Ain't Nothin' but a Scree thing

Hi All! 

This past week has been very busy with classes starting up, so I am sorry for the lack of updates. My classes started last Monday, so I spent the majority of the week trying to sort out class schedules and enrollment. Most of last week’s classes were just going over the expectations of the class. I’m looking forward to actually getting into some of the material for my classes this week. I’m especially looking forward to my Rebuilding Christchurch class, which is all about service learning and the effects of the 2011 earthquake on Christchurch. My first rock climbing class went well, although we did very little climbing the first day. We have a fitness test this week to create a baseline for ourselves and then we will create a work out plan to improve our climbing based on those results. For my children’s literature & film class, we are starting to analyze the story of “Cinderella”. My reading this week included 5 different versions of the story, including the Grimm’s Fairy tale version. I’ll also have to watch the Disney production of “Cinderella” soon. I definitely am enjoying the work for this class so far. 

Now that I’ve updated about all of my classes, I can get to the fun, adventure stuff I’ve done this past weekend. I’ve decided that my semester is going to consist of working hard in school all week, and then dropping all my work and taking off on a mini-vacation for the weekend. If only school was always this easy. 

This past weekend, Daniel and I took a bus out to Arthur’s Pass, which is a national park located about 2 hours west of Christchurch. We arrived early evening on Friday so we didn’t really have time to start a long hike. We visited the DOC office, where one of the rangers showed us a bunch of 2-day hikes we could choose from. We decided to do a 2-day hike which started in the town, hiked up to Avalanche Peak (a very popular hike in A.P), down to a hut to stay the night, and then a 4 hour hike to a car park. The ranger told us that some of this trek was unmarked, but she went over all the details of the hike with us thoroughly and told us specific landmarks to look for. We ended up buying a trail guide, which Daniel claims is the best 50 cents we spent all weekend. 

After eating a filling breakfast at a local cafe, Daniel and I took off Saturday morning for Avalanche Peak. The hike up to the peak was 4 hours of non-stop uphill hiking. Now before I go any further, I should explain that Daniel and I were both carrying multi-day hiking backpacks with us, each weighing at least 25 lbs. Every single time I took a step uphill, it was like doing a mini-squat with a small child on my back. For those that know me well, you all know I absolutely love children dearly. But I do not love any child enough to carry them up that steep mountain for 4 hours. The only thing that kept me from throwing my pack off the side of a cliff was the fact that it held everything I needed for the next two days, including food, warm clothes, and shelter. I developed a love/hate relationship with my backpack after this weekend. Even though the hike up to the peak was difficult, the views both throughout the hike and at the peak made it completely worth it. We were surrounded by mountains on every side of us and could see glaciers from just below the peak.  

Pictures from Avalanche Peak 

As soon as we finished eating lunch on the peak, we began our descend to Crow’s Hut. This was the part of the hike that was very unclearly marked. We began our decent, unsure if we were even going the correct direction. After about 30-45 minutes, we finally reached a ridge (which we thought was the correct one). Then we saw a trail marker, though it was not your average marker. 

Picture of trail marker

We hiked over a very narrow ridge to a scree slope, which was thankfully marked with a true trail marker. The ranger had told us that we would be going down a scree slope. She did not inform us, though, of how steep and long this slope would be. Picture a very, very steep ski slope. Now triple it in size. Now take away the snow and picture small broken up rocks, which shift every time you step. 

Picture of the Scree Slope

The trail guide said that hiking down the scree slope would take around an hour. We hesitantly started walking downwards, trying to move as little rock as possible with us. About 1/4 of the way down, I sat down on a rock, hands and legs trembling, and thought to myself that one of us was either A)going to trip on a rock and fall down this entire slope or B) one of us would move a large rock and create an avalanche. This was definitely my low point of the hike, but we had no other choice but to keep going. After two and half hours of side-stepping, sliding on our butts, and constant fear, we finally reached the river bed. I could not have been happier to be done with that portion of the hike. We reached Crow Hut about 20 minutes later, and stayed the night there with 8 other hikers. 

Sunday morning we woke up very early and took off before any of the other hikers because we had to get back in time to catch our 3 pm bus to Christchurch. The morning hike was pleasant and consisted of walking on the river bed (more rocks), through some meadows, and in the woods, as well. 

Picture of Meadow 

We finally finished our hike with about 3 hours to spare before our bus. Unfortunately, we were 7 km from the bus stop. Neither Daniel or I were in any shape to hike for another 2 hours. So we stood on the road, thumbs out, and hitch-hiked. Every time a car passed, we would stick our thumb out and pray that someone would take sympathy on us. Thankfully, only after about 15 cars passed us, a nice guy pulled over and picked us up and dropped us off right at our stop. Daniel and I wrapped up our trip with a salmon burger and a wonderful ice cream cone from town store.

That about wraps up this weekend! Sorry for such a long post; I also added many more pictures on Facebook. 

Erin 

Kia Ora!

Kia Ora! (Meaning welcome or hello in Maori) 

It has been a very busy past couple of days. I’ll try to give a brief overview of everything I did without going into too much detail and boring everyone. 

