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