ramblings

it's kind of annoying how dominate america is in the world when you're trying to live in a different culture. you really can't escape "what america is up to" at all. everyone knows what's going on all the time, it's the new age of global technology dontcha know?
of course, facebook doesn't help, everyone's status updates all whining about obama and the cowboys and blah blah blah. sucks that im addicted to it.
i have made some advancements in simplifying my life though. i have no cell phone, it got stolen "in da club" like a month ago so i just said screw it.
so, no phone, no car, minimal responsibilities and a lot more walking. so that's good, right?
my diet here has been terrible for the most part. living with boys doesn't help. i swear there's a stack of pizza boxes to the ceiling in our kitchen. the boys are really proud of it. (the boxes aren't mine, but that's what i'm around) and everyone loves the cookies and junk food and stuff here. so thats been a rough environment for trying to stay healthy, but i am definitely doing much better and it has to do with the weather getting sunny (more fruits, veggies), and one of my new good friends from san francisco that i've been hanging out with more. she has a very similar lifestyle to my austin peers and i find her company a refreshingly good influence. also i am excited to have a friend living in the middle of san francisco, as we have agreed to exchange visits with each other (it's my goal to change people's minds about texas one at a time).

this week is super stressful for me because i have 7 pages due tomorrow and 14 pages due friday and stuff for amnesty i need to do and im not getting enough sleep. i am so looking forward to next week when i can relax and have time to go to the gym and read whatever i want to at the beach all day. yes please! in the meantime i'm living off of nibbles of sushi and lattes while hammering away between classes until i pass out at about 2 am, and then wake up and do it all over again.

seriously though, two swim suit seasons in one year is bullshit. speaking of, my favorite words to hear in a kiwi accent are bullshit, children, danger, and twenty-seven. i'll try to tape and example for you, that will be fun. next week though.
also on my to do list is sending post cards to the kiddos i nanny for back in austin. remember when you were little and you got something in the mail? it was like christmas morning. or it used to be, anyway. i used to complain that my parents got way more mail than i did, so they started sticking their junk mail into my little mailbox i had on my tree house.

i think that facebook is going to mean the end of high school reunions. if you want to know what anyone you want to school with is up to, it's not hard to find out. we'll see if my prediction is right.

okay, back to writing about don't ask, don't tell.

All Blacks and Art Shows

Howdy! Well, I am sitting in the library with 11 books stacked to my left which all need to be gone through and stripped of information relative to my research projects...so instead I think I'll blog.

This library is awesome. It has huge windows all around and right now as I'm typing, I have a panoramic view of Wellington and the sun is setting over the harbor with the mountains behind. I like New Zealand, who could get research done here?? I think I will bring my family to this library as part of their Wellington tour.

I've been a somewhat busy girl lately, I went to an All Blacks game since we last spoke, and that was immensely entertaining. We played the Wallabies (Australia) and massacred them, so it was a smashing success. Though I do think that the crowd around us was somewhat annoyed with the band of drunk American hooligans I was with (boys). It was a good time, but good lord, if ever there was proof of the American stereotype, it was that evening. I still love them anyways.

And no, mother, I was not drinking myself. So in the battle of state representation, Texas came out classy as ever. Here are some pictures my friend Kevin Holland took until I can get home and add some of mine (his are better anyway).

Entering in style:

The Hakka. Remember I showed you a video of it a while ago?

The last nail in Australia's coffin.

Remember that you can click on images to enlarge them.

I also have recently gone to a big Wellington spectacle called the World of Wearable Arts, which is an international competition where artists literally create art that people can wear somehow, out of all sorts of materials and concepts. This amazing show is part fashion show, part art show, part theatrical performance, part Cirque de Soleil, and allllll amazing. Couldn't take pictures of it, but here are some of the art highlights:

This gown won the grand prize, and was an entrance from a carpenter in Alaska. The entire outfit is handcrafted out of WOOD. Amazing.

People on all fours, as human chairs:

See? There's some really great stuff, it was a lot of fun.

