Viva Mexico!!

So I just got done eating Mexican and was pretty impressed with the quality! And there's someone speaking Spanish in my hostel, so I got excited.

Today I returned to Christchurch and will be hanging out here the rest of today and tomorrow and then Saturday will begin my trek back home. I can't believe it! Traveling on my own has ended up being so much fun and I've met some incredible people!

I hopped on the bus to Milford Sound around 7 in the morning. I tried to get a good seat up front and ended up sitting by 3 other people that were traveling on their own. The bus ride wasn't TOO bad, but it was foggy the whole way which made me really nervous. I didn't want it to be foggy in the fjords! BUT, around 10:30 it all cleared up and by the time we got there (12:30), it was a perfectly clear and gorgeous (but cold) day.

The boat ride was pretty and for the whole first half I stood at the bow and just let the wind hit my face. We saw some awesome waterfalls and it was so calm and scenic. Then the captain of the boat announced that there were some dolphins. It was a mad rush of pushing and yelling for people to get out and get a video of them. It kind of ruined it for me :( It took all of the "peace" out of it and although I got a pretty good video, there were people pushing and elbowing and talking loud the whole time. So for the way home I just sat inside where it was quieter and enjoyed the scenery. While in line for the boat, I started talking to a girl that is here on her own from South Africa and we've pretty much been inseperable since. It's so nice to find someone that you're compatible with that is fun to travel around with! I'm finding more and more that I can distinguish between different English accents, so yay for me!

Whilst on this beautiful trip to Milford Sound, I spent half the trip there calling different places that I thought I might have left my flash drive. No one had heard about it or seen it and I was just gutted. Then, about halfway there, I realized that maybe I just left it in the computer that I was using to scan in my passport. BUT, I couldn't call to ask or anything because 1. no reception (like 98% of this country) and 2. I didn't have the number. SOOOO... I had to wait in anxious anticipation until we got back at 7 in the evening to verify that it was there. So Corinna and I were going to go have a Fergburger (huge as) together, but I asked if she would come with me to see if it was there. AND IT WAS! In a box with probably 10-12 other flash drives. NIIIICCCEEEEE. Then I decided that we got to devour our burger in celebration of recovering it. Now I just have to get all of the files backed up and I'll be a happy camper. So immediately when I got home, I emailed my passport to the place I had to email it to, which was such a relief.

I went back to the hostel and watched me some "Music and Lyrics" and decided that I'm probably going to have to buy the soundtrack because it's sweet as. I settled into bed to get ready for a bus trip to Dunedin (to see Phillipa!!!!)

I hopped off the bus and Pip was there to pick me up. We went to her house and I got to meet her mom and her little nephews. We had some yummy soup for lunch and then got in the car with her nephew Andre to go see some albatrosses (huge as seagulls with a 3 meter wingspan). They're only in the wild and the only place where they nest in New Zealand is at this nature preserve in Dunedin, so I got to see four baby albatross chicks (with a wingspan of 2.5 meters... yeah... not so "baby-like" if you ask me). Andre was super cute and on the way there he kept asking "Are we there yet?" and so Pip told him to count to 500 and then we'd be there. He's only 3. 1, 2, 3...16, 19, 20, 30, 50, 16, 19, 20, 19, 20, 19, 20 for a good 4 minutes. It was sooo cute. And then he sang "Mamma Mia" and Batman mashup for me. That was pretty sweet... I think we're going to try to market it.

After we saw the birds, we went back to the house and had some delish curry for dinner. Then Pip took me on a "tiki tour" where she showed me the town. She took me to the world's steepest street and we drove up it (I was feeling lazy). Then she showed me around the campus that she studied at, but also the first and most prestigious campus in NZ. That was really cool. It was incredibly beautiful. We headed back to the house and watched some Grey's Anatomy and then headed to bed. I slept in Andre's bed (he told me I could share with him... and that I could wear his gumboots. What a ladies' man!)

In the morning, Pip drove me so that I could hop on the long bus ride from Dunedin to Lake Tekapo, the coldest place in the South Island (I don't know if that's true, but it sure felt like it!) It was sad saying goodbye, but reassuring because I know I'll see her in Mexico in December!!

