I rode the bus to work this morning. I rarely ride the bus anymore (my Co-workers usually insist I ride with them). I know this may sound strange but it was really a very nice treat. I missed my village. Everyone knows me and is always glad to see me. I am such a rock star here. And it has everything to do with being a Palagie. It was nice to get out of the tiny little fish bowl that is this place for a few days in New Zealand. But I will admit being reminded upon my return that I am sort of famous and a big deal is… well it makes me feel loved and adored. And I didn’t do anything but be me to get it. I wonder if I will miss being a star when I leave here. I mean it is certainly not all it is cracked up to be, but sometimes it is nice.
Oh also, I am having a minor Damian Rice obsession. I cannot seem to stop listening to the “O” CD Mikaele brought me. I know every song word and note. GAH…
I was a bit anxious to get home. It seems I don’t have the endurance for extended vacations that I thought I had. Maybe I am just more attached to my quiet life and happy routine than I would like to admit. It is another sign that I have passed from young and wild to older and more mellow.
Our last few days in Auckland were busy and dramatic but not very interesting. I managed to do some shopping for goodies to bring back to Samoa with me.
I am mostly just sorry that my camera disappeared so I don’t have any pictures to post.
At some point I hope to write more about our trip but for now I am just glad to be home again (I am basking in the warmth of Samoa) and looking forward to getting on with the next four months or so and figuring out whatever come next.
We are back in Auckland now. We got here this afternoon after spending last night in Taupo. I am sick. I have a head cold fever thing and it seems to have zapped most of my energy. So I spent most of today in the car or in bed. Hopefully tomorrow we will get to finish up the shopping we have to do and wrap up the rest of our trip. We get on a plane Thursday morning at 5:45 am. (That would be Wednesday for most of you) Honestly I am longing for Samoa, my dog, and yes a bit shockingly at least the presents of the burning ball of hate which has been absent for most of our trip.
Wellington was by far my favorite stop. That may have been apparent however since we spent over a week there. The highlights were the Museum, all of the pubs and pub people we met, and a super secret visit to WETA. We also got to see parliament and meet several ministers, do some shopping, eat lots of good food, and we even managed to spend some time kicking back, watching DVD’s and relaxing at Divinia’s very comfortable home.
I think I have found another kindred spirit and life long friend in her. I only wish I had pictures.
Which brings me to the sad part. At some point I think we were robbed. Several things went missing from the car someplace between Turangi and Wellington. We spent the night in between in Palmerston North so it may have been there. But my camera is one of the things missing. Along with a fleece coat and a few things of Mo’s. All in all it is nothing we can’t live without. It is just sad to have lost ALL of the pictures. None the less, it has been a wonderful trip and I am hoping to come back at some point.
I am madly in love with Wellington.
It has a gorgeous bay, surrounded by dramatic and rolling hills. The people are wonderful. There are lots of fun cheep things to do. And Divinia (our hostess) ROCKS.
This afternoon we are going to see Parliament and some other government sites. Divinia’s father is a Minister here and he is giving us the grand tour (including dinner at some fancy parliament members club). Then later Matty (a friend) is taking me out for the evening to show me the sites.
Tomorrow, we are having coffee (or a beer) with the guy who played the back double for Gandalf in the LOTR movies and he has promised us a tour of the WETA studios. That is, if he can remember his security codes for the building, which he says are all in elvish and sometimes he can’t remember them.
Anyway, we are in fact going to extend our trip a few days and stay in Wellington a whole week (we had only planned for 5 days originally).
More later.
I know it has been a while since I have updated but we are on the road and it isn’t very easy to do. So I will just give you a few highlights.
In Auckland we saw “The Duchess of Malfi” which was interesting and well presented. I think I want to read more Webster.
In other news driving on the other side of the road is an interesting experience. We have managed to lose Both Hub caps on the Left side of the car from hitting the curb when we park. I almost died from laughter watching Mo chase after one of them after she hit the curb a little too hard and had to chase after it. Other than that the car and our health are in good shape.
(Wednesday)
From Auckland we headed for Rotorua. On the way we stopped at the most amazing cheese shop EVAR. Big round rolls of yummy pungent cheese. I have a great picture that hopefully I will get uploaded at some point. The next stop was a Winery and we spent some time chatting with the owner. The locals are really very pleasant and LOVE to talk to Americans. The Last stop was in Matamata, where I visited Hobbiton. I had some great pictures but due to an unfortunate incident they got erased and I am still kicking myself. It was an interesting tour tho, certainly worth doing once. I can now say that I have been to Hobbiton.
