Watch Out For Drop Bears!!

Two weeks ago, we flew from Sydney to Adelaide where we met up with our contact from the Conservation Volunteers Australia (CVA). After a quick orientation where we met our group leader Hamish, we discovered that we would be doing work on Kangaroo Island. The work we did consisted of building boardwalks on four of Australia's most beautiful beaches. We were also pleasantly surprised to find out that we would be staying in a beach house owned by our group leader's friend. Throughout the week, each of us got one day off during which we could relax and explore the island. During our down time after work, our group enjoyed spending time with Hamish, attempting to complete a 1500 piece jigsaw puzzle, cooking meals, and watching movies. After 5 days we returned to the mainland by ferry and said goodbye to Hamish at our next destination Adelaide. Here, we spent several days exploring the city. Nick, Catherine, Laura, Alex W, Michelle, and Stefan learned how to surf while the rest of the group enjoyed wandering around the city. On the final night in Adelaide, the whole group saw the new Harry Potter movie. The following morning we got picked up by our Groovy Grape tour guide Leith. Highlights of the Groovy Grape trip included meeting people from France, Germany, and Denmark, sleeping in caves in Coober Pedy, touring Opal mines, visiting Uluru and walking around Ayers Rock, sleeping in swags, and saying goodbye to the Groovy Grape group in the lovely city of Alice Springs. In Alice Springs, we stayed in our first motel and flew to Cairns in preparation for scuba diving. Although we are excited to scuba dive and see the Great Barrier Reef, we had to say goodbye to our group member Catherine who is heading off to college orientation back in LA. Good luck to you Catherine and we love you.

Blooooooooooooooooooooooooog

From the farm, our group travelled to Te Anau for the beginning of our free travel. For our first activity, we hiked a portion of the Kepler Track that led to one of the highest peaks bordering Lake Te Anau. It took all day but the view from the top was completely worth the strenuous walk. The first portion of the hike ended at a hut near the summmit where we took a break and ate. From the hut, a majority of our group soldiered on and made it to the top. The next day, we we continued with our exploration of the outdoors by embarking on a cruise of the Milford Sound, which is said to be among the most beautiful places in the world. After our cruise we went on another hike around the Milford Sound where we kayaked to the beginning of the trail. Despite the constant attack by swarms of sandflies, the scenery was breathtaking and we kayaked amongst a pod of dolphins on our return which made a great grand finale for a beautiful day. From Te Anau we continued to our next destination of Queenstown. We were in Queenstown over Guy Fox day and many people in the city celebrated by shooting off fireworks. Our group discovered a new love: Fergburger- a famous and memorable (as well as positively delicious) burger venue on the main street, so much so that everybody ate multiple meals there. In Queenstown we did one group activity known as jet boating. We rode on a jet boat through the Shotover River with beautiful scenery and rocky features. After a few days in Queenstown we boarded a plane and left New Zealand, a country we have grown to love over the past month, to depart for Sydney. We had a day to explore the city where many of us took advantage of a free city tour as well as went off to explore on our own. Next we went to the Mangrove Satyananda Yoga Ashram for our retreat. Every morning we woke up at 5 to start our 5:30 yoga class, which included learning how to "salute the sun", chanting, and various other exercises. After breakfast we practiced karma yoga for an hour, a practice where one selflessly gives their time to serve others while retaining a yogic attitude. Our group became a constant presence in the kitchen where we helped to chop vegetables and do other various jobs. Another part of our daily routine was Yoga Nidra, which is basically where you lie down in a sleeping position for 30 minutes but attempt to retain consciousness while your body rests. It is commonly known around the ashram as "nap time" and we all loved it. Our other activities varied from day to day- one morning we all used neti pots to clear out our nasal passages and improve balance and breathing... we drank the most amazing chai ever produced on the porch of a farm before a havan ceremony, which involved chanting mantras and giving thanks to nature over a fire. There was a huge thunderstorm during the ceremony and the rain perfectly coincided with the practice. We also went on an Om walk, a bushwalk to the caves on our last day, practiced singing kirta, and every night we participated in mouna (complete silence) until the end of breakfast the next day. Needless to say, it was an eye-opening and amazing experience for all of us and we all left with new knowledge and an appreciation for the practice of yoga.
Love from Australia!
Catherine and Nick

Home, home on the range..

