Wellington Zoo....

This past week NZ celebrated the national holiday ANZAC Day (Australia and New Zealand Army Corps). It would be similar to Memorial Day or Veteran's Day in the US. We got the day off, a Wednesday, which made for an interesting, bisected week. New Zealanders take their days off seriously so we followed suit and walked to the Wellington Zoo. There we met a wide variety of critters including the kiwi! We've been wanting to see one since we arrived in NZ and finally, this past week, we saw the elusive NZ icon. I'd love to say that we have a picture to share but, alas, kiwis are nocturnal and extremely shy. For this reason they are housed in a special enclosure lit by low, red light. While other people were loud and obnoxious and wondered why they couldn't catch a glimpse of these NZ natives, we waited until said people left the enclosure to see two kiwis emerge from the bushes right in front of us!!! More than anything we were struck by how big they were. If you google 'kiwi' and peruse the images you would think that these flightless birds are quite small, like the size of a softball. In reality, the ones we saw were more the size of a rugby ball (ok, that's about the size of an American football). So just imagine a football with a long, pointy beak and two skinny legs. Got that image in your mind? Then you've got a kiwi! :)

Giddy, after seeing the kiwi, we explored the remainder of the zoo. Below are some of the creatures we met along the way.

Kunekune.

Otters.

Sun bear.

Red panda. My personal favorite.

In your face giraffe.

'Roo.

One of the zoos function venues.

The only disappointment was that we didn't see any blue penguins. They were the first enclosure you come to upon entering the zoo but those little birds were nowhere to be seen. We guessed they were probably resting in their box nests and even stopped back to check a couple times but to no avail. We're hoping that we'll get to see then next time we visit. In addition, we're waiting to see them on the harbor beach where they've been known to come ashore to nest. Fingers crossed!!

A study in low light....

We spend time every week strolling by the waterfront; taking in the people, the boats and cruise ships, as well as the artistic sculptures that seem to be around every corner. Mind you this is during the day. At night the place is transformed into a different realm. After the sun goes down the art lies in the way that light is manipulated. Below are a few photos that we took using the tripod for strategically longer exposures. A brief synopsis accompanies each image.

At the Wellington Public Library: Illuminated palm tree column.

At Post Office Square, downtown Wellington: Illuminated sculpture.

Same sculpture as above, zoomed in on one of the illuminated arms.

At the waterfront: Illuminated orbs.

At the waterfront: Illuminated side panels of a bridge. 

At the waterfront: Looking down into the moving water. I think it looks like an abstract painting. :)

These pictures were challenging to take as we had to figure out the correct camera settings for each image. In the end we came away with some interesting shots which is amazing because it was VERY windy that night. Windy. Welly. Especially by the waterfront. :)

TSB Bank Arena.....

The TSB Bank Arena is a venue, here in the city, that plays host to a wide variety of events. To give you an idea of it's size it can seat up to 5000 people (max capacity). A couple weeks ago, Phillip, a guy that works in the same lab as Tim, invited us to attend a basket ball game there. While we are avid hockey fans and, really, pay no attention whatsoever to basketball, we decided to accept the invitation and see what basketball in NZ is like. We had a good time watching and the game was a close one all the way until the end.

It was a few weeks later that we arrived at the TSB to watch an entirely different kind of 'sport'. I put that in quotes because I really don't know where roller derby fits into the vast realm of athletics. :) To be fair the only thing I knew about roller derby, prior to the match, was what I learned watching Drew Barrymore's directorial debut Whip It. It's a story about a girl, Ellen Page, who secretly joins a roller derby team, much to the chagrin of her parents. So going to the match I wasn't sure what to expect. I thought, "Would it be anything like the movie?". Upon arriving we found our seats and took in the "rink" that was marked off with tape on the gymnasium floor. We also noticed that the other fans were an interesting mix, NOTHING like the fans with whom we had attended the basketball game in the same building. I love how different activities bring out vastly different subgroups of people. :) The only bad thing? I went to take a picture with the camera only to find that the memory card was missing! So I'll have to post pics of these roller derby ladies when we attend the next match. I did get a sweet button for my bag to support the team that dubbed themselves Smash Malice. :)

Just this weekend we attended a non-sporting event at the TSB: Armageddon Expo 2012. Imagine Comic-Con in a miniaturized form. Tim is the comic connoisseur of the two of us but I have to admit that I've become a fan as well. I'm really getting into stories like Green Lantern, V for Vendetta and Hellboy. Who knew? Anyway, we waited in line with the masses, many of whom were dressed up for such an occasion. We saw costumes from the DC and Marvel universes as well as Lord of the Rings and a myriad of others that either I didn't recognize or they weren't really character costumes. :) Once we got inside we sat in on a screening of the animated feature: Justice League: Doom. Afterwards we walked through the expo to check out the booths. You could find clothing, buttons, samurai swords, action figures, comic books, video games, and Alien ware gaming computers. There was even a booth devoted to the art of facial prostheses. Basically, if you wanted to look like a non-human character from a movie or game they could change your face with makeup and other materials. It was pretty cool to watch. After awhile meandering through the masses was getting tiring so we went upstairs to look down over the whole expo.

