OK, you guys, so last night while Lisa was at dance I wrote up the whole glacier trip story, AND then I did my week from Franz Josef to Dunedin. And I was just going to update once, but then I was like, "I HAVE the entry about the west coast, I should post it" so I am. So what I'm saying is, scroll down and read "There are no bad words for the coast today" first, and then this one because that's the order. And I'm done with the next week, but I'll wait a little while to post it because I don't want to overload you. Dude, unemployed--in-Chch Kate is so useful to you guys, she writes about everything. Onwards!
The TranzAlpine train from Christchurch to Greymouth is meant to be one of the greatest train rides in the world, and it was indeed quite majestic. It cuts across the middle of the South Island so you see all these moutains and things. I'm crap at explaining, but it's beautiful. I'm also crap at pictures, so I don't have any. Ben's toyed with the idea of taking the train, so maybe he will and he will have pictures. Also, it was rainy on the West coast, so mine wouldn't be so lovely. Also, pictures aren't really that useful when the most impressive part is the bigness of everything. You know what I mean? Maybe you do.
So I got to Greymouth, where it was helpfully pouring down rain. And my hostel was helpfully really far away. As you can tell, I'm using the word “helpfully” with sarcasm. Keep up. Anyway, I eventually gave up on carrying my backpack so far in the rain (see: Wellington) and so I got the iSite to call the hostel and they came to pick me up. Now, when I got to the Global Village hostel, I was quite impressed and I'll tell you why. I often use the adjectives “cute” or “adorable” to describe the hostels I stay in. I like “cute” and “adorable.” Probably my favorite hostel of all is the one I'm in now in Christchurch church, which has a Steel Magnolias poster and guinea pigs. You can't GET much cuter than guinea pigs, even if that white one totally ran away from me today when I tried to pet it. Dude, what was up with that? Anyway, the hostel in Greymouth was not cute or adorable. It was straight-up nice. Nice bathrooms, nice bedrooms, nice kitchen, nice everything. NICE. Probably the nicest hostel I have ever stayed in, and leagues ahead of some hotels I've stayed in. If you ever find yourself in Greymouth, New Zealand, stay at Global Villages. It's like 3 miles away or something, but it's totally worth it. ANYway, before I gave up on walking, I ran into this guy and our brief exchange went something like this:
Him: Big backpack.
Me: Don't I know it.
Him: Where are you off to?
Me: Attempting to locate my hostel. You?
Him: Same. I might just stay at the YHA. Any plans for tonight?
Me: Nope. Locate hostel, get out of the rain, eat something. That's as far as my plans go.
Him: Well, a bunch of people are going to this brewery tour thing at 6. It's like $25 and it includes dinner. You should come.
Me: OK, maybe.
Him: Cool. I'm gonna go use the ATM.
Now, this was sort of bizarre, but we take things in stride. Anyway, I was thinking about this and thinking that a brewery tour seemed fun and also dry, so I decided to do it. Also, the brewery in Greymouth is Monteith's, and Monteith's is really good, so I figured it was a win. Also, when people I barely know invite me to do things, my main concern is that I'll show up and they won't actually be there. However, in this case, I wasn't so invested in Random Guy showing up, I kind of just wanted to do the tour. So after locating the hostel, getting out of the rain, and eating something, I called up the number on the flyer I saw and booked for the tour. While waiting for my transport, I met some British folks who were also going to the tour, and I got to talking to them. We did the tour, which wasn't much, but the beer was good, and we moved on to the dinner, which also wasn't much but the beer was good. It was me, the 3 British people I'd met already, and some other people from the tour. It actually made for a really nice dinner. We stayed late, but the pub where dinner was never did get busy, so we left and I spent the rest of the evening in the British dorm chatting with Fi, one of the girls I'd met, and her Australian dormmate.
The next day, I talked to MY Australian dormmate, and then read for a while before my bus to Franz Josef. I finished Joyce Carol Oates's We Were the Mulvaneys, which was pretty damn good, and started some James Patterson novel called The Lake House (not the basis for the Sandra Bullock movie, I'm pretty sure, since this was “horror.” That's in quotes because it was pretty bad and not as horrifying as it thought it was. Or, possibly, as the Sandra Bullock movie) which was TERRIBLE. I've told many, many people how bad this was, and it turned out that Nich had read it years ago and she agrees. Do not read this book if you like reading. It will make you sad. Anyway, while in Greymouth, I texted my friend Sabina from Taupo all, “We should meet up at some point.” I'd liked the look of Arthur's (apostrophe? No apostrophe? Hell if I know, and the wireless here is by the hour and my computer says he'll die in 34 minutes – which is bullshit, FYI – so I'm not looking it up) Pass when I'd passed through it on the train, and I knew she'd already done much of the West Coast and was heading up the East (getting into Christchurch just in time to miss me, naturally), so I suggested we meet up there. She was noncommittal so I continued on my planned itinerary. FYI, my planned itinerary was as follows:
Greymouth -> Franz Josef Glacier -> Fox Glacier -> Wanaka -> Queenstown -> Lake Tekapo -> Christchurch -> Wellington -> Taupo -> Auckland -> USA
Well, well. So I went to Franz and I booked a half-day glacier tour, and then I wandered around the eensy town for a bit, and then I texted Sabina for a while and decided to meet up with her on Saturday, then e-mailed Nich about how I was booked for a half day tour but kind of secretly wanted a full-day one instead. So then I went and rebooked for a full-day tour.
Next day! Look at this, we are rolling right through.
So the glacier trip started at some obscenely early hour like 9am. Something like that. I went over and I paid the difference for my full-day tour, sat through the obligatory “If you have leg injuries or heart injuries or are pregnant or whatever, you might reconsider this one,” wisely ignored it because it's not like I ever have tons of pain in my right knee or anything, and then we collected stuff. You get like all of your stuff from the Glacier Guides place. So I got boots and special socks and then I took them all off and put tape all over my feet to prevent blisters. I then got cramp-ons, which are those spikey things you attach to your boots when you're walking on ice, say, or a glacier. Then we got gloves and a hat. I did not wear the hat, but the gloves were useful and it was also good that I had my own gloves for when the borrowed ones were soaked through. Then I got a special blue waterproof overcoat. Then we were on the bus!
So they bring you to the car park and they guide you down through this path and then you go on your very own I Paid For This Tour, Dammit trail through the rain forest. FACT TIME! New Zealand features two of the three glaciers in the world that feed into rain forests. And Franz Josef is one of them! As is Fox Glacier, just down the road from Franz (haven't been there yet, although BVS was set to go today, so hopefully), and some glacier in Patagonia. Anyway, so we got to the like glacial-bed-type-thing. This whole area of fallen rock and non-rain-forest that is where a river currently runs and the glacier used to be. I think. Anyway, so you get there (some of you have seen pictures!) and the glacier looks all close but it is NOT. So then you hike for a while, and then you head back into the rain forest and it wasn't raining, but there were little miniwaterfalls that we had to go through at times. Luckily the boots they give you are 1) not yours and 2) waterproof. So you have to like hold onto ropes and branches and stuff, and maybe if you're a superKiwi adventure-girl, you don't need to, but I was raised on Ruffles and TV, so I need ropes and the occasional piggyback. Kidding. Apparently I'm kind of good to hike with, says those people who've hiked with me. And I ate lemons while I watched TV. But that's neither here nor there. So I did OK. Still used the ropes, though, because waterfall-covered rocks are slippery, bet you didn't know that one.
Anyway, after going through the rain forest, which is kind of cool (especially a snake-free rain forest NEW ZEALAND IS FILLED WITH FUN FOR THE WHOLE SNAKE-FEARING FAMILY!), we got back to that rocky area and walked there for a little bit and then we got to the glacier face. In the pictures it looks more daunting, but I think that's camera angles. They make it seem like it's straight up and you have to like grab on with claw things and stuff. Not so. It's actually just a really steep staircase made of ice! I know, ice-staircase, you get it all in the Southern hemisphere. Anyway, there was another helpful rope-handle that you had to hold onto, not that you'd want to let go. So then you get up there and you walk on the ice! Woo! It's actually pretty interesting and one of those things that I wouldn't mind doing multiple times. Because unlike most hiking trails, the glacier is moving all the time, so you could go on today and have one experience and go on in a week and have a whole different one! Ace. Oh! A point! We started off as one big group, and then we split into 3 groups of....30, I think? Yeah. Based kind of on how much you think you can handle. So like Group A is the group that's gonna be, like, making the trail really, so you should have all kinds of mad skillz. Well, actually, I don't know if you need all kinds, but I do know that the first thing they said was “balance,” so I tuned out the rest. Then Group B is like intermediate and Group C is sort of the people who might need stuff set up a bit. You kind of make the train as you are on the trail, so by the time Group C gets there, it's pretty well set. Anyway, once we get to the glacier face, you split each group in half. So Group A becomes Groups 1 and 2, my Group B became Groups 3 (with me) and 4, and then Group C was 5 and 6. So then we get like a lecture about glaciers that I don't remember much of except when someone (possibly...Franz Josef...) started doing the glacier guiding, they would have the participants leave their shoes outside their door the night before and then they'd go around hammering nails through the bottom. So I am glad they don't do that anymore. So then we set off! Woo!
