tomorrow (friday) eric, alex, jackie and i are heading eastward for a week... to gaspe peninsula and to the atlantic coast... no doubt i shall bring back stories, that hopefully include whale and caribou spotting, sea-kayaking and hiking across one of the most beautiful peninsulas in canada.

and then we arrive home to ottawa to celebrate canada day on the 1st of july (friday) - apparantly a huge affair for the capital city.

then, the very next day, eric and i are driving back through moose territory, westward, to his cottage for a big family reunion.

back to ottawa on the monday and then i begin the flying trek southward home on wednesday.

so thats all but one compass direction in the next week or so. not sure why north didnt get a chance. next time i guess.

question: what do you get when you cross an american, a kiwi and a moose?
answer: a surprise attack of the black flies and mosquitoes.

ok, so my punchline might not be very "punchy" or seem very funny, and truth be told, it isnt funny... but its true.

since i last wrote, much has been going on, including two camping trips, two good friends visiting, much macgyver watching and a roll of film dedicated to animals.

i shall once again use the "list" format to structure this entry. it is easier. it is lazier. and it hopefully will make for a more interesting read.

- canoe camping: me, eric, alex and jackie headed to the gatineaus just across the river in quebec, parked the cars, loaded up the two canoes, and headed off across a lake for our campsite... our site overlooked a beaver lodge and an island filled with nesting loons that proceeded to echo their haunting quavering calls across the lake. mosquitoes swarmed but my bug net* seemed to do the trick well.

* netting draped over a cap that has elastic at the end and tucks into a shirt. makes it a problem to snack on potato chips, but saved the day from inhaling mosquitoes.

- jen and karin arrived from the states to the delight of those of us who originally met them in leuven a year or so ago, and those who met them when they last visited in september when i was last in ottawa. we talked to the extent that my voice has been hoarse for about 5 days now, we travelled to montreal on a daytrip, we did a tour of parliament (where i readily boasted about my heritage) and we literally shopped til we dropped for 8 hours straight. and after the days were over, we settled down to watch macgyver* (i now have season two on dvd in my possession!).

* karin has never seen macgyver. however she has heard much about him since we became good friends. so there we were, sitting outside the backdoor, looking out at this old broken down very macgyver style jeep. and i mention that its a macgyver style jeep. karin is confused. i then say i should dress up like macgyver and get a photo taken by it. she looks more confused and asks what i would wear. i suggest the casual clothing macgyver wears. karin sits bemused. she thought macgyver wore a suit. i look puzzled. then it dawns on her. this entire time she had been picturing matlock, not macgyver! matlock - the old lawyer/detective with white hair and a grey suit who drives stylish old cars. for the entire year and a half that we have known each other, every time i mentioned macgyver - she was picturing matlock. im glad this is cleared up. and am pleased to say she is a huge fan of macgyver.

- after farewelling jen, sandro, eric, karin and i headed for algonquin park to meet alex and jackie and to begin the moose expedition. four moose, four deer, two racoons, two chipmunks, two snakes, one red squirrel, one leech* and one ground hog later - i do believe we were successful. however, also successful were the black flies and mosquitoes that tricked us into jumping out of the car without our bugnets at a moose-look-alike tree stump - and they hit in swarms. my neck now feels like i have some weird type of alien style gills forming beneath the surface. karins hands were covered in bites from swatting at mosquitoes that were good at penetrating jeans and thick socks. our new favourite friends are the mosquito eating dragonflies whom i am determined to lassoo and use on my next trip. eric is now known as "he who sees tracks" as we hiked along paths that were adorned with animals footprints such as moose, wolf, racoon and deer. the sun shone brightly and we feasted like kings thanks to alex's cooking finesse

* i have never seen a leech before and commend jackie on her bravery when she discovered one on her toe. i would never have been so calm. unfortunately we had no salt, but we still managed to burn it off, thankfully.

