So Much Fruit, So Little Time

Hey hey!
Sorry I haven't updated in awhile. This three week break has been busy! I just got back from the Cook Islands with my IES Abroad group for a week. If you don't know where the Cook Islands or have never heard of them, that's okay...I didn't know either haha They're in the South Pacific near Fiji and Tahiti. Basically, they're gorgeous!We stayed on the main island of Rarotonga although there are like ten other islands or something like that. It was such a great time!
We left at 5:30 am on April 16th. It was pouring rain so we were happy to be leaving ChCh haha We landed in Rarotonga on
April 15th because we passed the International date line even though the flight was only 5 hours total. Craziness. So we were a little thrown off that we had to redo Thursday again. We got there, got settled into our little house (which included tons of geckos and millipedes) and went to watch all the local schools in a dane competition. It was so cute! The little primary school kids were all dressed up in their polynesian dance costumes and danced for the public. It was a great way to see a little bit of the culture right when we got there. To be honest, all the days blur together from here on out. We were so so busy with stuff all day long. We visited farms, plantations, made sarongs, learned how to make plates out of coconut leaves, learned how to husk a coconut, learned so much about the culture, snorkeled, did a cross island hike...so much stuff!
We were constantly on the go. We also learned how to dance aka shaking our hips like crazy. The boys also did something crazy with their legs haha We always had great food for dinner, including going to resorts or doing a progressive dinner where we had entrees, the main course and dessert all at different Cook Islanders homes! They are so hospitable here and so willing to share their culture with you. It's so great. The weather there is HOT. You are just constantly sweating and greasy looking. The humidity is rough. And with humidity brings bugs and geckos haha I got eaten alive basically but I guess that's what comes with paradise. There are also roosters just randomly walking around every where.They don't belong to anyone necessarily. They also loved to wake us up every morning when the sun rose...and for hours after. We had great weather until the last two days it rained. When it rains in the Cook Islands it RAINS. Torrential down pour all day long basically. Other than that, it was a really fun trip. I learned so much about a place that I hadn't even heard of before I came to New Zealand. It was so cool to see how differently people live in places around the world. Their pace was so laid back, their mentality was very chill as well. "Island Time" was constantly referenced because they just start when they want to start! Such a change from the U.S.! Also, they eat SO MUCH FRUIT. We were constantly eating coconut, mangos, papayas and bananas. They would just throw them at us haha I became totally sick of coconut after like the first day! It was pretty hilarious how much our group despised coconuts by the end of the trip.
My break is almost over which is sad but it will be good to get back into some routine again! I only have classes for the month of may and then finals! It's crazy how fast this experience has gone by and I know the last month and a half will go by even faster. I'll be keeping you updated until I get back safe and sound in the states. Miss you all!

Heading up North!!!

Whoa! I've been going going going lately! I'm officially on a three week break from school, which is insane because I've only been in school for a little over a month but I'm welcoming the break! My flat mates, Alyssa and Ali, joined me on a crazy trip around the north island...packed into 7 days. Annnnnd go.

Day 1: Wellington! We flew out of Christchurch into Wellington and stayed at a really sweet backpackers called Wellywood. The only downside is that we were on the floor with the 20 billion children that were part of a dance team. Great times! Wellington was a cool city, but it was Good Friday so the streets were pretty dull. We ended up going to a rugby game, the Wellington Hurricanes vs. Canterbury Crusaders. We were in the minority seeing as we were cheering for the Crusaders. We couldn't turn our backs on Christchurch! It was a lot of fun but they ended up tying. Lame. It's always fun to see a rugby game though! We just chilled at our hostel and planned out the next coming days which was going to be so so busy.

Day 2: We got up and shopped around Wellington, going into thrift stores and fun little shops. I spent money that I really didn't need to spend, but since I'm on "holiday" I felt that it was okay :) We then headed out towards Tongariro National Park, a park where scenes were actually filmed for Lord of the Rings and where the volcano used for "Mt. Doom" in the movie is. The North Island has so many beaches so we decided to stop at one and watch the sunset. It was gorgeous! We got to our hostel late at night and chilled in the hang out area for a little bit before hitting the hay.