Back to the ice. We walked for a bit and I thought about how lovely it was and about how scary some of those holes in the ice that go waaaaaay down are and how all was good. My group was pretty cool, but that'll be more important later. Also, I knew none of their names. That's how it goes sometimes. Anyway, we stopped for lunch for a bit, and we got to slide through an ice cave (apparently Fox has more ice caves, but Franz is still considered superior. By...that girl I met at Mulligan's that time) and then we continued. I can't really think of other stuff to say. Oh, well, sometimes we'd get to these really steep little things that we had to go down and they'd screw in a little rope so that we could hold on. And it was kind of scary, but you could get halfway down and just swing down on the rope, which was fun. Also, I now am like totally trusting of ropes. So please do not fool me with a rope. Anyway! What else fun about the trip. Oh! At one point the guy in front of me who was from Chicago stepped down into this little puddle but it wasn't a big deal because it looked shallow, only it completely wasn't and he sunk in about halfway up his calf before he caught himself. So be careful where you step.
Anyway, so off we go around the glacier. It is sometimes challenging, but in general, great fun. Then our guide, Simon, is like, “I need to go help the first two guides finish up the track” which is, you know, reassuring. So we stop for a while, which is nice because then you sort of cool down from hiking. The Group 4 guide passes us. We hang out. Now we've passed “cool down” and the jackets come back out. They often got stored away during the hike. Then it's been like 20 minutes and we're like, “Where...is...anyone.” Eventually a guide who can see us, but is really far ahead is like, “Simon's group! You can go forward!” So we go, only we get a little bit in and the second girl can't get up on a ledge because it is high. So the Group 5 guide has to catch up and help us, which is nice of him, but kind of crap for him because he is now guiding groups 3-5. He points out as much on his walkee-talkee and sends for back-up. Simon arrives back and is like, “Well, up ahead there is this crevice. Is anyone scared of tight spaces?” There is some debate over whether this tight crevice is do-able. I, personally, am all Go Big or Go Home! but not everyone agrees (actually, being a tight crevice, I suppose it'd be Go Small or Go Home. Ha. Ha-ha. Ha. I just slow-laughed myself, ladies and gentlemen). So eventually we decide to, you know, go big or go home. So we head on down!
It is indeed tight. I mean, breathable, but we're pretty squished in there, and the ice melts and you get pretty wet. Luckily my camera survived. You take off your backpack and trail it behind. You turn sideways and keep your feet in a straight line. You know, the usual. However, then we get to the part he COMPLETELY DID NOT MENTION about how it's tight and, oh right, after a while you can't step on the floor because it's unstable. So we're single-file-lining it through this ice crevice by shoving our feet onto these carved-out ledges in the wall. And there's a drop-of-unknown-depth below us! Also, the crevice has widened enough that probably a Kate-sized person could drop down there and never be heard from again. ALSO at one point I head Simon mumble something and then heard someone else say, “Did he just say, 'Don't look down'?!” which is pretty much the last thing you want to hear when you're climbing in ice. So we carried on, and I tried to allow the guy in front of me ample room to back up, should he need it. Also, the girl in front of the guy in front of me knocked off a little piece of the wall-ledge, and the piece fell and we didn't hear it impact anything. So that was scary. And then we'd continue and sometimes you'd have to turn around to the person behind you and warn, “Don't step on that piece that's about to fall.” It's very fun, this glacier thing, I highly recommend it. However, then we got to this...other ledge. The ellipses are because I'm really having trouble describing this experience. Anyway. So we get to this ledge ahead of us. And I can't remember how high it was on me. Basically, it's about a step ahead, and the wall-ledges for your feet end and you need to get from the wall-ledges to this new ledge and it was probably about to my rib-cage? So not exactly the easiest step up ever. So it was then that I realised that I was, what's the word, scared out of my mind. And I thought, well, being terrified isn't really going to help me out here, so I guess I just need to, you know, go big or go home. So I went big. And by “went big,” I mean I somehow elbowed myself up enough to give me the height to shove my knee over the ledge and get up there. Then I turned back and the girl behind me was like, “OK. How. Did you do that.” And I then had to tell her that I was so scared at that moment that I literally could not exactly remember. I just...did it. I advised her to use her elbows and offered to hold her backpack and yeah. Was otherwise unhelpful because holy crap was that scary. I described it to my friend Helen as akin to that time I wrapped my car around a tree, except I don't think that was as bad. Certainly scary, but over really quickly. This was like, “Oh, god, I could die. OK, repress that thought. Somehow you need to live. Get. On. Ledge.” It was a technique of not flipping out that I also used this past weekend on the longest bridge ever (or, actually, in New Zealand) at night with trucks coming at me in the opposite direction. For my first time driving on the left side of the road. But, hey, I've lived to tell both these tales. Maybe I'll even survive Australia!
Anyway. So once we got over the hell-ledge, things were looking up. Except they kind of weren't because we were kind of still in Scary Crevice and I still kept hearing people say, “OK, that was the worst part” and I would be like, “What? How was that ledge not the worst part? What do you see that I can't see?” Luckily, the guy and girl in front of me were kind of awesome. And by that I mean at one point when I thought I was going to die, they both burst out laughing and then I burst out laughing and at least I wasn't crying, right? I mentioned that I appreciated it. Anyway, eventually we made it to this crazy ice-staircase that was, like, vertical. But it had a helpful rope! So we got up and out into the sun!
And into another crevice. I'm a proud girl, I am, but I almost cried then and there. ANOTHER ONE. Luckily I happened to hear, “Can we step on the floor of this one?” “Oh, yeah, this one's fine” so that was a relief. So I swung down on another rope and promptly smacked my head on the side of the crevice wall. Because I can make it out of the deadly one, but then knock myself out during the easy bit. There was a dazed moment where I did think I was going to pass out, but it went away. So...yay?
Then we were informed that the other groups totally wussed out and didn't try the crevice. Losers. I mean, geez. I think groups 1 and 2 did it, but not the rest of 'em. Lame! Also, by this point I think that either my knee just started to hurt, or the terror and cold had anesthetized it and now I was feeling it, but holy crap did my knee hurt. So the trek down was far less enjoyable than it could have been, but it happened. And then the folks from my tour invited me for drinks later, but drinks did not equal a shower and sleeping, so I wound up bailing. I intended to go, though, and it's the thought that counts.
Monday, May 18, 2009
There are no bad words for the coast today
Hey, folks! So I've got a lot of catching up to do, from the last 2 months, so here we go, I guess!
OK. First I wasn't updating because once I left Taupo, internet connections were hard to come by and also pricey. When you're paying by the 15-minutes, you want to spend those 15 minutes checking your e-mail or looking at pictures of Michelle Obama or making fun of Jim. Or I do, anyway. And then I didn't update because I didn't want to put myself in a position where I'd have to lie directly to people about how I was coming home in April. So I haven't updated. But now I am! Hooray!
So let's get this party started. And we'll start with leaving Taupo.
So I wrote here and then I left Taupo. In between there were quite a few parties, quite a few movies watched, some crepes made, and I fell on the sidewalk outside the pub. All in all, good times. So I moved out of my room and made the epic trek to...Nat's room, where I stored my stuff as I slept on the couch. Will moved into my old room because my old room kicked all kinds of ass and Will's was not as awesome. Although it had the same view. Some new guy that doesn't hang out with the flatties moved into Will's old room. I slept on the couch for a few nights, and then I took a bus to Wellington! Woo! I don't really think anything interesting happened in Wellington, because I can't remember anything interesting happening there. I probably got in late because that bus usually gets in late, so I probably got dinner and then went to bed or something. I've spent so many in-transit single nights in Wellington that they all sort of blur together. The next day (a Thursday! My memory is good) I wandered around Wellington for a while because why not, and then I grabbed all my stuff and walked to the ferry terminal. This was and forever will be a huge mistake. When I was first in Wellington and hanging out with this girl Sarah, we stayed at Nomads. And one morning Sarah was going to the South Island and she was like, “I'll just walk to the terminal because that's cheap” and I said that was crazy, it was still very far, and anyway she'd have all her stuff. A cab ride was not too much to pay. Anyway, when I walked to the ferry terminal, I was staying at the YHA, which is significantly further from the ferry terminal than Nomads. And I didn't take a cab. And I got like a third of the way there and I wanted to die. But I perservered and now whenever I need to take my bag more than like 5 feet, I get a ride. Lesson learned.
