tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69281231383303824562024-03-12T21:06:47.407-07:00My Tiki Tour Through GodzoneRachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16303258418454697790noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6928123138330382456.post-17652476674055313392009-05-20T18:39:00.000-07:002010-06-08T20:25:04.746-07:00Prac Exam<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>So today I had my Plant Practical Exam for my plant productions class. We had to learn how to recognize 67 different grasses, crop plants, legumes, weeds, and herbs. I have spent the last 2 weeks in the paddocks behind our campus and have been putting together a notes page with pictures and descriptions since the exam was open note.<div><br /><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Somedays I feel like I'm in some pseudo life that I could watch on the television... today was one of those days. </div><div><br /></div><div>9:30am- I went to the library after breakfast this morning to print off my notes page and when I went to print it, I didn't have enough money on my printing credit.</div><div><br /></div><div>9:55am- I spent several more minutes making all of the pictures smaller and then printing again. </div><div><br /></div><div>10:13am- It was confirmed, so walked over to the color printer and there were 2 people in front of me; one who was printing similar pages as me, and one who seemed to be copying an entire textbook!<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>10:24am- It's finally my turn at the printer and it prints out 2 pages at a time...very slowly, but very vibrantly.</div><div><br /></div><div>10:28am- I run out of the library and into the rain and hail and pull my two hoods on to keep my buzzed head warm and dry.</div><div><br /></div><div>10:30am- I get to my room, grab my notebook, plastic bag, pencils, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Pastures and Forage Plants for New Zealand.</span></div><div><br /></div><div>10:31am- I bolt out of my room and back into the rain to the pastures. When I got there, I saw 5 people standing in a cluster, all dressed with gumboots and long trench coats and they directed me inside the nearest warehouse to the side of the pastures. Our professor handed me the question sheet and I headed back out the door with 49 of my classmates. </div><div><br /></div><div>(Why oh why did I have to grow up under the curse of Brunner Time?!?)<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The exam was set up so that every other person was at a yellow peg and the others were at a blue peg. The pegs were spread out across 3 different paddocks. I started at a yellow peg, so at the sound of the whistle, I looked to the number disk on the peg, read the question on my sheet that said something like "Name the dominant grass" so I wrote down "Cocksfoot" or something correct like that! When the whistle blew one minute later, I moved to the blue peg where I could think about the plant I'd just seen and make sure I wrote down the right name. There were 25 questions in all. It was quite a nice exam, compared to stinking plant science essay tests. </div><div>It totally rocked looking around at all of the other people in my class: </div><div><br /></div><div>(8 June 2010: Never came around to finishing this post! We'll just stop it there and let your imagination go wild!)</div></div>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16303258418454697790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6928123138330382456.post-48562299292867938742009-04-29T07:38:00.000-07:002009-04-29T08:42:25.018-07:00My window<div style="text-align: left;">Alas! A sneak peek into my day to day life at Lincoln Uni!!!<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhhUgcCRX38H21eW-VgIVcjGXH-Q5YXVdle2rGAZfeUOIOnoMXq2DQBYVO_ogqd2P5SiyO864uSEHNfTy47Vwevxma2kjrsOWTumaDW98R26em_ADjN04Yyk3lXdGZH3rh4vznbaR8qdt9/s1600-h/IMG_3421.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhhUgcCRX38H21eW-VgIVcjGXH-Q5YXVdle2rGAZfeUOIOnoMXq2DQBYVO_ogqd2P5SiyO864uSEHNfTy47Vwevxma2kjrsOWTumaDW98R26em_ADjN04Yyk3lXdGZH3rh4vznbaR8qdt9/s320/IMG_3421.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330131375431271346" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></a><div style="text-align: left;">I have a window. It's the most popular window on campus. When I'm home, I open my window and people come to it to talk, play cards (we play a lot of cards), listen to music, hop through, and to check on how my broccoli plant is doing.<br /></div><div>I have a broccoli plant that I am growing. I got the seeds from the environmental fair and have had to repot it twice already! We had a two week break starting on Good Friday and we headed South, so to make sure my broccoli wouldn't die, I brought it with us in the car! He sat in the cup holder and my friend Nathan would make me bring my broccoli inside during the night so he wouldn't get a cold shock. This picture is of the end of Mission:Broccoli when we almost forgot to get Broc out of the car before he got cold shock in Queenstown. That's also our sweet car, High Voltage Legacy, that our friend let us use while he was in Australia.</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK_7PfFmJUJrvEyEVyqSv4JUxpvaO7kNXPm7gSuf3EV2eMKC52Z16QxJ6Bjgq-a3u5zE-LcCvbehyrimb0IluDqpVS9FHi490Rcgi1lHxNF_xkPyyt56ZcKhakbvaaQQaTSqpehcHaxW4u/s1600-h/IMG_4645.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK_7PfFmJUJrvEyEVyqSv4JUxpvaO7kNXPm7gSuf3EV2eMKC52Z16QxJ6Bjgq-a3u5zE-LcCvbehyrimb0IluDqpVS9FHi490Rcgi1lHxNF_xkPyyt56ZcKhakbvaaQQaTSqpehcHaxW4u/s320/IMG_4645.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330125420871469394" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a><div>During some point of the trip, we decided that my broccoli plant needed a name, so Hannah, Amber, Nathan, and I named him Broc James Smith Brunner Nathan. We all became quite attached. Julia and I left Broc in the car for 24 hours while we went to Stewart Island for a day and night and when we got back, BROC WAS INFESTED BY APHIDS!!! I spent the next 30 minutes as Juila drove to the next town picking off aphids all over the stems and wrapped in the leaves and in the soil! It was traumatizing, both for Broc and myself. He was weak. Luckily he has overcome the shock of the aphid attack, I bought him a nice flower pot from the Bluff Market, and he is doing quite well.<br /></div><div>Anyways, back to my window. Here are a few stellar window pictures of my window:</div><div><br /></div><div>Julia lives next door, so sometimes instead of walking over to her room, we just talk outside through our windows :)</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtiQUaNcj9H-HcwzwtUpDCPnPkvYiO8wD0kFCtRJK-4jBJcLvlDveIvYVdNZYndGQijeS5Y3BcYepCCSfHaZSjK1v9Mz6uKSRLAHSJzUaDxgq6oE214uTFWfsmw8c_Ex0OLRmaDqYooF4i/s1600-h/IMG_3419.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtiQUaNcj9H-HcwzwtUpDCPnPkvYiO8wD0kFCtRJK-4jBJcLvlDveIvYVdNZYndGQijeS5Y3BcYepCCSfHaZSjK1v9Mz6uKSRLAHSJzUaDxgq6oE214uTFWfsmw8c_Ex0OLRmaDqYooF4i/s320/IMG_3419.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330131302238495026" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></a><div>For St. Patrick's day, everyone climbed in through my window, took a group photo, and then climbed out to go to the Irish Pub in Prebbleton (a town between Lincoln and Christchurch).<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9vMm0K_0uUGCAEcBf3N6zYWb2ERHldx8AXhGCVJa8PeSzddSQVZPI1V1ShGd-vPS695Q53t95oaS7OboQ3CUK1M3O5RMfr_Y-NjtWdmiZadLuDWM42O4ehKTiJK_ua61pNK82poKvbn0k/s1600-h/IMG_3792.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9vMm0K_0uUGCAEcBf3N6zYWb2ERHldx8AXhGCVJa8PeSzddSQVZPI1V1ShGd-vPS695Q53t95oaS7OboQ3CUK1M3O5RMfr_Y-NjtWdmiZadLuDWM42O4ehKTiJK_ua61pNK82poKvbn0k/s320/IMG_3792.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330129908635665170" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a><div>One day I was studying for an Economics test when Chui, a Kiwi who lives across the courtyard from me, started pouring things down from her 3rd story window to the windows below her, and eventually started "cleaning" them with laundry detergent and water, so I took a picture through my window.<br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZPXIgqX5q64Gb9IXdls69FxQvpYLGc26oc2mice-qo31s47PxtQfqIDYFwUoFC0uXOIirjVhUGhKt5hrxcdVnJFfWCsGFd8FFlazhrbxvPuorpVy-CZc7H9PYxJdzaYiwJCSLApsAr4mh/s1600-h/IMG_4077.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZPXIgqX5q64Gb9IXdls69FxQvpYLGc26oc2mice-qo31s47PxtQfqIDYFwUoFC0uXOIirjVhUGhKt5hrxcdVnJFfWCsGFd8FFlazhrbxvPuorpVy-CZc7H9PYxJdzaYiwJCSLApsAr4mh/s320/IMG_4077.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330129155924588770" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></a></div><div>On haircutting day, the razor ran out of battery, so Mandi (the hairdresser) plugged the razor in through my window in order to finish up her third customer of the day!</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDApr_oEyAGHHOj6VOaPveJqBtW1__BVyu2PxprJE9G4izngrmZpcEBExq-CdOt8q-p4ZaGrrb72mo0as6xMlUKcM05DBVtcc8rshBcq1etYg_TyFHZNxVQj47ikct8bG2HeLiY0uJCEXj/s1600-h/IMG_4328.jpg" style="text-decoration: none;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDApr_oEyAGHHOj6VOaPveJqBtW1__BVyu2PxprJE9G4izngrmZpcEBExq-CdOt8q-p4ZaGrrb72mo0as6xMlUKcM05DBVtcc8rshBcq1etYg_TyFHZNxVQj47ikct8bG2HeLiY0uJCEXj/s320/IMG_4328.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330128093914888482" style="text-decoration: underline;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a><div>This is my friend Rosa who's family lives in Auckland and grows passion-fruit and flowers!</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6ueUST36COiBINFLQ7o3g0sd25WPv24iQ-7jfZMUb2dI_L_hDBOOVBri36YZcJe9cyw1N0p3LUJsJJvmCwg1yD31Onh7jpDRPP14-W4rW_bbd355Ygt7VQZKGz4zszoEDwZorSH6wu0N6/s1600-h/IMG_4394.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6ueUST36COiBINFLQ7o3g0sd25WPv24iQ-7jfZMUb2dI_L_hDBOOVBri36YZcJe9cyw1N0p3LUJsJJvmCwg1yD31Onh7jpDRPP14-W4rW_bbd355Ygt7VQZKGz4zszoEDwZorSH6wu0N6/s320/IMG_4394.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330131513079794722" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></a><div>Jen's 23rd Birthday window picture!<br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaa1c39cohB12o_uG-BAcT0LwSFR7VHa95iFNMKknAB3-bgSwHnfmDrQwwdm1Da6O2jnF4U5tY7Rgi5umDryJZqiYKtsHiNQ7n2Y38bHyUembODVKKCVpX6W2asUVn6Mr9PeeHCnf7v7WQ/s1600-h/IMG_5432.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaa1c39cohB12o_uG-BAcT0LwSFR7VHa95iFNMKknAB3-bgSwHnfmDrQwwdm1Da6O2jnF4U5tY7Rgi5umDryJZqiYKtsHiNQ7n2Y38bHyUembODVKKCVpX6W2asUVn6Mr9PeeHCnf7v7WQ/s320/IMG_5432.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330126312095819522" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></a></div><div>This is probably one of the most exciting window events so far: Julia, Hannah, Mandi, Sarah, and I were studying for our Sociology test in my room and all of a sudden, I saw a car driving up through my window! Our landscape architecture friends had been visiting a site and apparently Nathan had asked Britt to drop him off at his door, so he did. </div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVtNnQE8C5X5RB2bgCzDyVBjeKvRXszf_WnruTxAxKufNKpWe8sajt8VnBddRkPW0t61bglIX2Hhyphenhyphenmi2aPh6LHMNxKpTGNy2lVIaGYcp3j8z1M0wUJ7pg9ppvKC4yb4JljjCN9uTeNpt2K/s1600-h/IMG_5435.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVtNnQE8C5X5RB2bgCzDyVBjeKvRXszf_WnruTxAxKufNKpWe8sajt8VnBddRkPW0t61bglIX2Hhyphenhyphenmi2aPh6LHMNxKpTGNy2lVIaGYcp3j8z1M0wUJ7pg9ppvKC4yb4JljjCN9uTeNpt2K/s320/IMG_5435.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330126313861841650" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></a></div><div>This picture is from the Sharon and Rachel photo-shoot; we took pictures of the two of us with hair, since we'll be shaving it off on May 10th to raise money for St. Baldrick's foundation for childhood cancer research. </div><div>http://www.stbaldricks.org/participants/shavee_info.php?ParticipantKey=2009-356912</div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU6dKxhG7kQkSMz7FyRGTe_ik_yg38QBMicBBXEWLGXKN1WgHBc5cMVVwst3AZM58j5yZvaxNh7xt9X1U71I2kevDvTQ_A6uNdyBDuQQWphdOrkptg6S3YjUFLH1fxNTJaExiCe-fZy0wJ/s1600-h/IMG_5438.