It's go time!

omg it's here.

I'm leaving.

AND FREAKING OUT.

but i'm so so ready, so let's just do it already.

“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” – Jawaharial Nehru

With the help of a teacher and a partition I did a tripod headstand in yoga today. I needed the wall behind me as I'm still a little freaked out by this pose. Anyway, you could say a hit a wall.

Which I definitely have. Is it only Wednesday? Do I still have almost two weeks left? I know they'll start flying by as soon as I stop thinking about it, but seriously:
GET ME OUT OF HERE ALREADY.

I have love loved LOVED being at home, riding my bike, hanging out with the neighbors, seeing my sisters, reading, going to yoga classes with my mom and cousin and just having time to be. But I'm pretty much ready to kick it into overdrive and start this next chapter of my life already!


Patience. It's not my virtue. But it needs to be.

Less of this:





More of this:

100 Must Do's for Kiwis

Came across this fun list today while researching places to hit up on Peter and Eva's Excellent Adventure. [The boyfriend is picking me up in Auckland, ten hours north of Wellington. We could turn around and drive straight back but figured what the heck? He has a broken wrist and I'm unemployed. We might as well make a decent roadtrip out of it. By decent I mean up to a week long. I love this man.]

It's a pretty thorough compilation, but with an emphasis on extreme sports and touristy destinations- some very deserving places, and a few of my favorites, have been left out altogether. The ones in bold are the places I saw on my first go-around, and I hope to make a hefty dent in this list starting as soon as I get back.


1.Mitre Peak and Milford Sound
2.Doubtful Sound
3.Bay of Islands
4.Fiordland National Park
5.Abel Tasman National Park
6.Aoraki Mt Cook
7.Coastal Kaikoura
8.Hanmer Springs
9.Camping
10.Tutukaka/The Poor Knights
11.Marlborough Sounds
12.Fox and Franz Josef glaciers
13.Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Tongariro
14.Waitomo Caves
15.Travelling the Southern Scenic Route
16.Otago Rail Experience
17.White Island (marine volcano)
18.Stewart Island
19.Arthurs Pass National Park
20.Tongariro Crossing
21.The Blue Pools of Haast Pass
22.South Westland
23.Waipoua Forest
24.Mt Taranaki
25.Lake Tekapo Observatory and Church of the Good Shepherd
26. Ulva Island (Stewart Is bird sanctuary)
27. Otago Peninsula
28. Canterbury Plains
29. Punakaiki (Pancake rocks)
30. Cape Reinga
31. Auckland Gulf Islands - Waiheke, Great Barrier, Rangitoto and Tiritiri Matangi
32. Kicking the autumn leaves (walking Outlet Track along the Clutha River, Wanaka)
33. Akaroa and Banks Peninsula
34. Glenorchy and Dart River
35. Farewell Spit 36. Queenstown (adventures)
37. Hokianga (Northland's west coast)
38. Whanganui National Park
39. Cape Kidnappers
40. Lake Waikaremoana, Te Urewera National Park
41. Fine wines and fabulous foods
42. The Queen Charlotte Track
43. Lake Matheson (Fox Glacier)
44. Arrowtown
45. Orakei Korako (geothermal attraction, near Taupo)
46. TSS Earnslaw (vintage steamship)
47. Rotorua
48. Night skiing and riding at Coronet Peak
49. Dunedin City (architecture)
50. Mt Maunganui
51. Karangahake Gorge
52. Eastland SH35 (scenic coastal road journey)
53. Getting up close and personal with marine and wildlife
54. Hollyford Valley (and the Hollyford Track, Fiordland)
55. Hot Water Beach
56. Auckland's west coast
57. Rotorua Luge, Skyrides, Skyswing
58. Kapiti Island
59. Marlborough wine trail
60. New Chums Beach, Coromandel
61. Christchurch City
62. Mt Tarawera
63. Te Papa Tongarewa museum
64. The Bridge to Nowhere (Whanganui National Park)
65. Coromandel Township
66. Lake Taupo's water attractions and Tongariro River
67. The Pinnacles
68. Te Mata Peak (Hawkes Bay)
69. Rotorua rafting
70. The Forgotten World Highway (between Taumarunui and Stratford)
71. Lake Wanaka maze
72. Moeraki Boulders
73. New Plymouth's coastal walkway
74. Seafood City (Auckland)
75. Castlepoint (old seaside town)
76. Wainui Beach (Gisborne)
77. Ahipara and Shipwreck Bay
78. Buller Gorge
79. Taranaki Gardens
80. Cape Palliser (southernmost tip of the North Island) 81. Auckland War Memorial Museum
82. Raglan
83. Takaka Hill: Rameka Track Mountain (Abel Tasman National Park)
84. Whakarewarewa traditional Maori village, Rotorua
85. Waitangi Treaty Grounds
86. Rere Rock Slide, Gisborne
87. Spa and well-being (Nelson)
88. Auckland's Sky Tower and Skyjump
89. Devonport and North Head
90. The Interislander
91. Auckland volcanoes
92. Central Otago
93. Port Waikato
94. Golf in an Alpine Amphitheatre (Queenstown Golf Club)
95. Hundertwasser toilet (Far North)
96. Wellington Writers' Walk
97. Cross-country skiing (Lake Wanaka)
98. Stonehenge Aotearoa (marking the winter solstice Downunder)
99. Rugby Museum (Palmerston North)
100. Beehive and Parliament buildings

