Top 10

1. Lake Rotorua sunrise/thermal village: I was the first time I've seen a sunrise that astonishing! For the first time in that trip the aweful rotten egg smell of Rotorua didn't bother me because it was so amazing! I haven't seen anything like this in my entire life!
2.GBR: All I can say was it is absolutely incredible. I've never seen anything like that before! One of the most wonderful things in my entire life!
3. Koalas: I got to hold a koala and it was wonderful they are so soft and fluffy!!! Also, we got to feed wallabies and see kangaroos with little joeys in their pouches! There was a wombat too, but it was hiding from us.
4. Vegemite: I had no clue what I was getting myself into. It was so gross! Although, I ate it wrong the first time, my first impression was that it was one of the grossest things that I've even eaten in my entire life. But, I had heard it was bad! Maybe that's why I was so eager to try it, and it was so much fun.
5.Rangitoto college: It was cool to see how kids act in New Zealand that are our age! Also meeting my pen pal was sweet as!
6.Bondi Beach: Reilly and I just went all out it was crazy, and so much fun! Also, there were jellyfish on the beach!
7.Ogo: I totally forgot where I was it was so much fun! I've never really been in anything like that before.
8. Bridge Climb! Not only was the view wonderful, but I can be scared of heights sometime, so I was so nervous. It was super fun I recomend it for everyone!
9. Luge: Besides the jet lag, this was a really fun thing to do! I loved speeding down the mountain, what an adrenaline rush!
10. Hangi dinner: It was really fun to see the Haka for the first time, and it was really awesome! The food was really good to, and they called me on stage to try the pois!

Last day
We started off with a scenic train ride! It was really pretty because there were a lot of trees and a natural waterfall! Then, we stopped at a town called Kuranda. We had damper bread and a Kangaroo pie that was really good! Also they had this soda that was basically carbonated lemonade! I loved it! Then, we found this koala garden in a park and we got to hold them! After that we fed wallabies and saw a wombat and kangaroos with joeys in their pouches! Then, we took a godola ride, it was so pretty because we were just on top of the canopy from the rainforest! We also got a chance to walk around it! Then, we went to an aboriginal village where they showed us traditional song and dance, and taught us how to throw boomerangs and spears! Also, they played didgeridoos! Then, Reilly and I stayed up late because tomorrow we have 25 hours worth of flights to come home!

Sweet As! Great Barrier Reef!

Honestly, one of the coolest days of my life! First, we got to "sleep in" until 7! Then, at 8 we got on a bus that took us to a boat that took us to the reef! The waves from the ocean rocked the boat like crazy, I could hardly walk around. Also, the sea spray was so salty that there'd be literally, chunks of salt in my hair and on my clothes. Then, after what felt like FOREVER we were there! All you could see was these dark spots in the water, looking over the top of it. It was the coarl. I didn't know it but I saw the reef from the plane ride yesterday coming to Cairns. When we got all of our snorkeling gear we saw that sadly some of the coarl had been bleached, but in that area there were schools of fish, and Bridget found an eel! The coarl bleaching was sad though because they don't do it to themselves. Bridget and I swam out really close to the buoys and saw even more fish and a lot of really pretty coarls! Before we knew it we were starving, so we went in for lunch. After letting my food digest a little, I held a sea cucumber and a starfish! Then, I heard Mr. Shagrin and Mr. Ewen saw a shark! They were so lucky to see one because normally they hide away from humans! Bridget and I went back in the water, even though it was super cold. We decided we didn't need life jackets and had a lot of fun diving down into the reef to get up close and personal with it! Amanda and Alex joined us, as the tide started going up. Finally, we were able to see more things again! Before I knew it they were calling us back to go to our hotel. I was so disappointed because I felt like there was so much more to see! I spent the boat ride out side again. When the sun started going down we went by the rails on the side. There were a ton of little islands it was so pretty. I could've stayed there for hours! By the end of the boat ride we were so salty you could see chunks of it on my eyelashes and on my sunglasses! We went out again in the market with Jenny, Megan, Kellie, Reilly, Bridget, and Codie! We had a really great time again!