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU6dKxhG7kQkSMz7FyRGTe_ik_yg38QBMicBBXEWLGXKN1WgHBc5cMVVwst3AZM58j5yZvaxNh7xt9X1U71I2kevDvTQ_A6uNdyBDuQQWphdOrkptg6S3YjUFLH1fxNTJaExiCe-fZy0wJ/s320/IMG_5438.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330131631539562658" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div>Although I could go on forever about my window, I will stop there and hope that someday you may be able to pop your head in, like in the Wizard of Oz, I suppose... This leads into a quick story:</div><div>The other day I was talking to my family on Skype video and my friends Nathan and Britt came to my window since they had just gotten out of class. They thought I was watching something on my computer but I told them I was talking to my family. I suddenly found myself turn to my family and ask "Do you want to meet some of my friends?" and I turned the camera on my window visitors, who weren't expecting to meet my family and weren't expecting my mom to start laughing herself to tears and start talking about some scene in the Wizard of Oz where the farmers pop up in Dorothy's window (a scene that still escapes my memory...). Mom then went on to ask my friends names and where they're from, and as soon as they could, Nathan and Britt said goodbye, ducked out of the window, and I heard Nathan mutter "close your window the next time you're skyping." Ah man. It didn't hit me until I had hung up with my family how incredibly intimidating it must have been for my friends to meet my loud, awkward, invasive family so suddenly over the skype machine. Luckily it didn't scare them away too long and I have learned to skype loudly so not as many people come by, however I am still working on my mom's awkwardness during computer conversations...</div><div>THE END! </div>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16303258418454697790noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6928123138330382456.post-3642320384818293562009-04-29T07:17:00.000-07:002009-04-29T07:37:36.588-07:00ChCh Square and Gardens<div style="text-align: left;">Julia and I love the Christchurch Market and Botanic Gardens, so when we had a free weekend, we decided to take the bus to Christchurch with some homework and our journals, and a wee bit of money.<br /></div><div>We ate our sack lunches on the square.</div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr8lANLYHs_AZAfyK1BDz2ukExw0n6JwTMIjP8zoQ014SSvk2qoiVPG99vkPRNvnGcNg0Ljg_wprlKxfFD_SAQQxbibNWMNKVAPYcGNu4sgJvLWsAqexlXoNGved0TVhH5gulplunh_oyl/s1600-h/IMG_4341.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr8lANLYHs_AZAfyK1BDz2ukExw0n6JwTMIjP8zoQ014SSvk2qoiVPG99vkPRNvnGcNg0Ljg_wprlKxfFD_SAQQxbibNWMNKVAPYcGNu4sgJvLWsAqexlXoNGved0TVhH5gulplunh_oyl/s320/IMG_4341.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330119919915040354" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div>Then we walked through the market and bought matching satchels and scarves and made our way to the gardens, after passing one of many ridiculous New Zealand signs:</div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBcrp1HMunOm0ianshvnsejDDUTwds7yBqtXpzfzap9VCxcnnYNwu1vUY93KUxS6DyELL9WfhvLKhsVEGoMEeBv3fojkYC3OMVR38f33ig104tci9gB0sWqnPtLhNlyMFgZn_VNmSphqgO/s1600-h/IMG_4342.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBcrp1HMunOm0ianshvnsejDDUTwds7yBqtXpzfzap9VCxcnnYNwu1vUY93KUxS6DyELL9WfhvLKhsVEGoMEeBv3fojkYC3OMVR38f33ig104tci9gB0sWqnPtLhNlyMFgZn_VNmSphqgO/s320/IMG_4342.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330120630726491346" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></a></div><div>Here's a sweet as tree in the Botanic gardens.</div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXa10oUExUKyedZWeRjFlRwH26Qit3YUbkOFA8lifjfZf3-6ghkQ98KKKjCi1INvma4tBjn2Sut2hBBozgiE26iUnlyYULbiAVFZWXckyO_AexgrVpsYGfNxJPSXWxrYerlRpa-CIL2vL6/s1600-h/IMG_4358.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXa10oUExUKyedZWeRjFlRwH26Qit3YUbkOFA8lifjfZf3-6ghkQ98KKKjCi1INvma4tBjn2Sut2hBBozgiE26iUnlyYULbiAVFZWXckyO_AexgrVpsYGfNxJPSXWxrYerlRpa-CIL2vL6/s320/IMG_4358.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330120192818510418" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div>Then we stepped into a wonderland greenhouse:</div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIiNA5Kz9lLHButuaqwjqeww6LCpXUPBh_zOJpz4vYLDfxl81iChBkMF4HO1q_ozX-gqjCH1NFuuECMcQCFJoXf4ftz2k-ueG5-M4xtA-XAGW0RWxmdFOGmPGPd67JMQCunwb4ohIpHNnT/s1600-h/IMG_4363.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIiNA5Kz9lLHButuaqwjqeww6LCpXUPBh_zOJpz4vYLDfxl81iChBkMF4HO1q_ozX-gqjCH1NFuuECMcQCFJoXf4ftz2k-ueG5-M4xtA-XAGW0RWxmdFOGmPGPd67JMQCunwb4ohIpHNnT/s320/IMG_4363.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330121029345700066" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div>And smelled the stellar flowers:</div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyymINnI2QsIkV3TGvpMwh6MF-MC4qw5hzoWjoDYlZ_OmBnD5Yl6eFraED4WIZe4K2s-WoxfwNLvYXUP8afVRFC-mBn7jJxg7wBFRAHpSlThl0KLH07efffokPQsTHlswMvZFitgUceiZh/s1600-h/IMG_4372.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyymINnI2QsIkV3TGvpMwh6MF-MC4qw5hzoWjoDYlZ_OmBnD5Yl6eFraED4WIZe4K2s-WoxfwNLvYXUP8afVRFC-mBn7jJxg7wBFRAHpSlThl0KLH07efffokPQsTHlswMvZFitgUceiZh/s320/IMG_4372.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330121033299191522" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></a></div><div>Back outside, we walked through the rose garden, and, naturally, had to smell every single one. These were supposed to smell like coffee, or something weird like that.</div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikZyIjBXQAXSCgFeL7PuFxSxAOFQmaTJLehNaqnXEt9AtOon_ASTFA-cvknFmO-DSSv9zLzUmuaJAkn6I8uB6lGuJIK54KjKKBsMjGwwSMPKwOudmiqEa4uDI4ovpIA8KNc1zeTfDP73Qf/s1600-h/IMG_4384.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikZyIjBXQAXSCgFeL7PuFxSxAOFQmaTJLehNaqnXEt9AtOon_ASTFA-cvknFmO-DSSv9zLzUmuaJAkn6I8uB6lGuJIK54KjKKBsMjGwwSMPKwOudmiqEa4uDI4ovpIA8KNc1zeTfDP73Qf/s320/IMG_4384.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330121480610435106" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></a></div><div>Beautiful beautiful beautiful. Surprisingly enough, we didn't manage to get any homework done, however, I was able to rest up for the 5.5km Fun Run I participated in the next morning! I dominated it in 33.24 minutes! What a magical place this country is! </div>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16303258418454697790noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6928123138330382456.post-28358513330488832622009-04-29T06:48:00.000-07:002009-04-29T07:16:58.305-07:00Dolphins, Seals, and Kaikoura<div style="text-align: left;">So a long time ago, I went to Kaikoura and absolutely loved it! When I first saw it, I named it the town where the mountains meet the sea. Although now that I've been all over the South Island, it seems like all of New Zealand is where the mountains meet the sea. Anyway, we went to Kaikoura to celebrate my friend, Alex's, birthday! <br /></div><div>On Saturday morning, I woke up before the sun at 4:45am, crawled out of my tent, saw the stunning stars above, and walked with Allison, Alex, and Brad to the Dolphin Encounter headquarters! That's right; I SWAM WITH DOLPHINS!!! I got to wear scuba gear and had a snorkel and by the end, the dusky dolphins and I were playing around and swimming in circles together!</div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEtUVAt9qLMwyuT6Crxj6iKTHk8PI9WcxhVLERmPNNCLcmn621-WAdQwdrWU1WBnkvZw_XcTAx9ir5Y5swYQR7vq9ZpDBBiTPkIumbZ2q4gT2B1SvADQZDwrakMKtYnBx6BCLhc-ZmD7tZ/s320/IMG_4141.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330111524051557474" /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHh-ApdcsmXk1CNZ7AK2dxiMiBXahQI66QPnTN-RPEekCEuqQHulgvjoNbiCl4ETn8ffQ5e2hZhZhs-ovkhu0ba-eWuDEieq8tP6i6XK8VDL2gxwICmIxm2lD1S5lMHpevdgyaPmJVHaTE/s1600-h/IMG_4178.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHh-ApdcsmXk1CNZ7AK2dxiMiBXahQI66QPnTN-RPEekCEuqQHulgvjoNbiCl4ETn8ffQ5e2hZhZhs-ovkhu0ba-eWuDEieq8tP6i6XK8VDL2gxwICmIxm2lD1S5lMHpevdgyaPmJVHaTE/s320/IMG_4178.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330111881187680242" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">Later that afternoon, we started out on the peninsula walk, but walked towards the wrong peninsula, so we just stopped and played around on the beach!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjktcAyeQq0MvhO9E3On7pG_tpmnlTgELeTr4OjOw-CadBWGrm2vyvFyuXRMIWwUHDF2ViNOpYge9onTPg7m8fhmhyphenhyphenEFQddJWhunKjZjCrhyphenhyphenKUddHfISpWYq4BsYFNr9thGQqIP4dTelIOW/s1600-h/IMG_4204.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjktcAyeQq0MvhO9E3On7pG_tpmnlTgELeTr4OjOw-CadBWGrm2vyvFyuXRMIWwUHDF2ViNOpYge9onTPg7m8fhmhyphenhyphenEFQddJWhunKjZjCrhyphenhyphenKUddHfISpWYq4BsYFNr9thGQqIP4dTelIOW/s320/IMG_4204.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330112652775426882" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">Then we walked back to the town and hopped in a van that took us to another bay where we went kayaking through the treacherous Pacific Ocean to a seal colony at Shark Point! Julia took all the pictures (since she was in the front of the kayak; we're kayaking dominators) but here's one of the surroundings:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_7fN8cWrzNAenqWIyOotxLrXL5A1ca21-0h7ee-v_l7qJScoKr5utBdQmjWOeIKbGCZQH3-ijSRhcrDVEhxeujnyl3WLt5M3Uz212Zr-p7tPikFe5S1s4wDI-Wqn3k-5v4lfjm34cupq5/s1600-h/IMG_4209.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_7fN8cWrzNAenqWIyOotxLrXL5A1ca21-0h7ee-v_l7qJScoKr5utBdQmjWOeIKbGCZQH3-ijSRhcrDVEhxeujnyl3WLt5M3Uz212Zr-p7tPikFe5S1s4wDI-Wqn3k-5v4lfjm34cupq5/s320/IMG_4209.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330113194313043698" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">We went back to the hostel and sat in the hot tub until dinner was ready :) I know, lazy, but best day ever. We had our big family dinner/birthday dinner for 14 people and then I did the dishes because I had done nothing all day but have fun :) To finish the night, we went to the Strawberry Tree, a wonderful little pub that was lit by candle light and a fire because it was celebrating Earth Hour! Awesome, I know. We had a dance party and had a rad time. Later, Mandi said that we could have a good time anywhere we go because we bring the party with us; there are 14 of us!!!</div><div style="text-align: left;">The next morning, I crawled out of my tent, once again before the sun, looked at the stars, and headed out to try to dominate the right peninsula walk at sunrise! </div><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPacvF4yjpNqcP8jcJ-JnWRdSQ44uNwvx5OjSKkCxTSUy4duvxuULhOspyPW5QQ7HCR6pxBaqjxO9iPvnMYN_W-dybfkdozclhqRzADhcdc4Rbh6v5UcMZ9upB2yj3x2ffKrHo0OYN3AcK/s1600-h/IMG_4233.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPacvF4yjpNqcP8jcJ-JnWRdSQ44uNwvx5OjSKkCxTSUy4duvxuULhOspyPW5QQ7HCR6pxBaqjxO9iPvnMYN_W-dybfkdozclhqRzADhcdc4Rbh6v5UcMZ9upB2yj3x2ffKrHo0OYN3AcK/s320/IMG_4233.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330114735631868178" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTbnt8r3FlGxu0lq6uMeLF-sTsALBrb_4ePK9uvRQ3-WgZO2TnOS_aWGspOS9jKq87u_uVT1ujeFbIpmJuFF3DolwbhjUTpJ25ct-JbGQVElUx8vz1NfI1Z0yGTpv3ynWJPKtPLGUf6Gwm/s1600-h/IMG_4235.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTbnt8r3FlGxu0lq6uMeLF-sTsALBrb_4ePK9uvRQ3-WgZO2TnOS_aWGspOS9jKq87u_uVT1ujeFbIpmJuFF3DolwbhjUTpJ25ct-JbGQVElUx8vz1NfI1Z0yGTpv3ynWJPKtPLGUf6Gwm/s320/IMG_4235.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330114941739812658" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">Along the way to the end of the peninsula, we came across this entire wall of aloe plants!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKnroOKwtnSQAda1HNfi_amqPLc0rAZsa2sal7gT9TVaOEMsf1OEjZT2VCq9mOXUkS5oSPwQVPn6eVmjFgqRWVtMIlGgsMHexi4jGRV43zzxqdJks7kKS251vY32Z_eG8u4-ZbRjlFNRAi/s1600-h/IMG_4242.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKnroOKwtnSQAda1HNfi_amqPLc0rAZsa2sal7gT9TVaOEMsf1OEjZT2VCq9mOXUkS5oSPwQVPn6eVmjFgqRWVtMIlGgsMHexi4jGRV43zzxqdJks7kKS251vY32Z_eG8u4-ZbRjlFNRAi/s320/IMG_4242.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330115269299354850" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">As we approached the tip of the peninsula, we looked over to our left and saw a seal sprawled out on top of a big bush right on the side of the road! It was another fur seal colony! </div><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh60S0pIf_xLbWeRICXKE3HSbWIS_a2Fdyzjj7Na0PWLPU0uYlXiSnRbN7FB3OqgZBUn8siWeW7dB0sqF15niCwSfuhxSamNBo293hiODvJvccrq2CxcynkdbxJyz0TccuHHWRbpehE5YDk/s1600-h/IMG_4257.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh60S0pIf_xLbWeRICXKE3HSbWIS_a2Fdyzjj7Na0PWLPU0uYlXiSnRbN7FB3OqgZBUn8siWeW7dB0sqF15niCwSfuhxSamNBo293hiODvJvccrq2CxcynkdbxJyz0TccuHHWRbpehE5YDk/s320/IMG_4257.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330115838758103442" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">We walked around them and took pictures as they posed for us.<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgirLiaMBIZrmBq3a3Jx9ShAYjJxiihjg2-mruCKSDdeKy5mtNSDji0x7x8ZWdCd3Ym90tYMlCKvazlut1onHxeIoMIQvVjCqQ-pEHiapaR5SwGvcrm9c0XqrH6EezNXr5IwmPPm_tcMnqN/s1600-h/IMG_4271.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgirLiaMBIZrmBq3a3Jx9ShAYjJxiihjg2-mruCKSDdeKy5mtNSDji0x7x8ZWdCd3Ym90tYMlCKvazlut1onHxeIoMIQvVjCqQ-pEHiapaR5SwGvcrm9c0XqrH6EezNXr5IwmPPm_tcMnqN/s320/IMG_4271.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330116047089090034" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">Here's a picture I took through my stunnashades at the end of the peninsula:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfCW8v3j28OJVgKqumujXghTtZMsdEKg40XuWZlyBltWxea6epVwlZGc-1wO8zpMta8EZqO2i76-uMfft93zO4X9N3D7M5ejSegANk_ozsKq7kxBvynxayTfUonnUY6c8O5QsoSGK7-HF1/s1600-h/IMG_4289.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfCW8v3j28OJVgKqumujXghTtZMsdEKg40XuWZlyBltWxea6epVwlZGc-1wO8zpMta8EZqO2i76-uMfft93zO4X9N3D7M5ejSegANk_ozsKq7kxBvynxayTfUonnUY6c8O5QsoSGK7-HF1/s320/IMG_4289.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330116536595436402" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">I love Kaikoura.</div>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16303258418454697790noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6928123138330382456.post-6503186356706892902009-03-31T19:30:00.000-07:002009-03-31T20:29:05.978-07:00Journey to Middle Earth<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnbTRU1IFuGrEr19ImarA2oSC5nEscDeTzezDOUXADlZZ9mV3Y_PhTlNbPddPIkjABqqCES4Rz1kWHm9jbjK_bbp4zbJCcFVV9Llv5kSb_3Q-3wlMWQ_hYBy8QTStsqIjkP_iovgdvsMy4/s320/IMG_3956.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319552625292091538" />Last Saturday, we got on a bus at the square in Christchurch and met Rex, our tour-guide. Apparently he was previously a director for NZ television and such for most of his life and now he travels and gives tours through Middle Earth! Our tour was his 455th time taking people to Edoras, Capital of Rohan (geographically known as Mount Sunday).<div>Rex talked the whole trip about Christchurch history, New Zealand info, and then got into the Lord of the Rings scoop. He told us about the casting of the actors and who the director had originally wanted in the movies and showed us pictures of scenes, actors, and maps. We made several stops along the way, the first of which was at a gorge. The water is so intensely blue because it is filtered by the rocky mountain sides as it runs down and into the valley gorge.<div><div><div><div>We had another photo opportunity at Lake Camp where 100 little vacation homes are nestled between two lakes at the base of towering mountains. It was beautiful.<br /></div><div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmRdtRRJ5wSvnVTMcT4u6_ETphp9-sqozdXqLDO363lAeIocZrxp7GYn8A-LPvevY3wWR4N7Lo_k9TPMI8E679ThM-s_kNJShMCnFkkJsZucsrTVvWkmIZ4QvWNRe8MORf583gSbXe890R/s320/IMG_3965.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319554862540059202" /></div><div>We stopped at a little tea shop in a tiny town to get our lunches for later and spend a bit of time outside. Then back in our off-roading tour bus, we got onto a gravel road and found ourselves in Rohan at the base of Mount Sunday, where the Golden Hall of Edoras once stood. </div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhakE2lfNCWrZ3DbWxdxK5CNd9h2DLG3wMERjkbV2ofgJMp-IpoRo9iQrvVmvwfi4OQ0Jya9qVVyqjpZOERZdxoMT2pEMf9Np5pgF6RIlVJx_WjpOhJBAuIV0kHyXqc33hdgypj_hn2Rpk3/s1600-h/IMG_3981.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhakE2lfNCWrZ3DbWxdxK5CNd9h2DLG3wMERjkbV2ofgJMp-IpoRo9iQrvVmvwfi4OQ0Jya9qVVyqjpZOERZdxoMT2pEMf9Np5pgF6RIlVJx_WjpOhJBAuIV0kHyXqc33hdgypj_hn2Rpk3/s320/IMG_3981.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319555700595854898" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a><div> Rex showed us pictures from the Two Towers so we could see the identical scenery. He told us that they had to take down the entire village and Golden Hall for environmental preservation reasons and that the Tolkien family had refused to have any of the scenes set up anywhere except for Europe.</div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKH_wSICj208MV_WfW6BvniDEBwVLfkfwJtlj24uwjOCNfU9hwc6LAgg2-nyckMoIhC83tA0BGlN-McnMRexqfYvyFtOflURydveELOcfLhOzNJma1wypJ_2BgnFSZ3F1NzJmGqw7Ds8r5/s320/IMG_3980.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319556025212823154" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /><div>Rex then pointed up to a white marker at the top of Mount Sunday and said he wanted to see us there in about 30 minutes. Little did we know we still had to plummet through sparkling blue rivers and streams before driving up part of the mountain. On our way through the last river before heading up the mountain, we rocked side to side and suddenly got stuck in the pebble bottom and buried half of the wheel into the river bottom. The 15 passengers piled out of the bus and the women sat on the prairie land while the men set up a "come-a-long" and hammered pegs into the ground to get the bus out.</div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkL4xxF8S57zv6QXs8UaDdew-okcu8scWcXepTv7yIDU98do9FzUIMjF2sPrsRtkM2gbgP-lJRDP-fXrFZsh2L1AX6C5sf6nnjud8MxEyxrbeYsZgzKkPuvfW3cbMSenR3J2vRdiiVRz7G/s1600-h/IMG_3990.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkL4xxF8S57zv6QXs8UaDdew-okcu8scWcXepTv7yIDU98do9FzUIMjF2sPrsRtkM2gbgP-lJRDP-fXrFZsh2L1AX6C5sf6nnjud8MxEyxrbeYsZgzKkPuvfW3cbMSenR3J2vRdiiVRz7G/s320/IMG_3990.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319556587168878386" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div>After about an hour we finally defeated the river and got back into the bus. Rex then stopped up on the mountain, handed out swords and axes and we started our trek up to the top of Mount Sunday. I got to stand right where Princess Eowyn stands on the deck of the Golden Hall. We saw the identical marking on the mountain as in a still frame of the movie, Helm's Deep, and a peninsula where Aragorn pauses on his horse. </div><div>The peninsula is to the right and Helm's Deep is to the left:</div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHpcRtgHZDv0Vw-wJHILyvSsksi6TzMj2ayYM37rob-gx8-4rMOO9FhtT8CrS1JP1zHej-mV8SJJ7BNWnFMN1MBWp_ICANdhjmlPrpzfB6CnigMCDVit05j8RsOrjOxuZGVpYxzHNpcjck/s1600-h/IMG_4024.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHpcRtgHZDv0Vw-wJHILyvSsksi6TzMj2ayYM37rob-gx8-4rMOO9FhtT8CrS1JP1zHej-mV8SJJ7BNWnFMN1MBWp_ICANdhjmlPrpzfB6CnigMCDVit05j8RsOrjOxuZGVpYxzHNpcjck/s320/IMG_4024.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319558658364333010" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div>It was crazy windy on top of Mount Sunday; we could even lean completely into the wind and it would hold us up! We took lots of pictures with Aragorn's sword, Gimli's axe, and the banner of Rohan. Here's Julia as Eowyn in the wind:</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWYU-3X3PVEJ1gZbIlFVRWMsvlAj7M91kVFws0PhV40ljPKkU4xqnKiRX7xXlXKZRpfjS1I2XnYH0lHckpEStRfVTRxBj7PzCfX72g5lemtKaPbZN9Tha4RGNU7z8uHP6MMTAma-Jfnbeu/s1600-h/IMG_4031.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWYU-3X3PVEJ1gZbIlFVRWMsvlAj7M91kVFws0PhV40ljPKkU4xqnKiRX7xXlXKZRpfjS1I2XnYH0lHckpEStRfVTRxBj7PzCfX72g5lemtKaPbZN9Tha4RGNU7z8uHP6MMTAma-Jfnbeu/s320/IMG_4031.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319557300738697650" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline; "><span><span>Defeated by Julia:</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzDHfQdyVlD9pFvTcvZhyphenhyphenY7_QzRlgkCPPkeW-2zp2JwWx36KJW2bFaY5ap-8v8WLIpjpQE_AcUrohTVRmFs789THZ-xK0J-sLrOb07smCR1vwB6p52ZJCL6pvwqBUA2aNt65I7qy6BAZ0P/s1600-h/IMG_4047.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzDHfQdyVlD9pFvTcvZhyphenhyphenY7_QzRlgkCPPkeW-2zp2JwWx36KJW2bFaY5ap-8v8WLIpjpQE_AcUrohTVRmFs789THZ-xK0J-sLrOb07smCR1vwB6p52ZJCL6pvwqBUA2aNt65I7qy6BAZ0P/s320/IMG_4047.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319557724412413506" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></a></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;">Battling:</span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDPKcjbrvkOxgunf-MdaflLTJQfMP54rW1Lb826bJ4HZBHA9cszrSdyznCRSPSYBW7lzkB4sG7SmZma4H7kW6JRoMFcy4il4oRfN4qfA8VjYuESRPWpqWyAtfg0CmEa8uwHVRFhHpxnT9p/s1600-h/IMG_4034.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDPKcjbrvkOxgunf-MdaflLTJQfMP54rW1Lb826bJ4HZBHA9cszrSdyznCRSPSYBW7lzkB4sG7SmZma4H7kW6JRoMFcy4il4oRfN4qfA8VjYuESRPWpqWyAtfg0CmEa8uwHVRFhHpxnT9p/s320/IMG_4034.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319557607318507730" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a><div style="text-align: left;">It was an incredible trip, even though I hadn't seen Lord of the Rings for about 3 years. On the ride back, Rex put in several inside the scenes DVDs about the making of the 3 films. Peter Jackson, the director, filmed everything for all three movies in about 2 years. He chose around 100 locations in New Zealand for all of the filming. The next night, we crowded into the Stevens Hall Lounge and watched The Two Towers and showed all of our friends where we stood and told them all about the inside info we learned! Now I can say that I have truly been to Middle Earth!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMnSMUQrfyLor-WVnGbCaQqmtPz8eVuYHhF4_OIaZAz1iMbTTPCBRVB7F8ZdZCrxsNgQm_1sUdAopzEQFe4OYO7ViZnSjTq3vc7IEpQ_DWnx3u5acSYax4aXx0BgI2fu4DSbfdapbwsStD/s1600-h/IMG_4059.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMnSMUQrfyLor-WVnGbCaQqmtPz8eVuYHhF4_OIaZAz1iMbTTPCBRVB7F8ZdZCrxsNgQm_1sUdAopzEQFe4OYO7ViZnSjTq3vc7IEpQ_DWnx3u5acSYax4aXx0BgI2fu4DSbfdapbwsStD/s320/IMG_4059.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319558443451691074" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></a></div></div></div></div></div>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16303258418454697790noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6928123138330382456.post-15567640161427521342009-03-16T18:02:00.000-07:002009-03-16T18:45:50.909-07:00Hokitika Wildfoods Festival<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>This weekend we went to the Hokitika Wildfoods Festival! It's about 10 minutes away from Greymouth on the West Coast, so we left Friday early evening and drove the sweet sweet Chariot through Arthur's Pass. Along the 4 hour drive, we stopped at the battle ground of where the battle happens in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. This is me screaming "For Narnia!!!" <br /></div><img style="text-decoration: underline;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 207px; height: 320px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEzjFhjHqkjNRWuXxqnJ4xaVNbHRMYuWREGwN6RU9lqL378MayckGkTPZ7WdeFA_2K7q5nkIcDRfd5TXbGR8RA1VqFZgnXDqwSL4v_m9bf7_P56pfVkLRV9XIeiuOvwZFU_tiI87E8gji0/s320/IMG_3650_2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313956478202778930" /><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEzjFhjHqkjNRWuXxqnJ4xaVNbHRMYuWREGwN6RU9lqL378MayckGkTPZ7WdeFA_2K7q5nkIcDRfd5TXbGR8RA1VqFZgnXDqwSL4v_m9bf7_P56pfVkLRV9XIeiuOvwZFU_tiI87E8gji0/s1600-h/IMG_3650_2.jpg" style="text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span></a></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEzjFhjHqkjNRWuXxqnJ4xaVNbHRMYuWREGwN6RU9lqL378MayckGkTPZ7WdeFA_2K7q5nkIcDRfd5TXbGR8RA1VqFZgnXDqwSL4v_m9bf7_P56pfVkLRV9XIeiuOvwZFU_tiI87E8gji0/s1600-h/IMG_3650_2.jpg" style="text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">This is the sunset as we were about an hour from Hokitika. It was quite nice.