Power 4 on the Gratitude List

An attitude of gratitude!   As I pass my 10-days-remaining mark, I seek to really integrate this experience into my heart and my head.  Here's what comes barreling through:

#1#1#1: New friends and teachers. At the end of most yoga classes I, following the lead fo the instructor, put my hands near my heart, stretch upwards through my tip toppiest vertebra, but bow my chin deeply towards my heart and say Namaste.  Namaste means that I salute the teacher in you (and you, and you, and you.) It means thank you for being you. It is a reminder that everyone I meet along the journey is a teacher. Each in their own way. 

New Zealand is full of some of the sweetest, biggest-hearted folks I've come across.  I remember the first day I met Victoria, she put everything down to show me the lay of campus: Where the coffee lives, and where the Wifi is strongest. ("Wait a minute. strike that.. reverse it." -Willy Wonka) 

And Richard, who I seem to run into 100% of the times I make it to the library. Conversations with this Irish Samoan are too interesting to forgo for something like a bit of studying. (I'll study when I'm dead.)(JK, I am study enough when I'm alive, I'll become a mental loafer when I'm dead.) 

My flatmates of course have had the most positive influence of this experience. We're all away from home, but our little apartment has become a place of refuge. We sing songs, strum ukelele, tape drawings on the fridge, and cook up some of the most tasty, gourmet foods imaginable!

#2) Living by the sea shore. So I've probably averaged less than an hour of beach time every other week, but oh boy, the sea, she's a strong one.  At this moment the sound of dripping rain praises the windowsill.  It is a constant sound and it feels like the ocean.

I remember one of the first times I really connected at the beach. I laid out my travel yoga mat and came into tree pose. Usually my knees bow in and out, my ankles quiver, and I feel like a lopsided sapling. But not by the ocean. It was so interesting to notice how the element of water grounded me firmly into the sand. The wind was blowing hard, but my body barely wavered. The ocean is incredible. I am beginning to see why epic books often feature her. 

#3) Insomnia. Sleepless nights used to freak me out. I've read too much research about how we're primed to get a certain amount of ZzzzzZZzzs, and how quickly we fall into disrepair without enough REMs. 

But I have come to see sleeplessness isn't really a curse. It has enabled me to watch some really good movies, make beautiful art, and learn more about myself through journaling.  It seems like an opportunity for good rest always comes around eventually with divine timing.

#4) Classes. Two in particular have been hugely challenging. But that whole saying about coming through a struggle stronger (and smarter) really is true.  With that being said, I had better not push my luck: finals begin in 2 days!

I'm grateful to know more about how the Maori conceptualize health. They acknowledge all aspects, including family, physical, mental, and spiritual.

My intro to Maori culture teachers are probably the most captivating, humorous lecturers I've ever met, and I'm grateful that that doesn't come at the expense of learning-- actually it enhances the breadth of the content, allowing it to become part of real life!

Its hard to not group my whole experience here into my momentary feeling about it.  So I'll just say: this momentary feeling about it certainly is part of my whole experience here in NZ.  I feel lucky to be here and so excited to be homeward bound soon.  

Quiet Sunday

Kittens in Mittens

Hi folks of America! 

It's Sunday in Christchurch and I can't fathom where the 300,000 people of this town go...  it's so quiet!  There are a few people who are out getting exercise,  hoofing it to and fro across the sidewalks, but aside from that it is quiet, quiet, quiet. 

Delicious Kiwi study snack

Today marks the beginning of my official last month in New Zealand.  As always, I am seeking the positive aspects of this journey.  When people ask why I came here,  I feel confounded because I can't really make sense of what prompted me to move half a world away.  I'm still figuring this one out.  

Playing around on my phone again

I can't wait to give my dog a big hug and appreciate how awesome it is to have a car again!!!!

Our microwave is full of stamina. This porcelain plate wasn't up to the task, apparently.

hellllloooooo up there!

I found this tiny piece of paper as I was doing yoga, a forward fold to be specific, in my room.... 

Ear Candy for Mother Earth

Here's a beautiful song written by Moana Maniapoto, a Maori woman.  It is "a song of solidarity to the Maui dolphins, very much an endangered species in NZ waters.  The dolphin will go the same way at the now extinct Totoroi (native quail)."

She's singing in Te Reo,  the Maori language.  I recognized the word rangatira.  Like te ao Maori (the Maori worldviews), there is a lot of intersection between words and concepts.  Rangatira, as I understand it, conveys the meaning of chieftanship. Within that there are ideas of family, the relationship and obligations between humans with nature, power (mana), and untouchable sacredness (tapu).

