Getting Out of my Comfort Zone

So this past weekend I got to venture to Queenstown NZ, the adventure capital of the world. You can do all the crazy things there like skydiving, canyoning and white water rafting but the big one is the Bungy Jump. Bungy jumping was invented here and the original bungy jump is just outside of Queenstown. It was all started by A.J. Hackett and he opened another one in Queenstown that is much higher. It’s called the Nevis Bungy , and it is the worlds 3rd highest bungy. But what’s nice is there is the jump or a swing.

Originally, after watching a video of it I knew I would never be able to do that, so I signed up for the swing. But the night before I was thinking. I would probably never have this opportunity again, and I was going all the way out to the bungy to just skip it?

So the next morning during check in I asked “I’m supposed to swing but can I switch to bungy?” and just like that, in a mere 5 minutes I was on the bungy list. Now is when I started to panic. I was in a group of 20 of my study abroad group who were doing it. I endured the 45 minute drive out there with minimal panic, got my harness and even watched the first group go. Then I was in the little lift to the cable car suspended in the middle of the canyon. There are glass floors so you can see the 134 meter plunge you’re about to take (that’s 440 feet). And I was last. I had to watch my entire group go. And they all did it.

My Week in Memes

So I save a lot of funny pins. And I love when I can relate them to my life. So here are a few that I’m really feeling in tune with this past week.

These 2 together pretty much sum up my life. My mother asks me this at least once a month.

We watched Monty Python and the Holy Grail last night and I’m in New Zealand so….

This was what I was thinking of the whole time we climbed that mountain and I must’ve quoted this scene at least 10 times.

Hope you had a good laugh!

My Little Four Leaf Clover

Today I crossed something off my bucket list that I never expected to in New Zealand. I found a four leaf clover. I actually found 2. Now my family heritage is Irish mainly and I’ve been there an met extended family. I listen to Irish Folk Music year round simply because I like it (Tommy Makem and the Clancy Brothers are a jam), but I’ve never found a four leaf clover.

Today I we were walking in cow pastures looking at the grasses and in total I think we found about 25 four leaf clovers. According to a bit of research there are 10,000 three leaf clovers to every four leaf clover. But we just kept finding them. I’m sure it has something to do with their pasture management process and the nutrients they put on their clover that helps it grow but all that mattered to me was I had one.

For me it felt like a connection to those roots that I try hard to hold on to. I love being Irish. And by no means am I the most Irish person I know. My parents aren’t direct descendants, or even my grandparents. But my family still holds on to some of those traditions and roots. And I’ve been making plans ever since I was about 17 to get myself back there and try to live there for a while. Right now I’m considering vet school in Dublin if I get in just so I can go back to that magical country for four years. Something about it just agrees with me and I can’t help but think that today was a bit of a sign that that’s the direction I’ll take.

Book Review: Lies by Michael Grant

Non Spoilery Section:

So this is the 3rd book in the Gone series so if you haven’t read Gone yet go read it and the and them come back once you’re all caught up so we can discuss it!

Spoilers Ahead:

The Last Time You Danced Like No One’s Watching

When was the last time you danced like no one’s watching? And I mean just really let yourself let loose. Screaming all the words to the song that you remember and not being shy about the ones you don’t know anymore?

Well for me that was tonight. What happens when 30 people gather in a tiny room and listen to throwback songs like Hollaback Girl, Promiscuous Girl, Temperature, Yeah, Wannabe, My Humps, and One Two Step? Well people get really excited. Of course these are all songs we recognize from our middle school dance days and we used to know all the words (and we still act like we know all of them).

But there’s two kinds of people you can be in these situations. You can either hang back and sit, sing along occasionally and tap your foot, or you can get up take a deep breath and belt the song in the most off key voice at the top of your lungs while hopping around awkwardly and calling that dancing. And that is exactly what I did.

Book Review: Hunger by Michael Grant

Non- Spoilery:

There’s really nothing to say here since this is the second book in the Gone Series by Michael Grant. If you haven’t read Gone I have a review here  that you can go read. So go read it and then read the second book and come back.

Spoilers Ahead!

Today I Climbed A Mountain

This past weekend I ventured to Hanmer Springs on the South Island of New Zealand. After being in Christchurch for most of my stay, the landscape was certainly different. The air wasn’t so dry and it was humid. It was also not nearly as much flat land and seemed greener. There were more big trees and forests and the town was very small, just 1 main street that seemed to go from one end of the town to the other. But I loved it.

Hammer is known for their sulfur hot springs which they’ve turned into a little water park with a few slides, a lazy river and lots of other pools to sit in and there is plenty to do there as well such as paintball, bungee jump, go jet boating or wine tasting but I was there to do some hiking. Since being in New Zealand I haven’t really had the opportunity to go on a good hike. So my first day there I did the short hike up Conical Hill. It was only about an hour total and was a nice easy to walk path that was somewhat steep at points but not too bad. To get there we literally only had to walk down the main road and that basically ended at the base of the trail. Up top there’s a nice lookout with 360 degree views of the surrounding town and land.

The next day I was determined to do some real hiking. My group had decided to do the “Waterfall Track” which was one of the hikes out of Hanmer Forest Park, which was  accessible by hiking trails right out of town. There are tons of trail in there and many people out and about walking or hiking. It took us about an hour to get to the base of the “Waterfall Trek” where it said on the sign it was about a 2.5 hour hike.

This Weeks Playlist

I love listening to the same songs over and over again when I find them. This week i’ve been listening to:

-Cherry Wine (live) by Hozier

-And the Boys by Angus and Julia Stone

-Skinny Love by Birdy

-After the Storm by Mumford and Sons

-Sweetest Devotion by Adele

-Step Out by Jose Gonzalez

-Flowers in Your Hair by the Lumineers

Book Review: The Odyssey

Did you ever have to read the Odyssey for school? Ya? Me too. And I hated it. It felt like we were stopping every sentence because apparently everything was this elaborate symbolism and we had to decode every single line of text. Needless to say, we never even finished it in my freshman english class in high school.

But then I picked it up again when I was a senior. I read it myself, on my own time and I really enjoyed it. I find books are always more enjoyable when there’s no pressure of being tested on it or asked to write an essay in a short period of time explaining some little detail you may have missed or forgotten.

So I reread the Odyssey, and it was actually good. It was my classic of choice for the year (I try to read at least one every year) and it was surprisingly enjoyable. Now if you’ve read Percy Jackson, and I had not at this point, then a lot of the story is actually very important. I’ve always loved Greek Mythology and this incorporates so many important stories. Agamemnon, Odysseys, Athena, Poseidon, Calypso. All names you would know. But even if you haven’t read those (like me at the time) it’s still a good read.

Did You Know New Zealand Style?

So since I am currently residing in New Zealand I thought I would do a little research on some lesser known facts about the country and share a few I found interesting. So, did you know: