auckland, new zealand
this is the most multi-cultural city i have ever been to.
i met a korean high school boy with a kiwi accent,
a phD british girl interested in biodiversity.
a very pale swedish girl from lund.
there are norwegian girls down the hall
and fijian, samoan and papua new guinean students
here for a tennis tournament.
the streets are filled with japanese markets,
vietnamese cafes, indian herb stores & maori television stations.
i even spoke in chinese to the lady at the cell phone store.she's from dalian.

we came to a consensus that this city
feels like an intersection of:
seattle, london, and hawaii.
*seattle-urban but ecoconcious with
greenery filled potholes & under bridges.
*london-european-y architecture/feel.
*hawaii-tropical weather & lush breathing land.

the sea the sea!
we swam in polynesian waters.

maori boys with tattoos were nearby.
'the word "tattoo" comes from the Tahitian word "tatau"'

day #1
kia ora aotearoa!
it's summer here in new zealand.
this consists of humidity, rain showers,
rollling green hills, lush flora, and sandflies.

they put pineapples in sandwiches here.

sushi, mochi, cream puffs for lunch!

he sneezed in her face.

going for a ride with mops!

the weather has been usually warm.
perfect for transplanting my pumpkins & morning glories!

i dreampt of a war with ostriches in the arctic,
fidel castro and the blooming of my morning glories.
they were growing so fast, i couldn't figure out
which way i wanted them to grow:
crawling up a tree?
across the fence?
or just let them figure it out themselves?

i began an archaeological dig in
my flower pot and found all sorts of pink treasures.

then i went to a warehouse and
there was a man lying in a freezer
next to giant lucky charms (cereal).

happy chinese new year!
xin nian kuai le!

zealandia, you are so close.new zealand dollars have an
interesting transparent plastic patch.

i accompanied hiroki to visit his friend who

recently got a new position as pastry chef!
she brought out delicious things for us.
we stuffed ourselves silly.

mops' head is much bigger than mine.
he looks like a snowball lion.

"he ao! he ao!"
(a cloud! a cloud!)
;;maori;;

p a r t y.

moon children who shed tears
when colonialist teddy bears claim this land is their's.
not a bugs world but we can still be kind.
drowning boy, run to the village; hurry.
he is dragged up and down a slope built with our hands,
so hurry, my popsicle is melting.
mash them berries and sculpt them clay into people.
please give me a pair of your shoes
because all we eat is bark and grass.
scrub scrub, this is for the people;
serve them.

{an ode to fragments of people i know}

"this is your world.

shape it or someone else will."

CAPTIVE MENAGERIE ADVENTURES.

i was told not to photograph the fish.
then i was told not to photograph the chinchillas.
then i was almost told not to make
melodies with the squeaky dog toys.

today, i was told i had a green thumb :)

morning glories & pumpkins day no.12.
the true leaves are coming in!

life.

oh the places i'll go!

all i need is my pair of feet.
everything else is excessive.
i'll embark on a journey of 34,435,695.538 steps
and then some more.

~*~*~
i'm considering tossing out everything i own.
my sister thinks i am a hoarder.
i kind of am.

we are mountain people.
our howls echo through the canyons.

i saw a woodpecker for the first time today.
did you know that a woodpecker can peck up to 20 times per second?

i asked to be a hummingbird.

i asked a stranger what she was growing
in her garden. she told me then
picked a big tomato and gave it to me.

comical.

grow grow grow your little secondary roots away!

i've been thinking about plants all day.
my pumpkins & morning glories
are growing so quickly.

i've been looking at germination process diagrams
& watching my little babies grow.

i just want to soak in tub in a room
full of tropical plants: hanging,
spider, pitcher, and snake ones.

butterflies can perch on my hair.

existing in The Dreaming.

thousand year old egg!
~*cheers to being 21 years old~*

my sister got me some "lindeman's" raspberry beer!

a blue-ish halo appeared.

mr mops' reading nook

last year, i spent the day before my birthday

dressed up as a gypsy giving strangers
free magic 8 ball readings.

this year, i planted flowers & vegetables
(violas, lobelia, coleus, morning glories, and an eggplant),
read my book in the sunshine and made/ate a sandwich.
i love sprouts in sandwiches :)

we did not arrive in time

for the 1st flight so we entertained ourselves
by taking pictures by an eerie hangar & looking at "great" things.

and we'll all float on ok!

a perfect sunny 72 degree january day

to have an early birthday picnic brunch.
all the food we made:
*croissant sandwiches
*pizza piled with our own veggie toppings
*rice & vegetables medley
*tomato mozzarella in b. vinaigrette
*sausages (that DID fit)
*edamame
*santa cruz apple juice in glass jars
*lemon almond cookies
*strawberries
served on "new zealand animal plates"

couldn't have asked for a better one :-)
thank you michelle for documenting this day<3