Alright, not much has been happening in New Zealand. Rugby has been going alright however I am going to invest in a scrum cap since I constantly feel that I am hitting my head whenever I go into a ruck. Currently the team I'm playing for is 0-4 however last weekend we lost by only 5 points, a try, and if we would have had 5 more minutes I'm sure we would have won the game. We had them on the backfoot but unfortunately it didn't work out.
School is going fine, have a really busy 2 weeks coming up since classes are over in 3 weeks and now everything is due. Otherwise I just feel like I'm passing time before summer holidays. Right now I'm pretty sure most people are done or almost done with their programs however I know Lynette and I still have a ways to go.
If anything interesting happens in the near future I'll let you all know.
Cheers,
Benja
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Stuff
I'm sitting at my desk very unmotivated yet fully aware I have a big project due in little more than a week. This project will take a lot of time but for some reason or another I really just don't care. To be honest I really feel like I'm done with school in New Zealand but unfortunately that is not the case and I really have 5 more weeks left. I'm sure that time will go by quickly, but right now I kind of want to pack up and go home. I know I'm not the only one here who feels like that though. Most of the other exchange students feel the same way so hopefully the next few weeks will go by quickly and without too much stress. However, due to my lack of motivation I'm sure the next couple of weeks will be pretty stressful.
Some good news though. A couple of my teammates just told me that I am the new captain of Cornell Rugby Football Club. It will be a honor to be the captain for the coming year and I am excited to bring a new system and structure to the club. I have been actively remembering plays and drills for us to use next year and I hope everyone else is as excited and geared up as I am to bring Cornell back to winning ways.
Some good news though. A couple of my teammates just told me that I am the new captain of Cornell Rugby Football Club. It will be a honor to be the captain for the coming year and I am excited to bring a new system and structure to the club. I have been actively remembering plays and drills for us to use next year and I hope everyone else is as excited and geared up as I am to bring Cornell back to winning ways.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Easter Break
Alright...it's been a long time since I've last written so there is a lot to catch up on. To be honest I really need to get started on my Soils project but this is a good enough reason as any to procrastinate just a little bit longer.
Beginning of break: Went to Queenstown, very much a tourist town but a fun little place nonetheless. I already wrote about the Nevis, but we also went to an Icebar which was made completely of ice, including the cups. Another highlight was eating a Fergburger, a really large and wonderfully delicious burger that has become famous for a good reason.
Came back to campus Sunday evening, chilled Monday, and flew out Tuesday to visit Melbourne.
Melbourne: Australian customs are really really uptight about letting people into Australia. I did not know Michael's address so wrote down his phone number only to be told that I had to know where I was staying by law. Then when questioned why I was in Australia, visiting friends did not seem like a valid reason. After completely unpacking my bag and me telling them I think he lives in Western Melbourne they let me through. However to be fair if someone told you that they were visiting a friend for a week that they knew from Cambodia I might be a little suspicious too.
Michael picked me up from the airport on his bike, and with the duffelbag on my shoulders and not holding on properly I almost fell off when the throttle opened at the first light. Saw a really nice night skyline of Melbourne on the way back to the house. Over the next couple of days Michael, Messi (his housemate), David (a friend), and I really enjoyed ourselves. From just relaxing and hanging out to going to different clubs and seeing the nightlife of Melbourne we had a really good time. Some of the highlights of the trip:
Going to the Casino: lost my $20 pretty fast, so basically I am really unlucky and I am not too stoked about trying Casino again.
Get together at Michaels and Messi's house on Thursday: It was a fun house party, relaxing, talking, and meeting other friends. Later we went out on the town which was also a lot of fun.
Meeting up with Lynette in the middle of Melbourne: On Monday night Michael, Lauren, and I met up with Lynette in Melbourne and went out to eat at Shanghai Dumplings. It was a really interesting place tucked away in a back alley. The food was really good and the service was as inpersonal as possible. They were really trying to get rid of everyone as fast as possible. However it was a lot of fun. Lauren unfortunatley had to go home, but Michael, Lynette, and I went and got Gelatto icecream, sat outside the State Library and later went to a bar to play some pool. Overall it was great seeing Lynette again and I hope she enjoyed it as much as I did. It's funny that although we were meeting up across the world from where we normally run into each other it really did not feel any different from back in Ithaca.
