I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends...(and sisters...)

It has hit, folks. It finally feels like home... 

....it has been SUCH a busy week with schoolwork REALLY picking up!! Assignment deadlines are coming up. Essays, assessments, tests... when does the madness end?!! Approximately 2 weeks, that's right, TWO WEEKS until Spring Break!!! 

...but anyways back to how it feels like home.. I have finally developed a 'routine' here. Classes are going well.. I have only missed 1 class thus far! It is hard to understand my teachers and their accents sometimes b/c New Zealanders really like to mumble... but I am kind of getting the hang of it, doing my homework as well as keeping up with a social schedule! Lauren and I joined the gym... going to weekly Yoga, Pilates, Zumba classes, and more! So we meet up for that... and the girls come over sometimes while Brenda and I cook up a storm!!! 

Brenda, Megan, Morgan, Myself, Lauren

I was walking home from the gym today (after being a good student and going to the library prior to..) and I was listening to my Ipod when back to back, I heard the songs 'I Want You Back' (Jackson 5) and 'Down' (Jay Sean), which IMMEDIATELY brought a smile to my face because it reminded me of two of my best friends back home... Paige and Maggie!! 

Paige and Mags, my heart and soul!! <3

                           Maggie and Paige.. 2 of my best friends...and not just friends, sisters....

                                                             So many fun times with these 2!

                                                             She is too much fun!!!!

It was also nice because I got to skype with them along with some of my other Kappa sisters and Maria and my mom! This has definitely been a week of tests. A test of faith, patience, and perseverance ... it was one of those weeks that had a lot of ups and down--emotionally. My heart was yearning for the familiar.. but after having a lovely talk with them, I felt more at ease... Paige and I were e-mailing back and forth and she sent me these beautiful quotes... 

"In the sky, there is no distinction of east and west; people create distinctions out of their own minds and then believe them to be true." --Buddha

"Vous ne pouvez pas ceer l'experience. Vous devez la subir" aka "You can not create experience you must undergo it" 

Love my Paige. 

                                                               Love you, PP <3

....after I thought about it...and with a little help from my friends, family and faith.. my heart yet again was open.. it's like I got that second wind or second push to keep going on... I came here for a reason.. after hours of researching, paperwork, deadlines, etc.. I got myself into this, and thus far it has been a BLAST.. it is hard to believe when I wake up here tomorrow that it will already be APRIL. UNREAL. Where is this time going?! This semester has been full of lessons, excitement, anxiety, moments of peace and clarity with a few tears thrown in... but I am excited to see what the rest of this semester holds for me... and in those moments of stress and loneliness, I know I cannot fret! How can you when you live in a place that looks like this?!! 

Welly.

My city, Wellington :)

Zealandia.

                                                                 Lake Taupo.

On the way home from Taupo.

View from my window.

Auckland.

.....wish me luck.. I will be LOCKING myself in the library for the next few weeks... XOXO

Taupo attempt #1 & back to the school daze...

Well this weekend was interesting.. the plan was to head north to a city called Taupo. Known for its beautiful lake as well as THE TOP PLACE to skydive in NZ.. I knew I was in for a real treat!! Skydiving has been on the top of my list of activities to do while abroad.. so last Friday night (after attending our classes..just tryna' be a good student..), my friend Julie and I boarded a bus @ 10 until 8pm to head towards Taupo. Some friends our ours from orientation had "booked a bach" aka rented a lakehouse from Thursday thru Sunday.

Harry Potter reference in the train station? Immediately brought a smile to my face b/c it made me think of 2 of my pledge sisters, Paige and Maggie P back @ Kappa!!! 

After a 6 hour bus ride, we were excited to finally be in Taupo; little did we know that we would be dropped off in what looked like a ghost town (not to mention that it was 2am on a Saturday morning). Good thing Julie looked up the bach number and address before we left because I had NO idea where we were supposed to go. We looked around the town and after many failed attempts to try and call a few of our friends at the bach.. we finally saw a (sketchy & unlit) sign for Cabs. About 15 minutes later as well as a $30 cab ride later, we arrived at our bach. Oh how homey.

Little did I know what I was about to get myself into this weekend.

