Thursday, May 28, 2009
A Little Gem from My Parents
Thanks Mom and Dad! I LOVE that you did this for me! Grandma looks so precious! I can just imagine mom saying, "oh wait let's put her paws over my arm!" :) Can't wait to see you guys and the kitty. Oh, and NO, you cannot keep her! :)
Monday, May 25, 2009
Ode to My Fur Kitty Baby
I have LOADS of work to do and I do not want to do it. I have a pile of papers sitting right next to me at this moment, and I do not want to grade them. Usually, in moments like this, I torture my poor roommate Grandma. She's not here though and it makes my heart ache. So, instead, to fill the Grandma sized hole in my heart, I am going to post my favorite pictures of the fur face. I get to see her two weeks from today!! I CANNOT wait! I miss my parents and my friends and all, but I really really miss Grandma. She's my pal.
Amy actually took this picture. She snuck Grandma into the spare room and told me I wasn't allowed to peek. She came back out and here is the result. You can see the pleased look on Grandma's face. I like the way her paws are turned out. It makes me smile.
I love how Grandma and Monte match in this picture. Also, they are both looking at the camera which is a rarity!
Proof Grandma watches TV. She prefers Friends and Full House.
Cone Kitty! Grandma had to wear this cone for a week when she got fixed. She tore her staples out twice. She acted so defeated when she had to wear the cone. She would try to run but the cone would catch and flip her over. I felt SO sorry for her.
Grandma's Halloween Costume! She hates it but somehow fell asleep with it on.
Somehow Grandma gave herself a fat lip. I didn't even know cats could get fat lips. I have no idea how it happened. She has been known to ran into a wall or two though...
This is what I do when I'm avoiding work... Poor poor Kitty Grandma...
Grandma couldn't resist the power that a lighted candle has over her and she stuck her face in it. This is the consequence. She had black smut all over her face and burnt off her whiskers. I tried to get the black off but it wouldn't come off. Her whiskers were more hilarious because they were real short and curly. They took FOREVER to grow back.
Grandma! I miss you! I'll be home soon, Kitty!!
Amy actually took this picture. She snuck Grandma into the spare room and told me I wasn't allowed to peek. She came back out and here is the result. You can see the pleased look on Grandma's face. I like the way her paws are turned out. It makes me smile.
I love how Grandma and Monte match in this picture. Also, they are both looking at the camera which is a rarity!
Proof Grandma watches TV. She prefers Friends and Full House.
Cone Kitty! Grandma had to wear this cone for a week when she got fixed. She tore her staples out twice. She acted so defeated when she had to wear the cone. She would try to run but the cone would catch and flip her over. I felt SO sorry for her.
Grandma's Halloween Costume! She hates it but somehow fell asleep with it on.
Somehow Grandma gave herself a fat lip. I didn't even know cats could get fat lips. I have no idea how it happened. She has been known to ran into a wall or two though...
This is what I do when I'm avoiding work... Poor poor Kitty Grandma...
Grandma couldn't resist the power that a lighted candle has over her and she stuck her face in it. This is the consequence. She had black smut all over her face and burnt off her whiskers. I tried to get the black off but it wouldn't come off. Her whiskers were more hilarious because they were real short and curly. They took FOREVER to grow back.
Grandma! I miss you! I'll be home soon, Kitty!!
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Pukekaihau
Pukekaihau is my favorite club at CHBC! I'm so glad I got to see them perform again and record it. I am literally like five feet away so the video is not ideal but it's still good. I LOVE it! The first time I watched them I got goosebumps. One of the videos if all of them singing, one is just the females, and then one is the males doing a haka (my favorite!).
Only 9 Days Left! :(
Only 9 Days Left! :(
Monday, May 18, 2009
The Non-Automatic Glass Door
Last Wednesday we went to the public pool for swimming sports. Swimming sports are an event that the school holds every year to promote house unity. The school has four different houses. Yes, like true Harry Potter: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Slytherin, and Ravenclaw. Of course, the school I am at, the four names are not from Harry Potter, but still very cool. The students sign up to participate in an event like the 25m freestyle, backstroke, or butterfly. There's a 50m and 100m in each of those events as well. It goes by junior girls, junior boys, senior girls, and senior boys. Juniors in the school are years 9 and 10. Seniors are years 11, 12, and 13. Anyone who doesn't sign up stays at school and goes to class like normal except for a lot of the classes are combined because so many students are out and they just have a "fun" day. Each person who participates in a race gets points and then whoever gets first, second, and third gets additional points for their house. The house who wins gets bragging rights for the rest of the year. They are only in the second term here so literally their school year is still in the beginning not the end.
