New Zealand
Everything minus the gold teeth
Wednesday, January 10th, 2007With the anniversary of my trip to the Far Side of the World (that would be New Zealand and Australia) last Friday, I’ve been so terribly nostalgic the past few days. My “1000 Places to See Before You Die” calendar featured Marlborough Sound in NZ yesterday, and even though I didn’t make it to the [...]
Picture and a story II: This turd’s for you
Tuesday, May 2nd, 2006[First, I just have to tell you I had another job interview today down at Georgia State. It went well, I think. The people were nice and the research was interesting. However, it didn't pay much and I'm vastly overqualified for it. But guess what I would be doing if I got the job? Cracking [...]
Picture and a story I: The Wellington cable car
Friday, April 28th, 2006So I’m going to try to refrain from more whiny, I-don’t-have-a-job posts. Those kinds of posts don’t earn readers. Instead I’ve hit upon a more reader-friendly, entertaining method of posting. I promised you more stories from my trip, right? So instead of just boringly regaling you with tales, I’ll post a picture and then boringly [...]
A Kiwi farewell
Wednesday, February 15th, 2006For my last post before leaving NZ and heading to Australia, I leave you with these studentisms (and they were sober when they said these things):
Written on a student’s notebook: “Hangovers in class: 4 [tally marks]“
One student’s question to the Maori leader at the welcoming ceremony we went to: “Do the Maori ever, like, go [...]
We’re all just one big happy nerdy family
Tuesday, February 14th, 2006Guess what? Paper #2 (the rotifer one) got accepted to Marine Biology sometime around Christmas. So even though I’m fairly far down the authors list, I’m thinking that having a paper in Marine Biology makes a person an official marine biologist. I want business cards now. I just need to get off my lazy bum [...]
Is it really hip to be…?
Monday, February 13th, 2006One of my kids popped his head in my room tonight as I was sitting around knitting on the sweater I’m making.
“Hey Melissa, do you have a stain [remover] stick?”“Hmm. Nope.”“Darn. I figured you were the one person who would definitely have one.”
And then, slowly, a wave of horror passed over me as I realized [...]
Sleepy kiwis and renegade sheep
Monday, February 13th, 2006Trying to catch up with news before we leave for Sydney on Thursday. Things that have happened lately:
Visits to Karori Wildlife Sanctuary (huge predator exclosure fence around tons of acre of forest) and Mt. Bruce Wildlife Sanctuary (has captive bird breeding programs) with the students. At Mt. Bruce, I saw an actual live kiwi (the [...]
Migrating south for the weekend
Saturday, February 11th, 2006The boss instructed me to write an email to the students reminding them to be clean. So I did. I’m really proud of it, and it earned me major cool points with the boss. And since I’m normally no good at being mean, I’m proud of it, so I’m sharing it with you.
Ok guys, here’s [...]
It’s hard to think of adjectives when you’re tired
Tuesday, February 7th, 2006I was looking through my past entries last night and realized they’re freaking long, and I’ve probably scared all of you off. I apologize. Please come back! Pretty please? Does anyone still read this? I swear there’s like a cyberecho going on when I write. From now on, I’ll make a concerted effort to keep [...]
Mel vs. The Volcano
Sunday, February 5th, 2006[Below this post: penguin pics!]
I’m STILL behind on my blog writing. What happens is that since we have 3 day weekends (during which I’m generally away from the internet), I have 4 days to catch up. And I generally miss a day somewhere in there to keep from overwhelming you all with stuff to read. [...]
I give you…penguins!
Sunday, February 5th, 2006I don’t have time to write much now, but these pictures might tide you over.
Brian feeds his chicks
One of the chicks wants more dinner
An unexpected meeting in the nesting grounds
Do Kiwis taste like chicken?
Wednesday, February 1st, 2006So I’m trying to figure out if I should eat lunch at the Wellington airport before my flight. I was looking at the website’s list of food venues, and I came across this line in a description of one restaurant:
…this is our self-serve counter, selling everything from the classic kiwi filled roll…
This raises an important [...]
Penguins or bust
Wednesday, February 1st, 2006Just a quick post to tell you all that tomorrow I’m going down to the southern part of the South Island (Dunedin, to be exact) to see the penguins and albatross. I’m so excited, I could just pop. Expect penguin pictures here soon…
Ooh! A post!
Tuesday, January 31st, 2006A recounting of a very long drive around NZ. Click here (will take you to the entry-specific page).
[Insert Title Here]
Tuesday, January 31st, 2006[Click on the links throughout to see pictures I took.]