With all that being said, give it a listen; in true form, the sounds convey it best.

Love your mother earth, treat her kindly, and enjoy the beautiful music:

https://soundcloud.com/moana-3/upokohue

Flying Buddha and the Quixotic Autumn

Hi guys and gals!

Hoping that the spring most of you are enjoying feels refreshing and smells delicious!   It's been rainy here too,  but without the promise of hot summer days ahead.  My body doesn't get it.  

The days are getting shorter, yet the flowers continue to bloom. No comprende. 

I'm looking ahead to only three more weeks of classes,  then finals,  then pretty much straight away headed back to the states! 

May is NZ music month.  Check out any of these guys! 

It's probably a little to early to start waxing poetic about how this experience has been,  so I'll save or for a later blog.  In the mean time I'll take note of a few things of varying interestingness.
In my " Maori health perspectives" class I'm learning about the deep importance of family as am aspect of health.  We watched a fantastic documentary about a Maori family with a genetic disorder.  Through very pressing times,  whanau (Pronounced:pheynow) are the well of strength. 

I'm coming to enjoy statistics more every day.  It doesn't come easy to me,  but the examples we use in classes come from real life scenarios,  which is very cool.  I imagine all the ways I could use stats in my own life. 

As always,  food is a favorite subject for discussion.  Purple cabbage is my choice pick veggie right now.  Oh yeah,  I forgot to mention that carrots are very tasty here: always sweet,  never with that bitter taste.  

Is this paleo?! *flexes arm muscle*

I've been taking action to get stronger.  The Rec center offers a variety of free classes every day,  so despite my urge to hermit away,  I just can't pass up the opportunity for free motivation.  Aside from fitness classes,  I went to a Buddhist meditation and also am acrobatic yoga workshop last week. They were both refreshing and interesting!

Proud to announce I was climbing across the wall race champion! 

The only thing better than doing yoga, is having someone else do yoga for you! Heheheh

Flying buddha! 

Wishing you health and wellness in the most robust sense of the term. 
Love,
Darwin

On Climbing Mountains

I am so inspired by this quote from Robert Pirsig, author of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle maintenance.  

“Mountains should be climbed with as little effort as possible and without desire. The reality of your own nature should determine the speed. If you become restless, speed up. If you become winded, slow down. You climb the mountain in an equilibrium between restlessness and exhaustion. Then, when you’re no longer thinking ahead, each footstep isn’t just a means to an end but a unique event in itself. This leaf has jagged edges. This rock looks loose. From this place the snow is less visible, even though closer. These are things you should notice anyway. To live only for some future goal is shallow. It’s the sides of the mountain which sustain life, not the top. Here’s where things grow.” P199 - Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

October 2013 Trip to Jackson, WY for some backcountry snowboarding

We Yell

Food foraging on campus -- walnuts and lemons, oh my!

Practicing photo editing on my Samsung galaxy S4. 

Forgiveness. (Read caption)

A confoundingly green autumn day.

More typical autumn colors

Tree working that ombre effect without bleach

Nachos!

Speaking loud and being surrounded by Americans:

My Austrian roommate,  (Viennese, she'd have me emphasize) made a spry comment about her experience of international living and laughing.  She's always witty and quick, but the way this realization hit her clear as day made for a memorable moment of humorous honesty:

"Back home I am somewhat of am anomaly. .. I can't help it that when I find something really funny, I LAUGH.  Some girls can contain themselves with a tiny little giggle...."

(She proceeds to coyly cover her mouth and feign timid noises of delight. ...)

".. but me,  when I find something really funny,  I LAUGH.  loud!  I kid you not:

back home I am accustomed to my friends telling me to 'Frankie, Please Be Quieter,  You're Being So Louuuud,'  on average 3  times a day.  But here,  surrounded by Americans,  it has been almost 3 months and I haven't been asked to quiet down even once! !!!!!"

Ah,  international revelations.  It was so sweet to see how thrilled dear Frankie was to realize that not only is she not being asked to politely Shut Up on a regular basis, but the joy of discovering that she is rarely even in the top 10% of the loudest people in a given room!

Zen and the Art of Curry Sauce

I'm sleepy because I have been up all night soaking in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenence by Robert Pirsig. I found a copy at the library that has been in the library's circulation since April 14th, 1993. It wears its age well.

