April 24th- 30th Days 76th-82nd

AKAROA

This weekend I had the opportunity to travel to Akaroa with a couple of Kiwi friends and Liza. We left Sunday morning and drove an hour to Akaroa. When we got there we went to our friends "bach" which is basically like a summer vacation home. We walked down to the town and looked around the various shops and galleries, Liza and I were quick to locate the fudge shop. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shinning for the first time in days and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. After our walk we headed back to the house and relaxed until Richard's parents showed up. They arrived around 3:00 and they greeted us with open arms. Since it was Easter weekend, his mom gave us each a chocolate Easter egg. Liza and I look at each other and immediately miss home. We spent the next couple hours sharing our stories and having a cup of tea.

It was about 5:00 when we decided to take the boat for a spin out on the Akaroa Harbor. We wanted to see if we could spot any dolphins, but we didn't see any. The water water clear and smooth, it was the perfect day to go out. Richard took us around and showed us the various historical spots in the harbor. We even got to see these large black drums that are used for paua pearl hunting. Liza and I each got to drive the boat around the harbor. It was a great start for our getaway.
The sun started to set so we headed in to shore, we loaded up the boat and got back to the house. Richards mom had made us dinner; rice, stuffed red peppers and a chicken dish. It was absolutely amazing. I can't help but think of home and miss my moms home cooking and the company of both of my parents. After dinner we had some pudding and ice cream for dessert. We finished off by having a drink and playing a card game of 500. Liza and I just watched, so we could catch on. The game is a lot like pitch but with a different scoring system.

After our card game, we all went out for a walk. We went passed the harbor and walked to the edge of town to a remote place. We sat there and spent the next hour looking up at the stars and listening to the waves of the ocean roll in. It was great. It reminded me of home. Complete silence and isolation from the hectic moments life often brings us. The southern hemisphere has different constellations than we do in the United States. They have the Northern Cross, Sculptor, Crater, Corvus, Cetus, Phoenix, Puppis and hundreds more.

The next day was Anzac Day, which is basically like Veterans day in the United States. We started the morning off by cooking breakfast and having a cup of tea with Richards parents and family friends. Richard was walking with the fire brigade for the ceremony, so we all went to watch. The weather was nasty outside, it was cold, windy and raining. The original location for the ceremony got moved into a community building so we all settled there. The memorial began by signing "God Save the Queen" New Zealand's national anthem. We then sat down and listened to several opening remarks about from various members of the community in regards to Anzac Day and the history of Akaroa. We continued to sign several hymns and as the memorial came to a close several wreaths were laid across the stage. There was a eulogy for the fallen by President R.S.A. and then there was a tribute from the district youth to the fallen soldiers from the banks Peninsula Roll. The memorial concluded with the Australian and New Zealand Anthems and as the bagpipes played people were able to pay their respect by placing a red poppy on a sand cross.

The entire memorial was incredibly moving. The talked about stories of war and sacrifice and courage. I couldn't help but think of my home country. The thousands of soldiers who risk their lives everyday and yet sometimes I think we often don't give them enough support for their actions. Over the years I have heard stories of war and I must say I don't think that the people in our communities support our soldiers the way they should be. I remember the stories my dad told me of his family going off to war and I am proud to call them my family, my grandfather, uncles, and dad.

The ceremony carried over into the afternoon an once it wrapped up we all headed back to the bach. We indulged in sandwiches and quiche for a late lunch. After lunch Liza and I decided to make some apple crisp. So we went outside to their apple tree, got some apples and ended up down at the market to get the rest of our ingredients. We peeled the apples and put our recipe together. However, while it was in the oven cooking, Richards parents had to leave to go back to Christchurch. We said our goodbyes and thanked them for their hospitality. It wasn't long after that our crisp was done. It was a success!!! It turned out much better than what it does back in our dorm.  We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and watching the rain come down on the harbor, it was a great way to start the evening.