Am I a good traveler?

I believe that I am a pretty good traveler because I enjoy talking to the people, learning about their culture, and trying the food. Even when things aren't looking so great I still try to make the best out of my experience. Also, I spend the extra time and money to try the food, or as much of it as I can. I think that if I really had to travel by myself I'd be able to do it, but it would really push my comfort zone. I don't really need the teachers to tell me where to go, or what to do. But, I've never lived on my own, so I think that I'm not exactly ready to go to a foreign country by myself. Also, I think it's more fun to go with a friend anyways because then you have someone to share the experience with. Also, being a girl I'd have to be a lot more careful in places like China because I could get stolen away!

Sydney-Cairns

We dried up today from the cold wet rain at the pool. It was really cool because it was a salt water pool. I tried swimming in it, but it was way too cold! Katie asked me to tumble, and then everybody wanted to see it! Later today we went to the night markets and had pizza, that you could see that they made, and really good gelato. Tomorrow we go to the Great Barrier Reef!!!

Day Four: Compare Sydney to other cities

This city is way different than any other because it is way smaller and cleaner than Chicago. There are just a lot less people here than there are in major cities in the US like Chicago. Also, the people here are so nice. Random people off of the streets would ask us where all the blue sweatshirts came from. Once we explained we were a school trip, they would emphasize how awesome it is that we can go on this trip. Also, we were lost and a lady wanted to help us find our way back, the only problem was she had no idea where our hotel is, it didn't help that there were more than one of them. Like Chicago, they had a tower where you could see the whole city. Which was really cool because the Sears tower isn't that special anymore since it's only an hour away. Also, they had a market called "Rocks market". The market was different than any other market I've seen before, like in China. First of all it was in all tents in the middle of the street, instead of buildings that you could walk into. Also, they didn't haggle very much, you could only bring the price down a few dollars if anything at all. Finally, they took credit! Whenever I've been to a market I always had to use cash!

Room call today was at 4 a.m. to go to the airport in Auckland. After a three hour flight we arrived in Sydney. Something really cool about our flight is that we could see the Opera House and the Sydney Bridge when they flew over it! When we got to our hotel, literally we had enough time to drop our stuff off. We had a walking tour of the city. First we went to the Sydney Sky tower which is like the Sears Tower, but not as tall. The nice thing about it was that we were able to see the entire city, and the Tasman Sea. Also, we got an overlook of the entire harbor, which was huge! The crazy thing to think is that the Harbor is all natural! From the top we also saw the Opera House, and the bridge. They had binoculars up there, so we were also able to see the people on the Bridge climb! I am so excited to do that in two days! Next we went to an opal factory. They gave us a brief history of how it's made, and we also were able to look at some gigantic pieces of opal. Opal is so pretty, and it has so many different colors in it. Then we went to the Rocks market. For the first time, I saw a person playing a didgeridoo is was really awesome! Then, it started to rain, but we walked back to our hotel anyways. Then, we got lost for three hours, but I still had a good time. Some locals tried to help us, but they didn't know what hotel we were talking about. We finally made it back. They, gave us a little bit of time to change, before dinner. A few friends and I went out with Mr. Shagrin to a Thai food restaurant, and we celebrated Steven's birthday. For the first time we were in a small group with a teacher, and it was really nice.

Day Five: Top 3 foods, growing?, day's reflection

1. Vegemite, although my initial though was that this is one of the most disgusting foods I've ever tasted, it's my number one top food. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Then, I learned the secret of putting on loads of butter and a thin layer of Vegemite, so the second day I had a round two. The next time it wasn't too bad. Australia and New Zealand's Vegemite is an experience in itself.

2. Pavlova, honestly I was looking forward to trying this famous cake. Although it had the texture and taste similar to marshmallows, pavlova is way better than them. I learned that pavlova is really only eaten at Christmas. We were lucky to be able to eat it two nights in a row.

3. L&P Soda, It tasted similar to sprite, but minus the lime and with even more lemon. I heard of this through our Rangitoto exchange friends. I tried it the first day we were in New Zealand and fell in love with it, and now that we're in Australia they don't have it! I miss drinking L&P already.

