South Pacific Update

Hey folks,

A lot has happened since I last blogged. We finished printmaking in Auckland and then headed back into nature: Tongararo for a few days and then Abel Tasman.

The nine hour hike over Tongararo mountain was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. I guess I don't have too much experience with that type of scenery, haven't seen too many volcanoes, because the first half of the hike was absolutely nothing like anything I'd ever seen before. Maybe if I was into The Lord of the Rings I would have recognized the area and it wouldn't have been so bewildering. Anyways I just kept on thinking of the song "I Like Giants" by Kimya Dawson when we were making the climb. She sang -and this is paraphrased of course-"when i go for a drive i like to pull off to the side of the road and run and jump into the ocean in my clothes. I'm smaller than a poppey seed inside a great big bowl and the ocean is a giant that could swallow me whole" and "I am grounded, I am humble, I am one with everything." Being surrounded by those huge volcanoes made me feel so small, in a good way. Also the experience has made me think about our relationship with nature. Personally this trip has made me realize how seperate I am from nature. On vacations I go on hikes and marvel at the sights but on a day to day basis contact is pretty limited. We exploit earth's resources - cut down trees and use up the fresh water supply - and I feel like most people (myself included) take these things for granted. It was easy before to blame large corporations or the government for our environmental problems but really we're all to blame and we need to take responsibility.

I realize that I'm babbling and am in no way informed on this subject. I asked a few people on the tripfor book suggestions related to the environment and I'm looking forward to finding them in a book store and reading them.

In a way thinking about these larger issues has made me realize how small and maybe even selfish my life is. At the beginning of the trip I was very absorbed in my drawing. I drastically inflated the importance of achieving a perfectly rendered figure or portrait. I remember, especially at the beginning, talking about drawing constantly with people. And now I have a somewhat lower tolerance for art talk. There are so many more important and more interesting things to talk about.

Right now Elissa, Sadie and I are in Picton on midterm break. Although I really love everyone on the trip it's great to be in a smaller group and to have complete independence. We went on a great hike today and tomorrow we're taking a train to Christchurch.

I miss you all! Sorry about the lack of pictures, this internet cafe (which is actually a video rental store) lacks usp ports.

-Erica