Honey, they shrunk the van!

Every weekday morning (6:20 am!), we walk to the Uni (they always diminuitize words here) gym to work out. On our way back, we see this van and Kenn has been wanting to take a picture of it. We finally did. It reminds us of how certain things are different here in Kiwi land:
1) Most cars are WAY smaller than in the US.
2) They sell alcohol ON campus! In the engineering building Kenn passes through to get to his classroom, there is a beer bar that is open in afternoons.
3) Some people go barefoot out in public: in stores, downtown, at the Uni…….
4) They don’t seem to be as napkin-focused as we are in the US. When you get your food, they give you your utensils wrapped up in this skimpy napkin that is wrapped tightly around the utensils. Definitely one ply. And we don’t see a lot of people putting napkins in their laps.
5) The daily newspaper comes TIGHLY wrapped in a plastic that has to be pealed off carefully. Then, you need to wrap the paper the other way to be able to get it straight to read it. Plus, it is HUGE! Each page is 15 inches wide and almost two feet long.
6) They eat a lot of pumpkin here. But it’s not your Halloween type pumpkin. The outside is white. The inside is orange but not as stringy. Lynda just cut up one into little pieces and roasted it in the oven with some butter (very Kiwi style). YUM!
Cheers, Kenn and Lynda

Update from “Keenn” and “Leenda”

Saturday, we went to Dunedin, a town fairly to the south part of the island (about 5 hours south of Christchurch). It was a rainy morning, but we walked around the downtown a bit and took a tour of the Cadbury Chocolate Factory (ok, we had a few chocolates. Shoot us.). Then, we headed to the Otaga Peninsula (VERY narrow and windy road along the coast – one slip and you fall into the water! Kenn was driving and needed valium). We went to the Royal Albatross Centre where the winds were so strong that we literally (really, literally) could hardly keep our balance (but perfect conditions for albatrosses). We were able to see a number of albatrosses flying and three chicks, all from an enclosed (thank God) viewing center on top of a bluff. The adolescent/adult albatross has a wing span of 3 meters (that’s about 9 feet for you Yanks). We’re talking huge! Then, we went over to the yellow-eyed penguin colony centre. We saw some penguins in hospital and then went out into the wild in camouflaged bunkers to see some in the wild up close and personal (Jess, Bob…). We also got to see one “peen-gion” waddle in from the ocean. But, the weirdest thing was seeing, in one area, sheep, seals, and penguins all next to one another (see pix: http://www.flickr.com/photos/27117889@N08/?saved=1) . Just goes to show you, we can all get along! After spending the night in a Victorian-ish B&B (and trying Vegemite during breakfast ---oh my gosh, beyond disgusting!), we headed home, but saw a) the steepest street in the world (Kenn drove that, too. He REALLY needs drugs!), b) the Moeraki Boulders and c) a few little fruit and/or crafts places along the way. As you will see in the pictures, the Moeraki Boulders are almost perfectly round, jutting out of the sand. They’re big stone spheres (we were going to write “big stone balls” but we know how some of you think!). We’re home now, cold (52 degrees – what can we say, we are still weather wimps!), and ready to work hard this week so we can enjoy our last weekend adventure (next weekend: Picton). Hope you all are doing well. Cheers!

Catching Up

We’ve been a “wee bit” silent the last few days, mostly because we have both been working like crazy to ensure we can enjoy the weekends (only two full weekends left – this weekend and the next). Our week was somewhat non-eventful. Kenn did have his second fire drill of the term WHILE he was teaching class. Can you believe they have fire drills at the university?! We also had the two other US couples who are here teaching over for Happy Hour and sharing of weekend trips. That was helpful to know what to do in future travels. Finally, on Thursday evening, the Vice Chancellor (i.e., the head honcho of the university) put on a cocktail party for all Erskine Fellows and spouses/“partners” (term they use for any kind of relationship). It was held in the University Staff Club and was quite nice. Turns out there are Erskine Fellows here from around the world: US, Australia, Canada, Great Britain, Sri Lanka…..

We’re sitting in a cool, old (but nice) hotel room in Oamaru (3 hours south of Christchurch). The ceiling in our room is probably 16 feet high! Last night (Friday night), we first went out to see yellow-eyed penguins. We saw one (we were there early. Plus, they were molting so they hide in bushes). See the attached pictures for the GORGEOUS scenery we sat in as we watched: http://www.flickr.com/photos/27117889@N08/?saved=1 Then, we went and saw the blue penguins come in from the ocean for the night. Blue penguins are the smallest penguins in the world. Sorry, no pictures (unlike the yellow penguins). You’re not allowed to take any. But it was a blast to see them waddle up out of the water and head to their homes in a hillside. We also ate dinner at an Italian restaurant across the street. Chick, we found your brick (see picture in link above) and added one of ours. We’re now off to Dunedin to see more penguins and Royal Albatrosses. Will write again with more pictures asap.

