activities you could do is to go to Auckland Zoo, visit One Tree Hill, or Mt. Eden. You can do a coast to coast walk that goes up Mt. Eden, which is the highest natural point in Auckland and it is actually a dormant volcano. Both One Tree Hill and Mt.Eden give you a really nice view of the city.

I went to each of those three places, so I'll probably write another post about those. Okay that is all for now. Another successful post, WOO!

So, remember that thing called a "blog"?...

Wow, I've been back for two whole months, all the while I still decided to neglect this blog. (Update: make that three.)

Truth be told, I had no idea where to begin or what to say. The whole point of a blog was to write as things happened so everyone could get an idea of what I was thinking and how I was feeling at that exact moment. Then I got overwhelmed, my brain didn't work, and writing about it just felt like a chore.

So how do I organize and relay all of these events and emotions to you after having experienced it all? I guess in parts. One piece at a time. Starting with physiology.

Oh, physiology. My friend; my enemy. The perpetrator of my high highs and of my low lows. I re-read the post I had written about it and wow, that was certainly dramatic. It's weird to think that is really how I felt. It was so negative. And I am so not that person. Keeping a level head is really important to me, so I am never the type to act on emotions or even speak about something when I am angry or upset. I just feel that while in the midst of emotions, you don't think clearly so I always wait until I can talk about things with the emotions off to the side, or not there at all. For that reason, I was really conflicted. I wanted to update those who were curious on what I was doing, but I didn't want to pretend that everything was going really well, and I also didn't want to continue to write sounding all sad and what not.

Everyday was a struggle between thinking there was no way I could pass the class and the other part of me would say, "What are you talking about? Dude. You can do it. So get out of your head, stop being a baby and just do it"!

 I think for a good long while I just didn't believe in myself. But how could I not when my family and friends would say things like, "You are smart and you are going to pass, so stop worrying", "You are going to pass, because you are Michelle.", "You'll be fine", and one of the most important was always, "Whatever happens, happens. Just do the best you can. And that will be it. No one can ask anything more than that".

So I guess I should just cut to the chase and let ya'll know that I did indeed pass. I don't need to re-take it, and I don't need a summer class.

When I wrote that post, I hadn't taken the mid-term yet. The class was broken down as follows:
Labs reports: 20% (4 percent each)
Mid-term: 15%
Final: 65%
So I was hella worried about that final, especially since the mid-term is notoriously hard with only 40 minutes to take a 36 multiple choice question test. I studied a whole week for that thing and by the end I felt moderately confident. So I went into that test and when I came out I thought, "Welp, I just failed that." I didn't really feel sad about it, I just kind of accepted what I thought was my fate.

Five days later when I went to class, everyone was talking about the test and that the grades were up. Automatically, I felt really anxious about it, especially after seeing people checking their phones and hearing someone say that the class average was a 63%... and that was supposed to be good. So I basically sprinted out of that place when class was over, My flatmates both had class the same time as me and even though I always got back before them I really didn't want them to be there when I checked my grade.

I kid you not, I was praying I would get a 33%. A 33% or higher, but still... extremely low standards. I pulled up my email, clicked, scrolled down and just about had a heart attack when I saw that I got.... wait for it... a 72. My reaction was complete shock and disbelief, and I remember repeating to myself, "what? WHAT? No way, oh my goodness. That cannot be right. That. cannot. be right. That is not what I got, No way". Tears welled up in my eyes, and I cried. I had never been in such shock or such disbelief, and it was so overwhelming. For a split second, a rush of confidence filled me and I could go to sleep that night will a fat smile on my face.

But when I woke up I felt like I didn't actually earn that grade. It was luck. I couldn't have scored that well because I knew the answers, I was just really good at guessing or someone must've changed my answers. I just didn't think I truly understood the material, therefore there was no way I was going to give myself credit for getting any of my grades in that class. I'm just glad Youtube exists, because I think I would have been dead in the water without it.

After that, I ate, drank, and slept physiology. I was darn well determined, despite the small (however very consuming) part of me wanting to throw in the towel. I would even start to get really anxious if I spent too much time doing anything else. Talking to friends or family, or watching videos, or going to the grocery store to name a few.

