Fiji: Bounty, Seaspray, Beachcomber, Home!

We left Kuata for Bounty. Now, if Kuata is our basis for comparison, Bounty is the Ritz. When we walked in to our bure, Meredith literally said, "This is the Ritz." It was basically a cabin, much like the one we had on Manta Ray. There was a large bed with a really pretty duvet, a remote-controlled air conditioner, a mini-fridge, a free-standing closet rack, a private bathroom, and HOT WATER. We also had a hammock right outside our door. This island was nice.

Unfortunately, we did not spend much time on Bounty. We arrived right before dinner and left shortly after breakfast the next morning. We spent that day sailing the Mananuca Islands on the Seaspray. This was quite possibly the most luxurious thing that we did while in Fiji. We were picked up about 9:30 in the morning and greated with glasses of champange. All drinks - water, cokes, wine, beer, champange - we complimentary throughout the day. The three of us made our way to the front of the boat and immediately laid out in the sun. We had a good group at the front - two people we had met on a previous islands and another couple from Jersey (who had spent time in Valdosta, GA). Amy eventually left for awhile to go sing with the guys playing the guitar, and Meredith and I satyed and talked to the people up front.

The first stop we had on the boat was a traditional Fijian village visit. The women had to cover shoulders and legs, no one could wear hats, etc. Amy was one of the two spokespeople for the visitors. We were introduced into the village and went through the traditional kava ceremony. Among other things, it involves clapping once, booming "Bula!", drinking the bowl of kava, then clapping three times. After the ceremony we shopped around at the local market. Meredith got some coral bangles for friends back home, Amy got a star pendant, and I got a shell hook pendant. The hook is very symbolic in Maori culture, bringing the wearer good luck and safe passage over water, among other things.

Anyways, so we get back on the boat and are greated with an amazing lunch. Grilled chicken, fish, and sausage, lots of salad, bread, everything! It was so good. I think it is the best meal that we had in Fiji. However, we had barely finished when we reached our next stop. We were at the island where Castaway, with Tom Hanks, was filmed. We all got snorkeling gear and spent a while snorkeling around (after jumping off of the boat). We swam in towards shore and explored the island a bit, too. One of the Fiji guys was cutting up a coconut that he had found, so we got to have some fresh (really fresh!) coconut. The snorkeling wasn't as good here as it was on Kuata, but it was still pretty good. We swam back to the boat, jumped off the side a few more times, and then it was time to leave.

Rather than go back to Bounty, we had the boat drop us off at Beachcomber. Beachcomber is rumored to be the "party island" of Fiji, so the three of us wanted to see what all the fuss was about. We had heard that the dorms were no good at all because they were so good and people were coming in late being drunk, so when we noticed on our reservation that we had a dorm, we were worried. We tried for two days to switch to a bure to no avail. However, when we got there, we were in a four person dorm room, so everything worked out OK. We passed an 80-bed dorm on the way to ours, though. Whew! Anyways, we put our stuff down, showered, and went to dinner. Beachcomber definately has the best food of all the islands. I think it is because it is so close to the mainland, so they can get more variety. We went to go check out the bar area after that. The bar was really cool. There was an actual band (with electric guitars and all), and the building was two stories. This meant you could lounge upstairs in comfortable chairs and still hear the band. It was pretty cool, but we were pretty tired from our day of sailing and turned in fairly early. We stayed awake long enough to witness the dizzy-bat race, though! We spent most of the next day lounging on the beach. Beachcomber does have a really nice beach. After lunch I knew I needed to get out of the direct sun, so Amy and I went upstairs with our books. I went out on the deck and made myself a little lounge area out of the sun. I saw Meredith playing volleyball with some people that we had met the night before.

Anyways, our day draws to a close and we catch the boat that takes us back to Nadi. We stay in the Skylodge this time, not the Aquarius. It was another 4-person dorm, but it was pretty big. It had two bunk beds like the rest of the dorms, but it had a sitting area as well. The windows opened up onto the pool area. It was a pretty cozy room. The three of us spent most of the evening writing all of our postcards that we had collected on the islands. We were finally in a position to be able to mail them. We were all dead tired early on, so we decided to turn in early since we had a long day ahead of us.

A VERY long day. We were up at 5:20 AM to leave the hotel by 6 to get to the airport by 6:30 to check in for our 8:30 flight. We checked in, had breakfast, and wasted time in the shops. Amy picked up a few gifts and Meredith and I hit up the duty free store. One Sandra Bullock movie (Miss Congeniality II) and a 3 hour flight later, we are back in Wellington! On the plane, we heard the weather report from the pilot and just looked at each other. Our warm life was over! Getting home from the airport was a bit interesting. First, we weren't sure how customs was going to like our dried reed bracelets we had woven, or our shoes we had tramped around in, or our coconut bracelets we had carved, but none of it was a problem. Second, Meredith's mobile had been stolen while on one of the islands. This meant we couldn't text Jay (her boyfriend who was picking us up) and he couldn't text us. We kind of wandered around looking for him. No worries, we all met up, and we made it back alive around 1:30 PM on Friday, 9 days after leaving.

It was an amazing trip. I would do it again. Perhaps not the exact same trip (now that I have been there once, I know what I would want to do again and where I would never go again), but I would definately go back to Fiji. What am I saying, I have to go back to Fiji! I am going there sometime with a professional camera, or at least a digital of my own. Amy and Meredith were unbelievably awesome about taking pictures and letting me use their cameras, but I really feel like I need to go back sometime and experience it again. I guess that is the next trip that I am saving up for! That is, after Singaport, and Beijing, and Costa Rica when my brother graduates. Hm, anyone know a high-paying well-traveled job available? :)

Fiji: Manta Ray and Kuata

Back to Fiji!

We left Tavewa for Manta Ray Island. Manta Ray has one "resort," Manta Ray Island Resort. It is a pretty small island, and the resort has only been opened for 7.5 months. This experience was completely different from Coral View.

First, we lucked out and got a bure that was right near the owner's. This meant we had our own private ensuite bathroom complete with hot running water! There was electricity all the time, and there were plugs in our cabin and bathroom. We weren't staying in huts; these were raised cabins with wooden floors, reminiscent of the cabins you stay in at Girl Scout camp. We had our own hammock outside our door. The main building was really nice. It was situated at the top of a hill, so it had incredible views. The staff consisted both of natives who lived on a close island and a few Australian guys. They had Sky TV and a full bar. It was a completely different experience.

Manta Ray is a nature preserve of sorts. There are a ton of manta rays that swim around, obviously. We didn't have much time there, so we didn't see any. Manta Ray has a lot of cool things to do. They do snorkeling, scuba diving, night dives, kayaking, you name it. Everything. The food was really good, too. We only stayed there one night. Rugby was on that night, South Africa v. Australia, so a lot of natives came to the island and everyone stayed up playing cards and watching the game. Meredith and Amy got their first taste of kava that night. (Kava is a traditional Fijian drink. It is made from the roots of the kava plant, and it is an opiate, I believe. They make it weaker for guests, but it still makes your tongue go numb.) The guests were really nice. This was definately my favorite island that we visited.

