Two add'l hours of sunshine + five degrees warmer = NZed is about to get awesomer

Some evidence of the storm the size of AUSTRALIA
Te Mata Peak, took me fifteen min to get to the top
Just enjoying some Te Mata cheese mid-work day
Taking a break from interviews for some cheese and wine

I tried really hard but couldn't finish all the cheese, probably

another reason why this is not really an alone activity. I spent

three hours here (Te Mata Cheese factory) reading for my research

eating cheese and nursing this glass of wine
Full moon little stroll in Napier on the Spring Equinox
Beaches of the East Cape, first place to see the sunrise

in the world
Finally made it to the East Cape, which I definitely

want to go back to, especially this place which has my name written

all over it - Champers Hotel

WOW - the World of WearableArts show,

and boy was it wow, sorry this picture is so bad. Its basically a fashion, art, music, cirque

du soleil show wrapped into one extravanganza. The finale of

fashion week here in NZed. No pics allowed inside so you'll

have to use your imagination.

After experiencing the wow of WOW,

forcing Alice to have a tourist moment with me.

So I should start off by saying that my harassment and impersonation skills really did me well in the last week. I spent the last week traveling around the North Island interviewing Maori representatives of business/trusts/incorporations on their business strategy in the context of climate change. Here's a few themes of what characterized the week:

-Before I even left Wellington, all over the news they were reporting a storm the SIZE OF AUSTRALIA, that was headed for NZed and was going to brutalize the country. Only NZed would characterize a storm that was really nasty and menacing in relation to Australia. What it meant was huge winds and rain for most of the country - so basically the rest of NZed got to experience what it's like to live in Wellington. And like the South Island needed more problems, they got pummeled with huge snow and winds which took down the rubgy stadium in Invercargill.

-So huge snow, super! An opportunity to ski one last time before spring really takes hold, or so I thought, so I packed my snow gear with my interview gear and figured given how business time works in NZed that I could fit in some skiing among interviews. Well I can't say I wasn't warned about this, but apparently when it snows really hard here, instead of clearing way for skiiers, they actually just shut down the mountain. And no, not for a day, but for the last ten days. But didn't you just get 15 inches of fresh powder? Oh yes, but we have to avalanche bomb, and apparently that takes over a week. So I carried my ski gear around for a week, no use. I'm still crossing my fingers that they will finally be open next week and that there will actually be snow left. Otherwise, snow jacket bought on TradeMe = $70, used once, not ideal.

-I hadn't traveled alone since Stephanie's visit :(, and I happened to go to a lot of the same places we visited, and let me tell you it's not nearly as fun to go places alone for "work" than it is for tourism - I know, groundbreaking stuff here. But I was also reconfronted with the traveling alone scenario. For some reason, traveling alone makes other people REAL uncomfortable. I would like to offer a few bits of advice here on this blog (more to come, it's gonna get real preachy so stay tuned) - when you see someone traveling alone, know that they are okay. They are not a leper or a prostitute, nor do they require your company. They are probably just fine sitting there internally chuckling about their future blog post, and no it's not weird that they're studying and highlighting in a bar/restaurant. And note, staring doesn't make them feel more comfortable, so cutting that out would be great.

-While traveling for my interviews, aka integral to my research that I came all the way from the US to do, I received an email from the Fulbright office here about our final presentations (I'm in denial and really CAN NOT believe that its only two months away). Said email stated, "For your presentations please focus on your life experiences here, we've already heard a lot about your projects, so no need to go into those". WHAT???? Now I should say that before coming here people used to say to me, "Isn't the Fulbright just like an extended vacation for smart people?" And I would scoff and say, "No, its serious, you have to produce a very reputable, peer-reviewed documentation of your research". Well fine, its an extended vacation apparently (depending what you make of it;). And more alarming/devastating to me in this email is that I lost the final person/group that I thought cared about my research/had to listen to the details of it, now who will I talk to about it?? Oh, Allison you're going to get an earful....But on that note, I better get busy living if they want to hear about the rest we've been up to, at least if all else fails I have a lot of pictures of me posing like statues to fill my final presentation with.

-In my continuing effort to bring you more Kiwiisms, I met a nice Irish bloke at one of the backpackers I was staying at who lives in Gisborne and we got to cackle together about Kiwisms, and share our Irish and American perspectives on them. For instance, why are maths and laws (the study of, meaning I have a degree in laws) plural and sport is singular. Do Kiwis have more math and law than we do? Cause I know we have more sports, so our s to their singular does make sense I suppose....My Irish friend enlightened me as well on how Ireland follows Americanisms more than Britishisms because of you know that wee bit of history between them. Have I also mentioned how much I love listening to Irish people talk?