Fast-forward through the rest of my classes and lab reports, I believe the last day of classes were June 5th and my final wasn't until the 18th. Meaning I studied strictly physiology for a good week and a half. The last three weeks were the longest lasting ones ever. I studied and completed every single previous final exam (from previous years) they had uploaded to the university website.

A whole semester came down to a three hour test. 50 multiple choice, 6 short answers with multiple parts, and 3 essays. I didn't time myself well, so I didn't even get to complete my essays. I had to speed write 2 of them in about 10-15 minutes. But based on the rest of the test,..

I concluded that all the tears, the hard work, the dedication, the pain, the anxiety, the emotions, the worries, and the doubts were all worth it.

It was the hardest challenge I've ever faced. I would never want to put myself through that again, but nothing will ever make you appreciate everything you have more, than to go through something like that. It was the best and the worst adventure, all at the same time, and I'm so glad it happened. When I titled my page,"Your mountain is waiting", (a quote from a Dr. Seuss poem) it's purpose was to serve as inspiration for others to go after some sort of ambition or dream that they had. I never would have expected it to have such a symbolic meaning for my own adventure. So with that, I guess it's fitting to end this post with the poem where the inspiration for this blog began:

"Oh, the Places You'll Go!"

by: Dr. Seuss

Congratulations!

Today is your day.

You're off to Great Places!

You're off and away!

You have brains in your head.

You have feet in your shoes.

You can steer yourself 

any direction you choose.

You're on your own. And you know what you know.

And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.

You'll look up and down streets. Look 'em over with care.

About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there."

With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet, 

you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street.

And you may not find any

you'll want to go down.

In that case, of course,

you'll head straight out of town.

It's opener there

in the wide open air.

Out there things can happen

and frequently do

to people as brainy

and footsy as you.

And then things start to happen,

don't worry. Don't stew.

Just go right along.

You'll start happening too.

OH!

THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!

You'll be on y our way up!

You'll be seeing great sights!

You'll join the high fliers

who soar to high heights.

You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed.

You'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon take the lead.

Wherever you fly, you'll be best of the best.

Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

Except when you don't.

Because, sometimes, you won't.

I'm sorry to say so

but, sadly, it's true

that Bang-ups

and Hang-ups

can happen to you.

You can get all hung up

in a prickle-ly perch.

And your gang will fly on.

You'll be left in a Lurch.

You'll come down from the Lurch

with an unpleasant bump.

And the chances are, then,

that you'll be in a Slump.

And when you're in a Slump,

you're not in for much fun.

Un-slumping yourself

is not easily done.

You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.

Some windows are lighted. But mostly they're darked.

A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin!

Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in?

How much can you lose? How much can you win?

And IF you go in, should you turn left or right...

or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite?

Or go around back and sneak in from behind?

Simple it's not, I'm afraid you will find,

for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.

You can get so confused

that you'll start in to race

down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace

and grind on for miles cross weirdish wild space,

headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.

The Waiting Place...

...for people just waiting.

Waiting for a train to go

or a bus to come, or a plane to go

or the mail to come, or the rain to go

or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow

or the waiting around for a Yes or No

or waiting for their hair to grow.

Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite

or waiting for the wind to fly a kite

or waiting around for Friday night

or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake

or a pot to boil, or a Better Break

or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants

or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.

Everyone is just waiting.

NO!

That's not for you!

Somehow you'll escape

all that waiting and staying

You'll find the bright places

where Boom Bands are playing.

With banner flip-flapping,

once more you'll ride high!

Ready for anything under the sky.

Ready because you're that kind of a guy!

Oh, the places you'll go! There is fun to be done!

There are points to be scored. There are games to be won.

And the magical things you can do with that ball

will make you the winning-est winner of all.

Fame! You'll be as famous as famous can be,

with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.

Except when they don't

Because, sometimes they won't.

I'm afraid that some times

you'll play lonely games too.

Games you can't win

'cause you'll play against you.

All Alone!

