Smiling Ducks

I often wonder why I can't just be "normal." I attempt to look for a normal picture of me, and I can never find one! I always have to do something showy or stupid, and then I end up ruining pictures. Any advice? It works out better if I can convince my co-posers to play along (like in the ferry picture above) but when I'm the only one being totally wierd, I feel dumb. I don't want to look like smiling ducks in every snapshot, but I don't want to be so crazy either. Please give suggestions to help me find a balance!

Back to Second Grade

Today was my first day of school.

Aside from the assigned piles of reading, and expectation to sound intelligent in class, I feel like I am back in second grade. Here's why:

I bike to school
I carry a lunch box
We barber/bribe each other for school supplies
I stay in the same classroom all day
We trade lunches if we prefer a friends' pack
I have one teacher
People color next to me
We organize play dates for the weekend
Friends carry umbrullas (and sometimes use them as weapons)
We get recess
We have PE Mon, Tues and Wed.
Everybody's hair looks like a rat's nest
Almost everyone has a water bottle on their desk
We pass notes when the teacher isn't looking
People try to sneak snacks during lecture
The teacher can't get us to be quiet
We count off
Certain students brown-nose the teacher
We have guest speakers
We go on field trips
Our teacher wears blue jeans
People divert their eyes when they don't want to be called on
We take naps under the desks

Life is pretty slow-paced here in Invercargill. The SIT campus it very chill- with lots of multi-cultural students. I am a minority.

A Case Study: Bi-Polar Disorder

Thurday Jan 10…continued…?

What an incredible and memorable ride to Auckland! Ali and I talked with Matthew, the gay drunk man, for a good 2 hours of the flight before his sleep meds kicked in. We discussed New Zealand geography and culture, his gay lifestyle, and Mormon beliefs. He told me all about his family’s response to his coming out of the closet and I regretfully listened to the story of his first kiss with his partner on gay pride day. Matthew’s favorite song is, “True Colors.” Meanwhile, he drank 8 glasses of scotch, took 12 pills, and rubbed some mysteriously potent cream on his forehead. He told me they were all sleeping pills, but for some reason, I have my doubts. Claiming to be a scientist, Matthew generously offered me any of his sleep medication. I politely declined. I was kind of freaked out when he gave me a phone number for his aunt who is a Taro reader in our first stop: Whitianga (pronounced, Fitianga). He bought about 12 packs of duty free Malboro before boarding the plane.


Matthew was very forthcoming about his issues with an anxiety disorder, ADD and Bi-polar condition. He said being bi-polar is just the worst, and the best. One day you just feel like you’ve been hit by a semi- and then the next, you’re literally in a state of mania where you just buy anything and everything you see. Even if you don’t want it. He said that in his manic stage he is very dangerous to himself and others. But even though you know you’re dangerous you don’t want to stop because mania is FUN! Matthew was polite in always questioning whether or not I need to take a “tiddly-winks” before he fell asleep again. I’m not sure if that is an NZ term, or just a Matthew-ism ☺ He was so dead asleep, I felt comfortable enough to snap his picture and step over him, balancing on the arm-rest, to get to the toilet.

I’ve can’t imagine a ruder awakening than the one I experienced when an entire cup of scotch tipped, pouring down my lower back, through my pants, and soaking my underwear. It was a pain in the rear end! I woke up frantically attempting to stand, and hoping I hadn’t lost bladder control during my sleep. I shook Ali awake, and began jabbering about who knows what! I’m sure she was very confused as well. Apparently Matthew didn’t start that 9th glass of scotch, just wedged it between his legs as deep sleep approached… I changed my pants and rounded up an employee to scrounge up a bag where I could store my scotch-ridden pants. But, I was stuck with the wet, smelly underwear. Next time you fly, pack extra underwear, you never know what could happen! I couldn’t help myself from thinking that Singapore Air would have handled this situation far more professionally than Air New Zealand did. For starters, that flight attendant NEVER should have given a passenger 9 glasses of alcohol within 2 hours…