-In a random fact that I keep forgetting to mention on this blog, there's a news program here called Capital Insights, makes me smile everytime I hear it and compare what they share/comment on and what I do

-And this week marked daylight savings. So while I had to watch you all gallivant around in your sundresses and talk about swimming and bbqs for the last four months, its finally our time in the sun. And I plan to do my best to make you real jealous as it starts to get warm here.

-And in breaking news this week - the actors in the Hobbit are protesting the labor contract for the film. Imagine hundreds of tiny actors huddled together in labor talks at a news conference here in Wellington. Peter Jackson is pissed, since now the production company is threatening to move the filming to Eastern Europe. Umm, I'm pretty sure they don't have hobbits in Eastern Europe, they're only here in Middle Earth - non-negotiable

-

Honing my Harassment and Impersonation Skills

Bake sale day 2, some Fulbright alum enjoying apple pie.

Yes, I made us wear red, white, and blue and our little flag pins.

Stripes - optional, but encouraged.
Baking away, brownies from scratch are actually really easy
Bake sale, day 1, before the action started

You can't tell, but my jacket is striped.

Well I really could have used a few of you around this week as I took on a few tasks that you all excel in and I was definitely challenged by. But I'll start at the beginning -

So you know how I mentioned a while ago that I'm not good at baking? Why on earth in my brilliant idea of putting a fundraiser together for Christchurch did I think a bake sale was a good plan? And since it was American themed baked goods, we obviously had to make pies so over 3 days I made 8 pie crusts - including 5 apple pies, and 3 kentucky derby pies, and four batches of brownies from scratch. Next time someone please remind me that we should just organize a happy hour. In the end all the sugar I ingested and the five burns on my hands, were all worth it - we raised $1200, yeah, at a bake sale! The Fulbright asked for a quote of what motivated us to want to do this - umm, are you joking? An excuse to wear stripes AND red, white, and blue, two days in a row? Fulbright, don't you even know me?

I mentioned last week that the time had come to start thinking about applying for jobs. I didn't realize that in applying, the Wellington one would want me to start right away. My friend Bob once warned me about becoming a consultant - that it's actually a lot of work. And let me tell you after "working" for the first time in 7 months for 1.5 days this week - I experienced stress for the first time in New Zealand and realized just how comfy I've gotten not working. And although I wake up at 7am 90% of my time here, and often am doing research/reading till 7pm at night, it's totally different when you don't actually answer to anyone but yourself. On the phone with my brother the other day he said, "So what are you doing in New Zealand again, are you there for DreamJobs.com or something?" While I first felt like fuming about how my family apparently has no idea what I'm doing over here, I then realized - well, I guess that's pretty spot on. So after all that complaining I've done about being poor, I really really want to thank the Fulbright for forcing me to not work for 7 months, and now I will spend the next 3 figuring out how to draw this deal out a bit longer and live a bit more of dreamjobs.com (whatever that is).

Additionally the work that I was doing for this "internship" is economics and finance consulting related. As part of the internship, I had two interviews - one with the Welly office and one with the DC office. I naively thought (I mean I live in la la land so I'm a bit out of practice) that we were just going to chat and it would be great. Instead, it was basically 2 separate 1.5 hour quizzes of my knowledge of economics and finance. Let's just say that basic is being generous. Why do I always feel like an impostor no matter what I'm working on?

In addition to raising money for Christchurch, wearing stripes, and interning, I also needed to finally strong arm people into meeting with me so I could finally conduct my actual fieldwork research. I've spent six months being patient and building relationships and learning, and I now don't have any time left for people to be convinced of the value of my research and I can't learn any more Maori language or share breath with more folks before I need to finally collect some data. So this week I resorted to just full on harassment and casting my net real wide in terms of who could hook me up with whom. One response I got - "You know Elizabeth that this type of research is really only conducted by large research teams with substantial budgets, so I really think you should adjust your scope". Again, no time for readjustment, hopefully dreamjobs.com will pay for it

In gardening news this week, I have a totally new appreciation for teachers. At the end of every gardening session, I'm like, "Wait was that really only an hour?". Then I usually go home and have to stare at a wall for an hour before I can do anything again. I can not imagine having 20 kids for a full day, so hats off to you teachers. I also try and plan something new and exciting each week, and each week it generally turns to chaos with whatever I carefully planned, being very quickly adapted to lots of screaming and chasing and lots of grabbing. This past week, I brilliantly came up with planting cress (it's a British thing, eggs and cress on toast) in egg shells and the kids could design faces on the shells so that the cress is like hair. Well apparently that's one thing they didn't get from the British and have no idea what cress is. But they are also adorable, this week in addition to being exhausted, they also really turned around my whole day - so maybe that's why you do this teachers?

