More work snippets.

Paul's wondrous creation...

...And Shauns.

Snippets from work.

Sandcastle building, right in front of the Hyatt.

A year of travel.

Been a while coming, but here it is. A quick recap of our shenanigans, expeditions and adventures over the past year - all in a little over 4 minutes. Enjoy.

Baseball with the boys.

Baseball.

Angel Stadium, Anaheim, CA.

American sports.

I’ve never been ‘big’ into American sports. In fact, the term seems to innately be associated with the uniquely ‘U-S of A’ pastimes. Big guys with big muscles, induced from big usage of big steroids and, um, creating big egos. However, with the desire to find the definitive ‘American experience’ over here, I figured that inquiring into such as activities was a necessity. Oddly enough, I didn’t have to go looking for it.

The NBA playoffs were just kicking off as we landed into LA. In fact, the first image I saw as I departed the plane was a giant poster of number 24, the ‘Black Mamba’ Kobe Bryant – wearing his Lakers getup and sporting a picture-perfect grin. It was a California tourism marketing scheme, with the words “that’s so LA” blaring out above Kobe’s head. I chuckled to myself thinking about the cheesiness of it all.

However.

Our new home in Huntington Beach brought forth many excitements, including a nearby beach, surf, and cable TV. Suddenly, after not really having watched television for almost a year was in our face everyday, at the push of a remote-control button, which was conveniently located right in the middle of the coffee table – well within my grasp as I lounged about on the sofa. Naturally, the sports channel was the first option, and therefore the NBA playoffs. Paul and I really got into it. I’ve always admired basketball above any other American sport. And for us, it brought back some very fond memories of playing ‘NBA Hangtime’ back in Fernie, Canada with the boys – as well as collecting those shiny basketball cards we all seemed to have (or want) back in the day. In addition, the Lakers had made it to the playoff round, along with the Rockets, Nuggets, Mavericks, Bulls, Magic, Cavaliers, Hawks and Celtics (yes!). Week by week, we would venture to ‘Freds’, which has become our local bar/restaurant here in HB. Most of the games have been hugely entertaining, with the Lakers recently pipping the Magic 4-1 in the finals, and becoming the 2009 NBA champions! The atmosphere here right now is electric with the Lakers, and a celebration parade is scheduled for tomorrow in downtown LA. Unfortunately for us, we will be working. Rats.

We also saw our first baseball game ever on Friday night…Anaheim Angels vs. the San Diego Padres. Being a huge cricket fan, I have always been a bit skeptical of the whole baseball thing, and would much rather watch the now-playing T20 cricket world cup than the baseball ‘world series’, which is strangely comprised of all American teams. Hmm. But hey, it’s the greatest country in the world - Jesus was born here. In Texas.

Anyway, Paul and I scored seven free tickets to the game, so figured we’d give it a whirl. We ended up going with a few of our friends from Rock Harbor church, who happily answered all of our questions and confusions throughout the game. However I was more stoked with the atmosphere. The spectacle of it all was amazing – 41,000 screaming fans in a state-of-the-art-stadium, cheering for the Angels amidst singing and raising hands in-sync to ‘the wave’ – rolling through the crowd. To top it all off, the Angels won 11-6, which was followed by an awesome fireworks display, popping and exploding in the night sky in time to some good old Motown tunes blaring from the stadium speakers. Overall, it was an epic night. We left the game with a real sense of accomplishment, however gimmicky or touristy it may have been. Fact is that not every New Zealander can enjoy the bright lights and vibrant vibe of live American sports. We walked out of there with stoke, ‘big’ smiles and an honest appreciation and delight of another small, but significant achievement in our travels thus far. Word.

The ShaunPaul Q&A.