I went with J early to help out. I was walking in with all of these cones and paper work and walk through the first automatic doors. I get to the second set of doors and expect like the first that they are going to open automatically. Except for they don't. Me, not really getting why, am standing there like a dope slowing moving towards the door to see if I've just missed the sensor but no, the door still does not open. Finally, the woman who runs the indoor swimming facility tells me, "um, you have to push the door open". Me: "What?" Her: "push the door" Me: "What?" It's like I so expected those stupid doors to be automatic that I couldn't process the fact that they were NOT in fact automatic. The lady came and pushed the door open. I walk through all red and hot faced laughing.
This is not the end of the door saga though. I was pleased that there was hardly anyone there yet so there was only a few witnesses to my stupidity. I figured the rest of the students and staff had probably been there enough to know that the second door wasn't automatic. To my great surprise and entertainment ALL day, many people did NOT know this fact. I was near the doors all day checking people in and telling when the next group of swimmers could go to to start blocks. I could not tell you how much I laughed at people thinking the second set of doors were going to open for them. Some would walk right up until their noses were practically against the glass, some would move slowly foward, and then back, forward again, and then back, and some would even walk through the first set of doors AGAIN and then come back to the second set to test it out. Eventually, they would figure it out, be embarrassed, and walk through to find me on the other side cracking up. It was SO good. Honestly. I live for stupid things like that.
The next day a few of my of students were like, "Ms. V! Ms. V! We saw you yesterday cracking up all by yourself by the doors!" I'd tell them what I was laughing at one of my students goes, "but, Ms. V, it's not that funny!" Oh! But I promise you it was! I wonder if they thought I was laughing at all the students who were running around completely embarrassed to be in their togs (bathing suites) in front of essentially the whole school and three quarters of the staff.
Needless to say it was a good day and I found out that there are quite a few of really good swimmers in one of my classes and I had no idea. One of them was even was in the last olympic trials and just barely missed out and is a true contender to represent En Zed in the next summer olympics. I know New Zealand is small, but sweet as! I had no idea. How wicked cool, ey?
Sometimes, I'm so happy to be so easily entertained.
Another good glass door situation was on the first night on the Kiwi Bus. We were staying at Turtle Cove hostel and had a huge spaghetti dinner for the whole bus. The kitchen in the hostel had sliding glass doors that went out to the bar area and there was a significent step down into it. I was sitting there happily eating away and this girl is about to walk from the bar area back into the kitchen. Well, she, I'm certain, was like "I am going to MAKE SURE I don't trip over this ledge and make it into the kitchen" because she lifted her leg really high up for the step, and then she SMACKED right into the glass!!! I DIED! Honestly, died. It was one of the BEST "run into a glass door" situations I have ever seen in my life! Only a few other people saw it and we didn't know each other very well so it was right rude of me to laugh but I couldn't hold it in! I had to walk away because it was a near impossibility to calm myself down. LOVE it. Oh man, I'm even laughing right now thinking about it! She needn't feel so bad. Two other people walked into the door as well. Though nobody lifted their leg as high as she did in preperation for the step. By the way this is a competely true story. You can ask anyone on the Kiwi Bus. Anytime someone wanted to make me laugh they would just say, "ask her about the girl who lifted her leg and ran into the door!" I died thinking about it before I had even said a word!
Okay... no more stories. I'm meant to be grading papers right now! ;)
I went with J early to help out. I was walking in with all of these cones and paper work and walk through the first automatic doors. I get to the second set of doors and expect like the first that they are going to open automatically. Except for they don't. Me, not really getting why, am standing there like a dope slowing moving towards the door to see if I've just missed the sensor but no, the door still does not open. Finally, the woman who runs the indoor swimming facility tells me, "um, you have to push the door open". Me: "What?" Her: "push the door" Me: "What?" It's like I so expected those stupid doors to be automatic that I couldn't process the fact that they were NOT in fact automatic. The lady came and pushed the door open. I walk through all red and hot faced laughing.
