I'm a reader too

Not much going on in Hamilton (I am leaving for Bay of Islands/Auckland on Thursday though!), so I thought I would switch it up and talk about one of my goals for the trip.

During my MayMester course in San Francisco, my professor described somebody as "a reader." Now, what I took this to mean is that reading has become a lost art in today's age of digital media, so those who still read are more likely to be a lot sharper and on top of their mental game. It was at this point that I realized that I am NOT a reader. Now don't get me wrong, I love reading. But there are very few books that are able to grab my attention over such activities as going out with my friends or going to the beach. Overall, I'd say that, for pleasure, I read one, maybe two books a year. But I also realized that my professor is onto something. By reading, I am setting myself up to learn more and be more knowledgeable on a variety of subjects.

Many of you have already heard about my obsession with the Kindle that my Grandfather gave me. For those that haven't, I love this thing. Its light and portable, with all the books you could ever need right at your fingertips. Now I know that it may sound like blasphemy to all my traditional readers out there, and I agree that nothing beats holding a nice paper copy in your hands. But when you are traveling as much as I am/will be, portability wins out. Plus, you don't have to worry about pages flipping back on you, bookmarks etc. Its a great invention.

So without all of the usual distractions, this trip has actually been a great opportunity to become a reader. So, before I left, I downloaded a few books for the trip. They are as follows:

The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkein, an old favorite, very New Zealand appropriate
Drift: The Unmooring of American Military Power by Rachel Maddow
New Boots in New Zealand: Nine great walks, three islands, and one tramping virgin by Gillian Orrell, also very New Zealand Appropriate
Five Chiefs: A Supreme Court Memoir by Former Justice John Paul Stevens
Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond, a book that I have had on my shelf for years and haven't gotten around to
Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
Shaq Uncut: My Story by Shaquille O'Neal
Secrets of the Sommeliers: How to Think and Drink like the World's Top Wine Experts by Rajat Parr and Jordan Mackay

Coincidentally, the last three listed there were the first three I read. I had an opinion on each, and thought I might share it with you.

Secrets of the Sommeliers: This book is great for any wine rookie trying to get in the game. Parr and Mackay truly capture the essence of the wine industry with this book and, step by step, walk you through each aspect. From the difference in the varietals to how to properly serve the bottle, no detail is spared. Having Parr, a respected sommelier himself, as a writer only adds to the personality of the book. He adds his stories, as well as those of his friends, mentors and counterparts. He has seen it all, and doesn't hold anything back.

Shaq Uncut: The world must have known that Shaq's autobiography would be as quirky as he is. Although the writing quality is not superb, you feel as if you can hear Shaq telling the stories of his life. I thought I knew a lot about Shaq, but I learned a lot about one of my favorite players of all time from this book. From his childhood in Newark, Georgia, Germany and San Antonio, to his playing days in every city, Shaq does not beat around the bush. I was particularly interested in what he would say about his time with the Celtics and it was evident that he felt he owed Boston, and even Sudbury, more. I respect his honesty. If you are into autobiographies, this is a great read.

Steve Jobs: Biographies are a tricky genre. If you are the first person to write about a really interesting subject, the book will sell, regardless of the writing quality. I was not impressed by the quality of Isaacson's writing in this book. He repeated too many things that did not need to be repeated, and did not repeat some facts that did need to be repeated. I found his writing to be bland and quote heavy. But I could not put the book down. Steve Jobs is just too interesting of a subject. This guy was a nut, throwing fits to get his way and not fearing anyone. But he was an artist as great as Picasso. He made products that may not be powerful, but are beautiful. Something you want to carry around and study, something that you would want to own. My theory is that in order to be a successful CEO (and few are truly successful) you have to be a perfect genius. A 100 on a scale of 0-100. That's why they pay you the big bucks. Jobs had always been close, but it took him a while to be a 100. But I think by the time he died he had exceeded 100. He had done what few, if any CEOs had ever accomplished before. I have always believed that violence and anger is not the way to solve problems, but the strategy has clearly worked for Apple. In fact, not only was Jobs' anger productive, it helped reach goals that many of his employees thought were impossible. In the end, I totally agree with this book being a New York Times best seller, not because of the writing, but because it was a fitting final product to the legacy of a man who turn anything into gold.

