Annoying Commentaries, Tramping, and Coming of Age

Hey everyone! I guess I'll get right into things. I didn't write about this before, because it was not really significant, but it was brought back to my attention a few days ago. So... on our bus ride to Nelson, we had this really annoying bus driver. He had a running commentary on the whole trip about everything. When we first got on the bus, he was talking and someone said, "Can you turn your mike down?" To that he said, "Well, once the engine is on, you won't be able to hear me, so no, I cannot turn it down." I was thinking, "We don't want to hear you! Please turn it off, I just want to listen to my music." But oh well. He said a little speech to welcome us to the bus. I was hungry, so just as I'm taking out my sandwich, he says, "Also... not food is to be consumed on this coach." I ate it anyway, in spite of him (I know, I'm really a bad person). "Drinks are not permitted on the coach, unless of course it is bottled water, which can be closed. Or... even screw-topped cordial is fine." I was thinking, "What is cordial?" "And for health reasons, the chewing of bubble gum is discouraged on this coach. Although we do not completely ban it, when you finish with your gum you have two options. The first, of course is to swallow it. And the second is to put it in your own rubbish bag. You see, we do not have rubbish bags on this coach, as I would have to carry it off the coach myself, carrying your rubbish. For that reason, please put it in your own rubbish bag and carry it off yourself." Somehow all of this, plus a comentary about the landscape around us could cut through my sound-blocking headphones. You may wonder, "How do you remember this speech so well?" Two reasons: we heard him say it twice during the same bus ride, and two, we had him a bus driver again- to the Abel Tasman. As soon as I heard "cordial" I knew. I'm sure he's a really nice guy, and that some people appreciate learning about everything they're driving past. Such as, "We are turning off State Highway 6 onto SH60. SH6 takes you ...., and SH60 will take us...." I just don't feel like I need to know all of that. Sorry, there's my rant on that bus driver. It is my hope that I will never have to hear any of those speeches again. On another note, I'm glad to let you all know that Bretton and I are okay, we did not fall and die or drown or anything, we are completely okay. Aside from many many sandfly bites. I brought bug spray (30% deet), but then Bretton and I read the warning label. It said things like: do not use on children under 12, may wreck furniture finishes, and synthetic fabrics. So... we decided to tough it out. We are definitely feeling the effects, I will probably use my bug spray next time. The hike was beautiful, there were so many beaches and the ocean looked almost tropical in places, it was very blue. We saw a seal colony, which was very cool. We also saw a dead blue penguin. I thought that was pretty sad- the first penguin I've ever seen was dead. Since we weren't going to bring gas cookers, I ate pita bread and humus for supper everynight. But the humus was soooooo good! It was this garlic and lemon stuff. So I ate the 380g of it in two nights. Problem: we were hiking for four nights. So I ate just pita bread and cheese for the third night. For Christmas, I was going to eat baby corn and canned chicken cold. But a family offered me some noodles and their cooker, so I had warm chicken, corn, and noodles. It was good. Except... Bretton and I have been arguing about canned chicken and how gross it apparently is. I don't see the difference between canned chicken and canned tuna, they're both meat with added sodium to preserve them. But Bretton seemed to think tuna was better, she failed to point out that it looks like cat food when you eat it. The canned chicken was good... at least the cracked pepper and mayo one. The smoked chicken chunks tasted like they were smoked in a geyser. Very sulfury- very gross. But overall, supper was a success. We hiked out on the last day and caught a bus back to Nelson. There, we showered (finally!), set up our Christmas tree (brought from Canada from my Mom), phoned home, and made our big Christmas dinner. Roasted vegetables and breaded chicken. It was amazing- we made too much, but ate all of it. Then we tried a bottle of wine, it's called a Rose (white wine + red wine + bubbles). It was okay. Then I played the guitar (by play, I mean attempt some chords) and we sang along to some Beatles songs. It was nice. The next day was my birthday! At least in New Zealand. I was not technically eighteen until today. But it was nice. We went to a local market, which was amazingly large and had a lot of buskers (guitar player, bagpipes (ugghh), steel drummers, digeredoer (sp?), and a tap dancer. It was awesome. We wandered around town, eating crepes for lunch, then stocking up on candy for our movie. We went to see "Twilight", which only just came out here. It was pretty good, Bretton and I both think that Robert Pattinson was very handsome in it, but thanks to many enhancements- I think. But watching the movie in the theatre made me feel like I was at home. You just get so into the movie, you forget where you are, what's going on. It was awesome. Then we picked up groceries for supper. I also bought my first alcohol ever (technically as a minor, nonetheless). We bought the cheapest beer available, which should have been an indicator to how gross it would be. But oh well, I showed my ID and everything, it felt very official. Then we went back to the hostel, made chicken burgers and way too much kumara chips, and ate. We actually couldn't eat all of the chips, we had to give them away. That's not to say we didn't try, but we had to save room for dessert, I didn't want to get sick. Then we ate hot chocolate pudding with ice cream for dessert, that was very good. Everyone sang Happy Birthday and it was nice. A very low key birthday. Then Bretton taught me chess. This morning, I woke up at 7:15 (which is starting to be the usual time, I can't sleep in!) and ate. Then I learned some more guitar from this guy. Apparently I learned the pentatonic scale wrong. He taught me how to play it really, and how to make a sound without plucking the string, just by hitting it with your finger. It was very cool. Then Bretton and I went to church, where I got a free chocolate bar because it was my Birthday. Then we have just hung out. We went to this bookstore with a huge sale on. Since I'm thinking about going to University next year, I bought a theory book to practice. That will be great fun. Everyone will be partying it up at the hostel and I will be practicing writing out my scales and transposing melodies- oh yeah! But things are good. We pretty much just have a month left for the South Island, so we're going to start planning where we're going next soon. I've been trying to apply for an Australian Working Holiday Visa, but the site is down... so I guess I will just have to wait and hope for the best. I hope everyone had a great Christmas! We will be meeting up with Sydney again for the New Year, which will be very exciting. Maybe we'll watch another movie. Mostly, we're just going to relax, to settle. And eat chocolate pudding for six more nights (yes!). Anyways... Happy New Year everyone! I hope all is well in the land of snow and cold temperatures.

