New Zealand...Sorry for the Book...

I’ve been so busy/tired with my traveling and “doing” that I decided it would be best to put my whole weeks worth of New Zealand touring into one big post. Get ready, because this one is going to be a doooooooozy….

My flight to Christchurch was not too shabby. It was about 3 hours, so no big deal there. Air New Zealand was great, though! A surprising start was the bar service and light meal served, so I grabbed a mimosa (classy, I know) and had a nice salad with grilled chicken and corn, with a little baby carrot cake for dessert J. I landed in Christchurch, which was about the size of my thumbnail, and got the pleasure of hanging out there for a solid two and a half hours because I WAY overestimated the time it would take for me to get through customs and such. In any event, they had rooftop access where you could go and watch the planes come in, which was really neat. Then I boarded the one-hour puddle jumper to Auckland, and met up with Simon!

For not having seen someone in almost two years, it didn’t really take us long to immediately pick up from where we left off. Catching up was great, as we made our way from the airport up toward his house about 45 minutes away. I got to know about where he works and what he’s been up to, and the drive was a great way to get back into the swing of things. We got into his neighborhood, and he showed me the beach where he and his friends usually go to hang out and relax. Once we got to his place, we had some dinner, met his mom, dad and sister, grabbed a beer and watch some rugby, and headed off to bed.

The next morning, we woke up early because I had to be at the bus station for my trip to the Bay of Islands. The bus driver was awesome: very informative, funny and personable. I got some insight into the history and culture of the area, as well as information about wildlife and nature along the three-hour tour (the three hour tour…)

When we arrived at the Bay of Island, I decided to join the short hour-long tour through the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, where they signed their version of the Declaration of Independence with the Maori people. Kind of boring history stuff (although some of it was interesting), but hell, I figured I was there, I probably wont be there again, and I should probably be less ignorant about things like that than I already am.

We then boarded our cruise, which was absolutely gorgeous. About five minutes into our trip, we had some visitors alongside our boat…DOLPHINS! They were swimming next to us, playing in groups of about three or four, coming up to the surface to say hello, and just having a grand old time just for us! They were a lot of fun to spot. From there, we headed over to the famed “Hole in the Rock,” which was just that…a giant, naturally made hole in a big ol’ rock. Believe it or not, it was pretty amazing, and the way the sun was hitting it made it look spectacular. Again, I’d post pictures, but blogger isn’t being too cooperative. Hopefully I’ll find a better way of doing that soon… Oh yeah, and I also managed to lose my camera’s lens cap due to an unfriendly gust of wind, so now it is being protected by my glasses micro-fiber cloth and Pamela’s hair tie (Thanks Sister!)

After the long drive back, I met up with Simon, and we headed back to his house, where his mom had made me some mince and veggies for dinner. We then went out, picked up his girlfriend, and made our way out to a bar to watch some more rugby. It was actually really cool to watch a different sport a bar with some locals, and we just had a pretty chill night: until…

Two young gentlemen sat down at the booth with us, just to get out of the crowd and relax for a bit. Looking at me (exhausted from the trip and a bit relaxed just watching the game), one of them asked if I was “peaking,” aka high on ecstasy. Simon told him I wasn’t, but jokingly asked if he was looking to score some. His response? “No man I’ve got plenty on me!” We started talking, and it turns out he’s a local schoolteacher. Awesome. To top it off, he found out I was American, and made it his sole mission to take me out to the city, show me what “real Auckland” was like, and get me laid: ensuring to have me back to the airport in time for my flight the next morning, thereby taking me out of Simon’s care and putting my life in his hands. I declined.

Another flight (another puddle-jumper, really) into Queenstown awaited me, but this was no ordinary flight. I cannot describe to you how amazingly beautiful the last half hour of this flight was. I was first welcomed by brown mountains jutting up from the land, with a beautifully blue snaking river flowing alongside. Those mountains then turned snow-capped, and transformed into a mix of summer desert and winter mountain feelings. More blue lakes and rivers popped up all around, as we rounded a mountainside and headed for the runway over the beautiful lake on which Queenstown was built. Breathtaking.

I was met at the airport by Kat: Jenny’s, Luke’s, and Mel’s housemate. With open arms, I immediately got a hug and a welcome, and felt at home within a matter of seconds. We drove up to their house, and when I walked into their living room, almost passed out with the view that they get to wake up to every morning. Remember those mountains that we had just rounded (some brown, some covered in lush green trees, and some snow-capped), rising up from that gigantic teal-blue lake I was talking about? Yeah… Again, even if I could put the picture up here, it wouldn’t do it half the justice it deserves.

We dropped off my stuff, and within a few minutes Mel came home! We all chatted for a bit, and then headed into town to grab some lunch at an organic restaurant called Halo (The Forbidden Bite!), and I got a salad with roasted pumpkin, carrots, and kumara (kind of three quarters in between a potato and a sweet potato, leaning toward the sweet potato side), and it was heavenly. We also got some coffee (which over here means cappuccinos, lattes…etc) and man do they know how to make them over here! It isn’t the “Starbucks Culture” like it is in America. Nearly every restaurant and café has a fully professional espresso maker, and takes pride in the coffee they make and brew. I’m now seriously considering investing in a real espresso machine: where you froth your own milk, grind your own beans, and make really make it your own like these people seem to do. Something about that just makes me feel warm and cozy inside…but I digress…

We walked in town for a little bit. It reminded me so much of a tiny ski-town that would be in Colorado: some clothing shops, tons of cafes and restaurants, a mini-casino on the wharf…Just a few blocks in size, it was really quaint and amazing. We stopped into some of the agency places, and I ended up booking my highly sought after skydive for the next day. Everyone said that this was the place in which to do it, and due to my flight in, I could see why! 15,000 feet, here I come! Or so I thought…but more on that later. A bit more chill time and home, Jenny arrived and we caught up for a bit, and all went to bed.

