New Zealand - Don't Bother With An Itinerary.

kia ora :),

i should preface this post by saying it is a post that was begun at least two weeks ago and so the opening time context is not accurate at all. i figured i would keep it the same as i am so, so unforgivably behind in my posting. essentially, besides all the minutia and life observations that zip through my head daily that i would love to share with you (but lack the mental glue traps to catch and process) there have been three really big weekend trips i have done since i posted last - one to the coromandel peninsula, the next to mt. taranaki in edgmont national park down in new plymouth, and this past weekend to the bay of islands, about four hours north of auckland and almost at the top of the north island. my posting tardiness is shameful but i am going to try and stick to the chronological order of things anyway! so, coromandel - the weekend of march 6th and 7th! here follows the post i started so long ago. editor's note: ALL the following pictures were not taken by myself but either colleen or henry! this was before i got my pretty new camera.
its about 5.30 on this lovely monday evening as i'm beginning this post, and i'm only just now itching to start making non-plans for more adventures! this past weekend was definitely packed full of adventure, beginning with a quasi-impromptu roadtrip to the coromandel peninsula. though my friend henry had suggested this trip earlier in the week, the likelihood of us going was dampened quite literally on friday morning with steady rainfall through friday afternoon. however, as the rain slowed and the sun began to eventually shine out, we felt the adventure tide turning back in our favor, and me, colleen, and henry jumped in a rental car and headed out of auckland on route one. the drive was essentially smooth sailing until we got to the peninsula, and after crossing over and heading up into the hills and mountains, the clouds expanded over us and the rain began falling, lightly at first, then with more force as we climbed higher and higher up the most meandering, winding roads i think i've driven on in years. they eventually became all gravel and twisted sharply around cliffs with 'falling rock' signs every few kilometers and actual piles of fallen rock as if to prove a point. we realized as were driving that we had no particular destination in mind besides 'coromandel', and now that we were on the very large peninsula, we had to start picking some destinations! we decided to head for the hot water beach, which is a very popular spot for tourists (and normal people), where it is possible to dig a hole in the sand by the waves and have hot water seep into the hole. something to do with geothermal activity close to the beach? i regret not taking geology or ecology. we finally arrived in the misty grey rain and it looked more like Britain than sunny kiwi-land. We were soaked through in less than 2 minutes, but we were in such good spirits about the whole thing that we weren't really bothered, and we trekked out to the beach and set about digging holes to test the hot water capabilities. alas, we discovered a little too late that one required a shovel to move the wet, heavy sand and construct a hole adequately large enough to fill with hot water. we abandoned our quest and went to wash off in the waves, only to discover there were hot spots right under our feet! as the cool ocean water rushed around our ankles and the rain continued to fall, i let the tide going out suck my feet into the sand and felt the space fill with piping hot water, to the point where it felt like burning! it was an incredible sensation. we all stood there for a few minutes just letting the rain hit us with our feet toasty warm under the sand...amazing! then colleen and henry tried to teach me to do cartwheels, as they are something i have never been able to master. i think its purely psychological but i can never kick my feet up high enough. after a few sandy falls and laughs i managed to do a couple of BARELY acceptable versions and decided that was enough for the day. stay tuned for my cartwheel exploits part deux in my soon to be posted tales of the bay of islands on bonfire night! not really that exciting, just that i kind of did a few. they are still a work in progress. anyway! so we decided since it was pretty dark and wet out now that we should find shelter for the evening, something we hadn't really considered looking into with much detail beforehand. we put our damp sandy carcasses in the car and started to drive in the direction of cathedral cove, a famously beautiful beach cove we wanted to explore in the morning. we figured if we could find a backpacker's or a motel close by, we could zip down to it in the morning and then hike back up to auckland for the rugby game! after driving around and around in the dark with our fuel needle showing a dwindling amount of juice, we managed to find a motel/backpacker's at around 10.30pm. the three of us completely lucked out and got the last available room that just happened to have three sleeping spots! after a much needed shower and change, we walked down the street to a local bar where a couple of guys were jamming on guitar and what may have been a mandolin. it had a large patio where most everyone was drinking and relaxing (some far too relaxed) and it had the vibe of a very local watering hole. we were on the peripheral at first, but after a few drinks and exchanges with some of the locals we closed out the night dancing with everyone out on the patio! great fun. we got up the next morning (a little early given the evening we'd had before) but we gassed up and made it over to cathedral cove in no time. because we were there so early, there were only a few other cars and almost no one around - perfect. after we got out of the car and walked to the viewing platform i thought i was in a movie or a dream. it looked like something completely out of 'pirates of the carribbean', and i hoped aloud that captain jack sparrow might sail into view at any moment on the black pearl with a pirate flag waving, ready to sail us out into that perfect blue-green pacific. instead, we began what the department of conservation called a 45 minute trail, but because it was up and down hill, felt much longer. it was very beautiful but a bit humid, though i shouldn't complain as the most incredible thing was that the rain and dreary overcastness had completely disappeared, and the sun was shining out in full force! as we began a steep descent down to the beach, i could see some small brushy trees below me growing out of the sand. when we finally got down there, we walked through the trees and into the most picturesque beach view you can imagine.

