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“Squeeze the sponge,” were the words of our program director Courtney as we arrived here in the gorgeous town of Kaikoura, New Zealand. While it might sound a bit odd, the sentiment is so very full of truth, and sets a standard for this upcoming semester. Since I have been blessed with this gift, I plan on taking full advantage of this opportunity and really squeezing out every drop of this incredible experience. It is therefore safe to say that “Squeeze the sponge,” will be this semester’s motto, so get ready for a 1.5 million stories, laughs and adventures. Ready?Day 1: We arrived here in New Zealand at 7:50, on Wednesday, August 25th. From aboard our Quantas flight, most of the North Island as covered in clouds, only parting a few times to allow glimpses of pale, sea green shoreline and deep emerald farmland. We landed right on the coastline of Auckland and proceeded to make our way to baggage claim. After picking up my massive amount of luggage and perching it precariously on a cart, our group of 22 made their way through customs and to the domestic terminal…only getting lost once with a number of Asian ski team members. As it turned out, we could not check our luggage to Christchurch until 10:30, so we all made a pile luggage in the Auckland terminal and looked longingly at overpriced sandwiches and McDonald’s meals (yes…they have McDonalds here…wah wah). We finally checked out bags in at 10:45 and then wandered around a bit to kill time. We got to go outside for a wee bit, but spent the better half of the 2 hours finding sunny places to sit and eat. At 12:30, we were able to board out JetStar flight to Christchurch, quite a change from the luxury of Quantas. The take off was a little shaky (the wheels made a scritchy-scratchy noise as they ascended into the body of the plane) and an even shakier landing (we bounced twice). **Mom, don’t worry, it’s an adventure right?** So finally in Christchurch we gathered up all our luggage for the last time and met up with our group leaders Jess, Courtney, Tyler, Ali, and Sam. After loading all of our luggage into trailers, we headed off down the very windy road to Kaikoura. We drove and drove and drove for two hours, every other minute of which I was exclaiming about the little lambs that dot the incredible scenery. **I officially decided that if I were ever to be a sheep, New Zealand would definitely be the place to do it in.** We arrived in Kaikoura as the sun was sinking down behind the snow-capped peaks of the Southerly Kaikouras and pulled right up to the beach were Emma and Lisa had prepared dinner for us, a Kiwi favorite, fish and chips. We feasted and got to know each other as we watch the sun go down. I dipped my toes into the Pacific Ocean, but got a little more than I bargained for, as the water was a little deep and SO much colder than I had imagined. After drying off a bit, we got back into the vans and headed to our destination, The Old Convent. The Convent is a refurbished Catholic school and nunnery, and has served many purposes in the past 100 years. As I said, it began as a school for the local children, but closed up shop in the early 1960s. It was then bought by a family and was refurbished into a private home. That family then sold it to a local couple who then turned into a bed and breakfast, who then in turn decided to lease it to CCSP for student housing. It is a beautiful old building, with a lot of character and no…I repeat…NO central heating. One simply cannot exist without slippers and wool socks. So, with fleece pants, wool socks, and a sweatshirt surrounding my freezing body, I crawled into bed and passed out…local time? 8:30 PM. haha
Day 2: Woke up in the morning and took a much needed shower. **Mom and Dad! Aren’t you proud?** I dressed as quickly as possible, as to not allow any valuable body heat to escape to the greedy clutches of the cold. At breakfast, I ate a weird English muffin-type thing called a crumpet…but they were more like circular sponges. While that may not sounds appetizing, I smothered the crumpet in Nutella and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Looking out the large dining room windows, we all saw the sun light up Mt. Fyffe and the surrounding snow-capped mountains. It. Was. Gorgeous. Nutella and mountains? I cannot imagine a better way to start off the semester.
After breakfast, we had some orientation meetings and a little tour of the grounds. We got to see the recycling system for the convent and the compost pile. We were assigned bikes (Specialized…SWEET) for our trips to town, and then got to lie around in the grass under some intense sunlight. As it turns out, the suns rays are much more intense here than in America for a variety of reasons:
- The hole in the ozone layer has landed right over New Zealand; therefore less atmosphere protects us from the rays.
