the end is the beginning

Hands down this trip was probably the best thing I could have done for myself.  It was amazing. Challenging and difficult at times, but so worth it. 

I’m trying to prepare myself for answering questions when I get back. I’ve also been trying to reflect these past couple weeks on the trip as a whole. How have I changed? What have I learned? So many questions… and I don’t have a single answer. I don’t think I’ll even fully grasp this trip or wrap my mind around everything for weeks… even months, maybe.

Sorry to disappoint people, but I can’t answer any of those questions the way that I should. I’m anxious to see for myself what will happen when I get back. Will I be different?  Who knows.

Here are some things I do know:

I love traveling… and want to do SO MUCH MORE, but in smaller segments. No joke… the other night I started planning out the next 9 world trips. Its opened my eyes to a whole new world. HA!  But really, hearing about people taking off and traveling and seeing and exploring... that sounds so amazing! I want to see the world. This is the end, but it's also the beginning. I'm expecting a lot more world adventures in the near future. :)

This trip definitely pushed me…. especially New Zealand. I was with another person 24/7 for 6 or 7 weeks straight. That’s a lot of togetherness.  It was also "go, go, go" every single day and planning at the last minute… From the very beginning I had said that this trip would be good for me because it would force me to not be so up tight and to better "go with the flow…" but no. I still like to plan. I still NEED A PLAN. I also still worry when I don’t have to. I don’t think that’s going to change. And I know every single time that I worry, in the end everything will be okay…. But I still do it anyway.  So yes, New Zealand pushed me to go out more and do more things. (go, go, go mentality…. No time for rest) So hopefully I can keep some of that "go, go, go" spirit for back home. :)

Australia pushed me in meeting people. (which actually turned out to be really easy) I spent more time alone in OZ (on tours or in a hostel) and that’s where I met and talked to a good majority of the people. I think it’s easy over here though because backpackers/people traveling all have a common interest. Wish it was that easy to meet people back home! 

Another thing I realized is how much I love the tourism industry. Being a tourist for 2 months made me appreciate my job so much more. I had mostly good experiences these past 2 months, but there was one instance (it wasn’t a big deal)… in which the lady just seemed unhappy at her job. This in turn made me not want to be at her business. I want people to enjoy EnterTRAINment Junction. SO MUCH. And it makes me want to talk to everyone and find out their story and where they’re from and do whatever I can to make them love the place even more. 

Been working on a "BEST OF" video...still not happy with it, but I'm too tired to work on it anymore. Tried to make it as short as possible, but there was a lot to cram in there! :)

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

"This one time in New Zealand..."

It has already started... sorry, guys.

You'll probably be hearing a lot of stories that start with "this one time in New Zealand." It's already annoying me though so maybe I'll rid myself of the habit before I return home in 5 days!

I've done some thinking and have tried to compile an FAQ of sorts so people don't feel pressured into talking to me about the trip when I return. If I answer all the questions now, maybe I won't have to repeat everything 249023 times.  :)   You're still more than welcome to ask, but I hate when people feel like they have to talk to me about it just because it's all I've known for the past 2 months.

FAQ:

Favorite thing I saw: The view from Te Henga walkway (Muriwai Beach, NZ) and AYERS ROCK (Uluru -Australia)... perfect way to begin and end the trip.

(Didn't do a separate blog entry for the rock, but it was AMAZING!) 

Favorite memory: going out on the boat with Hamish (our kiwi dad!)

Favorite part of the trip: THE PEOPLE. Kiwi hospitality = top notch. Also have met some amazing people (from all over the world) through tours and hostels. Love the conversations.

Favorite activity: BUNGY JUMPING. Duh.

Most annyoing part of the trip: living out of a suitcase for 2 months!

Least favorite part of the trip: missing my dog, being homesick, and worksick  0:)

Would I do something differently? No. I've gone back and forth about how things played out (especially the second half of NZ) but I'm glad we did what we did. Traveling on our own and not staying with families made things more expensive, (and sometimes stressful) but we got to see a lot more.

Maybe would have arranged Australia differently. Should have spent less time in Sydney and explored more of the country... but again, time & money were an issue. I feel like we explored NZ really well, but Australia not so much.  :(

What did I miss the most from home? Already answered this (people back home and MY DOG)... but other than that, I've really been craving Panera and quesadillas.  haha And I miss working...