Alas, we only stayed there one night. The next day we left for two nights on Kuata. We had gotten spoiled on Manta Ray. Our hut on Kuata was not as nice. When we got there, it hadn't been cleaned from the previous occupents, so we were sent to the bar while the staff changed the sheets and cleaned up trash. We did have our own bathroom. It was one room, and it was the kind of bathroom where you have to take the toilet paper out of the room when you shower so it doesn't get wet. The sink was about the size of my hand, and a bit sketchy. It drained out the bottom. Amy discovered this first when she turned on the sink and it ended up draining onto her shoes. This was the first island where the staff seemed more interested in getting your money than welcoming you to the island and getting to know you individually.

We ran into an American from Kansas City, Blake, that we had met on Coral View, so we stayed up the first night having drinks and talking with him. We discovered that Kuata, for all its shortcomings, had the most beautiful moonrise I have ever seen in my life. It is a huge yellow moon that rises over the ocean and fades to white as it gets higher in the sky. We tried to take pictures, but they didn't come out well. No worries, even with my poor memory, I will never forget what that looked like, the yellow moon rising over the Pacific Ocean.

Amy, Meredith, and I woke up early the next morning (5:30 AM) to go on a sunrise hike. It was more a hike than we had anticipated, especially for so early in the morning, but it was worth it to see the sun rise. It was a bit overcast but still gorgeous. We got some good pictures. Our guide was interesting for this. He didn't lead us down. We thought he followed the slower people at the back, but he kept appearing at places on the trail. He was never in front of us, but we would turn a corner and he would be there, waiting for us on a rock or something. It was crazy.

The best part about Kuata was the snorkeling trip. We had arranged this prior to arriving. We piled in the boat, and the guys drove us out to the middle of no where. Typically, we would skirt land when we were being transfered, but this time we were driving straight out into the ocean. One of the girls asked the Fijian guy if we were going to snorkel in a cove of another island, and he like, "Yeah whatever." All of a sudden, he kills the motor and tells us to put on our fins and flip overboard. There is no land in sight. It is all in the misty distance. We are in the middle of no where! So, what do we do? Flip overboard of course!

Turns out, there is a fantastic reef out there in the middle of no where. There were twop Fijian guys, one driving the boat and one guiding us along the reef. The boat driver sped off (because the boat would have scared away the marine life), but it was a bit unnerving to be in the middle of the ocean without a boat. Anyways, the fish were amazing. I have never seen such brightly colored fish in my life. I finally got used to diving under the water and then emptying my snorkel of water, so I really got to get a good look at some of the coral. Unfortunately, Amy and I had both left our underwater cameras in the boat, so we don't have any pictures. We saw really cool purple starfish, too.

At one point, our guide got really excited and started diving down by the reef. Turns out a baby tiger shark had graced us with his presence! So, we're in the middle of the ocean, now snorkeling with a tiger shark. The guide is really excited and starts swimming towards it. We follow it along the reef for awhile. He later said that they normally only see reef sharks, so seeing the tiger shark was a treat. It was really cool. I wish I had been able to get a picture of it.

So, that was that. We go back to Kuata and spend the rest of the day lounging around on the island. The next day we went on a kayaking "tour," which involved kayaking over to the next island and exploring the resort. It was supposed to be a guided kayaking tour, but our "guide" was always at the back of the group and kind of pointed us in the direction of the island. It is a bit funny because as he was pushing Meredith and Amy into the water (they were double kayaks) he called after them, "Can you swim?" Bit of a dangerous afterthought, if you ask me.

But, we survived Kuata. The three of us say that if we can survive Kuata, we can survive anything! We left later that day for Bounty Island, and that leads me into the next post. Til then!

More Deviations

Man, me being gone for so long really means you get a lot of updates.

I had a headache this evening, so I laid in bed for a while with my eye mask, and while my mind was resting, I kept remembering things I had wanted to talk about. Since my flatmate is taking a shower and I can't get ready for bed, I have time once more to talk about them.

I finally made it to my host counselor's house on Sunday night. It is so cute! It had a lot of German influence in the design. I liked that. It is on top of this big hill. You park at the bottom and have a bit of a trek up, but the view of the harbour at the top is spectacular. I got to wash my Fiji laundry in hot water, and Anna cooked a great dinner. I had cauliflower and LIKED it. I know, I know, amazing. I have even eaten fish now, too. Anyways, good food, good laundry, AND good bed. I got to sleep on a water bed that had heated water in it. AMAZING. Really, I haven't slept that well since arriving in Wellington. There was this super comfortable duvet and extra blanket, and I just slept like a baby. They drove me back in to town when they drove to work, and off I was to school! It was nice to sleep in a house again.

The other thing I wanted to mention about today was in my POLS 244 class. My professor tore all the ligaments in his knee not too long ago, so he has missed several classes because of it. Also, we have had to move speakers around as they change availability. The NZ health service had scheduled his hospital appointment to remove his stitches for during our class today, but he felt we couldn't fall any further behind in lesson plans. Rather than canceling class, he recorded himself at home giving the lecture and sent the tape in to class! We watched it on the big screen. I have never had a lecture like that, and it was rather interesting. A couple of times he had to stop the tape to answer the phone, etc. It was a bit odd to be taking notes from a video screen when it wasn't an actual video per say.

Anyways, that is all I wanted to say. I am exhausted and need to get some sleep now (I am still sick, so I am more tired than normal). I will do my best to get more Fiji business up tomorrow. I want to get it all up before I forget!

Fiji Deviations

So, I am deviating from Fiji for a bit. It is just that so much has happened since then! Really, my life has been a bit crazy.

OK, so I wake up early Saturday morning (and by early, I mean 3:30 AM) sick as a dog. I spend all of Saturday in bed, mostly with a gel eye mask (thanks Stace!) over my eyes, listening to my MP3 player and watching Finding Nemo and Pride and Prejudice. I am so sick and so tired that I fall asleep at 8:30 PM and sleep until 6:11 the next morning. I get up to go put my eye mask back in the fridge, and low and behold, the living room is trashed. Empty beer cans, vodka mudslides, vodka bottles, and half full drinks littered everywhere. All kinds of dishes laying around, bottles of cordial opened, etc. Apparently, my flat was the flat to party in Saturday night, and I never heard a thing! I was passed out I was so sick.

I feel a lot better on Sunday, so I manage to go to church. I sit with Amy, who tells me that both she and Meredith were both sick on Saturday. It must have been the "Fiji bug." I am staying sick a lot longer than both of them, though. Meredith felt well enough to go out on the town Saturday night, and Amy was fine by Sunday, but I still can't eat or move quickly without feeling sick. I have a doctor's appointment on Wednesday morning, so we shall see. I have a feeling it is just a virus and therefore no treatment, but I would feel better getting checked out since I just came home from Fiji.

Now, on to today (Monday). I go back to class, and it was hard to pay attention. I just want to go back to Fiji! My tutorial was good, though. We talked about the UN and its relevence to both New Zealand in particular and the world in general. The second half we split up into groups to think of a situation affecting the UN and how to resolve it (e.g. the removal of the veto power in the Security Council). As an American, the tutor suggested that I talk about the appointment of John Bolton and his new suggestion of 750 amendments to the charter of the UN. After talking about his controversial appointment and what his amendments actually were, I got hit with a lot of anti-american questions, some of which I find myself sympathizing with more particularly.

