shoot me in the head. please.

ok, so I am going to go from the Present (today) to the past (a few days ago).

Today=miserable. Hannah went to the farmers market with jennie. Its raining and the new wwoof girl is here, chelsea, from england. SHe is 31, wears all black (not goth though, she probably just believes in elves and fairies), lives with her parents...you do the math. So its bob, chelsea and I. It started raining so we stopped picking around 9:30. So i started pooping around on the internet and bOb comes in and says that hes got a job for me in the kitchen--plum sauce. If any of you really know me, you know I can't do ANYTHING worthwhile in the kitchen. For example, i started a fire in our kitchen last year with a a role of paper towels and chucked them out the window. Very classy. So i go in, chelsea comes late, and I have no idea what he hell I am doing. It said it needed Vinegar, but I could only find Malt, and I didnt knw what that was (still dont, so dont make fun of me). SO i just started singing, very loudly outloud, " ohmiiiiiigosh thiiisss is sooo stuppppppid, i can'''''''t cook damnnn plummm SAUCEEEEEE !BOBBBBBB!!!!! AHHHHHHH!' when i said I needed help he looked at me like i was a freakin idiot. oh well. plum sauce is done so whatever. SO during this time, Bob was full gear talking about what he loves most, AMERICAN POLITICS. I have never heard anything like this. politics are like word vommit for him. he is from LA. all he does is just talk about war, consumerisim, politics, $, job loss, etc etc. its so damn depressing. I have learned to completely tune him out. i think jennie has too. so when we were making the plum sauce today, he comes and all the sudden starts ranting on About coca cola and advertisments for coca cola and his whole life he has spent traveling around the world trying to find a place that doesn't have coke. HE FOUND ONE PLACE--a small town in figi. just so you know, all you coca cola haters out there. The funny thing is neither chelsea or myself added anything to the conversations and it kept going for lke 20 minutes. Then at lunch today, the 3 of us, YEA REAL FUN FOLKS.....i asked him if he thought they would sell out of the plums at the market and he must have misheard me bc he then went on a rant about China and $ for about 15 minutes until I kinda started laughing and wa slike "yeaa...i asked about the plums" hes insane.

so thats that---i'm gonna get outta here by next weekend. trying to figure out my next move.

Yesterday Hannah and I hitchiked to Blenheim. Hitchhiking can be really humiliating. I tried in a town near queenstown with my friend evan and people would just drive by at like 90 miles an hour. how rude. so these two guys from czech republic picked us up. cool cool. shopped around, got a nalgene, and a KNIFE. yep, i feel like a 11 year old boy at camp who goes to town on Friday and buys a knife. its all the boys do at camp. so i feel realllllly cool.

The other day i went on a run/walk and guess what I found....A SPA!!! The only spa in the region is 30 yards from the farm. So guess who is getting a massage on Tuesday-- this girl. cant wait. my back is reallly really really messed up from falling off that damn horse. we went to pilates the other night adn I could hardly move. hurt so bad. pilates was wierd here. very laid back, no structure. I was struggling.

ummmmm thats about it for now. trying to avoid talking to people today. think i might read my new book, Mister Pip---THANKS LUCINDA--take a sleeping pill at 3pm, pet the dog, and possibly go insane and start talking to the killer cochroaches that sleep near my head.

Oh yeah, i have been wearing the same outfit, day and night for 5 days straight. ASk julie howell, she saw my on camera, she knows how bad its gotten........bwahahahah!! its pajama day, EVERYDAY!

ok, time to go..........this place really isn't bad. bob is insane though. oh we killed a mouse the other day and fed it to the chickens.

Did i mention I have to move to a city when I get back? just to feel like i am a real person, just even for a little bit.........Oh man I can't wait to see my closet full of all my beautiful shoes---AHH and my perfumes!! YUM!

wonk wonk

ummmmm my mom really wanted me to post another blog but I dont have a lot to say right now.

blueberry pickin is just OK. the small bb are AWFUL. they take forever to pick. the big fatties are lovely though and taste like blueberry pie.

went to some wineries today---AWESOMe wine. i'm located right in the middle of NZ's largest wine region. they are EVERYWHERE. yummmmm! hannah and i biked around to some of them today. they are all really close. went to Forrest and Mahi today. really good good goood.

ummmmmmmmmm Joss, their dog, barks at every plane that goes by. its funny. oh man i can't wait to get one.

we are getting a new wwoofer tomorrow from England. hopefully shes cool!!!!!!!!! she has acar so thats awesome. we are going into Blenheim tomorrow to walk around and go toa movie. its the "biggest" town near us. we shall seeeee..........

anyways, thats all for now folks. got a headache from the wine. gonna make some dinner, do some yoga, clean my room, save the world, and go to bed. WORD.

