Mt. Ruapehu / Ohakune picture post!

Another picture post for my friends and family back home! My weekend at Mt. Ruapehu and Ohakune was awesome -beautiful scenery, and lots of fun with great people. Here are some photo highlights:

(Our first glimpse of Mt. Ruapehu on our way up the mountain)

(Just outside the cafe at the top of the first chairlift)

(Sam and me on the way up Mt. Ruapehu)

(Sam sliding on a big plastic bag)

(Me getting ready to do a headfirst dive onto the plastic sheet)

(Sam and me on the Waitonga Falls walk - Tongariro National Park)

(This waterfall was filmed in one of the "Lord of the Rings" movies)

(Group shot at Powderkeg restaurant in Ohakune - I'm holding my $13 paralyzer!)

(Mangawhero Forest walk)

(Monument honouring the 151 lives lost in the Christmas Eve 1953 lahar train bridge disaster)

(Kiwi sign! I really AM in New Zealand!)

(Thermal area just outside the hot pools near Lake Taupo)

(Hot pool near Lake Taupo)

(Just outside the hot pool area)

(Winding road sign)

I had a fantastic weekend - beautiful, exciting, relaxing, scenic, reflective, memorable, and exhausting!!!! I didn't end up skiing (by our Canadian standards, the snow conditions were not great), but as you can see by a few of these pictures, I did a lot of hiking. Tongariro National Park has some beautiful walking trails, so we did a couple of those - 2 were an hour or longer, and then a few were just tiny little short walks, like the one to the Lord of the Rings waterfall. I would have loved to have skiied, but I had a fantastic weekend nonetheless!

Things at school are still just peachy. I have my first Wellington Youth Choir rehearsal tomorrow evening, so I'm pretty excited about that. I'll be taking the train into Wellington, which could potentially be quite the adventure, but I'm arranging to take it with one of my students who sings in the choir as well. He knows his way around, so that's good - I would hate to get lost and arrive late (or not at all!) to my first rehearsal with WYC!

And as a follow-up to my post about the first blues lesson, the second lesson was a blast too! We had 2 groups composing their own original 12-bar blues, and they performed them at the end of the class. Both of them chose humorous lyrics (one group sang about how Penny, who wasn't in their group, was sad because she didn't get to be in the group with Andrew and Hannah: "I got Andrew and Hannah, and Penny, she be sad. Ohhhh I got Andrew and Hannah, and Penny she be sad. And because of this.... your blues might sound real bad!" The other group sang about Barbie losing her cell phone, and thus her ability to text Ken. It was inspired by Penny's pencil case, which featured Barbie talking on her cell phone. These are the things you come up with when you're lacking inspiration. Hahaha). I'll be following up with this class later in the week, teaching a lesson that will likely include B.B. King and Louis Armstrong, and the progression of blues, jazz styles, etc. Should be a good time!

It's now after 11pm and I really need to get to bed. I hope you're enjoying the pictures and updates - I'm trying to keep up! I know you're curious at home. Until next time!

I'm home!

Back from a beautiful weekend in Ohakune and Mt. Ruapehu with staff (and friends) from Upper Hutt College. It was an absolute blast! The scenery was gorgeous, the weather was nice, the 2-hour spa pool stint made me nice and wrinkly, and the $13 paralyzer (which I had to describe to the bartender... can you believe they've never heard of a paralyzer here?!) at the Powderkeg restaurant last night was well worth it! Haha. Highlights to come in picture form soon. :o)

Off I go!

I'm heading out the door in about 5 minutes to go on a weekend ski trip to Mt. Ruapehu with Sam. Bring on the beautiful New Zealand slopes!!! Back on Sunday. :o)

First lesson = SUCCESS!!!

My first lesson went smashingly! I taught a lesson to the Year 13s (grade 12) on the roots of blues music today, and although I was a bit nervous for it, it went over REALLY well. I couldn't have asked for a better first lesson, really. I had a very small group today - the year 13 class is only 10 people, and of those 10 people, only 6 were there today. I had planned a lesson that could have gone one of two ways, depending on the enthusiasm of the students: it could have been amazing, or it could have fallen flat on its face. We were studying 2 pre-blues songs - one was a work song or field holler (actually sung by a group of prisoners) called "Berta, Berta," and the other one was a spiritual called "Sheep, Sheep, Don'tcha Know the Road." We did some discussion and a question sheet about the historical context of those songs and how they relate to a unit on the blues, the characteristics of the music, the significance of the lyrics, etc. Then I had the students stand up and stomp their feet on beats 1 and 3, and clap on 2 and 4, just like in the recording of "Sheep, Sheep." The piece was call-and-response, so I sang the lead part and I had the students sing the chorus part. When we got to the last verse I had them improvise a clapping rhythm while the rest of us sang and kept time. It was actually really fun - "Sheep, sheep, don'tcha know the road?" "Yes my Lord, I know the road!" "Don'tcha know the road by the clappin' of his hands?" "Yes my Lord, I know the road!" "Don'tcha know the road by the prayin' of the prayer?" "Yes my Lord, I know the road!" We actually had so much fun with it that when I thanked the students for being such good sports, they were all asking if we could do it again. I am going to have them compose their own 12-bar blues tomorrow though, so they will definitely be getting more performance opportunities. :o)

I'm going to be conducting the orchestra tomorrow morning, so I'd better go do some score study. I also have to finish a lesson plan on New Zealand composer John Psathas' piano solo called "Waiting for the Aeroplane." It's a BEAUTIFUL work, and it makes me wish I played the piano. Actually, I love it so much that I've decided to learn it. There's lots of rhythmic counterpoint between the right hand and the left hand, which makes it kind of difficult to play accurately (especially for a non-pianist like myself), but it's absolutely beautiful. The left hand plays a C-G ostinato in 16th notes for pretty much ever, while the right hand comes in with a melody in Bb minor, in dotted 16th notes. (Sorry for those of you who aren't musicians and don't know what I'm talking about!) I can play the first few pages, and actually would love to buy a copy of the piece and perform it for Disrobed (Greystones talent show fundraiser) or something when I get home to Saskatoon, just so I can say that I performed on the piano. Haha.

