We've been in school now for 6 weeks, about halfway, and now we're on "teaching recess." It's a two week break from "teaching," but the teachers still have work; therefore, so do we. I have two papers and a test right after the break, so I've been trying to get as much work done as I could before the end of this week. My growing excitement didn't allow me to get much done, but I'm not too worried ... for now :)
Tomorrow morning, we'll be heading up to Auckland for a couple days to officially complete our tour of the city. We'll be going to a House of Shem concert, shark caging at Kelly Tarlton's Underwater World, and catching a ferry to Rangitoto Island and hiking up to the top. We'll be staying with our friend Dani who's studying abroad from USF. She's going to join us on our Auckland Adventures, so we're really excited!
Then we'll be catching a plane down to the Christchurch airport where the real adventure begins. South Island is supposedly absolutely amazing, and I believe it! Everywhere in New Zealand is amazing :) Although, I was expecting to see a lot more sheep on the North Island, but I've heard that I'll definitely get my fair share of them on the South Island. Yikes!
I've never been on a roadtrip before, but I've always wanted to. Renting a campervan is really popular in NZ and surprisingly, the cheapest! Logan did his homework on campervans- he found so many different companies, and everywhere we go, he points out someone driving by in one that he recognizes. We had no problem finding options on different companies within a reasonable price range. The problem we had was finding one that didn't have manual transmission. Logan was convinced that he could learn to drive manual within a short amount of time, and I didn't doubt him. But, there was another catch- he had to learn how to drive manual WHILE learning to drive on the left side of the road! A bit much? Yes. So, he continued to do research and ended up finding the "perfect" campervan. It was like it was made JUST for us. It had everything we needed, automatic transmission, AND ended up being the cheapest! Talk about a scoreeeee! Another plus was the company was giving coupons and vouchers for some of the South Island attractions that we wanted to do! Too good to be true? Sure hope not!
We'll start off in Christchurch and then tour the island, basically! Wish us luck on our first roadtrip! Hopefully, it's a success. Either way, I'm sure I'll have lots of stories ... I always do :)
Miss you all & love you! The time is flying by so fast. I wish it would slow down. But, it's natural to always want more of a good thing :)
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Maori 100 ... Tau ana!
Life in New Zealand's been "sweet as" ... but when is it not? We've been really busy lately with essays and tests, but it's nothing like Linfield (or any other school experience for that matter). We had our first Maori 100 test on Tuesday, and we actually studied pretty hard for it. Cross your fingers and hope we passed :) Actually, passing doesn't seem to be too difficult in any of my papers. The grading scale differs quite a bit from US grading scales. Normally, the "A range" is above 90%, but in NZ, the range normally starts with an A- being 85%! I haven't received any grades yet, so I'm not sure if that means that the teachers here grade harder ... but I thought it was really interesting!
I really enjoy our Maori class! The lectures get a bit tedious, but it's hard to get 20 year old college students to find pleasure in sitting in a lecture for 2 hours at a time anyway. We've learned about the Polynesian Migration and how the Maori culture relates to all the other Pacific Island cultures. We've learned about nga atua (Maori gods), which are unsurprisingly very similar to Hawaiian akua. We've learned a bit of language basics, and this week we had an oral test in which we had to recite our whakawhanaungatanga! Yes, its a mouthful :) It roughly translates to "introducing yourself," and if you're familiar with the Hawaiian culture, "introducing yourself" is defined by where you come from. So, we memorized our pepeha, our "tribal" history. All Maori came from iwi (tribes) and a pepeha is similar to a mo'oku'auhau. However, a pepeha can be, and mostly is, similar/identical among tribes. A mo'oku'auhau is a family genealogy specific to one person; I'm not sure what the equivalent concept is in Maori. However, in our whakawhanaungatanga, we included a bit of our genealogy.
