Varied Musings

Full disclosure: I wrote this as the large part of an email to Rachel, and it ended up being much broader in subject and scope than I thought.  It touched upon things I thought others might be interested in, so I decided to modify it a bit and stick it on here.  I didn't have internet last night, so I just kept typing out things that came to mind instead of stopping and clicking send.  


I am currently in Kaikoura NZ on the South Island (Wellington is at the southern tip of the North Island). I took a ferry across the strait today to Picton, where I stayed for an hour as I waited for a bus to take me down the eastern coast to Kaikoura. It was absolutely beautiful and reminded me that I love the South Island. The water was wonderfully clear, even at the ferry terminal, and there were birds all around, the sun was shining, and kids were playing on the playground. The South Island just represents unbridled joy for me I think. I only spent a little less than 2 weeks on the South Island traveling around last time I was here, and it was a time filled with exploration, which was great. I didn’t have anything to do except travel and soak in the sights and have a great time. I am alone this time, but that is okay, I am only here for the next few days. Why am I here you might ask? I am going whale watching! It should be good fun. I am excited. Whales put Kaikoura on the map, so I figured I should come. I want so badly to bring you all here, to this country, to Wellington, to the awkward beautiful hills and mountains of the South Island. I want to just take a car and drive all around with some people I know from home. I thought about this last time I was here – this desire to share this wonderful place with someone else.


*There is a girl just outside my door in a common space talking to her grandmother about her travels. She is from somewhere around the north of England judging from her accent. She is talking about how she really wants her family to be there with her to see all these beautiful sights and to share the beauty that is New Zealand, the same thoughts that were running through my head. *


Already on the bus I was thinking about the next time I come back. I don’t know if I see myself living here when I’m older, because I can’t quite fathom the whole education system here (this is thinking about having children at some point in the future…totally unsure when). I can see myself living here (when I say here I mean the country of New Zealand – I haven’t quite figured out where in this country it would be) in a few years for a few years perhaps. I don’t think I would live here forever, but it’s so damn far away any decision to visit has to be deliberate and not just on a whim. Or maybe inspired by a whim but then followed by some planning. I can see myself coming here and working on a farm, or a vineyard, or some sort of adventure job, or even just working at a hostel or café somewhere. I figure you meet lots of interesting people in either of those positions.It’s kind of funny because last summer biking around made me think about how much there is to offer in the US – why would you want to travel internationally when you haven’t even scratched the surface of your own country? There are so many amazing awesome adventures to be had in little country stores in Vermont, or roaring rivers in Oregon. I love the US because there is such geographic diversity over such wide swaths. It’s a very westward ho explore uncharted territory mind in a way. I want to travel the country one way or another next summer, granted I am woefully unemployed, or gainfully employed but with some time on my hands. 


I’ve given some sort of serious thought to biking across the country. I know it can be done, as I know people who have done it. I think it would be an amazing experience, and one that would definitely put a feather in my cap. I have also thought about hiking the Appalachian Trail, but somewhat ironically I think biking across the country would be easier, and shorter. I also think the potential to go batshit crazy is higher on the Appalachian Trail. I’ve definitely met some thru hikers close to Katahdin who were not totally with it and definitely not totally bathed/shaved. The fact that SHP had a trip go out both last summer and this summer with people that I know on it plus a handful of teenagers that crossed/are crossing the country makes that goal that much more attainable. The only issue would be finding someone to do this with. Alternately I was considering the idea of driving across the country, which I think would be a much more appealing prospect to some people, mostly the people I might potentially proposition for such an adventure. I feel as though I want to have some sort of last hurrah after college, and I don’t quite know what that will or should be. In some sense I feel as though I don’t have the right to go off and travel as I’m here right now, this summer, albeit for research.