A Gift and a Curse

Before getting on my flight from Cinti (the correct abbreviation for Cincinati) to LAX, I approached the gate attendant just to kind of go over my seating arrangements. I found out that my window seat was about three rows from the back of the plane, but with an empty middle seat between me and the stranger. Even though I knew I’d be pretty close to the loud engines, I stayed put, excited that I’d get some extra space next to me to stow my duffel. Plus, if any one can handle the loud engines, it’s me. I decided to do the rest of the passengers a favor by sitting near the back since I can sleep through pretty much anything. A gift, and a curse.

I boarded two groups before mine, to ensure that I got to use that extra space. I usually anticipate a rousing conversation with my row partner, so was kind of bummed when the Israeli Santa Claus plopped down next to me for a six hour flight. He didn’t look very talkative. At first I was so annoyed. I seriously almost offered to switch him seats because I could tell he LOVED looking out the window so much. He would just stare. Look all around outside. Up, down, at the rain, at the runway flaggers, at the smudges on the window. I couldn’t even mind my own business at all because I knew he was watching my every move. And whenever I looked over his direction, he either kept staring or quickly jeered his eyes toward the in-flight map. I thought these antics would never end. Staring out the window, looking down at the map… staring out the window, looking down at the map… To my relief, he ended up polishing his glasses and organizing, and reorganizing the assorted snacks on his seat-back table.

After several semi-awkward eye exchanges, I finally asked him his name. Having no IDEA what he said, I decided to leave it at that and keep to myself for the remaining 5 hours. But no… once he discovered that I was actually pretty friendly, he tried telling me about the bad weather outside and brought my attention to the loud noises. The only reason I have any idea that’s what he was saying is because I have a lot of practice with charades and sign language! He doesn’t speak English. So we went through all that before he started emphasizing his beard, motioning a fat belly, and pretending to have a child on his knee. I questioned, “You play Santa Claus in Tel Aviv?” “YES, YES!”

When the snacks came, we practiced reading. The words on the cracker package, the sentence on the napkin. The mini print on the water bottle. It actually got to be pretty fun!

I thought I’d had about as much fun this guy had to offer, when he amazed me again! About half way through the flight, he just popped his legs up into his chair and sat there with one leg around behind his neck, and the other wedged between the seat and the armrest. I’m telling you, it was nuts.

Emily the Adult

This seemingly young girl came traipsing up to gate B24, and literally shoved her dad aside with a face that spoke, “ How could you even dream of sitting by me?” Strike one in my book. I really do try to reserve judgment, but such obvious and extreme disrespect doesn’t fly with me. Her Chanel sunglasses (in 30 degree, rainy weather?) and outfit of the like was kind of a strike two. Then she called her boyfriend to explain the terrible time she had getting through security. She basically summarized her life story in describing why she carries 12 different bottles of prescription pills at all times. She got into some pretty personal things and the business man across from me finally got my attention and just shrugged his shoulders and lifted his hands in the air. I was honestly quite embarrassed for this poor girl. It seems that often times the richest are in fact, the poorest.

Emily ended up following me onto the plane and sitting between me and the grad student on the isle. She told us that we were lucky, because she usually travels with her cat, but left the cat home in LA this time because it scratched her last time. Now she has a scratch mark and bruise that are getting in the way of her modeling success. Then she and the grad student got into a little tiffy about direct vs. non-stop flights. I could go into it, but basically, Emily was insistent about a direct flight the other woman knew doesn’t exist. Emily saved a little face by explaining that “I never do things like book flight reservations for myself, I always just pay other people to take care of that messy stuff.” (Chomping all her gum all the while…) She told us that we’d better consider it a privilege to sit next to her, because we will never get the opportunity to see her same hair color ever again since her stylist created and patented that brown herself. She’s been using that stylist since she started modeling at age 13. Once she got talking about all the things she does whenever she goes to Vegas, I decided to ask her age. She is turning 20 in two months and signing on with a new APS this weekend. That is some kind of Adult Performance Society- Emily is “not a child anymore.” I don’t think I would have traded my experience getting to know Emily for anything. But our short was about the longest I could handle Emily. Her poor father sat behind us.

