Well folks, I am sad to report I am back in the good ol' United States of America. I didn't think the day would really come that I would have to leave New Zealand. I was having so much and wasn't ready to leave the people I'd met or the warm, summer weather!
I got home yesterday (Wednesday) around 5:30 and was sad to see it was already super dark out! I think this will be the hardest thing for me to adjust to. I am so used to it still being light till 10:00, so a five hour difference is HUGE! The weather wasn't bad yesterday, but today is was freezing and windy! I also arrived yesterday to find out my luggage did not make it as far as I had. Most flights from Dallas had been canceled due to fog, so my luggage got pushed back to make room for luggage from earlier flights. It wasn't the most fun way to end my 27 hours of flying with many turbulent flights, but hey that's life! I was still very excited to see my family last night!
So far getting used to the time difference isn't bad. I should be sleeping now since I leave for Ames to graduate pretty early tomorrow, but I'm still on New Zealand time. Today the only hard part with getting used to my new time zone was waking up! I got up at 7:30 which was like waking up at 2:30 in the morning in New Zealand. I wasn't too keen on that, but I made it through the day without any naps.. yay! It was definitely helpful keeping busy. I have my work schedule all set up to start the day I get back from Vegas. I am more than ready to get back into the swing of working again! I also got to spend a few hours with Emma, Nora, and baby Will. I was SO excited to see them. I surprised the girls at dance and they were shocked! They didn't realize I was back. Their reactions were so cute, it just about brought me to tears! And Will has gotten so cute! He is constantly smiling and laughing. I don't think I realized just how much I missed them until seeing them tonight! The best part was Nora sitting in my lap and falling asleep on the counter while I ate supper. It was a typical Nora move, but so cute and funny!
Tomorrow is graduation and it still doesn't seem real. I feel like I started school yesterday. I never thought it would end and yet tomorrow is the end. I can't think of a better way to go out than spending my last eight weeks in New Zealand. I am excited to be done and move onto a real teaching job. I am also excited to look at my international options and find somewhere to start a new adventure! But, until then I am stoked to see Michelle and Emily tomorrow! I can't believe I haven't seen them for two months, I don't think I've ever gone more than two weeks without seeing them before! I know we will have a great time celebrating and catching up.
So in the end this blog is filled with mixed emotions! I think once my busy weekend is over I will be really sad to not be in New Zealand anymore, but as for now I am happy and staying busy. It's great catching up again! So be expecting a sad/I-miss-New-Zealand blog in the near future because this Iowa weather plus the lack of having awesome roommates to keep my entertained will be getting to me soon I am sure!
As always,
Michelle
Friday, December 16, 2011
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Forgive my Laziness!
Well hello again,
First off, I must say I am sorry for not keeping you up to date. I realize I haven't blogged in two weeks now, I feel so lazy! So here is what you missed...
Two weekends ago the crew and I went camping up in Wanaka. It is a small town on a gorgeous lake surrounded by heaps of hills. It was absolutely gorgeous! We set up our tent Friday night and then headed out on the town for a wee bit. Cramming all four of us in the tent made for an interesting night's sleep. It was very crowded and I was so glad to know we were only staying in the tent one night! Saturday morning we went to puzzle world. It was a really neat little place that had an outdoor maze and a cool 'illusion' section inside. The maze proved to be quite difficult and about made me mad, but it was fun nonetheless. Inside the illusion rooms were great! There were far too many to try and explain on my blog while still making sense, but there was one room that really was super cool. When you stood in the room you were side ways. But it wasn't how the room was built, I don't know how it worked! I have been to a few similar places in the states like the Mystery Place in the Black Hills, but this one was super neat. They had a few objects to show you the difference between that room and the real world. They had water that ran upstream, a swing that was always on an angle and a chair you could sit on that would roll up a ramp all on it's own. We had a lot of fun 'playing' in the room, but it got to be very dizzy and it became hard to keep our balance. After our fun at puzzle world we grabbed lunch at a little cafe and decided to do a bit of shopping and took a short walk before heading to Queenstown again.