I woke up and got ready for the big jump. The girls dropped me off in town on their way to work, and I headed for breakfast at a place called Joe’s Garage: a little café that was tucked away behind some other shop and down a side alley that had a wrench for a door handle and a feel somewhat like, well, a garage. As I sat down at the counter overlooking the open kitchen, I got to talking with the cook, the barista, and a woman who I assume was the owner. I was one of about three people in there, but the others kept to themselves. I ordered myself a coffee, and we all started talking about where we were all from, my travels…the usual stuff people want to know about each other and the conversation I seem to keep having over and over again. After about half an hour of talking and getting to know these strangers, I was approached by the owner, who asked me what size shirt I wore, and handed me a Joe’s Garage shirt that she told me to wear proudly around town. And I did. As I was about to up and leave, the cook opened the door and took out some fresh, hot apricot and honey scones…needless to say I bought one and headed off to the pickup spot for my inevitable jump.

When I arrived, they said it was much too cloudy and windy, so they had pushed my jump back (forward?) a few hours. A bit upset (but relieved that they were taking every precaution to ensure my jump would be safe), I decided to walk around the town and get myself acquainted with everything. Really, just a quaint, awesome ski town. So much fun. I reported back, and it had been pushed back yet again. Breakfast number two at a place called the Post Office. Also very delicious: got some poached eggs with spinach and mushrooms and tomato and watch people walk by. Third time is a charm? Not for me…and back to Joe’s Garage for some fruit crumble thing that was hot and delicious. I guess I’m just a nervous/frustrated eater…

To kill some time and calories, I decided to take a scenic walk up Queenstown Hill: a nice hike that was recommended by a few locals that should have taken me all of about an hour. Well, after getting myself lost and taking a few wrong turns, walking uphill seemingly both ways, and three hours of my time led me to the summit at about 900m above sea level. A very exhausting walk in the rain indeed, but hell – I killed some more time. The summit would have been much nicer had the weather not been extremely cloudy and overcast with rain, but it seemed to be a theme so I made the best of it. And it still wasn’t half bad. The skydive was officially canceled for the day by the time I checked back, so I rebooked for the next day. Mel and I went to the travel agent a bit later, booked a coach/cruise to Milford Sound, and the three of us (including Jenny) made our way to a small local town called Aarowtown. We got to see someone grinding Jade into necklaces and jewelry in a small little shop, and then grabbed some coffee and sat in couches that, after my giant uphill battle with Queenstown Hill, hugged me and didn’t want to let go. Eventually it did, and we headed back to Queenstown where we got some hot mulled wine before making our way to the famed “Fergburger!” Pretty yummy burger place: I got the lamburger. Only in New Zealand…

We had a pretty relaxing day after that – slept in a bit (seeing as my skydive had been canceled yet again), planned the day with Mel, and met Jenny in town for some lunch. We walked around a bit, grabbed some coffee, and went back home just to chill. Around dinnertime, we made our way to a place called “The Bunker,” which was a hidden little upscale restaurant where I decided to splurge on a traditional lamb dinner from New Zealand, as we all sat around and shared a nice bottle of wine in the cozy place and talking about differing cultures and habits, among other things.

Mel and I got up early for our trip to Milford Sound. The tour was actually with the same company with whom I traveled to the Bay of Islands, so I was pretty excited about the potential for a great trip. We were, however, a bit weary about the weather and how that would affect the trip. Our first stop off was at a city called Te Anau, which has the famed “Mirror Lakes,” (name for the fact that they have near perfect reflections in good weather, which we clearly weren’t going to get), but it was still beautiful. We also were told that in Te Anau, we needed to seek out the famous “Miles Better Pies,” which we did. Great decision! Mel and I split a venison pie, which was the best pie that either of us had ever had. I think Mel referred to it as reaching “Pie Heaven.” Back to the bus for an amazingly scenic drive up, down, around, through, and across mountains of snow, trees, valleys and gorges on our way to Milford Sound. There were also droves and droves of sheep and deer on farms along the way, almost like you would see cows in America, BUT THESE WERE SHEEP AND DEER! So cute and so much fun to stare at. I’m such a sucker for wildlife…

When we arrived, we pretty much boarded the boat straight away. Our tour came with a buffet, so we grabbed some food and headed off to the back off the boat to watch the scenery, wildlife, waterfalls, and water. The views were just stunning, and waterfalls, while flowing, weren’t as spectacular as they could have been. We were lucky, however, in that the sun did come out for just about the entire duration of our cruise, and then hid back behind the clouds. A long bus ride back brought us to town, where Mel and I had some time to kill before Jenny got off of work. So, we headed over to the Central Otago Wine Experience.

This was right up my alley! Here’s the deal: you receive a wine glass, as well as a card card that you put into one of a certain number of machines, each having about 10 wines on “tap.” When your card is in the machine, you can press a button above the wine you would like to try (description underneath) and you get 25ml of wine to try! Each taste was averaged between 2-5 dollars (of the ones I chose), and so for the price of one or two glasses of wine, I got to try about six! Most of them were local (within a few miles of Queenstown/Central Otago area) and the others were located somewhere in the wine producing regions of New Zealand. It was so much fun, and Mel and I had a blast. Then, Jenny and Kat came to meet us, and something incredible happened…

Apparently, ginger hair is a prized possession around town! Every Wednesday night, they have “Ginga Night” at the Buffalo Club. What does “Ginga Night” involve, you may ask. It involves having red hair, bringing three of your friends to the Buffalo Club, and receiving a $50 dollar bar tab. That’s right, for once, being a ginger has paid off! So, we headed there and had a few drinks, and headed off for some dessert, to no avail. Both of the places we wanted to go were closed, so we called it a night, headed back home, hung out and chatted, and hit the hay.

