Pad Thai, George, Destiny & Cocaine

The people I'm meeting, Kiwi & otherwise are really making my trip. However just because of the way we all meet each other the interactions can widely vary. My roommates in Queenstown soon felt like friends... But meeting doesn't always go so smoothly. For instance, I was woken up by two girls in my room at 6 am having this moment of blossoming friendship:

"Good morning."

"Yes, morning."

"I forgot to tell you-- I love Pad Thai. I eat it every week."

"I don't."

"Oh, okay."

 

Luckily so far my luck with striking up conversation was going a bit better than that. I talked to two of my roommates for hours-- one from London and one from China (who loves pad Thai apparently.) They're both policy students so we had plenty about which to talk even after swapping details about who we were, what we were doing, and our favorite foods. I told them all about the stars but unfortunately, the stars didn't make an appearance the second night due to the clouds. Thankful I had seen them the night before I curled up by the fire after having spent the entire day hiking.

The girl from London was on my bus the next day-- but we didn't speak much as I think our bus driver might not have taken a single breathe in four hours. At times it was great-- we heard the entire story of James Mackenzie (why a Gaelic speaking thief is honored so highly I don't know) all about the sheep and various tidbits. However, we also heard some long drawn out stories. I could be quizzed on George's life and feel confident I'd do pretty well.

After getting to Christchurch I started my hour long journey to my hostel. Christchurch is still very much recovering... in parts it looks as if the earthquake happened in the last week. The hostel where I am staying is really interesting. It's a renovated jailhouse built in 1874. All the rooms are still in their olden state which was great until after I went to sleep and kept hearing the old metal doors slamming shut. Once there I went to make dinner & I sat by myself with a book (book #7 which is "Vanity Fair" as it was long and free.) I was joined by 8 students soon after. I found out they were from Melboure so felt sure I could keep this conversation going. I've really been meshing with the people I meet here. However, that was just not the case last night.

I got from them that coffee and Greek food are both good there-- and nothing much else. I hadn't seen the movie Philadelphia and didn't understand the cream cheese joke until too late. So, after finishing up I wandered into the front room where the activities were being held. There was American themed trivia at the hostel in honor of the Fourth of July. First of all I was widely impressed by the knowledge displayed by the non-Americans-- they knew things like the year coca-cola was invented. Things that would have taken me significantly longer to come up with were on the tip of their tongues. My team dominated on the first few rounds but I faltered on questions such as Jay Z's real name. My team ended up first with another team in second. We had a sudden death round with obscure state capitals and celebrities' real names. Miley Cyrus was my downfall and therefore we didn't win the beer (not that good of an incentive for me.) I laughed it off, but my German and Italian teammates were none too pleased. They sulked off within seconds and all gave me looks of disgust. Honestly, I'm rather glad I didn't know that... I think I would have had to go the mirror to give myself my own look of disgust if I had. For the record, it's Destiny Hope Cyrus-- we'll see how long it's takes me to forget that.

And so my bad luck with conversation continued. Back in my room the conversation turned to how expensive things like medicine and soda were in New Zealand. I seized the opportunity to talk about my milk and my $70 turkey (the fact that I've mentioned both here already is a bit sad and is certainly correlated to my conversation problems.) I ran with it for a while until one mentioned it had cost him $300. It occurred to me the other 7 people in my room (including my Germans, an Italian, and a few people from Melbourne) were discussing the price of cocaine. From then on out I was unable to contribute... But once again that's certainly for the best.

 

Mattie Tries to Be Outdoorsy

Up and out early, I left Queenstown for Lake Tekapo-- a tiny town of 300 people. The four hour journey was a bit out of my way, but Tekapo is in the Dark Sky Reserve, one of the darkest skies in the world. I just hoped the weather would cooperate! There was snowfall in the area, and temperatures to match-- it's been in the twenties. Seems I didn't get enough of it at Hamilton-- Brr!

I quickly saw that even if the weather didn't hold up, it would still be worth it. The colors here are incredible. It's as if my surroundings were painted. The water is a brilliant shape of turquoise. This is because of a mineral found in the crushed rock that hangs In the water. I've never seen water this color, it's as if someone dumped massive amounts if food dye in the lake. At my hostel in Dunedin the man behind the counter told me about the little church you see in the picture, The Church of the Good Sheoard. As you can see it's tiny, but for some reason it's quite the tourist attraction. Beside it is a statue of a collie dog in honor of all the dogs who made living there possible.