So I got to the terminal and I checked my bag and I nearly fell over from the loss of a 50-pound monkey on my back, and eventually I got on the ferry. It was really fun at first, and then kind of boring, and so I read for a while. I then caught the end of “Material Girls” starring Hilary and Haylie Duff and this isn't the sort of story you expected from New Zealand, is it? Nope. Cut ahead!
I got to Picton, and I decided to stay the night because I didn't feel like rushing. So I stayed at The Villa, which is this SUPER-ADORABLE hostel in Picton. I wanted to stay longer because it was ever so lovely, but the thing is that Picton itself if kind of a bore. So I left the next day and bid farewell to the backyard with the hammocks and the free coffee and the comfy couches. For Kaikoura!! Kaikoura is this eensy little seaside town that was a little nothing town until someone got the bright idea to start a whale-watching cruise from there. There is a bunch of marine wildlife. Also, it's all sleepy and calm and seaside, so it was kind of the perfect place to go on my vacation. That's what I called it then. So I got into Kaikoura, and checked in at my new adorable hostel and then did a bunch of walking around the town and beach. The next day, LISA arrived. Lisa is one of my favorite people in the whole world, and so when she came to New Zealand, I was very happy. That was about 3 months ago and I remain happy. Anyway, it was even better to see Lisa in Kaikoura than it had been in Christchurch because Kaikoura was sunny and warm and Christchurch in February had been rainy and cold and miserable. So once Lisa got there, we went on a little walk around town and then we walked to a SEAL COLONY. I like seals, they are adorable. There weren't that many seals to see, but it was still totally worth it. Then we had our choice of 2 walks around the Kaikoura peninsula, the beach walk or the cliff walk. We chose the cliff walk, which was awesome because you can see so far out to sea and also you get to be really high up. Sometimes we had to walk through pastures. Sometimes we had to walk around cows. Welcome to New Zealand. But it was cool. So we walked all the way around the cliffs and then we took a cut through the center of the peninsula back into town. We were both starving at this point, so we split some vegetarian nachos. Then I can't really remember what we did. Eventually we went back to the hostel, where we shocked our Dutch roommate with the amount of time we could spend sitting in a room talking. Hey! We hadn't seen each other in a while! Then we played cards with two Canadian boys who were, like, all of 12 years old. They must've been older since they were drinking beer, but they looked about 12. Lisa won, I think, and I probably came in last. I've lost a lot of card games in this country. Oh, hey, but we plated Egyptian Ratscrew, and Lisa is very, very good at it. So she should play Nich, because Nich is fast like a freak at that game. It could be a tournament of champions!
Anyway.
So the next day (Sunday), Lisa and I were supposed to swim with seals, which I was SO INCREDIBLY EXCITED ABOUT but then it was too rough. Boo. So we went to the Kaikoura iSite, which claimed to be the best iSite in New Zealand and I believe it because not only did they store my luggage, but when we were like, “Hello, iSite lady, we have about 5 hours before our bus and we were supposed to swim with seals but it got canceled, what would you recommend?” the iSite lady had tons of recommendations. We wound up kayaking out to the seal colony, which was fun, only Lisa and I had to get towed by the guide for some of it because we were not as fast paddlers as the other kayakers. Hey, we're little. But we did our best. It was really cool because the seals are all up in your grill and they swim adorable and we learned all sorts of interesting facts about seals, such as that you should never get between a seal and the water because they can run fast and knock you down. And, 1. ouch, but 2. how lame would you look if you were like, “And then I went to a hospital because a seal kicked the crap out of me”? Pretty lame. So anyway, it was really fun except I think Lisa got kind of seasick, but she was in the front of the kayak, so I didn't find this out until later. I'm sorry, Lisa! It was kind of my fault, due to my debilitating seal obsession. But on the way back, we saw a REAL LIVE PENGUIN swimming, so I think we can all agree that the trip was Totally Worth It.
OK. So we got back and then we hopped on a bus to Christchurch. We got in late and we made food (or, rather, Lisa made food. Possibly I took a shower) and then we watched 30 Rock while we ate garlic bread and corn on the cob. PS I'm running this show without the assistance of my diary and it's 2 full months later, how badass is my memory? Right. So then we inevitably stayed up too late talking and giggling (like you do) and eventually went to sleep. The next day, I wandered around Christchurch! I went to the Botanic Gardens (lovely!) and to the Canterbury Museum (informative!) and to Cathedral Square (lovely and informative!). I booked my TranzAlpine train for Wednesday because I was going on my Great South Island Adventure, so I needed to go west. Then I think Lisa made curry with some of her IES friends and at one point we had to go to Woolworth's to get more coconut milk because the curry was superspicey. The things I remember. We looked at one of Lisa's friend's skydiving video, and then she brought me to a special meeting of her Maori Studies class where we looked at the stars. It was kind of cold out, though. But we're tough. So then we went back and I can't remember what else we did. Stayed up late talking? Likely.
The next day, we hung out for a bit and then Lisa went to class while I just read. So interesting, me. We skyped with Ben! And then we went out for Indian food and I dropped some on my pants and had to do laundry before my trip. And that night we played Uno! It was a good game, even though her Uno cards cost her like $3NZ, so they were kind of crap. The directions were written in deliciously broken English, though, so in a way, everyone won.
OK. First I wasn't updating because once I left Taupo, internet connections were hard to come by and also pricey. When you're paying by the 15-minutes, you want to spend those 15 minutes checking your e-mail or looking at pictures of Michelle Obama or making fun of Jim. Or I do, anyway. And then I didn't update because I didn't want to put myself in a position where I'd have to lie directly to people about how I was coming home in April. So I haven't updated. But now I am! Hooray!
So let's get this party started. And we'll start with leaving Taupo.
So I wrote here and then I left Taupo. In between there were quite a few parties, quite a few movies watched, some crepes made, and I fell on the sidewalk outside the pub. All in all, good times. So I moved out of my room and made the epic trek to...Nat's room, where I stored my stuff as I slept on the couch. Will moved into my old room because my old room kicked all kinds of ass and Will's was not as awesome. Although it had the same view. Some new guy that doesn't hang out with the flatties moved into Will's old room. I slept on the couch for a few nights, and then I took a bus to Wellington! Woo! I don't really think anything interesting happened in Wellington, because I can't remember anything interesting happening there. I probably got in late because that bus usually gets in late, so I probably got dinner and then went to bed or something. I've spent so many in-transit single nights in Wellington that they all sort of blur together. The next day (a Thursday! My memory is good) I wandered around Wellington for a while because why not, and then I grabbed all my stuff and walked to the ferry terminal. This was and forever will be a huge mistake. When I was first in Wellington and hanging out with this girl Sarah, we stayed at Nomads. And one morning Sarah was going to the South Island and she was like, “I'll just walk to the terminal because that's cheap” and I said that was crazy, it was still very far, and anyway she'd have all her stuff. A cab ride was not too much to pay. Anyway, when I walked to the ferry terminal, I was staying at the YHA, which is significantly further from the ferry terminal than Nomads. And I didn't take a cab. And I got like a third of the way there and I wanted to die. But I perservered and now whenever I need to take my bag more than like 5 feet, I get a ride. Lesson learned.
So I got to the terminal and I checked my bag and I nearly fell over from the loss of a 50-pound monkey on my back, and eventually I got on the ferry. It was really fun at first, and then kind of boring, and so I read for a while. I then caught the end of “Material Girls” starring Hilary and Haylie Duff and this isn't the sort of story you expected from New Zealand, is it? Nope. Cut ahead!
