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