For example, as it stands, the UN suggests that each nations should earmark 0.7% of its Gross National Income for Development and Relief Aid (as in, relief for other nations). This standard isn't met by anyone world-wide that I am aware of. It is a goal to be reached over several years. New Zealand currently gives about 0.27% of its GNI. The United States, the richest nation in the world, is also the stingiest, giving 0.1%. Intuitively, this real amount is more than other nations donate, I believe, but not in relative terms. This isn't what I have the problem with. John Bolton's changes make no mention of a goal to be met for Development and Relief Aid. It is left out. I have no idea why. I am sure there is a reason behind it, but it doesn't make sense that a legislative body like the UN, a humanitarian body, would have no goals for development aid levels. There are a lot of other sketchy changes, in my opinion, and I wish I had a link to some articles for you to check out, but I don't. I will post them later if I find them. I read articles in class that the tutor had printed out and brought in.

So, that is class. Now on to the headache part of my day.

I started the insurance claim process today, and it is a pain and a half. The claim is going to be more than 2 weeks old by the time it is filed, and I don't have proof of ownership. I sent an email to my university contact asking what I should do to start the claim process, and I heard back from her this afternoon. First, I called the police station, because I have to file a police report. I was told I had to go down in person to do it because it is more than week old, so that is on my to-do list tomorrow. Figuring that out wasn't too bad; I only went through two people on the phone. Now, the tough part. The insurance company is a 0800 number, which is nice because it is free, but my phone is CRAZY and I can neither dial 0800 numbers nor mobile numbers. I call down to the office to ask why, to see if the phone is broken, and I get the run-around. I keep being told that I have to have money on my account for the phone to work, and I don't think she ever believed me that I DID actually have money on the account (HELLO! I had just called the police station!). She tells me to go use the free phone in the foyer. I go down there, and the phone is broken. Crikey. I go across the street to the office to talk to the receptionist in person. We are back to treating me like a silly American college student, saying that I have to have money on my account. I still don't think she believes me that I can't dial the numbers. I use the phone in the foyer of the accommodation across the street and finally get through. Little did I know that would be the easy part!

First I am transferred to Christchurch, then to Auckland. 6 people later, I am talking to a lovely woman who is informing me that everyone who could answer my question is either away from his or her desk or on the phone. Lovely. She says I should leave a message and someone will call me back. Normally, this would be fabulous, but my mobile is broken right now. (More on that later.) I could leave my dorm phone number, but it is not often that I am around here during business hours, so I would probably miss the call, and we don't have an answering service. We were momentarily stuck. It was finally decided that I should just call back in half an hour, and if I didn't get through to anyone, I should email the main email address and hope that it got directed to the right department. So, I go back across the street, switch my laundry from the washer to the dryer, and waste half an hour. I go BACK across the street, call the first extension, and it goes straight to voicemail. But luckily, the second extension worked! Unluckily, this lady was no where near as understanding or nice as the first lady with whom I talked. I got my questions answered though. I am going to have to jump through all kinds of hoops with this claim. Special notes about my circumstances at the bottom, names and numbers of people I talked with, authorized certifications, bank records from back home. Really, it is giving me a huge headache. I just want money to get a digital camera again!

Also, I bought the camera from a discount online retailer in the states last April or so. There is no such thing as discount online retailing here in New Zealand, as far as I can tell. This means I am going to pay a higher price for it, adjusted for the change in currencies. All in all, I don't think I am going to get enough money to cover the cost of replacing the camera. *sigh* Cross your fingers!

Also, my mobile phone is broken. It is a flip phone, and I think the connection between the two parts has come loose. The caller can here me, but I can't hear anything in the phone. It's not even like I can hear silence; it is like the phone isn't even on. I dropped it off at a shop to fix it, but apparently they don't fix it in Wellington, they fix Motorola phones in Auckland. This means I am without a mobile for roughly a week and a half. I am seperated from the world! No one actually calls people, which is going to make it very difficult for me to get in touch with people. Especially since my land line won't call mobile numbers. I have a presentation due on Thursday that I have not begun, but now I have no idea how to reach my partner. I sent her two texts this afternoon telling her about my situation and giving her my dorm number, but I never heard back from her. The next time I will see her will be the class period where we have to give the presention. :/ I won't have a way to track down people for the weekend. I also have no idea how expensive it will be. They thought it would be less than buying a new phone, which is why I went ahead and got it fixed. Hopefully, I can claim this on insurance as well, but you never know!

Man, I have a headache.

On the upside, today was absolutely gorgeous. It was actually warm in the middle of the day, hovering right around 60F in the sun, probably 57F or so actually, and perfectly clear. Tomorrow is supposed to be even nicer, so I need to come up with something pleasant to do out of doors. I have no class, so all I have is filing the police report, exercising (if I feel up to it), and seeing Crash (which I have been meaning to do and it is showing at the Embassy this week).

I think that is about it. Feel free to sympathize with my electronic woes. :) I will try my best to get the next bit about Fiji up soon, but I wanted to update you on my life before I forgot everything that happened.

Fiji Pictures: Coral View

Sorority pose! Yes, we planned it this way. An American guy who had been the president of Kappa Sig at his school took this picture and laughed at how fast we assumed the pose.

I was very happy on our first night in the islands. Who wouldn't have been?

The view (south, I think) from the top of the summit we hiked on Tavewa. We saw some big bats up there.

This is on one of the dinghy trips. I intially thought it was coming back from the cave, but I have just realized it was taken on the way back from the snorkeling trip on Kuata. The Fiji guy between me and Meredith was our guide, and he was obsessed with finding sharks.

This is our bure on Tavewa. The door didn't quite shut, but it was nice all the same. Not Ritz nice. Nice like it was by the ocean and very Fijian-feeling.

Fiji: Arrival and Coral View

The first of many! I actually had this one half written, and then it disappeared. Very disappointing, and it means that now the Fiji posts will take even longer to get up. Oh, well, here goes again!

So, Meredith, Amy, and I get to the airport in plenty of time thanks to Judy's driving. We get to Nadi and stay in a place called the Aquarius. This hostel was nice. It was on the ocean and had nice views and everything, but since we left early the next morning, we didn't really have much time to enjoy it. We headed to Port Denaru, where we caught the Yasawa Flyer, and began our trip in Fiji.

After being on the boat for about 4-5 hours, we got off at an island called Tavewa. The hostel on Tavewa is called Coral View, and we spent two nights there. This is the farthest we were away from the mainland, and consequently, it was the most remote. There was a generator, so we had electricity from sundown to about 10 PM or so. The three of us were in a bure (as we were on most every island) that was basically 4 walls and a thatched roof. The mosquito nets were very handy! It was almost on the ocean, though, so we had a really good view out of our windows (with shutters that didn't quite close). Everyone on the island shared the same bathroom. It was a little way away. Three toilets, three showers, no hot water. The showers were little more than a room with the spigot at the top. You had to time it right because once the sun started to go down, there was no light in the showers. Trying to take a shower the first night was very interesting as we had not yet figured out the light thing. Also, no hot water took some getting used to. You got pretty hot during the day, so it wasn't that bad, and with enough mind power, you could convince yourself it was warm by the end of the shower. It was rough in the beginning though!

