Hot Air on the Horizon

I am well into my first month in New Zealand and the last few weekends have been dedicated to traveling, eating, and fun-having. Depending on the kiwi, I still have no idea what some of them are saying. The accent is a subtle mixture of a sophisticated Brit and a down-under Aussie (but shhhh, don't tell them I said that)!

I have been told yet again that I am "more American than the American's on TV." What does this mean? That I am merely a real person in front of their face, or perhaps that I really do fit the "loud and proud" stereotype? I'm guessing it's a little bit of both.

Being in New Zealand brings about the honor of being the first to participate in "Earth Hour." We brought in the first clock strike of 8:30 p.m. with a huge countdown from 10. When we hit the "3,2,1" cheer-your brains out phase, to my dismay, absolutely nothing happened! I don't think a single light turned off that wasn't already off. It was a bit off-putting, but quite hilarious. I suppose it is like bringing in the new year minus the big, shiny disco-ball drop (and minus the kiss of course, hehe). The best part however, was the amazing fire works show Hamilton put on before the countdown. I was impressed! It was as if I was celebrating New Years Eve & 4th of July all in 10 minutes!

The small town I am in, Hamilton, has 2 claim's to fame:

(1) "Balloons over Waikato" is the big event of about 35 hot air balloons masquerading around the skies over the town, lifting off and landing randomly about for a few days. The wonderful family that picks me up for church on Sunday mornings decided that the way home should be an exciting adventure of "balloon-chasing." We twisted and turned around neighborhood roads to finally catch sight of the "Re/max" balloon. Funny that out of all American based companies, Re/max, the property sellers, would have a hot air balloon in Hamilton, New Zealand!

(2) The "V8" is a huge deal here as well! Not V8 the vegetable drink...V8 the engine-type! They close off all the streets and cars race around the town for 3 days. I believe that is coming up mid-April.


Here are some photographs from the adventures the last few weekends have yielded:

The first one is from the Waitomo Caves, where we are learning how to "absail" down seemingly bottomless, black pits in order to get inside these amazing limestone caves. The caves are filled with rushing water and "glow worms," which are actually cannabalistic maggots with shiny poop that look like stars on the dark cave walls. Romantic, eh?


The second and third are from an adventure to the Coromandel Peninsula. I took a hike with some new friends to Cathedral Cove ---> this was a location spot filmed in the movie series "Chronicles of Narnia."

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I haven't uploaded any pictures yet, but last weekend I went to see a band called "The Fray" in Auckland and it was an amazing show. They sounded even better live than on the radio! We were practically front row, because the band isn't as huge in NZ as in the USA. Perfection!

Still on the lookout for the kiwi bird. It is my new found goal to find one of these suckers while I'm here. Updates to come!

Cheers

In the Beginning...

Hello all! Welcome to my travel blog, or shall I say "Kia Ora!"

I've been in New Zealand for about 3 weeks. It's true what they say - this country is one of the most beautiful places in the entire world. Everywhere I go, the land is green and rolling. The people are friendly and relaxed. The food....well....let's leave that topic for another day! Haha

Some things I've noticed since I've been here:

- the mullet: an essential for any "stylish" dude
- no shoes: not a requirement for the classroom, contrary to popular belief
- neon stubbies: bright weather calls for bright short-shorts (males only, sorry ladies)
- the use of the word "heaps": used in replace of "a lot"

For a couple weeks I was thinking that these Kiwi's were the strangest people on the planet. But then I realized (after being told by heaps of them) that I, being an American, am 1) always the loudest person in the room, 2) make even an innocent game of volleyball into a vicious competition, and 3) drink way too much coffee. True, true, and true. And I'm quite alright with all three of those, ha ha!

Being away from home for the first couple weeks was very difficult. No bear hugs, no sweet text messages from friends, no car with which to roam the roads. I didn't quite know what to do! I missed everybody so much. I've decided it takes approximately 2.15 weeks in a new country to meet enough people to have the perfect amount of socializing cookin'.

Some people I've met so far: Haley - a beautiful, hilarious woman my age who moved to Hamilton, New Zealand last year from Montana, USA with her family. She was a blessing! Coco - a sweet, caring woman who moved to New Zealand from China 7 years ago for a better education. Blair - a comically brave young man who came up on a dare to talk to Haley and me last week while we were studying over coffee, thinking we were "beautiful diamonds." He will definitely be an addition to the menagerie of friends this semester! Marty - the first person I met when I arrived, a social, fun-loving, butterfly that took me in and taught me what plasters are (bandaids, if you were curious!). And lastly, John and Lynda K. - the awesome parents of 3 who adopted me as their 4th, by picking me up for church on Sunday and making me lunch at their beautiful home my first week here! There will be more character profiles to come I'm sure, so stay tuned!

Here I am with Coco on my first adventure to the lovely Te Waihou Walkway - which is an hour's drive from Hamilton. Talk about beautiful! We may have gone to visit a "waterfall," but the rapid we found was a great alternative, he he!

This weekend I am off to the zoo, the gorgeous Hamilton Gardens, and the Waitomo Caves. I will be adding pictures from those adventures soon (unless my camera falls into the freezing water rushing through the caves...then I will be crap out of luck). Here's hoping for the best!

Cheers!