Let the Adventure Begin

Thursday Jan 10

It was hard to say goodbye to Heather and the kids this afternoon, but a little easier knowing that my long-anticipated adventure was finally beginning! Tanner offered to pay ALL the money in his plastic bag walnut game winnings for a ticket to come with me on the airplane.

Once I got inside, I somehow, someway, finagled my two rolling suitcases, my backpack stuffed to the zipper, and my black duffel to the check-in counter. That was an accomplishment in itself, really. It was happy and sad news when my bags weighed in at 54 and 46lbs. I was sad that I went over the limit, but glad that I hadn’t packed one more pound! There was hope in redistribution! I pulled all my junk over to the side and opened up both big messes. It seemed impossible to accurately gauge the size and weight of certain things to switch around and then zip it back up again. So I called Megan in desperation and had her calm me down. A Russian lady was watching me struggle alone in the corner and came over to offer moral support. She ended up being very helpful because she stayed with my other bags as I lugged my suitcases back up to weigh at the counter. My second attempt I weighed in at 51 and 49 lbs. So then I just kept switching things in the front pockets until the scales evened out. Balance.

Let the Adventure Begin

Thursday Jan 10

It was hard to say goodbye to Heather and the kids this afternoon, but a little easier knowing that my long-anticipated adventure was finally beginning! Tanner offered to pay ALL the money in his plastic bag for a ticket to come with me on the airplane. Once I got inside, I somehow, someway, finagled my two rolling suitcases, my backpack stuffed to the zipper, and my black duffel to the check-in counter. That was an accomplishment in itself, really. It was happy and sad news when my bags weighed in at 54 and 46lbs. I was sad that I went over the limit, but glad that I hadn’t packed one more pound! There was hope in redistribution! I pulled all my junk over to the side and opened up both big messes. It seemed impossible to accurately gauge the size and weight of certain things to switch around and then zip it back up again. So I called Megan in desperation and had her calm me down. A Russian lady was watching me struggle alone in the corner and came over to offer moral support. She ended up being very helpful because she stayed with my other bags as I lugged my suitcases back up to weigh at the counter. My second attempt I weighed in at 51 and 49 lbs. So then I just kept switching things in the front pockets until the scales evened out. Balance.

Emily the Adult

This seemingly young girl came traipsing up to gate B24, literally shoved her dad aside with a face that spoke, “ How could you even dream of sitting by me?” Strike one in my book. I really do try to reserve judgment, but such obvious and extreme disrespect doesn’t fly with me. Her Chanel sunglasses (in 30 degree, rainy weather?) and outfit of the like was kind of a strike two. Then she called her boyfriend to explain the terrible time she had getting through security. She basically summarized her life story in describing why she carries 12 different bottles of prescription pills at all times. She got into some pretty personal things and the business man across from me finally got my attention and just shrugged his shoulders and lifted his hands in the air. I was honestly quite embarrassed for this poor girl. It seems that often times the richest are in fact, the poorest.

Emily ended up following me onto the plane and sitting between me and the grad student on the isle. She told us that we were lucky, because she usually travels with her cat, but left the cat home in LA this time because it scratched her last time. Now she has a scratch mark and bruise that are getting in the way of her modeling success. Then she and the grad student got into a little tiffy about direct vs. non-stop flights. I could go into it, but basically, Emily was insistent about a direct flight the other woman knew doesn’t exist. Emily saved a little face by explaining that “I never do things like book flight reservations for myself, I always just pay other people to take care of that messy stuff.” (Chomping all her gum all the while…) She told us that we’d better consider it a privilege to sit next to her, because we will never get the opportunity to see her same hair color ever again since her stylist created and patented that brown herself. She’s been using that stylist since she started modeling at age 13. Once she got talking about all the things she does whenever she goes to Vegas, I decided to ask her age. She is turning 20 in two months and signing on with a new APS this weekend. That is some kind of Adult Performance Society- Emily is “not a child anymore.” I don’t think I would have traded my experience getting to know Emily for anything. But our short was about the longest I could handle Emily. Her poor father sat behind us.