I know I'm growing when I don't complain about the pouring rain because I want to make the best of my time here because I don't know if I'll ever be here again. I know I'm growing when I've fully accepted the culture. I know I've accepted the culture when things stop seeming weird, or I don't compare things to home. Making the best of this trip has become my specialty. So far this trip I haven't missed out on any opportunities, and I don't plan to. I am not going to come home regretting I didn't do something for the rest of my life. I am living a dream, a dream that I will remember for the rest of my life.

Today we got to sleep in a little...until 8. We got on the bus and took a bus tour of the city. There was a GREAT view of the Opera House and the Bridge together also some rock that you could climb on, it was really fun. Then, we went by the ocean where we saw a seal swimming in the water! Our next stop was Bondi beach. Reilly and I jumped into the water, we got soaking wet but it was fun. Also we wrote in the sand, and just had a good time. We got to see dried up blue jellyfish on the shore which was pretty cool. Then, we drove back to the opera house and we went inside. Sadly we didn't get to go inside the concert hall because there was a band playing. Unfortunately it was pouring rain again. For the first time I realized how massive it really is. What an astounding piece of architecture. Then, we went on a harbor cruise. We were able to see sailboat sailing by and get different views of the Opera House and the Bridge. The harbor cruise dropped us off at the Wild life Center where we got to see all kinds of Australian animals like wallabies, wombats, kangaroos, koalas, crocodiles, poisonous spiders and snakes, and cassowaries. Finally we went back to our hotel, and we had a bunch of people hangout in our room, so we played games. Today was really awesome.

Day Three: Cutural visit with Rangitoto College

The Redwood Forest was abolutely amazing! Not only were the trees gigantic, but we walked quickly singing Disney songs to brighten the mood. We had to brighten the mood because it was pouring! We were getting soaking wet, but it didn't matter because we were having loads of fun. Although some people gave us dirty looks because they didn't want to listen to us and they were cold and wet, it didn't matter becuase we were enjoying ourselves. I think that one of the most important thing about traveling is being a little crazy, enjoying yourself, and being yourself. Otherwise there is no way that someone could "feel" the country, as Picco Ayer put it. Sometimes it might rain, but not everyday is going to be perfect, so one must make the best out of what they have and keep going because most of the time you only have one chance.

Later today we met with the kids from Rangitoto College. The kids were so nice. We exchanged presents, and I tried pineapple lumps which were delicious! Also, they have a club at their school for the Maori people! So, they did a traditional greeting like the one we saw last night at the Hangi. Besides a few small cultural differences, we were all basically the same. We were all hanging out and having a good time we learned about different sports, friends, music, clubs, etc. Then, the split up everybody so that we could learn the Haka. It also wasn't as easy as it looked! We also haka-ed at eachother, which was really cool. Unfortunately, we didn't really know what we were doing, so it looked pretty bad! Then, they showed us around their school! It was a lot different than ours because most of their hallways were outside. Before I knew it, our visit was over, and early tomorrow morning we have to go to Australia! I had fallen in love with this place, I'm not ready to leave. I feel like there is so much more of this country that we haven't gotten to see yet. I hope Australia is just as amazing.

