You, Me, and the Kiwis

A mini update on my whirlwind three days in Australia. About 24 hours until I land in LAX. This American girl is coming home. 💕

Okay! So I'm in Australia! Yesterday involved a lot of flying and with all of the time changes, I ended up being awake for like, 22 hours. Not great. Also not great: everyone here already knows each other from interning together in Australia, so I was definitely the odd one out. Okay, time for the great stuff. My roommates aren't exactly my FRIENDS, but they're all really friendly and good about including me in things. I had some good laughs last night. Also, I went scuba diving at the Great Barrier Reef today! The water was super choppy this morning on the two hour ride to the dive site, meaning I was one of a handful of people who wasn't miserably seasick today. Someone told me I must have an iron stomach; I just pretended like I was riding a giant horse or a roller coaster. I'm totally exhausted, but it was a lot of fun and I got a a professional photo next to some sweet coral. It's definitely a great memory and a huge item to cross off the bucket list. I've got some other things lined up for the next two days, then I'm homeward bound. I'm ready to be back in the States, honestly. I'm just going to try to enjoy the time I have left here and I'll be on the plane to LAX before I know it!

I made a concerted effort to get the proper amount of sleep before I have to get on my 6am flight, but I only got two hours in before I woke up again. It's as good of a time to blog as any. On Friday, I had my last day of work and I went out for drinks with Liz, Camille, and Fredericka. Liz bought me lunch and one of my drinks, despite me trying to stop her. I'm going to miss her. Today, I repeated my first weekend in Wellington: I woke up, went to the Dixon Street Diner -- which I picked arbitrarily on that first frightened day -- and ate breakfast. I say in the same booth by the window. The difference in my emotions and levels of inner peace between the two meals means more to me than I can probably properly convey in words. Then I went to Te Papa, now one of my favorite museums in the world, and since this was a much more pleasant day than that first Sunday two months ago, I spent a while down on the waterfront. When I was done, I walked back up Cuba (my favorite street in town) and bought an ice cream cone and a mocha from my favorite shop. I finally took the time to stop in a used book store I've admired on my many trips up and down Cuba; I found a copy of The Silmarillion for 10 NZD. Since my original copy went mysteriously missing after I loaned it to a loved one -- ahem, Daniel -- I knew it would be a perfect memento of my time here. It was a great day. Leaving is still bittersweet, of course, but the sweet still overrules the bitter. I'm too happy and grateful for the time I had to be upset that it is ending.

The happiness and sadness is all mixed up with the love and the loss. And that’s okay; that’s life.

That moment when you get yourself a coffee, but then your coworker shows up 30 second later with a coffee she bought for you 🙃

I made a gif of one of the windiest evenings I spent in Wellington. But honestly, the city gets a bad rap; this was a pretty violently windy occasion, but it was one of only a handful of notable times. :)

I am happy to report that the spa fulfilled all of my expectations and then some. I got there at around 8:30 am, right after they opened, and most of the other people there were elderly people that came to the mineral pools for their heat and healing properties. For under 20 USD, I had unlimited access to the seven outdoor pools. Each pool varied slightly in temperature, but they were all over 100 degrees fahrenheit, which contrasted so deliciously with the cool New Zealand winter air. I watched the sun rise and people come and go for three hours as I floated in bliss. The pictures really don’t do the experience justice; it was a slice of heaven.

Tomorrow is my farewell lunch. Dawn leaves midway through the day on Thursday. Friday is my last day of work. Saturday is final cleanup and packing. Sunday morning is my flight to Cairns.

I’ll blog about some more stuff in the coming days and I’ll probably keep updating this page with memories, even after I arrive back on American soil. For now, back to your regularly scheduled programming.

After the dramatic start to the morning, I eventually made it to Rotorua by 5, just as it was getting dark. Alone. New city. Compounded with the terrible news of the shootings in the States, I was also homesick and devastated for everyone back home, and I definitely was in need of some sort of hug or comfort. Logically, I should have been able to step back and say, "Hey now, didn't you just go through these fears and icky feelings and homesickness less than two months ago? And didn't you get through that just fine?" Unfortunately, however, mental illnesses don't exactly bend to logic, and I subsequently found myself fighting tears and overwhelming despair and loneliness and heart-gripping illogical fear on my bunk at the YHA. Mid-deep breathing, one of my roommates walked in the room with little braided pigtails and a friendly smile. We started chatting, and when she realized I was alone, she invited me down to the kitchen where she was finishing up a meal with her travel companion, Lydia. They shared their food with me and we had a few good laughs. They're both English and on an extended bus tour around New Zealand; they can hop off at whatever location they like for as long as they like, and they just hop back on the bus when it comes back to their area. I regaled them with stories from small-town America. They were a good audience. I have a much lighter heart now after some food and talk with my newfound and completely transient, temporary friends. All it took was a little friendliness to help me get over the first hump of the paralyzingly anxiety and now I'm back on a good track. Tomorrow, I'm taking advantage of Rotorua's natural hot springs by visiting a spa in the morning, then I start my Hobbiton tour (!!!!!!!) at 1pm. Sunday, I'm going to visit a museum and check out the park and sulfurous bits and baubles around town before heading to Wellington at 1; I'll be back in town before 9pm. I'm spending my Monday off work finishing and submitting my midterm essay (which I have almost completed already, of course, because it's me), doing a spot of laundry, maybe picking up some fruit to round out my last week of groceries, and... That's about it. Back to work Tuesday for my final four days at SGCNZ. That sounds so crazy; out of 40 working days, I worked 36 already. Um, what? It hasn't been an easy two months, but in the grand scheme of things, it really did go by so quickly. Two weeks from now, I'll be asleep in a bed in Pittsburgh. Gotta make the next two weeks count -- anxiety be damned.

Story reposted from my Twitter because I'm too emotionally and physically drained to restore the whole thing. Everyone in this country is incredible and I'm so thankful for every shred of kindness I've been shown in my travels this far.

A great -- and very recent -- article about Dawn can be found here; it includes an interview by her and a lot of history that I myself did not know. Check it out!

I created some spreadsheets, did the banking, and updated some databases. Honestly, I feel so competent and happy. Perhaps its the knowledge that I only have 5 workdays left combined with my growing ability to navigate the physical and electronic intricacies of the office life, but my confidence in my abilities and overall self-esteem has grown exponentially since coming to Wellington. I really think I’m a better, brighter version of myself these days; I can’t wait to see where that takes me in the coming weeks and months.

However, I did get to pet several baby kangaroos, feed a giraffe, and see sun bears and capybaras. So really, I still think I’m the winner here.