An Update

The past several weeks I have had pretty limited internet and as a result I have not been great about keeping in touch. For those of you who have emailed and messaged and otherwise contacted me--thank you! Those messages have meant so much and been so encouraging to me! Now that I have better internet I will be getting back to all of you! I figured I would write one giant update, though, for those of you who have been asking.

From the Sky Tower in Auckland

After a month of living in Auckland, yesterday I hopped on a plane headed to Queenstown! It was pretty cloudy, but as we were flying over (what I believe was) the northern part of the South Island I was that person who had her eyes glued to the window for the entirety of the rest of the flight. 

The bits of white right beneath the wings are snow-capped mountains, not clouds!

So... for those of you who were wondering (and those of you who weren't, too, apparently) I had a crazy change of plans. I originally came here to work as an au pair for twelve months but it became clear pretty quickly that it wasn't working out with my host family. It was a very very stressful couple of weeks and if you're a curious little badger I would be happy to fill you in on all of the details of that little situation the next time we're together in person because oversharing is my new favorite game. For now I will just say that unless I am self-employed I would prefer to neverever live with my employers again. But! I don't have any regrets about originally planning to au pair because...

a. I have made some really wonderful friends from all around the world!

b. I learned a whole lot in those couple of weeks,

c. The kindness I have experienced from so many people is beyond incredible and I will be sure to tell you about that soon!

d. I'm here! I'm here! I have been daydreaming of coming to New Zealand since I saw pictures of Fiordland when I was in elementary school. Coming as an au pair, and then changing my plans has given me the opportunity to explore the New Zealand in a way that I otherwise probably would not have!

I have met so many people who have said in one way or another that the best way to experience this country is to make fewer plans and let NZ show you the way. Although it goes against my Type A must-have-everything-planned-ahead-of-time nature I must say that I agree!

Solo traveling definitely has its perks! I think it would have taken a lot of convincing for me to come here on my own, but once I was here I found it was much easier to envision traveling by myself. I have enjoyed the freedom of it in terms of going, doing, and seeing what I want at my own pace. I've also appreciated that I've met some truly wonderful new friends, which I'm almost certain wouldn't have happened if I had traveled with a buddy! I must say, though, that more often than not I find myself wishing I could be sharing these sights and experiences with you! I constantly find myself wanting to turn to someone and exclaim, "Are you seeing this?! Can you believe that this is real?"

My most treasured experiences thus far have been those that I have shared with friends. Simply walking around, exploring new places, or having a meal are inexplicably that much more enjoyable when I get to do them with someone else!

I got to be roommates with sweet Taeko for a few weeks!

There is a crazy story behind this picture 

and I will share it with you soon

For now, though... 

Alena! I miss you! and I can't wait until we meet up again!

Landing in Queenstown was UNREAL. The decent into the airport takes you through the stunningly beautiful Southern Alps. (Sidenote: I was glad I hadn't eaten lunch yet because although I am not someone who gets motion sickness... the turbulence going over the mountains left me feeling more like I was on a roller coaster than a plane! So worth it, though)! And then you land and step off the plane onto the tarmac and I'm fairly certain the airport workers were rolling their eyes at me because I was open-mouth staring at the 360 degree views of the mountains. I found myself wishing my mom was here because she is a much better tourist than me. While she has no problem whipping out her camera and clicking away, I tend to forget that I even own a camera as I get caught up in soaking in everything, then feel uncomfortable pulling out my camera once I remember that I have one. Usually I later regret not having photos ;)

Just one little portion of the view from the bus stop at the airport!

and the view from my home for the next couple of days!

Case in point: my mom got her very first digital camera just days before a family trip to San Francisco. She took hundreds upon hundreds of pictures over the course of the week (which is overwhelming when you're used to having a couple rolls of film for an entire trip). As you look through the album my face goes from smiling to "are you really taking another picture" before I disappeared completely from the pictures at the end of the week because I flat-out refused to pose! She earned the nickname of momarazzi on that trip and has certainly lived up to it ever since. 

Mom! I wish you were here to be your stellar tourist self and document away! And also because I miss you. 

Queenstown, let's be BFFs!

As for what I'm up to now... I'm going to explore Queenstown and the surrounding areas, and then let NZ show me the way :)

Wish you were here!
Cheryl