This is not the end of the door saga though. I was pleased that there was hardly anyone there yet so there was only a few witnesses to my stupidity. I figured the rest of the students and staff had probably been there enough to know that the second door wasn't automatic. To my great surprise and entertainment ALL day, many people did NOT know this fact. I was near the doors all day checking people in and telling when the next group of swimmers could go to to start blocks. I could not tell you how much I laughed at people thinking the second set of doors were going to open for them. Some would walk right up until their noses were practically against the glass, some would move slowly foward, and then back, forward again, and then back, and some would even walk through the first set of doors AGAIN and then come back to the second set to test it out. Eventually, they would figure it out, be embarrassed, and walk through to find me on the other side cracking up. It was SO good. Honestly. I live for stupid things like that.
The next day a few of my of students were like, "Ms. V! Ms. V! We saw you yesterday cracking up all by yourself by the doors!" I'd tell them what I was laughing at one of my students goes, "but, Ms. V, it's not that funny!" Oh! But I promise you it was! I wonder if they thought I was laughing at all the students who were running around completely embarrassed to be in their togs (bathing suites) in front of essentially the whole school and three quarters of the staff.
Needless to say it was a good day and I found out that there are quite a few of really good swimmers in one of my classes and I had no idea. One of them was even was in the last olympic trials and just barely missed out and is a true contender to represent En Zed in the next summer olympics. I know New Zealand is small, but sweet as! I had no idea. How wicked cool, ey?
Sometimes, I'm so happy to be so easily entertained.
Another good glass door situation was on the first night on the Kiwi Bus. We were staying at Turtle Cove hostel and had a huge spaghetti dinner for the whole bus. The kitchen in the hostel had sliding glass doors that went out to the bar area and there was a significent step down into it. I was sitting there happily eating away and this girl is about to walk from the bar area back into the kitchen. Well, she, I'm certain, was like "I am going to MAKE SURE I don't trip over this ledge and make it into the kitchen" because she lifted her leg really high up for the step, and then she SMACKED right into the glass!!! I DIED! Honestly, died. It was one of the BEST "run into a glass door" situations I have ever seen in my life! Only a few other people saw it and we didn't know each other very well so it was right rude of me to laugh but I couldn't hold it in! I had to walk away because it was a near impossibility to calm myself down. LOVE it. Oh man, I'm even laughing right now thinking about it! She needn't feel so bad. Two other people walked into the door as well. Though nobody lifted their leg as high as she did in preperation for the step. By the way this is a competely true story. You can ask anyone on the Kiwi Bus. Anytime someone wanted to make me laugh they would just say, "ask her about the girl who lifted her leg and ran into the door!" I died thinking about it before I had even said a word!
Okay... no more stories. I'm meant to be grading papers right now! ;)
My Volunteer Project
For the Overseas project we have to do a Service Learning Project. I was slow to come by one but luckily J thought of one for me. She suggested that I go by Scally's to see if they could use my services. Scally's is a pre-kindergarten school for little kids ages 5 and younger and is also an after school sort of day care for primary school kids. I had to do something that was outside of my school and was apart of the community. The thought of working with all those young kids was really daunting for me. Personally, I'd rather shear a sheep. (By the way, there were some farmers from England on the Kiwi Bus and they said that shearing a sheep is nothing to laugh at. All of them said it's really hard work. Plus, sheep farmers make almost twice as much as regular farmers. But still, I think it'd be fun to have a go at a sheep. (poor, poor sheep, right?) There are sheep ALL over the place over here and once we even got in a sheep traffic jam (I have a picture of it. HILARIOUS. There's all these little sheep faces in the screen.) They look so soft and fluffy. It'd seems like it would feel nice to hug a sheep.