The book is part travel journey and part philosophical ramblings:  not much different from my own life, but addicting in its articulate complexity.  It really gets my wheels rolling.

I finally made it the farmers market with my roommates!  We planned to leave at 9, but didn't get out of the house until ten owing to a purring fluff machine of a kitty who decided we were to adopt him. 

We named him Sparkle Jones. It took us ~12 hours to begrudgingly call the phone number on his collar.

The farmers market was great.  I felt a little sore missing the deals all my local farmers give me on produce,  but ended up with a beautiful haul of early autumnal veggies.

NZ Queen apples, yum. And carrots taste magical here. Sweet and crunchy. 

 As I write,  a thick pan of saag simmers on the stove top. It will taste so good with brown rice, yum! (ingredients: ginger,  garlic,  curry powder and paste,  boiled spinach and coconut milk)

Soggy Saag, made with farmers market spinach.

The main difference I noticed (it seems that a great percentage of my mental capacity is dedicated to comparison and contrasts) is that this farmers market was bustling with a huge variety of artisan products like cakes,  beads,  cheeses,  honeys, cured meats, hummuses (?Word?), scones,  teas,  etc.  whereas the Taos farmers market is predominantly produce.  The produce here was fairly pricey,  but not entirely out of college student budget expensive. 

This stall wins presentation hands down. Look at the flowers on those cakes!

Bustling Christchurch / Canterbury farmers market.

This cutie selling raspberries had raspberry colored cheeks!

Enjoying a fresh-picked apple by the Avon river

Bamboo shade on a prodigal saturday

Speaking of college budget: I am pleased to inform you of my university's apparently new and pretty effective marketing campaign. It seems that kiwi advertisers are finally getting savvy to the fact that sex sells.  This handsome fellow was staring back at me from bus billboard.

I didn't realize until after I crossed the Pacific ocean that this fellow doesn't accurately reflect the average uni population

Tonight is my last night before classes get rolling again.  It'll be back to the daily routine for another 6 weeks.  Keeping a positive mindset and staying integrated with my experience is my highest intention right now.  I'm keeping faith that the answers I seek will follow. 

Positive psychology works:  using adjectives like these help me maintain an attitude of gratitude.

Doodle of Disco.  I want to add a flower in there, too. Free time is the best.

Two drawings on tracing paper come together for a spooky but soothing effect.

the Neverending Fall Break

The neverending fall break.  We still have 5 more days off before classes start again!  My mind is boggled but I will not complain.    

I have spent a good portion of this break studying and getting ahead for 2nd term which will undoubtedly start up at 120mph. I guess since we are using the metric system here, it's more accurate to say ~240kmph. 

I'm nearly finished with the longest, most interesting science lab report of my life.  Basically in the lab we isolated the gene that makes jellyfish fluorescent and cloned it into e.coli bacteria so they glowed, too.  After mushing up those poor glowing bacteria like little mashed potatoes, we used a pretty new age machine that read out the bacteria's gene sequence .  That information came out as 760 letter long chain of just G, C, A, and T's.   I put that info into the BLAST, which is a sweet online algorithm tool pioneered in the 1990s by a few brilliant mathematicians who worked for the National Institute of Health.  The algorithm searches super, super, super long DNA sequences just like the one I got from the lab readout (but hundreds of thousands, even millions of letters long),  and helps to find matches.  Unsurprisingly, the gene that we cloned into the bacteria had dna sequence matches with pars of the Victoria jellyfish genome.

We made e.coli glow like this! http://cam.facilities.northwestern.edu/588-2/green-fluorescent-protein

Now that i'm nearly finished with the lab I feel very proud of my accomplishment!  The whole process did not seem simple at all,  and I had to do a lot of problem solving to understand the mechanisms involved. Honestly,  for a solid few weeks I had no idea what we were even doing.  So it feels good to now be able to put it in my own words.

Besides working on school things,  I have been chipping away at the mountain of to-dos for my physicians assistant school applications.  Research,  writing essays, applying for financial aid, and securing letters of recommendation are just a few of the balls I'm juggling.  The respite from classes is beyond welcomed! 

I'm my favorite personal chef. Today it was garlicky broccoli with tomato, tofu, and rice. 

Words to live by. 

I'm wishing friends and family days of love.  I hope that we all can see the sunshine coming through our deep being.

land unlocked

Hi

Lilies by the beach

Oh boy, oh boy.  I am finally coming to understand why all my coastally raised friends balk when I tell them of my land-locked upbringing. 

Luckily in NZ you are never far from mountain or ocean!