   I find that sometimes it is those completely unplanned, random moments that stick with me throughout the trip. It might be squeezing into a horse trailer on the way to the farm or having a conversation about organic food with Graham (the owner) or even finding yourself in a cemetery on Halloween surrounded by people you've come to know and love. Clearly our time on the farm was indeed superb. We were welcomed with opened arms by Graham. He was not only extremely inviting to us, he also shared his knowledge with us on farming, eating organic food and having a good work ethic. The work was strenuous and difficult at times, but I must say that it was quite rewarding. Some painted windows while others weeded gardens and planted vegetables. And I mustn't forget about our other great responsibility at the farm: taking care of the lambs, chickens, dogs and cats. Everyone also spent some of their mornings and afternoons all day in the kitchen making lunch or dinner for at least twelve people. The home-cooked meals were not only delicious, but made us all feel more at home.
      Although Halloween is not celebrated in New Zealand, we all took advantage of the fact that we had the farm to ourselves that day. Laura made us some delightful goodie bags with chocolate and candy and although we couldn't carve any pumpkins, Greg and Nina made us some delicious pumpkin pie for dessert. Shortly after the sun went down, Casey and Stefan took us all on an adventure to gaze and the unbelievable stars. We were surrounded by the sounds of sheep crying out and the only thing visible besides the stars in the sky was one single candle that had been lit. We told ghost stories in honor of the holiday until we became too tired and headed back to the farm.
    As we all piled into our two rented vans and headed for Te Anau, I looked back at what we were leaving behind. Our journey on this trip thus far has been incredible, but our stay on the Marama Organic Farm was an experience I know none of us will forget.

And in case you were curious...
-Alex F. and Laura spent an entire morning and afternoon tailing sheep
-Alex W. fed the wee lamb everyday and nursed it back to health
-Michelle made two furry friends named Clyde and Tiger (two of the cuddliest farm cats)
-Stefan and Casey took a long drive up to Queenstown to pick up the two vans that we will driving in all through free travel. Thanks to them for going so far out of their way to pick them up for us!
-Catherine cooked lunch and dinner for us at least six times (and it was always delicious of course)
-Nick was always up for the most interesting and unique jobs.
-Nina ate pumpkin pie for the first time!
-Greg was fantastic at handling the oh-so-scary puppy-dogs.

That's all for now.

Sincerely,
Michelle Blau

Learning to Fly

There is nothing more unsettling to me than being surprised by a gigantic winged insect whilst visiting the restroom. On an average night, I would have responded with A. a scream, B. an immediate retreat, C. the throwing of something heavy at the intruder, or D. some combination of the three.

On our first night at the Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuit Center, however, I encountered a bug that made all three options undesirable.

Unfortunately, this emerald moth, speckled with dots of creamy white and the deepest of blacks, was clinging to the back of the bathroom door, making a safe retreat impossible. The space we were sharing was so small that a panicked screech could easily cause it to take flight, ratcheting up my bug anxiety considerably. Even if I had been in possession of something to throw at it, that would not have been an option; crushing something that large could only be considered murder, and if I missed, the massive bug would probably have had the strength to chuck the item right back at me.

No, none of my usual responses would do.

In the end, I settled for making a mad dash through the door, swinging my arms above my head and shimmying about the front porch in my attempt to rid myself of a bug that had probably not moved in hours.

The next morning, I walked outside to find a dozen large green moths littering the ground, all of them dead. At first, I just thought them to be an extremely sickly breed of moth. However, after asking our OPC guides, Luke and Sally, the group was informed that these mammoth insects were not a sickly bunch in the least (a fact that was confirmed every time I tried to wash my hands or use the showers). The reason that they were making motionless appearances on the porch each morning was because these insects only spent one day as moths. The majority of their lives are spent in the worm/cocoon stages. They have roughly twenty-four hours to live from the time they sprout wings and burst forth into the world.

Personally, If I were experiencing the world on a brand new set of wings, I wouldn't hang out in a lady's bathroom all night. But that's just me.

Still, if I wouldn't want to grace the side of a porcelain throne for hours on end, these moths made me consider-made the group consider-how we would spend our winged hours. What would we do if we had a short amount of time to spend with a wonderful and rare opportunity? What would we wish to accomplish?

With that thought in mind, we embarked on our five days at the OPC.

-Alex W. overcame her fear of heights in order to successfully rock-climb on a New Zealand mountain.

 -Greg fit the last piece of strategy in place to complete a team building swamp-crossing exercise without exposing us all to pond scum.

-Alex F. and Nick braved the below freezing weather out in the New Zealand bush away from the group, creating their own shelter and dealing with furry critters during a solo overnight.

-Catherine experienced the lush scenery from a whole new angle, conquering the precarious monkey wire high ropes course challenge.

-Michelle took a leap of faith, facing her fears by jumping off of a loft bridge into freezing water after our raft building/racing experience.

-Nina agily scaled the outdoor climbing wall while carrying a full-sized pack on her back.

-Stacey (Stefan and Casey) were the first to master the strenuous layback procedure used to climb the rock face of a mountain warmed by a rare afternoon of blazing sunlight

All of us have learned to spread our wings and seize fleeting opportunities this past week. Although one of us will be leaving to spread their wings elsewhere, we will always share our experience at the OPC, where we were taught the importance of seizing the day and living life to the fullest.


-Laura Weyl

Glow Worms Don't Have Stomachs!

Kiaora from our new location-- Taupo, New Zealand. Here is a poem to let all you mates know what we have been up to:

We started this week on a Morai,

where we picked thistles, painted fences, oh how time flew by.