We also learned a waiata (song), which we'll sing at our marae visit! After we get back from the teaching recess, we'll be welcomed to the marae here at uni. I'm excited :)
I really enjoy our Maori class! The lectures get a bit tedious, but it's hard to get 20 year old college students to find pleasure in sitting in a lecture for 2 hours at a time anyway. We've learned about the Polynesian Migration and how the Maori culture relates to all the other Pacific Island cultures. We've learned about nga atua (Maori gods), which are unsurprisingly very similar to Hawaiian akua. We've learned a bit of language basics, and this week we had an oral test in which we had to recite our whakawhanaungatanga! Yes, its a mouthful :) It roughly translates to "introducing yourself," and if you're familiar with the Hawaiian culture, "introducing yourself" is defined by where you come from. So, we memorized our pepeha, our "tribal" history. All Maori came from iwi (tribes) and a pepeha is similar to a mo'oku'auhau. However, a pepeha can be, and mostly is, similar/identical among tribes. A mo'oku'auhau is a family genealogy specific to one person; I'm not sure what the equivalent concept is in Maori. However, in our whakawhanaungatanga, we included a bit of our genealogy.
We also learned a waiata (song), which we'll sing at our marae visit! After we get back from the teaching recess, we'll be welcomed to the marae here at uni. I'm excited :)
Monday, August 16, 2010
Reggae Rhythm
So, reggae in New Zealand is BIG. They have Katchafire, House of Shem, Three Houses Down, Sons of Zion, 1814, etc., etc. However, they LOVE Hawaii reggae- the current fave is Kolohe Kai & Rebel Souljahs! Crazy, huh?! This was a big shock to me; therefore, it was an even bigger shock to Logan! He thought he was going to visit Katchafire's house here in Hamilton, and get the "ins" with the band. Well, last I heard, Katchafire's in Portland ... talk about a coincidence! I guess that's how the world works- everyone's tired of music from their own culture. Hawaii loves New Zealand reggae and vise versa. I can honestly say that I've heard "Cool Down" every day since I've been here blasted from someone's window! I had the funniest conversation with a Maori boy about this song. When I first arrived in New Zealand in July, he asked me how cold it was in Hawaii, and I said, "it's really hot! It's summer!" (In case you didn't know), the opening line of the song is "Its a firey afternoon, hotter than the month of June." Well in New Zealand, EVERYTHING is hotter than the month of June. Opposite seasons means its freezing here in June! He was so relieved to be rid of his confusion .. I'm glad I could help :)
If you know Logan, you know he loves reggae, so we went to a Sons of Zion concert here in Hamilton last weekend. It was a half-pleasure and half-business concert for him- he enjoyed the songs, but of course was attempting to "steal" ideas for his own band back home. What a ham! But hey, he swears he'll be famous one day! I thought it was really good. I really enjoyed the opening bands, particularly Sweet & Irie. They played songs that I actually knew! The only thing that was awkward about the night was the audience. It seemed that we were the only people under 25 there. Majority were 30 year old Maoris skanking to reggae!
Next week, we're going to a House of Shem concert in Auckland. I'm excited for it! I think Logan is rubbing off on me...
If you know Logan, you know he loves reggae, so we went to a Sons of Zion concert here in Hamilton last weekend. It was a half-pleasure and half-business concert for him- he enjoyed the songs, but of course was attempting to "steal" ideas for his own band back home. What a ham! But hey, he swears he'll be famous one day! I thought it was really good. I really enjoyed the opening bands, particularly Sweet & Irie. They played songs that I actually knew! The only thing that was awkward about the night was the audience. It seemed that we were the only people under 25 there. Majority were 30 year old Maoris skanking to reggae!
Next week, we're going to a House of Shem concert in Auckland. I'm excited for it! I think Logan is rubbing off on me...
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Rotorua (Day 3&4)
What did we do on Sunday? We WALKED & WALKED.
A shuttle picked us up from Crash Palace at 9 am and drove us to the Wai-o-tapu Geothermal Reserve, about 30 minutes outside the town of Rotorua. We arrived with enough time to watch the daily eruption of the Lady Knox Geyser, one of the site's main attractions. The history behind the geyser is really interesting, and if you're interested, I suggest you read up on it! :) The coordinators of the geyser trigger the eruption everyday at around 10:15 by putting a soap-like substance into the mouth of the geyser! I won't write about why that is because it'd make this entry really long, but it's a really interesting story! Anyway, the geyser can reach up to 20 meters high depending on the day and the amount of water that has accumulated in the geyser over the previous 24 hours.