I had a hard time coming up with titles for this entry. Some of the contenders were:
Have Car, Will TravelWho the #$%!@ Came Up With Roundabouts?A Girl and Her ColtLeft: The New Right
Anyway, I’m still behind on my entries, so flashback to last Sunday (not this [...]
Need to procrastinate from work?
Monday, January 30th, 2006I took time out from patronizing my undergrads and made this post. Click here.
Hello, my name is Kelly
Sunday, January 29th, 2006Flashback to Saturday of last weekend.
D-day, as in “dive day.” I had joined a local dive shop’s dive club (”The Frog Divers”), and they go diving every Saturday morning. I showed up a little early and was promptly told by the shopowner to stay out of his way until dive time (in more or less [...]
Drunken Student Quotes: Vol. II
Wednesday, January 25th, 2006Time for my favorite entry subject and yours: drunken student quotes! Unfortunately not so many this time, mainly because ALL 43 OF THEM were piss drunk and as annoying as only 43 drunken fraternity/sorority types can be, so I was trying to avoid them.
Me, at about 5pm today, to a group of about 10 wasted [...]
Good times had by all
Tuesday, January 24th, 2006I just realized I never showed you guys the pictures from my graduation/going away party that SOME of you were too cool to show up for. This is what you missed out on. Click on the pics for a bigger version, right click them to save.
(There is a new NZ post below this one. Go [...]
Bring on the birds…again
Tuesday, January 24th, 2006(I’ll go ahead and warn you–this entry gets kinda mushy and Hallmark cardy. So sue me.)
Friday afternoon, I went to a little farther north to Waikanae Beach. One of the major goals I’d set for myself this weekend was to make up for the Nga Manu fiasco of last weekend. I really wanted to see [...]
Meet the Kiwi Barnyard
Sunday, January 22nd, 2006At this point (Friday), I was still in Paraparaumu (see previous entry). I came across this cool little folk arts center, complete with a little petting zoo/farm thing. I don’t know if you knew this about me, but I am a total sucker for petting zoos. I could write about all the different animals I [...]
"Bubblllllesssss! My bubbles!"
Friday, January 20th, 2006Going diving in about half an hour!
In answer to Jenna’s question on the following post: well, I’m guessing you’d want that shipped international priority to preserve freshness. I sent off a few documents the other day to my boss in the states and that cost NZ$64. A grilled cheese sandwhich would be slightly heavier than [...]
Of Rocks and Chimps
Wednesday, January 18th, 2006Today was wet and rainy–a blissful day of not having to slather on sunscreen just to walk into town (stupid ozone hole). And there is a strange sound penetrating Weir House: it is the sound of silence. The students have a test tomorrow and they are all studying hardcore. Plus, they are probably still hung [...]
Of Rocks and Chimps
Wednesday, January 18th, 2006Today was wet and rainy–a blissful day of not having to slather on sunscreen just to walk into town (stupid ozone hole). And there is a strange sound penetrating Weir House: it is the sound of silence. The students have a test tomorrow and they are all studying hardcore. Plus, they are probably still hung [...]
Didgeridoos and didgeridon’ts
Monday, January 16th, 2006First of all, I went snorkeling today in Breaker Bay (the nude beach from yesterday, and NO, I was NOT naked, thank you very much. All the naked people were secluded on the far side of the beach from where I was). It was so freaking cold. Luckily I bought a 0.5mm neoprene shirt at [...]
Didgeridoos and didgeridon’ts
Monday, January 16th, 2006First of all, Alex, you have an identical voice twin who works at an auto parts shop in Wellington. I don’t know if he looks identical to you or not since I only talked to him on the phone. It was weird, dude–I think you may have a good twin.
Second of all, I went snorkeling [...]
Attack of the Naked Kiwis
Sunday, January 15th, 2006Ah, a lazy Sunday in Wellington. Spent the majority of the day with the two students who had not taken off for the weekend. After much deliberation, we headed down to Seatoun, which (if you’re an LOTR fan) is supposedly where the cast and Peter Jackson lived during filming.
There’s not much there besides some houses [...]
Attack of the Naked Kiwis
Sunday, January 15th, 2006Ah, a lazy Sunday in Wellington. Spent the majority of the day with the two students who had not taken off for the weekend. After much deliberation, we headed down to Seatoun, which (if you’re an LOTR fan) is supposedly where the cast and Peter Jackson lived during filming.
There’s not much there besides some houses [...]
Bring on the birds!
Saturday, January 14th, 2006Laptop finally made it out of Auckland! Hooray! It has been a joyous reunion. Except for when I overloaded my converter and melted it down and was sure I was going to set the building on fire. But now I’ve got a new adapter, so it’s all good.
