Fiji was awesome! But let’s start back with the end of New Zealand. Finals went well enough, I think I did good, I just don’t know if it was good enough…guess we’ll see when my transcript comes across. If worse comes to worse I’ll be retaking a class back at WMU. My last few days in New Zealand were a riot. A few nights out on the town and a bit of ultimate Frisbee, but those days passed far too quickly. The last night I hadn’t planned on drinking so I could be feeling good to travel in the morning and to feel good when I got to Fiji. Well those plans pretty quickly got thrown out the window. I ended up going out and having an absolute blast. It was definitely one of my top night during my semester. The end of the night was a bit hazy but I’m pretty darn sure I saw the sun starting to come up when I was walking back. The next day I was woken up still a bit under the influence, said a few goodbyes and lugged my heavy ass bags to the bus stop. Upon arriving at the airport and checking in I quickly passed out and took one of three naps of the day. Luckily enough I woke up to board my plane to Auckland which I quickly feel asleep on again. After waking up and transferring to my international flight I quickly passed out open mouthed, seat in the upright position and probably snoring up a storm. I woke up hung over and feeling absolutely terrible. It didn't help that when i stepped off the plane i was hit by a wave of pure heat and humidity, causing me to sweat and become further dehydrated. I made it through the line and even after waiting for my shuttle for a good 15 minutes made it to my resort, where i met up with a friend. The resort was absolutely gorgeous right on the beach, which was awesome, but also had a shady pool that had cooler water when you needed to get out of the heat, since the ocean water didn't really offer any relief. The first day i applied suntan lotion a bit unevenly and ended up with a messed up tan I'm still sporting today, haha. The local Fijians, if that's what they're called, were a bit shady so i spent most of my time at the resort, shoot and darn, but the country was really pretty. I also was able to ride my first horse, it was awesome we took them up the beach, i dug it. I mean that's basically fiji, sat around read a fair amount, got a sweet tan and had a few drinks, one which most certainly had a little umbrella in it :D
Leaving was soooo hard but i tried my best to keep a positive attitude about coming home to my family and all my great friends. My flight from Fiji was incredible, i flew united in by far the most comfortable economy seat I've ever been in. The seat had a outfolding footrest that extended for the length of your feet and the seat reclined back almost to horizontal which was perfectly fine with the people behind you cause they were like 10 feet away from you. It was truly incredible!My flight from la to detroit was pretty uneventful, i sat next to a guy who just spent two weeks in new zealand fishing, coincidentally, so it was cool to talk to him about his trip and what i saw and all that. when i got to the airport i was so damn impatient i almost yelled at the guy sitting next to me to get up and move so i could go see my mommy! But nope he took forever. But no worries i got to my mom and to my surprise my brother eventually.It was great i was so happy to see them!
Here are the links to all my recent adventures:
Abel Tasman
Fiordland
FIJI
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Monday, November 10, 2008
8 days and i'll be home, 10 and i'll be in Kalamazoo
Hey everyone!
Well it's official I'm done with my classes and finals!
I finished yesterday afternoon, and i'm certainly feeling relieved. This was probably my worst semester as far as grades go since being in college, luckily my grades don't transfer except for one class and I think that may be pretty darn close to an A anyways so no worries.
To back track a bit i went on an absolutely awesome trip to fiordland to do some hiking a few days ago. It was quite the trip. It got delayed a few days to start, but then we ended up leaving christchurch late on the day we were finally supposed to go too. We left the ChCh at around 6 pm and didn't get to fiordland til something like 5am we started hiking immediately on something like 2 hours of sleep. It was exhausting, and snow covered. The weather was nuts the entire time we were there. After a five hour healthy track covered in snow we broke the tree line where we saw just how crazy the weather was. The winds were terrible and we were completely grayed out in every direction we looked, you couldn't see anything and we ended up hiking in snow that drifter in spots to the point where if you stepped off in the wrong spot you ended up close to up to your waste in snow. When we made it to the hut we were staying in we found the rest of the track had been closed off due to the poor weather conditions, so it looked like we were stuck. The hut was a bit of a better experience than the last rat infested one but the room we stayed in was quite a bit colder.The snow we tracked in didn't melt if that tells you anything. The next day after one of the coldest but most refreshing sleeps we talked with the hut manager who said they weren't sure if they would open the rest of the track or not, so instead of worrying about it we headed over to some awesome caves where we spent three hours spelunking. The caves were amazing and we had an absolute blast. We were also finally able to see out on the lake and see the surrounding area which was absolutely dazzling, one of the most beautiful places I've been in New Zealand. The next day we simply hiked back the way we came took a quick bath in the freezing lake then headed to queenstown for a bit of a side trip. From there i drove us home the 8 more hours we had to go then passed out at 3am in my own bed.