Whether you like it or not,

Alone will be something

you'll be quite a lot.

And when you're alone, there's a very good chance

you'll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.

There are some, down the road between hither and yon,

that can scare you so much you won't want to go on.

But on you will go

though the weather be foul.

On you will go

though your enemies prowl.

On you will go

though the Hakken-Kraks howl.

Onward up many

a frightening creek,

though your arms may get sore

and your sneakers may leak.

On and on you will hike,

And I know you'll hike far

and face up to your problems

whatever they are.

You'll get mixed up, of course,

as you already know.

You'll get mixed up 

with many strange birds as you go.

So be sure when you step.

Step with care and great tact

and remember that Life's 

a Great Balancing Act.

Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.

And never mix up your right foot with your left.

And will you succeed?

Yes! You will, indeed!

(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)

KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!

So...

be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray

or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,

You're off the Great Places!

Today is your day!

Your mountain is waiting.

So...get on your way!

Things Kiwis Say

Alright, we are in desperate need of a lighthearted post after that last one. This is one I've wanted to write since the beginning for no reason other than it's kind of fun. Plus, I know at least one person will get a kick out of it. That's right I'm talking about you, monk.

Quite a lot of Kiwi English (vocab) comes from the brits, but without further a due I present to you kiwi words and phrases:

1. Sweet as - This can mean anything, but usually they use it as a simple "okay" or they use it interchangeably with "awesome". It is basically an unfinished simile. For example, "Wow, that mountain is sweet as!"
2. Yeah-nah - Pretty much the equivalent of agreeing with someone, but at the same time you don't. It is like saying "kind of".
3. Lollies - any candy is considered a lolly. It is not just short for lollipop.
4. The dairy - A convenience/corner store.
5. Ice block - Popsicle
6. Togs - Bathing suit
7. Chilly bin - a cooler
8. Boot - The trunk of a car
9. Pudding - Another way of referring to dessert. If you are thinking of American pudding they would just say mousse.
10. Car park - Parking lot
11. Biscuit - Not the small baked bread you are thinking of. Here in New Zealand, a biscuit is a cookie.
12. Chips - French fries. Potato chips are referred to as "crisps". And they would call something like Doritos, a corn chip.
13. Jandal - Flip flops
14. Vest - tank top
15. Kiwifruit - The actual fruit. If you say "I ate a kiwi" they might think you are talking about the bird.
16. Tramp - a hike 
17. Morning/afternoon tea - This could mean coffee or tea, usually with a snack.
18. Jelly - Not the stuff you put on a PB&J. In New Zealand, jelly is jello. Jam is what we consider jelly.
19. What do you reckon? - What do you think/prefer/suppose
20. Rubbish - We all know what the rubbish is, but you won't catch a kiwi saying trash or garbage. Typically, they will tell you to chuck it in the bin or the rubbish
21. Tea towel - Probably self-explanatory, but where I come from a tea towel is just a towel, or a dish towel.
22. Dodgy - Something a kiwi might consider sketchy or unreliable.
23. Heaps - Equivalent to saying "a lot". For example, "There were heaps of lollies on sale at the supermarket"
24. Eh - Pronounced "a", it is not typically used in the form of a question. Most of the time, it is used expecting a response. Like, "That sandwich is good, eh" To me it is just like a filler word...

But yeah, those are all the words I can think of at the moment, but now that you have some kiwi vocab under your belts, you are officially ready to visit New Zealand. Oh, and by the way, they do say "mate" a lot.

If you are yearning for some other useless but interesting facts, check out: http://www.buzzfeed.com/jemimaskelley/things-you-did-not-know-about-new-zealand#.xdy7vGLJyX 

Why haven't I been posting?

Originally my intentions for this blog was to keep everyone updated with what I am doing here in New Zealand. And I’ll admit it, I have not been doing a good job.

I've been slacking, guys. I've been slacking.

