When it rains, it pours, and then it doesn't

Loving my coat that I bought just in time! While I sometimes feel like

the murderer from "I Know what you did last Summer",

when I walk down the street, I'm so happy to be wrapped

up in this coat. What you can't see

is that its knee length.

I have an extra large melon (lets just say its my brain,

when actually its probably just my huge teeth)

I was warned against the umbrella in Wellington, which I

hate anyway(umbrellas), but here the wind is too strong anyway.

So a hood is necessary for the rain, but my huge head makes

finding one that will stay on difficult. Well this coat, has a huge hood, that zips up to

stay on in wind. Love it!

Planting trees at my professor's farm in the

pelting rain, loving my boots (thank you Ulix!) and coat, and my

classmate. He decided to study Enviro management

after losing his wife to cancer and then battling

cancer himself. He's also super sarcastic and hilarious

When I mentioned my lack of hugging in week 1, he now

makes sure everytime we see each other to give me a hug

coming and going. He also called me out on this photo

and said I just wanted a picture of me "pretending" to do

actual work. He's great and has taught me a lot about

perspective. In the small world of NZ, he also happens to live

next to my roommates good friends, which we discovered totally

randomly....

Posing for my Fulbright newsletter picture. After this photo I was invited to

dinner at the marae for mutton bird (titi)....

I know what a boring blog about weather...if it makes you more interested, I'll try to also make it a bit of a metaphor...

Of course everyone talks about how terrible the weather is in Wellington and given the beautiful fall and wearing flip flops till two weeks ago, I really thought there may be a bit of exaggeration involved. Well Winter is officially here. Since last Wednesday its rained most days with blustering winds and temps around 9 degrees (you do the conversion, I only work on Celsius now). Last Friday after a full on day of rain and wind, my cheery roommates informed me that this is how its going to be until November. What? You mean the rest of my time in New Zealand is going to be filled with rain, wind and cold? That sucks. Well, the next day it was gorgeous and sunny and about 16....and the thing is, although I'm not a huge fan of rain and cold, its really not that bad, mostly because of my awesome coat (See above) and that thankfully my house actually has heat unlike most houses in Wellington.

In addition to the rain and cold of the last week, I have also experienced my first sickness in NZ. I've tried to fight it with the Emergen C that Aaron and Alice wisely imported back from the U.S. on their trip; and with running, but it got me. But not in a full on I have the flu way, its only a sore throat runny nose, congestion. Nothing Vicks can't handle with a little Mucinex added in, sort of cold. So the moral is, U.S. drugs make everything easier to deal with (J.k Mom)...and my import business that I've been crafting is solid gold

Continuing on this cheery note, when I arrived back from traveling the South Island, my car wouldn't start (I only left my car sitting for a week, and no doors/lights open/on). Sparing you the gory details, the basic synopsis is two car jumps to the tune of $120, and one new battery ($140), which all resulted in actually needing a new alternator ($650). Not awesome and for a second I thought, Why do I own a car again? and almost put it up on TradeMe. But then I realized this is what owning a car is all about, pouring money down the drain for the privilege to not walk everywhere. Since I haven't owned a car in 4 years, and I loved every moment of it, I'm not used to these expenses or hassles. But I realized this is just what you have to deal with if you want to drive down 90 Mile Beach instead of walk (which would take forever! even in kilometeres) and if you want to be able to sing out loud on journeys instead of hum and wiggle on the sidewalk. You picking up the metaphor yet???

As I've said, I can't believe I've almost been here for four months. Just to remind me of how quickly time is flying, I have to give a mid-term presentation to the Fulbright board on June 22nd about the status of my research. I had a minor freak out and was feeling like I haven't accomplished enough or have anything to present - and then I realized, hello, I can speak in Maori (okay maybe just colors, family and location), and I understand the Treaty of Waitangi (more than most Pakeha in NZ), and I've had more noho Marae than many Maori, so although I may not have the answer to solving GHG emissions from agriculture yet, I can do the hongi without giggling anymore - now about putting that in a presentation.... But even better - this week I found out that they'll let me go for the Masters! The one thing is I'm not supposed to tell anyone because they don't want people to think they can skip ahead or that I'm getting extra privileges. So all you blog readers out there (what are there two of you now?) - don't go gossiping to all your NZ Vic Uni friends.

