…and a happy New Year!

I'm filing this one away in the event I need to quickly cure myself of any future cases of wanderlust. Consider that your warning. Still reading? Fine. Eye rolls sold separately. Knock yourself out. 

Julia and I had grand plans of seizing our summer Christmas and hitting up the beach, since it would be our first spent without our respective families. We had been talking it up for months, plotting the best patch of sand-in-front-of-water on which to plop ourselves, which culinary delights we would be treating ourselves to, and were overly pleased with our "the only white this Christmas will be sand!" proclamations. Then we were invited over to a friend's for Christmas Day, so we decided it was no big deal--we would carry through with our beach plans on Christmas Eve. Well, a couple bumps in the road (stomach flu and unexpectedly being called into work last minute, aren't you glad you asked?) later and it was decided that we would go sometime later in the week. 

It turned out that Christmas Day itself was the one uneventful (and lovely!) day this week. Several days, dreary weather, and another round of stomach flu later and things were looking grim (on all fronts beach-related and otherwise). 

I was enjoying a nice slumber this morning when I was awoken by the ever-lovely fire alarm at dark o'clock and it went off a liiiitle too long to ignore. Julia and I schlepped ourselves down too many flights of stairs and loitered an appropriate amount of time before making our way down the street in hopes of finding an open cafe in which to plop ourselves. This proved (expectedly) fruitless. We lamented 24-hour American diners. 

At some point in the forty minute period between meandering our way out of the building and finding out (hooray!) it was a false alarm, I became aware that I was wearing the same pair of clothes I had worn the previous day for my singular jaunt out of the apartment in search of bland crackers (futile) before passing out at the latelate hour of quarter to notevendarkyet.  I also remembered that I had discovered that my only pair of work pants had earned itself a hole (and I was only donning the aforementioned pair because my only other pair of pants currently smells of mildew after its last four-five day stint on the drying rack).

Things were looking especially rosy this morning. I also became acutely aware of the fact that I could not remember the date of my last shower when we were crammed like pickles into an elevator full of neighbor-strangers. 

Sweet relief was mine, though, upon spotting my pillow. Ahhhhhh, siiigh, eyelids drifting until WHAM. Off goes the fire alarm, again. Please note that "alarm" does not accurately convey this experience. This thing is capable of waking the dead. {zombie apocalypse preppers of the world (?), I would step things up a notch if I were you.} And it decided to go off roughly every ninety-one twenty seconds until there was eye twitching and I'm fairly certain I uttered multiple times just how much I hated everything. I'll be accepting my award-crown for drama q. any day now. (parents of the world, I'll throw in a few extra free eye rolls. just for you). There was much yoga breathing and mantra muttering re: I am thankful for modern technology. I am thankful for modern technology. I am thankful for modern technology that keeps me from dying in a fiery blaze, etc. from between the pillows smashed over my ears (futilest) before the God of modern technology smiled upon us and finally shut that thing off. And no, sleep was not happening after that point. I did indulge in staring off into space for an inappropriate length of time, though (no questions about how that is different from my normal state, Mom. Or Dad. Or Brian. Shoot). 

Well. After a while, Julia and I both decided that we were taking back this day/week and we WERE going to the beach. It was sunny! We were past the plague! We didn't have anything else to do! To the beach we went! And it.was.glorious. 

Twenty minutes into soaking in the sunshine on the beach before we started to feel raindrops and see some dark clouds moving in. No worries! We'll go get those legendary pancakes that Julia has been raving about for four months while we wait for this to pass! 

Oh, I could tell those pancakes were good! Unfortunately, rational Cheryl evacuated the building this morning and never returned because I did not take the hint from my previous day's diet of water and a handful of crackers, or the more--way more--than a slight sheen of sweat that the morning's meander down the street left me sporting, that my mind was bigger than my eyes were bigger than my stomach and I'm certain I did not finish even one of those pancakes. 