Thursday morning: my last attempt at a day to skydive. I called in, and, what’s this? They’re ready for me!? We’re actually going to JUMP!? WOOOOOOOOO!!!! I threw on some close, and Jenny took me down to town, where I headed into the shop, singed all my waivers, paid the incredibly stupid amount of money to throw myself out of a plane from 15,000 feet in the air and was ready to head off…when they came in and said the winds had picked up at the last minute, and we were once again delayed for three hours. What’s a boy to do but try some more cafes and kill some more time? So I went to the local’s favorite spot, Vudu, for some coffee and a bowl of organic porridge with apple, date and cinnamon compote, which was on special. Delicious as usual, but didn’t fill that void of knowing I probably wasn’t going to jump…and when I checked back, that’s just what happened. Despite being a beautiful, sunny, relatively cloud free day, the winds were just too much. Somebody other than my mother was telling me that I shouldn’t be jumping out of a plane. All the more reason to come back to what has so far been my favorite destination.

Mel and Kat had just finished the gym, spotted me on the streets, picked me up and took me back home, where we hung out for a bit and decided to make our way to Wanaka, a city about an hour outside of Queenstown. Jenny had to pick up her new (and beautiful) snowboard anyway, and the drive was supposed to be fantastic, scenic, and beautiful: and boy was it! Our drive started out sunny and bright, with green stuff all around us. But as we climbed higher and higher through the mountain, the ground became peppered with snow. (After just typing the words ‘peppered with snow,’ I think that’s a really cool/odd way of describing something white…but anyway…) We saw tons more sheep and deer in their little farms, a bit of snow and hail, and then came to Lake Wanaka. Ho-ly-shit. Snow covered mountains in the background, brown mountains to our left and right, and a calm, pristine lake providing the base. It was honestly surreal.

The girls went into the snow shop to pick up the boards, try on some boots and get fitted for the season, and I walked around for a bit before rejoining them and waiting for them to get settled with their gear. Once they were finished, we attempted to go to a local winery (which was closed) and then visited Puzzle World for a few minutes. Just a cute little place with tons of puzzles and illusions (no tricks here). A fun little stop. We also grabbed some kumara fries to hold us over for the ride back, and Jenny and I talked about her parents visiting in two weeks, Luke, living away from home, not wanting to move back to where we were born (in my case, Florida, in hers, England), and potentially working overseas in my case.

Once we hit Queenstown again, we parked the car and the girls accompanied me on my hunt for the famous “Bluff Oysters.” Apparently world renowned, they have a whole festival dedicated to these oysters that are just reaching the end of the harvesting season. Bluff is on the southern coast of New Zealand, and these are supposed to be among the world’s best. How could I pass them up? Sure, they’re pretty expensive, but how often am I going to get the opportunity to try them? First stop, Captains: sold out at lunch that day. Second stop: Pier 19, also sold out at lunch. Finally, the Boardwalk: DING DING DING! The restaurant was on the top floor of the wharf building, and had a really unique layout. It was almost as if they had two person couches/loves seats on which to sit for dinner. Usually, those are really uncomfortable, but these happened to be really nice and perfect for the atmosphere. I placed my order for a half-dozen, and anxiously waited. Worth every second and every penny. If you don’t like oysters, you don’t really understand why these are so good. They are huge, thick, amazingly fresh and briny, and pretty much melt in your mouth (that’s what she said?). Such a good investment!

We then headed out for some real dinner. We made our way back to Old Man Rock, where dinner was absolutely fantastic. The weather had turned much colder, so we sat by the roaring fire, (Mel and I had the pumpkin and rosemary soup with some delicious, thick toasted rosemary bread which was extremely warming and comforting), and the four of us just had some amazing conversations about living, moving, traveling, television, and life in general. The girls grabbed some hot cocoa and I opted for a cappuccino with Bailey’s, and we sat by the fire and enjoyed our evening by the fire.

Back to the house, Kat and I watched the move “Taken” and got sucked in so that we had to stay up late and know what happened at the end. Not a bad movie, but nothing to write home about (but apparently something to blog about?). I then had the sad task of packing, knowing I would be leaving in the morning.

I woke up a bit early, got myself a workout and a shower, and finished my packing and cleaning up. Mel had her interview for rentals, so we dropped her off, and Jenny and I went for some breakfast and coffee at Vudu. Once again, no disappointment. We talked a bit about camp, work, the environment, ignorant people…and once Mel finished her (hopefully successful!) interview joined up in the conversation. When we finished breakfast, I had to make my way over to Joe’s Garage for one last scone/say goodbye to all of the friends I had made there, and was greeted with wishes of safe travels and a free coffee. Off to the airport… L

So I checked in and Jenny, Mel and I waited anxiously for Luke’s plane to arrive. We saw it touch down, and as it did, the call came over the intercom for those on my flight to head through security…I took my chances and waited for Luke to exit the plane, and he seemed to take forever! Finally, we saw him step off, and walk through the arrivals. I gave him a huge hug, we had some man embracing, caught up for all of about two minutes, and then I rushed through security (where I was put to the head of the line! Sometimes it pays to be risk!)

The short trip to Auckland was fine, and I took a nice walk from the domestic terminal to the international terminal, where I was able to pick up a gift for my host family, try some samples from the plentiful duty-free (haha duty) shops and make my way to the plane. I hopped aboard, had a nice meal and some red wine, and here I sit: 11582m in the air, 694km and about an hour from Melbourne, remembering my time in New Zealand. There is no doubt in my mind that I will be back here, it is just a matter of when. Possibly for the 2011 Rugby World Cup? Possibly this winter break for a family vacation? Or possibly sometime in the distant future? I’m not sure, but I know that I have to make my way back here. There is so much left for me to explore in this part of the world. If nothing else, this has just made me realize how little I know about other places, and how many opportunities there are outside of the traditional “American Dream.” It may be that I end up living the normal American path: finish college, immediately get a job, work hard and save up for my family and myself. But there is a possibility that I may try my hand at working overseas, at moving to another country and seeing how I like it. There is SO much for me to learn and know about other places, and I simply wish that I had more time. But, as my parents always tell me, “You’ll figure it out.” And I know I will.

