Brisbane: April 11-15

I have no soul. It's a proven fact. Why? Because I did not cry when I left New Zealand. I just kind of accepted that I was going on another adventure through life. The Invercargill airport was commical. There are only two desks for tickets/luggage. As for security, what security? No metal detectors. No guards. No sniffing dogs. Nada. Janelle and Kathy came in Ged's old rugby jerseys. Joyce and Christie had coffee together. I waited for our flight-the ONLY flight that leaves Invercargill-while watching THE plane land. We hopped on a plane and waved goodbye.

And that was it. I didn't even get to say goodbye to my grandkids. I didn't even get to say goodbye to half the group because they're on diferent flights. Since the program is over we're all split up. Some of us are going to Brisbane and Fiji. Some are going to Sydney and Fiji. Some are staying in New Zealand for a while longer with their families (American families, not Kiwi families), and some are going straight home. The girls in my group and I are going to Brisbane, Sydney, and then Fiji.

We flew from Invercargill to Christchurch, Christchurch to Auckland, and Auckland to Brisbane. I waved goodbye to Joyce and found myself to an older man with a beard. He was rough. A true biker. He was flying to Christchurch to see his mate get a new leg.

Yes, a new leg. He lost it in a biking accident.

It was good to see Invercargill from up high. I saw the bright yellow Pack N Save and the pokey-upy church on Jed St next to SIT. (I think it's a Baptist church building). I saw the racecourse and was able to locate my house; my home in New Zealand. I took one last look at Invercargill.




I'll probably never be back. That pricks my heart a bit.

In Auckland we had to pay a departure fee of $25 to leave New Zealand. That's just one more reason to stay in the country. We followed the blue-painted line to take us to the international terminal. The flight was good. I slept and had delicious dinner of crumb chicken, potatoe salad, and honey icecream. I love Air New Zealand. The food is good, the service is great, they have sturdy plasticware, and if you ask for it they'll give you Milo. :)

We got to Brisbane and my group (Me, Megan Bird, Mary, Stephanie Richards, Erin, Brooke)
said goodbye to Becky's group (Becky, Janelle, Ashley, Julia, Katie Jo) and Cameron and Tyler. We're all going to be in Brisbane but then my group is going to Sydney while Becky's group is going to Fiji and the boys are going around Australia. Ashley's parents met her at the airport. She's hanging out with them and then going to Fiji with the rest of her group.

We rented a white van and played the fun game of stuffing it with 6 girls plus their luggage. We each had 2 bags and a backpack. We had a lot of stuff. If you think about it, I had all my belongings. Everything I lived with for the last 3 months was in the van. Between the 6 of us we had snorkeling gear, tramping bags, tents, and at least a hundred granola bars.



We stayed with Tido and Bada, friends of Jess Setu from the Invercargill branch. Saturday we went to town to work out scuba diving. I didn't go because I really had a bad feeling about it. I don't know why. I was kinda mad because the whole reason I went to Brisbane was to dive the Great Barrier Reef. But I heeded the promptings of the spirit and while the other girls went diving Brooke and I laid out at the beach (Deception Bay on Sunshine Coast) and had Red Rooster for dinner.



Sunday we went to the Brisbane temple. It was so pretty. As chance would have it, the stake was watching Conference in the chapel adjacent to the temple. All the missionaries were there. Brooke ran into an elder from her high school. I asked an elder is he new Zach Powers. He said yes so I wrote a quick note for the elder to deliver to Zach. Small world. The Church makes the world small.



After that we went to the beach: Surfer's Paradise on the Golden Coast. I took heaps of pictures. We tried to take pictures of us jumping in the air and attacking each other. I think I've become quite the photographer.





That night we stayed with Maree and Will. They have two kids. Monday rolled around and we were at the zoo at approximately 9:07. I don't know if you know this about me, but I am master at planning theme parks and zoos. I had the day down to a T. I factored in toilet time and mathmatically deduced we had 4:37 at each exhibit. Cameron and Tyler joined us at the elephant feeding. High lights of the day included:

• Holding koalas
• Sneak-patting a wombat
• Feeding elephants
• "I don't want to pat a koala" -Cameron through clenched teeth telling Tyler that he'd rather see the otter show than seeing the koala show
• Feeding kangaroos
• Crocodile show, I was the best monkey dancer
• Kookaburras
• 3-minute camel appreciation

I have a new love for Cameron and Tyler. They're funny. They bought us icecream (boysenberry and fudge....they just don't have boysenberry icecream in the States) and we ate it on the way home. Tyler and Mary ate more than their fair share :S

For a list of Cool Animal Facts from Australia Zoo see my other blog: listitup.blogspot.com

On Tuesday the 15th we woke up at an insane hour (5am) so we could start packing up the van by 5:30 and leave by 6. We were a lot faster at packing than we were at the airport 4 days ago. We were all sitting in the van when Will came out. He laughed at our stuffed van. We started to get ready to backout and he gave us last minute driving instructions...

...and a hundred dollars.

We refused and said we really couldn't accept money from them. We stayed with them for free, used their phone for free, and showered for free. If anything we should be paying them. But Will wouldn't let us leave without taking it. "To turn it down would be offensive in my culture" he said. So we took the $100.

