Australasian Adventure

My dear friends,

Segement two, as promised (though, I admit, a bit tardy.) Filled with tales of aquatic exploits, animal encounters, natural wonders, and, of course, adventure. However, three plus weeks of solid adventuring is quite a lot to catch up on andI will attempt to do this in the most succinct way possible, so please bear with me.

3 May: Mother and daughter ecstatically reunited in Christchurch! The entire day is spent walking around the city, going to the Arts Centre Market, talking, hugging, and napping.
4 May: Drive our sexy little green car (lovingly christened Jezebel) to Tekapo and went for a plane ride over Mount Cook National Park. Circle the peak of Mount Cook (highest peak in NZ), pass over mountains and all the glaciers.
5 May: Go along the impossibly windy roads to Queenstown, walk around the city, purchased some wonderful spives (spoon + knife and used for the eating of kiwifruit) and visit Fergburger.
6 May: Drive south to the town of Manapouri where we sail across the lake on a ferry, cross a mountain in a bus, and board the ship in Doubtful Sound that is to be our evening's accommodation. We go kayaking, see little blue penguins, and sail out to the Tasman Sea to visit the NZ fur seal colony and watch the sun set. Sleeping quarters are sardine-like but wonderful all the same.
7 May: Spend a lovely morning on Doubtful Sound, then arrive back where we'd started and re-do our trip over the mountain and across Lake Manapouri. Hop back in the faithful Jezebel (that doesn't sound right) and drive up through Te Anau, up an icy and perilous mountain road (and have to wait for about half an hour because another car had gone off the road...) and back down, finally arriving in waterfall-filled Milford Sound. We board another ship and cruise along to the Tasman Sea. A pod of about seven bottlenose dolphins play in the wake at the front of our ship, little blue penguins swim by the shore, and a group of five young fur seals sleep and play for hours on the back of the ship. We spend the night in our own spacious room and sleep like babies. Seasick little babies, or at least, I did.
8 May: We wake to a beautiful clear day on Doubtful Sound and go kayaking. Arrive back on dry land (thank god), take lots of photos, go for a walk in the southern rainforest, and drive a very long and twisty road up to Wanaka. That night, Mummy sleeps and I visit to Cinema Paradiso, the movie theatre that has sofas, armchairs, and even an old car for seating.
9 May: Drive up along the West Coast, stopping for a walk in Fox Glacier to see Lake Matheson, and end up in Franz Josef. We decide to forgo a walk to the glacier itself since we'd already seen it close up from the plane in Tekapo.
10 May: Continue up the West Coast with stops in Punakaiki to see the Pancake Rocks and Greymouth for an extremely lame tour of the Montieths Brewery. Keep driving all bloody day until we reach Marahau, the gateway to Abel Tasman National Park.
11 May: Cruise along the coastline (what with my love of boats and all...) and see lots and lots of fur seals, a couple little blue penguins, and hang out with a solo bottlenose dolphin named George in the shallows of Tonga Bay. We go horse riding on the beach at low tide with a psycho-jaded American and, ignoring him, have a lovely time.
12 May: Sadly, we leave the Abel Tasman behind and drive around to Kaikoura with pit stops along the beach to watch the fur seals do their thing. Seal poo = super gross. A dolphin swim is on the agenda for the next morning.
13 May: Dolphins, it turns out, are heartbreakers. Our side trip to Kaikoura is all for nothing when the dolphins prove to be no-shows. Lovely coastline though. With heavy hearts we drive up to Picton to catch the ferry, on which I am very seasick so I have to spend the whole time outside in the freezing wind. Mummy is too kind to leave me to my own devices, so the majority of the three hours are spent huddled together in her sleep sack. Many hilarious photos are taken. We don't stop in Wellington, just keep driving north until we can drive no more. Author's note: never go to Taihape.
14 May: Onward! We pass through Tongariro National Park where we see Mount Doom, snow storms, and a double rainbow. We finally get to Rotorua and go to a Maori hangi that night, with a cultural performance and impossible heaps of food. The water is from a natural spring and tastes delicious. Later we are taken to see some Kiwis (the birds, not the fruit or the people) and I'm surprised by how big they are!