Soon I’ll be in Melbourne, where Caitlin is going to pick me up, show me the city, and take me on the next part of my journey! You’ll hear more about it on my next entry, whenever that may be.

-Josh

Ann Arbor: You are hot and sticky but I'll miss you

World,

Life has been good here for M-cat and myself, eating countless cakesters and grilling up mean brats. The weather has cranked up to over 80 everyday so the winter jackets were finally put away. Since it was my last weekend in Ann Arbor I figured I would go to some good eateries that I'll miss in Berlin. Friday night we had No Thai (yeah I didn't invite you Jenn, now you can feel my pain). Saturday night was Blimpie Burger, and Sunday night we ate at BTB and Mike got a crazy collider at Rod's. For those who don't know a collider is like a blizzard but you pick 5 things to put into the FroYo.

More importantly on Sunday, LOST series finale. It was sad and awesome and every emotion ever. 6 years watching the show was well spent.

All our shows are donion except Glee, which had an awesome episode last night about Lady Gaga.

As for movies:

Freaks and Geeks (finished up the series)

25th Hour

The Hurt Locker

Gosford Park

Red Cliff

Rescue Dawn

Up In the Air

Crazy Heart

Ponyo

The Blind Side

Adventureland

The Road

I'll leave with a wonderful surprise for Josh and Kevin

Aloha,

-Brian

Bondi, Great Barrier Reef, Bungee, and Free Day

No one else woke up for Bondi, so I ended up heading down there by myself. Not too bad a trip: just 2 busses. When it pulled up, I made my way to a café called Sejuice, grabbed a cappuccino and some warm, toasted apple-cinnamon bread to warm me up as it was a bit chilly, and sat down on the tables outside along the beach. As I watched the waves come crashing along the shore and the surfing competition to my right, people started gathering around that reminded me of my mom’s Einsteins crew: you know, the locals who knew everyone, except these people had just finished running, swimming or surfing at 5am. In any event, I got talking to a nice couple whose son was in the surf competition, and just spoke about their lives in Bondi. Really nice people.

From there, I went for a mini-walk, where I found a place called “Icebergs,” that turns out to be a private swimming club. In order to be a member, you need to swim every Sunday…for FOUR STRAIGHT YEARS! EVERY SUNDAY! Totally worth it, considering their pool is a saltwater pool that is filled by the crashing waves of the ocean. (Insert Picture HERE!)

I made my way back to the hostel, showered, killed some time at the Wake-Up and had lunch with the gang. We then made our way to the airport, to Cairns, and pretty much had dinner and went to bed.

The next morning, we took a bus to a place called “RainForestation” and went on an Army Duck Tour through the rainforest and learned about…the rain forest. It was actually pretty interesting, and we got to see “the most painful plant in the world.” Then we got a chance to hang out with KANGAROOS! There was a lawn with tons of them that you could feed, pet, and with which you could just hang around! (Insert more pictures!)

We left, and hung around a place called Karunda, which just had some shops. The only interesting part was the ice cream truck run by a man who was retired from the military, and whose wife makes all of it from scratch. It was pretty damn good.

Back to the hostel, had some dinner, and then walked around the night market, which had some more shops, coffee, trinkets…etc. Then a few of us decided to go for a run along the “beach” which was really just along a boardwalk because the beach was made of mud and muck and disgusting crap. But we made our way to where all of the boats and boat-planes were, which ended up being really beautiful even at night.

Finally, the day we had all been waiting for: the Great Barrier Reef! We woke up pretty early and headed out to the boat that left at 8. A two hour ride into the water, and we arrived at an island that was inhabited by native birds (and there was actually a $7,500 penalty for crossing a rope they had set up because they were protected by the government). We got to snorkel and see the amazing corals with colors I never knew existed. But that wasn’t even the best part…I made my way back to the boat so that I could go SCUBA DIVING! Yes, they gave a quick tutorial, and we were allowed to dive. Holy shit, I thought I saw some amazing things while snorkeling. This was unreal. Turtles, reefs, colors…almost indescribable, and the pictures barely do it justice. We got to touch some of the coral and living things, and really got up close and personal. It only lasted half an hour (which went by way to quickly, anyway) but every second was a second I will remember forever.

A calming ride back with some magic tricks by the staff and some relaxation time, and we were back in time for dinner and bedtime.

I took a run along that same path we did the other night, had some breakfast, and then we all headed to James Cook University to finish up our projects and present them to the class. Everyone did a really nice job: too bad we can’t present to the Waratahs, because they were too busy with their home semi-final to hear our pitches. In any event…

We walked up to A.J. Hacket’s Bungee jumping place: the tallest tower built specifically for bungee jumping at 50 meters (I think 165 feet?). It was in the middle of the rainforest, and there was a little pond directly below. Did I jump? Well, when I post the video, you’ll find out ;)

P.S. – It was everything I imagined and more, and I got it so that just my hands touched the pond. I’d do it again in a heartbeat (sorry mom!)

Flight home, shower, bed.

Which brings us to today. I got up early again for a breakfast trip to Bondi and had planned to meet a few people again: surprise! Hung-over and sleeping. A macchiato, some toasted banana bread, and I was off on the hour-long walk from Bondi Beach to Coogee Beach. Just a whole bunch of amazingly spectacular views and a nice way to see the coast. I met up with Brendan and Beth and their friend Ollie who were all driving to Uni, so they picked me up and I got a quick tour of UNSW, which was a good way to see another university. I also really wanted to see how Brendan lived and put some faces to names.

Back to the hostel to meet up with the group for lunch, and then they all decided to go out to Bondi Beach. DAMNIT! I decided instead to go walk around two local towns nearby, Newtown and Surry Hills, which were both kind of funky. Just a nice way to kill some time.

