Day 5 New Zealand

We spent two nights in Christchurch then drove further down the east coast to Dunedin (pronounced "duh-nee-din") where we also spent two nights. Driving through New Zealand is like what I imagine the Midwest to be in that it seems every bit of land is fenced off and being farmed, but instead of flat and boring, its green and rolling and instead of wheat and corn it's cows and sheep. In fact, I've eaten both since being here. Seeing the wide open, grassy farms I'm confident that the animals on the plates here have been treated humanely. Even from the MacDonald's... Yup, I had a cheeseburger from McD's. Can't remember the last time I had that. The dairy here is also fresh and cheap, so we've been snacking on bread and brie during our road trips--like mother, like daughter.

Yesterday from Dunedin we drove to the Otaga Peninsula to see penguins. We saw sea lions blubber onto the beach and roll around in the sand just meters in front of us. From a hide, we were able to see an endangered yellow-eyed penguin crawl out of its home/hole in the cliff for some air. At one lookout on our trip we saw a blue penguin, which is the smallest of all 18 penguin species, darting around in the water. It was hard to follow since it didn't stay up long, would shoot down and disappear into the depths, and then pop back up in random places. But it was so cool to see.

Later on in the day we decided to take a tour, which seemed a little pricey but ended up being totally worth it. First of all, it was just the two of us and the guide on an ATV, so it felt like a personal tour. He took us to a fur seal nursery that cannot be accessed by the public. It was one of the cutest places I've ever been. There were seal pups all around us. One came flopping down the road right in front of us to slide into the pond nearby. Then we went into a hide that brought us so close to the seals, we could've touched them. It was amazing. We could've spent all day there. But we eventually pulled ourselves away to go to Penguin Beach, also off limits to the public and is one of the few places in the world where yellow-eyed penguins nest. There was a bunch standing on the beach and some resting near their nests. Too far for photos, but close enough for binoculars to give us a good view of their colors.

Today we're on our way to Queenstown, which is considered the adventure capital of the world. Perhaps some bungee jumping?

Dance O Mat

A group in Christchurch called Gap Filler that made the pallet café built an outdoor dance floor complete with disco ball. Next to the dance floor they converted an old washing machine into a music player called the Dance o Mat. The push coin slot accepts two dollar coins and will then allow for 30 minutes of use of the jack under the lid that can plug into any MP3 device such as an iPod, smart phone, etc. This is clearly the best invention ever.

They had a sign up for groups that wanted to reserve it, but when we passed no one was using it. I figured it would be one of those things I'd regret if I didn't give it a try. After the panic of not knowing what song to choose, I went with the Bangles' Walk Like an Egyptian. Apparently, having an entire dance floor to myself turns my dance style into one similar to the Tazmanian Devil's. Austin took video as passerbys stared and wondered what the heck they were seeing. I was having the best time. I so wished for my girls--can you imagine all the fun we'd have?! Hopefully so much fun that people would join in instead of stare. I only had the guts to do one song by myself that day, but we'll be going back to Christchurch.

The Dance o Mat is my new favorite invention, and I would like to build one in Honolulu, AKA every city I live in for the rest of my life.

Day 2 in New Zealand

I still can't believe we're here. I see signs that say "New Zealand" and think to myself, "that's so exotic, wouldn't it be fun to go there... Oh wait, never mind." Old habits...

We had a brief layover in Aukland on the North Island and then continued on to Christchurch on the South Island where we'll be spending the rest of our trip.

Austin loved Christchurch when he visited a few years back and everyone else he knows who has been had only the best things to say about it. However, that was before the earthquakes of 2010 and 2011. Not to say I don't love it, but the central business district (CBD), which was the center of this quaint, hip city, is now cordoned off because of the damaged and unsafe structures. Taking a natural disaster course this semester is giving me more insight into the events that took place here, and this city is giving me more insight into my class. We went to a quake museum yesterday to learn about what happened. Reportedly, even though the February 2011 quake was only a M 6.3, the way it caused the soil to move created the most ground movement ever recorded in human history.

As an urban planning student, it's interesting to see the designs Christchurch is considering to replace the many empty lots as well as what they are doing in the meantime to accommodate businesses and customers. One group built an outdoor cafe from painted pallets, where we grabbed a soda and coffee.

