i switched servers for my blog..
just found travelpod to be easier to use! so.
http://www.travelpod.com/members/owanderlustonz
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Sunday, August 5, 2007
pretrip: in just about a month from now..
I really couldn't have imagined that the summer would be flying by in the manner that it has been up to this point. There's the huge part of me that is so thankful because even though I've only been decided on this trip for about 6 or 8 months, it seemed like it was going to be the longest 6 or 8 months of my whole life. but the summer, since I started at camp.. it's been a flash.
my Visa was officially approved last week. meaning that I am now officially going to New Zealand. really, that had been, at least to me, a giant roadblock. I could think and dream about going all I wanted - hell, even bought some expensive, non-refundable plane tickets to the place - but I still wasn't cleared, it wasn't for sure that I could go. but now, it's alllll certain. there isn't anything but my own nerves standing between me and this new country. besides those mind-numbing flights. speaking of.. what does one do on those sort of flights? I find myself growing stir-crazy enough flying across Canada. it's going to prove tricky to find things to occupy myself when I'm flying backwards over the ocean.
I haven't hit that "Oh my God, I don't know if I can do this" wall yet that I have heard so many independent travellers before me come to. I'm sure that once work is finished (which is in two weeks.. YAY!) that I might find my mind wandering a bit more than it has been lately. I'm thinking about going a lot now, but it's not something I have the luxury to sit back and obsess over when there's 30 kids all standing thisclose to my face going, "Kiwi? Kiwi? Kiwi?" (cute nickname, huh?)
Once or if it does hit, can someone remind me that I'm a loser for being scared about this? Remind me that this could be a once-in-a-lifetime thing, and I should relish every moment leading up to it - including the ones that make my heart beat faster.
my Visa was officially approved last week. meaning that I am now officially going to New Zealand. really, that had been, at least to me, a giant roadblock. I could think and dream about going all I wanted - hell, even bought some expensive, non-refundable plane tickets to the place - but I still wasn't cleared, it wasn't for sure that I could go. but now, it's alllll certain. there isn't anything but my own nerves standing between me and this new country. besides those mind-numbing flights. speaking of.. what does one do on those sort of flights? I find myself growing stir-crazy enough flying across Canada. it's going to prove tricky to find things to occupy myself when I'm flying backwards over the ocean.
I haven't hit that "Oh my God, I don't know if I can do this" wall yet that I have heard so many independent travellers before me come to. I'm sure that once work is finished (which is in two weeks.. YAY!) that I might find my mind wandering a bit more than it has been lately. I'm thinking about going a lot now, but it's not something I have the luxury to sit back and obsess over when there's 30 kids all standing thisclose to my face going, "Kiwi? Kiwi? Kiwi?" (cute nickname, huh?)
Once or if it does hit, can someone remind me that I'm a loser for being scared about this? Remind me that this could be a once-in-a-lifetime thing, and I should relish every moment leading up to it - including the ones that make my heart beat faster.
Sunday, July 8, 2007
pre-trip: saying it while it's still on my mind
it's time to make my first entry in this 'New Zealand blog' of mine. not because I'm really super close to leaving (thankfully), but because now, at just over two months from my departure date, it's hitting me how difficult this move is going to be for me. I'm trying not to think negatively about this trip at all, because really, what do I have to complain about? but man.. it really did hit me just a few moments ago. this is something I'm doing alone.
and I've never moved somewhere alone. even when I went to Loyalist, and I didn't technically *know* anyone there, I was still an hour's drive from one of my best friend's houses, and my mom was a non-long-distance phone call away when I needed her (and I did). this is totally different. this is me being somewhere where I literally have no prior ties to connect me. I'm not worried about my safety. (.. and Gramma, I'm sure that makes you crazy to read that, but I'm leaving the worrying about my well-being up to you, ok?) the scary thought about it to me right now is not having my confidantes anywhere near me if I need to talk to someone. my closest friends will be a day behind me. it's really daunting.
I wanted to write about this because it's something I know I'm going to have to face nearly as soon as I disembark off my plane in Auckland. I also know and trust that this trip is going to be one of the best things I've ever decided to do. scary as it is right now, I'm so proud of myself for doing this, and sticking with it to see it through to fruition. I always talked and dreamt about 'travelling', but now it actually has substance and I can say that I am doing what I have always said I would.
making it count.
-Heather
and I've never moved somewhere alone. even when I went to Loyalist, and I didn't technically *know* anyone there, I was still an hour's drive from one of my best friend's houses, and my mom was a non-long-distance phone call away when I needed her (and I did). this is totally different. this is me being somewhere where I literally have no prior ties to connect me. I'm not worried about my safety. (.. and Gramma, I'm sure that makes you crazy to read that, but I'm leaving the worrying about my well-being up to you, ok?) the scary thought about it to me right now is not having my confidantes anywhere near me if I need to talk to someone. my closest friends will be a day behind me. it's really daunting.
I wanted to write about this because it's something I know I'm going to have to face nearly as soon as I disembark off my plane in Auckland. I also know and trust that this trip is going to be one of the best things I've ever decided to do. scary as it is right now, I'm so proud of myself for doing this, and sticking with it to see it through to fruition. I always talked and dreamt about 'travelling', but now it actually has substance and I can say that I am doing what I have always said I would.
making it count.
-Heather
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