And here I am, getting ready to go to dinner at the Blackbird Café (a nice restaurant in Darling Harbor) with the group for our last meal together before we all head off to do our own thing. Hopefully tonight will be a lot of fun, as I assume we’ll all go out and have an amazing last night in Sydney.

Tomorrow’s agenda: wake up early, get to the airport, and head to Auckland, New Zealand. Another country, another day.

_Josh

The Flight (to Beijing) and some

Ni Hao!

***Sorry it’s taken so long for my first post. I’ve only had access to the internet a few minutes a day (at school). I still do not have internet at my place, but am going to the library to use it there. Also, our blog is BLOCKED in China so I will be posting by emailing my posts to Jenn and having her post them for me (thanks Jenn!).

My trip started off fantastic with my Visa being confirmed as real! (job well done Baba)

Then I found out I snaggled an aisle seat. The catch, I was in the VERY last row. Luckily, not too many crying babies; just a LOT of loud adults. I was surprised to find out that we got three meals (all actually pretty delicious, except the United Airlines brand cup of noodles…yay!). Once I landed, I had to get by Customs. On my way to booths I captured a one-handed candid shot of someone I thought looked just like my grandma (wai puo)! Turns out I would have this reaction many more times within the next few days. I successfully made it through the “Foreigners” line with ease and proceeded to find my ride. There were so many people standing at the exit holding signs with names on them. It felt like a paparazzi attack, but with names being shouted instead of lights flashing. Thankfully, my ride recognized me from the picture I had sent prior and we were on our way (via an hour long bus ride). The two people that escorted me to my residence are DengXu and HeLi. I seriously cannot say enough about how nice and helpful they have been. They have literally done EVERYTHING!

In conclusion of my first post, a few things about China:

- things are definitely cheaper (examples to follow)

- it smells just like Chinatown (aka lack of sewage systems)

- the roads are crazy (lights don’t really matter, lots of bicycles)

- if you own a vespa (like Sasha) you are cool

- smoke is blown in your face all the time

More posts to come soon with more pictures!

- Kevin

The Newest Film and TV critics: Brian and Mike

Friendly Followers,

Back in Ann Arbor, Mike and myself have been busy working on the SATCOM project, watching movies, and eating plenty of Oreo Cakesters of the double-stuffed variety. The weather has been garbage here with highs of about 50 degrees and rain almost everyday. Luckily, it was sunny and pleasant this weekend which was the least the weather could do for ruining the week. On Saturday I woke up bright and early to head to Kiwanis Club in downtown Ann Arbor. It's a cool thrift store but like many awesome thrift stores there is always a catch; this one is only open on Saturdays from 9 am to noon. For some reason I actually woke up and got there by 9 and found a fine pair of shorts for $2.

The outside on a beautiful Saturday morning.

The inside on the first floor. There is a basement downstairs with furniture and more women's clothes on the second floor. Now if only it was like the Care and Share back home where every month the third Friday is half-priced everything (crazy awesome).

Our nights have been spent visiting Askwith Media Library and powering through movies. This past week alone I have seen:

The Lives of Others

Downfall

Amelie

Life Is Beautiful

Beau Travail

Freaks and Geeks (tv series)

Food Inc.

Extract

Evil Dead II
Dead Snow

Tokyo Zombie

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans

Fantastic Mr. Fox

The Royal Tenenbaums

Funny People

Of course we are still watching all our favorite tv shows too:

Tuesday: LOST and Glee

Wednesday: Modern Family

Thursday: Community, Parks and Recreation (which Mike finally got into and admits is awesome, Kevin and Josh take note), The Office, and 30 Rock

Sunday: The Pacific

All the shows except Lost and Glee are ending this week, so it looks like more movies to come!

Your favorite,

Brian

Opera House, Deaths,The Tahs, China Town, and Manly

The morning of the 14^th, we headed out for a tour of the Opera House. It is a pretty fascinating building. The design was actually picked from a series of entries into a competition. We learned about how it was built, all the history behind it, and what goes on today. Really interesting tour.

From there, we made our way to Olympic Park. On our way, there was the beating of a security guard (we saw the blood on the ground and police taking pictures), and additionally got delayed because someone three stops ahead of ours got hit by a train. Not a great day to be at the station…

In any event, we made our way to Olympic Park, of which we only saw a bit of the outside. We then took a tour of Commonwealth Bank, one of the largest in Oceania, and learned about their business model as well as their environmental setup and building – which is 90% recycled! We came back to the hostel for a quick second, and headed off to the Waratahs game (they’re the team we’re working for, by the way). We grabbed dinner at a pub on the grounds of the stadium, and it was kind of neat to see the similarities and differences between how the U.S. watches sport and how Australians do. First of all, there were so many more people here, all watching the same game, and all cheering for EVERY play: all focused intensely on the game itself, with small side conversations when necessary. People SCREAMING at the TV as if the players could hear them, and of course, drinking lots. I love that atmosphere. We then made our way into the stadium…

GO THE TAHS! Despite the fact that I was exhausted, the rugby match was amazing and we all had a spectacular time. We were sitting right behind the uprights, front row. Not too shabby! Union (or rugby in generally) is pretty hard to get a grasp of if you’re new/American, but we were able to understand enough to get by. The Tahs won, which means they get a home semi-final match, which is worth about $700,000 to them. I don’t think they’ll have time to listen to our presentations next week. They may be a bit busy…After the game, we actually got to go rush onto the field, where the players were there signing autographs, taking pictures, and celebrating with the crowd. That would NEVER fly in the states, and it was amazing to see how nice these guys were, considering how massive they are. You think NFL players are big? These guys are GIGANTIC. I honestly think their thighs were the size of my torso. Seriously.

Another early morning jog through Hyde Park was great in the cool weather. You barely even sweat because there is practically no humidity and the air is just so crisp. They are also setting up for the Sydney Half Marathon which is tomorrow (technically today) and I got to watch workers put out cones and such.

