Taking care of business

With my little trip to Samoa and being away at the Whenua Conference, a few other things didn't quite make it into the blog. Additionally, I've now been here six months - I know! Can you believe it? Craziness. I've been busily working away these last few weeks in preparation for a special visit, so this post will also be short because in case it wasn't clear - I'm busy, or as my Mom says Bizzie (that's short for Bizzie Lizzie). So here's a very quick update on a few things going on and a few things I left out of the last few posts..

First, I finally feel like things are coming together with my research. I know you're thinking - about time. My Maori advisor the other day said, "I think this research is very timely" - I also think it was timely six months ago, but glad we're on the same page now. I also was talking to another Master's student the other day and he asked who my advisor was, and then said "How did you get Mr. X to be our advisor, he's world famous for SSM (the theory I'm using)? And why do you have an office, aren't you just a Masters student?" Errr, umm, I'm not sure, I tricked some people? And without going into all the details, I'm finally starting to actually collect my "data". Most of the time, I sort of have to laugh at this whole process since academia is not a comfy fit for me. I tend to find theory a waste of time when there are a whole lot of practical issues to think about - BUT I think I've devised a plan to make the theory practical and my apparently world famous advisor has said he would be interested in writing a journal article together, which I'm really excited about. I'll might feel differently tomorrow, because in general this whole "research" process is a bit like being bipolar (having never been bipolar).

Volunteering - first a quick background: For some reason growing up my family never had me do the hard labor/chores. For instance it would be, "Hey Allison why don't you move this 250lb dresser and Elizabeth, you feather dust that surface, or Allison, can you move those ten mulch bags, and Elizabeth why don't you just move out of the way". Now I'm not sure if they thought my bones were fragile, or I was weak, or just generally useless - but it still somewhat persists in our family dynamics today. Don't worry Allison got me back by making me do ALL her chores at my Dad's house, calling me Chiquita (her maid), and pushing me off the bed during our Cradle of Love video reenactments - but I digress. The point of this story, is that I was never given full responsibility for the hard stuff around the house. I also emphatically professed that I would never mow the lawn again or do any yard work and that I would forever live in a city - so yes I was also a brat. This is all to provide a bit of background for why its hilarious, and even shocking to me, that I'm running a school gardening program. This past week, I decided we should build a worm farm at the school. Now having never built a worm farm, I quickly did some reading, and took myself to the landfill to hunt for some materials. The landfill in Wellington is so nicely organized it was frankly quite easy, but I think all the men there were a bit worried about me as I hunted around for tyres, corrugated metal, carpet, bricks, and plastic crates - because they kept adopting my families motto and trying to lift things and move things for me. I did set up a relationship between the elementary school and the University so that University students could get scholarship credit and I now have five very useful helpers. Thats another thing I'm good at - finding people to boss around.
Worm farm building at Te Aro School
The Big Shwop - Having already fully explained my packing issues in coming here and some of the hilarious items I ended up here with and without, the Big Shwop was the answer to a lot of my issues. Basically, you bring clothes that are in excellent condition and in fashion, and for each item you bring you get a voucher to pick out another item. They sweeten the deal by providing wine and beauty products. And guess what, the whole thing is just $20, and all proceeds go to charity. I'd been wanting a pair of brown boots, but as I've also detailed I'm poor, so as the countdown at the Big Shwop started (you can picture it, a bunch of ladies all ready to elbow each other out of the way), I lined up with all the other ladies and then hightailed it to the shoe section - where I found a perfectly suitable pair of brown boots - basically for free. This is also a great idea since I tire of clothes quickly, and it also prevents waste both on the supply and demand side. I exchanged two shirts that I hadn't worn since I arrived for the above boyfriend blazer and blue silk top. Now if only they held this event monthly....

So after a bit of hustle and bustle, I feel slightly ahead of the game and ready for my next visitor - Stephanie. Some of you long time readers may remember that this blog was begun thanks to her. I originally wanted to just have a journal about what I loved about DC, and since she hates paper, she suggested the blog. Stephanie is on her way to the future as we speak to enjoy a bit of Middle Earth and Me. Here's a little more about my traveling partner for the next two weeks:
Stephanie and I first decided to travel together on a romantic trip to Italy in 2009 to visit our good friend and the reason for us knowing each other, LJ. Stephanie then got pissed cause I invited a few more young ladies to join us and it turned out to be the best trip of her life - you're welcome. This year, I thought all these ladies were going to come to NZed, but it turned out that Stephanie was the only one dedicated to the dream - and we will (finally!) have our romantic trip for two.
Over the next two weeks, I'm planning to share a little bit of New Zealand culture with Stephanie (more Fulbright extra credit) and have Stephanie fill me on the goings on back in America. And we're both going to introduce New Zealand to a proper dance party.

Now while we may not see eye to eye on everything - for instance, Stephanie hates reading (which is why I've really had to get ahead on my work, although I have snuck a few books into my suitcase for when she's not looking) - we do share similar zeal for travel, and nightwear.

And with that - let the adventure begin