15 May: We get to Wai-o-tapu (a volcanic park) just in time for the... 10:15 geyser show? They pour biodegradable soap into the Lady Knox Geyser to make it do its thang. I want to punch the soap dispenser man in the face. But the park itself is very cool, though it seems like the devil's butt (ie: sulfur. Lots and lots of sulfur.) That afternoon we take a gondola to the top of a mountain and go luging! The evening is spent at the Polynesian Spa which feels wonderful and relaxing at the time, but unfortunately makes our bathing suits smell like farts.
16 May: Adieu to the smell of rotten eggs! We leave Rotorua and drive through "The Shire" up to Auckland. Auckland is nice, Jezebel is unwillingly returned, and we take a nap for a few hours until...
17/16 May: The 4:15 AM shuttle takes us to the airport for our flight to SAMOA! We arrive around 10 o'clock in the morning on... 16 May? International Date Line, you are a tricky bitch. Our silver Rav4 with issues is collected and we have lovely and enormous prawn sandwiches with fresh taro chips for lunch. We then go to the huge market in Apia. So much random food and coconut jewelry! Dinner is at one of the nicest places in Samoa (tuna steak with size of my head) and we crash early at our kind of lame hotel.
17 May: The day starts early, driving up the Cross Island Road to Taufua Beach Fales on the southeastern coast of the island of 'Upolu. We learn the none of the roads in Samoa are marked, and the maps that exist are completely useless. Both of these things are very helpful. But our en suite fale is lovely, the obscenely large Sunday dinner is deliciously and strange, and the beach is exquisite. The afternoon is spent snorkeling, which I had never done before. Fishies spotted: Moorish idols (think Willem Dafoe in "Finding Nemo", but without the cool voice), orangestripe triggerfish, blue starfish, sunset wrasse, surge wrasse, christmas wrasse, black and white tiny angelfish, a pufferfish! (unpuffed), a white with black stripes sea dragon, tons of parrotfish, bluestriped snapper, longnose filefish, needlefish, racoon butterflyfish, threadfin butterfly fish, and MORE!
18 May: We leave Taufua and get horribly lost, but eventually find our way to the ferry and cross over to the island of Savai'i. I, with my love of moving things, of course get seasick. Our next destination is Manase and while the beach fales are nice, the food sucks and the staff is very weird. One staff member spends twenty minutes staring at us from the doorway while we play cards. Also, no one even mentions just how loud seafront property is!
19 May: Another first- I go scuba diving and I get to fulfill my dreams of being the little mermaid. Mum gets her refresher course and I take an introductory from a hilarious Frenchman. Things are going fine until we get to the open water because 1. I am seasick and 2. I am scared shitless. However, the fabulous Fabian talks me into going through with it (though it took mucho cojones on my part too.) We saw lots of fish and I'm proud that I did it, but I could feel the currents underwater. I had to resurface five minutes early and as soon as I did I started puking or rather, feeding the fishes. And I kept puking. Canceled my second dive and snorkeled back to shore, puking the whole way. The rest of the day is spent the same way.
20 May: We switch fales and move down the street to the nice place, Le Lagoto. Our enclosed fale (with air con, thank god!!) is beyond beautiful, with nice linens and fresh flowers everywhere. Our view of the sea is paradise. I make Mum leave me to my sicky devices (still sick) and she does two more dives and sees some incredible things, which makes me happy. There's a lovely cool pool for us to soak in, which also makes me happy. Dinner is luscious and the scenery is to die for.
21 May: Last day in Samoa. We sadly leave the fale and our new friends at Dive Savai'i and drive back to the ferry. Still sick from before, I enjoy the disgustingly rolling seas and contemplate throwing myself overboard. More souvenirs are collected at the market in Apia, we have a delicious dinner while watching the sun set over the water, and have an uncomfortable nap in the stifling car until our 1:30 AM departure.
22 May: Didn't exist. See previous statement about the International Date Line.
23 May: We arrive in Auckland exhausted and disheveled, but happy to escape the oppressive heat of Samoa. The day is spent at the zoo, followed by a trip to the cinema to see "Angels & Demons".
24 May: Not too much happening. We pack, we have lunch, we head to the airport and we are a little bit sad. After such an incredible adventure though, what is there to be sad about? If you've stuck with me through that whole narrative, you understand me. I give her a hug, I give her a kiss, and I smile because I know I'll see her again.

