Flat Tires

First day off….and it's raining. But that's ok because not waking up until 9am felt like an accomplishment. In terms of meals, days off are a bit different. Steph and Joy left us a list of ingredients and where they were located. The rest was up to us. Everyone decided to pitch in and create various stations: eggs anyway you wanted, juicer from fresh fruit, local bread for toast and oatmeal. As usual, breakfast was delicious.

After breakfast, Mary and I were on a mission to figure out what to do on this rainy day that didn't involve being inside. We found an add for Miranda's Bird Sanctuary that was 10km away from campus and decided to ride bikes there. Rounding up the troops, only two additional students wanted to come. It was raining after all, so I didn't blame the others. After singing out, gathering our gear (helmets and bike locks) and grabbing the bikes, Mary, Erin, Hannah and I were off. Not far from campus, we saw two baby sheep. One had a green collar while the other purple. They were the guard dogs of the house; we could hear them "bahhing" from a mile away. About 3km from campus, we passed the Pink Shop. Apparently, the Pink Shop will act as our mini grocery/convenient store. 5km into the bike ride, there was a "pop." Erin ran over a piece of glass and her rear tire was flat within seconds.

As a group, we decided to head back to campus and save the birds for another, preferably sunnier, day. On the way back, we took a side journey up a hill off of the main road. When we got to the top, the view was incredible. We could see the main street below us, the Firth of Thames and all of Thames across the bay. While itching to explore more, we came across 2 bulls. They weren't so friendly, or photogenic for that matter, so we decided to head back towards campus, briefly stopping at the Pink Shop.

Arriving at campus, the rest of the students were crowding around something. For a moment, I thought something was wrong. Did someone get hurt? An animal? What was it? Then, between one of the students' legs came a baby sheep with a purple collar. Then another with a green collar. These were the same baby sheep that Mary, Erin, Hannah, and I saw on our earlier bike ride.

The caretakers of the sheep were also there. They explained that these sheep were only 6 weeks old, a boy and a girl (not brother and sister) and that they were their pets. The caretakers explained further that they would NOT be eating the sheep or selling them for such purposes. Rather, they would use their wool for clothing when the time was right. I was relieved, for it seems like many of the animals in this area have the purpose of satisfying humans.

For dinner, the majority of us walked downtown (5km away) to Kaiaua Fisheries, home of New Zealand's famous Fish and Chips. Will everything I eat here be delicious? It was the perfect portion of fish to fried. Walking back was not so fun. It was not only still raining, but it was now dark. While walking back, I remembered what I had read in this morning's paper: "Tomorrow (Monday) northern area targeted by remnants of northern cyclone. Prepare for all weather." So that's where this weather is coming from…

Which reminds me. Tomorrow is our first "field experience," as our mentors call it. Tomorrow afternoon, the 26 of us, along with a few mentors, will head up to the Hunua Range. If the weather is fair, we will be staying over night and heading back into campus on Tuesday. As nice as it has been to relax on campus and adjust to this new land, I am ecstatic about exploring somewhere else tomorrow! Our mentors warned us that this would happen. That we would be craving more, asking better questions, setting higher goals and learning new lessons.

So what did I learn today?
Flat tires are not always bad - they may just prevent you from missing something better than what was planned (like baby sheep).

Not Just Another Land

Despite August 30th's cold and rainy weather, lack of sunshine, and lengthy classroom lectures, it was a great day! Jet lag has finally decided to leave me alone and let me sleep through the night. This was something that I am very excited about!

Breakfast was at normal time, 7:30am. When I got to the kitchen, I noticed a very large bowl of kiwi fruit on the table. Man, if only that was anything else but kiwi. Instead, I grabbed a lemonade. I have yet to try one but everyone else can't stop talking about them. So I tried it. The taste was indescribable. The closest thing I can associate with the taste of a lemonade fruit is freshly squeezed pink lemonade. Even at that, it doesn't quite capture the full effect. All I knew was that I couldn't wait to eat another!

Class began at 9am and did not end until 4pm. We took a break for lunch which was the classic sandwich, salad and humus spread. Delicious as usual. We also took our NZ tea time breaks at 10am and 3pm. Though it was a long day in the classroom, we learned a great deal of amazing facts regarding New Zealand history, people, policy/treaties, and language.