Shaker Fries and Guitar Chords

Hey everyone! Four days until Christmas and it feels so strange. The weather right now is not so nice, it's been raining, but better rain than snow I guess. I was talking to a lady, saying that it is so bizarre that it is Christmas, that it is just too nice. She said that if it's not hot on Christmas, it feels weird to them. Anyways... we were in Taupo before. Taupo- the place where we skydived and saw Huka Falls. We also said good-bye to two friends. We departed from Sydney, our wonderful travel companion, so she went off to Napier. It was a sad parting, but we will see her again around New Year's, so that will be nice. We also said good-bye to Olli, for what I think will be the last time. But who really knows? Then we went off to Wellington on a six-hour bus ride. We had been on the bus for four hours, it was not fun. We had a thirty minute supper break, so Bretton and I stopped at McDonald's. It's not something we have done yet, so it was totally okay. They have this new things called "shaker fries". Basically, you get fries, a bag, and a package of flavoring (sour cream and chives). Then you mix it all up. It was good but very salty. I'm not sure why I'm talking about this, they probably have it back home too, I just thought it was interesting. Then we got to Wellington at 8:30. I was super tired, but we still had to walk to our hostel. We were dropped off nearby the wharf. I do recall reading something about our hostel being the closest to the wharf. Well... it was not. Wellington is kind of set-up like San Francisco, there are many ups and downs. When you're tired with a heavy backpack and food bag, it is not so much fun. We walked up a hill for a while, then we hit the glorious stairs, called "Jacob's Ladder". That was just the cherry on top of the night, so much fun to walk up. Our hostel was totally worth it though, it was very nice. There was free internet and breakfast. The next day, we went to the the "Te Papa" Museum, which was free. We went to exhibits on volcanoes, earthquakes, water, introduced species, Maori culture, and... the Colossal Squid! That was insane! It was huge, I have never seen any sea species that large. It has these hooks on its legs that can rotate 360, so that it can hold onto it's prey very effectively. And it's eyes were as large as soccer balls! That was quite interesting. Then we wandered around Wellington for a bit. That night, we went to a carolling service at the Catholic Church, it was by candlelight. It was nice, but did not feel quite right yet. The next day, we walked by the Parliament Buildings, took the Cable Car, looked at the Botanical Gardens, looked at probably every shoe store in Wellington, bought nothing, and I got to play $65 000 grand piano. I was kind of worried playing that, I mean, if something happened to it, I would have to pay. And there's no way I could pay, for quite some time anyways. But it was very nice. I don't know if I've mention free bins yet. Well... every hostel has a free bin- a bin for food that people don't want. Everytime we go to a new hostel, we check the bin for good stuff. Often there's pasta, a leaky bottle of oil, rice... the usual. But, sometimes there's something sweet that somebody didn't want. I've found bags of cookies and stuff. Well... I think maybe I will take anything sweet, just so I don't have to spend extra money. I took a bag of dessert topping (sugar, cookie crumbs, spices, oats) and have been eating it for a couple of days. Is that desperate or resourceful? I'm not sure. But I really enjoy looking in the free bin, you never quite know what you will find. That night, I also learned the E+, e-, A+, a-, D+, and d- chords. That was awesome! I finally can play songs! The next day, we took the ferry to Picton, making our way to the South Island. It was a nice, but very windy ride. Picton was a nice little town. The best part we found of it was definitely the Dutch Bakriji (or something, Bakery). They had really cheap and good day old bread and stuff. We bought a day-old foccacia bread to make pizza. We ate so much that night. We had half a foccacia bread each with tomatoes, peppers, meat, cheese, spices, etc, each. Then, we had free hot chocolate pudding and ice cream. I felt really full. Even better, we're in Nelson right now, at the sister hostel. So we get pudding and ice cream every night! Yeah... I can't really turn down free food, but I might have to after a week of it, that could be bad for your health, eating that everynight, couldn't it? Anyways, it rained the whole day when we were coming to Nelson, it was a very depressing day. There was flooding on the roads. It's raining again today, but it's not as bad. I went to church this morning, to "City Church". It was a nice service... there were actually people my age and younger than me at the church! Which was really nice and different. They were having "Carols by Glowstick". The music was awesome, so it was a nice change from the old Anglican Churches I've been attending. Anyways, we start the Abel Tasman tomorrow. We found out that there are no gas cookers on the walk, so we were going to rent or buy one. But, if we bought one, we would have to carry it around, and we're not really going to need it that bad after the walk. If we rented one, that would cost a total of $15. How much food could you buy for $15? So we're thinking of not taking one. Maybe we'll bring something hot for Christmas and hope that someone will let us use their cooker, just because it's Christmas. Otherwise, cold turkey sandwiches it is. We will be out of the walk on Boxing Day, so we will have our real Christmas dinner then. Then it will be my birthday! I'm pretty psyched to turn 18, just because I'm tired of telling people I'm 17 and them going crazy over it. There is not that much difference between 17 and 18, but somehow people think you're like a little child before you're 18. Whatever. Soon, I shall be an adult and it will be awesome. Anyways... Happy Christmas everyone! I hope that you have awesome warm dinners and cool presents. Talk to you in a bit... if we survive our five day hike, that is.

Nothing Has Changed?