I got to Picton, and I decided to stay the night because I didn't feel like rushing. So I stayed at The Villa, which is this SUPER-ADORABLE hostel in Picton. I wanted to stay longer because it was ever so lovely, but the thing is that Picton itself if kind of a bore. So I left the next day and bid farewell to the backyard with the hammocks and the free coffee and the comfy couches. For Kaikoura!! Kaikoura is this eensy little seaside town that was a little nothing town until someone got the bright idea to start a whale-watching cruise from there. There is a bunch of marine wildlife. Also, it's all sleepy and calm and seaside, so it was kind of the perfect place to go on my vacation. That's what I called it then. So I got into Kaikoura, and checked in at my new adorable hostel and then did a bunch of walking around the town and beach. The next day, LISA arrived. Lisa is one of my favorite people in the whole world, and so when she came to New Zealand, I was very happy. That was about 3 months ago and I remain happy. Anyway, it was even better to see Lisa in Kaikoura than it had been in Christchurch because Kaikoura was sunny and warm and Christchurch in February had been rainy and cold and miserable. So once Lisa got there, we went on a little walk around town and then we walked to a SEAL COLONY. I like seals, they are adorable. There weren't that many seals to see, but it was still totally worth it. Then we had our choice of 2 walks around the Kaikoura peninsula, the beach walk or the cliff walk. We chose the cliff walk, which was awesome because you can see so far out to sea and also you get to be really high up. Sometimes we had to walk through pastures. Sometimes we had to walk around cows. Welcome to New Zealand. But it was cool. So we walked all the way around the cliffs and then we took a cut through the center of the peninsula back into town. We were both starving at this point, so we split some vegetarian nachos. Then I can't really remember what we did. Eventually we went back to the hostel, where we shocked our Dutch roommate with the amount of time we could spend sitting in a room talking. Hey! We hadn't seen each other in a while! Then we played cards with two Canadian boys who were, like, all of 12 years old. They must've been older since they were drinking beer, but they looked about 12. Lisa won, I think, and I probably came in last. I've lost a lot of card games in this country. Oh, hey, but we plated Egyptian Ratscrew, and Lisa is very, very good at it. So she should play Nich, because Nich is fast like a freak at that game. It could be a tournament of champions!
Anyway.
So the next day (Sunday), Lisa and I were supposed to swim with seals, which I was SO INCREDIBLY EXCITED ABOUT but then it was too rough. Boo. So we went to the Kaikoura iSite, which claimed to be the best iSite in New Zealand and I believe it because not only did they store my luggage, but when we were like, “Hello, iSite lady, we have about 5 hours before our bus and we were supposed to swim with seals but it got canceled, what would you recommend?” the iSite lady had tons of recommendations. We wound up kayaking out to the seal colony, which was fun, only Lisa and I had to get towed by the guide for some of it because we were not as fast paddlers as the other kayakers. Hey, we're little. But we did our best. It was really cool because the seals are all up in your grill and they swim adorable and we learned all sorts of interesting facts about seals, such as that you should never get between a seal and the water because they can run fast and knock you down. And, 1. ouch, but 2. how lame would you look if you were like, “And then I went to a hospital because a seal kicked the crap out of me”? Pretty lame. So anyway, it was really fun except I think Lisa got kind of seasick, but she was in the front of the kayak, so I didn't find this out until later. I'm sorry, Lisa! It was kind of my fault, due to my debilitating seal obsession. But on the way back, we saw a REAL LIVE PENGUIN swimming, so I think we can all agree that the trip was Totally Worth It.
OK. So we got back and then we hopped on a bus to Christchurch. We got in late and we made food (or, rather, Lisa made food. Possibly I took a shower) and then we watched 30 Rock while we ate garlic bread and corn on the cob. PS I'm running this show without the assistance of my diary and it's 2 full months later, how badass is my memory? Right. So then we inevitably stayed up too late talking and giggling (like you do) and eventually went to sleep. The next day, I wandered around Christchurch! I went to the Botanic Gardens (lovely!) and to the Canterbury Museum (informative!) and to Cathedral Square (lovely and informative!). I booked my TranzAlpine train for Wednesday because I was going on my Great South Island Adventure, so I needed to go west. Then I think Lisa made curry with some of her IES friends and at one point we had to go to Woolworth's to get more coconut milk because the curry was superspicey. The things I remember. We looked at one of Lisa's friend's skydiving video, and then she brought me to a special meeting of her Maori Studies class where we looked at the stars. It was kind of cold out, though. But we're tough. So then we went back and I can't remember what else we did. Stayed up late talking? Likely.
The next day, we hung out for a bit and then Lisa went to class while I just read. So interesting, me. We skyped with Ben! And then we went out for Indian food and I dropped some on my pants and had to do laundry before my trip. And that night we played Uno! It was a good game, even though her Uno cards cost her like $3NZ, so they were kind of crap. The directions were written in deliciously broken English, though, so in a way, everyone won.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
This day by the lake went too fast
I've pretty much known I was going to use that line for this entry for about as long as I've been in Taupo. Which is nearing the end, it is. Which is incredibly sad. And crazy. I remember when stopping for 3 months (more, actually - I got here at the end of November) seemed like way too long. I remember the first time I walked into work, and the first time I toured my house, and even getting off the bus when I first got here. It feels like ages ago and yesterday at the same time. And I'd do it all again in a heartbeat. Even including that one day where I felt horribly homesick and the horrible day at work when I told Bridget I wanted to crawl into a hole and die. But I should stop getting sentimental. It's bringing me down. And no one else is home right now to make me laugh.
So. Saturday was the New Zealand Ironman. My first weekend here was Cycle Challenge and my last is the Ironman, so that's some big-sports symmetry there. I didn't get up to see it start, but a bunch of my friends did and I would have, had I not slept through my alarm. It's completely crazy, but also awesome. We listened to it on the radio all day and then at work you could see people running by on their way to the finish line. And they don't cut it all off until midnight, so when we went out last night, there were people still running to the end. I ended work today with these totally crazy Irish girls who apparently didn't understand the concept of a menu, because they sure as hell couldn't order off of it. And I was so close to telling them they were insane, because it's my last day and it doesn't really matter if I upset some random customers. I didn't, though. Tonight I'm going out with some coworkers, which is pretty cool because last night I went out with flatmates, so I get to spend loads of time with everyone.
Tomorrow, I'm moving out at 11am. But I'm secretly staying on the couch for another night because it's better for me to leave on Tuesday. Then I'll probably do a night in Wellington, then it's (finally!) over to Picton, where I might spend a few days. The South Island! I'm so psyched, when I'm not really sad about it. It goes back and forth, you know. And then on Friday I'm going to Kaikoura, and I'm going to meet up with LISA and spend a fun weekend. After that, I'm really in the dark. And, I mean, I don't even have concrete plans for all of THAT yet. Ah, well. It's exciting and scary and very similar to coming to New Zealand in the first place, in that I'm completely unprepared but I know I have to do it and I really just want to pout and crawl into bed and forget about this whole traveling idea again. This leaving business is very difficult. Seriously. However, if I had some sort of self-esteem problem, I could totally fix it here. All the damn time, people are like, "Don't leave." "What if you didn't leave?" "Stay." (PS thanks for getting Lisa Loeb stuck in my head) "When are you coming back?" Not to mention all the snide remarks about Christchurch. Lisa, did you know that Christchurch is, like, the worst place in the world? I did! All the time I hear it! "Why go to Christchurch? It's cold there. People are mean. I think someone just got killed there. Violently. People die there all the time. Isn't Taupo lovely?" A new girl just moved here from Christchurch and someone was like, "Do you like Taupo?" and I walked by and she was like, "It's better than Christchurch!"
Also, there are bribes and stuff. Seriously, if you people tried half as hard as these people are to get me not to leave, I never would've come to New Zealand in the first place.
So yeah. It's very, very difficult, leaving. But I'm so excited! Even if I can't meet up with my friends with cars, I can travel on my own for a bit. And my friend Helen texted me the other day and so I might try and meet up with her. It won't be so bad whatever I do. I just need to see stuff, you know? I'm going to miss Taupo like hell, though. Who knew it'd wind up being this much fun? I feel like I could stay here forever. Good friends, nice home, decent job that keeps me there at all hours. You can't argue with it.
Anyway, I feel like I should be packing my time with all the things I meant to do in Taupo but haven't done yet. I never took a cruise around the lake, but the weather's been horrible lately. And really other than that, I just wanted to go skydiving. It's unbelievable to me that I've been here over 3 months. I never imagined that. I still remember the day I moved into my house. When I texted little fencers and then walked all around with bare feet and then watched SkyTV for hours. Time is flying. It's been over a month since Kira and everyone moved out, and I feel like it's been like a week (although I simultaneously feel like I've known the new flatmates for ages by now). I was here through summer vacation! You remember how long that felt when you were a kid? But it just flew by for me. Christmas and everything. I still have pictures from Christmas on my camera. I need to upload some of those, I think, before leaving.
This entry is pointless, but I feel like I need to say goodbye to Taupo on here now, or else I won't. And, I mean, over 3 months? It's been a not-insignificant portion of my life spent here. And I've loved it. And I'm so, so excited about where I'm going next, but I'm going to miss the hell out of the people here. And it's sort of comforting to have a home-away-from-home. Sure, I'm giving up my home home here, but it's reassuring to know that if all else fails, there's a place for me here.
Anyway, I need to eat something because I haven't in a while, and I need to pack because I have to move out in 18 hours (well. Move my stuff into Natalie's room, at least). And then I need to have some fun. God, I love it here. But I love you people, too, and I miss you, too, so clearly I can work through it. And anyway, who knows what's next? God, that sounds like such a silly thing to say, but really. Who even knows what's next.