There were about 20-30 guests on the island. Aside from the dormitories, bures, and bathroom, there was only the main "dining hall" and sitting area. It was completely open, and the floor was all sand. They brought the beach inside! It was nice, though. Meals were 8-9, 12-1, 4, and 7. Everyone was served at one big long table. It was really nice because you would sit next to different people and meet everyone by the time you were done.

As a side note, this trip had a real community feeling. You would meet people on one island, leave them, and then maybe see them on the transfer boat or on a different island a couple of days later. It was always nice to run into people again because you could talk about the different islands you had been on and catch up on where were the nice places to go. A lot of people had a "bula pass," which meant that they didn't have previous booked accommodation, so they went on people's recommendations. I also got a meet a wide variety of people. The majority were Australian, British, and Irish, but I met people from all over. A lot of them were doing "world tours" that were 3+ months long. We even met someone who had been traveling around for 4.5 years, working wherever she was when she ran out of money! Because everyone was traveling so much, conversations tended towards describing the places you had been and learning where the new "hot spots" were to go. Hearing about some people's experiences made me want to travel so much more.

Back to Coral View. The guests were great, but so was the staff. We were basically visitors to their village, and they welcomed us with open arms. This island had the nicest staff, in my opinion. They took the time to learn your name. When they weren't busy, they would sit down and talk with you. The second day we had rain, and some of the staff would play cards with us. It had a real home-y feeling about the place.

Our big adventure on Coral View was going on the cave trip on our second day there. The first day we had hiked up to see the sunset, but this trip was a bit more exciting. I want to point out that our trip was like one big health and safety nightmare. We spent most of our time in boats, and the majority were just little dinghys with no lifejackets or radios and were so packed full of people that half the time I thought we were going to sink. It was an experience, this is for sure. So, cave diving day. We pile into a dinghy and sail away from land. The boat was a bit unbalanced, so Meredith is chosen to sit in this random metal chair that happens to be in the boat. This chair is in no way secured to the boat, so she gets a little tossed around on our trip over the water. Also, I noticed the driver messing with something at the bottom of the boat. Truns out it had a hole and he was stuffing a stopper in. Apparently, he already knew about the hole because he was prepared.

Anyways, 45 minutes later (and considerably wetter, for it had started to rain), we land at another island and troop down into a cave, taking care to bend over and not hit our heads. With no water, the caves would have been very large caverns, but water had long since poured in, and it was now a giant pool. There were about 25 of us, plus 3 "guides." A lot of people for such a small space. We're treading water for awhile, and then one guide shows us how to get to the next cavern. You have to swim through an underwater tunnel into complete darkness. He had brought a torch with him, so we did have that. After we all get through, we are in an even smaller cavern, so when you tread water you bump into all kinds of people. The guide starts swimming, so we follow. We end up in another cavern in the back. After telling us about the caves (and the sea lice and eels that live there), he hands the torch to some guy and says "You know the way back? You lead." And off we go. Turns out, we went the wrong way and ended up in some cavern somewhere. The "guide" eventually shows up and is like, You went the wrong way. He shows us how to get back, we swim back through the tunnel, and are back in the main cavern.

Next part of the adventure is going through the "Pregnancy Test." Not everyone did this part. First, we swam through another underwater tunnel. This ended up in what was basically a deep puddle. You had to cling to the walls and ledges so people could fit. I volunteered to go first for the next bit, which was a whole lot of climbing around behing the walls in the dark. One of the guides had gone on ahead and would flash a torch in your direction, so you kind of knew which way to go, although you couldn't see much around you. So. I get to the end, and it's almost back where we started but higher. I have to shimmy through this random REALLY THIN opening (I am not a big girl, and I had trouble fitting through), all the while attempting to maintain my footing on an incredibly slippery surface. If I had slipped and fallen, I would have landed on some rocks below. You had to jump over those rocks back down into the pool of the main cavern. A difficult feat when the ground is so slippery!

So, we all do that. Some of the guys had not gone the way I did. They climbed up the inside walls to jump off this pointy rock thing. They do this, and the Fijian guides are like, Any girls want to do this? Of course Meredith volunteers. The guide takes her up the outside, which means she stands on his shoulders, he stands up (like an elevator for her), then helps her clamber on up to the top. There is no flat surface at the top and nothing to hold to. The guide is like, just stand up quickly and push your hands against the ceiling. Right. She does this and jumps into the pool, taking care not to hit her head on the sloping ceiling (the first guy who jumped almost cracked his head open on it). Next, the three Fijian guys climb around like monkeys all over the walls, jumping into the pool from insane heights. We cheer for them, then troop out to go back to the boat. It isn't raining any more, but it is incredibly cold with the wind. Meredith is back in the chair and gets more wind than anyone else since she is elevated. The rest of us sit on the floor.

Back on Coral View, we spend the day laying around reading and whatnot. The next day is gorgeous, and late in the day we leave for Manta Ray Island. This post is pretty long, so I will begin the next with Manta Ray (most likely sometime soon, later today). Cheers!

Round 2: Camera Troubles

Now, in case you didn't know, photography is very important to me. I love taking pictures, I love framing pictures, and I love sharing my pictures. My camera is basically permanently attached to my hand.

You can imagine my distress when I realize 45 minutes before leaving for the airport to go to Fiji that my camera is missing. It is not in my purse. I backtrack through the previous night, going to the restaurant (where I know I had my camera) and Bodega Bar (where I am pretty sure it went missing). I wasn't a silly tourist and left my bag sitting alone in the bar; someone from our group was always near our stuff. My camera was still stolen, though. Another girl, Amy, also had $20 lifted from her wallet, and her things were right next to mine.

To say I was distressed and devastated is a gross understatement. I have not been this upset since getting to Wellington. In fact, that morning was the first time since arriving in Wellington that I called home. Thank goodness I had gotten a phone card a few days prior! I believe I scared my parents when I called home panicked. I called everyone I thought could help with advice. I called my mom, my dad, and Meredith, who also contacted the guys who had been with us the night before. Oh man, it was some of the worst 45 minutes of my life.

We had made arrangements for Meredith's host mom, Judy, to pick us up and drive us to the airport. Because of my address, I was the first person picked up. Thank goodness for that. Judy was amazing. She somehow turned the bad situation into a good one. She calmed me down, made me see reason, and helped me to not be distressed at the beginning of what was sure to be an awesome holiday. This woman is nothing short of amazing.

So, I was in Fiji with no digital camera of my own. Thankfully, Meredith and Amy were incredibly understanding and offered the use of their digital cameras whenever I needed one. Since we all traveled together, they were also there to take pictures for me. I was basically going through withdrawal! Fiji has some of the most beautiful landscapes I have ever seen, and I didn't have a camera of my own to take the pictures. The girls were really amazing about it all. I also had a waterproof camera, so I could take pictures when we were snorkeling.

I am OK with the situation now. I have good insurance, and I believe I am covered in this sort of situation. We ran into some friends from Wellington, on one of the islands (or perhaps on the boat), and they said that they knew someone who had been in the same situation, and it all worked out in the end. They got a reimbursement and it was all OK. I have already emailed a contact about filing an insurance claim, so I will be working on that over the next couple of weeks.

