ZUMBA

As I've said in a previous blog post, when you're traveling (especially when trying to live in a new place) you have to try new things. This also involves saying yes to things maybe you wouldn't (within reason). So, needless to say, when one of the nurses I've been shadowing asks me if I want to join her at Zumba, I consent. I believe it is also needless to say that there will be no pictures in this post. Not that I have anything against Zumba, but some forms of exercise (i.e. hiking... mostly hiking) are more attractive to me than others. 

So we arrive at the facility and of course I didn't pack any sweat pants or anything Zumba appropriate really... just jeans (which surprisingly weren't too bad). The people running the program were really nice and attempted to explain to me how Zumba works. In actuality it is my complete understanding of Zumba that has caused my aversion to the activity, but it was nice that at least they didn't expect me to be able to follow a whole lot at the beginning. 

Then the program started and everyone found their spots and began following the instructor. I don't know if many of you have experienced Zumba before, but it is kind of like hip hop meets grade 8 dance (I'm sorry if I am offending anyone but this is the impression that emerged in my mind from about the beginning). At the beginning it's actually pretty easy. The music is up beat, the instructor's steps are fairly simple and easy to follow and overall your not really working up a sweat. 

Of course, after a few songs it starts to get more difficult and you have to concentrate a little harder to follow along. But at this point, while I wasn't always able to quite follow, I still haven't worked up a sweat and start to look around at the rest of the room. Part of this was due to the fact that the woman in front of me started to stand increasingly out of line and block my view of the instructor. It is at this point that I look at her and become seriously concerned because she looks like she's dying. While she's following along she seems to have partially lost control of her body and is almost flailing along. Her head is sticking out slightly, her mouth is open and her tongue is almost hanging out. I wanted to go up to her and ask, "Are you okay?" but I had to do a side step followed by a swivel-ly movement. Someone get the D-fib machine, this lady's DYING over here! After I recover from my shock, I can't help but laugh. In a shoddy attempt to conceal my cruel sense of humour naturally loose all ability to follow any steps from the instructor as all of my brain energy is being re-directed to attempt to divert my attention from the zombie doing Zumba in front of me. 

Once I gain control, it is at this point that the steps become increasingly more difficult. In fact, they are no longer steps, but hips swings and turns and I don't even know! Take the mix I mentioned above and add salsa dancing. My body doesn't move like this! My hips especially cannot move like this! Steps I'm okay with. Jumping I can do. Latin motion? I'm Irish! There's a reason why our traditional dance involves no body movement from the waist up! 

I'm floundering to find some kind of movement or step that could replace these movements and not look like I'm not doing anything really at all. I can't follow anything at this point! I'm behind, going in the wrong direction and just plain probably looking like Zumba Zombie in front of me. Of course, then I think about this and look at Zumba Zombie and just loose it. There was no hope from then on. At last it finally finishes and I'm able to go home. 

In conclusion, I don't want to make too much fun of Zumba Zombie. She knew all the steps and hey, if it gets her an hour of aerobics a couple of days a week, good for her! I have to admit, Zumba is much more fun than other forms of exercise, such as jogging, sit-ups - you get the picture - and if you can't follow along, at least you'll get some exercise while laughing at yourself.

Cheers!

RIVENDELL

'To Rivendell where Elves yet dwell

In glades beneath the misty fell

Through moor and waste we ride in haste

And wither then we cannot tell'

                                           ~ J.R.R. Tolkien

Middle Earth is much easier to get around these days. 

On my way back from Wellington we veered off the beaten path and stopped in one of the parks along the way. As much as I'd like to have a contest to see who can pick out locations from the films, many of the locations have nothing or little remaining from sets because New Zealand is really strict about preserving its natural habitats. Here there was a path among the trees and some markers, but nothing else remains of the elven paradise other than a monument that is currently being created. It's still really cool though, to think that you're standing in one of the locations that your favourite movie was shot in. And to be completely honest, the humble leftovers and out of the way location make it really enjoyable to visit, because it isn't fraught with tourists. I prefer it this way. Sites like these are kind of something special between the landscape, the Lord of the Rings franchise and the people of New Zealand. What makes it even better is that its among a beautiful trail and rain forest. 

