And So It Ends

So as this year rolls to an end, I find myself looking back at this incredible journey.  It was more than just a simple study abroad, it was more than just an adventure to 'find myself', it was more than just a social party all the time.  Being able to live in another country for 5 months, smack dab in the middle of the culture, language, schooling, way of life, was priceless.  Over the past 5 months I have seen beautiful places, heard incredible music, read cleverly crafted literature, learned about both the Maori and Pakeha sides of the country.  I have sat down with people from all over the world to discuss religion, language, culture, politics, ideas. I have spent countless hours completely enamored and engulfed in this experience--no wonder it went by so quickly!

Now it is coming to the time where I have to say goodbye.  I must wrap up loose ends, finish my last exams, and return to my old life.  The fact that I am leaving something I love very very much to experience the uncomfortable field of transitioning and readjusting to how things were does not help me want to go back any faster.  Part of the awkwardness of the situation is just in my head; I think that things will not be too bad when I move back.  However, there is that part of me that still is persistently reminding me that I am different.  I will go back to a world where no one has changed yet I have...I must learn patience to deal with that when I move back.

All things aside, I have compiled a list of things I will miss/not miss about NZ.  Please not the not miss section may be significantly smaller... :)

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Things I Will Not Miss About NZ

1. Evil screaming attack birds
2. No central heating!
3. Men in super short shorts and mullets/rat tails

Things I Will Miss About NZ

1. The people~!!
2. Day trips to beautiful places
3. Huge uni classes [despite culture shock!]
4. "Sweet as", "bru", "as as", "Cheers", "no worries"
5. Inside jokes with my flatmates
6. Movie nights
7. All Blacks ... stuff
8. Kiwi accents
9. Kebab shop
10. Everyone's relaxed way of dressing/living
11. Crazy Castle Street
12. The fact that people burn couches down here...
13. Dunedin. Just in general :)
14. Isite Centres
15. Maori culture/language
16. My double bed!
17. My [clean] flat
18. Flat dinners
19. Picnics & potlucks
20. Exploring new cultures via international students
21. New World [other than fruit/veggie prices! haha]
22. Pineapple Lumps & Hokey Pokey Ice cream
23. Tim Tam Slams!
24. "Our Place"
25. Outdoor clothes line [in Oregon would never work!]
26. Bipolar weather
27. My best friend
28. Having classes 2 days a week, T/R
29. Freedom, Independence
30. My favorite pharmacy! haha
31. New Zealand literature
32. NZ Films....Eagle Vs. Shark anyone?
33. Tui billboards
34. Visiting Claire at work
35. Getting awesome Care Packages!
36. Cooking daily with Carson
37. Lack of desire really cool places to go shopping
38. Dancing
39. Not having to work, too much time to socialize :)
40. Everything being spelled differently
41. "So you're a kiwi so I thought I would ask...."
42. "About that.........."
43. Claire giving me guff about silly things. like everything. :)
44. The country of New Zealand
45. Pretty much everything....

"MMT"

So tonight before I went to bed ("hit the wheat" as we call it in our flat) I decided to go organize a few things and clear out some old e-mails.  Incredibly enough, I stumbled upon an e-mail that I don't remember reading from ages ago from a really good friend of mine.  There was a quote, then a URL link to a website called "Made Me Think".  I was just skimming through it at first, and then it got to the point where I just wanted to keep reading them.  It was a little difficult to get through, seeing as it is similar to "fml" and "mlia" where you have some completely off the wall stupid things that people write, but this was different in the sense that there were a lot of really inspiring stories.

Reading these stories made me think a LOT about my life--crazy how something as silly as an internet page can make you think a lot! It's strange to look at my life and see all of the superficial points to it--you know what I mean, the material things in life, etc etc.  It's all too easy to forget that even the little things can matter so much.  I am thankful every day for the friends that I have met and stayed strong with me, I am thankful for the incredible family I have who love me unconditionally and forgive me when I make mistakes, and for the food, water, shelter, and memories that I am lucky enough to have been given, and to make.  I sometimes forget that I am insanely lucky, which when I look at the never ending list of blessings I have received seems crazy to ever forget, but somehow it happens.  I need to work on remembering every day and thanking those people who make my life so incredible, and who I love to the ends of the earth and back.  My best friend may know that I love them, but sometimes it's just a good thing to remind them.  Thinking about these things also reminds me how much and why I want to be an educator.  Just the opportunity to shape and change lives and inspire people is amazing.  What better job can you have than positively changing lives?