Tuesday: I had to go enroll for all of my classes. I’m actually really excited about the classes I signed up for this semester. I did not need to take any classes for my majors at Mac, so I was allowed to chose classes from a range of subjects that sounded interesting to me. I ended up signing up for a class called “Rebuilding Christchurch”, which, in my understand, the students learn about how the earthquake affected Christchurch and then we go out into the city and volunteer. I signed up for a class on the Maori culture and a Personality Psych class. I also signed up for a class on Children’s literature & film(I heard we read the Hunger Games and then watch the movie, it should be a great class). I also signed up for a 5th class that will teach me how to Rock climb. Although I won’t get credit for it back at Mac, I decided if I want to learn to rock climb, why not learn in New Zealand?? I’ll have this class once a week for 3 hours, but then be expected to climb on my own outside of class. We’ll also have field trips so we can put our rockclimbing skills to use! 

Wednesday: This day started out looking like it was going to be a really nice day, so a bunch of us decided to go on a hike near by in the Port Hills. My roommate heard that if you hike up these hills, you get an amazing overlooking view of Christchurch. Unfortunately, as soon as we set out, the weather quickly changed from sunny to overcast and raining sporadically. One thing I have learned about New Zealand weather is that it can change very quickly. It was still a great hike, but I wish we would have gone on a clearer day so we would have had a better view of the city. 

Pictures from the top of Port Hills

Thursday: Happy Valentines Day(I think that’s today in the US?)! Daniel and I both woke up early and decided that it looked like it would be a great day to head to the beach. We took the bus down to Sumner, which is a beach town about 20 minutes from Christchurch, and spent the morning walking up and down the shorelines. Unfortunately, I had to be back to Uni by 3 or else we would have rented a surf board and surfed for a few hours! That evening, I had a field-trip to the Willowbank Wildlife Reserve with my study abroad program. At the reserve, we saw many types of endangered animals, many of which were birds. We also got to see kiwis, which are very difficult to actually see in the wild in New Zealand because they are nocturnal animals. Then, we were given a traditional Maori welcome, which consited of Maori song and dance. This experience made me more interested in learning about the Maori culture, and I am excited to be taking the Maori Culture class this semester. Finally, we were given a tradition Maori meal called a hangi, which consisted of delicious soup(you should try to make this soup, mom), mussels, tons and tons of meat, potatoes, and then pavlova for desert. 

Pictures from Sumner

I decided to stay close to Christchurch this weekend. With classes starting on Monday, I want to take the next 3 days to explore what Christchurch has to offer before I spend the rest of the semester escaping the city on the weekends to travel the rest of the weekend. That’s it for now! 

Erin 

Chronicles from Narnia

Hello!! 

After 3 jammed pack days of orientation activities, I have finally had 10 minutes to sit down, upload some pictures from the weekend, and write a quick update. Just a few hours after arriving in New Zealand, my study abroad group was given a scavenger hunt to do around campus. This campus is so much larger compared to Macalester. 

The second day of orientation we walked into downtown Christchurch, which is about a 20-30 minute walk from campus(referred to here as Uni). We walked through the Botanic Gardens, which was so beautiful. I can definitely see it as a future running route or lunch spot. 

Picture of the flowers 

After eating lunch at a restaurant downtown, we kayaked down the Avon River. I have always wanted to kayak, but I quickly learned that I was not as good I had hoped. A girl from my program, Sam, and I were in a double kayak together, and we bounced from bank to bank until the group finally decided it was time to turn around. It was a great time, but I think I’ll need a bit more practice before I attempt sea kayaking. Then, we went on a scavenger hunt of downtown Christchurch. As many of you know, Christchurch experienced two large earthquakes about two years ago. I knew about this before I arrived, but seeing how much devastation still exists in the city was quite saddening. I was surprised to see so many restaurants and shops still closed and fenced off to the public. Even though that portion of downtown is still suffering from the earthquakes, there are other parts of the city that are trying to create a new vibe for the city by building new shops and restaurants. You can tell that the city and the citizens are trying to create a more positive view of the city’s future. 

Picture of the Christchurch Cathedral, blocked off due the 2010 earthquake

The past two days, my group traveled to Springfield, which is about an hour away from Christchurch. We spent the first day exploring Castle Hill, which is a hot spot for climbers. It has gorgeous scenery, with tons of different rock formations with beautiful mountains in the backgrounds.The final battle scene in the Lion, Witch, and Wardrobe was filmed about 5 minutes from here.  We went on a gorgeous, warm day, with not a cloud in the sky, which unfortunately ended in a sunburn. 

Castle H

Me on top of the rock I climbed

View of Castle Hill 

We ended our orientation program today planting trees, touring a farm, and then finished with a 30 minute jet boat. I am now back in Christchurch, where I will register for classes and take part in the international student orientation the remainder of the week. Classes don’t start until next Monday, so I have another week to venture around. Daniel arrives tomorrow, and I can’t wait to start showing him around the city. 

Will try to update after my next adventure! 

Erin :) 

Greeting from San Francisco!

After just a few slip ups at the airport involving misunderstandings about the baggage allowances(there will be plenty of complaint calls to United) and spilt coffee, I am finally en route to Christchurch! I have so far been in an airport/airplane for 12 hours, and I am facing my 13 hour flight ahead of me. I am already exhausted from flying, but I cannot wait to arrive in New Zealand. As hard as it was to say goodbye to my family, I am excited and ready for the adventure that lies ahead.

Talk to you from Christchurch!


                                                  All of my bags, all packed up and ready to go.