One of the markers of the film's location

This archway is currently under construction. The goal when it is finished is to make it look like an ancient remnant of Rivendell, from a bygone age. I have to say they're succeeding thus far, although it would be nice if they would add a couple more pieces to balance it with the landscape. Of course, there's a sign that tells you to keep back for "your safety". And of course that meant we had to go stand under it. 

After we finished in Rivendell, we explored a little around the pathways in the forest. Below are some shots I took while on the swing bridge across the river. I think I should get bonus points for getting such clear shots!

WELLINGTON!

Wellington was voted 'the coolest little capitol in the world' by Lonely Planet in 2011 and it definitely lives up to its expectations. It also has the infamous nickname 'Windy Welly' because of its frequent gale-force winds and often wet climate in the Winter months. Thankfully, there was only a breeze and mist today. As we drove into Wellington, there was a faint rainbow starting from the bay towards the city. What a great way to start the day! 

If you're going to spend the money and time travelling to New Zealand, for the most part, you really don't want to spend your time in the city. You've come for the views and variety of activities New Zealand has to offer. A city is a city is a city (for the most part in my opinion). But if you going to choose between Auckland (where most travel agencies will have you spend a few days to start/end your trip) and Wellington, absolutely choose Wellington. I know this is biased as I have not visited Auckland, but this is also something I've heard from my host, who has been to Auckland. 

The great thing about Wellington is that it's beautiful AND walk-able.The city centre is located along the harbour and you can walk right along the waterfront. Most of the main attractions, the railway and bus station and one of the inter-island ferries are along or within walking distance of the waterfront footpath. 

Queen's Wharf Waterfront

My first stop was to Te Papa Tongarewa, the national museum and art gallery. There are lots of museums in Wellington (and the bonus is many of them are free), but if you're going to visit Wellington I highly advise putting Te Papa on your list of places to go. It's very easy to spend hours here (I spent about 2 and I was rushing). There are lots of exhibitions about New Zealand's geography, wildlife, history, art and culture. It also has some nice views of the harbour (the photo above was take from one of the windows in the Museum). 

Now this wouldn't be a post about Wellington if I didn't mention it's cafe culture. In New Zealand cafes, you get your own glass of water. There usually is a tap with some glasses beside it, so you can serve yourself. When you're finished your meal and are ready to leave, you walk up to the cash register to pay and tipping is not mandatory. According to Lonely Planet Wellington has more cafes, pubs and restaurants per capita than New York. As I have never been to New York, I cannot confirm whether or not this is accurate, but there definitely were a lot. The day I visited Wellington was the same day as the All Blacks vs. South Africa rugby match, so most of the pubs were filled with black and white jerseys. I think it's important to remember that when your travelling that you can eat at Starbucks, Burger King or McDonald's almost anywhere. We often have a tendency to flock to things that are familiar to us, but since you're probably not going to see this city again, try something new. Honestly, in 10 years you're likely not going to remember what that tea and sandwich tasted like, but at least you can say you did it and not have to think of what could have been. 

After lunch, I explored the Beehive and Parliament Buildings, the largest wooden building in the Southern Hemisphere (Old Government Building) and Old St. Paul's Anglican Church. 

Old Parliament Building now a Law School

The Beehive and Parliament Buildings 

Old St. Paul's Anglican Church and Historic Site

Unfortunately, this was all the time I was able to spend in Wellington, but I will have plenty of other weekends to visit other iconic locations. Time to go home and watch a rugby game!

OVER HILL AND UNDER HILL

I feel like this is too early in my blog to be using this title, as I will probably be doing a lot more of over and under "hills" as my time here progresses, but there really wasn't any other more appropriate title. My ride to Masterton was spectacular. The day I arrived was sunny, so the visibility was good as we traveled through the mountain ranges between Wellington and Masterton. It is in between the Rimutaka and Tararua Ranges, and is called the Rimutaka Hill Rd. It actually reminded me a little of the mountain road in Mexico... but with guard rails and 2 paved lanes, so we didn't have to avoid oncoming traffic. I was able to take some pictures of the road on my latest trip to Wellington. Unfortunately, it isn't sunny like my first trip over these ranges, but I still got some good shots. 

Rimutaka Hill Rd.

