Until We Meet Again New Zealand

Goodbye New Zealand.  Through my experience here, I've learned about myself, this country and my own country too, its people and people in general.  It's been an amazing year.

Thank you New Zealand for:

• Showing me that it isn't actually necessary to finish sentences, particularly the similes.  Why bother, there really isn't a comparison worthy enough anyway ("Sweet as" "Cheap as")
• And a vocabulary lesson.  Jandals, Holiday, Boot and Bonnet, Biscuits (instead of cookies), Lemonade (instead of Sprite), Bach, and so many more.  I'm now fluent in two languages.
• The people who were kind of enough to occasionally mistake my accent for one of yours...when they weren't asking if I was Canadian
• The wine, bread and other carbs that were so tasty and comforting that they aided in my gaining 20 lbs while I've been here.  Without that I may have forgotten that I was in the best shape of my life before I arrived and I wouldn't have such a high goal to achieve when I leave.  Thanks for that.
• The technology: Ahead in so many ways and so far behind in others.  It kept me on my toes and tested my temper all at the same time.
• Destroying my spelling, it's going to take at least a year for me to recover from spelling things with u's and s's and consonants where they don't belong. 
• Your commercials.  There are just no words to describe the variety.  One commercial featured a girl and her pet...a beaver.  That's right, it was a tampon commercial.  Classy.
• Teaching me the difference between Australians and New Zealanders.  They aren't the same country...who knew?

I imagine that people will ask, "What was the best thing about living in New Zealand?"  And I'll say the first thing that pops into my mind and smile. But on the inside, I'll be wondering how I could ever actually put into words the amazing time I've had here...I think without someone having the experience themselves it couldn't be described at all.

I set out last March with very few expectations for my trip here, maybe that's why it's been so successful.  My hope was that I could last until my birthday in May, which would have been three months.  The reality is that it's hard for me to leave now, 12 months later.  There are still things that I didn't accomplish on my "To Do List" but I actually knocked off the majority...and many more if you consider everything I've done that wasn't on the list.  I've experienced vacations, time with friends, gorgeous landscapes, remote islands, romantic flings, new adventures and so much more.  I wanted to "Live like a Kiwi" and I'd like to think I've done a pretty good job. 

A big thank you to all of the people I have met here who have helped me enjoy this past year to the fullest.  And a thank you to my friends and family back home who were excited for my travels, followed my ramblings on this blog and kept in touch while I've been away.  It's nice to feel loved by so many people around the world.

Next up:  Southeast Asia tomorrow where the adventure continues...

Operation Red Herring

Forget the excitement, it's fear, fear and more fear.  Who does this to themselves? I mean, really?!? I'm going to be over 8000 miles away.  Holy crap!  What am I doing?  If I don't cry in the first week at least once when I get there, I will be shocked...who am I kidding, before I even leave I'll be sobbing like a big baby.

Ok, this won't work.  So, to avoid completely breaking down and ruining the trip, I have a new plan - I'm going to arrive and live in a constant state of distraction.  That's right, I'm planning to mask the fear, the shock, and the stress with as many diversions as I can find so that I don't have time left to think about being homesick and sad. And eventually, maybe, I won't have to pretend at all. So, I've added new things to my list of to dos in New Zealand...(actually, I just want something to cross off after my first weekend.)

43.  Visit the Kai Iwi Lakes

44.  Camp on the beach

Distraction #1 - Weekend Camping Trip: After landing in Auckland, I'll have a day to sort things out before getting in a car and driving north for a few hours to the Kai Iwi Lakes.  It's there, that I'll spend three nights camping and playing on the beach. I personally can't think of a better distraction upon arrival.
 

Distraction #2 - Spending Time on a Boat: The Kai Iwi Lakes are three fresh water lakes, located on the Northwest coast just 2.5 km from the Tasman Sea. They have white sand beaches and are surrounded by farmland and pine plantations. Campsites are set up just off of the beach making it convenient to pull up a boat nearby, which coincidentally, we should have with us.

Distraction #3 - Easter with Fellow Heathens: There's talk of a group of people spending the long Easter weekend at a beach house in Omaha (on the East coast of New Zealand also north of Auckland).  BBQs, drinking games, beaches, fishing...not a bad way to spend the holiday.

...and so begins "Operation Red Herring."

About the pictures:  The first photo is an aerial shot of the lakes and the Tasman Sea just beyond.  In the second photo the people are standing near the campsites on the edge of the pine forest.

And so it begins

Well, I've done it.  I'm heading to New Zealand in just 28 days.  I have recently decided to make a big (albeit, potentially brief) change in my life.  I have a flight booked for March 9, arriving in Auckland on the 11th (via Los Angeles).  My goal is to stay at least 2 months.  If I can find work, I may stay for up to 12, just to see what it's like to live like a Kiwi.

Since purchasing my ticket, I've been so excited that complete strangers are learning my plans (sometimes before my closest friends and family).  The woman at the bank who changed my address wished me luck, the kid that helped me with phone questions at T-Mobile was stoked, the guy at the Apple store showing me the wonderous benefits of the new iPod Nano thought it was totally cool, and even the Air New Zealand employee who helped me book my plane ticket was keen to hear about my plans.

I have been ridiculously giddy, for lack of a better term,...and just as it builds to near bursting levels, it hits me.  The fear.  The reality of what I am setting out to do brings me crashing back down.  I'm leaving my job, my friends, my family, most of my possessions, my cat, and my apartment to embark on a trip that will take me halfway around the world to who knows what.  My family is fully supportive of this move but that's not completely surprising because, as one friend put it, I come from a family of nomads (and adventurers).  And my friends may think I'm a bit nuts but for the most part they have been supportive, excited, and even at times a bit envious. 

So I continue on my emotional roller coaster ride, careening around the corners, and up and down the hills, silently screaming with excitement and fear the whole way.  All I can hope is that this ride, like the others, will end safely, leaving me with an adrenaline rush, very few bumps and bruises, an awesome experience, and the urge to jump right back in the line to do it all again.

Personal goals:
- Celebrate my 30th birthday in New Zealand
- Experience a new country and culture
- Discover what it's like to leave my security behind
- Create the stories to tell when I'm 90