Traveling the North Island and Home

Posted on March 28, 2013 by pricemv

After my last blog I went back to my room and packed a little before heading to Mariah and Elaina’s place to hangout one last time.

Then I walked to Saoirse House warming and St. Patrick’s day party (which was a really long walk). A lot of co-workers/friends from Zealandia where there too. And we all hung out.

Later on some us separated from the group and went to a park and played on the playground. It was awesome to hang-out with friends and just have fun. They have a zip-line that they call a flying fox, ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zip-line#Flying_fox ) it was so much fun I wish they had those here too at play grounds. It was a good last day in Wellington, and I will miss everyone.

On Monday my big luggage handle broke, so it was extra hard moving my luggage about. Angela helped me get to my bus for Rotorua and we said our good-byes.

Then I was off on my own for a week traveling to Rotorua, Waitomo and ending in Auckland. This is something I never thought I would do at the beginning of my New Zealand adventure. Traveling completely alone with no one waiting waiting for me other than what I had booked. The bus drive was long from 11am to 5/6pm. We had stop some stops and the bus drive would tell us about some history of the land or the place we were near. At Rotorua I only had a 5 min walk to the hostel (3 blocks) but sense my bag had one wheel no pulling handle…it took me a long time to get a 4th way there. Then a nice lady offered to give me a ride there. I felt so dumb for having her go to the short distance, but I was very grateful to her for helping me out. The next day I went on a tour bus for the Waiotapu & Waimangu Thermal Experience https://www.rotoruanz.com/deals/waiotapu-and-waimangu-thermal-experience it all smelled badly mostly like rotten eggs because of the sulfur. It reminded me a lot of Yellowstone but smaller. I even made another friend name Jay. It was nice having someone to talk to and share the experience with for a short time. In the afternoon I went to Hobbiton https://www.hobbitontours.com/ near Matamata. It was cool seeing the set and learning some behind the senes. In the evening, after I bought a new suitcase, a staff from Cactus Jacks Backpackers took me to a free hot springs. Sense it was free, it was not maintained by people, meaning it was just of the road in the woods all natural. So the rule for your own safety is ‘ don’t put your head under the water’.If water gets into your nasal cavity then amoeba can crawl into your cranial cavity and give you amoebic meningitis. (an organism can get into your brain and will eat it) Hence I was very cautious to not let my head go under water. It was very relaxing besides that. The next day I walked about and went to Paradise Valley Springs https://www.paradisev.co.nz/. That became one of my favorite places. It was so calm and relaxed there. You could feed some the animals for a price. I didn’t and still had a great time. The animals were all friendly and I got real close to some of them. I was even there for the Lion Feeding, where the keepers threw chunks of meat over the fence and you can watch the lions catch and eat the meat while learning a little about them.

In the evening I went to a Maori Village https://www.maoriculture.co.nz/. It was very interesting seeing their culture and learning their history. They are the first culture that I have found, that stick out their tongues as an intimidation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C4%81ori_culture The people were really nice and were happy to answer question about their culture and history. Maori are musical and on the bus ride back had the different countries in the bus sing a song. I was the only American and sang “This is a song that never ends”. They did their best to make sure you felt welcomed, learned and had a wonderful time too.

Thursday I traveled to Waitomo Caves. Waitomo is a small town surrounded by nature and farms. https://www.waitomo.com/waitomo-glowworm-caves.aspx I did the Black Labyrinth https://www.waitomo.com/cave-tubing.aspx. It was my first time water caving. The wet suit they gave me was a size to small (a 2 instead of a 3) so I was very clumsy because it was tight on my legs. (example getting into the van: I had to pick up my leg with my arm to get it to step up into the van and people had to pull or push me in. I felt so pathetic :/ .) I did have a great time though. The guides Chris and Kate stop us and we ate fish shaped chocolate covered strawberry marshmallow as they told us about the glow worms. Seeing the glow worms where awesome and reminded me of stars and those glow dots you put on the ceiling. The glow was almost the same as the glowing the dark stars but different and better in a way. After the Adventure in the cave we had tomato soup and bagels and chatted with my caving mates. The rest of the time I just chilled and relaxed until the next day bus ride to Auckland.

