Picture Blog

Here are the pictures starting with my last night in Auckland through my North Island tour and my week in Seddon...enjoy!

Last Night in Auckland

Rotorua

Taupo

Wellington

Seddon

It's Thanksgiving Time

One week ago I arrived in the middle of nowhere. Got off the bus, looked around and thought to myself, "what the hell have I done". I was completely uncomfortable and out of place, and then I moved into my room in a house with 7 other people who all knew each other and all spoke another language. It was like the Real World meets the Twilight Zone and I was the main character. Sitting around with a group of strangers, I was a little out of my element. I wanted to leave and never look back.

I'm tremendously glad that I didn't. If I had left, I would've never had the opportunity to get to know these people. To rediscover that it is OK to be uncomfortable and out of place...that something good usually comes from overcoming that feeling. Sometimes I have to remind myself that the majority of people I meet on this trip are in the same position as me. I am leaving here tomorrow with new friends that I never thought I would have, and never would have had if I had left that day. While most of these people I will never see again, I will remember these things long after I am gone from here. I will remember the time I was stuck in a ridiculously small town on the other side of the world with a group of foreigners. Whatever that is worth, I'll take it.

Obviously, on a holiday like Thanksgiving, I am missing home. I miss my family, my friends, and normality. I picture everyone together, sharing the day with food and laughter, and it's a weird feeling. It doesn't leave me with sadness, but with the appreciation of what I do have.

I have parents that I miss a lot; who I wish I could be around the table with on a day like today. I have brothers that I hope are well, and can't wait to see again. I have friends who are second to none. Most people are lucky to have just a few, and I have so many who I care about and can't wait to see again. I miss and love you all, hope your holiday was great.

And I have this road in front of me that is headed back there. All in due time. Until then, I have so much more to see, and I can't wait.

Now for a laugh...check out this amazing Thanksgiving video clip courtesy of Ashlee...

Thanksgiving Time

New Video Blog

Here are some videos from the past few weeks...the first one is a little juvenile. And therefore it is the best...

Last night in Auckland, and Tomo has a problem...(ignore my insane 1st person laughing shot at the end...)



More from my last night, Mark can't seem to wake up...



Boiling hot water pools in Rotorua...the smell is delicious (a lot like my friend Wayne after a chicken wing waterfall)



Bubbling Mud in Rotorua



It's a geyser!!!

Seddon on my mind

Arrived in Seddon on Saturday. Staying in a house with 7 German backpackers, all of them work on the vineyards in the same group. I've learned from a brochure in the information center that 6 days in Seddon is equivalent to 1 1/2 months anywhere on the planet. Interesting! So, just to give you a rundown...

The town is tiny and consists of:

Grocery store
Information Center
Extremely shady bar
Cafe

and lacks...

ATM
Piped drinking water
People
Fun

Well, you can actually obtain water from the school about a half mile up the road, so that's not too bad. Hmmm...

So it is my fifth day here, and I worked yesterday for the first time. I will say that it was unequivocally the worst thing I've ever done for money in my life. It trumps the time I drank a Dunkin' Donuts Coolatta that had been sitting on the Boston T for a few dollars. Looking back I'm not even sure I did that for money. We spent 11 hours in the heat lifting wires and pulling them up to put on nails on posts. Now picture a football field of vines, with dozens of rows. A few times, I would realize (at the end of the row) that the wires had crossed somewhere along the way, which meant I would have to go back and uncross them at every single post. All while getting paid per plant...which boiled down to about $10 New Zealand an hour (converted to about $6 American with the going exchange rate). Our supervisor, Paul, draws an uncanny resemblance to Short Round from Indiana Jones, and he would go through your work at tell you what to redo. So imagine Short Round yelling at you while all this is going on. And rather than encouraging things like in the movie, he is being critical of you. Dr. Jones!



Now, whoever picked the under for days on the job, pat yourself on the back, because it is 2pm the next day and I am at the visitors center on the internet. I want to thoroughly thank my parents for encouraging me to pursue secondary education. After work I jumped in the shower and I was like Jodie Foster in "The Accused" washing away my sins. I've never actually heard dirt scream as it washed off of me, what a chilling experience.

So, I am still in Seddon for probably another 2 days, but I don't think I am getting up at 6am to work anytime soon. Oh well, I gave it a try.

Mike's international employment tally:

0 for 2

Ok, back to work

It is my last day in Wellington before I head off to the South Island to work on the vineyards. When I arrived here on Monday I said I would stay 1 or 2 nights. I stayed 5. I guess I wasn't as excited about vineyard work as I thought I was...weird! Obviously we have come to learn that me and work do not mix on this trip. It's been a great week so far, and Wellington is such a cool city. It is the capital of New Zealand and much better than Auckland. If Wellington was Alec Baldwin, Auckland would be like Stephen Baldwin. So here are some pics from the past week...

Last night in Auckland with Mark, Ella and Tomo...




Bubbling mud in Rotorua...




Huka Falls and Taupo...




The beautiful port city that is Wellington, the southernmost capital in the world...







Saturday I will be arriving in Seddon to start work on Tuesday. I changed my travel date for the bus there at the hostel in Wellington. This was the interaction:

Me: I would like to change my travel date for a bus ride
Agent: Ok, what was the Reference Number?
Me: 2039201391
Agent: That's Picton to...Seddon? Where the hell is Seddon? Is that right?
Me: Umm...yes
Agent: I have never even heard of that town
Me: Ok, ok, just shutup and change the ticket

So, Seddon is a little remote. I can make due. I will be working there for about a week (I know, poor me!), and then traveling the South Island for the 10 days after that. So keep following along and I will keep getting myself in and out of trouble.

