Clams, Mussels and other Sea Creatures

Mark is a big fan of going to gather clams and mussels.  I can't say that I have much experience with this, but I'm a HUGE fan of the products of said adventures!  For all of you who are curious how one goes about doing this... here's the gist:

Since this is NZ, there is of course no shortage of gorgeous scenery.  This would be on the way to the "hunting grounds"...

So, here is where one goes to find mussels... hidden in the rocks.

And with a little careful maneuvering... mussels!

I think they look better like this:

Clam hunting is different.  Basically you wade out during low tide, stick your hands in the sand and grab a few.  Very technical!  This is our American friend Matt on his first clamming excursion...

I have to say that this is my kind of fishing!  None of this baiting a hook mess... just stick your hands in the water and tada!  Though truth be told, I haven't ACTUALLY gone clamming.  Mostly I'm supervisor, emotional support and official sea shell collector... a much better use of my skills.  Translation: the water is FRIGID!

I think they are so pretty!

And tasty!

Is your mouth watering?

Rugby World Cup!

I'm sure all of you are avid followers of rugby, so this will really just be a recap since the Rugby World Cup is over.... with New Zealand's own All Blacks winning the cup!  Go All Blacks!!  Dunedin built a brand new stadium since NZ was hosting this insane event... so, of course we HAD to go!  Mark managed to pluck me out of the library long enough to watch England smash Georgia.

It really is a cool looking stadium that Mark got contracted to work on.

Not really having an allegiance to either England nor Georgia, I hollered, "Roll Tide" as any true blooded Alabama fan would!  The people watching was fantastic!

I don't so much understand the rules of rugby.  I get the premise... you know, get the ball across the goal line, but other than that... your guess is as good as mine!

I will say, however, that this sport is BRUTAL!  It looks rough on TV, but in person it seems almost barbaric.  These guys are HUGE!  And they quite literally are trying to kill each other out on the field.  It's insane!

Mark got some awesome shots of England scoring!  And celebrating!

I've decided that the second busiest job in rugby are the medics!  I swear all they did was run on and off the field.  AND... the game doesn't stop just because there's a man down.  They just play around them!  Needless to say I didn't see a medic go out on the field for an England player the whole game.  It was maybe a more painful experience for the Georgia players.  These Kiwis are super enthusiastic about rugby.  The whole country was on fire during the world cup, and how awesome is it that the All Blacks won on home turf after 24 years of disappointment!  Go All Blacks!!

The coming of Spring

Magnolia Tree in my front yard.

Ok, so maybe spring has officially been here for awhile, but I wouldn't have known... the weather in the library is a calm and constant 20 degrees Celsius (I can't even make the conversion to F anymore... ok totally lying, I never could). 
So, I'm trying to play a little catch up here.  I know I've been VERY remiss in blogging... BUT great news:

I'M DONE WITH SCHOOL!!

I am no longer a Health & Science First Year student!  I understand that all of you in the northern hemisphere maybe don't have a full appreciation for what that means, but all my new friends down here fully get my desire to throw myself a party and then sleep for 2 straight weeks.  The next time I decide to go back to school, I might have a little more appreciation for what it means to enroll in the toughest program in a country!
But, alas... all is well, and I'm still standing (minus MANY years off my life, plus SEVERAL pounds).  Now it's all about finding a place to live (our lease is up in a little over a month), and a summer job!! 
Speaking of jobs... it's fishing season here in Dunedin, so Mark has been getting steady work.  Unloading fishing boats is brutal from what I understand, but the views alone make me jealous!

How cool is that! 

I will (hopefully) be posting several blogs catching you guys up on things like... the Rugby World Cup game that we went to, Mark's clam/mussel gathering trips, and of course... FOOD!

With love from the flip side!

Pita-paloosa

Most days (ok... maybe all of them), I leave the baking, cooking, and other kitchen past times to my much more capable husband.  Lets just say his efforts are substantially more rewarding.  However, not long ago, Mark introduced me to pita bread making.  And, it's my new favorite thing!  So much so, that I'm the total dork who is spending my Saturday... after a mid-term... making different kinds of pita.  Now please know that when I say,"I'm making pita", what I'm really saying is Mark tells me what to do, and I "do" like MAYBE 50% of the work.  But that's not what I like.  The fun is in the frying of the bread to make it "pocket".  So, I suppose you could say that I'm really just in it for the grand finale "look what I did" part... never mind that I had NOTHING to do with it tasting good.  But who's counting, right?  Since I know ya'll are chomping at the bit to see my skills, I've included some action shots!

 Growing...

... Growing...

Almost...

Tada!

Plate of traditional pita...

And, my new Pumpkin Pita!