Auckland is the biggest city in New Zealand https://www.aucklandnz.com/int . My hostel was right near the Sky Tower. I didn’t really find Auckland to attractive, probably because it was a huge city and I’m not a city girl. I saw the Museum, the Art Gallery and the Sky Tower. I liked the Art Gallery for all the art. Anyway Sunday the 24th eve I took my flight home and got home on Sunday the 24th at 4:30pm… I Time Traveled ^_^

Amy

Dia de la memoria, verdad, y justicia

Posted on March 25, 2013 by pricemv

Sunday, March 24th 2013 is Dia de la memoria, verdad, y justicia (Day of the Memory, Truth, and Justice) in all of Argentina. Folks gathered together from Buenos Aries to Rosario to Cordoba. This day is not a celebration, but rather a day of remembrance, respect, and recognition of the disappearances of more than 30,000 Argentinians during the dictatorship of 1976-83. Furthermore, within the last decade, murders, tortures, and more disappearances have occurred by government officials against individuals whom know/knew a great amount of the activities and acts performed during this time. Frustratingly and sadly, justice has yet to be served for many of the victims. On this day, we gather in solidarity with those folks and demand justices. Below are photos I took during the march in Rosario, Arg. You will see members of VOX Asociación Civil (A.C.) and various leftist organizations whom we walked with.

I have never in my life been to a march like this where thousands of folks walked down busy streets with massive banners, flyers everywhere, people chanting, dancing, yelling, fireworks lit every few blocks, papers all over the ground, etc. When talking to a member of VOX A.C., he let me know that this was not as big as marches in the past which shocked me! This was without a doubt an experience and moment that I had been wanting to participate with for a long time. After taking a sociology course back at Western, we talked about dictatorships in Latinoamérica. The disappearances in Argentina was the one that touched me the most emotionally and being present on this day was surreal. I hope to get the opportunity to go to Buenos Aries, Arg. and Plaza de Mayo where the mothers and grandmothers of the disappeared folks walk outside of La Casa Rosada demanding justices for the lives of their love ones.

Meño

Two weeks left….

Posted on March 18, 2013 by pricemv

2011-01-24 17.01.06

Two weeks left. How can three little words hold so much power and emotion? I am not naïve to the reality that time fly’s when you’re having fun and all that jazz and I am sure words that I will write in following paragraphs will not be unique from other study abroad students/interns that are wrapping up their own adventures. Regardless though, this experience is novel to me and these thoughts and emotions never previously experienced.
Thankfully, it’s not yet time to divulge all the mixed feelings on returning home and I can focus attention to the present and recent past in South Africa…

Concerning work: Pop culture can be incredibly fascinating and I have learned so much at one small seed concerning the use of wordpress, interviewing, social media managing, and office etiquette but as much as I enjoy my work with one small seed I felt the need to do some side freelancing with supernews. Supernews is a citizen generated news publication that focuses on promoting a positive South Africa and looks to stories that inspire and engage socially and politically. This is the kind of stuff I like. I recently just published my first story on the Out of Africa Childrens Fund Hospice on the supernews site.

Before I could write a proper human interest story, I wanted to get personal with the organization and those involved. Because the organization is going through a remodeling, I was able to do some manual work cleaning and organizing and built credibility with the founder Kim Highfield. As we worked closely and went about daily activities together (she even gave me a haircut), I became privy to information concerning non-profits and was able to gain an insider’s view of operations. Today I set up a twitter account for the organization and will continue to participate in any activities the hospice is involved with.