- karins now gone and my voice is returning. heh heh. and we are more adament than ever that within the next year or so we shall be flatting together, somewhere on this vast planet of ours... though who knows, ive heard mars might be inhabited soon.

ottawa is a city of extremes.
apparantly it is the second coldest capital city in the world (mongolia has the coldest...).
when i arrived in ottawa it was as cold as auckland ever gets in winter.
a week later it was as hot as auckland ever gets in summer.
currently we are back to the coldness.

on friday alex drove his sister, eric and i down to toronto where we spent the day before being picked up by erics parents and driven back to mount forest - erics hometown. friday was meghans (erics sister) birthday and on saturday his aunt and grandma arrived and we went to see meghans dance recital. watched the video "eternal sunshine of the spotless mind" which was brilliant (thanks to rachel for mentioning it) and exactly my kind of movie with bizarre time editing like memento, and real characters that showed that everyone has both good and bad sides with a real ending as opposed to a happily ever after ending.

have decided that groundhogs are most definitely cute.
have also decided that i prefer grey and red squirrels to the black ones but am not going to be picky.

have been watching macgyver season one on dvd. season two comes out in june.

reporting from canada:

yesterday i saw five groundhogs. i think it must have been their dinnertime and they were up out of the ground and running about in search of food. well, the bit about searching for food and it being their dinnertime is made up on my half. i just couldnt think of another reason why they were all milling about.

groundhogs are cute! they are sort of like a beaver but without that big flat tail. and are light brown and not black. and you dont see them swimming and carrying wood. i suppose they are not very like a beaver at all. but they are furry and have whiskers. and beavers are furry and have whiskers too.

may and june is the best time of year to see moose. it says so in the algonquin newspaper which i have been reading. this is because the moose come to the edge of the road to drink the salty water that has been left behind after the salt machines have been used all winter to help melt the snow on the roads. so when karin and jen arrive from america at the end of this month, we are going to go camping and looking for moose.

i went with eric and his parents to see the hitch-hikers guide to the galaxy at the movies. really, this deserves a separate entry all to itself, but im too lazy to do that. here are my thoughts on the matter:

if you have read the book, and you liked the book - then you will love the movie. it is hilarious and captures the whole spirit of the book perfectly. it captures the crazyiness, the bizareness, the uniqueness and weirdness and is the funniest movie i have seen in a long time!! i was laughing out loud from the very beginning.

if you have not read the book and are thinking about seeing the movie - i recommend that you read the book first... sometimes its better to see a movie first, and then read the book, but i dont think so in this situation. in order to really appreciate the humour and understand all the funny things happening in the background... read the book first. its not very long (the movie is only about the first book of the five (i think?) in the set) and will make the movie way better!

very funny movie. opens with dolphins leaping through the air and singing a song called "so long, and thanks for all the fish".

a new entry.
oh yes - that's right. i am once more writing on here.
the problem is that of inspiration. once i had inspiration. now i do not. at least not as much.
heh heh heh.
i think living overseas with cobbled streets and fluffy snow and freak lightning storms that stopped the big clocktower from working just like off back to the future and having an owl in my backyard and all of these other things made it easy to write on here.
now its not so easy.
and i read back over some of the past entries and have to laugh at the things i saw, the places i visited, and the life i had the chance to experience. and also have to laugh because i later discoverd my owl was not an owl at all but some weird oversized type greyish whiteish pigeon that cooed like an owl in the daytime.
fun times. funny times.
but despite this small pause in my musings online, never fear - because by the end of this month i will be back in the land of wild bears and moose and shall look forward to detailing their activites.

home is nice because home of course is home. but i'm excited to travel again. and of course i'm excited to be returning to a country that welcomed me with doughnuts and bagels and milk in plastic bags. a country that well supplied my love for the outdoors and wilderness with camping trips, moose and bear excursions, hiking and canoeing. and a country that has some very fine hosts, including my boyfriend eric!

i will no longer be going back to auckland university in second semester to do a one year post graduate diploma in environmental management. only because i discovered i am all ready to jump into that phd! quite incredible really because a phd sounds so big and scary and long and quite grown up for me. still, it seems i have all the requirements covered and once i have my topic good and ready to go (mentioned in an earlier entry about rainwater harvesting in the near east) - then i'm set! so at the moment i am browsing universities and browsing articles to understand exactly the path i wish to take.
as to where and when. who knows! no need to rush these things as it would be a big commitment of three or so years... and at the moment i am very happy taking my time and thinking everything through.

hello!

i have just uploaded a bunch of photos from my trip down in wellington which you can view by clicking on the link on the right...

today i also completed my booking for travelling back to canada at the end of april. i leave new zealand on the 26th april and arrive home on the 8th of july.

there is a reason for me taking so long to write. heh heh. there is always a reason huh? and even if there was no reason, i would create a reason anyway. heh heh. here is the reason:

i have been in wellington for the last month working with a team of archaeologists on a historic site dating back to the 1860s. i had a great time and found heaps of interesting things*.