Yes I know I just blogged about pita bread, including 7 photos of said bread and none of us.  But, after a week of being sick and having a mid-term this morning... lets just say, maybe not my best Kodak moment.  But my pita bread on the other hand... Ooo La la!
Ok maybe I've had too much cold medicine.  Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

Aramoana

This time of year is suppose to be good for spotting sea lions.  Something about the octupus' life cycle making good feeding for the sea lions (or so says my forever MORE informed husband).  Originally I hadn't planned on going... being the very committed (or needing to be committed) student that I am.  But, when our friend offered to drive us up to Aramoana I couldn't say no.  Nice sunny days are hard to find in the winter here in Dunedin, and Sunday was just one of these days.  So here's a little placement for you to orient yourselves (and yes I'm fully aware my dork reading is off the charts):

This is Otago Harbour.  Dunedin is located way at the bottom.  We went near the big red arrow (Aramoana), that is across the water from the tip of the peninsula.

On the way up, we made a scenic stop at Port Chalmers.  This would be an anchor commemorating something very important... I didn't read the plaque, so maybe I'm guessing. 

Port Chalmers is where all the cruise ships come to dock.  It's quaint and oh so picturesque.

The hills and mountains in this country are still just so unreal to me.  I've been to the Grand Canyon, driven through the Peruvian Andes, stood on the rock of Gibraltar, and still... the landscape here is just crazy beautiful.  Unlike anything I've ever seen. 

This would be me and our friend Kevin (he might be the nicest Kiwi ever)!!

On our walk back to his car to continue our journey, we were greeted by like a dozen roosters.  It was actually really freaky to me for some reason.  Maybe it's because they didn't seem overly excited to see me, and they kept cock-a-doodling.

Once we got to Aramoana the view was spectacular.  We walked all the way out on a natural pier to see if we could spy any creatures.

Unfortunately, the sea lions got the memo that we were coming, and high tailed it out.  We didn't get to see any, but it was still definitely worth the trip.  Across the water was the light house at the end of the peninsula...

This would be Kevin looking hard for rocks that move... a.k.a. sea lions.  He says it's hard to tell them apart.

I on the other hand entertained myself jumping from big rock to bigger rock until I got to the very end.  I was very proud that I didn't fall, overshoot, nor any of the other TOTALLY reasonable things to expect from me.

It's hard to believe sometimes how cool this land really is.  Kevin has traveled all over the world, lived abroad, and has come back home.  I asked him if he would leave again to live somewhere else, and after giving it some thought he said, "No".  He said New Zealand is the place for him.  It was wonderful to spend the afternoon with someone who loves their home enough to stay out of choice, and have them show you the things they love about it. 

Aramoana beat studying hands down!

A Snowy Sunday Morning

Yes I know... I have once again been remiss in my blogging duties.  I have no real excuse other than I'm back in the full swing of being a student and my days are once again filled with studying and sitting in lectures.  But for the first time this winter Dunedin is getting a "winter storm".  And by winter storm I mean there so far is a light dusting with the prediction of a whole inch... or two.  It's very common for the mountains surrounding the city to see frosty white mornings, but since Dunedin is nestled so close to the sea it usually escapes any real accumulation.  But, when it does... not unlike my home (Alabama)... the whole world shuts down.  So, here I sit... pretending to study, watching the streets turn white..

The best part of days like this are the awesome things going on in my kitchen!  I mean what else is there to do when your stuck at home besides seeing if you can turn that Freshman 10 into the Freshman 15 (if you don't know what this is that means then you've never experienced it and thus I might like you a little less).  My first experience with the Freshman 10 (being when I was 18) was due to junk food and late nights.  This time around would be due to this....

And this is JUST the kabobs!!  My meals are filled with the most amazing creations made by Mark.  You like how I blame him for my TOTAL lack of self control!?!  This would be my participation in today's meal....

Eagerly waiting with a big smile on my face!

This past Friday night Mark went to the first pre-season blowout rugby game for the "All Blacks".  They are the professional rugby team for New Zealand, and they just decimated Fiji!  I unfortunately didn't get to go to this "guys night out", but luckily the season has just begun with the World Cup right around the corner!!

I still love going to the year round farmer's market down at the train station every Saturday morning.  It's not even that we buy tons of stuff, but the market is filled with ready to eat hot food, drink, music...

... and Lions!

What I hate is that I missed capturing this little girl when she was eating a lamb kabob!!  It was the most civilized partaking of lamb I've ever witnessed by a lion.  So funny!

This weekend also marks the beginning of a week long chocolate festival sponsored by Cadbury!  Seriously... a WEEK of a chocolate covered city.  There is every kind of event you could imagine... but, for today it was visiting the chocolate house... with chocolate covered statues (yes they are real people)....

... with a chocolate yard....

... and treats in all the trees!

Ok it might be a Freshman 20 now!

These two ladies were in the middle of carving a block of chocolate into some famous rugby player's head.  I didn't stick around for the whole thing feeling tortured by the smell of chocolate EVERYWHERE!!

So there's our weekend.  Chocolate and snow... in July... I might be in the twilight zone!  Miss you all.  XOXO