Sporting in New Zealand

Lately I have been doing a variety of sporting activities, and it's about time I updated my blog so here goes:

Last Saturday I had a surf lesson through Arcadia. They provided us with surfboards, wetsuits, and a kiwi surf boy for an instructor. Now, the conditions last Saturday were ridiculous. It was overcast and superbly windy, so surfing in the Ocean was WILD. I have spent 99% of my aquatic life in the Great Lakes, and that did not prepare me for this! The waves were so big, it was a struggle just to be in the water, let alone try to surf in it as a beginner. However, despite the giant waves surfing was so much fun. Since the weather was chilly our instructor had us do a warm up lap and with all of us jogging up the beach in our wetsuits it looked like a scene straight out of Baywatch. Then we did some on-land surfing technique exercises. Apparently I have a less than awesome sense of balance, because Isaac the surfing instructor was definitely laughing at me as I tried to practice hopping up on the board. I couldn't really do it that well...so I never quite got up in the water either, but I did get the hang of catching waves and cruising on my knees! I will be a pro surfer soon enough.

On Saturday night I went to a rugby game! It was so cool to be surrounded by people who actually understand the sport of rugby! It was the Highlanders, the local New Zealand team, versus the Sharks, a South African rugby team. Unfortunately the Highlanders lost, but it was a close match and fun to watch overall. One of the weirdest things about rugby over here is that mullets and rat-tails seem to be a very popular hairstyle for the players. Both are very terrible, so I really don't understand why they are so popular. Oh well, I just hope it never hits the States.

And finally, my last sporting event of this past week was...netball! I went to play with a couple friends who started a team, it was kinda like playing with an intramural team. The game of netball is probably New Zealand's most popular women's sport. It is a cross between basketball, handball, and ultimate Frisbee. There are 7 players per side at a time, and the goal is to shoot a basketball sized ball through a net, which just looks like a basketball net minus the backboard. There are designated positions, and each position can only go in certain parts of the court. For example, the Goalkeeper can only go in the first third of the court, and their job is to defend the Goalscorer, who can also only go in that part of the court. Once you have the ball you can't move, and defenders must be 3 feet away at all times. It was weird to get used to at first, but after a couple fouls for too closely defending I got the hang of it.

Now, this weekend I am off to either the Fiordlands or Wanaka, whichever one has less rain!

Much Delayed Pictures From my Queenstown Weekend

Finally, pictures from my great adventure in Queenstown! The first one is of the Lake in Queenstown, it was very pretty but SO COLD. Our bus driver said that if you went swimming in it without a wetsuit on you would die from hypothermia within 15-20 minutes! The next picture is of my friend Annmarie and me on the first half of our 8 hour hike. The next one is Christina, Amanda, and me all at the top of Conical peak, the picture doesn't do it justice, it was an incredible view. I felt as if I were on top of the world. The next one, with that tiny little gray hanging hut thing, is what I Bungee jumped off of! It was just this little thing hanging by wires, you had to take a tram-like thing to get to it and only 15 people could be out there at a time. The last picture is a Bungee action shot! It was such a rush, I'd definitely do it again in a hearbeat!

I thought this only happened in movies...

The most ridiculous thing occurred this past week to one of the people who is here in NZ on my program with me, and it's so insane that I thought I'd recount it here.

Last Tuesday, my friend was in his kitchen enjoying a lovely dinner with his flatmates when a car crashed in to their living room! That's right, a car came through the wall of their house and landed in their living room. Apparently the girl driving had been backing out of the driveway and had bumped in to two parked cars in the driveway, she freaked out and tried to slam the breaks, but instead she accidentally slammed the accelerator. Her car was perfectly aligned with my friend's flat, so she propelled her car right through the wall of their living room! Luckily no one was hurt, but the front of his flat is completely destroyed, and if someone had been sitting in the living room they probably wouldn't be alive right now. My friend and his flatmates are now living in a motel until their house is repaired, and the story made the front page of the paper the next day!

It's not like this is a regular occurrence in New Zealand, so no need to worry, but it was such a ridiculous story that I had to share it. I think it's safe to say the drive of the car won't be behind the wheel for awhile.

Weekend In Queenstown

I spent this past weekend in Queenstown, a town in the central part of the South Island. It was a very touristy and expensive town, but I can easily see why because it was an absolutely beautiful place.