Anyway, back to Scally's. I went yesterday for the first time. I haven't spent any time in a kindergarten classroom since I was in Kindergarten myself. I felt SO awkward and out of place. I kept trying to talk to the little ones but could only hear what a dweeb I sounded like! The fake little laugh that I kept producing was horrid. I have little cousins! Several, actually. It should not be that hard. Part of the problem is the wonderful kiwi accent that I thought I had a hold on until I met these little ones. A kiwi accent is already hard to understand and then coupled with little kids who can't pronounce all their words right in the first place was nearly impossible. I would just look at them blankly then say, "mmm yea.. neat." There was this one little girl that constantly cracked me up. She says everything in the form of a question. For example, "you work at scally's today, ey? (ey is is pronounced A) Or, it's time for lunch, ey?" This little four year old and her dear accent and saying "ey" at the end of everything made her sound like a pirate! I'm certain I'm the only one who thought so but it was so entertaining to me I couldn't help crack a smile. There is also another little girl who has to be watched all the time because if she gets away she immediately will stop up the sink and flood the bathroom. It's such a funny problem to have. Just like the little kid who decided to paint the bottom of his feet instead of his firetruck and stamped little purple feet prints all over the cement. It was pretty cute. I sort of wish I had those sort of problems instead of kids flinging every cussword in the book at me or indecent behavior of another kind going on in the bathroom. Can you imagine a high school student who would think it'd be great fun to paint the bottom of his feet purple and stamp on down the hallway? Actually, I think I could imagine some of my students doing it! In the states and here!
Scally's really is a pre-kindy (they call Kindergarten, kindy, it's easier for the little one's to say) heaven. The facility is amazing. The different age groups occupy three different buildings and the yards in between. The buildings are old houses aside from the one that was just built which is a huge heated gym (tumble room, they call it). Each age group has their different areas and have AWESOME outside play areas. It really is like nothing I've ever seen. So cool.
Towards the end I started to feel more comfortable and even got a little boy to stop crying! Anyway, I got the little kid to stop crying by picking up this toy cat and meowing at him! So appropriate, ey? I don't know what I was thinking. I just meowed at him and he answered me with a mew. So, I go meow mew mew! I have a kitty at home do you have kitty as a pet (Grandma!)? Meow. Okay, typing it, it sounds incredibly stupid and weird but my old cat lady ways saved me of the awkward situation of having a howling kid on my hands. But really, what kind of person just meows at a kid to get them to stop crying?! Even I think I'm weird.
I have to go back today because I have to do at least 8 hours. I'm not exactly looking forward to it but I'm not dreading it like before. All the teachers there or pre-degree teachers are super nice so it's not all bad. Luckily, no one saw my meowing yesterday so at least no one will be calling me "that girl who meows at the kids" when they can't remember my name!
Anyway, back to Scally's. I went yesterday for the first time. I haven't spent any time in a kindergarten classroom since I was in Kindergarten myself. I felt SO awkward and out of place. I kept trying to talk to the little ones but could only hear what a dweeb I sounded like! The fake little laugh that I kept producing was horrid. I have little cousins! Several, actually. It should not be that hard. Part of the problem is the wonderful kiwi accent that I thought I had a hold on until I met these little ones. A kiwi accent is already hard to understand and then coupled with little kids who can't pronounce all their words right in the first place was nearly impossible. I would just look at them blankly then say, "mmm yea.. neat." There was this one little girl that constantly cracked me up. She says everything in the form of a question. For example, "you work at scally's today, ey? (ey is is pronounced A) Or, it's time for lunch, ey?" This little four year old and her dear accent and saying "ey" at the end of everything made her sound like a pirate! I'm certain I'm the only one who thought so but it was so entertaining to me I couldn't help crack a smile. There is also another little girl who has to be watched all the time because if she gets away she immediately will stop up the sink and flood the bathroom. It's such a funny problem to have. Just like the little kid who decided to paint the bottom of his feet instead of his firetruck and stamped little purple feet prints all over the cement. It was pretty cute. I sort of wish I had those sort of problems instead of kids flinging every cussword in the book at me or indecent behavior of another kind going on in the bathroom. Can you imagine a high school student who would think it'd be great fun to paint the bottom of his feet purple and stamp on down the hallway? Actually, I think I could imagine some of my students doing it! In the states and here!
Scally's really is a pre-kindy (they call Kindergarten, kindy, it's easier for the little one's to say) heaven. The facility is amazing. The different age groups occupy three different buildings and the yards in between. The buildings are old houses aside from the one that was just built which is a huge heated gym (tumble room, they call it). Each age group has their different areas and have AWESOME outside play areas. It really is like nothing I've ever seen. So cool.