Hope you're all enjoying the arrival of Fall. I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of Summer and my family!

me, now.

i am annoyed because the internet at school is actually moving slower than the internet at my house. also because there is a mustard stain on my (new) black cardigan and i don't remember eating mustard. sketchy.

yesterday was a wonderful day because it was warm and i spent some of the afternoon in my front yard reading on a blanket, listening to music, and poppin grapes with my friend alice. i have missed sunglasses.

good news, sort of. steve does not have the swine flu. the doctor said it's a tonsil infection. i'm still skeptical because i have extensive experience with tonsil infections and never have i ever been the way he is. he hasn't really emerged from his room since, what. sunday night? poor guy. and yes, mother, i have been washing my hands.

you know those stupid little like myspace bumper stickers with their infinite wisdom? you know that one that says, "today is a gift, that's why they call it the present." yeah, you probably have it on a pillow somewhere.

i'm really bad at that. like, i am a forward thinker and a planner. i have spent my whole life thinking about what's next. in high school, it was belgium. in belgium, it was college. in college, it was new zealand. etc.

my family is coming for my birthday and for christmas. i haven't told you that yet have i? well, i am a pretty lucky girl. they'll get here the 15th of december and leave new years day. and i can't wait, i really think about it all the time. and i think that that's okay if that comfort gets you through the day sometimes. but they're going to be here december 15th whether i dwell on it or not. and i'm going to be back in texas before i know it whether i spend all my time day dreaming about it or not. (amount of school work has a direct correlation with amount of day dreaming, by the way). i have never been good at generally living in the now. maybe none of us are. but i'm trying. it's certainly easy when i'm doing some exciting new zealandy adventure thing, but it's having that attitude everyday that i need to work on. just a thought for the day.

also, it is my little brother's 18th birthday, hey trav! you don't read my blog but i still love you!

and i'm pretty sure that this dress was specifically made and designed for me. anyone want to donate 300 dollars to the "stuff i don't need but really do" fund? no? sigh.

photos from flickr and anthropologie

Smile, it's Monday!

So today was decent, for a Monday.
Slept through my first class, but I didn't feel nearly as badly about that as I probably should have.
Also, they think my roommate, Steven, has Swine Flu. I will keep you posted and try to keep my distance.
Guess what? Only 3 more Mondays and then I am finished with this semester. That's nuts. Their semesters are 12 weeks long. That's it! So short! I wasn't sure what I'd do with myself between the dates of October 15th and January 8th when I leave, but I'm really hoping that a trip to the Great Barrier Reef works out, and that I'll get to finish a couple books for pleasure, so I'm looking forward to it.

Today I startled myself somewhat. As I was passing a man walking down the street, I noticed that he had a huge smile on his face. He wasn't on the phone or walking with anyone, he was by himself, smiling really big. I found myself wondering if he had a mental disability.
Then I realized how sad that is, that we're all so caught up in what needs to be done and the tasks and annoyances of the day, we find someone who is very happy for no apparent reason to have something wrong with him. I decided that I needed to work on smiling more.
So until next time, think happy thoughts.

south island trip

okay, i know, i suck. i would say i've been busy, but i haven't really been. just neglectful.
soooo SOUTH ISLAND EXTRAVAGANZA!




this is me at the southern most point of the south island, Slope Point. i am hiding behind that tank to escape the gale force winds. i literally laid down into the wind and it held me up. that was crazy. i have also never been that close to antarctica.


this is liam, one of my travel buddies. he's from new york.





this is me being contemplative and new zealand being beautiful. both of us just doin our thang.



this is me in queenstown, which is a particularly beautiful part of new zealand. this was on our
drive up the hill to the slopes.


once we got up to the slopes, we got to play in the snow. this is my snow man. we did not get to ski. that's alright. also, no, i have not cut my bangs since i have arrived.




this is me on one of the super round boulders on this beach. these boulders are on the front of my "rough guide to new zealand" book. they are cool looking.



see how cool they look??

this is in penguin country. stay tuned for a fun surprise.

surprise! penguin!


we fed these ducks at the dunedin botanical gardens


dunedin also happens to be home to baldwin street, the....
the steepest street in the world! ta da! 19 degrees, baby!

nugget point, absolutely beautiful!


new zealand also has rain forests.

milford sound is one of the natural wonders of the world.

it is truly a magical place.

me at milford!




thats queenstown in the left corner, quite a place for a town! my friend aaron dolan took this picture. also, liam mccartney took the top photo.


i hope you liked the snapshots of my trip, it was wonderful! i did chicken out of bungy jumping though, if you're wondering. oh well. also, i will be coming home to texas in january now, rather than july. didnt get my working visa or the classes i need, so i will see you all in the winter!