Overall it was a fantastic trip and I'm planning on returning to Melbourne for Michael's 21st birthday. Atleast this time I will be able to write down where I will be staying.
Beginning of break: Went to Queenstown, very much a tourist town but a fun little place nonetheless. I already wrote about the Nevis, but we also went to an Icebar which was made completely of ice, including the cups. Another highlight was eating a Fergburger, a really large and wonderfully delicious burger that has become famous for a good reason.
Came back to campus Sunday evening, chilled Monday, and flew out Tuesday to visit Melbourne.
Melbourne: Australian customs are really really uptight about letting people into Australia. I did not know Michael's address so wrote down his phone number only to be told that I had to know where I was staying by law. Then when questioned why I was in Australia, visiting friends did not seem like a valid reason. After completely unpacking my bag and me telling them I think he lives in Western Melbourne they let me through. However to be fair if someone told you that they were visiting a friend for a week that they knew from Cambodia I might be a little suspicious too.
Michael picked me up from the airport on his bike, and with the duffelbag on my shoulders and not holding on properly I almost fell off when the throttle opened at the first light. Saw a really nice night skyline of Melbourne on the way back to the house. Over the next couple of days Michael, Messi (his housemate), David (a friend), and I really enjoyed ourselves. From just relaxing and hanging out to going to different clubs and seeing the nightlife of Melbourne we had a really good time. Some of the highlights of the trip:
Going to the Casino: lost my $20 pretty fast, so basically I am really unlucky and I am not too stoked about trying Casino again.
Get together at Michaels and Messi's house on Thursday: It was a fun house party, relaxing, talking, and meeting other friends. Later we went out on the town which was also a lot of fun.
Meeting up with Lynette in the middle of Melbourne: On Monday night Michael, Lauren, and I met up with Lynette in Melbourne and went out to eat at Shanghai Dumplings. It was a really interesting place tucked away in a back alley. The food was really good and the service was as inpersonal as possible. They were really trying to get rid of everyone as fast as possible. However it was a lot of fun. Lauren unfortunatley had to go home, but Michael, Lynette, and I went and got Gelatto icecream, sat outside the State Library and later went to a bar to play some pool. Overall it was great seeing Lynette again and I hope she enjoyed it as much as I did. It's funny that although we were meeting up across the world from where we normally run into each other it really did not feel any different from back in Ithaca.
Overall it was a fantastic trip and I'm planning on returning to Melbourne for Michael's 21st birthday. Atleast this time I will be able to write down where I will be staying.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Nevis Bungee
At 134 m it is the highest bungee in the Australasia region and the 2nd highest in the World. 8 seconds of free fall, count out 8 seconds in your head...that is a long time. Overall it was ****ing Awesome! Jumped with my eyes wide open the whole time. Canyon and water rush up at you at over 120 km/h and you just don't stop. The second bounce is over 60 meters long...once again ****ing Awesome.
Smile for the camara
Look at that view...
And it just keeps coming
and coming
You stop 10 meters from the bottom
Its a long way down, you cant even see the bottom in this picture
The Nevis bungee.
Smile for the camara
Look at that view...
And it just keeps coming
and coming
You stop 10 meters from the bottom
Its a long way down, you cant even see the bottom in this picture
The Nevis bungee.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Kaikora
Hey everyone, it has been a while since I've updated you all on my activities so here goes.
Kaikora: Last Weekend I went with Nathan, Lori, Kendra, and Tenise (Kendra is Nathans cousin and Tenise is her friend) to Kaikora where we met up with Allison, Alex (it was her birthday weekend), Brad, Jen, Mandi, Sarah, Hannah, Julia, and Rachel. The busride was uneventful but scenic as always. Upon arrival we met everyone at a nice cafe and had a deserved breakfast, which was really good, after having gotten up at 6am and driven into town for the bus by Nick and Tracy. After getting our things put away in the hostel we all decided to go on a walk around the penninsula however instead of turning right we turned left and procedded to walk a long way down the beach in the wrong direction.
Although we eventually figured out our mistake we decided to keep walking since it was really relaxing and peaceful.
The beach was a black pebble beach and the pebbles were almost grains of sand, but not quite so they were really easy to dust off and pleasant to lie down and play in. After spending a while there messing around we cunningly left Nathan and Hannah on the beach leaving them a stick message of our new destination.
