A Bitter Sweet Vacation

For the past two weeks I have enjoyed not only some holiday time from work but the privilege of traveling with one of my best friends around both Sydney and Northern New Zealand.  Unfortunately, like many good things, it came to an end today.  This evening as we said goodbye at the airport (and I struggled and failed to keep my composure in public), I realized that this was just the beginning of all the goodbyes I will be saying in the next few months.  Here are some of the highlights of our travels:

Sydney, Blue Mountains:
We rented a car and drove west of the city just shortly after arriving in Sydney.  We stopped by a farm on the way out for the required photos with koala and kangaroo before enjoying the beauty and expanse of the Blue Mountains.  Don't be fooled by the image, it was a bright sunny day and the mountains really are that picturesque.

Inside Sydney Opera House

Opera at the Sydney Opera House:
On one of our last nights in the city we went to an opera at the Opera House.  The most famous opera house in the entire world didn't disappoint.  The atmosphere and experience was well worth it.  It was a nice night out on the town.  Although the sets weren't what we were expecting, we assumed that the number of shows at the Opera House prevent the size and cost of the permanent ones we are used to in Chicago.


Running the Auckland Marathon/Half Marathon:

An early morning start

So I didn't run the marathon as I had planned.  In fact, I didn't even train for the half marathon as I intended, but I ran it anyway.  We woke up at 4:30am on a Sunday and walked to the ferry where we met up with all the other crazy runners to start a marathon.  We crossed the start line together but I ended up falling to the back of the pack quite quickly.  In fact, I made friends with a 60+ year old man who was speed walking his fifth marathon in five months - I found this out just before he sped away.  So it wasn't the performance I would have liked but in the end I completed a half marathon in Auckland and am one of the few that got the opportunity to walk/run across the Auckland Harbour Bridge into the city.  Author's Note: For those wondering my time was 2 hours and 59 minutes, I finished in just enough time to take pictures of Dave as he crossed the finish line of the full marathon.  My flatmate Janine crossed just shortly after that (she started 50 minutes later with the rest of the half marathoners). 

Dave trying a small dune

Cape Reinga, New Zealand:
On Tuesday morning after spending Monday letting our muscles recover we drove north to Cape Reinga.  We lucked out with amazing weather which just made the experience so much more enjoyable.  Cape Reinga is the northern most point in New Zealand and is also where the Tasman Sea meets the Pacific Ocean and on a clear day, like the one we had, you can actually see where the waters collide.  It was amazing!  And on our way we stopped by 90-mile beach (which isn't actually 90 miles, but that's just details) and went to the dunes to try sand boarding (basically sledding down massive sand dunes).

Waitomo Caves, New Zealand:

Blackwater rafting at Waitomo

On the last Saturday of our holiday we drove south of Auckland to see Waitomo Caves.  The caves are famous for the glow worms that line the ceilings.  We opted for a blackwater rafting tour to really experience the caves.  Blackwater rafting is hiking and tubing through the cave on a guided tour.  The water was freezing but the glow worms and the experience made it very impressive.  And along the route we found out that the "glow worms" are actually fly larvae (a.k.a. maggots) that glow to attract their food source.  Rightly so, they have been calling them glow worms since the 1800s when they first started bringing tourists to the caves.

Things to be thankful for:
- Best friends
- New Zealand - an amazing country
- Crossing more off my to do list (see the bay of islands, Waitomo Caves, half marathon and sand boarding!! It was a busy vacation!)

Time is not on my side

With only a few months left now my timeline is getting set, sometimes by things out of my control, which is making it all that more of a reality.  But it is falling into place and although I'm not sure I'm ready to face it, there is still a piece of me that is comforted by the thought of home.  Here's the latest plan (although it does keep shifting slightly):

October 25-November 7:  Vacation!  Sydney/North Island of New Zealand
November 12: Give notice at work
December 5: Move out of flat, become a drifter
January 2-17: Travel New Zealand (cross a few more things off my To Do List)
February 2: Last day of work
February 4-5: Wellington 7s game
February 8-28: Travel New Zealand (one month left to finish up my To Do List)
March 7: Fly to Kuala Lumpur
March 7-May 10: Travel Southeast Asia (Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos) and China
May 14: Celebrate coming home and my birthday in Chicago

Note: In New Zealand many offices completely close for the holidays, my current employer isn't an exception.  Our office will be closed from December 24 - January 17.

Bits and Bobs (aka This and That)

It's been awhile since I've written and although nothing big has happened, there have been a lot of little things.  Sunday is my 7 month anniversary!  It's hard to believe I've already been here that long (or not longer depending on the day).  Here's what's going on in my life right now:

Visitors!!
I am so thankful for my phone calls back to the States and my emails and messages, but there's nothing better than a visit from a friend.  So for the last several months I have been looking forward to one of my closest friends visiting for the marathon.  Of course, as someone who is a natural runner (and a bit crazy) he'll be competing in the Chicago marathon, touring around Sydney for a week, then coming to join me as I putter through the Auckland run (he'll literally be miles ahead of me).  But the excitement of the visit has made the last month feel like it's been dragging.  I'll get to spend a week in Sydney before coming back to New Zealand where we'll do the run and then tour around for the following week.  It will be a nice long break from work and life.

