Aaand this is why I love this industry.

So, yesterday, I interviewed two members of the Kiwi band Crashpolitic and after a very successful discussion, if I may say so myself, they added me + 1 to the guest list of their CD release party.

I had kind of already decided to go, but I thought I maybe should check with my boss (the editor of Rip It Up) to make sure it's not like, journalistically unethical to take free beer from a band before I publish a story about them. (You know, memories of all that delicious free beer could affect the bias of my story.)

He said, "Yeah, that's totally cool."

And then DJ Sir-Vere, who works for Satellite Media's other publication Back2Basics when he's not dropping rhymes, said, "Yeah, actually, if you get really drunk and spew all over everyone, it gives the magazine a badass reputation."

Muffins: Successful

Huzzah, I just produced six banana muffins and five banana nut muffins, from scratch! And they cooked thoroughly in the tiny, weird oven in UniLodge!

The last time I baked with the UniLodge oven, I made oatmeal raisin cookies. The oven is half-sized, so the cookie sheet I had didn't fit, so I fashioned cookie sheets out of tinfoil. Therefore, I could only bake nine cookies at a time, and the heat wasn't conducting properly through the tinfoil, so each batch took about 20 minutes instead of the usual 9-11. I was afraid the cookie sheets weren't the only reason each batch took so long; I thought it might have something to do with the tiny, weird oven, too. But the muffins cooked up evenly, 20 minutes a batch, just like they're supposed to. Hooray! (For some reason, the muffin tin was already in my apartment when I moved in, which is why I decided to make muffins in the first place.)

I was mixing my dry and wet ingredients while this older guy was cooking dinner in the communal kitchen. He watched me for a while and then said, condescendingly, "Hm, muffins, how domestic."

I really, really enjoy baking. Whatever, it's "domestic." Who the frig cares. I can be a strong, independent woman of the 21st century and enjoy baking for no particular reason. I wish people wouldn't give me a hard time for baking. (Everyone who walked by the kitchen while I was making the cookies had some two cents to throw at me.) You like eating muffins, don't you? Do you think muffins spontaneously generate? No. Someone has to bake them. So lay off.

Then, Paul the UniLodge maintenance man (probably my favorite person I've met in Auckland so far) came in and said, "Wow, muffins! Is the oven working?"

And I said, "Um, I don't know? I didn't think to make sure?" I had turned it on to preheat, so I opened it and felt for heat.

It wasn't hot.

I had a pot (because I have no mixing bowls) of muffin batter, and a cold oven.

So, Paul the maintenance man began fiddling with the oven dial while I looked behind it to make sure it was plugged in. It was, but the switch that gives power through the outlet was switched off. So, I switched it on, and the little red light turned on. So, crisis averted, but it was almost really bad.

Anyway, Paul was still fiddling with the dial, the knob of which does not stay on, no matter what. He didn't know what condition the oven was in-- he never uses it, I guess-- but now he does (read: poor), and he said he'll let the front desk know that they should replace it. Yay Paul!!

Anyway, I put the muffins in the freezer so I can bring them on my spring break road trip. Yum!

Also, I made banana pancakes. Big on banana-flavored things today.

So, I wish I had anything of merit to post, but I don't. I'm sorry. I thought being abroad would be exciting moment after exciting moment, but really. All I do is go to work and class.

Yesterday we did go to the Otara Marketplace, though, which was kind of exciting. It was a large parking lot-like area of little tents selling oddities and produce. Most booths sold ridiculous knock-off designer wear (Leva's jeans, anyone?), "Polynesian souveniers," Maori pride shirts, things with marijuana leaves in their decoration, produce and carnival food.

There were some beautiful arts booths, though, and I bought myself a black leather belt that the nice Polynesian fellow cut and sized for me right there! I also bought a little gift for an undisclosed recipient. I also bought potatoes.

Yesterday afternoon, UniLodge hosted us for a barbecue. Even though I had little desire for barbecue food, I definitely want dinner on UniLodge, as this building absolutely nickels and dimes me in every regard. We started the evening with a New Zealand trivia contest, and the one Maori boy in my group and knowledge learned from my Aotearoa New Zealand class helped propel us to the top! We kicked ass. Though in the end, every participant won a package of questionably delicious banoffee-flavored cookies.

The food they served, too, was not what I was expecting: sausage, potato salad, cole slaw, and, inexplicably, buttered bread. I also tried L&P for the first time, which was an interesting experience that I mostly enjoyed.