I spent the rest of the day taking a hike. It was mostly successful-- until it started snowing. I quickly went back after that!

Back at the hostel, the receptionist was beyond thrilled when she saw my name. Tekapo is in "Mackenzie Country" and thus everything seems to belong to me-- Mackenzie's cafe, Mackenzie's street, Mackenzie Tavern ect. It has been pretty exciting. It's named after James Mackenzie a convicted sheep rustler.

As you can see the weather wasn't cooperating. Clouds were rolling on in, and despite my demands they weren't budging. After dinner I decided it was time to see the sky--I was worried it wouldn't cooperate.

Headlight on I headed out into the dark with my special "stars playlist." The sky was completely cloudy except for a small patch. Even in that small part there were more stars than I've ever seen. I went to a zip line type swing for fun beside the water. I had found it that afternoon, and had multiple people videotape me doing it (which was a bit weird.) Having done it a few times with my headlight on, and feeling overly confident I decided I wanted to see if my camera could pick up any of the stars in a movie. I shot off into the dark, holding my camera in one hand and on for dear life with the other. It didn't work. But, I now have a 15 second video of complete black where you hear the zip line, then a thud and then laughing. I couldn't see where the zipline ended and the force of it swing me forward connecting my jaw with my fist. I have a small faint bruise and a bit of a sore jaw after technically punching myself in the face.

Within an hour the sky began to clear-- two hours later I was standing under a clear night sky. I could see the entire Milky Way it lookd as if the sky had folded itself inside out revealing more stars with a deep purple backdrop. I tried to take a picture-- and accidentally (and quite unflatteringly) caught myself looking just a bit enthusiastic. The picture doesn't nearly do it justice, there were so many more stars than my camera could capture.

Needless to say-- it was worth it. I can't wait for tonight.

 

Dunedin -> Queenstown -> Tekapo

Since I'm actually on this trip for a reason, I thought it might be time I started to do just that. I spent Monday walking around the various art galleries that seem to be everywhere in central Dunedin. One of the most striking things for me was the amount of sculpture on display. I'm more used to paintings dominating, but I found an incredibly amount of installation art. After a nice chat with a woman in the local community gallery I now have even more people to email.

My plan on Tuesday was to go to one of the many museums, but as soon as I went outside I couldn't bear to be indoors. It was just so beautiful. Instead I went back to the botanical gardens. I was soon recruited to help with a school scavenger hunt-- I was asked by almost every group if I had seen yellow flags. Eventually I just sat on a bench and pointed the same flag out to every group. NZ has managed to successfully make their little children cuter not only with their little accents but with their blazers and kilts. I decided to splurge for a "flat white coffee" while writing emails. I'll admit-- I felt pretty spiffy sitting in a garden in New Zealand, sipping coffee while typing. I'm not caught up enough on the barista lingo to know how it differs from a latte-- but it was delicious.

The rest of the day was spent on the bus. It was beautiful, of course, but uneventful. I spent the night in Queenstown and went out to dinner with one of my roommates from Korea. She's finishing her last year of getting her elementary teaching degree. I asked her if she was going to become a teacher and she replied, "Maybe." I asked her why and she replied, "It's hard, we (Koreans) need to change but I'm not sure we'll be able to change... There aren't arts as you would have them. I've been teaching in Auckland. In Auckland it's really nice, kindergarten is nice. It's not nice in Korea." Hearing her talk that way about arguably the best school system in the world made for quite an intersting conversation despite our language barrier.

I was early to bed, and was out early in the morning. Too early for one bus driver-- who described my half hour of extra time as "just disgusting." But I most certainly preferred to be me than be the couple who tried to sprint after the bus.

Oh, and as per my last post. Here are two views of the campus-- I took one picture and then just turned around to take the other:

Also, I found a small frozen turkey in the supermarket for $70. I couldn't figure out where to put that in my post, but I couldn't quite believe it.