Hey everyone! The weather is not so hot today, so we are hitting up the free internet at the library. This morning I got my hair cut. It is not quite shoulder length when it is curly. I'm really happy about that though, it was getting very hot. Also, my hair is getting bleached blonde by the sun, it's kind of strange looking. Anyways, what I really want to talk about is yesterday. So... I went skydiving. Yeah. It was crazy. We went to the place and watched a DVD (they were trying to make us spend more money). Then we all went to the bathroom. In the morning, I had only drank one cup of tea, but had already gone to the bathroom four times. I heard that many people lose all bladder control when skydiving. That would be so embarassing, so I was guarding as best I could against that unfortunate fate. We decided to jump from 12 000 feet, with no cameras or anything. When you jumped, you could get a camera man to jump with you and take a video and pictures. We also had the option of jumping from 15 000 feet, which you can't do just anywhere in the world. But... I figured, up in the sky, it's all the same, so we might as well go for the lower height. The only reason I would have gone from 15 000 would be for bragging rights, and $90 NZ is a lot to pay for that. So, we got suited up in our jumpsuits and flight hats and goggles. Then we met our "tandem masters", the people who we were going to jump with, they pull the parachute. I was kind of upset about that, I mean, "I can pull my own parachute, thank-you very much." But that was the way it was supposed to be. We got on the plane. That was going to be the scary part, taking off in this little plane. I was nervous as soon as we left the ground. We got strapped in to our tandem masters. My guy told me what to do once we were in the air. They say, "be the banana", talking about the shape your body should be in. The only preparation you have for the jump is telling you how your feet should be positioned and where your head should be. That's it. So... we were going to be the last people to jump from the plane. Some other guy was just jumping on his own, and said he would jump with me (maybe I looked really nervous?). So, when Sydney jumped out, I freaked out. They jumped right out of the plane and plunged down. There was nothing stopping them, they were just jumping into mid-air. That is craziness! Then Bretton jumped out. I was really scared, I must have been so white. We started sliding up the plane to jump out. By we, I mean my tandem master slid me up to the door, I wasn't moving. Then we sat down by the open door. At that point I was saying, "NO, NO, NO. Like seriously, no!" He didn't listen, we jumped out. That feeling, nothing is stopping you, you are just going down toward the earth. I felt complete terror. I thought I was going to die! It was so scary, I was so freaked! I screamed bloody murder the whole 45 seconds of freefall. The other guy jumping with us was trying to get me to smile or have fun with my arms, but I was having none of it. I was just screaming. My tandem master tapped me to tell me I could take my hands off of my harness. He had to tap me three times until I let go. I was still screaming. Then, he pulled the parachute and we were suddenly smoothly floating around. It was so bizarre. To me, there is no way that that freefall was 45 seconds, it felt like 5. I screamed for 45 seconds straight. They said you would be scared for a while, your brain would go crazy, but the you would have fun. I think my brain was going crazy the whole time. When we were floating around with the parachute, I kind of was hyperventilating. My tandem master asked me, "Are you okay?" It was like this. Gasp, "I am," gasp, "fine". The view from up there was amazing, but I was still trying to relax. When we landed, it was all over. My knees buckled when we landed. Some person asked me, "Did you have fun?" To that I said, "Ummmm... fun, that's one word for it." I was not sure if I liked it or not. When I look back, it was good. I would totally do it again, but while I was doing it, it was insane. I would probably scream the whole time again. I don't know if I would call it fun even now though, I don't even think I got that much of an adrenaline rush. Maybe the idea is that your brain thinks you are dying, maybe that you are committing suicide. And, by surviving, you are beating death? I think I was so scared because I was so free. You are free in the sense that you have nothing stopping you, you can do whatever you want with your body, you can see so much. But you not free in the sense that you cannot stop yourself (your tandem master can, not you). Maybe it is so scary because I have never had so much freedom, but yet so little freedom, if you know what I mean. It is hard to explain, especially for one not so good with words. After skydiving, my ears were majorly sore and plugged, my throat was also raw from screaming. But today, it is all better. But, when we went back to the hostel, I felt like so much had changed. I went skydiving! I jumped out of a plane! I am a changed person. Yet, everything was the same. I am still Aleah with curly hair, staying in Taupo. Looking around at everyone, I expected something big to happen, for people to look at me differently, but nothing had changed. It is hard to explain again, but I would encourage you all to go skydiving- I'm sure you'll feel the same way. Also... they didn't ask for ID, again! I am beginning to think you can do anything you want in New Zealand if you look slightly older than your age. But I am appreciative of that. Tomorrow we're leaving for Wellington. We've got a six hour bus ride, so that should be fun. Anyways, I'll talk to you all soon. Hope all is well in the land of -20.

