The Art of Small Talk

Where did that come from? That is definitely not original. Anyway, I have come to the conclusion that I am not a very proficient small talk artist. Does this reflect my interest in more meaningful conversation? Or just that I really and truly suck at making small talk. If anyone is reading this please post or email me your best ideas for small talk because I need help.

Well...things have been rolling along here in CHCH. Me and some of the people that I will be going to school with went out Friday night...to some of the worst bars I have ever been too. First I had to go home and put pants on (don't worry...I was wearing shorts.) Then I had to go home again to put shoes on (don't worry...I was wearing sandles. Although I find it awesome that there are so many people here that don't wear shoes anywhere. Like even grocery stores. You'll find dudes walking around sans shirt and shoes.) So I finally got into this bar and it sucked...so hard. The music (Shania Twain followed by Lou Bega?) The expensive drinks. The lameo club kids. It all sucked. The night got better though. I don't know why we didn't just stay at the bar with 2 for 1 beer. We went out lastnight again but kept the wheels on the cart.

I met a kid through a girl that I am going to school with who just finished Teacher's college in Auckland. He went to Mount Allison and played football with a kid I went to highschool with. And was coached by a guy that my dad coached. Could the world get any smaller? He is good people. He Kept me from blowing up at the craptacular club we went to on Friday night.

There is a Busker's Festival on right now here. I have been catching a few random acts over the past few days. CHCH has the reputation of being kind of stuffy and repressed but I don't see any of that. The town goes off on Friday and Saturday nights and seems to have a very lively arts scene. I'm pretty glad about that.

Alright...that's it for now. I am going to read in a nearby park.

Take care everyone. I'm starting to miss you.

Chris

The daily breeze

Peeps,

Well I made it back to CHCH lastnight and luckily found the last bed in a hostel. I was starting to get worried cause everything, EVERYTHING, was full. Anyway, I came from Queenstown on a 7 hour bus ride. No one has told the Kiwis that the fastest route is a straight line, not over mountains. It was 34°C yesterday in the valley we came through and the bus' air conditioning was broken. I almost melted. The only thing that saved me was the ice cream. Sweet, sweet ice cream.

Queenstown was fun. I did end up going jet boating which was fun but didn't get my adrenaline flowing as much as I would have liked. I need someone to come over a push me off a bungy ledge. It was hot and expensive and the hostels sucked. But the scenery was sweet-as. I went on a few good hikes too.

I had an information session at the school today so I met some other hosers. We are heading out for drinks tonight and to check out the World Busker's Fest that is on here right now. I hope I don't get pidgeon-holed into hanging out with just the Canadians cause that would suck. Don't get me wrong...I like most Canadians (most...not all...you know who you are) but I didn't come 10000 miles to talk about the benefits and drawbacks of Toronto or play the do-you-know-this-person-game. Although I kick asss at it. Randy, I met a guy, Ben, that went to Cass. And I met another kid that knew Jordan K (from Animal...for those that went to Waterloo.)

I opened a bank account today so if anyone wants to help the Chris in New Zealand fund I will give you my account number. Also I got my student card. AND...and, found a theatre like the Princess. So Christchurch is starting to brighten up.

Alright, I will be leaving now.

Chris

The highs and lows

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Well...I made it to Queenstown. It is a hot, expensive, touristy place reminiscent of Interlocken or Banff. The Scenery is quite beautiful though. It is flanked my Lake Wakitpu and the Remarkable mountain range. The Remarkables are the only other mountain chain that runs North to South (Our own Rockies are the other.) I went hiking today and took a ride on the Shotover Jet boat. It was good times. It ran at 70Km/h through a canyon about 8 metres wide. I don't know if it was worth 95$ but it was something that you won't find anywhere else. I don't think I want to Bungy jump. The only way I would is someone else was here to urge me on.

The bus ride here from Dunedin was great. The bus was flanked by Snow-capped mountains and fruit orchards, waving hay fields and blue-green lakes. The bus driver explained points of interest all along the way too. It reminded me of that scene in Wayne's World where Chris Farley goes on and on about Mr. Bigg.

Tomorrow I'm heading back to CHCH for some school related stuff...Induction day I think. Then I am going to go to KaiKoura for the weekend to do some hiking and back to CHCH for Monday for more school stuff. Then I have next week to do something else. I'm thinking of heading to Mt. Cook National park and Lake Tekapo. I can't wait to move in. I may have said it before but as nice as backpacking is, it is even nicer to have a home where you can sleep in your own bed, wake up, have a coffee, and read the paper.

Alright...that's it for now. The sun has rotted my brain.

Chris

Around, around he goes...