This all means that you will get pictures of Fiji when I get pictures of Fiji. I am going over to Stafford on Sunday to make CD copies of all of the pictures, so perhaps you will even get your Sunday Picture Update. Just be thinking of me and my camera-less self in Wellington! Man, I need to get this taken care of soon.

Just as a preview, the next set of posts will be about our trip in Fiji. I am not sure when this weekend I am going to write it all up. I am calling on Meredith and Amy to make sure I don't forget the important things! The posts will be long because it was such an experience, so I will probably type them in sections. Look forward to them!

Stacey Mahlmeister

Hey everyone! I am back from Fiji and have a TON to post about. I don't want anything to be overlooked, so I am going to be posting in three parts, the third of which has multiple sub-parts. Goodness, I am so organized, no wonder I am an IE. :)

This first post is dedicated to my Alpha Chi little sister, Stacey Mahlmeister. It is truly all about how amazing she is. I know this blog is supposed to be about my impressions of and experiences in New Zealand, but this is important.

Right before I left for Fiji, I got a care package from Stacey. I had talked to her a couple of times on the phone, which is a lot less than normal. We had talked about a lot of things about me being in New Zealand. One thing is how undecorated my room is. I brought bare minimum when I packed, so I didn't leave room for many little knick-knacks and decorative items that I had in my room back home. I am living out of suitcases and have lots of blank white walls in my room.

So, Stacey takes it upon herself to make sure my room is a lot more like home! I just went through all of the items in the care package, and it is amazing. Nothing too practical, everything fun. Among other things, I have party lights, a super cool puzzle adjustable cork board, a beach chair cell phone holder, and an adorable miniature yellow high heel. I also have a gel eye mask, something I am going to make use of later tonight. My eyes are sore after all the salt water of the last 10 days!

This care package has made me very happy. Also, now my room is a lot more decorated and like home! That is important when you are so far away.

Be on the lookout for the next installment, "Camera Troubles." It should actually be up shortly; I think I am going to type it right now!

Weekly Sunday Update

It's the weekly picture update! I am sorry there are so few pictures. I really have been doing a lot of schoolwork and just basically running around getting things done, and I don't exactly take pictures of me running errands.

Friday night I stayed in with my flatmates and their friends. We watched a movie, made fun of C4 (think MTV but it actually plays music videos) and basically spent the night chillaxin' (it's my new favorite word). Saturday I met up with Mark and Anna for coffee around 11:15. I haven't been in touch with them in awhile, so it was good to catch up. I got a lot of Rotary business taken care of, and we coordinated schedules for the upcoming months.

That afternoon I went golfing with some German friends of mine (as pictured below). This was the first round of golf I have played in roughly a decade, so me picking up a golf club again is a bit equivalent to the earth stopping spinning on its axis. Nevertheless, the world did not end, I played about as awful as I could, and I had a brilliant time doing it. The wind picked up about halfway through, so that wasn't so good. That night I went out to the bar to go watch the All Blacks trounce the Wallabees, and then I met up with some friends at another bar. Got in really late, got up early for church, and now I am here, dressed in incredibly oversized pajamas and generally just enjoying being lazy. I am very tired and need a day to do nothing. Tomorrow and Tuesday I will do some work, but not a lot. And then Fiji on Wednesday! I talked with Amy today at church, and she seems very ready for this relaxing vacation.

Now, on to the (3) pictures!

OK, so this is the course we played at. Greens fees are $10, and it is quite possibly the sketchiest course I have ever set foot on. It was still fun, though, and who wouldn't enjoy a day on the links with those mountains in the background?

Me and my beautiful swing. We discovered very quickly that if the entire course consisted of short game, I would be the best player ever. I didn't do so well with my drives. :) I did teach the Germans about wedge shots and how to use the pitching wedge (which, by the way, I cannot believe that I remember from back in the day) , so that was exciting.

This picture is just interesting. I walk to the library on Wednesday, and what do I find? A kickboxing tournament set up in the quad! I still have no idea why it was there on that particular day, nor do I know who organized it. There was an announcer and everything. Students were gathered all around to watch. You could hear this thing all over the Kelburn campus. It was crazy loud.

I think that is about all for here. I probably won't update again before I leave for Fiji, so you won't get another post for at least two weeks. I know, I know, disappointment abounds. BUT, when I get back from Fiji, I fully expect to have some amazing photos, so perhaps that will appease you. HaHa Cheers!

It's the holidays!

I know, I know. I have been neglecting my posts terribly. I believe the last time I posted was Sunday, and now it is Thursday. This has been (I think) a crazy week, though. But it is the holidays now!

Now let's see if I remember back to Monday. I had class all morning and into the afternoon. Phil Goff had to cancel coming to class on Monday. Besides being the foreign affairs spokesperson, he is also some kind of judicial big shot, and Labour announced their big judicial agenda. Hence, he had to be present and do a lot of election / political business. I have it on good authority that he is truly trying to reschedule, so perhaps we will be graced with his presence some time soon. I spent that afternoon playing email-tag with several people about some projects and then working out at Les Mills. Since I stopped going to geology on Mondays, I can go to the afternoon BodyPump class. Meredith also goes to this class, a pleasant surprise I had the first day I went. She convinced me this week to stay afterwards for BodyAttack. BodyAttack is basically a big cardio workout, and it is packed in the evenings. I enjoyed myself, but I missed my run. I am addicted to the cardio theater. I had every intention of doing work that night, but it became Waffle Night in my room. V has a Waffle Night where her friend Andrew (I think) brings down waffle batter and makes a bunch of people waffles. This day varies every week, but I was grateful it was Monday as the dining hall had no food I could eat that day. I ended up watching Desperate Housewives and playing Presidents with V, Andrew, and a bunch of their friends. I know I should have been doing work, but I jumped at the opportunity to get to know and be social with V's friends. School work is important, but when it comes down to it, I only need a C to get credit at GT, and I shouldn't pass up opportunities to meet Kiwis.

Tuesday began with Les Mills again. I normally go at 12:15 on Tuesdays, but as I decided to get my hair cut at 2:15, I couldn't work it in then. I left later than I expected to, so when I got back, I only had an hour or so before my hair cut. Then, I got my hair cut. (This feels repetitive.) I want to grow my hair out, so I needed some sort of style to do that. I was unsure of if I liked my cut or not at first. It is very different from how I have had my hair cut before. It's all short in front, longer in back, with some serious layers and feathering. Once I started looking around, I noticed that it is a very Kiwi cut. A lot of people have styles similar to this, just not the same. I like it a lot more now. I think I just needed to style it on my own and get used to it. It looks good now. Anyways, after that, I only had an hour and a half before walking downtown to meet Brian Blacktop at Public Trust to go to the Tawa Rotary Club meeting. I was initially invited to speak on Tuesday, but they ended up getting a past president who had just returned from mission work in India to speak. I still got to go as a visitor, which was incredibly nice. It was good to meet the Rotarians. They were all very friendly, and I am going back to give a presentation on 6 September. I did some real work when I got home that night, including editing most of my essay. Then, I passed out in bed.

