The Empire Strikes Back

I was finally at that point here...I knew how much I was going to spend on food, what I needed to do for my studies, what adventures I wanted to do, how to concentrate in class and wrap my head around mind boggling ideas...And then New Zealand decides to shake things up again-Make things a bit more interesting.

I started my new section of philosophy, time travel. With a new section comes a new professor. I sat down feeling confident that I would be able to follow and wrap my head around this new section. Then my new professor walks in. Bar footed, mountain man wanna go for a hike looking, Mcgruff beard, big enough to hold me and I know I wont break him, hair messy like Harry Potter. Then he opens his mouth (another American) and jokes about how early it is, and takes a deep sip from his coffee. son.of.a.bitch. I looked over at Andrea and just started laughing. How can I concentrate with this? Screw you, NZ.

Well I decided I was going to conquer this. It is just one extremely attractive man, speaking donnie darko to me. I will take on this challenge!

With this new attitude, I brought it to the rest of my life here. Last week I thought the hills and stairs were getting easier. Not so much this week. SO, I decided to take the longer and harder way every where I go. Yes, every Kiwi can hear my pant while their breathing is steady and silent. Bring it on- No elevator for me!

My taste buds don't even like sweets. So why do I eat them if they are sitting in front of me. I will only have 1 piece of carrot cake a week. I can feed my machine with all the good, grainy, wonderful food that I buy from the market. Embrace being healthy. After last week's tramp, I started stretching more. I found out how much I miss ballet. I started doing a little yoga here. I think when I get home, I am going to dig out my ballet barre. I am feeling GOOD.

In my sociology discussion, I decided to be a leader. Its always that first day where in your head you ponder, wallflower or leader? My tutor was really interested in what I had to say, being an American. He was one of those "mid-life crisis, leave my job of 15 years to do something I actually like" tutors. I felt like I knew what I was talking about in the class. Granted, I minored in sociology but I give all my credit to one of my favorite professors, MarkyMark. He and my soc buddy, Matt, would be proud of the way I ranted about how riots and protests function. Its kinda amazing having a soc class while i am abroad. It lets me look and see things differently, and remember those differences better by being in a class where I can discuss my findings.

I had another interesting session with the philosophy mountain man professor. This time I only couldn't concentrate when he mentioned Lost, and when he didn't lost his sense of humor and politeness when a student came up and spit on a napkin to help him erase the white board. The student was sincerly trying to help. It was the funniest thing I witnessed the whole week.

WWOOF- Willing Workers On Organic Farms.

SO, I went WWOOFing for the first time this weekend! It was an incredible experience. Courtney and I woke up early and made our way to the train station. I bought some doughnuts and we hopped on our hour ride to Otaki. We got to Otaki, and were not sure what our hosts looked like so we spent some time on the swing set. NZ has the coolest swing sets! I was a bit surprised when our host, Ron, laughed behind us as we played.

I could write a whole book about the two days at the farm, but I will try to be concise. My hosts were from Canada and California. Ron met his first partner, a Kiwi, while he was WWOOFing in the Middle East, being a cowboy. He eventually moved to NZ and has been here ever since. Leanne, also married a Kiwi and found her home in NZ. They both were business, white collar workers who lived out of a suitcase. Their lives changed when they watched two movies: The Inconvenient Truth and What a Way to Go: Life at the end of an Empire. They then did a 180 and became farmers, sold their cars, and started a new life.

This new life involves sustainability, permaculture and community. Some examples of their household are: their garbage can for the whole property is the size of my arm. The whole time I was there, I didn't through a thing away. They save their pee for fertilizer. Ron warms 3 liters of water in their compost over night and uses that for a shower. They heat almost everything on a wood burning stove.

Their farm had olive and Feijoa trees (feijoas taste like kiwis but More sweet and sour...so I felt like I was eating a sour patch). They also have other fruit trees, potatoes, and a vegetable garden. They use sea weed as fertilizer at the moment but are experimenting with local fish heads that would otherwise be thrown out.

I helped make compost, re soiled new garden beds, planted, started samplings, made paper holders for samplings, pruned, raked, and harvested fruits. We would have a morning tea break (cupa), a wonderful lunch and the best dinners. All the food was organic and most came from the farm. My favorite foods were the fresh pumpkin soup and the feijoa crumble, which I helped make both. I also met two other German WWOOFers. We ended up playing a mean game of ultimate Frisbee. Courtney was able to witness my aggressive side. We had such a good time with the Germans, that they are coming to visit next weekend.

At night, Courtney and I would exchange stories with the Germans, Ron and Leanne. We played games and Courtney and I also took a nice walk. Ron had saved some old community magazines. I looked through many of them. I found a more recent one and paged through an article about an assisted living community. It had a Waldorf Steiner focus. After reading the article, I realized I had visited this community when I was in 8th grade. I was astonished how everything came full circle while I was WWOOFing. The experience got me thinking about how I could do something on WWOOFing, community building and Waldorf for my masters...