I think I forgot to mention this last time, but I will be singing with the Wellington Youth Choir starting next week!!!! They are AMAZING, and they (we!) are doing a concert in Auckland in the first 2 days of September. I am so excited to be a part of this group! It will be great to meet new people, and to keep my singing chops up for my return to Greystones in term 2!!!!

With that, I'll leave you with some pictures of my bedroom in Fiona and Sam's house. Amazingly enough, my room WAS clean last Saturday morning. I'm pretty sure it was messy again by Sunday, but I managed to take a picture of it in its tidy phase. Haha.

If there was a prize for keeping up with blogging....

..... I certainly would not win it. Sorry about the big gaps in blog entries - I've been busy with internship stuff, and just generally doing some relaxing, sight-seeing, and wandering around Kelson taking pictures (that will eventually go on this blog!). So mom, don't worry, I'm safe and sound, and although I'm FREEEEEZING, I'm doing quite alright. :o)

Anyway, I'm going to go hole up in my toasty warm bedroom with the heater and electric blanket, where I shall remain for the night until having to get up for school tomorrow morning. So, I shall leave you with a few pictures of my kiwi adventure thus far. I will post more later, when I have some time and the patience to sit and wait for pics to load.

Fiona and me on my first night in New Zealand (at a going-away party at a pub in Wellington)

Me having fun with my camera and timer on Friday - I found a little mini playground only a couple blocks from my house on Major Drive, so I spent a bit of time there before heading home for the afternoon.

Lauren Campbell from Canada? That's me! Haha. This is the whiteboard in the music office at Hutt Valley High School.

This is the view from my driveway, looking slightly left. It looks warm, but I promise you that looks can be deceiving. At any rate, it's beautiful, and so unlike the flat landscape of home (which I miss, by the way!).

That's all for now. Good night everyone! I'll try to post sooner than a week from now, promise! (Oh, and you can check out Fiona's blog to see a few more pics of my first night in Wellington!)

Updates from the newest HVHS music intern

Hey everyone! Things are still awesome in New Zealand. I started my internship at Hutt Valley High School yesterday, and as it turns out I have 3 co-op teachers. The HOD (head of department) Stephen Lange just welcomed a new baby boy to the world, so he's off all week. Things are a bit disorganized at the moment, but it's ok - I'm still settling in just fine. I'm adjusting to the weather now... it's winter here of course, being in the southern hemisphere and all, and the houses and other buildings are not equipped with central heating, so often it's colder inside than it is outside. Fortunately I have a heater and electric blanket in my bedroom at Fiona and Sam's house, so I'm sleeping well. Nice and toasty!

I got to New Zealand on Friday morning (which was Thursday afternoon back home in Saskatchewan), and I wasted no time before socializing with the kiwis. I went out on Friday night to 3 parties, which was totally a blast - Fi and Sam and I went to 2 going-away parties, one in Wellington and one in Lower Hutt, then Fi and I went to Upper Hutt to a house party with staff from her school. It was a party in a garage, which was all heated up nice and toasty, and there was lots of karaoke and drunk, happy kiwis and Maori people. The Maori men were especially friendly, kissing all the ladies on the cheek. It was fun though, because it wasn't creepy - it was just a cultural custom. One of them was eating a sandwich as Fiona and I left, and he kissed me on the cheek with a mouthful of food. GROSS. Hahaha. It was funny though. The people here are so friendly. :o)

On Saturday morning I went to a netball game (a sport kind of like basketball, but you can't dribble the ball and the nets have no backboards) to watch Fiona play. It was fun, but SO cold - they play outdoors, and Saturday am was one of the coldest mornings of the winter. I was all bundled up in a t-shirt, hoodie, fleece, winter jacket, 2 hoods, mitts, another jacket over my legs, and 2 blankets. I looked ridiculous, especially next to the netball players who were playing outside in skirts and t-shirts. People were looking at me like I was insane. I was like, "Oh come on, July is supposed to be summer!!!"

Fiona took me shopping for warm clothes (or "warmies") on Sunday, which I found rather funny. It's not as though I don't have an entire closet full of warm clothes at home... I just neglected to bring most of them. See, mom, I told you I should bring another bunnyhug! Haha. Fi and Sam and I went out for supper with their friends Kirsten and Richard on Sunday (or was it Saturday?), which was really nice - they're very friendly, and very easy to talk to. Kirsten is the niece of my GST supervisor Jill. It's been really nice to meet all these new people - everyone here is awesome so far.

My first day at HVHS was a good one, albeit an overwhelming one. I can't quite describe to you with any accuracy what it feels like to be on the other side of the world, by yourself in a new country, and every single face you see in a day is new to you. It's pretty overwhelming. Everyone has been so friendly though, so I am having very little problem adjusting and settling in. There are a few things to get used to though, like driving on the other side of the road and the car (although Fi and Sam are driving me everywhere, thankfully), the kiwi vocabulary and accent, new brand names for practically everything at the grocery store, the weather, school in July, etc. But, like I said, so far so good!

Funny random story from yesterday: So all the Hutt Valley High School students wear all-black as part of their uniform. I happened to be wearing black pants and shoes yesterday, and I was cold so I kept my black jacket on most of the time. I went to buy a banana during my morning break, since lunch doesn't start until 1:30. So I went to the counter and paid for a banana, then the lady came back and leaned over to me and said "We don't always sell fruit to all the students. Some of the younger ones just throw it around. I trust that you'll be eating this banana." I just about laughed out loud. It was hilarious! I suppose being 5'2 (and a half!) and wearing all black kind of invites comments like that. I got a kick out of it anyway.