I ♥ Red Crater

Hey everyone. I hope all is well, things are pretty good in New Zealand. As you may have read from my fellow traveller's blog, the weather is not always to our wanting. We planned to start the Tongariro Northern Circuit on December 9th, but it rained all day! We had gotten up at 6:00 and everything, but oh well. That is how things go sometimes. The next day was a success though. We took the shuttle to Magatepopo Carpark and walked from there. First of all, this was my first backpack ever, so I knew it would be a challenge. But I did not know how challenging it really would be. It was alright for the first bit... but then we hit the steps. These steps went up to Mt. Ngharanoe or, more commonly known as Mt. Doom. I kept on thinking we were finished, to round a corner and find some more steps. My backpack was so heavy, I felt so out of shape. I had to stop for breath breaks and everything, it felt pretty miserable. But the view from the almost summit of Ngharanoe was gorgeous. We took a break, then continued. Then we continued upwards, to the base of Tongariro. It was pretty hard work to get there, but worthwhile. We climbed up to the red crater. As you can read, I ♥ Red Crater. It is one of the most gorgeous things I have seen in my life. It is bright red and deep and amazing. Words really don't do it justice. It looked even more amazing contrasted with the beautiful Emerald Lakes below. Right there, all of the tiredness I felt kind-of evaporated. Everything was just so beautiful, it was an out-of-body experience I think. I will remember it forever. We descended down Red Crater and continued on for a bit, finally making it to Ketatahi Hut, where we would spent the night. The views were amazing from there as well. I had just been saying to Bretton, "I feel like I'm surrounded by Germans, there are so many." Then this guy came and we asked him, "Where are you from?" He shrugged and said, "Germany." That was kind of embarassing, I should probably not vocalize my annoyance that everyone is German here on a regular basis. I also had the unfortunate luck to meet a Dutch guy while he was giving himself a sponge bath with barely anything on. That was kind of awkward, not something I hope to remember forever. Also... I had a terrible sunburn on my face. It wasn't sunny for most of the day, so I hadn't bothered, but really regretted it that night. The next day, we planned to go from Ketatahi Hut to Mangetepopo Hut. Pretty much what we walked the day before, except backwards. The weather was amazing again. The way down Red Crater the day before had been fun. Sandy and easy to slide down, but to get back up... that would be hell. We heard about an alternate route, climbing up a ridge of Tongariro and decided to take it. The risk paid off, we had a much easier climb, I believe I slid very little compared to what I would have on the track. Then we climbed up Tongariro. The view was crazy amazing (have you noticed, I've already ran out words to describe what I saw, they just don't do it justice). We sat there for a bit. Ngaranoe is so beautiful. You have to look up pictures, since I am unable to post them. We got to slide down the snow (yes, snow in New Zealand) and hike down for a bit more. When we hit the base of Ngharanoe, we had a long debate of whether or not we should climb it. It would be treacherous. But we could see where Frodo threw the ring in Lord of the Rings! We eventually decided not to, we got pretty good pictures from Mt. Tongariro without killing ourselves, we should end on high note. We hiked down to Mangetepopo Hut, it was nice. The sun was out and we relaxed for a bit. Bretton and I played cards for about three hours. I think we're at a tie right now. We're playing a game called "gin" that the cocky American taught us. We've been playing since Rotorua, keeping a running total. The first to reach 10 000 points get ice cream. It'll be a while, we're only at around 1 500 right now. The hut warden made us popcorn, which was really nice. We played cards until it was too dark, then we went to bed. First thing in the morning, we walked to the carpark and caught a ride back to National Park. There... I took a really really long shower, it had been a while. You don't realize how dirty you are until you're clean, so I feel really good right now. We took the bus to Turangi, we had to wait for a while for our bus to Taupo. We met the Finnish guy, Olli, again! What are the chances, traveling all over New Zealand, we haven't see anybody else more than twice. Three times now! Life is funny sometimes. Now we're in Taupo, staying at this hostel called Rainbow Lodge. It seems like a nice place. Also... I don't have a sunburn anymore, it has faded! I am very happy about that. We're planning some possible skydiving (that is... if they don't ask for ID) and hopefully some beach time. Anyways, my time is running short. Hope I haven't missed anything major. I'll talk to you all soon.

The Long Trip to Holly Hut

Okay... so you know in my last post, how I said that CDs were really expensive? Well... $35 is the normal price for CDs here! That makes me sad, but I guess that is a built in control to stop me from buying CDs. We just got back this morning from Mt. Egmont/Taranaki. The first day, we got settled in our hut. I remember saying, "I hope that we're not the only ones in this hut, that would be lonely." Then we set off to go on the Summit Track. We were told that it wouldn't be possible to go to the Summit because we would need crampons and ice axes, but we tried our best. The track was uphill pretty much the whole way. After hitting the first hut, we continued upwards for a while. Going off of the track for a bit, we just climbed a bunch of rocks. Once we hit the snow, we stopped. By we, I mean Sydney and I. Bretton tried to go a little further, which is okay. But I couldn't see her. So, after finishing my lunch, she still hadn't returned. I started shouting her name, kind of freaking out. She didn't answer. I shouted louder, really trying to project my voice... to no avail. I was really getting worried. Then, this photographer guy a bit lower down said, "I see her, she's okay, you should see her soon, she's headed down." Phew! I was not looking forward to going to through snow to find her. Once she returned, we headed back down to the hut and decided to take a track called the Holly Hut Track. It was really gorgeous. It felt like it was short, yet went on forever. We went out for a bit, then decided it would be smart to turn around and head back down to the hut. For the next day, we decided to go back on the Holly Hut Track and actually make it to Holly Hut. It was so beautiful! I loved it. I even endured the hundreds of steps down and back up. I think at some point, you stop thinking and don't feel anything. It just all blends together, becomes the same. Then we headed back. You know how I said that I didn't want the hut to be empty? Well... I must say, I've eaten my words. When we got back, there was this German guy staying there too. He seemed nice enough, offering some advice, talking about his hikes. But he just wouldn't stop. He traps you in conversations. There's no way out. Also, when we were trying to plan our next hostels and what we were going to do, he kept on cutting in. All of these things would be less annoying, if after every phrase he didn't say "mmmmmmmmmm?". It was killing me! "Did you have a good day, mmmmmm?" "The water is boiling over, mmmmmm?" Yeah, it was very fun. So we headed back into New Plymouth this morning. Today we're getting ready for the Tongariro Northern Circuit. We need to stock up on dried fruit and cheese and nuts and stuff. I think it will be good, but I worry about not having enough food. As many of you know, I love food, and I love to eat. I don't want to carry too much, so I have to consider everything I will eat. What if I don't have enough? I'm sure I'll be okay, but I just like to worry about things like this. Everything will be good... I think. Anyways, talk to you guys in about a week. Wish me luck in the land of volcanoes.