Upon Julie and I's arrival, there were a total of 6 people up with trippy music playing. It seemed like I had just entered into what I would think would be an 'ecstasy trip' scene straight out of a Woody Allen movie.  After watching the boys and (EPIC-ly) failing to stop a 'chair-throwing competition,' (that left 3 balcony chairs broken BTW..) the rambunctious group of hooligans decided to crash. Approximate bedtime for Julie and I? 4am. No worries though-we had a date w/ fate at 12:50pm later that day.

So the next day (well same day, technically) we woke up around 9:30/10am and Julie and I were waiting anxiously next to the phone to call for our appointment. Half of our group decided to go to the Tongariro Crossing for a hike. We had to stay behind because we had our appointment. Sadly, the weather was not going to permit us to skydive that day. So we spent the day lounging around, watching O Brother, Where Art Thou and listening to our stomaches grumble--seeing as how we had no groceries and no means of transportation to get to the grocery store. What to do now?

Homework. Right--that was not going to happen seeing as how I could not focus for the life of me because there was not a quiet place to do it and some of the people there thought they should have a date w/ 'Mary-Jane' in the living room while others thought it would be a good idea to hit up the local bar or have booze delivered. (Keep in mind, it was not even 2pm) I could tell this was not going to be a very fun weekend for me :)

After going to bed that night--Julie and I were still thinking (positively) that we would skydive the next day (Sunday). Right we all got up and cooked breakfast.. and the group set out again for adventure (this time, hot springs) while Julie and I waited by the phone. Still, no luck: weather not permiting. After trying to stay positive with each other (and episodes of going to the bathroom and crying), we decided to get some sightseeing in.  So our lovely friend, Jillian decided to show us around the lake. No complaints with that.. even on a gloomy day, it was BEAUTIFUL.

Finding peace in a stressful weekend? Oh, the power of nature.

Once we realized skydiving was not going to happen, we prepared ourselves for the ride (in a janky van) back home. Our friend Mike was driving and I was just hoping to catch up on sleep in this 11-passenger ride o' fun. Well just when I thought the day could not get any worse, the most obnoxious person on the trip (and arguably on the planet...) sat behind me and he along with his friends decided to crack open a bottle of wine for the ride home. Once drunk, they decided to light up yet again and this time smoke us out of the van. NOT HAPPY. NEITHER WERE MY LUNGS. Then this obnoxious creature decided to beg the driver to pull over for photo ops.. okay this ended up being legit because I got some of the best pictures of the trip....

Rainbow!

...however once back in the van and on our merry way- the tri-fecta behind me decided to light up once again.. when all of the sudden we see the lights and hear the familiar sounds of a cop car. They threw out their paraphernalia and luckily the cop did not see and/or smell it. However the driver did receive a $80NZD ticket (approx 62$) for speeding. After getting that situated, we were off on our way again.. this time I was hoping I would fall asleep and not wake up again until I was home.. 

Life is a highway...lesson learned the hard way this weekend.

...later that night, sleeping in my bed had never felt that good before. I was exhausted and just wanted to get a good night's sleep and sleep in because I did not have class until 3pm on Monday!

So I went to class and then the girls came over to plan more of our Spring Break! We decided that we will be attending the Bruno Mars concert in Auckland April 18th. Then we will be heading to the Bay of Islands where we will be going on a few cruises around the bay, potentially Poor Knight's Island as well as to the NORTHERNMOST part of NZ: Cape Reinga.. which is THE FIRST PLACE that I marked in my guidebook! Then the 2nd week we will head to Queenstown to bungee as well as see Milford Sound..one of the top site seeing places in NZ! Then we will head back to Wellington via Christchurch! We are interested to see the destruction that happened there from the Earthquake...

But until then I will be busy attempting to study for my test coming up as well as my 3 essays due before Spring Break. Essay #1 for my Sociology of Health and Illness Class: Analyzing the Dominance of the Medical Profession over women from a Feminist/Structuralist point of view while tying in aspects of socio-economic class and supporting my argument by drawing on examples of women and the medicalization of childbirth. Step #1 of project? Obtaining research data, articles, books, etc. CHECK. Wish me luck....

Will be locking myself in the library for days...

What. A. Week... getting a little STIR crazy..