*clay pipes used to smoke tobacco, glass bottles (medicine, beer, gin...), ceramics, small dolls, a lot of bone, military buttons, and huge quantities of bricks) etc etc etc...


the project has been on the news - on tv, the radio and in newspapers - and will also be shown as part of a 6 part documentary on new zealand archaeology.

i loved wellington a lot, apart from the small issue of earthquakes... there were two fairly large quakes while i was there (the first i have ever felt) and plenty of other smaller ones - enough to create headline news around the country and have the civil defence issuing out warnings on the radios... and while wellingtonians may be used to such events, the shake was indeed shaky and i have no desire to feel another one any time in the future...

and now i am back in auckland and having a short break before starting work again.

i sit here and struggle for words, for while it came naturally for 2005 to begin the new year, it is not coming quite so naturally to write...

2004 was an incredible year for me - and those of you who have kept track of my comings and goings should have some insight into why. i survived living and studying in a foreign country - and obtained a masters degree with great distinction in archaeology. i managed to somehow travel extensively around europe and yet never fall into debt (its called hard work and much saving!). i made wonderful friends, including my canadian boyfriend eric, from all over the world, especially belgium, canada and america (you all know who you are). and i made it safely back to new zealand in time for christmas!! the hardest part of the year was my grandad passing away in march. but one of the best parts of the year was being able to spend heaps of time with my grandma since being back in the country.

in this last week ive spent most of my time with my aunty ("the aunt" often found in the comments section!), uncle, and cousins alister, stuart and brenda ("cuzzie b") who have all been up from the south island. i was also able to travel a few hours south to see some of my dads side of the family including another comment-writer aunty "kiwi". and ive had a great time being on holiday but its back to the early mornings when i start work again on the 6th...

i wish everyone a wonderful new year and hope that 2005 brings you much happiness. i can assure you that i shall do my best at adventuring enough to keep this site going!

merry christmas from new zealand folks :)

okay, i have much exciting and interesting news to tell you all.

one: next july i will begin my post graduate diploma in science (one year) in environmental management. thats equivalent to the first year of my masters.

two: have had inspiration as to what to do with the rest of my life with regard to study... (told you it was big news!) wait for it... you see, i have these two loves - geography (in particular environmental geography) and archaeology (in particular mediterranean archaeology) and all i ever really wanted to do was to somehow combine the two together. now i have figured out a plan that lets me do that. it also gives me a research topic that could warrant becoming a phd one day. but thats jumping to far off conclusions at the moment!

when i was in belgium, i did a whole bunch of readings about experimental archaeologists in the near eastern negev desert, who decided to build farms based on ancient techniques. there are two big problems with deserts - a lack of water for the majority of the time and a sudden huge abundance and flooding of water in a very short period of time. being able to catch, manage and farm that rainwater, when it comes, would be a of huge benefit to local communities and to the country. anyway, so these archaeologists created a farm based on ancient techniques - and came away with impressive results that could benefit the area in the future. so ive been thinking...

this is a great way to combine environmental management and archaeology - if i researched and looked into the possibilities of managing such natural resources as water, that is so incredibly important to us in todays society, but has always been important throughout time (like my masters thesis proved in belgium), based on what methods were used in the past. i have long believed that the civilisations of the past have so much to teach the modern world. im excited!

three: from the 20th of january to 18th of february im heading down to wellington, new zealands capital located at the bottom of the north island. i shall be joining a team of archaeologists in excavating historic houses that stand in the path of a soon to be motorway bypass. i havent been involved in much historical archaeology work so im keen to get a bit of experience in this new field. i have good friends who will also be down there so i think it will be a lot of fun, plus its consistent, paid work for a month and thats always good news!