"MICK" the Goat! lives outside the farm...

picture time

me picking plums......

the sheep are at Lauri's house in Christchurch

water pic is allan and I in lake hayes...FREEZING.

my room at the "blueberry cattage" messy as usual....

the plums pic....need I say more....

cochroaches from hell

yellllllow folks!

heres another list of stuff going on in my life over here....get ready....get set..........GO!

--COCHROACHES: there are massive amounts of cochroaches where I am living. Its a shed, with a "cottage" attached. its where we sort and grade the plums/blueberries. Anyways, i have killed so many GIGANTIC cochroaches. they are on steroids or something---maybe they just eat plums all day. I killed on the first night, woke up, and it was in a different place. The same thing happened last night. I HATE THEM. they are sick and i can't stop thinking of "Broken Down Palace" with claire danes and kate beckinsale. a cochroach gets lodged in one of their brains and they go insane. cross your fingers this does NOt happen.

--MUSIC: "fat freddy's Drop" and "Fly My Pretties" are kiwi bands and they are AWESOME. buy/download as soon as you can. great fun.

--kiwi's and others here always say "sweet as" which = fantastic or awesome and "choice" which also = awesome and fantasic or stelllllllar! can't stop saying them............

--going to pilates with jennie tomorrow and yoga on thursday....pretty excited......... i need a good stretch

---SUNDAY MARKET-----

So, Sunday the market is in Blenheim which is 15 minutes away. woke up at 7 with hannah, bob, and jennie and off we go. I was an indentured servant that day and had to work for another man, chris, who sold omlettes and crepes in this stand at the market. When we were driving there I kept thinking " please do not make me do anything w/ math ($$) or chop things" of course, right when I get there I have to chop tomatoes and apples, and then crack open 9000000 eggs AND beat them. The other 3 KIDs working there, who were literally children, 14, 15, 17 years old, were dissing my egg beating skills. DUH, i know i can't beat eggs. Then they told me i had to do cashier. One of them, the 15 year old in charge, whispered in my ear " you can get a break in a little bit " I wanted to SMACK him in the face and be like " Oh really, can i get a break? Oh master, Oh master." I AM WORKING FOR FREE! Cracking your damn eggs and counting your damn change. I'm sure I messed up there $. I am AWFUL at math. I was using my hands. I ended up ditching them cuz jennie said she needed my help, thank god. i have to do it next weekend. I might be "sick" though.

I did have the most amazing apple beignets there---ohmigod they were so good. and almond croissants. yummmmmmmmm so fresh and good.

Ok, hilarious...........let me describe some things for you....

Jennie: Ripped, 50ish woman, HUGE arm muscles, mustache to boot, masculine and gorgeous at the same time, white/grey hair, "rosie the riveteer"

Bob (jennies husband) : One of the shrimps in the little mermaid who shrivels up, small, hairy, small, hairy, like politics, small. very small. wimpy. (oh god i hope he doesn't read this).

So at the end of the market, jennie was like Oh yea, its our obligation to put back the chair and wooden tables....the tables were HUGE picnic tables, very heavy, the chair were plastic. hannah and i tried to put away the tables but they were pretty dificult. we walk by jennie and she is single handedly putting away the tables liftng them up like holk hogan. my jaw was wide open. she then realizes we can't do it so she goes " well, why don't you help bob put up the tents"

--------------Jennie puts up HUGE wooden tables while bob puts down tents..........HILARIOUS.

so perfect.

jennie and bob are also plum celebrities. she was one of the founders for the farmers market in blenheim whch is super cool. everyone wants her plums and berries. I will never be able to eat plums at home bc they taste nothing like this---they are SOOO good its unreal. juicy and fresh.