The reality of the situation is… I’m a little miserable. Everything has not been what I pictured would happen here. In large part, my misery is due to this stupid physiology class. From the beginning I have been stressing out about it, because I feel like they are speaking an entire different language. My adviser warned me about taking a major science class abroad, but as you can tell, I didn't listen. You see, kids, this is medical physiology… I am not a medical student. Everyone in this class has taken prerequisite courses that prepared them for this class, but I feel like I have been dropped in the ocean with nothing but my will to survive. And it is tough. I have never ever been this challenged and distraught and unconfident in my abilities.

Some days I am alright and others I just have a complete and utter meltdown about it. My mind even goes to a place that thinks coming here was a mistake, but I have to force myself to remember all the things I have accomplished so far and tell myself that I will come back an even stronger person than I was before I left.

I didn't want to write a post like this, because I didn't want anyone at home to worry about me. But honestly, I don’t do anything anymore worth blogging about. I basically sit in my room all day trying to work on something related to school, and when I’m not doing that, I’m watching videos or a TV show because that is how I am able to relax.

Normally, I’m the type of person to keep my issues to myself until I can work it out on my own, but I haven’t really been able to do that this time. I don’t like to show emotions, especially at my lowest of lows, but sometimes you have to accept the fact that you aren't okay and let others in on that secret. So that’s what I've done. I’m lucky that I have so much support from back home and I am unbelievably appreciative of that. And if we are sticking with this whole ocean analogy, then you could say the support and encouragement is like a snorkel. Just enough to keep me above the waves.

I’m pretty much certain that I will fail this class and I never thought that I would ever fail a class. I wish I was over exaggerating, but I don’t feel like I am. For some people that might not even be a big deal, but for me that means retaking the class back at URI, taking a summer class just to make sure I can still graduate in time, with more money going down the drain.

It’s crazy for me to even think that I have gotten so messed up mentally by this one thing, because I never get stressed out. Ask any of my friends from school and they would tell you that I am normally really relaxed and easy-going. I don’t even recognize the person I have become. I can only hope that I can somehow, someway manage to pass this class, then every little thing will be alright.

Okay, that’s enough sadness for one post. If you read this all the way through, sorry this is not an exciting or uplifting, but sometimes things get real. I guess life decided it was time for me to suffer for a bit and learn some life lessons ever so conveniently while I’m just about the furthest away from home I can be.

No worries, guys, I’m just gonna keep on swimming.

P.s. If you have any questions or words of encouragement for me, facebook messages work wonders.

Alright, peace out homies

Welcome to My Crib

Today was move in day!
Everyone was ready to finally get to settle in somewhere. Personally, I didn't mind so much living out of a suitcase. I didn't have a lot of stuff anyway, and I wasn't in a rush. We would have 2 weeks before classes even started.That didn't mean I wasn't excited to see my nice new apartment, though.
So without further ado, welcome to my crib...

Upon entering the "flat", I turned to the left. This is the view of my living and dining area. One of my flatmates had arrived the day earlier to drop off two boxes, and she left a note for me on the table. That door you see would be my bedroom.

This is my lovely kitchen,

Here is where I became best friends with the microwave. That thing works wonders. Don't worry, I utilize the stove too..

This is my bedroom, where all the magic happens. If by magic, I mean where almost all of my living, studying, mental breakdowns, and eating occurs.

Next, we have the toilet and a sink with no mirror,

The shower is seperated from the toilet which is actually quite convenient.

 I didn't take a picture of the hallway, but my flatmates rooms are in the hallway along with the doors to these rooms.
This is the view from my window looking down at the courtyard,

This is my view of Auckland and the Sky Tower at night,

(Excuse this boring post, but I thought people might be curious as to what the place I am staying at actually looks like.)

Oh and here is a group picture of the whole residence complex. Try to spot me:

Hello Auckland!

Today, was the day, that I would go canyoning… and I had no idea what that meant. So I get up at my usual, ya know, 6:30 in the morning. I actually wake up even earlier than that, but I decide 6:30 is a more acceptable time to be moving around a room with 6 other girls sleeping. I mean, I really don’t mind waking up early as long as I’m not tired. But I clearly didn’t have that problem at this point. Breakfast is eaten at 7:30, so it was just a waiting game until we were to leave at 9.

