"Now I'm coming alive, body and soul, feeling the world start to turn.."

"And I'll taste every moment and live it out loud
  I know this is the time, this is the time to be
  more than a name or face in the crowd
  I know this is the time, this is the time of my life.."

                --"Time of my Life" (David Cook)

What a week it has been since our Queenstown travels. Last week I got back and Brenda and I went to see 'Bridesmaids' and it was a hoot. We laughed out loud and at some points were the ONLY ones laughing. (Language barrier?) On Thursday, Lauren and Hillary came over for our last Mexican meal together. It was nice to catch up with them. Our friend Kristen came over and we played an intense game of 'Phase 10.' It was then time to say our goodbyes.

I hate goodbyes. 

They make me feel emotionally unstable. 

We then had a fairly relaxing weekend. On Saturday Brenda and I hit the town for our LAST night out! We had to begin at our favorite bar, Good Luck. We have had many great nights there that have made for some really fun memories. It was then off to Alice and Boogie Wonderland to meet my (Kiwi) friend, Nick. We also ran into some other friendly faces! After realizing this was my LAST night out in Wellington, I started to get a little sad. Actually that is an understatement. It was more of an 'ugly cry.' (Which Nick, poor guy, had to witness! My bad!)

The next day I decided to be really lazy and give myself a day of rest. And I spent my Monday packing, organizing and making lists. I took a break to have dinner at Fratelli with Nick, which was a relief because it had been one busy day and its always nice to catch up with him! I then came home to a messy room that still needs to be packed up.. and with ONE day left to do it.. I am starting to get a little nervous.. (sorry, Mom) It also did not help that I took the time to look back at some of my favorite memories here rather than do my chores...

Epic.

Laughing until tears.

Cape Reinga. Love of my life.

Road-tripping back from Taupo.

Bay of Islands.

The Bar Crew.

On the way to Milford Sound.

After getting the opportunity to skype with Maria, my mom and two of my pledge sisters today I have realized that I am starting to get excited to be reunited with them. Although I have had the time of my life here, I realize that all good things must come to an end so I was thinking about all of the things that I am excited to get back to....

1.) My Family (and our annual beach trip coming up!)

2.) My Kappa sisters
3.)My friends @ school.

4.)Kappa & IU

5.)The doodles

6.) Matthew's Graphic Tees

7.) My house & bed.

8.)My surrogate house w/ Paul and Sara.

Siblings. 

Ahhh, Kappa what? 

Mags is an Angel. 

Honesty day: Friendship. 

Turtle Tugs. 

No group of women that I would rather dance with.

HSM.

Love.

Twebb :)

2 of my faves.

Kappa<3

Gracie and Podolski.

Datwich: 'I do my own stunts.' Duh.

Southern belle.

Cuties.

Love them. Amurrica.

...and the list goes on... last day in Welly.. here I come! Lets go.

"At twenty years of age, I'm still looking for a dream..."

"‘Cause I got a couple dents in my fender
    Got a couple rips in my jeans
    Try to fit the pieces together
    But perfection is my enemy
    On my own I'm so clumsy
    But on Your shoulders I can see
    I'm free to be me"

                       --"Free to be me" (Francesca Battistelli)

Last day in Queenstown.. We woke up to a crisp and chilly morning. We decided to pack our bags, check out of our hostel and head to Eichardts for a 'brekkie' of champions: hot chocolate, poached eggs and home-made tomato chutney on toast. A delicious breakfast to go with a delicious atmosphere. I absolutely fell in love with the cafe/restaurant as soon as I walked in. Warm neutral colors and stone lined the walls, small intimate seating that could not have fit more than 20 or so people and a fireplace made this the perfect back-drop for day dreaming...

...and after a nice chat with the girls, I decided that it would be appropriate to go by the water for this particular days journal writing. With the background noise of children playing, families spending time together and the hustle and bustle of the city, it provided me with the perfect opportunity to people watch, observe and absorb the environment around me... one person in particular caught my eye. 

I woke up that morning to a very bittersweet feeling... this was the last day of travels which marked the official 1-week countdown until we would leave this country that we have called home for the last 4 1/2 months. Right away it dawned on me. The idea of 'time flying by.' Where had this time gone? I felt like it was just yesterday that I was in my room making lists and talking with my mom about how I was feeling to go abroad while she so eagerly helped me pack my bags. And now, I find myself looking out over the water and reflecting on my time here as I know I will be heading home soon.

The one person that caught my attention was an older white-haired gentleman. The woman with him is feet away feeding the ducks. I watch him walk along the edge of the shore, stop to take a few pictures and then face the water with his hands behind his back. I notice that his eyes are closed and he is smiling and at this particular moment I wonder what he's thinking. He seems so happy; like he is just completely content with the exact place in his life that he is. He is taking the time to just appreciate his surroundings and admire his environment. I observe him for a couple of minutes and watch as he opens his eyes and walks down to meet the woman that he was with. She was busy feeding the ducks and I noticed a few children wanting to approach her but seeming a little shy. She at once insists that they help her and so she hands them some food so they too can be included. 

This at once brings a smile to my face as I see the illustration of kindness and inclusion of others right in front of my face. I cannot help but to think that my sociological immersion this semester has had some effect on my observational techniques. I found myself feeling such a connection with these 'strangers.' 


Sympathy.
Empathy.
Understanding.
Emotions. 


