Midwest Kiwi Boy

2006-07-11T14:43:00.000-07:00

I have been asked to update my blog. This blog was intended for New Zealand use only, but I will bend to the will of the masses and update at least a few more times. We'll see how it goes. It always comes off as so self-centered to have a blog. Like everyone needs to hear another opinion on the world. Well, here goes.

I came home to my parents, dog, uncle John, and Buesseler grandparents. Family filtered into our household throughout the week, so we had get togethers and dinners so that everyone could meet eachother again (it'd been 8 years since our last reunion).

Then Saturday morning we all went up North to a camp we had gone to as kids. We rented out the main lodge and we all stayed there (31 or 32 people, including all family on my Mom's side plus a few significant others). Clearwater Forest, the camp, is situated on a lake of which the camp owns 40% of the shoreline, which is almost completely undeveloped. Needless to say, it's a nice quiet lake.

In the mornings I would kayak or mountain bike. In the afternoon I would play horse shoes, ultimate frisbee, pickle in the middle, or go swimming. We dove off a floating dock to catch frisbees repeatedly. I was the only one that caught the frisbee with my feet. The others just used their hands... amateurs.

The food was excellent with a different family or couple taking over each different meal. We were up there Saturday, Sunday, Monday and came home Tuesday, so that meant a lot of different various foods (think Indian curries, chilli with venison, and burritoes).

It was totally radical. Food, fun, and good company. Also, it delayed me going back to work and hitting "reverse culture shock" which AustraLearn (program that hooked me up with NZ) seems to be so concerned about. Ta-ta!

2006-06-26T21:13:00.000-07:00

I'm home. My New Zealand trip has come and gone. I'm not sure how I feel about it yet, so just ask me when you see me.

2006-06-20T03:18:00.000-07:00

Almost home. I'm just under a week away from going home. I'm pretty cool with it. I've seen everything and done everything I've wanted to do. I missed out on seeing much of the North Island, but I hear it's not nearly as cool as the South Island anyways.

It hasn't hit me yet that I won't see my NZ buds anymore. There're a few I will visit, but definitely not on a regular basis.

It'll be good to see friends and family back home. I can't wait to rub Java's belly. Oh... and I want to ride my motorcycle.

There is one more thing I wanted to do that I haven't yet. I want to snowboard on a real mountain. We're going Friday, so it's all on the level.

I'll be able to tell you guys all of this stuff when I get back home, so I'll see you guys soon. I'm coming home Monday June 26th, but am busy until July 4th. Call me up when I get back and we'll chill. My number is (507) 351-6273... I think. I haven't used it in so long I might have it wrong.

2006-05-30T17:12:00.000-07:00

I'm really starting to get disconnected from the world of the internet. I used to check my e-mail many times a day and surf the web for random tid-bits of information so that I might be that little bit more informed and entertained.

It has been a long love affair since I was a wee lad of only 11 and I received my first computer. It was early in the internet boom and I was there to witness it. It was glorious the amount of information and entertainment people gave away for free... and it was right in my bedroom!

Don't worry, I have not completely fallen out of love. I've just found that real life can be so much more satisfying. Books are so physical and can be read on a comfy couch.

This post has turned out a lot more optimistic than I had first planned. I was going to rant about the tramping club at Canterbury University.

So far they are 0 for 3. I have signed up for 3 weekend tramping trips and have been denied each time. I checked out the tramping club here before I even came expecting to meet tons of people and go on crazy wild trips like Lisa did. I have been sorely dissapointed. One trip was canceled because no one else wanted to go, another had too many people going, and the final trip was overcast and had a possibility of rain.

The worst is that I set a weekend aside so that I might go on a tramp, then when I find out I can't go it's too late to make new plans. This leaves me in a sticky situation of wasting a weekend sitting at home or trying madly to find people with plans and car space for me. I am finished with the club.

Don't worry, I have gotten out tramping and seen amazing things like seals, views that go on forever, thigh deep snow (not that amazing for the Minnesotans, but cool nonetheless) and done crazy things like slide down a snowy mountain on my bum, but never with the tramping club.

Sigh

2006-05-15T21:17:00.000-07:00

This is the post to end all posts. It is the beginning and the end... the alpha and omega.

It's just been a while since I posted... hehehe. Where do I start? Well, once upon a time I had break. It was a fortnight and a half long (3 weeks) and I got to see my family minus Geoff and Ji.

Here's the lowdown of what happened:

Katie, the sis, flew into Christchurch. We went surfing and tramping. The tramping was a little haphazard. At one crucial point we were supposed to go due East, but went West instead. All's well that ends well. We made it back safely while making a few sheep friends and getting some awesome sweeping views of Banks Peninsula.