But it was allll okay. Because the sun was out! We will get our beach day after all! (This was def. not a ploy on my part to hope that plonking myself on the beach would get rid of that sensation that the room was spinning everrr so slightly--take it easy on those pancakes next time you're recovering from the palgue-iest of plagues, oh chipper one--before we hopped on the bus home). We headed back to the beach and set up camp with our towels and books. This time we got in a good half an hour before the rain started up. We gave it a couple minutes before deciding this probably wasn't going to let up anytime in the nearish future and making our way to the bus stop. And thus concluded Christmas adventures 2k13.

Now get back to your life, future no-longer-wanderlusty Cheryl.

**I will admit that this day was not a total bust. I got my notsayinghowlong space out session! And it is a nice beach that I fully plan to revisit when I'm feeling a little better and also when I've checked the weather report. Plus, it was a nice change of pace to get out of our apartment and immediate neighborhood for a while to see someplace new. And I want to try those pancakes when I actually have an appetite because they seemed amazing. Sunshine on a beach! In December! Day off from work! Your problems are small! Things are mostly good! Fist-bump.

Some Things

1.  Judging by the little flurry of postings on the social media something good is happening slash already happened in Boston? What's this baseball thing, again? I'm serious. Everyone's all "So proud to be from Boston!" and "hashtagBostonStrong" and I'm just wondering if this actually means something because nobody said anything remotely direct in their Facebook flauntings and... that is more than enough typing on this subject. I'm sitting here more or less trying to stay on the same page about whether or not our federal government is back to its usual semi-functioning state.

2.  Also in the vein of what-happened-to-you-it's-only-been-three-months-since-you-left-the-country, tonight Julia and I had an alarmingly long and silent squinty-eyed staring at the ceiling thought session as we tried to determine when Thanksgiving falls each year.  Please note that Thanksgiving graces the very tippity-top of my favorite holidays list.

3.  Speaking of Tip Top.

I had a job interview for a clothing store today and when I arrived I discovered it was a group interview. Fu-huh-huh-huh-hun. Actually, it was kind of fun. Fun in a "welll, even if I don't get the job this was a nice little hour of social interaction to interrupt my hermit-y existence" way. Also, when we went around and introduced ourselves we had to proclaim our favorite flavor of ice cream and What It Says About Us.

Fine. Mint chocolate chip because it's cool and fun and consistently good and gosh I hope my eyes weren't rolling like they are now. I don't know, I had to come up something on the spot and coming up with somethings on the spot is not my strong suit or even my weak suit but rather my weakest suit. I'm just thankful my brain didn't shut off completely and forget every flavor of ice cream in existence.

I normally have a special reserve of hate for just such encounters but this one was surprisingly not awful. What can I say, they have good taste. My go-to group ice breaker is asking for people's favorite flavor of muffin. Although I generally do not make them pop into their cozy b.s. slippers and declare What This Says About Me because that is painful for everyone involved. Also I feel like the fact that I have a go-to ice breaker is telling of my social life but that is neither here nor there. I spent the whole time wondering what in the actual eff is "jelly tip" and why does that sound so atrocious and why oh why is it everyone's favorite flavor?

4.  I went to the library to return something and walked out with three new books. I'm pretty sure Julia and I are going to discover the borrowing limit from the Wellington City Libraries, and soon. Really really soon.

4.1  As I was checking out my three fluffy novels the super sweet and chatty librarian mentioned something about being done studying and I was like "huh?" She clarified with an exuberant, "You get to read real books!!" (?? Please tell me you find this statement alarming. It was right up there with the woman at the au pair orientation--I think she was one of the defensive driving instructors but I could be mistaken, that's all a blur of jet-lag at this point--who proclaimed, "Women aren't good at folding maps, we need the men to do that." Um, what?)

4.2 I love a fluffy novel as much as the next beach-goer but have also been working my way through a stack of psychology books.  Fo' fun. One semester I did a project where I basically got to design a developmental psych study about anything that struck my fancy without the restrictions that come along with actually carrying out the aforementioned study, which was basically the assignment of my dreams, and not the kind where you're being chased through a hedge maze by an evil garden gnome, don't tell me you don't have those. I digress. My study centered around children who have imaginary companions and Marjorie Taylor's work played an integral role in this hypothetical children with imaginary companions study so--

...you can imagine the way I gasped and pulled this gem off the shelf faster than you can utter "nerd alert" and raise a brow.

