I didn't see a single sheep this whole trip...

A couple of days ago Erik and I, as well as six other wonderful people, decided to take a backpacking trip near Arthur's Pass. It was called the Waimakariri-Harman Pass route, it was 44 kilometers long, and it was burly. It may have been the most strenuous backpacking trip I have ever gone on. We began the tramp by walking 13 kilometers up a kilometer wide river bed, and the views during this section were incredible. I felt as though we were walking through the pages of a tourism magazine. The cool thing about New Zealand is that they have an entire network of huts throughout the entire island. So, rather than carrying fifty pounds worth of gear, you have the privilege of sleeping, cooking and eating in a small shack in the middle of nowhere. This is great that you don't have to carry as much, but those tricky Kiwi's make up for it by not having switchbacks anywhere. For some reason, Kiwis would rather walk directly up a fifty degree slope in six kilometers, rather than covering the same vertical distance the American way and taking ten kilometers. This leads me to the second day of our wonderful adventure, Harman Pass. We began the day by hiking straight up a river that cascaded its way down a rocky pass. I could have mistaken the landscape with those I have seen in Hawaii. Mist cooled the backs of our necks as we walked past countless waterfalls...it was surreal. The third day was spent bouldering down the Taipo River. This was considered the "easy" day. The girls, Annika and Pinecone, walked the entire fifteen kilometers in their Chacos, which eventually lead to some pretty nasty blisters. In my mind the last day of the tramp will be the most memorable. The day begins by ascending sharply through the New Zealand rain forest. Root after root, we ascended 800 meters in 3 kilometers. Once we arrived at what we though was the top of the pass we began to look for the trail markers. At this point it had become very foggy, cold, and rainy. We wandered, relatively mindlessly, about the top of the pass until we found what we thought to be the trail marker. We began to descend down the pass, when we realized that we were completely turned around. We were going down the same side that we had just climbed up. Our spirits were low but not broken and we climbed back up. Exhausted, tired, and sore we stumbled our way around the top of the pass, about three hours, until we found the hut to eat some lunch. After lunch Brian, Grahm and I blitzed it to the car so that we could retrieve the shuttle.
Although the trip was spectacular, I can say with confidence that the best part was meeting six other people. Having gone on this trip we all achieved a greater level of community. I am excited and anxious to see what other adventures Team Sandfly will go on.

People are dying in the quad...

When I first entered college I remember being terrified. I had no idea what was going on, who I needed to talk to, or where I was supposed to be. I would imagine that many people have felt or will feel the same way during the first couple weeks of their freshmen year. But, after about a month of college I think most people figure out that everything will be okay, the deadlines aren't really deadlines at all. You won't die in agony if you don't figure out your classes by registration day. Well, the feeling has returned for a vast majority of the international students here at the University of Canterbury. There are students who are juniors and seniors freaking out because they, once again, have no idea what to do. To be honest, Erik and I both have taken delight in watching these individuals scream in agony about not having proper insurance. The enrolment process here in New Zealand is quite ridiculous, but I am pretty sure that everyone will be taking classes and going to school come Monday. This whole experience just brings to light how people react when they have to solve problems using a different method, I hope that I haven't lost my ability to problem solve...
On a lighter note, Erik, Jaques, Pinecone, and I went to an amazing place called Castle Hill. It is about an hour away, and it is a rock climber's heaven. To help you paint a mental picture, the battle in Chronicles of Narnia was filmed there. Basically it is a slew of rolling grassy hills covered with massive boulders, at the base of the Southern Alps. I kept thinking I was wandering around some Disney world fantasy place. Sadly, I am unable to post pictures of it, because I am typing this blog while sitting in a random office on campus...I heard they had free Internet, but I will post pictures soon. Well, I hope that who read this are doing wonderful, and I will talk to you soon!

My heart is with you...

I was going to talk about the latest adventure that I went on, but there is something else that has been on my heart, and that is the distance that separates us. It seems scary that I have only been away for a couple of days, and it is frightening to think that it will be another five or six months until I see my friends and loved ones again, but I am encouraged by the fact that we aren't really that far away at all.
Fellowship is said to be a uniting of hearts and spirits, within God''s presence. I have had the privilege to build amazing relationships , by engaging in fellowship, with so many amazing people. I think that when we are apart from one another, we leave a part of our hearts in that place...in our "fellowship place". It has become clear that our relationships have only been strengthened from the time that we have already spent away from one another. Be it summer break, school, year long internships in Mexico, studying abroad, we have all spent ample amounts of time apart. But, God has been very faithful in our absences from one another, he has blessed both our individual relationships with him, as well as our relationships with each other. It is amazing to see how every time we leave one another for college or summer break we come back to experience an even greater community than what we experienced the time prior.
Leaving is and will continue to be a very difficult thing, but as long as we continue to unite both our hearts and our spirits in his presence, when we are together, then we will always have our "fellowship place". It is a place where we have made countless memories, it is a place that transcends miles or kilometers, and it is place that never fails to put a smile on my face. Thanks for making our "fellowship place" so special.

Having to pay for internet is silly...

I am sitting here in an internet cafe in downtown Christchurch thinking about something witty and intelligent I could write about my brief experiences thus far, but I can't stop thinking about the fact that I am paying to surf the web.
Erik and I made it here, and it only took us 36 hours! I can't speak for Erik but I am definitely feeling the effects of prolonged airplane travel. We went out last night to a sweet Irish pub, in New Zealand, and listened to a Scottish guy play and sing American pop songs...it was great.
I hope that everyone is doing great, and I can't wait to hear about all of your amazing journeys. As soon as I don't have to pay money to write on this blog I will update it, and share some thoughts on what happens when people leave the communities, families, and environments that they are so accustomed to. I miss you all.

Sweaty Armpits...

This is my first blog post, and the thought of millions of people having access to my writing and ideas makes me really nervous. I am nervous enough to be sweating out of my armpits, actually my armpits are a little bit damp right now. Many of the people who will be looking at this blog are people whom I already know, and the thought of them reading my writing makes me get the itchy feeling behind my ears. I have to admit that I am really excited to the limitless opportunities that I have being a "blogger."
The reason I titled my "online journal" darkened night skies, is because I have found that I frequently reflect on life during the brief moments immediatelly following sunset. I will be explaining this in more detail within the next couple of days.
As many of you know I am about to embark on a wonderful journey to the Land of Zeal, Peter Jackson, and the Doubtless Sound. I am engaging on this wonderful adventure with my brother, Erik. He too as a place that he is expressing his thoughts and ideas. Originally we were going to have a joint blog, but during the template choosing process we realized that having a shared blog would probably end in disaster...seeing as how we couldn't really even agree on a password. His "online journal" can be found at http://betterthansmokesignals.blogspot.com . We will be linking between posts frequently.
Erik and I will be leaving tomorrow afternoon, and we will be traveling for a good day and a half. Needless to say I probably will not be adding anything for the next couple of days, or at least until we get situated. I hope that everyone who has and will read this is having a fantastic day and I will miss all of you dearly(except for the random people who have read this) . I thank everyone for the integral role that they have played in my being where I am at. In the same way, I know that the experiences that we have during our absence will only strengthen the already amazing community that we have. Goodbye for now.