Next we bussed it down to Dunedin where Lisa, a friend of ours who is Katie's age, and her boyfriend Danilo lives. They took us on a tramp that was planned well and they took a map also... amateurs. Amazing views were seen when Danilo and I split off to climb a mountain while the girls climbed the saddle nextdoor. We could see mountain peaks in all directions, the valley we already tramped and the valley we were heading towards. It all just seems to make sense while on top of a mountain.

The parental units arrived including Jay and Sue, Lisa's parents. Possibly the highlight of the trip was our day on Ulva Island. Lisa stayed on this tiny island for months at a time researching birds, so she taught us all the birds, their calls, and even how to prompt the interest of a NZ robin. It was super sweet.

Next was Milford Sound, in the fiordlands. The kids and Jay (kid at heart) kayaked while the others took a cruise around Milford Sound. It looks like mountains growing out of the ocean.

Finally the trip finished up with Mom and Dad coming to Christchurch with me and I showed them around the city. We checked out some of Banks Peninsula, which is actually an old volcano that is long since dead and has eroded away to create gorgeous shortish mountains (highest peak is Mt Herbert at 900 meters, which Katie and I climbed). In general we just explored Christchurch and all it has to offer. I saw many new things, because I hadn't had time to check them out until my parents arrived. It was super sweet seeing my parents and sis. It kind of grounds a guy and reminds him where he's from. I love you guys.

The weekend after my parents left I kayaked along the northwest coast of the South Island (Able Tasman Coastal Track) with a couple buds. A nice relaxed trip, it was. We had a fire one night and a couple Irish gals came over from the nearby hut and kept us company.

As this post is long already I'll wrap it up. Last weekend I climbed a glacier and a guy in my group got a crampon in the leg and needed 5 stitches. We have pictures. Tata

2006-04-04T04:11:00.000-07:00

Since one of my goals in NZ is to come home with an accent, or at least throw out NZ lingo without thinking about it, I figure I should go over some of their humorous language.

Bogans are city boys who dress like country boys. They wear short shorts (like those phased out in the 80's or early 90's in the U.S.), tank-tops, and have a combination feaux-hawk/mullet. For those not in the know, the feaux-hawk (pronounced fo-hawk) is a mohawk where the guy didn't have the balls to cut his hair down to the nub everywhere but in the center of his head, so he just spikes his hair that way.

"Eh?" is used a lot here. Their sentences usually end in an upnote like as if they were asking a question or inquiring on your comprehension of what they just said. And added onto the end is an "eh?". This is especially prevalent with my Maori teacher. He always says, "Pretty interesting stuff, eh?"

Uni is the term for college.

French fries are chips. Sounds a lot better to say fish and chips than fish and french fries... way too many f's. You may have to wipe off your monitor if you try and say it outloud... so don't.

Piss is alcohol. This is a key definition. When your Kiwi friend says, "Wanna drink some piss?" you don't just nod your head and slowly back away, you say, "Shall we venture to the piss shop?" That's when they find some other less geeky friend to drink with. When you're "pissed" you're drunk, not angry. To "take the piss" on someone is to make fun of them, to give them a couple jabs.

Cheers means good luck, thanks, and good-bye. I just say it when I get off the bus and not to sound too American I say "Cheeahs." No one but Americans and Canadians pronounce their r's. I sure am proud to be an American.

2006-04-01T16:46:00.000-08:00

Hehe... I broke my Dad's camera. Uh... I guess it's not that funny afterall. For some reason it doesn't want to turn on.

Just to appease (sp?, meaning: to satisfy) all those visual people I'm going to try to link to my friends photo album. There are a bunch of photos of me in there, you just need hawk-eyes. My friend Monica took these pictures, so you'll see a lot of her.

Monica's Photo Album

2006-03-21T21:53:00.000-08:00

I'm feeling a good rhythm nowadays. I go to class, play squash, do homework, take a massage class, go to the gym, run, and watch Gilmore Girls with flatmates during the week and do something new every weekend.

It's funny how being in a new country helps me follow the American dream of reinventing oneself. I have more freedom when I'm around people that haven't known me my whole life to do whatever I feel I want to do instead of what is expected of me. This is because nothing is expected of me!

I'm not sure if this is making any sense, but it's really showing me that as cool as being in NZ is... I don't need to be here to have a great wild time. I just need to be comfortable in my own skin and the daringness to take on the world where ever I am.

I was stuck in a rut in Mankato and it was good to get out of there, but now I know I can go back and be happy anywhere... even Mankato!

I've become a surfer dude. I want to live near the ocean forever so I can always go surfing. It's such a rush to let the wave push you and have some sense of control over where you go.

That's all for now. I was supposed to post pictures today, but the battery's dead on the camera, so that's for another day I guess.

