Julie & Julia Moment?

Ever seen the movie Julie & Julia? While it's not my favorite movie, I do feel like I'm having one of those moments...for those of you who are blissfully unaware of what film I am talking about, in summary it's all about food.

As previously mentioned, I am having a love affair with my gym.  However the case, I am additionally then having quite the fling with cooking.  I always knew that I loved food, but who knew how much I would end up absolutely adoring cooking?

I feel incredibly dull witted or ignorant.  Or maybe in this case, all of the above? I am going back to cooking basics 101...how to cook food, how to dice/mince/chop food, how to mix herbs and spices...and so far it's actually gone fairly well! I've been on cooking adventures with: Thai curry beef soup, cinnamon pancakes, chicken and noodle/dumpling soup, honey baked apples, apple crisps, cakes, muffins, garlic breads, beef stronganoff, spaghetti carbonara, chocolate dipped biscotti, and lemon custard.  If groceries down here didn't cost me an arm and a leg (and I didn't have to fly back home in only 3 months!) I feel like I would spend way too much on spices, herbs, and all around groceries!  I can't wait to go home and try all of these recipes out on friends and family!

There are still a million and twelve (yes, that is an exact number) of recipes that I would like to try out still! Some are homemade breads (without bread makers), mexican pizza, donuts, thai basil rolls, etc etc.  Wait...there really isn't too much that I DON'T want to try making!

Tomorrow my friend and I are going to be cooking something for lunch....I'm unaware as to what this will be yet....but he and I usually are able to whip up some good things, so we'll see!  Now after all this thought about food in addition to reading so many food blogs, I am starving! Ah, the downside to all of this :)

PS A special thanks to my dearest mother for sending me the apron...I love it!

Pedal to the Metal!

So, seeing as I cannot always have poetic posts about life changing experiences, I chose to do a really quick blog about the new passionate love affair in my life. The gym.

Now, thinking about going to the gym?? Horrendous. Thinking about how I feel after the gym?? Euphoric.  Ok, more like sweaty nasty puffy red faced euphoria...

The point is, that I am going to Fiji for my spring break trip.  Sun, beaches, swimming, snorkeling, all that wonderful (WARM!) jazz.  The only problem is that, thanks to Valsetz delicious cheese sticks...., I'm not exactly in my prime to go out on the beach.  Add the next layer of going on this trip with two stick thin beautiful Hungarian girls? That just may end up being the stressful death of me before this trip, haha.  I'm not going on a rant for sympathy points or people to tell me that they think I am beach ready.  On the contrary I just have to keep focused on my goal of working out.  Because every time I step on the ellipticals or bikes or to my various gym classes, it's one--two--three steps closer to my goal.  Besides, I want to have a great time in Fiji and not worrying about things.  Plus, when I get home I have a wedding to go to (which I'm so stoked about!! my friends who are getting married are just perfect for each other!) and when I get back home I want people to think, "Wow you look great!" not "Sooo...the lamb over there was good, eh?" (apparently people from back home are Canadian now....)

The good news is, thanks to my lovely workout partner, we have been on a roll with some intense workout sessions!  We keep joking that we should just move into the gym and live there.  But seeing as we spend every morning and every evening there, it may be a wise accommodation move!  It's so hard to keep motivated somedays, but I have found that since getting over being so sick, not only my optimism, but my motivation has returned to normal and substantial levels.  There is something just so fulfilling about going running for an hour, and walking back completely drenched in sweat thinking - Hey, today I totally did it!

So as I sign off, I just have to keep remembering this mantra:
Step on, begin peddling, and your off.

Cheers-A.

Yellow Eyed Creature

So I was going to write a blog entitled "New Zealand is synonymous with Fire", seeing as the kiwis have a strange infatuation with lighting things on fire... but instead I thought that maybe it would actually be more appropriate to title it "New Zealand is Synonymous with Sickness".

Three days after I moved here, I got an eye infection, and 2 days later a cold that lasted almost 4 weeks. I was just recovering when I was forced to hitchhike and consequently caught another cold.  I woke up at 5:00 AM today with a searing pain in my right eye, only to have the realization the my other eye was not doing so hot either.  When I got up and looked in the mirror, both of my eyes were completely red and bloodshot--not the hottest look on me.  Unfortunately our medical facilities aren't open until 8:30 AM, so I tried my best to get some sleep inbetween before I called.  Turns out, during my appointment it was found out that my cold had turned into a lovely sinus infection resulting in my two infected eyes.  What a way to start my day!

The doctor leaned over to me and said in a reassuring tone, "Don't worry though, it's very common for people moving down here to be sick for weeks at a time."  Hmmm...there is nothing really reassuring about that fact actually! haha  The one cool point was that I had to have these weird colored drops put into my eyes to check for scaring or problems with my eyes...so I was walking around town afterwards with bright yellow eyes, and whenever my eyes tear up, they produce yellow/orange teardrops...fairly interesting!