I also discovered a few new points of evidence of the confusion that is Kiwi culture - they measure weight in kgs here, but baby's weight is in pounds. When asked why? "Because baby weight is more often noted in pounds". What?? They also make a big deal out of 21st birthdays here, but the drinking age is 18 and there's no actual milestone at 21. When asked why? "Well isn't that how you do it in America?" Umm yes, but with some logic behind it. "Well it's probably just because of the U.S." So do you have a big Sweet 16? "No, why would we do that?" I give up

So in the end, I did some event planning (Eroc when are you visiting again?), some finance/econ consulting (Bob, when is our tutorial?), and some hard core harassing (Steez, why'd you go home?), and learning to teach while gardening, both things I know nothing about (Eve, Mom - could use some tips). So the lesson again is I miss you all, and I continue to be shocked by how I spend my days here

Its Business Time

I knew with being gone for two weeks that I would need to seriously throw myself back into things, not only because of time slipping away (I've now been here 7 months! just FYI, apparently time goes by faster in the future); but also because after the visit I knew I'd be a bit homesick. Some may argue its never actually business time in New Zealand, and an element of that is true....

When I tell people here about my research, they either laugh or grimace. When I tell people I'm here on a Fulbright fellowship, they look incredulous. I decided maybe a new pair of glasses would help make myself more business believable and get people to take me and my research a bit more serious. And lets be honest, academia is not an easy fit for me. I don't have the ego or the patience for it, and it generally feels a bit indulgent. The more convincing my disguise, the better. I also have the bad habit of sleeping in my glasses, so my previous pair basically has chips missing out of them, is bent in odd angles, has too weak of a prescription, and generally make me look mentally challenged.

So armed with my new specs, I was prepared to tackle a range of meetings I had set up prior to Stephanie coming, not only regarding my research, but alas also regarding JOBS. Yes, crazy that the time has come so soon. I've gotten REAL used to not working. And although I'm here Fulbrighting around, New Zealand tends to make you want to throw it all in and start a winery or a B and B, or just become a fisherman. But I did apply for two jobs post Fulbright, one here in Wellington and one in Rome. I guess this is the part where I should tell you that I've also decided to stay a bit longer in NZed. The Fulbright gives us up to 5 years to use our return ticket, tempting, but don't worry I'm just staying till February (so far).

Its officially spring!!!! I almost forgot what its like for it not to be dark when I wake up and have my towels dry again (well almost).

In honor of spring cleaning, I decided to head to the dentist and discovered some things are universal across cultures. Why is it that the minute the dentist has filled your mouth with suctioning tubes, and squirty water, and has an electric brush and a pick stuck in your gums that they decide to "have a conversation". I think they secretly derive private joy out of knowing that they can say whatever they want because although it may seem like a "conversation" you actually can't say anything back. Case in point, "Oh you're from the U.S. originally? What part? I love Florida. Isn't it gorgeous there? Don't you just love the people in West Palm Beach?" And the whole time, I have to make odd grunting noises like I am participating in this "conversation". And by the time all the apparatuses are out of your mouth, its gone on so long that you can't then go back and correct/disagree with everything, so you're just left seething with the fact that this guy thinks you're from Florida. Like going to the dentist isn't bad enough already. Plus side - no cavities for me
Its also business time for running. Here are my new jet propulsion kicks imported from Zappos. I'm finally ready for serious yogging. In breaking this new pair in I got stuck in a hailstorm in 50mph winds on the South Coast - so maybe spring has a bit more sprunging to do

After pictures were posted of Stephanie's recent visit, most of the comments that I have received have been regarding my hair. Yes I'm 29 and have finally started drying my hair on a daily basis. Now I can't quite realize why it took me this long, maybe it was the last vestiges of my hippie days, or a silent rebellion against my Mom chasing me with a comb, or just laziness....They say the Fulbright will change your life, I didn't realize this is what they meant.
In NZed, business time always includes time for fun. The average work week here is 35 hours and mandatory 4 weeks vacation per year. So there's naturally time for taking advantage of the start of scallop season. I've always really liked scallops, but diving for them (not me this time, but a friend - I know surprise I'm making some), plucking them out of the ocean and right into my mouth, then cooking them in butter and garlic ON A BOAT, indescribably awesome. Also sporting swangees (this flannel shirt, another NZed term that can't quite be explained) and seeing about four rainbows, just your average business day