If you just read that entire thing, I am 1. surprised that you lasted this long and 2. delighted, because that's one less person I'll have to explain this to when we meet again. If, however, you only read about the first couple days and then skipped down to the bottom... Well really, I can't say that I blame you. I'm verbose at the best of times and then when I actually have something to write about I go nuts. All I can say is, thank you very much for your interest. I can't honestly say I wish you were there, because I was quite happy to have my mother all to myself. But I can say that I sincerely hope that at some point in your life you can have an adventure like the one I had. Incredible, beautiful, and I might even say life-changing. In fact there are only two bad things about it: 1. that y'all are going to be hearing about this until I have an adventure that tops this one, and that's too bad because and 2. this particular adventure was so amazing that I'm not sure it can ever topped.

Luckily and Adventurously Yours,
*Olivia

"Life is either a great adventure or nothing." - Helen Keller

Quarter-Life Crisis

"The big question is whether you are going to be able to say a hearty yes to your adventure." - Joseph Campbell

My dear friends,

Scatterbrainedness (that is a word as of now) seems to be a common theme with my entries here. I hereby apologize and hopefully that, along with the cheeky grin I'm currently flashing, will be enough to make amends. Since it has been over two months since I've written anything besides Facebook status updates, I think I'll have to break up my adventurous goings-on into two different segments. The first segment will comprise of my final weeks in Tekapo (lovingly christened "The Po"), birthday festivities in Queenstown, and my subsequent party/departure from The Po. Commencing... now.

I continued working at the lovely and charming Tekapo Tavern right up until the day before I left, trying to earn as much money as possible before the adventure I knew was shortly to begin. And as much as I was ready to move on and see more of New Zealand, my last weeks were great because I was already looking back with nostalgia. I spent a lot of time with the incredible friends that I made and did all the last minute things I'd not found the time to do yet. On Easter Monday I drove down to Dunedin with a few friends and we spent a couple days there, staying in a hostel called... Hogwartz. Judge if you like, but we thought it was amazing. Went to the Speights Brewery, "the pride of the south" apparently, and the Cadbury's Factory (the highlight = chocolate waterfall). We also spent an evening in this cool pub where they had karaoke (read: one weirdo guy's attempt to have a solo concert, all while dressed in the most hideous of 80's clothing), and toasted at midnight to the beginning of my flatmate's birthday. Dunedin is really a very cool city and sort of reminded me of Germany. Except of course for the different language. And the different people. And the different hemisphere. More things that happened: spent an evening ice skating at my former job, The Po was coated in snow after a huge storm, I got a ridiculous cold that wouldn't leave me alone, and a friend in America popped out a child.

On 24 April I hopped on a bus and headed down to Queenstown. The drive was incredible, going through all these passes, and passing by a place called "The Wrinkly Ram Shearing Station", and up and down mountains, and driving alongside steep cliffs and a gorge at the bottom of which was a gorgeous and vibrantly colored river. I stayed at a place called The Last Resort which was actually anything but, being well situated and filled with very nice people, apart from that one backpacker who is a total weirdo. There's always one, wherever you go! Anyway, I spent a day in Arrowtown, which was a gold rush town back in the day and also a location that the illustrious Peter Jackson chose for those little films that he made. Actually, most of Queenstown is rife with "Lord of the Rings" locations. The geek in me was in geeky heaven.

