By 4:30 I was picked up in the "Remarkables Shopping Center" outside of Queenstown yesterday. Two ski clad young men arrived, telling me that they were future boss and employer. My interview included, "do you need more time drinking your tea?". We drove into Queenstown, found Adam(boss)'s girlfirend Jo (who shares my birthday, 5 years previous... have had good luck with shared birthdays... best friend Dominique when I was 4 and boss Megan in North Carolina). The plan was to drive to Te Anau, drop off Adam and Jo and drive into Milford to get settled with Richard. The problem? We are in NZ. Te Anau, closest town to Milford (by 2 hours) was out of petrol.
We stayed there and I drove into Milford this morning instead. I got to see the white frosted fields leading to enormous heights of mountains seen only by the tiniest percentage of human inhabitants.

the thing that has impressed me most about NZ is the lack of people, of commercial attractions, of fast food and of billboards. There is beauty here beyond any I have seen, and not miles of sign posts announcing its arrival.

I got put onto a Milford Cruise and saw the entire fiord via water. Imagine hundreds upon hundreds of feet of green cliffs rising out of waters 400 meters deep. This is Milford sound.

There are a few boat companies, my lodge, and my cafe, a bar and that is it. It is a community of 200 people in the summer and 80 in the winter. We are run by generator. It turns off at 11.

Different from cambridge luxury, but then there is a river in my backyard and more stars than I have ever seen above my head. I pinched myself a few times today.

Is this real? Is this real?

Heading to the Southland...

I am saying goodbye to this lovely green northern land and heading for the South Island tomorrow morning. I am quite excited to arrive in Queenstown "adventure capital of the world" but will be picked up by my new boss, Adam, and driven to Milford Sound. Over the past couple of weeks Milford has been built up in my mind as someplace other-worldly. Kiwi's that have traveled the world still say it is the most beautiful place they have seen. That is enough to keep me happy, even though I am finding the pace of Wellington quite enjoyable.

Wellington has a interesting vibe. Take the best parts of the best cities you have been to, put them together and you have Wellington. Funky cafes and restuarants line several main shopping streets,there are beautiful free museums lining the waterfront, there are playgrounds and art galleries every few feet and chic business people and artsy creative types dining on every corner. There is a beach within walking distance and a Mt.Victoria to climb giving you a 360 degree view of the greater Wellington area. Have a car and you will be in lush green farmland. A little further along and you will be hiking to a cliff overlooking the sea. Nightlife, daylife, good food, good people. What more could you ask for?

Am I keeping out of trouble? I would say yes, however did have my second run-in with the New Zealand police in the span of the 10 days I have been here. I met funny cute frenchman Ben in Taupo. On his way down to the south island he stopped again in Wellington to hang out with some of the other friends I have aquired. The next day, around 4 in the afternoon I recieved a text from him saying he was stuck in a car with a weird man named Jeff who had picked him up hitching and to call the police if I did not hear back. A while later I had not heard back. We could not reach him, nor could the police, but the tone of the messages were enough to make even the calmest of people worry. Turns out Ben is fine and the man was just a creep, but the police came to talk to me and find out if he was alright. Geesh! Embarrassing to have two cops barge into your hostel, inturrupting the common room to ask you to go to a quiet place to talk.

A few days ago a German girl was murdered who was hitchhiking alone. In the same week a German man and Australian man were mugged and beaten up in the streets. NZ is of course a safe place, but these incidents seem to have everyone on edge.I think I will be keeping my thumbs to myself. In any case, I don't have this driving on the left thing down yet. I would probably try to hitch myself right back to where I came from.

Cheers!

It can't all be sunshine and walks in the park.


Finding a traveller who has not had some sort of emergency while away from family, friends and all that is known, is probably a difficult task. I guess I should count myself lucky that I have not been mugged, or forced into anything uncomfortable. At least there was not any dangerous confrontation. At least I still have my passport and bags and my voice.

I woke up on Thursday morning well rested after a wonderful night at the Mitai (pronounced MEE-tie). I was pumped to get on to Taupo, where they are offering cheap skydiving at this time of year. I checked out at 10 and trudged over to the cafe Indigo a few doors down. I bought a latte and some fruit and yogurt (a slight indulgence because food is so damned expensive, but felt lacking in essential healthy vitamins). I was reading contentedly outside for 20 minutes or so, when I saw some kids wandering around near by. I subconsciously took note of where my bags were, and everything looked safe. I returned to reading, then for no good reason decided to check for my wallet. It was gone. Those who know me and have travelled with me know that I consistently place things in different pockets and have mini panic attacks about 80 times a day thinking that I lost my passport/ticket/money etc. I was hoping this was one of those same cases. UNfortunately not.