On a sad note, Christchurch has been struck by a major earthquake and has had over 300 afterschocks, some of 5.0 and 6.0 in magnitude since then. I'm sure you all already know this considering that you had emailed me about it before I even knew that it had hit Christchurch and not here. It had woken me up in the middle of the night but I thought it was just a small one. Amazing that no one died, and that through all the damage and loss of jobs and homes, that Kiwis have really maintained their sense of humor. A website for a C Church restaurant, advertises "al fresco" seating where their building used to be. In the spirit of the people of C Church, we'll be hosting a fundraiser next week by baking American treats to sell to hungry Uni kids. Hoping to raise some cash for those in need by sharing some of America's finest desserts of rice krispie treats, brownies, and apple pie. In the meantime, please do keep the people and historic places of Christchurch (flower clock!) in your thoughts as they try to clean up and rebuild

Living Life like a Video

And so Stephanie would soon find out.....
"You ready B?" "Let's go get em. Let's lock this down like its

supposed to be, the '10 Bonnie and Clyde(y), Phannie and Bee"

Enjoying the O-Wow views of Fiordland

The magic of Milford Sound
Just one third of the wildlife trifecta of Milford Sound
Oh NZed, you continue to slay me
Ski school in session at the Remarks

Dancing and singing - check and check. Doing it well - check

Just one of the many awesome meals we enjoyed

Wine tasting in Hawke's Bay

Sheep staring while we frolic around them
Just another waterfall on Milford Sound

Lake Tekapo and quickie tramping

Our favorite fireplace at Barmuda in Queenstown

So many vines

That about sums up our two weeks

Editorial note: Sorry for the delay in posting, but Stephanie kept hogging my computer to write her own blog about our travels. (And doing an awesome job at it) I will not try to summarize our trip, but rather focus on what Stephanie added to my New Zealand experience, because after all this is my blog.

You avid readers may remember awhile back when I traveled for two weeks up in Northland that Stephanie promised that on her visit that I could be the Jay-Z to her Beyonce, or that she would be the Beyonce to my Jay- Z. Well she delivered, and in more ways than I could have imagined.

To start off, I have frequently discussed starting an import business and with visitors am sort of running a mini-one of my own (business idea! begun, more on this later). My most recent import through mule Stephanie included - more Schultz (I wonder if they even know they've gone international), Emergen-C (keeping NZed healthy), running shoes (Zappos, if you could offer free shipping internationally you would be hands down the best company out there), a few Food Network magazines (although this is somewhat of a tease since I can't get all the ingredients here and the recipes are for summertime), and most importantly her sense of humor and a bit of patience for the fact that its winter.

Here's a bit of what Stephanie delivered that was more than I could have ever asked for and a few themes of our travels:

-Someone to talk to (and talk to and talk to): Spending most of my time alone in NZed, I tend to get caught up in my head on a lot of things, or think that I'm more funny than I am, or have anxiety about things that are no big deal. Having company for two straight weeks, may sound like a lot of talking, but I relished it and made sure to air all my caught up ponderings - WARNING, when (if) you come to NZed be prepared to discuss commodity trading and all your favorite things in the same trip, even if you bring 10 cds of music with you to drown me out.

-MUSIC!, Stephanie should not get all the credit for this, since it was the love of many of our mutual and some of her friends that generously made cds to accompany us along our journeys. I'm now the proud owner of all this FREE music, and it reminds me not only of our fun travels, but of all of you (even creepily those of you who are Stephanie's friends/coworkers that I've never met).

-Wine tasting - I had done a few wineries with Bob when he visited, and had been to an NZ wine tasting in DC before I left, so I knew there was much more of NZ wine country to be visited. Thankfully Stephanie provided a willing partner and kept me from having to drink alone, especially since we hit an impressive 21 wineries in 12 days and tasted over 100 wines. I've never known a lot about wine, except that I like it. Now we can both tell you where the only Gamay is produced, the difference between shiraz and syrah, that Rose is really underappreciated, and how Cab Franc is great outside of Northern Virginia. We also mutually agreed that there's something thats just so luxurious about wine tasting. I think there are about 170 wineries in total in NZed, so I'll need some more visitors to take them all down. I think Stephanie could be convinced to come back for this perhaps??