Next, we drove to the actual geothermal reserve and began our 3 km walk around the area. It was really well mapped out and it was really neat being able to see the results of all the geothermal activity happening in the area. There was sulfur everywhere and we were always reminded by the smell, but everything was soooo neat and we'd never seen anything like it. There were pools with bright blue and orange, bright yellow rocks, caves, boiling mud, and a whole bunch of other stuff. You need to see the pictures to see how amazing it was! If you ever come to NZ, I definitely reccommend you do this walk. It took a couple hours, but it was totally worth it. There were professionals photographers who just sat at some spots the entire day taking pictures of the different sites.
Next, we went to Waimangu Volcanic Valley. It was another walk, yet took much longer. We walked through a large valley filled with lakes, and panoramic views of the area. It was a lot more foresty and condensed by plants, but there was also a lot more wildlife at this place. There was an area at the end of the hike especially made for bird watching. We got to see geese (the daddy goose was making a nest for the mommy goose to lay her eggs.) There was also a ton of different types of birds, some of which were native to New Zealand. One area of the walk allowed us to do an optional hike up the side of the valley. We all decided we would do the hike regardless of the sign at the beginning that said "This hike is not for unfit people." It was a pretty tough hike. The mountain was pretty steep and so were the stairs, but it was beautiful. Logan was having a pretty hard time, and so was Kamakana- he kept asking when we would be finished. I don't think he was enjoying the hike very much! haha. When we got back to the information desk at the beginning, Logan told the lady, "You can take down the sign that says 'not for unfit people' because we just did it!" haha!
We got back to Rotorua at about 4:00, and Kamakana caught the Nakedbus back to campus at 5:00 that evening. He had class the next morning and didn't want to miss it. Logan and I hung out around town and went to the local park which had geothermic ponds and footpools!
The next morning, we caught the bus to the Skyline Rotorua site and went luging! We rode on a gondola up to the top of the mountain where the luge tracks were. As we were going up, we could see all of Lake Rotorua as well as most of the city. It was beautiful! When we got to the top, we each got a helmet and went on our first luge ride down the "scenic track." This track is designed for beginners (or newcomers)- it's not as steep as the other tracks and allows you to get used to how the luge works! It was really fun! There were three different tracks: scenic, intermediate, and expert. We got five luge rides and did 2 scenic, 2 intermediate, and 1 expert. Our favorite was the intermediate track and it seems to be the common favorite among most people. It was a lot faster than the scenic track, but not as fast as the expert. There were some sharp turns, tunnels, and hills, but it was really fun! Logan made me try the expert track with him, and I'm happy to admit that I am NOT an expert at luge. It was soooo scary! The turns were so sharp and were nearly vertical, the drops were very steep and the luge went way too fast! I nearly lost control a few times, but I'm happy that we did it at least once. I'll just say I'm an expert because I completed the track ... alive! :) But this is another one of those things that you HAVE to do if you ever go to Rotorua! A greeeeat experience! It's a really awesome family activity to do!
We had a few hours left before we were supposed to catch our bus back to Hamilton, so we went next door to Paradise Springs Wildlife Park. It was sort of like a zoo, but a lot of the animals were free to walk, waddle, swim, and fly right around you. There was a native birds section, a section of introduced animals, a trout viewing area (EW! I've never seen a trout before & let's just say, I've seen better looking fish), a kiwi viewing area (this was so neat! We got to see REAL kiwi birds walking around playing with the leaves in their "home"), and a bunch more. One of the other cool things we got to see here was the tuatara, which is a lizard that was alive during the dinosaur age! It looks like a komodo dragon or something, but is very special to New Zealand. A very cool experience!
That was our time in Rotorua. I hope you enjoyed reading about it; we had so much fun. It's our favorite place here, SO FAR!
Pictures from Day 3&4:
Wai-o-tapu & Waimangu
Paradise Springs
**our luging pictures are in the album with Zorb and Agrojet!
A shuttle picked us up from Crash Palace at 9 am and drove us to the Wai-o-tapu Geothermal Reserve, about 30 minutes outside the town of Rotorua. We arrived with enough time to watch the daily eruption of the Lady Knox Geyser, one of the site's main attractions. The history behind the geyser is really interesting, and if you're interested, I suggest you read up on it! :) The coordinators of the geyser trigger the eruption everyday at around 10:15 by putting a soap-like substance into the mouth of the geyser! I won't write about why that is because it'd make this entry really long, but it's a really interesting story! Anyway, the geyser can reach up to 20 meters high depending on the day and the amount of water that has accumulated in the geyser over the previous 24 hours.
