A Tiny Strip called Dannevirke

The first time I arrived in Dannevirke, my heart was pounding. A new place where I know no one. Not even one soul. And I have to live here for more than a month. It was a feeling I didn't care to have, but a feeling that was inescapable nonetheless. And to make matters worse, it was so small it made my hometown look like an entire country! Of course, since a long time ago, I've become a master at disguising my emotions, and disguise I did.

Slowly, one by one, I got to know the people of Dannevirke, and as pinoys tend to stick closely to their own kind, especially in another country, I got to know the pinoy community of Danne too! And let me tell you, they're an awesome bunch! I guess the loneliness of the place and the homesickness bonds everyone more than any other feeling. Missing your home country makes one want to spend more time with people who have the same background as they do. It makes the "missing" part so much more bearable.

At first, I hated the place. Or, wait, "disliked" might be the proper term since "hate" is so much stronger and my discontent isn't anywhere close to that strong a feeling. But you get the picture. I didn't like how there was so little to discover. How there were so few people in the town. It was barely a town. Almost ghost town-ish. That's how quiet it was. And being a girl who grew up in the big city, well, this was deafeningly silent for me.

Waikanae

It's been a roller coaster ride from the very moment I step foot in this country. It's been fun, yes, but it's been lonely too. Of course, no one really appreciates true happiness until one experiences the bad things, and not having my family and friends here? That's definitely a bad thing. So I guess I'm more appreciative of what I had before leaving my home country, I guess.

Anyway, the upside to all this is, to name a few, meeting new friends, visiting new places, eating good food and experiencing new things. Letting my adventurous side loose, I am definitely enjoying the nature and greenery that surrounds, almost hypnotically, the entirety of New Zealand.

And Waikanae definitely proved a good place to have all of those. Tracy, June and Ate Recy invited me over to have a wee good time with them post-CAP (that one short time where stress piles up on you more than you could imagine and you get to feel like a student again), before I head off to Hamilton to spend my Christmas holidays and my lull whilst job hunting.

Dannevirke - Week 1

Notice how my movement in New Zealand has been from a populated area -Auckland-, to a lesser populated area -Palmerston  North-, to a barely populated area -Dannevirke-. Funny, actually. It's like, I'm being sent to a place with less and less people everytime. Tsk.

Anyway, my first week here in Dannevirke hasn't been as eventful as one would think. Yes, its a new place to explore, but well, with Dannevirke's size, there really isn't much to explore. And because of a lack of public transportation, being in Dannevirke has limited me to either being at the rest home where I work, being at home, or at New World for some emergency shopping needs. And that's about it.

It's funny how much I've changed in just a couple of weeks. 4 weeks ago, I never would've thought I'd muster enough courage to ask someone I haven't met yet to give me a ride to work. And yet, somehow, I did just that. Crazy how this place changes you.

My Birthday Weekend: Hamilton, Hobbiton

I've been meaning to write this for a while now. It's been more than a week ago since I had my birthday weekend, and still, all the details are fresh in my memory like it was just yesterday. Maybe because the past weeks have been far monotonous than I expected that the sudden change of pace, and not to mention place, was a welcome sunshine in my world.

So, 19th to 22nd October 2012. My Birthday Weekend.

Since my birthday fell on a friday, I had to endure classes for the entire day and take a Drug Calc test (which I passed with flying colors, thank you very much). Later that night, I gathered my stuff, hopped on a taxi and then a bus, and was finally on my way to Hamilton.

Marae: Experiencing the Maori Culture

One of the most unexpected moments I've had since I've arrived (let's face it, I've had this a lot for a while now) was being able to go to a Marae and getting to experience a day in the life of a Maori tribe.

For some bits of information, just so we are on the same page, let's get some definitions of these words in (I know they sound foreign). A marae "is a communal or sacred place that serves religious and social purposes in Polynesian societies" (wikipedia.org). And Maori is the general term used for native New Zealand tribes or people. A marae is typically a small unit of the Maori community that houses a particular Maori tribe (or at least lets put it in that sense just so we understand each other).