Pashing - I know you all want to know what the story is with boys here...First, I should say that there may be a bit of a war breaking out. No, not in Afghanistan, but between equally scary entities - my Mom and Alice's Mom. The one rule my Mom gave me in coming to NZ was "No dating". I think she's ultimately worried about having grandbabies a world away, apparently dating=grandbabies, watch out girls. Well, the one thing on Alice's Mom's mind - Finding Elizabeth a boyfriend/partner. She loves matchmaking. She's had five kids and they're all in relationships, so I'm naturally her next target. Sorry Mom, but I think Alice's Mom may be able to beat you in a wrestling match (see further on). To answer your questions though - no there are no boy prospects, unless you include the gardner that Alice's Mom thought I should keep my eye on. BTW, pashing is one of my favorite Kiwi words and means "making out". I like to think its derived from "passionate kissing". Well there's been none of that...you're welcome Mom.

Yogging - so being sick has kept me from running a bit. The only thing that's gotten a work out this week is my credit card. And the half marathon is only a month away. I got Alice's Mom to do the half marathon with me. Boy was that a mistake. As I said, she's in her fifties and has had five kids, and she's totally showing me up. She's running at least 11k a day, EVERY DAY! When I saw her a week ago I mentioned that I might drop down to the 10k, and she said "Bull@#$%". My Mom's favorite saying is "The bottom line is...", well Alice's Mom's favorite saying is "That's just ridiculous". You know what is ridiculous - that she is going to smoke me on this run, by miles/kilometers! I guess I did convince her to do this run, so I do need to get it together....

Being old - I've mentioned age before, and how I mostly meet/interact with people way younger than me here. Well in case I somehow forgot, and for all you out there, in case you ever forget - talk to your parents. When talking to my Dad this week he said, "So are you feeling weird about being, what is it 28, 29, and STILL in school? Well if you feel weird you can always talk to Jimmy (my brother who is 19) about Uni". Parents always keep things in perspective....yes I'm old, and yes I'm glad I'm getting this Masters out of the way now, and yes, I'm friends with people my brother's age. However, I don't think my 19 year old brother would agree that we have a lot in common in terms of study...he's way cooler than me

Chasing Waterfalls in Middle Earth, refusing to stick to the rivers and lakes that we were used to

Finally found Smeegle at the Weta Cave
Holding on tight on White Knuckle Airlines, view out the plane.
Just a gorgeous day on the West Coast
Pancakes anyone? Pancake rocks on the Wild West Coast
Taking over the taps at Monteiths brewery
Considering other ways to make money in Shantytown
Running out of money on our trip so we had to stop

to pan for gold.
Breaking the rules and much happier about it, at Franz.
Trying to get closer at Franz Josef Glacier
Fox Glacier, Bob is NOT impressed. But we did walk the wrong way

over ANOTHER swing bridge so that may have something to do

with it
A river that is now a rock desert that Bob is indignant over,

and may be starting a rock export company, FYI Laurie

Mt Hooker in the background.
Mt Hooker in the background bringing out the best

in us.
Got thirsty on the drive so stopped for a quick

drink at Fantail Falls.
Should be said that Bob doesn't like heights, and this was the first of

about five swing bridges that he had to cross. Basically when you walk

on it it wobbles and shakes and makes you feel like its about to come

down. Good combo for fear of heights
Taking in the Blue Pools in my new hat, purchased while getting

trapped in Qtown

Just enjoying Middle Earth and all the wizardry that comes

with it.
Taking in the Remarkables on a remarkable boat tour
Leaving our cares behind, we took some time on the swings.