How have you grown?
What have you learned?
How have you changed? 
^^These questions will be answered (and more) in my next blog post. Stay tuned for "Reflections."

TRIP SUMMARY: 

First few weeks in New Zealand were spent in the north island (Auckland, Raglan, Rotorua) in which we stayed with host families and worked in exchange for meals and accomodation. We arrived in south island and stayed with a host family in Picton. After that we were on our own and went down the west coast/southern end of south island. (Motueka, Westport, Greymouth, Franz Josef, Wanaka, Te Anau, Owaka, Queenstown, Catlins, Dunedin) 

Went to Sydney and stayed for 11 days... then a few days in Alice Springs/Outback.

TRIP NOTABLE MENTIONS:

The longest I've been out of the country.

First time staying with host families.

First time riding on the back of a motorcycle.

First time hitchhiking.

First time horse back riding.

First time staying in hostels.

First time renting a car.

First time driving on the wrong side of the road.

First time climbing a mountain.

Highest commercially rafted waterfall

Longest walk -Abel Tasman National Park... 8 hours (12.5 miles)

World's biggest swing

Australasia's highest bungy

World home of bungy jumping bungy

First time walking on a glacier

First time in a big city on my own

First time navigating a big city on my own (bus & train!)

First HILLSONG service

First time in the desert

*I'll probably add more as I think of them. :)

So hopefully this entry provided an overview and answered some of the basic questions. Again, I'll write another post reflecting more deeply on the whole trip and "blah blah blah."  
Enjoy SPRING! :)

hallucinations and other craziness

1. I thought I saw the Statue of Libery from the Sydney Harbour Bridge
2. I thought I saw my dog in my hostel room
3. I thought I saw NUMEROUS people from back home walking the streets of Sydney

yeah... I think it's time to go home.

I woke up at 4:30am thinking it was 7 or 8 in the morning... WRONG.

yeah... I think it's time to go home.

Home... where I can sleep in my own bed, live out of a closet instead of a suitcase, and quit spending a ridiculous amount of money.

In other news... went to HILLSONG again today for the evening service. And I managed to catch a train and a bus and walk... on my own... without freaking out. CHECK OUT THIS CITY GIRL NOW!   Just kidding... but I was quite proud of myself. :) Hillsong is awesome in that everyone is so ridiculously friendly. 50 people will come up and start talking to you and introduce themselves. Granted, I don't remember a single one of them, but a couple added me on facebook and want to do something when I return to Sydney next week.

Oh yeah, I'm headed to Alice Springs tomorrow.... and the OUTBACK in the coming days! Super pumped.

mmmmm yeah. I think that's it for now.

Hoping for some sunshine... need to get my tan back before I go home!

1 WEEK, YO!

Getting lost... every day.

This is going to be a long entry... sorry.  Maybe just look at the pictures and read "the last bit." That's the most interesting, probably. :)

Tuesday:

Woke up and walked to Sydney Tower... got to see the view of everything from up there. I don't think it was worth the $$, but what can you do? Pretty sure I did it last time I was here too...

After that I went for a supposed "harbour bridge walk" ... with free lunch. HA!  Okay, so first of all WE NEVER EVEN WALKED OVER THE BRIDGE. We walked to it, we walked to the opera house, and walked through a park. NOT ACROSS THE BRIDGE. ALSO... in regards to the free picnic lunch, you'd think there would be beverages. NO. THE GUY STINKIN' FORGOT THE WATER AND ONLY HAD SOME ALCOHOLIC DRINK. (Which I didn't realize was alcohol until I poured it)  The guy leading it was full of himself...I didn't care for him at all.  hmph.

But... enough venting. I met a couple nice guys from Canada/U.S.!  YAY!  :)  That made the trip worth it, I guess. And it was free.


Wednesday:

RAINY AND YUCKY.  Wednesday was kind of cool in that I got to hang out with both of the girls I'm traveling with. The picture below is of me and my German sister, Carla! It was her last day so we hung out and walked a little bit of Harbour Bridge. Had some good laughs along the way too. :)

After Carla left I met up with Anna... who just got here. She's from Cincinnati as well and we've been friends since 1st grade.