I have really enjoyed writing this blog. My thought coming into this project was that I could start a new blog for my everyday life when I am done in New Zealand. I think posts like this are a transition into that. Therefore, expect a few more like this one mixed in to keep it fresh.

Can't wait to tell you guys how Bay of Islands and Auckland go this weekend.

Wilson

Tearing through the bucket list

You know the feeling when something is about amazing as it gets, and then proceeds to get even better? Story of my trip.

Admittedly I do not having a bucket list, although I have been tempted to make one after all the stuff I have done on this trip. Caving with glowworms? Check. Zorbing (I have wanted to do that ever since I saw it on Rocket Power)? Check. Smoke a pipe in the Shire and pretend I'm Gandolf? Well minus the pipe. Interact with a sheep? Check.

How about learning to surf at a surfer's paradise? Check and check.

This weekend's adventure brought me to Raglan, a short hour long bus ride from Hamilton. Ever seen the cult classic The Endless Summer or more recently Last Paradise? Filmed in Raglan. I was contemplating taking a bone carving class, but when I was informed by John Hoag (my resident surfing expert) about Raglan's status among the world's elite surfing destinations, I knew a surfing lesson was not something that I could pass up.

But before we get to that, let's back track for a second.

The day started off as any Saturday morning should; I was tired, groggy and regretting the early morning plans I had made. Nonetheless, I threw down a few pieces of toast and hopped on the bus to Raglan. After winding through the hills and valleys (typical New Zealand drive), we arrived at what appeared to be a jungle, with wild turkey and chicken running everywhere (Sidenote-I swear that this must be the only place in the world where you can go from farmland, that is no different than what you would see in the states mind you, and then walk into a jungle. Or a cave. Or a fjord. etc. etc. etc.). We followed a path into said jungle and soon found ourselves staring down one of nature's beautiful beasts. The Bridal Veil Waterfall is a 55 meter drop that cannot be described by any other word than majestic. But after seeing the top, you would naturally want to see the bottom right? And so, after climbing down 261 stairs, we got to the bottom. Now imagine standing there and looking up at this:  

Pretty daunting. Now the 261 stairs down could only mean one thing and that's 261 stairs back up. Not fun, but in combination with later events, I guess you could say that I got a full body workout in for the day.

After arriving in the quaint town of Raglan, we headed straight for the wharf to take a little harbor cruise. It was a beautiful day to take a boat out. I was even comfortable in shorts, despite the breeze and winter climate. The whole bay is surrounded by limestone that is as old as the country itself (but don't fool yourself, that's only a few hundred thousand years. New Zealand is the youngest country in the world after all!). The bay is also famous for the Orcas and giant white manta rays that live in it. It made for some spectacular views.

But the highlight of the day was definitely the surfing. I had always been skeptical about surfing, it just never seemed like something that would really get me going. In fact, I liked to poke fun at my few friends that do surf. But I decided that if I was going to do it, I was going to do it right. So when John told me that this was the place to do it, I could not say no. Needless to say that I have a lot more respect for surfers now. First off, what could be wrong with going swimming in the ocean in the middle of the winter? Secondly, it's pretty cool to say that I surfed the endless summer beach. Thirdly, what a thrill it is to get up on that board and ride a wave in. I completely underestimated how fast you move on a surf board. They glide across the water. Now, I don't want to give you the wrong impression. I was by no means a natural. But by the end of the day, I had gotten up a few times and that was good enough for me. Shoulders burning, I scuffled back up to the bus and headed home.


On Thursday I will be heading to the Bay of Islands and am looking forward to a visit from Mike Baranowsky next weekend.

Have a great weekend!