We went on a hike with tons of sheep and beautiful hills,

and some of our group members learned how to catch eels. 

For fun we played frisbee and barefoot soccer too.

However, two group members had to go home, so now their time is through.

We ended up in Taupo and had to say goodbye,

but we wish them luck with everything and hope they succeed in all they try.

The past few days here have been adventurous and fun, 

we played an intense game of paintball and of course the gold team won. (Greg, Laura, Alex F., Alex W., Casey)

Then we went to the hot springs, it was such a relaxing time,

The dragon water slide was awesome, it was definitely worth the cold climb.

Wednesday we went black water rafting in the Waitimo caves, what a beautiful site,

the glow worms helped us find our way because they were so bright.

Our adventures in Taupo are now over and we are very sad to leave,

for the next 5 days we will be outdoors, exploring NZ with the OPC!!!

THE END!

Here are some shout outs to family and friends from each member of the group!

Laura: "To Mom, Dad, and TJ: MONKEY!"
Greg: "Laura's Latin teacher!! Hey parents and bros!"
Alex W.: "I LOVE YOU MOMMY! I miss you uncles!"
Mike: "Doin good- still here. Love you guys!"
Alex F.: "Having a great time in NZ. Hope everything is well back at home!"
Catherine: "Dear Family, glad we finally had contact. Good luck in congress Jane!!"
Nick: "Still Alive. :)"
Michelle: "All my quick dry clothing came in handy."
Nina: "To Mom, Dad, Allie, Rach, Chad, Josh, and Daisy: I meeeeeeeeees you and I miss pink-panthering with you. The foot is a-okay! Love you guys. Did you like my poem?"

Thanks for reading mates! Hope everything is great at home!!
Cheers!
-Nina Rosenberg & Alex Wentworth...AKA the master poets.

Kia ora from Aotearoa!

The morning we get ready to take off from Nananu theres a solemn feeling in the air. We all grew so close to our families, but we were looking forward to the next location on our adventure, and trying some new foods rather than we've been having every day in the village. All of us are going to miss the families that we stayed with, the little kids that we played games with, and the dance parties that went late into the night. With a tearful goodbye, we headed off to Nandi where we had an early flight to New Zealand the next day. We arrived in the big city of Auckland, NZ, which was quite the change of scenery after 3 weeks in Fiji. After arriving at our hostel we were immediately given freedom to roam the city and experience NZ city life. After exploring the world of delicious kebabs and Queen Street shopping we hopped on a 4 hour bus ride to Rotarua. There most of the group experienced some amazing NZ Zorbing, while Nick rode on some breathtaking NZ mountain bike trails. To finish off the day Fafoutis, Dimitrios, and Nick had some fun luging down 3 intense tracks. All in all, we have all been having an amazing time since arriving in NZ and are looking forward to the many great experiences that lie ahead of us!

-Alex Fafoutis/Dimitrios Phillio

Suki Power!

Bula friends!
For the past 2 weeks, we've been at a homestay in a small village called Nananu. We took a couple of buses from Nadi and were welcomed into the village (after we put on our sulus) by the community in an opening ceremony. We all really loved our naus and magus (moms and dads) and became really close with our families. Our community service project was building concrete pathways throughout the village. We spent our free time fishing, swimming in waterfalls, visiting the Fiji water factory, and hiking. Some of the village festivities included nightly dance parties and a cookout by the river. On Sunday we attended a Methodist church service (and some of us attended Mass as well) and sang Fijian hymns while dressed up in our church clothes. We spent a day at a beach resort in Raki Raki where we enjoyed beautiful waters and banana splits. Our last day in the village was a family day where most of us helped cook and rested up for the all-night dance party that the village threw for us before we left.
Brusch luckily doesn't have rabies after being bitten by a dog without ears that was new to the village. Fun fact- there has never been a reported case of rabies in Fiji. Nina has been expanding her food horizons by trying a bunch of new things- like prawns, fish, and curry, to name a few. Kyle has been taking his "balls to the wall" mentality to the next level by doing things such as cliff-diving, going barefoot hiking, and eating prawns straight out of the water. Alex, our captain for the second week, has been bonding with her family and members of the village (especially Fili and Billy) by playing volleyball every afternoon with them. Dimitrios impressed the villagers with his breakdancing at the nightly dance parties. Laura has been a kid-magnet for all the village children and spent most of her free time playing with them. Faf loved the village despite the fact that there is a significant lack of meat in their diet, but found comfort in the group's numerous discussions about American foods (which we all miss dearly). He and Dimitrios bought a goat with their family and slaughtered it for the meal on their family day. They said it was delicious. Michelle made a lot of bracelets for everybody in her family and just finished a particularly sick one with like 50 strings. She also got the chance to ride on a horse. Also- TODAY IS HER 18TH BIRTHDAY! Happy birthday Michelle!!!! We had birthday cake with breakfast this morning before we left Nananu and got to sing happy birthday to her right at midnight in the middle of the dance party. Nick has been playing guitar for everybody and one night was even awarded baby powder in his hair/face and a sulu for his performance. It's a Fijian tradition for when they are entertained, and it was entertaining for the rest of the group to watch. Catherine and Greg find it awkward to blog about themselves in the 3rd person, but are doing great.
Moce!
-Catherine and Greg (/George)