-The lean back - Has officially been broughten to New Zealand, and I will tell you that NZeders (and I) are much better for it. Going out and dancing alone hasn't really been my style, so having my co-dance conspirator (I mean we did meet in a hip hop dance class afterall) over here really opened up this opportunity for me. Stephanie also packed the Singles Ladies dance in her bag, and we unpacked them both on the dance floor to unending applause (even if it was our own). Coupled with the lean back, Stephanie also brought her fervor for dance parties and I realized how much of a void there has been without them. At the end of one superb evening, where we relaxed by an open fire in Queenstown and discussed our futures, we got up to head home and on the way out we asked someone, "Do you know a good place to have a mini-dance party on the way home?" They looked at us in somewhat confusion. You know just a quick wiggle to really seal the end on the evening, nothing too intense. Well no worries, we could find one on our own

-Skiing in the Southern Hemisphere - Hadn't done it ever, and hadn't skiied in NZed yet and winter is waning. Luckily, Stephanie packed her Fear Factoring in her bag and decided she would undertake skiing for the first time and put herself in my hands for teaching. I should mention I've also never taught anyone to ski and of my family I am probably the worst, but you know I love being bossy so I felt I could step up to the task. Stephanie was an excellent student bringing some obvious natural ability, and got bonus points for saying I was "so patient". Patience was a New Years resolution of mine, so thanks for bringing that over as well, Steez.

-Milford Sound - its claimed to be the 8th wonder of the world, or at least superlative loving NZed claims that it is, and I hadn't been yet and was starting to get antsy. One of the things thats touted as so great about Milford, is the chance of seeing wild marine mammals, but its rare. Luckily, Stephanie's Mom is a Minister and she packed her heaven points, and we got the wildlife trifecta - seals, dolphins, and penguins. Throw in a few waterfalls, beautiful sheer cliffs into a fiord, and I might agree that it is the 8th wonder of the world - after I see the other 7. The one downfall was I wanted to stand on the front of the boat a la Titantic, and preacher Stephanie wouldn't let me cause she was scared I'd go over. I will be redoing that next time I go back.

-Sheep frolicking - seriously I've lived here 7 months now and had not had a good sheep frolic yet. Sheep frolicking alone could get weird, and that would take some self-photography that I haven't quite managed yet. There are reportedly over 40 million sheep in New Zealand, but the problem is they keep them penned up, so its hard to get a good frolic in without risking being shot or cutting yourself on barbed wire. While we still did not find any free roaming sheep, we did get a few good frolics in while 1000 sheep just stared us down. Apparently they need more introducing to the frolic. Maybe this is another business idea - like kobe beef are fed sake and given hugs, I bet sheep who are frolic with would taste better.

-Good food - it should be said that I have been less than impressed with New Zealand's restaurants prior to Stephanie's visit. It should also be said that I gave up my vegetarianism when I moved to New Zealand, in the name of cultural exchange. So if you're mad at me, the State Department made me do it, take it up with them. Given our trip to Italy last year of degustation delights, I forewarned Stephanie that you don't come to NZed to eat (you come to frolic, see rainbows, waterfalls, hobbits, and the like). When we were planning this trip (yes with spreadsheets), Stephanie put herself in charge of finding us restaurants that I could still afford on my student budget. And while I won't give her all the credit for finding them (or recommending some that were a no-go like Lonestar), since many of them we somewhat happened upon. I will give Stephanie full credit for bringing the knowledge that you can eat well and affordably at restaurants in NZed to me. What I brought to her - teaching her to share. Some of the things we shared over the two weeks - gnocchi, lamb shanks, oxtail, salmon, sushi, scallops, foie gras, warm cabbage slaw, and the list goes on......this gift of knowledge will have to be tucked away for the next visitor since I don't think its sustainable for my thighs.

You may remember with Bob's visit that there were a few things that I thought I might need to improve on in hosting visitors; so here's a few things I failed on delivering even after Stephanie brought so much:

-Curling - we'd researched it and had prepared our strategies for undertaking curling for the first time at Lake Tekapo, only to be thwarted since it is only a Thursday night activity.

-Teaching/getting someone interested in Maori culture and Maori tourism options. This may have serious implications for my research if I'm not even able to sell a hangi

-Bike rides, although we kind of tried, the places we were wine tasting were a bit hilly/strenuous to combine it with a bike ride. And did you see how many wine tastings we went to? That could never have been done on bikes

-An icing - Stephanie got me twice and I failed at getting her back

-The nightlife of Wellington - by the time we got to my actual home city we were too tired to even venture out. Some tour guide I am.

So as you can see Stephanie brought a lot to NZed and I am forever grateful. As much as I love New Zealand, it makes me love and appreciate it so much more when enjoying it with a good friend. It has also made me realize how much I miss all of you back home. Thanks again Stephanie, it was seriously an awesome two weeks.

