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!

Ka wahi te tī

Ka whati te tī,
Ka wana te tī,
Ka rito te tī.

When a cabbage tree is broken it shoots up and grows a new head of leaves.      
______________________

To the left of the Be More sign (which is also actually quite zen... be. More.) Is a cabbage tree.

This is a little quote in a Te Reo introduction book.  I am not positive that it is meant to be superiorly zen, but it has been my mini mantra these past few days.  Especially on the week days when I feel repeatedly knocked down by to-dos. And today is Monday again. How is the world did that happen?

This is the community space where I like to back in the wifi. 

Not much time on week days to get into fiction,  but I finished this wonderful novel by Tea Obreht this weekend. 

On Saturday I finally went out of my comfort zone and into a yoga class at the recreation center on campus.  It is pretty sweet how the Rec center is free for students and offers a boat load of group classes every day of the week.
The setup in the class was casual and comforting,  with all the mats facing in a big circle,  radiating outward.  I love my thin,  bendy manduka brand travel mat,  because I was able to put it on top of a very padded but slippery mat and ended up with a ton of grip.

The class had a range from newbies to acrobats.  I enjoyed how music played softly in the background,  but I really missed the skill with which one of my favorite teachers in taos actually cues the whole flow to really go with the jams.     (Friday night slow jams class with Ashleigh at shree  yoga taos, I miss you!)

Huge tree, i love you.n

Turquoise is a good homesickness remedy. 

After sufficiently chilling myself out,  I spontaneously joined the student army of rugby fans.  I had a pale ale amongst the rowdiest youngsters ( and thankfully
some equally overwhelmed international students by my side) before the club-led bus whisked us away to the match.

Stu dent section wins the photobomb award. 

  The regional team,  the Crusaders, had a good record against the South Africa national team,  the Lions.  The game was pretty well attended,  with fans filing up a majority of the stands in the newly-built (not huge) stadium. The red and black flags available for free certainly enhanced the visual impression.

Always finding a way to hey my horse fix.  

                           
Rugby is a fun game to watch for 3 reasons:
1) these guys are straight up brutes. It's a full-contact sport and the extent of their protective gear is: a mouth guard.  No helmets,  shoulder pads,  nada!
2) the game keeps moving.  Passes have to be made going backward,  kind of like having off-sides all the time for you hockey fans.     And when there
is a tackle,  the guy with the ball on the bottom of the pile has only a few seconds before he has to make the ball available again for play, or else it goes to the opposing team.  So the clock keeps running and the game is in action for the majority of the 80 minute game.
3) the ball passes are quick underhanded spins that originate near the hip. Very different from an American football overhand pass.  The plays are adlibbed so the game takes on a great energetic quality.

Did I mention the views aren't half bad? 

       It was a great weekend,  and on this drizzly Monday (btw hurricane Pam is not hiring us here) I would love to hear from you!  If you have a minute,  send me an email and tell me about what's going on! !!

Xoxo

Beach: moody. Crashing waves. 

Henna inspiration. 

Beach fashion week. 

Sweet trees. 

unwind

"There are many paths through the Ring of Life. They are a constant movement toward self-fulfillment through growth of your mind, expansion of your experiences, widening of your senses and growing your spirit. It’s ceaseless and constant throughout one’s life.”

- Frosty Wooldridge, Golden, Colorado

   

Rewind

     I love this quote. it reminds me that life is a process, not an object.
 I've been putting forth a great and focused effort in my genetics class, and some moments it feels as if it is to no avail.  Occasionally the fearful thought that all this book learning is far removed from, or maybe distant from,  the real life I want to be living. but it is because I am living in these thoughts that I am not truly engaged in the moment to moment act of living.... not because of the class or the work.
I have been literally worrying myself sick!

Restriction enzyme map of a bacterial plasmid DNA. Yeah, this was stressing me out!

  Thankfully I am beginning to feel better: (thank you yarrow, tulsi, bubbly water, ibuprofen, cough drops, hot showers, sleep, and Sriracha sauce....)

Yarrow tea.. medicine translucent in the sun.

Enjoying a freshly picked pear and wearing the wonderful turquoise bamboo velour mermaid pants my awesome sister gave me is probably the best medicine.

I hate to rest is what it comes down to. But my body imposed a (reasonable) limitation on my process, and I was forced to spend time doing absolutely nothing. Oh it felt so terrible! I felt bored and then anxious about how if I ended up liking this whole slacking off thing, I might never end up motivating myself again.  it was really a good time to look at my deepest motivations, and assess my priorities.  I don't know why I fall into the illusion that external things define me (ie.. jobs, grades, clothes, my yoga practice, what I eat)  but for now I can see through that bullcrap, to the light that says I'M OK JUST AS I AM! sheesh!

My homie,  the dalai lama, always bringing a smile to my face:). 

 I am so grateful to feel this freedom of being. And I am grateful for that microscopic flu/cold/whatever virus that lead me, by the breath, cough, sneeze and snot, to the light.

Slowing down to enjoy the moment.  Walking to class through one of christchurches many beautiful, arborous (new word?) Parks.

 Sometimes life brings you a big pause when you're not going to do so yourself.

Play dough, given to me as a way to learn about DNA recombination,  illustrating for me the concept of change and unconditional love instead.

jumping into routine

#FOMO. Fighting FOMO.

