ISP week - aka "don't do homework, do random fun stuff instead"

So this week we're supposed to be working on our ISP (Integrated Seminar Project) research papers. Since there is no class time involved in this, it feels like we have a "free" week. Which we kind of do, kind of don't. Well, ok, we don't, but we're not doing so much work as we are a bunch of fun, random things instead. :)

This is Anela's last week of being a teenager, and she she instigated this week of randomness. We started it by sleeping on the porch during the weekend, then that led to making a slide on the stairs (so fun), and they built a fort the other night in the classroom and slept in it.

Yesterday we went paintballing. That was so much fun! I had never been before, and I almost didn't go. Glad I did now. They have a really sweet "course" just a couple blocks away from the Old Convent, and they let us all do it for super cheap - $10 NZD, which is like $5 USD. We played capture the flag, where I felt like I was playing real life "Call of Duty 4", and then splatter hut, which was basically where 1 team pummels the other team who are inside a hut. That was my favorite. :) Got some good welts from it, but it was so worth it.





Then today was Tommy's birthday, so we all played live pac-man, Mario Kart, and Mortal Combat. So much fun! We used wheelbarrows (real and man-wheelbarrows), scooters, and jump ropes for our "karts" in Mario Kart, hahaha. then we had mud pie for dessert. yummm.


Tomorrow I will work on my paper....I will...maybe. :P

Leah

Fire at Westmont

(that's the library at Westmont) So if any of you don't know yet, Westmont campus caught fire earlier today. A wildfire on the hills behind Montecito spread with the huge Santa Ana winds (up to 70mph). The entire Montecito area has been evacuated, and dozens of homes have already been destroyed by the fire.

Westmont students have been evacuated to the gym, but they're safe now. The fire has completely destroyed the math building, physics building, bauder hall (a psychology building), the Quonset huts, and rumors of the prayer chapel as well. There are several fires in Clark, the freshman dorms, that firemen are trying to contain. So far none of the other major buildings have been severely damaged. But we heard there are several spot fires still, that are being blown around by the winds...

This is crazy. We've heard about California fires around the area in years past, but none has ever hit us - it never seem real till now. I can't believe that this is actually happening. I'm praying hard for everyone that they'll be safe and the campus will be ok. The winds have died down a bit, so hopefully not much more damage will be done.

I hope everyone's ok. This is just crazy..

Later:

Fire's out. Official damage report said the prayer chapel is still in tact, but the other buildings did burn down. 15 of the faculty houses burned down, including Mark the RD's house (my freshman RD) and Dr. McMahon's house (my advisor). 67 students (living on & off campus) plus faculty are now without homes, but luckily, no one was hurt in the fire.

It was amazing to see how fast word spread about Westmont and how many people were praying for the college. That's why most of the campus was saved, I'm sure. What is a miracle is that the math & physics buildings and the quonset huts were scheduled for demolition in a couple days and so were cleared out already. So nothing was really lost. The psychology department was the only one to really get hit, with losing offices.

But the main concern right now is finding temporary housing for the students and faculty. Classes aren't starting up again until December 1, so the college has time to fix the damage done on campus and to situate classes again. I wish I was back there, so I could help out.

Roadtrip day 10

We left Christchurch today, headed back to the Old Convent. Classes start at 9:00am tomorrow morning. :(

We spent this morning shopping again. I really just want to stay on this roadtrip around NZ and not go back to classes. A good thing about going back, though, is Jess’s cooking – no more pbj!

When we got to Kaikoura, Catherine and her family just happened to be driving back to the Convent, and picked up 8 of us so we didn’t have to walk back to the Convent with all of our stuff. So nice.

For our community night that night we all talked about our trips. It was fun hearing about what everyone did. Since it was Catherine’s birthday over the break, we had a party too. We played capture the flag, then had cake. Time to sleep – classes tomorrow.

Leah

Roadtrip day 9

We had to pack up and clean up our campervan this morning before we turned it back in. Took awhile. I didn’t realize how dirty and messy we had gotten. We just kinda embraced it cuz we were always so dirty too. The rental people weren’t satisfied that we had cleaned it enough and made us take it to a gas station to wash it. We didn’t want to pay for a carwash, so we cleaned it all by hand, with a squidgy and paper towels. We probably looked ridiculous wiping the car down in the gas station. :P Whatever, we got it clean, and for free.

So we then dropped the van off, on fumes, then headed into town for the day.

