Some news-
Last weekend I bought a didgeridoo!! We were at Pasifika Festival, a celebration of South Pacific cultures, and there was a guy selling Australian stuff- and I couldn't resist (I blame this on Maggie- she was the one who kept talking about it). For those of you who don't really know what a didgeridoo is, YouTube holds the answer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgwsGjRk61M . So far my only audiences have been my flatmates and a neighbor who has a direct view into our apartment from the building across the street (sounds creepy, but we're very entertaining people to watch- imagine me practicing the didgeridoo and Laura practicing her dancing routines- you'd want to watch too). I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to get it home; so far I'm thinking that it will be my one allowed "personal item"- I'll just tell them it's my purse.
Sunday I hiked a volcano! Rangitoto Island rose out of the sea 600 years ago, and is still active today- and I climed it! At the top were beautiful views of Auckland City, the surrounding suburbs, the islands of Auckland Harbour, and the Wiatemeta Range. It was absolutely stunning!
I spent St. Patrick's Day on the beach- 75 degrees and sunny, slight breeze, and a good book- followed by rehydration at the campus bar with some Brits turned Kiwi by way of South Africa. Apparently I don't own any green, but I was saved by my flatmate's grandmother, who loves to send packages of holiday decor and sent us St. Patty's themed necklaces.
This weekend I will be traveling to Lake Taupo and Rotorua, for some hiking, relaxing, and geothermal adventuring. Tomorrow I hike the Tongariro Crossing, which was made famous as Mt. Doom in the Lord of the Rings movies. I'm finally reading Tolkien's epic trilogy, and it has been amazing to be both living in and reading about Middle Earth at the same time. Wish me luck, as it is a 19km trek!
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Photos
Hey everybody!! Just wanted to let you know that pictures of my adventures down south are up on Picasa and Facebook. Here's the site: http://picasaweb.google.com/rachaelreeves53
Enjoy!!
Classes are going well and there are always new places to explore in Auckland. Some new favorites are Viaduct Harbour (one of the largest marinas in the world) and K-Road (fun to people watch, but a bit dodgy). On Wednesday Pree and I saw Casino Royale playing in the park- although it rained a bit, we saw perfect rainbow arcing across the entire sky and got to watch the movie against the backdrop of the SkyTower, the Auckland skyline, and a giant moon. AUT, another uni in Auckland, had a foam party last night that I went to with a few friends- talk about a sketchy but fun experience.
Happy weekend to you all!!
Enjoy!!
Classes are going well and there are always new places to explore in Auckland. Some new favorites are Viaduct Harbour (one of the largest marinas in the world) and K-Road (fun to people watch, but a bit dodgy). On Wednesday Pree and I saw Casino Royale playing in the park- although it rained a bit, we saw perfect rainbow arcing across the entire sky and got to watch the movie against the backdrop of the SkyTower, the Auckland skyline, and a giant moon. AUT, another uni in Auckland, had a foam party last night that I went to with a few friends- talk about a sketchy but fun experience.
Happy weekend to you all!!
Saturday, March 7, 2009
They actually have class here?
Hello all! I have been busy recently enjoying this beautiful country, so here's an update!
I spent last weekend in the Bay of Islands, a section of coastline about three hours north of Auckland famous for its snorkeling, fishing, and water sports. It poured Friday night, but by the time we woke up Saturday the weather had cleared and we were able to do an 8km hike (they call it tramping here) from the hostel (known affectionately as the Pickled Parrot) along a river up to Haruru Falls, which was swollen with water from the previous day's storm. We were exhausted, but stayed up to stargaze on the beach and saw the Southern Cross, Orion (who was upside down), and the Milky Way, among others. Sunday morning we rose early to catch the sun rise through the fog over the Pacific, then rented kayaks and paddled to a few of the islands out in the bay. We found our own private cove and pulled up the kayaks for lunch and a quick swim. We left before any sharks could get us (that's what you get when you hang out people from Minnesota, Tennessee, and Nepal), and paddled around a mangrove forrest before we headed back to shore and caught the bus back to Auckland.