Later that day Brad, Rachel, Lori, Julia, Mandi and I went sea kayaking with NZ Fur seals. That too was really enjoyable. We got to get really close to the seals, less than a meter away and follow them through the water.
They were two person kayaks and since I was in the back I could control the rudder with my feet, however it took a while to get used to controlling it because unlike conventional rudders if you pressed right the kayak would go right. On the way back to land Mandi and I also saw a couple cows grazing on what I would deem a cliff. I now assume that cows in NZ have been bred with mountain goats.
When we got back to the hostel we all quickly jumped in the hot tub since everyone else was busy cooking one of the best meals I have ever had. It was Alex's birthday dinner and we ate pasta with a really good sauce, salmon, risotto, salad, and shrimp. Jen provided some good wine and for desert we gave Alex a birthday cake along with champagne for everyone and then finished off the night with Amarula which everyone really enjoyed.
Later that night we all went out to a pub called Strawberry Inn where we danced the night away to every genre of music and had a really good time.
Luckily our weekend was not done yet. We decided to go on a sunrise walk around the peninsula, so at the ungodly hour of 6am and only a few hours of rest we woke up to walk around the peninsula. Along the way I carried the girls over a small river so they wouldn't have to get wet, watched the sunrise, got really really close to awakening fur seals and had a really nice walk. We got back at around 10 and had breakfast. The six tuplets aka Mizzou girls and Brad left at noon but Nathan, Lori, Kendra, and Tenise had to wait till 3:30 for our bus. We went to the beach and lay there till it was time. At one point Lori and I were bored so we made some more stick messages. Kaikora was really beautiful so I will now just add pictures and you can get a better feel about what I am writing about.
Overall that weekend was:
Kaikora: Last Weekend I went with Nathan, Lori, Kendra, and Tenise (Kendra is Nathans cousin and Tenise is her friend) to Kaikora where we met up with Allison, Alex (it was her birthday weekend), Brad, Jen, Mandi, Sarah, Hannah, Julia, and Rachel. The busride was uneventful but scenic as always. Upon arrival we met everyone at a nice cafe and had a deserved breakfast, which was really good, after having gotten up at 6am and driven into town for the bus by Nick and Tracy. After getting our things put away in the hostel we all decided to go on a walk around the penninsula however instead of turning right we turned left and procedded to walk a long way down the beach in the wrong direction.
Although we eventually figured out our mistake we decided to keep walking since it was really relaxing and peaceful.
The beach was a black pebble beach and the pebbles were almost grains of sand, but not quite so they were really easy to dust off and pleasant to lie down and play in. After spending a while there messing around we cunningly left Nathan and Hannah on the beach leaving them a stick message of our new destination.
Later that day Brad, Rachel, Lori, Julia, Mandi and I went sea kayaking with NZ Fur seals. That too was really enjoyable. We got to get really close to the seals, less than a meter away and follow them through the water.
They were two person kayaks and since I was in the back I could control the rudder with my feet, however it took a while to get used to controlling it because unlike conventional rudders if you pressed right the kayak would go right. On the way back to land Mandi and I also saw a couple cows grazing on what I would deem a cliff. I now assume that cows in NZ have been bred with mountain goats.
When we got back to the hostel we all quickly jumped in the hot tub since everyone else was busy cooking one of the best meals I have ever had. It was Alex's birthday dinner and we ate pasta with a really good sauce, salmon, risotto, salad, and shrimp. Jen provided some good wine and for desert we gave Alex a birthday cake along with champagne for everyone and then finished off the night with Amarula which everyone really enjoyed.
Later that night we all went out to a pub called Strawberry Inn where we danced the night away to every genre of music and had a really good time.
Luckily our weekend was not done yet. We decided to go on a sunrise walk around the peninsula, so at the ungodly hour of 6am and only a few hours of rest we woke up to walk around the peninsula. Along the way I carried the girls over a small river so they wouldn't have to get wet, watched the sunrise, got really really close to awakening fur seals and had a really nice walk. We got back at around 10 and had breakfast. The six tuplets aka Mizzou girls and Brad left at noon but Nathan, Lori, Kendra, and Tenise had to wait till 3:30 for our bus. We went to the beach and lay there till it was time. At one point Lori and I were bored so we made some more stick messages. Kaikora was really beautiful so I will now just add pictures and you can get a better feel about what I am writing about.