But he's not the first person to visit me from the States.  Last week I was surprised as a friend from Chicago came through Auckland on his way home.  We got to spend a night hanging out in Auckland: I did my best to show off the awesome City of Sails and he entertained me with news and updates from the Windy City.  It was a good trade.

Running the Marathon (Well, half anyway)
Well, since I brought up the marathon I thought I should bring you up to speed on my own running progress.  About 2 months ago I got sick with some ridiculous cold/flu.  It put a damper on my running and training for the marathon.  And unfortunately, even after I recovered from the illness, I wasn't able to get my motivation back.  Now I find myself three weeks away from the marathon and I don't think I can even run a full 2 miles.  It's a pretty dire situation.  I've decided to set my sites on a more attainable goal (although not necessarily more realistic) and that is to run/finish the half marathon.  It won't be pretty, in fact, it's bound to be downright horrible, but I intend to run and finish the half marathon on 31 October.  I probably won't be sharing my time with anyone, but at least I'll be able to cross that one off of my to do list for New Zealand.


Weekend Trip - Raglan:
I have realized the benefits of the weekend trip.  I don't think I fully appreciated the idea when I was back in the US but I now see it as a great way to add some spice to a bit of monotony...not that I have time to get monotonous with my life here.  My latest was a trip to a surfing town south of Auckland, Raglan, while the largest storm on the earth was sitting over the Tasman sending torrential rain, incredible winds and other dicey weather towards the west coast of New Zealand - that's where I headed with three friends.

We took awhile to get to our destination as we were swerving around downed trees and I was nervous on the winding roads, but after we arrived we took advantage of the nice weather when we could.  Only planning on staying for one night we made the most of our time - walking in the small town (the main street was only two blocks long), drinking wine and playing games at the hostel (Catch Phrase is a big hit), visiting the local beaches where the surf was higher than the locals had ever seen, and hiking to a waterfall (the river was swollen with rain water and made for a spectacular site).

Attending the New Zealand Music Awards:
I've never been to the MTV Music Awards, and quite frankly, it's not on my bucket list.  So when my flatmate wanted to see the NZ Music Awards I was a little skeptical.  But tickets were only $20 so I decided to give it a shot.  Surprisingly, I had a great time! The radio stations in NZ are required to play a certain percentage of Kiwi music, but I can rarely tell when it's a local band or someone from the States.  So as I was watching the nominees and listening to the performances, I was shocked at how many of the songs I now love are actually Kiwi performers.  I'm going to miss them when I go back to the States and am subjected to the radio stations that play the same songs all day long.


To be Thankful:
As always, I love all of my awesome friends near and far.

Good luck to David Boonstra, Becky Dandy, and others who will be running in the Chicago marathon this weekend.  If I had stayed in Chicago this would have been my year to run it as well, nothing can be luckier than running a race on 10-10-10.  If you listen closely you might hear me cheering for you on the other side of the world, I'll be the one shouting your name. Have fun and be safe!

Thank you, America

Americans have a tendency to stand out, sometimes its for good reasons and sometimes bad.  But there seems to be an endless number of things to use for friendly banter.  Afterall, we are a nation of ridiculous lawsuits, selfishness, and Hollywood, but there are a few things that stand out over others to poke fun at.

For example, I can't count the number of times that it's pointed out to me that the World Series of Baseball doesn't actually have many teams from around the world.  "Why is it called the World Series if other countries aren't actually invited?"  Laughing politely I typically point out that somehow Canada was sneeked in.  I act like I haven't heard it fifty times before or even thought of it myself - long before I came overseas.

And a few of the other comments I've heard at least once or twice:

• "Why is everything so big in the US?  Why do you need five gallon jugs of milk and tubs of popcorn?"
• "I've seen Cops, I know how things are done in the US"
• Three words:  American Reality TV.  It just provides endless material.
• "Oh!  You're from Chicago...that's the one with the governor...what's his name?" "Blagojevich."  "Yeah, that's the one!"  Wonderful.  Halfway around the world and they know my former governor for all the wrong reasons.

Weekend plans:
I'm off to Raglan on Saturday.  A popular surf town on the West Coast just South of Auckland.  In the meantime, the largest storm currently on the planet is sitting in the Tasman sending huge swells and large wind gusts across New Zealand.  The forecast:  50km winds and 18ft waves.  I'm at least hoping for some good photos.

Things to be thankful for:
- The Super Bowl is the Super Bowl and not the World Series of Football.  I'd never hear the end of it.
- Plenty of Americans to back me up
- Being an American.  I may get aggravated with my country, but there's plenty to be happy with too.  For one, I have the freedom to have an opinion and the ability to do something about it.