At one point, Jono had all 26 students sit in a circle. He told us that it was time to practice our Māori. Instinctively, we all leaned in to listen closely. Jono explained that this exercise was going to be very "repeat-after-me." Jono continued to say phrase after phrase in Māori. At this point in time, I could catch only a few words here and there. After he was done, Jono explained to us what he had just said and its significance.

Now it was our turn. We had to repeat what Jono just said but make it personal. We started around the room about 5 students to my left. Listening to the other students, I kept practicing what I was going to say in my head. Then it was my turn to speak:

"Tēnā koe. Ko Paige oha. Ko Eric taku Pāpā. Ko Joelle taku Māmā. Ko Patricia taku Māmā."

English: Thank you. Paige is greeted. Eric is my father. Joelle is my mother. Patricia is my mother.

The Māori View: I started by saying thank you. I thanked everyone for letting me speak. I thanked people for listening, for allowing me into their lives and for inviting me into their culture and country. Then, I introduced myself. I greeted myself into my surroundings. I made peace with the land and people. Finally, I showed my ancestry by explaining who my parents are and where I come from.

All of this is called whakapapa (fakka-papa). What I just explained out loud was my connectedness. How I was connected to my current location. How I was connected to everyone around me. How I was connected at home. How I was connected to my ancestors. Whakapapa is one of the most powerful concepts in the Māori culture. And I just said it out loud. Of course I had my stutters and slurs trying to get all of the pronunciations right. But I just connected with the people around me, whether American or Māori. I had just connected to the earth that I stand on and the waters that I swim in. For the first time since I arrived, I was connected to New Zealand.

This still is such an amazing feeling. It truly is a struggle to try and explain this for there is so much that needs to be felt rather than said.

Our cultural lesson ended around 4pm. Mary and I went on our now becoming daily walk to the beach to collect shells and sand dollars. It is still pretty cold (only 42 degrees F) but this was a great break from being in the classroom all day.

After dinner, the 26 of us went downtown to a local pub and celebrated our first week of class with some local brews and games of pool. It became very clear to me how amazing these students were that surrounded me. Yet in the midst of these extraordinary students, all I could think about was this afternoons lesson with Jono of whakapapa.

Te Reo Māori

Nau mai! 

I woke to the morning sunrise in my eyes. Not the worst way to wake up…though, it was only 6:25am. Itching to look outside, I got out of my cozy bed and glanced out of my cabins glass sliding door. The view was truly amazing. The sky was lit with pinks, reds and oranges and there were dark grey clouds. I wanted to stay up longer and watch the sunrise, but the urge was too strong to go back to bed.

My alarm woke me at 7:30am. I quickly brushed my teeth and headed to the kitchen for breakfast. There was a large bowl of fresh citrus fruit, so instinctively I ate an orange as part of my meal.

Classes started today! We covered introductions into what we would be doing and where we would be going for the rest of the semester. It is nice to be back into the familiar setting of a classroom. Ria briefly went over the main focus of the EcoQuest program: to create an environmental that is more sustainable than the last. This was one of the main aspects of this program that made it so unique.

Later in the day, Marie came into the classroom to go over some last minute program policies and how to go about planning weekend adventures. She gave us many pieces of paper that included when our expected breaks would be, how long and where they would be and possible things to do in the area.

Right before 10am, Marie stopped everything we were dong and explained "New Zealand tea time"; everyday at 10am and 3pm the entire country of New Zealand comes to a hault, grabs a cup of tea and socializes with whomever is around them. It was clear this was something that was going to be practiced at EcoQuest.

For several hours after lunch, Jono and Ria taught of single vowels and consonants, pronunciations of words and phrases and numbers in Māori. This was a very repeat-after-me type of deal. It was amazing to hear how quickly everyone was picking up simple phrases, including myself. I found it interesting that the vowels in Māori were the same pronunciations as in Spanish. Taking 6 years of Spanish, this made it easy to begin learning this unfamiliar language.

Our culture lesson ended a few hours before dinner. Mary and I decided that we wanted to go and explore the beach a little more. Knowing how many shells and sand dollars we collected last time, we grabbed our trash bucket from our cabin and brought it with us. 2 hours later, our trash bucket was full and we were talking about how nice it was to have a day that was based on the country that we were in. One of the things I love most about this program is that though I will be learning material related to my major, I will also be learning about the culture that I flew 20 hours to get to. And I can't wait to learn more.