At some point later we arrived in Rotorua were we found a hostel and a good Thai restaurant.
(Thursday)
The hostel was cold, and let me tell you a cold toilet seat in the morning is just about he most unpleasant thing I can think of right now. Our tropic blood is still suffering in the cold. No worries tho, after packing up we were off to the Polynesian spa for a good long soak in the hot spring pools, and a half our Aix massage. We walked away warm and relaxed. In the afternoon Mo got a tattoo and I stood by and held her hand and tried not to mock her wimpiness tooo much. Then we went in search of a warmer hostel. Upon finding it, she went right to bed and I went across the street to the pub. Kiwi’s seem to think my American accent is just as sexy as we think theirs are in America.
(Friday)
We had more spa appointments in the morning. Which is nice since they seem to heat us up well for the day. Then we hit the Rotorua Museum of Art and History. They had several worthwhile exhibits on the Bathhouses, the volcanic eruptions and geothermal systems in the area, and of Maori treasures and culture.
Then we headed out to Taupo, on the edge of the beautiful lake Taupo. We stopped at another winery on the way and as before the owner came into the tasting room and chatted us up for quite a while. Of course we bought a bottle and then.. he threw in another for free.
Once in Taupo we spent the afternoon window shopping and seeing some of the beautiful lake views. Just at about sunset we headed out for Turangi about 40 min south. Once in town we found a cute and virtually empty hostel and headed back to town for the pub.
For the record I am in love with Pubs. Not so much for the booze (tho the beer on tap IS exceptional) but for all the crazy people I have been meeting. Again I attribute it to my wacky American accent. That and the whole “I’m a volunteer” shtick seems to get me quite a few free beers.
(Saturday)
Today we had a late start. In a few min we are about to take a 2 hour horse back ride in the mountains. We should be seeing a few of the LOTR filming sites. This evening we are headed to Palmerson North, were Mo has some Samoan Family we are staying with for a night. We are both hoping for a warm room.
So that is NZ so far. I know this isn’t very funny or insightful writing but hopefully I will have a chance to be more creative and/or introspective later.
Oh and… I miss my dog. My life just isn’t the same without her.
I hope everyone is well.
We made it to New Zealand. Mo and I are in Auckland. It is freezing here.
We are staying at a hostel, which is something I always wanted to do. We shopped (I bought boots.) Tonight we see a play and tomorrow we head for Hobbiton.
More later when I have cheep or free internet.
I just began the paperwork to get a Working Holiday Visa for New Zealand.
If I am granted I could live and work in NZ for up top 12 months. I was only intending on staying one month but this way I have the option of staying longer (or going back) if I love it. NZ immigration has an amazingly useful web site were I can apply online.
I will wait until Mo and I get back from our trip just incase I have a change of heart.
It feels good to be moving on with some sort of “what’s next” plan.
I had been putting it off because my future holds some pretty significant unknowns. But then so does everyone’s I guess. I still have hope that some of my unknowns will materialize. But I am going on without them anyway.
It was 19.5C last night. This is just above 67F.
That is an all time low, at least during my stay anyway.
It has been chilly lately but I think this weather qualifies as down right cold.
I want my tropic heat back please.
With the exception of rain, wind and record cold temperatures (for Samoa) this weekend was positively delightful. I’m sure it was good practice for next week.
When we left Apia at about 4pm on Friday the weather was fine. As we ascended a mountain range on the way, we climbed into a solid bank of fog. It pretty and mystical and reminded me of SF. But it never really cleared up. We descended to the east part of the island to gray and cloudy skies. Upon arrival Ema dragged me out for a power walk. I think she wanted to make a pre-emptive strike at all the guilt she/we would feel over the empty beer calories we planned to consume over the course of the weekend. We walked for an hour and ended up getting rained on stuck in the village of Lalomanu for Sa. (Sa: a quiet time to say prayers when it is forbidden, or at least disrespectful, for anyone to be on the road. Usually sometime between 6 and 8 in the evening, depending on the village). It was nearly 7:30 when we got back. Dinner was just about ready when we got in and it was nice to towel dry off and sit down to a hot meal.