The Re: start Mall is made from modified shipping containers and was filled with people, music, and commerce. It was uplifting to see the resilience and creativity of the city. I still really like it here.

Somewhat predictably, I have been thinking more and more about the positive effects of trees on urban areas and will be writing some papers this semester on that topic. Christchurch and New Zealand in general clearly understand this. Flying out of Auckland and into Christchurch, there was so much green. And it's fall here now, so the leaves are beginning to change, which makes it all the more lovely. We spent a few hours in the Botanic garden too, which had many large, spectacular trees--perfect for us tree-huggers.

Fun facts that I didn't know about NZ (pronounced "en zed" here): they are one hour behind Hawaii but one day ahead. (We lost Saturday on our crossing over the International Dateline and will be getting an extra Monday on the way back--Worst. Trade. Ever.) People here are very friendly, even to Americans. Food and drinks are so expensive here--the exchange rate is close to even with USD being a little more valuable... Phew! This is the first time I've gone to another country that has wifi available in hotels and cafés. It's pretty handy. (Though, not free in all places; hence taking days to post this even though I wrote it a few days ago.)

This is my beautiful life... Different than it ever was

Here I am staring out at Oahu from the window that spans my 26th floor apartment; green, rolling landscape dotted with houses to my right and the colossal machinery of Honolulu harbor to my left. Unfortunately, directly in front, my view is co-opted by another looming apartment building. It is roughly 40 stories of lanais and tinted glass--which means I really only see the inhabitants when they come outside to watch the sun sink into the shimmering Pacific. The best part of this panorama is the way it makes me feel: that I am living the life I always imagined, even if it's in a way I never pictured.

Quick version: I live in Chinatown, Honolulu; my family is close; I have a job I love that challenges me more each day; I live with a wonderful, caring boyfriend; I am getting a masters degree in urban planning, or as I sometimes call it "place fixing;" I have an apartment where I can host friends and family; oh yeah, and all this is in Hawaii.

Long version:
Chuck, Krista, Teldyn, and Naelahl live less than 20 miles away, and we make it a point to see each other at least once a week. I like to see the kids as often as I can since they change and grow so fast! Chuck and Krista know they've got a babysitter when they need one, and Teldyn always seems excited to see his "Auntie Nikki," which I adore.

I walk to my job at PHOCUSED where I was recently promoted to operations manager. I love the diversity of tasks and the increasing responsibility I have in helping this health and human service advocacy organization ensure that essential human services receive state funding. I recently helped design and give a presentation for the Governor who is apparently very enthusiastic about a project we're working on to increase collaboration between nonprofits and state agencies to improve service delivery.

Walking to work is not only great because I don't have to endure the traffic horrors of Oahu but because I get to go home for lunch. This means I save money, I eat more healthily, and best of all, enjoy it with Jarrett. He's an amazing cook too. Living in an apartment building with Asian families means that we often have some wonderful smells wafting through our building around meal time, and there have been a few fabulous occasions where the delicious aromas were emanating from MY apartment! That's gotta be one of the best feelings after a day at work. I love being so close to my job, campus, restaurants, stores and city life in general. I discovered a few years ago that I'm more urban than I thought.

I am enrolled at the University of Hawaii to receive my Masters in Urban and Regional Planning, and I'm really enjoying it. This semester I'm doing a practicum which is not an internship but rather a project where our class will provide research and marketing tools for the Hawaii Community Development Authority's to develop an area of Honolulu. We're hoping to construct a message that will make clear the connection that in order to "keep the country country" (a common slogan out here), we must keep the city city. We hope to present a vision of Oahu that stresses urban density as a means of preserving Hawaii's natural beauty. I will be focusing on the messaging around affordable housing.

Too often people feel that in order to live in a city they have to go without green open spaces. But one of the reasons that Jarrett and I chose the apartment building we did, is because it has a garden deck the size of a city block. There's a walking path, swimming pool, duck pond, many barbecue grills, and even a sand box. I think weekend reading sessions by the pool helped me maintain my sanity last semester. We've also had two barbecues so far for our friends and family, and Teldyn incessantly asks "can we go in the poo'"--lucky for him, the answer is usually "yes." I really don't feel like I gave anything up to live like this... well, at least until it's time to pay the rent. Haha! Still, totally worth it.

So that's where I'm at these days. And while this may not be the life I dreamed of as a kid, it doesn't get much more dreamy than this.