After an hour at the police station on the phone with mastercard I recieved my complaint form and ran to the bus station to catch my bus to Taupo. I won't recount everything that happened, but it included some tears of frustration,annoyance,fear and lonliness. Several collect calls later I was able to get money wired to me there in Taupo. The whole thing has left a bad taste in my mouth. I decided to get out of that area, leaving sky diving and all other lake adventures for another time.

The thing about it is that I really don't want to be one of those annoying people who sees a teenager and thinks they are bad news. I guess I should not be so naive as to believe that none of them are trouble, particularily thirteen year old smoking ones on the street midday rather than at school.

I am in Wellington now, and witnessed one of the most beautiful bus rides of my life getting here. We drove through the Tongariro National park, where there are 4 beautiful snow capped volcanos lurking silently in the distance. New Zealand is amazing, green and rolling hills turn to rugged muddy mountains turn to huge flat dry grassy fields turn to volcanos breathing smoke.Amazing. All of these things and very few people make for some excellent vacationing.

http://www.doc.govt.nz/Explore/001~National-Parks/Tongariro-National-Park/index.asp

Rotorua!!

I took the intercity bus from Auckland to Rotorua. We unfortunately broke down for an hour in Hobbitown, now famous for "movie set tour" where the woman at the information booth reminded travelers that "it doesn't look like it did in the movies." Hmmm. No thanks.

Rotorua is located on a bed of geo thermal activity on the ring of fire, where massive earth plates collide. There are pools of sulfurous boiling water and mud everywhere, and the town itself is rather unpleasantly perfumed.People mainly flock here for the spas, the interesting earth formations and the Maori cultural offerings. I went to the museum this morning and learned quite a bit. It is housed in the old curing bath house ... where people used to come from all over the world to bathe in the healing mineral rich waters.

Rotorua as a town is not very large, and there honestly is not a lot going on . I went to the grocery store (the Pak-n-Save where they do not have bags to put your goods in) and made myself a nice dinner then spent the evening watching movies at the hostel. Not very exciting, sorry.

I'm going to the Mitai tonight, which for a costly $75 you can see a maori village, hear stories and dance and experience the traditional hangi feast. Should be pretty cool!

Tomorrow I am heading to Lake Taupo, adventure capital of the north island. They offer the cheapest skydiving in the world! What kind of moron would I be to pass that up?

I talked to my future boss Adam, and he is going to arrange for my bus ride to Milford sometime next week from Queenstown. I am getting excited to havea home base and to meet my future coworkers, as well as settle into a routine where I feel less like a tourist.

Cheers to all! I got a cellphone, so if anyone wants to call me email me for the number.

Kia Ora!

After 38 hours of constant travel, I made it safely and sleepily to Auckland. The voyage over was actually not so bad as I had anticipated, with a stop at the beach, a meal and shower and some friends along the way. I even got to see a golden moon low in the sky in Fiji, and birds come alive as the sun rose. I made friends with the Fijian coffee shop man Jim, met Kerry who has been showing me around Auckland and have had goot chats with kiwis of all ages.

Auckland has been pretty fun so far. I've met a lot of other travelers, scottish, irish, canadian. All very nice. I got a cell phone and bank account, drank some irish beer and have begun to sort out what NZ is all about. This afternoon I took the ferry over to Devonport with new friend Kerry and sat in a coffee shop drinking tea and eating yummy soup. The weather has been crap, but interesting too. Sunny, rainy, hailing and sunny again all in a matter of minutes.

I am heading to Rotorua tomorrow and am really excited! This seems to be a sort of mecca of Maori culture, and home of the famous Zorb.
Just one minute left...
will blog again soon!

Cheers!