The trip was organized by Arcadia so all the activities were set and planned for the weekend, which was fine by me because I didn’t know anything about Queenstown anyway! On Friday we dropped our stuff at the hostel and then rushed to make it in time for jet boating. I have done this before on the Great Lakes, but jet boating here is far more extreme. We went through narrow cliffs and the driver went so close that we were all screaming because it felt as though we would crash, but of course we never did. Although even if we had hit the rocks in New Zealand apparently you can’t sue people for accidents, so pretty much Kiwis are far more daring and adventurous than Americans because they can afford to be.

On Friday night for dinner a bunch of us decided to go to a burger place called Ferg Burger, because we had heard so much hype about it from other people. It definitely lived up to its hype, because that was the BEST cheeseburger I have ever had in my entire life. It was quality New Zealand beef, grass fed and everything, and it was SO delicious. I’m getting excited just thinking about it right now.

Saturday was a full day of hiking. We went on the Routeburn Track, a hike which takes 3 days to complete if you do the whole thing. We did just a part of it, but in total I hiked 30 kilometers, which I think equates to about 18 or 19 miles? It was intense, but so worth it. I went all the way up to Conical peak and had the most incredible views of Mountain tops, and even all the way to the ocean. It was the hardest, longest hiking I have ever done, but I was so satisfied and felt so accomplished by the end of the day.

Sunday was the most exciting day. We went up a gondola and had some more great views of Queenstown, and at the top of the gondola there was a luge track which we were able to enjoy. It felt kinda like go-cart racing. Then came the best part of the whole weekend: bungee jumping! We had two options, the Kawaru Bridge, which was the world’s first bungee site, or Nevis, which is 3 times higher and the second highest bungee jumping site in the world. I decided to go for it and signed up for Nevis. I was actually pretty calm until I was standing on the platform about to jump. The guy who hooked up all my gear told me to inch out my toes to the edge of the platform and that’s when I looked down and started really freaking out, but by this point there was no turning back. He counted down from 5 and when he got to 1 I jumped and screamed bloody murder. The first second was the most terrifying second I’ve ever experienced, but for the remaining 8 seconds of my jump I was elated. It was like nothing I have ever experienced before, it is an incredible feeling to be soaring through the air, surrounded by mountains and looking down at a stream. If I had the chance I would definitely do it again.

After a very full weekend now it’s back to school, but with only 3 days of class it’s really not too bad.

The School Part

So part of this whole thing is that I am 'studying abroad' and I haven't mentioned anything about that part of my trip yet, so here's a brief description of my new school, or "Uni" as everyone here calls it.

Otago is a BIG school, the complete opposite of itty-bitty, not-real, living-in-a-bubble Denison. There are about 20,000 students here and the way classes work are by lecture, lab, or tutorial. The lecture part is like America, huge classes with a professor, you guessed it, lecturing! The tutorials are smaller, about 20-30 students, and these are designed to discuss/go over what goes on in the lectures. And labs are still labs. Go figure.

I'm taking Maori Society 102, Sociology of New Zealand 101, Religion, Science and Magic 317, and Religion and the Internet 218. My Maori class is HUGE, with over 250 students, most of whom are international students, not even kiwis. My sociology class is also ginormous, with about 150 students. The religion classes remain small, which is def more my style. My religion and the internet class has only 8 people! Three of which are friends I recruited to join the class!

School here seems to be a bit easier, but maybe just cause it's so different. There aren't really papers or many assignments at all, as the exams count for 70% of my final grade. Plus, my schedule worked out awesomely. I don't have class on Mondays or Fridays, and I have only one class on Wednesdays. So pretty much, I'm livin' the life.

Yesterday I made a great discovery that will be superb when I'm in a rush on Tuesdays and Thursdays: THREE DOLLAR LUNCHES! Put on by the Hare Krishnas every Monday-Friday from 11-2. They cook delicious vegetarian food for only 3 dollars a plate, and it's a massive portion, which even includes dessert! It's really a beautiful thing. And their bread is so delicious.


This weekend I am taking a trip to Queenstown with Arcadia, and I have reserved a spot to go bungee jumping off a bridge.....!!!!

Pictures from Cave Camping

IT FINALLY WORKED! Here are some pictures from my caving-camping trip! The above picture is a group picture, minus my friend Magean who was taking the picture. The next one is a picture of the cave where we slept. Above that is a picture of our make-shift shoe rack, a handy shelf made naturally by whatever forces of nature make caves. It was a full moon that night so I tried to capture a picture of the moon over the ocean, but the picture just doesn't do it justice. And the last picture was taken at sunrise, just before the man came up and gave us the Tsunami warning!