Today I picked plums from 8:30-1. We picked Elephant heart. you have to go through them and look at them pretty intensesly and THEN sift through them deciding how ripe they are. I'm getting pretty goood at it I think......they are soo good....at like 4 while I was picking them, right off the tree. We had to have this huge baskets attached to us, like we were pregnant with elephants or something........like a slave i thought....really strange feeling.

tonight there was a barbi (bbq) around the corner at a bar called Cork and Keg. it was all the farmers from the farmers market. very good/fresh food!! At the end I met this couple, Rosemary was the womens name. They have a vineyard here (there are 60 in renwick---they are like weeds) and they said they would like me to come work there in may.......they wer ein there mid 60's....he reminded me of my dad just because he had massive amounts of nose hair/eyebrow hair growing everywhere. I thought he was scottish at first. might ahve been drunk, but very funny. I think he thought my name was maureen....oh well.

forgot to say something about valentines day. The reason, you see, i fell off the horse was bc it was valentines day at home and that day is cursed for me. last year my nana died and this year i fell off the horse. next year I will stay at home and order pizza. i do miss my nana a lot. I almost picked the phone up once to call her here, but realized I couldn't. it isn't so awful though because I can still hear her voice and predict what she would say........"a friend just died, how is your hair, are you dirty...what are you eating? American idol is great....." and think it was crazy I was picking plums. Its strange that its been a year. I'm glad it doens't feel that long. Ihope it continues that way.

Anyways, on an end note, went for a run today (5 minutes +30 minute walk) lots of sheep, wineries, and mountains to look at. Workin in the morning tomorrow if I don't get eaten alive by cochroaches.....ugh. going to see slumdog millionaire this weekend STOKED!!!

xoxoxoxoloves

Louisa plums are my favorite....

here is a list of thoughts/stories/life/etc.

--forgot to tell you that jennie and bob thought i was spanish...i still think they do. they now know i'm jewish, but when I walked in he started speaking in spanish and saying my name all hispanic like...i dont know if I can break it to them.....

---bob, jennies husband is quite odd. i think hes nice, but very closed off, keeps to himself, and is slightly cold. maybe a serial killer?

--Naomi, jennie and bobs daughter was really really cool. just spent the year in chile and missed x-mas so we had a christmas dinner with her last night...free range chicken, vulgar, plums, peas, wine...yum.

--JULIE HOWELL GOT A JOB EVERYONE! HIP HIP HORRAY!

--In front of their farm there is a goat tied up next to a tree with a little shack next to him. it has "MICK" spray painted on it. so his name is mick and jennie said i could talk to him or feed him...he looks slightly dangerous.

--Today, woke up at 5am for the market in nelson, which is an hour 1/2 away. it was raining and black outside. blah. was forced to drink a coffee, which i never do. the market was really really good---mixed btw crafts/jewelry/clothing and food. we sold out at 12 and the market went till 1!! Jennie was super happy. it was just the two of us. so i had my little outfit on and was bagging and selling plums. SO Yummy. everyone loves the plums. they taste nothing like they do at home, in fact, i dont know if i will ever be able to eat another plum after this. my favorite is the Lousis and the elephant heart. YUM.

-- at the market, i realized Jennie is like Juliette Binoche in "Chocolate".....she knows EVERYTHING about plums and was guessing ppls favorites and just ranting on and on about them. very impressive.

--jennie, bob, and naomi and their son have sailed from california, down to mexico and BACK to new zealand multiple times. HOW CRAZY!

--we picked up a hitch hiker on the way back.......andy from telluride, Co. kind of a wierdo.

--saw my mom, dad, and bro today on skype. they look like complete losers on the camera....all asking if "I CAN HEAR THEM!!" and screaming and talking really slow like I am handicapped AND they are all RIGHT infront of the camera like ic an't see them. hilarious.

--jennie had some great stories about some past wwoofers that stayed here such as...

"Andre The Giant" he was from the czech slovakia (sP?) and she said he was just so wierd she had to make him leave. he was obsessed with their cat, over 6'5", ate loaves of bread at lunch. She asked him if he was disabled bc he was stuttering and just could't talk, and it turned out he had torrets but she is certain it was more than that. Another indian guy was funny too...she said he would just call all the time and say, in an indian accent " i work for you...I come now...I here" before even talking to her about it. Another guy she said was just way out of it and always ate cocao beans, had red hair and dreads, and said the cocao beans made him able to love everyone.....she said he was too much. .....so as we were talking about this, the hitch hiker in the back was listening and said he had met him at a town close by!! small world....full of strange people.

--LIndsay, the woman I have stayed with in christchurch has put me in touch with her brother, Hamish who lives on the W. coast in a small town. he owns a tea tree farm and has some animals...he too has wwoofers. she put me on the phone with him bc he wanted to talk to me and ended up asking me to housesit for him while he and his wife go trecking down south....from march 20th-30th...not sure if I am going to do it. lindsays son said his house is awesome, by cliffs, beachs, mts.etc. i might see if my friend mark wants to join me for a bit...who knows?