Currently I am in communication with a Kwaito dance group called Sowetos Finest. The group is made out of five guys from Soweto and has a mission of engaging youth to strive for a better life. All members come from townships and know the struggle that young people face when making choices for a better life. Because of the distance from Cape Town to Johannesburg I won’t be able to interview them face to face but will be able to communicate using the handy dandy internet. I am excited to see what this story will look like.

Also this week I am focusing on interviewing local South Africans about their thoughts about the country they live in and incorporate their answers in my video when I return. Because I want answers to be genuine, diverse and meaningful to me, those I interview are people I have built a relationship with for the last 8 weeks. I love the stories I hear- especially the women’s. The more I talk with women, I realize how strong they have to be. South Africa is very patriarchal and although those from Africans and British decent enjoy equality and freedom, many Xhosa and those from tribal heritages still are subject to male superiority. Despite the oppression and objectifying, the women remain incredible mothers, daughters, sisters, wives, and friends.

Another amazing women has come back into my life…my sister! Because she has been living and working in Australia, I haven’t seen her in nearly a year. She is visiting for the last two weeks I am here and the chance to share the sights, sounds, and people of Cape Town with her has been incredible. She lived in Ghana for 6 months and had made assumptions on South Africa because of her African experience. Every day she is surprised by the stark difference in countries.

It’s going to be such a challenge to make conclusions about my time here because there are no broad generalizations I can make or stereotyping aloud when describing South Africa or my experiences here. Every day is so different, every person so unique, and every feeling original that it makes writing summaries extremely difficult.
Thankfully I have a few more weeks to collect my thoughts. Home awaits but I know I am not ready to leave.

Heather

My sister Sarah is here visiting me from Australia! first time I had seen her in 10 months!

At the top of Lions head we ran into Cirque du Soleil performers here in Cape Town for their show!

Lions head!

South Africans love their rugby!

Super rugby! Cape Town (Stormers) beat New Zealand (Chiefs) and the crowd was electric!

Sarah and I at the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden watching the foreign film City of Gods

Wine and fun at the South African Museum watching live art

Wine tasting in Constantia. Such amazing history and information about wine!

Our amazing guide to the world of wine!

Spent the night in the car to get to our adventure destination in Port Elisabeth

Week Seven: Rose Street and Random Bits of Life

Posted on March 10, 2013 by pricemv

This week saw the start of my favorite season of the year; crocuses.

I don’t care what anyone tells me, crocuses is a legitamate season. A lot of them have been planted along the meadows area, so whenever I walk into the down town area I end up smiling.

My only class this week was linguistics since my writing classes both had a reading week following what was basically the midterm. The presentation in liguistics went fine as far as I can tell, though it was a little short. I don’t have a communications background so I had to rely on my partner to take charge of that aspect, which was slightly complicated by the fact that I seem to be one of the few people in the class who really gets linguistics.

I used the time off to actually make it to Rose Street and the surrounding area. All the highlights are visual so I’m just going to put my commentary in the captions.

They had these mosaics at every entrance from the crosswalks. All of them were slightly different.

This was down a road that seemed more like a “local people live and work here” kind of place over the doorway of one of the buildings. I can’t even begin to interpret what this is supposed to be. Secret society? Summoning ritual?

I’ll admit, I didn’t think there was anyway to keep pay phones relevant in our current technological climate. Well played city of Edinburgh, well played.

There’s your classic spray paint tagging going on, but there’s also a lot of either encouraging – “SMILE!” – or intellectual vandalism in the city too. The intellectual/encouraging stuff also tends to be written in chalk. Encouraging, polite, intellectual vandalism.

I also got a chance to stop by the library, which is closer to my flat, and I thought their method of identifying genre in the young adults section was really clever.

I also spent the time looking around shops that had caught my attention in some way earlier. The most striking item for sale ended up being in the grocery store.

Literally the size of an ostrich egg. I asked one of my classmates the following week and apparently they’re just a hollow chocolate egg that sometimes has stuff inside it. We’ve got giant chocolate rabbits, so I guess I shouldn’t be that surprised.