Overall that weekend was:
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Springston RFC and first test
So some bad news and some goods news. Bad news is that I got cut from the Lincoln University side, good news I have already found a new team to play for. I am now a proud member of Springston Rugby Football Club which plays in the Country competition. After I and a couple other guys got cut we were all left with the prospect of not playing or joining a country side. Waihora RFC was already full so we were told about Springston and their need for some back players. On Thursday I went to their practice and I think I have found a team I can enjoy and learn some good rugby. Springston is a real community team as I showed up early and watched all the kids from U-10 to U-18 train on the fields. After meeting the coach and a couple of guys, who were glad to hear I was a back, practice started by putting up the goal posts. Welcome to country rugby. After that we were led through fitness by an old farmer who was definitely more agile and flexible than any of us. We then went through practice and afterwards if you wanted you could go get a beer and a meat pie at the clubhouse. All the guys I met seem like very down to earth farmer types who play and train hard but also want to have a good time. What attracts me most of all is that I will get a lot of game time since that is probably the only and best way to improve. Fortunately there was no game this weekend so I will be able to travel with everyone else to Kaikoura to celebrate Alex's birthday and enjoy a weekend outside of Christchurch.
First Test: We had to answer 2 out of the possible 3 questions and write an essay for each answer. The test was alright I guess, don't really have anything to judge it on. The room was set out like a stereotypical english classroom test taking class and run by three very stereotypical old school english test proctors, very grouchy and unsmiling.
Otherwise not much else is happening.
Let me know how you all are,
Cheers,
Benja
First Test: We had to answer 2 out of the possible 3 questions and write an essay for each answer. The test was alright I guess, don't really have anything to judge it on. The room was set out like a stereotypical english classroom test taking class and run by three very stereotypical old school english test proctors, very grouchy and unsmiling.
Otherwise not much else is happening.
Let me know how you all are,
Cheers,
Benja
Saturday, March 21, 2009
No News is Good News
It has been a while since I have last written a post so I will try and re-cap on what has been happening in NZ.
Last weekend was alright. I stayed on campus and watched rugby on Saturday afternoon. I first watched the Lincoln Colts (U-21) and the Prem side play against Otago university. It was a trial game and there were not enough spots on the side so me and a couple of other guys were asked to sit it out but were guaranteed to play the next game on Wednesday. The colts lost 13-10 in a close game but the prem side got blown away by a really fit Otago team. So far all we do every practice is fitness training, which basically consists of various sprint drills for an hour straight. The speed of game here is a lot faster than the USA and since everyone has been playing since they were young handling is not worked on a lot, atleast not right now.
On Sunday I went with Nathan and Hannah to the Christchurch flower show, and it actually was a lot more interesting than I thought it would be. They had some really cool exepidtions that made you feel like you were underwater or in a pretty magical forest. Later we went to Winnie Bagoes, probably the best Italian restaurant I have ever been to. They have a lot of gourmet pizzas like Thai Honey Chicken that include sweet sauce, baby corn, peppers, onions, chicken, and although it sounds really weird is absolutely amazing. I don't think I have ever eaten pizza slowly because I wanted to savour every taste, but this and other dishes I have tried like Cajun chicken pasta are all just as good.
The school week went well, not very exciting. We had a good inclass debate in Practice and Management of Organics, where we were split into two teams and had to debate whether Organics has a postive impact on the environment. We had been working in our respective teams for two weeks before but the debate was interesting and the pros and cons of both conventional and organic methods were all brought to life using academic research.
On Wednesday we had our last trial game against High School Old Boys, a club from Christchurch. I played half the game as a winger and I had an ok game, however I need to work on my belief that I really do belong out on the field with everyone else and not second guess myself because I have not been playing as long. We lost the game 30-10 however that is mostly due to them having a huge forward pack. One of their props was 6 foot 6 inches and weighed 286- 308 lbs or 130-140 kg. Although this guy looked like a giant obese baby he was really strong and mobile getting out to the wings and centers and yeah basically it was a bitch trying to tackle him. Each of his legs were the size of my waist. Anyways it was a good game and we learned a lot as a team.