Sledging, Porridge, Caving, and Indie Music

It's been a bit, but good news; I'm not paying for internet right now! We found a library, which is something I will have to do more often. I guess, I'll continue on from where I left off. When we were in Rotorua, we stayed in this awesome hostel called the "Funky Green Backpackers". The owners were awesome. As you could gather from the name, they were all about being kind to our earth, they recycled everything and had compost. Well... our good friend Bretton loves to debate, and they kind-of got into it for a while about politics, the earth, their ancestors... anyways, it all worked out good, it was quite amusing to listen to. I mean honestly, it was getting down to, how did your ancestors get to Canada? Well, mine went by boat and then walked to their town, not much gas involved hey? It was fun. We met a lot of cool people at that hostel too, many Germans, one cocky American, and a Finnish guy. We went sledging in Rotorua, which basically consists of having a large plastic flutter board thing and flippers and a wetsuit, and jumping into a river. It was a lot of fun, but only at the end. Most of the time, we were being shouted at about which way to turn ("When I look at you and say 'come to me', come to me! You have to open your eyes girlie"). Yeah, it was fun, but kind of scary at the same time. Then we walked around Rotorua for a bit, played frisbee, went to gift shops, and then made supper. We had lamburgers, which, by the way, were kind of terrible. But, now I can say I've tried lamb. The next day, we were leaving for Raglan. The Finnish guy we met, Olli, had his birthday the next day. We felt bad that we wouldn't be there, so we made him a peanut butter bagel and egg, and stuck a candle in it. I felt bad though, it was the first time he ever had peanut butter, and he didn't like it! Oh well. So, the next morning, I was so excited about having oatmeal to eat. So I was making it on the stove. There was a bowl of sugar by the stove, so I added a bit to my porridge and my tea. I put apples and cinnamon in the porridge, it was going to be awesome. Then I sat down to eat it. Well... it sure had a distinct taste. You know that bowl of sugar? Well... it was salt! Yeah, it was pretty gross. I had to remake my whole breakfast. Then we went and took our surfing lessons. I was really nervous, but it turned out really good. We didnt' go too deep and we all got up a couple of times. It was so much fun! Where am I going to use my new found skill in Canada now? That night, our hostel owner offered to drive us to Bridal Veil Falls (higher than Niagra Falls). It was so nice of her, and they were beautiful. The next day, I decided to go to church. I got up, ate, tried to look nice, and left to walk to church. I started out on the beach, but that was taking too long, so I cut through the trees. By cut, I mean cut my leg on a tree. Ouch, that hurt, but I still had to go to church. The first church I tried was locked, so I left to go to the other one. I thought I was going to be soooooo late! It was 9:50 and this church started a 9:30. I walked in and everything was okay. Apparently, it was actually 9:20. All of our watches were on the wrong time! Anyways, after church, this lady invited me to her house. So we drove out and ate, and talked. She was a really nice lady, but she started going on about some conspiracy theories. I just shut my mouth and ate. Then, when she saw the cut on my leg she said, "Oh dear, you have to clean that." So, she got some (I thought) medical cleaner in a bowl and gave it to me with a cloth. I cleaned my leg, but it really really burned. After, when I looked on the counter, I realized she gave me house disinfectant for my leg! I don't know if that is totally right, but whatever. After lunch, she drove me to the beach and we watched paragliders for a bit, then she drove me back to the hostel. That was really nice of her. The next day, we caught a 6:50 bus to Waitomo. We got there at about 10:00 and our caving trip started at 1:00. Bretton and I played a card game called gin that the American taught us. We have an ongoing total. I think I'm winning right now at 1200 points. Yeah, we've played it a lot. For the caving trip, called the "Black Abyss", we got to repell into a hole, go on a zip line, tube, look at glow worms, walk in the caves, walk in the water, climb up waterfalls, and have tea by a river. It was awesome. Just before I went down the zipline, a guide asked me, "How long have you had that nose ring?" "About six months." "Well, it's looking pretty pink right now." Then he pushed me down the zipline. What kind of guide says that to you, in a cave, in almost pitch black? It struck my as kind-of strange. But the caves were amazing. The next day, we headed for Otorohanga, and then New Plymouth. Today we biked all over New Plymouth, going on the coastal walkways and stuff. It was really nice. Then we checked out this awesome Indie Music Store. I wanted all the CD's, but they were $35 each, so I couldn't afford any of them. We made a chicken stir fry for supper, it was really good. Anyways, I'm out of time. Sorry for any spelling mistakes. Talk to you all soon!

Glorious Morning

Today is a glorious day, for many reasons. Last night we stayed up late talking to some Germans and an American, but I still woke up early. I burned my thumb trying to start a gas burner, but that was okay, it woke me up. For breakfast, I ate an egg, which is something I don't eat very often. Also... this is the best part.... I FINISHED MY WEETABIX!!!!!!!!!!!!! I guess as a slightly lower note, I finished my low fat berry yogurt as well, which was really gross. I don't care if low fat is cheaper, it is also grosser. But, back to the weetabix. For those of you that don't know, it is bran flakes in bar form. So you put it in milk and crush it up and eat it. It's not all that bad, but when you buy a 24 pack and eat it every morning, it gets kind of gross. There are many different ways to try (key word *try* meaning that success is not really achieved) to make it interesting. You can eat it in milk or yogurt. The plus side of eating it with yogurt is that it doesn't get soggy that quick, so you can eat it at a more leisurely pace (I'm pretty slow at eating in the morning). But, the downside is... if you bought some yogurt... say in a 1kg container and realized you didn't like it, you still have to finish it. Meaning: weetabix+ gross yogurt (strawberry or mixed berry)= gross breakfast. But, if you eat it with milk or yogurt and really want to spice it up, you may mix in bananas! That makes the flavors of those plain bran flakes really come out (not really, but it covers it up a bit). Or you can just eat the weetabix with milk and sugar. If you're feeling really adventurous (or flavour deprived), spreading peanut butter on each bar will really make it taste better. But... after writing all this, I can appreciate the fact that I will not be eating weetabix for a really long time, I will be finding a new, more interesting kind of cereal that will taste better and make me happier in the morning. Yesterday was good, we went to this cultural park called Te Puia to learn about Maori culture and go see geysers and boiling mud pools. Today will be better, because I have eaten an egg and finished my Weetabix. But... I am sure that tomorrow will be best, because I will be having toast with peanut butter for breakfast!!!!!!!!!