There is also that perennial lurker, employment. I truly have no idea what I will be doing next year. I am scared I will have nothing, but I am also scared of what I might have. I can see myself either finding a job that actually pays me but in which I am not totally into, or finding a job that appears to be transient and temporary, and only requires me to wear quick dry clothing. Of course, these are really kind of two extremes, and there are options in the middle, but my list of ‘things to be when I grow up’ is all over the place. Rest assured I plan on finding something that will feed and house me. The newest additions are whale photographer and museum person. There are many museum people, and I haven’t really decided which one I would explore. There is this guy who takes pictures of whales – Bryant Austin I think - I believe he is based in CA, and takes the most magnificent photographs of these creatures with a very high res camera underwater. It’s a small operation, but I was thinking about emailing him sometime, and just saying hey, I think you are cool, please think I am cool. He prints these photos life-sized and these whale eyes just stare at you. It’s fantastic. I also want to apply for fellowships, because hey, if I can delay employment in a socially acceptable and financially feasible way, why not? I think my favorite is one based on a Mark Twain quote about not letting your schooling getting in the way of your education. I’m pretty sure you just get a chance to study something totally unrelated to anything practical to your life at Cambridge for two years.


It is odd to think that I have less than a month left here. A month sounds like a longer period of time than 4 weeks. I need to stop thinking about this because it’s getting me antsy in contradicting ways. I don’t know if I can quite explain it but I go back and forth between not wanting to leave and then not quite wanting to leave but looking forward to going back to the states kind of. Now I’d say I feel as though I want more time to roam about here. Especially within the country there are just so many opportunities.


I keep meeting these people – at events and around. I met two internationally renowned Maori artists on Saturday, which was amazing. I loved the artwork of one and the other one was okay but she had interesting stories behind her work. I got a book from the first one, whose name is Darcy Nicolas, and we are going to have coffee on Friday after I get back from Kaikoura. I need to come up with questions and sound intelligent and understanding by then! It’s really just a matter of not getting tongue-tied and sitting there having my mind go blank. Sadly that tends to happen to me when I am faced with someone who would be an amazing resource. It kind of happened to me last Friday when I sat down with this woman who has been studying whales here for a while. She’s actually an American who fell in love with a kiwi here oh so many years ago.


A quick idea of what my life in Wellington has been like for the majority of the time here. I wake up not too early, make some breakfast, and then walk down to the waterfront where Te Papa is, the national museum. I then sit in the research library taking notes and reading from around 10 until 3. For a few days I would then go back to my flat and change clothes to go to hot yoga (there was a deal - $10 for 10 days), which was interesting. Then I would come back take a shower and then most likely go to another place in Wellington where a bunch of American girls are living. They are here doing what I did last time I was here – unpaid internship. They are all pretty awesome and get a long with each other, which is much more than I can say about the last time I was here. I have become stronger friends with about 3 of then than the other 3 – well now 2 because one of them left two days ago. I remember being really lonely at times last time I was here and these girls have saved me from that fate. I am a different person than I was last time, and I went into this bracing myself for the loneliness, but I actually think today will be the first day that I don’t see one if not all of them since I’ve been here. The one I get along with best is actually leaving on Saturday to go down to ski in the South Island. She is trying to get to the Olympics for the halfpipe, a new event. She goes to Cal, and her name is Allie. She’s a lot of fun and we just get each other. I don’t know if I’ll ever see her again, but I hope so at some point. Not stressing.


I’ve been eating pretty well here, and I don’t really quite have a handle on how much money I have been spending but I think I am all right. I should check that again at some point soon. I definitely am consuming less instant food than last time I was here. I think it’s partially because I don’t necessarily have regular meals here, and have been eating eggs, kiwis, apples, porridge, honey, tea, avocados, and pasta. Oh, and cheese. I have a large block of cheese. I love that there is an outdoor vegetable and fruit market every Sunday, even though it’s the dead of winter. To be fair, it’s not actually that cold in Wellington. I guess it’s technically sub tropical, so it’s consistently been in the low to mid 50s. I go to the market every Sunday to fill up on kiwi apples and avocados. This week the kiwis were extra cheap, and I got 5 for 50 cents. The Avocados were a NZ dollar per, so about 85 cents US. It’s great. I’ve been having an avocado as a meal sometimes – I found some lemon juice in the flat (people who lived there last left food there) and then I had bought some garlic seasoning to make burgers. I cut the avocado in half, take out the pit, then squirt lemon juice; salt and the garlic seasoning into the holes in each then mash it up with a fork. It’s modified guacamole! It’s delicious is what it is.