I had been back from the great roadtrip for about three days before the yearning to go to the ocean became overwhelming. I made sure to get a solid breakfast in my belly before throwing on my winter coat and hopping onto my bike. What is this yearning!  Be Still my heart! 

What even is this?! On campus. No wonder I yearn to escape.

I tried to bargain for a nice riverside spot that wouldn't require the daunting hour long ride,  but Nay said my steadfast heart.  It made a good compromise where it became still, along with my treadmill mind, only upon reaching the  beach.  

The constancy of the slate gray waves crashing again and again across the shores,  eroding,  cleaning,  making noise just for the sake of making noise.  I like to look out and imagine that I can telescope all the way across the pacific, to the shores of San Francisco, right into my sister's life. It's funny how a big thing like the ocean can seem so little.  especially after I've been making mountains out of mole hills  .

Mole hill? Mountain?

This is one of those mountainsi was really sad to not be seeing every day. Milford sound. 

You can say I'm tapering off of vacation.  I've spent a solid 20 hours perusing the intranets (perusing might not be the right word.  What I'm doing is slightly more obsessive) researching just about everything motorcycle.  I've loved motorized vehicles from knee high to a grasshopper.  I remember begging my mom to bring me to the go kart tracks when I was 9; then looking in the newspaper for a 50 cc dirt bike when I was 12. And more recently,  I had saved up $500 for a sweet little '79 Honda CB360 right after I graduated college, yet ended up with a hand crafted oak horse carriage from the farm auction instead. . I digress.  I have even gone so far as to stalk the bikes at the local Yamaha dealership. And I also feel best when I pretend that my (sturdy,  awesome,  loveable,  but not motorized) bicycle is actually an undercover motorcycle. 

As you can tell,  my rationalization powers are chugging away at full force.  Let's just say it's between this and being a cat lady. 

Other than being slave to my inner mermaid and being myopically obsessed with two wheels and a motor,  I have made a very delicious roasted beet and warmed chickpea salad with feta and herbs (yum),    given more henna tattoos,  learned to drive on the kiwi side of the road (no metaphor), composed my own ukelele song,  and learned that season 2 of orange is the new black gives me nightmares,  so I have to stop it now.

Irish rorschach love henna

I also practiced my photoshop skillz. In the future I don't have to ever go anywhere or do anything;  i will just manipulate a photo to give the impression!

I have been so blessed to receive emails from a few friends back home.  All the little stories and photos are great medicine for the homesickness.  I'm so grateful!    Please send me little notes if anything strikes your fancy ; they're so special to me! 

Xoxo

Back from Spring (Fall) Break!

Apologies for keeping this blog in the dark for a few weeks now!  Blogging is kind of like keeping a garden and planting mint: if you don't keep up with it, the more time that passes, the more and more behind you get!

I like to keep these short on words and heavy on pictures, so although much has transpired in the last 2 weeks, I'll sum it up as this:

3 weeks' break from school! Yay! 7 of us gals have had a week-long trip plann in the works since early March. As stressful as it was to decide so far ahead of time what exactly our route would be, book hotels and car rentals, it was definitely worth the effort. The trip went pretty much without any major bumps-- no nights of hobohood, nor day transportationless.

I was surprised how easily 7 of us fit in a regular old Toyota van. That thing was a trooper! It was definitely working hard as it chugged up and over Arthur's Pass, and I was worried about the brakes going out on us as we careened down towards Queenstown, but it was a little rebel and it hung in there like a pro!

Our route was this:  Christchurch--->Hokatika --> Fox Glacier (prounounced glay-shee-uhr, btw)---> Franz Josef Glaysheeuhr ---> Lake Wanaka ---> Queenstown ---> Milford Sound ---> back home to Christchurch under the starry skies.

If google maps told us our route would be a 3 hour drive, we could expect it to take us 5.  That's a good thing!-- a group of like-minded A.D.D folk wanna stop for just about every snail on the side of the road.

It was so great to get out of the scholarly brain fog.  Between the cozy, winding mountain roads and my newest acquisiton, TinkerBill (an angelic ukelele), anxiety dreams about missing school assignments/ failing / etc disappeared after only 2 nights!  Talk about some potent medicine.

The Mark Twain quote is pertinent:  “I have found out that there ain’t no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them.” – Mark Twain, Tom Sawyer Abroad

Luckily I found that I liked my travel companions.  Yet 8 days was plenty!  Also, there is a quote floating around somewhere about how the unfortunate part about traveling is that you still bring you along! It stands in contrast to that fantasy of total escapism.  Lots of days, especially the cloudy / cold ones, felt like I was wallowing around in my shadow wondering what the heck, why were all of my imperfections tagging along for the ride!