View from the lookout point

Wairarapa in the distance between the ranges

Next stop: Masterton! The place where I'm staying is absolutely gorgeous. It has lovely gardens and is pretty lush and green (which isn't exactly hard to find around here). Most of the houses here are a decent size (not too big or small; average lot sizes and not houses squeezed all in next to each other). Many of them also have fences in the front, a gate or two and gardens. It's actually quite hard not to think of Hobbiton and all the houses which have similarities (the gardens, gates, fences, etc.), but are also unique from one another. You cannot help but love it. 

My lodgings and a new friend

I have managed to capture some of the views from many of the streets in Masterton:

I can't wait for some sunny warm days to get out exploring more of the scenery in the area. The unfortunate part about New Zealand is that the scenery is so unique that unless you take a picture you have no way of explaining to people what you've seen, so hopefully I curb this habit of not taking my camera with me places so I can get some good shots to show you all. 

Cheers!

A WARM WELCOME

This definitely describes my first impressions of New Zealand and its people. Although the weather didn't get the memo. My first week was wet and cool (the main reason for the lack of photos in this post). It rained at least once a day and was overcast for the majority of the time. One thing I found out when I arrived is that a large proportion of homes in New Zealand use a wood stove for heat. This basically means that there's one main room that is warmer than the others and that during the day while you are away at work and at night there is nothing heating the house. At first I thought that it was just the house that I was staying at, but now that I've been going to different people's homes during my clinical time, it seems like 80% of the homes I've been to have been heated by wood stove. I love wood stoves, so I'm completely okay with this, but it does make for some chilly mornings, especially when you have a dull and rainy week. It can discourage you from being adventurous. As a whole, the weather can be unpredictable and variable (weekly, daily and hourly). This is a commercial on one of the main channels that makes me laugh, because there's definitely some truth behind it: Hilux Weather Report 

Whenever I tell people I'm from Canada, they are generally really excited. Of course, this happens early on in conversation, because I've learnt if I wait too long my accent leads them to ask if I'm from America.Then I often get one of two responses: 
           1) They remark about how this temperature must be okay for me. I've stopped trying to explain how we have opposite seasons, being on the northern hemisphere, and blah blah blah, and just skipped right to, "But it was 30 C the day I left." 
           2) I have a _[fill with close acquaintance]_ who's been to _[fill with Canadian city]_ and then I have to try to explain where I'm from. The conversation typically goes: "Where in Canada are you from?" "Do you know where Toronto is?" "No, but I have a niece who's been to Calgary." ......... "Okay, I'm kind of on the other side."

People are really friendly and want to know how long you're going to be here, if you're going to travel, etc. and are usually thrilled to hear that you've come all this way to be in their city specifically. But I'm not going to make any remarks about how Kiwis are the friendliest people, because I'd like to think that Canadians are really friendly as well (and are internationally known for this). I think in North America we tend to be less friendly (not unfriendly, but we don't make any extra efforts) with each other, so when we go to another friendly country it just seems fresh and we appreciate the little efforts people make for us more. But yes, Kiwis are really friendly and the women I'm working with are super sweet and welcoming. I can already tell that I'm going to really enjoy my time here. Already I've been to a community forum on inflammatory bowel disease (Hey, I'm going to be a nurse okay!), gone to the bar to watch the All Black's game, bowling with my colleagues and invited to various other activities. 

Watching the All Blacks game live in New Zealand was a great experience for me. I generally like rugby and being able to watch a professional game makes me wonder why anyone watches football. One of the things the All Blacks are known for is performing the Maori war dance, called the Haka, prior to the beginning of the game. It's basically a really cool way of challenging (and hopefully intimidating) the other team while also incorporating a piece of the country's history and unique culture into the sport. If you haven't seen it:  All Blacks vs. France Haka

Lastly, I was so warmly welcomed by one of the local churches here. It was such a blessing to be able to worship the Lord on a Sunday morning with other Christians, especially since I missed a Sunday while travelling here. It's amazing that I can travel over 14,000 km (to give you some perspective, the distance between the North to South Poles is about 20,000 km) and find other Christians and be welcomed into their community. It reminds me of how Ephesians 2: 19-20 and Galatians 3:28 speak of how we are all united in Christ, even though we may have different backgrounds, cultures, etc. It kind of makes me want to travel and live in different places, just to see how God is glorified around the world by so many different nations, tribes and tongues. 