Shit I'm scared.
So. Saturday was the New Zealand Ironman. My first weekend here was Cycle Challenge and my last is the Ironman, so that's some big-sports symmetry there. I didn't get up to see it start, but a bunch of my friends did and I would have, had I not slept through my alarm. It's completely crazy, but also awesome. We listened to it on the radio all day and then at work you could see people running by on their way to the finish line. And they don't cut it all off until midnight, so when we went out last night, there were people still running to the end. I ended work today with these totally crazy Irish girls who apparently didn't understand the concept of a menu, because they sure as hell couldn't order off of it. And I was so close to telling them they were insane, because it's my last day and it doesn't really matter if I upset some random customers. I didn't, though. Tonight I'm going out with some coworkers, which is pretty cool because last night I went out with flatmates, so I get to spend loads of time with everyone.
Tomorrow, I'm moving out at 11am. But I'm secretly staying on the couch for another night because it's better for me to leave on Tuesday. Then I'll probably do a night in Wellington, then it's (finally!) over to Picton, where I might spend a few days. The South Island! I'm so psyched, when I'm not really sad about it. It goes back and forth, you know. And then on Friday I'm going to Kaikoura, and I'm going to meet up with LISA and spend a fun weekend. After that, I'm really in the dark. And, I mean, I don't even have concrete plans for all of THAT yet. Ah, well. It's exciting and scary and very similar to coming to New Zealand in the first place, in that I'm completely unprepared but I know I have to do it and I really just want to pout and crawl into bed and forget about this whole traveling idea again. This leaving business is very difficult. Seriously. However, if I had some sort of self-esteem problem, I could totally fix it here. All the damn time, people are like, "Don't leave." "What if you didn't leave?" "Stay." (PS thanks for getting Lisa Loeb stuck in my head) "When are you coming back?" Not to mention all the snide remarks about Christchurch. Lisa, did you know that Christchurch is, like, the worst place in the world? I did! All the time I hear it! "Why go to Christchurch? It's cold there. People are mean. I think someone just got killed there. Violently. People die there all the time. Isn't Taupo lovely?" A new girl just moved here from Christchurch and someone was like, "Do you like Taupo?" and I walked by and she was like, "It's better than Christchurch!"
Also, there are bribes and stuff. Seriously, if you people tried half as hard as these people are to get me not to leave, I never would've come to New Zealand in the first place.
So yeah. It's very, very difficult, leaving. But I'm so excited! Even if I can't meet up with my friends with cars, I can travel on my own for a bit. And my friend Helen texted me the other day and so I might try and meet up with her. It won't be so bad whatever I do. I just need to see stuff, you know? I'm going to miss Taupo like hell, though. Who knew it'd wind up being this much fun? I feel like I could stay here forever. Good friends, nice home, decent job that keeps me there at all hours. You can't argue with it.
Anyway, I feel like I should be packing my time with all the things I meant to do in Taupo but haven't done yet. I never took a cruise around the lake, but the weather's been horrible lately. And really other than that, I just wanted to go skydiving. It's unbelievable to me that I've been here over 3 months. I never imagined that. I still remember the day I moved into my house. When I texted little fencers and then walked all around with bare feet and then watched SkyTV for hours. Time is flying. It's been over a month since Kira and everyone moved out, and I feel like it's been like a week (although I simultaneously feel like I've known the new flatmates for ages by now). I was here through summer vacation! You remember how long that felt when you were a kid? But it just flew by for me. Christmas and everything. I still have pictures from Christmas on my camera. I need to upload some of those, I think, before leaving.
This entry is pointless, but I feel like I need to say goodbye to Taupo on here now, or else I won't. And, I mean, over 3 months? It's been a not-insignificant portion of my life spent here. And I've loved it. And I'm so, so excited about where I'm going next, but I'm going to miss the hell out of the people here. And it's sort of comforting to have a home-away-from-home. Sure, I'm giving up my home home here, but it's reassuring to know that if all else fails, there's a place for me here.
Anyway, I need to eat something because I haven't in a while, and I need to pack because I have to move out in 18 hours (well. Move my stuff into Natalie's room, at least). And then I need to have some fun. God, I love it here. But I love you people, too, and I miss you, too, so clearly I can work through it. And anyway, who knows what's next? God, that sounds like such a silly thing to say, but really. Who even knows what's next.
Shit I'm scared.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
I hope that you smile tonight
Today at work was like really terrible. Not one of the worst days, but just...it was raining, and everyone in the restaurant was miserable! No one was happy! And they were all so mean! I was outside (which I love, even when it's raining, because I like the fresh air and it's quieter out there), so there weren't many people. But the rest of the place was packed. And people were just mean! One lady came in because her kid spilled something? I don't know. So she wanted napkins so I gave her like 4 folded ones and she was like, "I'm going to need a lot more" so I said I would bring more out because the rest were across the restaurant and then she could go out with the ones she had, and she was like, "Could you just give them to me!" and then her husband was an asshole about having to wait, and accused us of losing the order (like, you know that table RIGHT NEXT TO YOURS? The one that ordered before you and still doesn't have their food yet? Think about it, jackass). Also they made a huge mess (first they opened toys for the kids at a table that wasn't even theirs, then left them there. Then some of the kids got KFC, which they helpfully scattered all over the table. Then when they ate they managed to get stuff everywhere). And the 2 older boys were very polite, and I thought that it was a good thing that somehow their parents' rudeness had not rubbed off on them, but then the oldest girl was a spoiled brat, so I guess she's going to grow up to be just like her bitch of a mother. Anyway, they were jerks. And other people were slightly less openly hostile about having to wait for their food. Like, I know that it's annoying when food takes a while. But if you want fast food, McDonald's is right around the corner, you know? Don't be an asshole about it because you're impatient. I'm trying to be nice! I'm at work, being cheery makes it bearable, my default position is nice. I start off liking you. Never ever do I start off disliking you, unless you have like a swastika on your t-shirt or whatever. I start off liking you, and you take it from there.
So, yeah. People were just MEAN. Like, I was wiping tables just stunned because they just weren't nice. Why were they so miserable? You're out to breakfast/lunch! It's an enjoyable occasion! Why not enjoy yourself? Why be such a pill?
Then, luckily, the greatest country on earth intervened and I had some lovely Missourians who were so pleased with their toasties. It's a toastie! You're so sweet, little St. Louis couple. You got a panini and a toastie and you were happy and lovely and pleasant and even when you were confused by my saying "Cab Merlot" instead of "Cabernet Merlot," you didn't act all rude about it, and you made me feel bad for speaking in kiwi, but mostly 'cause I felt like I was showing off or something. And then there were some lovely British ladies who had me take their picture eating scones and I love it when people have me do it because they're really enjoying themselves. So there were nice people.
And then Andie was fake-mean to me because we're fake-mean to each other, and I acted all fake-upset and she gave me a hug because all the customers are for-real mean. And then I was eating french fries with Ruth and I said that it was a crappy day and I told her that I currently had nice customers, but all the other tables before were just mean, mean people. And then when I came back for my evening shift, she put me on bar. She put me on bar! I'm never on bar! I've never been on bar before! It was great! I got to make drinks all night and sometimes coffees and I had little to no interaction with customers at all! They couldn't be mean to me! I couldn't fuck anything up! It was great! And only later did I think about how I'd told her about the mean people before and maybe she was doing it to be kind because my customers were mean. She is very nice. And Michael said he talked to his friend on the South Island and told him that he'd better have a job for me when I get there. And Pia told me to try the chocolate cheesecake, and it's so chocolatey I can hardly finish it, but it's so good that I absolutely have to. It's made (like almost everything) on-site.
And last night I came home and Reno made me eat apple spice cake that was great and this morning Simon and Jenna gave me a ride to work because it was raining and then Nat and her friend had breakfast at Dixie's because they wanted to visit me. There are some nice people in this world and I know a lot of them.
And Nich sent me a beautiful CD and a package and a postcard and I love her more than words. And you know how when you send an international package, you have to fill out a customs form? I try to be as vague as possible to not ruin the surprise, and I think they really want to see if you have, like, "prescription drugs" or "exotic plants" or something in there. But she wrote "toy gnome, fireman" and stuff. She was adorably specific and I love her.
A little giving back to the lovely people in the world: A few fresh pictures for you. Just a few, though, because flickr wouldn't upload things when I tried again and again. So just a few I took when I first returned to Taupo and hiked up to Huka Falls.
ETA: Now featuring more pictures! Start at the bottom (with this one) and work your way up through the "Next Picture" feature. Because that's the order I uploaded them in.
