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Couch Surfing!!

The next best/adventurous idea next to hitchhiking! I wanted to share with my fellow travelers a fantastic new web site I found. It is: www.couchsurfing.com. It is a great place where you can arrange to stay on someones couch while you are traveling at not cost. Well like any of these things, you need to use discretion- each member has a profile, and can be verified. There is feedback on the sites, but if it's a cold night and a tent wont cut it- It's an idea! It's really popular here in New Zealand, I've met some great people who have done it! So check out the sight and see what you think. It's a world wide thing! In fact I there are TONS of Bozemanites that are already on board!

Slacklining on a Beautiful day in Palmy

There is this great rope tower in the park made like the Eiffel Tower, we're about two stories above ground, so when you hang by your toes, it's really a rush!

I wasn't joking about the hanging by your toes!

Love the poofy pants! When you fall it's like a parachute! 

I like to call this move, the Boxing Kangaroo. ( I was trying to go for an alligator, but that didn't work).

This is where you balance on your hands, and wrap your legs around to the rope and stand up. It's pretty impressive, Andy makes it look a lot easier than it really is!

This is Jackson, he is the leader of the Alpine Club- in charge of getting people out and about in the bush!

Rink and Ryan Climbing up the tower.

Oops, we broke a slackline. How you ask? Well lets just say, you should really put padding between the rope and the bark. It was new when we started and it nearly  broke in two places!

 

We had a fantastic day. The weather was perfect, the sun was shining, and the ground was muddy. Just perfect for crazy landings. 

We had four slacklines set up! Two longer ones, one short one made from a rachet- Great for beginners, and one made of climbing rope- this was the hardest. If you haven't seen this sport before- YouTube it! There are some highly skilled slackliners out there!

Trevor you would be proud of me!! I've gotten a little better, and can sucessfully turn around and keep walking!

Have you ever sat on a slackline and tried to bounce up off your butt? Hehe- it didn't work- but boy was it sure fun to watch. 

I had a fantastic day in the sun. It's so good to get out and just relax in the park. 

Oh by the way, hehe, this is what early winter looks like!

Boom Boom went the party- Good Music and Good Fire Action

I had a really great 21st! Julia made her famous Jungle Juice, Great Music- THANKS MIKE, Lots of balloons, and we had a fire show- THANKS POONCHI! Well the fire wasn't intentional, but definitely entertaining. The BBQ we had was leaking propane in all the wrong areas. 

Good thing our dinner wasn't on there.

After about 5 tries, and some great pictures, we gave up on it and decided to use the stove instead...

 

To my surprise, that was even more entertaining! One of the guys that lived there assured us that it was OK to use it like that, the food wasn't burning. Well the food we brought wasn't burning. "Don't worry about it, it does that." That's what I was told by one of the guys that lived there! Stoves don't just do that! 

maybe guys shouldn't cook.

Well it worked out, and no food was burned in the process. Let me rephrase... none of the food we intentionally cooked that night was burned.

What can I say, it's dark at a party. I guess this is what it looked like for some people. To your surprise or maybe disappointment there are no awful drunken pictures or videos of me. I was well behaved for a 21st, especially considering I got free drinks all night.

A night out on the town

My friend Mike organized out potluck at a this place downtown called Bar Mode. The owner let us use the industrialized kitchen to cook our food, and the band took over the stage. I got to eat a gourmet meal with live music, and all I had to bring was celery sticks with peanut butter. Gotta love it!

Nothin' better than listening to a live band- Who you Actually Know!! I have some friends that like to meet up and jam, I don't know how many there are actually. They have bongos, electric guitars and bass, keyboard, drums, a singer, and turn tables to scratch with it. I'll tell you what, they are a fun group to listen to.

What a beautiful Juke Box! Don't see these around very often- and it has a Great Selection too! Van Halen, Eagles, Blondie... and all the best!

Part of the reason I love New Zealand so much, is because there is so much to do- ANY  NIGHT OF THE WEEK!! Every wednesday I meet up with a bunch of friends and have a potluck dinner. Well this week we actually had three this week, but on Wednesday in particular, Mike set us up with a place downtown where he and his band played, and we were able to use the industrial kitchen to create a masterpiece dinner. Actually each time the meals have gotten better. Foods all over, Indian, Pakistan, German... one night we had calamari too! I know I didn't spell that right... 

Ears of corn  : )

Aw darn, I can't remember her name, but she was awesome! I find it incredible how mixed the culture is here. I met a girl today from Holland who has a bit of a german accent, but throws in the Kiwi slang. She also speaks spanish. I've come to realize that when I try to speak other languages I have a bit of a spanish accent. hehe!

 

bongos Bongos bongos!! This is Dan, he thinks he's king of the world, but we love him anyways. Just don't take his hat. Uh oh, I think someone has his hat. oooooo....

A cool guy pasting up posters. hehe He's gluing them on, I think thats cool. (you can tell I'm from a small town). 

Another Sweet Surf Trip

This time I made sure to get another picture of surfing. Don't you love how I just seem to pose with the board? You wouldn't believe it, but it's getting cold on this little island. Well I'm actually having to wear two wet suits. I found out very soon though that the outer, warmer layer actually had a broken zipper. Oops! So the whole time I had water flushing through my suite. I would paddle as hard as I could to catch a wave, but the arms would fill with water and slow me down. I felt like a blimp! When I stepped out of the ocean, it was like I deflated- the water rushed out my pant leg and I instantly got smaller. Hmm... well I still love it!

These were my surf buddies for the day, Phillip from Germany, and Brandon from...   Hawaii. 

  This is Phil, he's a great guy! Taught me a thing or two about Germans... they are always prepared... This guy has Everything!! Would cook a gourmet meal on a campfire in the middle of nowhere! And I also learned to never be late with Germans. They will leave you. Not a minute late. No joke!  ( I don't know why this is underlined).

This is Brandon, he's another great guy! Spent some time in Hawaii surfing, and is totally into wildlife conservation. Particularly big cats like tigers and leopards. He's in the vet program, and hopes to own a large cat reserve in the future.

 
Did I mention it was cold?

Buckets and Buckets of Water

The rain here in New Zealand is absolutely incredible! As wet as it gets here, I'm convinced that the next closest thing would be a fish underwater.

Buckets of water pour down from the sky, and the sound of the rain falling becomes like the static on a TV as it is cranked up and commands your attention.

So often I find myself interrupted in conversation or during sleep by it's demanding will. I find it so incredible, that I have to open the window in my room and pop my hand out to feel just how hard it is coming down. I don't recall that even the Amazon rained this much!

If you thought the weather in Montana changes quickly, boy you're in for a shock. No kidding, five minutes or less for the change. It'll be bright blue in 1/2 the sky, and the guy next to you is getting rained on. Then, the woman behind five steps is caught up in fog and can't see her hand in front of her face!

I LOVE IT!!  (As long as I brought my umbrella)

ps. I've gone through 3 umbrellas already and need yet another. 

I wish I had a classic photo of myself as I stand in the rain getting poured on... holding an umbrella... that the wind has blown inside out and is filling with water. This has happened to me more than once. As I hold the thing, it really makes me wonder, "What is the point of one of these?"

Don't give up hope just yet! I've been really busy- gotta make up my school work to cover the 21st party, but I have lots to share with you soon!!