Then there was this one the walk back from the grocery store.

This was posted in the window of a shop that’s either now for sale or undergoing construction. Don’t put advertisements on the windows? Either way I’m going to avoid the place in case I flypost by accident.

And, finally, I got to meet our vacuum cleaner.

I can’t decide if he’s cute or terrifying…

A Familiar Green: Dublin, Ireland

Posted on March 10, 2013 by pricemv

Can I go back already? I absolutely loved Ireland. Two days of great people, food, pubs, and scenery is not sufficient. We spent Saturday walking around Dublin; we saw a few pretty churches, lots of little pubs in the bustling Temple Bar area, and went to the Guinness Storehouse.

Beef & Guinness Stew for lunch- SO hearty and traditional.

Many churches throughout the city

The Storehouse was awesome and huge- seven floors! The ground floor introduced the beer’s four ingredients (water, barley, hops and yeast), and info about the brewery’s founder, Arthur Guinness. The other floors covered the history of Guinness and on the seventh floor there was a bar, Gravity Bar, with fantastic views of Dublin. The best part, though, was being taught how to properly pour and serve the beer from the tap. Our instructor even taught us how to make the foam/head of the beer into a shamrock shape. After all correctly pouring our pints, we were given a certificate. I really liked Guinness to be honest, but I was in the minority, as most of my friends did not!

Barley- a key ingredient in beer

Awesome view from the top of the storehouse!

St. Patrick’s Cathedral

On the last day, we took a half-day tour to Malahide coast and castle- about 35minutes north of Dublin. The early morning views of the coast were beautiful. Once we got out of the city and to the coast & countryside, Ireland really began to remind me of the beautiful Pacific Northwest back home.

The Malahide Estate and Castle date back to the 12th century. The estate began in 1185, when Richard Talbot, a knight who accompanied Henry II to Ireland in 1174, was granted the “lands and harbour of Malahide”. It was home to the Talbot family for nearly 800 years between 1185 until 1976. We toured the inside and saw original, fully-furnished rooms with ornate paintings, furniture, and other interesting pieces. Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to take photos. But, the outdoor photos are plenty beautiful themselves!

36 Hours in London

Posted on March 10, 2013 by pricemv

This past weekend was a whirlwind of a trip! Three of my girlfriends and I crossed the pond over to London for a quick 36hours and then hopped over to Ireland for two days. Exhausting. But amazing.

Leaving my house at 3:30am, I met the girls at the Barcelona airport bright and early for our 6am flight. We arrived in London at 8am and the crazy day began from there. After busing from the Stansted Airport (about an hour out of the city), we dropped our bags off in our hostel in the hip area of Camden Town. Our hostel was above a bar/restaurant and was filled with young people from all over. We cashed out later on the food and drink deals given to travelers staying above- a great deal indeed where the British pound is worth more than the euro and a lot more than the U.S. dollar.

Deciding to get the real Londoner’s experience, we decided against a tour bus & opted for the subway system, known as the Tube, to get us to the sites. After a few months of mastering Barcelona’s metro, it’s great feeling confident navigating subways worldwide now! Bring it on NY. We rode the London Eye, a big ferris wheel-type thing with great views of the city. We saw Big Ben, Parliament, and Westminster Abbey (where Diana’s funeral was held). We also made our way to Hyde Park and Buckingham Palace. About 10miles (really!) of walking later, we wrapped up the day with dinner while chatting with locals and listening to Open Mic night in the bar below the hostel.

On Friday, we went to the famous Camden Market. The market was full of souvenir shops, cool clothing, handmade jewelry, and many other cool crafts. Later in the afternoon we headed back to the airport and were off to our next destination: Dublin!