2006-03-12T16:19:00.000-08:00

I just realized I never introduced my flatmates. I have 5 flatmates and we live in a nice, new, almost sterile flat. It has a lot of upainted concrete and cold flourescent lighting. Luckily I spend most of my time other places.

My flatmates are:

Fynn: This is short for something I can't pronounce. She's a small Singaporean who speaks pretty good English, but is hard to understand in loud situations. She's quiet, polite and fun to hang out with. She's basically up for anything. She's here for just a semester like me.

Jeff: This isn't anywhere close to his real name. His real name has a couple X's and NG's, so he made up a completely new name that we call him. He's from China and we've had a couple long convo's about how Hong Kong is still like it's own country for another 42ish years. He's taller and bigger than me, but always has a smile when I see him and stops to talk when we see each other on campus. He's in his 4th year at UC.

Kalis (sp?, pronounced Ka-lees): He keeps to himself mostly. When he's not making elaborate meals like curry or chicken curry he's in his room or out with friends. He's lived here a few years so he knows a bunch of people already.

Rachel: She's a smartass Aucklunder. It's good because I can beat up on her like a sister. Not quite as fun as beating on the real thing, but I work with what I got. She's in her first year at UC, but plans on getting a degree here.

Kate: An Iowan!!! I come halfway round the globe and meet an Iowan. She's usually found in front of the boob tube (television for those not savvy) half doing homework, half cheering on her favorite contestant on a reality show. She has gotten one tattoo and two or three piercings since getting here. She's also here just for a semester like me.

Overall, a good crowd. We're not a party flat so I can get some good sleep. Also I haven't gotten in any scraps with any of them... not that I get in scraps in America.

2006-03-12T15:16:00.000-08:00

I ate a grub... and I felt the power!!!

In fact I ate two grubs, one was still wriggling and the other was dead and cooked. I went to the Wild Foods Festival in Hokitika (sp?) on the west coast. My flatmate Rachel drove Fynn (other flatmate), Charmain (cute Singapore girl), Mike (Rachel's bud) and me to the festival and we hung out together most of the time too.

It's a festival where vendors cook up wild foods that very few people in their right minds would order at a restaurant... and we paid for this!!!

Here's a list of the foods I ate and my reactions:

Hairy Mussels: Tasty. Fynn and Charmain eat them regularly and were surprised I had never tried them. A little bit of lemon and they are gorgeous

Emu: A little like spiced ground beef. It was tasty but need a little sauce (not sure what kind of sauce, but it was red).

Flower wine: There were tiny glasses of wine that looked like samples, so I grabbed one and threw it down, but apparently they weren't samples... so I ran away quickly. Very sweet and fruity.

Worm: They were just regular garden worms. I had a crystallized worm truffel. There wasn't much worm flavor to it. It was good though.

Ostrich: Bits of ostrich on a piece of bread with plum sauce. Oh wow, it was good. I'd never think to put a fruit sauce on a meat sandwich, but it was probably the best thing I had all day.

Venison: Another sandwich that Charmain bought and I had a bite of. It is in contention for best food at the festival. There were 2 venison steaks on a piece of folded bread with some sweet sauce on top.

Bacon Buttie: Very conventional. Also a sandwich, this one with a wide piece of soft bacon with plum sauce on top. It was good, just not exciting like the worms.

Huhu Grubs: Definitely the highlight of the festival. There were guys with axes, gum boots (rainboots) and rotten wood picking them out and handing them to customers for $1 for small grubs and $2 for larger ones. They're white, bulbous, and squishy... just like any other grub. I held it in my hand and watched it squirm. Then I threw it back into my molars and popped it so that it's juices exploded in my mouth. It had a subtle flavor. I quite liked it. There was a sense of power since I had control over the little grubs life.

Duck Tongue: I had heard bad things about this one. I was actually handed half an eaten duck tongue from some girls I didnt' know. So of course I ate it. It had good flavor (I think it was marinated in something), but chewy and chunky texture. I think the chunks were bones. I didn't even finish the half-eating tongue. This nasty bit leads up to the worst food which was...

Mountin Oysters: Basically sheep balls. They were cooked and put on bread with grilled onions, but there's no way to get rid of the nasty wet powder texture of them. I only had a small bite of Mike's sandwich. I'm pretty sure he didn't finish it.

Nectarine Cider: Conventional, a little watered down, but fruity and tasty nonetheless.

Beer: I had 2 beers in total. They have a good brand here called Monteith's. I had a spiced beer they call their Summer Ale and a more conventional Original Ale. The Summer ale is a shock to the tastebuds, but very intriguing. These are tasting beers.

Those are all the foods I remember. Overall a very good experience. We slept on the floor of basically a frathouse with a bunch of drunks, so needless to say we didnt' get much sleep, but at least we were dry unlike the people who slept in tents.