It felt soo nice to take a shower in Stonehurst when we dropped all of our stuff off. Second shower of the trip – woohoo.

We spent the rest of the day in town shopping. I probably spent too much money on clothes and stuff. Oops. I’ll be working over Christmas break, so I have money to last me through spring semester. We go back to Kaikoura tomorrow. Wow, this trip went by really fast. It’s been a ton of fun. :)

Leah

Roadtrip day 8

(Disclaimer: ok, just to let everyone know, I am safely back safe and sound in Kaikoura. So don’t freak out too much about this day lol)

We started our long drive back up the East Coast today. We’ve gotten lazier and lazer at getting up early to either watch the sunrise or go on a hike early in the morning before we head out. Anela wanted to get up at 5:00am to watch the sunrise! 5:00am! Haha, yeah right. (sorry Anela, too early for me). Besides it was raining really hard in the morning, so we waited almost 5 hours for it to pass (and for us to wake up) before we went to go see a waterfall. Then we headed out to Dunedin.

We were freezing cold the whole time we were in Dunedin – that seemed to be a theme during the whole trip. But with the cold and all, we stopped to see the Cadbury Chocolate Factory. Nissi and I snuck into the shop, though we were really supposed to pay for a tour to be able to access the store – oops, whatever. We got chocolate for really cheap there. :) yummm.

Anyway, driving out of Dunedin, we saw these 2 guys hitchhiking to Christchurch. When we saw them, we slowed down, almost picked them up, then decided that we shouldn’t and sped off again – they were so bummed they almost got a ride lol. Then we talked about it, and decided we should be Good Samaritans and we should turn around and pick them up. We were going to Christchurch too after all. So we clean up the van, hide valuables and all, then turn around and grab them. They were so stoked. They were 2 guys, Calum (18) and Ben (19), and they had never hitchhiked before. They were just going up to their friend’s house for the weekend, and needed a ride.

I know what you’re thinking, that we weren’t being smart at all by picking up random guys. But it felt like the right thing to do. And they were really cool guys. Made the whole trip more fun, learning NZ saying and slang, talking about the north and south island, and just hanging out. Oh, and they were agnostic, so we got to talk with them about Christ. And Calum was asking a bunch of hard questions that Christians commonly struggle with, like what about the scientific evidence for evolution, why is there evil in the world, why do innocent people die, etc. I had never witnessed like that to a person before, so it was really cool. I don’t really know if I got through to him or not, but I’m praying I did.

We got all the way up to Christchurch, dropped them off, and they gave us a place to park our van for the night, which was really nice. That whole experience made that day pretty eventful.

Leah

Roadtrip Day 7

A guy at Milford Sound confirmed for us this morning that Obama was in fact our president. And we also saw in on the front page of a NZ newspaper. The US election was bigger news in New Zealand than their own elections in a few days were.

So, anyway, we went to Milford Sound today! It was the prettiest thing we’ve done on this trip so far! We got awesome pics that just look unreal, they’re so beautiful. :) Soo happy we decided to stake it out a day and try getting up to Milford again. It was so worth it.

We had to rent some stupid chains for the drive up, just in case we got stopped again. But no policeman, no snowfall – we didn’t need them at all! Ugh. Oh well, that was God looking out for us yesterday I’m sure, and this morning was even prettier than yesterday would have been, so I’m actually glad we went today instead. I’d been told that one of the places I had to go to in NZ was Milford Sound – and they were so right. Mountains and sea cliffs come right out of the water, and huge waterfalls, and wildlife – everything was so pretty. It was really cold on the boat, but I loved it.

On the drive back to Te Anau and on to Invergargill and the Chatlens, the southern part of the island, we stopped on the side of the highway to make Anela’s first snowman. He was all lopsided and looked retarted cuz our hands were so cold lol. Rocks for eyes, gravel for buttons, piece of grass for his mouth, sticks for nose and arms. We named him Snorge. :P And we started a snowball fight – that was so fun. People were driving by on the road laughing at us. Good times. :)



Leah

Roadtrip day 6

It’s been snowing off and on all day long, and we’re now parked at Lake Gunn for the night – and it’s freezing!!! I didn’t like my sleeping bag at first cuz it was so bulky, but now I’m glad Mom made me get the warmer one. I’m the warmest on this trip right now, though my hands are still really cold. I could use Ralph here right now, to warm when up lol.

We totally slept past our cruise time – good thing we didn’t pay for it. But we still headed up to Milford Sound, hoping to catch a later cruise. And I opted to drive, cuz Anela had driven all last night.