I want to get some things to bring back – I have been stockpiling chocolate and will probably get more – but I don’t really want to blow my bank account before I leave. I wasn’t thinking about it before that much, but now I keep alternately being proud of myself for feeding myself on free events and then feeling like I am just buying coffees everywhere and going wily nily. I think in the end my inherent desire to be thrifty comes out, but at the same time I see things and think, well if not now, when? Like forking over a few extra dollars to get a four-share room instead of a ten here at the hostel in Kaikoura. Funny story, that. I arrived this afternoon and checked in and the woman at the desk gave me a bed in a six share room, booking me for 3 nights, saying that if I was lucky they wouldn’t have to put anyone else in the room and I would have it all to myself. I thought this was quite nice. I walked into the room and was bombarded by the smell of stale smoke. It was kind of nasty. I went out, explored the hostel a bit and then bought an Internet card. I went into get my computer and decided to tell the front desk that my room smelled like ass/someone had been smoking. There was another woman at the desk this time, and I told her that the room smelled, and she was a little standoffish as if no one could have possibly been smoking in there as they have smoke detectors. I don’t smoke and I know ways to get around such things. She asked if I wanted to move and I said yes please if it was possible, expecting to be put into another six share maybe with some other people. They are putting new carpets in for one half of the hostel so I guess they didn’t have any more, I don’t really understand what happened, but now I am in my own room with what appears to be a queen size bed. The room is about the size of the bed, but that’s fine, I don’t need much space. I was basically upgraded a few levels and I don’t have to pay more! This is great. I think the fact that I am staying more than one night, and the fact that it’s winter here and not the tourist season helped.


I just took a wonderfully hot shower here that got rid of my literal cold feet. Before that I walked a bit down the road to get some “fish bites and chips”. Aside from the lack of enough ketchup – I had to buy more and they came in teeny tiny little plastic cups – it was totally delicious. The fish bites were the best because they were moist and crunchy on the outside and greasy in a good way with salt. The fries were quite potato-y and needed more ketchup. Oh well, that was my dining out experience in Kaikoura. I figured I was so close to the sea I should have something fishy. Kaikoura actually means to eat crayfish. I don’t think I’ve ever had crayfish, so perhaps I shall have to try some the day after tomorrow. I have brought a bag of food with me so I don’t have to go out all the time for food, which is good, and I’ve brought more than enough to sustain me for the time I’m here, but it’s always good fun to go out a see what the town is offering.

Other Pictures

For the first time since I've been here I feel as though time is moving slowly today.  It's odd.  

Updates - I've made more photo copies of pages of books, but this time they are colorful and of paintings by the artist Robyn Kahukiwa.  She is Māori and has done a lot of pieces dealing with the idea of wahine (woman) and Māori rights and culture.  I've picked out a few about whales that she has done, specifically from a children's book called Paikea.  I have also tried to explore more on Youtube the versions of the Paikea folk song.  It's kind of addictive and infectious to watch as it's got a sing song quality and there's a nice dance to go along with it.  

Anton van Helden has not gotten back to me after getting back to me the first time, but I am hoping that he will soon.  Apparently he is very excited and passionate about his work, so I am hoping it will rub off on me and I can soak it in.  

Some of the friends I have made here went to the south island for the weekend, and on their way back from the ferry terminal shared a taxi with another woman.  Randomly she happened to be in Wellington conducting interviews and research for her book, one of the chapters of which sounds exactly like my thesis.  upon further sleuthing (going only off of the fact that her name was Barbara) I found out that she is actually writing a book as a companion for the Tōhora exhibit!  Plus she was actually here conducting the interview with a Māori elder yesterday (and I was totally eavesdropping because it sounded interesting) but I had no idea that it was her!  I have since gotten her email address, and sent an inquisitive email her way.  Here's hoping that something comes out of that.  In this adventure  for information I enlisted the help of Joan, the woman who led the session on the pōwhiri.  She is called a kaiako, or learner in Māori, which translates to teacher.  She teaches te reo Māori here in the museum which is really cool.  She is super nice and helpful, giving me at least three phone numbers for her - I'm supposed to call her if I can't for some reason get my hands on a voice recorder, as she has one I could borrow.  I went to OfficeMax today, and they didn't have any.  Well, they said they could order one in but that it would be north of $250.  I am going to try and find a cheaper one as that particular version seemed to have a lot of frills I really don't need.  