Relaxing

Sorry that I have so severely neglected this blog. I even almost forgot my password at sign in, it's been that long.
It was a wonderful trip and the reason it's taking me so long to update about it is that I'm waiting for my travel mates to get their photos so that I have photos of everything to show you.
In the meantime, if you have facebook, you can see mine.

This morning is Father's Day here in New Zealand, so a big Kia Ora to all the dads out there!
I'm on my way to finally check out the Methodist Church downtown, and then to the Farmer's Market (a Sunday ritual) and then I've been invited to share a Father's Day lunch with David's family.
Also I think I'm going to see "The Ugly Truth" tonight with some friends. Have you heard good things?

Anyway, I promise to be back soon with lots of trip stories and pictures. For now you'll have to make do with this little guy sleeping on a rock. We walked right next to him and didn't even notice him until, well, we did. Adorable, isn't he?

xoxo
Maggie

study breaks

it's funny how just when you think your life has changed, you spend two solid days staring at a blank microsoft word document and berating yourself for being so unmotivated, and then when the clock hits midnight you scoot through your research paper downing coffee and just letting the words come to you. turns out, school's not really that different here.

then again, we'll have to wait and see if i get a decent grade on a paper that was thrown together at the last minute. then we'll know for sure.

thanks for all your concern, i am feeling better now. usually i shrug off being sick because i am a busy girl, but this time i actually emailed my teachers, canceled all my appointments, and haven't left the house in two and a half days. i'm really serious about getting healthy, partly because i got my dad's infamous "health comes first" talk (the man's got a point, though), and partly because i'm going to these places, among others, on saturday...




lake te anau...




yes, ROHAN...



omaru (home of the rare yellow-eyed penguins)...


dunedin...



queenstown (where i have committed to bungee jumping because i have no real reason to live anyway. plus, if you're ever gonna do it, that's the place.)...


and milford sound, one of the seven natural wonders of the world...


i hope you enjoyed my road trip preview. now go enjoy some oatmeal. it's the secret to a long life.

xoxo
maggie

Weekend in Taranaki

it's not lucky for me that i have strep throat. but it's lucky for you if you've been wanting pictures. let me take you through my weekend with my lovely friends!

we drove from wellington to new plymouth about 5 hours up the southwest coast, i have mapped it out in white for you. behold:



this was our chariot which rode us into the weekend. the party bus of champions:




here's a look on the inside, full of happy campers:


this is what mount taranaki looks like, it's very beautiful:
unfortunately, due to weather, this was our view of it:

sooo we headed to a museum in the center of the city full of ancient maori tribal relics. how scary would it be to be locked in there at night? very.
they also had some pretty art in the museum:
after the museum everyone went shopping, and i decided to go walking along the water. i watched the waves crash onto the rocks and listened to radiohead and bjork for about an hour, it was a really peaceful afternoon.

then that evening some of us headed out to the rugby game, which ended up being a tie and was a highly enjoyable game. i shared fish n chips with my friend liam and we were very happy about that.
also, the stadium is apparently sponsored by some bread company, or so i've been told, and they threw loaves of bread out to the crowd during halftime, like, you know, instead of t shirt guns? just chunking bread. david caught a loaf and made a french fry sandwich. which i thought was weird, but he seemed to enjoy it so that's what matters i suppose. please note that the rays of light were added by me in editing for effect.



luckily, on the second day, the sky cleared for a short time and we were able to see how lovely it was there:
also, we got pretty and went out to paint the town red. this is elizabeth, emily, me, and lauren. they're some of my exchange friends!



we stopped at this pretty lookout on the drive home:




we also stopped at dawson falls, a gorgeous waterfall:

this is me in the van, ridin' dirty. i just thought i would remind ya'll how cool i am just in case it's been too long for you to remember.


have a great day, everybody! and please don't take for granted your ability to swallow. you miss it when it's gone.



*photos (without permission but on good faith) by may tobar, emily rogers, aaron dolan, liam mccartney, and emma nichols