I am currently sitting in my new home, the Old Convent, with a space heater by my side and the snow-capped mountains in view. It’s still hard to believe that I am actually here, halfway around the world.
I arrived here on Wednesday afternoon and met all my new house-mates – 19 in total. In our group, we have 17 girls and 3 guys… So far, so good. After driving through spectacular scenery, we stopped in South Bay and had a beach picnic for a classic Kiwi “tea” (aka supper)– fish and chips! Sitting on the rocky beach with the mountains right next to us, I couldn’t bring myself to take a picture. Everyone else in the group was snap-happy, but I honestly don’t think a picture could do it justice.
Ever since I’ve been here, it’s like creation is glorifying God with no volume limit. The oceans roar, the mountains shout, and even the birds seem to have abnormally large lung capacities.
This first week is all orientation (which feels like a combination of vacation and camp). I’ll do a separate entry about my new home, The Old Convent, once I have some pictures Fun fact: I am living in Mother Superior’s room. Perfect for my Wheaton Type-A personality. The Convent runs very sustainably, complete with composting, heavy emphasis on recycling, chicken coop, fruit trees, and a minimal-waste system. We also get locally grown food, which is DELICIOUS. It’s an understatement to say that I love food. I mean, one of my reasons for going to Wheaton was that it’s #1 in food. But the chefs here, Sam and Emma, are incredible, and so far we’ve had meals like curry and rice, penne vodka with broccoli, pumpkin soup, zucchini bread, and carrot & pineapple cake. Breakfast includes local coffee and homemade granola. YUM.
Downtown Kaikoura is just a 15 minute bike-ride away. We are all assigned a bike for the semester, and I’m sure we’ll get a lot of use out of them. One of our first activities was a photo scavenger hunt around town, which was hilarious! Some things we had to find were: the craziest item on a menu, something that would be illegal in the US, someone wearing “gum boots”, and then important places to know, like the post office and the bank. Everyone in town is super nice, and so far I haven’t met a Kiwi I didn’t like.
On Friday our group went on a mountainous van-ride out to Topps farm. So when I imagine a sheep farm, I think of a flat field, with a big fence, and a monotonous view of white fleece inside. But this farm was NOT what I was expecting. Mountains surrounded us, and the sheep were scattered across slanted terrain. Kevin Topp (pictured below) is an incredibly interesting fellow. He was in better shape than all of us, and he taught us all about his farm while we trekked to the top. The pictures of the view will be self-explanatory.
Me and Darin, from Messiah College
I have already developed a reputation of being the bleeder of the group. (The first cut was on a tomato sauce can the first night). I tried to jump over the stream at Topps farm, and ended up slipping on a rock and cutting and bruising my knee pretty badly. I was in pain for a few days, but it’s better now!
On Monday we went on a peninsula walk and learned more about the ecology of the land from a native Maori man named Brett. The Maori culture is fascinating, and I can’t wait to learn more.
On Tuesday we had a “hangi” which is a traditional meal where the food is cooked under the ground for hours. We invited basically the whole community, and got to meet Kiwi families, kids, and wise elderly people.
I’m running out of time at the internet café, so this will have to be it for now! Kia Ora!