four: i would like to wish everyone a very merry christmas!! its hard to imagine that a year ago i was playing in the snow in munich, and on my way to spend a white christmas in salzburg... and here i am, back in a supposedly (!!) warm summer environment, awaiting our barbeque christmas lunch... thanks to everyone who has taken an interest in what i have been doing over the last year or so since i began this website. and i hope that you all have a wonderful time wherever you are, whatever you are doing and whoever you are with.

five: and all the best for 2005!

my latest news shall now be reported below:

- physical work is indeed physical.
- was involved in my first burial excavation - sieved dirt and found teeth, dug soil to reveal bone and used brush so photos could be taken.
- have severe* windburnt face due to gale force winds hitting the hill i was working on.
- studying is a necessity to keep me sane, hence currently insane, hence returning to university next july to do postgraduate study in environmental management.
- heading back to canada and america at the end of april for a few months to visit friends**.

*severe in my opinion anyway.
**would love to mention all the canadians but too many. americans = karin.

ok. its been awhile. but there were reasons for that. the biggest reason probably being that up until this moment i havent been doing much, unless you classfiy being unemployed as doing something... and hence i didnt really feel like sitting down and telling you all about how great it is to be sitting twiddling my thumbs and watching the bank balance continue to downwardly spiral. however. good news. this is no longer the case. hence i can write to you all and tell you about how great my life is. heh. indeed.

so firstly. im home in new zealand. and its different being home after being away for over a year. not necessarily bad different, but not necessarily good different either. for example, i no longer get to cook things like pasta with chickpeas and tomato with plenty of chilli powder. but, on the up side, i dont have to wash the dishes anymore. and other things like that. its nice catching up with family and friends here, but i miss my family (because thats what some of you guys became) and friends from over there. just part of the process.

right. so yes i have a job. as an archaeologist so hurrah, finally what i study has some use. though actually what i studied in beligum - all that mediterranean stuff, not quite so useful. nevertheless its a job, and its good. i have sore arm and back muscles to prove it! currently im working down in tauranga (about 3 hours south) where i am given accomodation, food, money for the car, and a job! the site is a maori settlement up on a hill that will soonish be turned into subdivisions and housing. so it firstly must be excavated. and today was spent doing the following:

firstly i dug a hole. then it got bigger. then it got bigger. then i had to sit down and keep going. then i had to lie down and keep going. then i had to climb into the hole and keep going. yes. its whats known as a rua - a subterranean storage pit, so it has a smaller opening and then bellows out into a bell shape underneath. anyway that was fun. the day continued in a similar fashion - finding features and digging them up, taking samples, photos, surveys and things... anything from postholes to terraces to pits... its fun and im glad to be back home and working with new zealands history again. perhaps no big marble statues are appearing like in turkey, but im enjoying it regardless.

and once thats done, i think other things should hopefully appear on the horizon. im hoping to get work in wellington for a month in january, excavating a group of historic houses in the downtown area before they are removed and replaced with a large road thing. the options look good and now i can smile and know that im getting good experience, having fun, and earning some money to go towards that trip back to the northern hemisphere next year!

this little piggy went to market.
this little piggy stayed home.
this little piggy had roast beef.
this little piggy had none.
and this little piggy went wee wee wee wee wee all the way home.

remember the rhyme? well, i am that last little piggy. and i am home.

soon i shall be departing this fair land of canada.
soon i shall head southward toward my homeland of new zealand.

another year has rolled by and ive been given the informal title of the 'double dozen'.

friday was the 8th in canada, but friday was the 9th in new zealand. hence i thought i deserved the luxury of celebrating my birthday early. and down in the ottawa markets is a tasty little dessert cafe which seemed fitting for the occasion... it was warm enough to sit outside on the patio without jackets, and the 11 of us enjoyed mammoth proportions of cake*. a cheers was made to the clinking glasses of milk, tea and water and we were all home and ready for bed by midnight. i know - it sounds like my partying days are doomed huh? i would disagree. but it is true that when a toast is made with water - one must stop and ponder the deeper meaning behind the act.

saturday may very well have been the 10th in new zealand but it was the 9th in ottawa and hence i was going to celebrate then also. it seemed the same as any other birthday. i woke. i said happy birthday to myself. i looked out the window. it was snowing. the same as every year... so everyone here will probably refute the snowing part but i tell you - it was snow. it lasted i suppose maybe 15 minutes. and then turned into rain. but during those 15 minutes there was some definite floating action and fluffiness going on outside of that window. i saw it with my own eyes. very pleased. because, of course, in case you didnt pick up on it, it has never snowed on my birthday before! quite the treat!

