SPCA....

Today Tim and I worked our first volunteer shift  at the Wellington SPCA. Let me just say we are already hooked. Tim worked in the "adult dog" area where he met all the pups and spent the shift clean cages, feeding/watering, doing doggie bed laundry and giving attention to each pooch. I don't have to tell you that he was having a ball. :)

I'm starting out in "vet care" where animals are kept after surgery, injury or illness. I ended up shadowing a woman named Lucy and she was a great teacher to get me going/understanding the processes that are required in vet care. We started with animals in quarantine and with each cage we would check the chart to see what food these critters were taking as well as change their litter boxes/bedding if necessary. Several cats were extra friendly and ready to step out the cage when you would open the door. For example, there were two brother cats caged together - orange and fluffy as can be. Before I opened the cage they were already meowing, purring and sticking their paws through the cage for a little attention. With their cage being on a low shelf I bent down to open the door to grab their food and water dishes and what do you know? Instantly, I had both arms completely full of orange fluffy cats! I must have a been a sight to see because when Lucy came around the corner and saw the three of us cuddling she just laughed and then helped me wrangle them back into the cage so we could finish freshening things up. Talk about melt you heart!! There were several others cats that demanded attention as soon as they saw you coming. :) So we moved through the quarantine area then onto "small isolation", where animals may have contagious (mostly animal to animal) conditions and therefore need to be separate from the other animals. Lastly, we moved on to "big isolation" and I was hoping for something bigger than a cat but alas the only critters in "big iso" were several large cats. :)

With our shift over Lucy and I washed up at one of the sinks. We were just chatting as I washed my hands and I didn't think anything of it as I was washing all the up to the elbow. Working in the lab I've learned that even when you wear a lab coat you need to wash your entire forearm area. She paused and said, "Wow. that is a thorough washing, almost surgical". I had to laugh and sheepishly replied, "Truth be told I'm allergic to animal dander". I love saying this to people because their reaction is always the same: incredulity. They thing I'm insane for working with animals. What can I say? Yes, I'm allergic but I have clothes that I only wear when I handle animals, I always wear gloves and wash up thoroughly when I'm done. That and I've talked to my doctor and we've found good allergy med combination of nasal spray and Claritan-type pill. It's not perfect but for the most part it keep my symptoms in check. 

Lucy and I said our goodbyes and I went to find Timmy in the dog run. He introduced me to some of the pups and gave them a last minute treat. One of these pups was SO cute I have to give her special mention. When we came upon the first cage I took in a sight so adorable it stopped me in my tracks. Picture a black lab adolescent, you know the size where they are getting big but still have big puppy paws. Gem was sitting towards the back of her cage until Tim approached and then she was immediately at the door to get her treat. We don't know her whole story but she was sporting a bandage on her leg and subsequently was wearing a protective cone around her head. Oh my gosh!! So cute - the words don't really do her cuteness justice. :)

All in all the shift flew by and we were both pleased with the areas we had chosen. Happy and spent we caught the bus and described our respective experiences each other. I'm so glad we're giving this a try - talk about producing good feelings!!

Sweet Surprise....

Today at the grocery store, along with some other groceries, we were going to pick up two cans of Dr. Pepper as a little treat. Randomly, here and there you can find the real deal American pop which is usually sold by the can for $2-3 NZD. Yup. It's awesome. But at the end of the aisle I looked over and saw a stack of Dr. Pepper fridge packs! I was taken aback because we don't have these here and they are the staple, that I love, back home. That made we wonder if they had ordered them by accident. :) Inspecting the packaging I confirmed that they were the real thing and I waved Tim over to see what I had discovered. Considering the costly nature of each can we decided to take one of these packs home with us. Ironically, it would never fit in our tiny fridge. Someday we'll have real size appliances again!

Sport....

While wandering through a sporting goods store today I walked by this aisle and had to laugh. Here cricket is all the rage and has been for many years but you would never see such sports equipment in the US stores. And even though we've been here a year and a half I still find cricket novel and strange. Admittedly, I have no desire to understand the rules, of which there are many, because I just can't get behind a game that, depending on the type, can stretch over five days. But people here love it and I can't get on them too much because I wouldn't necessarily expect them to enjoy hockey like we do.