It was strange as Ron waiting for our bus to arrive. I told him that I felt like I was leaving an Aunts house, and he responded that he felt like he had known me for quite longer than 2 days. I am excited to see them again soon. I hope that I will be able to visit after my spring break adventure.

The weekend put me in a wonderful mood. Good thing, because Andrea and mine's media and arts philosophy class was dull as an old boy scout pocket knife. Andrea and I left our philosophy class and made our way to my place for a break in between classes. I tried studying religion notes but then got distracted thinking about marriage and relationships (it was related to the reading, I am not planning on getting hitched any time soon). We continued a deep discussion on how complicated and difficult relationships are. People have to grow together, and with wishful thinking, you hope you can grow WITH your partner. By the way, New Zealanders say boyfriends/girlfriends/husbands/wives as partners...and I love it. Anyway, people change, and its difficult when a partner doesn't change with you. I used this lens with friendships back home. It was helpful. We then ended our discussion with religion. What if there isn't a God, and how so many people waste their lives praying, doing rituals, and not living their lives. What if there is a God; I don't think that force would want us to constantly acknowledging it, or living your life in the name of it. this doesn't mean a person should be loving, kind and compassionate. I am still debating this issue in my head.

On a lighter note, Claire came to visit! Initially she wasn't sure if she could fit me into her schedule but she made it happen. I skipped my leadership programme for the evening and found her on a corner. She noticed me first from across the street. I started jumping up and down, and she started crying, which made me cry. I was waiting for the cars to pass so I could run over to her. I noticed a guy walking past Claire. He wasn't sure if he should stop and see what was the matter so he sorta made a circle but then realized I was running over. I held her so tight that I didn't realize the backpackers that were watching us from behind..haha.

That night, I took Claire to my favorite cafe/bar. We shared some tea and my favorite carrot cake with yogurt. I was happy that she was able to meet some of my friends, too!
The next day, Claire decided that she would just stay with me for the rest of the week. She would wake up with me and cook me breakfast before my class. I had a test, so she made me
some brain food of crepes baked with kiwis and apples! After my exam, Claire brought me lunch. It was delicious and we ate it outside on a bench by my hall. We began to get into another emotionally conversation and tears arrived again. This time, a supervisor from my hall came out to see if everything was okay. I tried to discuss the situation but the Kiwi lady was not satisfied. After she chatted with us for 5 minutes, she figured we were alright and let us be. That night we made a magnificent dinner, and rented a 99 cent documentary on advertising in the 70s and 80s. The movie was called Art and Copy. It was with the rentals that no one gets...Leprechaun in the hood was in the same category- If anyone was forced to see that by an older brother who thinks he has good taste, than you may understand why Claire and I thought the movie was going to blow balls. It was a steal! I highly recommend it!

Wednesday, Claire and I walked around Wellington and got WET. It was an off and on rain day, per usually, but that didn't stop us. We went to Central park, played on a adult flying fox, hiked trails, and checked out some of the community gardens. We then walked through Cuba street (where the city flavor is) and checked out civic square, a city and sea museum and also slid down a sweet slide shaped like a light house. We stopped at the market and bought some things before heading home. We made a fabulous dinner (but every dinner was great) and drank some wine. I decided that we were going to act like girls and get somewhat pretty that night. We danced to BritBrit in my room and made up a new tune to 'you are my sunshine' for our sister Meredith.

We then met up with some of my friends and hit up a place called the Library. Claire was able to meet Stu. After minutes of meeting him, Stu began telling Claire about the bar and how the bouncer looked like Rasputin.After arriving, we saw Stu's truth. inside we sat in booth's filled with books all around us. We ordered two drinks, one that tasted like punch, the other like after dinner mints! Stu entertained us with his first and only stripper story. He was in Asia somewhere with his family, including his grandparents. They went to some kind of wrestling show. The opening act was a nice lady singing. Stu, the 9 year old, sat neatly between his grandparents enjoying the music. Slowly the singer took of articles of clothing. His family was silent. Ever since, Stu hasn't been able to approach a strip club. Images of his grandparents faces and their disapproval haunt him to this day.

Claire met some more of my friends, including the Meredith look-a-like. Some of us ventured to another bar and danced to MJ and then finished at another bar. This last one was pretty awesome. We listened to the Venga Boys, followed by Cotten eyed joe...I realized how similar Claire and I danced. Last time I went dancing, I didn't have the greatest time. It was nice to get my groove back. We crashed at about 1:30 and then I got up for my 9am. Claire was nice enough to cook me oatmeal baked with naners and kiwis. That day we spent by ourselves, having some quality sister time, some of the best times we have ever had. We laughed at the shitty but entertaining Tru Blood, and fell asleep. We woke up at 6am, cuddled for a bit and then prepared for departure. We made our way to her bus. I was satisfied that in her backpack was food for that day and the next. She wouldn't be hungry at the airport. We surprised each other one last time with our likeness of one another by leaving each other secret notes.