eric and i then took the bus from ottawa to north bay - right across the top of algonquin park, and right across some of the most beautiful colours i have ever seen in my life. the trees were glowing with reds and oranges and yellows and every blend in between. even the green trees looked different due to the sharp contrast of their neighbours. and every time the suns rays hit these leaves, there seemed to be some sort of magical burst of fresh colour. i cannot believe that something so beautiful and refreshing was doing this as a final memory before falling to the ground and dying.

in case youve forgotten my diary entry from this time last year - my birthday coincides with canadian thanksgiving and erics family, and extended family, had invited us up to his cottage for the final weekend in cottage country before the snow arrives and everything shuts down and sleeps. a bit like hibernation really. i dont think i have ever felt more welcome - and after eating far too much turkey (22.2 pounds) with 17 others - i was surprised by a big round of happy birthday and 24 chocolate cupcakes with orange candles! i was also blessed with being able to ring home and talk to mum, dad and stephen for about an hour i think, as the fire crackled in the background and darkness lay over the silent lake (i think the loons had moved south to avoid the winter).

it is not long before i follow those loons south - but my trip will be far greater i think - because new zealand is my next destination. i leave here on friday 29th and arrive back in auckland on the sunday morning, after i stop in los angeles and tahiti.


*this is cake of enormous dimensions in varieties too numerous to mention but so numerous that a footnote underlining the excessiveness is necessary.

about two hours northeastish of ottawa, inside the borders of french-speaking quebec, is montreal. so i thought id go for a visit. it actually reminded me a lot of european cities - with the foreign languages, the bulk of tourists, the cafe vibe and the expensive icecreams. its a very beautiful city. and i discovered that it was named after the (no longer active) volcanic hill in the north - mont royal - which, once climbed, has a huge park on the top. couldnt find the crater though.

global warming is most certainly upon us. ottawa - the second coldest capital in the world (after mongolia!) - still feels like summer! its amazing! apparantly it often is snowing by thanksgiving (second weekend of october), and if not snow, then definitely weather that is colder than what would be expected in auckland mid winter! yet this year it is still so warm. i love it! perhaps i will be able to have a perfect leap from summer here to summer back in new zealand...

the trees are starting to change colour. two friends of ours are coming up to visit this weekend from america (hurrah for jen and karin!!) - and i think we plan on heading across to the gatineaus to admire the colours. watching out of the bus window as i travelled to montreal - the trees are looking incredible! this was my favourite time of year in canada when i was last here so i am excited to see it once again!

hmmm - i admit ive been just a tad bit useless at keeping you all updated on my happenings now that ive reached a new continent. sorry about that. its tough though to see sense in sitting infront of a computer screen when there is so much canadiana to experience. hence i have devised the following list of bullet points.

- squirrels are the best. and live life to the max here in canada. they enjoy backflips off treetrunks and making crazy dives through the air. chipmunks join the fun at a faster speed - probably as they are smaller and more streamlined.
- plenty of loons calling to each other, the sound echoing off the forested shores as i sat in a canoe.
- four moose were sighted, three on one day, including two male moose less than ten metres from me - playing* in a swamp.
- i have seen three bears - the first was a bit scared - as were we - but the other two were happy to continue dining at the local rubbish dump and posing for photographs.
- three deer pranced about and showed off their little white tails.
- two racoons including a little baby. cute to the extreme.
- one otter / muskrat (identity uncertain due to incompetence of the observors)
- one beaver swimming through a lake.

*you know - just chilling, eating some swamp food, sinking into the mud, shaking their shoulders, that sort of thing.