Next, we drove to the actual geothermal reserve and began our 3 km walk around the area. It was really well mapped out and it was really neat being able to see the results of all the geothermal activity happening in the area. There was sulfur everywhere and we were always reminded by the smell, but everything was soooo neat and we'd never seen anything like it. There were pools with bright blue and orange, bright yellow rocks, caves, boiling mud, and a whole bunch of other stuff. You need to see the pictures to see how amazing it was! If you ever come to NZ, I definitely reccommend you do this walk. It took a couple hours, but it was totally worth it. There were professionals photographers who just sat at some spots the entire day taking pictures of the different sites.
Next, we went to Waimangu Volcanic Valley. It was another walk, yet took much longer. We walked through a large valley filled with lakes, and panoramic views of the area. It was a lot more foresty and condensed by plants, but there was also a lot more wildlife at this place. There was an area at the end of the hike especially made for bird watching. We got to see geese (the daddy goose was making a nest for the mommy goose to lay her eggs.) There was also a ton of different types of birds, some of which were native to New Zealand. One area of the walk allowed us to do an optional hike up the side of the valley. We all decided we would do the hike regardless of the sign at the beginning that said "This hike is not for unfit people." It was a pretty tough hike. The mountain was pretty steep and so were the stairs, but it was beautiful. Logan was having a pretty hard time, and so was Kamakana- he kept asking when we would be finished. I don't think he was enjoying the hike very much! haha. When we got back to the information desk at the beginning, Logan told the lady, "You can take down the sign that says 'not for unfit people' because we just did it!" haha!
We got back to Rotorua at about 4:00, and Kamakana caught the Nakedbus back to campus at 5:00 that evening. He had class the next morning and didn't want to miss it. Logan and I hung out around town and went to the local park which had geothermic ponds and footpools!
The next morning, we caught the bus to the Skyline Rotorua site and went luging! We rode on a gondola up to the top of the mountain where the luge tracks were. As we were going up, we could see all of Lake Rotorua as well as most of the city. It was beautiful! When we got to the top, we each got a helmet and went on our first luge ride down the "scenic track." This track is designed for beginners (or newcomers)- it's not as steep as the other tracks and allows you to get used to how the luge works! It was really fun! There were three different tracks: scenic, intermediate, and expert. We got five luge rides and did 2 scenic, 2 intermediate, and 1 expert. Our favorite was the intermediate track and it seems to be the common favorite among most people. It was a lot faster than the scenic track, but not as fast as the expert. There were some sharp turns, tunnels, and hills, but it was really fun! Logan made me try the expert track with him, and I'm happy to admit that I am NOT an expert at luge. It was soooo scary! The turns were so sharp and were nearly vertical, the drops were very steep and the luge went way too fast! I nearly lost control a few times, but I'm happy that we did it at least once. I'll just say I'm an expert because I completed the track ... alive! :) But this is another one of those things that you HAVE to do if you ever go to Rotorua! A greeeeat experience! It's a really awesome family activity to do!
We had a few hours left before we were supposed to catch our bus back to Hamilton, so we went next door to Paradise Springs Wildlife Park. It was sort of like a zoo, but a lot of the animals were free to walk, waddle, swim, and fly right around you. There was a native birds section, a section of introduced animals, a trout viewing area (EW! I've never seen a trout before & let's just say, I've seen better looking fish), a kiwi viewing area (this was so neat! We got to see REAL kiwi birds walking around playing with the leaves in their "home"), and a bunch more. One of the other cool things we got to see here was the tuatara, which is a lizard that was alive during the dinosaur age! It looks like a komodo dragon or something, but is very special to New Zealand. A very cool experience!
That was our time in Rotorua. I hope you enjoyed reading about it; we had so much fun. It's our favorite place here, SO FAR!