So, yeah. People were just MEAN. Like, I was wiping tables just stunned because they just weren't nice. Why were they so miserable? You're out to breakfast/lunch! It's an enjoyable occasion! Why not enjoy yourself? Why be such a pill?
Then, luckily, the greatest country on earth intervened and I had some lovely Missourians who were so pleased with their toasties. It's a toastie! You're so sweet, little St. Louis couple. You got a panini and a toastie and you were happy and lovely and pleasant and even when you were confused by my saying "Cab Merlot" instead of "Cabernet Merlot," you didn't act all rude about it, and you made me feel bad for speaking in kiwi, but mostly 'cause I felt like I was showing off or something. And then there were some lovely British ladies who had me take their picture eating scones and I love it when people have me do it because they're really enjoying themselves. So there were nice people.
And then Andie was fake-mean to me because we're fake-mean to each other, and I acted all fake-upset and she gave me a hug because all the customers are for-real mean. And then I was eating french fries with Ruth and I said that it was a crappy day and I told her that I currently had nice customers, but all the other tables before were just mean, mean people. And then when I came back for my evening shift, she put me on bar. She put me on bar! I'm never on bar! I've never been on bar before! It was great! I got to make drinks all night and sometimes coffees and I had little to no interaction with customers at all! They couldn't be mean to me! I couldn't fuck anything up! It was great! And only later did I think about how I'd told her about the mean people before and maybe she was doing it to be kind because my customers were mean. She is very nice. And Michael said he talked to his friend on the South Island and told him that he'd better have a job for me when I get there. And Pia told me to try the chocolate cheesecake, and it's so chocolatey I can hardly finish it, but it's so good that I absolutely have to. It's made (like almost everything) on-site.
And last night I came home and Reno made me eat apple spice cake that was great and this morning Simon and Jenna gave me a ride to work because it was raining and then Nat and her friend had breakfast at Dixie's because they wanted to visit me. There are some nice people in this world and I know a lot of them.
And Nich sent me a beautiful CD and a package and a postcard and I love her more than words. And you know how when you send an international package, you have to fill out a customs form? I try to be as vague as possible to not ruin the surprise, and I think they really want to see if you have, like, "prescription drugs" or "exotic plants" or something in there. But she wrote "toy gnome, fireman" and stuff. She was adorably specific and I love her.
A little giving back to the lovely people in the world: A few fresh pictures for you. Just a few, though, because flickr wouldn't upload things when I tried again and again. So just a few I took when I first returned to Taupo and hiked up to Huka Falls.
ETA: Now featuring more pictures! Start at the bottom (with this one) and work your way up through the "Next Picture" feature. Because that's the order I uploaded them in.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
We should become more adventurous
Hi there! So Re: Comments on the last post:
We transported the weta out of the bathroom (where "we" is totally Simon, because at one point he seemed about to hand it to me and I was like, "Oh, you want...me...to do that") in a large pint glass (it says like "33% extra!" on the glass, so larger than normal) and at one point, when he was lowering the glass around the weta (oh! fun side note! I was informed that you need to get behind the wetas because they will jump if they see it coming. THEY CAN JUMP) I thought that there was no way the opening in the glass was big enough for the creature. Like I said, scary. Every time I enter the bathroom, I'm afraid there will be another one.
And Grace asked about skydiving, which I never went into (well, I did with Nich, at least, over IM) so I guess I could talk about that now.
Well! First of all, it was kind of a split decision. I was hanging out with Kira one day, sitting on the counter eating pizza, when everyone else came home from whitewater rafting (we hadn't gone because we have jobs). And we had some visitors, and they were like, "When are we going skydiving?" and Kira said that she had the next day off and had already booked for herself. Anyone want to come? So our visitors were all for it, and I figured, what the hell, I want to go with people I'm friends with, sure. So I didn't really have a lot of time to agonize over the decision.
Then the next day, I woke up at around 9:45am because we were to jump at 11, and it was very windy and cloudy. Windy and cloudy = no skydiving. But then Reno got called in to work, and Reno is a skydiving instructor, so we were optimistic. then they called at like 10:45 all, "We're on our way to pick you up!" which was fun, as we were all still in pajamas. We got ready and got out there and filled out the teensy form that you need to fill out in New Zealand if you're doing things where you could possibly die (So! Who would have gotten the phone call if I'd died? Well, as tempting as it always is to list BVS as my emergency contact, the fact that I could die and he could get a horrible, horrible phone call made me not do that. Because it's only funny if he finds out about it, and then it's really not funny. So for the curious, I put down Mom and Vicki. You'd think Dad, but I decided that it would suck for any family member to have to tell Mom, so I opted for a stranger). Then we got to watch some stranger's skydiving video to psych us up for it. Also, the video viewing room involved walking through a door that was surrounded in a fake police box. So naturally, when we entered, I was all, "It's bigger on the inside." People laughed, and now they know that I'm kind of a loser. Anyway!
We picked out our packages (how high you jump - 12,000 or 15,000ft, we all went with 15 - and whether you want a DVD or anything) and then the people who'd been in our limo (they pick you up in a limo, which is actually like the world's crappiest limo, so don't be jealous) went immediately, but then clouds and rain and wind rolled in, so we hung out for like an hour (for future reference: We got there at 11 and we jumped around 3:30. I'm going to say "like an hour" a lot, but I have no idea what the actual passage of time was) and watched some cool skydiving DVD. I should also mention there will be tons of run-ons here. Then they called in Mo, Euan, and Tam, who were jumping together because there were 5 of us in total and they can't fit 5 in the plane at once, so we split up into 3 and 2. So they jumped and while they were getting ready, Kira and I got all suited up. Reno was my little jumping buddy, which was cool because I know him. And could be like, "Hey, I'm weirdly calm now, but if I get up there and freak out and say no, I want you to push me out of the plane anyway." And Reno was all, "Oh. I'm jumping." So then we watched them fly away and then land and they were all psyched about how awesome it was, which made us even more anxious, but we had to wait for another like-an-hour because of the weather. But then in we went! Into the pink plane! The plane is pink. And effing TINY. I mean, people always say it's tiny, but HOT DAMN, TINY. For real. So we squeezed in there and took off! I started to get nervous, but still not really. Up, up, above the clouds, looking for a break. When you get up that high: 1. It is very cold and 2. You need to have oxygen pumped in because the oxygen's really low up there. So I was glad I had gloves. And oxygen. But we had to fly around and around waiting for an opening in the weather and then waiting for skydivers who'd been up before us to go first. So then we ran out of oxygen. And the jumpmasters told the pilot that we needed to go within 4 minutes or go back down. I wanted to jump, dammit.
So finally we were clear, and some guy I didn't know went. Then Kira went. This was the scariest bit, I think, watching her just fall on out of a plane. Then we scooted forward. And I looked down and was like, "OH GOD OK. Head back. Hold onto shoulder straps. Feet under the plane. Wait to get pushed, because OK THIS IS SCARY." At that point, it is scary. So I waited, and then he pushed us out. Holy shit, it's freaking amazing. It's like....they tell you 60 seconds of freefall, and 60 seconds is a long time. But it goes by so fast. You're just falling and falling and it is so cool. Reno did some crazy spins which were, what's the word, terrifying, but I try to act brave so I let us keep doing them. Also, it was sort of awesome. Then after what seems like a millisecond he tapped me to pull my arms back in so that he could pull up the parachute. And then you just drift on down. Taupo is beautiful, and we were right over the lake (less scary than you'd think) and it was just gorgeous. And sometimes he would do...something...I don't know, parachutey, which would make us drop really quickly, that was awesome. And then we were done! We landed and everyone hugged and was happy and I was like, "OK, now I might vomit and/or pass out." You're suddenly exhausted! Later it hits you and you're exhilarated, but immediately afterwards, I like passed out on the couch. It took all my energy just to text Allie and Nich about it.
Oh, and I got a sweet t-shirt.
We transported the weta out of the bathroom (where "we" is totally Simon, because at one point he seemed about to hand it to me and I was like, "Oh, you want...me...to do that") in a large pint glass (it says like "33% extra!" on the glass, so larger than normal) and at one point, when he was lowering the glass around the weta (oh! fun side note! I was informed that you need to get behind the wetas because they will jump if they see it coming. THEY CAN JUMP) I thought that there was no way the opening in the glass was big enough for the creature. Like I said, scary. Every time I enter the bathroom, I'm afraid there will be another one.
And Grace asked about skydiving, which I never went into (well, I did with Nich, at least, over IM) so I guess I could talk about that now.
Well! First of all, it was kind of a split decision. I was hanging out with Kira one day, sitting on the counter eating pizza, when everyone else came home from whitewater rafting (we hadn't gone because we have jobs). And we had some visitors, and they were like, "When are we going skydiving?" and Kira said that she had the next day off and had already booked for herself. Anyone want to come? So our visitors were all for it, and I figured, what the hell, I want to go with people I'm friends with, sure. So I didn't really have a lot of time to agonize over the decision.
