An Update!

Hello Friends! Greetings from Fort Wayne, Indiana in the USA.
It's been a while since my last update and so much has happened!

After returning from Sydney I had a few more weeks to finish writing my thesis. I had a lot of time to devote to it since all other school activities were over and most of my friends were moving out of our building. But finally the day came and I was able to turn in the finished, bound thesis entitled "Bjork, Buskers and Songbirds: Realism and Revision in the Musical Genre".

After that I had a very short break until my friend Kim arrived from California! The two of us did a whirlwind tour of New Zealand in just 8 days, ending up in Auckland for my final Sunday at church. We flew back to California together and were greeted at the airport by another friend, Brynne. Then I flew to Chicago just in time for Christmas Eve. Whew!

Now I am staying with my parents in Fort Wayne until I figure out what's next. It will be another month or so before I get the grade back from my thesis and officially graduate, so stay tuned for more news on those events. Thanks again to all my readers and to the many people who have supported over these last few years. I am deeply grateful and eager to reconnect with you in person sometime soon!

To close for now, here are some pictures from my last weeks in New Zealand.

Here is Kim and I with some icebergs.

The beautiful Lake Pukaki.

Sleeping Seals in Kaikoura!

Sunset in Wellington.

The Weta Workshop gift shop.

The view from a Hobbit hole.

A misty day at Cathedral Cove.

A rainbow in Mt. Cook Nat'l Park

Spring Break

This semester is just flying by! Right now I am enjoying two weeks off for spring break. It's not really that much of a break for me since I have to grade essays and revise four chapters of my thesis. But I do get to sleep in everyday, so no complaints here! The other nice thing is that spring is on the way! We've been having increased amounts of sunlight and warmer weather which is a welcome change from the cold and rain we've had for months now.

Here are just a few last pictures from trip to the South Island. This is Milford Sound:

This is what happens when fresh water and sea water meet.

Recent Playlist:

"Let It Be Me" and "You Are the Best Thing" by Ray LaMontagne

"Creature Fear" and "The Wolves" by Bon Iver

"While You Were Sleeping" and "Ash Wednesday" by Elvis Perkins

"The Big Guns" and "Handle With Care" by Jenny Lewis

"I Will Explode" and "Better to Be" by Liam Finn

"Daughter" and "Grey In L.A." by Loudon Wainwright III

"Ne Me Quitte Pas" and "The Call" by Regina Spektor

Pictures from Trip, Part Four

So here are some pictures from Queenstown!

Take the gondola up for some sweet views...


...like this one!

This is a picture of one of the Mirror Lakes.

Get it?

Pictures from Trip, Part 3

Here are some pictures from my trip:
This is the Franz Josef Glacier on the west coast of the South Island.
The glacier cut this riverbed over thousands of years...


And today we get to hike on the glacier!





The ice was beautiful! It was almost transparent in some places...


Some crazy guys jumped into this pool of icy cold water in only their undershorts!

Pictures from Trip, Part 2

Here are some pictures I took during the train ride through the mountains from Christchurch to Greymouth:

Still more to come!

Pictures from Trip, Part Uno

Here are some pictures of my trip! This is where I started and finished my two week journey.

This is the Cathedral in Christchurch:

And this the Avon River.

I went for a boat ride on it, which is called punting. The punter was also American which was a funny coincidence.

Ok, so here is my funny story from Christchurch: So all growing up (and even today) when preparing for a trip my Mom would always remind me to pack extra underwear. Which I always laughed at because who forgets underwear when packing for a trip?! Maybe toothpaste, but not underwear. Well, embarrassingly enough,that's exactly what I did. I quickly realized it after landing in Christchurch, so instead of sightseeing, one whole morning was spent shopping in order to correct my mistake.

Um, awkward...

Anyway....

A few hours away from Christchurch you can visit the Akoroa Harbour and see the famous Hector's Dolphins.

By snapping away at my camera I did manage to get this money shot of a dolphin swimming next to our boat:

Cute! I shall call him Squishy, and he shall be my Squishy.

More pictures are on the way, but for now I need to go to bed!

Pics from Lake Taupo and Mt Taranaki

So here are some trips from the road trip I took with friends a few weeks ago:

Huka Falls


Orokai Korako: This is a geothermal park and in this picture you are actually seeing steam come out of the ground!


These are some of my traveling buddies at another geothermal area called Craters of the Moon.

It did not really look like the moon.

This is a spot called the Three Sisters. We stopped here when my friend puked in the car.


We wanted to see Mt. Taranaki but there was too much mist. This is a picture I took from a "scenic viewpoint".

Sailing!

Here are some pictures from a recent sailing trip I went on.

My friend Marleen invited me to go with her friends, and we had a lovely day.

We caught fresh mussells and ate them right on the boat!

Yum!

I wanted to climb the mast like Jack Sparrow, but that was not allowed...

Ahoy!