Ah ha! How refreshing it is to read a book that seems to be teaching me about myself. I come from a family of readers, so you might think I’m always reading something or other. However, my reading has happened in waves ever since I started college, and I’ve primarily read books just for kicks since freeing myself from the school system. My parents recently sent me this book as…
Coffee: it’s life-giving juice for so many Americans and people worldwide, but I just don’t get it. As far as I remember, I can honestly say that “never have I ever” consumed a cup of coffee. I probably fall into the 5% of the 18 year old+ American public who can make that statement. Even without coffee, I’ve managed to live a happy, productive 24 years. Am I crazy? Nah,…
Most people who know me have heard the story of how I ended up with a custom degree in Nature Photojournalism. For those of you who don’t know, I’ll keep the explanation short. As I progressed with wildlife biology courses at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, it seemed that lectures dealt less with wildlife and more with statistics, reports, and desk work. [Insert big yawn here.] Did I really leave…
This has absolutely nothing to do with recent events, but it’s a story I want to share because of the memories. Back when I was in Middle Earth, I traveled solo an awful lot, which was perfectly fine by me. I had the freedom to do whatever, whenever, with the help of my loyal steed Shadowfax. I hoped he’d lead me to Gandalf, but we never quite caught up to…
On my 4th time off the kiwi island, which occurred back in September, Rose’s and my trip did not go as planned. This was also when everyone in Fairbanks began classes again, making me a real human being rather than a student for the first time in my life. Weird, eh? For those (such as my mom) who has or used to have thoughts of my ferry to the island,…
Life on the island has been pretty exciting the last couple of months. For those of you who aren’t following the official San Diego Zoo blog at this link: http://blogs.sandiegozoo.org/author/steph-walden/, you may not know that kiwi are crazy birds! My supervisor Sarah seems to think we’ll finish this research to become more confused and mystified by kiwi than when we started! They apparently started breeding 1.5 months earlier than last…
My 3rd time off the island began rather uncertainly. Rose, the volunteer from California, needed a ride to a town where she could form a plan and maybe catch a bus. I needed the internet to try to figure out my plan for our time off, and Rose did the same. Neither of us had solid ideas of where we wanted to go. End result? Steph and Rose travel together!…
I know I haven’t posted in awhile, as my mother keeps reminding me. However, NZ doesn’t want backpackers to keep in touch. Free internet is pretty much impossible to come by. McD’s is my best bet, so I’ve been drinking a bit of tea lately. $2.60 tea for 50MB of internet. When that runs out, I can refresh for a new 50MB. It does get old. Since I last posted,…
Since I’ve been here I’ve picked up on a couple of similarities between Alaska and New Zealand. 1. Scenery (mostly the South Island) – I feel like living in AK has slightly dulled my ability to experience the “wow factor.” The areas I’ve driven through are beautiful, but I can say I feel like I’ve seen similar places before. Maybe I should live in a flat, boring place for awhile….