here in Fiji

Bula!! Family and Friends
We landed in Fiji on Thursday morning at 5:10am. During the first few days we've had been orientation, we have been getting to know each other through various exercises and games and spending a lot of time bonding. We went into the town of Nadi to explore and to purchase the traditional dress of the Fijian culture, the zulu. Currently, we are learning about the differences in customs from America to prepare for our home-stay in a traditional Fijian village. Everyone is getting along well and are very enthusiastic about what were here to do.

From Fiji with love,
Nick Ciffolillo & Alex Wentworth

They're All Together!

HQ is pleased to announce the successful arrival of everyone constituting the Hongi group, and in a few short hours they will be whisked away on the wings of Air Pacific to begin their adventure together!  Look for an update from the group members themselves in a couple days, and from this point on.

Fall FANZ Kick-Off

Dear Fanz Hongi 2010 crew:  Dimitrios, Kyle, Nina, Laura, Alex, Nick, Alexandra, Greg, Michelle, Michael and Catherine.

We hope you have been enjoying the last gasps of summer and are psyched for our South Pacific adventure.   We leave in two days!

This is our group trip blog, a site where all of your friends and family will be able to keep track of our movements and experiences over the course of the coming semester.  Please let your friends and family know how to log in to view the blog while you are gone.  They will appreciate reading about your adventures almost as much as you will enjoy having them.  The blog is a cool way to post a photo of you with your new marsupial friend or to share an anecdote about your favorite Fijian delicacy.

Best of luck with your last minute preparations.  We will see all of you at LAX.

To all friends and family of Fanz '10 members, welcome, and we will be in touch again from Nadi, Fiji!

Stefan & Casey - Fanz Hongi '10 Co-Leaders

Good Bye Fanz

What a trip! A few shout outs too our whole group for either getting Certified to open water dive *Becca C. Becca O. Sarah, Jordin, Shelby, Coco, Maxx* and to Andy for getting his Advance, Suz for continuing her diving! And Matt getting to snorkel the reef!

As our trip comes to a close we all wanted to think back about some of our favorite parts of our 3 month long adventure

Sarah: Marama organics with Graham and Giselle. Our stay there was fun filled, educational and purposeful

CoCo: I loved our neon CVA vests and the OPC wetsuits, also the time we spent in them, even if some of it was type three fun!

Jordin: I loved all the people we met on this trip. We got really lucky with all of them. Without them my trip would not be what it was. Thank you Kali, Graham, Juliane, Giselle, Steve, Ethan, Patrick, and everyone else who made our trip what it was.

Becca C: ill never forget dance parties and kava ceremonies in Nananu. I will always remember my Fijian family and friends and hope to return some day. ROLLER BLADING AND POWER WALKING FOR LIFE!

Becca O: POWER WALKING AND ROLLER BLADING 4 LYFE DOG!

Matt: I will never forget fulfilling my goal of this trip of seeing and touching Koala’s. Also making some money playing my guitar on the streets of Cairns.

Shelby: ill never forget our adventures in Nananu and playing volleyball with all those strong Fijian men. Kava dance parties. New Zealand home stays. The OPC zip lining and caving and abseiling. I had a blast shearing sheep and painting the woolshed with Graham and Giselle. And I’m totally stoked on being SCUBA certified! The people we’ve met are unforgettable. Kali, Graham, Julian, Steve, Ethan; all of them have made this trip a bit more memorable.

Andy: fresh coconut milk from Fijian palms. Mangoes, guavas, waterfalls and crystalline springs. So many beautiful botanical gardens! Outback sunsets, early morning yoga. Sheep herding, cave exploring and breathing underwater. Chess playin, Frisbee throwin, balderdash and bufords of fun!

Suzanne: oh what a trip. So many memories. Dancing our buts off with all the Nananu folk, cooking and eating yummy meals at Graham’s. Exploring the caves at the OPC and laughing hysterically when reflecting on our sleepless camping adventure. Milford sound, yoga, wombats( need I say more) WOMBAT WARRIORS! Along with wombat jobby of course. Sleeping under the stars, grooving the grape with steve and diving WOW! I will forever remember each one of you and our crazy adventures. XoXo

Maxx: What a trip. When I think of my favorite moments on this trip I think of OPC adventures doing things I never would have thought I could do (climbing threw sewers, jumping high ropes, and adventuring in caves!) I will never forget any of the amazing people that I have met throughout this trip and the things I have learnt I will take with me for the rest of my life. Thank you all so much.

Thanks to everyone who made this trip possible

and helped us along the way

Groovy Grape and Beyond!