But all in all, as much as I hate being sick and cannot WAIT for the day I can sit in my room and think to myself, "WOW I can breathe again!", it surprisingly doesn't make me love this country any less.  Maybe it makes me hate winter just a little bit more, but not much else.  Apart from this week being one of the most stressful weeks I've had in a long time (3 major tests, 2 essays and 2 more tests this coming week!), life seems to be going alright! Next weekend my guy friends and I were talking about maybe going tramping somewhere...as long as I'm not dead it sounds like a fantastic idea! :)

Good ol' Mark Twain

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

I absolutely love this quote...it may seem cliche and a tad bit overused, but who can really say it any better than Mark Twain? (classy guy)

I've been thinking a lot about my future.  I have always been one of  those people who is deadset in my ways, known my future, etc etc.  I have pretty much always wanted a future career as a teacher, to get married, have kids, the whole shibang.  The funny thing is the longer I stay in New Zealand, the less sure I am becoming.  I have met tons of people of all age groups, places in their lives, and upcoming futures.  The more I discuss life with them, the more I realize how much there is to do and see.  I think I am finally realizing that your 20's are kind of your crazy selfish years--learning independence, gaining insight, traveling, working, etc.

After talking with a travel agent during a few travel seminars with a friend, I realized that it is a passion of mine to travel.  I mean, I have always known that I loved to travel (and have been INCREDIBLY blessed to be able to--especially with my family!), but now I see that there is so much more to it.  I want to see everywhere, experience cultures, meet new people, work in foreign cities.  Whether or not I can be a teacher around the globe or I will have to eventually change what I do (or work odd jobs while traveling?) is beyond me at this point.  I've realized that I may want to postpone some of the things (like, oh, marriage and kids!!) until later so I can have time to save money, travel, and live a little bit.  At least at this point, I am looking into many different options for after I graduate around the globe.  Everything from Mercy Ships, Peace Corps, to ALT, etc.   Because you says you CAN'T see the whole world? 

All Americans Eat With Forks

The title of this particular blog may sound absolutely ludicrous, but I suppose in essence that is the point.  My flat mates and I sat down this evening and began discussing the world.  Considering it was Americans from two different states and a Hungarian, we could have a fairly decent variety in our conversation.

If I were to attempt to recreate this conversation, it would take pages and pages and pages, and it would still maybe not even convey the intensity and passion in the actual conversation itself.  What it got down to (one part of it at least, to briefly explain) was culture.  The questions arose of how can we say that some other culture is less superior to ours, who are we to judge?  How can you explain and has bias for or against another culture if you 1. do not know people from there 2. do not know the history of the country 3. do not know/understand the language 4. do not know/understand the culture, etc etc?

One of the most difficult questions I get here is "Well do Americans do (insert some phrase here)?"  And all I can do is sit and think, "I am one person in a country of 350 million...how can I answer for all Americans?"  It would be as crazy as asking, for example, if all Americans eat with forks.  Well, some do, some may use sporks, or chopsticks, or fingers , etc etc.  There is no way for us to answer for what "Americans" do.  Just like in every country, there are people of all backgrounds.

When our van broke down today, instead of waiting or trying to help in anyway, two of the guys (from the US) immediately very rudely said it wasn't their problem that the 12 of us were stranded and needed help figuring out what to do, and jumped out and did an 'each man for himself' escapade.   It was shocking today to hear a friend tell me after the event, "They are the reason that I don't like Americans.  They are the stereotype of how I feel Americans are.  They are always doing things for themselves, not trying to help out the group".  As terrible as that statement sounds, it was jaw dropping to hear it, and think "Wow, we as international students are ambassadors of types to our own countries.  Everything we say or do shapes the perspectives of how people view our country as a whole."

If you only meet 5 people from a certain country, you tend to shape your bias around your personal experiences.  If you have a negative experience, you are more likely to think negatively of the group as a whole, and vis versa.  If I were from another country, and had the experience with only the US guys in our van this afternoon, I would be wondering what people were like.  Is it fair to judge all Americans just because you happened to just meet the two guys who are very rude?  Of course not.  But does it happen in circumstances like this all the time? Definitely.  (BTW I reminded my friend that he knew several of us Americans who he really likes, so that's not very fair to us haha)

I am very fortunate to be living with very open minded people who can have discussions about different aspects of culture and want to go out and meet people and have a better understanding of the world as a whole.  But how many people actually sit down and discuss these sorts of things? Or maybe it is just a crazy thing that happens at 1 AM that people just begin to talk more about the world? I'm not sure.

I guess the question for today is, what are you saying and doing? And do you realize what a large impact it is actually having?