- i also made a trip to toronto to relive the year of 1990 when my family lived there. saw my old house, walked down to the lake and then up to my primary school. amazing the amount i remember - but the twist being that i remember it from a nine year old perspective - so the front yard, the school playground, and the walk down to the lake is a lot smaller than i recall. suppose i was shorter with teeny eyes back then. or something.
- camped in algonquin park.
- canoed.
- lost one of my orange jandals to one of the many lakes of ontario.

ok.

london is the most busiest and fullest place i have ever been to. its like hometime pedestrian and road traffic all day long. crazy! but somehow i managed to survive on the footpaths, on the crossings, in the subway, the tram, the overland train and finally in the plane. i saw all those things you hear about in london. you know - trafalgar square and big ben and buckingham palace and squirrels and piccadily circus and the tower of london. i came to the realisation that london bridge is not the bridge all the photos and postcards are of - thats the tower bridge - so i walked right on past london bridge without stopping. i also spent many hours in the british museum inspecting all the things the english stole from the ancient mediterranean world. somehow i didnt spend much money but thats because im cool and went to a supermarket and ate sandwiches and weetbix everyday. the weather was good. i took photos. i like the tate modern art gallery. and i am a legend at using all types of transportation - especially walking with a pack that is over half my weight.

canada is fun! the plane ride was nothing compared to the journey to new zealand. i didnt even get jetlagged! so far i have seen a black baby bear. a mummy racoon and her baby. some loons. and a frog. sadly i missed the two snakes but i shall continue to explore. oddly enough i have not yet seen squirrels.

'there was only one catch and that was catch-22, which specified that a concern for one's safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. orr was crazy and could be grounded. all he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didnt. if he flew them he was crazy and didnt have to; but if he didnt want to he was sane and had to.'

nothing like reading a good book when youve got nothing else to do! its turning out to be the funniest dark satire that i have ever read.

the sun actually did end up following me back from turkey so this last week i have been relaxing in the park, reading, catching up with the remnants of people that have yet to leave leuven, and doing one important thing a day. bank account is now closed and i no longer have health insurance. that sort of thing. im off to london on monday which im looking forward to.

the dazzling blue above and high temperatures of turkey continue - but i am no longer under such skies.  flying back 'home' to belgium brought with it a familiarity and sense of peace.  it also brought with it overcast skies.  in turkey it is a cloudy day if three clouds can be spotted on the horizon.  in belgium it is a sunny day if only three clouds can be seen above.  only 5 hours of flying and yet these two places are worlds apart in all respects.
 
my time is turkey was fantastic.  i met some wonderful people, i learnt about the art of drinking tea, i saw a snake, i saw my dad and i realised i am the worst person ever to teach card games.
 
so a brief summary of different aspects...
 
workwise - sagalassos is the biggest archaeological project right now being undertaken in the east.  it has such potential for reaching the standards of ephesos and pergamon because, unlike many other ancient cities, it was not looted of its material.  an earthquake led to the abandonment of the city and then, over hundreds of years, the city was completely covered by rubble tumbling down off the mountains in the north.  now - it is being excavated and entire buildings, in the years to come, will be given the chance to stand once more.
 
my job was not that of an archaeologist, despite what many believe (and despite that i now have a masters in archaeology!) but a geomorphologist.  our job is to look at the environment, which has a large part to play in dictating how people in the area live.  a lot of walking is involved.  a lot of coring into the ground is involved.  knowing about the movement of the earth is important at a site like this.  knowing about where people farmed is important.  and these were the things we were dealing with.
 
peoplewise - with over 80 people involved in the project - and with a great deal of them flemish - it was only to be expected that my flemish would improve more in three weeks than it did all year.  it's all about immersion my friends.  while i couldn't hold a conversation in the language, by the end i could certainly understand 60 or 70% of what was being said.  impressive in three weeks i must say.  my turkish also greatly improved from nothing to being able to say hellos at different times of the day, thankyous, and most importantly (when visiting tourist markets in big cities) saying no thankyou.  firmly.
 
i was lucky to have my dad come and visit me too!  he had been travelling about europe getting up to all kinds of mischief on scooters and behind no entrance doors - and then popped in via a bus that took him across more of turkey than i have ever seen - to see me!  so that was great fun and he got to have a look around the site and see the sorts of things that i do.
 
and now i am in leuven, dad is in new zealand, and the sun remains in turkey.  i'm here for two weeks, relaxing, closing bank accounts and making the most of this free and fast internet connection. 
 
i'm sure you'll see me around.  this site shall be running as long as i keep having adventures.  and i'm not planning on stopping anytime soon.