One of the things I love about going to Taufa, especially with a large group of my friends is the family style dining. Not only is the food really good, but they put tables together to make one long table and serve a family style dinner. I think it may remind me of having friends over for dinner when I was young and how much fun that was.
I didn’t last long after dinner. I was fast asleep in bed by 9:30.
Saturday I had hoped the weather would clear up but it never did. We spent most of the morning in the main fale playing games. Peter and I taught Sara and Ethan to play Spite and Malice. By 1 many of the other volunteers and the trainees showed up with Charcoal and things for the BBQ. There was just enough food, and we managed to get a large game of ultimate frizzbe going that was fun. But it drizzeled/rained the whole time. Some time around 5 the trainees headed off to their training village and all of those that were staying headed off to shower and clean up… only much to our dismay… there was no water. So we had a few beers instead.
Dinner was a riot. The food was amazing. The company was hilarious. And after dinner the Taufua staff put on a special Fiafia just for us. After the show we played several more rounds of Spite and Malice and a few other drinking games. There was talk of a midnight swim but the cold temperatures and lack of fresh water to shower with put a halt to that. Instead I opted for a nice long walk on the beach.
Sunday morning was gorgeous. After two days of wind, rain and cold it cleared up and turned out to be a beautiful day. Of course Sunday was the day we needed to leave. None the less we enjoyed what we had thoroughly. At breakfast (served once again family style) Skye brought out a book with a lot of … well strange questions in it. I had the book and was reading it out loud and the question was “What would you say to the camel that carried you across a three day journey through the desert at the end of the journey?” My friend Peter scrunched up his face and tried to make a camel noise. At which point I snarfed (yes snarfed through my nose) my cup of coffee.
After breakfast we all got out and played on the beach. I am this beautiful shade of tropic tan now. And while it would horrify the former goth in me, I think it looks nice for now.
We arrived back in town before 3, which was just enough time to get cleaned up and have a nice rest before we had to meet for dinner at Giordanos for a farewell dinner with Pele. I can’t believe she leaves tonight.
I have lost other Peace Corps friends. It isn’t ever easy. There is simply a rotating door of wonderful people that come into your life and then leave. It is fact of service. I am still attempting to be ok with this and consider myself blessed to have had the time we had together.
Anyway, I froze my tush nearly (but not quite) off and fell asleep a few times on at the table over dinner.
I was shortly whisked off home and to bed before I was found curled up under the table asleep.
And today… is back to life as usual.
I tell my friends here when asked that writing is like a muscle. The more you write the easier it becomes. And for me this is true to a certain degree. I can usually sit and bang out a paragraph or two about whatever for posting on wackyfish without much difficulty. It is not great writing but it keeps me from writers atrophy. If I want to write anything longer, more detailed or refined however I have a much more difficult time. I think it got a lot worse when I lost my laptop at home. While I didn’t have a regular set practice of sitting down and writing, I always had the option and took advantage of this about once a week. Also having the writers group was helpful. Working against a deadline helped motivate me to make the time for my writing. I am hoping that eventually I will have the means to be able to write (or type really) at will.
On Wednesday night a few of us watched a quasi-documentary called Invisible Children. (http://www.invisiblechildren.com) It was about child abductions and the conflict in Uganda. It was meant to have a profound emotional effect on Americans. I am not quite sure what to say about it at this point, other than it is worth seeing and judging for yourself. I personally found it called me to investigate further the situation in Uganda. The “documentary” was done in a very MTV style that left me feeling like the facts and history were not presented very completely. As if instead the producers went for a play on the viewer’s emotions. I don’t know. The situation in Uganda is really a valid human rights crisis. And maybe playing on the emotions of Americans is the way to get the situation the attention it deserves. Anyway it got me interested and digging deeper. So I guess that is something.
One thing the producers said was that Africa has an almost mystic pull. That once you have been there the draw to return is strong. I know Isak Dinesen said something similar about Africa. And while I do not regret being chosen to come here to Samoa, I am a little sad that I was not fated for an assignment in Africa. Maybe someday I will have a chance to experience this sentiment.
I also want to say that Max rocks my world. This morning I picked up a package from him with a TON of goodies. Among them three kinds of mustard, brown rice, a plethora of nuts and a jar of Almond Hazelnut butter. I am a lucky girl. He is supportive, funny, brilliant and now he sends presents. He is an excellent best friend.