Day Two: Cultural experiences of the morning and afternoon

Today, I started off with the Hotel breakfast being a little brave with Bridget. Although, I knew that Vegemite is known for it's awful taste, and for some reason the people in Australia and New Zealand love it. I had to try it. Also, my project's on food, so I couldn't pass up my first opportunity. Both Bridget and I spread it on dry toast. All of the sudden, Alec gives us a weird look. Since Alec's our tour guide, we knew that wasn't a good sign. Basically, we learned after it was too late that you have to eat it with"a thin layer of Vegemite and loads of butter". Bridget and I decide to wipe off as much as we can to get a thin layer, but for me it was too late. We both counted to three and took a bite. It was one of the grossest things I've ever had in my entire life! Of coarse, Bridget didn't have a huge glob of it on like I did, so it wasn't so bad. Vegemite still didn't taste good, to me. During breakfast Reilly and I look out the window, and see this beautiful sunrise that we run up to and take pictures of through the window. Then, run outside a few minutes later with the teachers. "Who cares about the smell, this place is beautiful" is what I kept repeating in my head and aloud this morning looking at the sunrise off of the lake outside our hotel. The sunrise had this uncaptureable natural beauty. It was absolutely astounding. Although it was cold, I ran outside in just a t-shirt. This smell was definately worth it. We were all telling Ms. Titus how we finally understood how she lived in New Zealand, and how people can live in Rotorua. If I was able to wake up to a sunrise like that every morning. I wouldn't need much of anything else, and the sulfur smell wouldn't be very important. After staring at the lake, we were forced to leave the most astounding thing I've ever seen, our duck tour showed up. The duck tour took us to various lakes. We got to hear some Maori legends. We couldn't really see a lot because it was so foggy! Our duck tour dropped us off at Tewhakarewarewatangaoteopetauaawahiao, or Whaka warewarewa for short. Whaka is a thermal village, you could touch the ground and feel the warm on your skin. There was steam coming out of everywhere, luckily I got used to the sulfur smell! They also had mud that supposedly had therapeutic powers, either way it was boiling! Also, they had public baths that were heated naturally, and left your skin feeling silky-soft. One of the coolest things there was a geyser which never stopped erupting.

After lunch we went to the Agrodome for their famous sheep shearing show. We were able to see a lot of cool tricks and even hold a baby sheep! In New Zealand the sheep to people ratio is like 14:1 so, it was really cool to see something that is such a major part of their culture. Then, we went to something called OGO. It's like a hamster wheel filled with hot water! I had so much fun doing that with Bridget even though it was super cold outside, and I was worried about the Hangi later that night. I decided to try everything here, and live in the moment. Also, watching everybody I couldn't pass up an opportunity like this one! It was well worth the doubts! We ended our night with a traditional Hangi. It started with the Maoris and "Chief" Steven to do their traditional introduction. After, they did the haka and "cheif" told the Maori's we came in peace, we ate wonderful food cooked in the geothermal. I tried pavlova which I had heard about before. There is no way to describe it, besides that it's absolutely wonderful. When we finished eating the Maori's performed traditional song and dance in their native tongues. Also, they called the girls on stage to do the pois. I was one of them! Swinging around a string with Cotton balls on either end in a rhythm is a lot harder than it looks. Also, the had some of the boys come up on stage to learn the haka. It was super fun! Before I knew it dinner was over!

Day One: First impressions of New Zealand

Well...when i signed up for a trip down under I don't think it meant what we decided. Almost, everything is backwards, winter during summer, night during day, driving on the opposite side of the road, and the needles on the pine trees point up! Literally, my first impression of New Zealand was, "wow, it's so green!" The ferns are green, the grass is green, and the trees are green! There is grass and hills everywhere. All you can see are ferns, trees, hills, fences, grass, sheep, and cows. The cool thing is that the soil is a reddish-yellow orange color, unlike ours which is brown! I was surprised though, there were a lot less sheep than I thought there was going to be. For some strange reason I had in my head that there were going to be all sheep and no cows. There were a lot of cows also. Finally, after being to China, I thought that the people here would be a lot easier to understand. Sometimes their expressions and accent are harder to understand than a person in China who can speak English. Needless to say, today was still wonderful. I love New Zealand already.