The bus ride was great. I spent most of it chatting with Andy and Carinna. It was her birthday, so I decided we just HAD to do something to make it special. She had been telling me that she was nervous that she'd end up alone all day long on her birthday... how sad! We chatted with the bus driver as well and the trip seemed to fly by. Once we got there, I got all settled and then the three of us went ice skating... in JULY.... outside!! It was Andy's first time ice skating (he's from Indonesia, so he hasn't even really seen snow before), so we taught him good. We only skated for probably 45 minutes but my feet were killing me by the end of it! I fell down trying to show off. Big surprise there!

On our way back to the hostels, Corinna asked if we could have a snowball fight. I decided to videotape (I've had my share of snowball fights). So her and Andy eat grabbed and chunk of snow and went "One, Two, Three, THROW!" COME ON.... that is NOT how you snowball fight! They just kept catching each other's snowballs! haha. It was really entertaining to see someone enjoy something that I think of as such a common occurrence (and often a nuisance).

We headed to dinner at a pizza place in town. On the way, I asked if we could stop by the supermarket (a little teeny tiny one). Andy distracted Corinna and I bought some candles and a little Sara Lee cheesecake. I hid it in my bag and we headed off for pizza. We ended up waiting an hour for a table and then played Jenga for a good 10 minutes while waiting for our pizza. After we were done eating, I snuck away, saying I had to use the restroom, got a lighter from the waitstaff, put the candles in, lit them, and came around the corner singing. Corinna was totally surprised (I honestly thought she HAD to know that SOMETHING was going on...) and then made us sing it again when she could videotape it. It was sweet and I was happy to do something for her birthday when she's so far away from home, friends, and family. We played some more Jenga after dinner and finally left so other people could eat.

I got back and Troy was just starting, so I watched that (ads included... it ended at midnight) and then headed to bed. I had some really trippy dreams that I did not like at all and then woke up, ready to go. I slept most of the way to Christchurch (it was raining anyway) and when we got here, Corinna and I got rooms in the "Sanctuary" (girls only and we get heated blankets and all kinds of nice stuff). We went for Mexican and had some stimulating conversation about past relationships and about financial stuff (she's an accountant, so she was giving me advice as to how to spend/save my money). Right now we're relaxing for a bit and then we're going to head to go see Boy. That's the same movie I saw the first week I was here (yes, 3 months later it's still in select theaters) and Corinna has never seen it. I think it's so fitting to go and see it again on my last leg of my trip here. I LOVED it, so it'll be worth every penny to go again.

Tomorrow I'm just going to chill around Christchurch. I think I'm going to try to finish the book I'm reading so that Margaret can have it when I get home. I might take a stop by the art gallery and do some gondola riding, but we'll see what the weather's like. And then Saturday, I'm closing up shop and heading back to Welly for lunch with the host 'rents. :) EXCITED!

Queenstown... really a town for a Queen!

So I've spent the past few days in the beautiful city of Queenstown and have honestly been blown away by its beauty.

I left Franz Josef early in the morning for a 10 hour bus ride down to Queenstown, but it really didn't feel that long. We stopped a bunch on the way down. Our first stop was at a mirror lake where I could see Mt. Cook (the tallest mountain in New Zealand) and Mount Tasman (second tallest) mirrored into the lake. Hence the mirror lake nickname. It was probably the most spiritual experience I've had in a long time. Traveling on my own has made me realize that I have a lot of insecurities and worry about what people will think when they see me on my own and it's been ridiculous. So that morning, it was a 20 minute walk out and a 20 minute walk back. I decided that I was not going to listen to my iPod, I was just going to listen to my own thoughts (which is usually a bad idea, but this time was really smart). I felt SO at peace by the time I got back, it was incredible. I am so lucky and so blessed to be on this trip.

We made another stop in Ross, a dinky little town that was booming during the gold rush, but now has a population of 300. Aww, poor little town. We made a stop for lunch, a stop for a bathroom break, and then straight on to Queenstown! We didn't get to stop at the bungee jumping bridge because we were running too late, but it looked ridiculously scary and I don't think I'll ever be able to do it. However, I'm thinking that when I get back to Madison (because it's just to flippin' cold here!), I'm going to skydive where Kayla, Jimmy, and Lynsey did. You guys keen to do it again with me?! Then when I come back to NZ, I'll be ready for a bigger challenge!