Towards the end I started to feel more comfortable and even got a little boy to stop crying! Anyway, I got the little kid to stop crying by picking up this toy cat and meowing at him! So appropriate, ey? I don't know what I was thinking. I just meowed at him and he answered me with a mew. So, I go meow mew mew! I have a kitty at home do you have kitty as a pet (Grandma!)? Meow. Okay, typing it, it sounds incredibly stupid and weird but my old cat lady ways saved me of the awkward situation of having a howling kid on my hands. But really, what kind of person just meows at a kid to get them to stop crying?! Even I think I'm weird.
I have to go back today because I have to do at least 8 hours. I'm not exactly looking forward to it but I'm not dreading it like before. All the teachers there or pre-degree teachers are super nice so it's not all bad. Luckily, no one saw my meowing yesterday so at least no one will be calling me "that girl who meows at the kids" when they can't remember my name!
Sunday, May 17, 2009
A Few Images
This is a picture of when I went white water rafting in Rotorura. It was great fun. This is at the bottom of a 7 meter drop off of a waterfall. It was pretty scary but over before you blink. The guides were HILARIOUS! Honest. They all were so good and I'm quite jealous. They might have one of the best jobs in the world. They all seemed like best friends just messin' around on some rapids every day. I'm the one on the right in front of the guide in all black. His name was CHONK which is his nickname he got from having his front teeth knocked out 17 times while going on tours!
This picture is in Queenstown Base hostel. All those girls are AMAZING and I miss them! Best room in the hostel #309! The girls in this room were from Denmark, Dublin, and England (oh and the states of course!)
This is me horse trekking in River Valley. Again, absolutely beautiful and stunning views! The horses were a riot. They took off whenever they wanted to and I assure you did not listen to whoever was riding them. Mine was a follower of Mr. Grumpy (aka Graham's horse). Two of the other horses were in constant competition to be first. I also wasn't allowed to put my horse to close to the others because it had a problem with biting! It actually, accidentally bit Kevin instead of Kevin's horse! At one point, all the horses took off running and us inexperienced people were hopeless to stop it! I was hanging on for dear life thinking I was about to go down when the horse finally stopped! I looked behind me and Graham was bouncing ALL over the place on his horse and finally couldn't hold on any longer and fell off! It was SO good! I still get a good laugh thinking about it!
This picture is from the Franz Glacier all day hike. It also was amazing. The views were amzing. The glacier is actually in between rainforest so we were able to hike in t-shirts and some people even wore shorts. Our guide Kutty was the one who was super fit that I mentioned in a story earlier (so, yes, this is the morning after I got pissed on). I'm so glad I got to do it. The ice looks incredible! I tripped loads! Cramp-ons (spikes that attach to your boots) are really hard to walk in. If you don't lift your feet up high enough you just trip on them which I did, a lot. I even scratched my chin up pretty good on some ice stairs. You can see it in some of my close up bungy photos. Sometimes I'd be walking about and just think to myself... I am on a BLINKIN' GLACIER! Ah! It was just so so cool.
And here are some more bungy photos that Julien from London took of me. I'm pretty proud of my superman jump. Everyone does it. Some better than others. It looks wicked in the photos though. Everyone keeps asking me where I got the courage to jump and I honestly don't really know. For both sky diving and doign a bungy, I just didn't know when I would ever get the opportunity again so it didn't make sense to pass it up. We had an amazing bunch of people on the Kiwi bus. I think I still would have done everything I did but the memories would not be as wonderful as they are because of the people on the Kiwi Bus. The atmosphere that followed us around was incredible. Everyone was up for anything and just waiting for the next adventure. It was awesome. There's nothing like standing on a ledge staring down at a 440 ft drop scared out of your wits, about to pee yourself, and having amazing, wicked people behind you cheering your name. I'll never ever forget.
There is a rip chord that you can pull to turn yourself up right for when you get brought back up in the the hub but I couldn't get it to pull. I yanked on it twice and nothing happened so I gave up. The chord is tucked in between your leg in the ankle straps but I couldn't get it out.
I was spinning in quick little circle until I finally managed to grab that white bungy chord to stop myself. The white chord is the one that looks like it is made up of a bunch of tiny rubber bands. So scary!