my additions
Hangdog Rock Climbing Campsite & Hostel (Takaka)
Sand Dunes at CastlepointBeach (Wairarapa)
Arthur's Pass Peak (Arthur's Pass)
Nelson and the enormous Saturday market
Huka Falls/Taupo Hot springs
Skydiving
Hitchhiking
Hostels of any shape and size
:)

16 Days

So it's really happening: I'm going back!
My life from October 27th through sometime next summer will be spent in Wellington, resuming the life I started there and the placed I carved out for myself with the people (well, person) I love. NZ immigration granted me a year-long working holiday visa, which was unbelievably easy to obtain. I'm allowed to work, travel, and leave the country as many times as I'd like during those twelve months. It's such a dream, and some days I still can't believe this is actually my life.

School and I are pretty on the outs right now, probably due to my massive overexertion during those first years of college. Who knows what my life will look like six months from now, but the current plan is to return to Boone and finish school next year. I love Boone, I do love school- when I'm not busy cramming my life full of everything I can grab and actually have time to learn. It would be really strange to finish school somewhere else, and I want to wrap up that chapter of my life where it started. For the meantime, travelling, gaining life experience and getting some in-depth solo viola work done are my main priorities. All of that will happen in and through Wellington.

I'll return to the New Zealand School of Music for orchestra, lessons and lots of chamber music. As for a job, I have no idea what I'll be doing, but I'm not picky and this trip isn't about making money so I'm just trying to get comfortable enough to support myself and take weekend trips around. The flat search is proving pretty difficult from another country, but I'll post pictures of whatever ends up happening.

So that's what's up! I've got sixteen days, and with two weddings and a combination family reunion the weekend before I leave, things are already a little overwhelming. Leaving the country is stressful! I can't wait, though. This transition period has been really good for me; teaching me a little patience and how to deal with not knowing the immediate future. This is by far the hardest thing I've ever done, but I have high high hopes for what these months will bring. Some days I ache to be back there. I'm so ready to climb some rugged mountains, drive for miles without seeing a car, eat fish and chips, drink a flat white, hit up Courtenay Place on a Wednesday night, see the old friends from Basin... I even miss the sheep! Contrary to popular belief (ha), I don't plan to settle down under. New Zealand is so many things to me, but it's not where I want to spend the rest of my life. The next months, however...
I can't wait. Let's do this!


"IT'S TRUE YOU CAN'T LIVE HERE BY CHANCE,
YOU HAVE TO DO AND BE, NOT SIMPLY WATCH, OR EVEN DESCRIBE.
THIS IS THE CITY OF ACTION,
THE WORLD HEADQUARTERS OF THE VERB."

Wellington Writer's Walk (Oriental Bay), Lauris Edmond.

Big news

So skydiving...
so great. Definitely want to do it again. We had to really work to make it happen, too! They wouldn't take us up at Taupo ("in New Zealand, you have four seasons within one day. In Taupo, you have four seasons in an hour." True enough, actually.), so we drove to Rotorua where we were able to get on the last trip of the day and jump out of the sky! An amazing feeling, especially when there are beautiful views beneath you.

I am currently a little brain queasy after wayyyy too much time on the library computers. My laptop died, my iPod got stolen and my camera broke. My luck with technology is less than stellar.

