from the farmer's market :-)

the sea the sea
i have always wanted to swim to a
little platform/dock in the sea.
today, i did just this! the water was freezing.
i jumped off and swam back to shore.
starfish scampered by my feet.
there were skinny little fish in the waves.

"so, are there sharks here..?"
"nope, the water is much too cold for them."

"the world is mud
luscious and puddle
wonderful" -ee.

there is a graveyard on campus.

i wanted to go to the edge to take a picture

of the glowing city under falling sheets of rain.

they thought i would get blown away b/c i am "so small."

to stop myself from purchasing sushi,
i walked to the grocery store, bought sushi supplies
then made some using this recipe and ate it.

everything in new zealand is somewhat price-y
(there are crazy taxes & everything must be imported).
except avocados. i bought 5 for $NZD 1.98.

i make all these big meals, eat them
then feel very sleepy.

salmon pesto pasta with
red capsiums (they call bell peppers this),
onions & zucchini.

got an email alert saying this:
SITUATION REPORT: Strong solar flare could affect technology worldwide starting 1200 GMT March 8. The source of the storm is a coronal mass ejection, or CME, in which charged particles ejected from the sun's corona will enter the Earth's upper atmosphere.

The locations affected by this alert are Asia, South Pacific/Oceania.

i think i am the only asian person in my pacific studies course. mostly everyone else is polynesian, melanesian, micronesian or pakeha.our professor took roll today. it would be my greatest nightmare to publically read a list of pacific islander names
such as: Fetuilelagi, Ãio, Haumiatiketike.

we have a guest lecturer coming on friday. he is arriving by sailing from fiji .ah, this is exciting! :-)

hiking up mount victoria after class.

i had my first paper (class) today:

THE PACIFIC HERITAGE.

did you know that the pacific islands
consist of more than 1,200 cultures & languages?
our professor discussed her background.
she's half african american/half banaban islander
and grew up in fiji. she also mentioned
she got her phd from UCSC..
:O that's when i had a panic attack
and got very excited. i chatted with her after class.
*~our interconnected as fellow banana slugs~*i also befriended two kiwi girls named emma &
courtnay (i think she might be half samoan)
and a guy who is half kiwi/half tokelauan.

"i am a pescaquarium."
i regret of not getting the eclair.
our building reeks of burnt chicken & roses.
night walks through city lights to the harbour-front.
i led the way with my headlamp on.
kegel exercises, massive slides and a complex sculpture
built for little animals to do circus tricks.

in time of lilacs who proclaim.

in every country (except the US), it seems heaps
cheaper to get your produce at farmer's markets.
they had 油条 (oil sticks)!

"what is the national dessert
of your country?"
P A V L O V A

our interactions always revolve around food.
we made a tuna pasta for lunch,
went grocery shopping in the pouring rain,
and baked chocolate raspberry brownies for dinner.

i decided to make my garland today.
cutting + folding + taping
are some of best things hands can do.

"lauren" wants me to make her one
so i told her to pick out colors.
i'll try make it extra special since
she had a bad/unsettling/disturbing day.

(lauren isn't her real name. she doesn't like it.
she just tells people to call her that because
most people can't pronounce her farsi name.
*seh-tzuh-rwuh*)

in search of maori poems.
today was a very slow & drizzly day.
we missed the boat and a storm's a comin'.

nick and i escaped from a creepy drunkard
who was heading to a hookah bar.
we sought refuge at the local library.
afterwards, we noticed that we both walk rather fast
all the time, for no apparent reason other than habit.
we weren't in a rush so we slowed down our pace &
took relaxed footsteps in the pitter patter of raindrops.
then we picked nasturtiums in the pop-up gardens
and popped them into our mouths. spicy.

got my victoria ID card today.
i have not been in school-mode for 3 months
(i have been climbing glaciers & spending time
with heaps of people from all over the world).
i am excited, somewhat nervous, and almost ready.
[i can't show the other side; my picture looks like a mug shot].

all my classes are focused on oceania.
+aims & ideals of maori education
+anthropology in oceania
+the pacific heritage w/ an emphasis on samoa
+art in the pacific
& possibly this VILProgram i am interested in.
we shall see.

i splurged on some fair trade hemp twine.
my reasoning was that i use twine a lot,
so i might as well invest in quality.
i plan on making a garland to decorate the bathroom.

made some ham potato mushroom soup from scratch.

i stood in line at the store & watched
a live infomercial for 30 minutes
to get a free vegetable peeler.
it doesn't even work that well..

if you're going to wellington,
be sure to put flowers in your hair.

holly grew up in hawaii & goes to school in new york.

hi ho hi ho

kiwis + americans exploring wellington together.
we had just climbed up an extremely steep street.
streets here are at a greater incline than sf.
winds here are comparable to chicago.

i love these wild trees. this city surrounded by them.
the picture does not quite capture the grandeur
of the tall lush-ness of them all.