We headed out to UTS for our last “class time” before our report is due…which isn’t for another three days, but I guess timing just works better this way. In any event, our group got our video done, and hopefully we’ll do well. I think the idea is solid, and with our limited time and resources I think it’s pretty decent. Now we’ll just have to see what the professors think.

From there, we got to go on our own for lunch. With A$10 in hand, people went their separate ways. I was the only one who really wanted to explore, so I made the most of it. First stop was in CityMarket, which is like a giant indoor flea market type place, where I got a chicken skewer for about 2 bucks. Then I headed over to the famous “Harry de Wheels” for a traditional Australian meat pie with peas…delicious! From there, I decided to make Kevin proud and I explored China town which is about a two minute walk from our hostel. Believe it or not, I was able to recognize foods in the shops if not by name but by look. These places were SOOOO CHEAP. Giant pastries, custard buns, sponge rolls…for about a dollar each: needless to say I had a field day, and all for under our allotted A$10.

I then grabbed a bus to meet the group at Circular Quay, where I met a really nice Scottish girl with whom I talked for the entirety of the ride. She has been traveling for the past 6 months all around, and we just had a nice talk for the 10-minute ride. When I got to the ferry, I met up with the group to take the ferry over to Manly. However, our ferry was delayed because Jessica Watson (the 16 year old girl who just sailed around the world) had just come in to Sydney, and landed herself at the Opera House. As our ferry took off, we were able to see the Opera House PACKED (and I mean PACKED!) with thousands of people there to watch her speak/the ceremony the held in her honor. Pretty amazing.

So we got to Manly, and man(ly) was it beautiful (sorry, way too easy). Brendan swung by and we played a bit of rugby on the beach, hung out for a bit, and walked along the corso (main street/shops/stuff). He headed off to work, and we grabbed some dinner as a group. A bunch of people headed off back to the hostel, and I stayed back to wait for Brendan and find out a little bit more about his home turf. While I was waiting, I found out that there was a Max Brenner: Chocolate By The Bald Man restaurant on the Wharf, and I was a happy camper. I’ve heard so many amazing things about his restaurant in NY, and didn’t realize there were any (there are actually a few) in Australia. In any event, I walked in, got lost for a few minutes, and met these two girls – a Sydneysider and her friend from the UK, and we discussed how amazing the restaurant was and just how much fun the experience is. We also talked about our travels…etc.

After they left, I continued to walk the corso and explore around the wharf, when I heard a woman exclaim, “THOSE ARE THE BIGGEST LAMINGTONS I’VE EVER SEEN!” I turned to look into the bakery on my left, and saw giant square “things.” Having heard of lamingtons before, but not knowing what they were, I said, “I’m sorry for the ignorance, but I’ve heard of lamingtons, I just don’t know what they are…” She gasped, started explaining them to me (they are square pieces of sponge cake dipped in chocolate and covered with coconut), and was telling me how the ones in the shop were probably no too fresh, but fresh baked ones are fantastic! She then asked how long I was in Sydney, and had I been there longer she actually offered to make them fresh for me in her home and invite me over for lamingtons and coffee! Mind you, this woman was probably in her late 50s and with her husband. She then offered to buy me one, and of course I declined and thanked her a million times. We started talking about my travels, and I spoke with her husband about where they had just come from…etc. The next thing I know, she (Anne-Marie) opens my bag and places, “THE BIGGEST LAMINGTON SHE HAS EVER SEEN” into my bag. I offered a million times to pay her back, but she and her husband refused, telling me it was my gift from Australia. It was fresh: it was delicious, and it was an amazing gesture from two random amazing people.

I picked up a bottle of wine at the bottle shop and headed over to a pizza place where I met Brendan and his friend Beth for kangaroo pizza. Yes, I ate kangaroo – and he or she was delicious. From there, we headed to Max Brenner where we all got (the real drinking kind of) hot chocolate – I had dark, Brendan had mocha, and Beth had mint -, and shared a banana-chocolate pizza. AMAZING! Next time, we’re getting chocolate with pop-rocks!

From there, we headed to a bar, grabbed a cocktail from a teacup, and by then it was time for me to catch the last ferry back to Sydney, and the last train back to the hostel.

Here I am, at 3:45AM, full, tired, extremely happy, and ready to explore Bondi beach with a few people in about 3 hours before our flight to Cairns.

I'd post more pictures, but Blogger isn't cooperating. I may just have to keep giving links to Facebook. SORRY!

-Josh

Lectures, Lectures, Lectures...

This morning was a great start. We were supposed to have breakfast from 7:15-8:15 per usual, and then leave at 8:30, but Toby got our schedules mixed so when I ate breakfast at 7:15, he told me we actually had till 9:30! So I ate some breakfast, and went to run and explore Sydney some more. Came back, showered, and headed out.

We went to a series of on-site meetings with managers, marketing directors, community relations people...etc from Aussie Rules Football, Rugby League, and Netball. Netball was a bit weird, but interesting nonetheless.

And that was pretty much the day. We're back at the hostel for dinner and then we'll all head out to the bars and see Sydney's Thursday night nightlife.

-Josh

Since We Last Left Off...

Orientation was pretty cool. We had a scavenger hunt around Sydney (now that we were equipped with our handy-dandy unlimited bus/rail/ferry passes). We got to tour the city a bit more and become more familiar with our surroundings and the city itself.

We came back to the hostel, and I got a shower and read some of my book for South Africa while some of the other group went to some bars. We all met up for dinner at an Indian restaurant, and then headed over to a marketplace to get some groceries and things in a sort of underground mall/store/thing. Then we studied for our exam and headed to bed.