Welp, thats it for now folks! just made dinner...tofu, mushrooms, fresh aruguala, tomatoes, yum!!!!!! jennie drops off fresh food by our door alll the time...from her garden or from other farmers. its quite awesome.

have another market in Blenheim tomorrow---up and at 'em at 7am. AHHH! ok, miss people! xxocheerslove

blueberries and plums...OH MY!

hello hello! after i showed up a date late, alas, i made it to my wwoofing destination in Renwick, which is just outside the marlborough sounds. I was a bit nervous, almost laughing to myself, thinking about what I am doing...walking, in the rain, to potentially a strange persons house and working for them for free....ODD. So i found the farm, walked the drive, and then, "MARIEL, put your STuff down !! I have lunch for you!!" YAY!!! My wwoof host are the SHIT. so fucking cool. i feel unbelievably lucky. Jennie and Bob--jennie is a kiwi and bob is originally from LA. Jennie is GREAT, super fun, nice, spunky, earthy---RIPPED. she is prob. in her late 50's but could surely kick my ass. they have 20 types of plums, grapefruits, limes, apples, pears, and all of these other odd fruits i have never heard of AND its all organic! They also have a shit ton of veggies. I am living across from there house with another girl from the US, maine. Jennie stocked our kitchen full of food and has just been really great.

i was picked to go with jennie tomorrow morning, at 5am to the farmers market in Nelson---so damn early. she said i realy have to learn about my plums there. pretty excited, although its so damn early. going to bed when i get done with this. anyhoot, my room is nice--cozy, 2 beds, and it looks out onto the blueberry field. i picked blueberries for about 4 hours. they said i can eat as many as I want and jennie keeps handing me the most delicious little fruit bits.

well must go. more later, i have free internet! YAY!
xoxo

stupid story

my stomach kinda hurt tonight..........wanted chicken noodle soup but had to settle for some asian food. i think i actually picked a good place bc i was the only white person in there. so anyways, just got back to the hostel and took 2 pepto bismol (go carley browning!) almost walked out the door and then decided to see if i have anything in my teeth...........holy shit. if i talked to someone they would think i was dying. "Hello, i'm mari and i have a case of the pink rabies" so gross. it was covering my whole mouth. took like 10 minutes to get off my teeth.

ummmmm really tired for some reason. had a good day with lindsay---did some laundry, took her out to eat, got organized...etc etc.

off tomorrow at 7 am to renwick to work on the farm. they think i'm a professional farmer.....umm...rude awakening, i think so?? oy vey.

k, see ya later muppets.

muppets!!!!!!! AHHH!

I have forgotten so many things to say so i'm just gonna group them together....little stories, facts, and other such....

FACT: there are 4.2 million ppl in NZ, 17 million sheep, and 36 million possums. NO HOLD ON. possums, which is spelled correctly here, are not our kind of opossums. they are like a mix btw a raccoon and a crazy squirrel. people HATE them here because they eat so much vegetation. hate hate hate them. i think they are kind of cute though.

MUPPETS, FUCK!: ok, this story is slightly/very messed up. So yesterday, mark and i were walking around queentown by ourselves. we came home and knew Allans other roommate, who was out of town was possibly going to be there (allan was still at work) we walked to his house and saw a new car so we thought he was there. we each gave eachother and "Oh fuck" look and kept walking. REMEMBER, he is the one who has 5 pitbulls chained up in the backyard and feeds them sheep--there are bones everywhere! so in the back of my mind i'm thinking this guy must be such a nutjob. but then i think, well, he can't be that bad, allans living with him....HE WAS WORSE THAT I COULD HAVE IMAGINED.

we walk in and hes in this room just getting sosososo high with this other guy who looked like he was part devil. i am polite, say i'm mari, allans friend, etc....he just stares. so then i go back to mark, we grab 2 beers and go sit ina corner outside on the deck. i immediately call allan and tel him to get the fuck home. during this time, we go back in the kitchen and find a note on an envelope that was written in sharpy and possibly a knife. this is what it said....

"DO I HAVE
TO SPELL IT
OUT! NO ONE
GOES INTO
THE BACKROOM!
OUT OF BOUNDS!