The next day i studied for the entirety followed by the next day of two finals, and a few beers before bed. And now it's today!
I've already had to say goodbye to two of my friends...it's pretty tough, i hoped it wouldn't but i can't say i didn't see it coming. Luckily I'm one of the first people to go so i wont have to watch everyone else take off, whew. I leave november 14th from here which is just three short days from now, then head to Fiji which i leave the night of the 17th and i'll be home just 2 hours later november 18th at 12:30 am (that is with all the time changes etc.) So yeah that's the story now. I'll update everyone with Fiji and do a final wrap up write I'm sure, plus i'll post links to all my pictures from recent adventures.
Cheers
Well it's official I'm done with my classes and finals!
I finished yesterday afternoon, and i'm certainly feeling relieved. This was probably my worst semester as far as grades go since being in college, luckily my grades don't transfer except for one class and I think that may be pretty darn close to an A anyways so no worries.
To back track a bit i went on an absolutely awesome trip to fiordland to do some hiking a few days ago. It was quite the trip. It got delayed a few days to start, but then we ended up leaving christchurch late on the day we were finally supposed to go too. We left the ChCh at around 6 pm and didn't get to fiordland til something like 5am we started hiking immediately on something like 2 hours of sleep. It was exhausting, and snow covered. The weather was nuts the entire time we were there. After a five hour healthy track covered in snow we broke the tree line where we saw just how crazy the weather was. The winds were terrible and we were completely grayed out in every direction we looked, you couldn't see anything and we ended up hiking in snow that drifter in spots to the point where if you stepped off in the wrong spot you ended up close to up to your waste in snow. When we made it to the hut we were staying in we found the rest of the track had been closed off due to the poor weather conditions, so it looked like we were stuck. The hut was a bit of a better experience than the last rat infested one but the room we stayed in was quite a bit colder.The snow we tracked in didn't melt if that tells you anything. The next day after one of the coldest but most refreshing sleeps we talked with the hut manager who said they weren't sure if they would open the rest of the track or not, so instead of worrying about it we headed over to some awesome caves where we spent three hours spelunking. The caves were amazing and we had an absolute blast. We were also finally able to see out on the lake and see the surrounding area which was absolutely dazzling, one of the most beautiful places I've been in New Zealand. The next day we simply hiked back the way we came took a quick bath in the freezing lake then headed to queenstown for a bit of a side trip. From there i drove us home the 8 more hours we had to go then passed out at 3am in my own bed.
The next day i studied for the entirety followed by the next day of two finals, and a few beers before bed. And now it's today!
I've already had to say goodbye to two of my friends...it's pretty tough, i hoped it wouldn't but i can't say i didn't see it coming. Luckily I'm one of the first people to go so i wont have to watch everyone else take off, whew. I leave november 14th from here which is just three short days from now, then head to Fiji which i leave the night of the 17th and i'll be home just 2 hours later november 18th at 12:30 am (that is with all the time changes etc.) So yeah that's the story now. I'll update everyone with Fiji and do a final wrap up write I'm sure, plus i'll post links to all my pictures from recent adventures.
Cheers
Monday, October 27, 2008
Here's the latest and greatest!
Yoyoyo!
My classes are done, finals are only left. i have a two week break from my last class til my first final, then i have 11 day break from my first final to my last two which are on November 10th. For the first break i took off for Abel Tasman national park for a few days of sea kayaking. It was absolutely gorgeous. On the very first day we paddled back into a lagoon where there were two seal pups who decided to swim around our kayaks and play with us. It was so awesome. We camped at a few sites right on the beach which was absolutely awesome. The whole national park was so great! The whole trip was pretty awesome except for our last day out there when it decided to rain. We had already packed three people in a two person tent so I already didn't sleep well then i woke up wet and cold. We then had to pack up our kayaks in the freezing rain then kayak some 15+ kilometers in the same freezing rain. It was pretty terrible but something we all look back on and laugh at now. The next day we headed back down the east coast and did some wine tasting. It was so much fun, we hit like twelve wineries, i mean drinking for free is always good by me. I was amazed how different wines are, i mean i figured you had to be some kind of experienced to know the differences but having pinot gris after pinot gris you start to notice the changes in flavor. After drinking all day we got home and reunited with my other mates and we all went out for Jon, one of the guys on my kayaking trip's birthday. It was certainly and interesting day and interesting night! The rest of this week has been pretty uneventful while i prepare for all my finals, blahhhhhhhh. Oh wait, except for the fact that yesterday i went and tried to surf!!! It was so much fun, but way more work than i ever hoped or imagined. It was an absolutely gorgeous day and there was a huge group of us that got out there which made it that much more fun. I didn't have any luck standing up , but i was able to catch a few waves enjoy the ocean since i also rented a wet suit. But yeah otherwise all I've done is study and get ready for my next trip down to Fiordland from november 2nd-8th. That's about the story for now... I'll catch you up again soon!
Cheers!
Final note: I'll be home november 18th at at some ridiculous hour in the morning and that is final!
My classes are done, finals are only left. i have a two week break from my last class til my first final, then i have 11 day break from my first final to my last two which are on November 10th. For the first break i took off for Abel Tasman national park for a few days of sea kayaking. It was absolutely gorgeous. On the very first day we paddled back into a lagoon where there were two seal pups who decided to swim around our kayaks and play with us. It was so awesome. We camped at a few sites right on the beach which was absolutely awesome. The whole national park was so great! The whole trip was pretty awesome except for our last day out there when it decided to rain. We had already packed three people in a two person tent so I already didn't sleep well then i woke up wet and cold. We then had to pack up our kayaks in the freezing rain then kayak some 15+ kilometers in the same freezing rain. It was pretty terrible but something we all look back on and laugh at now. The next day we headed back down the east coast and did some wine tasting. It was so much fun, we hit like twelve wineries, i mean drinking for free is always good by me. I was amazed how different wines are, i mean i figured you had to be some kind of experienced to know the differences but having pinot gris after pinot gris you start to notice the changes in flavor. After drinking all day we got home and reunited with my other mates and we all went out for Jon, one of the guys on my kayaking trip's birthday. It was certainly and interesting day and interesting night! The rest of this week has been pretty uneventful while i prepare for all my finals, blahhhhhhhh. Oh wait, except for the fact that yesterday i went and tried to surf!!! It was so much fun, but way more work than i ever hoped or imagined. It was an absolutely gorgeous day and there was a huge group of us that got out there which made it that much more fun. I didn't have any luck standing up , but i was able to catch a few waves enjoy the ocean since i also rented a wet suit. But yeah otherwise all I've done is study and get ready for my next trip down to Fiordland from november 2nd-8th. That's about the story for now... I'll catch you up again soon!
Cheers!
Final note: I'll be home november 18th at at some ridiculous hour in the morning and that is final!
Sunday, October 12, 2008
My semester is winding down. It's my last week of class i can't even believe it! It's also a high time of stress. I have a test this Friday that is worth %50 of my grade. As well as a big important paper due Friday. However after that i get a nice 2 week break until i have to take my first final, yay. Time for more travel. Me and a few friends will be heading up to Abel Tasman National Park to do a few days of Sea Kayaking and camping. It should be absolutely awesome! From There I'll be heading out to another place, TBA, for a few more days of hiking and camping before coming back to ChCh for my Maori final. After taking that the 30th i get another 11 day break before i have another final, so again more travel time. I plan on heading down to fiordland, which is supposed to be one of the most beautiful areas on EARTH! Again we will probably mostly be hiking but hopefully we can get some more sea kayaking.
In some cool new and happening news i have a new flat mate! His name is Michael and he's awesome! He's working on his masters in Mechanical engineering i believe, some type of engineering anyways. He's really nice, plays soccer, tennis, mountainbikes and is always up for the beach or Frisbee or anything me and the rest of my friends are up to. Everyone has enjoyed him so far and he stayed out with us dancing it up and hitting all sorts of bars til 3:00am+. The only thing I'm not that happy with is he beat me in a pint chugging race last night...ugh, i think I'll get him next time.
Everything else is pretty standard. The weather is getting more and more beautiful everyday, not that it really has been bad at all the entire time I've been here. We went out and did some more cliff jumping the past weekend as well as made it into town and the market where i was finally able to finish my souvenir shopping.
I'm started to get really sad this trip is kinda wrapping up...only like a month left. I'm really getting scared to come home. What if everything is different...it's scary. I'm sure I'll get back and it will seem like nothing has changed but right now I'm pretty nervous. I'm really going to miss all the people here. They're all such great people and I've had such incredible experiences with them. Things that have changed my life and I'll never forget. It's hard to imagine them leaving my life and being so far away from me. I'm getting a little misty thinking about it. Better stop writing before i get really sad.