Overall, I think it's interesting that here in NZ basketball, roller derby and comic conventions draw about the same number of people to their respective events. :) With that said we're looking forward to other fun and interesting events that TSB will host in the future. 

NZ currency....

Hypothetical situation (set in the US): you go into a store, pay for your purchase in cash and the change due back to you is less than a dollar. Think about it for a second - what kind of change do you expect? Well, because it's less than a dollar you know that it will be in coins. I NEVER thought about this kind of thing until I moved to NZ; here you expect change back in coins if said change is less than $5. This is because the smallest bill denomination is $5 and in lieu of smaller bills/notes there are $1 and $2 coins.

The bill denominations are what you might expect: 5, 10, 20, 50, 100. But they differ slightly in size: the larger the denomination the larger the bill. I love the beautiful colors!

The coin denominations are a different story than those of US currency. Once upon a time there were 1c and 5c NZ coins but they've been taken out of circulation. So the smallest coin denomination you will see around here is 10c. To make matters confusing, at least it was for me at first, the 10c coins are copper in color and close to the size of US pennies. I had to continually remind myself that these copper beauties were 10c not 1c!

Up from there you have 20c but not 25c as in the US. Then there is 50c and of course the $1 and $2 coins I mentioned earlier. Below you can see both sides of each coin currently in circulation. How I've learned to love those gold coins when I see them rolling around in my little wallet! :)



SuperRugby revisited...

After the "Barrett" sighting we were extra excited to watch the match. So we donned our yellow and black and set off for the game. This would be the first game I would wear my new jersey!! After looking around at several different shops we discovered that, unlike in the US, there is so such thing as a woman's jersey. That being said I had to choose between a variety of kid's sizes. Feeling more than a little silly I tried on a couple kid's jerseys and narrowed it down to the best fit. :)

Although we were anxious to see our Hurricanes triumph over the Crusaders, in the end, they did not. We're hopeful for a better match next time. Until then we'll be ready with all our gear on hand. :)

Celebrity sighting....

Ah, Saturday, a beautiful time here in Wellington. Since this is the first time we haven't had to work on the weekends we are soaking up the city on each and every one. :) So today we were out and about, strolling downtown, enjoying a gorgeous, sunny Saturday. Hungry for brunch we stopped in at a highly recommended eatery called Sweet Mother's Kitchen. The place was bustling with families and couples but we were lucky to arrive at the right time to secure a table near the front of the place, open to the outside patio. While we were waiting for our table to be cleared I glanced over at the suddenly growing line of people waiting to be seated. It was then I noticed a guy standing in line and at first glance I realized that he looked familiar. Half joking, I poked Tim and said, "Hey, look, that guy standing in line looks like Barrett". He looked over and nodded, "That does kind of look like him". So who is Barrett? Well, he plays rugby for the Wellington Hurricanes. We've watched him on TV many a time and seen one game in person. After spending some time surreptitiously looking over at him and pulling up a picture on my phone we decided that, indeed, it was Beauden Barrett!! Talk about a fun coincidence, seeing a professional athlete at the place we just happened to visit for brunch. :) To top it all off, we're going to see the Hurricanes play tonight against the Canterbury Crusaders - go Hurricanes and go Barrett!!! :)

Speed bump....

As you might expect I've been floating on a cloud since I learned of my acceptance and scholarship at Vic. :) It's been the 'gift that keeps on giving' because I am continually remembering that it's actually happening!!

But then yesterday I almost suffered a heart attack when I went to turn in the paperwork to accept the PhD offer. I handed over the papers along with my passport and visa to be photocopied. The woman who was juggling my paperwork studied my visa and promptly informed me that I would not be allowed to study as a PhD student under a work visa. It was then I wanted to panic! I thought, "what does this mean?", "will I have to wait until I get a student visa before I can begin my program?", "how long with that take?"..... Questions whirled through my mind but more than anything I thought, "this can't be good...".

Stunned, I was told that I would need to acquire a student visa before I could continue on with the enrolment (yes, that's the way it's spelled here....yeah...) process. As I walked out of the office I became increasingly more livid! There was no way that I could've traveled to NZ on a student's visa because I was not accepted as a student in the last round. It's only because Tim had his student visa that I was able to obtain the coveted work visa that would allow me to pursue any type of work for any employer in NZ. Sure, any type of work other than working as a PhD student. Sigh. Sigh!

I trudged back up the hill to search out help in the Victoria International office. Upon arriving there I explained my plight and then braced for impact. I couldn't imagine what they would tell me. I couldn't imagine having to go through the application process AGAIN! (Note: Last time around it consisted of background checks (with fingerprints) that took months to come back, medical checks (blood, urine, chest x-ray)that took weeks to come back and the requisite pile of forms.)

To my great delight, this is where things started to become less terrifying. I was told that, yes, I would need to apply for a student visa and it would take a few DAYS to be processed. What!? A few days? Turns out that because I had medical and background checks done for my previous application the process would be accelerated exponentially! It was then I started breathing again. Next it was on to all the paperwork I needed to gather in order to complete my application. Being the crazed person that I am I was able to return to Victoria International and submit my completed application today. I was told that my visa might be ready by the end of the week. Or at the latest sometime next week.