North Island Tour

So I'm in Taupo right now, which is pretty much in the center of the North Island. We've gone to Waitomo and Rotorua in the last few days and it has been awesome. I will post a more detailed blog soon, but I just wanted to link you to my new skydiving pictures. Went yesterday and I have to say it was awesome!! Can't describe it. This was my second time and I was surprisingly not that nervous all the way through, maybe it's because I am growing into a man. It only took 26 years. I have to say that I was expecting at least a little poop in my pants afterward. Clean as a whistle though!

Take a look/laugh at the photos linked below. It's slightly disturbing to see such pliable skin, but deal with it!

Skydiving in Taupo

Guest Blog Link

Hey everyone!

So, I'm leaving Auckland in about 1 hour, but i've successfully stayed up all night to catch the bus. I also talked to a guy tonight who knew more about the NBA than anyone i've ever met. Then he bet me over statistics...the loser: would go home with him. Ok, time to leave the bar.

So anyways, i've guest blogged on my friend Sarah's page, and you should all go check it out. No only because it is funny, but because Sarah's blog is so awesome. So go check it out. No not later, now...link below

Guest Blog

Moving on up, to the South side

Auckland and me are calling it quits after 40+ days of trying to make it work. We are ending things on good terms though. On Friday, I am leaving here to venture down to the south island in Blenheim. There, I will try to get work at one of the many vineyards for a few weeks. It is supposedly a very easy type of employment to obtain, and many backpackers take advantage of the opportunity. While I am no fan of manual labor, I'm excited to work outside in the fresh New Zealand air alongside my Fijian and Samoan brothers. I'm sure a bottle of wine that I made with my backpacking feet will cleanse the pallet as well. Mmmmm.

Getting there will be the fun part though. I will be taking a Magic Bus: down to Wellington on a route through Waitomo, Rotorua, and Taupo over 3 days. No, it's not actually a magic bus. I know you were picturing me floating away in this crazy bus driven by a gnome...but this one takes roads. Here are a few of the things I will be checking out on the way down...

There are caves in Waitomo:


Hot pools and bubbling mud in Rotorua:


Skydiving in Taupo:

Picture of people skydiving in Taupo not available due to lameness of actually posting a picture of other people skydiving.

I will be arriving in Wellington on Sunday/Monday, and I'm excited to check out New Zealand's second largest city, and one that's known for having a little more personality. While Auckland has been fun, it is a city that does not have an identity. It's as if the city was planned by a group of 4 year olds with glaucoma.



I will miss this city though, and I will miss this hostel. This place is like Never Never Land, except instead of Fairies, there are crazy Maori people who look like they should be the offensive line for the Chargers. You don't feel like time exists, and my biggest concern has been which day of the week to shower on (this week: Sunday...I was ambitious!) It quickly became like a home to me and it'll be bittersweet to leave. If you would've asked me that 5 weeks ago, I wouldn't have believed it. It's time to move on though, so it's on to the next chapter.

Sweet as bro...

It is 4:30am on Thursday morning, and I am sitting at reception at the hostel working another overnight shift. This is prime blogging time. So, like expected, things are pretty regular right now. Well except for this:


This picture is made up of about 30% of the staff here. I hope this makes you laugh half as hard as me...



Ok, so I won't blather on about the election...but I just wanted to make a point from my perspective. Today Obama was named the next president, and instantly, the world's perception of the US has brightened. The world had really soured on us. I'm excited for that to change or at least have the opportunity to change. I've gotten around 4-5 hi-fives from people here that are from all around the world. Mostly they are from people who don't know the hi-five is like the fifth coolest way to celebrate these days, but still...you get my point.

Also, I picked up a few shifts at Whitcoulls this week - the bookstore I had previously quit (or kind of quit). Working a shift there makes me go through about 10 different emotions and maybe 1 is a positive one. I literally have to picture dollars in my wallet to make it through (yes, i'm whining). There is a guy named Rance (yes, Rance), who calls me "Like Mike", which I believe is a reference to Michael Jordan circa 1991...which is relative. I mean every time I walk by him though. There is a guy Johnno who is a self proclaimed "pen-freak". Sean is a girl who dances like a fairy princess around the store when closing time approaches. Jeremy is one of my managers, and he is about as thrilled with his job as McCain is with doing a pullup. Today I was told to stay "within the Gift Hub", a new promotional set-up to advise people of what to get their loved ones for Christmas. So, in the confines of the Hub, I've actually learned that time is slowed by some space-time continuum, which I think one of my co-workers has created. All I'm trying to do is give you a visual here. 3 1/2 weeks left. I can do this...

Oh, this might shed some light on the subject of my post today...New Zealanders say "sweet as" as a response to most things. So far I've found that it can be used to express: excitement, satisfaction, understanding, acknowledgement, unhappiness, disappointment, indifference. This video is a play on the New Zealand accent made by Aussies...the whale is saying he is "beached as"...basically ragging on the fact that they say "sweet as" so much; but you would've figured this out anyways:



P.S. I ate pizza with Mayonnaise on it tonight. I just got grossed out thinking about that moment again. Oh god what is happening.

More Pictures

Here are some pictures from Auckland and last weekend in Coromandel

Auckland (continued)

Coromandel