The London Eye:

Gorgeous views!:

Big Ben:

Westminster Abbey:

Buckingham Palace:

Hyde Park:

Camden Town:

To Central Spain: Toldeo & Madrid

Posted on March 10, 2013 by pricemv

A little over a week ago, my program brought us on a weekend trip to Toledo and Madrid. Both are very old and traditional cities in Central Spain, rich with Spanish pride. Toledo has been a religious hub over the centuries for Christians, Muslims, and Jews alike and the remnants of the warring religions now stand in peace together throughout the town. Though it was rainy, we ate a great lunch and then headed out on a tour and made the best of it. Our tour guide, Javier, learned English from an Irish man and made for a very entertaining tour. He ended up guiding our tour of Madrid the next day too.

Madrid is different from Barcelona is just about every way; the two cities represent two contrasting cultures of Spain: Madrid prides itself on strong conservative, traditional social and political ideologies, while Barcelona abides by a liberal, progressive way of life in an economically prosperous and Catalan region.

The contrast between the two cities was very apparent; those we met at bars, on the street, and even our tour guide gave numerous, not-so-subtle jabs at Barcelona and the Catalan way of life. Just as my Catalan professors direct towards those in Madrid! Nothing compares in the U.S. to the hundreds of years of war, social, political, and economic conflict between the two regions. Very interesting! Madrid is a beautiful city and is home to the Spanish royal family and Real Madrid (FC Barca’s number one rival and one of the best futbol teams in the world). But I’ll be honest- I was happy to arrive back to Barcelona 🙂

Posing in front of the Palacio. This is the symbolic home of the Spanish Royal Family.

Cool food market

Biggest skillet of paella I’ve ever seen!

The Spanish love their cured jamon (ham)

Javier, our guide, took us into a convent cloister. The nuns sell little cookies to the public but don’t show their face.
The money/cookie transaction took place in this lazy-susan thing. Awesome tour surprise.

Javier, our awesome tour guide for the weekend!

There was a huge protest during our trip. Thousands of unemployed, unhappy, and fed up citizens of Madrid
protested the streets and occupied the main plazas throughout the city. Police were everywhere!

Near the famous Prada Art Musuem

Parque de Retiro (Park of Retirement)- absolutely beautiful. Reminded me of Alice in Wonderland!

Antes de morir (Before I die..) street/community art in Madrid. Very Inspiring.

A Leisurely Wander & Tour

Posted on March 10, 2013 by pricemv

With no plans for this mid-February weekend, my friend Emily and I decided to wander. One can never wander enough and this beautiful city of Barcelona is never short of sights to see.

On my daily commute to school along Passeig (avenue) de Gràcia, I pass two of Antoni Gaudi’s great architectural works. So Saturday, we decided to take a closer look. Gaudi is the 20th century’s Catalan father of modernism architecture. Gaudi’s works are very distinct and individualistic and the majority are scattered throughout Barcelona. I live next door to the city’s most famous park, Parc Guell, designed by him. I’ve never seen anything like it and photos will be up soon. I also plan on visiting La Sagrada Familia, a large Catholic Church that he died while in the process of designing.

Below is Gaudi’s Casa Batlló built in 1877; from the outside the façade looks like it has been made from skulls and bones. The “skulls” are balconies and the “bones” are supporting pillars.

Below is Gaudi’s Casa Mila (La Pedrera), constructed between 1905-1910. Architecturally it’s considered an innovative work for its steel structure and walls- the façade is self-supporting.

After strolling Passeig de Gràcia, we decided to finish the day exploring my neighborhood. Below are photos of my beautiful home-stay here in Barcelona.

I was having problems with my pervious Senora (she wasn’t exactly kind or warm…) and was placed with another girl from my program, Stephanie, in a new home-stay. I now live in a beautiful HOUSE (a rarity in Barcelona) on the outskirts of the city. Though the commute is long, a bus ride and 2 metro rides to class every morning, it is more than worth it here! Two sisters in their 60s, Teti and Carmen, have been hosting students from all over the world for nearly 30 years (Teti has been an avid yogi for nearly as long!). They are so bubbly, warm, and genuinely caring- I couldn’t be any happier. Along with Stephanie, I live with a girl from Chicago, a girl from France, and cute little dog named Chati. They feed us great, and maybe most impressive, I now wake up to one of the best views around of this beautiful city!

