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