thirteenth floors and other silly things

Since the last blog, I have spent time in Taupo, Rotorua (and I am not even sure that is spelled right), and Hamilton. Current location: Auckland.

And I really like it.

It is warm(er). It is a city, so there are things to do and places to see. We have a hotel with free, fast WiFi and (not free! but available) phones. Our group is once again whole. Which has pros and cons, admittedly. But is also has a Megan and a Hibah. Which makes it mostly good. I forgive it for having the steepest roads ever.

On the creepy side, I am currently in my 13th floor hotel room. I thought hotels didn’t have 13th floors? Also creepy/weird is the fact that I have to use my hotel key in the elevator, and it will only let me go to my, the 13th floor. Apparently, most Auckland hotels are like this, to reduce crime. Again: Creepy.

Guess what I did today? I went to church! A real, legitimate Catholic church. Let it never be said that I am a heathen. After that, a friend and I wandered the city, searching for subjects for our survey (we found some!), worthwhile sights (success), and souvenirs (check!). But then it was time to work on school stuff back at the hotel. We call it module-ing, because our academic units are known as 'modules.' Or hellish torture devices. Depends on the day. They are not fun. It is vaguely painful. I am not being over dramatic when I say it is some of the most involved, complicated, brain-hurting work I have done in school. But I am done with everything that is due tomorrow, and I need to give my head a break before going back to edit/add/worry over!

But enough of that.

Who wants to see pictures?

!!

At the blue baths in Taupo. They are geothemically heated. It is fairly wonderful. Cody, Hillary, me, Jessica, and Marissa.




So there is this thing called 'The Squeeze." Basically, you hop of a boat and into water. Then you wade through a stream and to this waterfall and then to this supposedly hot hot-springs. During that wading, you also have to wiggle on through rock crevices and climb over trees. This is me wiggling through the rocks - see where 'squeeze' comes in?

The pretty swing and sunrise in front of the farm I stayed at. Most beautiful thing ever.

Let’s talk about farmstays, ok? Because they are amazing.

What is a farmstay? Well, you stay on a farming family and see the way they live their life. It doesn’t sound like much, but let me tell you – it was my favorite part of the trip thus far.
While we were there, we did the following:

ate good food; played with pet sheep (!!) ; rode around on the back of an ATV; rode around in a cart hitched to the back of an ATV; watched sheep dogs work the sheep; witnessed firsthand how stupid sheep are; ate really, really good food; met two of the nicest people in NZ (shout out to Christine and Terry – you guys are fabulous!); slept in a comfy, comfy bed with a bed warmer; fell asleep in front of a fire place; ate even more good food; lazed about and slept a happy amount; fed cows; carried a bale of hay and freaked out when a big steer followed me; put up an electric fence; grabbed an electric fence – 4800 volts (!!!); survived said grabbing (one foot up, that’s the key); got shocked and it felt like someone grabbing my shoulders and giving one big shake; ate really delicious blueberry muffins; met two very fat cats that purred like motors; and had too awesome a time.

I did not want to leave.

Am now in Taupo. It’s geothermically active in these parts. That means that there’s random steam vents, sulfur pits, and an active volcano. We visited a hot spring park (and I crossed a sulfur pit! There were no handrails or anything. I am super brave.) and swam in a pool heated by geothermic vents. Much fun. Today, we went on a river jet boat. We also went on this ‘Squeeze’ thing. How that works? You take a jet boat to this place where a stream meets the river. You get off the boat. You walk in the stream. While it is cold enough to be sleet instead of rain. Luckily, the water is warm. So you keep walking, and you trip in the mud, and before long you are squeezing your way between boulders. And when I say squeezing, I mean squeezing. And you keep going. Duck under trees, trip over logs, clim through crevices. Before the hour is up, you get to this pretty, pretty waterfall. Climb up the waterfall. There, you should find a hot, natural pool of water – nature’s Jacuzzi.

The operating word is should.

The rain hates us. First, it made is so the dolphins didn’t come play in the ocean. Then, it made it so the dolphins didn’t come play in the Sound. Throughout the month, it has made me cold. Now, it makes it so the hot spring is not-cold. Not lukewarm, not tepid. Merely not freezing.
But it was still a cool hike.

I am not bitter.

Also: I have so much homework. So much. Studying abroad requires studying.

Who would have guessed?

PS: My friend Joe went bungee-jumping today. I just watched his video. As he plummets, he screams: “HAIL MARY FULL OF GRACE-“ He is Catholic. He thought he was going to die. It was very funny.