Hey all,

So here I am in Dunedin after numerous adventures and excursions. Arrived here Friday and laid low. Cleaned myself for battle. Recharged the batteries. Saturday was punctuated with a stop at the Moeraki boulders. They are giant spherical boulders strewn along the beach between Oamaru and Dunedin. Giants marbles. Then we tripped on down the coast to Shag point (Tee-Hee,) an old coal mining port where fur seals have now staked their claim. After Port Chalmers, we called it a day. Sunday was another day for the books as we toured down to the Catlins. This day was broken up by stops at Kaka point (Tee-hee,) Nugget point (an often fotographed local where the fur seals played amongst the kelp and Purakanui Bay for a picnic lunch. At Purakanui Bay the rock is all covered in small, round holes. I don't know what from for sure but I would hazard a guess that is was all magma that solidified and gases escaped from the bubbles. But that's just a guess. After Purakanui Bay, Purakanui falls was the next stop; a beautiful but crowded waterfall. And finally, we stopped at Florence Hill overlooking Tautuku Bay, which has a very welcoming crescent shaped sand beach. So that has been my tour of the Southeast corner of the courty. Christchurch to the Catlins.

Tomorrow I'm heading to Queenstown for some hiking and other fun. I'm thinking jetboating looks like a good time. Maybe street luge.

Thought du jour: Now I like fudge as much as the next guy but I've noticed fudge shops everywhere try to advertise themselves as the world's only, often offering tours and tastings. Don't be duped people, there will always be another fudge shop. Don't waste your time in a new city exploring fudge shops.

Anyway, that's it for today. It's about 20° so I think I'm going to go buy a sleeping bag.

Back at ya,
Chris

So here's the thing...

I missed my bus yesterday from Timaru to Oamaru. Luckily a guy that worked at the bus depot drove me to where the bus was waiting for me. But the reason I missed the bus was because when the driver called out where he was going, or more precisely, asked where other passengers were going, he called "Christchurch?" Which is contrary to his destination of Dunedin. Now suppose you were a bus driver, which do you think would be the more efficient way of getting people on the bus? Calling out your destination? Or calling out another bus' destination?

Anyway, once on the bus I realized that double-decker buses are great. Oh...except for when they reek of stale urine and every other passenger on the bus hates you for making them nore late than they already were. Another thing occurred to me on the bus, why the hell doesn't olafactory fatigue occur with the aroma of pee-pee? It seems to me from an evolutionary standpoint that human waste would be one of the first smells you would not want to smell. Luckily the ride was only about 45 miutes and I hope to never see those other, glaring passengers or that putrid smelling bus ever again. (Keep your fingers crossed that I don't have to take it again today.)

Chris

P.S. - These hostels with free internet are great. If you are a huge inter-nerd like me.

P.P.S. - Rooney, thanks a lot for those mp3s. They have saved my sanity a few times. The new Decemberists is incredible.

Been a while...

I guess it's been a while since I have updated this. So let me rap at ya. I arrived in Christchurch (chch for short) after a ricockulously long journey. 5 hours to LA, 12 hours to Auckland, and 1 hour to chch. After I arrived I made my way to the hostel that I booked and got set up. The hostel turned out to be one of the best that I have ever stayed at. Huge kitchen, garden, 2 lounges, movies, very helpful staff. After getting settled I started exploring my new home for the next year. There is a great downtown with all sorts of patios and outdoor cafes. There is a huge park with the Botanic Gardens and Canterbury Museum. And low and behold, there are Indian restaurants and Sushi restaurants everywhere. I thought my last plate of sushi was going to come from LAX. Phew! I also did some exploring around chch. Lyttleton is a tiny port town nearby. Akaroa is a French settlement on the Banks Penninsula.

I found the College that I will be attending. The first day that I went out to see it there was a Air show at the airport nearby so there were all sorts of planes doing fly-bys and sky-divers jumping out of planes. The college is near the University of Canterbury in a quiet little suburb.

I also found a place to live. I called a bunch of places and all were taken already. I found 2 that weren't full-up and checked out both. The first was in a sketchy student ghetto. There were 2 houses on the property. The first (which I thought was the one) had all the windows broken out and plaster was falling off the walls. Needless to say I didn't stick around to check out the second. The second place I checked out was a find. It was new and clean and in a lot nicer area and right beside Hagley park. So Iam living there. My roommates are a German, a Malaysian, and a New Zealaner. It should be fun. Now I jsut have to find a bed and a space heater (because this house, like most in NZ, doesn't have heat. Luckily the coldest it gets in the winter is about
-1°C.

Now I am killing time by doing a little traveling until I can move in and school start. I am currently in Timaru and I will head to Oamaru tomorrow. Oamaru is known for it's penguin colonies that you can see by just walking to . After that I am heading to Dunedin and Queenstown.

Anyway, If anyone is actually checking this for updates, there you go. The room I am in is covered with writings from various backpackers who have stayed at this hostel. I'm going to add my name to it now.

The First Post

So this is a blog eh? Computers huh?