I have fallen in love with Queenstown! It's such a gorgeous place. I love the town centre. It is lined with shops, cafes, and pubs... what more could a girl ask for?! It is also a town filled with lots of young people so it's easy to feel right at home. When we got into town we checked into our hostel and headed over to the AJ Hackett office and signed our lives away to bungy jump off a bridge on Sunday! With our nerves at high levels, we decided it would be a good idea to do a little bit of retail therapy. So we did just that! We did a wee bit of shopping right before the stores closed and then headed to our hostel to get ready for the night. Our hostel was on top of a bar so when we were done dolling up, we headed downstairs to eat and get some drinks. We had a great night, but it was an early one for me knowing that in not so many hours I would be bungy jumping for the first time!
So, Sunday we woke up and decided to spend just a bit more time shopping and then laying on the beech. Alex went off on his own and let us girls do the shopping. But it was fun to lay out on the beech as we waited for everyone to finish up! The weather was beautiful and so was the scenery! None of us wanted to leave, but it was time to eat and drive out of Queenstown to the Kawarau bridge. I was breathless when we got to the bridge. I don't think I've ever been so nervous in my life! Ellen and I did a tandem jump, so that helped my nerves a bit, but as we were getting strapped up, I was shaking like CRAZY! I shaking so much, it even gave Ellen a bit of a fright. When it was our turn to go, I realized I had to jump or I would simply be pulled off by Ellen, so I jumped right away and LOVED it! It was so fun! I didn't even have time to scream before we hit the water. We were dunked to our waist, but we feel so quikly I hardly even noticed until after we came out of the water.
It was a great way to end our weekend. I loved it so much, that I promised Ellen I would jump with here again. The Kawarau bridge is about 40 metres, but I told Ellen I would jump at the Nevis. The Nevis bungy is a high wire cable cart that is 134 metres above a tiny creek. I was terrified, but I loved the first one and I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it all alone, without someone pushing me off of pulling me down. So on Tuesday, Ellen and I got to ditch school at midday and drove back to Queenstown for our second bungy! When we got there I couldn't believe I had signed up and paid to jump from such a ridiculous height! (I should mention 134 metres is around 400 feet!) But I was excited and determined to do it right away! I was also determined not to cry... this may sound ridiculous BUT on the website there are countless videos of girls crying because it is so high. Knowing this would be recorded and I would more than likely be getting it, I wanted a video I wouldn't be embarrassed to show! This jump was even better than the bridge! Since it was so much higher the fall was a lot longer. It really gave you a change to take it in and see what you were doing. It was gorgeous! I somehow wasn't at all scared as I watched the ground get closer and closer, it was just peaceful. So here it is, the video I am so proud of! I don't cry OR cuss!
Last week was not so good after our Tuesday adventure. I ended up getting sick and had to stay home from school on Thursday and Friday. I was super bummed to be sitting at home doing nothing. If you know me, you know that I do not do well being told I can't go anywhere! So I was pretty upset about being home, but even more since I was missing two of my last four days. But the good news was, I was fine by the weekend. So Friday night we relaxed together at home, Saturday we laid out in the sun and finished up our assignments, and Saturday night we out together in Alexandra for the last time.
Now I am half way through packing and devastated about it. I feel like I have only just gotten here. I can't believe it is already time to say 'see you later!' I won't be saying goodbye because I know I will be back. This has truly been the best experience I could have even asked for. It was so much more than what I anticipated!
So before I get all sappy, I am signing off! Though this won't be my last post, it will probably be the last written in Alexandra. So, thank you for keeping up with my adventures. It has been so fun to share everything with the people I love back home. It only would have been that much better if you were all here with me!
Lots of love,
Michelle
First off, I must say I am sorry for not keeping you up to date. I realize I haven't blogged in two weeks now, I feel so lazy! So here is what you missed...
Two weekends ago the crew and I went camping up in Wanaka. It is a small town on a gorgeous lake surrounded by heaps of hills. It was absolutely gorgeous! We set up our tent Friday night and then headed out on the town for a wee bit. Cramming all four of us in the tent made for an interesting night's sleep. It was very crowded and I was so glad to know we were only staying in the tent one night! Saturday morning we went to puzzle world. It was a really neat little place that had an outdoor maze and a cool 'illusion' section inside. The maze proved to be quite difficult and about made me mad, but it was fun nonetheless. Inside the illusion rooms were great! There were far too many to try and explain on my blog while still making sense, but there was one room that really was super cool. When you stood in the room you were side ways. But it wasn't how the room was built, I don't know how it worked! I have been to a few similar places in the states like the Mystery Place in the Black Hills, but this one was super neat. They had a few objects to show you the difference between that room and the real world. They had water that ran upstream, a swing that was always on an angle and a chair you could sit on that would roll up a ramp all on it's own. We had a lot of fun 'playing' in the room, but it got to be very dizzy and it became hard to keep our balance. After our fun at puzzle world we grabbed lunch at a little cafe and decided to do a bit of shopping and took a short walk before heading to Queenstown again.