Wednesday began once more with Les Mills. I spend way too much time in the cardio theater. Wait! I take it back! I love it there. My muscles were really screaming on Wednesday, though. Anyways, I had gotten caught up in AIM conversations, so I left later than normal. I was OK with this until I realized that I had a lot to do before class. I had gotten an official notice saying a book I had requested was in the library, so I had to deal with that. I also had to run all over campus trying to get forms filled out and faxed to GT Office of International Education by that same day. Craziness! Then, it was off to a review session for geology, geology lab, and geology class. Lots of geology on Wednesday. I really wanted to go to a classical concert that evening, but I couldn't. I hadn't finished my essay completely, and I had a lab practicum exam on Thursday that I really needed to study for. I also started stressing out on Wednesday night because I thought my mp3 player had bit the dust. It was making the clicking sound of death and wouldn't charge. It got me really worried.

Now, we're up to Thursday. I have a good amount of class today. I went to my morning classes, then set out to work on my mp3 player. I ran into Jonathan outside the student center and got distracted talking to him. He bought me lunch and then we walked down to town together. I had to go to Dick Smith to check out my mp3 situation, and he had to buy a suit for a ball he is going to in Auckland over the break. I picked up Satay Kingdom on my way home for lunch (Chris: I got what I always get - Roti Chenai!) and the proceeded to work myself into a severe state of denial over my impending geology exam. I spent the better part of my afternoon talking to my mom, Patrick, and Marianna, interspersed with brief bits of studying. I headed up to my 4 PM tutorial, it let out early, I studied, and then I took my exam. It went pretty well; there were only a few questions I didn't know. I think I did OK. Came back, had dinner, went to Primal, caught up with Clare. Now, I am here with my laptop and a glass of good New Zealand wine. Lovely, yes?

AND ... it is the holidays! I don't have any classes on Friday, so the holiday has officially begun. No more class until 29 August, and 5 days til I leave for Fiji! 4 til Meredith's birthday. It should be an amazing break.

Now, that is the most detailed record of my life that I have posted thus far. I hope I haven't bored you terribly. It hasn't been a particularly soul-searching week. About the only introspective thing that happened is when Michelle realized that I know people serving in the US Military in the Middle East. We had a good conversation on what that really means and what it is like to be in a country at war.

I hope I do something entertaining to amuse you this weekend. Maybe something involving good pictures! Til then ...

Beautiful Weekend

Now, I didn't quite forget about posting today. Really, I didn't. I just got occupied, and then I did forget how long it takes to post on Sundays. This weekend was amazing. Really really beautiful weather. No camera or silly verbal (typed?) description could possibly do the weather justice, but I will try. It was remarkably clear, and the wind didn't pick up once. Not once. It was all relaxed, like the wind itself was enjoying the clear day. The sky was free of clouds save for the awesome ones hanging just over the mountains in the distance. The water was oh-so clear, and the shining sun made it feel a lot warmer than it was (although it hovered in the upper 50s in the middle of the day, quite warm for the middle of winter).

I believe I last posted on Thursday or so, so I will start from Friday. I did absolutely nothing all day. Well, I take that back. I went to the gym that morning. And Metro that afternoon. So, aside from grocery shopping and the weekly Friday morning gym routine, I did nothing. I relaxed all day. At some point, David, V, and I cleaned the flat. It desperately needed to be cleaned. We won't go into how dirty it was. Anyways, I just relaxed with a movie that night. However, I was overcome with the desire to go find some water, especially if it involved a bridge. I didn't know where one was exactly, and I wasn't about to go wandering around at 11 PM alone, so I decided I would spend Saturday down by the waterfront exploring.


The weather cooperated with me and turned Saturday into the most beautiful day ever. I wandered down to the waterfront about mid-day and proceeded to be out there until late evening. I got there by cutting through Civic Square, which meant that I stopped by the iSite tourist center. I stole so many brochures my bedroom may as well be the new tourist center. I am walkign through CS after leaving iSite, I turn to my left, and there is this remarkable alley way with water and everything. It was so peaceful; I had to take this picture. It looks like something you should find in Italy to me.

This is the view from the docks. For those of you who have been here, it is right down from Te Papa, kind of new the big New World. That water was so inviting. I was incredibly tempted to run down to Ferg's to rent a kayak for the afternoon. Next free day I get that is as gorgeous as this, I am doing it. It would be absolute heaven to kayak around the bay all afternoon. Really, I think I say here for about well over an hour, just looking and thinking. It was amazing to be at such peace with the water. Really, if I could wake up and see scenery like this every day, I would be happy. There were a lot of people out there practicing rowing and sailing and whatnot.

After sitting there by the water, I decided to walk down towards Oriental Bay. However, I hadn't gone more than 500 feet when I spotted Bex and Louise, so I walked over to say Hey. Bex used to be on crew before she hurt her knee not too long ago, so they were watching the rowers practice. I sat on this wooden part of the docks for an additional 1+ hour talking with them and enjoying the sun and water. It was an amazing time. I had missed lunch, though, so I left them around 2:30 to go into Te Papa (you can see it in the background) for a snack and then meandered my way around to Oriental Bay.

This is the Wellington Beach, otherwise known as Oriental Bay. I like having the sand so close. You can sort of see the trees that are lining the road on the right; those are strung with Christmas lights that are on at night. To the left in the harbour is a big fountain that is also lit up at night. There is also this man-made stepping stone walkway thing (I really can't describe it) that leads out into the water. I went out to the very end and sat there for a very long time. I read part of the paper (Te Papa has free copies, so I took one when I was in the cafe) and watched the tide come in. It was glorious. Really, one of my favorite hours since I have been here.

This is the view about 3:30 PM from the stepping stone place where I was sitting. Really, this doesn't even come close to capturing how beautiful the day was. I am sure you are tired of hearing about the gorgeous day, but I can't think of how to impress it upon you.

Anyways, that was the afternoon. I came back to Mckenzies right around 5 PM. Lucky for me, Patrick had found some sort of internet in the Pink House, so I got to talk to him properly for the first time in days because he had been driving to Atlanta from Wyoming. I got to talk to him til about 8:30, when I made him go to bed (4:30 AM east coast!) and took my phone call from Ryan, who was calling me from Hawaii (I am 22 hours ahead of Hawaii! Almost a full day!). I talked to Ryan til about 10:45, which was amazing. Needless to say, I was in a very good mood after all that talking, and, realizing I missed dinner, promptly ran down to the never-closed Star Mart to pick up a bottle of wine and some munchies. I came and proceeded to hang out with my flatmates and their friends and just generally have a very enjoyable rest of the evening.

I woke up Sunday morning and went to church, as usual. Afterwards I went up for my cup of tea and got to talking to Annette, a lady I had met on a previous Sunday. She is really fantastic. She ended up inviting me to come to her house for lunch and then take a hike up Khandallah. Of course I jumped at the chance to see more of greater Wellington and escape Mckenzie's food. We had rosemary & garlic fresh bread and ham & pea soup (so good!). We stayed in her house and talked for a long time. She also pulled out her atlas, so I got to show her all the important cities around me.

This is at the top of Khandallah. The harbour just to the left of me is Wellington. You can sort of see how it is spread around the water. It was amazing being up there. Sunday was just as lovely as Saturday. (This is also my obligatory I'm-still-alive-and-haven't-changed picture.)