A Gift and a Curse

Before getting on my flight from Cinti (the correct abbreviation for Cincinati) to LAX, I approached the gate attendant just to kind of go over my seating arrangements. I found out that my window seat was about three rows from the back of the plane, but with an empty middle seat between me and the stranger. Even though I knew I’d be pretty close to the loud engines, I stayed put, excited that I’d get some extra space next to me to stow my duffel. Plus, if any one can handle the loud engines, it’s me. I decided to do the rest of the passengers a favor by sitting near the back since I can sleep through pretty much anything. A gift, and a curse.

I boarded two groups before mine, to ensure that I got to use that extra space. I usually anticipate a rousing conversation with my row partner, so was kind of bummed when the Israeli Santa Claus plopped down next to me for a six hour flight. He didn’t look very talkative. At first I was so annoyed. I seriously almost offered to switch him seats because I could tell he LOVED looking out the window so much. He would just stare. Look all around outside. Up, down, at the rain, at the runway flaggers, at the smudges on the window. I couldn’t even mind my own business at all because I knew he was watching my every move. And whenever I looked over his direction, he either kept staring or quickly jeered his eyes toward the in-flight map. I thought these antics would never end. Staring out the window, looking down at the map… staring out the window, looking down at the map… To my relief, he ended up polishing his glasses and organizing, and reorganizing the assorted snacks on his seat-back table.

After several semi-awkward eye exchanges, I finally asked him his name. Having no IDEA what he said, I decided to leave it at that and keep to myself for the remaining 5 hours. But no… once he discovered that I was actually pretty friendly, he tried telling me about the bad weather outside and brought my attention to the loud noises. The only reason I have any idea that’s what he was saying is because I have a lot of practice with charades and sign language! He doesn’t speak English. So we went through all that before he started emphasizing his beard, motioning a fat belly, and pretending to have a child on his knee. I questioned, “You play Santa Claus in Tel Aviv?” “YES, YES!”

When the snacks came, we practiced reading. The words on the cracker package, the sentence on the napkin. The mini print on the water bottle. It actually got to be pretty fun!

I thought I’d had about as much fun this guy had to offer, when he amazed me again! About half way through the flight, he just popped his legs up into his chair and sat there with one leg around behind his neck, and the other wedged between the seat and the armrest. I’m telling you, it was nuts.

In a nutshell :)

These are the YSA members outside the temple.
We had such a great time at the museum in Wellington. I don't know why I must do such strange things for pictures. Can't I just pose like a normal girl? Honestly...

Okay family:

The night is past again, and here I am attempting to send an email... there is no way i can even come close to encompassing what went on today. But here are the nuts and bolts: We went as the whole group to the Catlains- tide pools and petrified wood forest that were really incredible. We literally swam with dolphins!!! Wild ones so it was no fee :) Lots of people wore wet suits and I sort of froze. We are very near Antarctica.

2. Be prepared to get very very sad: My camera had a lens error and will no longer retract the lens or turn on and off. I'm sure you can only imagine how distressed I am. I'm going to get a repair price check in town tomorrow, but expect it will cost as much or more to repair as it would to buy a new one. I am livid. But, at least its not my life or a limb. Just money. I suppose sky diving is out now- I'd rather have memories of the entire trip along the way. I think $300 is better spent on another Canon. I was consciously being so careful at the beach, but some sand must have just flown up into it... Im open to ideas or comments...