I was spinning in quick little circle until I finally managed to grab that white bungy chord to stop myself. The white chord is the one that looks like it is made up of a bunch of tiny rubber bands. So scary!
This picture is in Queenstown Base hostel. All those girls are AMAZING and I miss them! Best room in the hostel #309! The girls in this room were from Denmark, Dublin, and England (oh and the states of course!)
This is me horse trekking in River Valley. Again, absolutely beautiful and stunning views! The horses were a riot. They took off whenever they wanted to and I assure you did not listen to whoever was riding them. Mine was a follower of Mr. Grumpy (aka Graham's horse). Two of the other horses were in constant competition to be first. I also wasn't allowed to put my horse to close to the others because it had a problem with biting! It actually, accidentally bit Kevin instead of Kevin's horse! At one point, all the horses took off running and us inexperienced people were hopeless to stop it! I was hanging on for dear life thinking I was about to go down when the horse finally stopped! I looked behind me and Graham was bouncing ALL over the place on his horse and finally couldn't hold on any longer and fell off! It was SO good! I still get a good laugh thinking about it!
That's it for now. Only 16 more days here! Will someone please make time slow down somehow!
Monday, May 11, 2009
Sometimes I Make Up Words... I'm a Teacher, I'm Allowed
I was teaching the other day. My students needed to figure out definitions for the words: discrimination, racism, prejudice, tolerance, acceptance and assimilation. They were not allowed to use dictionaries and had to put the definitions in their own words.
I meant to say, "do not use dictionaries to look up the definitions" and instead I said, "don't use a definitionary..."
I got embarrassed and laughed. A couple of the students looked at me confused. They asked me what a definitionary is and instead of admitting my mistake, I just said, "oh it's an American slang word for a dictionary. Same thing!" They believed me.
Luckily, they don't walk around and everytime they need a dictionary ask for a definitionary! It would be hilarious if they did though. :)
I meant to say, "do not use dictionaries to look up the definitions" and instead I said, "don't use a definitionary..."
I got embarrassed and laughed. A couple of the students looked at me confused. They asked me what a definitionary is and instead of admitting my mistake, I just said, "oh it's an American slang word for a dictionary. Same thing!" They believed me.
Luckily, they don't walk around and everytime they need a dictionary ask for a definitionary! It would be hilarious if they did though. :)
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Kiwi Song
While, I was on the Kiwi Experience bus, our driver Lauren gave us an education about New Zealand music. Tiki Taane is of the Ngati Maniapoto tribe of Aotearoa New Zealand. He is the first kiwi artist to gain international fame as a solo artist. This first song I'm posting I just LOVE. The video looks amazing and I love the Maori cadence in it and the people performing the Haka. The song is really popular with Kiwi's because of the sound of the sea in it and the traditional Maori music as well. Oh yea, it's called Tangaroa meaning "god of sea".
It won't let me upload the video from youtube so I'll just copy and paste the link and hopefully get it on here at a later date. Here it is!
Oh yea, in the beginning, the way that the Maori leader and Tiki touch faces is the traditional Maori greeting of hello and welcome.
This is Tiki Taane's most recent song. It's called "Always on My Mind" and it is played on the radio heaps.
It won't let me upload the video from youtube so I'll just copy and paste the link and hopefully get it on here at a later date. Here it is!
Oh yea, in the beginning, the way that the Maori leader and Tiki touch faces is the traditional Maori greeting of hello and welcome.
This is Tiki Taane's most recent song. It's called "Always on My Mind" and it is played on the radio heaps.
Monday, May 4, 2009
For Your Entertainment... A Little Diddy About.... Well...
On the Kiwi bus we made a two night stop in Franz Josef. Since, we did not have to be on the bus early the next morning many people took the opportunity to partake in the local watering hole. As hostels go, there are just bunks in each room and there is usually 2-5 of them. That night, I had chosen my room with the ensuite (its own bathroom and shower) with a specific group of people. Later, I would realize the demise of my decision.