While I have not exhausted the shelves here at Te Aka Matua library I think tomorrow will be devoted to film studies.  I have found a few films that have to do with the rise of whale watching in NZ, some stories on Kaikoura, all with an eye to the Māori folklore.  It is exciting.  

Oh! and more exciting news - I have booked travel to Kaikoura on the south island for next week.  I'll be going down on Monday and returning Thursday with a whale watch in the middle.  Kaikoura has the highest incidence of sperm whale sightings in the world, and the group I am going through guarantees whale sightings or they will refund 80%.  There is also apparently the option to swim with some dolphins.  Unclear if this will happen given the temperature and time that I have there.  It's kind of funny, because Kaikoura was the only stop in the south island that I missed last time I was here.  I did a giant loop of the whole island, but skipped out one stop before at Christchurch to fly back to Wellington.  A little bit ironic given my focus on whales now, as Kaikoura was put on the map by whales and dolphins. The hostel I will be staying at is called the Dusky Lodge, after the Dusky dolphins that frequent the waters.  It's about a 3 hour ferry ride to the south island, then a 2 hour bus ride down to Kaikoura, which all told really isn't that bad.  I'm pretty sure I'll be taking pictures the whole time.  

Photographs

For those of you who might not be super familiar with blogs, or the ability for one to click on most things, I direct your attention to the right of this post, where it says Slideshow.  Feel free to click on any one of the scrolling photos, and it will take you to a web album I have put together of some of the photos I have taken here.  I've saved you the bore of going through me standing adjusting the camera settings, or taking a billion photos to get the right angle of some museum.  There should be captions for most of them as a form of explanation.  Please comment on these as the (lack of) spirit moves you.

In other news I have found some films to watch at the NZ Film Archive not far from where I am about whales and some Māori iwi.  sweet as.  I think I'll do that on Monday as they open at noon and close at 4 or 5 and I'm trying to be productive at the library now at Te Papa for at least another 40 minutes.

I should say that I am trying to read Moby Dick while I am here.    I should also say that I am failing miserably, finding that food, magazines, sleep, libraries, computers, and human contact are all coming in many places ahead of reading that brick, much less lugging it around with me so I can read it in spare minutes.  I do not doubt its literary merit nor engaging plot line, but it's not exactly people magazine.  Or Cosmo, of which I have found an inordinate amount of issues in the flat.  I'd never read it before, much less the Aussie version which seems to be the only kind around.  Anyways.  At least my notebook is looking fuller and marginally academic.

I love Te Papa's Library Staff

Two people in particular, Martin and Victoria, have been enormously helpful emerging from the stacks with heaps of books and materials pertaining to Maori culture and mythology along with papers from the DOC (Department of Conservation) about whales.  Today I got the official file from the Tohora exhibit - yeah the one they put up a few years ago all on whales in New Zealand.  I very nearly squealed.  I have a whole pile of books sitting on a table marked do not reshelve which makes me very happy as I scribble things down in my notebook.  I've also received the contact info for the man who helped curate the Tohora exhibit which is great.  I've been told I might be able to visit him in another facility where he is dissecting things including whales and sharks.  SWEET.  Seriously.

Also - the best place to do a lot of heavy internet usage is really beautiful and on the water.  It's where I am now actually.  Here is a picture of what I am currently looking at beyond my screen.

Okay, back to my wonderful library experience!