MUPPETS!!! FUCKK!!!!"

so mark and i instantly are like...we are going to die. die die die. so this guy comes outside and was real confrontational, says its not cool that we are the in the room, but he wasn't mad at us (yea right) just at allan an the other for letting it happen---BECAUSE---apparently there was a pot growing in the room next to us---obviously it stunk so bad. so mark says " well we are only here for one more night, is it cool if we stay?" and he says " well actually no" so then i freak out like a baby, which i was late made fun of for, and say " We can leave right now! I can get my stuff right now and leave! its ok!!" but then he tells us he locked the door.

so of course i have to go through this tiny window and break in. we end up staying the night and living in fear. so scary. BUT the moral ofthe story is, he called us MUPPETS. who the hell calls youa muppet? he used the word MUPPET instead of asshole, jerk, fuckhead, etc......allan, mark, and i were DYING laughing about it. so now whenever i get mad at anyone i'm gonan call them a MUPPET!!!!

NEXTTTTTTTT.........

starting my wwoofing job at the orchard in Renwick tomorrow picking blueberries, plums, etc. i really hope its good bc i want to stay there for 2-3 weeks. i'll keep you posted. in christchurch right now staying at the same poeples house before---lauri and lindsey. they are so great can't get over it.

HEY what is with the 12 year boy from england being a father?? WTF??

my clothes are getting dirty. its pretty cold down south...brr!!! ok, gonna drink some tea. write more soon.

can you believe obama is sending more troops over? i'm confused.

see ya later....MUPPETS!!!

oh, saw mt. cook today--check it out. awesome!

i forgot about the horse.....

forgot!

went on this 4 hour horse ride with my friend Evan in qtown 2 days ago.

it was lovely at first....my horsses name was Elvis (american) and he loved to eat. we bonded.

at one point i was in the lead, just walking...we were almost at our halfway point to stop for water and a snack.....he def. knew.

so i turned into this pasture....and BAM he BOLTED and started galloping. i was holding on for dear life SCRAEMING as loud as i could. you can imagine how graceful i was. i looked ahead and there were this wires and i was like FUCK FUCK FUCK he is not going to see them, run into them, and i'm going to get electrocuted and die. what a way to go. he ended up turning, JUMPING OVER A CREEK, and then made it into the corral where we were stopping. he turned real fast and i fell off on my back and just laid there for like 10 minutes trying to realize wat just happened. everyone was realy impressed i stayed on that long but I just wanted to get a gun ad shoot the horse.

very sore now. not giong to get a horse possibly for the rest of my life. they are dangerous monsters.

horses suck and pit bulls are scary

HIIIYOOOO!!

Holy shit have i been doing alot.

after dunedin April, Ramona and I ended up in Te-Anau which is 2 hours from milford sound. We stayed at this place called "Barnyard Backpackers" because it was on a farm and had the MOST amazing views of the mountains. it was super cozy...reminded my of colorado or wy. loved it and could have stayed there longer.

the first day we just drank tea and read in the lodge. the 2nd day we woke up at 6am and went kayaking in Milford Sound which is in Fiordland Natl Park---BIGGEST THINGS I HAVE EVER seen. I sort of stopped taking pictures bc irealized there is no way to fully understand how big they are. for example, there were 4 of us and the guide and he was ths 28 year old stoner named Jimi. he asked us how far away we thought this waterfall was...i said 1/2 mile, others said a mile, etc...it was 5 miles away!! but bc the fiords are so big it is a dilsusison. its called gigantism. so nuts. we saw seals and and it was a gorgeous day which is rare---it usually rains. so that was that. oh i had t o get out of my kayayk bc i almost peed my pants. that was fun bc i had a whitewater skirt on...ya, pretty sure ipeed all over myself.

so next........oh, PS every liquor store thinks i'm 17. its great.....

we drove to queenstown which is out of this world amazing. pine trees, cyrstal clear water. im staying at my friend allans house....FUNNY STORY.