Hello again family and friends!

We have just arrived in Cairns, Australia. Which means a few things; we have safely made it out of the Outback and from the treacherous beach community of Noosa! During our Outback adventure with the Groovy Grape, we spent seven days and six nights traveling to many of the well known destinations such as Uluru, Coober Pedy, Kings Canyon, The Garden of Eden, and several other beautiful sights. During our stop at Uluru our group did the walk around the base, and as a group decided to respect the Aboriginal peoples culture and not do the walk up the side. During our stay in Coober Pedy we had a tour of an old opal mine and enjoyed a nights stay inside underground caves! Within the city almost the entire population lives underground in cave homes. The reason for this is that they stay at a constant 25 degrees Celsius year round while the land above them is extremely hot. On our last day with Groovy Grape tours, we did a canyon hike through Kings Canyon to the Garden of Eden. It was remarkable having hiked through such hot dry land and stumbling onto a small valley of green plans and pools of water. As a group we stopped here and took a dip. After Groovy Grape we jumped on our last flight together as a full group to Brisbane. After a two hour bus ride we reached our beach destination of Noosa and began our three day stay in a very relaxing community. Some of the activities we got involved in during our stay consists of Becca O. teaching Sarah and Matt how to surf and me*Maxx* watching and passing on helpful words. Matt got up on some waves on his first day surfing! Other members of our group had fun lounging on the beach and doing morning yoga. After Noosa we embarked on our 35 hour train trip from Noosa to Cairns. Even though our trip is coming to an end, we are all looking forward to a week of scuba diving classes, diving on the Great Barrier Reef, and many more great adventures to come!

~Maxx F.

Back from the Bush

We our back from the Bush!
Hello family and friends its your friendly Bilbo bloggins here again to tell you about our adventures in wombat land!
Our merry group got to spend five fun filled, and at times quite goofy, days at the Brookfield Conservation Park. We joined a group called the CVA or Conservation Volunteers of Australia who took us out to lovely Brookfield to help find and record wombat warrens.
A warren is basically a giant mole hill dug out by wombats. For those of you who do not know what a wombat is, it is basically a giant hamster that lives in the brush of Australia.
Our days at Brookfiled consisted of the group splitting up during the day and tramping through the bush for several kilometers looking for the warrens in the ground. As i am sure you can imagine this activity would get very boring very fast so we came up with all kinds of games and dances to do to keep us having fun.
Suzanne made up a entertaining wombat dance for us all to do and a beautiful goat dance as well.
Becca.O came up with a great idea to help us when we got a bit frustrated. She had us come up with what our own ideal personal raincoat would be so that when we got frustrated all we had to do was "put on"our raincoats and have the frustrations just slide off us. This came in handy when the GPS systems were not working as well as it could have been and as a result we all got a little lost in the bush. Along with our new "raincoats" Sarah was there to help us all keep our heads.
Becca.C helped us pass the time by singing songs by Death Cab for Cutie.
In the late afternoon the group met back up at base camp. We all took turns every night making dinner for the whole group. Coco and Becca made us all a delicious spaghetti one of the nights followed by some fun rounds of balderdash thanks to Maxx.
Matt kept us entertained at night strumming on his guitar. Shelby made sure none of us died in the night by being our constant spider lookout. This was put to the test when she found a rather large red back spider in the bathroom, which we later discovered is quite poisonious and can make you very sick.
Andy helped us relax and laugh after a particularly stressful day of warren hunting by attempting to learn to Irish Step Dance taught to him by me (Jordin). On our last day with CVA we all got up extra early, part from CoCo and Andy who had to go into town early to make sure CoCo's ear was not infected (Don't worry all! her ear is just fine and will be able to join us all in scuba diving later in the trip), and the rest of us were in for a treat as we headed off to visit some wombats up close and personal. We went to the home of a woman named Brigit who ran a wombat rescue out of her home. Their work is all nonprofit and to be honest its quite amazing. They currently have fourteen wombats, one dog, one cat, two owls, one echidna, and two opossums all living with them. These woman even shared their bed with these forteen wombats!The whole group took turns cuddling up with these adorable marsupials and holding them in our laps. It was quite an amazing experience that not many get to enjoy.
Now the group is reunited back at Adelaide before we head out again on our next big adventure in the Outback. So keep your eyes peeled for our next blog and keep your fingers crossed as we trek across the big Outback!
Lots of love from us all over here in backwards land!
Jordin and Becca.C

G'day Mates!

We're here to deliver you a little ditty
From this wonderful place called Adelaide
It's Australia's fifth largest city
Near the world's largest uranium reserve, where much of Oz's money gets made!