the sand was almost white from the crushed up shells that composed it, the sea was rolling and frothing aquamarine and so clear, and the sun was washing over us. we turned and saw a massive hole in the rock cliff that jutted out into the water, well earning itself the name Cathedral Cove. we were all so excited to finally be there and to see just how beautiful it was made us pretty giddy. we took some silly pictures :)

we couldn't resist the water for long. i didn't have my suit so i had to create a makeshift acceptable bathing outfit, but i didn't even care. i felt so relaxed and at ease in that moment, running into enormous waves and diving in, that it barely crossed my mind. floating in the cool of the sea in such a beautiful environment was probably one of my favorite moments here thus far.

(that's my friend colleen testing out the water!)

like all good things, our time at the beach had to come to an end, but it was pretty much the most perfect morning i think i've had in ages. we washed off in a little waterfall we found coming down off of one of the cliffs (!so cool!) and hiked it back up to the car to make it back to auckland for the rugby game. this time, we took the pacific coast highway home, which follows the coast through the coromandel and back up to auckland. it was a beautiful ride that included a pretty funny stop at a beach that was famous for its bird life, where i made the poor life choice to go walking out onto what i thought was firm and solid sand but what turned out to be thick layer of goopy mud over a billion mussels. ouch! had to scrub my feet forever on the grass to get it off! we made it back to auckland in practically perfect time, though poor henry had to drop the car off and then book it back to shower and THEN meet the group at the globe bar and backpacker's. the rugby game was a ton of fun, much more chilled out atmosphere than i would have anticipated, though we did paint our faces and brought an acceptable level of rowdiness to the stadium.

one picture is of me and my friends emily and colleen enjoying the sun on our face paint, and the other picture is of my future husband, and who happens to be one of the auckland blues who also plays for the (gasp) All Blacks! can you tell which is which? haha. though the blues lost, it was a pretty awesome weekend all in all and i definitely want to go back to coromandel before the weather gets less than perfect around here. i think that's enough for one overdue post! remind me that i have to post about mt. taranaki and bay of islands before i am allowed to post anything else! in most recent news, tomorrow me and a few friends are taking the ferry over to beautiful waiheke island just a spit and a throw from downtown auckland. i have grand designs of going to about 3 vineyards and an outdoor market and 4 or 5 beaches but hey. if i've learned anything here, you don't need an itinerary to have an adventure, and most times, you're better off finding it without one. cheers :)

New Zealand - Sweet Bruises, Sweeter Stories.