So here are just a few words about how you have to specify the type of sport you are talking about. No, that isn't a typo in the last sentence - I really meant to say "sport" instead of sports. If you read the paper it'll be the sport, not sports, page you peruse. We've also noticed that many times people will ask if we follow American football because it so popular in the US. A note about "football", to us football is what the rest of the world knows as American football because to them "football" is soccer. Or sometimes you hear people talk about "football" or "footie" and they mean rugby so it can be very confusing. When we tell people that we're not into American football but that we love hockey we say "hockey" which to them means "field hockey". With that said we try and catch ourselves and specify "ice hockey" so they know we're talking about the game we love.

Vic Plus....

Because we don't have enough to do Tim and I have decided to go for the Victoria Plus Award. The main purpose behind the award is to get students involved and volunteering at Vic Uni as well as in the wider Wellington community. As a teenager I started volunteering at a children's museum and was instantly hooked. After that I volunteered over the years with church youth group, a sign language club, teaching English as a second language and eventually assisting and observing a speech language pathologist and physical therapist as I completed my undergrad at the U of M.

Then I moved to Bozeman and pursued my master's degree and worked extra on the side. Unfortunately, that left little time for pursuing hobbies and/or volunteering. Sure, I probably could've figured it out but for whatever reason I did not.

I started volunteering at Vic Uni to fulfill the obligation of 150 hours/year volunteer work that is attached to my scholarship. As I've explained in previous posts I joined the Postgraduate's Student Association Executive Board and was then elected to Vice President. I've thoroughly enjoyed the work and  for the first time actually understand something about the tertiary institution I'm attending. :)

In addition to PGSA I'm also pursuing volunteer hours via three other avenues: Language Buddies, Kaibosh and the Wellington SPCA. First, Language Buddies is a program where the Language Learning Center at Vic pairs up students who want to practice their language skills. That is, English is my first language and Spanish is my second and I've been paired up with a student whose first language in Spanish and their second language is English. I met my "buddy", Luis, for the first time today. He is from Columbia and is studying English at Vic Uni. Ok, remember that it's been years, ten to be exact, since I've actively practiced speaking Spanish. Thinking about the time that's flown by I am shocked - could it really be that a whole decade has passed since I was that girl living in Mexico and improving my Spanish on a daily basis? That realization has made me pause for a moment because it just doesn't seem possible! Alas, I know that's the reality of the situation and more than anything I am thrilled to have the chance to practice Spanish again. I've always said that it was my first love (I met Timmy several years later) and after changing my major from Spanish to Speech/Language/Hearing Science and then going on to pursue laboratory science I've missed Spanish terribly.

Our meeting today went very well and before we knew it we had chatted, switching back and forth between the languages, for almost two hours. Thankfully, Luis is very nice and patient when I'd be trying to dredge a word or verb tense from the recesses of my brain. Sometimes I was never able to lite on the word I needed and he would be able to supply it. Other times I had questions about correct verb tenses and he did a great job of explaining it in Spanish in such a way that I could understand it. He told me that he's never taught Spanish and so he didn't know if he would be any help to me but so far we're doing well. I have to say that, considering my extended hiatus from the language, I feel pretty darn amazing about what I could remember! Joy! :)

Along with Language Buddies, I'm also going to start volunteering with an organization here in Wellington called Kaibosh. Through volunteers they collect food that is still good but won't be used at restaurants around Wellington, sort it and distribute it to various soup kitchens and places where people may need a meal but might not be able to pay for one. I like the idea behind the organization and that is they want to reduce/eliminate hunger in Wellington and reduce food waste at the same time. So right now I've filled out all the paperwork and will start volunteering after we get back from Europe in September. Very exciting and like nothing else I've ever done before.

Lastly, Tim and I are both going to start volunteering at the Wellington SPCA this next week!! We attended an orientation meeting this past week and are very keen to work with the animals there. Tim is going to be starting in the adult dog area - if you've never witnessed it he's amazing with dogs - they just adhere themselves to his side and never want to leave. I'm going to start my work in the vet care where they focus on rehabilitation from injury or after surgery. Then we would both like to eventually start dog and puppy walking. And never fear! I've sorted out my allergy meds and will have special clothes that I only wear for work with animals so I should be good. Needless to say we are very excited to get started!

