Quick Note

I just wanted to write a quick note to apologize for the lack of updates and pictures recently. The internet in my flat is very in and out (currently very out) and the library's internet isn't much better. (Apparently NZ isn't too strong in the internet department). But I promise to get things up and running as soon as the internet is back at my flat. (which we were told would be yesterday...) But I do have a lot of pictures and stories to share. Including a great one about my intense weekend tramping (hiking/backpacking) trip.
Stay tuned!! Sorry about the delays!!

Yet another adventure...

I have experienced the most adrenaline-packed weekend of my entire life. It was a true New Zealand weekend. I was lucky enough to go on a international student trip to Queenstown. Queenstown is like the hot tourist spot in NZ. It is the adrenalin capital of the world so it is super commercial. Here was my weekend:

• Get on the bus with about 20 other international students.
• Stop at a "pie" place. (Meat pies are HUGE here...don't ask me why...)
• Stop at a winery for a tasting/lesson. This part was awesome. We tasted 8 types of wine, and being broke college students none of us spit it out like we were supposed to. Might as well savor the free quality alcohol right? We didn't learn too much because they didn't really think there was a point in teaching us about wine. (I was kind of disappointed because I was interested in it all but oh well)
• Arrive at the Kawarau Bridge to jump down 43m at the world's very first commercial bungy. This was by far the coolest/scariest/most amazing thing I have ever done. The problem is it is so hard to explain to someone who hasn't felt that insane rush of a feeling when you launch yourself voluntarily off the edge of a stable bridge while attached to a bundle of elastic. It was beyond words. Here is a glimpse of my experience: 

• We left the bungy and arrived in Queenstown. We spent the night exploring the town and just hanging out. Believe it or not bungy jumping leads to a HUGE adrenaline crash and takes everything out of you, but we still found the energy to explore some before crashing at the hostel.
• Next we woke up early and went for a jetboat trip. Don't know what a jetboat is? Here is a tiny explain: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=If8_PVc4dEI&feature=related  This was amazing. I thought we were going to crash and die multiple times. It's ok, it was only the 2nd scariest moment of my life (the scariest occured as I hurled my body off a bridge the day before)
• The prettiest part of the trip came next. We went for a tramp (NZ word for hike) on the nice and easy Queenstown Hill Track. It led us to the top of one of the mountains in Queenstown. It was the prettiest thing I have ever seen in my entire life. Need proof? 

• That night was spent out on the town again. It was filled with dancing and good times (like most nights out in NZ).
• We woke up Sunday morning to take a gondola ride up a mountain then luge down part of it twice. This was pretty awesome. I am sure that if the weekend had started up with luging I would have thought it was much cooler. But lets be honest at the end of this weekend luging was not the most exciting activity in the world.
• The trip ended with a bus ride back home with a quick stopover at this awesome little fruit stand that had the best fresh and dried fruit I've ever had in my life.
  

All in all I am sure you can tell it was the most amazing weekend ever. It was adrenaline-packed and included many of the "must-do" activities New Zealand is known for...

Up next? Sky diving? Possibly...

Quick Bit!!

Just a heads up to everyone!!
I have finally set up a picture site. Sorry it has taken so long. I have my first 2 sets up and will update again after this weekend most likely!!

Here is the link:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/smalarkey13/

Enjoy!!

Life in LaLa Land

Will someone please wake me up?! I have attempted to write this entry multiple times now and couldn't quite figure out a way to describe what I am experiencing. Then it hit me when I was walking around with friends. I live in a strange horror movie. Now you have to keep reading before you get the wrong impression. I don't mean horror movie in the sense that I hate it here, because that is 100%ly not true at all. It's just what life is like here. Let me explain...

Daytime: (option 1): It is BEAUTIFUL and sunny and everything appears to be perfect. Everyone is friendly and smiling. There is so much to do. An average day can include anything from attending a lecture then going to the beach for the afternoon or exploring the HUGE botanical gardens which are a block away from my house. 

(option 2): It is cold and rainy yet still amazing. Time is passed hanging out with friends, talking, and watching movies. Though it is cold there is still some exploring done. And even through all of the rain everyone has a smile and are beyond friendly (even if they don't know you).

but then...