We started at North a long time ago. It was 90 degrees out and we were on a yellow school bus to the airport. I still tried to make the best out of it. We had our first flight from Chicago to LA. I was determined to stay up the whole time on that plane, so I could sleep the whole time on the plane to Auckland. Luckily, on my first plane ride I sat by Reilly, Morgan, and Kelsy. We just talked pretty much the whole time. Which kept all of us up until we landed. Plus, Reilly would kick the back of my seat if I started to drift off. We had about zero time in LA. I went to Starbucks really quickly planning on getting a coffee. Being tired, I forgot you can't bring cold drinks on the plane, so I had to drink it really quickly. I sat next to Alvaro and Hana on our plane ride to Auckland. Hana is a college student from Arkansas, she was studying abroad. I learned from my China trip to get up during the plane ride, so my first experience in New Zealand was, not fainting this time (someone else did on the plane though) eating lunch in a town. We just walked around for a while until we decided on a cafe. Although there were signs, I had no clue what they were talking about. I ended up getting what I thought was the most delicious. I had something that tasted like an egg, cheese, and ham filled pastry and L&P soda. I had heard about L&P before we went from Ms. Titus and from my research project. I was dying to try it! Turns out it was so good! We decided that L&P is like Sprite but without the lime and more lemon, it's so good and truly unique to New Zealand. Unfortunately, I've tried something I haven't liked already. Bridget had minced mystery meat pie that I tried, and wasn't a big fan of. Although, the meat could have been worse. I also tried what Alex got, that was super gross! She had a sausage, well that's what we decided it was, with mashed potatoes on it. Honestly, it was super gross, nobody liked it! It doesn't really matter though because it's all about the experience. After lunch, we went Luging. Well first we went in a gondola to get to the top of a mountain. Next, we went luging! We went in these scooters and sped down a mountain! I did it twice, each time we had to take a ski lift back up to the top! It was so cool, and If you talked to Amanda you'd hear her say "I swear we're in Jurassic Park" it didn't help that they had dinosaur sculptures. After we finished luging, we went to a jade factory. I went to one in China, so I heard everything already. Although, I learned about the different symbols that the Maori used. We were finally in our destination, Rotorua. It smelled absolutely horrible, like rotten eggs to be more specific. I learned that Rotorua is geothermal, which means that it's really warm underground. Unfortunately, that also lets a lot of sulfur into the air. It's so gross. We went to Burger Fuel for dinner. Their burgers were so good. After I finished eating, I wrote a postcard for my family. Hopefully, they get it before I get home. Then, we went to a cost-co and Reilly and I got water. We met these two guys who were studying abroad from Iowa, and they told us how cool New Zealand really is. Steven bought Milo that we all tried because we read about the famous "chocolate en polvo" from Pobre Ana Bailo Tango, that we had to try. It was pretty good!

In the near future I am really excited to meet the kids from Rangitoto college because they are around the same age as us living a "typical" kiwi life. Also, I am really excited to go to Australia because the weather is supposed to be warmer, like in Cairns. The weather here is cooler than the 90 degree bus ride we had to the airport when we left. I'm sure I'll get used to this weather though.

Blog 10: Food!!

New Zealand food is influenced majorly by the pacific islands, like Japan, because they trade with them the most, and are the closest to them. Also, like the US, a major influence on food is England because England controlled both the US and New Zealand for a long time, unit we got Independence. Maori cuisine also influenced the food in New Zealand because the Maori's are the native tribe to New Zealand. Just like America, New Zealand has had a ton of immigrants. They have also impacted the food they eat there today because they brought their native foods to New Zealand. Basically, there is a wide rage of food that people are able to eat there.

New Zealand prepares their traditional BBQ a little different than, here in the USA. They cook food in an underground pit that is filled with hot stones. Then, the food that they are going to eat is put in. Which is usually meat and potatoes, and left to cook for a couple hours. Unlike here, where we fire up the grill to make burgers and hot dogs. Another thing they make is fish and chips, but they serve in similar to how we get burgers from McDonald's....wrapped in paper.

Typical ingredients to be used in the various food made by Kiwi's would be seafood, lamb, venison, and various fruits. Unlike the US where we have various meats, potatoes, fruits, vegetables, dairy, and wheat.

Finally, an example of traditional New Zealand food is the Maori Hangi. This is when they cook the food in earth ovens. In these they either boil, steam, or roast the food. As opposed to the traditional American meal which varies from person to person due to their heritage.

I am most excited about trying vegemite, although I know I probably won't like it, because it is something completely different than what we have here, mostly because Australia and New Zealand are the only countries who like it. Also, I am excited to try different foods that I haven't even heard of yet, because in the end I will broaden the types of food I like, and maybe I will be able to find something really intresting that I could make at home for my family. Honestly, I am excited for everything, and I want to try it all!