Next visitor - Miss Alli Beall herself.

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

MeMooning and living a bit of Fa'a Samoa

First skill to learn on a MeMoon - self photography.

I'm winking here, not having a seizure as it may appear. Don't

worry I got better as the week went on....
These pics are out of order, deal with it, and no thats not me. This guy is from the Ministry of Health and Development and decided to change

into his lavalava (sarong) and get into the fiafia as well, including

taking on the traditional role of the woman. Love the Samoans humor
Just Me and the Moon, how romantic
Lounging in my fale looking at the sea
Enjoying some sun and final peace, after I gave in

to checking my email and lounging at the 5 star resort.

Sad tsunami destruction
The beach and fales at Taufua Beach Fales in

Lalomanu, Upolu, Samoa.
Fiafia at Taufua. A fiafia is a traditional Samoan

dance/musical performance. Basically a group of Samoan

men dancing in scantily clad outfits to traditional Samoan

music. Think Chippendales (although I've never actually been -

you're welcome Mom) but less cheesy. You know I love me a

choreographed dance number so I loved this, but also it was

great to see how happy they were and proud, especially after

the sadness they've been through.

Count me lucky, two fiafias in a row! The fiafia also includes

a fire dance element. This guy was ridiculously good, but after

all his fire eating and flips, I just became worried about how much

he was burning himself. I was also was chosen at this fiafia to

drink the kava - a real honor, don't worry I only had a sip. This fiafia

also began with someone (they were too fast for me to see who)

slipping me a note telling me how much they liked me and their

contact info. Basically if you're needing attention, head to Samoa
Watching the sunrise from my fale deck in Lano, Savaii. No, not after being up all night, from waking up early in the morning. Did it most days on my MeMoon - just so I could spend more time with

myself

Arriving at Laiula Beach Fales in Lano, Savaii, I was surprised

when they showed me to this little fale, since it was the only one

that was enclosed, with a deck, and if you can believe it, a full

refrigerator inside. I told them right away that it was too flash, I

mean it was just ME. But they insisted that it was the only one

that locked and that I should stay in it, and then lowered the

price - reverse bargaining once again. I'm not sure what I was

going to refrigerate since breakfast and dinner were included in

my stay. I also got a lot of jibes from the other guests (all couples)

that I was staying in the penthouse, so I offered up my full size

refrigerator to all of them= MeMoon Sharing
Oh that looks nice, a little ocean cave pool all for me
And there I am enjoying it. And now while I wouldn't ordinarily post pictures of myself in a bathing suit on the internet, I wanted to illustrate me enjoying one of my favorite activities - floating. Haven't I gotten really good at taking pictures of myself? Just kidding, this is courtesy of my MeMoon buddy, Janice.

A lot of people asked me before I came to Samoa, so what are you going to do by yourself the WHOLE time? First, I'd like to mention that spending time by myself is not a new idea, since that's mostly what I do here in New Zealand. But to answer your question - build sand castles. This may not look

impressive, but after battling the tide - I even built a moat and wall to

protect my castle, and rebuilding many times, this is the only picture I

caught semi-done. Some things never change - I've been making the

same model of sand castle my whole life, in the classic style of the

Matterhorn. This tunnel goes all the way through and there are

abominable snowmen inside - no joke.
Just another waterfall and swimming hole to enjoy all for ME

Now I know you might be thinking, isn't a MeMoon a bit self indulgent, Elizabeth? And lets get this out of the way right from the start, yes, yes it is. But before you really start to think I've become totally narcissistic over here - I decided if I was going to go totally indulging myself, then I'd like to do it where I could hopefully spread of bit of my self indulgence to those who may need/benefit from it. So I decided the location of my MeMoon would be in the tsunami affected area of SAmoa (remember the long A, it is not said like the Girl Scout cookie, and yes quite a few of you made that joke).

Now that we have that out of the way.....I decided to take a MeMoon to a Pacific Island because when else will I be so close (in) the Pacific, and frankly I needed a bit of a break from winter after finding all of my clothes moldy and having wet cold towels constantly. Don't worry you tax payers are not paying for this little MeMoon, its courtesy of the IDB. But you could also think of it as a bit of cultural exchange extra credit. After all I only signed up to exchange my culture with one country under the Fulbright, so all you taxpayers and the US government are getting a little freebie out of this....and don't worry I also brought my research and books. I should also say that while I've traveled alone before and lived in another country, I've never taken a vacation or tropical island holiday just for myself - let the MeMoon begin