It's hard to imagine that four days ago
We were at Govinda Valley exploring our spiritual sides
At first bummed to not be studying Buddhism,
We soon found ourselves pleasantly surprised

To learn how to access our kundalini energy
From Patrick, our compassionate yoga teacher
We even got to analyze our astrological charts
From Andre, our very own vedic philosophy preacher

From Matt's chart, he received confirmation
That he'd pursue a career in the film biz
While Maxx became pretty adventurous
Tasting all sorts of new vegetarian dishes

Sarah and Coco really got into the yoga
Contorting themselves in all sorts of poses
They even enjoyed the breathing exercises
Letting the prana flow in and out of their noses

Shelby sure did love all the yoga
But was definitely the most thrilled
When she discovered a rugby ball
And got to play with it in the Aussie hills

The two Beccas rose before the sun
To check out the visiting Vedanta clan
They sat and listened to Sanskrit chanting
Language barrier and all, they maintained a good attention span

We even got to celebrate Jordin's birthday
At our beautifully peaceful retreat
The group and the generous staff there
Got together and made her a delicious treat

One day after class with Andre
Patrick drove us all to the zoo
Where we finally got to see it,
Our very first kangaroo!

Govinda Valley came in perfect time
As our nomadism was starting to take a toll
We were feeling a bit stressed out and tired
But now we're relaxed, rejuvenated, and ready to roll

Back to Sydney we then went
To explore a world famous city
Botanical gardens, opera house, harbour cruise
That we had to leave so soon was really a pity

We are only hours away
From our intense outback excursion
Where we work to save Australia's wombats
What a cool conservational immersion

You may or may not have realized
That there's been a bit of a swap
Your previous rhymers have been replaced
Those originals, of course we can't top!

Becca.C and Jordin

We've finally made it to the land Down Under,
Which means we got through free travel without too many a blunder.
Tekapo, site of the world's best stars,
Was covered in clouds, which made viewing them hard.
At Mount Cook the next day the weather was nice,
We hiked near a glacier and tried to touch the ice!
To Wanaka next our caravan drove,
And into our hostel's hot tub we dove.
At the Rob Roy Glacier rain once again foiled our plans,
But rainforests and rivers were seen by our clan.
Then back in the van to Queenstown we went,
Where "Dennis" was returned with only one dent!
The next day we hopped on a bus to Milford Sound,
where on top of our cruise ship the waterfalls did pound.
While in the fjords the mountains surrounded,
and by the foggy views we were astounded.
Yesterday we jetted to the land of OZ,
and almost missed our flight--april fools was the cause.
And this morning one of ranks joins the Crimson Class
and next fall through the Harvard gates she will pass.
Of her all of us couldn't be prouder
but we would've died last night had our hostel been louder.
Today to govinda we take the train at two,
And after a week of yoga, we'll report back to you.

Ode to Lyttelton

There once was a woman in Lyttelton

Named Dee whose house we are livin' in

Tonight she's having a barbie for us all

and since she's in charge we know we'll have a ball.

Dee has a neighbor named Sue,

Who's hosting some of our crew,

And also a bestie named Ann,

Who's housing the rest of our clan.

Lyttelton harbor is a picturesque place

located near an old volcano's base.

Here we work with fences and dirt,

to restore the land is our main effort.

On Monday we went to help out Yvette,

And Maxx and Gavin made a fence for her piggy pet (s).

She taught us all about Maori culture and tradition,

And with Jordin's help cooked us lunch in her kitchen.

On Tuesday we hiked to a house on the hill,

Where Peter showed us which invasive plants we could kill.

Armed with deadly blue goo and clippers alike,

We made the land much more pleasurable to hike.

While we hacked away at weeds galore,

stinging nettles attacked and gave Matt a sore.

On Wednesday we went out to Godley Head,

and through this old army post we were led.

We planted some grass and ripped out a fence,

Andy and Shelby made sure a pinecone war commence (d).

Come Thursday to Godley Head we went back,

and the Beccas, in style, moved brush into stacks.

Decked out in weird hats, they were quite a sight,

wearing 3-D glasses to block out sunlight.

Suze, meanwhile, remained reliable and funny,

though the outlook on her parasites isn't so sunny.

And today, it's Friday (but thursday for you)

We're having fun in Christchurch, but we miss you too.

Tomorrow we leave on our free travel trip,

to Mt. Cook and Wanaka after a Tekapo dip.

With Andy and Suze at the wheel of our van,

We'll end up in Queenstown, or at least that's the plan.

So now you've reached the end of this blog,

and we've run out of rhymes, our minds are afog.

And if we make it through free travel without going loco,

there will be an update next week from Sarah and Coco.

OPC

Hello again everybody!
We just got into Christchurch after a week at the Outdoor Pursuits Center and a full day of travel. I know we're all glad to finally be off that six hour bus and into Christchurch. Our time at the OPC was sweet as though! I know many of us arrived at the OPC with some less than enthusiastic attitudes, but our leader, Julian, changed those attitudes right quick. Between abseiling (rappelling), the high ropes course, caving at night, and a seriously cold overnight, I think our time there was something we'll never forget. On our overnight, the weather was all great until Wednesday night when we all basically froze. It got down in the negatives and none of us were ready for that one. Overall though our time at the OPC was an awesome experience. Friday we headed out back to Wellington for the night, but our hostel reservation got slightly messed up so we had to scrounge up a place to stay for the night. Everything worked out fine in the end though. Saturday was spent completely in travel. A huge two hour ferry ride and then a six hour bus ride to get to Christchurch. Starting tomorrow we're with our Kiwi families for a week long home stay here. I know we're all very excited to be staying with our families and are looking forward to our free travel plans next week.