Nauseatingly Beautiful!

Ok, let us explain that title. While touring the Sir Edmund Hillary museum at the base of Mt. Cook, we saw this description by a female climber in the early 1900’s and decided a) it was an “interesting” descriptor, b) another way to describe the beauty we were seeing, and c) wondered what YOU all thought about it. We made our way back to Christchurch via Mt. Cook. Take a look at the views: http://www.flickr.com/photos/27117889@N08/?saved=1 Other pictures in that set are along the way: glacier-filled lakes were “excruciatingly spectacular”, mate! We also learned some new terms on the way “home” or earlier this week: 1) gutted, as in “I was gutted me when he cut me off in traffic.” (do you know the meaning?). 2) going flatting, as in: “are you going flatting next year?” (posted in the student center: can you figure that one out?), and 3) pigeon hole, as in the department secretary told people that information was in their pigeon holes (Chick, don’t respond to that one!). Final thoughts as we get back to work: we saw many interesting signs along the road. Here is one of many cautioning people to drive carefully: “The faster you go, the bigger the mess.” Words to live (or drive) by!

Anybody Nose What This Is?

Sunday, March 15: We got to sleep in! Wahoo!! We then left this morning and, after getting Lynda a latte and seeing some arts and crafts in the park (yes, Genevieve, we got you a souvenir), we went on a 1912 steamer boat to a working sheep farm about 35 minutes down the lake. The tour was remarkable. We fed sheep, we saw them herded by a border collie, and we saw a sheep shorn. That was the first hour. Then, we had a very scrumptious tea out on a veranda overlooking an English garden and the lake. We then finished our tour by learning about and meeting Highland cattle (that’s snot a good picture of one), red deer, more sheep, and alpacas. We also saw a wool spinning demonstration. After we got back, we went to Arrowtown, a small, historic gold mining town that now has about two blocks of quaint shops and cafes. THEN, after coming back to Queenstown, we went up on the gondola and got views of the whole valley (lake, mountains, downtown…). Here are a few pictures of today’s events: (http://www.flickr.com/photos/27117889@N08/?saved=1). (btw, we went back and added the link to yesterday’s blog. Sorry!) Tomorrow, we head “home” on a 10 hour bus ride (pray for us!), with some stops on the way. Cheers, Kenn and Lynda

Wingin' It

Ok, we have officially run out of adjectives. Today, we left at 6:30am to go to Milford Sound, which is part of Fjordland (a fjord is a body of water that has been carved out by glaciers). It was a 5.5 hour bus/coach ride. We went through farm land (FYI: there are 4+ million sheep in NZ), forests, scrub land, a hand-dug tunnel, and mountains (with waterfalls). We then went on a 2 hour “cruise” of the sound. The beauty is overwhelming. We can’t describe the immensity of the rock/mountains that jut up from the water (see pix with boat in it: http://www.flickr.com/photos/27117889@N08/sets/72157615257085670/ ). Then, well, we splurged….we took a plane back to Queenstown. The plane was a 7 seater, but for our trip, it was the pilot, Lynda and Kenn, and one guy from New Orleans. We frantically passed the camera back and forth between us (we each had a window) to take pictures of mountain peaks, lakes on TOP of mountain peaks, valleys, etc. We only took 128 pictures in 35 minutes! Wow! We probably will never see THAT again! We SO wish you could have been there. Love, Kenn and Lynda

P.S., As we wrote this, there were about 50 (no exaggeration) hang-gliders/para-gliders flying off the mountain behind our hotel and soaring gracefully down to some place not very far from us. Too cool!

On the Road to Queenstown (3/13/09)

We spent the last two days working so that we could enjoy this weekend. Today, we got up early today and headed to Queenstown on the “Atomic Bus”, a 7+ hour bus ride. Sounds horrible? Actually, it was not bad at all. We had the front seat of a very uncrowded, comfortable bus and talked the whole time with a very friendly driver while we admired gorgeous scenery (see pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/27117889@N08/?saved=1). There was such variety in terrain: farmland, cows, sheep, deer, green valleys, brown valleys, lakes with teal-colored water that looked fake because it was so unreal, snow covered mountains….Once we arrived, we walked around the quaint town, bought souvenirs, and then visited the Minus 5 Bar. It is a bar that is completely made of ice (18-23 degrees), including the drinking glasses (see pictures). They serve ONLY vodka drinks. They give you heavy duty parkas, gloves, etc. and allow you to stay for 30 minutes. We made it for 20. Tomorrow, we leave at 6:30 am (no rest for the weary) and go to Milford Sound and will take a boat ride on a fjord. Stay tuned!