The flight from NZ to Samoa is only 3.5 hours, but you gain a full day going there and lose a full day coming back as it is right over the date line. I've never been so happy upon landing to hear the pilot say "And the current temperature is 34 degrees". But mind you I was still dressed in my winter apparel from Wellington, including boots, leggings, and about five layers. Customs and baggage was a breeze, and I had done some reading beforehand and grabbed the cheap airport shuttle into Apia, where I planned to catch the local bus out to the East Coast where I would be staying the first couple days. I should first say that I'm pretty sure whoever is writing Lonely Planet for Samoa these days, may have been a wee bit generous with the kava, if you know what I mean. According to Lonely Planet, the local bus is a "must do" cultural experience, AND the local roads are a "dream" to drive on. After arriving at the local bus terminal and being told that it would be two hours till the bus was even leaving - I decided the local bus would not be a must do for me, and instead I'd try out driving on these roads that are a dream, because frankly sweating in a packed local bus just wasn't how I pictured starting my MeMoon. Lonely Planet had also warned that SAmoans don't do bargaining (hmmm, sounds a little like how Kiwis don't do celebrity). When I arrived at the car rental agency, we had a nice little convo in broken English and Samoan (of which I can understand/speak very little thanks to Maori - see it does come in handy), where I asked for a rental car and she showed me a huge SUV, then I asked for something smaller, she told me thats the smallest they had and it was 140 tala per day. Resigned, due to being tired (flight left at 6am) and sweaty, I said fine. Imagine my surprise when she rang me up and it all of a sudden was 90 tala a day. Now this is the kind of reverse bargaining I can get down with....

So I was ready to begin my MeMoon, peel off my winter clothes, and hit the tropical dream roads out to my fale (beach hut). Just to test my alacrity with left hand road driving, my huge SUV was also a left hand drive with mph instead of kms. Samoa switched to the left hand side of the road (right hand drive) about two years ago so that they could import used cars from New Zealand. Apparently my old hunker, was hanging around from the ol left hand drive import from America days. Well at least now I know what a mailman feels like - check that off my before 30 to do list.

Let's just say the MeMoon hasn't quite taken off in Samoa yet. Everywhere I went, from the rental car agency (maybe this is why I got a discount) to the gas station I stopped at, to arriving at my beach fale - everyone kept asking me where my husband was. "Nope its just ME (smile)", followed by looks of surprise and a wee bit of sadness for me, "Maybe we find you Samoan boyfriend? (wink)", "Umm, no, its just a trip for ME, isn't that great?", followed by looks of confusion. No bother, I was off on the open road - which I quickly realized was not a dream as y jaw rattled, and was now understanding why the SUV.

Anyway I eventually arrived, safe and sound at my first place - Taufua Beach Fales. They lost the most people in the tsunami, but have rebuilt about 25 fales right back on the beach. The devastation is still obvious all around them, where the trees have been swept away and buildings are just concrete slabs. Also sad, was the total destruction of the reef just off the beach, including childrens clothes still littered about. All of the staff are very open to talking about their experience, and very happy about rebuilding and tourists coming back. I was very glad that I was staying there even though it was very sad.

Met a nice staff member of the Fales, named Otele (tattooed on his arm just in case I forgot), who was very friendly about relaying to me his stories and telling me about the area, including offering to take me to see the local village rugby match and to go running on the beach. This quickly turned again to questions about where my husband was and if I was going to find a Samoan boyfriend and not leaving me alone for the rest of the evening - and I was wondering a bit when my peaceful book reading MeMoon was going to start. At dinner the first night (everyone eats together at a big table), I met Janice - another MeMooner! Finally someone who got it, although she wasn't aware she was on a MeMoon until I informed her. Janice, is from Ireland, but living in Australia and we shared some nice stories of living away from home in the Southern Hemisphere. She's also 29, and frankly I love Irish accents so much that even if she wasn't awesome, I would have probably hung out with her anyway just to listen to her talk. Janice was leaving the next day to go to another lodge, so I offered to drive her since I had my huge SUV so she didn't have to take a taxi and you know us MeMooners need to stick together. Ended my first day with a moonlight float in the ocean...There were three security guards for the fales, that all happened to sit in a little circle directly under/outside my fale - appreciate the thought, but not sure I need that much guarding. (Although I know my Mom is smiling right now)

Over the next couple days, I enjoyed a lot of sun and sand, floating, snorkeling, learning to play the conch shell, reading and you know general MeMooning, and got to know people staying at/around the fales. Although I was having trouble finding time for myself on this MeMoon since people (mostly local males) kept talking to me, from 7am to 10pm. While all the attention was nice for the ego, it started to get a bit much, so I decided one day that I would drive a bit down away from my fales so I could lay on the beach alone without being constantly chatted to. Found a nice little deserted stretch of sand, and not five minutes had gone by before 2 men were waving and coming out of the trees to talk to me. I was starting to think - what does it take for a girl to MeMoon in peace? So I did the next best thing, started hanging out with couples and old people, two things I have quite a bit of experience with.