Now, the really cool thing about being at the top of Khandallah is that on a clear day you can see all the way to the South Island. You can see the mountains in the distance in this picture, across the water; that's the south island. How cool! The mountains around were amazing. "Rolling hills" is the only description that even comes close. Really, you all just need to visit me and see all of this yourself. It is breathtaking.

So, that is what I have been doing all weekend. Did you see how there was no work ever mentioned? Yeah, that's because I have done nothing since Thursday. I am avoiding this POLS 244 essay like the plague. I suppose I will do it tomorrow. I have plenty of time, and I won't later in the week. I have a lab practicum on Thursday in geology, and the essay is due on Friday. But honestly, it is the last week of school before the two week break, the break during which I will be vacationing in Fiji. How in the world do these professors expect me to keep concentrating? :)

I best be getting some sleep now for class in the morning. Phil Goff is supposed to be coming in to speak with my class, so I am sure I will be posting about that eventually. It will be a great reason to keep avoiding my essay. ;)

Busy Day = Long Post

OK guys. I haven't really thought all this through, but I have a feeling this will be a long post. I have a lot of things to mention. I feel kind of bad because I have a feeling I won't have a lot to talk about for awhile, so I thought about breaking this up into different posts, but then I realized that if I didn't do it today, I would forget, so here it is. (That was a long sentence.) I am warning you: long post!

My day began with POLS 244, the best class ever. Today we had Lockwood Smith in to speak. He represents National, and he is the foreign affairs spokesperson. There has been a lot in the papers about him recently because of his interactions with the US. You can check out one of the first articles at http://www.nzherald.co.nz/print.cfm?objectid=10338891. Mr Smith has since claimed he said some of the things; search for newer articles. The basic situation is as such: 18 months ago he and Dr Brash, the National leader, met with a group of American senators (including Saxby Chambliss from GA) to speak about a potential free trade agreement, how the nuclear ban affects that, and how the relationship between New Zealand and the US can be repaired. (A bit of background: NZ is a nuclear free state, including nuclear propulsion on submarines, and this was the beginning of the deterioration of the NZ/US relationship. The US has respected the policy, diplomats have made statements saying they are not looking to change it, and the outgoing US ambassador said the time was right to work on fixing the relationship.) Anyways, notes were taken at the meeting, and it was said that Mr Smith said he would be in favor of getting rid of the nuclear ban and that he would be willing to approach a US think-tank to figure out how to change NZ opinion. Phil Goff, a Labour leader, is using this bit as an election ploy to show National in a poor regard. I could go on about this forever, but it is a big issue here in NZ. Being nuclear-free is a large part of NZ's identity, and no party will look to change something that is that entrenched in public policy. It would be political suicide, and everyone knows it.

Back to my point: Mr Smith spoke to my class today. He was a lot more broad than the previous speakers have been. He spoke more generally about how international relations and foreign policy is going to be the most important thing in the future. He said that the best way to improve relations is through the reductions of trade barriers. When countries are trading with each other, they are more willing to work with one another on other issues. He thinks that NZ needs to take a more active role in the Asia-Pacific region, to have that be the main focus. He thinks that Kiwis should be helping to develop the trading capabilities of the Pacific Islands instead of just giving them monetary aid. He said that it was important to repair the relationship with the US, and he suggested that it should be done in baby steps. Simple things, such as being polite and showing respect, go a long way in politics. He mentioned how Helen Clark, the current PM of the Labour government, made statements to the effect of America would not have gone to war in Iraq had Gore won in 2000. When I first her statement on this, I was a little offended. Not in a big way, but there was definately that moment of offense. Mr Smith made the point that little jabs such as that, unbeknownst to Kiwis, were important to Americans and were a major part of the deterioration of the relationship (and I think I proved his point when I told Michelle that yes, I was a bit offended). In case you couldn't tell from the pragmatic trade-based approach to foreign policy, National is "conservative" and would be likened to Republicans back home.

So, that was that class. It was my only class today. POLS 248 and GEOL 113 were cancelled because the unions were striking again today. I wanted to take pictures of the professors carrying big yellow signs up and down Kelburn Parade and through the library, but I didn't get the chance. It was still a productive day, though.

I met Mike at 12 in the Student Union building. Mike is an American who is in my geology class. He is also in my lab; that's how we met. Anyways, we decided to work on our project together. We have a list of 10 sites around Wellington where we have to go and check out specific rocks, determine their composition, talk about grain sizes and texture, etc. Really, we look funny standing on the sidewalk with our loupes and our faces two inches from a granite wall. Here is the list of where we have to go:
1. Statues in the park at the crn of Bowen St & The Terrace
2. Starbuck's Coffee, 180 Lambton Quey
3. Bus stop on Kelburn Parade
4. Fireplace at the Loaded Hog Pub
5. Hopes Bros. Bar (formally Fat Ladies Arms for those of you who have been here)
6. East entrance of Hunter bldg at VicUni
7. Old Public Trust Bldg, crn Stout St & Lambton Quey
8. Ministry of Economic Development Bldg
9. Beehive (main Parliament bldg)
10. 124 The Terrace (an office bldg)
We made it to all of the places today. We started up on campus, worked our way down Lambton Quey, then Loaded Hog on the waterfront, and ended at Hopes Bros. Really, it was funny to think about us chilling around with loupes while business people were walking by. We were sitting in the front of the MED building examining the floor, and this young guy (maybe 26 or so) walks up to us and is like, "Geol 113, right?" We also got locals coming up to us with things like, "You university students know this is a wall, right?" Of course, any time we made it to a place of business, we had to stop and help the economy. We got lattes in Starbuck's to warm up our fingers (the wind picked up between 12 and 2 when we got to Starbuck's). When we had to examine the fireplace at the Loaded Hog, we definately stayed there for about 40 minutes to an hour. A beer, a glass of wine, and some good conversation later, we actually picked up our loupes and pens and examined the sandstone. We left considerably warmer than when we arrived; the fireplace was hot! It was the earliest I have ever been hanging out in a pub. This report isn't actually due until after the break, but I want to get it done before Fiji. We have to type it up, and we had to take pictures (using a $1 coin as a scale) to include in the report. The person who turns in the "best" report wins a prize. Guess what the prize is? Either a 6-pack or a bottle of wine. Try getting that past the Board of Education at home.