As for things that were NOT good, let’s [...]
Pics from NZ, #1
Saturday, January 14th, 2006A few quick pictures (sorry–a bit smaller than I meant them to be. Next ones will be bigger). Note the new post below this one.
A bee coming in for a landing at the Botanic Gardens
Sunset at Island Bay
Stuffed oystercatchers at Te Papa Nat’l Museum (The two in the middle row.)
Bring on the birds!
Saturday, January 14th, 2006Laptop finally made it out of Auckland! Hooray! It has been a joyous reunion. Except for when I overloaded my converter and melted it down and was sure I was going to set the building on fire. But now I’ve got a new adapter, so it’s all good.
As for things that were NOT good, let’s [...]
Ick
Thursday, January 12th, 2006Okay, so when I said “flu” what I meant was “food-poisoningesque-constant-vomiting.” Fun story there, which I will save for later.
Miserable
Wednesday, January 11th, 2006Well, apparently I’ve got the flu or something to that effect. All I know is that I am so sick I can hardly move. I need soup, but the dining hall is closed until 1pm and getting down to the grocery store is quite an ordeal. And the little darlings were drunk and stupid again [...]
The Kiwis get their groove on, and the students get their drink on
Wednesday, January 11th, 2006Is it pathetic to be wanting a nap, and it’s only 10:30 am? Hmm.
Since it’s summer here, there are all sorts of fun, summery-type activities to do. Last night I headed up to the botanic gardens for a free concert they were having (they’re having free concerts every night in January). Ran into my students, [...]
The Kiwis get their groove on, and the students get their drink on
Tuesday, January 10th, 2006Is it pathetic to be wanting a nap, and it’s only 10:30 am? Hmm.
Since it’s summer here, there are all sorts of fun, summery-type activities to do. Last night I headed up to the botanic gardens for a free concert they were having (they’re having free concerts every night in January). Ran into my students, [...]
A not-so-exciting account of the day’s events
Tuesday, January 10th, 2006So I’m I writing too much for y’all to keep up yet? :)
Today was another errand-filled day. I’m just wondering when I get to stop running errands and start doing more fun things. But I guess it is my job. I had a bunch of the students’ supplemental readings printed and bound, and they came [...]
Musings on Kiwis, shoes, and environmentalism
Monday, January 9th, 2006Today was the kids’ first day of class and my first day of running around lost in Wellington.
Well, I wasn’t actually lost. I was trying to find a particular printshop and ended up having to exercise my map-reading skills, which, as it turns out, are a bit rusty. I ran all over the place trying [...]
Musings on Kiwis, shoes, and environmentalism
Monday, January 9th, 2006Today was the kids’ first day of class and my first day of running around lost in Wellington.
Well, I wasn’t actually lost. I was trying to find a particular printshop and ended up having to exercise my map-reading skills, which, as it turns out, are a bit rusty. I ran all over the place trying [...]
Kiwis love their vascular plants
Sunday, January 8th, 2006Day 2: first full day in Wellington.
Not much going on today. The kids (and the profs and me, too) got a tour of Victoria University today–that’s where we are staying. The house we live in is called the Weir House. I’ve got a lovely view of downtown Wellington (I’m way excited because I got two [...]
The kiwi has landed
Sunday, January 8th, 2006Well, my dears, here we are. South of the Equator and west of the International Date Line. On one of two big rocks in the south Pacific otherwise known as New Zealand. Lovely country, but the getting here was not so lovely.
24 hours before departing Atlanta: discovered the Office of International Education had NOT filed [...]
Kiwis love their vascular plants
Sunday, January 8th, 2006Day 2: first full day in Wellington.
Not much going on today. The kids (and the profs and me, too) got a tour of Victoria University today–that’s where we are staying. The house we live in is called the Weir House. I’ve got a lovely view of downtown Wellington (I’m way excited because I got two [...]
The kiwi has landed
Saturday, January 7th, 2006[Disclaimer: Travel journal starts with this entry; every entry previous to this is mindless blather that should probably be ignored.]
Well, my dears, here we are. South of the Equator and west of the International Date Line. On one of two big rocks in the south Pacific otherwise known as New Zealand. Lovely country, but the [...]
Don’t hate me because I’m lucky
Thursday, November 10th, 2005So I was all bummed and stuff about having to cancel my trip to the Bahamas. And then yesterday, a job fell in my lap.
I’m going to spend an all expenses paid, stipended (if that’s a word) 3 month trip in New Zealand and Australia.
…
Yeah. I’m the TA for the GT Study Abroad in NZ [...]