"And now I am a stranger from a long way away
And if I spoke your language there would still be nothing to say
Cause we all know tomorrow I'll be high over this place
And I can tell you one thing, if the world gives you wings, you open those
things, And you fly."

~~~~~~~~~~
My dad found this poem, written by a 8 year old version of myself on Monday Sep 11, 1989.

K ites, I like to fly.
A ir planes are neat to me.
R eading is really fun.
E ating is fun.
N uts are good.

E asy work I like best.
S chool is fun.
T eachers are nice to me.
E ggs are icky.
R eeces Piecies are good.
L aura is my sister.
Y ou might be in my class.

So, there it is. Little people know alot about themselves. Not much has changed.

I fly out tomorrow morning... goodbye America!

Quick rant:

Is it just me or are those code word message things getting harder and harder to read? When they first started appearing they were pretty obvious. Lately, I get them all wrong. It is like the feeling you have when you are at the eye doctor and can't quite see the words and then the doctor tells you that you have to try harder.

That actually happened. "Uh, I just can't see it. That's why I am here."

Life is a Mystery.

In the essence of saving money I purchased a 8:40 am flight from Manchester-Chicago-LA. I get in to LAX at 1:30 pst. I leave LAX at 11:40 pst (2:40 AM my time people). This means that I have 10 glorious hours to ponder my decision and grow tired and irritable dealing with highly over priced and pre wrapped airport food, strangers bumping into me, stale air and uncomfortable chairs. I may just have to break out of there for some fresh (smoggy) air. Luckily, Jesse will be in LA and may be able to meet me for a drink or bite before boarding. It would be nice to have some last minute reassurance that I am not making some dreadful mistake.

I packed my bag!(mostly) Somehow I, the girl who brings the same size backpack for a weekend in the mountains, managed to fit everything in one bag. I probably brought too many pairs of underwear and too few socks, but the real miracle is that four seasons and multiple climates have condensed into the space of 60 cubic inches.

My last weekend in Mass was perfect. It is incredible, the amazing people who have accumulated there and whom I have had the privilege of knowing. Thanks to all of you who made it out to say goodbye. I think every time I hear "Like a Prayer" it will be your voice I hear, like angels sighing. I have no choice I hear your voice. Feels like flying. I close my eyes. Oh god I think I'm falling, out of the sky, I close my eyes....

You'll take me there.

The Katrina footage is endless and endlessly horrifying. The papers
are sprawled with death counts and editorials placing blame, pointing
fingers and asking "why Why WHY?" There are a few stories of hope- a
boy reunited, a dog saved, a baby born... and then there are the
stories of police officers committing suicide because it was just too
much.
It is sobering and it is hard to avoid the immediate guilt associated
with disasters like these. What made me so lucky to be born here,
rather than New Orleans or Sudan or Afghanistan? I often joke that I
was born under a lucky star. My parents laugh that "you always manage
to land on your feet." I wonder is it some series of lives and
tragedies that i have lived prior to this one?  Is it chance? Or is my
own hurricane headed this way? It is enough to wake me up some nights.
In the meantime, I guess all I can do is live hopefully. I am thankful
for my rights, my freedoms, my health, friends and family. I am
consistently awed by the generosity of spirits that I  have
encountered and learned from. Thanks to all who have contributed to a
better me and a better world.
And i will continue to believe that there will be sweeter times
ahead, for the victims of the hurricane and  for every struggle, there
has got to be a lull and some laughter. It is the ebb and flow.

Check it out:

I will probably be working here:

http://www.milfordlodge.com/index.html


Photo gallery has some pretty stunning pictures.

(i am excited, can ya tell?)

"Excuse me, How do you get to Heathrow from here?"

I had my first of many pre-trip jittery dreams. This time I was in London flying a kite,but needing to catch my flight to LAX to make the connecting flight to NZ and realizing that I hadn't left nearly enough time to get to the airport on time.

SO, I am moving out officially today!

Goodbye Cambridge! I will miss the horrible stench of Brookline Street, the bluesy goodness of the Cantab lounge, the late night nutrition of a Hi-Fi pizza slice, the beautifully blended Mojitos at Zuzu, the crack addicts and homeless vets hanging out on Mass Ave, the screaming and abusive neighbors, the Middle East's close proximity, Moody's Falafel Palace's falafel sandwich with hummus and hot sauce, the City Hall lawn, Trader Joe's three buck chuck and most of all, I will miss Melissa and Meg, best roommates a girl could ask for.

FYI- My couch is still for sale. Anyone interested?



(The second half of Phish's 'Divided Sky' is making me very happy at this moment.)