For tea that night we walked down to a fish n chips shop where we had elephant fish and fries. It was pretty delicious, but still doesn't compare to the blue cod I had in Kaikoura

warf. Richard made me a deal if I swim in the ocean, then Alan had to jump off the warf at high tide.....and yet neither of us can swim....at least we have life jackets.
We got to the warf, Richard jumped off, then Alan. I can't help but notice their expressions to the cold water. I'm not so sure I want to get in the water. We spend some time at the warf then head over to shore.  It is my moment of truth, the wind is blowing, I put my feet in the water, its sooo cold my feet turn numb instantly. I'm feeling doubt but I know if I don't do it then I would regret it. So, I went in. The water stung my body, it was like several knives jabbing at me, but after a while I couldn't feel it anymore. Richard and Alan came out with me. Alan attempted to swim as well and Richard gave me my lessons. It was quite nice to be honest, but would have been better if I could feel my body. I stay in for about 20 minutes until we call it good. We rush back to the house to get some hot showers.

Once we got warm again in was time for lunch, so we all went to Bully Hayes restaurant which is a place Richard used to work at. The food was great and was good recovery food. After we finished eating we walked along the various shops and then went back to the house. We spent the afternoon on the couch relaxing and watching movies. After our movies we made some tea (dinner) and then Alan and I headed back. I got back to Uni at 8:00 and it was a great weekend.

 On our boat ride we came across one of the more well known rock formations called the "Elephant". The picture is hard to see but there is a part of the rock that descends into the ocean that is shaped like an elephants trunk.

             These are some of the black drums that are used to collect paua pearls.

                 Richard and his parents after the Anzac Memorial Service.

                 This would be me procrastinating my entrance into the ocean.

                                  Getting my first swimming lesson.

School starts back up next week and I have two tests on the same day, I'm not really looking forward to any of it. I have made great headway on my genetics project. As I was able to get in contact with the lead researcher for the defect from the U.S. I still have a bunch left, but it is a work in progress. I had a great time over my two week break. I may not have gone out and traveled a lot like most of the international students. But at the same time I was happy to get some work done and just hang out with my kiwi friends.

The past few days I have been keeping up on the news in the United States, there have been over 300 tornadoes and now there are 329 reported casualties. It is soo heart breaking to see all of the footage of the destruction. Mother nature sure has its wonders. My thoughts and prayers go out to those families and communities affected by the tragedy. I can't help but think about the importance of community service and the act of lending a helping hand. Often times I believe we don't help others enough.

Early Saturday morning we had another aftershock of 5.2 magnitude. It woke me up and really rattled the bed. It was the biggest I have felt since the February 22nd earthquake. I knew I would be feeling aftershocks for some time. But it's almost nerve racking that such big aftershocks are happening even two months after the original quake. They don't bother me like they used to, I have almost come accustomed to their presence.

April 11th- 18th Days 63rd- 70th

This week was certainly a busy active one. I had two mid term tests on Tuesday and Wednesday. I spent my weekend and Monday night studying for both. I had my sheep production test Tuesday, Brianna, Mara and I got together several times before hand and held a study group. But I think that half the time was spent doing other things besides studying. Something about group effort is just very counter productive for me.

Tuesday morning I felt very confident going into the test. Most of the questions were from previous years exams and the others seemed fairly straight forward. However, there was only 8 questions and the test was worth 20% of my grade! I have my fingers crossed. We are now really starting to studying wool and its pieces of value. There are actually 5 pieces to a sheep's wool; 1st pieces, 2nd pieces and lox, fribs, bellies, and neck/back. We learned about what the proper procedures are to take prior to shearing. These would be simple things like not mixing your herds; you don't want merino wool getting mixed with romney. Another procedure would be to empty out the sheep at least 8 hours prior to shearing, this way there is nothing getting mixed in with the wool. I hope to start learning about the crimps for each breed and desirable characteristics so maybe I can go back to CSU and wool judge.