 

Kiwi Milk & Kiwi People

When I was looking at places to study abroad Dunedin was in my top five. When talking to my mother about this she was worried if I studied here I'd never want to leave. Now that I'm here, I see her point. That was, however, until I saw the price of milk. I wish I was kidding. I saw milk for almost $9 for 2 liters at a convenient store- I was actually going to take a picture but was loudly informed that I couldn't. I understand, I wouldn't want people to have proof of my outrageous prices either. (I should note that I have found milk for cheaper, but it's still wildly expensive.)

Despite their milk prices (I do realize I'm way too riled up about that) New Zealand has once again made me fall in love with it because of their people (who I've been told are much more water/juice drinkers who are also annoyed at the insane price of milk.)

On my walk the first day I came across a number of lovely churches. Sunday I decided to go to the one, The First Church of Otago, for a service. I figured I could just pop in and no one would notice. Within about two minutes of sitting down an older gentleman, Jeff, came and sat down in front of me. He told me he wanted to meet me before we got to meet each other during the service and I had a lovely little chat with him. He made sure I was well informed during the service about who everyone was and other little tidbits. The minister also noticed me and first thing asked me where I was from in front of the congregation. He even gave me a gift of a postcard (so much for sneaking in.) I soon realized how I had stood out, as I was by far the youngest person there who was not of Pacific decent. The congregation had a large number of Cook Island members. During the interactive portion of the service we were given cards and asked to form "families" of Cook Islanders, Samoans and Kiwis. (I was a Cook Island father.)

After the service I was personally invited to the tea/coffee get together and must have had 10-12 people come up to talk to me. Some just said hello, others gave me useful information (where free wifi was/ contact information for an interview), and one (Jeff) invited me to a concert that afternoon. I was about to go when the associate minister, Ann, came over to talk to me. She offered to drive me to the gardens where I was heading, and then instead invited me to lunch with her family. I happily accepted. They were funnily enough headed to an American themed restaurant, Filidelfios. I had a great time with her 17 year old daughter who soon after meeting me was quickly to point out american idiosyncraties such as our school year calendar, our use of farinheight, and our pledge of allegence. However, our contributions of pizza topping combinations seem to be good in her book, as she is an avid lover of Hawaiian pizza. At lunch I was told about another pizza topping combination that was supposing amazing: pineapple, ham, & canned spaghetti. (I'll take her word on it.) Ann's husband, Ian, a full time photographer (and part time surgeon) gave me his address for his photos. I've checked some of them out and they're really quite lovely. Since I've given him the address of my blog, I hope photography skills aren't judged too harshly!

I had such a wonderful time with them, they truly are a lovely family who welcomed me so whole heartedly. After lunch, we briefly walked through the botanical gardens and then they drove me to the Town Hall for the concert. I arrived exactly on time, and walked in to hear them sing the national anthem. (This was my second time doing so as I got a lovely redention in the car in case I was too late and missed it.) Both renditions included the lyrics sung in English and then in Māori.

The concert was wonderful. It would have been worth it only to see the look on Jeff's face when we saw me there and gave me a smile and a nod. He's part of The Royal Dunedin Male Choir, who not only sounds wonderful but are one of the most adorable choirs I've ever seen. (Jeff is in the back row, the one looking at the camera.)

They sang songs a few at a time with young musicians as "guest artists" doing interludes. I'd never heard a few of the songs, but heard new favorites such as "Portait of my Love." The gentleman introducing the songs was also wonderful. Right before his number they lost track of the 12 year old pianist who was performing. This was briefly explained and the presenter quickly filled the time telling a story with a singing component. Later, the chorus tittered and whooped when the young guest soprano gave the stage manager a kiss on the cheek about which he commented, "there are now going to be 65 applications for stage manager. Now speaking of beautiful young ladies our next piece is about exactly that."

I was truly shocked when I looked at my watch and saw it was a nearly 3 hour concert. As soon as it finished Jeff motioned to me to wait five minutes because they were going to take a picture. We talked until they shut the concert hall down about all sorts of things: the concert, his late wife, his childhood polio, and his travels. But first he made sure I had a place to stay, and that it was close enough for me to walk home.

Seriously, the people might make the milk prices worth it.