Now that we've got that straightened out, let me get on to my story-telling.

Palmerston North - Week 2

It hasn't been long since I've been here and I feel like I've been here forever. Yep, that's how I feel. It's been tough, and though my first few days have been great, the next ones were tougher than I expected.

Here's the story of my 2nd week in the land of wind and rain.

Palmerston North.

Monday to Thursday

15th-18th October 2012

Palmerston North - Week 1

Sunday, 7th October, 2012

As I said in Auckland - City of Sails Day 2, I arrived to a freakishly cold, barren, ghost-town-like Palmerston North. Not a very good first impression, I thought to myself. But as I had no other choice, I braved the winds, the 2-degree Celsius temperature, and the constant chills I began to exhibit and made my way to my homestay. By this time, I had Elbert (boyfie who so kindly accompanied me in my long journey toward Palmy) and Ishi (roommate who I met in the bus terminal about half an hour after I arrived so I had some company with me to battle the unforgiving cold night air. =D

Auckland - City of Sails Day 2

So it's taken a while before this blog...been quite busy these days. Lotsa things to do in school, and lotsa things to adjust to in a new land. =D Anyway, as outlined in my previous blog, I've just spent my first day in Auckland. First day in a new country EVER, and it was one helluva day. =D

Here's the story of my second day...

Auckland, New Zealand: Day 2

So I woke up to a really warm bed, courtesy of Demi Luv's heated bed (cool aye? =D), and immediately went to preparing for Mark's birthday celebration. What a way to start my first few days here in NZ, right? Thought so too! =D

Auckland - City of Sails Day 1

I was waiting for when I could get hold of my camera but lo and behold, it'll be another week before that happens and it'll be too late to make this blog by then so what the hell. :)

So here's finally my blog about my adventures in New Zealand. This'll be a several-part blog, designed to divide my activities in Auckland and Palmerston. :)

So. AUCKLAND.

Arrival

Arrived at the Auckland International Airport at around 12-something pm. Immigration went smoothly which was great luck. Heard of stories otherwise. Went out of the gate expecting boyfie, Elbert, and his friends greet me only to find myself surrounded by huge white people. Knowing you're going to a white country and then totally seeing it for yourself is totally different.

Last Days in Pinas

I don't really know what to say coz right now my brain and fingers are freezing off from the cold. So let me just narrate what happened in the past week.


CEBU

September 30, 2012

Me and my family went out for lunch for some yummy grub. This time, I loved where we ate coz it was Japanese food (Nonki at SM) so I had the grandest time. I wasn't really thinking about the reason WHY we were having this meal. I was just sort of enjoying the entire experience. It was mine and my sister's treat for my family. :) Then, since we wanted more (although we were practically bursting from a full stomach), we stopped by Fudge (one of my dessert places) for some mouthwatering cakes (their mud cakes are incre-delicious-ble!).'

Sweet, Stormy Escape

Since I'll be MIA for the next few months - I'm hoping it's only months, not years - I took a little trip down our little, cozy island to bid my "hi's" and "bye's" to some of my super extended family members. It wasn't as bittersweet as I hoped it'd be, owing I guess to my already being MIA for the past years. However, this short little trip reminded me of my upbringing and kept me even more deeply rooted to the ground that I've been standing on for the past number of years of my existence. It was a humbling experience.

Left for Leyte at around 9pm of Sept. 21, 2012 and arrived around 3am the following day. Of course, I didn't get much sleep since sleeping on a boat was rather uncomfortable so I busied myself with reading. A lot of reading. But I kept surprising myself at how I've gradually developed a sort of immunity to sleepless nights - probably since I've had lots of these in the past decade and a half. It was somehow comforting finding myself still well rested despite the barely 2-hour sleep that I've gotten in almost 36 hours.

Hidden Paradise

On the eve of whenever, bestie, Chibon, and I were bored. We talked and, well, I guess two bored friends spell a lot of trouble cause, by the end of the conversation, we decided to have ourselves a little fun under the sun. I can't pinpoint the specifics because its been a while and I've seriously forgotten the details of our talk. Just know that it ended up with us deciding to spend 2 days and 1 night somewhere. Where that was, well, we didn't really know. Nor did we care. The company was all that was needed. ^^

on one of our spontaneous slumber parties.