Atti and I spent the evening watching videos and pictures of each of our hometowns.  It was so fun and interesting to be able to look at videos of places in Hungary that I've never even heard of, and learn the names and stories behind those places.  In particular, we watched a video from his hometown which talked about how cities forgive you for leaving, and will always welcome you back into your HOME.  (Rough translation on my part--the video was in Hungarian entirely so Atti had to translate it for me!)  My favorite part was about the bench...it's hard to explain without seeing it, but all in all the video was just about always returning to your roots, to your home.  I love New Zealand so much, but I think there will be a sense of love and comfort by just going home next month.  However, on the flip side, we all talked tonight about how we don't particularly want to go home yet.  Finally it feels like we are all moved in, we are all close, we are all in our own sets of routines, etc etc and now it feels like we can begin.  But instead of beginning, we are going to go back to our homes.

Imola made a good point to me the other day at lunch though--when we go home, instead of being sad about it, it's just another brand new adventure.  We will all get to go home to relearn about our homes and families and friends.  We will have to again become adjusted to a [new] place, and move back into our old lives.  It will be very interesting to see how everything works out in the end.  Until then, I can't believe how impossibly lucky I am--so thanks to everyone who inspires me, loves me, and forgives me--you really make all the difference in the world.

Blog much?

This is just a very short blog notice, to let you know that I have also started to maintain a second blog, which is dedicated solely to my baking experiences, with tons of easy and delicious recipes! if you are interested, the URL is:

http://nythfoods.blogspot.com/

Enjoy! :)

It's all about the little things

 It's so cliche, the whole "life is all about the little things"...but it's impossibly true.  Recently my friend Carson and I went on a full day adventure across the city and beyond...up Mt Cargill and the Organ Pipes.  By the end of the day I was so exhausted I could barely move...apparently this is a common phenomenon which occurs when you hike 18 miles! :]

While we were walking--mind you it is the 4 seasons in one day thing, so sun, rain, fog, etc--we decided purely out of randomness to climb up Mt Cargill a different way than the path.  Mind you, there was another path that we took that went most of the way up.  That is, until we hit the rock climbing bit.  I do not think God intended me (being as short as I am) to be climbing up the face of a mountain, but we eventually made it!  I'm pretty sure Carson could have done the entire trip in 5 minutes, but he was sweet and waiting patiently for me to make it...

We stopped for lunch almost at the top, and all of a sudden I happened to turn back to look for something, and I saw it.  Now, my friends down here understand this, but I am pretty sure I did a complete STOKED face...and probably nearly gave Carson a heart attack with my flailing of arms and jiberish that came out something like:


"holycowcarsonyouhavetolookatthisitissobeautifulomigoodnessicantbelieveitihavetotakeapicture!!!!"

I'm not sure if he understood my words, but once he saw the rainbow he completely got it.  Now, I have seen plenty of rainbows in my life, and my pictures can't even do it justice, because this rainbow was so incredibly stunning it literally took my breath away.  The colours were so vivd and intense...I have never seen anything like it in my life.

Stunning rainbow...so vivid in real life!!

Me with the rainbow...after the crazy hike!!!

It got me to thinking about how it really is the little things in life.  Even things such as this rainbow just completely made my entire day (felt like life).  Which led to, through the course of 2 huge apples, a water bottle and sandwich, a discussion of choices.  Just the choice of choosing to go on that hike instead of staying home or doing something else, impacted me.  Over the course of the past 3 months I have made hundreds and thousands of choices, both large and small, which have completely changed everything.  I know that I already posted a blog about change, so I will try not to delve too deep into the subject, other than mentioning the I can feel it.  