OK, so that take us up to dinner today. I was starving by the time I came home, so I ate so much at dinner. It is Thursday, which means I went to Primal at 7:30. We split into groups to discuss misconceptions about Christians and Christianity, but that is not where this paragraph is going. After a while, BJ passed the microphone around so that someone in each group could briefly sum up what they had all discussed. One girl said that they had talked about politics and it's role with religion and George Bush. This of course piqued my interests, so I caught up with one of the girls while we were getting hot chocolate afterwards. I talked to her for awhile (mainly about traveling around NZ), and she referred me to someone in the group who was more vocal about the topic and would be better to talk to. Turns out it is Abi, my partner in 248. I talked to her and her friend for awhile. She is conservative (it seems to me - she hasn't actually said that) so we talked a lot about how the media is very liberal and does a poor job portraying complete truths about everything. My big point whenever I get into a discussion about the media is yes, it sensationalizes everything, yes, it doesn't report everything, but the media is a business and still has to make money. They have to pick stores and run with topics that will sell more papers than yesterday. Happy things don't sell well. Anyways, 15 minutes later, Abi refers me to the left-wing person who started the conversation. It was based on the image that since Bush is right-wing, and Bush is a Christian, all American Christians are right-wing. (I forget how to spell the girl name, it was odd, so I am going to refer to her as B, which is what he name starts with.) B and I talked for a long time about different points of view, international relations, my views as a center conservative, etc. I brought up things she might not have heard about, such as the worries about the new Supreme Court justice and what is happening in certain kinds of leglislation. She grew up in a left-wing family and goes to a left-wing school, so with left-wing media, she doesn't hear conservative positions very often. She is still in secondary school (her last year), and we ended up tangenting into the opportunities in tertiary education for international studies and how you can concentrate an international degree in a specific area of the world.

One thing I have noticed since I got here is how comfortable I am talking about politics. I really like it a lot. I am starting to refer to some things as my soap boxes since I can keep going and going and going. It is really interesting to hear the different ways things are viewed from a small state like New Zealand. I really like explaining my points of view and how I arrived at my beliefs. I like how at the end of conversations, I get the comments to the effect of, Oh, it is nice to talk to an American, Oh, it is nice to hear a conservative point of view, Oh, it is nice to hear something outside of the media that makes sense. I like it when I talk to people in bars and get the whole "Maybe all Americans aren't bad" thing. This is a good year for me to be exploring this kind of idea and learning this kind of thing about myself.

OK, I think that is about it. I warned you at the beginning that this was going to be a long post. It took me awhile to type it all up. I hope you read all of it! :)

Political Elections

Tonight I went to Meredith's host Rotary club meeting. They opened it up to the public (although I could have gone anyways) because they brought in a panel of political speakers representing almost all of the parties here in New Zealand for a political debate. The national election is on September 17, so the race is now on. By the way, elections are a lot shorter here. 6 weeks is a long campaign. The election date was announced about a week ago; it is not on a specific date. So different! Also, there are a lot more rules regarding campaign finance. You really can't buy air time at all! Anywho, each person got to speak for 7 minutes, answer one pre-determined question, and then the floor was open for a few questions. This is who we had:

Peter Dunne for United Future (www.unitedfuture.org.nz)
Stephen Franks for ACT (www.act.org.nz)
Nicola Young for National (www.national.org.nz)
Dale Jones for New Zealand First (www.nzfirst.org.nz)
Katrina Shanks for National (www.national.org.nz)
Rod Donald for the Greens (www.greens.org.nz)
(I think) John Tamihere for Labour (http://www.labour.org.nz/index.html)
Side Note: I didn't quite catch the Labour rep's name, but I think that is him based on the picture on the Labour website. I apologize if my memory is wrong.

It was a good lineup. Nicola used a quote from HP2, the one where Dumbledore talks about it is our choices that determine who we are, which I found interesting. I am more interested in foreign policy than domestic on the whole, so it was good for me to expand my knowledge of New Zealand domestic policies and woes. There is a big deal right now about student loans. The two major parties have released policies designed to reduce student debt through either the abolition of interest or by reducing it based on the number of years a graduate stays to work in New Zealand (designed to work against the "brain drain" to overseas). NZ First has a policy where all uni students can draw a weekly living allowance, and it is not a loan.

I know not many of you will be going to all these websites checking out what each party believes in. Some people have asked me for them, so I wanted you to know where they were. Just so you know, the Greens are extreme left, Labour is left of center, National is right of center, United is right, and I can't remember the rest. I don't want to get something wrong in the blog, so I will leave it at that. It was an entertaining evening.

Tomorrow I only have one class. The other three are canceled because of the teacher's union strike. I hope it is as gorgeous as it was today! The one class I have is my favorite, and we are having another guest speaker. I just checked, and it is Lockwood Smith, the National Party Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs. Next Monday we have Phil Goff, the Minister of Foreign Affairs. I need to do some research, but National has traditionally been more friendly towards strengthening US relations, so it should be intersting.

Now, on to a slightly related topic. I have realized recently exactly how international my education has become and what a small world it is. At some point in time this summer, I have had friends either in or about to be in Canada, Senegal, India, China, Singapore, Argentina, Brazil, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, US, France, and basically every other European country (thanks to GT Lorraine and Oxford). Crazy! Of the 7 girls who lived in The Hotness last spring, we were scattered over 4 continents this summer.

Now, as the final capstone in my small world paragraph, get this. A friend of mine studying in China this summer was minding his own business shopping in a little market, and he hears, "Hey, are you from Georgia?" Now, this is not an ordinary question to ask just any particular person, although with red hair and white skin, I am sure he stood out in China. He asks why, and she replies, "Did you ever go to GHP?" Yes m'dears, it was a long lost GHP buddy! Someone else who knew what it was like to live on the Magic Square! Her name is Shirley Li (I think), she went to Princeton, she is in China studying Chinese, and she runs into - of all people - another GHPer. We are taking over the world!

Google Earth and Peter Dunn

I want to reinforce the fact that I believe Google is taking over my life. I use it for searching, news, email, and directions. It even has its hands in the service that hosts this blog. Now, I am using it for entertainment. Last night I was watching Desperate Housewives with V and her boyfriend, Graham. Now, Graham is a boy who really does not appreciate the show as V and I do, so he went back, got her laptop, and started playing with Google Earth. I was completely fascinated! If you haven't seen this yet, you really must. The pictures are a couple of years old, and some of them - like Dalton - aren't very clear, but it is really cool to be looking at something in New Zealand and then watch the screen fly over the ocean to look at Atlanta. GT was really clear, so I got to show V and Graham all of the buildings on campus, where I lived, and where my most hated building on campus is (duh, Howey Physicsa!). It is so cool! I got to see where Graham lived in Australia, and we looked up the Grand Canyon and Niagara Falls.

Funny point: we also looked up Casper, Wyoming, and the first thing Graham says is "Wow! There is nothing there!" So I OF COURSE was all like "Of course! That's because no one lives in Wyoming!" HAHAHA I hope my Techies back home appreciate the fact that I brought that particular joke all the way to New Zealand.

One other point of interest: Peter Dunn came and spoke with my POLS 244 class yesterday. He is a member of the United Future party and heads the foreign affairas and defense committee in Parliament (I can't remember his exact title). United Future is a lot more right-wing than the Green party of last week (they are extreme left). I enjoyed his speech more because he is a better public speaker. Mr. Dunn spoke about how New Zealand needed to strengthen its relationships in the Asia-Pacific region, specifically with Australia. By the way, Australia and New Zealand have the most comprehensive free-trade agreement in the world. It is a lot like one trans-Tasman economy. Mr. Dunn also brought up the idea that New Zealand needed to find its national identity before embarking on alliances and partnerships; just because it has been a traditional friend doesn't mean that continuing to be an unconditional supporter is in NZ's best interests. He was very insistent on Kiwis finding their own national identity and then making foreign policy decisions based on what was in NZ's best interests. All in all, not nearly as controversial (at least for me) as last week.