All in all, I survived my first week and the only person I miss is my cat. 
Cheers!

INTO THE WEST

My flight left Toronto at 6:10 PM on the 30 August 2014 and arrived in Wellington at 9:05 on the 1 September 2014. Five hours to Los Angeles + thirteen hours to Auckland + one hour to Wellington = a grand total of 19 hours of me wishing I owned a TARDIS. Now, I don't want to start this story with negativity, but there really wasn't a whole lot about this experience to be positive about. You wake up in the morning, panicking because this is the day you leave and there's still so much you need/want to do, but you're legitimately excited, because in your mind this is the day you are going to New Zealand (NZ). Until you sit down on the plane and realize that this is not the day you are going to New Zealand. This is the day you are leaving; tomorrow is the day you are arriving. This seat is going to be your life for the next 23 hours. I was sitting there thinking, "This is the craziest thing you've ever done; what have you gotten yourself into?" I don't know why people ask you how your flight was, when you've just told them you flew in from Canada, but part of you wants to ask them if sitting cramped and relatively motionless in the same seat on a metal tube speeding through the air at 30,000 feet for 13+ hours sounds like their idea of a good time. After your first 5 hour flight your body starts to feel cramped and after 2 hours into the next flight I knew the only means of survival and sanity was to force myself to sleep, no matter how uncomfortably, for as long as possible. 

Once I arrived in Auckland, I had to clear immigration, claim my bags, clear customs, wait for and then take a shuttle bus to a separate airport/terminal, re-check my bags, go through airport security and find my gate.... in 1 hour and 20 minutes carrying over 60lbs of baggage between my 2 checked bags and carry-on. I was drenched in sweat by the time I sat down on the next plane, but I suppose it was a good way to wake-up my cramped limbs. By this point you begin to get really excited again, because now you're actually going to your destination. 

The view from my window waiting for take-off in Auckland

Landing in Wellington was pretty cool. As you descend and approach the airport, you see mountain ranges that meet the sea, islands climbing out of the sea and snow capped mountains. As you continue your descent, the plane does a 180° turn and you begin to descend rapidly. All you can see is water hitting jagged rocks on the beach and houses that are in line with your vantage point, but you cannot see the airstrip until the wheels of your plane have pretty much hit the pavement. It was a really cool experience and it almost made the previous 22 hours worthwhile. 

Landing in Wellington

 The cool thing about Wellington is that it is situated on a bay and between mountain ranges on the south end of the North Island. This means that unlike many of the capitol cities I've seen, which are located on relatively flat locations, Wellington is built on a more hilly terrain, which makes it so beautiful. While I've been hesitant when people joke about me going to Middle Earth, because it's fictional, I came to the conclusion that if the tales of Middle Earth had been directed, produced and filmed anywhere other than New Zealand, they would look vastly different and be much less loved. I cannot wait to travel back to this city to explore what it has to offer. 

Cheers!

I'M GOING ON AN ADVENTURE!

For those of you who didn't know, which I'm sure is none of you, I'm off to New Zealand. My journey began almost a year ago at McMaster University, during a session held for students interested in completing their first 4th year placement overseas. While I had been looking at a number of different locations, none had necessarily grabbed my immediate attention, until the presenter mentioned in passing New Zealand. After much research, inner conflict and prayer, I came to the decision to apply for a placement in Masterton, New Zealand, working for 12 weeks with the public health nurses in the area. Thus began my year long journey to prepare for this experience. 

My reasons were simple: hobbits. (KIDDING!). In all seriousness: I don't know where God will lead me after graduation, but I know that 3 things are close to my heart 1) working internationally 2) Indigenous people groups 3) orphans. While the latter is not something that will be a part of my studies, New Zealand presents the wonderful opportunity of working both internationally and with an Indigenous people group: the Maori. So, this really was an opportunity that I could not pass up and an exciting chance to learn lots of new things, step out of my comfort zone and grow. 

I don't know what is in store, but to quote The Hobbit: 

Gandalf: You'll have a tale or two to tell when you come back. 
Bilbo: Can you guarantee that I will come back?
Gandalf: No. And if you do, you will not be the same.