Citrus, chlorine and jaywalking

Today was my first full day in New Zealand (officially). Jet lag did not hit me as much as I expected, but I still woke up around 5am. Tossing and turning, I decided to get out of bed and see what a New Zealand sunrise looked like so I walked down to the beach near my cabin. It was a bit foggy from the morning mist but the sky was still lit in pinks and oranges. This was definitely the most beautiful thing I have seen yet. After sitting on the beach for over an hour, I decided to go back to my cabin; it was a chilly morning of only 45 degrees F and my fingers were numb. 

My alarm rang around 7:30am, letting me know it was time to start the day. I didn't realize I had fallen back to sleep. I sat up, looked at my roommate, Mary, and said "we're in New Zealand." She giggled at the thought, and then we both got up for breakfast. It was still chilly so I made sure to bundle in my long underwear, fleece sweater and pants, and wool socks. 

This morning was different than the last. Unlike yesterday when EcoQuest chef, Steph, cooked our breakfast for us, we made it our selves. There were lots of options: oatmeal, various cereals, fresh fruit, toast, and eggs. Everything tasted so fresh, especially the citrus fruit. 

Going back to the cabin to get ready for the day, I heard a bell ding multiple times. I looked outside and one of our field leaders, Rebecca, was on the porch of our classroom, also known as the wharekai (fuddah-kai), waving us over. When all 26 students accumulated on the porch, Rebecca informed us that the sound of the bell meant it was time to meet at the wharekai. The other leaders joined the group and talked about our schedule for the day. 

After breakfast, we went over hard policies for the program, such as alcohol, guests, and weekend travel. Everything was fairly common-sense based. Then we split into two groups. The first went with Steph to talk about kitchen chores that we were assigned twice a month over the course of the semester. The other went with the program director, Ria, to talk about the garden and the food we would be eating. The kitchen chores were fairly familiar: help prepare the meals and do the dishes. Check. Heading into the garden was less familiar. We first looked at what was in the garden, which for now mainly contains Swiss chard, lettuce, broccoli and collie flower. Then we looked around the campus and identified countless trees: banana, lime, lemon, lemonade, pineapple guava, red and yellow cherry, almond, grapefruit, tangelo, peach, plum, south american tomatoe, apricot, and my personal favorite, blood orange!! Ria continued to explain to us where we would be getting our food. Most of our fruit would be right from our own trees. So that is pretty cool. We would also be using all vegetables in the garden. Meat and dairy products came from a local farm less than a kilometer from campus. Coco and peanut butter is imported from Australia. In other words, we were eating primarily organic! This is why everything tastes so good!  

Lunch was delicious!! It was still only 47 degrees F and Steph had made us vegetable soup with fresh rolls. The soup was warm and tasty and took the edge off of the morning chill. After lunch, one of our field leaders, Marie, instructed us to grab everything we would need for going into town along with a bathing suit and towel. First thought: it is so cold, why are we swimming?

Heading back to my cabin, I grabbed my wallet, bathing suit, towel, and water bottle and put it in my backpack. The bell dinged and we all met in front of the wharekai. Marie then explained that we were going into Thames, the closest city to Kaiaua, where we could go shopping and grab last minute things we needed. She also mentioned that before we went into the city, we were going to a local swimming pool to get "swim tested" of 200m. I suppose the leaders wanted to see how strong of swimmers we were.  

This was one of the most spectacular drives I have ever been on. Spectacular but confusing. I keep forgetting that the Kiwis drive on the opposite side than us Americans. The scenery was like nothing I've ever experienced. On the shallow sides of the van, there were fenced plots of the greenest grass. Inside the plots were either cows, calves, alpacas, goats, or sheep. And not just a few of them. We are talking about plots 100m apart with 30+ individuals in each. Further in the distance were either rolling green hills or pointy tall mountains. Breathtaking. 

45 minutes later, we arrived at the swimming pool where each of us swam 200m without struggle. The only struggle was walking around Thames with wet hair. When we got into the city, our leaders told students that we had an hour and a half. Immediately, we all took off into different directions to explore the city. I, personally, went into 3 thrift shops, where I picked up a cozy blue flannel, a book store, and post office, where I grabbed some stamps and post cards. 