After two weeks in New Zealand, my classes have finally started (whether this is a good or bad thing is up for debate). This semester will be a welcomed change from my WM schedule that is full of labs, exams, work, and internships, as I am not working and I am only taking four classes. Three days a week I have only one class, and my earliest class is at 1pm (yeah, its pretty sweet). Here is a quick description of my classes:
Half a Billion Years on the Edge: A Geologic History of New Zealand (that's a mouthful), is taught by a tattoo-clad geologist who talks about a million miles an hour, has a handlebar mustache, and wears hiking boots and a Hawaiian shirt to every class. I hope to learn a lot from this class (mostly so I can answer everybody's questions back at the WM geology department), and the field trip we have to the beach!
My intro to Marine Science class is team taught with professors from almost every discipline, and I think it will be a fun and interesting class. It is amazing how much they reference research and programs done in the US at Scripps and Woods Hole!
Ecological Restoration and Management is taught by one of the most idealistic hippies I have ever met- he literally spent the first two lectures doing a PowerPoint about dreams, achieving harmony, and planting trees. I have two field trips for this class, both to preserves in the Auckland area- I hope they don't include demonstrations on how to hug trees.
My last class is called Kapa Haka, which is a native Maori dance you may have seen the All Blacks rugby team perform before games. I will be learning some of the Maori language and how to perform the dances and songs of the Maori tradition. For all of you laughing at the thought of me on stage dancing and singing in the Maori language, I have two performances scheduled: one in late April, and one the first week of June.
After the shock and exhaustion of classes, I needed a break so I hit the beach on Wednesday, celebrated my roommate Erin's 22nd birthday on Friday, and beach barbecued yesterday before catching a Blues vs. Sharks rugby game last night. It's a tough life isn't it?
I spent last weekend in the Bay of Islands, a section of coastline about three hours north of Auckland famous for its snorkeling, fishing, and water sports. It poured Friday night, but by the time we woke up Saturday the weather had cleared and we were able to do an 8km hike (they call it tramping here) from the hostel (known affectionately as the Pickled Parrot) along a river up to Haruru Falls, which was swollen with water from the previous day's storm. We were exhausted, but stayed up to stargaze on the beach and saw the Southern Cross, Orion (who was upside down), and the Milky Way, among others. Sunday morning we rose early to catch the sun rise through the fog over the Pacific, then rented kayaks and paddled to a few of the islands out in the bay. We found our own private cove and pulled up the kayaks for lunch and a quick swim. We left before any sharks could get us (that's what you get when you hang out people from Minnesota, Tennessee, and Nepal), and paddled around a mangrove forrest before we headed back to shore and caught the bus back to Auckland.
After two weeks in New Zealand, my classes have finally started (whether this is a good or bad thing is up for debate). This semester will be a welcomed change from my WM schedule that is full of labs, exams, work, and internships, as I am not working and I am only taking four classes. Three days a week I have only one class, and my earliest class is at 1pm (yeah, its pretty sweet). Here is a quick description of my classes:
Half a Billion Years on the Edge: A Geologic History of New Zealand (that's a mouthful), is taught by a tattoo-clad geologist who talks about a million miles an hour, has a handlebar mustache, and wears hiking boots and a Hawaiian shirt to every class. I hope to learn a lot from this class (mostly so I can answer everybody's questions back at the WM geology department), and the field trip we have to the beach!
My intro to Marine Science class is team taught with professors from almost every discipline, and I think it will be a fun and interesting class. It is amazing how much they reference research and programs done in the US at Scripps and Woods Hole!
Ecological Restoration and Management is taught by one of the most idealistic hippies I have ever met- he literally spent the first two lectures doing a PowerPoint about dreams, achieving harmony, and planting trees. I have two field trips for this class, both to preserves in the Auckland area- I hope they don't include demonstrations on how to hug trees.
My last class is called Kapa Haka, which is a native Maori dance you may have seen the All Blacks rugby team perform before games. I will be learning some of the Maori language and how to perform the dances and songs of the Maori tradition. For all of you laughing at the thought of me on stage dancing and singing in the Maori language, I have two performances scheduled: one in late April, and one the first week of June.
After the shock and exhaustion of classes, I needed a break so I hit the beach on Wednesday, celebrated my roommate Erin's 22nd birthday on Friday, and beach barbecued yesterday before catching a Blues vs. Sharks rugby game last night. It's a tough life isn't it?
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