Uncomfortable Bus Rides, the Pinnacles, and Overeating

So... it's been a while. We went to Thames a while ago. On the bus ride, I took a seat with some guy because the bus was pretty full. I never realized how big he was until I sat next to him. He was huge, he took up almost two seats! So, I was already seated, so I couldn't move without being rude. I spent the whole two hour bus ride half in the aisle with my arms crossed. My music distracted me until it died. Thames was pretty nice. The hostel was really close and the town has about 10 000 people. The next day, we got a ride out to a hike. It was a hike to the Pinnacles, these rock formations that were originally plugs for volcanoes. Now, after erosion, only the pinnacles remain. The walk would have been okay, but there were thousands of steps cut into the stone. They had been made for horses when the area was used for forestry. Walking uphill on steps is different than just walking uphill on rocks. You have to think about it more, it seems like more work. So the steps were a bit of a challenge, but the scenery was beautiful nonetheless. Then, to get to the top, there were 627 (we counted) wooden steps. It was difficult, but totally worth it when we got to the top. The Pinnacles were gorgeous and you got such a good view from the top. After the Pinnacles, the hike kind of dragged out. Most of the way down was downhill and we'd already seen the highlight of the hike. But at the end, we got to relax by the river and wait to be picked up. We also got to go out for ice cream, which was awesome. I got goody-goody gum drop ice cream, New Zealand's equivalent of bubble gum. It is sooooooo good! Then we went back to the hostel and ate sweet potatoes (kumara they call them), cauliflower, and tomato sandwiches. We also met a Scottish surfer guy who talked a lot about rugby. The next morning, I woke up early and tried to use up some apples that I bought that were bad (no wonder they were in a bag and were cheap). I also donated some clothes to the Salvation Army, I definitely overpacked. When the girls were up, we hit the farmer's market and bought a few Christmas presents. Then we headed back to the hostel to wait for our bus. I was bored, so the Scottish guy taught me how to play this Maori game called "poi". It involves spinning around hacky sacks on chains and crossing them over. It was a lot of fun, but was a lot of work. That took up about an hour and a half. With still extra time, I went in search of a piano to play, but very few churches are open on Saturday, so I couldn't find anything. Then we took the bus to Hahei. The next day we headed out to Hot Water Beach, my first hitchhiking experience. But it was totally okay, we had shovels so I could have hurt anyone weird who picked us up. The beach was much hotter than I anticipated. We had to dig a cold hole of water and divert the hot stream into it. Even then we almost burned ourselves. After getting back, we walked to Cathedral Cove, this gorgeous white sand beach. It was really nice. We hung out with some new people at the hostel that night, eating and reading trashy magazines. I made some tortilla chips, which weren't half-bad. Plus, we gave this German girl peanut butter for the first time! It was crazy, but she really liked it. Today we caught a bus to Tauranga. For dinner, we found this Chinese restaurant. You buy a container and fill it to the max with food. I ate it all. So now I feel really full and bloated, but full nonetheless. Tomorrow we're headed out to Rotorua to spend a couple of days. Then Raglan next, to learn how to surf. I'm pretty excited about that. Everyone in the hostel right now is watching "Family Guy". I think it is more popular here than in Canada! Anyways, wish me luck in downsizing my luggage more.

Bike Problems and Seven Hour Bus Rides

So... we're still in Paihia. I think it's my favorite place so far, it's not too big, everything is close, and people are pretty nice. Yesterday, we decided to take advantage of our hostel's free bikes and kayaks. We biked out at about ten in the morning. We had barely gotten out of town when my chain fell off. I stopped, and tried to put it back on, but it was jammed! Sydney, Bretton, and I worked on it for a while, but to no avail. So we biked (I walked) back into town and hit the mechanic. He fixed it much quicker, only needing a socket wrench and a little pulling. He did it for free too! It was really nice. We decided to continue on the condition that I could not switch into first gear. That would be easy enough in Canada, but in New Zealand? It was harsh. There are so many ups and downs... at least I got a really good workout. But I was looking at everything by thinking of the way back. So if I was going down a hill, I was thinking about how hard it would be to get back up. But luckily, we chose a different route back. We saw Haruru Falls, which were alright. Then we went back, got groceries (I bought chocolate), and then went to the beach to go kayaking. It was a relaxing day after that. But I think I ate so much dark chocolate that I couldn't sleep last night. So... I was totally exhausted for our tour to Cape Reinga today. It was really good, we drove on 90 mile beach, right on the beach. It was beautiful! Other than the really long drive and the fact that my mp3 player decided to die, it was amazing. We went sandboarding on the sand-dunes. That was awesome, but we were totally covered in sand for the rest of the day. We had pasta with a white sauce of tomatoes, garlic, onions, and brocolli today. It was pretty good. We're getting ready to leave for Thames tomorrow, I think it's a four hour bus ride. But everything is pretty good, the weather has been quite nice. I'm just trying to get rid of a lot of clothes right now, I definitely packed too heavy. Anyways... I'll talk to you all again soon. Hope all is well.