Day 3: We got up at 7:15am to catch a shuttle to the National Park. We were going to attempt an 8 hour day hike and we weren't sure how cold or difficult it was going to be. It was kind of overcast and we knew that weather got more intense as we hiked up into the volcanic area. It was such a cool hike though! It rained for a little while as we were hiking up and it was REALLY windy. There was a woman with a baby on her back and it was sobbing. It was pretty miserable haha Once we got over the volcano/mountain though the wind was better and we saw these three beautiful bright blue lakes. The volcano was also really cool and the views were amazing. We were exhausted by the end of it but it was a really great hike. We felt really intense for doing it haha

Day 4: We woke up at our hostel and hit the road to Rotorua. We had heard that it stinks up there because of the Sulfur. On our way we stopped at the place called "Thermal Wonderland" which was amazing! There were a bunch of volcanic hot springs and sulphur pools but it stunk so badly! It smelled like rotten eggs. So, by the time we got to Rotorua we could handle anything! When we got to Rotorua we jumped right in to our first activity...White Water Rafting! I was stoked because the trip we were doing included us going down the highest commerical waterfal...21 feet. Craziness! It was so much fun because I had never done anything like that before. We went down a lot of rapids and waterfalls. We had the raft to ourselves with the guides which was really cool as well. We then went to our hostel and crashed for the night. We ate a cool Mongolian BBQ place for Easter dinner though! haha

Day 5: We woke up to a rainy day in Rotorua but my flat mate Ali was really keen on going "zorbing" something you can only do in New Zealand. Google "Zorbing". It's hilarious. We rolled down this hill in a huge plastic ball with water inside. It was hysterical but a lot of fun. I can't do it anywhere else in the world so it was worth the 42$ I suppose...haha We then hit the road towards the little town of Hahei, right near the Bay of Plenty, a very pretty area on the North Island. We stopped for photos on the way, making the most of our road trip. We got to Hahei, got some takeaway food (to-go food) and went to "Hot Water Beach". It's a beach where when the tide goes out, you dig a big hold and sit in the sand because underneath the water is super super hot. It's basically like a natural hot tub! We brought our shovel and waited at least 100 other people for the tide to go out but it never did! It was really disappointing but we did get to stick our feet in and feel how hot it gets. It was burning our feet! We don't really know why it's hot, we just accept it :)

Day 6: We go up EARLY. We wanted to watch the sunrise at 6:30, so we got up at 6 am. It was a little brutal! We drove to a place called "Cathedral Cove", a really popular area to go and see. It was about a 30 minute walk, with other little coves along the way. It was absolutely stunning when we got there. It's its own little paradise. There were no crowds either which was a nice bonus. We had the beach/cove to ourselves! We then said goodbye to Hahei and drove towards the town of Raglan, good weather in tow. We had heard amazing things about Raglan, which is a huge surfing town with some of the best surf in the world! I was set on trying to surf when we go there since I've never done it before. Ali and Alyssa had both surfed before so they were going to be my teachers...none of this surf school stuff! We tied our boards on top of our car (we rented them from the hostel, which was the coolest place ever!) and gave a lift to a British couple staying at the hostel who wanted to go surf. It's so fun getting to talk to people from all over the world traveling here. They were super friendly and laid back. The waves were perfect for a beginner! They were still pretty big up they were spaced pretty well. I loved it! At first I was struggling. I would get up for a second and then fall haha But, then I saw a technique that some of the surfing school instructors were showing their students and BAM I got it. I got up at least 10 times! It was so much fun. I am officially addicted to surfing. It is a full body work out but so much fun. I was very proud of myself for actually getting up and doing it! A goal checked off my life list :)

I'm going to go to bed now but I still have another day to blog about...Waitomo Caves! By far the coolest thing I've ever done is Black Water Rafting in caves. Amazing! I'll blog about that another time though..I'm tired! Hope all is well at home!