One Way Tickets

I've purchased two one way tickets in the past two days, and I fly out in less than two weeks. Farewell New Zealand, you have been amazing!

 

New Country, New Zealand

This is the 4th / 5th time I've moved countries, most actually within the last 6-7 years, and I've definitely learnt a few things.

#1 Having even one ally in a town can literally make or break you. I've lucked out here in Auckland, and have this great friend named Ralph, who is a constantly amazing friend and keeps introducing me to even more great people! The weekend away at the Coromandel (the seaside) was DOPE. There were 15 or so of us holed up in what they call a 'bach' - really it was like a miniature house/ cabin that is literally just for the purposes of a quick getaway. We ate good food, drank cheap wine, played games, and talked and I watched as an amazing group of people said goodbye to one of their own, as she embarks on her own adventures and a new life in London, England in a few days time.

#2 Enjoying your time at the start and not stressing about all the necessities - job, house, friends, phone, transport, health coverage, bank ... etc etc.
Those things will all come with a little bit of work and looking around for your best options and being willing to go out and have a bit of fun. If you freak out (which we are ALL susceptible to going through), you will just end up making it harder on yourself in more ways than one. You'll stress out, feel like things are a lot harder than they actually are, and even alienate yourself from a potential boss or friend from getting to see you for who you actually are.

So yesterday.. when I was feeling a little overwhelmed with everything .. I climbed a tree in a big park with not many souls strolling about and wrote in my journal just to empty my thoughts on to a page rather than to continue swirling around in my mind with no tangible outlet. I felt SO free after that. Even just climbing into the tree made me feel like I was elevated in a way from my problems, even if just for an hour. Sometimes that seems to be enough to make the self-induced pressure subside. So I'm sitting up in this tree minding my own business as a woman and her dog come by. I thought they had passed me, and was about to jump out of the tree, when next thing I know this woman's dog took a running start and ran up the tree (it is a bit slanted in climbing's favour, but FAR too steep to have ever expected that to happen), and was scrambling along my legs when I caught it from losing it's momentum and falling from the limbs. Then it was so excited and started licking my face, and I just started laughing out of complete shock and amazement as well as ticklishness, and had to help the dog out of the tree with it's owner completely flabbergasted and yelling for her dear Rose to 'come out of that tree right now!'.

TOO funny.

After that I wandered around for a few hours, found a Japanese market, a Korean market (!!), picked up my film, found a sweet veggie restaurant where you buy 6 dishes and get the 7th for free, and then stumbled upon an amazing old abandoned building that was about to get renovated, and got a tour from the architect and an autistic man in a skirt who was helping them fix it up in exchange for being able to stay there. Seriously great day.

And the flatmates at Ralph's.. love them all. We have one American, two Kiwis, one Norweigan, one German, and now me.

As to finish of the list of how to settle faster -
#3. Be up for anything. a n y thing. Just go. Do it. You don't like it, then don't do it again, but I bet you'll still meet some rad folks.

#4. Talk to everyone. Have conversations, make friends. I've already made one at the bus stop who I've got to call because she's invited me over for dinner at her place! People are; for the most part of course; inherently kind and also like making new friends just as much as you do, you just have to find the ones that you click with is all.

Soup-rise

As I mentioned before, I'm back home for a stint over Christmas, and slightly beyond. I've got a job and am working managing a photography studio while I'm home (it's not as glamorous as it might sound), and am taking the day of work wednesday because my Christmas present from my brother is some sort of a surprise. 

I L-O-V-E surprises! Sometimes ... often... more than whatever it actually is. So all I know is i need a swimsuit, towel, and sense of adventure. My brother is a pilot/ likes engines, so I'm lead to the following conclusions:

#1.Parasailing

#2. Scuba diving (he recently got his master divers licence for scuba diving)

#3. Jet ski adventure

#4. Something lame and not nearly as bourgeois like a surfing lesson.
#5. skydiving into the ocean.

sooooo curious to see what it turns out to be!! They even tried to tell me today what it is (I've been told what to bring, that it's been paid for and can't be changed to another day, and that we're meeting at the beach). My family is RADICAL.

On another note, my parents (mostly Mum) are completely bonkers for Christmas tradition, and two of the biggest are baking way too many treats, and buying a new ornament each year to represent the year past. I have two this year; a camera, and a globe! The plan, cheesy as it may sound, is to mark a little 'x' on all 26 or so countries I've been to up to this point on my life and then breeze past it next year! I have this desire to get to 30 countries before I'm 30, so my bike ride through the middle east next year will be perfect as long as I can raise enough money for this amazing event. (http://followthewomen.chipin.com/follow-the-women)


I'd ideally like to donate some of my photography, and have a show while I'm in Australia and donate the proceeds to the event, but it's a lot of organisation which I'm finding a little hard to juggle with a job, family-time, Christmas, and catching up with friends I haven't seen in the last few years, but HAVE to do since I'm really passionate about this cause.