BOOM! The sound resounded across the bay. Our peaceful laughing bodies could feel it echo through us as we sipped on our beers. My boyfriend at the time and I had been staying with two awesome CouchSurfers in Paihia, New Zealand for the previous couple of weeks – an absolute…
Three months. Three whole long months. That is how long I survived this city – how long I survived one place. The last time I stayed anywhere this long was Victoria after my last trip to Peru; I lasted a whole seven months there. That seven months led to a…
I have been in Auckland for 10 days. I have stayed 4 different places, gone to 5 interviews at staffing agencies, and have done 2 days of work. I’m so antisocial many of you wouldn’t recognize me. When I do speak, it’s someone else who is in no way connected…
How do I start blogging again? Where do I begin? Perhaps with bottle feeding the baby lambs? Or with the glaciers or the pancake rocks? Maybe with hitchhiking with Santa? Or with the birthday nudity and wallet on the roof (which wasn’t on the roof, the mystery lives on)? Maybe…
You know how in the romantic movies, the girl is about to get on the plane and then the guy stops her? Ok, well that only happens in romantic movies. That is not real life. But you know what does happen in real life? In real life the girl is…
I’m pretty tired. The last 24 hours have included penguins, couchsurfers, hitchhiking in the rain, and an invitation to a free wine tasting near a small town named Clyde. My computer survived the rain (tip: put it in a plastic bag or two, then wrap in a super absorbent travel…
As I sit on the steps on a chilly but not cold New Zealand evening, I long for what I ran from. I think of walking down the street heading home, my toes, ears, hands freezing, despite my winter jacket and boots. I walk faster. I enter the house, and…
They raced past me a mere few meters ahead. I was a bit startled, but mostly thought, “oh, hey, wild bores… I sure hope they don’t back track towards me,” and I carried on walking. I had closed the restaurant as per usual and was walking to the owners’ house…
5 months. Not long compared to some. It’s a question I hear almost daily. 5 months. (If you want more info on how I do it, find out what’s the deal with Australia’s working holiday visa!) Albeit I stuck to the north of Australia, missing out on such awesome places…