Then the next day, I woke up at around 9:45am because we were to jump at 11, and it was very windy and cloudy. Windy and cloudy = no skydiving. But then Reno got called in to work, and Reno is a skydiving instructor, so we were optimistic. then they called at like 10:45 all, "We're on our way to pick you up!" which was fun, as we were all still in pajamas. We got ready and got out there and filled out the teensy form that you need to fill out in New Zealand if you're doing things where you could possibly die (So! Who would have gotten the phone call if I'd died? Well, as tempting as it always is to list BVS as my emergency contact, the fact that I could die and he could get a horrible, horrible phone call made me not do that. Because it's only funny if he finds out about it, and then it's really not funny. So for the curious, I put down Mom and Vicki. You'd think Dad, but I decided that it would suck for any family member to have to tell Mom, so I opted for a stranger). Then we got to watch some stranger's skydiving video to psych us up for it. Also, the video viewing room involved walking through a door that was surrounded in a fake police box. So naturally, when we entered, I was all, "It's bigger on the inside." People laughed, and now they know that I'm kind of a loser. Anyway!
We picked out our packages (how high you jump - 12,000 or 15,000ft, we all went with 15 - and whether you want a DVD or anything) and then the people who'd been in our limo (they pick you up in a limo, which is actually like the world's crappiest limo, so don't be jealous) went immediately, but then clouds and rain and wind rolled in, so we hung out for like an hour (for future reference: We got there at 11 and we jumped around 3:30. I'm going to say "like an hour" a lot, but I have no idea what the actual passage of time was) and watched some cool skydiving DVD. I should also mention there will be tons of run-ons here. Then they called in Mo, Euan, and Tam, who were jumping together because there were 5 of us in total and they can't fit 5 in the plane at once, so we split up into 3 and 2. So they jumped and while they were getting ready, Kira and I got all suited up. Reno was my little jumping buddy, which was cool because I know him. And could be like, "Hey, I'm weirdly calm now, but if I get up there and freak out and say no, I want you to push me out of the plane anyway." And Reno was all, "Oh. I'm jumping." So then we watched them fly away and then land and they were all psyched about how awesome it was, which made us even more anxious, but we had to wait for another like-an-hour because of the weather. But then in we went! Into the pink plane! The plane is pink. And effing TINY. I mean, people always say it's tiny, but HOT DAMN, TINY. For real. So we squeezed in there and took off! I started to get nervous, but still not really. Up, up, above the clouds, looking for a break. When you get up that high: 1. It is very cold and 2. You need to have oxygen pumped in because the oxygen's really low up there. So I was glad I had gloves. And oxygen. But we had to fly around and around waiting for an opening in the weather and then waiting for skydivers who'd been up before us to go first. So then we ran out of oxygen. And the jumpmasters told the pilot that we needed to go within 4 minutes or go back down. I wanted to jump, dammit.
So finally we were clear, and some guy I didn't know went. Then Kira went. This was the scariest bit, I think, watching her just fall on out of a plane. Then we scooted forward. And I looked down and was like, "OH GOD OK. Head back. Hold onto shoulder straps. Feet under the plane. Wait to get pushed, because OK THIS IS SCARY." At that point, it is scary. So I waited, and then he pushed us out. Holy shit, it's freaking amazing. It's like....they tell you 60 seconds of freefall, and 60 seconds is a long time. But it goes by so fast. You're just falling and falling and it is so cool. Reno did some crazy spins which were, what's the word, terrifying, but I try to act brave so I let us keep doing them. Also, it was sort of awesome. Then after what seems like a millisecond he tapped me to pull my arms back in so that he could pull up the parachute. And then you just drift on down. Taupo is beautiful, and we were right over the lake (less scary than you'd think) and it was just gorgeous. And sometimes he would do...something...I don't know, parachutey, which would make us drop really quickly, that was awesome. And then we were done! We landed and everyone hugged and was happy and I was like, "OK, now I might vomit and/or pass out." You're suddenly exhausted! Later it hits you and you're exhilarated, but immediately afterwards, I like passed out on the couch. It took all my energy just to text Allie and Nich about it.
Oh, and I got a sweet t-shirt.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Ordinary moments in his ordinary life
So I started this blog post, oh, like a week and a half ago. And my life has changed a bit since then, but I typed and typed through part of our X-Men marathon (side note: my muscle memory tried to type "X-Files" there because I am a geek), so I might as well post it. The day I wrote this, I'd been at the lake I decided that a Fun Thing To Do would be to post about what my days are generally like. Because, you know, I don't have a hell of a lot to report on and My Daily Life is probably an OK subject.
So! An Average Day in New Zealand For Kate:
Get up, time dependent on when I need to be at work. If it's Monday or Tuesday, it's my day off and so I sleep as late as I can (barring 2 weeks ago Monday, when I got up at 9:45 because we were set to skydive at 11am. And last Monday, when I agreed to work). If it's Wednesday or Thursday, I need to be there around 9/9:30. Friday and Saturday are 11am days. And Sunday is 8:30am.
Get dressed/etc, eat breakfast. Breakfast tends to be yogurt and muesli. For a while I was out of muesli, I made wholegrain toast with peanut butter and banana, but for some reason even though that is a healthy, healthy breakfast, I would run out of energy like 3 hours into my day. Which is not an option in my job. So we're back to muesli and yogurt. Fruit if I have the time/...fruit. And coffee, naturally. I have also learned that, if you're going to be on your feet serving food for anywhere between 3 and 9 hours straight, you don't skip breakfast. Today I had some oatmeal that Tom gave me when he moved out, because I am out of muesli and I didn't want to go to Pak 'N Save.
Work! It's busy with breakfast people between like 9 and 10:30. Then there's usually a lull (this disappears if it is raining) before the lunch crowd pulls in from 12:30-2. Then there is the Time of Waiting To Be Told You Can Go. This time sucks. The time drags, there's usually very few people and all sorts of catch-up to do and it sucks. I can usually go somewhere between 2:30 and 4. Hopefully the earlier end of that. And then I get a break! If it's early enough, I can actually do something with my day, which is exciting. The past few days have been so freaking hot that I've pretty much left work, come home, gotten changed, and made a beeline for the lake. Swimming here is incredible. The lake is like the perfect temperature. Not too cold, but cool enough to be unbelievably refreshing. It's so good, especially after working and then walking home and then walking there.
Then it's back to work, as lately if I'm working, I'm working a split shift. It's pretty uncool, but I need the money. And what with many of my friends having recently left Taupo, spending all of my time earning money is not a bad plan. We'll see. Working at night is more annoying. There are more options to the dinner menu, the place is more popular, etc. Also, because I hate whining, I don't whine, and the whining behavior tends to be rewarded. So I'm usually one of the last to leave (tonight I closed, which was fine because we get paid time and a half on public holidays such as Waitangi Day, today, so I might as well earn that if I have to close). I can leave anywhere between 9:30 and midnight.
After work, I walk home (occasionally getting a ride) and enjoy the stars, which are so bright here. I can see the Southern Cross, although I didn't know this until about a week ago when we were at the hot pools and someone pointed it out. I can also see Orion, which is like the one constellation I actually know. I'm pretty sure I could see the Milky Way the other night. It's just gorgeous.
Anyway, that's about it. Up, work, break, work, sleep. Days off include, generally, shopping or swimming or lazing about. We've been renting loads of movies lately, which has been superfun, but post-X-Men marathon (which was unlike our Bourne movies marathon in that I was not the only one there by the end, AND we made it through ALL THREE except we didn't finish the third because at that point we were very tired. But we made it to the major battle scene. I hadn't realized that Ellen Page had such a large role in the films. But that might be because the last time I saw it, I didn't know who Ellen Page was and also I don't much care for the younger mutants. Like, whatever, you have teenaged drama, Rogue. Can we get back to Magneto now?), I forgot about the movies (other than when we watched Thank You For Smoking and House, Season 3) and they were a day late returned and I don't know what the penalty is for that, so I don't want to go back there anytime soon.
For those of you who don't have Twitter, I saw a weta (I'd stick in a link, but I don't want to traumatize all of you who click on it when you see the scary bug there, so I'll just tell you it's a scary bug and leave it to you to google/wikipedia that for yourselves) in my bathroom the other night and freaked out. I wrote a pretty damn funny note and stuck it on the door to the bathroom about how the door was closed because of the very scary bug in there, and we can either send someone in to kill it, or keep the door closed until I move out. There was an illustration, which I may have taken some artistic license with, as wetas do not have fangs. That I know of. Then I got Simon to come upstairs and he put it under a glass and took it outside. Kiwis really like wetas because they're, like really old. They're dinosaurs, they say. The wetas are dinosaurs, the Kiwis say. Wetas can't talk, so far as I know. Anyway, the weta was removed from the bathroom, I had my first run-in with a popular New Zealand creature, and only one person other than me read my hilarious note.