Cathedrals, Rugby, & Hitchhikers

WHAT A WEEKEND.

Not every weekend can you say that you have toured a beautiful city, seen a live rugby game, and been forced into becoming a hitchhiker.  Fortunately (or unfortunately!) that was my weekend summed into one lovely sentence.

Christchurch.  A group of us decided to go up Friday afternoon after classes to Christchurch so we could have time to explore .  Friday afternoon at around 2 PM we began our (long) drive into Christchurch, and slowly dropped people off at where they were staying for the night--ah the joys of a 12 person van!  That evening one of my friends and I just decided to walk around the town, it was really beautiful.  We got to see the huge cathedral in all its moonlit glory, the fountains, the stars.

Saturday was the day of the game.  In the morning we woke up and had breakfast (reheated chinese food...it was a bit difficult to stomach at 10 AM!!) and spent the morning running around from the Botanical Gardens, to the Saturday market, art shops, and the modern art museum.  Now, I don't understand most modern art--something about staring at two trees, one in a blue circle one outside a red square just doesn't appeal to me or my senses emotionally!  But there was a large room dedicated to photographs from around the US...it was pretty intense to go around and see photographs-everything from death row prisoners to nuclear power to farmlands.  It was dually interesting to see our culture from another perspective!  

The game that night was absolutely KILLER!! There is something about watching live rugby, seeing the haka, painted faces, and screaming for the All Blacks that was exhilerating.  Ten times more awesome was rushing out onto the field after the game and getting our tickets signed by our favorite player--number 19.  We loved him.  

After a mere 4 hours of sleep, it was time to get up on Sunday to go checkout of our backpackers and drive back to Dunedin.  My friend and I were joking that the 5 hour drive back we would just sleep away and erase the drive from our memory.  Little did we know that our van was going to break down on the side on a crazy highway, we would have to trek through the rain to go to a house to ask for help, and then proceed to hitchhike--standing on the side of the road with our bags, drenched in the middle of a storm, trying to get a ride 300 km back home.  This is the story in brief, but now that I am home, in dry socks and a blanket, I am content to say that I learned a lot of common sense today, am thankful for the wonderful people here who helped us, and am RIDICULOUSLY happy to be home!!!! ♥

Changing in the world

I find it impossible to not be entirely infatuated and in love with this incredible and beautiful country. I have only been living here about one month now, but I have already begun to see its impacts on me.

Change.

It is incredible how much one can change in such a small amount of time. Every day I see a little bit of change in myself, how I view the world, who I want to be, and what I want to succeed. I have been incredibly blessed to meet so many wonderful people, each of them from different countries, cultures, and backgrounds.

I love having conversations, and having so many things lost in translation because we are trying to have a conversation between four people--only one of which is a native English speaker. I love learning about other countries and their cultures. Or especially attempting to learn different languages...I can now say about 3 things in Hungarian, which is quite the feat! At least for me...I tend to find that Hungarians like to create impossibly long words for everything! And yet, it only drives my passion to learn more about other places and other languages. It has given way to a burning desire to travel the world--starting with Hungary! :)

I love traveling. I just can't get over that every Tuesday or Wednesday I run into people, and they want to travel and see the country as much as I do. By Thursday we have figured out where we want to go, hired a car, and booked the accommodations, and by Saturday morning we are out the door early on our way to some new destination. The destination is not the important part. I have seen hills, parks, oceans, beaches, waterfalls, mountains, and fields. I have been through the wind, rain, sun, ice, and enjoyed every single second.

I have learned so much even just in the way of common sense. I have learned so much about hiring cars and booking accommodations that I may never want to do it again once I get home, but at least I have the know how on how to find the best rates, etc. The independence alone that has given to me is priceless. And the connections I have made with the people here (and the connections that have stayed strong from back home are just as vital!)

If nothing else, that is what I have learned. I have become so much more appreciative of life-by this I mean enjoying the simple things. This morning I woke up at Lake Tekapo, and the first thing I thought was "I can actually feel my fingers and not see my breath!!" I was so completely stoked by the fact that we could use a heater during the night. Or today, despite the fact that we were driving to see a mountain in the middle of an incredibly awful crazy storm, I was so excited. I could hardly wait to get out of the car, to go see things, to get completely soaked.

Every thing about this country fills me with an incredible energy. I can feel it surging through me like electricity. Every day I see new things. Every day I learn new things. Every day is just an insightful new page to my journey. I am so blessed, that I cannot even really put into words how I feel. I feel inspired, confident, joyful, spiritual, exhausted, rejuvinated, everything all mixed into one crazy feeling.

All of this has come from only one month in the awe inspiring country of New Zealand. I will never have an opportunity like this again, and I plan to continue this path and live, learn, and grow for the next 119 days that I have here!!

Sweet as cheers, bru