We also made this into a competition of who could get higher, which

I also won. Don't challenge me on the swings
We wanted to reenact RWRR Challenge on the Luge, but alas

it was closed so we did the next best thing. I still won
Bob conquering his fears by climbing Bob's Peak in Queenstown
Stopping for a quick healthy snack in Cromwell
Rethinking business school and pondering life, at Lake Pukaki

in the shadow of Mount Cook, after visiting Twizel, the mecca of

nightlife on the South Island.
Getting some extra arm workout, squeezing two people

in the photos at the Bridge of Remembrence in C Church.
Punting on the Avon in Christchurch, its no Venice, but that

ball was gondola.
The sunrise the morning Bob arrived. A good omen

So I've had my first friend visiting AND for the first time gone much more south in the South Island. Thank goodness I watched LOTR before I came (see previous post) because now I can really appreciate Middle Earth. So a few themes that ran through our whirlwind tour:

Enjoying Middle Earth: So many places on the South Island are just like Middle Earth, and maybe its the movie, or maybe the place made the movie, but you can't describe it and you can't capture it in pictures - but you do see hobbits. I mean they're everywhere, its ridiculous

Flying by the Seat of Pants: So although I emailed Bob a lot to ask him what he wanted to do, at the end we just ended not planning much and just deciding to see the South Island. Lucky us that this is the slowest time of year for tourists, except that this is also the time they close a lot of places that we had been planning to go. Like Shawty's in Twizel, hotspot that I'm sure it is. Also, driving times should always be extended down here, maybe by double. And hiking times should be halved, what?? That's right...you saw what I did to the QCT (see post 2), well all NZ hiking times appear to be calculated for people with a cane.

Karaoke - For me an integral part of any visit to a new place is experiencing the local karaoke. Well Queenstown delivered - including a Maori dude who blew Prince's Purple Rain out of the water. Just as Bob had finally convinced me to sing Sweet Caroline to get the crowd going, whadda ya know, another group of Americans beat us to it and got all the US street cred for getting the bar pumped up. This was soon followed by a group of Brits bringing down the house with Oasis. Apparently Oasis = Sweet Caroline in karaoke speak for crowdpleaser

Waterfalls - A friend told me that just like when you're in Italy and you get cathedral/sculpture fatigue, well you get waterfall fatigue here. There's just soooo many and so many good ones, that you're like, "Great, another waterfall and amazing view, done that". And there's so many amazing mountain views that you also are like okay, how many more do I need to see? But each one is spectacular and all do warrant a viewing and appreciation, especially Mt Hooker. Mt Hooker = The David

Roadtrips - There's a lot of time to talk in the car and ponder some of the great questions of life, like "Why did the U.S. decide not to use the metric system?" and "Why do certain countries use different voltages?", and "What's the difference between a glacier and an iceburg?" When following Lonely Planet's recommendations on places to see, just know that they tend a bit towards exaggeration, where is Rick Steve when you need him. On that note, if you ever find yourself in Blackball, pop.85 , a stop at the Blackball Salami Factory and the Hilton would be highly advisable.

Wineries and breweries - There's basically a winery or brewery in almost every town in NZ, so you could theoretically just tour around tasting libations - this would probably lead to driving on the wrong side of the road frequently, so should be avoided. Also, if going to purchase wine to bring back to America, it would be advisable to wait till the end of the trip if you still want it to be around. As a side note, if you're short on chairs, making stools out of kegs - genius.

The Great Outdoors - This trip has made Bob realize that he'd like to be more outdoorsy, well mostly for the gear, but the views are nice as well. When you're on a whirlwind tour there's not as much time for long sojourns in the wild, but we did take advantage of some highway hiking. Basically 20 minute hikes off of a highway route. Super convenient and perfect for fast-forward outdoorsing.