3. I bought an All-Blacks lunch box that keeps my sandwich fresh and reminds me how cool I am ;)

4. We picked up our bikes at the shop in town. Red bike, green helmet= me for the next 8 weeks. So far, so good.

5. I was invited to tea at another homestay's house. Tyler's birthday is tomorrow and his "mum" said he could invite me and Alison to help celebrate.

6. We came home to find Mags and her dear friend Carol. I just love Carol. We had tea and then chatted until tea (dinner) at 8pm. We eat approx. 3 homegrown vegetables at every meal, and had lamb with mint sauce done in the George Foreman. Incredible Potatoes! We had crustless milk tart, fruit salad tart and carmel/chocolate ice cream for dessert. We basically have ice cream every day. NZ ice cream is WAY too good to refuse. Plus, it's Mags!

7. I cried for about 3 hours straight. Mags got talking about her husband Terence and we just laughed and cried together all night long. Literally, we made ourselves go to bed at midnight. I really feel like I know him now and feel more like I am part of this family. I can tell how much she loves him and what an awesome marriage they have. I learned all about their life together, how things went once he became sick, and even watched the entire "celebration" service on DVD. It was a really special time and I am so flattered that Mags felt comfortable enough to share that with us- he only passed on Nov. 8th. I feel so lucky to be here and grateful that Mags was so brave to take on 2 more girls so soon after her loved one's passing. I am so blessed!

I feel like I'm on a mission- biking, and connected at the hip to Ali all the time. Great news, we still love each other! We finished a puzzle this afternoon and have already started another! Tomorrow is Tyler's birthday, so we'll bike into town (15 min) and go out for lunch and party with all the group, and then head to their homestay for tea. Mags discovered my love for popcorn tonight and we plan to experience her air-popper soon. I couldn't be more thrilled!

Picture link

You do not need a facebook account, just view the pictures. Have fun!

A Photographer's dream!

The picture behind my blog title is one of those images you google for, hoping you get something decent. I never actually thought I would end up with countless pictures of my own that are so mind-boggling gorgeous you can't even believe it. New Zealand is officially a photographer's dream :) Hawaii doesn't hold a candle to this place!!! It would take way too long to link eaach picture to this, so I'll direct you toward my facebook page to see the current pics. Enjoy!

Living The Dream!

I'd like to give a shout out to Noelle who has graciously been posting my emails on my blog this last 2 weeks.  With only a few minutes on the computer at a time, I haven't been able to really post sufficiently, so thanks Noelle for doing that!  Dispersed in the post are some recent pictures:

I AM HERE!  I'M LIVING THE DREAM!  Ali and I spent the afternoon/evening getting to know our homestay host: Mags.  She is just the BEST!  I have so much to tell about her!  But, I guess the bottom line is that she is so excited to have us here and she treats us as such!  She insisted on getting us the quality juice when we asked for whatever was on sale.  She is so talkative and tells stories with her hands.  She never lies, but prides herself in being "clever."  We eat on china and drink from crystal every meal, but never handwash :)  Mags hates ironing, and loves knitting, cats, and card-making :)  Her husband, who she loves soooo much, just died about 2 months ago.  She wasn't planning to take more students right now, but she loves the BYU group the very most and is excited to cook for more than just one person and have other people in the house with her.  Ali and I are sharing a room with 2 desks and 2 dressers :)  We just couldn't have it any better.  

Hard Corifying

I am here in an internet cafe in Taupo, NZ. A group went to the beach/lakefront, but i am WAY WAY WAY too burnt to face the sun. It's just getting worse. I bought a $2.50 value sunscreen for 21.90 yesterday. it about KILLED me, but i had to do it. I am on the verge of heat exhaustion and just can barely walk, let alone carry a backpack. But regardless, we are still having a great time.

5-6 of our groupies are sick and it's traveling through camp. So far i am cold free : ) I have found one condition that keeps me from a stone cold sleep though: sunburn. It is so painful and my face has peeled so much it is bleeding in about 5 spots. It HURTS! Sorry to be telling all the downer parts.