The start of school...in July

To start I would like to thank all of you. My trip has just begun and my blog has been viewed almost 1500 times. On a personal level this blog allowed me to do three of my favorite things in one. 1. Keep in touch with friends. 2. Write. 3. Document my thoughts (anybody who follows me on twitter knows how much I love to do that). Anyways, to receive this much support (I have multiple pageviews in 5 different countries) is a blessing that I do not want to overlook. So once again, Thanks!

Not a lot going on since the last post....

On Saturday my buddy Niles and I took a trip to Matamata. Matamata is only an hour away and is home to Hobbiton, the set for the Lord of the Rings Trilogy and now The Hobbit. My pictures would probably do it more justice than my words but put simply it was spectacular. Its in the middle of this big sheep farm and is what you would probably envision when you think of New Zealand. Definitely worth checking out. In fact, I would say that even if it wasn't the set for the movie it would be cool to check out. Worth the 66 dollar admission? Probably not. But still really cool how they managed to build a village into the hills. They also said that a lot of non Lord of the Rings fans come just to brag to their Lord of the Rings fan friends that they were there. Now what kind of jerk would do that...

Sunday I went to the church on campus and joined some of the youth members for lunch afterwards. I cant say that the service was what I am used to or a perfect fit for me, but the message was great and so were the people. 

Students are finally back on campus and classes have begun. I think the fact that fall semester has already begun for me despite the fact that it is July is not as weird as I expected. After all, everyone else around me is starting back again too. Regardless, I have had two of my classes and they do not seem to be that bad. In fact, one honestly sounds like a complete joke. Ten percent of my grade is to follow some people on twitter? That will take five minutes tops. Anyways, everything seems to be falling into place for a great semester of adventure.

The first week of classes is known as "O-Week." Now, I know you Furman people will be chuckling at this but this place gives the term a whole new meaning. Every night, the bars and clubs have ridiculous events and specials going on downtown. So basically, its five nights in a row where everybody gets drunk. Now, I did not go out last night, nor do I plan on going out tonight. But I am really looking forward to the end of the week, apparently it gets pretty nuts.

So that's about it for now.

Happy Tuesday!

Wilson

PS-They eat a ridiculous amount of potatoes here. I have a hard time believing that even a place like Ireland eats more potatoes than the Kiwis. Seriously every meal is all starches and carbs. I don't get it. Maybe they need the energy for all the Rugby they play or something.

Photo Blog #1

People say that pictures are worth a thousand words, so I wanted a big part of this blog to include pictures. So without further ado, here are some pictures. Let me know if you have any questions.

-Wilson

Zorbs

First Meat Pie

Hot mud

Hangi

Hobbit Hole

The Shire

Feeding a lamb

Hamiltron

The day of service at the end of our stay in Rotorua ended up being a day of getting our hands dirty and planting some trees-1130 to be exact. Consistent with my thoughts going in, this farm that we worked at did not believe in the American environmental movement because it ostracizes too many people. They see their treebilitation, if you will, as a sociological movement in the area, which allows it to have traction and success unlike many of the American Environmental movements. This isn't meant to be a political blog so I'll leave it at that but feel free to talk to me about it sometime.

After a brief reunion with Walker and a night on the town, it was off to Hamilton.

School was a dead zone when we arrived. Maybe it was my freshly fumigated hall (something about bed bugs and cockroaches?) or the idea of all the foreigners moving in but there was not a kiwi to be found other than the occasional RA. They've slowly started to arrive now but it's still pretty quiet (and boring) around here. Luckily for me I had things to do and people to see.

Much to my surprise, my single dorm is pretty spacious. Plenty of room for a air mattress for my visitors and more than enough room for the small amount of my life that I was able to squeeze into my luggage. I gotta say that it's actually a pretty nice feeling not having enough stuff to fill a room for once-everything seems a lot more spacious and a lot less cluttered. I even hung my Gronk jersey and some pictures up to make it feel more like home. My schedule also came out as planned-no classes on Thursday and Friday should leave plenty of time for travel. The campus has a pita pit on it, less than five minutes away by foot (uh oh...) and also has one of the most gorgeous libraries that I have ever seen. I'm on a co-ed hall with shared bathrooms which is a little weird, but the only girl is my RA and she could probably drink me under the table. Needless to say its not as bad as it first appeared. I'm in building Z (pronounced zed), floor 2. All is well.