4.3  Upon hearing that I studied psychology, Super Sweet & Chatty had pretty much the exact same reaction as everyone other person I've encountered here with whom the topic comes up. [nervous laugh] "So are you going to analyze everything we're thinking?! hahahaaaanervouschuckle." ? ? ?
At least this response is slightly less perplexing than its "ohhh! are you reading my mind right now?!" cousin.  I wish wish wish there was a modicum of hyperbole in this particular segment but I'm sorry to report that there are zero winners in this little conundrum.

I think from now on I'll resort to this:

5. Happy Halloween, friendlings! People don't really make a big deal of it in New Zealand but Julia and I are going to host a little shindig this weekend. Costumes mandatory and hopefully we'll be munching on some Reese's pb cups. A true American Halloween celebration for our Kiwi friends.

Here's an unrelated picture of a Halloween past.

Bye.

--Chey

Tekapo: refresh

The bus ride between Queenstown and Tekapo is absolutely gorgeous and it totally kick-started my time in Tekapo-in a number of ways. For one, although Queenstown is stunningly beautiful, the scenery in Tekapo is this unique kind of beauty unlike anything I have experienced. Something about that drive was so wistfully inspiring that it had me rapid-fire drawing up a list of things I want to experience in my lifetime. I don't know. It was corny and sweet, all at once.

Lake Tekapo is my favorite place I have visited in New Zealand thus far and it overwhelmingly earns that title. I had seen pictures of the milky turquoise water with the mountains in the background and the iconic stone Church of the Good Shepherd set among the lupines and knew I needed to see it firsthand. Additionally, I had heard that Tekapo's night skies are unbelievable, which I figured would be an added bonus. Originally I planned to spend only one night there but the weather forecast was iffy so I chose to stay there for two nights with the hope of catching a glimpse of those famed night skies.

Oh, Tekapo. I was prepared for your beauty but I did not expect for you to be so utterly peaceful.

It is a place unlike any other I have experienced. The town itself is tiny but I found myself not minding much. From the moment you arrive there is this overwhelming quietness and peace. I wound up spending most of my time meandering around the lakefront. You find that you could plop yourself on the lakeshore staring off into the distance for the rest of your days and be perfectly content.

Peace takes over the atmosphere even inside the hostel. The lounge has a wall filled with windows overlooking that blue, blue lake. People spoke in hushed voices that were almost reverent.

A woman sat at the bench in front of the picture windows painting her own watercolor postcard. A man sat in the corner quietly strumming away the same little out-of-tune chord progression for what must have been forty-five minutes, or an hour, but I didn't really mind. Another woman's pen scratched away softly as she wrote in her journal. The clouds provided the backdrop for it all, moving in over the lake before receding and allowing the late afternoon light to cast the mountains in oranges and purples for those few fleeting minutes before the sun set, leaving the sky a vast velvety cobalt blue, while the wood-stove crackled and popped softly in the background. 

Queenstown is beautiful in a stunning way and people seem to have a "been there, done that" attitude of conquering the landscape with their bungy-jumping, sky-diving, jet-boating, and adventure sport-ing. Tekapo's beauty is at once both more subdued and more beautiful. People are less concerned with conquering it and care more about simply existing there  for a while and experiencing the place.

It was overcast for most of my first day there but it was actually kind of nice. It almost felt right, contributing to the overall quiet, cozy feel. I figured I wouldn't be able to view the stars that night and was feeling thankful that I had booked a second night. When talking to a shop owner I learned that oftentimes it cleared up at night. I decided to venture out after dark to see if this was the case. I set out thinking that I would walk over to the church to view them but quickly realized a problem with my plan. The areas surrounding Tekapo are protected against light pollution in order to preserve their famed night skies. It was so dark that I didn't dare venture farther than a few steps outside the hostel without a flashlight. Even there, with the light coming from the hostel and a few other lodges, I stood for a long while with my neck craned upwards. Never in my life have I so clearly seen the milky way stretching across the night sky. Astronomer I am not, but I could tell enough to know that the southern sky was a different view from the northern one I am more accustomed to. For some reason it was refreshing to not even try to place the stars into constellations.