hello all,

i finally have internet in my flat! glory be! although the internet is a bit finickity and sometimes chooses to not respond when i attempt to connect. generally though the signal is pretty good and hopefully i will be able to update more frequently. katie COUGH COUGH. i will take my uglydoll to the top of skytower if it means provoking more photos of babo in scotland! i eagerly await more photos of babo's misadventures. but for the time being, i thought i would post a few pictures of my own orientation travels and beyond. i'm in the process of getting a new camera but i've been pilfering photographs from my snap-happy friends to document the incredible day-to-day activities here. the title of my post is in reference to the dotting of small purple-green-black brusies on my shins, legs, elbows and arms, including a pretty spectacular and jagged tadpole-shaped one on the inside of my arm that is about 4 inches long (including the tail!). i don't want to oversell it - i'm not too beaten up, but when paired with my fair irish skin such items tend to present much more vigorously. i am in the process of getting the photographs of our caving trip to Waitomo, which was without a doubt one of the most incredible natural wonders i've yet to witness. in the briefest of terms, we went with a very down-home, no-frills tour experience who loaded me, ayelet, kevin, maura, micah, and another lady who joined out tour last minute into a turbo van and drove us 20 minutes out into gravel roads on the crests of hills and to our portal of entry into the underground world. we abseiled 90 feet (i read the wrong brochure!) to the cave floor where an underground river coursed from one hole of darkness to another hole of darkness. we were given tubes and told to walk upstream in our sweet wetsuits and helmets (functioning light included!) until the light from the mouth of the cave had essentially faded and we were in the dark with water rushing around us. the further into the cave and the darker it became, the more we noticed a faint glow coming from the ceiling of the cave, and it became clearer as it became darker that the ceiling of the cave was covered with glow-worms, thousands and thousands of them, forming what looked like constellations of stars all positioned just so. our guide had us continue walking to the end of the cave, navigating through water up to chest height and back down to ankle-depth, admiring the countless stalagmites and stalactites that were hundreds if not thousands of years old. once we reached the end of the cave, our guide had us all form a train with our hands on the shoulders of the person in front of us and walk back to a point where the river was wide enough to tube. we got into our tubes and were told to shut our lights off and everyone fell silent as we floated slowly down the river in the dark underneath the thousand tiny lights of the glow worms. it was breathakingly beautiful. and after coming back out into the light we we continued on into the other half of the cave, and into the rapids! kevin got stuck between two rocks in front of me and my tube crashed into his and i went completely upside down and got sucked under! it was pretty hilarious, i had to let everyone else tube by as i dripped and sputtered everywhere. we tubed until it got too shallow and then hiked and clambered to the end of that cave, sneaking through narrow tunnels and falling down chutes and slithering on our hands and knees through passages (note: where and how i beat the hell out of my elbows), and reached the end. I saw a cave weta!! It was more cool than gross. We had tea in the dark from a flash provided by our fearless leader, and then we trekked back upstream (note: where i fell and got my tadpole bruise) and when we made it back out into the light, we had to rock climb almost the whole 90 feet up back to where we started. i was petrified and excited, and there were two very tricky parts, but after i pushed myself off of a rock face behind me and hauled myself over the side i felt like i could do anything. when we had all made it to victory we loaded back in the van and collapsed in tired joy on the way back to base camp. it was a wet, slimy, awesome, awesome day.

obviously that is not me, but its the promotional shot the company uses to show the glow worms!! i hope i can add my own soon! xx.

New Zealand -- The Loud American(s) in the Land of the Long White Cloud.

hello from the future!

i am finally, finally checking in after over a week of meaning to and several attempts at posting. there is just so much to say and the longer i delayed it the more i had to say! strange no? i've been keeping a word document of all the things i should have said and posted but internet comes at such strange and brief intervals, and just keeping up with emails and the like seem to dominate my online time. but now i have one hour, one glorious hour guaranteed by the purchase of a chocolate thimble ($2NZD) at Esquire's, a place i'm finding myself spending more and more time at to internet-ize. the library is free but the internet is sporadic and you have to be oppressively quiet. speaking of quiet. one of the items we were warned about on our many hours of New Zealand education on buses hither and thither throughout this fantastic landscape was to be aware of our reputation for being 'loud Americans'. this is something i notice about americans of all ages, particularly those not from the WASP-y new england breed. once you escape the direct descendants of the Puritans and those of other faiths with socially conservative practices all hell breaks loose. i have a strange relationship with 'loudness'. my whole life i feel like has been lead in denial of the fact that i am 'loud'. yet i am very sensitive to situations that demand quiet tones without provocation, and find it painful when others cannot sense it. i am finding this more and more while i am here that we americans are just LOUD. i found myself shrinking into a wall when at this same cafe a few days ago with 3 friends and almost not speaking in order to minimize noise pollution. even on a bus on the way home from takapuna with 2 other friends there was almost literally nobody talking on the bus except us, and it was like every word echoed from the back of the bus and back around. i'm picking up the subtle social differences here. for instance right now, i feel a bit awkward about having my headphones in my computer. no one else in the cafe does, even the people who are by themselves. and walking around the city, having my headphones makes me feel strange and very obviously a foreigner. its just not done, and whenever i do see it, it seems very much the product of imported students or picking up on american tendencies, something i am noticing is something that separates auckland from the rest of new zealand. i've talked with many kiwis about this separation between auckland and the rest of the country. something of note that i must laud the city for first of all is its absolutely staggering diversity. for a city of only 1.4 million peeps, i walk down the street and continually hear the same range of accents and languages that i encounter in manhattan, with an interesting inversion due to where in the world we are. rather than the high number of people from african and latino backgrounds in new york, this city is predominantly the site of emmigration from asia, the pacific islands, polynesia, etc., but so many still come from all over the world, to live and to work or just sightseeing. something else that is remarkable about this city (and the country) is the presence and (slowly) growing power and representation of the indigenous people, the Maori. so many towns remain in the original tongue of the people, in the public library all signs are in both languages, as are most signs at my school. my school also offers incredible programs in both Maori and Pacific Studies, and now Maori is taught to all school children across the country. if students choose, they can hand in the coursework in Maori. i think its great but it must be a rum deal for the teacher who doesn't know the language! they have to outsource the grading i believe. i have been warring myself over whether or not i have the cojones to take Kapa Haka, which is an introductory, performance-based class on Maori song and dance. I've seen it performed about four times at this point and it is completely awesome, particularly what the men get to do! its so vibrant and violent. New Zealand's beloved national rugby team the All Blacks perform the haka before their matches to terrify the other teams. rumor has it that they may play an exhibition game in auckland before we leave and i have my heart set on finding tickets! to appease our All Black fever me and a handful of my Arcadia buddies are going to see the Auckland Blues (city pro team) this coming Saturday for just $15NZD! BBQ included! Can't beat it. And tomorrow a bunch of friends and I are taking a rental car down to Waitomo to go caving. I am bouncing off the walls thinking about this trip. Its a 2.5 hour drive south and we have a five hour date with the cave. In those 5 hours we are going to abseil down 300 ft to the cave floor, then 'blackwater raft' (sinister connotations!) through the underground river in pitch dark lit up by glow worms, zipline in the dark, rock climb up waterfalls and jump into huge pools and scramble over the cave floor to finally make it out! all accompanied by professionals of course. it is supposed to be one of the most wild and incredible things you can do in NZ, and that says something! i have no class on monday so i have plenty of time to recuperate and get my academic groove on for tuesday. wednesday i am going sailing on one of the America's Cup Yachts with two of my friends, and then the Auckland Blues game this weekend! Yipee!! So what have I been up to recently? I will post a couple of pics now and hopefully do a picture post soon! Suffice it to say i am seeing some jaw-dropping, breathtaking, not to be believed beautiful landscapes, skyscapes, oceanscapes, moonscapes ;). So much more to see. I love it here.

here's to sunshine,

mx

Real, it just got it.

We played soccer with our freshmen friends on Sunday morning (7 am)

Floating Market in Can Tho, boats abound behind me.

Stove made from clay and beer can, the gas is supplied by Biodigested Pig manure, turned into methane.  Google VACB systems, its pretty cool.

Here are some photos to summarize what has happened in the past weeks.

Tonight was my first night in my homestay, and I am now well aware of the relative luxury in which our group has been living for the past two weeks. This is not to say that my host family lives in extreme poverty, far from it in fact. We have a pretty big house, with a full working kitchen, 3 big bedrooms, a dining area, and a great backyard garden (with shrine). What we lack however, is the air conditioning, full bathroom, balcony-river view, and full social independence that I had back when I lived at the Government-run “Guest House Number 2.” I don't want to sound like a whiny american pussy who's been spoiled by the capitalist middle-class paradise he has lived in his whole life, but thats pretty much how I feel right now. Granted, I've been here all of 3 hours, and have just had the mechanics of bathing here explained to me by my 14 year old host brother (hint: bucket) and am feeling a little vulnerable without my Wi-Fi access and free HBO. Nonetheless, I have unpacked my clothes, set up my mosquito net, and plugged in my fan, and am ready to buckle down for the next 4 weeks. It is a consolation that my family is very nice, and very accepting of my muddled attempts at speaking Vietnamese (I hear other families are known for their merciless teasing).

NOTE: After a bucket bath and some breakfast (of squid and fish noodles) I am feeling much better today.  More later!