Wow. This was a defining moment in my life. I don't think I've ever met any one so giving. We had stayed with them only 2 days; hardly enough time to form a strong relationship. Yet they were giving us money like we were friends of the family. Will is a painter. They live in a small house. Maree is pregnant with a 3rd child. Yet they handed us a crisp hundred-dollar bill. I want to be more giving like the example set forth by Maree and Will. I want to give to the point I can feel that I gave something. I want to offer my house to any one who needs it. My home will always be open for others.

What a Wonderful World

"I see trees of green, red roses too"

New Zealand undoubtedly lived up to every postcard or brochure I've seen. I've seen sunsets and sunrises on beaches. I have drunken from glaciers, skipped rocks on still lakes, swam with wild dolphins, and tread mountains of waterfalls. I've seen mossy forests blurr by. Green mountains sprout directly out of the fjord. Ferns line gentle rivers.

I have seen true beauty.

"Skies of blue, clouds of white"

The clouds are so close here you could stand on a ladder and lick them. The sky is more open. No mountains block the view of sunrises in the East. They move fast, like white stags racing. They're indecicive. They don't form into shapes. Sunrises and sunsets cause the clouds to spread a pastel hue through the expanse of sky.

"Brightness of day and the dark, sacred night"

When the brisk air whisks down your nose you know that it's going to be a good day. You can tell when you look out the window and see blue sky beckoning you. You know it when the cabbage trees stick out like pompoms and the warmth from the sun somehow makes the grass a little greener. But once the sun goes down it's a different world. I had never seen the color silver in the wild before-out of it's metallic state-but I saw it in New Zealand during a midnight stroll down the beach.

With a full moon.

The silver shimmers on the wave as it curls but is up-staged by the crashing white foam.

"I see friends shaking hands saying, "How do you do?" They're really saying, "I love you."

By far the best thing in New Zealand has been the 33 other students who ride red bikes and wear green helmets. We are one. We take over bike racks, round-abouts, libraries, and occasionally small villages. There is never an excuse to be alone on a Friday...or a Tuesday or Sunday for that matter. I have met so many amazing people here. I've met locals and I see them when I head over to Yaks and Yetis. I've changed lives and they've changed mine. I love them.

I'm leaving in approximately twelve hours to hop on a plane and go to Australia and Fiji. Time flies. I'll blog more in a few weeks. Oh the suspense!

Stabbed by a Spaniard

Our Adventure Southland instructors have recently been covereing the topic of hiking. It doesn't sound to complicated, right? You find a trail and walk. Third-graders could do it. But oh no, my friend. This is not hiking. This is tramping. It's like hiking but different:

1) No taking trails allowed
2) You will be given a grid reference and will have to get there using whatever means necessary (ie crawling through prickly forrests, chopping down trees, tresspassing golf courses and shooting ranges, hopping over barbedwire and electric fences)
3) You will only be given a map and a compass
4) Sometimes we will give you only a compass
5) Sometimes we will give you only a map
6) Rain and wind must always come with it

And so this has been class during the last few weeks: tramping with or without a compass and a map. Every day I pack my essentials (http://listitup.blogspot.com/2008/04/things-to-always-have-with-youin-new.html) and wear my thermals, basket ball shorts, and hiking boots. Once we stopped by a river and made a floating fire holder by weaving flax together. I like flax.

Just the other day I returned from the Three-Day Tramping Extravaganza. I'll be honest, I was little grumpy the first day. Not because I don't enjoy tramping, I really do enjoy wandering away from the trail. But I was just sick of being surrounded by people all the time. I love all these people but a little alone time sounds mighty delightful sometimes. (I am SO excited to go ALONE to Borders when I get back to the States). We crossed a swing bridge made of chainlink fence. I saw Red Beeches. Those are the trees used as Ents in Lord of the Rings.

I'm not gonna lie, the first day was pretty bad. I just wanted to be alone. It was taking everybody so long to decide on bearings and directions and counting steps and I absolutely hate waiting. I hate standing in lines. I hate red lights. I hate standing around doing nothing. And we were doing a lot of that.

We got to camp and had to make a bivvy. This is short for bacavala (or something like that). It means "hut you make from what you got". So using a tarp, rope, rocks, and a few clove hitches we made one communial sleeping area for 18 people. Boy did we cuddle it up!

I was one of the elite few who got to sleep on the edge. The tarp was right at my face and dripped condensation and the rain during the night nailed my sleeping bag pretty good. Thank goodness I was warm and dry inside my bag. It kept raining the rest of the morning. I didn't mind it so much. I woke up a lot happier on the second day. I started to remember how much I love these people.

We tramped in the rain. I led the group up the river until it ran into another river at which point we went straight up the mossy ridge. Moss is gorgeous. I love the way it coates trees. I love the way it's soft to sit on. I love the way it gives when you step on it and it makes your knees feel better when you're going down hill. I do not like the way it gives when you're going up hill. But I managed.