There is a gratitude for simply existing that you can't help but feel when you're here. I found myself being acutely aware of my gratefulness for being physically able to walk along the rocky shoreline, quietly happy and thankful that I was able to stand there and let my thoughts get lost in that place. 

Until next time, Tekapo.

Uh-nother Uhp-date

So, I've been pretty quiet over here on the blawg. It's not for a lack of things to clickity-clack type about. It's partly due to the fact that I had been moving around the country quite a bit, partly due to my inability to write anything remotely coherent, and largely due to laziness.

Mostly, though, I'm going to go right ahead and place a hefty slice of blame pie on the internet's plate. In the race that is the internet, New Zealand is the tortoise that gets stuck on a patch of grass, falls soundly asleep and is disqualified. We're talking slower than dial-up. And then you're a lucky little rubber duck--count your blessings, thrice--if the page actually loads. Yesterday I overheard someone mention that she has personally experienced better internet in developing countries and... I fully believe that there was no hyperbole going on there, Travel Scout's* honor. After grumbling about this to my friend Amanda I received this gem in reply:

I don't mind all that much but it makes blogging a little dicey because most days I don't feel like sitting around for an hour and a half waiting for pictures to upload. As of this week my internet situation improved dramatically. 

After leaving Auckland I traveled around much of the South Island for a whirlwind few weeks. My Plan B (after not staying in Auckland) was to make it all the way back north, meet up with my friend Julia in the Northlands for a little while, head back down to Auckland to visit some friends before heading back to the States.

This country likes to have a good hearty laugh at anyone who dares to make plans. I got to Wellington and liked it. Really liked it. Julia had been talking about looking for work in Wellington and after a few unnecessarily stressed out chats--thank you, Julia, for talking me off alllll of the ledges--we decided to change our plans and meet up and look for work and a place to live in "the coolest little capital in the world."

Long story not quite as long, Julia and I found an apartment and have been applying for jobs like mad. Well, Julia started her job today! I'm still searching, though, so.......... any good thoughts, positive vibes, prayers, crossed digits and/or leads on Welly jobs are welcome and appreciated, please and thank you.

This is Julia:

first dinner in our apartment. fancy.

Life is pretty sweet. We've been enjoying not living out of a suitcase or having to worry about our food going missing or being woken up by loud roommates. It's also been wonderful to be able to sit on a couch and read a book without a steady stream of strangers walking past.  We've been settling into our new home here and exploring this city--okay, fine, we've been spending a lot of time at the library (books! movies! free wifi!). But we have a list of things we want to do and experience once we start making money! Most of them revolve around food.

Fun little side-note: our apartment building was built to withstand some pretty strong earthquakes, which means that it was designed to move around. This also means that it feels like we're on a boat or a really large rocking chair on days when Windy Welly is particularly deserving of its moniker. It's fine as long as I don't think about it too much.

 Our view. Hi Welly.

I know

New Zealand has some ugly sunsets.

 

mmmm let's title this "Delirium in Party Hats"

We are a couple of normal little ducklings.

Eat a cider donut for me,
Cheryl

*Kathleen, Julia & I are starting up Travel Scouts. We work on a system of badges and demerits. Earn a badge for successfully navigating a new bus system, surviving a snoring pants-less hostel roommate, snooping out free wifi, and more! Just beware that you don't earn yourself a demerit by holding loud, loud, very loud conversations while your roommates are sleeping, not washing your hands after using the restroom (!! I used to think those "employees must wash hands before returning to work" signs in restrooms were a bit excessive because who over the age of five doesn't? A horrifying number of fully-grown adult humans, I've discovered), or pissing off the locals.

