andrei's funnier moments

Today I had two humorous conversations with Andrei, one via text and the other via gchat.

#1
Background: I went with my mom to my friend Chris's Mary Kay party (like a Tupperware party but for cosmetics) and we all got makeovers. I texted Andrei about the dramatic eye makeup that Chris's friend practiced on me. He texts back:

"Oh neat.
I bet you looked super sexy.
What was that technique. Smoky eyes?"


#2
Background: I changed my fb picture to a picture of me and Andrei together, which immediately got an "Aww, cute" response of one of my BU friends. I told her that I think it's cheesy, and that I (quote) "die a little every time" (end quote) that I see it on someone else's fb. Of course I tell Andrei about this little exchange.

me: look at my profile piccccc

Andrei: on fb?

me: yeah

i think the pic is dopey

i never have pics with you

Andrei: yes

whatever

you keep that profile pic

i am gonna make mine the same one

itll be the BEST

I think Andrei is dopey. And potentially a closet gay.


In other news, I'm leaving for China at the bright hour of 6AM tomorrow. Will write when I get there, and after jetlag totally kicks my butt YET AGAIN.

pure comedic gold

Until I can get my act together with New Zealand photos and such, check out this site which is AM.AZING. My new favourite site:

http://mymomisafob.com

Leaving for China in a few days (the traveling just doesn't stop this year), and I'm feeling pumped for it. I am trying to convince my parents to take me and my brother on a side trip to Tibet, but I'm not sure they're biting. For one thing, I hear the altitude sickness absolutely KILLS. Any thoughts, China readers?

Some other ramblings--hardly anyone is at home this summer. Some friends are abroad and others are working or staying at school. It doesn't matter much since I'm not home either this summer, but sometimes I pine for those days when everyone would show up at my house and we could spend the night laughing and playing card games or Mario Party on my old Nintendo Gamecube.

Andrei is spending six weeks at UC Berkeley this summer for LSA (the Linguistic Society of America). I not-so-secretly hope that he falls in love with California so that we can move there after college. Then I'll finally buy up a sweet yellow vespa (a lá FLCL!) and ride it to work everyday. I admire Andrei so much for loving linguistics enough to spend an entire summer on it, plus the work he's already done for UROP. He also presented one of his papers at another linguistics conference earlier this spring at Cornell. He makes me way proud :)

Other thoughts in my head include how to get my 13-year-old brother to think I'm cool again (I think in order to accomplish this I may have to hone my violent video game skills), and whether I should use this blog for my China travels too.

I guess I should wrap up Australia and New Zealand before then, though. :/

a quick note from the Auckland Airport

Where am I right now?

Signed onto a free internet kiosk computer in the middle of Auckland International Airport and bringing this post to you over outrageously slow internet. One of the things that really bugs me about Australia and New Zealand is the sloth-slow internet. Can you really call yourself a first world country when I can fetch a cup of tea in the time it takes the Facebook homepage to load? I think not!

But all internet grievances aside, I'm wrapping up my five-month-long journey abroad and feeling pretty sad about it. I spent the last eight days in the South Island of New Zealand and completed a few heart-attack inducing activities and had my fill of gorgeous Lord-of-the-Rings-does-it-no-justice scenery.

Most notably, I FINALLY skydived from a plane at 12,000 feet and bungy jumped a modest 43 meters (about 141 feet) off the world's first bungy jump bridge. Not to mention taking a morning to go sea kayaking in New Zealand's famously beautiful Milford Sound.

EDIT: When I get back home I'll upload some of the skydiving and bungy pics.

new zealand epic fail

Two things I failed to do in the last 10 days:

Update this blog, and skydive! Well, the second wasn't entirely my fault. Weather was bad in Taupo (a deliciously infuriating combination of clouds, wind, and quickly fading daylight). But no worries, as they say in these parts!! I'll try to skydive over the glaciers in Frans Josef or maybe outside Queenstown some time this week when I'm in the South Island. And I'll definitely bungy-jump!!!

As for the wrap-up of the North Island, I'm still working out the photos and will grace you with them when I get back to the US! This is code for: I am exhausted from traveling non-stop for a week and I'm ready to catch up on the episodes of LOST I've missed :)

I've leave you with this youtube video of one of the crazy-ass things I've done so far, which was invented in New Zealand. It's called Zorbing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isRlb9dIJRA

(For more info also visit the trusty Wikipedia site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zorbing.)

The Land of the Kiwis

New Zealand suits me, I think.

It's quiet and unassuming and intensely beautiful... at least from what I saw from the ride home from the airport!

I've been staying the last two days with my cousin Kai, who lives in Hamilton, New Zealand and has just opened his own Chinese diner. He also has an 8-month-old baby girl with his wife Rainy. My aunt is also living with them to watch the baby, so it's a full household! But taking a break from traveling has been a nice change of pace. Yesterday I went into town and got a bunch of errands done, such as getting a New Zealand SIM card for my phone (now I can be reached anytime and from anywhere in the world... aka my parents can now rest easy) and buying a rainjacket because NZ is famous for its rain (how else could the grass have become so lush?)

In a few hours I am catching a bus and heading out to Rotorua, which is a geothermal village. Then it's on to Taupo, and finally Wellington for two or three days. Then back to Hamilton before flying to Christchurch to tour the South Island. Can't wait!

Internet access will definitely be shoddy, but I'll write again at least when I get back to Hamilton next week.