This morning, I went for another early morning run (damn jetlag...), and we all had breakfast in the kitchen. We headed over to UTS (the university that we're using for facilities), where we had our exam (pretty easy...) and then 3 lectures. Grabbed some bagged lunch, and headed over to the University of Sydney (beautiful, by the way) where we got to do our first field research. We went around asking people about their preferences in sports (specifically rugby league versus rugby union) as research for our team. It was amazing to see how passionate some people were, how indifferent others were, and mostly how friendly EVERYONE was. They were very receptive to our questions, loved the fact that we were from the States, and our interviews turned into conversations about anything and everything. It was really an amazing experience just to get out there and talk with the locals.

Back to the hostel, and out for dinner in Darling Harbor. I didn't really love the food, but the view of the harbor at night was gorgeous.

We came back to the hotel, played a much more intense trivia than Sunday night, had some drinks, and listened to a band who came down to play. They were awesome: a guitar player and a violinist doing covers and their own stuff. Pretty impressive. Then some people went out to a bar, but I'm pretty exhausted still and decided to head up to go to bed, and found out that I could get on the web for a few and type up a post!

Tomorrow we head to the Sydney Cricket Grounds for some more lectures and on-site stuff. I'll let you know how it goes!

-Josh

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=425978&id=513620146&l=ad83638055

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=425974&id=513620146&l=942d163e79

Sydney in Brief...

So I have to pay for internet at the hostel in Sydney, so I may not post for a while but...

The flight was great. I slept most of the way, and had two pretty decent meals. Watched episodes of Modern Family and Better off Ted. Amazing flight crew...etc...

We got to Sydney and to the hostel (called the Wake-Up) and it is great! Great little place for breakfast lunch and dinner, a bar downstairs, friendly everyone!

Brendan came to the hostel, and we walked around for a bit...had a beer by the harbor bridge and opera house. Just amazing to catch up with him and hang out for a bit. Then I wandered around Sydney and got familiar with the area. We are pretty much in the center of China town...very Asian all around us. But that means great dim sum all around.

We all met up for dinner, and then went downstairs for bar trivia, which was tons of fun, although we were pretty much falling on our faces asleep due to jet lag. But today we're up and ready to go!

I went for a run this morning through Hide Park, around the waterfront, down to the Opera House, and all around the botanical gardens. Came back, showered, and had some breakfast with the group, and now we are just waiting for orientation to start at 11:30 our time.

I'll try and get more pictures up asap, but finding the best way to do so!

Till next time,

Josh

Hello world,

If you didn't know Mike and myself have been keeping the house from burning down in Ann Arbor. On Monday we both started working on our research project for the month of May. It's through the AOSS department (Atmospheric Oceanic and Space Sciences), a department dominated by weathermen and astronauts. The Air Force Research Laboratory based out of Dayton, Ohio is paying our team of undergraduates (and a few graduates) $50,000 to solve their “SATCOM On the Move” scenario. What’s the catch you ask? We only have a month to do this and we are competing against a group of students from Ohio State University given the same problem. Clearly the time constraint is all we are worried about because honestly, it’s OSU.

For the few of you out there who aren’t experts on satellite network terminals, let me tell you what we are trying to solve. Currently they have cool things called network terminals that look like laptops. You put them on the ground anywhere in the world, turn them on, they lock onto a satellite, and you get internet/phone/texting. A lot of news stations just plug their video equipment right into the terminal and broadcast from remote locations. The only problem is that once they lock on to the geosynchronous satellites (always in the same spot in the sky with respect to us revolving) if moved they lose uplink and then you can’t check Facebook. We have to make an antenna that stays locked on while moving/doing aerobics. A person has to carry the device, and it also needs to work on top of a car. The competition is in June so it is crunch time. Here I was thinking school just finished and all my thinking was done for the next four months.

If that doesn’t make you want to be an engineer than nothing will.

In other, cooler news, I just got a new camera yesterday so I decided to document our day at work today.

For those who still haven’t seen our house (looking at you Michelle), here is the best house on 827 Sylvan. It was definitely Pink at some point in its life. Oh and our grass is really high, so Catherine if you are following our blog, please send someone otherwise a hedge maze will be made.

Next up is before and after getting on the bus in the morning. First is looking down Hoover which leads to the one and only Big House. Then we get to work in the Space Research building.

Here is our nerdy lab with geeky double-monitor computers.

The terminal we are testing. They usually go for about $3000 and it costs about $10/min to connect to the satellite network. The radiation is accurately depicted by the draw function on my camera.

If you were salivating over the cuisine the Leskars have been enjoying in Las Vegas, then take a look at how kings eat in Ann Arbor. On the menu today was wheat pita stuffed with spicy hummus and blazin’ buffalo chicken from Kroger. The next course was a tasty little chewy which oddly was tasty, little, and chewy. There were also pretzels and triscuits but they didn’t last long enough to be photographed.

In other news, Mike and myself finally discovered the Askwith Media Library. Any movie/tv series you could ever think of available for free three day rentals. We have already watched Foot Fist Way, Undeclared (tv series), A Clockwork Orange, Oldboy, and Twilight Samurai. To be watched tomorrow: Amores Perros and City of God.

Stay sweet,

-Brian

"O" What a Night...and Day...and Next Day

So the family had been awake going on our 33rd hour. And here's how it all began...

We woke up around 8 and headed toward the Hoover Dam. We figured that if we were here, we might as well give it a look. On the recommendation of one of the pit bosses from the night before, we were looking to grab breakfast on the way there: there was supposed to be a cantina place with amazing eggs or something...to make a long story short, we didn't find it, and just made our way to the dam. Way too many dam jokes were made, and it was an awesome time. We also technically walked from Nevada to Arizona. Fun fact.

We drove an hour or so the other way, and hit up the Red Rock Canyon. A beautiful national park with some great views of the natural rock around Nevada. Something so unlike us, but I think it may have been one of the most fun things we did.

After some much needed relaxation time at the hotel, we walked out to City Center and gambled a little bit at the Aria. Beautiful hotel, but the gambling kind of sucked: annoying "house rules" and a mediocre atmosphere.