Oh! one more thing i believe my dates for coming home may be changing. Originally i was planning on the 17th now it looks more like the 24th, of november of course.
Alright i'm off to bed.
Cheers!
In some cool new and happening news i have a new flat mate! His name is Michael and he's awesome! He's working on his masters in Mechanical engineering i believe, some type of engineering anyways. He's really nice, plays soccer, tennis, mountainbikes and is always up for the beach or Frisbee or anything me and the rest of my friends are up to. Everyone has enjoyed him so far and he stayed out with us dancing it up and hitting all sorts of bars til 3:00am+. The only thing I'm not that happy with is he beat me in a pint chugging race last night...ugh, i think I'll get him next time.
Everything else is pretty standard. The weather is getting more and more beautiful everyday, not that it really has been bad at all the entire time I've been here. We went out and did some more cliff jumping the past weekend as well as made it into town and the market where i was finally able to finish my souvenir shopping.
I'm started to get really sad this trip is kinda wrapping up...only like a month left. I'm really getting scared to come home. What if everything is different...it's scary. I'm sure I'll get back and it will seem like nothing has changed but right now I'm pretty nervous. I'm really going to miss all the people here. They're all such great people and I've had such incredible experiences with them. Things that have changed my life and I'll never forget. It's hard to imagine them leaving my life and being so far away from me. I'm getting a little misty thinking about it. Better stop writing before i get really sad.
Oh! one more thing i believe my dates for coming home may be changing. Originally i was planning on the 17th now it looks more like the 24th, of november of course.
Alright i'm off to bed.
Cheers!
Monday, September 29, 2008
Hey Everyone
Hey Y'all
I know i haven't been on in awhile but there is not a whole lot of new going on with me, or at least i wanted to build up a few cool things to say before typing out another post. First things first, the weather is getting incredible and it's officially spring here!!! I'm loving it except that the beach is constantly calling my name, making it incredibly difficult to focus on class and sometimes making it even harder to go to class. But don't worry mom, I'm doing what i need to. Last week we had a beautiful day so me and a small group of friends went to our favorite hidden away beach, Taylor's mistake, where we made a fire and camped under the stars for the night. It was so much fun, we drank, played music, sang songs, then curled up in our sleeping bags right on the sand with no roof over our heads. It was so much fun! The next morning we woke up and sat in the sun all day. A few people paddled out on there surf boards while me and a few other did a short but beautiful hike. On the way back from the hike, we heard our friends on there boards call out to us. Well they were just down in the water below us ranting and raving about the cliff jump they had just done. Well, who am i to pass up on an opportunity to do something cool while in New Zealand, no one that's who. So after watching my friend Ryan jump in with no wet suit, both surfers had them on, and come up alive I was feeling confident enough to do it myself. It was so much fun, absolutely freezing cold, but sweet nonetheless. I've never done a cliff jump before so I'm was more than happy to make that one my first. This past weekend my friends and I headed to a place called Hanmer Springs, a sweet little village known for it's natural hot springs. After getting a late start on friday night, we made up for it with a hearty party. The next morning we woke up, did a nice hike and checked out the sites before jumping in the hot pools for the afternoon. The place was really cool, it had pools of varying temps, ranging from 28 degrees Celsius to 41 degrees Celsius. After taking all we could of sweating and being dehydrated we hit the road on the way back, which for the guys in my car and I was an adventure in of itself. After noticing some weird shifting patterns we had all the emergency and warning lights come on in the car, certainly nothing of which we wanted to see. Especially since our other friends in the other car were well ahead of us and in a rush to return the rental. After pulling off and restarting the car all seemed fine, that was until we smelt a prominent burning smell throughout the car. Again we pulled over, promptly followed by a police officer who told us there was a garage just 5 minutes up the road. Well we made it there, where we checked the oil to find it had absolutely none. We promptly put a liter and a half in and hit the road again. From there on we had no more problems and luckily enough got home safe. Crisis averted, thank god.
Overall, my classes are going fair. They're really difficult to deal with sometimes because they have so many references to there own politics and history of which i have no idea. My social work class especially has been difficult because it is all about the welfare of New Zealand, so when i have to write a paper, i have no basis to start it since i know none of their programs nor know any of the history of their programs.It is also way more difficult to get an A here. For my first antarctic studies test, we had 50 minutes to write 4 essays, i wrote the entirety of the time and was still unable to do better than a B, ugh. Good thing there is only one class that my grade transfers home and effects my GPA. That class is going OK, again tough to understand, but the one grade i've had in it so far has been an A.