Wednesday morning I got up early to study for my consumer behavior test. I didn't do any studying for it until the night before, but I think its a straightforward subject. I take the test, there was 2o multiple choice and 3 short answer essay. Overall I think it was one of the easier tests have had to date (knock on wood).

The rest of the week I was looking at places to travel for the weekend. I have been wanting to go to the North Island but the air fares right now are not the cheapest. So I plan to go up before finals begin and take a four day weekend to see Rotorua and Gisborne. Thursday night arrived and I decided to go to Kaikoura, I wanted to go whale watching and scuba diving. I decided to go alone actually. I mean after traveling half way around the world only to go vacationing with Americans seemed a bit contradictory to me. Anyways it would be nice to go out meet new people and not have to worry about anyone else.

Friday afternoon I was able to catch a ride with some other Lincoln students who were traveling up to the North Island to go on the Uni's five day field trip. They dropped me off around 4:00pm. And since I do have the best of luck, it was raining, not just that but it was a downpour. Ahh lovely, welcome to Kaikoura. In Maori legend, Kaikoura Peninsula was the seat where the demigod Maui sat when he fished the North Island up from the depths of the sea. Kaikoura is also the closest to see whales. Do to the large continental shelf by Kaikorua it makes the perfect habitat for the sperm whale population. This makes it the closest piece of land to whale ratio.

Well once I got settled in I started making arrangements to do some activities in the area for the next few days. I really wanted to go scuba diving. However, they only let really experienced swimmers go out in case something were to go wrong. And seeing as how I cant ever swim, I decided not to even go there. So I made plans to go whale watching. Kaikoura had three options to see the whales; helicopter, plane or boat. I really wanted to do the helicopter since Ive never been in one, but the weather decided otherwise. It was a cold rainy day and visibility was limited so I had to go with the boat option.

Saturday morning I walked through the town of Kaikoura. It is a nice small home town really driven by the fishing industries. After I did some gift shopping it was time to head to see the whales. It was a three hour boat ride. And it will be my first time ever on a boat out at sea!!!! The tides were high and the rain poured but we finally came into contact with a sperm whale. To locate the whale, the captain used a sonar system that he lowered beneath the boat which then picked up the clicking noises whales make. You can determine how long the whale has been down and when they should come to surface. The sperm whale stays below water for about 45 minutes until they surface. We were able to see two whales and then the captain took us over to see some dolphins. On the way, I even spotted my first shark!!! Ya I'm thinking it's a good thing I didn't go scuba diving after all. We reached the dolphins and there were around 300 of them. They were jumping and doing flips in the air. Some even came and swam along the boat. It was a very neat mind boggling experience. I have never been out to sea let alone seen a dolphin or a whale. The afternoon was a success.

Sunday morning came and it was the first time I've seen the sun since I was in Kaikoura. I decided to do the Peninsula Walkway. It was a 3-4 hour walk which took you all around the Peninsula of KaikouraKaikoura. At this point I'm really starting to wonder why I didn't bring hiking shoes this weekend. My last hour took me through the forest and another farm. The farm land is still so green and vibrant, especially for autumn. Finally at 1:00pm I reached Kaikoura, my feet were killing me, I was dripping with sweat and desperately wanted to shower. Later that afternoon I had planned to go out and go deep sea fishing. There was a tour company that would take you out so you could catch cod, crabs you name it and then you got to keep your catch....but of course the weather was bipolar and instantly changed to a heavy downpour. All of the activities I really wanted to do were either limited by the weather or the fact that I couldn't swim. Hum....I think it's time to learn!!

Monday came. It was icy cold outside and there was snow on the mountains. The boats had all been docked and couldn't go out due to the severe weather advisory. So I spent the morning in a nice cafe enjoying a cup of coffee and reading a book. I was finally able to catch my bus back to Christchurch at 4:00pm. I arrived in the city at 6:30pm and it was raining, of course. Since the earthquake the bus routes have been altered and I was never able to find out where each bus was supposed to go. So I asked around and ended up hitchhiking! Ahh yes needless to say I was nervous there for a while. I didn't recognize any of my surroundings and my imagination was running wild. But I did get dropped off at Uni and in one piece.

