This Crazy Adventure

View of Wellington from the top of Mt. Victoria

It’s hard to believe that I only have one week left in Wellington and less than 5 weeks left in this wonderful country. A lot has happened since my last post. I continued settling into my new homestay, which I’m very happy at. I’ve been continuing my internship at Generation Zero in downtown Wellington. I feel like I’ve gained a greater understanding for what the organization actually does. They are trying to create a youth climate change movement throughout New Zealand and trying to get climate change on the government’s agenda. I’ve been continuing work as the solutions researcher and I’ve dived deep into researching the green economy within New Zealand and looking at New Zealand’s economy in general and compiling research with another guy in hopes of publishing a green economy detailed report on the Generation Zero website, along with a short two-page fact sheet about the basics of New Zealand’s green economy and potential room for growth. It’s been interesting to learn all about the economy, since I had little knowledge before, however at times, it was a bit tedious searching through dense reports to find specific statistics that I was looking for.

            I’ve also been working on my Independent Study Project simultaneously. I’m focusing on the potential for cycling as a mode of transport within New Zealand, and specifically looking on expanding the infrastructure within Wellington. Currently less than two percent of Wellingtonians cycle to work/school, but I’ve found evidence that this percentage can increase as I’ve looked at different global case studies, such as Copenhagen and Portland. I’ll be relieved to turn in the final paper next week after all the work I’ve put into it but it’s been a really worthwhile experience overall to explore a certain environmental topic within New Zealand in great depth.

Jumping 43m!

Post 4700 foot climb!

            Moving onto more adventurous endeavors: I’ve taken two recent weekend trips—one to Queenstown in the South Island and one to Napier, the ‘art deco capital of the world’. Queenstown was one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been in my life! My friend Piper and I went for three nights and did a rigorous hike climbing 4,700 ft in three hours to see a spectacular panoramic view of the Southern Alps (which were snowcapped) and Lake Wakatipu, I went bungee jumping off the original bungee in the world (which was both terrifying and sooo thrilling at the same time), and we took a boat tour around part of the lake one afternoon. We also explored the quaint downtown and checked out a couple happy hours and of course we had to get the world-renowned Fergburger. It was literally the best burger I’ve ever had in my life complete with avocado and delicious aioli. Overall, it was a fantastic weekend and a really nice break from city life in Wellington.         

Cheers!

            This last weekend five friends and I ventured to Napier, which is the heart of wine country in New Zealand so of course we had to do a wine tour. After a relaxing morning in the sun down on Napier’s beach, we got picked up for a complete brewery/wine tour for the afternoon. We visited an eccentric brewery and three lovely wineries. My favorite beer at the brewery was called ‘Black Duck Porter’ and my favorite wine was called ‘Fine Tawny’, which was a delicious port. Our tour guide for the tour also narrated the history of Napier, which was struck with a very large earthquake in 1931, and rebuilt itself with art deco architecture. The short weekend getaway was a really relaxing last trip with friends.

The Flotilla send off!

            Other fun activities I’ve done: went to a special fan preview of the Hobbit 2 and Peter Jackson was there complete with 30 minutes of scenes from the next movie (though I felt like the most unworthy person there since I haven’t seen the first one, but my friend won free tickets!), had a special Thanksgiving dinner potluck with my abroad group with lots of yummy food (and it didn’t hurt that the program director showed up with 10 bottles of wine J ), went on a hike above Wellington with incredible views of the city (though we almost got blown off the mountain by the wind), volunteered at a Volunteering for New Zealand collaborative Korero and heard from great keynote speakers about connecting volunteers with different organizations, went to a play called Broken River which highlighted a small New Zealand community and the effects dairy farming has had on it, and the list goes on…

Protesting Westpac!

            As my program is wrapping up, I’m realizing all of the amazing things that I have been exposed to since arriving in New Zealand. It feels like just last week that I touched down in Auckland and wandered aimlessly around the city that first day. We’ve heard from such a range of speakers: artists, architects, authors, ecologists, journalists, professors, government officials, people involved in social justice, and so many more. I’ve gotten to participate in political activism (we attended a deep sea oil flotilla send off a couple weeks ago on the Wellington harbor going to make a stand against huge oil freights doing deep sea oil exploration off the coast of the North Island, and I stood on a busy street during lunch hour in a white suit holding ‘Climate Change Crime Scene’ yellow caution tape in front of Westpac, a bank that’s funding an Australian company to come in and mine coal in the South Island). It’s hard to think about leaving this country that has come to be my home, but I cannot wait to welcome my family into the country in less than two weeks!