Dunedin: Round II...with pictures!

We rolled in to a farmers market downtown by the famed train station. Before getting some delicious falafel and having Greenmarket NYC flashbacks, I opted to ride this old school circus bicycle. Hilarious.

NZ has the most cases of skin cancer in the world so they have free sunscreen dispensers. Awesome.
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aaand, the Highlanders Rugby game!

Versus the Sharks from South Africa...boggles my mind a team would travel half the world for one game. South Africans and Kiwis are a traveling bunch.

Scrum, ruck and tri...I know what they are now! ...amazing. My two friends on the BYU women's rugby team said the Highlanders played terribly. I have never been more confused about a sport in my life. Except maybe Cricket.

I was almost more excited for the Black Seeds concert after...

People I have come to LOVE. We have such different personalities, but we all have an incredibly fun time together.

Some music musings

My roomie gave me all these rare Coldplay tracks I'm listening to as I type. Manna to my ears. I do this because Christina is away...she left early for a little beach excursion and we meet again tomorrow night at a Highlanders rugby game in Dunedin.

Coldplay concert in Salt Lake City November of 2008 was life-altering. Loved every second. Tears even streamed down my face in "Fix You." And they even played another rare favorite "God Put A Smile Upon Your Face."

Enya. It has been with me since Christmas of 6th grade when my cousin Marnie gave me the Paint The Sky With Stars album. That Christmas was also when Into Thin Air- the IMAX documentary about Mount Everest came out- the first of it's kind. I remember going down to the Reuben H. Fleet Center in San Diego with several aunts, uncles and cousins to see it. It was so awe inspiring. Maybe that's when my sense of adventure ignited....
I also associate my foray into my teenage Bath and Body Works obsession with that Christmas (random). I was and am that nerd who listens to Enya melodramatically when they are feeling a little melancholy and travel hungry. It makes me think of elephants and tigers and jungles in India. Hmm. Enya was my music of choice as we drove through Milford Sound last week.

I just made some sugar cookies, hot out of the oven. Who wants some?


If you have read this far in this poorly written, randomly thought, and impulsively posted post, you are a true friend. Cheers.

Reason #49823049 why New Zealand is awesome

It has towns named:


Athol


Alexandra


and my favorite...


Nightcaps. Yes. Nightcaps, New Zealand.

A few Remarkable updates...

A few things. New Zealand internet works in such a way that it charges for amount used (tabs open, downloads, photo uploads), not time used, so we've had to cut back... this is why no photos.

A couple notable camping trips have occurred.

A couple weeks ago it was Mavora Lakes for some kayaking and hellish bushwhacking excursions. Of course, scenes from Lord of the Rings were filmed here. We re-enacted some. I also faked a strained ankle on the bushwhack because I am NOT a troubled youth that needs character re-alignment. Assume as much. Anyway, I was worried the program director would be mad at me so I kept it a secret from everyone for a good, um, 4 days until I told Christina. Then I found out everyone else also thought the whole trip was miserable, wet, cold and that my 'injury' was hilarious.

Milford Sound day trip. This should be on everyone's bucket list. Worth the trip here itself. Breathtaking. Dolphins playing around the bow of the boat for at least half an hour. Forests. Craggy cliffs and mountains. Bliss.

Today we got back from a 3-day-er to the Remarkables ski area near Queenstown. Remarkable, although I still do not understand the allure of hiking. I quizzed the most outdoorsy of outdoorsy folk on the trip but still do not have a clear answer. My knees and quads are burned and shot out. I know, lack of gratitude strikes again. While on the trip, a girl in the group fractured her ankle and had to be flown out via helicopter. Politics is complicated and ultimately fruitless (I still admire the ground on which Michelle O walks), but socialized health care when you're playing abroad in New Zealand and have a minor injury here and there... is AWESOME. Helicopter ride through gorgeous mountain canyons, gratis? I was contemplating another injury fake!

Maybe more remarkable is the shower after the three days of the sweat/chill/repeat process in two sets of thermals.

or

that my dad created a Facebook for himself while I was away? Yes, the Henry we know and love! (HA!)

Um...really happy...

So ridiculously happy right now. Went to Dunedin with some friends last night.

Lots of love. Lots of laughter. Lots of dancing. Lots of fun (teehee!) ;)

And this song randomly shuffled to on the iTunes. YES.