That came quickly enough, and we got into the vans. Now Auckland is New Zealand’s most populated city, but it doesn’t take very long before you get all up in the woods. They said they had winding roads…they weren’t kidding. They tend to be really narrow too. Anyway, we get to the place and we are instructed to get helmets, a harness, jacket, and a wetsuit. Most people got a backpack to put their things in, which was convenient for them. I had to make a makeshift bag by stuffing my jacket and harness into my wet suit, and tying the legs around my waist and using the arm holes as a strap to put on my shoulder. We hiked for a little while and it wasn’t too bad. Then we stopped to put our wetsuits on. That was quite the experience. It took a lot of shimmying, stretching, and pulling to put on that sucker. Then we practiced our repelling techniques. Piece of cake, where is the waterfall? That’s what I would be repelling down. Except we still had to hike a little bit and since my wetsuit was a little big, it was hard to bend my knees. I felt so clumsy wearing that wetsuit. I fell a good amount of times, but I just thought it was funny, because it didn’t hurt at all. I guess wetsuits work as good shock absorbers. Who knew?

Anywho, we start jumping off of rocks and into canyons of water. You could say I got a gist of what we were doing when they told us to jump. So I did.

When we got to the river, they told us we would have different types of jumps. Ones where we could free style jump, ones to bend our knees for, and others where we had to slide down the rocks. And this took all day. I think I used to have a fear of opening my eyes underwater unless I had goggles, but I swear every time I jumped I would open my eyes before I came to the surface, and it wasn’t too bad. It also might have been because the water was cold so you get that gasp reflex when you go under. It was really fun though.

It took a long time for everyone to repel down the waterfalls, so we got separated into two groups. I was in the second. When we got down the last waterfall, we got to eat. I didn’t know what the sandwich was, but I grabbed it and started eating. I think that is just a reoccurring thing. I see food, and I eat it. The only depressing part about that was I thought we were leaving sooner than we were so I threw half of it in a trash bag. I was still hungry, so it was a sad time. But who has time for sadness when there were eels just chillin’ in the water behind me. They seemed really tame and everyone was just feeding them their bread.

After that we were at the bottom of the canyons, so we followed the river back to the trail. I just made that sound really simple right there, but I’m telling you, river rocks ain’t no joke. They are slippery.

I did make it back in one piece, and that night we went to Silo Park. It is right on the water and they play a movie every Friday night at 9. They have a little playground, food trucks, and a little market. Very cool. I was in the mood for pizza and I paid $12 for one. That’s $9 for you Americans reading this, but I don’t know what I was thinking. I was just blinded by the cheesy goodness, but I really should have looked for something cheaper. It was cut into 6 pieces that fit onto one of those white paper plates.

They were playing Rocky Horror Picture Show, because it was Friday the 13^th. When the movie started they had these people dressed up as the characters and they performed the music scenes happening on the big screen. So that aspect was interesting, and I guess so was the movie.

Okay, sleepy time.

(I forgot to mention that after we arrived in Auckland we were separated from the Otago people the whole time, so we got to know some of the other people better.)

Might as well talk about the rest of the time we spent before moving into our apartments.

The next morning we were going to Waiheke Island! This was only a 30 minute ferry ride as compared to the 3 hour one in Fiji.

The first thing we did was go to the Marae which is a traditional Maori meeting place. The Maori people are the indigenous population of New Zealand. We participated in the ceremony and set up our mattresses on the floor inside. After that, they separated us into four groups. Each would be doing a different activity, and then rotate. After we ate lunch, my first activity was sea kayaking. It was relaxing, yet tiring. We ended up losing one of our guys because he went through a cave and didn’t know where everyone else went, so instead of kayaking to the other side of the bay, we went back inwards to play some games. This required us to link up and climb across each other’s kayaks into another and stand up, but then we almost hit a boat, so the last people didn’t get to stand. We also played a game where we needed to pass a ball to our teammates before the other team blocked a pass, then one girl capsized and almost lost her go-pro. She thought it floated and was more concerned about her shorts getting wet. Luckily the water wasn’t too deep and she found it. As we got out of the water she managed to capsize her kayak again on shore and it was pretty hilarious.

