Monday, January 19, 2009

dinosaur's sky eyes leave no footprint


in the pics: some lupin flowers and a river, and a mountain, hiding behind clouds; a fence, with fields, and more mtns in clouds; the deep, dark chasm, ready to suck you into the darkness...ha ha ha..


1/9
We visited the Moeraki boulders…look like dinosaur eggs ready to hatch.

1/10
PIC.. “the whole sky” pic
Ahhh…back to the city, and a dentist appointment for our mid-service check up. I passed, but was told I still brush my teeth too hard. And I should brush at a 45 degree angle in circles. Some Kiwi slang: supi = supermarket. Frock = dress.


I did write one poem..and forgot to read it to my friend:


The Whole Sky

Filling with clouds, the dark grey rolling kind.
Rain.
Green and the other colors come after.

Only a piece reflects
Blue ripples, soft or hard.

The whole sky,
So gigantic
The plane, pinhead floating through white puffs.

The whole sky
Filled by a bow or rains
All the colors glistening in soft arc.

The whole sky
Fills my eyes
And I see clearly for the first time
What it really means
To reflect love.
Nature does it so well.

--Matt Crichton
1/8/09



I went to NZ with a few things I wanted to buy: biking gloves: I got gardening gloves instead (retro style). I got a new helmet by defaultàthe bike rental place required people to buy a helmet.
I found a replacement nose piece for my goggles. Now on their third replacement cycle.
The teachers at my school wanted chocolate. I got them some yummy Toblerone (comes in a triangular box).
I found some tennis balls. They are hard to find in Samoa, and I know two people in Samoa that want to play tennis.
Lots and lots of CDs—now I have to figure out what kind of project I can do with my computer students.
I had some extra NZ currency at the end of our trip and I wanted to buy a necklace…some jade. I didn’t because that seems expensive and thought I had lost two previous necklaces. Later I found one—the one with a piece of paua and jade ring. I’m not very good and wearing expensive things—e.g. watches, rings, necklaces. It was nice to wear it in NZ, but back to Samoa. I can’t wear it because I’m always too sweaty.
I found a large clam shell that I want to make into a necklace anyway. A lot cheaper and I’d rather make my own necklace.
I wanted to get some more paua shells, but I was not able to find the shell factory, or the beaches where they hide. That’s OK, because paua is a NZ thing, not a Samoa thing.


So to review, here are the three most memorable things I saw/did/ and ate in NZ:

DID: mountain biking with snow capped mountains; camping by a lake that looked onto Mt. Cook; Maruia hot springs (then jumping in the ice water pool…aka the Finnish experience.)

SAW: Milford sound, the chasm (how water can make such smooth rock shapes); Franz glacier.

ATE: fresh cherries; steak and potatoes (with onions and lots of garlic); triple decker sandwich (with bread, mustard, mayo, hummus, sliced meat, tomato, avocado, cucumber, cheese). Yum yum yum. Sorry enchilada, I missed the guacamole and sour cream on you, and could have used some more sauce from the cooked chicken…and more cheese.




I really liked this saying. And noticed that NZ tries really hard to keep things beautiful. Cool.

Toihu te whenua…leave the land undisturbed.









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