Love to all our families and friends!
- Shelby

Check out our photobucket for new photos!

http://s1044.photobucket.com/albums/b442/FANZ_2010/

Wellington

Hello again everyone!
As we say our goodbyes to Graham and Giselle and all of Marama Organics, we look forward to Wellington and Sir Edmund Hilary's Outdoor Pursuits Center. We'll definitely all miss the fun we had on the farm. Flying out of Dunedin, Wellington was having a spot of rough weather. Despite the weather, I know many of us were more than happy to be back in the city. Friday and Saturday nights in Wellington are crazy. Lots of things going on and the city is awake all night. Saturday, being our only full day in this city, was full of activity. Most of us made it over to the Te Papa museum at some point during the day. Matt organized a sweet tour for anyone who wanted to go. Becca C, Jordin, Matt, and I ended up having a blast re-enacting scenes from The Lord if the Rings for a few hours, just your average day being a Hobbit. Tody we're off to the Outdoor Pursuits Center (OPC) for a week of ropes courses and rock climbing and hiking and who knows what else is in store for us! Wish us luck as we take on the challenging activities at the OPC!

Game on.

- Shelby

Check Out Pictures on Photobucket!

http://s1044.photobucket.com/albums/b442/FANZ_2010/

Marama Organics!

Hello everyone! The group arrived safely in Dunedin last Thursday after a very early morning flight out of Auckland. It was a bittersweet goodbye as we said farewell to a fantastic city as well as two of our friends, Ethan and Kyle. We hope they are doing well! After a few fun shopping stops and a lunch in Dunedin, we snagged a bus out to Marama. The bus actually dropped us off at some remote intersection. From there, Graham and Sonya picked us up in a couple trucks to take as to our home for the week, Marama Organics. All week we've been doing various jobs from weighing thousands of sheep to painting an entire wool shed! It's been very exciting. We've been pairing up into teams cooking and clean up the meals everyday. Gavin and Jordin are always eager to work with the sheep. Becca C. spent some time being lifted on a tractor to paint the high parts onthe wool shed. Matt and Maxx have become quite good painters during our time here. Sarah has been letting us eat her amazing cooking. Coco and Becca O always seem to be finding new things for us to do on our free travel (which is coming up in a few weeks here). Everyone is working hard and having tons of fun while we're at it!

Love to all of our families!

-Shelby

Sail City

The work is finished! The group pulled together and worked hard until the much needed pathway was finished. At completion there was a small gathering where the minister of the local church came, a nice conclusion to a fun project. In the following days we did various activities including horseback rides to the nearby waterfall which we could slide down and jump off, a tour of the Fiji water plant, a trip to the beach, and time to bond with out host families. Overall the things that we experiences and the knowledge we gained about their way of life was priceless.
The final nights were filled with dance parties, performances, and lots of food. The village kids prepared various performances for us each night and in the end we shared one of our own with them. The final day was one of mixed feeling. Sad to leave but excited to be continuing on our travels to New Zealand. After a slue of goodbye kisses from our sad host mothers and waiting for a van in Fiji time we were finally back on the road. The first stop that we made was the Mc Donalds in Nadi, a tasty little reminder of what we all left behind in the states. Then we were off to the airport for another length of goodbyes and photographs taking in the last moments of Fiji with the villagers that accompanied us to the airport. With spirits high and not knowing what to expect we were off the ground in Fiji, in a very luxurious plane, and well on our way to New Zealand.
Auckland, I don't even know where to start from the moment we all touched down here knew that this was going to be a great city. A big change of pace after sleeping in mosquito nets and washing clothing in the local river and taking bucket showers. getting in late we went straight to our hostel and after a pleasant and comfortable night we were all ready to get out and go explore the city of sails. Some people raced of to find the nearest fast food, some people raced off to find the nearest TV and catch the USA versus Canada game, but one thing was the same, everyone loved this city and after a day packed full of exploring and immersing in a new culture we can't wait to see what tomorrow has in store for us.