I have fallen in love with Queenstown! It's such a gorgeous place. I love the town centre. It is lined with shops, cafes, and pubs... what more could a girl ask for?! It is also a town filled with lots of young people so it's easy to feel right at home. When we got into town we checked into our hostel and headed over to the AJ Hackett office and signed our lives away to bungy jump off a bridge on Sunday! With our nerves at high levels, we decided it would be a good idea to do a little bit of retail therapy. So we did just that! We did a wee bit of shopping right before the stores closed and then headed to our hostel to get ready for the night. Our hostel was on top of a bar so when we were done dolling up, we headed downstairs to eat and get some drinks. We had a great night, but it was an early one for me knowing that in not so many hours I would be bungy jumping for the first time!
So, Sunday we woke up and decided to spend just a bit more time shopping and then laying on the beech. Alex went off on his own and let us girls do the shopping. But it was fun to lay out on the beech as we waited for everyone to finish up! The weather was beautiful and so was the scenery! None of us wanted to leave, but it was time to eat and drive out of Queenstown to the Kawarau bridge. I was breathless when we got to the bridge. I don't think I've ever been so nervous in my life! Ellen and I did a tandem jump, so that helped my nerves a bit, but as we were getting strapped up, I was shaking like CRAZY! I shaking so much, it even gave Ellen a bit of a fright. When it was our turn to go, I realized I had to jump or I would simply be pulled off by Ellen, so I jumped right away and LOVED it! It was so fun! I didn't even have time to scream before we hit the water. We were dunked to our waist, but we feel so quikly I hardly even noticed until after we came out of the water.
It was a great way to end our weekend. I loved it so much, that I promised Ellen I would jump with here again. The Kawarau bridge is about 40 metres, but I told Ellen I would jump at the Nevis. The Nevis bungy is a high wire cable cart that is 134 metres above a tiny creek. I was terrified, but I loved the first one and I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it all alone, without someone pushing me off of pulling me down. So on Tuesday, Ellen and I got to ditch school at midday and drove back to Queenstown for our second bungy! When we got there I couldn't believe I had signed up and paid to jump from such a ridiculous height! (I should mention 134 metres is around 400 feet!) But I was excited and determined to do it right away! I was also determined not to cry... this may sound ridiculous BUT on the website there are countless videos of girls crying because it is so high. Knowing this would be recorded and I would more than likely be getting it, I wanted a video I wouldn't be embarrassed to show! This jump was even better than the bridge! Since it was so much higher the fall was a lot longer. It really gave you a change to take it in and see what you were doing. It was gorgeous! I somehow wasn't at all scared as I watched the ground get closer and closer, it was just peaceful. So here it is, the video I am so proud of! I don't cry OR cuss!
Last week was not so good after our Tuesday adventure. I ended up getting sick and had to stay home from school on Thursday and Friday. I was super bummed to be sitting at home doing nothing. If you know me, you know that I do not do well being told I can't go anywhere! So I was pretty upset about being home, but even more since I was missing two of my last four days. But the good news was, I was fine by the weekend. So Friday night we relaxed together at home, Saturday we laid out in the sun and finished up our assignments, and Saturday night we out together in Alexandra for the last time.
Now I am half way through packing and devastated about it. I feel like I have only just gotten here. I can't believe it is already time to say 'see you later!' I won't be saying goodbye because I know I will be back. This has truly been the best experience I could have even asked for. It was so much more than what I anticipated!
So before I get all sappy, I am signing off! Though this won't be my last post, it will probably be the last written in Alexandra. So, thank you for keeping up with my adventures. It has been so fun to share everything with the people I love back home. It only would have been that much better if you were all here with me!
Lots of love,
Michelle
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