Thanksgiving

Here I am in Brisbane, Australia trying to find some Americans to cook a turkey dinner with tonight. If all else fails I'm going to celebrate with some Aussies, Germans and English people. Heck everyone should be thankful (and celebrate America! Okay, that might be a stretch for some foreigners. Oh well). I am so freaking Thankful to be doing what I am at this point in my life. I could burst, I'm so thankful. Haha.

I left New Zealand yesterday, which to my surprise was super sad. I mean I knew I loved the country and my time there, but I didn't know I'd feel real sadness leaving it all behind. But I did. However, like most things lately, the sadness lasted about ten min. On the plane I met two great Kiwis. Mom and son who ended up feeding me and housing me my first night here in Brisbane. The world is full of great people.

Now I am waiting to meet up with a friend I met in the Bay of Islands. Life is good.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Know that I am thankful to be here, BUT also equally thankful to have such wonderful people back home to return to. Yes, you heard me correctly, I am returning to the States. No worries, mate.

No worries is exactly right.

In Christchurch

I left Queenstown on Tuesday, which was hard to do because that town is full of fun people and fun things to do 24/7. Financially and physically I needed to move on though. So, here I am in the quiet city of Christchurch. For New Zealand’s 2nd biggest city, it is decently calm city.

In Queenstown I went bungy jumping, ice skating (where I dominated in ice hockey), on a gondola ride up a mountain and at the top of the mountain a big group of us raced down a luge track. What a great trip! I ate too many Fergburgers and loved every one of them!

Everyone I have been travelling with for the best two weeks is leaving to Australia, Asia or England this weekend. I leave Friday for Kaikora, where I hope to swim with dolphins and go whale watching. Yup, life is hard. In all seriousness though, I am so excited to be moving North again and for my next adventures. I mean really... dolphins and whales...how can I complain? But, I am sad all my new friends are already leaving. Most of them are heading to Oz, where the “weather is hot and I’m in my drop top.” Lucky them.

New Zealand has been warming up slowy, but nothing like Australia. I’m sure I will make all new friends in the North Island. Of course I will, but not after having the same conversation that I have had for the past seven months:

“Where are you from?”
“How long have you been in ________”
“Where were you before _____”
“Where are you going after ______”
“So, how long have you been travelling for?”
“Oh, what’s your name by the way?”
Yup, that’s about it.

I can’t complain though. I love meeting new people. Travelling has been amazing in that sense. However, it’s really nice to feel comfortable with people and be able to be yourself 100 percent. I have been truely blessed because the people I am with now in Christchurch and the some I left in Queenstown are some of the greatest bunch of people. They have been really fun and light-hearted while being extremely considerate and kind. Basically, I have been really lucky thus far.

Oh, I have an announcement. As of now, I have no plans to jump out of things or off of things for a while. I need to stick a little closer to a budget and bungy jumping and jumping out of planes is a bit pricey. Did you hear that everyone? I have no plans to jump out of planes any time soon. Haha. Note that I deliver this news with a saddened heart. I really enjoy jumping out of things. The rush really is unlike anything else I have ever experienced. Plus, when it’s over you are overwhelmed with the fact that you just did something so incredibly insane and lived to tell about.

Well, this is enough for now. I have the day to explore the city. Yesterday we went to the Botanical Gardens and I took a lot of fun photos. Today I think I am going to try to sneak into a rugby stadium, check out an art gallery and a museum. What a fun filled day ahead of me! As usual, life is wonderful and I’m so happy to be doing what I am doing. Wish every one of you could join me on this great adventure. Sending my love!

Survived Bungy Jump and Halloween in Queenstown

I think surviving both of those two things all in one day is an accomplishment. I bungy jumped off a 134 meter jump called the Nevis in Queenstown. AJ Hackett invented bungy jumping and I did my jump through the AJ Hackett Bungy Jumping Company. Pretty legit. They have a 100 percent success rate, so that was comforting.

It was the greatest feeling ever. Honestly doesn't feel like I went bungy jumping yesterday. Feels like a dream. I loved it. I want to do it again and again.

Halloween was epic. We wore bright colors and looked silly with face paint. Everyone went out and showed their best dance moves. I had a great time.

Today we ate Subway down by the lake. It was beautiful. Then we went ice skating at an ice rink here in town. To my surprise, I'm awesome! Okay, not awesome, but Im not a bad skater or a bad ice hockey player! There was about ten of us playing a pick up game and then these local guys invited us to a game. So, here we are playing ice hockey with guys who are really good at it. I scored three goals! No joke, I wasn't too shabby. It was a blast. I was nervous I would fall, but I only feel once. Once was enough. I had just scored a goal, so everyone was gathering up in the middle. I look at the guys and saw, "Hey, I have a confession to make. I played ice hockey for four years in high school." They were like are you serious? "No, no Im just kidding. I have never even seen ice hockey played before," and BAM! My feet slip out from under me and I land right on my butt. Everyone burst out laughing because the timing was perfect. I had all attention on me and the game wasn't even being played and BAM I land on my behind. Ouch. It was a really good time.

I am loving Queenstown and I am not quite sure when I am going to leave. As of now, I have a month to make it back up to Auckland, but there is talk about moving my flight to Sydney up a bit. Who knows? I hate making decisions. Most likely, I will be in Christchurch by Thursday at the latest and then I head North from there. Sounds like a good plan to me.