After we passed the tree line we had to cross over to the other ridge to meet group A. It was windy and with each step everyone would grab hold of the nearest plant so that if you fall at least you'll be holding on to something. And that's when I was stabbed by spaniards. Several of them. They were everywhere! They look nice but they have knives at the end of their leaves. They will stab you in the butt and arms and anything else they can jab. So now I'm holding on for dear life on all the soft grassy plants and trying to avoid to Spaniard bushes. I've never been so reliant or afraid of plants before.

Don't worry. We found group A...but then had to hike the never-ending mountain. Just when you think you reached the top you would see more mountain. It hailed (but it's better than rain because you don't get wet) and my knees were killing me. I found it hard to balance on falling rocks with a big pack. It was a little anerving. When we got to the bottom we all hudled next to a big rock. I really like scroggin mix. (Trail mix). It's times like these when I'm hudled for warmth next to a rock that I really appreciate my peanuts and raisins.

Two hours later we were at camp and this time made our bivvy in record time because we had learned from the night before. Brooke, learning from last night, decided it would be wise to sleep in her sleeping bag and then inside her pack liner so that rain wouldn't get her wet. Smart.

Frost. Everywhere. The condensation on the tarp. The ground. My socks. My shoes. The bra on the tree left to dry from yesterday. Stoves. Pots. Bags. Granola bars. It had all frosted over. Including Brooke in her unbreathable pack liner. Secretly I laugh.

That last day was great. I learned to really use mother nature as a toilet. We hiked on the last day because we got to follow a trail. (Yay!) And then we got to the vans. I love the vans. I feel like home in the vans. I have really come accostomed to being a passenger with 11 others in big white vans. I think I've spent a solid two weeks-104 hours-in a van...if not more.

At the end of the hiking we did mini presentations about what we have learned from our outdoor courses. Team A did the "I love the mountains" song but replaced the words with things like "I love the Tony coats, I love sleeping in the rain, I love the weather clouds, I love surfing with Wayne. Boomdiada, Boomdiada..."

Team B (my team) reinacted the good and bad experiences from each class.

Kayaking

• Good-Jackapo rolling himself in a kayak
• Bad-Me in the kayak

Surfing

• Good-KPax and Stephanie getting the knack really fast
• Bad-Jessica breaking her toe

Rock Climbing

• Good-lead climbing
• Bad-Haeree and Jackapo falling

Tramping

• Good-gigantic spooning fest under a tarp
• Bad-gettingstabbed by Spaniards

Lord of the Flies

"'Kill the pig! Cut his throat! Kill the pig! Bash him in!'"- William Golding, Lord of the Flies, Ch. 7

I have learned a lot during my New Zealand experience. I've grown some. I've definitely become more liberal. Taboo subjects aren't so taboo anymore. (It's bound to happen with 28 girls) And playing with a dead pig isn't so disgusting.

For my Family Recreation 301 class we had to do a class project. We chose to do a hangi on March 29, Saturday. Hangi: noun. a lot of food for a lot of people. Katie Paxton headed up the food commitee and I took the game commitee. Thanks to Katie's awesome planning we were able to make a lot of food for a lot of people. I must have minced twenty onions for the stuffing. We had kumura and pumpkin and steamed pudding.

And pig.

Two pigs.

And we butchered them ourselves.

You know those scenes in movies when they bring in a blackened, cooked pig on a platter with an apple in it's mouth? Yeah, well we made one of those. The smaller pig was used for the umu. (That's when you cook the pig above ground.) First you roll the dead pig around in the fire to singe off all the fur and then you scrape off all the singed hair. After the blood was drained from the pig we cut a square in it's belly and pulled out the guts. You have to be careful to tie the butt off so that poo doesn't come out. Out came the stentch along with the intestines, spleen, liver, and stomach. You have to really pull hard to get the lungs and heart. I held the liver and touched the stomach. To cook the meat inside the pig you put a hot rock down into the pig's throat. I heard the muscle tissue sizzle when we stuffed it in. Then you do the same thing in the body cavity and then follow the rocks with cabbage.

The other pig was significantly larger. The difference with the gib pig is that you butcher it and stick it in tin baskets underground. We chopped the head off and I held it. (Pictures just might have to wait until I get to the States) Then Stefanie Tanner, Katie Jo and I played with the little piggie feet. We did dancing with them like you would with a Barbie doll. Then we gave each other high-hooves and played the slapping game. I had blood all over me.

Four hours later we ate the meat from the pigs. The branch members and homestay families all ate until they couldn't move.


The highlight of the evening might have been the variety show. Sister George did some polynesian dancing for us. (She's from the Cook Islands). The primary, young women, and single adults all did some polyneisan dancing. Some BYU students did a poi ball dance they learned. Something happened and I ended up being in four acts. I played the guitar ("Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and it was a big hit), then did a "synchronized" dancing routine with Cameron and Tyler with a balloon in my hood so no one could see or breathe, a magic show with Katie Jo, and then I did a joke off with the audience, thanks to Ben. (Chase was actually a really good emcee)

We all got some good laughing in and I was happy to share my talent and see others do the same.

"'after all we aren't savages really...'"- William Golding, Lord of the Flies, Ch. 11