In regards to the title... Darling Harbour (which is pictured above)  is literally a 5 minute walk from where I'm staying. It took me around 20-30 minutes  to find it. Granted, if I actually used a map and TRIED, I could probably find it a lot faster.  I hate using maps because I don't want to look like a tourist... and I always seem to think I know where I'm going ... so I just walk. And then ask someone where to go... and they tell me... and then I ask the next person... and they tell me something else... and I literally ask at least 10 people per trip.  When Carla and I were walking around she stopped and asked some guy where to go. She was pointing one way and he was pointing the other way. I couldn't contain my laughter anymore. CLASSIC. 

This is why I don't travel alone.  :)  On the other hand, since I have SO MUCH TIME in Sydney, I'm in no rush so I don't mind walking.  

Thursday:

Did a walking tour of Sydney... it was okay. And it was free! 3 hour FREE walking tour! That's pretty good... problem was that it was another rainy day. (2 days in a row... what gives!?)

The last bit:  

2 things... 

1. I don't like hostels, but I've met/talked to some really cool people. I'm staying in an all girls room and one night I met some nice Norwegians and yesterday I met a girl from London... who hung out with us today. (pictured above) Tonight... it's so cool because there's me (U.S.), a Korean, a Columbian, a German, and a Finnish girl. The dynamic is so fun. We've been talking and laughing and having a good ol' time. Really nice girls.  

2.  I think I caught the travel bug. It's weird because ... I want to go home, but at the same time... I want to come back out again. I keep hearing people talk of traveling the world and backpacking and .... I want to see more. NOW IS THE TIME TO DO IT. I WANT TO DO MORE.   ....sigh.   I don't know what's going to happen in the coming years, but I'd like to go back out again and spend a month or so in Europe. I have someone to stay with in Germany and in London now... 

I think everyone knows how incredibly homesick I am and how much I want to go back to work, but if for some reason things didn't work out in Cincinnati, I'd either move to A. Nashville B. New Zealand C. Sydney.  (maybe not even in that order?) And definitely no more than a year. :)

the better days...

Went to Featherdale Wildlife Park on Saturday. REALLY enjoyed it. It was a lot better than the other zoo we went to last time. Was kind of nervous at first because I had to take a bus and a train to get there... as you might remember from my previous post, THAT IS COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY NERVE WRACKING FOR ME. But I did it! I navigated the big city on my own. (with the help of about 20 other people)  BUT I DID IT.  Here are some of my favorite photos from the park:

(and they didn't charge you for taking pictures with the koalas!!)

 wallaby

 koala

kangaroo

Easter Sunday was AWESOME.  Went to 2 services through Hillsong (CLASSIC!) and it was SO very needed! The morning service was good, but the evening was phenomenal. The nice thing about the morning service was that quite a few people started talking to me because they knew I wasn't a regular.  We all even went out for coffee afterwards. :)  The evening was amazing... evangelist Reinhard Bonnke spoke.

He hit on so many cool concepts/ideas.... here are just a few:
(feel free to skip over... I mainly wrote them down for me so I wouldn't forget!)

1. The symbol of the cross... the horizontal line is us. It's negative. It's sin. Jesus is the vertical line (Heaven down to earth) ... If you put them together (forming of the cross) you'll see that He turns the negative into a positive. He brings LIFE to DEATH.

2. A lady didn't understand how one mans blood could take away the sins of EVERYBODY... He went on to explain how kids have their fathers blood... that's why they have fathers do blood testing when they're not sure who the father is. If Jesus would have been conceived by an earthly father,  it would have been unclean (still full of sin).... but because He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, He is PURE and His blood cleanses all of our sin. TAKES AWAY. GONE. NO MORE!

3.  Some people ask, if Jesus is the answer why are there so many problems in the world? If soap is the answer why are there still dirty people? You need to use it; apply it.


Today I did a tour to the Blue Mountains. It's about 2 hours away from Sydney, but it was nice because transportation, lunch, 2 walks, and the steepest train ride in the world were all included. :)  It was so pretty! Was told to go to Blue Mountains last time I was in OZ, but didn't have time for it. I was kind of worried yesterday because when I looked at the weather forecast it said it was supposed to be rainy and cloudy today, but as you can see from the pictures....

IT WAS BEAUTIFUL! Perfect day! Also met some really nice people on the tour. A guy from England, a girl from Japan, and our Aussie tour guide was.... typcial tour guide.  I think I'm noticing a trend here.  Older single guy (who acts younger) desperate for companionship.... (I'm calling it the "tourist trap")

He was great though... all the guides have been great... just have to watch them.  

12daysleft.

6 more until I head to Alice Springs/Outback. :)