The 26th of April was commemorated in a fairly dramatic way (come on, it's me. Of course it was dramatic...); you've probably seen the photos already. That was one thing I promised myself when I decided to come to New Zealand: I would go skydiving on my 25th birthday. Not the day before, not the day after, but on my birthday. My wonderful family was nice enough to give me money towards that for my gift. So the day dawned, I filled out my I-won't-sue-you-if-you-maim-me paperwork, got suited up in my feisty little jumpsuit, and hopped in a tiny tiny TINY little plane with teeth painted on the nose. See? Even the plane was badass. Now, it was slightly windy on the ground. Add 15,000 feet to the mix (although because Queenstown is already at an elevation of 1,200 feet, it was technically 16,200 feet), and that little breeze becomes a ridiculous gale that blew us all to bits. And now a little math.
massive turbulence + me + massive penchant for motion sickness = SICK
And so (keep this equation in mind), I jumped. The first bit of time, which feels closer to 6 hours than the 30 seconds it really is, was too exhilarating to think about anything besides breathing and the fact that I had just fallen through a cloud. My stars and garters, what a rush! But then, when the cord was pulled and the parachute sprang blessedly free, the real fun started, because then we began to paraglide. This is when we floated along, gazing at the breathtakingly beautiful scenery, and enjoyed the playful breeze that batted us around like the Furies from the underworld. It was at this point in time that I asked my tandem instructor for a sick bag (remember the previous equation), which I was promptly given, which I promptly made use of without spilling a drop. Or rather, a chunk. And so it was that I landed back on the earth with a smile on my face and a neatly folded bag in my hands. Happy birthday to me.

The rest of my time in Queenstown was wonderful, peppered with drinks with a friend from The Po, a visit from my flatmate, burgers the size of my head from the incredible Fergburger, the winning of a free 15,000 foot sky dive at a karaoke contest, and a generally fantastic few days that added up to a fantastic birthday.

When I returned to Tekapo, I spent that last couple of days working, packing, and spending as much time as possible with friends. My last night at work was followed by a really fun farewell party, attended by most of the people I had met during my time there. A great send-off, filled with lots of photos, lots of drinking, and lots of hugs. 2 May saw me on a bus to Christchurch and the morning of 3 May saw me at the arrivals gate in the Christchurch Airport, impatiently waiting for my mummy and the start of our Australasian Adventure! See next entry for details.

*Olivia

a bit... sheepish. get it? get it?

My dear friends,

Okay, it's been about two months since my last update. I'm sorry for that. Let's remedy the situation, starting... Now!

Life has been good here. I've made so many friends from different places around the world, people who I will certainly visit at some point down the road. I've been spending quite a bit of time outside, running, going for walks, climbing up Mount John. My first time to the top of the mountain, I obliged my musical theatre roots by singing that familiar line from The Sound of Music. Granted, I was not in Austria, but it was still pretty damn spectacular. A few weeks ago there was a "High Country Fete", I kid you not. It was a good time: got a couple of homey NZ gifts for people, and I got to feed alpacas! Also, I apparently lived through my first earthquake this morning! The bad news: I slept through it. The epicenter was a town called Twizel, about 40 minutes from the town I live in. What else? I left the hot pools because the manager was a she-devil (in the worst sense) and went to work at the local pub. I was hoping to get to know the real New Zealand? Let me tell you, there is no better way to get to know New Zealand than by working at the local pub. Oh my god the townies. Allow me to paint a picture for you: there's the occasional mullet, there's lots of Bubba teeth, there's extremely short, nearly ball-bearing shorts that are sometimes two-tone, and then there's the footwear. It's either Wellies (rubber boots), or thick woolly socks, or... barefoot. In a sticky, dirty pub. But then, people go into the super market without shoes. Weird, yes? Next bit of news: I was diagnosed with a couple back problems, mostly being that the top of my spine is flat rather than gently curved. I've made many many visits to a very cute and competent chiropractor. Also, this whole recession thing that's been wreaking so much havoc on the rest of the world has finally hit New Zealand. Lots of places are cutting down on staff, which means fewer chances for us travelers. Luckily, I will be unaffected by this for the next few months because...

My mum is coming to New Zealand! She gets here on 3rd May and will travel around with me in this country for about two and a half weeks, hopefully followed by five or so days in Samoa. Samoa! How cool is that? We've got this crazy elaborate itinerary that I'm so excited to get underway. I'm picking her up in Christchurch, followed by an evening in Tekapo, then Queenstown, then an overnight cruise on Doubtful Sound, an overnight cruise on Milford Sound, then Wanaka, Franz Josef Glacier, Punakaiki, the Abel Tasman, then taking the ferry across the straight to Wellington, to Tongariro National Park, Taupo, Rotorua, perhaps a stop in the Coromandel and the Bay of Islands. Then, off to Samoa to relax in the tropics after a rigorous couple of weeks. I know, it sucks to be me. But wait, my story gets better. From there, Mum will go home and then I'm off to travel by myself for maybe a month or so. A bit more of NZ and a couple weeks in Australia as well. Let's just hope I don't get attacked by one of their many scary and poisonous inhabitants.

