New Zealand

This past month, me and my husband went to New Zealand for a vacation. Initially I was jet lagged for a couple of days, but later on got adjusted to the ever changing Auckland weather and had a great time! (Pictures to be posted soon)

For those who are not that familiar with New Zealand - It has two islands: North and South. North Island is more densely populated while South Island is more sparsely populated. North Island is where more 'business'  happens, while South Island is more tourism oriented. However both the islands are equally beautiful, scenic and have something for the adventurous people.

Having lived in Auckland, NZ previously, going back on a vacation to NZ brought back some old memories. I went back after 5 years. A lot had changed in Auckland - for the good of the city I hope!  We spent most of our time in Auckland, took a ferry across the harbor, went to Rangitoto Island, Davenport, took the train at Britomart to go to Newmarket and Parnell district for some shopping. I also got a chance to meet up with my university professors during my visit.

After spending sometime in the North Island-mainly Auckland, we went to Christchurch and then Queenstown which are located in the South Island. Christchurch is a beautiful garden city, while Queenstown is absolutely majestic. Lord of the Rings movie was shot there. There were 'Lord of the Rings' tours being conducted in Queenstown for a huge price per person (nearly $350 pp), but I guess for any of those movie fanatics the tour would be perfectly worth it. From what I had read and heard, the tours were all day long, and included a trip to the Hobbit village. We however decided to skip the tour as we were short of time plus really did not want to spend that much money. We instead most of our time (2 1/2 days in Queenstown) just sightseeing ourselves,  took the gondola for an amazing view of the city, went for a boat cruise and did some shopping around the city. We stayed at a place called Rydges in Queenstown. The hotel was amazing and we had got a nice deal for the 2 night of our stay. Here is a picture showing the view from our room. It was basically like a 'live' painting on the wall!

We had a great time overall during our NZ visit, and hope to go back there soon again!

Blogging

I would love to start up blogging on a regular basis, however I don't get time to sit down and write anything at a stretch. I think blogging requires a certain kind of commitment also. Moreover, most of my thoughts are in mind and I usually find it hard to put them on paper.

Anyway, my new year hobby is to try and write atleast 2 blogs a month.

Special dinner!

My husband  loves cooking and is a great cook. He takes time to experiment and make sure the dish turns out perfect. One day he decided to make something for me - Manchurian! It turned out great and I loved how he decorated the food and everything! :)

Paintings

I have always liked black/white pencil sketching as a hobby, but rarely experimented with colors. This past month, I decided to just go for it and enrolled in a painting class - an acrylic painting class.

Only did two paintings so far, (my very first paintings) - and have absolutely loved the process and learning something new! I think painting does give you the freedom to create your own world and experiment with it on a canvas...I just hope I keep up the new found hobby. So here is my very first independent painting.

Child Sponsorship

Okay, I have finally started doing this. I am sponsoring a child from Karnataka in India through World Vision. Her name is 'Reshma Hussain' and she is 9 years old. Sponsors basically support the child's daily needs, which include education, medical and food needs. She comes from a poor background and if not for sponsorship would not be able to get atleast the minimum required education.


It definately feels good I am supporting someone with whatever contributions I can. I sincerely hope Reshma does well. I do get regular updates from her (well, through an intermediate contact at world vision, who translates her Kanada to English). Someday, I hope I can meet her in person to see how she's doing. It may happen when I go to India next...

Travel

I have always enjoyed traveling. Exploring new places, experiencing new cultures, has always intrigued me. Although I have been to quite a few places now, I am always amazed at how much there is to every town, city. Some places just have an amazing landscape, beautiful beaches, or a picture perfect scenery. You wish you could keep going back to those places..

The solar decathlon experience

Okay, the decathlon is finally over..what a relief! Long days, long nights, and some crazy experiences. I wondered sometimes, what have I got myself into! We, Penn State, were part of a unique kind of sport, designing and building a solar house, on the mall in Washington DC, while competing against 19 other teams. As part of the competition, there were 10 different contests which we were judged for, some of them including, engineering design and construction of the house, architecture, lighting etc..Well, for results.. Penn State ranked forth overall, 1st in hot water tests, 5th in engineering, 8th architecture, and a 3rd place in market viability and lighting.

The results didnt come to us easy! During a few days while in DC, we slept for less than 2 hours a night in a row! It was the same for 20 other enthusiastic students, who did everything that came in their way, to achieve this for Penn State!

Now, this long and exhausting experience which ran for more than a year is all over..I guess I do feel normal now!