WWOOFing and seeing Claire really filled me up. Walking away from Claire's bus, I knew I was ready for what ever New Zealand decides to throw at me.

By the way, I took the hardest way to get to class:)

A Walk in the Woods...

Apart from getting my bi-annual watery eye cold, I had a grand week. I will admit, during my self pity party at the climax of my illness, I had a desire to watch TV. I haven't had that desire since 8Th grade- (no, Lost does not count, its more than a TV show). Anyway, I may have watched the entire first season of True Blood. Lets get back to my grand week.


At school, my discussions/tutorials began. I was able to listen in/discuss some of the topics of my classes. I've come to realize that Kiwis will speak up quickly, or butt in (although the whole time, they are ACTIVELY listening to you...not just waiting for their time to talk). You have to be aggressive! I became aggressive and fought my stance on life not being black and white, and seeing the many layers in life. 3 people jumped on me, and we argued a bit. It was awesome.


I also attended 2 global leadership sessions. The first was on conflict and development. The speaker was a Kiwi native, who worked in the UN. He introduced us to the conflicts between Palestine and Israel, and also the current Iraq situation. I really enjoyed the session, and him. He didn't have that American "I accomplished this, so I will use big words and sound extra important". He was really informative but relaxed. He gave us chocolate, and talked to us about how he ended up at the UN. Apparently, during his Hippie days, his friends and him wanted to find the source of the Nile. He was traveling and eating on a truck bed with his friends, eating mango's. They would throw their mango's out of the car, and children would race and scavenge for the peels. They were that starved that they were fighting over peels. That was the beginning of his story as a humanitarian. The next session was more of an interactive one, with another relaxed but extremely intelligent man. We talked about New Zealand and their role with Britain. He actively asked questions to us all. Even though I probably knew the least out of everyone in the class, there were ways I could contribute and not sound like a complete ass. My favorite activity was drawing the world map. Everyone did this. I struggled, as within literally a minute, everyone had finished and I was trying to decide what was under Russia. He illustrated how most everyone in the room drew the map from an American perspective, even though New Zealand was located in the opposite part of the world.

Another part of that session, we divided into groups. We talked about the British Empire and how different countries felt about being apart of the Empire. I was astonished with the wealth of knowledge my fellow Kiwis knew about the history and current stances of most of the countries around the world. At one point I was asked when Canada gained its independence from Britain. I thought (pshhh---Canada was part of Britain's empire? I am an Idiot! How ignorant can I be?) and said..."Oh man, dates are not my forte!" and luckily the Spanish gal beside me also was bad at dates and laughed with me...although inside I was crying. I then came home and Wikied the history of Canada.

I shared my ignorance story to prove a point. I thought I was above average for an American, keeping up with world affairs. Obviously, I am still extremely ignorant. On the walk home from the session I started thinking about American society. Many of us are thrown cosmos and not newspapers. Here, even the local newspapers have huge articles pertaining to the rest of the world. And these articles are found on the front pages, and not at the back. Freshman year in high school is when I learned about "world history"- although it centered around how the US effected the world. If you were one of the smart kids, then you received some actually history (APUSH, APEURO). My intelligence was lacking in the scantron test area so I didn't get any of that. So unless you were part of the "gifted and talented" group, you were kept in a box of ignorance.

On the way home, Andrea and our friend were discussing all of these things. Our friend decided that she liked humanitarianism, but not the international part of the session. Don't they go hand in hand? I don't think you can be humanitarian if u stay inside a bubble and not want to deal with outside issues. Even though I am arguing, I love this type of discussion.

Andrea and I then started our tradition of studying at Enigma. I got my carrot cake staple. We discussed philosophy and tried to wrap our head around choice. I really wish we could have recorded ourselves because the people around us probably thought we were nuts!

I also attended Tramping Club (hiking + camping= backpacking (Tramping)). It was swell! A group of us signed up for a midwinter Christmas tramping weekend. They like do to a secret Santa in their "winter", so its more like actual Christmas (because December is hot for them). Their winter...is 50 degrees.

Friday night I did some quick errands at the Dairy before the early morning tramp-about. I bought a loaf of bread and peanut butter to feed myself that weekend. When I paid for my goods, I successfully did not spill the candy tray all over the floor. The first time I ever went shopping, it was really busy. I approached the counter to pay. The cashier was real nice and asked where I was from and knew of WI. I was trying to be cool, and then my satchel knocked over a mentos-like-candy dispenser and the floor was then covered. I kept trying to pick the candy up, while more fell all over the floor. the busy room just watched me until finally a little old lady helped me. The cashier tried to tell me that it happened all the time. Bull-oney.