Nighttime: It is eerily quiet out. There is no one around. The neighbors aren't playing music and the streets are empty. Everyone is inside somewhere. Dunedin appears to be dead. Where is everyone?! Then the "zombies" come out!! (Once again, keep reading to understand) As you walk down the deserted streets to get a friend home you notice people off in the distance. They start stumbling closer and closer. As you turn a corner you see another crowd headed your way. As they get closer you realize they are coming from all directions. They are stumbling and slurring. They are everywhere!! As they yell toward you, you realize you are completely surrounded by them. You have to be careful and just keep walking, act like one of them and yell back if it makes you feel safer, or avoid eye contact and turn down a different street to avoid interaction. There appear to be no rules in the town you are in. There are couches burning in the streets, glass broken everywhere, and "zombies" galore. Then you see a police officer and expect things to settle down. Wrong! They just stand around and watch, make sure the fires die down and no one gets too loud. The "zombies" continue to walk around with their open containers, which appear to keep them going (yes, open containers on sidewalks/streets/etc. are allowed in some parts of this town, aka lots of campus) . They are everywhere. Where have they all come from?! A house party must have ended, or a bars may have closed. Who knows, all you care about is just making it through the night. If they catch you, you may very well get caught up and follow them and soon become just as stumbly and slurring as they are. When you finally get home and into your bed you close your eyes and drift into sleep.

When you wake in the morning, you slowly open your eyes thinking everything must be a dream, you are back in your bed in the US, ready to head off to New Zealand. But no, you pull back the curtains and see beautiful green landscapes and realize this is somehow real life. 

How is this place possible?! Just my way of trying to describe what life is like here in Dunedin. My own little LaLa Land!!

O-Week

Every walk down the street and wonder to yourself, "How did I get here?! What is going on?!" If not, visit Dunedin, New Zealand during O-Week. O-Week is the week before classes start at Univ. of Otago (aka orientation week). It is the most out of control week anyone will ever experience. For the first time in my life I felt as though I was in a dream land for 6 days straight. *For all of you parents out there, this is a warning you might not want to continue this entry*

O-Week consists of Kiwis drinking and partying pretty much around the clock. Bars and clubs around town put on promotions to encourage this drinking, and police officers don't really do too much stop this either (as you will soon read about...). People are always dressed in costumes for one reason or another, so it is not strange to see a penguin stumbling down the street at 1 in the afternoon. You will most likely also notice students (mostly males) climbing on rooftops and smashing glass bottles anywhere and everywhere. This is O-Week. You can hear techno versions of ANY song (including the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song- one of my personal favorites) blasting throughout the entire night into the next morning, afternoon, and following evening.

One story from my week: *and yes for all those parents reading, don't worry about my health and safety there was NO way I could keep up with a Kiwi during O-Week, so I didn't even come close to trying...don't worry* But one fun story...

My 2nd or 3rd night here my complex had a party, we have this huge courtyard so we're known for...hosting get togethers over here at 480 Leith...well some boys drank a few too many and decided it would be fun to add to the glass that already covered half of Dunedin and started to smash more bottles. Pretty soon 4 or so police officers come strolling into our yard accompanied by a man with a big TV camera. Every American's first reaction: SHIT THE COPS! RUN!" Every Kiwis first reaction: Oh, the police, anyway...can I have another beer? So us Americans slowly calmed down and realized the cops were just standing around talking to some of the people. Turns out, they really didn't care about anything. They just had to make sure we weren't too out of control. The glass bottle throwing had stopped so they just hung out and talked to us for 15 minutes. We had all momentarily forgotten that the drinking age here is 18, so all the 20 year old American's slowly pulled their beer back out and continued to socialize. It was the weirdest experience of our lives. We were then told to watch the channel 9 the next day and we could maybe see ourselves on a Cops type show if they liked the footage. But we didn't have a TV and by witnessing what other parties around us looked like, I'm assuming we didn't make the cut. 

With all that said, O-Week is over and classes have officially begun. I'm really enjoying it here. I've learned to accept the fact that is will almost always be raining here, so enjoy the sun when you can and don't mind always damp clothes. Hopefully my classes this week turn out to be great and my weekend tramping (hiking) adventures begin soon!!

p.s. I am starting to pick up the slang so I'm sorry if I accidentally throw it around a little in these blogs...yikes! I'll add a word a blog as a glossary. 

This weeks word: Kia Ora- (pronounced Key Or-a) A Maori greeting. Used to say Hello, Welcome, Greetings, etc.