The title alone pretty much says it all. I am exhausted... school has really started to pick up and I now have a pile up assignments on my plate. But let's start from the beginning...

....this weekend TEAN set up a little cultural tour to walk around Wellington for those of us in Welly as well as those of us in Palmerston North. It was nice to be reunited with those people from our orientation program just to be able to check in and see how everyone is doing!

We walked along the bay and harbor while festivals were going on and families were out to play! I felt like I saw more children on that Saturday than I have since I have been here.. so you can imagine that I was in heaven!! Our lovely tour guide, Maria is a theatre actress here in Wellington and she showed us around the warehouse where they perform as well as some good places to eat, hair salons and tied in some culture as well. I personally had a discussion with her about what got her into acting and it was fascinating just seeing her reactions and hearing her talk about her passion... its always nice to meet people like that!

Karim being creepy with his camera..as usual..

The weekend was a little rough--emotions ran high. I think this was the first weekend that I felt somewhat homesick. I have kept in pretty good contact with my parents and my family but my heart was really aching for 1018... Kappa. My sisters just got back from their Spring Breaks and there have been so many birthdays, highlites and hard times that I have missed out on. I was having MAJOR FOMO. I consistently stalk their facebook pages and I have become one of those annoying people that "likes" and comments on EVERYTHING. Its so weird when your whole support system is completely separated from you..

I <3 my PC.

Kappa!

Mom always says siblings are the LONGEST relationship that you will ever have<3

Madly obsessed with Big Mike & Dangie.

...with that being said though... Megan and Morgan came over to keep me and Brenda company and talked me through things... although I am missing my sisters, friends and family back home, I know that the friends I have made here are going to be in my life for a LONG time and that is a great feeling...

... Brenda and I also ordered A TON of groceries the other day.. we finally have a FULLY stocked fridge here.. here's the thing... we live on a HUGE, WINDY hill and it would take us about 10 trips (about 15 min round trip, each time) to get all the groceries we would need. Also the only grocery store near us is the 4 Square Dairy (convenience store) and unless you want to pay 9$ for a box of cereal.. it is cheaper to go this route...

Brenda and I's Pantry.. it feels good.

Yum.

Other than that, school is keeping me busy..the girls are coming over later to plan Spring Break...and this weekend I have decided to get out of my house and go to Taupo with some friends from my orientation program.. we have "booked a bach" (rented a house) and will be going SKYDIVING this weekend... that's right folks.. 15,000 foot DROP. Praying that my parachute will work.. nervous... pictures and stories to come... (hopefully...) XOXOXO

St. Patty's Day 2011. EPIC

What a great week it has been. Another successful week of classes... work is really starting to pile up...

....this past Wednesday was our flatmate's birthday... Brenda and I decided to hold down the fort and play the role of Sober Sally just because we wanted to make sure everything was okay. We had some people over at our flat with pizza and cake before heading into town. It was a really nice bonding time for our flat.. since then we have gotten a lot closer which is nice because of previous experiences. It really takes away from the experience when you don't get along with your flatmates. Brenda and I gave them another shot and I am really glad that we did. Although we are very different from one another- I do respect them and am glad to have gotten this experience.

Steph, Rachel and Dante.

Roomies. Stephs eyes are closed. duh.

Trooper.

Bonding.

After a long week of classes we decided to get dressed up and celebrate St. Patrick's Day. Here in NZ, they go big. We have not really had a crazy night out here until last night. We started the night off @ Megans with a traditional Irish dinner made by the guys. We hung out a bit and eventually made it into town. WHAT. A. NIGHT IT TWAS. The streets were jam packed and everyone was a vision in their green attire. Thank God I picked up my hat before the festivities. The night was a blast and to say it was successful would be an understatement. I just love the people here. My friends are amazing and I got so lucky with the people that were placed here. I am so pumped for the next few months with them. It is already flying by too fast! I will never forget this experience..

Madly obsessed with them.

Too much fun.

Yummy Irish Feast. Thanks, Alec. Taylor loved it.

partner-in-crime for the night. Duh. Sam, sweet baby angel.

Sam and Alec lookin good. When you look good, you look good.