Mattie

 

Up the Mountain & Through the Woods

The one thing I was told I could not miss in Queenstown was the gondola ride up the mountain. I went in the afternoon of my last day there in an effort to save the best for last. When I saw the price, however, I opted to instead hike. I would now like to say that I take issue with their description of the trail and the timeframe they gave. This "easy/moderate trail" had me on all fours in multiple places (though I fear this might have been because I sometimes lost the trail.) It might have taken me the suggested hour to reach the top if I was 1. Sprinting and/or 2. In much better shape than I am. I soon realized those two recommendations were by Kiwi and not American standards. After well over an hour of walking (read: climbing) and not quite yet at the top (read: about half way) I realized that not only would I have to climb back down, but I was loosing daylight fast. I quickly took a picture and then rather unquickly made my way back down the slippery trail. By the time I reached the bottom I had pulled out my iPod to use as a light in an (unsuccessful) effort to see where I was going.

Once down I swallowed my fugal habits and paid to go to the top. Boy, am I glad I did. Just the journey up was spectacular. (Please excuse the selfies-- they are a consequence of traveling solo & I promised my parents.)

The top wasn't bad either-- though I could have done without the couple of rather elderly men who emerged running successful on my former path with headlights. Once they headed back down they took my self esteem with them. Just to be clear the path in the picture is not the path I was climbing-- that's a luge cart racing path which is sort of a gravity powered go-kart thing. I'm told it's tremendously fun, but due to my adventure on the mountain I missed it.

I stayed up there for quite a while, despite the cold. Upon returning to my hostel I went to the outdoor concert with Phillipe (sorry if that's misspelled!), my Brazillian roommate. He was a wonderful sport, as he was nice enough to wait out the entire open mic night with me and walk around the city with me after. We went to an outdoor place set up for the winter festival made complete with pine trees, little lights, fires, and hot cider. It's amazing how much I associate the cold with Christmas, I feel like I've been in the Christmas spirt about half a year too early.

The next morning I woke up around 6:30 am to catch my bus to Dunedin. It was a longish but pleasant journey. I spent most of it looking out the window and reading. I'm going through books at an alarming rate. I've already finished five, it's as if I'm trying to make up for the last four years during which I never had time to read for pleasure. Hopefully soon I'll have access to a library otherwise I'll spend a good chunk of my fellowship on nook books.
Dunedin gets it's name from the old Celtic name for Edinburgh, Scotland (where I lived for a little bit when I was little.) It certainly feels Scottish, but despite the name I think it feels more like Glasgow. While walking past the settlers museum I saw an amusing quote about the city:

"The Scots were an odd bunch of adventurers, traveling over 10,000 miles to reach a new land only to fill it with stuff just like the place they left behind."

I soon realized I was incredibly spoiled by my first accommodation: amazing location, friendly roommates, ensuite, and a bright, inviting interior. My new hostel is certainly in a great location, but it feels a bit like the setting of a horror movie, though I think that might just be the lights.

On the plus side-- the only occupants appear to be middle aged men, who they put in other rooms. So I have a room all to myself.

This also means I have no one to talk to, but the one conversation I had all day was quite funny. I spent my afternoon/evening wandering around. I spent most of the time down at the university. It was too dark to take pictures, but my overall impression of the place was that Americans were not the only ones to destroy their campuses with large blocks of concrete that could double as bomb shelters. I'll give evidence for this point in the near future when I walk down there with more light.
In other news--I just I checked my blog analytics and it appears that more people are viewing my blog than I have members in my family, so thanks for that. I can only see how many, not who, so please do comment/email/message me if you get the chance. Also, if you would like me to send a postcard your way please include an address, and I will be sure to eventually make that happen.
"Cheers!"
Mattie

My Only Conversation June 28th

The man behind me on the bus leaned in between the seats.

"So where are you from?"

"I'm from Philadelphia."

(It's easier to say Philly than explain where the heck Indiana is.)

"Oh, you're from Philadelphia, that's good. Glad to know you're not an American."

(Laughing along) "Yup."

"I love Canadians though. Philadelphia is near Seattle, eh?"

"Oh it's just a bit further east, between NYC & DC."

"...oh."

"So where are you from?"

(No reply.)