Well maybe not ALL...

Much of my time this week has been spent running around the city like a chicken with my head cut off making sure everything was in order. My phone situation was a bit more complex than it should've been (02102924368 if you need me), my insurance/visa was messed up, and I had to apply for a New Zealand drivers license just so I don't have to carry my passport around all the time and risk losing it. But hey, it's a learning experience, that's why I'm here.

I finally finished all that stuff up today (although my Furman email still doesn't work...) so I'm now just waiting for classes to start. I did join the gym, which has taken some getting used to since all the weights are in kgs. So that'll help pass the time. And I did go downtown last night, there are a ton of good restaurants and bars to check out. A bunch of us want to go check out the Lord of the Rings set this weekend so that'll pass the time as well.

So I guess you could say I'm off the side roads and ready to start cruising down the highway.

Have a happy weekend,

Wilson

Zorb, Hangi and a Case of Glow Worm

Hope everyone had a pleasant fourth of July. I was thinking of you all even though it was the 5th here by the time you all were celebrating. I did my best to represent America by doing an interview for an Auckland radio station about the holiday. Meanwhile in New Zealand....

The last few days have been pretty wild here in Rotorua. I ended up going zorbing a couple of days ago and found myself appreciating hamsters a lot more afterwards. Basically, they stick you in a big rubber ball filled with warm water and rolled you down a big hill. It doesn't look like you are going very fast but trust me you are. It seems near impossible to stand up-you end up just falling on your ass or your buddy's head every time. The guide said its like being in a washing machine and I think that's a pretty fair comparison. Its an activity that is pretty unique to New Zealand but has gained international fame (you may have seen this on rocket power back in the day). The creator was even on site. Definitely something to check off the New Zealand bucket list.

For lunch, I had my first meat pie. Apparently that's a big deal here. In a place where food prices are ridiculous, its one of the cheapest eats around.

That evening we had the opportunity to go visit a Maori village to see how they live/lived and have a traditional Maori "Hangi," not to be confused with the traditional Maori greeting (Hungi) where they touch noses twice and shake hands. The experience was spectacular. We got to see traditional Maori song and dance, war training and wood carving. Perhaps the pinnacle of the experience however was the Hangi. A hangi is a feast prepared in the ground by the New Zealand geothermal heat. Meat and in our case potatoes are placed in metal baskets (obviously it hasn't always been this way), over burning wood and then covered with dirt and leaves. A few hours later the baskets are uncovered and served. The result? A feast fit for a king consisting of succulent meat (in our case lamb and chicken), potatoes and sweet potatoes, which are very important to the Maori (if you ask me about the Haka you will understand why). We also had assorted vegetables and some of the best mussels I have ever had. It was a pretty special event. My Kiwi rugby coach told me I probably wouldn't get to experience one, so I felt fortunate that I did.

Yesterday we traveled a couple of hours to Waitomo (Maori for "Water Hole") to go caving in the world famous Waitomo Caves. Ever heard of or seen glow worms on TV? They were probably from Waitomo. The trip in was spectacular. One thing that I have been able to say about this trip is that I have felt right at home here. Of course everything is pretty westernized and in English, but the people are so welcoming. Perhaps it is the Maori roots of the country but they immediately treat you like one of their own (unless you are Australian of course). But the trip to Waitomo made me realize that I was definitely no longer in the US. From the tops of the rolling hills, you felt like you could see across the country. Streams so clear they look twenty times more shallow than they actually are (they also have the purest form of rainbow trout, apparently they're spectacular). And more cows and sheep than you can count. This truly is a beautiful country.