But before we went to bed we went to the dance on the festival grounds. There were some pretty weak bands playing, but one band did some covers of songs we knew so we got up and danced (Charmain, Fynn and me). Yes, I said it... I danced. I did pretty well too and heck... I even enjoyed it!!! It certainly didn't hurt that I was dancing with two cute Singaporean girls.

2006-03-05T22:19:00.000-08:00

Here's my contact info:

Flat 30 Room 6
PO Box 6362
Christchurch
New Zealand

To call me just dial:

0064-3-341-1500 ext. 52175 for my room
or
0064-2-110-08821 for my cell (try 0064-02-110-08821 if that doesn't work, we haven't been able to get the international cell phone call to work yet, but incoming calls are free for me so feel free to try)

I try to spend as little time as possible indoors, especially in my room, so it'll be hard to get a hold of me.

Here's my class schedule in NZ time:

Mon. 11-12pm, 3-5pm
Tue. 11-1pm, 3-4pm
Wed. 11-12pm, 4-5pm
Thu. 3-4pm
Fri. 12-1pm

You're most likely to get me from 1:30-2:30pm Central time (that's Minnesota time). Otherwise, just take off 5 hours from Central time and add a day then you have NZ time. If you don't want to do the math then just e-mail me and I'll give you more good times to call.

Give me a call... send me cookies... just do whatever the spirit moves you to do.

2006-03-05T16:29:00.000-08:00

Sorry about the unupdatedness of my blog. Computer labs are just so boring. Also, I can't find the connection between my camera and the computer, so no pics yet. I may have to break down and pay $80 NZ for a card reader .

This last weekend was sweet. We went to a jazz bar that had an awesome live band. They were a mix of reggae, funk, ska and jazz (obviously). This caused us to stay out til 2 o'clock. The next day we went to the Canterbury Draught brewery for a tour and beer tasting at the end (mmm... tasty). Of course the beer made us hungry for a burger so we went down to a pub and grabbed burgers.

And yesterday we (Taylor, Fin, Charmane and I... don't worry you don't know them... except for me I guess) went surfing. We got a few quick lessons on the basics and were basically left to our own devices the rest of the time. I turned out to be a natural. I hung ten... eleven and twelve!!!

Well, stay tuned for the next episode that will include "Nate goes to the Wild Foods festival" and also "Nate fails classes because it's just too darn nice out."

P.S. I promise pictures are coming soon.

2006-02-20T16:15:00.000-08:00

I've started the dreaded classes. I guess this is what I came over for... technically. They actually look pretty nice though. I have good profs. Here's the class lineup:

Greek Mythologies - Cool prof that's excited about mythology

Thermodynamics - Half stand-up comedian, half teacher that wants to do nothing other than thermodynamics

Intro to Maori Culture - Prof grew up in Maori village and reminds me of the main chief from Whale Rider, but much nicer and funnier.

I've made a big decision. I am going to live computerless for the semester. I have not been un-hooked, so to speak, since elementary school.

Also, I'm gonna live with public transport, contrary to buying a car. This will better connect me with the culture. I'll also bum rides off of friends... hehehe.

I have so much to say, but don't wish to bore my audience, so I will try to keep it to concise posts. Don't touch that dial because pictures are coming as soon as I buy a digital camera card reader!!!

Barefoot and loving it,
Nate

2006-02-11T17:00:00.000-08:00

Ello love!!! This is the chronicle of one man's journey through the mountains, hills and cities of New Zealand. This one man is Nate Daily. Dun-dun-DUN!!!

I am spending the next 5 months in New Zealand. I am studying at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, NZ for one semester.

I arrived about a week and a half ago on Sunday the 5th of February. It feels like it was a month ago. The accent is gorgeous, the sun is shining (except for the first 3 days we were here), the people are warm and welcoming, and the scenery is to die for.

We spent a few days in Rotorua, then flew down here to Christchurch.

I have enroled for classes (or papers as they call them in NZ) yesterday and the final schedule is thermodynamics, Greek mythologies and Maori culture. For being such an up to date university the enrolment process was atrocious. Many hours were spent sitting in line for this or that.

Last weekend we went to Sumner beach. It is an exploring kind of beach, instead of a relaxing kind of beach. We walked all around on it and even went in the bitter cold water for a little while to refresh ourselves after MY FIRST TRAMP!!! It was awesome!! We tramped to Taylor's Mistake, which is a secluded surfer's beach. It was short (2 1/2 hours total), but the scenery was awe-inspiring. We climbed to what felt like the top of the world and sat on the edge of a huge cliff that had a vertical drop of probably 300 feet, or 100 meters, to the water below. I'm hooked.

That's the update for now. I hope to hear from you all about how jealous you all are. Tata!!