</span></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFjYRdfQN8Hup8Kew92_tFKwq0FGDllL7qQ0JMMkcnwAY_YAtKpqrqs9TdPpM46kY3bRp0nSYvaY9Q6ooBTXYGWF8oPB4Z8QEd46nhzKNrf9P0BCGgzw_FSQFAh5Hd6lpw-xUZDqoxjFXg/s320/IMG_3657.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313956605845196130" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEzjFhjHqkjNRWuXxqnJ4xaVNbHRMYuWREGwN6RU9lqL378MayckGkTPZ7WdeFA_2K7q5nkIcDRfd5TXbGR8RA1VqFZgnXDqwSL4v_m9bf7_P56pfVkLRV9XIeiuOvwZFU_tiI87E8gji0/s1600-h/IMG_3650_2.jpg"></a></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEzjFhjHqkjNRWuXxqnJ4xaVNbHRMYuWREGwN6RU9lqL378MayckGkTPZ7WdeFA_2K7q5nkIcDRfd5TXbGR8RA1VqFZgnXDqwSL4v_m9bf7_P56pfVkLRV9XIeiuOvwZFU_tiI87E8gji0/s1600-h/IMG_3650_2.jpg"></a></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>We got to Hokitika and drove around aimlessly until we found our campsite on Beach Street. It was dark and we were dreading having to set up our tents, but fortunately we ran into some of our friends from school and stayed in their 20-person tent! (I think it was technically an 8-person tent, but it had plenty of room with 15 people.) Our campsite was right on the beach so we walked 10 feet from our tent and could see huge bonfires lining the shoreline with people clustered around the fire, the soft dark sand under our feet and the waves crashing on the sand. It was an amazing sight.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBu7S-nQIjU3OTtAcADQYztZcgSvMB3nhuiNnj84hZfLIdVv__B8Nq57kJ-UFJ6KgvCa-2UZnMa-1m9hl3UXFNFohpF8BA99qGUrpxQquRUiJa9zW1N3UBtIGLWVsI0lvfCqpkUC7sQ0KX/s1600-h/IMG_3667.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBu7S-nQIjU3OTtAcADQYztZcgSvMB3nhuiNnj84hZfLIdVv__B8Nq57kJ-UFJ6KgvCa-2UZnMa-1m9hl3UXFNFohpF8BA99qGUrpxQquRUiJa9zW1N3UBtIGLWVsI0lvfCqpkUC7sQ0KX/s320/IMG_3667.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313958163988714466" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></a></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>On Saturday morning, Julia, Lori and I walked down the street to a nice eatery and I got a great hot chocolate (because New Zealand has the best hot chocolates in the world). When we got back to the tent the rest of the group was starting to wake up and we got ready to go to the festival! All 5 Mizzou girls wore tiger ears and tails, but that was nothing compared to some of the incredible costumes we saw when we finally got to the festival! There were Ninja Turtles, Telletubbies, brigades of ballerinas in tutus (male and female), Power Rangers, and tons of other colorful people!<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>At the Wildfoods Festival I ate:<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Waffles with blackberries and cream</div><div style="text-align: left;">A pickled Huhu Grub</div><div style="text-align: left;">Ice cream with strawberries and chocolate</div><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV1YuZ1tzMTYqfhxRVzs9UsPYMLhG263F7OXO-EIQKr6EP-CEWZ3PQAIuTViiAcF5SiXBDrySZT1Q94s3pRVOHfJfwK51ToU91I-RGjODRaHVy08aBtyDnmuwAT9dxnS0BC-pcP-N3bIgs/s1600-h/IMG_3687.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV1YuZ1tzMTYqfhxRVzs9UsPYMLhG263F7OXO-EIQKr6EP-CEWZ3PQAIuTViiAcF5SiXBDrySZT1Q94s3pRVOHfJfwK51ToU91I-RGjODRaHVy08aBtyDnmuwAT9dxnS0BC-pcP-N3bIgs/s320/IMG_3687.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313961205991401538" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">Kangaroo</div><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgURC3NgGPTlhxcPCs8cD5HpSRtWovmMS4xlcqZ-fvUTB4eALz19eSPdfGPEudI2GJRQC4Nbb5i6bvCYFOf0X1g3d_1di-wYig018QsXQLkGDWjS3qLDZgCHWoDZ4SGX60oYUPY6byIlUZj/s1600-h/IMG_3706.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgURC3NgGPTlhxcPCs8cD5HpSRtWovmMS4xlcqZ-fvUTB4eALz19eSPdfGPEudI2GJRQC4Nbb5i6bvCYFOf0X1g3d_1di-wYig018QsXQLkGDWjS3qLDZgCHWoDZ4SGX60oYUPY6byIlUZj/s320/IMG_3706.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313963639177664210" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">Worm Truffle</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuLCeErgqUrwUl1PjjbVLQVmq9FMtDxx9TgT4JaOoMxTg-nvNKN1v2xHOk3bQRXtLFmbdqsmTPcskg1r_VLjHuinsJeirVg1fjAeX_j5s_e2apuCDMpef0dbzT4EswVz6vLQZK_oJokgpd/s1600-h/n15934532_41583412_704955.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuLCeErgqUrwUl1PjjbVLQVmq9FMtDxx9TgT4JaOoMxTg-nvNKN1v2xHOk3bQRXtLFmbdqsmTPcskg1r_VLjHuinsJeirVg1fjAeX_j5s_e2apuCDMpef0dbzT4EswVz6vLQZK_oJokgpd/s320/n15934532_41583412_704955.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313962909675711058" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a><div style="text-align: left;">Kahlua and Milk<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Grasshopper</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZo-fecrVscUlkuBXhieIzHK7JmLN9-4pRUdjiNUNAtU9z21hAeTaqaMWSr1RNdL1aGcKWJ86IuMxRrnyGRp61rCyPOTx_E8NavvzuWAmGMWEamBp4VpZb-n9aY_aagARrkqPLQhd6xH6C/s1600-h/n15934532_41583413_5605765.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZo-fecrVscUlkuBXhieIzHK7JmLN9-4pRUdjiNUNAtU9z21hAeTaqaMWSr1RNdL1aGcKWJ86IuMxRrnyGRp61rCyPOTx_E8NavvzuWAmGMWEamBp4VpZb-n9aY_aagARrkqPLQhd6xH6C/s320/n15934532_41583413_5605765.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313962841215125138" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a><div style="text-align: left;">Corn on the cob<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvkBt5VWKZEOhsShqobermJ3rfM8lDgK0nrBaI-nHKoJED0T2ueQxAoQLuDelR8sYqfP6mvTj1tbrI0n0_oyVP-i47qb-W_-bO6DAVVfxL7JYnO8xH8tzyJ4ptMg_zvILNSgFntpGtm8DG/s1600-h/IMG_3709.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvkBt5VWKZEOhsShqobermJ3rfM8lDgK0nrBaI-nHKoJED0T2ueQxAoQLuDelR8sYqfP6mvTj1tbrI0n0_oyVP-i47qb-W_-bO6DAVVfxL7JYnO8xH8tzyJ4ptMg_zvILNSgFntpGtm8DG/s320/IMG_3709.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313963089823059714" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a><div style="text-align: left;">Chocolate cupcake<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Fresh scallops</div><div style="text-align: left;">Bacon and onion sandwich</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>There were bands playing all day at 2 or 3 different stages and we spent a decent amount of time lying in the grass and soaking up the west coast sunshine. When we were finished trying weird foods, we went back to the beach and played around; Jen taught us the waltz and there was a dog that kept barking for us to throw rocks for it to pretend to chase. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDJ5tp_PuJHv5N2JbABZbBFoEqvmG43QeUnnH4eagxUjglpdV6jalHQKlXLAvKEYNJm6ioaILoWOY1bEqooyGGPnzVnKML5o13tCU1hjr8cC1YgrAb0LPGTU8acyAfuY3EeJCB1_7ZtRJj/s1600-h/IMG_3720.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDJ5tp_PuJHv5N2JbABZbBFoEqvmG43QeUnnH4eagxUjglpdV6jalHQKlXLAvKEYNJm6ioaILoWOY1bEqooyGGPnzVnKML5o13tCU1hjr8cC1YgrAb0LPGTU8acyAfuY3EeJCB1_7ZtRJj/s320/IMG_3720.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313964939550993746" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>After dinner we went back to the beach and watched the sunset.</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Ys4wRxRNgWtXV8D2GPBZaTnUt3T6ZHHUx7dQDYrrDcrAia1ohAXcdv_gpRffkDOsbiItMuyry9gtKqbMXyZQOplwJGVMjCgpbtQXq3mke4Vf0GDiJJnL7X_hVXSGY4wwRMO6LXXEAG_c/s1600-h/IMG_3735.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Ys4wRxRNgWtXV8D2GPBZaTnUt3T6ZHHUx7dQDYrrDcrAia1ohAXcdv_gpRffkDOsbiItMuyry9gtKqbMXyZQOplwJGVMjCgpbtQXq3mke4Vf0GDiJJnL7X_hVXSGY4wwRMO6LXXEAG_c/s320/IMG_3735.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313966587950732946" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>There was a dance later that evening back in one of the tents where the festival took place where we grooved and swing danced and flipped. We spent the night on the beach again walking from bonfire to bonfire under the clear sky and bright moon.<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>In the morning we bought a much needed breakfast of eggs, toast, baked beans, sausages, bacon, and hot sauce. I bought a nice sling purse and a ring at the market along the street and then we piled back into the Chariot and made our way back through the pass back to Lincoln (and got passed by a whopping 100 cars along the way!)<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>If you ever have a chance and are in New Zealand in March, you must go to the Hokitika Wild Foods Festival! I hope all is well!<br /></div>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16303258418454697790noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6928123138330382456.post-67182090613502584432009-03-12T03:44:00.000-07:002009-03-12T04:47:24.389-07:00Hanmer Springs, NZ<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>You know when you are stuck at school or at work and you start dreaming of wonderful things you could do that would make your life more exciting? Like road trips and unexpected visitors and great deals on accommodations and hot springs and climbing mountains and playing cards and doing really whatever you want? This was that dream.<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Hanmer Springs is about 2 hours away from Lincoln, although it is about 3 hours away if you get lost, and about 4 hours away if you get a flat tire. <br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>We left Saturday after breakfast with our backpacks, hiking boots, and sack lunches and soaked up each other's company, the iPod music, and the breathtaking view all the way to Hanmer. Our first mission was to find a place to stay, so we drove to the one street with accommodations, compared the rates of about 4 different places, and instantly decided on an extremely inexpensive house for 7 of us. We ate our sack lunches at our dining room table and headed out to tramp the Waterfall Track on the edge of town. Here's a photo of me on our way up to the waterfall!<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhptTNgHeAjawPz6bLAlMWi2D5Z0OXeyND8m_mNEaTGM-zMAR3OjPaeYaPHTrm5BOe3PP8iuiSlRk-H1BrvmG1EppgnQTe7ewK7OE2UZCoyy8jx9vunhyphenhyphen3lYEvyywcLUGLGljOHcZbbFH0L/s1600-h/IMG_3483.jpg" style="text-decoration: none;"><img style="text-decoration: underline;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhptTNgHeAjawPz6bLAlMWi2D5Z0OXeyND8m_mNEaTGM-zMAR3OjPaeYaPHTrm5BOe3PP8iuiSlRk-H1BrvmG1EppgnQTe7ewK7OE2UZCoyy8jx9vunhyphenhyphen3lYEvyywcLUGLGljOHcZbbFH0L/s320/IMG_3483.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312251139496259586" /><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">On our way down from the waterfall, we ran into another group from Lincoln and offered them our floor since our house was so stinking huge. We arranged to meet up with them later at the Hot Springs.</span></span></span></a><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhptTNgHeAjawPz6bLAlMWi2D5Z0OXeyND8m_mNEaTGM-zMAR3OjPaeYaPHTrm5BOe3PP8iuiSlRk-H1BrvmG1EppgnQTe7ewK7OE2UZCoyy8jx9vunhyphenhyphen3lYEvyywcLUGLGljOHcZbbFH0L/s1600-h/IMG_3483.jpg" style="text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The Springs were right down the street from our house. We spent the evening hopping from pool to pool until we found which of the 9 springs we liked the most. Some were 39 degrees Celsius and the hottest one was 41 degrees Celsius and smelt strongly of sulfur.<br /></span></span></a><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> For dinner, we made rice (we eat a TON of rice), chicken, teriyaki and curry sauces, mixed vegetables, bread, butter, and jam, and a pound of garlic in it all! Delicious. Jennifer served us a bottle of Pinot Noir, which wasn't terrible until I drank some along with my curry chicken! It intensified the spice by a million!</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">We went to the pub down the street for some drinks and ended the evening with some Hokey Pokey ice cream (a New Zealand favorite) and a game of cards.<br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The next morning, we had planned to wake up at 5:15am and hike up a mountain down the street to watch the sunrise...but none of us actually woke up. So I got up a couple hours later and got to soak up the scenery outside on our back porch.