steak and kidney pie

Class is just about over tomorrow. Then we have a test on Friday. But in the mean time we still have four response papers to go before heading to Samoa. Of course I'm doing anything but...

So I'm quite hungry right now. The smell of dinner is wafting through the house. mmmmm. We always have the most amazing food. I can't even describe to you how awesome the food is. I don't think I'll be able to go back to cafeteria food after this semester. I think we all agree the most favorite person in the house is Jess our cook. *drools* ;D

in line for some calzones

pesto pasta with vegetables

vegetarian burrito

mashed potatos, lamb with mint sauce, kumara (sweet potato ish), carrots

blueberry pancakes with walnuts and almonds

homemade biscuits (jess also made oatmeal bread and pumpkin bread but i have no pictures :[)

chocolate pudding pie

hummus wraps with tahini and cheese

some new zealand goodies: milk bottles, crunchies, dried kiwi...

kiwis and oranges! did you know you can eat the skin of a kiwi?

and Jess she always leaves a bottle of nutella for us. for 19 pms'ing girls it is a godsend ^_^

Okay. And explaining the title...even though there is no picture of a steak and kidney pie there is a wonderful story to it. Yesterday was Courtnay's birthday and of course we always have a gay old time on people's birthdays so we had a series of WWF matches in our backyard. It wasn't necessarily wrestling matches but a series of weird games (arm wrestling, rock paper scissors, thumb jousting, etc.) Of course I get stuck with the pie eating contest and I gag my way through eating a giant steak and kidney pie. I think the kidney part is all grounded up into the sauce which makes it really gross. Its like liquified kidney. Worse thing was that I was a mouthful of swallowing away from winning :[ aaaaghghghh. But the experience was worth blogging about :] Alright I lied there are pictures but they're just was too disgusting to put up. Instead here's a picture of my team. We look so intense!

Ka Kite Bro!

traveling kiwis

We finally started school today. My class schedule is amazing!!! We have only one class a week, and by Friday the class is OVER. Class is from 9 am to 12 pm, then we have a second session from after dinner to 9 pm. Afternoons and weekends are free to do whatever. So basically the last two weeks were just fun in the sun.

my new friends (^_^)v

This past weekend we had student trips. Everyone traveled to Christchurch. The drive there is terribly curvaceous and I get motion sick every time we go over the mountains. But once we got there it was sunny all weekend.

On Friday we checked out the art museum, botanical gardens, the infamous Christchurch Cathedral, and just walked around the city. Lots and lots of walking. My buns hurt :[ Friday night was my first experience at a pub. Beer and conversation!!! I had my first full glass of beer, yum cider beer. Mind you, it's completely LEGAL [drinking age is 18 here]. And it was done responsibly, so don't worry.

Saturday I went snowboarding on Mount Hutt with Tommy, Amanda, and Allison. It was the perfect day for snowboarding. I'm actually pretty good at it. I really want to get on the snow again, but the seasons gonna be over by the time we arrive from Samoa.

that's actually me!

just a tiny part of the Alps

When we came back at night we watched the Rugby game at the Holy Grail. Rugby is flipping amazing!!! I guess the lack of sports at Westmont got me really excited to watch a team game. It was the New Zealand "all blacks" against the Australian "wallabies." We won ^_^ the sports bar erupted in cheers. We all felt like true kiwis. Because we're horribly poor college students we went fast food hopping after the game. McDonald's ice cream cones cost $.33 american.

We went to Catholic mass on our last day in Christchurch. The day was beautiful!!! I'm actually pretty lazy right now so I'll let the pictures speak for themselves!

the cathedral

the river at the gardens

playing in a field of daffodils

Its stinking beautiful outside. It gets a wee bit chilly at night but I'm finally able to wear shorts and leg warmers to breakfast. At night our house kitty, Minou sometimes snuggles in bed with me at night. Its always startling though to feel something moving in my bed because supposedly our room is haunted. Did I also mention our internet isn't unlimited? So after a certain amount of usage we get dial-up.

Oh, I also left my journal on the bus back to Kaikoura. I hope someone reads, writes, draws in it and I'll get it back someday. I don't know, the people who backpack through New Zealand are funky like that. And this is what "tramping" through New Zealand looks like.

Ka kite bro!

the old convent

Kia ora!

That’s kiwi lingo for “hello” here in Aotearoa (New Zealand). We are located in Kaikoura, which is on the South Island of New Zealand. It is cold but beautiful here. I cannot find the words to describe this place, so to make the task easier attached is the view from our backyard.

The staff has been keeping us busy with orientation. Our days are filled with activities (briefings, sheep shearing, bike rides to town, photo scavenger hunts, museums, tramping, etc.) so we actually have a farmer mind set here in the house “early to bed early to rise.” By the way, our house-previously a convent and bed and breakfast. Our room is "haunted." It just had to be my room.

There are twenty three of us from all over the United Stated + Canada. We have a great staff of five here. The professors are being flown down from the states the week that they teach. Everyone seems to get along, and we’re getting closer and more comfortable with each other every single day.

Since in New Zealand, as a group we are making the conscious effort to be more ecologically friendly. Most of the protein that we get are from free-range animals, all of our delicious meals are organic (by the way Jess our chef makes us the most delicious food ever!!!), we have a zero waste policy-everything we use is either biodegradable or recyclable, and simple rules like “if its yellow let it mellow, if its brown flush it down.” It is actually kinda fun.

Kaikoura is a really small town of 3,000 people. There is a big sense of community here, and I think that it is something that I would want when I settle down. Our neighbors wave to us on the street as we bike into town and many of them actually expect conversation from you rather than a quick hello. But I do think that sheep and cows actually outnumber the amount of humans in this town. There is a forty to one ratio of sheep to a person.

We leave for student trips this weekend, I think we might be going tramping or taking the bus up to Christchurch. And in a week and a half we’ll be flying down to Samoa. Sorry this post has taken so long, our internet was just installed today. I’ll try to update as much as possible.

I’ve decided not to upload masses of pictures onto facebook, and instead just share them with you guys when I see you in the spring. I can’t wait!

Ka Kite!