The view from the terrance off of my bedroom- absolutely stunning. Such a lucky girl!

My house is situated between Parc Guell and Carmel, another park with trails and great views of the city.

El Campo de Futbol de Carmel, a futbol field literally in my backyard:

When a Town Becomes a Stage: Carnival in Sitges, Spain

Posted on March 10, 2013 by pricemv

Last night 5 of us dawned makeup, glitter, and masks and headed to the nearby beach town of Sitges to experience the spirit of Carnival! Sitges is a town about 25miles south of Barcelona and is home to one of the most popular European celebrations of Carnival. Carnival celebrates the last week before the season of Lent. Lent is a Catholic tradition of abstaining from meat, alcohol, and other things for 40days and living more simply before Easter. The biggest celebrations take place on Sunday, Rua de la Disbauxa (Debauchery Parade) and Tuesday, Rua de l’Extermini, (Extermination Parade)- each with nearly 40floats with more than 2,000 participants and 300,000 visitors! It didn’t take us long to realize Sitges is also a popular destination for gay and lesbians and is one of the most gay-friendly places in the world.

It was a loud, late night but super fun. The vibe was so friendly but also surprisingly peaceful given how many people were packed in the small town. I’d never experienced anything like it and if given the chance to go again, I will definitely participate more- I was underdressed for sure. Below are just a fraction of some of the crazy party-goers we came across, all of which warmly welcomed photos!

Hostel Hoppin’: Lisbon, Portugal!

Posted on March 10, 2013 by pricemv

The first weekend of February, 4 of my friends and I went on our first trip of the semester: Lisbon (Lisboa in Portuguese), Portugal! We left Friday morning at the crack of dawn and arrived an hour and half later in the capital. No longer along the Mediterranean, we were now next to the Atlantic and in a time zone one hour closer to home!

After arriving bright & early and taking an early morning nap, we headed off to lunch in the city center. We ate at a swanky restaurant in the plaza called Aura and got the always-economical Menu del Dia- soup, pork, dessert, and Sagre- Portuguese beer. Two and a half hours later (yes, lunch in Europe is no quick feat), we headed to Cascais beach via a 25minute train ride.

Cascais Beach:

On Saturday, we got right to business and visited the 3 main historical sites located in the nearby district of Belem: Jeronimos Monastery, Discoveries Monument, and the Belem Tower. Throughout the day we met some great people. More than the sites, I will remember how kind and happy the majority of the Portuguese people were and who helped us along our way!

Jeronimos Monastery:

Our walk between the monastery and the other historical sites proved to be entertaining. What began as us being innocent bystanders to a german shepherd obedience school, ended with a few of us participating in impromptu dog tricks. “Ladies, put your head down, cover your face, and don’t cry!” -Very random & very memorable in Portugal!

Discoveries Monument- Dedicated to the Portuguese explorers:

Tower of Belem:

After returning back to the city center, we decided we wanted to watch the sunset from a high viewpoint. I stopped to ask this older man for direction to the Castle of Sao Jorge and he insisted on tagging along for the rest of the hike. Even with the language barrier, he was so kind and helpful! He even showed us a short cut to the uphill climb through the city: up 5 stories in a super market elevator that landed us on top of a restaurant! When posing for the photo, he joked about pretending to be an American with us. An awesome encounter indeed.

WOU Students Abroad

Tag Archives: While Abroad

Traveling the North Island and Home

Dia de la memoria, verdad, y justicia

Two weeks left….

Week Seven: Rose Street and Random Bits of Life

A Familiar Green: Dublin, Ireland

36 Hours in London

To Central Spain: Toldeo & Madrid

A Leisurely Wander & Tour

When a Town Becomes a Stage: Carnival in Sitges, Spain

Hostel Hoppin’: Lisbon, Portugal!