And now I shall leave you with a funny random story from today: So this morning I get to school around 8:20am - not too early on the scale of things. I go to the music building and it's locked. That's ok, I've got a key! So I open the door, walk through the corridor, and head into the music office to drop my stuff off at my desk. I unlock the music office, head inside, shut the door, and drop my stuff off. Then comes the absolutely piercing sirens from the corridor. Fabulous! I've set off the alarm. So I locked up and then walked back to the main office, making sure to avoid eye contact with anyone as I snicker to myself all the way back to the admin building. "Hello," I say to the secretary. "I think I just set off the alarm in the music building." What a way to start my 2nd day at HVHS! Hahaha.

I hope everything is going well for you, my family back home in SK and MB, and my friends at IMC, in Saskatoon, and elsewhere. Feel free to write me anytime, or comment on this blog - I've allowed anonymous commenting, so please just leave your name so I know who it came from. :o) My mailing address, in case you're interested, is:

140 Major Drive
Kelson 5010
Lower Hutt, New Zealand

Until next time, cheers!

(PS - I promise to post pictures soon!)

Kia Ora!!!!

Hello from Fiona and Sam's house in Lower Hutt, New Zealand!!!! 35 hours and 6 airports later, I'm here safely. What a trip! It was long, but now that I'm here it's totally worth every penny, and every bit of planning that went into the past 5-ish months. I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M HERE!!!!

We're going out grocery shopping sometime soon, so I should run and shower. I tell you, 35 hours on planes and in airports doesn't really leave you feeling your freshest. I'll get on that soon. Hahaha.

Until next time!

Almost there.

Well I'm back from IMC and I'm getting really excited for New Zealand! In only 1.5 days I will be boarding my flight to kiwi land! I've got lots to do between now and then, but in the meantime here are some pics from IMC (in no particular order, except for the last one, which shows just how I felt leaving my friends!):

Sporting "the bling" with Jeff

Modeling the Haugland/Solberg dorm sign with Nancy and Kelsey

Hanging out on the boat at Lake Metigoshe with Hannah (and Dan, who was driving the boat) on my day off - July 4th

Tim, Ginger, and Christine attacking each other after playing their trio at the staff recital

African drumming ensemble "Batuque" from Winnipeg - Festival of the Arts

Hanging out with Kendall

Some deans on Jeff and Evan's last day at IMC

Teresa and I perfecting the cheesy pose

Ginger and me - Deans in green!

Cory and I are excited to be drinking fabulous Canadian iced capps on our day off!

Teresa, Cory, and me at Student Talent Night

And yes, I was sad to leave Ginger. I miss her already!

So there's the brief update. I had an amazing month at IMC, and I met lots of new friends and caught up with lots of old ones. All in all, it was totally worth it. Now I'm onto my next adventure.

Speaking of which, I'm going to go call Fiona and Sam right now - it's 7:30am in New Zealand and I bet they're up getting ready for work. Cheerio then!

DONE!

Ladies and gentlemen, today was my last official day as an employee of the International Music Camp, summer 2007. I plan to come back next summer, but for now I'm finished and will soon be moving (quite literally) onto bigger and better things! I leave for New Zealand in about 3 1/2 days, which absolutely blows my mind - from the initial idea in October, the application in December, the approval from U of S in January, the acceptance in February, the placement in March, to all the planning through April and May, I am finally almost ready to head out on my kiwi adventure. Amazing!!!!

- Lauren

Why not?

This post serves only the purpose of informing Sam that, yes, they do indeed say "Why not Minot?" in Minot, North Dakota. Who knew?

- Lauren :o)

The countdown is ON!

14 days and counting! Fiona and Sam, Hutt Valley High School... the Canadian is coming your way in only 2 weeks!

An IMC update!

After nearly a 2-week hiatus, kiwilauren is back with an update! I'm on my day off from IMC right now, and I'm sitting in the Sleep Inn in Minot, North Dakota, where they offer free internet use to anyone (this is awesome, as I have only $5 USD left for supper tonight - the rest of my money is Canadian).

Camp is awesome awesome awesome!!!! I'm having tons of fun, meeting tons of new people, and catching up with tons of old friends. :o) The girls in my dorm are cool, and everybody's having a good time so far. The time is flying by - I'll be leaving for New Zealand in only 3 weeks and 2 days! Outrageous.

I'd better keep this short, as I need to get off the computer asap. They ask you to limit your internet time to 30 minutes, and I've been on for 55 already. More updates to come on future days off! :o)

50 things for "About the Author" link

Sam inspired me to do an "About the Author" link on my blog. I had fun coming up with 50 random facts about myself, so here they are, in no particular order:

1. I can be too trusting. My mom affectionately refers to me as a golden retriever puppy – always wanting to believe that everyone is good, and that nobody would ever intentionally hurt me. I’m getting better at judging character as I get older, but I still have the tendency to trust people unless they prove to me that they can’t be trusted.
2. I call my grandpa “Bobby” because that’s what my sister called him when she couldn’t say “grandpa.”
3. When I was in grade 2, I tripped over my sister as we were both running up the stairs. I hit the corner of the wall, and got 7 stitches down the middle of my face. My grandparents were visiting at the time, and we sent Bobby (see #2) to the hospital with me. He’s an artist. We left my grandma, Connie, the nurse, at home. Go figure.
4. I always sign my name with an 8^th note at the end.
5. I have that same 8^th note tattooed on my left foot. It took me 6 years to actually decide to do it.
6. I have played every drinking straw that I’ve ever had in the past 8 ½ years like a slide whistle. If you’ve ever gone out for a drink with me, you’ve probably seen this.
7. My toenails are always painted.
8. I was not a naturally talented singer. I had to work very hard for my voice. As such, it is one of my pet peeves when someone says, “You’re so lucky that you have such a natural talent.” No, I have determination and a strong work ethic.
9. I also have asthma. It is easily controlled.
10. For 2 years, I played a saxophone in sax choir that was almost as tall as I was. My back and shoulders ultimately made me give it up, but it was fun while it lasted (for the record, the saxophone in question was the bass sax).
11. I am a physical clone of my dad, and an emotional clone of my mom.
12. I have an older sister whom I love dearly, despite all of her attempts to fool me as a child. She once told me that a “family reunion” was a type of domestic pet, closely related to the dog.
13. I love to write poetry, but I don’t do enough of it anymore.
14. I’m a better baker than a cook.
15. I want to have children. One of my greatest fears is that somehow I will be unable to have my own biological children. There is no reason for this fear, yet it’s still there way in the back of my mind.
16. I used to speed skate. My skin suit had the World Industries devil on the back. Perhaps then it is no coincidence that my best race was the 666m.
17. I love ghost stories, even if they make me crawl into bed with my parents at age 16.
18. I take pictures of everything. I wish I knew more about photography.
19. One of my fondest childhood memories is watching Saturday morning cartoons while my dad made Mickey Mouse pancakes.
20. Age is just a number to me. Every stage of life can be beautiful in its own way, if you choose to see the beauty in it instead of focusing on your age.
21. I rip my fabric softener sheets in half when I put my laundry in the dryer. Half a Bounce sheet does the trick, and it saves money (see #46).
22. I’m allergic to animals, kiwi fruit, pollen, sulfa, and maybe plastic band-aids (I have a weird little scar where I put a plastic band-aid on once).
23. I wish I could compose music in the style of Jack Johnson, Ben Harper, Jason Mraz, etc.
24. I have a very girly taste in alcohol. Kahlua is my drink of choice, either in the form of Paralyzers or Brown Cows.
25. For many years, my family would go on a ski trip to the mountains during February break, usually to Alberta, BC, or Montana. My dad would always make his world-famous pizza the night before, then my parents would pick my sister and me up from school at noon so that we could get on the road early. We’d be all excited, and then year after year, without fail, we’d have van trouble and we’d have to devise some ridiculous scheme to get the required car part. The most memorable one for me was the time mom and dad had an alternator or something like that shipped on a Greyhound bus that was going to be passing through Cereal, Alberta at like 3am, so they made arrangements to be waiting on the side of the highway in the van, and they flashed their brights when they saw the bus approaching so that the bus would stop and they’d get the alternator. Despite the travel delays and the excess spending of money to fix these problems, we always laughed about it.
26. If I can help it, I will never go to bed angry at someone. Sometimes this means staying up until 4am.
27. I have a low tolerance for pain, yet I have a tattoo (see #5) and 5 piercings, not including my earlobes.
28. I can play multiple instruments, but somehow I’ve never been good at the piano.
29. Traveling amazes me. No matter how far removed you become from your home in terms of geography, culture, or language, you still find people who are exactly like you. I’ve found that music seems to be the common denominator, probably because most of my travel experience has been with choir.
30. I keep a pair of slippers in my locker at school, and I’ve worn them to class so often in the past 4 years that very few of my profs comment on their outrageously shocking neon yellow/green colour anymore.
31. It’s my ultimate goal in life to pull my debit card out of the ATM before it beeps. I’ve been trying for years, with no success so far.
32. I view glasses as a fashion statement. So far I’ve owned pairs in black, deep red, semi-rimless, and now purple and orange with rhinestones.
33. I was a very persistent and determined child, which was tiring for my parents at times. Fortunately, they didn’t stifle my determination, because now when I want something I will work my butt off to get it (see #8).
34. I got 99% in Jazz History in my 3^rd year of university, and I cried because I thought I was going to get 100%. I didn’t realize the absurdity of this reaction until much later.
35. I love to sing along with Ella Fitzgerald’s recording of “Blue Skies” while I’m driving. I’ve done it often enough that I have almost aurally transcribed her entire scat solo.
36. When I need time to be alone with my thoughts, I love to go for long walks with an Ipod full of good tunes. Walking at night is better than during the day.
37. Marshmallows taste better frozen.
38. Inside jokes make my world go around.
39. I hate spiders with a passion. This stemmed from an incident when I was 16 in which I was on a canoe trip on the Churchill River, and I discovered a big, fat, hairy black spider crawling inside my bra, between my boobs. I’ve never screamed so loud in my entire life.
40. My mom and I are very intuitively connected. Often I’ll come home after a long day at school, and as soon as I sit down at the computer she’ll e-mail me. Sometimes I’ll call her at work, and she’ll answer, saying, “I just had my hand on the phone, about to pick it up and call you.”
41. They say procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday. I’ve almost mastered this art.
42. I get great satisfaction from hitting the snooze button on my alarm.
43. I have been known to sleepwalk when I am extremely overtired. This has only happened a handful of times in my life.
44. Despite #42, I am a natural morning person.
45. Astronomy fascinates me, but I know very little about the topic. I find the expansiveness of the universe entirely mind-boggling.
46. I’m not an impulsive spender of money, nor do I buy brand name products when I don’t need to. I’d rather save my money so that I can spend it on travel or good times with friends.
47. I tend to be typecast. In choir, I almost always get the jazzy or gospel solos. In musicals, I tend to play the loud, bossy, or irritating characters. I hope that this is not a reflection of the directors’ opinions of me.
48. When I fall in love, I love with my whole heart. Sometimes this leaves me vulnerable and capable of being easily hurt.
49. When I get the giggles, it can be hard for me to stop. This is especially funny in situations in which it’s completely inappropriate to laugh.
50. I view life as an ever-changing adventure with unlimited opportunities for new friends, new experiences, and meaningful self-discovery along the way. The profundity of human experience and emotion will always keep life interesting for me.

Reflections on a would-be 3 year anniversary

On this day, 3 years ago, I met Justin while visiting my cousin in Winnipeg (incidentally, I was on my way to work at IMC, where I will be going in 3 days). We hit it off immediately, we decided to date despite the distance (he in Winnipeg and I in Saskatoon). We made the commitment to making a long-distance relationship work, and we stayed together for just over a fantastic 2 1/2 years. Sure, we had our problems, and sometimes we argued past the point of no return, but overall we had a great relationship. A friendship, a romance, and a definite bond.