Just stopping by

Yikes! I've been juuust a smidgen absent these past few weeks for the last month here on ye olde blog. There are a lot of travels to recount and life updates to relay. For now I leave you with a couple photos.

 Where I am now.

and my favorite place in New Zealand, thus far.

--Cheryl

So you want to fly around the world to become an au pair, quit after two weeks, and then travel around the country...

I have been a bit quiet over here but it's not due to a lack of internet or things to write about. Quite the opposite, actually! I took a trip to Milford Sound yesterday and it was dream-come-true in the most literal sense. I sat down multiple times today to try to write about the whole experience but I just can't quite yet. Soon, though! Soon I will capture as much of that as I can.  There are also roughly 400 pictures from that trip alone that I need to sort through.

Oh, this is you? Pull up a chair because I'm a fountain of unsolicited advice.

1.  Underpack. I am someone who tends to underpack and I like it that way. Sometimes I take it to an a bit of an extreme, like that one particular occasion I unintentionally forgot to pack underwear. Have I mentioned that Target is my favorite corporation? For this trip I brought one decent-sized checked suitcase and a smallish/medium-sized hiking backpack. I thought I would have a home to use as a base when I was traveling but… nope. 

Do not bring that checked bag. Get a medium sized pack and keep it to that. Otherwise you will think you are really clever for taking the back way to your next hostel in order to avoid having to dodge the masses of tourists lining the main street through town. Although this route is the same distance you will seriously underestimate the grade of the hill up which you will are about to lug your suitcase and backpack. 

This segment is maaayyybe 1/15th of the hill.

You're not even 2/3 of the way up.

Welcome to Struggle Street.

You will have regrets. 

You will have even more regrets when you're very literally sweating it as you're being pulled down that (unnecessary, because you could have taken the flat, tourist-laden street) hill by the aforementioned suitcase while balancing the backpack you're hauling.  You will wonder why you always forget that going downhill is just as hard as going uphill.  Because you are insecure about overpacking you will also want to shout to everyone on the street, "I did not overpack for the trip that I thought I was taking!" Leave your suitcase behind. 

2. Always, always have chocolate on your person. Always. You will reach a point where you think that you've probably consumed a lifetime's worth over the course of a single month and then deny yourself for a couple days. Don't do that because regrets. You will probably become concerned that you're developing some sort of emotional eating problem. It's okay, you can deal with that later.

3. Take pictures of the oddities and absurdities you find along the way. 

easy there, killer.

not sure if you can make that out 

(I had to snap this one really quickly because the shop owner was lingering around)

but that is some sort of skin care product

made from sheep placenta.

4. Read those hostel reviews. Read 'em real good. 

5. And then take them with a salt lick because sometimes the nicest hostel that got the most fabulous reviews is full of crazies, or the mostly-nice hostel that got so-so reviews is full of awesome new friends.

6. Libraries make for a great cheap rainy day activity. 

7. Plan, plan, plan in advance and research what you want to do. And then go read another two guidebooks. You might be tempted to only do a limited amount of research beforehand and talk to locals once you get there. By all means, talk to locals and people who have been traveling around. Remember, though, that you will unexpectedly quit after just a couple of weeks and then be scrambling to figure out your life. Do a little research more research ahead of time, Skippy. 

8. If you have a smartphone, take screenshots of walking maps while you have internet so you don't have to pull out a map when you're walking around or, worse yet, get caught without any directions.

9. Oh, you're public crying again? Please refer to #2.

10. Do fun things! Sure, they're more fun when you can share them with someone else, but they're still pretty fun when you do them solo. Go out and explore, make some new friends, let your feet take you wherever they may, and see what the area has to offer!   

Later!
Chey

An Ode to My Brother

a study in matching Christmas sweaters, then and now.