Usually, you queue up, pay for the room, and the first person in your room to get there gets to choose whether they want the top or bottom bunk. Finally, I was the first one in the room and chose a bottom bunk after being on the top one for several nights in a row. Being on the bottom is best because the bunks are often rickety and make a sh*t ton of noise getting up into them. I was reveling in my victory and pleased to be there for two nights and was looking forward to having my superior bed. These bunks were good too. They actually had decent pillows. Usually you have to fold the pillow into two's or three's and sometimes that's not even helpful the pillows are SO flat. The duvet was nothing to shun at either.
Anyway, I was going on a full day glacier hike the next day starting at 8 am so I chose to shower up and go to bed early. My efforts were in vain. Me and three other mates all went to bed early, as they were sky diving early the next morning, and I was doing the hike. Now, enter our faithful fourth roommate, that mind you, we chose, at or around 3-4 am. Post multitudes of drinking and dancing at the pub. He was right pissed.
Fredlar* comes in the room noisily, knocking into things, stumbling, and hiccuping like an old fat drunk. Fredlar sleeps on the bed above me. He used all his drunk might and got himself into bed and once the hiccups ceased he slept HEAVILY. I know this heavy sleeping to be a fact. He was practically comatose. Had to be.
At about 4:30-5 am I was awoken by a dripping noise. You hear ALL kinds of noises, (trust me ALLLL kinds of noises in hostels. 100 plus people all sharing rooms with very thin walls leads to lots of entertainment, embarrassment, frustration and annoyance). I thought the noise was probably someone just using a shower or flushing a toilet in another room. I ignored it.... UNTIL I felt an odd warmth creeping down my hip and leg. At first, naively, I thought my leg had just fallen asleep from sleeping in the same position for too long and the tingling was a result of that. But OH NO, I felt my leg and it was warm, but not only warm it was WET!!!
I now, sit up with ALERT attention, and just as I am in horror realizing that the comforter is all wet as well as the mattress above my head, Fredlar lets out the most satisfying, groan you'd ever hear in your life. If I hadn't know better I would have thought he just bit into the BEST steak n'cheese sandwich he had ever eaten in his life! But alas, the moan was in satisfaction of letting go of a great, I've drank too much beer and jaeger bombs, piss.
Fredlar was up in his bunk moaning away in "sleeping I'm pissing myself bliss" and I'm down beneath him freaking out and trying to get out of bed as soon as possible. I didn't wake him. I'm not sure why it didn't occur to me to try and wake him up. I mean, he peed a reasonable sized lake!
A little less than ideal I would say. I had to get up, shower, and obviously change clothes. My steaming hot shower that turned my skin red couldn't prevent the shudders I felt from being peed on. Luckily, I was equipped with a sleeping bag so I could transfer myself to the floor. My wonderful bed had been soiled! Oh man was I angry. I fretted and fumed until morning.
Here's the kicker. Fredlar was to get up at 6:45 that morning to make it to his glacier climb on Franz. It was already booked and paid for. A bus was not coming to get us for any of the glacier activities so it was our own responsibility to get up and walk to the meeting point. Fredlar missed his deadline. So, in my "little bit" of satisfaction, he pissed himself and 240 bucks down the toilet!
The embarrassment that ensued is unmeasurable. I didn't tell anyone else on the bus besides those that were in my room because there was no easy explanation of why I was lying on the floor. I figured the embarrassment and missing the hike was torture enough. The glacier hike was incredible and something that should definitely NOT be missed out on given the chance. I forgot my camera due to being frazzled by "the incident". My glacier guide, Kutty, kept making fun of me for forgetting it, and finally, I just said, "Well what would you do when you had to get up in the middle of the night and take a shower because you awoke to a very specific type of nasty shower that is much less enjoyable than a real one!" He knew right away what I was referring too, asked the story, I dutifully told, and it got passed on to all the other guides on the glacier by their walkie talkies. Not so friendly, I admit, but the guides all got a huge kick out of it and said my little misfortune made their day. Plus, our guide Kutty, was FIT.
Even now as I tell it, I am not proud nor happy of the situation but laughing at it and making light of the horribleness that can only come about from being peed on has kept me from being irately angry at someone with whom I was going to be spending another week on a bus with. What else are you gonna do? It's just my luck.
*Fredlar- Name of offending Kiwi Bus participant has been changed.