Hiccups - So there were a few hiccups on our South Island Adventure and a few lessons learned: I misplaced my wallet AGAIN, luckily once again it turned up, but I really need to stop making this a habit or my luck might run out. Also, had a small car accident in our rental car, some other rental car was parked directly behind me and I backed into it. No damage to their car but a bit of paint loss on ours. Luckily I got the insurance AND when we returned the car, no one was there, so little surprise for them, hoping its no big deal.....Its also no joke when Lonely Planet tells you to fill up on petrol, coasting on fumes in the mountainous terrain of NZ is not advisable. Also, missed the ferry back to Wellington so we had to take a 12 person plane ride which is nicknamed, "White knuckle Airlines". We survived and Bob conquered some more fears. But it all worked out and added a few elements of surprise to our adventure

Well those are the big picture highlights, but one thing Bob regrets is not getting to play netball (women's basketballesque game here). He thinks he would be awesome at it after watching the final of the Swifts vs. the Bluejays. Also Bob would like to note that if America put together a rugby team made up of NFL allstars, that they would be the best in the world. I defended the Kiwis, but my roommates took Bob's side, so that was that.

One thing I've learned from having my first visitor is that I need to brush up on my NZ trivia for all that question time available while driving. So back to researching.....Excited to have more visitors, thanks for coming Bob!!!

Three Months and Flying By

Just thought I'd share a picture of the first carrot cake I've made
Ended up dressing up as Princess Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld. I know,

you've never heard of her, neither had I but figured it was cheap and easy

to just buy a purple wig. Someone remind me the next time that I think I

should wear a wig that I always end up just looking like a transvestite (all

transvestites reading this blog, please see previous post). But check out

the awesome Shera - esque crown that I made with glitter and stickers.

Fitting since Princess Amethyst is 13. I'm here with Zorro (Alice) and Mr

Muscles (Aaron) which is like Mr Clean cleaning product. Alice made him

this jumpsuit, which was perfect.

Sorry I haven't posted in a bit, I've been busy watching Lord of the Rings for the first time. I know, how could I have come to New Zealand without seeing it. The guy at the video store told me I shouldn't tell anyone my dark secret and that to make up for it I should watch the extended version. Extended version, what is it, 12 hours??? I got through one and two this past weekend, much at the expense of my research, and much thanks to Alice and Aaron who made it even more enjoyable by narrating where each scene was filmed and friends of theirs in different parts.

This past week marked three months here and I can't say it enough, its absolutely flying by. I guess spending 12 hours watching LOTR helps make that happen as well. To mark the three months here's a little recap/update of some themes:

Friends: Now that I have some friends, I've realized I can't afford them. Going out all the time really eats away at my meager stipend and I don't want to miss an exciting trip cause I went to trivia too many times in Wellington.....Also I need to save for when you all come to visit me. First friend arrival - Bob lands on Wednesday for a week and we're heading to the South Island for glaciers, Mt. Cook, rugby and more. Can't wait!

Fashion: Now that the weather has turned I'm having to get real creative with my wardrobe since as discussed in previous posts, for some reason I packed about 50 sundresses and tank tops and 3 sweaters. As far as fashion in Wellington goes, the basic uniform is black tights with some jean thing over it (this could be jean shorts, jean skirt, long jean shirt doubling as a dress), with some black high top keds or boots, and a black slouchie hat. So a good thing about the tights-jeanshort look is that this works basically all year round. I've decided to join this all year round club by seeing how cute my sundresses are over black leggings and seeing how many of my tanktops I can wear over a turtleneck. Will send photos

Yogging: I've taken up New Zealand's national pastime of yogging. For those not in the know, NZ invented jogging. Yep they slowed down the run and discovered a goldmine. It should be noted that I'm not naturally inclined towards running, no matter how much you slow it down. I sort of resemble Phoebe from Friends, and often feel like I'm going to wobble over. Well, picture that mess running a half marathon in about a month. I signed up for one, we'll see if I actually go through with it or just keep my yogging to what it was invented for, pleasure...