When I rolled into QT, I met up with Laura and her mom on the street to head to their incredibly gorgeous hotel room. It was so nice to kick my feet back and relax in a serene and relaxing atmosphere (nothing against backpackers...) I think my favorite part was getting ready with the lights on. I've left 2 things behind in the past 6 days because of getting ready in the dark. Boo. We just hung around and chilled until Chels got back from her day trip and then we went out for DELICIOUS Italian food. I've decided that I might ALMOST enjoy pumpkin just as much when it's savory as I do when it's sweet. And when I first got here, I hated savory pumpkin. Mmmmmmm. Then Chels, Laur, and I went for a few drinks and they were shocked to see that I could chug a beer. Thanks Adam and the Bone Haus for that. I didn't enjoy a second of it, but it's a nice entertainment/icebreaker to whip out with people that have been hanging out with me for so long without seeing that side of me!

Yesterday we woke up around 9 and had a late start to the day. That was nice since I've been up every morning around 7 to go do something (tomorrow morning is NO exception!) I read some of my book (Miriam, I finished it and it was really good. You just have to hang in there for the first 200/250 pages). Around 11, Chels, Laur, and I headed into town to get some breakfast. I was craving eggs, but when I saw the menu, of course I ordered muesli and yogurt, even though that's what I have EVERY morning for breakfast. Ah, well... it was still delectable. On our way to meet up with Laura's parents, we saw a store that had a really cute sweatshirt I wanted to buy. We walked in the store and found out that you could design your own shirts and before we knew it, we had a design for a hooded sweatshirt that we were all going to get. We couldn't commit right away, so we walked away for a bit and came back later.

We were meeting up with Laura's parents to go on a jetboat. Not just any jetboat... one that can ride in 10 cm of water and do 360 degree turns in the middle of a canyon. It was SWEET AS. We had so much fun and I laughed so much. What a blast! Laura's parents graciously took Chelsea and I along and I am still blown away by their generosity. What wonderful people! We got to see some BEAUTIFUL sights (we were in a river surrounded by canyons and then when we'd break from those, there'd be the Remarkables, a mountain range in the skyline of Queenstown. One of two mountain ranges in the world that runs directly north to south. Crazaayyyy!

When we were done jet-boating, we headed back into town, put in the order for our shirts, and meandered for some time. We went to a bar where you can get cocktails in a teapot (we went at like, 430 and it was pretty nasty in there. BUT, there was a pretty cool band playing!). Experience... not regretted! We headed back to the hotel and I got a LOT more reading done. Around 930 we headed down to Lone Star (a Texan restaurant) to get some munchies and we ordered some steak fajitas. I've always had this thing that I've never been pleased with the steak that I've ordered in a restaurant. I think I'm really picky about how it should be cooked. Well, anyway, after we got some appetizers and a random bowl of boiling water with lemons in it (still perplexed as to what that was for), Chels cut up some meat and put it on my fajita for me. I bit into it and just about threw up because the meat wasn't cooked at all. I swear to God when I bit it, it moooooed a cry of agony. YUCK. So we sent that cow back to get done up a little more. After dinner, we ordered some pavlova (a traditional Kiwi dessert) for Laura's parents to try. DELICIOUS!!! But I was still feeling a little queezy from the steak, so I was keen on just going home and reading until I fell asleep. We decided to go back and see if the hotel bar was open, but it wasn't, so we got some beer from the room to drink down in the lobby. We had some good conversation in front of the fire and cheered together when the clock struck midnight and it was the 4th (and I accidentally sang a phrase of the New Years Song...whoops!) I read for a good long while and then got to bed.