Um, so I guess things aren't as fun unless there's some craziness to be had! All in all I'm glad to have this issue sorted out and moving in the right direction.

Brews...

We recently discovered an interesting, and slightly bizarre, way of buying beer and cider. Back in the US if we went out to buy such items we would bring home a six pack. End of story. Here in NZ you can buy the sixer if you like or you can pick and choose any individual bottles that you want. Think about it for a second. Imagine stepping into a beer chiller (walk in cooler) to see six packs of beer and cider with one or more bottles missing. At first glance I assumed that some surreptitious person had visited the cooler and waltzed away with a few stolen bottles. That's where I was wrong because here you can take any bottle from any sixer and pay for it individually. What?! I've never seen such a thing in the US - if you have please let me know because I'm fairly certain that it doesn't work that way there.  

Once we realized how things worked it became an entertaining sort of game to look through the selection and pick a few favorites. Giddy, I built my own cider 'flight'. Tim gathered a couple beers and we took our mismatched group of bottles home. :)

Slightly different....

I've discovered banana milk. It sounds ridiculous but I have to say that it's delicious! Before you crinkle your nose in disgust just imagine what homemade banana cream pie tastes like. Yeah, like heaven. :) And now imagine that you can capture that same delicate and delicious flavor in a beverage. Presto! You have banana milk!

The best part is that you can find it everywhere: the grocery store, the butcher, and the dairies (corner stores). Since moving here I've given up pop. Surprised? Me too. I tried NZ Coke as soon as I got off the plane in Auckland but, much to my dismay, it tasted like diet. After that we tried other kinds of pop only to find that they tasted a bit different as well. Although the ingredients appear to be the same we think the taste may be the result of a different bottling process. For this reason it hasn't been tough to give it up. So now I drink banana milk instead of Coke - who would've thought that would happen? :)

BIG NEWS......

This post may not be coherent because this morning I received some FANTASTIC news! No, I'm not pregnant. Everytime I have big news people seem to think that it's a pregnancy. Alas, it is not. :)

I was told that I wouldn't hear anything regarding my acceptance into the PhD program for at least six weeks after submitting my application (March 1). Sigh. I was also told that there should be no problem with my application so with that in mind I started meeting with my advisor, Bart, to discuss potential project ideas and attending lab meetings to get to know the other students and faculty in the 'Animal Lab' group. I've found them to be a great group, excited about their research and brimming with ideas for future projects. This is exactly the group I was hoping to find. :)

So six weeks have flown by and all the while I've been nervous. Everyone has acted as though there was no question that I would be accepted. I've also had many people asking me if I had applied for a Victoria Doctoral Scholarship. I did apply for it and these questions made me increasingly uncomfortable. I mean, what if I didn't get it? Honestly, I didn't think I had much of a chance. My academic record is far from perfect. Could it really stand up to the other applicants??

Tim and I talked about it and wondered if I would hear some news after Easter break. And this morning when I opened my email, there it was. Something I've thought about everyday for the past seven months. There sat my acceptance offer!!! I felt confident that I would be accepted but you never really know until it actually happens!!

And this is where, with great delight, I get to tell you that there is more good news! Before I opened the email my eyes skipped ahead because, of course, I just had to know what it said. The first line read, "Dear Bridget, We are delighted to offer you a funded place as a PhD  student....". My eyes retraced their steps and read it over and over. Could it be? Really? Yes! Not only had I been accepted into the PhD pogram but I'd also been awarded the Victoria Doctoral Scholarship!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I began to cry immediately because I didn't really think it was possible. I haven't received a scholarship since I was first an undergraduate (and those were rather small compared to this one). This scholarship gives me full funding for three years to complete my PhD! It is the same scholarship that Timmy won when he applied and was accepted this past trimester!!! What are the odds that we would both win this coveted doctoral scholarship?! I don't really know but I'm so proud!!

SuperRugby.....

We've been venturing out to the pub to take in the rugby matches and thoroughly enjoying it. But last week we were able to get very reasonable tickets to see the Hurricanes play here in Wellington at the Westpac Stadium!

We rode the bus over to the stadium and walked in with the masses. Much to our delight our seats were as good as promised - they were right at the halfway line (what we know as the 50 yard line in American football). Below is our view of the field.

In this match we were playing the Cheetahs from South Africa. Below you can see them taking the field weaing white and orange uniforms. Then our Hurricanes came on in yellow and black.

Surrounded by our fellow fans, we took in a very exciting game. In two, 40 min, halves we watched as the Hurricanes dominated in the first half but failed to maintain their momentum in the second. We were amazed by how many points can be scored in a game - I guess it's not totally uncommon to see total game scores of 100+ points.

Decked out in yellow and black we showed our support!! :)



In the end we did not take home the win - the final score was 37-48 - but had a great time watching, cheering and listening to the very entertaining commentary from two old ladies sitting behind us. To their credit, they really knew their rugby. :) Now we are looking forward to the next match!! Go Hurricanes!! :)