The weekend was a success even if my activities were limited due to the weather which was hardly ever in my favor. I loved going out and traveling by myself. It was nice to have some time alone and reflect my time spent in New Zealand. The more time I spend here, the harder it becomes to think I'm going to have to leave in 6 weeks. I have really grown to love the atmosphere here and the agriculture. Its nice to see an entire country so aimed towards ag rather than development and shopping malls. One day I hope to come back and have my own place in New Zealand.

Everyday my actions and decisions have been a result of the February 22nd earthquake that struck Christchurch. This weekend the city experienced another massive aftershock of 5.3. It poured more liquefaction into the streets and homes of the residents who live in this city. Power was lost to numerous homes and debris continued to fall from previous destructed buildings. It is so hard to see the people who have made Christchurch their home have to continuously restart and pickup their lives. Just when they believe again and have hope more destruction is brought to their lives. No one died which is greatful but on the same note I can't help but wonder how these innocent people keep going through all of this hurt. Is it best to pick up and leave? Or is it best to stay, stay at a place you call your home no matter what the result is. Everyday I admire the people of Christchurch more and more. They are such strong, capable, and faith driven people it inspires me. I'm currently working on joining the student  army. Students go out on a regular basis and help rebuild Christchurch. I think it would be an amazing and valuable experience.

 This is my first Sperm Whale experience! A bull Sperm Whale can grow to 20.5 metres (67 ft) long. It is the largest living toothed animal. The head can take up to one-third of the animal's length. It has a cosmopolitan distribution across the oceans. The species feeds on squid and fish, diving as deep as 3 kilometres (9,800 ft), which makes it the deepest diving mammal. Its diet includes giant squid and colossal squid. The sperm whale's clicking vocalization is the loudest sound produced by any animal, but its functions are uncertain. These whales live in groups called pods. Pods of females and their young live separately from older males.

         This is the second whale we saw that was diving back under the water.

 This is just one of the hundreds of Dusky Dolphins that we saw doing its acrobatic moves. The dusky dolphin prefers cool currents and inshore waters but can be found offshore. It feeds on a variety of fish and squid species and has flexible hunting tactics. The dusky dolphin is known for its remarkable acrobatics, having a number of aerial behaviors.

                                               Sunrise over Kaikoura.

             The top of the Peninsula Walkway overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

              Cattle on lush pasture by the ocean!! This one is for you Uncle Bill.

                                   Kaikoura and the Peninsula Walkway.

      This is just some of the farmland that I walked through on my 3 hour walk.

                                  The Pacific Ocean.

April 4th- April 10th -Days 56-62

I completed my fourth week of classes at Lincoln University. I only have eight weeks left in the wonderful country of New Zealand until I have to fly back to the United States. I have really done some reflecting upon my stay here in this foreign country the past few days. It has been truly an amazing and unforgettable experience. I have traveled half way around the world and have been able to experience things I never thought possible. Not only have I traveled the country, experienced a 6.3 magnitude earthquake, but I have also made lifelong friendships along the way. I have had the pleasure and the opportunity to meet numerous people from around the world such as; Norway, Germany, Spain, France and even Japan. This experience is something I will never be able to forget. I feel as though with each weeks passing, the days only get shorter. So as the Uni's Easter break approaches I look forward to further my travels throughout the country.

This week's classes were a success. I have been learning a lot about the agriculture industry on an international level, and that was my passion for traveling abroad. I have been gaining insight on the Angus industry through my genetics project. I have been studying the Arthrogyroposis Multiplex (AM) defect in the breed and I have gained a vast amount of knowledge about the cattle and how defects are spread on a world wide level. Not only am I learning about AM, but I have also been learning about heritability of genes such as eye color in humans. I am really enjoying my genetics class, it has been difficult to understand at times but I enjoy it nonetheless.

