New Zealand, here I come!

It’s been a while since my last update, but expect more coming frequently from now on! I’m writing this in the train – the first leg of my journey to Christchurch, New Zealand. After months and months of planning, applications for study programs, scholarships, and a visa, I’m on my way to study abroad at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch.

Last fall quarter was one of the most academically challenging quarters I’ve had – I took intense classes like Ecological Modeling and Environmental Impact Analysis, and worked 1-2 long days in the lab per week. I was sick four out of eleven weeks of the quarter with colds that would not go away, and I hardly saw any of my friends who didn’t live in my co-op. Nevertheless, there were great moments: I turned 22 and went camping with my friends, and I gave my first scientific presentation at the California Oak Symposium together with my mentor, Laura Bogar, about our research project. Standing in front of an interested crowd with a microphone in one hand and a clicker to advance my slides in the other was a feeling I know I’ll keep chasing, even though it took me well over 30 hours to prepare and practice my 8 minutes of the 16 minute presentation. The conference was in San Luis Obispo, and I stayed with Tovia during that time. I love seeing my sister in a college context – confident in her friends, where she goes, and what she does.

During finals week, I got the first of my two wisdom teeth removed. It was relatively easy, and within a couple days I was able to eat my normal food (carefully). The day after I finished my finals I had to take a trip to LA for a chest X-ray – because I have spent more than 3 months in Brazil in the past 5 years, the New Zealand government wanted proof that I do not have tuberculosis (surprise! I do not).

At the beginning of winter break, Anja, who I had met at my internship in Gottmadingen, Germany in summer 2021, flew out to California. She graduated from University with a degree in forestry last summer, and is now taking a year to travel and work. We took a trip to Joshua tree with a couple housemates, and took some fun trips in the Santa Barbara area. A week before Christmas, I packed up the contents of my room, and we rented a car and drove to Davis, stopping in Big Sur for the night.

In Davis, I got to see my high school friends, and then we celebrated Christmas together. The Monday after Christmas, we drove up to Humboldt Redwoods State Park to camp for the week. The first night, it was rainy and windy, so we decided to sleep in a hotel. This was a good call, because it meant we were mostly dry for the rest of the week. I love redwood forests, and I especially enjoy the mushrooms that pop up everywhere this time of year. I found and identified so many mushrooms, and likely drove my family a bit crazy – walking quickly anywhere was not an option, because there were fungi I hadn’t seen before and needed to take a picture of and identify. On Thursday it started raining and was not going to stop, so we decided to head back that night instead of the next morning, and drove the 4 hours back in the dark after dinner.

(slideshow - Annika and Brian cooking breakfast in the hotel staircase, Anja with a freshly washed Piper, lots of mushrooms)

Once back in Davis, we celebrated a very nice New Years together. New Years is one of the most meaningful holidays for me, and one I really want to be home for more than any other. We had an incredible fondue, played Pictionary, watched Dinner for One, and poured lead to tell our futures for the new year.

On January 3rd, I took the train back down to Santa Barbara with the things I would need for the next 9 months fit into a backpacking backpack, a carry-on suitcase, and my school backpack. Packing was difficult – along with my sleeping bag and camp stove, I also needed a significant amount of rain gear, clothes for backpacking, college life, and possible formal events, along with all the other random knick-knacks life requires. For the month of January, I stayed in a van that is parked outside because the lease on my room had ended. There was just enough space for a mattress and a place to put my suitcase - small, but comfortable. It was well suited to my needs at the moment, but I would be lying if I didn't say I was looking forward to living in a building again - I can only romanticize waking up in the morning and running to the bathroom with my teeth chattering so many times.

As soon as I was back in Santa Barbara, I started working in the lab full time. My mission was to grind and extract the DNA from as many root samples as I could. I worked 8+ hours per day. Ultimately, I managed to extract the DNA from 210 out of 339 root samples. Next, the samples will be sent for genetic sequencing, and then we will know what species of fungi were on the roots of each tree.

During this time, Anja had been WOOFing (Working On Organic Farms) in a community up near Santa Cruz. 2 days before our flight, she came back to Santa Barbara and hung out for the weekend while we prepared for departure - we are flying to New Zealand together and backpacking for 2 weeks before my semester starts and she heads off to do more WOOFing. The last couple days were so strange – everyone else’s life was simply continuing onwards in the middle of the quarter, but I am leaving until September. Some of the people I know are graduating, and so the goodbyes were forever goodbyes, even though it feels like I could see them again in a week or two. Some goodbyes felt like letting go easily, and some left a lingering ache in my chest that I did my best to acknowledge while not letting it slow me down.

Pictures with friends from the last couple weeks.

So, that’s how I find myself on the train to LA with Anja, on my way to New Zealand. I’m excited and sad, but right now, I feel like I’m just watching the world go by as public transportation carries me halfway across the globe.