We broke up mutually at the end of January of this year. It was definitely the right move for both of us. And so now today, on our would-be 3 year anniversary, I have decided to reflect on a relationship that taught me so much and changed me in ways that I could have never imagined. So this one is for you, Justin, my friend.

(In Prince Albert - winter 2005)


(Road trip - on the way back to Saskatoon - Christmas/New Year's 2005)


(Visiting Winnipeg on a day off from IMC - summer 2004)


(Justin's 21st birthday - August 2004)

Throughout our relationship, Justin and I shared some pretty ridiculous moments that can only be captured through photos:

(An outrageously tacky charicature drawn by that crazy man at the Forks - hahaha, does this look familiar Diane? - fall 2004)


(Dressed up in drag for Dave's going-away party - He was going to "Queens" University, so it was only appropriate! - Late summer 2005)


(Vikings at the Forks - October 2004)


(Justin and I were there to support each other always, even when the other one was so drunk that he/she drooled on the other - Justin's b-day - August 2004)

Above all, Justin and I were friends. We could talk about anything to each other at any time, and we genuinely enjoyed each other's company, and for that I am grateful:

(In PA in September 2004)


(At Karyn and Nook's wedding - July 2005)


(In PA - winter 2005)

Now we have both moved on and gone our separate ways. Justin has a new girlfriend, and I sincerely hope that they may bring each other happiness. Now I am about to embark on a life-changing adventure in just over a month, and I truly believe that my relationship with Justin has taught me to a be a stronger individual, capable of tackling anything that comes my way. With this new level of maturity, I feel that I will be able to face my New Zealand internship with a greater level of self-awareness than I could have even a year ago.

As I grow older (and I'd like to think wiser) I find myself becoming more appreciative of those people who have touched my life along the way. While Justin and I clearly were not meant to be together in the long run, I still value his friendship and I still cherish the time that we did have together.

Justin, if you're reading this, I hope you are doing well. Debbie, I miss you. I would love to get together for a girls' day in Brandon this month if it works with your schedule. Send my love to Ray and Brenda, Lorne and Rosada, Laurie and Monique, Brad, Laurie and Jeff and the boys, and of course, Lenny, that crazy dog. :o)

Growing up has certainly been a reflective process for me. So, as I reflect on today, our would-be 3 year anniversary, I give thanks to Justin and his family for helping to shape me into the person that I am and will become.

Friends pics

I was getting ready for IMC today, and in doing so I decided to print a few pics for my dorm room wall. These are just a few of my favourite people pictures from Greystones' Austria/Czech Republic tour, in no particular order (click for full size):

I love that everyone's personality shows in this picture. Nick, you make me happy inside. :o)



Tara and I cuddled up together under an umbrella in Prague - it was COLD that day! (Fiona and Sam - if you enlarge this one you'll see my ring.... would you consider it a koru?)



I don't think it's possible to pass by a lamp post like this without hanging off of it for a picture. :o)


Conrad, Darcy, Bronwyn and I, out for a drink on Valentine's Day in Prague. This one is somewhat remniscent of a 1950s soda shop or something. Nobody in this place spoke any English, so ordering our drinks was very interesting to say the least.


Tim makes my heart happy in this picture. What a kid. :o) This is in the salt mines in Germany.


This remains one of my favourite pictures of tour. Me, Nick, and Anna, cuddled under the umbrella in Prague. Great friends, beautiful cities, great memories. :o)

Dream analysis

I've never been one to over-analyze my dreams, but lately I've been having dreams that have gotten me quite curious. The subject matters of these dreams aren't necessarily anything out of the ordinary, but the characters in them have been consistently different. I used to have dreams with somewhat believable plot lines (at least until you wake up and think, "Oh, I guess that WAS kind of silly."), but with characters or settings that aren't familiar to you in real life. A classic example is a dream in which I'm doing something with a group of my friends, and I'd say, "And you were there.... but it didn't look like you. But somehow I just knew it was you." Or "and we were at my house, but it didn't look like my house in real life, but it just was, you know?" Lately, though, I've been having much more realistic dreams.

A week or 2 ago I had a dream in which I was on a dangerously tall iceberg with some of my friends (Jana, Nick, Anna, Kerstin, etc... these are a few friends from Greystone Singers, and in my dream they all looked like the real people I know in my waking life), and this iceberg was made up of all of our personal belongings frozen into the ice. So we were climbing to the top, chipping the ice away to retrieve our belongings as we went along. Everything was ok until we realized that we had climbed up extremely high, and we had accidentally removed all of the belongings that we were using as foot and hand holds. So at that point we panicked, and we were all struggling to hang on for our lives. And naturally, because all of the people in my dream were real-life Greystone Singers, we decided to sing Moses Hogan's "Elijah Rock" to comfort us in case we were to plunge to our deaths. The funny thing is, though, that I don't remember being frightened when I woke up from this dream.

Two nights ago was a different story. I had a dream that I was with Shelly and Anna (why is Anna suddenly a recurring character in my dreams?) and we were in residence on some university campus (visually I'd have to think that it was not U of S, although in my dream I felt like it could have been). We were hanging out in our room on a relatively low floor, like 2nd maybe, and there were tons of people around us in residence and outside the building. We then casually walked over to our back window or balcony or something, and we freaked out because there, walking very purposefully towards our apartment/condo/residence room, was a well-known serial rapist and murderer that had been all over the local news relatively recently. We panicked, and had to decide quickly what we were going to do: should we run to a high level floor in the building and hide under beds, in the showers, etc. where the killer might not think to check? Should we run out of the building as fast as we can and get as far away as possible? We decided to run away, and we couldn't see the killer after that.... but as we ran, if we ever stopped anywhere, Shelly would freak out saying, "You guys, I feel his presence here right now - he knows we're here!" So we'd have to run again to another location. The same thing kept happening no matter where we went; we couldn't escape it. Then weird things kept happening with Shelly's intuition and crazy "coincidence" occurrences that led us to believe that the rapist/murderer was after us because he thought Shelly was someone else. I know that in my dream, 2 things happened that we thought were really weird and coincidental, and I can't remember the first one, but the second one involved us driving away in a car at dangerous speeds, then, despite the fact that it wasn't icy on the roads, we spun out of control and hit a building that a girl named "Lisa" (?) worked at. Somehow we knew that the killer was trying to stall us, and he thought that Shelly was Lisa, so weird things like that kept happening, and Anna and Shelly and I were all caught up in it with no real way to escape.