This morning, Chels, Laura, and her parents had to be gone by 9. After they left, I stayed back, did some reading, called the family, took a shower, packed up, and headed to my new hostel. I threw my stuff in a storage room and I was out the door with my flash drive in tow to scan in my passport for the school I'll be working at in Mexico. That was first on my list and then I went to finish my book at a cafe. I grabbed a panini to go on my way out and headed up the hill to take a ride on the gondola. The view was spectacular. Once I got to the top, I made my way to the zipline. It was SO much fun and the people that I went with were so cool. There were two cute little girls and I just wanted them for my very own! I headed back down afterwards and headed to the spa and got a ONE HOUR massage. Ahhhh. Experience... worth it! Then I had to decide what to do to fill my evening and thought that a movie was probably my best choice. I went to rent Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but it's been taken off the shelves here because they're changing the rating on it or something from R-16 to R-18. So that was a bust.

I finally checked in to the hostel and went to grab my flash drive from my bag so that I could email my passport to the school in Mexico when I realized that it was GONE. Disappeared. Poof. And I'm still freaking out. I'm trying hard not to think about it too much, but I'm absolutely gutted because everything from this semester of student teaching is on there. I was able to keep track of this one for 3 years. I spent a good hour calling every place I had been today, but half the places were closed by the time I called. I tried to get my mind off of it and found out that Toy Story 3 was playing at the movie theater around the corner, so I HAD to go. I went and got some fudge and then laughed and cried and got moved all over again by Woody and Buzz!!

Tomorrow I'm going to Milford Sound where there are tons of fjords. It's a 5 hour bus trip one way. Ooooooh boy. So I need to get some rest so that I can read the next book in the series on the bus! ha :). Hopefully someone will have discovered my flash drive somewhere in Queenstown and will graciously get in contact with me somehow. Le sigh.

I climbed a glacier!

Yesterday was such an incredible day. We headed out on the bus and our first stop was in a little town where we could look at a store full of jade. I saw a photo store on the corner so I ran over there and asked if they could charge up my battery for a little while for me.. and they did! I only got 15 minutes of battery charge, but it's lasted me this far!

We then stopped in Ross, another little town that was pretty hoppin' during the gold rush of the 1840s, but now only 300 people live there and it's a really quiet town. It was cool to read about the history of the town and see one that went from booming to next to nothing in such a short time.

Then we arrived in Franz Josef! We had half an hour to eat and get back to the bus to go to our orientation for the glacier hike. I scarfed down some ramen noodles (I felt like a true backpacker) and headed out. I was kind of nervous about the whole thing because of my knee, but I knew that I wouldn't get an opportunity like this for another long while. The view was STUNNING. I ended up going with the "fast" group and had lots of lovely conversations with my tour guide about his drunken escapades and his piercings and all kinds of wonderful stuff. My knee held in there, although sometimes I had to walk up and down the ice stairs one at a time (love you, Gramma! Well.. and Dad for that matter!) BUT, I'm alive to tell the tale and it was an INCREDIBLE experience. However, since glaciers are a think of the past in Wisconsin, and we learned all about what they did when they still existed in the States, I really didn't know that there were that many glaciers in the world. So I was asking really stupid questions about them. Ah, well.

When we got back, we had some dinner and then went to some hot pools. What a perfect ending to such a lovely day. I went with two girls from Korea and one from Vietnam. Now I want to go to Asia so bad. I had some awesome conversations with them about their lives back home and gave them some really good English practice :) After that, I just came back to the hostel and tried desperately to try to get into the book that Miriam and I are reading, but it became more of a time-filler, so I just headed to bed.

Today we're off to Queenstown! I think we're making a bunch of stops along the way, but when I get there, Laura will be waiting for me and we're going to head to the hotel her parents and Chelsea are staying at. I'm excited to see them for our last night together in New Zealand! They're going to Milford Sound today (I'll be doing that on Sunday) so that's exciting!

I'm coming home in 8 days (well, 9 for back home.. I technically have a 48 hour July 10th..) I can't believe I'm in single digits, and almost less than a week away!!

Greymouth... the friendliest people around!

It's incredible how much can happen in two days! I just said goodbye to Chelsea until tomorrow and the friend that we made on the way here... and I'll probably never see her again, so that's sad!

