Wow, lots has happened.
The trip from Wellington was, if I had to use just one adjective, windy. It was really great though. We took the big Interislander ferry to Picton, then a train down to Christchurch. The train had an open air viewing car in the back so I spent most of the six hour ride there watching the country side go by. Jay and Marcie's (the two faculty leaders) two young daughters have finally started to warm to the group. I got to watch Elly (almost 4) scream and giggle at the roaring sound of passing through tunnels one the train. It was cute. Shane (one of the students) has been teaching Arden (almost 2) to say "what's up dog?", "roll deep", and "I'm from the streets".
Our first night in Christchurch a few of us went out to scout the bar scene. We found a place called the StockXchange. We had about an hour of confusion as to why it was that every time we bought a beer the price changed. Finally we realized that they change the prices of their drinks every 5 minutes according to the supposed stocks of the various breweries. They also play horrible 70s music videos.
We're into a whole new section of the program now. We're living in home stays, taking classes in actual classrooms at the University of Canterbury, and doing service work at local community groups. So far I'd say I much preferred our time on the north island, but I'm still adjusting. Moving into home stays has been hard for a lot of the students, but my family is pretty good. I can't stop thinking that they seem oddly like a stereotypical 'american dream' family. The fact that home stays started on the 4th was a bit rough though.
Jon and I are doing our service learning at an environmental grassroots group in a small town outside of Christchurch. They seem really scattered and short on money and people, which can be frustrating, but hopefully we can really help them out. I'm looking forward to seeing how that all turns out.
Last Wednesday was Waitangi day, celebrating the signing of the treaty of Waitangi between the British crown and a number of Maori chiefs. There's a whole world of political and social relevance to the treaty itself, but I wont get into it now. Waitangi Day is kind of the New Zealand version of 4th of July. Tuesday night I went to the park downtown for an orchestral performance and fireworks.
I've had more small world meetings. On Kapiti we meet a woman who's niece and nephew go to Earlham, the nephew being the freshman year roommate of one of the students on the program. Also, while walking around Christchurch one evening I ran into a guy on the street who I've worked with at F&W the past two summers.
Over the weekend the group went up to a research station in the mountains. It was nice to get out of the city for a while. We learned about alpine plants, climbed Mt. Sugarloaf (we decided not to climb the mountains next to it, Mt. Horrible and Mt. Misery), saw beautiful views (including one of the most amazing sunrises of my life), and climbed in a huge bolder field called Castle Hill. We also went to a waterfall where I had the closest thing to a spiritual experience that I've had in a long time. One of those things that really defies words.
The only cure I know is a good ceremony.
Things I have been appreciating:
-Jon's idea for a "hatin' on America water pistol" to spray members of our group with when they go on self-deprecatory America bashing rants without thinking about what they're saying
-Using public transportation with some degree of competence
-Watching rugby
-The feel of rock under bare feet
-The astounding gullibility of some of the students in our group
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2 comments:
Your posts always make me happy Robert
What is with you always running into people you know?! Its like you know the whole world somehow! haha. My group loved to American bash alot, it drove me nuts, I was thinking you clearly just miss america and their cheese and fast internet!! haha. One girl was also dead set on the fact that America didn't have a culture.
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