I woke up from this dream with my heart pounding. When I calmed myself down, I went back to sleep and the dream picked up right where it left off. Finally I woke up again and decided to stay up so as to not have to dream about the serial rapist and murderer who was after us again.

Then, on a much less nightmare-ish note, just last night I had a dream in which I was at some sort of discovery museum type thing, and I went upstairs to another display room, and who was sitting there giving an informational talk about New Zealand, netball, and other kiwi things, but Fiona and Sam?! I remember walking in there and being like, "Oh my goodness!" but having to be quiet because they were busy working and talking to the people who were taking the tour. I had to patiently wait until they were done to go over there and give them both a big hug. Once we had officially met, I ran down to my car to grab a postcard that I've been meaning to mail them (in real life, I'll mail it today! haha). Again, although I've never met them, Fiona and Sam actually looked like themselves in my dream.

I'm not sure what this change in characterization means, or if it means anything at all, but it's just something that I've been noticing lately. For years my dreams consisted of people with names, and faces, and personal connections, but they were never accurate in terms of those real-life people. Now if I have a dream about a friend, it actually looks like that friend. In fact, I had a very vivid dream about a month ago that I was getting a tattoo with my good friend Nick from Greystones. In real life, we got body mods together in Prague (I got another ear piercing and he and I designed him a travel tattoo that he got on the back of his right arm, right above his elbow) and then we decided that if I was to get a NZ tattoo of a koru, we should go together. In this dream, we were together and I got the tat right below my bra line on my left side rib cage. When I woke up I realized that I didn't in fact have that tattoo yet, but the dream was so vivid that I decided, "hmm, that's a good idea!" and that's where I plan to get it now.

I'm rambling a bit here, but I think that this is pretty interesting. I really think that there's something to be said for dream analysis, but I don't have enough of a knowledge of it to know whether my change in dream characters means anything significant. Regardless, I've just provided you with perhaps some entertainment on a lazy Saturday morning. :o)

More kiwi planning

(A picture of Lower Hutt I found on Google image search)

I'm home in PA visiting my parents for the weekend - we're going to head up to the lake tomorrow, and hopefully we'll get some more NZ planning done. Right now the biggest thing I'm hoping for is to get the budget figured out so I know how much fun money I can play with! The problem is that I have to stretch that student line of credit to cover my T2 tuition at U of S too. Bummer. Come September I'm hoping to get a few scholarships from the university and community, but I have to draw up the budget as is, assuming that I won't get ANY extra funding (and then if and hopefully when I do, it will be a bonus).

Grace is in New Zealand now!!! EEEEK!!!! That's so exciting! Once she settles in and unpacks, she's going to give me a shout and update me on the beginning of her kiwi adventure! I'm heading to IMC in less than 2 weeks now, and I'll be in NZ before you know it! Life is moving at warp speed right now, and it couldn't be more fun!!!!

Stupid blogger won't let me post pictures where I want them to be posted. Diane, I know what you were complaining about now! Grrr. I also just noticed that when I uploaded the picture, blogger changed all of my double spaces after punctuation to single spaces. Pain in the butt! Also, every time I upload a picture, it adds about 5 extra lines of space in between my paragraphs. Wtf?

Can't wait for IMC. It's going to be a blast, and a joyous reunion of friends whom I haven't seen in a few years! Oy, I love that place. Despite my hatred of blogger's picture-posting stupidity, I will attempt to post pictures of camp. This is one of my all-time favourites: Dan and his stylin' handbag.

Actually, I've now tried to post the picture of Dan and someone's handbag like 5 times, and I can't put it in the right spot. Fiona? Sam? Diane? Karla? Help! Hahaha.

- Lauren

PS - I want to kick blogger in the face. I can't freaking format this page! I keep putting a space between my last sentence and my name, and it won't keep it there. And it's adding extra spaces between paragraphs whenever it feels like it. ARGH!!!!

My first kiwi phone call

I talked to Fiona and Sam last night for the first time over the phone! It was great to talk to them, and to hear that fabulous kiwi accent (which only served to get me even more excited to venture on over to New Zealand in a month and a half). When I called at 6:30pm Saskatchewan time it was 12:30pm on Saturday there, and Sam was just on his way out to see Fiona play netball. It's funny how many differences I noticed, even before Sam picked up the phone - like the sound of the phone ringing, for example. It's a totally different pitch, timbre, length, etc. than it is in North America. Then when he picked up the phone and said "hello?" in his kiwi accent (that isn't noticeable to them at all), I just about stumbled over my words because I was so surprised to hear such a heavy accent! Hahahaha. I will get used to it in no time, and I'm sure I will even pick up some of the inflections and definitely some of the slang while I'm there. I called back again at 8:30pm Saskatchewan time, and Fiona was home so I got to talk to both of them at the same time. The funny thing about actually hearing their voices over the phone, I've determined, is that when I read their blogs or e-mails that they've sent me and stuff like that, I automatically read it in my head in a Canadian "accent." I'm going to have to start reading everything in a kiwi accent to get myself prepared! Hahaha. I've already forewarned them that I will be attempting to imitate their accent, just to see if I can do it. :op

My parents changed our long distance plan at the condo to one that allows us to call New Zealand for something crazy like 6 cents a minute or something, so I figured I had better take advantage of that. 1 hour and 15 minutes later, I found myself wondering if this plan is, in fact, as cheap as I remembered. Here's to hoping that it is. I suppose my parents will find out when the phone bill is sent to them in PA! Hahahaha, sorry mom and dad! Oh well, it was worth it to get to talk to my fabulous new kiwi friends!