So, I'm proud to say that I learned a lot in those 8 short days. I hope to find a moment to recount a few of my favorite experiences in another post:
-somehow still commiting to skydiving over Queenstown after watching one of the skydive "masters" trying to figure out a malfunctioning electric sliding glass door
-sitting at Lake Wanaka feeling like living in a dream
-Sheffield's meat pie song
-giving travel companion Rachel a haircut using eyebrow scissors (and it turned out BEAUTIFULLY!)
-making friends with a duck who loved the sounds of my ukelele
-a bright orange moss lining the river rocks in Milford Sound was so illuminous that it looked like the whole riverside was spraypainted construction orange
-Wille Nelson On the Road Again lyrics: "On the road again… going places I have never been.. seeing things that I may never see again… I just can't wait to get on the road again."
-school anxiety dreams replaced by dreaming in mountains

I miss home, the creature comforts and the familiarity. But the wise words of my friend Nathalie echo in my head: "home will always be there waiting for you."  And those of my momma who ponders about feeling at home inside ones self, regardless of the pillow you're resting your head on.

xoxoxox

kaikoura

                     Unsurprisingly my blogging gusto is falling under the universal law of entropy.    It is not that I have had fewer thoughts and experiences I want to share,  just a simple matter of school squeezing quite tightly my time budget.

Even tasty,  homemade meals are becoming more rare as the semester gains momentum.

Molecular genetics continues to threaten to explode my brain.  On top of the difficult subject matter is the learning what expectations are for learning methods and outcomes.  Only one of my four classes provided a syllabus,  so each week it is important for me to set aside some time to comb through the class Web pages to see what to expect.  This is one of the more notable adjustments I have had to make in this experience of studying abroad.  The other is that classes do not provide study guides to outline what is expected knowledge on tests. This makes studying the appropriate
Material somewhat of a shot in the dark.

Fusing a nature find with a drawing and some Samsung galaxy photo editing to relieve the brain squish of threatening squareness. All work and no play =  no thank you.

You can imagine how wide open my arms were to a bit of escape when the weekend hit!   The plan was to rent a car with 3 of my 4 roommates and cruise north for about 3 hours until we reached the coastal town of kaikora.

My roommates pose in front of our budget clown car

The road wound through sheep filled foothills.  I would feel like I was in Colorado for aboot 2 seconds,  with the dry,  grassy hills dotted with pines,  and then I would notice a massive and mystical eucalyptus tree, and that whole feeling would go out the window.

Somewhat familiar scenery

Stopping for a pee break it was a lucky coincidence that we found ourselves in the parking lot of the local community's weekly farmers market.  The market is on year round and has lots of crafts,  baked goods,  meats and cheeses in addition to the expected veggies.  I treated myself to a caramel latte and a bacon+cream cheese bagel for breakfast.  Yolo!

Patron saint of the hot cross bun

Yumyumyum yumyumyum

Someone was selling second hand children's toys.  This resourcefulness was most reminiscent of Taos. 

Kaikora was a further 2 hours of beautiful mountainous driving.  Although we were traveling northbound along the coast,  much of the time the sea was hidden behind rolling hills.  The trees are just beginning to fade out of green and show a tinge of yellow.    

It's beginning to look a little like autumn

We made it or of the winding foothills and emerged onto the rocky western coast of new zealand south island

                 
          Kaikora is a great touristy destination with lots of options for activities.  Go swim with dolphins,  or kayak amongst the seals!  We decided instead to just walk or onto the extensive stone slab of a peninsula and sun ourselves next to the crashing waves,  as if we were the seals.

Luckily we woke up from our sun baked oblivion just in time to get off of the some slab as the tide was roosting and threatening to separate us from the land mass.  I am not exaggerating when I say it was a very close call!    By the time we got near the parking lot we had to cross a rising rover ride up to our knees,  and quickly rising.  It was very Into The Wild of us.

Enengulfed! Yay!

Drive home was equally beautiful and even more comfortable due to finally getting used to sitting in what is usually the driver's seat with no pedals or steering wheel.

Honing in on the rare Armenian mermaid

I hope the sound clip attaches to this image to give a better feel for the road trip!

Good jams and serene scenery.  I see some similarities of NZ <---> NM vibes the more rural I travel.

Cheers!