...so april and ramona dropped me off at allans...he gave shitty directions. we got to this house=----allan wasn't home, but he said the door was unlocked. i walked in and it just STUNK like pot. so much. that wasn't so much a suprise. so i walked around the outside of the house and realized there were 4-5 dogs (PITBULLS) chained up. so i was like fuck, we are at a serious drug dealers house, not allans, and we are giong to be fed to the dogs. so i called allan, asked if his house was cream colored, really dirty and smelled like pot. he said yes. so that was that. one of the dogs, phoenix, is NUTS. bites and shit. not goign to pet it. one is named mups...she is a charpee and has a broken leg. i like her.

mark strother, friend from home, met m here too. we are staying in the "DUNGEON" which is downstairs. we both can't stop laughing aout the dogs. its so messed up. and the roommate who owns them apparently feeds them raw lamb and sheep heads. WTF.

soo queenstown has bee awesome...went to the bars, got drunk OHMIGOD IALMOST FORGOT. allan met these two american guys who are LOADED (possibly shady though) but had the most amzing apartment condo overlooking the whole lake and mtns. i mean it was out of control nice. we had a party there, they bought so much alky and food. it was GREAT

yesterday mark, allan and i went wine tasting in Cromwell---30 minutes outside qtown. went to Rockburn and Wooing tree. then we went to this lake that had a rope swing and drank a bottle of wine. YUM! and cold.

leaving tomorrow for chirstchurch for the ight. the next day i start WWOOFING on an orchard for hopefully a few weeks up in Blenheim.

MISS OBAMA, TARGET, MY BED, AND BINKY! Oh and petfinder.com

xoxox

one more thing...

i know my english/grammer/all is bad. i am typing so fast. not much time. sorry if i sound like i have never been to school.

SORRY!

AWAKE!!!!!

Ok, i'm back.....

took a little nap, watched a little of "departed" i'm ready to go. Made some dinner with the girls---very good. had some wine, yada yada yada.

so all in all, things are good. we are planning on going to Te Anu tomorrow, which is near Fiorland National Park--then we are going to do a kayaking trip and do a trek or two while we are there. I should be in Queenstown by Thursday night or Friday....Probably friday. crossing my fingers the weather is good....its clearing up here. should be a bit hotter inland too. NICEEEEEEEEE!

i'm at an internet cafe right now and GUESS WHAT! My keyboard that i'm using....someone wrote the Jewish alphabet on all the keys...WHAT A CO-INK-E-DINK!!! ALthought i dont know them very well.

there are hardly any US travelers which is pretty sad. its good and bad. so far I have only met 4 americans and they have all said they have hardly met any as well. i think its just because we go to school and we get a job and we don't really live. work, work, work. and that sucks. so many people i have met work for 6 months and then travel.....such a good life. i know it can be a bit unrealistic, but they are actually living there lives and not sitting in some box. i hope i continue to live my life like that. for instance, i met an english couple in there late 60's early 70's who just decided to leave england for the winter nd come here for 2 months to travel. how cool is that!?! just love it. SO AMERICANS, SHAPE UP WILL YA!!!! jeeez la weez.

i continue to be the dirtiest one around. kind of sick but i dont care anymore.

ummmmmm...................driving is still scary. I definitely have a fear of transportation.

i slept like complete shit last night. ALTHOUGH, i must say, one of the things i am completely thrilled about that i bought is my new sleeping bag. it is just like a down comforter. SO comfy cozy. 3 other things i'm glad i brought are my new merrell shoes, GREAT, ear plugs, and my small towel thing. i think i might have actually packed perfectly. gosh i am so cool. bwahaha.

went to a community art gallery today which was really neat and then went to a public art museum which was JUST ok. not to impressive.

the people i stayed with in Christchurch was SO nice I can't get over it--Lauri and Lindsey. Took me around to cool places, made sure i had my phone all situated with minutes, treated me to food, wine, etc. tried to teach me a little bit about cricket---WHICH IS SO CONFUSING. they were the BEST host ever. i feel like i owe them a million bucks.

oh, our hostel is called Manor House---doesn't that sound like it is out of a halloween movie? it as our last resort, everything was booked.

ew some child is crying behind me.

So whats going onw ith chris brown and rihanna? I can't really believe it. wife beater.

JOHN LABARBARABRAB!! THANKS FOR READING MY BLOG!! YOU ARE DA BOMB DIGGITY DO DAH DAY!!!


well i must go. 22 minutes and 34....seconds left.

xoxoxo loves! mwah

tiredddddddd

sooooo, on my little road trip righ tnow to queenstown. we have a nissan station wagon that was 255,000 miles on, no shock system, and the front window is held together by ducktape....no joke. so when it rains outside, it rains on our heads. it says California on the back, so the cars name is miss california. pretty scary i must admit.

in dunedin right now with ramona (german) and april (USA). its overcast and was overcast coming in---also very foggy. we went out to the otago penninsula today--crazy swirvy drive. saw a lot of albatross---HUGE HUGE BIrds. seals and such. dolphins.

had a good thai dinner last night---

not much else. i know i have things to say but i am veyr tired and just want to go lay down for a bit. balbalhablha. havent taken a shower today--------stink!!!!!!!!!

