Finding My Fix: Chronicles of a Travel Junkie

-I think I ought to clarify that I am not stupid. I have streetsmarts. If I didn’t have streetsmarts I would never have survived living in Manhattan or working in the heart and soul of inner city Brooklyn. I have a good sense of boundaries between safe and unsafe in situations that call for it. I can tell when a person, place, or situation can’t be trusted, and finally, if I feel uncomfortable, I know how to get out.

-On a lighter note, it’s spring, and flowers are starting to bloom. The weather is gorgeous! Though, if one of you came here from the US today, you would probably disagree, because it is still a lot colder than the weather back home. But walking around in the sunshine (or the clouds today), or even at night is an enjoyable experience, even without a jacket. Hopefully I’ll have some more pictures soon (of Fiji, Wellington, etc).

-I spent all day yesterday hanging out with Camilla (Dane) who’s boyfriend had left early in the morning to go to Iowa after visiting her here for 3 weeks. It was lots of fun, even though there were some tears involved. But you can’t feel too sorry for her. She’s dating a good guy who came all the way to New Zealand to visit her. If I were to cry, it would be for the exact opposite reason.

-The All Blacks won Tri-nations!!!! They gave the Wallabees a good beating last night.

-I have bought plane tickets to Christchurch on Oct 22, and back from Dunedin Nov 3. I have an exam Nov 4, then I leave for Australia Nov 5. I need to buy a flexi-pass (a bus pass) so I can mosey around the South Island, maybe ski in the Alps, backpack in the Fiordland, and site-see in Dunedin. I’m a bit nervous that I’ll be traveling alone, so doing one of the Great Walks (3-5 days) in the Fiordland is out of the question unless I take one of the tours or get friends to go with me, otherwise I’ll stick to a day trip. I’m not such a fan of spending 3 nights in the wilderness by myself. Even if New Zealand doesn’t have any lions or tigers or bears, it has a lot of empty space, earthquakes, and glaciers. I may also take a trip to see the northern half of the South Island sometime between Oct 6 and 18, we’ll see how it works out. And I’m starting to wish I had more time to see Australia. Five days is enough to see Sydney, but that’s all it’s enough for. Oh well, I’ll just have to go back sometime.

-My final point is that I have let go of my stigma of Americans, and have started hanging out with more of them. Last night Caroline and I had a conversation with one guy. We had to agree that if he could survive first being made fun of for coming from a town in Minnesota with a population of 300, and then still make it out alive after a discussion on feminism, then he’s not a bad guy.

Tags: 1A. New Zealand

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