While I had shopped, I came across Predator VS Alien. I knew I had found my Secret Santa gift. That night, Andrea, Courtney and I watched part of that, realizing it was the worst movie ever created, we started LOTR 3 (which they hadn't seen yet). I later finished it alone, and even though I've seen that movie probably 17 times, I cried through 69% of it. One of my children will be named Sam.

I should quickly mention that, thanks to Clairebear, my new favorite food is carrots+peanut butter+jam. Claire makes a sandwich out of this but I go all the way and forget the bread...Just put my carrot stick in the peanut butter and jam. Looks gross, and semi-sexual, but absolutely worth it. I of course made Andrea and Courtney try this, and they approved. The only downfall is that I went through an entire jar of peanut butter in two days.

The large group was split into separate groups. I ended up with Andrea, an American named Jess, and a German rock climber gal name Charlie. We drove through some mountains, saw some sheep, more sheep, and made our way through quaint little towns (Bill Bryson would have stopped at all of them). We finally started hiking. I thought I hiked fast but Holy Shit was I wrong. These people were literally running, packs and all. I sweated almost the most I have ever sweated. I somehow kept up, but I was not enjoying my hike as much. I couldn't look around or center myself because I was worried about not falling down the cliff or making sure I could lift myself over the huge ass tree root. Poor Andrea, It was her first Tramping experience. She had sneakers and sweatpants..and it was raining. 2 hours into the hike I realized she wasn't behind me. Our guide told the group that someone was with her. He ended up staying behind with her. I don't blame her for wanting to go slow. We were crossing rivers, waterfalls, slippery rocks and roots. I was lucky enough only to have fallen 4 times.

After 3.5 hours of fast ass hiking, we made it to the hut. I met so many people, including many Kiwis, who had the funniest stories. Each group made gourmet food. My group made feta crumb cubes with tomato sauce with onions and mushrooms, and a delicious salad with a whole bunch of nuts and seeds! We then played secret Santa. The first guy pulled out Predator VS Alien and thought it was the coolest gift ever. Poor kid. I looked over at Andrea and Courtney and we almost lost it. I found out that Courtney's flatmate, who used to bartend, made a lemonade tasting liquor for secret Santa. Courtney said there was a bottle in Santa's bag. I dug my way in and found the bottle. I was a good little girl and shared with many.

The rest of the night, I talked with locals, drank some wine and the rest of my gift, and ate the leftover desserts which included passion cheese cake, brownies and custard, cookies, and mulled wine. I got drunk enough to ask some of the locals why no one says God Bless You..they said they are mainly just lazy and its not as important as it is in America. Interesting. I then talked to another guy who happened to be from Chicago. We laughed about falling multiple times on the trail. We were all so sore from the hike. The girls and I decided we needed to make a massage train. It was meant for only us, but then a specific creeper decided to give me a massage. We quickly ended the train. He told me he didn't need a massage in return and he liked to give-I decided it was then time for bed. A super drunk Kiwi stole a mattress, so some of us girls stole his chocolate bar. We ate it all and then went to sleep.

There were not enough mattresses for everyone, so I offered to just sleep on the wood. I had my thermorest so I was going to be covered. I slept coffin style, in between two mattresses. I literally couldn't move my body. The night was filled with some dude who coughed radically 17 different times, and my friend Courtney, who kept snoring. It was hilarious because in the morning, she complained about someone snoring the whole night. Right when we both woke up, we looked at each other and understood immediately how each others night of rest was. We spoke one word and our friendly creeper popped out of no where to welcome us to the morning. I couldn't take it and hid in my sleeping bag. Courtney and I started to get the giggles, and as I tried to hold my giggles in, I accidentally blew boogers all over myself. (Men, skip down to next paragraph-NOW, you have been warned). When I finally made it outside to relieve myself of wine and lemonade liquor, I found that I had gotten my period. I was almost disgusted, but I was already muddy, sweaty, and wet...Why not add the blood in my panties? I wasn't mad either. For those who know how irregular I am (and know how sensitive I am to birth control, AKA pills that fuck with my hormones uncontrollably), I was glad to have finally gotten my period again. My body had only felt like it was about to get my period for only 2 months this time. I thank Andrea for this. Sleeping next to another lady whose on her period has yet to fail me!

After that morning, I asked my leader if I could leave with Andrea to get a head start and he thought that was brilliant idea. We left an hour and a half earlier than everyone else and only made it back 20 minutes before everyone else. It was way more enjoyable to take it slow, look around at the nature surrounding me, take picture breaks, get a bit lost in the woods, and chat if I wanted to.

My crew drove back (and my leader drove me right to my doorway!). I love working really hard outside, and having that time for myself. This weekend has gotten me excited for WWOOFing next week! I must do some yoga though. My body feels like tramping kicked its ass. I really am not feeling up to writing an essay on why or why not Buddhism should be classified as a religion. I feel like if Sam can carry Frodo up a volcano, when he has barely any energy, and thinks hes about to die, then I can do this small essay.