All in all, New Zealand has been very good for me so far. I've been here for about three months now and that whole soul-searching mission of mine has been pretty successful. I think being away from everything familiar and confusing has allowed me to see more clearly, and having the pressure taken off of me to prove myself has given me more perspective. I know what I want, I know where I'm going, and for the first time, I feel this blessed freedom.

And here it is: that breath of fresh air.

*Olivia

"We shall find peace. We shall hear angels. We shall see the sky sparkling with diamonds." - Anton Chekov

advent: lake tekapo

My dear friends,

I'm sitting in the living room of the house I'm staying at in Lake Tekapo, looking out of the windows that occupy the entire front side of the house. What's my view, you might ask? Well, there are some fields off to the sides, with Mt. John to my left and some huge fuck-off mountains to my right, but right in front of me is a ridiculously turquoise lake with some snow-capped mountains in the background. Yeah. I'll take it. Last night, after the sun had finally set (between 9 and 10pm), I went outside to get a sight of the gorgeous night sky that people keep telling me about. And oh my god, the sky did not disappoint. I have NEVER seen so many stars- and they're so bright! I was looking at some stars that I had never ever seen before, like the Southern Cross, which is a constellation you can't see from the States. Absolutely breathtaking. Tomorrow I'm going to rent a kayak for the day- I think my new Scottish friend/housemate, Rachel, is going with me! We're going to get a picnic lunch and kayak out to the island in the middle of the lake (about 3 hours each way) and I am so excited! Walking around on the island, swimming in the lake and hanging out on the beach... I'm psyched. And then on Wednesday I start working full time at the "Alpine Springs and Spa". The house I'll be living in for the next few months is good. No frills, but I don't need 'em. It's a four bedroom with a kitchen, bathroom, internet, living room, and I have a room to myself. It definitely helps to have another girl here too.

How did I end up here? I had a great last few days in Auckland- my friend Jayne took me to this beach called Piha and it was AMAZING. It was also my first venture into the Tasman Sea, so there's another notch in my belt there. I also spent a bit more time in the city, doing some of the things I'd missed on my first days there. Then, last Tuesday, I flew out of Auckland to Christchurch, which is on the east coast of of New Zealand, about a third of the way down the South Island. I was in Christchurch for one day and two nights and, while I was there, I saw friends of mine who performed at King Richard's Faire with me! They were MC-ing the annual Busker's Festival and it was so cool to see them there. Shock all around, I would say. For all its vastness, the world is a scarily small place. In Christchurch I also climbed up the Christchurch Cathedral, visited an arts and crafts market, went through the Christchurch Museum and the Botanic Gardens, and walked along the River... Avon? Weird. The next day I hopped on a bus operated by the Naked Bus company (no, that's not a typo) and enjoyed a few hours' drive through the farmland, then up up up into the mountains. Seriously, I am in Middle Earth. Unbelievable. I keep looking out for hobbits and elves. The bus ride was just awesome, apart from being left behind in a tiny little hamlet. I panicked for about 15 minutes until someone alerted the bus driver and they came back for me. Whew.

I'm still drawn back to this view! I think even if I lived here for five years I would still be taken aback by the incredible majesty of this place. Lake Tekapo has to be one of the most beautiful places I have EVER been. If I was looking for a beautiful backdrop for my soul searching mission, I am now in the perfect place.
Mission: Self Discovery has commenced.