BAD idea!!! Omg, SUCH a bad idea!! Like 15 km out a policeman stopped us to check to see if we were carrying chains for the van. Umm, no chains. Even though there were signs like 80 km back saying we needed them to be on the road. But we kept going anyway. Hehe, oops. Ok, so that was bad news #1) cuz he said he could fine us $750 for catching us without them! Bad news #2) the WORST possible thing EVER: I don’t have my license here in NZ! AND he asked me for it! Omg, I was freaking out soo much, my heart was pounding, and I had no idea what to do! I lied (to a police officer…not good) and told him it was buried in the back, so he told me to either find it or to show him the registration/rental forms.

So we searched the car for a good 10 min for the papers. We had no idea where there were, so we tore the whole van up looking for them. Finally found them. I show them to him. And miracle of miracles, he studies the paper for awhile, then says, “oh, good, you’re license number is on these papers. You guys are good to go.” But my license number was NOT on the paper – there was a huge blank where it said “license #: _______”!!! Omg, thank you Jesus! I don’t know how he looked over that. I could’ve been fined soo much, or I would’ve been taken to the police station and I don’t even know what could’ve happened.

So we quickly turned back around – Anela drove the rest of the way. But since we really wanted to go to Milford Sound we decide to rent chains in Te Anau and go back up to Milford for the cruise the next morning. The DOC ranger came to our campsite that night to charge us for staying there – the only time we got charged for a campsite. Only saw 2 of us in the van though, so didn’t charge us for Anela, who was hiding under her sleeping bag lol. We found out from him about the US elections. That Obama was winning. Lol, we found out from a park ranger in the middle of nowhere. I can’t get over that. :P

Leah

Roadtrip day 5

Well today in the states we figure out who our next president will be. But we’re almost a day ahead, so we have to wait an extra day. I wonder how we’ll find out, cuz we’re in the middle of nowhere for most of out trip.

We woke up this morning with sheep all around our campervan lol. And we all decided we needed a shower, cuz we felt nasty going without one for days. So after our breakfast of scrambled eggs & onions (which was actually really good!) we went to go wash our hair. Nissi and I just dumped lake water over out heads to shampoo – and it was SOOO cold! My head hurt cuz it was so cold. Brrr. But we felt clean after. :) yay.

We spent the day in Queenstown, and we met up with ppl from the Convent! It was really random, but it was fun to just touch base and hear about other’s trips so far. Some had gone bungee jumping, rock climbing, on a canyon swing, ice picking, etc. It all sounded fun. I want to go bungee jumping sometime. :)

We saw Catherine and Bridget there, and since it was Catherine’s birthday, we all went out to dinner. But we had to leave early so we could drive through the night and get over to Milford Sound by morning time, so we could catch a cruise.

And then guess what happened?? It started SNOWING!!!! :) So cool! Anela had never seen it snow before so she was stoked out of her ming. And she was driving too, so it was hard for her to concentrate on the road lol. The snow stuck pretty fast too. And it looked soo pretty. Made me want Christmastime and winter weather back home. It kept snowing hard for a long time, and the roads started getting pretty bad, so we eventually pulled to the side of the road for the night.

We definitely didn’t think it would be snowing on this trip. So cool. :) Didn’t bring warm enough clothes though. So, we’re freezing, but super excited it’s snowing.

Leah

Roadtrip day 4

Didn’t sleep very well last night. Too many sandflies. That, and with my allergies I was miserable. We also had an insane idea to get up at 5:00 am this morning and drive over to Lake Matheson to watch the sunrise. So much easier said than done.

We actually got out there before sunrise, but it was all cloudy and drizzly. It was still really pretty, but we were hoping for a clear sunrise with a good view of Mt. Cook. Got some good pics though.

We had an 8 hour drive to Queenstown today. And I sat in the back for a good part of it with all the sleeping bags – it was really fun. :) Really bumpy. And the drive was gorgeous, as always. It’s always a scenic drive in NZ. And there’s always lookouts and short hikes along the way to waterfalls and lakes that were really pretty and broke up the long drive.

Anela and I made pasta with our propane tank and mini gas burner on the side of the road right next to a park. It was really good, but we looked funny, sitting next to our graffiti-ed van with our mini burner.

Stopped off at Moke Lake for tonight. The sheep and cows all wander around here. And it’s really really cold. We don’t turn the heater on cuz we’re trying to conserve gas, so we just have to deal with the cold and curl up into our sleeping bags.