Sediments

I have decided to start uploading photos from my adventures here walking around town.  I have done a lot of walking, which I think is a good thing.  I've had a good chance to settle in here and get my bearings and decided what it is I want/need to be doing.  For the first time yesterday I actually felt  a sense of calm concerning my thesis plans because I could at least vaguely visualize a path of my research.  This week I am focusing on reading as much as I can from both the city library and Te Papa's research library so as to provide a more decent background.  I've also contacted the Conservation Department who published a paper that I had used previously (but I don't think I could access the whole thing online...) and found in Te Papa.  Hopefully they will be able to let me access some of their materials as well as point in some useful unthought of directions.
The librarian I met with at Te Papa was wonderfully helpful and nice, letting me make copies for free, pulling out scads of books, and telling me I could come back when ever I wanted.  I am actually going there now when my battery dies (quite soon).
In other news I have been working at the Museum of City and Sea on the weekends helping out with their Saturdays for Music, Sundays for Dance program and taking pictures.  I actually made some money off of the dancers on Sunday, because they wanted my photos.  That bought me a nice hunk of cheese.  I hope I can continue this in the coming weeks, because a little cash flow in, however small, just makes me feel appreciated, and as though I'm doing something real.
I am bouncing around topics because I don't have much battery life left at all, and to end I say Happy 4th of July to those in the States, I hope you enjoy yourselves.  Eat some watermelon, and watch some fireworks for me.  My 4th was yesterday and I made cheeseburgers and watched stupid american movies with my new found american friends.  I tried to find activities through the US Embassy facebook (yes it exists) but they were all not close to here at all.
Off to the library!

IN WELLINGTON

In case the title wasn't clear enough, I am in Wellington finally!  It's quite a relief to be in the place I was supposed to be in a week ago.  (It feels like forever though.)  I wasn't really sure that I was actually going to get to Wellington until we physically landed at the airport here.  The flight was delayed at first, leaving 45 minutes after it was supposed to.  (I learned later that irrespective of this ash cloud Jetstar is notorious for delays and issues)  I was pretty sure that something was going to go wrong either in Auckland before we left, waiting for the plane to be ready, flying in the air, and landing.  Nothing against the pilot's skills but I was half heartedly expecting something to happen, effectively barring me from getting to Wellington again.  That sounds rather dreary and dire, but I can't say it wasn't running through my head. I was cautiously hopeful.  

I took a taxi to the apartment and met Constantino, the guy who lives in the downstairs part of the apartment I'm living in.  He's also the son of the woman I am renting from.  I think technically subletting, but it doesn't really matter.  I had met him four years ago so there was a vague familiarity about our encounter.  He was watching TV and continued to do so for a while as I unpacked and tried to connect to the internet with no success.  apparently there is a black hole of internet wireless here necessitating the use of a USB stick thing.  I had to later go out and top up which then presented more problems as the wrong SIM card was in my stick....I don't even know.  I'm using Constantino's right now thankfully.  You pay by the gig here which is different.  if you are on a wireless network someone can use up all the internet for the month and then you have to wait until the next month for it to come back.  fortunately this system of the USB stick goes around all that.  Apparently there is free wireless on Queen's Wharf where I'll be working sometimes so I'll do all my youtube watching and down loading there as that sucks up internet, though I think I'll just skip on the youtube.  I can't imagine Harvard having to run on a pay by the gig system.  There is so much going on with that network I'd think it would be a nightmare.

I start working a little bit at the Museum of City and Sea tomorrow taking pictures of them and exploring their collections.  I also plan on exploring the Wellington Library for useful books tomorrow as it's quite close to the Museum.  I think Sunday holds similar activities for me.  Monday I have an appointment at Te Papa, the national museum, in their research library which I am hoping proves helpful.  Te Papa also has a bunch of stuff I want to explore within the museum.  I hope they can share stuff from their whales exhibit, as that would (clearly) be quite useful.

I'd like to say that I am through with jetlag, as I do believe I mostly am, but my current desire to just curl up and take a nap might suggest otherwise.   It could also have something to do with the fact I basically woke up this morning at 5 and tossed and turned until 7 at which point I became paranoid about getting to the airport and really got out of bed.  To be fair, I did go to bed last night a little after 7:30.  oh sleep, how wonderful you are.

I haven't moved around much here in the apartment and now it is cold.  I am glad I brought my heavy coat.  I was second guessing the decision when I was wandering around Auckland yesterday in little more than a tee shirt, but Wellington is a different beast entirely, and the sun didn't stay for long.

