SAMOA DAY!

Last blog for at least two weeks:
the schedule...
2-21 Arrive Apia at 2:50 am, sleep a few hours, morning snorkeling, group dinner
2-22 Depart Apia, ferry, arrive Safua, beach trip, chill
2-23 Lava fields day trip
2-24 blowholes day trip
2-25 free morning and cliff walk
2-26 culture day at safua hotel
2-27 pyramid, waterfall, and tafua crater...fia fia musical performance
2-28 arrive in Faga
3-1 to 3-4 Faga village homestays
3-5 ferry
3-6 depart Apia 2:40 am
3-7 Arrive Christchruch 10:20 am


YAY FOR SAMOA!!! bringing the snorkel and hammock for sure! pics in a few weeks!

W. Samoa Tomorrow!

Tomorrow I leave for two weeks in Samoa as part of Sustainable Community Development. Can't wait
Looks like we'll be snorkeling a lot, hangin' with the Samoan's, touring the two-island nation, and doing home stays right at the beach....wait, i'm getting a GRADE for this?!

yesterday, I woke and departed at 6 am to catch the morning low tide. John, Nate and I did a few hours of intertidal data collection on 4 species of chiton...look em up...they're cool! We spent the rest of the day crunching data, drawing stupid Excel graphs, and formulating trends in the numbers. NOT COOL! I had to go for a venting run, and it was great, right as the sun came out and Mt. Fyffe emerged from the rain clouds. Dinner, then more project...blah!

Woke up early for devos and Downpours of rain. John, Nate and I did our 30 min. powerpoint presentation on our findings, listened to every one else, had lunch. did some sink laundry, canned peaches, and packed for SAMOA!

latest and greatest!

greetings once again!
today marks day three of Marine Ecology...lectures are over and the remaining half of the week is being spent on field research and group lab reports

monday's rain didn't dampen the brief roadtrip we took to a seal pup colony 20 minutes north of kaikoura. we then stopped at meatworks and graveyard, two world-class surf spots to see how high-action waves affected coastal ecology (and surfer's satisfaction!), we capped the afternoon off with another brief observatory walk of the peninsula's intertidal platform

tuesday was filled with lectures on policy and management of natural resources in the AM, then afterlunch we conducted a 3 hour, on the reef group project, sampling intertidal species and gathering data

wednesday: synthesis of data collected yesterday into trends and worthwhile analysis. also composing student led project ideas for tomorrow, a 6AM start to all day collection of info from the area. my project: the correlation between several species of intertidal chiton to the substrate and zonation of which they are in integral part...not bad, huh? it will take me diving for chiton off the reef early tomorrow morning! good'on ya!

this afternoon, a few hour freediving session searching for paua, the large local abalone species off kaikoura peninsula


YES PLEASE!

The latest!

hey all...here are some of the latest things i've been up to!
snorkeling in south bay...COLD WATER with no wet suit!
swimming tons of laps at the local pool...amazing view...had the pool to myself!
mountian biking through rivers and getting SOAKED!
(studying)
going to a sweet, 15 person anglican chruch in town
valentine's day cookie decorations
enjoying the sun after almost a week of heavy downpours
etc!

this week: marine ecology with afternoon labs at the kaikoura reef! yay! this is how school should be!!!

Long Awaited Photos!

hedgehogs! they're everywhere!

a little kiwi hospitality; "kee-vin" gave us a sweet ride, let me shear his sheep, and stay in his mountain lodge where he gathers the sheep from his 3000 alpine acres! thanks, kev!

my solo summit left me with a sweet view...reading Hebrews 11 here and Lord of the Rings was quite the epic experience!

here we are on our first overlook from the kepler track....(avove)

our campsite had a nice view of Lake Te Anau...

Class, Kiwis, and Mountains!

Greetings one and all...life's only getting better here on Mt. Fyffe Rd. A lot has happened since i last posted, namely a lot of exploration of the surrounding area, mingling with the kiwis, shearing sheep, downhill biking, staying in "hutaways", etc. The weather has been quite hot, with peak temps around the low 90s. Unusually hot, but it's supposed to rain for the foreseeable future, which is good, because we're in a bit of a drought. My one class this week, Sustainable Development, has been very informative. I've never had to THINK like i do for this class, it's always been a regurgitation of knowledge and facts. Class is all about synthesis and application, which is delightful, especially in light of last semester's ultra-heavy science load. I hope to get some photos up tomorrow, on our internet binge day (limited internet refreshes the 12th of each month). I love you all, and can't wait to share photos and stories with you personally...whenever that may be!

for now, I'm loving where i'm at!

Kia Ora!