The drive back was just as amazing as the drive there. When we got back to campus, we became trained in the climbing wall and slack line safety procedures. We were then given our notebooks and a few maps of New Zealand and hostels for weekend trips. 

Delicious dinner was served! Chicken with thinned gravy, roasted potatoes and pumpkin, collie flower, broccoli, and green beans. 

After dinner, I took a stroll around campus. Just taking everything in. Everything that we did today. Everything that we did to get here. Everything that it took to get into this program. I do miss my family in the states, but I can honestly say that it's starting to feel like my home away from home. 

Journey to a New Land

Welcome! 

Over the next several months, I will be writing, what I hope to be daily, about my adventures in New Zealand!! Yes, New Zealand! I am 1 of 26 lucky students who have been selected to participate in the University of New Hampshire's EcoQuest program. From August 27th to December 5th, students will experience a rigorous academic pursuit and hands-on learning from the mountains to the sea throughout north and south islands. 

Yes! This does sound fun. Yet one thing I mindlessly forgot was that I needed to get out to New Zealand. For someone who doesn't like planes all too much, this was a 6.5 hour (Boston to L.A.) + 13 hour (L.A. to Auckland) "pursuit". Well worth it though. Ok. I guess I can manage that. 

Then I got THE LIST. The list that told the students what to bring. Let me tell you, the list was LONG. Not only was it long, it was expected to fit in a single checked bag under 50lbs and a carry on. CHALLENGE ACCEPTED. 

So here I am, 3 days before my departure date and not a single item is packed. Don't get me wrong, I made sure I took all three months of summer to accumulate (whether it was purchased or in the attic) everything I needed for this trip. But getting it into a 70L checked backpack was another story. Endless hours of organizing and reorganizing and reorganizing again. Finally, it all fit! I mean, if you touched me with a single finger I would fall right over, but it fit!! 

Going over my boarding pass the night before, I remembered how early my flight was; my domestic flight from Logan to Los Angeles began at 6:30am. Getting up at 3am, my family (mom, dad and youngest sister) greeted me downstairs with coffee and happy but tired faces! I couldn't believe it. All three made the treck to Logan at 4am with me. 

Leaving them was the hardest thing I've ever done. I knew it would be hardest to leave my dad. My dad has been my rock ever since I can remember. As I grabbed my gear out of the back of my moms Subaru, I said my goodbyes fast enough that not one tear had the chance to fall. This felt like an accomplishment. 

20 hours later, we made it! I was finally in the place that I have been bragging about for so many months. It didn't look too much different than home. Then again I was still in the airport for Pete's sake.

Outside of the international terminal, the students were greeted by three of the EcoQuest mentors: Rebecca, Marie and Jono. All three were thrilled that we had finally made it. I think we students were just as happy to get off that plane.   

Driving to the EcoQuest campus took about an hour and a half. All 26 students fit in 3 large white vans. Culture shock #1: Kiwis drive on the opposite side of the road than us Americans. The round a bouts were the worst. Marie, who was driving the van I was in, could not stop laughing at how reckless we all were in the back seats about being on the other side of the road. 

The view from the van was pretty spectacular. Though the land was still covered in morning fog, the grass was green, the cows were lively, and the rolling hills were extraordinary. 

Getting to campus, we were greeted by more EcoQuest mentors, all ecstatic that we had arrived. A hot meal was on the table as we walked into our classroom/dinning hall. There was a buffet of eggs, toast, oatmeal, fresh fruits, potatoes fritters, potato tots, bacon, sausage, and of course, kiwi fruit. Breakfast was delicious!

After breakfast, students were assigned to their cabins. Each free-standing cabin would house 2 students for the duration of the semester. Students were given some time to unpack and get accustomed to the campus. 

Before dinner, I, along with my roommate Mary, walked down to the beach at the backside of campus. The sun was low in the sky and the distant mountains were tall and pointy. It was gorgeous. We walked and talked up and down the beach for about an hour. At the end of the hour, we were carrying countless sand dollars and shells of all sizes. Before heading back into campus, I turned to the beach and reality started to settle in. I was no longer home. I was where the hills roll and the mountains grew to limitless extents. I was where the birds and trees were so different than what I was used too. I was where people drove on the other side of the road. I was somewhere I have never been before. I was in New Zealand.