I'm so excited for everything that's coming up in my near future - IMC, New Zealand.... it's all going to be great! My mind is going in a million directions right now though, getting everything ready and set to go. There's a lot to make sure is in place before I head off, but the to-do list is getting shorter by the day so that's reassuring!

Last night after I got off the phone with Fiona and Sam, Quenton came over unannounced, wanting to see me considering I had just gotten home after 3 weeks in Yorkton. I was fully intending to have a quiet night alone with my thoughts, but he showed up and so we went for a walk and I spilled everything that I was (and am) feeling. To make a long story short, I really care for him deeply, but I'm finding that it's on more of a friends level than anything. I know that he feels differently about me, and it was getting increasingly more serious on his part while getting increasingly less serious in a romantic sense on my part. And especially considering that we've only been seeing each other for just over a month (and I was in Yorkton for 3 weeks of it), I figured that if he was getting too attached this fast, it's in both of our best interests to call it off sooner vs. later. When I met him I was not intending to get into anything before I went to IMC and New Zealand, but I thought I would give it a chance. As it turns out, I'm not ready for a relationship at all right now - I just got out of one that lasted nearly 3 years, and I think what it comes down to is that I need time to be selfish, to focus on my professional life, to be free from any sort of romantic relationship until I'm truly ready for it. I feel much better about the fact that we talked about it and that I did what I needed to do, but I feel awful knowing that I hurt him. He was, and still is, one of the most amazing people I've ever met in my whole life, and because of that I hope that we can still have a relationship, just on a different level. The ball is in his court now - I'm ready to start building a friendship whenever he is.

And there's the update for now. Cheers.

- Lauren

Tarot predictions

I promised that I would write my tarot card reading information, so here it is! I was amazed at the accuracy of some of the information, including some of my feelings and internal conflicts... I was skeptical at first, but she kept getting more and more accurate as the reading went on. Here's what I remember, in no particular order:

- This is a time of change in my life, and I will continue to evolve a lot over the next 5 years
- I'm working hard but am not seeing the rewards
- I need to move away from where I am now (geographically) in order to see my hard work paying off
- I will do a lot of international travel
- In 6 or 7 years I will be working between two countries, and will be doing work somewhere in Africa (but not with children - apparently with something to do with communications?)
- I will be married within about 2 years
- I will marry a guy with a light complexion and very dark hair, and he will work in an education-related field, but not teaching in a school
- I will make my family and home life on the west coast of Canada (BC)
- I will find my true happiness / true contentment in my married life
- I will have 2 children, either 2 boys or 2 girls
- My relationship with my parents will always be a supportive one, but there will be physical distance between us in the future
- In my current relationship there is a lot of confusion on my part or his regarding whether this is the right relationship in the long run. For now, we should focus more on friendship and harmony instead of pursuing any relationship goals, as my relationship lines are not open right now. I must instead focus on my professional life and development.
- I will find a very clear path regarding my future love-life in the month of October
- I will have a career in communications or possibly with the government (so much for my 5 years of university and 2 degrees in music and education, hey?! Hahaha)
- I will find a lot of happiness with a small group of close friends

So there you have it, folks! A lot of this information is very true, some of it more than others.... anyway, I have a lot on my brain at the moment, and I will leave it at that.

2 more days of student teaching left, then it's back home again. I CAN'T WAIT UNTIL IMC!!!! (That's International Music Camp, for those of you who aren't familiar with it - I am working there for the month before I head to NZ.) I can't wait to see everyone again... it's been too long!

Off to bed with me. I could barely drag myself out of bed this morning. This should be a good indication that I need more sleep.

Au revoir for tonight!

- Lauren

Tarot card reading..... to believe or not to believe?

I had my tarot cards read today at the Forks in Winnipeg with my cousin Diane. It was a neat experience - now let's see if any of it comes true! I'll update this post maybe tomorrow to tell you everything the card reader said. Some of it was pretty neat.

Less than 2 months until New Zealand!!!!

- Lauren

Reflections, and looking forward to change....

I went for a really nice run/walk tonight. I brought my Ipod full of Jack Johnson, Joss Stone, and Jason Mraz, and I stopped by a playground at Columbia school on the way, just to swing on the swings and be alone with my thoughts. It was a very reflective experience. I thought about life, love, friends, relationships, and childhood. Being at the school made me think about Bev, the music teacher who I student taught under in my 2nd year at Columbia, who was killed in a car accident this past December. I looked around at the playground equipment and thought back to the summer of grade 5, when I spent literally every day at St. John's park, playing with Nathan Heroux and sometimes the Abramyk kids. That was the summer that Nathan and I "fell in love," as much as two 11-year-old kids know how to do. I remember that Nathan was one of my first kisses, albeit a "dare" kiss. I remember coming home from a long day at the beach, the one day that I didn't spend at St. John's with him, and rushing to the phone to see that I had missed a phone call from him. I remember the feeling of excitement that came along with all of that. I remember what it was like to be young and carefree. It was a beautiful time of my life.

Now, as I reflect on my childhood, and my life up to this point, I realize that every stage of life is beautiful in its own way. Each stage is meaningful and worthwhile, just different from the last. Now, at 22 years old, life is still a fantastic adventure, although I feel like I have much more responsibility than I did when I was 11. Now I'm responsible for taking care of myself, for getting good grades in university, for preparing myself for a career as a music educator. I'm responsible for my own well-being to a much higher degree than I ever was before.