Today a BU girl and I were going to go to the Erotica Lifestyles Expo (seriously), until I found out it's $25 (or $45 together if we told them we're a couple), which is really just too much to spend on something I'm mildly ashamed to admit I'm actually interested in. (All interest stemming from this preceding event, of course.) Anyway, I wanted to be back in time for KrishnaFest at The Loft anyway... I'm feeling a little spiritually lacking. Then I'm going to bake some banana muffins in the silly little UniLodge oven.

This is my life, seriously.

Oh. I'm interviewing Crashpolitic on Tuesday, for Rip It Up's Ones2Watch section. That's cool, I guess.

Yeah Monday!

Yesterday was just all-around fantastic. I woke up late (10 am), not because I necessarily needed to, but because I could. It was raining when I woke up, but after only a few minutes, the sky blued up and I opened my window and the beautiful day shone in. I was energized and in an all-around good mood... one of those mornings, you know?

I checked class times at The Loft and planned on going to yoga, so that jazzed me for the rest of the day.

I had the lecture for my Magazine Journalism class at noon. Each lecture is by a different guest, so they're always interesting. Yesterday's was by Suzanne McFadden, a prolific NZ profile and feature writer who had lots of wisdom and experience to pass on.

Then I was back in my apartment to knit and Skype my family, a good way to spend an afternoon.

I had class again at four, which was boring (New Zealand Political Studies), but I have friends in the class so it wasn't so bad.

I headed back to UniLodge and Kevin was in the lobby to give back our Maori tests... I got an A-! Seeing as though I had C-range hopes, that was pleasing.

I left for yoga shortly thereafter, and the class was faaantaaaastic. For $14, I got a 75-minute hatha yoga class, plus all-I-could-eat vegetarian dinner and dessert. Plus, new friends. Definitely going to make that part of my regular routine.

Afterwards, I talked with Michelle and Ashley about our Spring Break plans. I'm glad I hitched on with them; Ashley is so organized and we're going to have a much more rewarding itinerary than if I were to try and plan a trip on my own. Excited about THAT. I'll give more details as they're set in stone.

Now I'm at Rip It Up, getting some background on Nathan King in preparation for interviewing him at 2 pm! I have 900 words to play around with once I talk to him. Talk about good for my portfolio...

I finally finished A Short History Of Paradise, which was quite boring. But for some reason, I felt compelled to finish it. I'm going to the library tonight to grab something else to absorb. Having finished the Bilbrough book, I feel relieved and like I have the literary world at my fingertips.

I should figure out a way to get my headphone hair to subside before I meet NZ rock royalty this afternoon. Hmm...

What are baby sheep called?

Yesterday Ashley, Kathy, Bonnie, Kathrynn, Jasmine, Ning and I rented a Previa from one of the car hires on Beach Road and I got behind the wheel and we headed north to SHEEPWORLD.

SheepWorld is about a 50 minute drive up Highway 1, and driving really wasn't so bad. After I realized the parking break was on, it was pretty much smooth sailing. We had to rely on New Zealand radio because no one has one of those connect-your-mp3-player devices, but even that wasn't so bad. I'm secretly a huge fan of Chris Brown and the new Weezer song.

We got to SheepWorld about four minutes after the "eel feeding" was scheduled to begin, but it was cancelled anyway so Kathy's disappointment wasn't the fault of my old-lady driving tendencies. I really wish we got to see the eel feeding, though, because I'm so confused. Eels? At SheepWorld? Why? I would really like a little context there.

We asked the old lady who sold us our tickets whether we could have a group rate for the seven of us, and she said that unfortunately, they only do group rates for groups of 10 or more, but she would give us some bags of feed for the animals! Usually you have to pay a buck for that stuff. So, that was cool. We got to feed all the animals on the grounds. It was like a petting zoo-- there were all these farm animals are kind of penned but kind of just hanging out, and they come up in your face and eat out of your hand... it was fun.

After our little self-guided tour of the grounds, we went into the barn for the sheep & dog show, where this Kiwi shepherd Rob showed us how his two dogs help him round up sheep. It was kind of cool... I kind of felt like the dogs were just running around, but I guess that's what they're there for.

Then Rob had an audience volunteer help herd them into different pens (based on a color stripe on their fleece), and Bonnie was that volunteer! She did a pretty good job. I think she might have a career in shepherding.

