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June 2009 Archives

Brass Monkey 2009: Ultimate Frisbee in Rotorua

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I play Ultimate Frisbee, and last June 20-21, I joined the Hammertron Ultimate Frisbee Club to play Brass Monkey in Rotorua. Brass Monkey is two days of pure ultimate Frisbee fun: an indoor social tournament and a hat (team members are randomly chosen out of a hat) outdoor tournament. This year, sixteen New Zealand Ultimate Frisbee teams met on the court to exchange and pick up discs. It was loads of fun! It was my first Ultimate tournament, and I mostly played defense (not an easy job if you have a height challenge!) But it was loads and loads of fun! The thrill of sticking to my marker (opposite team) and cutting to and from the endzone while trying to catch the disc was the best part of the weekend. Of course, our costume of flannel shirts and ripped denims helped too: we were “fashion” on the court.
We played well in that tournament (we brought home cool limited Brass Monkey mugs with WINNER splayed on the sides) and even got recognized for our spirit (shot glasses as trophies, woohoo!) so I would say it was a very wonderful Ultimate Frisbee weekend.
Interested to play Ultimate yet? Come and join us at the Rec Centre every Wednesday 8pm onwards and learn more about the sport I’m really crazy about. We also play outdoors (yes, especially in the rain!) on Sundays 3pm onwards at the Uni sports field. I’ll be seeing you, then we’ll both yell “Hammertron HO!” together.
By
Jana Esteban
on June 30, 2009 12:20 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

My Land, My Environment: Fieldays 2009

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On June 13, 2009, Dairy NZ sponsored some Fielday tickets for the New Zealand Geographical Society (NZGS) Hamilton Branch. As a member of the NZGS, I was lucky enough to score a ticket. Attending the Fieldays was a fantastic experience! I saw so many new things, and saw how New Zealand’s agriculture and food sectors were thriving. I was treated to different kinds of Kiwi food and wine in the Kiwi Food Pavilion. I saw my first steer, Cruze, in the Limougin tent (I sure hope he’s still alive!). I saw my first Alpacas in the garments area (where fabulous scarves, gloves, and Alpaca socks were made). In the main pavilion, I attended the seminar of Dairy NZ where I learned about how their company controls farm effluents from ruining water quality in the receiving bodies of water. I saw the University of Waikato’s site, and we won Best Site Award too!
There were other noteworthy spectacles, such as the oversized ATV car and bikes. I saw a stall that marketed calf-feeds by promoting it as an X-men movie (hence the pop-corn giveaways, yumm!). There were loads of freebies, and loads of people wanting to have a share in the event.
The 2009 Fieldays theme of “My Land, My Environment” really lived up to expectations. The celebration of New Zealand’s agriculture and products definitely had something for everyone.
By
Jana Esteban
on June 29, 2009 12:19 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

JMAE is Jana

 

My Filipino name is Janalezza Morvenna A. Esteban, and it’s quite a mouthful for some people to pronounce. I like it, because it’s always a conversation starter. When people ask me how it’s pronounced, I go “Hanalesa Morvehnah Ang Estehbahn.” Philippine names are highly Spanish-sounding because we were colonized by the Spaniards for more than 300 years. My family name, Esteban, has Mexican origins—I think my ancestors chose it from a list of Spanish names at the height of the Galleon (a big trade ship with ports in Manila and Acapulco, Mexico) trade in the early 1600s.
I owe my Chinese name, Ang, to my mother side. My Angkong (grandfather) was a merchant from mainland China (Amoy, Fujian province) and met my Filipina grandmother. My mom was the youngest in a brood of seven. When she met and married my dad in the city (she lived in the province of Navotas, Rizal, north of the capital Manila), she joined her name to the Estebans forever.
My father prepared a very Filipino name for a firstborn son. He would name me Diego Juan, a very Spanish-sounding, masculine name. Those days, parents held the traditional belief that the gender of the baby should not be known until the birth; of course, my mom was practical, so she bought white accessories for her baby. I don’t know if she felt she was having a girl for a firstborn child, but she prepared her own version of a Spanish name: Janalezza Morvenna. She read a lot of historical romances when she was younger, and she came across the name in one of her Mills and Boons novels. So I was named after a Russian adventuress in an island called Morvenna. This would be significant later on, when I took my first degree in the Environmental Sciences. I would get teased “Jana Amazona,” because of my course of study and my passion for adventure and travel. I also love mangroves, and dream of travelling the Amazon jungle one day. So I get teased "Amazona" a lot. I don’t mind at all; my name’s history provides me with lots of icebreakers during parties.

When I started work in an office, people had difficulty spelling my name. Hence I adopted a moniker that stood for the initials of my full name. I’m still Jana to my friends, but at work, I’m either J or JMAE.

By
Jana Esteban
on June 28, 2009 12:16 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Mabuhay!

 

MABUHAY, everyone! I’m Jana from Manila, Philippines, and I’m here at the Waikato for my MSocSci degree in Geography. My stay at the University and in Hamilton City is an experience to remember! In the next few days, I’ll be sharing my adventures in the city of Hamilton and elsewhere in New Zealand. I hope to hear from you as well, so feel free to post your views and comments. So what are we waiting for? Tara na, byahe tayo…let’s begin our journey together!
By
Jana Esteban
on June 28, 2009 12:14 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Home Stretch!!!!!!

MAN! it feels good to be done classes for the semester! On Friday I had my last exam, the final test to study for, the last time in the semester I had to sit in a classroom, and the last time I was required to be on campus until July 13! That's not to say that I don't have any work to do. Quite the contrary. I still have 5 essays with conflicting deadlines to write which combined give me a grand total of around 27 typed, 1.5 line spaced, size 12 times font, properly cited and foot noted glorious pages to write by June 19th. Not that I am really complaining. I would take essays over exams any day. For one specific reason: Moodle. This electronic submission is a beauty. I could theoretically write my exams anywhere in the world that I wanted, doing anything in the world I wanted, as long as at the time of sbumission I had internet access. Of course I'm not...... but it would be epic.

Instead I have been alternating between my room in Orchard Park and various floors of the library, just to alleviate my boredom. The fact that I don't HAVE to be in either of those places, and could be anywhere I want makes me feel better though. The only semi-exotic place I have been to lately is the Hamilton Zoo, but that was pretty sweet. I didn't expect much, especially for only a $9.00 admission fee but really the zoo is awesome. They have Tigers, Giraffes, Rhinos, Zebra, Chimpanzees, a lot of smaller and funnier monkeys, and even a large selection of piglets that randomly happened to be for sale. You should go to the zoo, I haven't been in a loooonggg time but ever since I went I have a strong deisre to go back and check out the animals.

I am also looking forward to being done my essay writing spree. I thought that all of my sweet planning would make this period in time a breeze, but of course there is the usual host of unexpected problems. The biggest of these is that I have been really sick the last few days. It's one of those annoying head colds where during the day you feel alright besides the fact you can't breathe and you have a reoccuring headache due to the build up of junk in your sinus... But at night! you just cough and cough and toss and turn and... well you know what I mean, it sucks.

A flatmate and I bought an LPG heater for our cottage from the Warehouse and that has been pure jazz in the heat department. I really enjoy the New Zealand winter, even though it can be cold and damp at night, the day time is still beautiful and sunny (for the most part). The days that are cloudy and rainy have an upside too, as because of the overcast weather the nights seem to be a lot warmer.... Anyways, things are good, I am looking forward to the break, and I am stoked on what the next semester brings!

 

By
Declan Redman
on June 10, 2009 12:39 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
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