Our next activity was just to take a stroll around the town. We walked past people giving out free “L&P” sodas. They are a classic New Zealand company. The soda tasted like if you mixed sprite and ginger-ale together. Pretty good stuff.

We took a look in a few art galleries and then we stopped by a piano shop. They had old, new, and everything in between. It was an elderly couple who owned the place and they started playing some of them for us. It was really awesome. I love live music and they told us that they were closing as we came in but they performed for us anyways. I was really happy we stopped in there. It’s one of those things that if time was altered even a little bit, we wouldn’t have gotten to have that experience. Then once again, we lost that same kid that we lost when we were kayaking. Everyone was just praying he knew how to get back to the Marae. He did.

That night they had us go around telling everyone a little bit about ourselves. I always dread those kinds of things, but it wasn’t bad. Then we had the option to go out to 1 of 2 bars, or stay in. I was really tired, and I’m not interested in that kind of thing anyways so I stayed back. A few other people were going to also, but they backed out when the overwhelming majority left. I ended up being the only one who stayed and they set up a movie for me, but I fell asleep 30 minutes in.

Today was time for everyone’s favorite activity. Winetasting.

I knew I wasn’t going to like wine, so I wasn’t exactly looking forward to it, but I thought I would give it a try. The way there was nice and we stopped at the beach, and I will regret to inform you, but wine doesn’t taste like grapes. I didn’t expect it to, but man, I had some hope. There was 5 to try, but I think the guy caught my drift, and understood that I didn’t like it, so he didn’t give me the last two.

Our second to last activity was to make a traditional maori toy. They are called poi’s, and it is a ball on a cord. We made it by taking a ball of cotton and braiding a cord to it. Then we took a plastic bag, twisted it tightly around the cotton, taped it, and then cut off the excess bag. Mine turned out okay, but I think I made the cord too long, and I messed up the braid too. I think a lot of people threw theirs out, but I still have mine. Maybe I’d throw it out if I made a better one.

Lastly, we would do the sculpture walk. It’s a walk around the coast of Waiheke with a bunch of sculptures made by artists. I feel like I don’t have enough appreciation for the kind of art that was there to fully enjoy what I was looking at, but some of them were really interesting.

After that, we returned to Auckland, and had our last dinner all together. We took over the whole place which is always amusing to see any regular people who must be wondering, “What the heck are all these kids are doing here”? But after that, I had a chilled night.

The next morning, everyone would go their separate ways.

Farewell Fiji

Fijian sunrise

The day we left, the ferry was scheduled to pick us up at 2 pm. This meant we had time for breakfast and lunch. Both meals I sat with different people, trying to mix it up a bit. But before lunch, one of the TEAN staff went over some places to visit in New Zealand. She is from the south island, but uh, I don't remember any of the places she said. Good thing we have google, right? Then I packed up all my stuff, which wasn't much, but my sneakers and a few of my other clothes were still kind of wet from the days prior. I needed a washing machine pronto (I wouldn't get to wash anything for a while). Then we all paid our tab. Mine was only 30 Fijian from the snorkeling trip I went on.

Though I didn't talk too much with the group I had sat with at lunch I did learn something. There was this German dude, that I guess is the manager of Botaira Resort. To make a long story short, he actually has a condition that people rarely survive past 50 with, but he was 50 when he found out he had it. Basically, if he didn't cut out the stressful things in his life, he would die, so he came to Fiji and they needed a manger, so that's what he did.

Afterwards, I got my things and they sang us the farewell song again. Everyone got their pictures, and as I lined up to get on the boat I started reflecting on my experiences there. I wish I had talked to the workers more. If I had the opportunity again, I would like to go back there. I think some of my family and friends would like it too.

Saying goodbye. Credit: TEAN

On the ferry I sat by myself, but I was pretty much the first one on. Most people went to the top deck, but I stayed on the middle deck because I wanted to stay out of the sun but still catch the breeze. For most of the way, the ferry was running off of one engine, because one of them blew shortly after we began the journey to Nadi. It took a lot longer to get back, but when we got to the hotel they gave us juice. I was sooo good. I want to know what kind of juice it was and how to make it, because that stuff was the bomb.