Leah

Roadtrip day 3

WE WENT SKYDIVING TODAY!!!!!!! Omg, I can’t believe we ACTUALLY did it!!! Ahhh, that was AWESOME!! :D

We did that this morning – I can’t believe it! The people who headed it up were really friendly and casual. They gave us a really quick briefing – only like 10 minutes. I was surprised. Thought it would be much longer than that, cuz I mean, we’re jumping out of a plane for crying out loud. Basically they told us we just had to swing our legs out over the edge of the plane when it was our turn to go, tilt your head back, arch your back, and let him do the jumping – ahh!

Nissi went up first cuz the plane can only hold 2 pairs at a time – it was TINY! The only seat was for the pilot, and 4 of us could barely fit on the floor of it – there were actually 5, with 1 sport skydiver with us, going by himself. So crowded! I went up with Anela, and she jumped first. I just remember getting so anxious when I realized that she had just jumped…out of a plane…and I was next!!! Before I know it, Greg, the guy I was strapped to, was scooting us forward and I was swinging my legs over the edge, dangling out the side of the plane while he gets ready to jump. Tilt my head back. Cross my arms. Arch my back. And we’re jumping! I can replay it like slow motion in my head – I was jumping out of a plane from 12,000 feet up!

When we jumped we did a flip and I could see the plane as I was falling away from it – that was the part that felt the most like falling. Then he flips me back around so I can see everything else, and we’re free falling for a good 45 seconds. I remember at first that it was hard for me to breathe cuz the wind was rushing at my face so fast, but the scenery was soooo incredibly pretty!! Mountains, glaciers, valleys, lakes, rivers, forests, the ocean – all there. And on a clear sunny morning too. Sure I could have gone skydiving in the states, but this was probably the most incredible view a person could get, and I was in NZ for crying out loud, so why not go skydiving? :)

Once the parachute was out, we did a bunch of spins and spirals, which was really fun – felt like a rollercoaster. We were up there for a good 6 min doing that. And I got to take my camera up there and take pics and stuff. But they don’t do justice to how high up we were or how gorgeous it was. I can’t believe I went skydiving! I never thought I would do that. So much fun! :)

So afterwards, though we were exhausted, we hiked over to see Fox Glacier, which was really pretty. Huge too. Spent the evening on the beach, watching the sun set. There were soo many sandflies there tho – I HATE sandflies. They eat you alive. But overall it was a good end to an awesome day. :)


Leah

Roadtrip!!! day 2

We got our campervan rental this morning – from Wicked Rentals. It’s a 3-seater van with a ghetto pump sink, kitchenware and silverware that doesn’t look clean at all, a gross fold-out table and chairs, a propane tank to cook with, etc. We can make a table area in the main part of the van, or put it down and turn it into a bed for the 3 of us. And there are compartments underneath the “beds” to stash our stuff. It’s pretty crazy – can’t believe we’re doing this! Oh! AND it drives on the left side of the road!

Omg, and they were about to give us a manual van! None of us know how to drive a manual! I should have gotten Ralph to teach me over the summer when I was at his house. I’m mad I didn’t now. Luckily they had an automatic we could use. Really I’m not supposed to be driving this thing anyway, cuz I lost my license at the beginning of the semester. But I will anyway – I don’t want to make Anela drive the whole trip. I just have to get used to driving on the left side of the road! This is so backwards.

So we stocked up on food and gas, then headed out! Woohoo, road trip! So we’re traveling through the Southern Alps today over to Greymouth, then down the west coast to Franz Josef tonight. The Alps have been soo pretty so far! Kind of like Steven’s Pass, but with less trees, some waterfalls, and springtime weather. The Alps are the Misty Mts in Lord of the Rings, which I thought was really cool. :)

That night: So we got over to Greymouth by dinnertime and went up to Pukaiki to see some pancake rocks and a blowhole. The pancake rocks looked really cool. Scientists don’t know how they were made. Stopped to make pbj sandwiches for dinner tonight. Mmmmm, pbj. What a meal lol. Sunset was pretty.

Heading down the West Coast to Franz Josef, I drove the car. It is SOO weird driving on the left side! I had to hug the middle line and it felt like I was going to hit al the cars coming at me! And I almost hit the posts on the curb a couple times – oops hehe. It’s soo different.

Took us forever to find our campsite that night. We passed by it at least 3 times before we found it. Signs were terrible. And we can just fit us 3 in the back for sleeping…we’re so roughing it lol.

Leah