Fukushima fish n chips

It's not hump day, but....

An imported delicacy. Sticker shock lives on....

Living in the uni dorms is a trip.  A new community space opened up last evening.  Due to the drinking age being only 18 here, alcohol is frequently a component of university-sponsored events.  I met a fun international group of three in an impromptu game of pool. Due to our collective  lack of skills it was the longest lasting rounds I have a) been a part of and b) ever even heard of.  Obviously a harsh sense of competitiveness can't last 1 hour,  so we really had a blast laughing at ourselves.

I am taking 4 courses- 2 of them relate directly to learning about the Maori (intro to Māori culture and Māori health issues and opportunities), 101statistics,  and molecular genetics.  The latter being outrageously time consuming and nerdy cool. I am literally learning  genetic engineering.

Running plasmid DNA through a gel electrophoresis machine to see how long the fragments are.

Tools of the trade. 

With the integration of technology into the educational landscape I sometimes feel overwhelmed by the busy work that has to be done in front of a screen.  Good old pencil and paper is still probable my favorite.  Although I must admit that gif animation videos can be super helpful too!

Helpful gif illustration of what happens to brains on too much school.

 

The thing I miss most is animals in my life. There is a whacky cat who is for all intensive purposes a dog,  and I have been blessed to hang with that kooky feline at the most perfect moments when I am really missing my furry friends.

Homie named Kitty

Have you ever heard of kapa haka dancing?  Christchurch hosted the festival for this awesome Māori dance from Thursday to saturday, and on Sunday, (today) the competition culminates in a fierce day of the best of the best, dancing to their highest
Ability to win the title for 2015. I took photos and videos but learned that it is not cool, so I will just refer any interested parties to the te matatini competition website.

The skill with which the women coordinate a rhythmic dance  with poi balls was mesmerising. Most of the women and men have very different  roles in the dance. The women had an indomitable spirit of strength and beauty, and the men were truly awe inspiring in the facility with which they moved between warrior violence and welcoming friendly smiles.

Did I mention the food?! Pacifika knows how to eat!

 The sounds the groups dance to for their 45 minute sets are all of their own making. Stomping, shouting, sailing harmonies, and often times one or two acoustic guitars. Some of the softer songs were like the Hawaiian "somewhere over the rainbow" but more robust and symphonic.  Other songs were less melodic but clearly didactic, with a stoey teller moving and speaking while the dancers make motions to animate the stories. It was simply awe inspiring and I am humbled by the communal aspect of this amazingly coordinated journey of dance and song.

Cheers to living and loving,  my friends! Wishing a wealth of health and happiness to you.  I hope today you find a chance to make an art form out of a challeng

 

Stay a while! The Avon river meandering through campus. #notAllWhoWanderAreLost

                   
Ngā mihi mô tô manaakitanga mai.
 -thanks for your kindness-

Surfing and Eating and Tramping, oh my!

Happy Monday!  To everyone reading this from America,  it is still the holy day of rest,  which I was reminded of as I tried to organize insurance info for my taxes. ..

I had a wonder filled weekend of fun and adventure.  Saturday was exhausting.  My roommates and I biked nearly 2 hours to the beach, from there 'hiring' (aka renting) surf boards and wetsuits for 3 hours. The waves seemed less lethal than the ones I
Braved in hawai'i,  yet still elicited an intense sympathetic response (aka excited the crap out of my fight or flight mode. ) it takes serious energy to crash headfirst INTO waves,  just to venture far enough out  to catch the real waves.

Stopped in at the bike shop to get a few kinks worked out halfway to the beach.

 What a pleasure, though,  to look up from my boards and see a busy beach,  bright blue skies, and rolling green and yellow hills.

The water is fine!

We wrapped up the day with Indian food. In my case a delicious plate of palak paneer.

Choices, choices.....

Sunday was also a day of extremes. We took a bus with 45 other enthusiastic tramps. . I mean trampers... to the base of avalanche    peak in the Arthur's Pass national park.  

Feomt row and center seats on the bus.... verrrr nice!

    Despite the fact that we were socked in and getting spit on by chilly,  horizontally sailing raindrops,  I still had the opportunity to spot the famed Kia. A wild alpine parrot! Much of the foliage below tree line (bush line as it is called here) is just like the Kia: a strange amalgamation of tropical and winter hardy genetics.   The Kia was friendly,  curious, with a soft eye but a sharp break.

Magical fairy forests where elves and Kia live

At the top of the peak,  (3 vertical hours later) the clouds moved just enough for a rainbow.  A rainbow in Mordor, just like I Ordored (get it? Lots of the rings pun...)

Selfie from the top. Don't fall!

It was a surprise to be able to see anything at all, never the less *this*, when I got to the summit of Avalanche peak!

A few other things I have noticed over the days are:

-farmers wrap their hay bales in plastic to keep it fresh.  I wonder why that isn't common in the US.
-professors are terminally   chill.  Classes are not as easy going as their relaxed attire.
 -minimum wage just went up a quarter,  to 14.75$. That's double NM.
-the magpies here have a more complicated pattern of black and white, but are roughly the same size.
-in NZ, a possum is a black nocturnal creature with a thick, luxurious tail.

Kia ora friends!