This is what my room looked like. Credit: google images

There were two people per room. I was wondering how they would organize it, but it appeared to be alphabetical. I guess that is the easiest way of deciding. So my roommate and I went right to our room, and I waited for her to take a shower before we decided to check out what the dinner situation was... Then we found out that almost everyone had already ate. Oh well, we still got to eat, so in the end I guess it didn't really matter. After that, I called it quits. I wanted to sleep, but I also wanted to check out the wifi. But then I couldn't get it to work, sorry Mom and Dad. (Oh yeah! I forgot to mention how nice the hotel was. I tried to find pictures of it. I wasn't that successful).

The Radisson. Credit: google images

Flight Day!

I felt like I finally had my appetite back, and had a relatively big breakfast. Did you guys know that chocolate pastries were a thing? I didn't

It took a little while to get out of there, but we checked out and bused to the airport. We only spent one night at the hotel, but it was nice and sweet. I think everyone was excited to get to New Zealand anyway. Airport stuff is boring, but for the sake of the story, it took us about an hour to get everyone checked in. After that, we all gathered in the lounge and me and another girl got interviewed about our stay in Fiji, I wonder if they ever get any bad reviews.

On my first flight experience, I had determined that flying was probably my least favorite form of transportation. You have to plan it in advance most of the time, it's strict, it costs money, I'm broke... haha, but this was a different story, my friends. On this plane I didn't get nauseous, they gave us complementary food, and I even watched a movie. I don't know. Maybe it was because I wasn't alone, it was a shorter flight, and I was just really excited to get to New Zealand, but it was just a much more enjoyable flight compared to the others.

Nobody had any issues going through customs, we found our bags easily, and pretty soon we were on a bus again. Next stop was dinner, but because we arrived early, my first experience in Auckland was a stroll around the city. Not bad.

Team Togs Photo Credit: Rachel Fenton

The restaurant we ate at was a different than any other eating experience I've had. They served us different plates of food that you would share with everyone sitting around you. I didn't know what most of the food was. All I knew was that it tasted good. It's not very hard to please me when I'm hungry. I just shut up and eat it.

The hostel we stayed at was pretty nice. When we arrived, we got out room assignments. I was in a room with 6 other girls. I got stuck with a top bunk, so I wasn't thrilled about that, but we were only ever in the room at night, so it was all good. We also got our cheap little black phones. They are honestly not much more outdated than the phone I already have, but it was still amusing listening to everyone else's reactions to them. This place also had wifi, but once again it wasn't really working out for me. You can probably guess what happens next... I went to sleep. The next day, we were going canyoning!

The view from my room

Fiji - Last day at Botaira

Group photo at the top of our climb. Picture Credit: TEAN

Village hike day! We ate breakfast at the usual and waited until 9. By this time I was really annoyed with my cuts, and I wasn't about to hike in flip flops, so I asked for some band-aides from the TEAN staff. Joy to the world, I got some comfort!

Luckily, today it was wasn't raining like the day before so the way there was nice and dry. The group from the other day had exaggerated the difficulty of the climb for sure. They made it seem really tough, but then again... throw some rain in the mix and you have a some slippery rocks. Eh, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. The heat will get to you before the hike tires you out.

Anyway, we get to the top. Bada-bing. We take a group picture. Bada-boom. We head down now, towards the beach and walk along that for the remainder of the trek. However, morning hours means high-tide, high-tide means wet sneakers, right? No. I ain't havin' that. I'm dodging the water like it's the plague. I DO NOT want my sneakers to get wet, and I succeed.

Inside the church

Just before we entered the village, most of the girls changed into skirts and shirts the cover your shoulders, because Fijian women still dress more conservatively. I'm all about respecting the culture, but the extra layer of clothing was not the most ideal situation after a hike. Also, Sam told us about the village and where the kids go to school. In this particular village (1 of 8), only 150-200 people live there. I happened to bring my camera this time so I snapped a few pictures along the way, but when too much is happening around me, I just kind of watch instead of participate. So while others got pictures of the kids and other locals, I didn't. It's all good, I'll just add in some other people's photos.