Pictures from Day 3&4:
Wai-o-tapu & Waimangu
Paradise Springs
**our luging pictures are in the album with Zorb and Agrojet!
Rotorua (Day 1&2)
This past weekend, we caught the Nakedbus to Rotorua and stayed there for three nights! It's about two hours south of Hamilton and we arrived at about 5ish in the evening. Our first stop was the Polynesian Spa. It was right in the center of town and it featured hot mineral bathing and different spa therapies. We got our own hot pool right on the edge of Lake Rotorua! It was absolutely beautiful. We got to see over the entire lake and up the mountains on the other side. The sun was just beginning to set, and so we were able to watch the sunset. The water was really nice- it wasn't extremely hot like a jacuzzi, but it was a comfortable temperature. The pool was made of large river rocks, and it reminded me of the pools in Kapoho (with warm water, no fish, and a lot smaller.)
The hostel we stayed at was called Crash Palace and it's ranked the #2 hostel in NZ! It was really good :) When we checked in that night, the owner told us they'd be having dinner for us at 6:30, and every morning they serve breakfast. We had spaghetti that night, and everyone staying at the hostel ate together. There were about 20 rooms all together, and some of them were dorm style and could fit up to 10 people. Everyone was really friendly and they even had two dogs and a cat roaming around the hostel playing with the guests. There was also a hottub, Wii, tv with a ton of movies, boardgames, and a pool table.
The next morning, we woke up and a shuttle picked us up and drove us to Hells Gate, which is Rotorua's most active geothermal park! We started out by going on the hour long geothermal walk around the reserve. We walked alongside boiling mudpools, sulfur ponds, hot waterfalls, and a whole bunch of other neat things. The highlight was definitely smelling the sulfur! It was STRONG! After the walk, we got to make a wood carving of a Maori symbol to take home. I was having a difficult time; I guess I wasn't born to be a carver. Logan and Kamakana did a really good job carving out their symbols.
It started to rain pretty heavy, so luckily our next activity was under cover. We got to sit in a mud pool for 20 minutes. It was so nice and relaxing, definitely one of my favorite things on the trip. The entire bottom of the pool was covered in mud and we rubbed it all over our bodies. It felt really nice! After the mud pool, we went into a sulphur pool. This pool was a lot warmer than the mud pool and I couldn't stay in it for much longer than the half an hour. There were two different pools to choose from, one was slightly hotter than the other. We got to talking with the pool attendants about being Hawaiian and being Maori (typical conversations we have here.) After the sulphur pool, we felt totally relaxed! We were getting pampered this weekend :)
At lunch time, we caught the shuttle back into town and hopped on the city bus which took us to our Adventure spot #1: Zorbing and Agrojet. It was pouring rain by this time, but these places functioned in all types of weather! First, we did Zorb. It's a 12 ft inflatable globe that you jump into and roll down one of their two hills. There's a smaller ball in the middle of the larger one, so that you don't hit the ground while rolling. You can either be strapped into the side of the Zorb and roll with the Zorb as it speeds down the hill. Just the thought of doing that made me sick. The other option was Wet Zorb, and that is where they put a couple buckets of warm water in the Zorb with you, so that instead of tumbling, you just slide all around the Zorb as it goes down the hill. There were two different tracks- a straight course that went down a hill (and it allowed up to two people to ride in the Zorb at a time), and a zigzag track with curves and one straight steep part at the end (which allowed only one person to ride at a time.) We all chose the zigzag one, and we were drove up to the top of the track in a jeep. I was the second one to go- I got out of the truck, jumped in the Zorb, got some water thrown in after me, and then I was pushed. It all happened so fast! The beginning part was fun- sliding around the Zorb and getting pushed at every corner of the track, but the last part of the track nearly made me sick. It was the steep hill and I was rolling down backwards. I couldn't even imagine doing the dry Zorb and tumbling down the entire track! Logan and Kamakana had a blast! Logan thinks everyone should try it at least once, and I agree, but that was the one time I'm going to try it ;) Logan wants to take the business back home and become a billionaire! haha.
The agrojet was just as exhilerating as Zorbing! Personally, I had a lot more fun on this ride :) A verrrry experienced jetboat driver sped us around a track in a small jetboat only designed for two people other than the driver. He got up to speeds so fast that the boat was pushing out 200,000 of liters a minute! There were sharp turns and roundabouts throughout the track. The track itself was pretty narrow and I'll admit that I got pretty nervous- we were going SO fast and the track was so narrow with heaps of curves and turns! But it was really fun! I DEFINITELY reccommend doing this to everyone!