Confucius say..

My feelings towards life have ranged greatly in the past days. I began my classes and by far my favorite is one of my philosophy classes, "The Big Questions". 3 days a week, my head struggles with ideas such as time travel, death, identity. My class forces me to make a decision on my stance...These past two weeks has been on a free will. Our readings are from many standpoints, who see things as black and white.

I began to critically think about free will, and then my life a head. A feeling of worry, that I haven't felt since before New Mexico, returned ever so slightly. I felt a need to know what I was doing with my life and where I was going after New Zealand. I enjoy what I am doing now, living my life, and I didn't want to lose it.

I then asked advise from 1 amigo, 2 professors and 1 sister-in-law. Each answered my questions, but lent me help in other ways, than I, or them, had intended. They made me more confident in my decisions, helped me relax and slow down, but also helped me again grasp my notion of "fuck it, you only live once, and I am young". Thus the change of ticket to WWOOF for a month after the trimester, and other activities that have enfolded.

I feel centered now. I still am unsure of my whereabouts in the future but I know it will come together.

With this new calm, I (or maybe I was CAUSED by the fury of my philosophy class and I still do not have free will and EVERYTHING IS DETERMINED) had a good Hannah weekend. I listened to the Avett Brothers while I walked in the rain (which is why I am not flushing down the liquids because a cold is hovering), got my nose pierced (which was the best tattoo/piercing experience I have ever had!), went to the All Blacks game, and woke up early and enjoyed the Farmers Market. After the farmer's market, I received a lovely message from a farm about an hour away, asking if I wanted to WWOOF for a weekend (knowing that I was at Victoria and would maybe need a weekend get-a-way). Hmmm- Do I want to take a bus to spend a weekend meeting Kiwi's, getting my hands dirty, and sharing stories and food with new friends? FUCK YEAH!

Okay, you didn't think I was going to skip over the All Blacks game, did you? I started my evening with my famous friend, Bill Bryson (Stu) and another friendly maid, Sam. We made our way to a pizza joint where we ordered Hell themed food items. I ate a delicious purgatory pizza. Stu ate the underworld pizza, and tried to strategically drink a bottle of wine discreetly. Afterward, Stu and I hailed a cab (my first time!) and made our way to the WestPac stadium. Traffic was horrible so we ended up getting out at a light and rushing into the stadium. We didn't want to miss the HAKA! We made our way over the train station and I felt like I was on my way to Hogwarts. I could have sworn I was entering the Quiddich World Cup! We parted ways and I found my seat. It was a small stadium,meaning no seat was a bad seat. I heard the different anthems and listened to the Haka. It was the only time the entire stadium was silent. I could hear every word. Poor South Africa just had to stand and take it. The Haka pumped me up so much! I greatly enjoyed myself as I joined in the swearing and jumping up and down with the other Kiwi's. The All Blacks played together like a flock of birds. They wove in and out and knew when to move (or tackle the SHIT out of South Africa).

{I was also updated by Stu throughout the game. He managed to smuggle in two bottles of wine, and the rest of his double pizza. Every time the crowd cheered, he would chug his Merlot. He said that the elder couples beside him seemed to approve. He said that this game was as good as Christmas morning when he was 7 years old}.

The best thing about rugby and the All Blacks is that you never know when they will just fly down the field and score another try. Or take over a scrum or win a lineout...The game is so entertaining. On the way out of the game, I ran into some friendly Kiwi's dressed as skeletons who wanted our thoughts on our first All Blacks game. They were so proud.

Sunday night came fast. I forced myself to read over my Asian Religion notes. The first chapters were brutal and I took 3 tea breaks, a kiwi fruit break, and yet another granola bar break until I finished. I then realized that I had to prepare the next lectures reading as well. I adjusted my sleeping bag and willed myself (although that "willing" may have been an illusion) to complete this reading. Off the bat, the reading was much better than the first. It was about Confucius, and what he ACTUALLY believed. I wont rehash all of the reading, because then you, yourself would have to take a few tea and kiwi fruit breaks, but I will tell what I came away with. Confucius believed in the importance of ceremony, such as greeting someone, getting married, making breakfast. We must learn these ceremonies from the society around us, and ceremonies will be different around the world. He believed that language, gestures, beliefs and natural body reactions all play a role in ceremonies, including the spirit of a person. The article discussed that modern philosophers and scientists skip over the spiritual and mystical side of Confucius, in order to keep him credible. Most try to make things black and white, logical, this way or that way.