Yesterday (Saturday March 21) Nathan and Lori and I went into Christchurch and spent the afternoon walking around the shops and just enjoying the day. Later that day we met up with the majority of our group and made our way to Winnie Bagoes. This was the third time I had been there and it is still amazing. Everyone really enjoyed their meals however Nathan, Brad, and I decided that we wanted to watch the new Underworld movie at the cinema in Riccerton, a suburb of CHCH. We made it to the bus exchange with 2 minutes to go, Brad with his pizza in a box, got the the cinema, waited in a long line, got our tickets, got to the theatre and only had to waita few minutes before the adverts started. Basically our timing was perfect. Unfortunately after the movie we realized we missed the bus back to Lincoln by 3 minutes and since the next bus arrived an hour later started walking back to lincoln. We walked for a good 5o minutes before we got to a suitable bus stop and took the bus back home. Over all a really good day.
Sunday: Had a 10 am morning practice today, as usual it was fitness, but overall it went well. We did a couple new drills that I am going to tell Coach back at Cornell about but otherwise nothing exciting. We find out on Tuesday which of the two colt teams we have made so hopefully everything works out.
So that is everything from me. Let me know how you are all doing and don't forget to write.
Cheers,
Benja
Last weekend was alright. I stayed on campus and watched rugby on Saturday afternoon. I first watched the Lincoln Colts (U-21) and the Prem side play against Otago university. It was a trial game and there were not enough spots on the side so me and a couple of other guys were asked to sit it out but were guaranteed to play the next game on Wednesday. The colts lost 13-10 in a close game but the prem side got blown away by a really fit Otago team. So far all we do every practice is fitness training, which basically consists of various sprint drills for an hour straight. The speed of game here is a lot faster than the USA and since everyone has been playing since they were young handling is not worked on a lot, atleast not right now.
On Sunday I went with Nathan and Hannah to the Christchurch flower show, and it actually was a lot more interesting than I thought it would be. They had some really cool exepidtions that made you feel like you were underwater or in a pretty magical forest. Later we went to Winnie Bagoes, probably the best Italian restaurant I have ever been to. They have a lot of gourmet pizzas like Thai Honey Chicken that include sweet sauce, baby corn, peppers, onions, chicken, and although it sounds really weird is absolutely amazing. I don't think I have ever eaten pizza slowly because I wanted to savour every taste, but this and other dishes I have tried like Cajun chicken pasta are all just as good.
The school week went well, not very exciting. We had a good inclass debate in Practice and Management of Organics, where we were split into two teams and had to debate whether Organics has a postive impact on the environment. We had been working in our respective teams for two weeks before but the debate was interesting and the pros and cons of both conventional and organic methods were all brought to life using academic research.
On Wednesday we had our last trial game against High School Old Boys, a club from Christchurch. I played half the game as a winger and I had an ok game, however I need to work on my belief that I really do belong out on the field with everyone else and not second guess myself because I have not been playing as long. We lost the game 30-10 however that is mostly due to them having a huge forward pack. One of their props was 6 foot 6 inches and weighed 286- 308 lbs or 130-140 kg. Although this guy looked like a giant obese baby he was really strong and mobile getting out to the wings and centers and yeah basically it was a bitch trying to tackle him. Each of his legs were the size of my waist. Anyways it was a good game and we learned a lot as a team.
Yesterday (Saturday March 21) Nathan and Lori and I went into Christchurch and spent the afternoon walking around the shops and just enjoying the day. Later that day we met up with the majority of our group and made our way to Winnie Bagoes. This was the third time I had been there and it is still amazing. Everyone really enjoyed their meals however Nathan, Brad, and I decided that we wanted to watch the new Underworld movie at the cinema in Riccerton, a suburb of CHCH. We made it to the bus exchange with 2 minutes to go, Brad with his pizza in a box, got the the cinema, waited in a long line, got our tickets, got to the theatre and only had to waita few minutes before the adverts started. Basically our timing was perfect. Unfortunately after the movie we realized we missed the bus back to Lincoln by 3 minutes and since the next bus arrived an hour later started walking back to lincoln. We walked for a good 5o minutes before we got to a suitable bus stop and took the bus back home. Over all a really good day.
Sunday: Had a 10 am morning practice today, as usual it was fitness, but overall it went well. We did a couple new drills that I am going to tell Coach back at Cornell about but otherwise nothing exciting. We find out on Tuesday which of the two colt teams we have made so hopefully everything works out.
So that is everything from me. Let me know how you are all doing and don't forget to write.
Cheers,
Benja
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