Again, Gavin & Becca

Taki-Taki

Hello again guys, gavin and becca here blogging from tavua. We've been away from internet and telephones for a while in the beautiful classical fijian village of nananu. Working under the hot sun and getting to know the amazing generous people of the village while also getting alot of down time in the shade getting to know each other better, this down time is called what the people like to call "fiji time".
so this is what we have been up to...
After a long and interesting system of public buses and sitting in the back of trucks we finally arrived to the village. we were welcomed by a colorful party of children dancing laughing and singing and host mothers embracing us and giving us fat sloppy kisses even though they never meet us before, just a small example of how warm and welcoming everyone here is. The group was split up into pairs and after the welcoming ceremony had come to a close we were handed over to our host mothers and quickly swept away to meet our host families. The group was slightly skeptical about the living conditions at first but it was all put to rest when we found out there was running water and showers and the food was certainly nothing short of incredible.
We have been treated to four meals a day: breakfast, lunch, tea, and diner. Breakfast is a combination of kinds of cakes, pancake like things cut in the shape lightning bolt, and fresh fruits. The favorites are usually the rainbow cake (multi-colored cake with frosting on top) and bananas (in which we put penut better that we bought in town).These are the same kinds of food also found at tea time. We also try the mystery meat of the day at lunch and dinner loaded with their version of ketchup (which we place on everything) Oh but the highlight of one of our days is when a fan was installed by Collie in the dining room, its not exactly winter over here it reached a peak of 103 one day.
During the day we work on building a cement road that goes through the village. We collect small rocks from outside the village, mix cement, dig some dirt, or a large amount of time napping in the shade. After our work is done we go soak ourselves in the river trying to get cool. One day we were rewarded for our hard work and the villagers took us up to a waterfall right out of national geographic.
The people here are very spirited, the nights are never quiet. On special accosions they will offer us an ancient Fijian tradition of kava. It was interesting to gain insight into their culture through this age old tradition. During this time music is a large part, they listen to Chris Brown and other popular American artists along with a lot of native island music, while they dance to the early hours of the morning.

Till next time....

Gavin and Becca

**BULA**

A warm hello from FIJI!!! With new Fijian words flowing from our mouths and sweat dripping down our faces from the beautiful sunny days, we are finally all together as a group. After our long yet exciting journey, we reached Nadi at 5:30 am on Feb 13th. Since then,we have been busy learning important information for our semester, scavenger hunting around the city, buying sulus (a sarong that will soon be our main attire in the village), watching rugby while eating breakfast, learning about "fiji time", swimming in the pristine postcard perfect beach water but most importantly, beginning to get to know each other. Tomorrow we head to Nananu for our first homestay, where we will be for almost 2 weeks. (we will be out of touch during this time but will write as soon as we can).
Sending lots of love**

Moce mada (bye for now)

Andy & Suzanne

It's some sort of miracle

It's some sort of miracle that we managed to get everyone, from the East Coast, from the West Coast ... well ... everyone! Despite cancellations from weather in NH, MA, and NY, we pulled some sort of rabbit out of our hat and sure enough everyone is together, safe and sound, in LAX.

Thank you all (especially the East coasters) for your perseverance and communication as we navigated one heck of a last 48 hours.

Stay tuned and check back often for more group posts,

Yours in spirit,

Ethan Knight

Executive Director

FANZ Spring 2010!

Dear FANZtastic crew 2010 Kyle, Rebecca, Ethan, Jordin, Shelby, Maxx, Cordelia, Sarah, Rebecca, Mathew, and Gavin....

We hope you have all been enjoying your winter breaks and are getting excited for an amazing semester down South! We are super pumped to meet you all and begin our adventures together! Expect a call from one of us in the next few days to introduce ourselves and answer any last minute questions you might have. Guess what...we fly in 6 days!

This is our travel blog where all of our friends and family back home can keep up with our adventures. Each week one of you will be our official "blogger" and will get to write our travel tales for our dedicated followers around the globe. We encourage you to peruse past blogs to get an idea of what they might look like. Also, please inform your family and friends of this site, and show them how to log in, so they will know what an amazing and authentic experience we are having. In addition to gaining responsibility of the blog, there will be other roles assigned and rotated every 1-2 weeks to help you take ownership of our trip and get the most out of the semester. Contemplate which one you are most enthusiastic about taking charge of for the first couple weeks of the semester...

Cribs: Organizes any sleeping accommodations we need. ie: hotel/hostel/camping

Hotwheels: Coordinates our transportation to and from cities, activities, hostels, etc.

Captain: The leader of our team who creates the overall vision for the following week, makes sure we are getting places on time, staying within budget, and ensuring that others are accomplishing their roles.

Regulator: One of the most important roles, the regulator makes sure we are leaving places cleaner than when we arrived, organizes games and other activities during down time, coordinates displays of our gratitude to communities we visit like thank you letters, gifts, performances, etc.

Clark Kent: News reporter for the group, Clark Kent helps us stay up to date on local, national and global news by giving brief presentations on current happenings.

Bilbo Bloggins: Blogs our adventures for friends and family back home.

Fun Finder: Researches and presents to the group potential activities and fun stuff to do during free time.

National Geographic: Researches and keeps the group informed about people, place, culture, language, cuisine, etc. of the unique cultures and communities we visit.

We are so excited to head to summer time in the South Pacific and hope you are too! Be sure and enjoy all of your favorite things at home before we head into the unknown :)

Peace.

Suz & Andy