I can tire my brain back and forth, trying to think black and white, but that is not me. Most of the things in my life are not a light switch. Honestly, its not a life worth living to me, being always black and white. I live to see the layers in my life; the layers of love, friendship, family, hope, happiness. I believe that Confucius had something right. I understand philosophers ways and why they feel the need to think like a machine. Many say humans are special, we think differently than other species. Than let us embrace those unique qualities. Or is every feeling just an illusion to what we are? Just a species.
Well, I know I don't believe that.

OH YEAH. I learned that I have the worst Milwaukee Accent. I didn't even know that an accent was possible from Milwaukee. Maybe just my "O"s, like TOOOast. Apparently, I was wrong. My group could tell my accent (and occasionally Andg's) more so than any of the other people in our group. Its so bad, that this guy laughed at me, and said that I make him want to watch Fargo. I guess I sound like a farmer. Well, with the name Hannah, I best embrace the farmer inside.

The Truman Show

At times I feel like my life here is a show. The most amusing circumstances happen and I think to myself, "this is something from a movie..I will add that to the book of my life". Here are a few of these circumstances.



I went out dancing in the city. I did not want to walk home to campus so I stayed at a friends, who lives in the city. As we woke up, a bit hung over, we were worried her flatmates may be a bit annoyed that I stayed without permission. My friend's roommate had in fact that previous night, asked my friend's permission to have his lousy high school mate stay.

{I must tell a side story here...the flatmate told us why and how he is still friends with this person, who he strongly dislikes. The flatmate calls him Squidward, which I said a bit too loudly in front of him, unknowing that he knew his nickname, but let us stick with that nickname for the continuation of the side story. In high school, Squidward was that boy who liked to kick other boys in the nuts. The other boys decided they had had enough with Squidward, and told him to buggeroff. Well, Squidward had a big cry with the faculty and then the Dean of the school got involved. The Dean told the boys that they had to be friends with Squidward or they would be expelled. So, the flatmate has been friends with Squidward all these years, due to blackmail from the Dean of his school. I should note that Squidward did stop kicking people in the nuts.}

SO, my friend and I took a deep breath and opened her door to the rest of the flat. To our surprise, Squidward was on the floor, on a mattress, in the middle of the kitchen, and not alone. Squidward acted rather contently and asked what our plans were for the day. We told him we were off to the farmer's market after a wee bit of breakfast. My friend located her bread and butter and then tried to locate an outlet for the toaster. At this point, Squidward asked for the toaster and plugged it into the outlet right next to his mattress. He then set the toaster in the middle of himself and his ladyfriend. We all stared at one another and watched the toaster between them. The ladyfriend was not at all impressed and held the blanket even closer to her skin...I am not sure if she was wearing pants. Once the toast came up, Squidward held the toaster out, so my friend could climb over, in between them, and grab the toast. We then sat and had our toast, literally inches from their mattress, us chewing, Squidward continually asking the ladyfriend questions, and the ladyfriend looking like she had made a grave mistake. I felt like I was part of a deleted scene from 4 weddings and a funeral.



My next experiences were from some of my classes. 1. My first class of the day began with my professor, who happens to have double vision, so he lectures on sociological prospectives with a pirate eye patch. 2. The class following, Asian Religions, is taught by a strict, straight edge Kiwi (who will scold you for being tardy). This professor happens to be obsessed with Yoda. He brought in aspects of Yoda for half our introduction lecture. He asked the class to ponder why Yoda, 900 years old, is one of the few Jedi who still cannot speak proper English. Valid point professor. During this class, he illustrated how the exotic or alien creatures in cinema or TV, have Asian decent. He brought in, of course Yoda, Java the Hut, some Mongolian looking Star Trek person (Sorry Trekkie's), and the Orks from Lord of the Rings. My professor showed us 5 separate sentences. They all looked like mumble jumble to me. Before my professor could even tell us that all but one of the sentences are no language at all, a male student in the back yelled out that the 3rd sentence was the language of the Orks. My professor then gave him the "geek of the week" award. My neighbor to my right, pst me over and stated, "typical man, focuses his attention on one thing. You know HES not good in bed!".

One of my favorite friends, Stu, he worked as a security guard, at a morgue. He has the best stories and reminds me of Bill Bryson. He tells me that when hes drunk, he tries to write like Mr.Bryson. Honestly, I think Bills gotta run for his money. I will be the first in line for Stu's biography. At the moment, he is enjoying New Zealand. He is a bit worried about finding his next girlfriend. He tends to go for Jewish, vegetarian, CRAZY girls. He tells me that the last 3 girlfriends have all shared these qualities. I most note that before he dated these girls, he was unaware of the last criteria.

Stu is excited to go to the All Blacks game. We are going to pre-game at his place, and order pizza from a joint that is Hell themed. The different types of pizza are named after the deadly sins. He says that it would be wrong to go for gluttony, and maybe lust would be More appropriate.