So, all that being said, I've made my decision to take better care of my physical self. I've had trouble with this recently due to recurring knee injuries, but I'm determined to get back into shape. I plan to do this by engaging in enjoyable outdoor activities, even if that means just walking with my Ipod and playing on playgrounds, reflecting on life and childhood. I came to the realization that New Zealand would be a gorgeous place to spend time walking around in. If I can make a habit of walking and/or running for 30-60 minutes a day when I'm living in Lower Hutt (and before then too, of course), I could really surprise myself after 4 months. I just need to get a new knee brace - my old one is too tight, as I got it when I was 14.... looooong time ago now. I don't need any knee injuries holding me back this time.

So all in all, tonight was a great night. I had some nice quality Lauren time, alone with my thoughts, my running shoes, my Ipod, and a playground swing. Life really is beautiful, and tonight was just another one of those nights where I thought to acknowledge it, and not to take it for granted.

In fact, today has just been one of those generally feel-good days. I woke up to a text from Hannah saying "You're the best! I'm so grateful to have you in my life!" - I LOVE that girl. Then I scrolled to the next text I had, and it was one from Quenton that read "When I think of you my smile lasts forever! Hope your day is good, I'll call you later." What a sweet heart. I really am so lucky to have such amazing people in my life.

Enough reflecting for now. More thoughts will come later, if I feel so inclined. Much love.

- Lauren :o)

Host family!

I officially have a host family in New Zealand!!!! I just found out yesterday that I will be staying with a couple named Fiona and Sam. They are in their early 30s, and, conveniently enough, they live about 15 minutes from Hutt Valley High School. I will be taking the bus to school every day - I'm sure I'll figure out the transportation system once I get to NZ. So yeah, I've been talking to them a bit through e-mail, and I'm really excited to meet them! They sound great. Fiona sings in a church choir (she's even an alto like me!), and she's invited me to sing with them while I'm there. YAY! I can't wait for that - I was wondering how the choir withdrawal thing would affect me, it being my first time away from Greystone Singers in 4 years, after all. This way I'll be able to keep my chops up for my return to Greystones in T2!

- Lauren

Quickly approaching....

Things are starting to fall into place for New Zealand. I have my flights booked, I've started the process of applying for a Visa, I have my International Student Identity Card (ISIC), and we're looking into potential host families to take me in for the 4 months that I'll be over there. There are still quite a few things to do before I'll feel really ready to go, though. My correspondence with the school and the GST people has been really slow (and non-existant, in some cases) because they're on a term break and seemingly have not been checking their e-mail with any sort of regularity. Once I have my Visa application submitted, my application for an ETA (Electronic Travel Authority) for my trip to Australia, and a solid committment from a host family, I will feel 10 times better about everything. In the meantime I'm just running around like crazy trying to get things organized!

Once I get there, everything will be amazing. My school is incredible - looks like the music program is heavily funded. Wind ensemble, choir, jazz ensemble, string orchestra, barbershop quartet, rock bands, etc..... it will be an incredible learning experience for me. And even the school itself looks fantastic - check out the picture at the top.

Once I get to NZ I'll start updating this blog as my regular way of keeping in touch with everyone. If you are reading this, please leave me a comment (I'm allowing anonymous comments, so you don't have to sign up for blogger) and sign your name so I know who is reading this. :o) I'm always interested to know who's keeping up-to-date on my life!

Kia ora!

- Lauren

I'm going!!!!

Big news: I got my placement for my internship in New Zealand!! I will be interning at Hutt Valley High School in Lower Hutt (Wellington) from July 16th-November 2nd. I am excited beyond words!!! I checked out the school's website (www.hvhs.school.nz) and it looks fantastic.... courtyards, school musicals, huge grounds, special music area, everything!!!

Shelagh, a friend from here at U of S, got her placement already as well, but she'll be in the Bay of Plenty area (considerably north of Wellington, closer to Auckland). However, Grace is in Tawa by Wellington, so hopefully we'll be able to get together once I get over there. I Google Earthed Lower Hutt and Tawa, and they look like they're really close to each other.

AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH this will be such an adventure!!!!!

- Lauren

PS - Just for the record, I'm searching flights right now, and it looks like I can expect to spend roughly $2,300 (plus tax) and 30-36 hours on the flight if I go directly from Saskatoon. If I fly from Saskatoon to LA on AirMiles, I can book a flight for roughly $1,725 from LA to Wellington (yes, I can fly right to Wellington!.. with a stop-over in Auckland), and it will take about 15 hours. From Saskatoon to LA is approximately 6-7 hours. So, a combined total of 22-ish hours from Saskatoon to LA to Wellington seems like a much better deal than the 36 hours it will apparently take to go from Saskatoon to Wellington on one booked flight.

New Zealand travel buddies

The Global Student Teaching website lists the people who I will be traveling with to New Zealand, and also provides their e-mail addresses and basic info (ie. their major, what university they study at, etc.). Because I was procrastinating yesterday, I decided to search these people on facebook. I found a few of them, and have been talking to two of them already. I'm getting really excited! The two girls that I've been talking to so far are Grace Conklin and Jenna Darval. I've messaged Jenna's friend James Carr, who is also traveling with us, but I haven't heard back from him yet. In any case, it's exciting to think that I may meet up with some of these people halfway around the world in just a few short months!

The adventures will be outrageous!

- Lauren :o)

Accepted!!!

I just found out today that my application for Global Student Teaching was approved at the University of Minnesota Morris, so now I will just have to wait patiently until April-May when I should find out if I have a placement in New Zealand!!!!! EEEEEEKKK!!!!!

- Lauren

Changes

Life is changing rapidly. All good things, mind you, but change nonetheless. Justin and I broke up after nearly 3 years together, I leave for Austria and the Czech Republic in a week and a half, and I just found out that my application for international internship has been approved! So who knows, maybe I really will be in New Zealand in less than 6 months!

I'm excited to start a new chapter in my life.

- Lauren