Then Rob showed us how to shear a sheep, which looks pretty inhumane. The sheep he was shearing had never had a haircut before and was pretty uncomfortable with it, so that was awkward. I understand that sheep get sheared for the own health, so knowing that helped. And the sheep looked quite nice after his haircut. And there was no blood.

After the shearing, all these five-to-ten day old BABY LAMBS came out and we got to bottle-feed them! Sooo cuuuuuute. I called them "baby sheep" and like, four Kiwis called me out on it. I guess in a country where sheep outnumber people four to one, you should know how to call them at any age.

We hit up the gift store after washing our hands (of course), which is really the reason wanted to go to SheepWorld. Yarn.

They actually didn't have a great selection. I was disappointed. I wanted something chunky, but they only had sportweight, and they didn't have many color selections. I made a purchase, though. I mean, you can never have too much yarn. It's still NZ wool. It's actually quite beautiful, in shades of purple.

I considered some Canterbury boots, too, New Zealand's answer to Uggs. They were beeeaaaauuutiful, but $225 NZD. I just couldn't justify it. I might buy them at a later date, though. They're so gorgeous.

After SheepWorld, we headed south, but stopped a few places on the way home just because we could. We stopped at the New Zealand Honey Centre, which was really a nice place and I would like to officially tour it some day. We also stopped at a beautiful beach because I'm in New Zealand and you can just pull off the road at any given place and dip your toes into the Pacific.

In all, it was a beautiful little day trip. We were going to go to the Auckland Zoo today, but it's gross-raining and no one wants to traipse around the zoo in spitting rain. Gag. So... I'll probably clean the bathrooms in my apartment and go to FoodTown. Such is life.

Photos of farm animals for you to enjoy!

Another superb weekend and the start of my career at Rip it Up

This weekend was the Noho Marae, a weekend at the marae on the AUT campus especially for international students.

I had absolutely no idea what to expect, and even after it, I can't really explain it. Basically, I made a ton of new international friends, ate my weight in delicious food from around the world, lost my voice because of singing so much, and had an incredible time. Experiencing the culture is really the only way to learn about it; a weekend at the marae was more valuable than the three weeks of my Maori studies class.

Twelve of us watched the Olympic Opening Ceremony on Friday night (Saturday morning... it was streamed live here, so it started at midnight). Let me just say that watching such an epic world event with representatives of eight different countries was possibly one of the coolest experiences ever.

Photos from the marae are here.

The BU kids didn't stay on the marae Saturday night because our "bus tour of Auckland" was rescheduled for August 10. Like most things about my BU Intern Abroad Program, I really had no idea what the vague field trip entailed because itineraries are essentially nonexistent. I just knew the trip ended in a wine tasting, and that's fine. I also knew Joe was taking us, and he's a fantastic tour guide, so I knew I wanted to experience it.

Joe driving most of us in the famous nui tea waka and Kevin bringing two girls in his car, we traveled ten minutes to Mission Bay, a popular little beach that I had yet to visit. It was 9:30 in the morning and some twentysomethings were bumpin' some tunes from their sedan and drinking beers on the sand... Perfect.

From the beach, we drove toward Mount Eden via the most expensive street in Auckland. Mount Eden, the highest point in the Auckland area at 196 metres above sea level, is actually a volcano. Burning tires really makes it look like it's erupting, just in case you're looking for a good prank to pull.

From there, we drove through West Auckland, where my new favorite guilty pleasure Outrageous Fortune is set. The show centers on a family of Westies, people from this relatively lower-class suburb, and propones some fantastic stereotypes: teenage mothers, deadbeat dads, stoners with mullets who like to fix up old cars while listening to Metallica...

We stopped at my favorite place in NZ so far, Lake Wainamu, a fantastic freshwater lake surrounded completely by black sand. In the peripheries, green mountains frame this weird natural beauty. The BU kids, with as much energy as scarily small dogs, spent the afternoon throwing themselves as far as they could off a 70-degreeish slope, landing softly in sand. I partook, though I'm less extreme. Still fun, though. Rush of adrenalin for sure. Sand in my underwear is uncomfortable, though.

We walked through an ankle-deep river to Bethells Beach, a saltwater body with a huge riptide and some cool caves to explore.

Completely soaked, cold and sandy-- appropriate for a wine tasting-- we caravaned to Coopers Creek Winery in Kumeu and sampled 12 New Zealand wines. Though the tasting was the only thing I knew about the trip going in, it wasn't the highlight. The entire day was enjoyable; the wine was merely icing on the cake.