Otherwise things here are pretty standard, my friends are all super nice and i enjoy them, but i am still definitely missing everyone at home. This upcoming weekend i plan on heading up to Kaikoura to go whale watching which should be absolutely amazing and possibly hang out at the sea food festival.
Any other questions, feel free to shoot me a comment.
Love, Cheers!
-Garrett
I know i haven't been on in awhile but there is not a whole lot of new going on with me, or at least i wanted to build up a few cool things to say before typing out another post. First things first, the weather is getting incredible and it's officially spring here!!! I'm loving it except that the beach is constantly calling my name, making it incredibly difficult to focus on class and sometimes making it even harder to go to class. But don't worry mom, I'm doing what i need to. Last week we had a beautiful day so me and a small group of friends went to our favorite hidden away beach, Taylor's mistake, where we made a fire and camped under the stars for the night. It was so much fun, we drank, played music, sang songs, then curled up in our sleeping bags right on the sand with no roof over our heads. It was so much fun! The next morning we woke up and sat in the sun all day. A few people paddled out on there surf boards while me and a few other did a short but beautiful hike. On the way back from the hike, we heard our friends on there boards call out to us. Well they were just down in the water below us ranting and raving about the cliff jump they had just done. Well, who am i to pass up on an opportunity to do something cool while in New Zealand, no one that's who. So after watching my friend Ryan jump in with no wet suit, both surfers had them on, and come up alive I was feeling confident enough to do it myself. It was so much fun, absolutely freezing cold, but sweet nonetheless. I've never done a cliff jump before so I'm was more than happy to make that one my first. This past weekend my friends and I headed to a place called Hanmer Springs, a sweet little village known for it's natural hot springs. After getting a late start on friday night, we made up for it with a hearty party. The next morning we woke up, did a nice hike and checked out the sites before jumping in the hot pools for the afternoon. The place was really cool, it had pools of varying temps, ranging from 28 degrees Celsius to 41 degrees Celsius. After taking all we could of sweating and being dehydrated we hit the road on the way back, which for the guys in my car and I was an adventure in of itself. After noticing some weird shifting patterns we had all the emergency and warning lights come on in the car, certainly nothing of which we wanted to see. Especially since our other friends in the other car were well ahead of us and in a rush to return the rental. After pulling off and restarting the car all seemed fine, that was until we smelt a prominent burning smell throughout the car. Again we pulled over, promptly followed by a police officer who told us there was a garage just 5 minutes up the road. Well we made it there, where we checked the oil to find it had absolutely none. We promptly put a liter and a half in and hit the road again. From there on we had no more problems and luckily enough got home safe. Crisis averted, thank god.
Overall, my classes are going fair. They're really difficult to deal with sometimes because they have so many references to there own politics and history of which i have no idea. My social work class especially has been difficult because it is all about the welfare of New Zealand, so when i have to write a paper, i have no basis to start it since i know none of their programs nor know any of the history of their programs.It is also way more difficult to get an A here. For my first antarctic studies test, we had 50 minutes to write 4 essays, i wrote the entirety of the time and was still unable to do better than a B, ugh. Good thing there is only one class that my grade transfers home and effects my GPA. That class is going OK, again tough to understand, but the one grade i've had in it so far has been an A.
Otherwise things here are pretty standard, my friends are all super nice and i enjoy them, but i am still definitely missing everyone at home. This upcoming weekend i plan on heading up to Kaikoura to go whale watching which should be absolutely amazing and possibly hang out at the sea food festival.
Any other questions, feel free to shoot me a comment.
Love, Cheers!
-Garrett
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Hey there
Hey, i know i haven't written much lately, but not a whole lot has been going on since i got back from my break. Back to the classes and the like, blah. Last weekend i spent a weekend volunteering, it was a blast. It was a group of about 14 australearn kids that all headed to akaroa and transplanted lavender bushes from an old lavender farm to a park. We had some amazing meals that the people who ran our hostel made us and were able to go out on the owners boat. We saw hector dolphins which are the smallest and rarest dolphins on earth, only living on the south shore of new zealand and numbering in the 5000's. The weather has finally taken a turn for the better here, and i can go outside in shorts. I've spent a few beautiful days at the beach learning to skim board and trying to work on getting out to surf, but it's still a bit too cold to spend an extended amount of time in the water without a wet suit. But yeah that's about it. If there is anyone who wants a post card from me that hasn't got one yet just let give me your address and i'll be sure to get one to you.
Cheers!
Cheers!
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