We kept walking on our way to the Bellagio, saw the sweet water show (which to me, never gets old), and then went to see "O," which I have wanted to see for quite some time now. My dad managed to get us front row center tickets (yes, I realize I am spoiled, but I also know how luck I am). IT. WAS. INCREDIBLE. Holy shit, one of the most amazing shows I have ever seen of any kind, ever. The acrobatic stuff was great, but the movement of the stage to allow for the pool to open and close and have people virtually walking on water was just surreal. I don't think there was a moment where my jaw was not hitting the floor -- except for when the clown picked me to come dance with him on stage. That's right: I was in "O" in Las Vegas!

From there, we gambled some in the Bellagio: my mom and I played Pai Gow for what seemed like forever (which is a great thing when you're gambling and not taking out more money), and then my dad and Pamela came to join us. After some more playing, we decided to cash in and head out...until we saw something called "Blackjack Switch." Intrigued, we went over to ask how to play, and the basic premise is that you play two hands, but can switch the top card from your two hands in order to improve each hand. The only kicker is that if the dealer gets 22, it is a push. So we decided to, "Play for a few minutes." A few minutes turned into a few hours, and before we knew it it was 3AM...so we proceeded to walk down the strip, and stopped off at Denny's for some fourth meal, and made our way back to the MGM...where we decided to play some more Blackjack Switch...for another 3 hours. We absolutely couldn't lose, and everyone walked away a winner (both money-wise and with such an amazingly fun experience).

We headed upstairs to pack up our stuff, and made our way to the South Coast Winery, which we had booked for the day. It was about a 4 hour drive, and when we got here, it was absolutely stunning. We got here just in time for our wine tour, which, because no one else signed up, ended up as a private tour for the four of us. We got to tour the vineyard, see how it was bottled, aged..etc. and even got to taste some wines that weren't even ready yet, and still in the filtration barrels. It all culminated with a wine and cheese pairing that was stellar, and then we grabbed some lunch at the restaurant on the vineyard itself. We just checked into our villas (complete with complimentary bottles of wine and gorgeous views, and a nice little patio), and are relaxing, taking naps, and deciding how to spend the rest of our evening. We're tossing up between Euchre, massages, naps, or a complimentary wine tasting, before we have our dinner reservation at 8.

Tomorrow, we head to L.A. before I take off at about 10:25 for the other side of the world.

Pictures aren't working...they'll come up soon....

Vegas, Day 2

The last time I came to Vegas, our family friends invited me out on a run of down the strip, so I decided to relive the memory. I woke up at about 720 and went for a run about 8 on the strip for about 40 minutes. Amazing. The weather was perfect, and there were few enough people to make it entertaining but not at all annoying. Running the strip is just an amazing way to see everything.

We finally went to go pick up the car (because it was actually in Vegas, finally), and took it to a place called "Hash House a Go-Go," which was way off the strip by the car place, and man was it....HUGE. This food was out of control big, and pretty damn delicious. A lot of fun, to say the least...

(Burger Stuffed w Mashed Potatoes & Bacon) - (Scrambled Egg Whites w Giant Biscuit)

(Banana French Toast)

We then drove off to the "Pinball Hall of Fame." That's right, it exists:

...kind of. It was a warehouse filled with about 100 pinball games, which was actually kind of fun. We found FUNHOUSE in working fashion, and played it a little bit, even though Rudy's eyes didn't close either...We played some other games for a bit, and then headed off to the Wynn to look around. I thought it was really beautiful. We went and walked around, gambled, and checked out the Encoure. My favorite part was in the Wynn, the view from the Country Club restaurant. It overlooks a waterfall and one of the holes on the golf course.

From there, we went off to the Venetian to show Pamela around, get a s'mores caramel apple (which was much prettier than delicious) and some frozen yogurt, and then gambled for another hour or so.

Off to dinner at a place called "Off the Strip: Just Real Food." It is the number 1 rated place to eat in Vegas on Tripadvisor, and people absolutely raved about it. So we decided to give it a shot: it was probably the best meal I have ever had. The owner was out and about, cooking and serving us. We decided to go for the "around the world" menu, which basically took a bunch of different foods off of the menu, split them up into tapas, and served the whole table tons and tons of courses. The food was to die for, the service was friendly, homey, and honestly heartwarming. When we first got there, the owner (Tommy) asked us what we were drinking, and when Pamela and I said wine, he asked us red or white and what we liked, and then said "I've got ya covered." The cheesecake was probably one of the best we'd ever had, and it was just an amazingly memorable night.

(Thin Steak and Asparagus w Balsamic) (Thai Shrimp Wrapped in Bacon)

(Mussels with Cheese) (Cheesecake)

Then, we headed off to downtown for the light show and to walk around for a bit, but since we were all so exhausted we didn't last too long. So back to the hotel we came, and here we are! I think tomorrow's plan is the hoover dam and red rock canyon during the day and O at night...but who knows?

Vegas, Day 1, Part 2

Since we last left off..

Mom, Dad and I walked the strip: went in to some of the hotels, grabbed a "very thin pancake" from Paris, and found a pretty sweet art gallery in the Venetian from an artist named Peter Lik. If you haven't seen his stuff, you should. His photographs are absolutely stunning. Pamela had to work on her paper, so we let her be... :(

(Hanging Umbrellas at the Venetian) (Dad and Mom at the Venetian)

We came back to the hotel, picked Pamela up and went to the Burger Bar at Mandalay Bay at the suggestion of a bunch of people. It was pretty damn good, too. The highlight, however, was the shared "Twinkie Milkshake:" a vanilla milkshake with Twinkies. Soooooooo good.

Then we headed back to the hotel, and while Pamela worked, Mom Dad and I gambled for a bit at the MGM, and I even ordered my Mom a drink :). Now we're on our way to see Jersey Boys at the Venetian.

-Josh