For the past few days in Sheep Production we have been studying wool production. We have studied what wool is, the desirable characteristics and the value of wool. Coming from the meat production side of the sheep industry, I find it fascinating that an entire countries sheep production is mainly wool. New Zealand has between 30-35 million sheep with a vast majority of them for wool production. I do have a mid term test next week that I have been studying for so I have also been busy focusing on that.

In my Plant Production class, well that's a whole other story in itself. I do enjoy learning about the production systems here and the different species of plants. Early in the week I went and talked with my professor about a paper I had written about alfalfa and he helped me out quit a bit. The professors here are so willing to help. And what I love the most is that you can go and talk to them at any time. You don't have to go to their offices at certain hours of the day and they don't care what hour it is, they help you no matter what. That is something that I truly wish CSU had. I love the education I'm getting at CSU however there are times that I think they can improve some tactics. Nonetheless, in my plants class part of our grade is to be able to identify particular plant species and I have been working on a power point presentation to help me learn the species. My professor even told me to come into his office at anytime to ask him questions about the plants if need be.

As for my consumer behavior class, we have a mid term next week also. It is a fun class and very similar to my marketing class I took last summer. Our teacher is a very fun loving, kind, joyous person. I love the atmosphere of the class and how she runs it. She always show clips of advertisements and blurps of t.v. commercials, I love it because we are able to see what she is discussing first hand.

As my week came to a close I had the pleasure and opportunity to be able to go for coffee with a Kiwi friend, Alan. He drove us out to the Raspberry cafe outside of Lincoln. We stayed and talked for about an hour indulging in thick Mocachinos and caramel slices. I love the coffee here. Everywhere you go cafes don't give you give you your coffee in a to go cup, but rather a nice mug where they draw designs in the cream. As we headed back into town we saw a car stopped on the road ahead of us, we slowed down and there is a couple who are leaning over a body!

We quickly pull over and rush to help. It was an elderly man, 83 who had been out for a walk and suddenly collapsed. The other woman was on the phone with 111 (NZ version of 911). The ambulance was coming. The old man was laying in the middle of the road, blood rushing form his head and we kept placing blankets over him to keep him warm. Many cars stopped to aid, but there was nothing we could do until the ambulance came. It felt like forever, waiting and waiting. We asked the man questions about where he lived, his wife's name etc... he was able to answer most questions, its a good sign.

Later Friday night, the Uni had a party at Mrs.O's cafe. The theme was super heroes and villains. Well me and Liza wanted to go but we weren't quite sure how to dress. So after going to the gym we got a wild idea of dressing like Greeks. All we had was our bed sheets so we took those and made togas. And I must say I don't know if I would have ever done it. But after going to the party, it was a lot of fun. Liza has truly made my time in New Zealand a rememberable one and I'm lucky to have a friend like her. Who knew that we never really met until our plane ride over to NZ!

It was a fast, exhilarating fun week. I really enjoyed my classes and the people that I am around. As each day passes I can't help but think that it's one less day I am able to spend in this beautiful country. New Zealand has become my second home and one day I hope to return. Who knows maybe even have a sheep farm next to the Tasman Sea.