...besides that- not too much is new here. I am looking forward to a low key weekend and a little field trip tomorrow sponsored by our program and skydiving next weekend! Lets just hope we make it through the supposed Earthquake this weekend.. I am a little nervous.

Reflection.

It's beauty is absolutely breathtaking.

What a week it has been.. week 2 of school is over and done with, and the girls and I successfully planned and executed our first big weekend trip to Rotorua. A lot of time and energy goes into planning a trip. There is traveling and how to get there, booking a hostel, food, trips/activities.. etc... but I think this trip made us a little more confident to do our next trip. With about a month or so until SB or "Easter Break," as they call it here, we have 2 weeks of fun to plan now. 

Pictured above is the beautiful sunset I captured on the way back to Wellington. As I had my ipod in (listening to Adele's CDs 19&21 of course!!) I just had the chance to think of the trip that I had just taken. Good times with great friends, making memories that I WILL NEVER forget.. There is not a day that goes by where I do not thank God (and my family) for this experience. What a lucky girl I am. I truly feel that the best thing you can do is enjoy life to the fullest. After all, putting yourself out there and getting to know people and places and appreciating the things that they have to offer is a strength that everyone could use. One of my favorite quotes came to mind after seeing the sights that I have seen this weekend and thus far in my trip.

"When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me."  ~Erma Bombeck

'Everything' in this sense means to me that I have used every blessing and strength that he has provided for me and have taken every opportunity that he has provided for me and used it for some good. I am not perfect, nor is anyone on this planet, but I am a student of life and I feel as though I am consistently learning. The beauty of this country and the things that I have seen is so breathtaking, that I only feel like God could have created it. The fact that I can look out of my window in my flat or a bus that I am traveling on, and can instantly feel some sort of peace or sense of tranquility still amazes me.
What a world we live in. With all of the bad things that happen: crime, natural disasters, etc.. I am reminded here of all of the good. And for that, I am thankful to Him.

With that being said, I ask all of you to pray for the people who were affected by the Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan. That was somewhat of a downer in our trip, and the next day we had a Japanese woman on our sledging trip that was not sure how her family was doing back home in Japan. I will be keeping them in my prayers.

Sending my love from the other side of the world: Peace, Love, and Travel,

              <3 Amy

Rotorua.. Part Deux...

Now the real fun starts... (kidding, it had already started... )

These next few days we were going to participate in a few activities.. Friday was zorbing (picture me in a human hamster ball w/ water in it...best minute of my life) And after Zorbing, we decided to get ice cream and walk around town. We went to the harbor where we were tempted with parasailing and jet-boating.. however we refrained due to the fact that we had already spent so much money and knew that we wanted to travel more later.. so we walked around and then went back to our hostel where we proceeded to rest, watch a movie and go shopping @ the local Pak 'N Save for some groceries. We knew we had a big day the next day.

Zorbing hill.

Harbor.

Beautiful

Black swans. I hate birds but they were beautiful.

Saturday included sledging which is like floating on a 20lb boogey-board down the same water as white water rafters and kayakers.. we had to brave the waves with a wet suit, helmet, flippers and a life jacket on. It was actually quite the work out. I thoroughly enjoyed it and have realized just how athletic I am... after completing that hour on the water, I was quite proud of myself because for those of you who don't know.. I have a HUGE fear of drowning... so that was a huge accomplishment for me... (pictures to come!)
We then went back to the hostel, watched a movie and decided to try out the local Polynesian Spa.

Inside of the polynesian spa.

The polynesian spas are cool because there is legend behind it that a priest came to these pools and spent time in them and it got rid of his Rheumatism. So they are looked at as kind of holy water. We did feel extremely soft after these pools and decided to see the gift shop where we picked up some local goodies for some loved ones. (Mom and Maria- presents to come!!)

View from one of our spa pools..

...and again...

After that we came home, showered (for the first time that weekend..) and then went back to the Pig and Whistle w/ yet another free voucher, where a Kiwi used one of THE BEST pick up lines ("excuse me, do you know how much a polar bear weighs?" "No," "Enough to break the ice, Hi, I'm Stewart..) on our friend Taylor and then they persuaded us to try out the local hot spot "The Lava Bar."
After some great dancing (love their techno music..), it was time to head home early because we had an eight hour bus ride back to Wellington the next day.