Volcanic Islands and Motion Sickness

Hi everyone. It's been a bit, I couldn't find decent internet access for a while. So... the day after my first day at Auckland, we went for a hike on Rangitoto Island, which is a ferry ride across. Rangitoto Island is a dead volcanic site. It has black rocks everywhere and some caves. Anyways, it was a kind-of exploration day. You could take many different tracks and travel to different parts of the island. We visited a old war barrack thing. The vegetation was gorgeous, there were these little cactus things all over with flowers growing out of them. There were also some caves, one of which you could walk through, which was nice. And... on the way back, we saw an orca whale, in the harbor! It was really cool. The next day, I woke up at five in the morning (which is starting to be a regular occurence) and could not get back to sleep. So I packed and practiced some scales, arpeggios, and "twinkle twinkle" on the guitar at the hostel. Then we caught a bus to Whangarei. Did you know that "wh" is pronounced like "f"? So it's "fangaray". Anyways, I was so intelligent and booked a hostel five kilometres from town. They offered free pick-up from the bus station, but we would have to get into town ourselves. But when we got there, it was actually quite nice, we were the only ones in the dorms and the owner showed us all these walking trails past Whangarei Falls. The trails provided pretty good access to town. So we walked in and stocked up on food, then pretty much relaxed for the rest of the day. The next day we walked into town again and checked out the Info-Centre, inquiring about diving and snorkeling for the next day. After looking up some information, we went to "ArtBeat", a music/art festival. It was really nice and relaxing. We also stopped by a music store, so I could get my piano fix for the day. I got to play on three different pianos, including one grand! It was very nice. We stopped by a grocery store to pick up some staple foods. But I confess... I bought two extra things that were definitely not necessary. I bought apricot jam, because a plain peanut butter sandwich can get kind of boring after a while. Plus... some aged cheddar cheese. I really love cheese, it adds so much to food, so I think that was a necessary extra. We had pasta (with tomatoes, asparagus, and cheese) and avocado salad (made by me and not half bad). Our cooking skills have definitely been improving. Also, did I mention that we had meat the nice before? That was definitely nice. So, on Sunday we went snorkeling and Sydney went diving. We had a bit of a drive to get in the boat, but it was quite pleasant. This was to be my first snorkeling experience, so I was nervous. We had to sign waivers, even though I am not eighteen, I signed my own. They didn't even ask for ID! I have been surprised by how easy it is to get across the world when you're not eighteen. If you have money and want to run away, nobody is going to stop you. Anyways, the boat ride to The Poor Knight Islands where we were snorkeling was about 45 minutes. We saw two dolphins on the way out. The crew talked about the origin of the island name and such, but what I found most interesting is that almost no one is allowed on these islands. The only people are conservation staff and scientists. They want to preserve the islands from humans. It was said that since almost no humans have set foot on the island, many species have adapted and evolved to become much different. Apparently there are grasshoppers the size of your hand and millipedes over 25 cm long! But I was thinking about how it may be free from direct human contact, humans still have affected the island. Through air pollution, water contamination, etc... they have still changed it. I wonder what the island would be like if there were no effect. Anyways, we all got suited up with wetsuits, fins, masks, and snorkels, then we jumped in. The water wasn't bad, but after a while it got pretty cool. I had to get the hang of the snorkel, so I drank a bit of salt water when I started. But the views! It was amazing!!!!!!! There were fish all around me and so many little organisms floating around in the water. I just kind of floated around in the bay, not really moving myself. But after a while, I started to feel really nauseous. I was thinking, it's mental, just ignore it. So Bretton and I went out further. We saw more stuff and it was really pretty, but then, I started to feel really sick. It told Bretton, so we started to head back. Halfway back, I got sick. At the Poor Knight Islands, renowned for some of the best diving and snorkeling, I got sea sick! I felt pretty ridiculous, I didn't even know it was possible to get sea sick from snorkeling. So we went back, warmed up, ate lunch, then headed back out for a bit more. We got to go through some caves, it was beautiful! Some parts were really shallow, so you could touch all the plants and anemones! Also, we saw a seal, it was so close! It was just swimming and flipping around, having fun. So... I guess overall, snorkeling was completely worth it. I had an amazing time, even if I have a weak stomach. We got back to our hostel at about 5:30. There's this guy at the hostel that always is listening to music. Seriously, he carries a radio with him while he walks. So while he was taking a shower, he had his radio on. I heard him singing along, so I sang with him. It was pretty funny. So today, we headed up to Paihia (which is really hard to pronounce. I think you say it "pie-hea"). We've barely been here, but I love it already. The ocean borders the town and the hostel is big and really clean. I'm missing my flute and the piano, but it's still good. Scrambled eggs with add-ins for supper! I hope I'm not leaving anything out. Anyways, hope all is well with you guys back in Canada! And don't forget to comment.

My Amazing and Terrible First Day

So... I'm in Auckland now. I can definitely say that 13 hour flights are not as bad as one might think, but that may be because of the extensive music and movie choice of our flight (83 movies and 212 albums!). So after we first arrived we had to go through customs. Since I had hiking boots, I had to have them inspected in the biological inspection area. Once I passes, we got our bags x-rayed. Then I, of course, was selected for a "random" search (in case you were wondering, it's always me) of my bag. That tends to freak me out since I'm kind of on my own for traveling. But I got through. So when we were trying to figure out what bus to take to get to our hostel, my backpack zipper broke (just the carry-on one). It broke enough so that it was completely open. So after taking the bus (awesome ride, amazing views) we had to walk to our hostel, which I thought was a couple of blocks away. We start walking, and I suddenly heard the sound of cloth dragging. Bretton's rolly suitcase wheel was broken. That sucked, but we somehow got it working enough to pull. So it's hot and I barely got any sleep on the plane We had one heck of a walk ahead of us. And it was uphill most of the way. By the time we finally reached blasted Parnell, I had sweat dripping off of me. So we dropped off our bags, changed, ate, check in, and then went out for a walk to do a couple of errands. I used up a large chunk of my money by buying 55 hours on a bus for *gasp* $559 NZ! Yeah, it kills me too. Then I had to buy a replacement backpack so we went to this army surplus store with actual army backpacks. I bought a cheap powerade backpack. We also went to an info centre and called home during this time. So this story is in super speed. We had been walking for a while, so we decided it was time to go back to the hostel, but first buying groceries. When you've never really done that for yourself, it's kind of weird. What do I need/want? How much do I need. I bought a lot of on sale things, but I still think that it will take me a while to finish a 1kg tub of yogurt. I think I will temporarily have to stop eating meat though, it's already so expensive, how can I afford it? I was jealously eyeing up this guy's steak tonight while I ate my pasta with tomato sauce and carrots. Oh well, the price we pay for freedom. On the way back from the grocery store, we got lost. Carrying heavy groceries, that was not fun, especially when the walk is all uphill (no lie). Anyways, I'm hoping to get a lot of sleep tonight and somehow stop spending any money. Did I mention that I have a flaming sunburn all over my face and arms? But Auckland is amazing, and we're going swimming tomorrow! All my expectations for this trip have been ruined, but in all the right ways. Talk to you soon, we're listening to the Beach Boys right now.

Before I Leave

Okay... so my blog is all set up and I'm ready to leave. I've repacked way too many times, tried to downsize, remembered more things... in short, my backpack weighs 32 pounds. It could be difficult for me to carry and I'm sincerely hoping that by some act of God, the weight will not affect me, or that I will have more room in my bag. Whatever the case, I am seeing the possibly of back problems in the future. So... I'm leaving tomorrow and am hoping for the best. I have discussed the fact with many people that although this might not be a good experience (which I hope it will be), it will be an experience, and that's what I've asked for. So... wish me luck! Next time I talk to you guys I'll be in California or New Zealand, so prepare for the unknown.