So, here’s the deal. We get a lot of people from home and overseas asking about our travels, and what we intend to do, both in the near and distant future. A couple of days ago, Paul put forward the thought that it might be a good idea to add a sort of ‘frequently asked questions’ section to the blog in order to clear some heads, de-spell myths and to provide everyone (who cares) with some sort of logistical direction as to what the heck we intend to do with our lives. Additionally, I will briefly overview past traveling experiences and shenanigans in the first few questions - for all those newbie’s out there who may not have a clue who we are or what we are doing. Enjoy.

Q: Who is ShaunPaul?
A: Besides from being a decidedly terrible hip-hop superstar, ShaunPaul is a combination of two people from New Zealand. We are both 22 years old, and after graduating in early April 2008, spontaneously decided to embark on a traveling adventure of a lifetime. We left our lovely little homeland on May 21, 2008 – and haven’t returned since.

Q: How long have you been traveling?
A: As mentioned above, we left New Zealand for Canada on May 21, 2008. Therefore, as of today, we have been officially away for 378 days. Yes.

Q: What, then, have you been doing for the past year?
A: Ok. Obviously a year’s worth of traveling is hard to condense into a gimmicky Q&A, but here goes. In as few words as possible.
- Spent the first few months working at a kids’ camp on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Paul worked as the skate park leader, and I was an events assistant.

- Travelled over to Calgary, Alberta, where we both worked as roofers and stayed with an awesome family who kindly let us into there home. We were there for about three months.

- Travelled back to British Columbia and worked as ticket checkers at the Fernie Alpine Resort in the Canadian Rockies for the winter. I learnt to snowboard, Paul learnt to snowboard better. We were here for about four months.

- After attaining our US working visas, Paul and I decided to fly out to California for a whole new adventure. After much debate, we decided on this particular state after researching various places to live on Wikipedia. Random and weird I know, but that’s just how we roll.

- Moved to Huntington Beach California a few weeks ago now, to enjoy the summer sun, surf and, um, Fred’s tacos. Delicious.

Q: When are you going to go home?
A: Loaded question. To be honest, we just don’t know. I mean, if everything pans out in the US, we will be here until our visa expires in April 2010. After that is a bit of a mystery - although we are keen to cruise through Europe at some stage. We have also pondered having a sort of ‘holiday’ back in New Zealand to catch up with our friends and family (who we all LOVE!). However, this will depend on finances and God’s direction for our lives. Never doubt the Big Man.

Q: Where are you going to travel next?
A: Considering we have a working Visa for a whole year, we intend to travel throughout the continental US and do a bit of sightseeing while we are here. We’re thinking of trying to get the whole ‘American experience’, which will include (but not be limited to) the following:
- See the lights, brights and crazyness of Vegas.
- Giant rocks in Utah.
- Texans in Texas.
- Alabama!
- Go right through the South, meet all the nice people - and prove once and for all that 1972’s ‘Deliverance’ is, in fact, just a movie.
- The skyscrapers, hustle and bustle, and harrowing remnants of the Twin Towers of New York.
- Boston, Massachusetts. Because I love the Celtics.

Also, we are definitely going to Hawaii. For years, it has been my dream destination. Have to check out the Banzai Pipeline. For those who don’t know, youtube it. It’s worth it.
..After that, who knows. Could be Europe, could be the Seychelles, could even be Australia. When we know, you will be the first to find out. I promise.

Q: Have you guys got girlfriends over there yet!?
A: No, sorry guys. But Paul says “he’s working on it”.

Q: Best moment so far?
A: In all honesty, every single part of the journey has been amazing, in its own unique way. It’s just so hard to pinpoint the exact moments where you figure ‘hey, I’m living the dream’ - when everything you have done has led up to that moment, and has innately contributed to that success. Yet besides absolutely everything, some highlights included the first day at camp, living with the Volkmans in Calgary, getting to Fernie, B.C for the first time, and the people we have met along the way. People, people, people.

So that’s about all I can think of at this point. If you have any more questions, email me at shaun.t.nz@gmail.com and I’ll post it up. And that’s my rant for today – time for a microwaveable dinner. Yippee.

Huntington pier and wave.