Anyhoot----must go! write more when i get to queenstown and actually have time and free internet.

xoxo

the jewish girl loves Christchurch....go figure.

Hello hello hello everyone! hope all is well in your neck of the woods. 

lets see, where did I last stop off at---auckland and the hostel---i ended up having a HORRIBLE time with the elevators at the hostel. you have to use a key and a sensor thing to get up and down the elevators. SO, i never had a key. and when i did use a key it would never go to my floor (7) so everytime i went on an elevator I was stuck on it for literally around 10 to 15 minutes. so many people tried to help me  but it never worked. i finally went to talk to the receptionist person who was about 12 years old and was no help. oH WELL!

Doreika and I ended up going to this park very close to our hostel because it was the chinese new year and they had this amazing festival of laterns going on of all shapes and sizes. very cool. lots of food too. but that was all closed because we went so late.

The next day i flew to christchurch. my moms friend janice hooked me up with her friend who lives here, Lauri ( a man) and his wife Lindsey. I am unbelievably happy here right now. They are the nicest people ever and have just been so great to have met. AND i have my own bedroom and SHOWER where i dont have to wear shoes!! its a nice break from the hostels, although i am not sick of them yet. i'm sure I will be by may. there house is amazing and they have lots and lots of land. Lauri is going to take me out to meet all of his sheep which i am very excited about. i learned a bit about cricket too--which i really dont understand. i prefer baseball.

What else..... so last night one of there sons, james, and his girlfriend came over for dinner. it was yummy! lamb, potatoes, veggies, wine....yum. got a good nights sleep, must have not moved for a second bc my sheets were not messed up at all.

OH YA! Air New Zealand, the airline I flew on. ohmigod, i love it. they are so nice and the seats give you so much room. its unreal.. love it. the flight over here was amazing too because it was crystal clear and i could see all the moutnains and such.

OHH, back in Paihia...

so i have been extra cauctious since i got my stuff stolen from me. and i feel i have a right to be. it was SUCH a fackin pain. so anyways, there was this girl on my trip from england who was younger, 18 or 19 and kept telling me to chill out and that she hasnt had anything stolen and shes been tralveing for x amount and yada ydad ydaa. so i was kinda like fuck off, i just got all my stuff stolen, shut up shut up shut up. SOOOOO later that night, a girl right below us was in her room. some maori man came to the door and said he was in her room but forgot his key. she let him in---BIG MISTAKE. he locked her in the bathroom and took all there stuff. ya, so take that.

umm...been hearing horror stories of tourist getting raped. not cool. have  my guard up and i am trying to look extra nasty.

ummmmmmmm............went to this french farmers market today---only about 5 booths. BUT i bought this FABULOUS hat from this lovely woman. its awesome. LOVE IT. i really needed a hat here because it gets so hot and my hair is a mess. so i am very happy about that. she loved that iw as american because of obama, and of course, i can always talk about him. she LOVED him so i felt even more pressured to by it. 

OBAMAMAMAMAMMA!

not sure what we are doing tonight. lauri is watching cricket. i might take a shower. lindsey andi just made gin and tonics. 

well, must go. meeting up with this girl April tomorrow at 11 and we are off on a 4 day road trip before i head to queenstown. 

OH YEAH, i have been meaning to write this....

SONGS I CAN'T STOP LISTENING TO:

Big head todd and the monsters--"these days without you"

Ween--"Tender situation"

Amy Winehouse(yes shes a crackhead)--Me and mr jones

SONGS I LISTENED TO AFTER MY STUFF GOT STOLEN:

Big head todd and the monsters: "It's Alright" ---(IT WAS NOT ALRIGHT)

Ani Difranco--All songs, she is pissed at everything and could relate to me.

Flogging Molly: Worst day since yesterday

k, thats all for now. keep you posted later. please write me! facebook/email. miss people! xoxoxloveslovesloves

Editors Note

In a blog or two before I said that my favorite tree was a cabbage tree...THIS IS FALSE! its actually called a Norfolk Island Pine and it is BRILLIANT! I love them.

Next note---I forget to tell everyone that 90% of Maori people are SO FUCKING FAT. And i found out why today---because I ate what they ate. It was like pig fat. with puffy dough. BLAH.

ummmm.............I decided the geography here is almost to unreal. it reminds me of my favorite childhood movie..."The Land Before Time" with Petrey and Little foot---the valley they try to find. BUT NZ is way cooler. and its real. so BOOYAH!