To finish off, I will add a bit of the random flavor in Wellington. My favorite stores to pass are "2 Cheap! Where quality comes cheaper" and "Flesh Wounds", a piercing store with a metal door adorned with spikes! There is also a billboard, right before what locals call the rape stairs (they go on forever, and its a bit dodgy at night to be on them alone). Anyway, the billboard says " In the beginning, man created God...There probably isn't a God, so stop worrying and ENJOY your life!"...I am amused because if that sign was found in the States, about 10,000 people would immediately sue, protesters would form and the billboard would be taken down.

Ahh, New Zealand.

Today I went to class, and thought about if I had free will, hiked Mt. Victoria and pictured Frodo and Sam running away from those creepy undead, cloaked riders, thought about what I should do with the next few years of my life, and ate a delicious avocado with a wee bit of salt.

Tomorrows plan is to get my mind blown once again in my philosophy class, make arrangements for my spring break adventure on the south island, change my plane ticket so I can WWOOF for a month after my classes (Mom, I promise I will be home for Christmas), cook some food for a potlock and sing a lovely ditty at a Karokee bar.

Thirst

These are some of the many things I have discovered about Wellington in the past few days:

*Food at the local "Dairy" or grocery store, is ridiculously expensive. A can of corn is 4$.
*Hours of operation can be unpredictable. "5pm-Late" or "Be back in 10 minutes" or just being closed because the owner feels like it, is very common.
*Cafes are rarely ever open on Saturdays.
*Most businesses are closed on Mondays
*Most places close at 4:30.
*Everyone goes out on Saturday nights. Friday-dead
*If you go out Saturday, don't bring a jacket, unless you want to carry it all night, or check it at every place you go. SO, no one wears jackets out on Saturday night.
*Flat Whites are the common coffee drink of choice. Pretty delicious.
*No one dries laundry in a machine. Clothing is strewn across a persons room or racks.
*If you want to ride the bus, you have to flag it down, or it wont stop at the bus stop.
*Liquor is called "Spirits", a much better name.
*Peanut butter here tastes significantly different. There is less sugar or salt or both.
*Ketchup (tomato sauce) is hard to find and one usually has to pay for a side of it.
*The street sewer coverings have neat designs on them.

This week I found some amazing areas of Wellington that I can see myself later calling my home. I discovered Cuba St. most of the places on this street make you think of Empire Records. Near the street, I went to a movie, "Boy". The movie was based on a Maori boy, who spends a few weeks with a father he hasn't seen in many years. I saw the trailer and when the boy mentioned his favorite person in the world was Michael Jackson, I knew I had no other choice but to see the movie. The theater was neat looking with blue chairs and brick walls. I found out they are holding a film festival there in a couple weeks. That could be dangerous for me.

After the movie, my group went to a midnight cafe. This cafe had so many vegan options, I didn't know what to do with myself. I had the most amazing strawberry milkshake. There was also a sweet twilight zone pin ball machine, along with those sit down pacman screens. Yeah, this place made me feel like Molly Ringwald, in Pretty in Pink. The poor kid who is super cool, who works at the coolest record store.

Not far from this midnight cafe place is the greatest bar, called Mighty Mighty. I walked in and instantly fell in love. The group who I was with, was not so pleased. They wanted more of a "lets get plastered, while trying to look hot, and then hook up on the dance floor" bar. After the group left the bar, I decided to call it a night. I already tried to go back with other friends, who would appreciate the bar, but that night an album release party was underway.

The last place I must share is a bar/cafe/eatery called Enigma. located practically across the street from that sweet movie theater. I have decided that it will be my weekly place. There, I had the best veggie lasagna I have ever had, stuffed with celery, beans, carrots, and much more. They serve coffee in bowls. Its the type of place where you can talk with a Friend for hours, do some studying, eat some great food or just people watch.

One of my favorite things about Wellington is that when I cant stand the city life, I can easily and quickly make my way to the mountains, ocean, or rolling hills filled with fog. This is a necessity. To escape to the natural world, so I can find my place again. Hear myself.

I am not home sick. I love the city, I love my studio with its fantastic view. I am excited for my classes. I love that I walk everywhere and can have tea 11 times a day. I love the little nooks that I have found for myself. However, something has been off. This week, I figured it out pretty quickly. Somehow I am one of the oldest people in my group. I have gone to parties where 19 and 20 year olds are asking for ratings of how "hot" they are, and who wants to make out with the make out slut tonight...I think I went through that type of insecure phase for 2 weeks in high school. Many of the people who are my age, want to party and drink every night. Last night we went dancing. I love to dance, more than many things in this world. Initially, I was having a great time. I got fries with my friends, who also shares a love for Lost and Harry Potter, and then we went dancing at two places. I was having a great time, but then I kept slowing down. That night, I decided that its not really any fun to be groped by a stranger. Its wonderful to be sexy and be proud to be a woman, and I like to show that as much as any girl on the dance floor- but I guess I am a prude and don't really think any man is sexy enough just by his dance moves or the way he looks to grope me. I am not that kind of girl. I would rather sit down at a cafe/pub and talk for a few hours and see if I am attracted to his mind. This is not limited to men of interest. I woke up hungry for conversation and discovery. I didn't come here to party (although its important for me to be able to relax and be fun, I get that) I came here to grow and learn and explore. I hoped to come here and find others who wished to grow and explore with me. I love to help people, but I didn't come here to guide people to grow up, and follow people as their learn lessons I have already learned. I have the rest of my life to do that. New Zealand is a time for me to stretch my arms and fingertips and learn as much as I can. I hoped to do this with new friends beside me. I wanted to climb a mountain of discovery, reach the top and feel nothing but happiness...and then look over to my side and share my experience with someone who understands and appreciates the journey, and doesn't just think the view from the top is "nice".