On the morning of the day we decided to hold our crazy adventure, we expected the sun to greet our happy faces with its radiant shine. But alas, we were let down. A storm was brewing and the sky was dark. Trickles of rain from the day before was evident on the ground. Wet, dark, and gloomy, that's what that morning was.

But we weren't about to let the depressing greeting of the world turn our smiles upside down. We were dead set on pursuing our 2-day adventure, by hook or by crook.

Beach Tents and Falling People

~ H + A = ?? ~

That's the phrase that got stuck in my mind since my beach day with the 6B gang. As a consolation for Ariel and the rest who wasn't able to attend our station outing, as a team building excursion for newbies and old bees to bond, and mainly as a despidida party for dear Bon who will soon be flying outta here and onto the next chapter of his life, we somehow got to organize this get together. It didn't matter where, all that mattered was the company and moments we shared. Emo much?

THE MEET-UP.

June 23, 2012 5:30am, I woke up feeling giddy for the upcoming event. Hurriedly took a shower, some chinese-inspired breakfast my mum was serving, and finally I was on my way to Mimi's (was gonna hitch a ride with her and her hubby, Miko). Ran a little bit late and arrived a little over 7am. We then headed straight for the meet-up place (Mandaue) to pick up some stray passengers (haha).

Miko and Mimi <3

That Little Isle

Pandanon.
Bohol Island.
Philippines
07 May 2012.

Finally. After a loooong time, we had our much awaited station outing. Being in the station for 2 years, I am yet to experience a full-blown outing. Now, I have. And I'm really glad. =D

It's more fun in the Philippines!

Feb. 07-10, 2012
Puerto Princesa, Palawan
El Nido, Palawan


Despite many downs, this week was a definite upper. =) And although I had to shed tons for this trip, every cent was worth the experience. One I can never get back. And one I will surely never forget. =)

Leaving at noon of Feb. 7, 2012 and arriving the afternoon of Feb. 10, 2012, it was one of the best weeks and vacations of my life! =) Stayed at Hadefe's Cottages. Not so grand a place, but has a great provincial feel to it. They also treat their customers really great!

Don't Ask, Just Drink

Me and my awesome friends went to Bohol last year (sorry, this one's such a late blog, but hey, it's better than nothing!), at around November (2011) for some much needed relaxation. Stress from work was getting to be too much and we just couldn't stand it anymore. =p It also doesn't help that my friends and I are one crazy bunch that's really concerned (if that is the right word for it) with hanging out and going on an adventure-filled cruise. =D

So, to Bohol, Philippines it was! =D

us for one more year: the story

October 11, 2007 2:00PM. The date and time  I committed myself to dating this one guy. Elbert. =D On that day, I told him all of my darkest secrets at the time. It was a test, maybe, to see if he could accept me with all my imperfections, all my dirt, all my sins. And he did. With open arms and a warm smile. =)

Now four short years later, we celebrate, on that same date, our anniversary. Still together after having gone through so much. Still holding each others hand, still backing each other up.  It's still us. And, God-willing, it will be for many more years.

I know I'm writing this a little bit late coz this one's been due ages ago but hey, it's better than nothing. And besides, it doesn't matter if I write or not coz the memories of the day will and shall stay with us for all time. *mushy much?=p*


This year, we had a 2-day celebration. I already blogged about the 1st day on my post us for one more year: a prequel. This time, I'll be babbling about how wonderful and amazing the 2nd day was. =)

us for one more year: a prequel

First of all, I would like to say I'm happy. We've been together four short years and it was never better. It still is. And not many can say the same. =D Last October 10, 2011, my guy, Elbert, took me biking. =) Now, most of the people who knows me also know that I have NEVER ridden a bike before. Hence, it follows that I absolutely do NOT know how to ride one. You don't have to be a genius to figure that one out. =)

**See how scared I look?**