When I go back to my home university I will have to give presentations on study abroad--be an ambassador of the entire process I suppose?--and all I can really say here is that if anyone gets the chance to do studying abroad or travel, just do it.  It will change your life, it will inspire you, it will stay with you the rest of your life.  Going home is going to be a very difficult step in the process as well.  I cannot possibly try to explain this experience, and I know that I am going home a very different person.  But all of the changes are good ones....I know that I have gained so much independence, maturity, and knowledge.  I wouldn't trade this experience for the world!!

Best Sisters

Recently my 'sister' (she was an exchange student and lived with me back home for a year, and then I went and visited her) flew from her home to NZ to come visit me!  After a year and a half of not being able to see her, it was the biggest excitement!  She had a long journey, so I'm sure that she enjoyed finally being able to be in the country!  We were lucky enough to be able to visit Dunedin (she got to experience our lovely HAIL), Christchurch (stunning weather, the best time to visit!!), & Auckland (for Americans, heads up that Sky Tower = Space Needle.  Doesn't mean it's any less amazing though!).  We were able to do tons of different touristy things (Cadbury Chocolate Factory Tour anyone??) , eat WAY too much, tour major museums, and I honestly cannot remember the last time I have laughed so incredibly hard.

Sky Tower (Auckland)

Starbucks with my sister ♥

We had a joke that I would only see her when I had my wedding, and seeing as [hopefully] that is still a bit away, it was nice to be able to see her beforehand!  We have many other trips in mind for future dates so that we can see each other, which would be so nice.  It made it IMPOSSIBLE to be homesick anymore; how could one be homesick with their best friend and sister with them? Exactly.  (Not saying the only reason I want her around is so I am not homesick haha)  But thinking about it, brought up the point of the "W" that was explained to me before I left for this adventure.

There is a "W" created when you leave for somewhere on a journey similar to this--You begin extremely excited to be somewhere new, then you begin on the downward stretch of finding that you miss things from your home or that cultures are very different, and then you hit rock bottom which is when you are extremely homesick and miserable (I just finally passed through that stage a couple weeks ago) and then on the upswing you enjoy everything, and fall in love with it.  Unfortunately, it is a W because the same process is repeated once you go home.  For me, I recently just completely re-fell in love with New Zealand...I'm really wondering if I have to come home after all?

Fiji Time

To be updated soon!!!

Julie & Julia Moment?

Ever seen the movie Julie & Julia? While it's not my favorite movie, I do feel like I'm having one of those moments...for those of you who are blissfully unaware of what film I am talking about, in summary it's all about food.

As previously mentioned, I am having a love affair with my gym.  However the case, I am additionally then having quite the fling with cooking.  I always knew that I loved food, but who knew how much I would end up absolutely adoring cooking?

I feel incredibly dull witted or ignorant.  Or maybe in this case, all of the above? I am going back to cooking basics 101...how to cook food, how to dice/mince/chop food, how to mix herbs and spices...and so far it's actually gone fairly well! I've been on cooking adventures with: Thai curry beef soup, cinnamon pancakes, chicken and noodle/dumpling soup, honey baked apples, apple crisps, cakes, muffins, garlic breads, beef stronganoff, spaghetti carbonara, chocolate dipped biscotti, and lemon custard.  If groceries down here didn't cost me an arm and a leg (and I didn't have to fly back home in only 3 months!) I feel like I would spend way too much on spices, herbs, and all around groceries!  I can't wait to go home and try all of these recipes out on friends and family!

There are still a million and twelve (yes, that is an exact number) of recipes that I would like to try out still! Some are homemade breads (without bread makers), mexican pizza, donuts, thai basil rolls, etc etc.  Wait...there really isn't too much that I DON'T want to try making!

Tomorrow my friend and I are going to be cooking something for lunch....I'm unaware as to what this will be yet....but he and I usually are able to whip up some good things, so we'll see!  Now after all this thought about food in addition to reading so many food blogs, I am starving! Ah, the downside to all of this :)

PS A special thanks to my dearest mother for sending me the apron...I love it!