These characteristics or qualities if you will, unite us all as human beings after all. Habits, movements, and interactions that make up our everyday life affect us all. As I watch on and try to soak up my environment, the sights, sounds and smells, I cannot help but to think about and reflect on what this semester was really about for me. Although school is extremely important to me back home, it ended up not being THE most important thing for me this semester. In fact, learning went so much more in depth than any assessment from a school assignment or test in my academic environment could have provided. (I know they tell you this in orientation, but hearing it & actually experiencing it and having that lightbulb moment- indescribable.)

This trip ended up being just what I needed. I know I sound like a broken record but I am so appreciative to my family and to TEAN for this opportunity and as sad as I will be to leave this place, I am trying to put those feelings on the back-burner. I want to really enjoy my last week here. My journey has been both inspirational and educational while life-changing all at the same time. It has changed me for the better and although I am not anywhere closer to deciding exactly what I want to do with my life nor what I want to do right out of school, I feel much more confident and content. I have had certain dreams in the past and certain ones now, but who's to say those dreams might not change or be altered at a later time? And they probably will, seeing as how much they have evolved over the last semester. The old me would have been slighty anxious about this, however the new me is standing tall (and excited) at 20 years old. I am still looking for some of my dreams and I am perfectly fine and a-okay with that because I am just free to be me...

Day-dreaming. :)

"Her face is a map of the world, is a map of the world..."

"Suddenly I see

  This is what I wanna be

  Suddenly I see

  Why the hell it means so much to me.."

                 "Suddenly I See"--KT Tunstall

QUEENSTOWN!

We made it! Our last leg of traveling. On the way into Queenstown, we stopped at the Kawarau River. We also stopped by the Kawarau bridge where the first commercial bungee jump took place! Afterwards, we dropped the rental car off and headed to Nomad's hostel to check into our room. We then went to World Bar for dinner @ Fat Badgers Pizza.  We participated in quiz night and although 'team amurrica' did not win, we still enjoyed ourselves and shared a few teapots.

Kawarau Bridge!

The following day consisted of random activities. We had nothing set in stone for our trip in Queenstown(which is fine because simply being in this beautiful city is enough). We just wanted a relaxing end to our trip and this perfect little ski town was just what the doctor ordered. Lauren, Hillary and I set out to walk around the city and do some shopping (window shopping, Dangie!) when we saw the sign. KAPPA. Kappa Sushi Cafe. Lauren and I had seen this restaurant last time we were in Queenstown, so seeing as how the 3 of us LOVE Sushi (and are all Kappas!) we decided to give it a shot! It was not only delicious, but fun to have a relaxing lunch with sisters.. (yes, I went there...)

I love you, Queenstown.

Music to my ears.

Creepy.

Love finding things that remind me of home!

Kappas @ Kappa!

We continued our shopping until it was time for dinner. Fergburger it was. What Hillary was waiting for... (and honesty day.. I was pretty excited for Round 2.) 'Tropical Swine' it was. If ever in Qtown, Fergburger is a MUST! We sat there and chatted (and Lauren and I watched as Hillary ate the WHOLE thing... superrrr impressive!!). I stood up and as soon as I did, I told the girls they might need to roll me home seeing as how the food baby I had just developed was not allowing me to move very fast. Phatttt.

Nom.

As soon as we got back to the room, I planned on getting into my PJs, catching up on my blog and just hanging with our roommates in our hostel. Plans changed when we got a knock on the door. In walked  one of the Nomads workers who invited and encouraged us to go on their 'blindfolded bar crawl.' It was $10 and we got to go to 5 different bars. It was an opportunity to meet other people traveling plus all of our roommates were going (not to mention, it helped that the guy who invited us was not that hard to look at if you know what I mean......) Plus it was all worth it because we met a Justin Bieber look alike. And don't worry, we told him that too. Boy, do we make friends easily.

It is all this guys fault that we went out.

What an interesting group...

Roommate from Scotland. Loves it. 

Making connections between Amurrica and Ireland. 

"And I was like baby, baby, baby ohhhh...."

No paparazzi.

The next day, we slept in and while Hillary had a phone interview, Lauren and I went to a cute little French bistro to get brunch. We then walked around and shopped once more and we decided to treat ourselves to a facial at Aspects Day Spa. What a decision it was. Lauren and I agreed that it was one of THE BEST facials we had ever gotten and after the long and somewhat stressful semester of work that we had just completed, we thought we would treat ourselves to a fun spa session!!

After our facial, it was back to Nomads where the 3 of us got ready for our buffet dinner at the Skyline Gondola Restaurant. It started with a gondola ride overlooking the city and with it being dark, the tradeoff was that instead of getting a view, we saw the bright lights of this hoppin' city. It was beautiful. When we arrived at the restaurant, we were greeted by the lady that would take us to our table. Walking through the buffet area, we realized right away that we made a great decision in choosing to do this. This smart (and phatt) decision gave us what seemed like a 20 course buffet dinner that consisted of soup, salad, seafood, meat, pastas, sides, cheese plates, desserts and more. We took our time chatting about life and just enjoyed each other's company. It was definitely something needed: an opportunity for us to relax, take our time and reminisce about our experiences here. (Also, what we were going to miss and what we were looking forward to doing once we got back home.) After dinner we headed back towards Nomads for our LAST night in with the roommates. (But not before we took a picture with a giant Kiwi bird we found...)

Kiwi fruit Pavlova.. it ONLY makes sense.

Do you want some cheese with that wine? 

Massive dessert selection. Nom.

Kiwi.