So on Tuesday when I left you all, I was off to Antarctica (well, not really, but the station that ALL people that go to Antarctica have to go to before they actually go). The place I went to was an "Antarctic Experience" something or other. It was pretty sweet! I caught the "Penguin Express" bus from Cathedral Square (it even has a bunch of penguin statues on top). I'm pretty sure that was what I was most excited about. I got to go and see little blue penguins being fed and they were super adorable. Then there was this storm room where you can go in and see what it feels like to live there. There's snow and everything. So I put on a jacket that they provide, walked in there, and thought, "Huh.. feels like Wisconsin." Then the storm came abrewing and it got down to a whopping -8 degrees Fahrenheit (with the windchill). Really??? Come on now! I was pretty disappointed ;-). So I paid a bunch of money to get the kind of weather that I get 4 months out of the year, ha. It was admittingly really cute hearing the kids come out and saying that it was the coldest they'd ever been or the first time they'd seen snow and stuff. So you gotta appreciate that. Then I read about life on Scott Base, which was probably my favorite part. My cousin Susannah lived in Antarctica for some time and it got me really interested in her life there! (Thank goodness I'm going to be seeing her in a few short weeks so she can tell me all about it!) Finally, I did a Hagglund ride, the vehicle they drive throughout Antarctica. It was hilarious. The guy that was driving it was really monotone, so he'd say something like, "Well... black flags mean danger...somewhere we shouldn't go. As you can see, to either side of us we have black flags. Let's see what will happen." (all monotone. He really got me revved up! haha)

So then I took the awesome Penguin Express back to town and walked back to the hostel and chilled for a bit (talked to Miriam!) waiting for Chelsea. She showed up about 20 minutes later and we went for a lovely stroll through downtown Christchurch. We were trying to find things to do and saw a city map, so we went and looked and there was a thing on there that said "City Mall", so we went in that direction. There was a huge department store on the corner, so we went in and were walking around, trying to find a door that led to the other stores, but couldn't, so I asked one of the employees. I said, "Yeah... so we saw on the map that there should be a city mall around here?" and he goes, "Oh, a mall? Yeah, I've seen those on TV!" hahaha. He was most definitely making fun of us. Come to find out it was just a strip mall along the street. So we were still trying to find something to do... and decided to go see Shrek. Best decision EVER. It was hilarious, I loved it!

So then Chels and I headed back to the hostel to chill for a while waiting for the shuttle that would take us grocery shopping. That was so nice and fun! The staff at the hostel we stayed at were awesome. They're all internationals and were there working for the bed they slept on every night. Chels and I ate dinner while they were all eating together and it made us laugh!

Yesterday morning we woke up bright and early to catch a shuttle bus to the train station to go on our TranzAlpine experience! It was INCREDIBLE. We got seats next to one another and were sitting there and then this girl came and sat across from us. And then we didn't leave each other's side until this morning when they left! She was so much fun and hilarious.

The sights on the train were incredible. They had an observation deck, so we went out there for a while and that was a blast. It was freezing cold, though! There was this guy taking pictures right over my shoulder in the cabin and that was driving me nuts, haha. We all slept for a little bit and then finally arrived in the booming metropolis of Greymouth.

Our hostel is incredible. I'm going to be sad to leave. They give each person a hot water bottle and free food in the afternoon and the morning. The owner is awesome, he's such a cool guy! He's also driven Magic Bus (the tour I'm leaving on today) so that's cool. He gave me some good tips.

Yesterday we just walked around and chilled most of the afternoon and then went to a brewery tour for Monteith's Brewery (my fav beer, the cider, is made there!) That was great fun, but while we were there, my camera battery died. We got home and I went to look for my battery charger, and what do you know? It's not with me. I packed it away into my other suitcase. Stupid! We settled in for the night and I slept SOOO well!

Today I'm off to hike a glacier. That'll be AWESOME! I'm off on my own for the next two days, so I'm looking forward to meeting some new travelers. Tomorrow I'm meeting up with Laura and her family and Chelsea for dinner and then her parents are getting us a room in a hotel for our last night together! Then they'll be off and I'm going to miss them :( But I'm going to Milford Sound and then to Dunedin to meet up with Pip and her family, so that'll be fun!

Peace out, dudes!