It is so sunny and beautiful! we are staying at a thermal resort holiday park tonight, so there are even great warm/cold natural pools to go in. The town is so quaint and cute- only one problem: all the shops close by 4pm. Hence, we are here at the internet cafe's happy hour :) It only costs NZ$2 for 30 min! Well, i have 3 minutes left, but i just wanted to let you know that all is going very very well, and i am still loving life! Laundry sounds so appealing, and a shoeless shower even more! I guess this experience is simply "hard corifying" me :)

All the boys love this stuff, and I'm surprised and proud of how well the girls are handling it :) Fajitas for dinner tonight and bagels and fruit for breakfast in the morning. I am in tomorrow's cooking group.

Thanks Noelle for posting these, and please send me an email and have mom too about what's going on with you guys, tell me about your mac! I love the post responses, but want an update on you too! Love YOU!

Stef

Camping Out of a Suitcase

So, we just played and played in the ocean forever. We were starving but the nearest food was in a tavern 20 min away so we went and got chips (fries) for dinner. It was quite the experience in that tavern :) On the beach we just caught waves, did tricks, loved each other, laughed, took pics with cams underwater camera (i NEED NEED NEED one of those) and talked. We had 5 boys and 5 girls- two of the boys were Mark’s kids who are really great. Then we got out, and played ultimate for about an hour. I’ve never loved it more! It was so awesome.

I'll tell you what, I’ve never gotten so comfortable in my suit before- with the skin tight suction black-water farting wet suits and the beach experience later (cant wear shorts in ultimate—the wet short chafe your legs) I got just really comfortable just going around. These are just the best people ever. It was AWESOME to just talk with a smaller group because there were just less people to handle. It was great.

On the way home we discussed delinquent teens and watched our video clips of crashing waves and CHACO pics. All 10 of us that went last night had Chacos :) PRAISE NOELLE!!!! I have some! They really are the BEST! (By the way, my Chaco tan-line is coming along!)

Okay, we spent the first night in Whiting at the beach and getting used to the camping thing. I had to completely repack, and discovered that I definitely brought WAY WAY TOO MUCH. I didn’t bring a mess kit. Bad idea. And, I am burning to a crisp. I’ve pretty much lost my pride (this is since just yesterday) and decided to wear sunscreen.

Yesterday I woke up looking like Quasi because my burn on my right cheek swelled so much that the bag under my eye got so big and my skin so stretched. Sick! Another thing: it is like lame in this group if you do wear any makeup. We basically just play and laugh and sometimes brush our hair for the sake of pictures, but honestly we don’t even really do that.

These last two nights we have stayed in a place called, oh shoot, I forgot. Well we went to an angora rabbit shearing yesterday which was basically incredible. They stretch the bunny like its being tortured and then use these fast clipper things to sheer off all the fur. More details later on that.

People brought a guitar, frisbee, soccer ball, rugby ball, KITE and other things that are really great. There are several musicians, so if were waiting we just jam to the tunes. The temple in Hamilton was AMAZING! I ran into some YSA girls who were so friendly and awesome and really learned a lot from them. Also we saw some Samoans on the lawn. The Maori just offer all they have (we got lots of candy.) YSA is a huge deal and they have "jam sessions" on Sunday nights at the temple! Different than America, huh?

My van is really fun. Cam, my driver, served in Australia so he’s really used to driving on the opposite side and he’s just really trustworthy. In the car we play samurais unite, zip zip bong and a new game to me called 7's. It’s just a great time. The vans are a piece of junk and the trailers keep popping open while we are on the freeway. It is SO green here, and what makes it diff from the northwest is that there are lots more hills and they are smaller so you can see lots in the distance. It is truly breathtaking. Also, the roads are SOOO windy and there are more beautiful bodies water at almost every turn.