*Olivia

"Make the most of yourself. For that is all there is of you." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

big news

My dear friends,

I WENT BUNGY JUMPING OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(some unwholesome language to follow)

Allow me to elaborate: I have never wanted to go bungy jumping. Sky diving, sure. But I have never wanted to attach myself to a tenuous piece of cord before jumping off of something tall. And then, shortly before I left home, I suddenly started thinking that hey, maybe I would do it. And then yesterday, I woke up and thought "Yeah. Bungy jumping. Today." So I did. I was picked up at 2:30, got all harnessed in, then walked on this cool foot bridge under the Auckland Harbour Bridge and over the water (great views), then up up up into this weird little bubble/pod thing. And then I had these velcro gator-things attached to my ankles and all sorts of ropes and things attached to my harness, and then they had me stand up. And my heart was frigging pounding, it felt like it was going to burst out of my chest. And then they had me hobble over to the end of a platform reminiscent of a diving board and I'm standing there with my toes out over open air a whole lot of ocean and I'm thinking (here's the unwholesome language): "holy fuck, holy shit, shit shit shit, what the fuck am I doing" and my heart's trying to kill me and huge adrenaline is soaring through my veins and there's this 120 foot drop that I'm supposed to willingly throw myself into and then the evil operator goes 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and...

I jumped.

Not fell, mind you. Jumped. Arms out at my sides, like I was about to fly, because it was my choice. The first moment was probably the scariest feeling I've ever had- this positively sickening lurch- and then, as I approached the bright green water, I realized I absolutely loved it and started screaming my head off (which to my mind indicates a good time.) So I bounced a bunch of times, then released my feet and they hauled me up, all the while being cheered by a huge crowd of Ozzie onlookers. Oh my god the adrenaline. I swear, I no longer have blood flowing through me- it's all adrenaline, even now. I feel like I could do anything. I could dodge bullets, or stop a speeding train, or save the world. Or all three. Most amazing thing I have EVER done. I can't wait to go again!

In other news, it's a great thing to be an American these days. And the Kiwis are so proud of us! It's a very cool thing. My days here have been filled with searching for jobs and going on fun day trips. I've been to the beach, the zoo, and this cute little seaside town called Devonport. Today's biggest news though is that I got a job!!! I applied for it last night when I was high on life and corresponded with the guy a few times before he called me and offered me the position! I think it'll be a good fit for me- it's working at a cafe in Lake Tekapo, Canterbury. Seriously? Check it out. Google that shite and see exactly what I'm talking about. A town on an intensly turqouise lake with mountains in the background; aka: beyond beautiful. I fly to Christchurch on Tuesday and will start work around Thursday. It'll be so great to have a job a feel comfortable with, in addition to the time and the means to explore the incredible countryside.

My name is Olivia Rizzo, I live in New Zealand, I am employed, I am a bungy jumping convert, and I am full of adrenaline and dreams.

Most happily yours,
*Olivia

"In the midst of our lives, we must find the magic that makes our souls soar."

here's that rainy day

My dear friends,

The first thing I would like to report is that yes, it is true. The flushing toilet water swirls in the other direction!

Okay, now that's out of the way. In other news, I'M IN NEW ZEALAND! From California I went to Fiji and was out there for about five or so days, during which it rained every bloody day. Like, for serious. I showed up on Wednesday and it rained Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and finally, on Monday, juuuuust when I was leaving, the sun decided to peak out and give us a lovely day. Charming, thanks. But you know what? I didn't care, because I had an awesome time as it was. Even though my river/village/rainforest tour was canceled (after I drove two hours to get to the start point...), I ended up chilling at my hotel with a bunch of fantastic people. The best part? I was the only American among them. We played cards, went for walks in the rain, drank the delicious local Fijian beer, went swimming when it was raining hardest, and had a generally fabulous time. And this just means I'll have to go back for another visit, preferably not during the rainy season.

What else? Oh yeah, New Zealand. I arrived only yesterday afternoon and was immediately struck by the lay of the land from what I could see from the plane. SO green and lush and mountainous and just gorgeous. I checked into my hostel in downtown Auckland, then went for a walk. My recipe for Auckland is this: Boston + London + a dash of the hills of San Fransisco, and there you have it. Except they have a weird accent that I wish I had too. I got so confused in the hostel- I kept thinking they were trying to talk to me about jewelry but then I realized that they were telling me about beds, not beads. So, still figuring out the accent.