Ranting

So... I know many people have heard this rant before, and that is a sad thing. It is sad because nothing has changed, conditions have not improved. Here is my problem: I seem to attract creeps/older men. I'm working on a theory as to why, but here are the situations. There is this guy who works in the dishroom at work and, from day one, he called me honey. First of all, there is nothing wrong with calling people "honey" except that he had no idea who I was, what kind of reaction I would have to it. And it's just the way he says it. I really don't know how to explain. But sometimes he says stuff like "you're a good girl", or tries to offer me unnecessary encouragement. I know, I know... maybe he's just a nice guy trying to be friendly. To that, I would have to say, watch him. It is not just some 40 year old fat man with grey hair being nice, there's... something else. Another example of my weird creep magnetism powers? Well... there's this other guy at work who is a janitor. He's Mexican or something (not that this has anything to do with his actions, but I'm trying to paint a picture). His age is hard to tell other than he's definitely over 45, he has grey hair as well, and also is a little chubby. He always smiles at me, which is fine, friendly. But when he drives the floor cleaning machine, and I walk by, he raises his eyebrows at me. I'm not talking about a one time thing, it's everytime I walk by. And it's not just a double "hey good-looking" kind of eyebrow raise, it's a triple eyebrow raise! What does that mean? Am I reading too much into this? Maybe, but maybe not. Maybe only I can truly understand what's happening, because I'm the one experiencing it. I could give you another couple of examples, but this is really starting to make me sad. What is it about me? Do I smile too much? Do I have open body language? Just the other day, I had a man who I used to know stop on the street and say, "I miss your beautiful smile." That just makes me want to shiver and throw up. And I can honestly say that these weird experiences have been happening for years, I'm just really starting to think about them. So it is not something new... do I seem too nice? If anyone can offer any encouraging comments or insights, I would really appreciate it. I think my work is starting to affect my mental health.

Struggles

So where is the happy medium in life? I am always thinking about the balance between learning new things and specializing. Between eating whatever I want and as much as I want whenever and only eating what I need and what is good and healthy. Or between exercising and being in good shape or enjoying your body for what it is. I think these struggles come down to a struggle with who I want to be. I want to be a quiet person, allowing more times for my thoughts, but it is also my thoughts that could drive me crazy. But I also want to be a person unafraid to express her opinions, confident in what she believes. I want to be an accomplished musician, but also want to be well rounded (how is this possible if I must put all of my focus on music?). I care so much about people, how they are doing, what's new... but when do you let go? If a person has betrayed and abandoned you, yet you still love them, what do you do? I think... at least I hope that these are the struggles of everyone in life. Does comfort and understanding come from experience? Or does it never come... do you just use trial and error, maybe gaining some understanding from that? Perhaps there are no answers to our questions, only thoughts to complicate them.

Andrew Bird

So... it's been over a week since my meeting with Andrew Bird. I must say, I never did understand the whole obsession with celebrities thing (eg. Emily's weird crush on Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom). I've also made fun of those kind of people extensively. But... I must say that I now, unfortunately, understand. You see, there's this guy. He is amazingly talented, playing the mandolin, violin (super amazingly), guitar, and he sings. His voice is so smooth, he talks just like he sings. One cannot even talk about him without mentioning his violin playing. When performing, he creates these loops. He plays something, records it using sound pedals, records something else... etc. When all of these different melodies are layered together, it sounds complex, but very beautiful. Then he starts singing, which always has just the amount of expression in it. After he finishes some singing, he'll solo on his guitar or violin... OR he'll whistle. And this isn't just normal "I'm washing the dishes and am bored" whistling. It sounds like something from another world... it just cuts through everything and soaks up your attention. He's not only good at playing his own music with clever lyrics that he wrote, he also is very good at collaborating with other artists. He always seems to know what's right to add in and where. I heard him perform three times at the Calgary Folk Festival, each time being amazed and wishing for more. After his last performance, I knew it was my last time to meet him, so I went up to the stage and said "Hey Andrew Bird!" He turned and had... no expression on his face. I said "Hi, I just wanted to meet you." I shook his hand. He didn't say anything. I asked him the question that thousands of people have probably asked him, I feel like such a dork now, "How many years have you played for." He said, somewhat tiredly, "Since I was four." I said, "Well, I just wanted to say I really like your music, it's really special to me." He said, "Thanks," and turned to walk away. How disappointing! I imagined that meeting my "future husband" would be so much more exciting and special. When you imagine so many things, I guess it just gets out of hand. I saw it differently in my head. I guess I was also disappointed in the lack of response I drew from him. Maybe he was tired, hot, uninterested... any of these things are possible. So much expectation for that one moment though... what a letdown! Maybe I'm also mad at myself because I am not that kind of person (the kind of person that gets a crush over a stranger). As I said before, I've made fun of those people before. I am really hoping that this infatuating is just a passing fancy that will be done with in a couple of weeks. But in the meantime... I guess I'll just watch YouTube videos everynight... and imagine what could've been... what could still be. Here's a video of his performance that day. The sound sucks, but it is still amazing. I have yet to find out what this song is called.

Starting Off

So... after the Calgary Folk Festival, I've been thinking about what things are important to me. I guess those things are friends, family, memorable experiences (like dancing to Ani Difranco in the rain), learning, and MUSIC. Those are just the basic things, there are obviously many sub-categories within each section. I thought I would start a blog (take a leaf out of Sydney's book) just to keep people updated on what's going on. Since I'm leaving to travel in November for six months, I thought it would be a good way to keep in touch instead of sending a lot of individual emails. Plus I thought it could act as an archive. When you go on a big trip, it's easy to forget the smaller day to day things. Hopefully this will help me remember many different parts of it. I know it's still a while until November, but now I have some time to figure out how everything works and keep in touch with people heading off to school in the fall. Maybe I'll even be able to add pictures and videos (although I'm not sure how to do this from different computers without the software, suggestions anybody?). So... yeah. I hope this doesn't come off as loserish, I guess it's everyone's decision if they want to read it or not. This blog will really suck at first but maybe, with time, it will improve with the addition of more posts, pictures, videos, and comments. I hope everyone's summers are going well. Okay... bye.
PS- I couldn't think of any better names for my blog, suggestions are welcome.