So I was feeling a bit low this morning. I woke up with my first wine head ache. I wanted nothing more than to sleep the morning away. I asked myself if maybe I picked the wrong program. Should I have found a volunteer abroad programme instead? There was some self doubt. However, I promised myself that I would find the Sunday Farmer's Market with one of my favorite friends. SO, I climbed out of the sleeping bag and made the journey. I am so thankful that I did.

I walked around a corner to find so many farm vendors. Everywhere I looked was produce. I could smell the soil still fresh on the carrots. I loved listening to vendor's children, work weighing food and giving change. I bought 6 huge apples, 3 avocados, and 9 kiwi fruits for 7 dollars. I was able to get the better produce thanks to a tip from my friend's Kewi roommate. He told us we cant get there too early, because farmers put anything on the top layer. You don't want to get there too late because then you get the bruised produce. You want to shop between 9 and 9:45. This is what we did and I thank him. On the way home, I tore into a kiwi fruit. I literally didn't speak for 10 minutes and just enjoyed the taste in my mouth, the sunshine on my face and the pleasant walk home. It was the best kiwi fruit I have ever tasted. This morning, the farmer's market quenched my thirst.

I began to think of all the people I will meet in my philosophy, religion and sociology classes, my global leadership programme, and the tramping club that I am signing up for tomorrow. Ive only been here a week. I already feel at home in my room, and the little nooks around the city. Now is the time to grow and embrace my activities. I cant wait to grow and learn from others around me. I anticipate finding those moments, people, places, that will quench my thirst.

"Lets start at the very beginning..."

Getting off the plane, I have continued this wonderful sense of calm. Maybe its the people I am around or the continuation from New Mexico, but my anxious self can be easily tucked away here. I am pleased to be able to tackle this previous obstacle but now I hope to work on listening to my self more. However, by doing this, I am finding that many people around me as those who only listen to themselves. I want myself to grow, but now many of those around me. For some reason I assumed that the students who would travel with me would be at my level or above. I must remind myself, its only the second week.

New Zealand is covered in sheets of clouds. I have never seen such long and endless clouds in the sky. My favorite time to watch the clouds is in the morning, when the light bounces and makes them multiple colors of the rainbow. Speaking of rainbows, New Zealand is filled with those too! One day I saw three, THREE rainbows. And not just whimpy ones, huge rainbows that you draw when your five years old, that arch over the entire sky.

These past two weeks I spent time in Auckland (which turned out to just be another city), Rotoroa and finally Wellington. Rotoroa was incredible. I stood on the thinnest crust on the globe, I met wonderful Kewis, played some rugby, learned the Haka, scored a ticket to an All Blacks game, went rafting down a 7 meter waterfall, caved and saw glow worms, squeezed through holes and tight spaces and repelled down a waterfall that was half the size of a football field. The experience reminded me of the Goonies, but 27 times better. It may be one of the most fantastic things I have ever done in my life.

Although I previously complained, I have met some incredible people here. Some of us are already planning a hiking and camping trip (tramping) for spring break! Our group has gone out to an Indian restaurant, had a potlock and went dancing. It has been great! I have a wonderful view of the city from my residence. I can see the whole city down below me. I do live alone, which is not something that i wanted, but I am making the best of it. I adopted my friends flat mates as my step-roommates. One is from Germany, another from France. Today it rained all day so we drank 6 cups of hot chocolate and watched the first Lord of the Rings (go samwise!). I helped to explain what was happening in the film.

Wellington is a lot like San Fransico, but better. It has so many hills and homes built into those hills and mountains. My legs will be rocking when I finally come home from the constant work out. The weather is very windy. I was spoiled the first few days with sunshine, but it is the winter here and has rained since with heavy winds. I hear the by Sunday we should expect more sunshine. I think there is a day trip to a winery and maybe a hike in the works for these coming days. I look forward to it!

This place really is the most beautiful place in the world. After my second day, I already knew how difficult it would be to leave it. I am glad that I wont have to for another 5 months.