Once at the caves, you get to experience one of the great wonders of the world. You dive in and are immediately cascaded by waterfalls. Glow worms are the only thing to light the way. Dipping under stalactites, climbing over stalagmites and squeezing through rocks that I thought my ass would never squeeze through, it really is an experience you have to see to believe. I have never struggled with claustrophobia, but I think I came pretty damn close today. But I wouldn't trade it for anything. A must add to any bucket list. Unfortunately they wouldn't let us take pictures, but trust me, just do it.

Later today we will be heading into town to help plant trees. From our briefing it sounds like the local group organizing the plantings really has a plan in sight, a stark contrast from many of the US green movements in my opinion. Ill let you know after.

Walker also arrives tomorrow, so I look forward to that reunion! I cannot wait for him to go through the same experiences that I just did.

Well that's all for now, hope this provides a pleasant distraction to your Friday!


Wilson

This place smells like Sulfur...

We left Auckland this morning to head off to Rotorua. Although I had been told by various sources to bring my nose plug, I was very excited.

We made a quick stop in Hobbitton, where they filmed Lord of the Rings (not much there) and then headed on to Rotorua. 

We headed to a local lake to relax for the afternoon. It reminded me a lot of my time up on the lake in New Hampshire. We even broke out a rugby ball and played a little touch. Only one other guy had played before, but everyone enjoyed it and learned a lot. We then headed to our hostile. The hot springs here do in fact live up to the hype and smell, but look extremely relaxing and I cannot wait to get in one.

After a few beers (update later) we headed to "Haka World" Haka school to learn the traditional Maori war chant. Although I thought I understood it before, I realized that I really knew nothing about it. I did not know all the words that I thought I did, had the opportunity not only to learn the history and backstory but also dress in Maori garb and perform it. Believe it or not, the story is a little too R rated (nudity, violence) for this page, but obviously ask me sometime and I will be happy to tell it to you.

Tomorrow is "adventure day." I hope to go zorbing (think rolling down a hill in a big hamster ball), and possibly lugeing as well.

Today also gave me the opportunity to assess what my goals should be for this trip. I had not really given this as much thought as I probably should have, but better late than never I guess! I thought I might outline a few here, for your entertainment. This list will be ongoing.

1. Make it to an All Blacks game. If traveling to New Zealand is the pilgrimage, going to a game is like visiting the temple.

2. See the country. This includes making it to Milford Sound, the South Island, Bay of Plenty etc.

3. Connect with the kiwis at my school. See how they live. What better way to understand the culture?

4. Play some rugby. After 7 years, I find myself to be pretty knowledgeable about the game. But I think this country has much more to offer.

To be continued...

BEER UPDATE: I know many of you are interested. So I tried Toi's last night, per recommendation of Darren Scott, by far my favorite thus far. Had Speight's, (favorite of Dr. Armstrong) but might have to agree with Dr. O'Rourke it tastes like natty ice. On the other hand, I hear Doc's recommendation (DB Double Brown) is the Busch Lite. Ill let you know...


That's all for now.

Chaos ensues

The end of work meant the beginning of a long week of packing. After making a quick trip to North Carolina, I returned home to greet my aunt, uncle, cousin and his family into Boston for the Naval Fleet Week. Which didn't leave much time to devote to packing.

But it got done and I made my 630 flight to LA. Staring a 13 hour layover in the face, I called up Martha Davis to come rescue me from the nightmare that is LAX. After spending some time in beautiful Westlake, my other savior for the day, Hilary Dahl, brought us to her beach club for dinner and a much needed pre flight shower. They then dropped me off at the airport and were on their way.

The 13 hour flight was painless. On demand movies provided ample entertainment to the tune of Anchorman, 21 Jump St., The Lorax , Up in the Air and Napolean Dynamite. Air New Zealand is a top notch airline as well, much recommended.

Upon arrival I connected with a lot of great people on my program. Although exhausted, I have been exploring the city all day. Although I am in a foreign country it hardly feels like it. Perhaps the one big difference has been the visibility of rugby here, which has helped me realize that I have truly reached the destination of my rugby pilgrimage. Looking out over the beautiful Eden Park stadium got me really excited to watch some rugby.

Off to Rotorua tomorrow for group orientation!