<br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Here's the family picture we took of the 14 of us who stayed in the house! Notice the beautiful mountain in the background, our cat, and the wonderful landscape architecture in the front yard.<br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMFm2hwo5A9UE-Uf8MPV_-XNsps5ImOgudQ7hgBBqb9ef_hjM8JQMinGPWIwcKqQBHwIqgCRUawE5HF9GiygnKtm_OAs0ldcQ5tfaz35Z7HxvYdbvuqFBt7ndWQdM5vHfOnG3NUc35QwtH/s1600-h/n503188922_2202667_5132667.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMFm2hwo5A9UE-Uf8MPV_-XNsps5ImOgudQ7hgBBqb9ef_hjM8JQMinGPWIwcKqQBHwIqgCRUawE5HF9GiygnKtm_OAs0ldcQ5tfaz35Z7HxvYdbvuqFBt7ndWQdM5vHfOnG3NUc35QwtH/s320/n503188922_2202667_5132667.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312253364630763538" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>After a breakfast of eggs, toast, and fresh fruit, we headed out to Jack's Pass. It was a beautiful hike with a wonderful variety of terrain. When we reached the end of the tree line, half of the group went back to the car and we kept going to the top of 3 different peaks. Here's a picture of the last peak we reached before sprinting down the mountain so that the other half of the group wasn't waiting on us.<br /></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgex8OkAA61LFeyTyklgBTi-LsYa6jfwTJ12yKfWSGG7h2N1IYzTHfceWrUuxh9oVcIPksSc76zrBlp0jsAmKUJXnQu3oXzNZl86uwtc99l9SczR02I4LJFWwm0qO0Vz0YQhizTQ_AMy8Zj/s320/IMG_3585.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312253912820234226" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>We had a quick snack at the house before packing up and looking around the town a bit. This is a photo of the grape vines just outside of Hanmer toward Christchurch.<br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWEZnwCgWAyqbKXN0buBOFxGNoWRcTJh4B9LD1JDYskkgYamNwfW0LrT3dfViaJbPxoWzEO2Qha8AgRjK4ThwHACpk1_r7GNkiCFus76VV5AM1gRwwZ9O7Wt4cJAxrQg9cNfQd2ahB5O2T/s1600-h/IMG_3632.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWEZnwCgWAyqbKXN0buBOFxGNoWRcTJh4B9LD1JDYskkgYamNwfW0LrT3dfViaJbPxoWzEO2Qha8AgRjK4ThwHACpk1_r7GNkiCFus76VV5AM1gRwwZ9O7Wt4cJAxrQg9cNfQd2ahB5O2T/s320/IMG_3632.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312253806601281826" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>It was a beautiful weekend, even though it ended with a flat tire on the way back, but we made it home safe and sound for another week of classes!<br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Stay tuned for adventures at the Hokitika Wildfoods Festival and I'll try to get around to some entries about Uni life, the papers I'm taking, and what goes on during the week! Thanks for reading!<br /></div></div></div>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16303258418454697790noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6928123138330382456.post-38963776178487639812009-03-07T23:59:00.000-08:002009-03-08T01:24:31.948-08:00Christchurch, NZ<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Christchurch is about 20 minutes away from Lincoln, which is where Lincoln University is! We decided to have a weekend in Christchurch instead of trying to get a bigger trip planned, so the weekend started out with a rugby game! <br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6E7Mj5Kt9MEeKm1rn60n2GeBhRwOzWmNKLZjU8bXrw1pj7UbiP4raTEaRyzFCSzavZicwNakOBclFcpS-aQq3i-KNL_Kd70EV-BARIs99rDeay6BSF7eskQwwO227KZC51ysZHq58rKm2/s1600-h/IMG_3271.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6E7Mj5Kt9MEeKm1rn60n2GeBhRwOzWmNKLZjU8bXrw1pj7UbiP4raTEaRyzFCSzavZicwNakOBclFcpS-aQq3i-KNL_Kd70EV-BARIs99rDeay6BSF7eskQwwO227KZC51ysZHq58rKm2/s320/IMG_3271.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5310734431852098098" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a><div>The game was Christchurch Crusaders vs. Wellington Hurricanes. Luckily we had a guy with us who plays rugby for Cornell and is trying out for the team at Lincoln Uni, so he was able to keep us informed about everything that went on. The game started with horses and crusaders running around the field (although we were just entering the stadium when this happened, so we didn't actually get to see them) and then a helicopter came touched down on the field and 2 people ran out of it; one was a crusader player and the other was some woman who ran the other direction. Rugby games are only 80 minutes long and consist of scrums,</div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyBJ1d2kAb_1-4MyJyRjZfE-_Z3s2_7EogKKBjy0SwBGgTnQBlvs3Lb8kuQty1f_giJvhEqP1J0uAHQaU33Xzt6YSya5myZGCkxhNO3P6ANxe-yKAMWLKGU0JfDQ_M6FRjeSGeqzaOl-G4/s1600-h/IMG_3286.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyBJ1d2kAb_1-4MyJyRjZfE-_Z3s2_7EogKKBjy0SwBGgTnQBlvs3Lb8kuQty1f_giJvhEqP1J0uAHQaU33Xzt6YSya5myZGCkxhNO3P6ANxe-yKAMWLKGU0JfDQ_M6FRjeSGeqzaOl-G4/s320/IMG_3286.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5310735497824844338" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div>picking players up to catch the ball when it is thrown in, and tries, which are basically touchdowns.<br /></div><div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>On Saturday, we had breakfast in the dining hall and grabbed our sack lunches (made by the dining hall) and took the Chariot into Christchurch. The Chariot belongs to Jennifer, one of the girls from Missouri who's staying at Lincoln for the whole year, and is a white, squat, 7-seater, 1989, van. It's beautiful. We spent most of the early afternoon walking around the city and stopping in tourist shops and such. We ate our sack lunches on the square, watched the people walk by, fed the birds, and walked through the market that's set up most days of the week.<br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>We drove to the edge of town to the Gondola and met some friends at 2pm. After contemplating whether we should gondola up or gondola down, we decided to hike up the mountain to the cafe and then take the gondola ride down as a reward for our hard work on the way up! However, this was a terrible idea. As soon as we started our hike up the mountain, it started raining, and the incline was ridiculously steep. We would walk about 10 steps and then pause, take a picture of the scenery, take a sip of water, and keep going. The steepness finally let up and we came across a little gazebo and a beautiful view of Lyttleton Harbor down the other side of the mountain.</div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigRPcW_LIzSKLm3MpQKeoRXj6-mTCcqqjhfBxzbKcnkvsdRHDbcrjd1b0rnz87figWq2vXFQYN8SwofYc6y1nrCvRBWzN-oQPG552sCHSDm_aN94RGBrGfxC7VPHvilGfeEW6TnlzANA9i/s1600-h/IMG_3326.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigRPcW_LIzSKLm3MpQKeoRXj6-mTCcqqjhfBxzbKcnkvsdRHDbcrjd1b0rnz87figWq2vXFQYN8SwofYc6y1nrCvRBWzN-oQPG552sCHSDm_aN94RGBrGfxC7VPHvilGfeEW6TnlzANA9i/s320/IMG_3326.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5310737931973556162" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Someone thought it'd be a good idea to take the road up to the cafe instead of a trail, so we started walking along the street and saw some random sheep over the ledge (they are everywhere!) and finally decided we should have taken a trail, so we took some sweet photos and turned back. </div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQC86Or7jnI3bv35pHE3-CFFyTaC__VieLHAz9upC-RZT8427dKGQVK110gEbZO8QarMimpzCuPZx6kNQ_l3HXhEFt-czogkrDSUJgfJk5U_kwxuCOS7jWNzApYXgenzdw-hVHHv02yEK1/s1600-h/IMG_3346.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQC86Or7jnI3bv35pHE3-CFFyTaC__VieLHAz9upC-RZT8427dKGQVK110gEbZO8QarMimpzCuPZx6kNQ_l3HXhEFt-czogkrDSUJgfJk5U_kwxuCOS7jWNzApYXgenzdw-hVHHv02yEK1/s320/IMG_3346.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5310738273120637730" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a><div>As we climbed the trail, the rain got harder and the scenery slowly disappeared due to the fact that we were climbing into a cloud, hmph. We stumbled into the building, kissed the floor of civilization (figuratively), looked through the souvenir shop, and went to the cafe. The building has a 360 degree view but we inconveniently chose to go to the gondola on a rainy day (because it always rains when we hike on the weekends!) so we could only see white all around us. I ordered a hot chocolate, which was by far the best I've ever had. They put a delicious layer of foam on the top and sprinkle the top with chocolate powder after placing regular and berry marshmallows on the side! Mmmm my mouth is watering just thinking about it! We ended the rainy day with a gondola ride down the mountain!<br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I walked to Lincoln Baptist Church on Sunday with some people from CF (Christian Fellowship at Lincoln Uni) in the sunshine! This was the first full day of sunshine I had since I arrived in New Zealand! I went to their flat after church for nachos. It's really nice getting to spend relaxing afternoons in a real house with entertaining and conversational kiwis, and good food! <br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I hopped on the bus after lunch and went back to Christchurch to look for a bike shop and to tour through the Botanic Gardens! There is a flower show coming up soon, so there is beautiful floral art all around the city!</div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjWEXAYKOwqUFqotnh613sV3sMTk2OdgjhanCjYYsdg-5sTzVHqrCNWbBhW2fZ_mp9GGk8uu7sFFAhoOOLluiaPA-EufMlC4rnb1NPAAs7Rict3B2qhyzWkItndL_g0OMxpyrKjPtSR7Xt/s1600-h/IMG_3416.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjWEXAYKOwqUFqotnh613sV3sMTk2OdgjhanCjYYsdg-5sTzVHqrCNWbBhW2fZ_mp9GGk8uu7sFFAhoOOLluiaPA-EufMlC4rnb1NPAAs7Rict3B2qhyzWkItndL_g0OMxpyrKjPtSR7Xt/s320/IMG_3416.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5310745060249221698" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I didn't find a used bike shop, and hardly touched the gardens, but I could seriously spend a week in there! There are enormous climbing trees,</div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioYpQlQDUubvllSRjLoehuKDSX1xf7PKShrHG6AAkqRU6xjpUhLdWBXUVYGdv34ERKrG1NUbcjSBegWKBSRs6NFwNe-KWFvVJ4S-F6rJmQ5IexaGVb5fSTEwe-scks-x9c5Q9UcV4dSiDR/s1600-h/IMG_3373.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioYpQlQDUubvllSRjLoehuKDSX1xf7PKShrHG6AAkqRU6xjpUhLdWBXUVYGdv34ERKrG1NUbcjSBegWKBSRs6NFwNe-KWFvVJ4S-F6rJmQ5IexaGVb5fSTEwe-scks-x9c5Q9UcV4dSiDR/s320/IMG_3373.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5310739444249719042" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div>a little river with people being punted around by 18th century dressed punters, </div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbfbyxtVEpe4cR_JfPhvv05IDrjW0KKH4YE0Sl_SCiHOvRKEll6eyUPwkcbt_Y59wUg_By3DT13ccMBOWMh5KkTlsOzHQVQvcCkgy_fnevOsCUW5h1ZZoYEmo8-5TCgWYTi-EF13wMu7sr/s1600-h/IMG_3380.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbfbyxtVEpe4cR_JfPhvv05IDrjW0KKH4YE0Sl_SCiHOvRKEll6eyUPwkcbt_Y59wUg_By3DT13ccMBOWMh5KkTlsOzHQVQvcCkgy_fnevOsCUW5h1ZZoYEmo8-5TCgWYTi-EF13wMu7sr/s320/IMG_3380.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5310740082638414098" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div>flowers, </div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVmCUgqqIohH2AnvLkVjSsxeaol0IIpDsUFKQBOLwgLAsFQCo19PelXkcWz9W888YqhQ7UkKOWKHYCHAkpxLAHTPUxPqBsNiFi1YAqhUiQBUPiQJBOD96okjMbkN-3gf6jY_5zeo5_lioU/s1600-h/IMG_3403.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVmCUgqqIohH2AnvLkVjSsxeaol0IIpDsUFKQBOLwgLAsFQCo19PelXkcWz9W888YqhQ7UkKOWKHYCHAkpxLAHTPUxPqBsNiFi1YAqhUiQBUPiQJBOD96okjMbkN-3gf6jY_5zeo5_lioU/s320/IMG_3403.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5310740381976286386" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></a></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRLtTSB_Am3FdNshtozvqjlBrlqaBZOBR-stKEEq1lABPLGh7ogKjHqmTIOjmA4Quzu8ch90CJjaII7wtyHkckpi3Giba8CwrcR5dz5jUK-PKkQBmHviDNpbUvIBRd44QXrJ3aq7uvHlBw/s1600-h/IMG_3411.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRLtTSB_Am3FdNshtozvqjlBrlqaBZOBR-stKEEq1lABPLGh7ogKjHqmTIOjmA4Quzu8ch90CJjaII7wtyHkckpi3Giba8CwrcR5dz5jUK-PKkQBmHviDNpbUvIBRd44QXrJ3aq7uvHlBw/s320/IMG_3411.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5310740483203676722" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div>afternoon concerts, and neat garden decor.<br /></div></div>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16303258418454697790noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6928123138330382456.post-69689817870471394342009-02-25T16:35:00.000-08:002009-03-02T03:28:23.092-08:00Greymouth, NZ<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>After a long week of registration, dorm food, and adjusting to life at Uni, we decided to take a weekend trip to Greymouth, NZ, which is on the west coast. Thursday night we booked tickets for the TransAlpine train and reserved rooms for 2 nights at a hostel in Greymouth. Friday morning 11 of us headed to the bus stop on campus in the rain at 6:30am in order to get to the train station in Christchurch by 8:15am. We were right next to the food cart, so 5 of us ordered a good ol' New Zealand Meat Pie. It rained for most of the ride, but it was beautiful as we traveled through Arthur's Pass. We got to get off of the train for about 5 minutes while we were in Arthur's Pass.<br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNoPuFMdIqbUABlwmyjg7-X8gPgd1amP7JEoALMbPbt_GOqKCcXBZCusmb93o6HZqNpvQBvpttbfMv_uPuSZRY8L91RzDwOfSlQfuJ_fvWG7J7e0zSRI0j0DXEymNOEUjMtYDV-RhcjfTF/s1600-h/IMG_3018.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNoPuFMdIqbUABlwmyjg7-X8gPgd1amP7JEoALMbPbt_GOqKCcXBZCusmb93o6HZqNpvQBvpttbfMv_uPuSZRY8L91RzDwOfSlQfuJ_fvWG7J7e0zSRI0j0DXEymNOEUjMtYDV-RhcjfTF/s320/IMG_3018.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306900258209380226" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>There was an outlook car that you could go to to get some fresh air and have a better view than through the rain-streaked windows.</div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4m3_mGRXRznHz13EZInwzI_etCNsWChrxsYu7x378-vSmdXhYTyaYsbO7wLAYm6mieDJrDmorltyzd241GcxeTpYjfAAHZzKnrf6SL-Ndjc4Y8FF14UOf9vHJV_VwUNWAZwv7mZfBkUOA/s1600-h/IMG_3029.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4m3_mGRXRznHz13EZInwzI_etCNsWChrxsYu7x378-vSmdXhYTyaYsbO7wLAYm6mieDJrDmorltyzd241GcxeTpYjfAAHZzKnrf6SL-Ndjc4Y8FF14UOf9vHJV_VwUNWAZwv7mZfBkUOA/s320/IMG_3029.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306901676469546034" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAvMNLQ1mm21yB1_oCMBjGvkjfELrF7xzUq1-jCzE4OxIAN8v8RhtkUNvcuSdytqWXKlyLv2QcbJ1H0wrpkgqcLjN84TrDdN1bzF6Pd9FZC-IMd7XuwCLLk8hbtf71Qzp5EzzrUQJGOvUU/s1600-h/IMG_3027.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAvMNLQ1mm21yB1_oCMBjGvkjfELrF7xzUq1-jCzE4OxIAN8v8RhtkUNvcuSdytqWXKlyLv2QcbJ1H0wrpkgqcLjN84TrDdN1bzF6Pd9FZC-IMd7XuwCLLk8hbtf71Qzp5EzzrUQJGOvUU/s320/IMG_3027.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306901848523011922" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 277px; height: 320px; " /></a></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXs1p-5Ew3T1KvfHLIWzuxJ5Pr9U2LVFR4WlMsCbTsMhHVEeC_lddPCgXifc9T6UoUzVlQ4Z1aWI3wYwUnDx1Kv5oOMPNiwJTxoCCHvlksHsE1tPNAABRaF-uW7-Zmp_EF2zzbvH4ZPjIR/s1600-h/IMG_3034.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXs1p-5Ew3T1KvfHLIWzuxJ5Pr9U2LVFR4WlMsCbTsMhHVEeC_lddPCgXifc9T6UoUzVlQ4Z1aWI3wYwUnDx1Kv5oOMPNiwJTxoCCHvlksHsE1tPNAABRaF-uW7-Zmp_EF2zzbvH4ZPjIR/s320/IMG_3034.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306902315494697474" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></a><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>When we got to Greymouth, we walked to our hostel, which was on the edge of town, dropped our packs, and went on a search for some fish and chips! We met 3 other people from Lincoln Uni who had arrived the day before, so they led us to a local pizzeria for fish and chips! <br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm9dJZifI6HM6k3c58U0Q7vBOOTS62kskIgbz1rv1I16_-rdNcmENK3t8JM3X_B7KtwJ94oVKPHeIT2i1H0a23wGfHoa6s06l8J271-CM2bN7jczQ2eRaunOjmAIIAVqTzIvL8MoNZPeAh/s1600-h/IMG_3037.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm9dJZifI6HM6k3c58U0Q7vBOOTS62kskIgbz1rv1I16_-rdNcmENK3t8JM3X_B7KtwJ94oVKPHeIT2i1H0a23wGfHoa6s06l8J271-CM2bN7jczQ2eRaunOjmAIIAVqTzIvL8MoNZPeAh/s320/IMG_3037.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306901206488606514" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>We went into a store to buy our bust tickets for the way back (the bus is much cheaper than the train) and came across this sign! Lake Brunner is probably 20 km out of Greymouth, so we didn't manage to go, but there was a lot of publicity for it!</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoRi6pFzJjskGeQXPqO4jzclWKH39ze_XmEjRl-ptxzRFf5Q8kcXbBh6DJbBlOH7hNYLdpY23xvIairJlnsPsXkGFbBNvHwlVccBMMdLhPzSxSeH9ZuZHGkPTiqDdiKwGGv0ubxJJ5TMpt/s1600-h/IMG_3040.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoRi6pFzJjskGeQXPqO4jzclWKH39ze_XmEjRl-ptxzRFf5Q8kcXbBh6DJbBlOH7hNYLdpY23xvIairJlnsPsXkGFbBNvHwlVccBMMdLhPzSxSeH9ZuZHGkPTiqDdiKwGGv0ubxJJ5TMpt/s320/IMG_3040.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306904181561653858" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></a><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Since we were already soaked from head to toe from walking around town, we decided to go on an afternoon hike.</div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQylDKmbWoFN9WOZKUVGgLq1zxtgHy_rSOu-Uq8hOZxxhMyUsxyQgawpjw4Ww51__QcQ2nulIJQBygpefJC-X_-Bghb4gfHasFJeJH2GgDG5BkXuZW942KGImBU3foxK6qbNs6SbphyIqz/s1600-h/IMG_3066.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQylDKmbWoFN9WOZKUVGgLq1zxtgHy_rSOu-Uq8hOZxxhMyUsxyQgawpjw4Ww51__QcQ2nulIJQBygpefJC-X_-Bghb4gfHasFJeJH2GgDG5BkXuZW942KGImBU3foxK6qbNs6SbphyIqz/s320/IMG_3066.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306904985640897010" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYnjDx8sAmDcCNvZtLfI357rnQNxYj9WLcdJUiZldXpry2U55omKzuNYFOdpFwilq2QpgCoc14DADApTR3wl03goh8ef_ImJ8G70iEKA-2WxR_1Powf6j86GzFiQ1RtDh9zQyrBKWau4Bq/s1600-h/IMG_3058.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYnjDx8sAmDcCNvZtLfI357rnQNxYj9WLcdJUiZldXpry2U55omKzuNYFOdpFwilq2QpgCoc14DADApTR3wl03goh8ef_ImJ8G70iEKA-2WxR_1Powf6j86GzFiQ1RtDh9zQyrBKWau4Bq/s320/IMG_3058.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306904798621607234" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7ll6ABORxTJT5yB5QEXNdpmnRKJTnmjcD5MZ8lBfgfHjJteaLFKVc7Xy1evn2nZTYpWqmbiYAvotuyqraJbgmPL-o5BAosaFAxHQ3vP5AYqMTWMddvUDbbOmpnDiNcm9PGg7wdWJtX3KP/s1600-h/IMG_3071.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7ll6ABORxTJT5yB5QEXNdpmnRKJTnmjcD5MZ8lBfgfHjJteaLFKVc7Xy1evn2nZTYpWqmbiYAvotuyqraJbgmPL-o5BAosaFAxHQ3vP5AYqMTWMddvUDbbOmpnDiNcm9PGg7wdWJtX3KP/s320/IMG_3071.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307756867528681202" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4xudc3CmrsjkI28oGZzXD_fgAKvonBt1kL8BGXR9o3BUm-ukG0se49xi4ZIseRQ15D-tDN3lcLaXDxq9OwcYeB4kW2dNfWHJYYoMeVMguq6Q3Lp0fmzBPljj0PhNYV7SWyXA_0XLZ2ehi/s1600-h/IMG_3075.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4xudc3CmrsjkI28oGZzXD_fgAKvonBt1kL8BGXR9o3BUm-ukG0se49xi4ZIseRQ15D-tDN3lcLaXDxq9OwcYeB4kW2dNfWHJYYoMeVMguq6Q3Lp0fmzBPljj0PhNYV7SWyXA_0XLZ2ehi/s320/IMG_3075.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307757333566151570" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>We stopped by our hostel, dropped off some of our wet clothes, and headed to go on another hike before dark. We got to walk through a nice residential area where everyone's yards are perfectly manicured and the houses are small and cute. </div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDnaqOlU947iz9q-3Eittlf9XksW7hzRzmzQZIpk0peyngPc8zS9anOyjHw5xGQk_FQTpssrGyStQGfMu5NcF9PJk2aW8PZyzGIUXcNZZfQdCe2fyW2_ptVAE4EvoLgd4gm8hlJQWJdl39/s1600-h/IMG_3102.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDnaqOlU947iz9q-3Eittlf9XksW7hzRzmzQZIpk0peyngPc8zS9anOyjHw5xGQk_FQTpssrGyStQGfMu5NcF9PJk2aW8PZyzGIUXcNZZfQdCe2fyW2_ptVAE4EvoLgd4gm8hlJQWJdl39/s320/IMG_3102.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307757738780497650" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></a></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho1kdOMvDOwUvpSbqWSa6MirnySO6KqZcW8PNvRzjc0g5bYGKOZgBOjjr2KHslU398pNIAC0mrkmBfKw-sJrxu6XGfHSsM6rw9NpzEOOruOXieHHp5Cz7mgKA_4WwQ6SnYSupDKmOLzNBB/s1600-h/IMG_3106.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho1kdOMvDOwUvpSbqWSa6MirnySO6KqZcW8PNvRzjc0g5bYGKOZgBOjjr2KHslU398pNIAC0mrkmBfKw-sJrxu6XGfHSsM6rw9NpzEOOruOXieHHp5Cz7mgKA_4WwQ6SnYSupDKmOLzNBB/s320/IMG_3106.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308414286329679266" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>After the hike, we found ourselves at the beach! It was all pebbles and the waves and wind were really strong. This was the Tasman Sea.</div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDXGLxW6Qpz40YtiRS0_nOV40ZzR-3U8rwUxBiQssP2-w66QslpgH9jK-9feVA6WPSf5fkSB4nsQvUywfeks2XEjQ5fi-BYOjoWox-yqo0nXqws2M8Xr66XPXcjN6mhsyNDegZLmNfmXlM/s1600-h/IMG_3124.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDXGLxW6Qpz40YtiRS0_nOV40ZzR-3U8rwUxBiQssP2-w66QslpgH9jK-9feVA6WPSf5fkSB4nsQvUywfeks2XEjQ5fi-BYOjoWox-yqo0nXqws2M8Xr66XPXcjN6mhsyNDegZLmNfmXlM/s320/IMG_3124.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308416111760342162" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Once we got back to the hostel, we took showers, changed into some warm, dry clothes, and had a feast of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!</div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZTvykel3wsbZ9npg7TxwUaZpNAetS8TO4W1jKqA0th-o6Mf5-6-0eNPydkUXKl6z7Q4Gy0BYDaEuWUw25niXusXxShm71VuOyla6CXu0TNZTNRBmsJurHyhPFsYbh4gc5KMvjrkq1Ky9q/s1600-h/IMG_3131.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZTvykel3wsbZ9npg7TxwUaZpNAetS8TO4W1jKqA0th-o6Mf5-6-0eNPydkUXKl6z7Q4Gy0BYDaEuWUw25niXusXxShm71VuOyla6CXu0TNZTNRBmsJurHyhPFsYbh4gc5KMvjrkq1Ky9q/s320/IMG_3131.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308416675708080338" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>On Saturday, we took a short morning hike and then Sarah, Hannah, and I walked around Greymouth, bought jade necklaces (Greymouth is the jade capital of New Zealand!) and stopped into a little coffee shop for some delicious hot chocolate! We walked along this street on our way back to the hostel! It's "Brunner Street!"</div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibWy0aS-Utdte08PTZNNcH7M6O-RK7mPidOEtmGZcQmwIvhyphenhyphenk4qA3OGFcwSSAAWriy4OjqCNL54o_HluLfKuxFkOr3BYbTbwOiyzDk2h2b6D8GtDHN6EH3nqXugHT-xIUlN-ltbvuYaFCu/s1600-h/IMG_3150.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibWy0aS-Utdte08PTZNNcH7M6O-RK7mPidOEtmGZcQmwIvhyphenhyphenk4qA3OGFcwSSAAWriy4OjqCNL54o_HluLfKuxFkOr3BYbTbwOiyzDk2h2b6D8GtDHN6EH3nqXugHT-xIUlN-ltbvuYaFCu/s320/IMG_3150.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308439837988952082" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Around 1pm, we all met back at the hostel and biked 7km to our next trailhead. (Our hostel provided free bikes and kayaks, but the river was too high since it was raining...it's always raining.) As we biked in the rain, we saw the pebble beach and crashing waves to our left and the lush mountains spotted with sheep, cows, and horses on our right. </div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXV84S1mIgjuKDA21SKUHVSfCfzvHu89KbgjV9rEVvUsHVjanaNP0YJ7PbUxRYwJtaSl_GH14uGEZuI-dVolamlyTcENBw9lG2EqAGqmWI5Ws2YU6wUMpE6uLVQ2Tv2rMR_uLSWsqj6by2/s1600-h/IMG_3230.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXV84S1mIgjuKDA21SKUHVSfCfzvHu89KbgjV9rEVvUsHVjanaNP0YJ7PbUxRYwJtaSl_GH14uGEZuI-dVolamlyTcENBw9lG2EqAGqmWI5Ws2YU6wUMpE6uLVQ2Tv2rMR_uLSWsqj6by2/s320/IMG_3230.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308441023998415618" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7NRzKtvsEBsEHGgRydWXS0o4waoYt5rQy0YGqHLY8UxzeJ0xu2qWudHMGGb6QjyZ1rBC3q9C9LVPXwgdu690jEgt0IMQcBrwJa5O2zunswp4mZG5GP_op_fLBqBEcnhNQsl24uxmNZjIA/s1600-h/IMG_3174.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7NRzKtvsEBsEHGgRydWXS0o4waoYt5rQy0YGqHLY8UxzeJ0xu2qWudHMGGb6QjyZ1rBC3q9C9LVPXwgdu690jEgt0IMQcBrwJa5O2zunswp4mZG5GP_op_fLBqBEcnhNQsl24uxmNZjIA/s320/IMG_3174.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308440630302109282" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>We hiked through the mountainous rainforest...