Being back in Wellington is interesting.  Perchance I will find the right words to elaborate in a better way more thoroughly later.

Stymied Again

Disclaimer: I don't even know my sleep to awake ratio for the past 48 hours has been but suffice it to say I have crossed the international date line and enough time zones to leave 15 hours between home and where I am now. This means I simultaneously feel quite tired and awake/energized. I still feel as though I am vibrating from the plane ride.

Short bit of background – I got a flight out of NYC on Tuesday heading towards Wellington. This was quite exciting.

I floated through NYC security like a dream, and then actually got on a plane in LAX to go to Auckland without much trouble. I had to give someone a prolonged stare to get an outlet at the charging station so I could charge my computer in preparation for the 13+ hour flight. Let me say, Qantas does these flights well. They feed you a lot and give you personal entertainment screens with a good mix of TV and movies on demand plus games and radio. We actually stopped for a little over an hour in Fiji on the way over to New Zealand, though we couldn’t deplane. The plane was delayed going into to Auckland so I missed my connection to Wellington, which was fine, as we were told we could get another one. Well that's what I thought until I got to the desk and saw that all flights were cancelled due to this stupid ash cloud. Again. I tried to see what my options were on an Internet terminal in the airport that kept signing me out mid email composition which added to my frustration at the situation. Alas. My choices then were a) sleeping in the international terminal (there were showers!) or b) going to a hostel. All Jetstar flights were cancelled for that day. I figured I might as well check out Auckland while I was there. I won’t deny that I was kind of angry. I mean, this time I had actually made it to the country of my destination, which was definitely a better place than before, but I thought I could actually make it to Wellington in one go. I guess there is someone who doesn’t want me to make it there. I had at least two people in LAX tell me that it just wasn’t meant to be when I was going back home.
I was mostly annoyed at how things didn't go as I thought they would. I wasn't expecting anything grand, instead just that flights might go according to schedule and the decision to sleep in the terminal wouldn’t have to be made. It would be totally different if I were with someone. I think it might have been more of an adventure and less of an isolating experience. Duh. If I had expected things to go wrong, or the airport not to have wireless, I think I might have had a different gut reaction. I’m not sure. Kind of like how I don't care if I get dirty and gross on FOP because I expect it, but it's going to bother me more if I'm in a place where I should be clean. New Zealand is strange because I expect certain things to be similar to the US – like the Internet and computers. But I would say that they are at least 4 years behind us. It’s strange for me to think what I’ve become accustomed to. I think it bothers me like some small irritant because it’s so close to what I’m used to now, but falls just short. It’s very odd. I didn’t really have Internet access last summer and that was totally fine. I was biking all over and wasn’t thinking I would. Two summers ago I had spotty access and that was okay, though a little more annoying because, like now, I felt as though I should have had it more. It’s all about expectations. If I were to go off in the woods, or to some random place in Tanzania, I don’t think I would associate those settings with Internet. Pft. But I do associate a hotel or an airport with wireless networks. It’s such a strange thing to think about now, and putting it into words makes me sound rather entitled and annoying.
But this story has a happy ending. I am currently in a Hilton thanks to my mother’s magic (and points) right on the water in Auckland. I plan on collapsing on the beautiful bed soon. The shower I took this afternoon right after I came here was definitely one of the top five most glorious showers I’ve taken. The other ones were mostly associated with being intensely cold and the shower making me warm. This one was just highly pleasurable and made me clean, providing a wonderful watery cocoon for my tiredness.
The great and funny thing about Auckland and Wellington (from my limited exposure) is that they are small, and kind of squashed in one little circle area. It brings the scale of the rest of the country into focus. It’s not that big. The concierge here was quick to talk about how I as an American was used to long car rides and cold temperatures. New Zealand has a much better grasp on its place in the world than the US. I think it has a lot to do with size. It’s hard to talk about the US as a whole – you can’t really talk about several different regions in a cohesive manner. There are lots of NZ shops here – with authentic NZ memorabilia. I can’t quite imagine an “American” souvenir shop. Sure, get your NYC souvenirs, or your LA souvenirs, but not USA. Get a flag, or maybe a plastic cheeseburger? Who knows.