That's a pretty good wrap up on our first two days in Rotorua! I won't bother uploading pictures to the blog because now, you can see ALL our pictures on facebook!
Here's the links for the pictures from Day 1&2:
Polynesian Spa & other parts of Rotorua
Hells Gate
Zorb, Jetboat (& Luge)
The hostel we stayed at was called Crash Palace and it's ranked the #2 hostel in NZ! It was really good :) When we checked in that night, the owner told us they'd be having dinner for us at 6:30, and every morning they serve breakfast. We had spaghetti that night, and everyone staying at the hostel ate together. There were about 20 rooms all together, and some of them were dorm style and could fit up to 10 people. Everyone was really friendly and they even had two dogs and a cat roaming around the hostel playing with the guests. There was also a hottub, Wii, tv with a ton of movies, boardgames, and a pool table.
The next morning, we woke up and a shuttle picked us up and drove us to Hells Gate, which is Rotorua's most active geothermal park! We started out by going on the hour long geothermal walk around the reserve. We walked alongside boiling mudpools, sulfur ponds, hot waterfalls, and a whole bunch of other neat things. The highlight was definitely smelling the sulfur! It was STRONG! After the walk, we got to make a wood carving of a Maori symbol to take home. I was having a difficult time; I guess I wasn't born to be a carver. Logan and Kamakana did a really good job carving out their symbols.
It started to rain pretty heavy, so luckily our next activity was under cover. We got to sit in a mud pool for 20 minutes. It was so nice and relaxing, definitely one of my favorite things on the trip. The entire bottom of the pool was covered in mud and we rubbed it all over our bodies. It felt really nice! After the mud pool, we went into a sulphur pool. This pool was a lot warmer than the mud pool and I couldn't stay in it for much longer than the half an hour. There were two different pools to choose from, one was slightly hotter than the other. We got to talking with the pool attendants about being Hawaiian and being Maori (typical conversations we have here.) After the sulphur pool, we felt totally relaxed! We were getting pampered this weekend :)
At lunch time, we caught the shuttle back into town and hopped on the city bus which took us to our Adventure spot #1: Zorbing and Agrojet. It was pouring rain by this time, but these places functioned in all types of weather! First, we did Zorb. It's a 12 ft inflatable globe that you jump into and roll down one of their two hills. There's a smaller ball in the middle of the larger one, so that you don't hit the ground while rolling. You can either be strapped into the side of the Zorb and roll with the Zorb as it speeds down the hill. Just the thought of doing that made me sick. The other option was Wet Zorb, and that is where they put a couple buckets of warm water in the Zorb with you, so that instead of tumbling, you just slide all around the Zorb as it goes down the hill. There were two different tracks- a straight course that went down a hill (and it allowed up to two people to ride in the Zorb at a time), and a zigzag track with curves and one straight steep part at the end (which allowed only one person to ride at a time.) We all chose the zigzag one, and we were drove up to the top of the track in a jeep. I was the second one to go- I got out of the truck, jumped in the Zorb, got some water thrown in after me, and then I was pushed. It all happened so fast! The beginning part was fun- sliding around the Zorb and getting pushed at every corner of the track, but the last part of the track nearly made me sick. It was the steep hill and I was rolling down backwards. I couldn't even imagine doing the dry Zorb and tumbling down the entire track! Logan and Kamakana had a blast! Logan thinks everyone should try it at least once, and I agree, but that was the one time I'm going to try it ;) Logan wants to take the business back home and become a billionaire! haha.
The agrojet was just as exhilerating as Zorbing! Personally, I had a lot more fun on this ride :) A verrrry experienced jetboat driver sped us around a track in a small jetboat only designed for two people other than the driver. He got up to speeds so fast that the boat was pushing out 200,000 of liters a minute! There were sharp turns and roundabouts throughout the track. The track itself was pretty narrow and I'll admit that I got pretty nervous- we were going SO fast and the track was so narrow with heaps of curves and turns! But it was really fun! I DEFINITELY reccommend doing this to everyone!
That's a pretty good wrap up on our first two days in Rotorua! I won't bother uploading pictures to the blog because now, you can see ALL our pictures on facebook!
Here's the links for the pictures from Day 1&2:
Polynesian Spa & other parts of Rotorua
Hells Gate
Zorb, Jetboat (& Luge)
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