I spent the second half of my MeMoon on another island in Samoa, Savai'i. Its about an hour ferry ride, but seems quite a bit different in that it seems to have even more happy villagers/children running around and an even slower pace of life. The place I stayed (see above) had just three couples staying there, besides me, all Kiwis. I packed them all in my SUV the next day to drive to another nearby beach, and one couple and I continued on to the most Western spot on earth (camera died so Kiwi couple has those pics). Spent my last night in Samoa huddled with the rest of the guests and all the villagers, around a small tv to watch the All Blacks take down the Wallabies (AUS). The Samoans were all rooting for the All Blacks, since half the team are Samoans anyway. Had a bit of a rough trip back starting with my flight leaving at 2am in the morning, then being squeezed next to two large Samoans, including one kid who was double my size and raised the arm rest between us and kept putting his leg in my area. His Mom had what looked like a very comfy upper arm, so I thought about offering to trade spots with him, but wasn't sure she would let me snuggle up. Landed in Wellington at 8am and had to jump right back into reality and head to class.....

A few general impressions of Samoa:

-So glad that it hasn't been ruined by massive tourism. There are very few big resorts ( I did go to one that was US$500 a night, to check my email and enjoy some unapproached beach time), most places are small locally owned beach fales. This makes it much nicer. I mean who doesn't want to stay in an open hut directly on the beach for less than $50 US a night. Also it brings you into contact with "real" Samoa (no I'm not an expert, I was only there 6 days, but more real than a Marriott would). Each beach fale, at least that I stayed at, employed all people from the local village. The other thing I love about the tourism "infrastructure" in Samoa is that lets say you read about a picturesque waterfall or cave pool or sliding rock area that you wanted to go see - instead of there being a big Western cheesy set-up, there's just an old Samoan dude sitting there who will ask you for 5/10/20 tala. Frankly I'd much rather give 20 tala to an old Samoan dude to see the Western most spot on Earth and swim in the little ocean cave pool, than have a resort pop up there. Also said old dude, decided after us that he was all set for the day and asked me for a ride back to his village, on the ride (all open windows) he reached in his briefcase and got out his fan :)

-Driving around Samoa in one way is a dream (not the road condition necessarily a la Lonely Planet, although Savai'i roads are much better than Upolu) because as you drive along there are always people walking along/in the road and EVERYONE smiles and waves. It makes you feel like you're in a parade where everyone is so glad to see you and you're so glad to wave at everyone. Although I'm not sure when the kids are actually in school since they're constantly meandering about. The biggest road hazard in Samoa that I encountered were pigs, just snorting around, crossing the road whenever they wanted = Awesome

-Working - Its not evident that anyone actually works in Samoa, other than at the fales, although people seem to be working really hard on manicuring/landscaping their property. People are just meandering about at all hours. I quickly started to understand why, by the end of the week I was like - turn the next page in my novel, nah can't be bothered, I think I'll just float some more or stare into the horizon. Although I was throwing around business cards left and right, and then after a few strange looks, stopped and thought, ok this is weird, I'm on a beach - but hey its handy and I was making friends/connections (wink).

-Katy Perry is alive and well in Samoa, thanks to American Samoa. Its weird to be driving around a tropical island and hearing U.S. accents (hot) on the radio and U.S. news (all caught up now). I did not go to American Samoa, but via rental radio, I got a little taste

-So to recap - my MeMoon amounted to 0 sunburns (I've learned so well from the ozone hole in NZ to apply sunscreen constantly), 1 incidence of sea something embedded in my ear (rectified, don't worry), only 4 mosquito bites, 12 new friends, 6 marriage proposals, 3 offers of land to buy in Samoa, 4 places to stay in New Zealand, a job offer for my old roommate Reba, 6 sunrises, 1 sunset in the Western most part of the world, 4 servings of oka (awesome samoan ceviche), a few Vailima (local beer), 4 books read, and the ultimate score - a free copy of The Girl who Kicked the Hornets Nest, which I've been waiting for from the library for 3 months and I happened to find in a little trade in coffee shop in Savai'i. In sum - PARADISE. I would highly/strongly recommend, and on flights to NZ you can do a stopover in Samoa for only $100 extra - get on it, before Marriott does.