Link to photos...

We were back at UniLodge by 5:30, and Bonnie, a Jersey girl from the BU group, contacted our mutual friend Allison, a Jersey girl I know because she goes to UVM. Allison was part of a traveling study abroad program in Australia this summer and had a stopover in Auckland before heading back to New Jersey, so the three of us had dinner at a superb fast(ish) food restaurant, and caught up with one another. It was definitely an interesting outing; Bonnie and Allison are friends from a summer high school program and hadn't seen one another in three years, I know Allison as a friend of a friend, and Bonnie and I only met three weeks ago. We all have traveling in the Southern hemisphere and living in the northeastern United States in common, though, so it was a nice evening full of nice conversation.

Today I started at Rip it Up; in fact, I'm at my desk right now. I got here at 9:30, set up my computer on Satellite Media's network, and then "got to work." My main job for now is the maintain the news for the mag's website, and the morning news was already posted by the time I got here. I snooped around on some major music websites looking for something newsworthy for this afternoon when my boss emailed me a press release about an upcoming Kiwi Christian rock festival, so I blurbed that up and emailed it to the web maintainer. Now I'm just waiting for it to be posted, sometime around 3 pm.

I made delicious curry chicken salad last night, sort of by experimentation, with plain yogurt, raisins, apples, dried apricots and cashews. Brought that to eat here, so I took a long lunch in the delightfully mod kitchen in the office, and now... I'm updating my blog.

I would feel guilty if I were being paid.

Today has been delicious.

I got a package from my parents yesterday, which included not only five skeins of yarn and ALL my knitting needles, but also my dad's FRENCH PRESS COFFEE POT!!! I can be sufficiently caffeinated once again!!

You see, this country doesn't do coffee the way I do. Don't get me wrong-- Kiwis do coffee very well. Almost too well. I get sneered at for ordering an "Americano," a cup of filter-drip coffee, in any given cafe (even Esquires, almost Dunkonian in its ubiquitousness in Auckland). (I should mention there is at least one Dunkin' Donuts and at least two Starbuks in this city; I am proud to say I haven't entered either franchise.)

Because I tend to avoid overtly expressing my American-ness as often as possible, I have embraced the espresso Kiwis love so very, very much. Frankly, I see the attraction. A steaming flat white definitely makes my morning. But I can't keep dropping $3.50 NZD every time I want some coffee, and in all honesty, the small, one-shot cup isn't nearly as satisfying as the bottomless cups of black liquid that have been constant in my life since I was 16.

I would buy a percolator if I could find one over here, but like I said, the New Zealanders don't approve. And therefore, they don't sell them.

I mentioned my coffee qualms to my dear parents in passing, early in my arrival here, but I was hardly expecting them to help me out in any way other than providing a sympathetic ear. But those generous souls plopped that French press in a box and shipped it across to Pacific. So gracious!

Before I brewed my first delicious pot, though, I had to go to the ridiculously named Foodtown to get some ground coffee. I was planning on making this trip today anyway; I'm going to bake cookies! After class and a relatively productive hour in the AUT library (it's no Durick, that's for sure), I entered my apartment, yelling to my roommates about baking supplies before I was fully inside.

"I don't think we have a cookie sheet... but I'm goin' to Foodtown if you want me to pick one up!" offered Jennifer, in the Georgian accent I've actually become quite fond of.

"I'm going to Foodtown too!" I was actually really excited about the prospect of food shopping with my roommate. Though we get along incredibly well, she and I don't hang out very much.

So, I waited for her to finish plucking her eyebrows and applying her facial bronzer (I really think it's because we don't have that much in common), and then Jennifer and I grabbed all four reusable grocery bags (I got them to recycle, too!!!) and headed out the door.

I wasn't going to buy any produce, because I prefer giving business to the Tai Ping Trading Co. Ltd., but I broke down and bought some voluptuous New Zealand tomatoes, thinking mouth-wateringly of the jar of pesto I bought during my last Foodtown excursion.

After a really adorable hour of sharing a cart with my blond roommate, we walked back to "the place to live while you study,"and I made a delicious, easy version of Randy Long's famous summer salad with pasta, basil pesto, tomatoes and fresh Parmesan. SO GOOD!

Now it's time to whip up those vanishing oatmeal raisin cookies, of which my mother is The Queen. A little taste of home for the Noho Marae weekend!