</div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5N1a-3MQH8uEsxTWIWgm3ffO8dc1UjtJN96m-kt4dnMGdY2tlPTQEyOYrO3boG77mDxxeVJQI_UvF_1njwwNy4vpVOjRZBXaUfPfVY2RpkK16N4LymBlbymysirEnByVzIsbBMWnt0t_i/s1600-h/IMG_3186.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5N1a-3MQH8uEsxTWIWgm3ffO8dc1UjtJN96m-kt4dnMGdY2tlPTQEyOYrO3boG77mDxxeVJQI_UvF_1njwwNy4vpVOjRZBXaUfPfVY2RpkK16N4LymBlbymysirEnByVzIsbBMWnt0t_i/s320/IMG_3186.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308441580356766322" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV69_GTo10IoCcaAe3vNVuY-Ziq0rz_4Ib_qVYMcRk3iFps8YT-pGJ7cLYRzzfrn4vWOWqf60cSMRqqk05bc9j1uUbRdg30FjVcN9_G3n24ifTwysYBCfH4AM_Ydiitey2xeANvRl2DH6t/s1600-h/IMG_3210.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV69_GTo10IoCcaAe3vNVuY-Ziq0rz_4Ib_qVYMcRk3iFps8YT-pGJ7cLYRzzfrn4vWOWqf60cSMRqqk05bc9j1uUbRdg30FjVcN9_G3n24ifTwysYBCfH4AM_Ydiitey2xeANvRl2DH6t/s320/IMG_3210.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308442338232661746" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div>and a field of huge yucca-looking plants and 2 hours later found ourselves on the other side of the mountain in a little beach town! We got some refreshments at a local pub and watched the beach for a while before we decided to make our way back over the mountain and to our bikes. <br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>That evening, we made a large dinner of rice, steamed broccoli, stir-fried vegetables, and different flavors of tuna from a box. While half of our group cleaned up the dishes, Jen, Sarah, and I ran to the grocery to get some ice cream and we all watched Ocean's 11 in the little movie room at the hostel with cups of chocolate ice cream, popcorn, and kiwi-filled chocolate bars.<br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>We woke up sunday and hopped on the West Coast Shuttle at 7:30am. The scenery was just as beautiful as it was on the train, however, since the rain was letting up, we got to see rainbows and double rainbows embracing the mountain side! </div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_VqGQPcy7z3MGa5_FGSyebGLHamzSzcCMhOJiptp3M6narHWV7eZA5nT1CMI-Uj0-ZxUdf5ZoLMGpH7aqeooJS7563myLF8I1YZOIs3pqtkmTUSJYfLEO3cXyMKys69sUUmWhN82THWm8/s1600-h/IMG_3246.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_VqGQPcy7z3MGa5_FGSyebGLHamzSzcCMhOJiptp3M6narHWV7eZA5nT1CMI-Uj0-ZxUdf5ZoLMGpH7aqeooJS7563myLF8I1YZOIs3pqtkmTUSJYfLEO3cXyMKys69sUUmWhN82THWm8/s320/IMG_3246.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308442984217831266" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV90CXIQuxXb0DrGg3bOMD5fE7C_6-O5Pz9gxPM1GdsYOcKe74kvwFy_7avId-xlptzeherM0o3iWjp3vO2w1aRhkCX9AQyUfPspus61MrnHgy-2gufnvv8vDrhBZwoASI34VvEc3Tegru/s1600-h/IMG_3242.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV90CXIQuxXb0DrGg3bOMD5fE7C_6-O5Pz9gxPM1GdsYOcKe74kvwFy_7avId-xlptzeherM0o3iWjp3vO2w1aRhkCX9AQyUfPspus61MrnHgy-2gufnvv8vDrhBZwoASI34VvEc3Tegru/s320/IMG_3242.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308548366989539794" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>We also saw the spot where the last battle in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe takes place.</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXCcMxWtpCtRQuWW97CO-tjQEoXeUW4QhgIA379T5ZjSbwgHdmnIJi9uYlJNBQaz3brTVY1AYv3IwCxmUwtBJwYxUVL9oX-OulFNvyyiQJ-llsDVR1by-QI4nUCuTbliElUIaYOMgK6sfT/s1600-h/IMG_3255.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXCcMxWtpCtRQuWW97CO-tjQEoXeUW4QhgIA379T5ZjSbwgHdmnIJi9uYlJNBQaz3brTVY1AYv3IwCxmUwtBJwYxUVL9oX-OulFNvyyiQJ-llsDVR1by-QI4nUCuTbliElUIaYOMgK6sfT/s320/IMG_3255.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308548771617959298" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOK5SjV_JsBO7w8g9ns5h2_HdIYeQ4-NOES0tK5h0ipGED9EfaNs7AN8uC-qJk45SGEC1u9nDTIDy0RFHuqoAJTemRS_0I63rrrTgXz3GJcSBSw_FsjFkQmQwYxrEL9UnCVEI0g0rQ_jCk/s1600-h/IMG_3252.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOK5SjV_JsBO7w8g9ns5h2_HdIYeQ4-NOES0tK5h0ipGED9EfaNs7AN8uC-qJk45SGEC1u9nDTIDy0RFHuqoAJTemRS_0I63rrrTgXz3GJcSBSw_FsjFkQmQwYxrEL9UnCVEI0g0rQ_jCk/s320/IMG_3252.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308549189501896946" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgr-KrVlOUYtd_NsFB8tP5p3U3dgFZRDeAjG7DWsixo-IqYWyrtsVbkYpMgP2KtsdvjLEp_W6scLf7sgKF3ln3XsqeB0T9i1p6Mhks8ikYnFrxqHb1JnWzdgJ_shGx2ti5_c1R2fqoWtz9/s1600-h/IMG_3251.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgr-KrVlOUYtd_NsFB8tP5p3U3dgFZRDeAjG7DWsixo-IqYWyrtsVbkYpMgP2KtsdvjLEp_W6scLf7sgKF3ln3XsqeB0T9i1p6Mhks8ikYnFrxqHb1JnWzdgJ_shGx2ti5_c1R2fqoWtz9/s320/IMG_3251.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308549185186824178" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitfhjVFv-KRG7LZZWu2QZNcMCmbZZavLJWHNxWxZEVXpXiv89FO0blIRdPE62Br990RwF4Tapd_C_nKmaR29YotYq8QXb05WDzoqqkC14OKflkOAxMlKG-JZUQKM0MFopiQOZKss8YLX8K/s1600-h/IMG_3257.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitfhjVFv-KRG7LZZWu2QZNcMCmbZZavLJWHNxWxZEVXpXiv89FO0blIRdPE62Br990RwF4Tapd_C_nKmaR29YotYq8QXb05WDzoqqkC14OKflkOAxMlKG-JZUQKM0MFopiQOZKss8YLX8K/s320/IMG_3257.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308549784475416658" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></span></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>When we got back into Lincoln, the sun had finally broken through the clouds (this was the first time since we had arrived in New Zealand that it was a little bit sunny!) so we grabbed our swimsuits and got back on the bus to spend a calm afternoon at Sumner Beach (on the edge of Christchurch) before classes started the next morning.<br /></div></div>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16303258418454697790noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6928123138330382456.post-37626109005931746842009-02-22T01:52:00.000-08:002009-02-22T02:39:32.933-08:00Last Day of Sydney<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>On our last day in Sydney, we woke up and went to The Anglican Parish of Christ Church St. Laurence, which was the church right next door to our hostel. This church was beautiful, and the guest preacher was Fr Graeme Lawrence. After the service, there was a little reception, so we walked over a little courtyard path squeezed between the two buildings and we entered a room with a book sale, tea, and little cakes! Everyone was extremely friendly, asking us where we were from, what we were doing, and where we were going. Of course, some cringed playfully when we told them we were spending the semester in New Zealand (there's a bit of a rivalry there), but they told us wonderful things about it nevertheless. One man we met had actually grown up in a small town in Missouri and moved to Australia later in life! What a small world. We spoke to a nice lady for a while who told us how this church is the only church in Sydney that still values such traditional services and that it has the best choir in the city, and maybe in all of Australia! She rushed us outside so we could catch the choir processing around the block (in the rain) to enter the church and sing for High Mass. It was a beautiful tradition and we stepped into the service to listen for a bit as their voices echoed in the sanctuary. This was definitely one of the highlights of the Sydney trip, particularly getting to meet such wonderful people!<div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>On our way to the bus station, we stepped into a huge market that has a huge variety of goods from australian memorabilia, to underwear, to watches, to purses, to mixed nuts, to produce! We bought fresh pears, grapes, a mango, and strawberries for a picnic and then hopped on the bus to go to Bondi Beach. It stopped raining when we arrived, so we got to walk along the shore and avoid stepping on the many many baby jellyfish scattered around. Mandi and I looked for seashells but there weren't ANY! There was a South American Festival going on and a surfer rescue relay. When we got back to Circular Quay, we walked toward the Harbor Bridge and found ourselves in The Rocks, wandering through an arts and crafts fair where we bought delicious buttery salted corn on a stick. We walked up some stairs and finally found the beginning of the Harbor Bridge so we could walk over it. We ran into some other Americans from California who were climbing the bridge, but it takes about 3 hours and I think they had to pay for it.<br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Back at the subway station, we bought some gelato, I got carmel creme, and we bought some wine for the evening, and hopped onto the subway. The night before, we found out that many restaurants are BYOB so there wasn't a beverage list to order from at the Thai place. Since this was the case, we figured we'd buy our own wine and it'd be easy to find another restaurant with the same policy. Turns out, the Thai place was rare because we walked all over with our wine trying to find another BYOB restaurant. Finally we stopped at a Japanese place who let us in with our own wine. I had the white, which still tasted bad, but oh well. We ordered edamame and teriyaki chicken to share.<br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Yet another long, but great, day in Sydney! <br /></div>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16303258418454697790noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6928123138330382456.post-2398431450150425102009-02-18T15:03:00.000-08:002009-02-22T01:28:01.543-08:00Valentine's Day in Sydney<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Saturday morning we woke up and had breakfast together in the kitchen, and man was that Berry Basket yogurt delicious! The 7 of us headed down Pitt Street and bought tickets for the subway so we could get to Circular Quay (the part of the city with the harbor, opera house, and ferries). <br /></div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3XXvOO7gLQp2zG5WQCO99qm3T3cwbY6MDip8ihNKqRLdb6v-zE464s_2oTS8QJUiBxca297hOCjcSY8xBHBaXcCF5H3kB9a-hHiF4EPCAFWeAyatlVAG90fnjDhfUDLDlbNB9IgbFk-8i/s320/IMG_2825.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304278886807607458" /><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>We bought tickets for the ferry and floated along to the Taronga Zoo! On the ferry, we had an incredible view of the Opera House, Harbor Bridge, city skyline, and the sailboats all around us.<br /><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQCDwniInltYkLuzK1rgymK9yOccob3Vauw5qmQgdc5YZaOnTrbYz35JdPBkgXvMOfrBmIJ3rIlht_JfPbTYbnkF8-BUV2MRAfd6jgFGLV911PPH17OFyh67l-F8GbaMz0u1_91DRPxEOS/s320/IMG_2834.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304278589441760626" /><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>We got to the zoo and paid to get a lift to the top of the mountain so we could work our way down as we saw all of the animals. The lift was like a ski lift but had pods for you to sit in so you could see all around you: the animals and lush greenery below and the ocean and cityscape the opposite direction.<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Right off of the lift were koala's! You could pay $20 to get a picture of them, but we decided to view them from afar.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>We also got to go into an area full of kangaroo's and an emu! The kangaroo's would hop across the path and I got to pet one before it hopped away!</div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwDrvYdtqNfSI8ceA1Mdh8SAfc473GwUpg226WVGi-ocm7yzdCygv8AnaJ9b2fXHgkdGiAfU0ZJePUf-kVyri7c6VcZY2PDZBEaf-KthrOBxoC7Jel55fNTphO4cUegPxHS942Qus12kSH/s320/IMG_2858.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304281036898227138" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> We saw the elephants, birds, tigers, lions, hippos, flying squirrels, giraffes, and more! </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4bL-p0kxQ7jW9D2-92YX9dP_c4yiLTkvQ7um30hFz-SWhdV_5sAV3LM3AigSqBdMlGh7vRkU9kEW86y7TGktrvqEF4oXV2GNhyphenhyphenK83YyHBSbdi-s80uEQIeFeXspk7o-dNWLSwsUrLRI1A/s1600-h/IMG_2942.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4bL-p0kxQ7jW9D2-92YX9dP_c4yiLTkvQ7um30hFz-SWhdV_5sAV3LM3AigSqBdMlGh7vRkU9kEW86y7TGktrvqEF4oXV2GNhyphenhyphenK83YyHBSbdi-s80uEQIeFeXspk7o-dNWLSwsUrLRI1A/s320/IMG_2942.