School boys. Credit: Greg Moores

The market wasn't what I expected it to be, but it was what I should have expected. Basically, in one of the buildings each woman had a blanket set up with all of their homemade trinkets spread out on it. Mostly there was sarongs, necklaces, and bracelets, but they also had various tools and wood carved items. I decided on a map of the Fijian islands on homemade paper.

The Market. Credit: Greg Moores

On the way back, the tide was down so there were no issues with that. I did notice that it started to get more breezy though, and then some clouds rolled in, and then right as we entered the woods... it started to pour. So much for dry sneakers... Good thing Kyra's backpack was waterproof. She let me put my things in with hers, thanks pal.

The village hike. Credit: Haley Peterson

Not gonna lie, the rain was really refreshing so I didn't mind so much that I was getting soaked. It's just that so much water was pouring down that I couldn't even see. I was wiping my wet eyes with my wet hands, that I couldn't dry on my wet shirt. It was just wet. Until it conveniently stopped raining just as we came out of the woods... Whatever, it was lunch time! I won't bore you with any details, but it was good like always.

After that I think I just waited until 2, because I was going snorkeling! I've never done it before so I was excited. We picked out our snorkeling gear, and blew that Popsicle stand. It was only a ten minute boat ride over, and we were dumped into the ocean. When I was first getting used to it, I forgot a few times that, hey! You can breathe, with your face in the water! That's what the snorkel is for. Sweet, deal. But yeah, it wasn't long before I got some water in my snorkel. I was taught that when that happens, you just take a big breath in, and then blow it out of your snorkel. No panic, problem solved. And I actually did do that a few times... when it was only a little bit of water. This time, it was a large amount that I breathed in, and instead of blowing it out, I tried to swim to the surface. Hey, it would of worked fine, but I was too close to the coral and I ended up scrapping my foot on it. By this point, you are all still shocked I scrapped my foot again, right? At least it wasn't the same one though. My right foot finally got a little taste of Fiji.

While looking at the underwater world, I got bored of looking at the coral relatively quickly, but the fish never got old. My favorite was probably when I was in the middle of a school of fish, because with any little movement you made they swerved in the opposite direction and it was very amusing and awesome. During our endeavors, one of the Fijian guys kept pointing out creatures he saw, so I stuck by him so I would be the first to see them. One was a sea turtle, and the other was... wait for it... a shark! And I totally took credit for attracting it with the blood from my foot. Woo!

On the boat I got a nice bandage on my cut, and we went back to the beach. Not long after we got back, other people who went scuba diving came back as well. A group of us gathered to talk about our experiences and then it was time to watch the locals husk some coconuts. One of the boys climbed the tree. Casual. Then they showed us how to husk them in a few different fashions. Some people took a shot at it, then we tried the water and coconut bits from both a young and mature coconut. Not bad.

Huskin' Coconuts

So far, it had been a busy day. The night was to entail a bonfire, performance by the locals, and a cultural kava drink. But then it rained pretty much all night. We sat around before dinner while they did the kava drink. It is apparently a religious drink, but it's made from a plant that gives you a high, and there is no alcohol in it. Interesting, but I didn't have any. What a buzz kill. Oh well, they did it as the buffet for dinner was happening so I just ate my meal.

It didn't look like there would be any bonfire tonight. Instead they had us bring all of our chairs to one side of the eating area. It took forever to set up, because none of us really knew what was going on or how they wanted us to set it up, so we just sat and watched. Then they turned out the lights. It was pitch black and when they turned them back on, they were dressed in their costumes and in position to give us a performance. I loved everything about it. The Fijian boys were hilarious with their dancing and I wish I had a video of the whole thing. I don't know how long it lasted but it was so fun to watch. At the end, they had us all up on our feet to participate in a ginormous conga line. It was a good time and then before we knew it they sang the last song. It was a farewell song, which they would again sing the next morning before we left. And I couldn't help but feel a little sad that we would be leaving.