This place! This place is unreal. Touristy, yes, but for good reason. Queenstown is a ski town through-and-through. Ski shops and rental stores line the streets and although it is nearing the end of the season as the temperatures start to warm up, it is not uncommon to hear people on the street making plans to go skiing with their buddies the way you might make plans to grab coffee with friend. My brother worked in a ski shop for quite a few years and although he hasn't had much of a chance to go snowboarding in recent years, he's an avid boarder. It's one of those things that makes him truly happy. I think of you with every ski shop I walk past, Brian! Along with your more typical ski slopes, there are several companies here in Queenstown that offer heli-skiing, where you take a helicopter ride to the more remote locations of the Southern Alps! (Are you dying yet, Bri? Have I convinced you to get here ASAP?) 

Although I haven't gone skiing or snowboarding in at least seven or eight years (or had any desire to do so because I am rarely never-to-never on speaking terms with w*nter) I've found myself tempted to hit the slopes here. It's probablydefinitely not happening because my travel insurance absolutely does not cover skiing or snowboarding accidents and that is a surefire way to be certain that Clumsy McClumserson over here would injure herself. 

My first and only thought right after "Holy beautiful" as I was flying over the Southern Alps on my way to Queenstown was "oh my gosh, Brian would be losing his mind!"

Wish you were here, bro! I would definitely, absolutely, 100 percent stop my winter-shunning to go boarding with you. :) Hop on the next plane here, yeah? You know you want tooooo. Promise you won't regret it!

Miss you, love you!

C

a word on my geriatric ways

Queenstown is known as the adrenaline capital of the world. The oldest official bungy jumping site in the world is here and it has totally set the tone. Adrenaline junkies flock here to get their fill of bungy jumping, sky diving, canyon swinging, whitewater rafting, skiing and snowboarding, and more. I have heard so many people nonchalantly discuss bungy jumping the way one might say, "oh, maybe I'll make some pasta for dinner," or, "I went for a nice laid back swim at the beach yesterday." I don't know. If I were to ever go bungy jumping or sky diving (it's not not not ever happening; you're welcome, Mom) I think I would probably walk around exclaiming daily to anyone who would listen, "I jumped out of a plane/off a ledge head-first and I liiiiived!!!" I dunno, that's just me. 

Anyways. Being here has more than reaffirmed my geriatric ways. Bungy jump? Canyon swing? I'll go on that scenic tour of Milford Sound instead, thanks. And maybe that trip to a farm to watch a sheep-shearing demonstration. (I haven't done these yet but I will! As soon as the weather is nice again)! Speaking of the weather, yesterday was really stormy. There was a thunderstorm that lasted pretty much the entire day. I love a rainy day every now and then but everything I was hoping to do was weather-dependent. Staying cooped up in the hostel didn't sound very appealing so I ventured out. To the library. 

The hostel where I stayed in Auckland had a pretty stellar set of book swap shelves. Amidst the many travel guides and German books and an unfortunate number of copies of Fifty Shades of Grey I happened to spot a copy of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which just so happens to be the latest of the HP books that I had read. I picked it up hoping that it would entertain me on the rainy days and, well, Potter Mania: I've got it. (again). Ever since I finished reading it I have been itching to get my hands on books five and six (and the first four, too, if I'm being honest). Unfortunately books are crazy expensive here (That paperback costs as much as a weeks-worth of groceries? Yeah, nope), so I've been waiting until I could make it to the library and crossing my fingers that they would have copies. And...

success!

I can't get a library card because I don't exactly have a permanent address at the moment
(minor details)

but I certainly don't mind hanging out at Queestown's cozy branch.

There is a mountain outside that window

that you can't really see in this picture because of the clouds.

You're just going to have to take my word that it is perfect and pretty.

this is bliss.

Visiting libraries has been one of my favorite things to do while I've been in New Zealand, especially when when the weather hasn't cooperated with my outdoor exploring. I hadn't really considered them when I was planning my travels but I think I will include spending at least a couple hours in a local library in all of my future travel plans. Today I had to run a few errands so I couldn't stay for long but I can't wait to make my way there again soon to pretend I'm at Hogwarts and browse the stacks.

Wish you were here!
Chey

**My mom would like to receive credit for suggesting the library when I was sick of being cooped up in the hostel for too many rainy days in a row in expensive Auckland, so... hi, Mom. :)