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304283755931701474" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>At 2pm we went to the seal show.<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNZ2WMoqrNsLCzPRkD_JvYw2KYH9ZAKCR24Ct1pXwaKyhDOTERqHIiffcPHuLWx78ieOY8-Gq9SB133ma9ZD7oTJ3bqgl84w7VygsME6FnyNLyOZ2bOheh0EXnC_mXIrdwqmAMSbPEH8zx/s1600-h/IMG_2914.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNZ2WMoqrNsLCzPRkD_JvYw2KYH9ZAKCR24Ct1pXwaKyhDOTERqHIiffcPHuLWx78ieOY8-Gq9SB133ma9ZD7oTJ3bqgl84w7VygsME6FnyNLyOZ2bOheh0EXnC_mXIrdwqmAMSbPEH8zx/s320/IMG_2914.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304282166968694034" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></a><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>After the zoo, we walked over to the Opera House to see if there were any cheap student tickets for that weekend, but they were sold out, so we walked around the inside a bit. The whole structure is made of concrete and the outside looks like white tile.<br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>We took the subway back to our hostel, got cleaned up, and went out for our Valentine's dinner in the rain. We found a thai restaurant and got to sit in the back corner so we could see all that was going on in the hip hopping restaurant. I ordered Yellow Curry which was delicious, Hannah and Sarah ordered octopus dishes, and we all ate with chopsticks!</div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Yt8SuvzZpbYm6fs-YxVNmpl3IxOKSdShTwDw4FNHnxWnbIRg51bgixtg9QDUYGoWZ5ZFANj8Z2hpp_Exk5Ozg5k6xZ2zytN4sI-kmMXx66Pme0elOpzoJeLxu0uv6vvkzKHUITqq3ZLn/s1600-h/IMG_2953.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Yt8SuvzZpbYm6fs-YxVNmpl3IxOKSdShTwDw4FNHnxWnbIRg51bgixtg9QDUYGoWZ5ZFANj8Z2hpp_Exk5Ozg5k6xZ2zytN4sI-kmMXx66Pme0elOpzoJeLxu0uv6vvkzKHUITqq3ZLn/s320/IMG_2953.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305548987799356210" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc81xTcn0ypO2zcWgM0tmyVXo0qiVjlmDXMIF7tTtrgy_HufxgM2WwKk2KLuBv6K3hz_Mqq4_wJyc34tcv3NqESLn-CEuOgxcJUf68ogQWOKrr1rieQoz0XHDsgy_VBQRqrrafavSV102y/s1600-h/n15934701_41394162_6754.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc81xTcn0ypO2zcWgM0tmyVXo0qiVjlmDXMIF7tTtrgy_HufxgM2WwKk2KLuBv6K3hz_Mqq4_wJyc34tcv3NqESLn-CEuOgxcJUf68ogQWOKrr1rieQoz0XHDsgy_VBQRqrrafavSV102y/s320/n15934701_41394162_6754.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305549839504065010" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 239px; " /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>After dinner, we stopped by a convenience store for some Valentine's Day chocolate and more breakfast food and then headed back to the hostel in the rain. Once at the hostel, we hung out at the Side Bar, which was the bar in the basement of our hostel. Erin and I split a white russian, which was better than the sparkling wine the night before, but still nasty.<br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I hope all is well! Until next time, cheers!<br /></div><div><br /></div>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16303258418454697790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6928123138330382456.post-1559547763584204342009-02-18T14:06:00.000-08:002009-02-22T01:39:05.991-08:00Sydney Day 1<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>While in Sydney, we stayed in the Wake Up! Hostel. It rained the whole time, but at least it was a warm rain and wasn't too cold.<br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>During the 3 nights we were there, we had roommates and met people from Wales, Canada, Germany, England, Australia, New Zealand, and the Netherlands. Hostels are incredible! Most of the people there were just traveling around for a year to where ever they wanted! I think that the USA needs to make this a more normal thing to do after high school.</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Day One in Sydney: </div><div>-Chinatown</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd8PjEwj4ySSx_cQuQTBblvBGWAwujLhRIORmsPORR51ceApItHNzyuyQWtpD3hSG6UwsXm8TkeoCMT9aoBvg01Vfym18z6BcWokVa8lutMYF_qR6MybWYKjSnGFJtGgk451e5o26wJZn6/s1600-h/IMG_2800.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd8PjEwj4ySSx_cQuQTBblvBGWAwujLhRIORmsPORR51ceApItHNzyuyQWtpD3hSG6UwsXm8TkeoCMT9aoBvg01Vfym18z6BcWokVa8lutMYF_qR6MybWYKjSnGFJtGgk451e5o26wJZn6/s320/IMG_2800.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305552011010000626" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></a><div>-Lunch at a French Boulangerie where I had a ham, cheese, and pineapple crepe. </div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Bmf1d469typgCjXCmP0tqG9FO_cBpzyCdaYA1bpmuswNlW1X-Z2CZTkM_rWFL9f4-dDQ_pgI3l1IKVjJQZy0eOZExs-5jki7sYa6dY64GBGB0D4Wr392vagEHNLGzPhoVf3rYj_1wJSH/s1600-h/IMG_2805.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Bmf1d469typgCjXCmP0tqG9FO_cBpzyCdaYA1bpmuswNlW1X-Z2CZTkM_rWFL9f4-dDQ_pgI3l1IKVjJQZy0eOZExs-5jki7sYa6dY64GBGB0D4Wr392vagEHNLGzPhoVf3rYj_1wJSH/s320/IMG_2805.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305552216935021618" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a><div>-We stopped at a grocery store and bought food for breakfast in the morning. I bought some yogurt, but I did see rows of strawberries that were deep red, small, and smelled delicious!</div><div> These were the way strawberries are supposed to look like, not white and flavorless. When I checked out, unlike in the states, the lady didn't give me an unnecessary bag for my yogurt! What a wonderful continent Australia is!<br /></div><div>-We walked around the city some more and came across a beautiful church. Sydney's layout is very interesting in that it has tons of little shops with old architecture on the outside and such and then right on top of them are huge modern skyscrapers! It's a very compact city.</div><div>-We headed back to our hostel, checked our e-mail, played cards in the lobby, and then headed to the bar in the basement of the hostel. Although I didn't buy a drink, I tried a bit of Hannah's sparkling white house wine and almost gaged. It's amusing to hear how many songs from the states are played overseas! </div><div>I've tried to put some photos in this blog, but it's not working for some reason. Keep your eye out for future visuals!</div>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16303258418454697790noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6928123138330382456.post-20293890090673293952009-02-18T13:39:00.000-08:002009-02-18T14:03:33.734-08:00Air Planes<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5jFridZbPowSFtRcsi_azU2xPDtEbIuD5t_Sbw3zho9EW5Ut3rfE9WePJ4FU_dUKLbXwS5FNVRCN7wxD7uolrUEo1IqBkyVvENktiSUGtxdov3RWvtpmAhKyTs612YLNGmkfhKrGrBNpk/s1600-h/IMG_2791.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5jFridZbPowSFtRcsi_azU2xPDtEbIuD5t_Sbw3zho9EW5Ut3rfE9WePJ4FU_dUKLbXwS5FNVRCN7wxD7uolrUEo1IqBkyVvENktiSUGtxdov3RWvtpmAhKyTs612YLNGmkfhKrGrBNpk/s320/IMG_2791.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304260674612426226" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>My journey to Oz was much longer and much more complicated than expected:<div><div><br /><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>We arrived at the STL airport on Wednesday, February 11th and found out our flight to LA had been canceled due to mechanical difficulties. Because of this, we were booked on a flight 2 hours later, received our boarding passes, and were told that we could get our boarding passes in LA for our flight to Sydney. </div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Here's a photo of all of us who were headed to New Zealand for the semester.<br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>On the flight, I sat by one of the pilots who was supposed to fly the plane that had mechanical difficulties and he had never done a word find before! I was doing one in my little book of puzzles Dad got for me and he looked over and asked what it was! Crazy crazy. On my other side was a woman from California who was very friendly and told us about when she was on a plane a few weeks ago that caught on fire. I don't remember the end of the story...</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>When we got to LA, they told us we had not been booked for the flight to Sydney, so they gave us tickets for a flight from LA to Brisbane and then we would take a connecting flight to Sydney.</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The 13 hour flight to Brisbane really wasn't too terrible! The five of us, all girls from Mizzou, got to sit next to eachother. The nice flight attendants with Australian accents served us dinner (tuna steak), peppermint tea, a snack pack, breakfast (frittata), and a little bag with a tooth brush, socks, and an eye mask. I watched a few movies and slept a bit.</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>We landed in Brisbane around 8:30 and were supposed to catch our flight to Sydney at 9:15, which wasn't going to happen because our luggage had been temporarily misplaced due to our multiple flight changes.</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>We got our flight switched once again to 40 minutes later and headed to the terminal. We got to stand outside in warm and sticky Australia for about 10 minutes while we waited for the shuttle to take us to the domestic terminal. </div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Several hours later, we finally landed down in Sydney and took a taxi to our hostel in the city!</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Sorry for such a boring post, we'll see if the next one can be more interesting :)</div><div>I hope all is well with everyone!</div></div></div>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16303258418454697790noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6928123138330382456.post-17877565998162351302009-02-08T21:29:00.000-08:002009-02-22T01:40:07.771-08:00NZ Definitions<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 19px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family:Verdana;font-size:11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; line-height: normal; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; font-family:Georgia;font-size:16px;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 19px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Godzone:</span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 19px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Kiwi's call New Zealand "Godzone," from "God's own country," which attributed to Dick Seddon, New Zealand's prime minister in the 1890's.</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 19px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">-The essential guide to customs & culture: New Zealand, Culture Smart</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 19px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 19px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Tiki Tour:</span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 19px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">1. A sight-seeing journey with no particular destination in mind.</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 19px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">2. Taking the scenic route to a destination.</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 19px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">3. To wander aimlessly.</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 19px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 19px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Box of Birds:</span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 19px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">1. Feeling very good</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 19px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">2. A possible response to "How are you?"</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 19px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">3. Cheerful</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 19px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">4. Happy</span></span></span></div></span></span>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16303258418454697790noreply@blogger.com4