- The air is much cleaner here, therefore less particulates block the suns rays from reaching Earth.
- We are closer to the Equator.
After lunch we mounted our bikes and took off in a single-file line for the town centre (yes, I did mean to spell it that way). **Interesting fact: Bikes are considered vehicles here, and therefore must stop at all stop signs and obey all traffic laws. Also, riding a bike without a helmet is illegal** After a short, two-mile bike ride, we locked up our bikes and helmets and went to go have hoori hoori time on the beach. **Hoori Hoori is Maori for a “sensing place”** So there we sat on the beach, everyone journaling in their notebooks. I, however, failed to bring my journal and only had this little reporter’s pad in my bag to write things down on, which was a slight hindrance to the sensing we were to be doing. On top of my lack of real journal, my undiagnosed ADD kicked in and all of my focus went out the door. There was just so much to distract me!! The waves crashing onto the black pebble beaches. The snow-capped mountains plunging into the teal-green Pacific. The whispering of the water as it retreated back into the ocean through the black pebbles. The strings of Neptune’s necklace, laced between pebbles, bull kelp, and a variety of unknown plant material. It was all to much to take in! In my utter excitement, I failed to notice this wave coming ashore…a wave significantly bigger than all the rest. So there I am, trying to quietly calm my amazement, when all of a sudden this wave hits the shore and complete soaks me from my jean-clad booty all the way to my woolen socks. I don’t think I have EVER gotten up so quickly in my life. I darted back to a safer spot on the shoreline and then just burst into laughter. The water was so cold, but I don’t think I have ever been more delighted by being in wet jeans, than I was today.
After everyone finished journaling, we hit the town and did a little scavenger hunt. We hit up the Paua shell polishing factory, the library, the Medical Centre, Subway (A-MER-i-ca), and the Why Not café, where a charming local took our group’s picture and then went on to describe his line of work in the sperm production industry. Apparently, he raises huge bulls for the sole purpose of using their sperm to artificially inseminate other cows. He exports the sperm in massive quantities…I just wish I could remember the exact amount…sorry. I just wonder if that’s what he dreamed of doing as a child…bahahahaha!
Day 3: I’ll make this entry shorter to try and conserve your precious time and eyesight. BULLET POINTS!!!!
- 8:00AM - Breakfast and then an orientation session on Community Norms.
- 9:30 AM – Noon – Hike along the coastline looking at the various seal colonies and plant materials. Check out the pictures of all the scenery and seals!
- 12:30 – 2:00ish – Meet up with small group and go have lunch around Kaikoura. My group went to the local bakery and got steak pies to eat along with small loaves of cheesy bread to eat with hummus and tomatoes. Oh. And did I forget to mention a chocolate bar bigger than my head? Yep. I’m a fat kid.
- 2:30 – 5:00 Free time at the Convent. Threw a Frisbee around with a Adam, Perry, and Ali. Afterwards, I went on a little walk down Mt. Fyffe Rd. looking for the Clydesdales I hear whinnying in the morning. While I did not find any Clydesdales, I did meet a dog on the side of the road that let me pet it for a while. A little dog therapy is good for a girl.
- 5:00 – 7:15 – We were introduced to traditional Kiwi foods from all around New Zealand. Our menu started with Entrees(appetizers) of various lollies(candies) native to New Zealand. Following the appetizers, we sampled traditional drinks that included Lemon and Paeroa (a kind of lemonly ginger ale), Bundaberg Ginger Beer, and Just Juice Bubbles (a type of fizzy fruit juice). Tea (dinner) was a combination of Roast Lam with mint sauce, mashed potatoes and peas. Kiwis eat a different way than Americans do, in that they eat with both the fork and knife. You start by holding the fork in your left hand, the curve of the fork facing down, and the knife in your right. You then pierce your meat with your upside-down fork and then use your knife to pile the rest of the meal items on top of the fork…take a bite and viola! You have it…the complete tea experience in one bite. Pudding (dessert) followed Tea with Tip Top ice cream (native to New Zealand and SO creamy) and Pavlova (a type of meringue dessert). Yum! Yum! Yum!
- 7:15 – Bed: A get-to-know-you game called Big Red Chair followed by a hilarious couple rounds of Psychiatrist!