We’re starting group devotionals every night. For cooking, we are just in groups of about 4—5 and that group is just in charge of food for the day. It stinks when you’re on, but it changes a lot and everyone is more than willing to help. The people in this group are so down to earth and nice. A couple potentially catty girls, but not yet. I love camping like this, but honestly, I’m excited to get to Invercargill and get settled. It’s hard living out of a suitcase and packing up every night. The wet /dewy tent and towel don’t help either. Well, I’m outta time but I love you and hope to hear from you soon!

It Was Worth the Thousands of Dollars

The first day we spent some time at the park and had some great fish and chips- so fattening though. I really honestly love everyone in the group and it is not as bad as I thought waiting for people to get all organized. Groups take time, which is annoying, but it’s all better when you’re enjoying the people and beauty around you. That's what it’s all about, isn't it? I have all the details written in my journal to report later, but here are some of the other highlights.

I went black-water rafting yesterday morning! That was the coolest caving EVER! There were 13 of my best friends in the group, so it made it even more fun! We trekked up to get to the cave entrance and then threw our tubes in. We connected tubes by linking legs. For parts of it, we had to do the cave limbo where we literally pulled ourselves through the tiny cracks by hanging onto the ceiling. It was just awesome! We went backwards sometimes and over a few waterfalls. It was fun to turn our headlamps off and see the glowworms on the ceiling. Although, I think they are talked up quite a bit. They just look like green sparkles :) Even the guide says they are to attract tourists, the caves are what were really cool.

Eating on the trip is going well. I’m sometimes hungry, but there is just different food here and we’re still trying to figure out how much to buy to accommodate for the 34 of us. It all works out though, I’m not dead!

Last night was probably the highlight so far. The group was going on a hike (one of the top ten in NZ) so it was a hard decision to make. I ended up going with Cam who was organizing a trip to the beach. He really wanted to go but needed more people to make it worth the hour drive each way. So I thought I was doing him a favor, but boy was I WRONG! It was the most magical, best experience ever. The beach (with warning of "freak waves" ) (oh and I’m getting lots of great pics! :) :) :)) was completely abandoned and we got there at about 5:30 so the sun set while we were there.

The sun sets about 9 here and its REAALLY fun to watch a completely new set of stars :) Regardless, we had to cross some really strong currents to get to a different kind of shore. Oh, and when we got there we found out it was BLACK SAND! SOOOO Cool and great pics :) It was seriously just the best. If we don’t do anything else great for the next 4 months, that experience was worth the thousands of dollars that it took to get me here.

I'm HERE!

I am finally HERE! This has been one amazing few days! I only have a few minutes, and no pictures uploaded to a computer yet, but I'll just summarize what’s up so far. Get excited for some AMAZING flight stories... I have 3 :)

The guy I sat by from LAX to Auckland was far and away the best though. A drunk, drugged gay from Christchurch who now lives in New York. I witnessed him take 12 sleeping pills and saw his bag of other medications. He drank 8 glasses of scotch (which STUNK!) (and, what flight attendant even does that?) and then fell asleep with one between his legs. Well, during his sleep, his leg shifted and the entire glass of scotch went down the back of my pants, soaking my underwear and making me smell like an alcoholic until my shower over 48 hours later. If that's not LAME I don't know what is. The worst part was when he described in detail his first kiss with his partner. I guess it’s exposing me to a little culture. Regardless, he was a character.

Oh, it was kind of a thrill getting to the complete opposite terminal with (literally) 2 fifty pound rolling bags, a huge duffel and a backpack (and a moshi) by myself. Yeah, more stories there. But now I am here!

Leavin, On a Jet Plane!

This is it!!! I'm leaving in just 3 short hours! Living at the Whiteheads for the last month has been great, but I am so anxious to get started on this adventure! Most of my packing is done, so now I'm just enjoying some last good laughs with the kids. I spoke with my parents for the final time last night, and I feel really ready to go! Please take just a second to leave me with a bit of advice. I'd love to hear from you and will appreciate and apply any guidance you have for me. Thanks everyone!