Today when I got off of work, Sabina was like, "Let's get lunch!" because she, Helen, andI all finished at the same time. We were going to go somewhere without a surcharge, but as there was no such place around, we just went to Dixie's anyway and were troublesome customers. I ordered a bowl of fries, then finished and went next door and got ice cream, then hung out for a long time with friendly coworkers, then went home and had a muffin that one flatmate had made and a slice of carrot cake that another had made. What I'm saying is, I should probably start some sort of diet tomorrow. But I swear, I was totally peer-pressured into that carrot cake. Also, a cat wandered into my room and I was like, "Cat? You do not live here" and I went downstairs and Jo was like, "Oh, you met Bumblebee." "...Who is Bumblebee?" "The cat! She started visiting one day and now she's around a lot." I may not have mentioned that there are a bunch of strays in the neighborhood. They keep to the shadows, mostly, and stare at me a lot, which makes me think they are trying to surprise-attack me. But now we've let one into our home and given it a cute nickname and I pet it when it meowed its way into my room. What I'm saying is, I probably have rabies.
Anyway. Grace sends me messages about being worried when I don't update, then signs off so that I have to update to reassure her. She's crafty! I've been able to talk to quite a few people recently, which has made me very happy, as I miss many of you.
I'm going to Christchurch soon, for a minivisit that is probably too expensive for me (even though it's pretty damn cheap, honestly), in order to have a Joyous Reunion with Lisa. Prepare to be very jealous of me.
Also, I thought a nice addition to the entry about my everyday life would be some photos of my beautiful home that I totally took when I moved in, but I haven't uploaded them yet. I swear, I will soon. In the next couple of days, there, I've set a deadline.
Anyway, I have work in the morning (well, at 11), so I'm going to go to sleep now. Dear Family: as much as I love hearing from you, it would be awesome if I didn't wake up to the Gmail message notification noise tomorrow. EIGHT TIMES. Tomorrow is Saturday for me, but it's Friday for you. Isn't that freaky?
So! An Average Day in New Zealand For Kate:
Get up, time dependent on when I need to be at work. If it's Monday or Tuesday, it's my day off and so I sleep as late as I can (barring 2 weeks ago Monday, when I got up at 9:45 because we were set to skydive at 11am. And last Monday, when I agreed to work). If it's Wednesday or Thursday, I need to be there around 9/9:30. Friday and Saturday are 11am days. And Sunday is 8:30am.
Get dressed/etc, eat breakfast. Breakfast tends to be yogurt and muesli. For a while I was out of muesli, I made wholegrain toast with peanut butter and banana, but for some reason even though that is a healthy, healthy breakfast, I would run out of energy like 3 hours into my day. Which is not an option in my job. So we're back to muesli and yogurt. Fruit if I have the time/...fruit. And coffee, naturally. I have also learned that, if you're going to be on your feet serving food for anywhere between 3 and 9 hours straight, you don't skip breakfast. Today I had some oatmeal that Tom gave me when he moved out, because I am out of muesli and I didn't want to go to Pak 'N Save.
Work! It's busy with breakfast people between like 9 and 10:30. Then there's usually a lull (this disappears if it is raining) before the lunch crowd pulls in from 12:30-2. Then there is the Time of Waiting To Be Told You Can Go. This time sucks. The time drags, there's usually very few people and all sorts of catch-up to do and it sucks. I can usually go somewhere between 2:30 and 4. Hopefully the earlier end of that. And then I get a break! If it's early enough, I can actually do something with my day, which is exciting. The past few days have been so freaking hot that I've pretty much left work, come home, gotten changed, and made a beeline for the lake. Swimming here is incredible. The lake is like the perfect temperature. Not too cold, but cool enough to be unbelievably refreshing. It's so good, especially after working and then walking home and then walking there.
Then it's back to work, as lately if I'm working, I'm working a split shift. It's pretty uncool, but I need the money. And what with many of my friends having recently left Taupo, spending all of my time earning money is not a bad plan. We'll see. Working at night is more annoying. There are more options to the dinner menu, the place is more popular, etc. Also, because I hate whining, I don't whine, and the whining behavior tends to be rewarded. So I'm usually one of the last to leave (tonight I closed, which was fine because we get paid time and a half on public holidays such as Waitangi Day, today, so I might as well earn that if I have to close). I can leave anywhere between 9:30 and midnight.
After work, I walk home (occasionally getting a ride) and enjoy the stars, which are so bright here. I can see the Southern Cross, although I didn't know this until about a week ago when we were at the hot pools and someone pointed it out. I can also see Orion, which is like the one constellation I actually know. I'm pretty sure I could see the Milky Way the other night. It's just gorgeous.
Anyway, that's about it. Up, work, break, work, sleep. Days off include, generally, shopping or swimming or lazing about. We've been renting loads of movies lately, which has been superfun, but post-X-Men marathon (which was unlike our Bourne movies marathon in that I was not the only one there by the end, AND we made it through ALL THREE except we didn't finish the third because at that point we were very tired. But we made it to the major battle scene. I hadn't realized that Ellen Page had such a large role in the films. But that might be because the last time I saw it, I didn't know who Ellen Page was and also I don't much care for the younger mutants. Like, whatever, you have teenaged drama, Rogue. Can we get back to Magneto now?), I forgot about the movies (other than when we watched Thank You For Smoking and House, Season 3) and they were a day late returned and I don't know what the penalty is for that, so I don't want to go back there anytime soon.
For those of you who don't have Twitter, I saw a weta (I'd stick in a link, but I don't want to traumatize all of you who click on it when you see the scary bug there, so I'll just tell you it's a scary bug and leave it to you to google/wikipedia that for yourselves) in my bathroom the other night and freaked out. I wrote a pretty damn funny note and stuck it on the door to the bathroom about how the door was closed because of the very scary bug in there, and we can either send someone in to kill it, or keep the door closed until I move out. There was an illustration, which I may have taken some artistic license with, as wetas do not have fangs. That I know of. Then I got Simon to come upstairs and he put it under a glass and took it outside. Kiwis really like wetas because they're, like really old. They're dinosaurs, they say. The wetas are dinosaurs, the Kiwis say. Wetas can't talk, so far as I know. Anyway, the weta was removed from the bathroom, I had my first run-in with a popular New Zealand creature, and only one person other than me read my hilarious note.
Today when I got off of work, Sabina was like, "Let's get lunch!" because she, Helen, andI all finished at the same time. We were going to go somewhere without a surcharge, but as there was no such place around, we just went to Dixie's anyway and were troublesome customers. I ordered a bowl of fries, then finished and went next door and got ice cream, then hung out for a long time with friendly coworkers, then went home and had a muffin that one flatmate had made and a slice of carrot cake that another had made. What I'm saying is, I should probably start some sort of diet tomorrow. But I swear, I was totally peer-pressured into that carrot cake. Also, a cat wandered into my room and I was like, "Cat? You do not live here" and I went downstairs and Jo was like, "Oh, you met Bumblebee." "...Who is Bumblebee?" "The cat! She started visiting one day and now she's around a lot." I may not have mentioned that there are a bunch of strays in the neighborhood. They keep to the shadows, mostly, and stare at me a lot, which makes me think they are trying to surprise-attack me. But now we've let one into our home and given it a cute nickname and I pet it when it meowed its way into my room. What I'm saying is, I probably have rabies.
Anyway. Grace sends me messages about being worried when I don't update, then signs off so that I have to update to reassure her. She's crafty! I've been able to talk to quite a few people recently, which has made me very happy, as I miss many of you.
I'm going to Christchurch soon, for a minivisit that is probably too expensive for me (even though it's pretty damn cheap, honestly), in order to have a Joyous Reunion with Lisa. Prepare to be very jealous of me.
Also, I thought a nice addition to the entry about my everyday life would be some photos of my beautiful home that I totally took when I moved in, but I haven't uploaded them yet. I swear, I will soon. In the next couple of days, there, I've set a deadline.
Anyway, I have work in the morning (well, at 11), so I'm going to go to sleep now. Dear Family: as much as I love hearing from you, it would be awesome if I didn't wake up to the Gmail message notification noise tomorrow. EIGHT TIMES. Tomorrow is Saturday for me, but it's Friday for you. Isn't that freaky?
Sunday, January 18, 2009
I feel the earth beneath my feet
So today I went skydiving.
Maybe more of an update when I able to again process words and thoughts.
Maybe more of an update when I able to again process words and thoughts.
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