Usually, you queue up, pay for the room, and the first person in your room to get there gets to choose whether they want the top or bottom bunk. Finally, I was the first one in the room and chose a bottom bunk after being on the top one for several nights in a row. Being on the bottom is best because the bunks are often rickety and make a sh*t ton of noise getting up into them. I was reveling in my victory and pleased to be there for two nights and was looking forward to having my superior bed. These bunks were good too. They actually had decent pillows. Usually you have to fold the pillow into two's or three's and sometimes that's not even helpful the pillows are SO flat. The duvet was nothing to shun at either.
Anyway, I was going on a full day glacier hike the next day starting at 8 am so I chose to shower up and go to bed early. My efforts were in vain. Me and three other mates all went to bed early, as they were sky diving early the next morning, and I was doing the hike. Now, enter our faithful fourth roommate, that mind you, we chose, at or around 3-4 am. Post multitudes of drinking and dancing at the pub. He was right pissed.
Fredlar* comes in the room noisily, knocking into things, stumbling, and hiccuping like an old fat drunk. Fredlar sleeps on the bed above me. He used all his drunk might and got himself into bed and once the hiccups ceased he slept HEAVILY. I know this heavy sleeping to be a fact. He was practically comatose. Had to be.
At about 4:30-5 am I was awoken by a dripping noise. You hear ALL kinds of noises, (trust me ALLLL kinds of noises in hostels. 100 plus people all sharing rooms with very thin walls leads to lots of entertainment, embarrassment, frustration and annoyance). I thought the noise was probably someone just using a shower or flushing a toilet in another room. I ignored it.... UNTIL I felt an odd warmth creeping down my hip and leg. At first, naively, I thought my leg had just fallen asleep from sleeping in the same position for too long and the tingling was a result of that. But OH NO, I felt my leg and it was warm, but not only warm it was WET!!!
I now, sit up with ALERT attention, and just as I am in horror realizing that the comforter is all wet as well as the mattress above my head, Fredlar lets out the most satisfying, groan you'd ever hear in your life. If I hadn't know better I would have thought he just bit into the BEST steak n'cheese sandwich he had ever eaten in his life! But alas, the moan was in satisfaction of letting go of a great, I've drank too much beer and jaeger bombs, piss.
Fredlar was up in his bunk moaning away in "sleeping I'm pissing myself bliss" and I'm down beneath him freaking out and trying to get out of bed as soon as possible. I didn't wake him. I'm not sure why it didn't occur to me to try and wake him up. I mean, he peed a reasonable sized lake!
A little less than ideal I would say. I had to get up, shower, and obviously change clothes. My steaming hot shower that turned my skin red couldn't prevent the shudders I felt from being peed on. Luckily, I was equipped with a sleeping bag so I could transfer myself to the floor. My wonderful bed had been soiled! Oh man was I angry. I fretted and fumed until morning.
Here's the kicker. Fredlar was to get up at 6:45 that morning to make it to his glacier climb on Franz. It was already booked and paid for. A bus was not coming to get us for any of the glacier activities so it was our own responsibility to get up and walk to the meeting point. Fredlar missed his deadline. So, in my "little bit" of satisfaction, he pissed himself and 240 bucks down the toilet!
The embarrassment that ensued is unmeasurable. I didn't tell anyone else on the bus besides those that were in my room because there was no easy explanation of why I was lying on the floor. I figured the embarrassment and missing the hike was torture enough. The glacier hike was incredible and something that should definitely NOT be missed out on given the chance. I forgot my camera due to being frazzled by "the incident". My glacier guide, Kutty, kept making fun of me for forgetting it, and finally, I just said, "Well what would you do when you had to get up in the middle of the night and take a shower because you awoke to a very specific type of nasty shower that is much less enjoyable than a real one!" He knew right away what I was referring too, asked the story, I dutifully told, and it got passed on to all the other guides on the glacier by their walkie talkies. Not so friendly, I admit, but the guides all got a huge kick out of it and said my little misfortune made their day. Plus, our guide Kutty, was FIT.
Even now as I tell it, I am not proud nor happy of the situation but laughing at it and making light of the horribleness that can only come about from being peed on has kept me from being irately angry at someone with whom I was going to be spending another week on a bus with. What else are you gonna do? It's just my luck.
*Fredlar- Name of offending Kiwi Bus participant has been changed.
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