At a HUGE hostel right now---have a sweet view from my room though. just got trapped in the stairwell and almost hyperventalated.......They couldn't give me a key yet, go figure. so im wondering around getting trapped in room. stellar.

Anyways, thats all for now. just had to tell you all that. must go peel the skin off my arms now. Tata!! xo

Waitangi Day!!!

Keora!! (hello, bye, what up in Maori)

So im in Paihia right now---its the very very northern tip of the country. Got here 2 days ago. Its gorgeous---surrounded by islands, crystal clear water. On our way up here we stopped and when snorkling at this preserve---saw some cool fish, nothin other than that. yesterday i took a bus up the cape with a group--it was nice, fun, saw lots. There is a girl named Dorieka from Holland that i've gotten along with really well here. We are staying in the same hostel tonight in Auckland. Tomorrow I fly to Christchurch and then Sunday i'm meeting up with this girl, April, and we are renting a car and just driving to wherever for a few days. Hope it goes welll! AH yayaya!

I can't stop thinking about how many people i have met----SO FUCKING MANY. from all over the world. seriously everywhere. its nice traveling alone though because i meet people wherever i go, and if i get sick of 'em i just say SEEEEEEEEE YA! love it. really getting into the swing of things.

Sorta threw a fit the other night---i'm in a dorm of 8, men and women, and this english guy started snoring so i started coughing and clapping my hands. I really wished i had a tennis ball to chuck at his face. everyone thanked me in the morning though.

What else............So, today, Feb. 6th is a National holiday here--waitangi day---for the waitangi treaty. it was signed right up here in Paihia so there is a MASSIVE festival going on. They have a dawn celebration/service thing that me and 3 of my friends went to. So i woke up at 4am, walked a mile and a half in pitch black....the prime minister was there, the Maori Princess---very cool. lots of Maori Chants and stuff. then at 9am most of the Maori Men get in these massive Pocahontas type canoes that are incredible and sing, chant, make sounds and then go paddle out in the ocean---one behind the other. there were probably 15 canoes in all. it was like out of a movie, i swear. so cool. i have pics i'm gonan post soon.

ummmmmmmmmm...........skin is just coming off my body. i think i'm part snake. its even grossing ME out. ew.

meeting my friend Allan Hall and Mark Strother in about a week in Queenstown---VERY excited to see them! Can't wait!

i'm covered in sand.

this little maori girl just came up to me to talk to me---must go. she keeps talking---must go! write soon! MISS YA! xoxo
mars

If I changed my middle name, it would now be, "go with the flow"

Heeellllllow up there!!!

In auckland right now--got here a bit ago, long drive. 11 hrs.

wellington was good---didn't get a lot of time to walk around, plan on going back later. about 8 of us went out to this fabulous Malaysian restaurant--it was SO So good. Had wine, good company--lots of fun. we then went to the bar in our hostel and proceeded to get wasted. i got to bed at a decent hour but still kinda felt like poop today. i bought these earplugs yesterday to sleep with and apparently didn't hear my friend Dawn FALL out of the bunk on top of me--she was WASTED. still was till about Noon today. hilarious. was just a hot mess today.

We had to change buses today. Metro, the driver, whose real name i found out is steve, just started---we were his FIRST trip. the bus we switched too he had never driven before. it was a big dodgey because he couldn't start it and you could just sense he was nervous. so of course i thought we were going to die. we made it though. YAY!

the hostel i'm staying at right now is pretty gross. BUT its the pickup spot tomorrow at 7:45 to its ok. my room was a pit. 4 others are in it. ugh. i hope its ok tonight.

OH OH OH, i remembered/wrote down things to tell people

1) the customs people when i got hear only asked me one questions..."Do you have any beef jerky?" ---should i take that as an offence? ya.

2) my absolute favorite tree here is called a Cabbage tree. its like a mix btw a pine tree and a palm SO COOl.

3) saw 4 hot hot hot hot israeli guys doing th ehike the other day. thats all.

4) still confused about driving on the other side of the road. keep thinking small children are driving or animals. its very confusing.

anyways, i leave in the morn' for bay of islands. by sunday i will be in acar for about a week driving around with this girl april. GOOd times!

Must go. need a shower.

XOXO LOVE TO ALL!

poor federer.