!New Zealand! - whoa oh oh i'm on fire!

giday loves,
it is 11.30 on monday night in auckland -- i have touched down! i have (almost) all my things! i've eaten foodstuffs! -- and i'm pretty wiped. after a 13 hour flight with only a little sleep (but wonderfully chipper service and great wine!) and a pretty grueling trek through security and customs, I AM FINALLY HERE. and it feels amazing. we've done so much today i barely know where to begin, but i'm afraid i may have to save the exploits for a later date. suffice it to say my weary state stems from a full day of bus-ing and walking up and down hills and swimming in the ocean and getting a real winner of a v-shaped sunburn on my chest and nowhere else. i've already seen some incredibly beautiful, wonderful things but i will wait to do them justice in a later post. by the time we got back to the hotel round 7 i was pooped, put on some clean dry things and snuggled up in my bed by the window...got a picture of the sunset through palm trees in the park that abuts our hostel :). pictures to be posted soon too! basically the title of this post is in reference to the cause of my violent awakening after 2 hours of precious sleep in a real bed - a fire on the roof of our hostel! the kids who didn't go out on the razzle and i and the remainder of those staying all had to shuffle outside in a bleary confusion and watch the fireman actually tackle a real, living fire on the roof, extending hoses up with ropes and everything. miiiiiles from the fordham fire drill at 1 in the morning outside ohare where people have to be peeled from the beds via air horn and wait for 40 minutes while RA's check every single godforsaken room for life forms. nope, real fire! how and ever the boys got the blaze under control almost immediately and we were back in our rooms in about 25 minutes. i figured if i didn't update now i wasn't sure when my next shot would be -- tomorrow we are getting up early for a 3 hour bus ride to rotorua, a resort town with geothermal activity and hot mineral baths...i cannot wait! i also am very exhausted. more soon!
:)

(Impending)New Zealand - LA LAyover

hola,
i am currently listening to some easy jazz in the admiral's club in LAX, snuggled up in a leather armchair and trying to pep up with some espresso. no, this isn't a special episode of gossip girl. i would need an overly large and obnoxious leather tote bag that requires a family history to purchase, a few blackberrys, and absolutely perfect hair after being awake and traveling for the past 9 hours, and i fall far short of all requirements at present ;). after a rather hectic shipping out of boston, including leaving one of my bags at home (!only me!), the flight left as scheduled but as i was cracked out from barely any sleep, pre-trip anxieties (will i make any friends in new zealand? does the pilot know the way? will peter jackson please please be my academic advisor?) and an empty stomach (the worst!), sleep did not come easy on the plane. this was not helped by the veritable abundance of under-4-year-olds that accompanied me on the flight, including two who sat behind me on what was apparently their first flight. i begrudge them nothing, as i was also once an under-fiver, and also asked my parents why everything was the way it was, and made everything in to a song to be sung loudly and proudly in the absence of any other background noise. in fact i had a chilling reality check as we landed in LA when the little girl behind pointed out the window at a cathay international plane and said "that blue plane, with the flower, that's my FAVORITE!". wow. she could have taken the words right out of my mouth. sad but true. i managed to get a day pass (haha) for the admiral club to get a little peace and quiet before i have to hike it over to my terminal and go through security all over again and then [gulp!] my 13 hour flight! fortunately i have 'iron man' on my computer. i wonder how many times i can watch that before someone behind me requests assistance for me. now my next task for the day is to find a killer burger. 'how i met your mother' was playing on the plane and i foolishly watched it and foolishly agreed with the main character marshall's theory on the importance of a good burger. unfortunately watching all the slow motion close-ups of marshall eating 'new york's best burger' have truly taken their toll on me. i must go quench my burger fever or be really disappointed trying. and then...on to new zealand! will write again from the future :D
-mx

(Impending)New Zealand - Traditional Night Before Packing Fiasco

good morning all! not that i would ever, ever refer to just past midnight as 'morning' in any other context, but with a rise and shine time of 5.30am, it may as well be morning for me! i'm up late as usual trying and failing to pack efficiently and sensibly. i do have what i think is a very rational explanation for my seemingly irrational packing behaviors and practices but time spent waxing lyrical on this will strip away the precious minutes i have for sleep. i just wanted to check in now because i'm not sure if i'll be able to post from LAX tomorrow (although i have a sneaking suspicion that will be possible)...i really hope i can because i will be enjoying and becoming extremely well-acquainted with the innerworkings of LAX during my ten hour lay-over. i wish that was a joke. but never fear, i have books, the interwebs, and an active imagination - i'm sure i will find a way to pass the time! i had best be off to bed to endure what is going to be a completely wacky day.5 of travel and simultaneously grieving for the loss of february 15th, which will be completely lost to me in the air, and of which i will have to wait until july's trip home to recover. now...i wonder if i can fit just oneee more pair of shoes into that duffle bag...
:)
talk to you in new zealand !!
-margaux