March 28th - April 3rd Days 49-55

This was my third week of school at Lincoln Uni. The pace of things are definitely picking up. I have been busy gathering information for my genetics project which is worth half of my grade. I'm doing a research proposal on eliminating the Arthrogyroposis Mulitplex genetic defect completely from the Angus cattle breed. It has been a long agonizing start but things are beginning to come together. I do have my first two tests next week in my sheep production class and also my consumer behavior class. This week in plants, we traveled out to the Uni's dairy where we completed a pasture assessment. Allister Black taught us how to evaluate the quality of pasture and the tools that we can use. In the process of him teaching us he gave me a four leafed clover! I have never seen one before so it made my day. We finished our lab by traveling around to 20 different quadrats, evaluating the herbage mass, clover content and dead material. It was probably one of my favorite lectures for lab, definitely useful.
This past week I also got the opportunity to go home with a local kiwi student to Oamaru. The family has over 600 head of sheep with various breeds from Merino to Romney. I was able to see them work the sheep and it was very interesting to watch and compare the methods of handling and management. Kiwi's do not use horses, they make more use of their vehicles (trucks are known as utes) to move the flocks with aide of a couple good sheep dogs. The family was also telling me that they would rather have a sheep dog that is trained by a professional rather than do it themselves. It makes handling easier and the dogs would respond to particular signals more efficiently.
While I was visiting I also got the opportunity to drive in the pasture. Yes I got to drive a vehicle that had a steering wheel on the right side and it was a stick shift. So shifting with my left hand made things a bit awkward but it was rather amusing. As the visit continued we wormed their cattle by applying on a back pour. There were around 50 head of yearlings and cows together. We placed them in the corrals and filed them into the working alley ways. Now the Kiwi's did work the cattle much differently than my family does, but it was also neat to see the difference in handling. Once we filled up the alley they would literally walk above the cattle on the alley way, so they would be straddling the animal. Now,  a lot of things were going through my mind at this point. First off, I know if I ever did that my family would probably shoot me and ban me from the premises and I also thought, wow that's asking for an accident. But as they continued their system continued to work as well. I cant say there is a right or a wrong way, but there is always a method that works for particular people.
That same evening I got the opportunity to see my first penguin. I saw a yellow eyed penguin and also the New Zealand famous mini penguin. We went to a showing of the penguins because that way we were guaranteed to see them. However, in the showing we were not able to take any photos or videos. This is because the flash of the camera is harmful to the penguins eyes. So as the sun set the facility had sodium lights turn on, the sodium lights are not harmful to the bird and the bird is not able to see the lights so they think it is nighttime. We sat and watched as 36 mini penguins came from the Pacific Ocean and nest down for the night. They waddled up the rocks and settled into their nesting boxes. They made a home accompanied by rabbits and possum.
The weekend was a true success. Sunday morning as we were driving back to Lincoln we stopped off at the Moeraki Boulders. The Moeraki Boulders are a number of huge spherical stones, found strewn along a stretch of Koekohe Beach near Moeraki, a small settlement just south of Hampden on New Zealand's Otago coast. These boulders are grey-coloured septarian concretions which have been exposed through shoreline erosion from black mudstone coastal cliffs that back the beach. They originally formed in ancient sea floor sediments during the early Paleocene some 60 million years ago.

      This is one of many signs you see when you drive to the docks at the edge of Oamaru.

                A site looking down on Oamaru and out on the Pacific Ocean.

                                 A couple of seals lounging by the ocean.

                                         Pacific Ocean at sunset.

 The blue or little penguin (Eudyptula minor), also known in Maori as korora, can be found in many places around New Zealand and Southern Australia and is the world's smallest penguin. They only come ashore under the cover of darkness and live underground in burrows. Although quite common, its small size and unusual habits make it rarely seen.

                                           The Moeraki Boulders.

As the weekend came to a close it was a valuable one. Not only did I get the opportunity to get away from the hectic atmosphere of school, but I also was able to see and experience New Zealand agriculture on a different level. During my stay in NZ I really wanted to experience NZ ag and be able to compare things to the United States. I believe there is so much we can learn from each other and share. Having the opportunity to travel abroad and experience agriculture on an international level has been truly aspiring and I hope to continue this journey. After all this is why I wanted to come to NZ. As I glance across the landscape I notice many things, but one in particular. NZ is not developed. They have their cities and towns but outside of them is nothing but beautiful landscape which is succumbed by agriculture. There are no multimillion dollar homes up on the hill, there is no flaunting of wealth. NZ has really inspired me and one day I hope the world will wake up and see what we are wasting. Agriculture is a dying industry in many parts across the globe. We need to preserve our open land and stop wasting it to homes that are only lived in a couple weeks out of the year. If you eat you are involved in agriculture. So why must we need shopping malls and fancy restaurants? Yes those things are nice, but lets stop and look at what we are destroying in return for a luxury.