All in all these activities will keep up plenty busy but we prefer it that way. As I was walking home from campus today I thought, "If people should seek out and do what they love then perhaps I'm meant to volunteer because I enjoy it so much". While Wellington has provided opportunities for all kinds of experiences and learning I'm particularly excited about these volunteer opportunities. :)

Rid-onk-u-lous.....

Ok, a friend and colleague just sent this to me. An orca jumps ridiculously high out of the water to catch a dolphin. Check it out - paste the link into your browser.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2377154/Eight-ton-orca-leaps-15ft-air-finally-capture-dolphin-hour-chase.html

Quake news

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/8945358/Big-quake-shakes-central-New-Zealand

Earthquake day.....

Ok, living in MN, ND and MT I've experienced my fair share of 'snow days' (every child's dream when school is cancelled and you can frolic in the vast piles of snow) and Tim mentioned that living in CA sometimes they would have 'fog days'. But never in our lives have we experienced what is going to happen tomorrow. We have received official word from the University that, Monday July 22, the school in it's entirety will be closed to all staff and students. Tim was the first to pick up the email and he came running into the bathroom where I was washing my hands, pointed his finger at me and said, "You're working from home tomorrow!!". I first thought was, "No I'm not". Still not comprehending I shuffled over to the computer and read the news for myself. I still can't believe it. The best part was not too long after that Tim received an email from his head of school (department head) reiterating that campus would be closed tomorrow and demanding that everyone must stay at home!! So there you have it: 'earthquake day'. I always say "things are different in NZ". Indeed they are.

Rumbles....

Over the last few days we've had several earthquakes, DOZENS, in the Wellington region and throughout NZ. Tonight we went out to get a Starbucks and then headed over to the grocery store to get a few perishable groceries for the week. On our way home, all of a sudden, we felt and saw everything start to move and shake. People didn't panic but rather moved out to the middle of the street until the the rumbling stopped. We stood still and waited for the quake to pass but it kept on for some time. I have to say that all the small earthquakes we've felt so far were very small compared to this one. It measured a 6.5 and was centered 16 km below the surface. I've realized the importance of knowing both the Richter value as well as it's depth because depending on the combination you can have a catastrophe like the Christchurch quakes, an tiny rumble or anything in between.

A funny aside: as we're walking from the grocery store after the big shake we overheard a group of backpackers talking, saying "Get me out of here!" as they went passed. A little ways down the road we overheard another group of people discussing how they were going to meet back up at the airport. Now granted these folks were probably not leaving just because of the earthquake but considering the timing of events it was laughable to overhear. :)

Feeling silly for not having shored up our emergencies stores of food and water at home we decided to stop at The Warehouse (it's kind of like Target) to get some water and candles just in case. This is what we found - items all over the floor in almost every aisle! I've never seen anything like it.

Sadly, this is the least of it. As the reports come pouring in we've read that the entire fire service has been deployed and are assessing the damage to prioritize what to focus on first. Buildings downtown have been damaged, windows broken, water pipes leaking or burst.

Thankfully, when we arrived home there was no damage to our building and all the windows are still intact. I had wondered if we would find dishes out of the cupboards and smashed on the floor but luckily there was NO evidence that there had been a good shake.

You can see the beginning of our emergency supplies below. We are planning to round out the survival kit and get more water (below is half the recommended store for two people) to make sure that we are ready in case something worse happens. In addition, we are putting together the things we would need if we had to leave our apartment for good. We knew that this was a risk when we moved here so it's no surprise. With that said we're hoping we've seen the worst of it.

Lucky last.....

Today we took our final archery lesson (you can see me with all my gear before heading out to the line). After five classes, a ridiculous number of weather delays, sore muscles, scraped fingers and a thousand arrows we have graduated from the beginner's course. :) Today's lesson was to shoot 15 rounds of six arrows with the goal of breaking 600 points. While the class was unable to shoot all 15 rounds due to time running out both Tim and I were on track to beat 600 points. What can I say, we're a little proud and very glad we decided to try something completely different. With that said we're planning to join the club and that way we can use their equipment and the range whenever it is open on the weekends. Here's to honing those Katniss skills. :)

Lux Winter Light Festival.......