Today was a bit frustrating- turns out there a lot of crap that comes with being an immigrant. (AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm an immigrant, how cool is that!? END OF AUTHOR'S NOTE) I spent a lot of time with the job search people, also doing some job research online on my own. Lots of coffee jobs to be had, so I might be on familiar territory again very soon. I don't mind at all! I set up my bank account and applied for my tax IRD number, which is like our social security number. That took up pretty much the whole day, but I did walk around for a while and check more things out. Tonight I also got a bangin' haircut from this super sweet, super chic Korean lady. It was a total spur of the moment thing and I'm not sure why I even went into her shop, but I had a cool conversation with her about what I was looking for and ended up with probably the best haircut I've ever had. The upshot is, I am a rock star. And all for the bargain price of NZD 20! Not bad, aye? (AUTHOR'S NOTE: They say “aye” at the end of essentially every sentence. END OF AUTHOR'S NOTE)

Tomorrow, my excellent singer friend Jayne is being nice enough to pick me up at my hostel and bring me to her house, where she's letting me stay with her until I figure things out. I still can't believe how generous she has been; I feel very lucky. What a fabulous woman. In her last e-mail she mentioned lots of beach trips, since the weather is so lovely. Oh right. The weather. This is the part where all you lot in the chilly northern hemisphere will actually hate me. What's the weather like here? Well, today was sunny, with a slight warm breeze, and temperatures somewhere in the 70's. Yep. A tough life, mine is. On a completely unrelated sidenote, please be sure to call my American cell simply listen to the message JP recorded for me. Don't bother leaving a voicemail because I won't get it, but I want to enjoy the amazingness that will ensue, should you call.

So anyway, that's the situation right now. Unemployed and unsure of the future, yet simultaneously fearless and beyond excited. I just keep smiling to myself because I still can't believe I'm here and having this adventure. And I think that my whole mission of “finding myself” should be no problem at all, given the backdrop I've chosen for myself. Life is very good.

Your Happy Adventuress,

*Olivia

"With freedom, books, flowers, and the moon, who could not be happy?" - Oscar Wilde

La La Land

Hello friends,

I woke up to a blizzard on Wednesday. I guess New England had issues with me leaving, too. Weather be damned- my plane was only delayed by 45 minutes. I think what makes this so hard is that I have no idea when I'm coming home. When I've gone away to London, New Jersey, Germany, etc, we always knew when I'd be back, and it was never for all that long. It's the "unknown" component now... But I left; I got out the door. I internalized all the crap and somehow found the words to say goodbye. Rough. I had a great send-off though: an evening of family, friends, photos, and fondue. A very good evening.

Contrary to what I had originally anticipated, I LOVE CALIFORNIA! It was bizarre to walk out of the airport 1. to see palm trees and 2. to see everyone running around wearing winter attire in 55 degree weather... But aside from that, the overabundance of neon lights, and the slight smog problem, LA is a pretty chill city. My first day I hung out around Hollywood Boulevard while my dear friend Cali worked. Weird place, but I still liked it. Grand, in a way. I ate lunch on the roof of the Kodak Theatre next to a Michael Jackson impersonator eating strawberry yogurt. He had the single white glove and the silver spangled belt and everything. At one point I walked by Catwoman, Captain Jack Sparrow, and Elvis impersonaters discussing the medical benefits of taking cranberry supplements. Only in LA? I got tired of all the celebrity nonsense though and took the bus over the Farmers Market. Oh my god what a place!

Friday was one of the most wonderful days I've in a long time. Not saying that I haven't had some great days recently, but DISNEYLAND takes the cake! For a Disney-lover such as I, it was like making the pilgrimage to Mecca. Mickey Mouse, princess galore, castles covered in white lights, the Matterhorn, fireworks, much talk about believing in your dreams (love that), and Space Mountain!!!!!!! It was amazing. Nine hours of magic. Saturday was brunch with Cali, catching up on posting pictures and e-mailing, and awesome Mexican food with JP! Today I got to see the Pacific Ocean for the first time, which was way cool. I dipped my feet and took a lovely walk along the beach, then went for a walk along Santa Monica Boulevard.

My flight to Fiji leaves tomorrow at 10:30pm and I will be on the plane for a very, very, very long time. I arrive in Nadi on the 7th (yep, two days later) at 5:15am, to be picked up by the owners of the hostel I'm staying at. So, that's what I will be doing until you next hear from me. Be well, be safe, and have adventures!

*Olivia

"Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over,
it became a butterfly."