Keeping up with the Kiwis

Winter Semester 2010 was nothing short of incredible. When people ask, 'how was New Zealand?' I'm like..uh, it was good...how do I summarize 4 months of adventure, self-discovery and 'accomodation experiences'? Certainly it was an unforgettable, life-changing experience. A little piece of the refiner's fire. So, instead of going into detail, here are some pictures :) I have about 10,000 more (literally) if you are still curious. This summary, long as it is, doesn't even scratch the surface of everything that went down. Feel free to facebook stalk me for more info.

In the beginning...all 38 of us toured NZ for 2 weeks. Lean Green, Red Rumbly, White Trash, the Smurf, and a brightly colored tent city were our accomodations.





We went to...

Rotorua-chillin and rafting, which I don't have pictures of

Maunganui-hiking Mt. Maunganui, which I ditched to go to the gorgeous beach




Hamilton-the temple!!

I think the 4 of us are in agreement..this makes the top 10 pictures of the trip. and its not because of our pretty faces either.

Waitomo-black water rafting, and Rusty got his domestic on

Tangariro Crossing-18k? 18miles? a really long hike up MOUNT DOOM. Erica and I also had our first home together...presh.

Wellington-we met some cool homeless people, explored some museums, and found a SWEET bouncy trampoline thing in our Holiday Park.

We can't forget the ferry ride to the south island..endless wind=endless fun









Kaikoura..not many pictures..that was not a happy point of my life...

Christchurch-exploring the city, cathedrals, gardens, and a few shenanagins :)

Greymouth-beach party, sleeping on the beach..this was also the beginning of our strange obsession with boy band pictures.

Fox Glacier/Cromwell-Fox Glacier was a short hike, Cromwell was nothing

looks like Avatar!

and finally, Invercargill, where we attended the Southern Institute of Technology.

This blessed community college sent us on a plethora of adventures, courtesy of Adventure Southland. All I have to say about that is..SIT HAPPENS.

We went on lots of 3 day trips and became expert 'trampers'.

I can't forget to mention my experience in the Soviet Orphanage!!! We lived with a couple named Lance, Svetlana, and their 21 year old son, Alex. Despite a few miscommunications and culture differences, we liked being there. Along our journey we discovered:

a. where the central heating system was located

b. that having a pet goat is cool

c. "DINNAH READY" became the best part of the day/bane of my existence. Apparently I'm a picky eater.

d. Bluff+Valentines Day+Lancelana=Carly and I bonding. Yep Carly, I went there.

e. Riverton is pretty cool. So are Ton and Larissa from Tuatupere. Say that 3 times fast.

Sarah and I started a game called "Do something you've never done in your life before every single day." Yep that's what it's called..pretty self explanatory. It wasn't hard, considering where we were. Here are a few of the creative things we came up with:

One of the highlights of the trip, in my mind, were all the side trips we went on with the 'BYUS'.

Queenstown...in a culmination of adventurousness and peer pressure, about half of our group went bungy jumping. The AJ Hackett Nevis Bungy Jump is 134 meters high. Translation-really high. I had to dive off all by myself, they wouldn't even push me.

This is embarassing...

Also in Queenstown, we climbed a small mountain and developed an odd fetish with Fergburger. Slightly overrated in my mind, but they were, indeed, delicious.

The Catlins-or should I say "A LION NESS"-were also an adventure. As if the Queen's Park mating seals weren't enough to satisfy our curiosity of this creature, we found a puking one washed up on the rocks.

This place was seriously beautiful though.

Then off to Dunedin...the world's steepest street (Baldwin) and the Highlands vs. Sharks Rugby Game. We lost. However, I was mildly entertained at a sporting event--that's a first.

And we can't forget the time Erica practically saved my life in the Clifton Caves...

Now comes the best part...the adventures of THE THREE AMIGOS!!!!!! Carly and Sarah were my roommates and they are amazing!!! I love them so much--they were there and they understand a part of my life that no one else can. Between our awesome music videos, ice cream escapades, and secret meatpotatovegetables, I learned so much from them. Soviet Orphanage for lyyyyfe :)

We volunteered at a Maori School. We did our best to 'revolutionize through leadership' Renee, Rivah, Te Hukati and the whole gang. We got to know Tia Huia...she's awesome. So awesome that I stalked and chased down her husband after church to talk to her. WOW embarassing.

We, aka mostly Carly, also put together a Relay for Life team. SO FUN.





One weekend we went on a roadtrip to Wanaka/Bluff with Isaac, Van, Jas and Ty, which was a hoot and a half.



We basically ran the primary...these children were CRAZY. They gave us lice, headaches, and patience. Although it was hard for us to love these kids because of the trouble they gave us, we were able to feel the Savior's love for them, which was awesome. Each week was an adventure...basically, we have mad BS skills.

We also were guilted into doing multiple things for the talent show..which ended up being THE BEST THING EVER. We did "My Little Buttercup" from The Three Amigos. Props to Julianne for helping me write the piano part.

Sadly, our days in New Zealand came to and end. But off to bigger adventures!!! We spent 5 days in Sydney, Australia and 10 days in Apia, Samoa. Rachel, Tressa, Carly, Mel, Christina, and Rusty and I were the core group. Julianne and Makenna were there for Australia, but they had to leave us early in Samoa :( thanks to a miraculous plane ride :) Holly, Adam, JJ, Ann and Missy helped us finish off our Samoa trip with a BANG.

Sydney, Australia








Western Samoa

NO TOUCHY.

Omg, that's like, 2 American dollars.

We went to Savaii for 2 days and went through the Dwarf Caves and were able to get an inside look at the villages. Such a different lifestyle...definitely an eye opening experience. We stayed in a gorgeous fale on the beach and made some awesome friends.

The Samoan YSA was a RIOT. I made more friends in my 10 days there than I did during my 3 months in New Zealand. There were plenty of pacific flings, cultural experiences, and straight up hilarious people.

Sadly, there are no pictures documenting our clubbing in Samoa experience...but it's worth mentioning. It was EPIC. And I don't ever use that word. Ask me about it sometime.

All the adventures from the last 4 months were awesome...I miss them already, and it's hard to not wake up and wonder what new crazy thing is next for me. But the REAL best party of the trip was all the PEOPLE I met!! So many new besties and lifelong friends--I'm so blessed :) I learned so much from these people, I love each one of them for what they brought into my life.

The big move from Invercraphill, er, Invercargill, NZ (just a hop and a skip away from Antarctica) back to Mactown, Tejas (hotter than the messican sun) has been a rollercoaster for my body. Here are a few of the things I've needed to adjust to:

1. Getting ready everyday.
   


2. Using conditioner. It's a miracle worker.
   


3. Putting together outfits. Goodbye poly-props, ugly fleeces and the thermal layering system. Cotton is rotten..but not in America.
   


4. Putting on make up. I actually forgot how fun this one is.

5. Sleeping at the right times. Still working on this one.

In the month I've been home, I've just been hanging out. I've taken the term 'just chillin' to a serious new level. It's been fun, but I'm ready to go climb a mountain or something! Afterall, I am the proud owner of a CERTIFICATE IN ADVENTURE NEW ZEALAND. Which I retartedly threw away because I was mad at John Kappa. (check ya map..)



The last 2 weeks I spent in P-town, catching up on the last 5 months :)




seriously, are we cute or are we cute.


And that's that! I promise my posts will be shorter from now on :)