Taking in the Lux Winter Light Festival gave us the opportunity to see the light exhibits and sculptures while trying our hand at some more low light photography. We bundled up and headed to waterfront but were first intercepted and equipped with maps and glowing bracelets by those organizing the event (you can see the chain of glowing bracelets I had hanging on my jacket zipper). The installations were amazing and have inspired us to start planning projects to make our own lighting elements. :) Particularly the groups of illuminated orbs that look like trees.

Winter kite flying....

It goes without saying that Wellington is the perfect place if you want to fly a kite. Continuously. Windy. Admittedly, it's taken us a year and a half to acquire one and wouldn't you know then we had a week with no wind (unheard of in Welly) followed by a storm that damaged and flooded many areas in and around the metro area. So you can imagine our delight when we were finally able to take the little kite out for her maiden voyage. Timmy was tickled pink and all smiles as he ran around with the rainbow striped gem in tow.

Need we say more?.....

Change of plans....

A few weeks ago I ran into an experiment-stopping complication and won't be running experiments until after we get back from Europe (late September). I had expected to be running that experiment in endless fashion, seven days a week until we departed in August. Since then I've made arrangements so everything will be ready to start up again when we return but stopping abruptly has left me with a strange feeling. Since I can't collect data right now I've been writing my dissertation general introduction and so far the work is slow but I feel positive about what I'm putting on paper. We'll see what my advisor thinks when he reads it. My goal is to have a full introduction and methods draft to him before we leave for Europe. So I've been writing and consequently reading to make sure that I've included all the appropriate information in each section. I've also been working on my volunteer hours - as scholarship holders Tim and I are both required to volunteer 150 hours each year. During the first year I did the usual and took on tutoring and marking (grading) to cover most of my hours. By the end I vowed to never do that again. While I love teaching the labs here are absolutely uninspired and painful to teach. I can only imagine how the students feel. In addition the marking is probably the worst. Grading hundreds of papers consisting of the worst grammatical errors you can imagine is enough to put anyone over the edge. Tutoring is so miserable, in my opinion, that even if I were getting paid it wouldn't be worth it. With that said since I have to volunteer the time I REFUSE to tutor. Period. That has forced me to look elsewhere for volunteer opportunities. Thankfully, during this second year I became Vice President of the Postgraduate's Student Association and that has given almost have a year's worth of hours and my second year only started in May. During my time thus far with PGSA I've had the opportunity to meet and work with students from different levels, campuses and walks of life. I've also had the chance to work on specific issues that directly affect postgrads. This already has been an infinitely more meaningful (and more enjoyable) way to fulfill my volunteer requirements and so I feel very fortunate to have found this niche on campus.

One issue that I'm particularly interested in relates to international students and the policy governing their student visas. From the beginning, when Tim and I were admitted to VUW we were given an 'offer of place' and a scholarship to cover three years of study (this is the standard timeframe for PhD in NZ). This is all good in principal if a PhD student simple had to submit his/her thesis and then depart from the country as his/her visa would be expiring. The problem is that when students submit their theses for review (at the 3 year mark) they still have to wait for the thesis to be examined and then participate in an oral defense (this process usually takes 3-6 months). Since the student visa was originally issued for three years it expires before the student can finish up and defend. With the current framework students need to apply for a visa extension so they can remain in NZ to defend their theses. This is problematic because after students submit their theses they no longer have their 'student' status (are no longer enrolled) and this further complicates the process as they are applying for a visa extension (because, according to Immigration NZ policy, anyone applying for a student visa must be a student). Since students lose their status upon thesis submission these applications for visa extensions are only considered on a case by case basis by Immigration NZ. Ludicrous. Currently, there are 400+ international PhD students at VUW so this affects a significant number of students. With that said I'm working with several groups to gather information and discuss with Immigration NZ as well as the powers that be at VUW how we can address this issue. I suffer no delusions that I will solve this problem but I do think it is an issue worth pursuing and am excited to be involved in the process. And all the time I spend in meetings, reading policy or drafting documents I can use as volunteered time. For the win!!!

This has been a bizarre post but all that to say that even though I've been spending time looking into visa policy instead of collecting data it has still been worthwhile. It just hasn't been what I would've expected as a part of my time as a PhD student. :) Here's to learning continuously!