Anyway. I have 10 days left here- the countdown has officially begun! I'm pretty ready, but trying to soak up the last bits of Wellington. I miss the south: chikfila, "yall", steamy hot weather, my family, Colby... SUMMER. So ready for summer! The weather is totally unpredictable here, and has been really drizzly lately, plus the constant wind. It's winter now, and I'm not happy about it.

I may be coming back here? I'm about to get kicked off the computers and will write more about this massive undertaking later, but I'm aiming to come back here around October and live/work/play music until the following May. I wouldn't be enrolled in school, and it would be a fantastic chance to dig into some intensive viola work with my teacher here while continuing to enjoy this country. Maybe hop over to Australia? Asia? It could happen. This whole concept has been growing in the back of my head since about my last update, which is probably why I haven't written anything. It's a strange feeling, being torn between two continents, and a hard decision. I'd return to school in the fall of 2010 for my senior year, then off to grad school or who knows what. The hardest thing has been separating what I want from other people's expectations of me. Either situation would be awesome, too: senior year in Boone with all my friends, a fun house, camping, pancakes every weekend, or a working holiday in Wellington: violaviolaviola minus the distraction of school, working, flexibility to travel around, time with Peter... it's a hard call. I now know for sure that I definitely DO want to stay here, even though it'll be a totally different experience from the past four months, which have been a glorified extended vacation. I would be very broke in a city where I know very few people, without all of the international student friends I've made and half a world away from my family.
Kind of sounds cool, though. I want that freedom, that independence. If I take the big lessons I've learned here in the context of this decision, it points to staying. I've just submitted my working holiday visa application and will hopefully hear back from immigration in a few weeks.

SO.

My friend Jordan studied in Paris this semester, and we came to the conclusion that studying abroad is both the best and worst thing that's happened to our undergraduate careers. It's definitely the best thing I could've done for my life at this point, though, and I want to extend it- make it more! New Zealand has changed my life, and in a few months it could be my new home?

You and me and the devil makes three.

I'm jumping out of a plane tomorrow! Bright and early tomorrow morning Lauren, Jake (her visiting boyfriend-what a guy), Carly, Peter and I will cram into Pete's jeep and head up to Lake Taupo for some altitude. 15,000ft? 30,000? Not sure, don't really care. I just know I'm jumping out of a freakin plane yeahhhhh!


If I don't update for a while it's either due to my normal blogging patterns or a parachute malfunction.

: )

Life is what you make it!

I'm listening to Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra as I write this, and it's yet another reminder of the time I have left. I'll be playing this piece at the Chautauqua Institution this summer, where I'll be studying chamber music/orchestra/all things viola. I attended Chatuauqua in '07 and returned with improved tone and crazy about viola, so I'm really grateful and excited to be going back again.

But still, excited as I am, it only means I have to leave. 6 weeks. In 6 weeks I'll be trying to repack everything I've accumulated (never as easy the second time!), bawling my eyes out and getting on that plane. Not gonna lie- not a prospect I'm looking forward to. This trip has been both the best and worst thing that's happened to my college career. I've effectively decided to drop journalis and I'm not even sure about grad school immediately following college. I've discovered that life is what you make it, and I may want something more than the states can offer me. All over New Zealand I've befriended travellers, especially germans, who are on an international tour for a year, 6 months, 2 years... I always ask why, are they in between degrees or taking time off before getting a job? Most of them are in their late twenties, even thirties, far past school and have had jobs for a while. So many of them just took off because they realized there was more to life than the 9-5. "But what about your job?" I ask. They tell me it'll be there when they get back, it's a leave of absence, etc. It took me a while to wrap my head around this concept. Leaving your home country for the sole purpose of travel, with no business or scholastic intentions behind your journey? Then I realized, it's what we value. Kiwi culture is so much more relaxed than back home. It's noticeable even from a student's perspective: the workload (only 2-3 big assignments per semester), the class scheduling (no 8ams!)... stores close earlier, people even walk more slowly (This gets on my nerves, but I'm adjusting).
So yeah, I'm not sure I want to go home and pursue the undergrad-masters-hello orchestral auditions pathway. I'm now more sure than ever I want music in some form as my career, but where and what else I do first or in addition to it? Haven't the foggiest. And honestly, provided it gets me somewhere new, international or not, I'm fine with it!

Why do we get so caught up in the career track at a young age, only to resent it later, counting down till retirement? It's certainly not fulfillment, as Americans are certainly not happy with their jobs. I think it's just what we know, what we see and are used to. Escape from that bubble for a brief second and it scarily widens perspective. My European friends constantly berate me with the fact that only 4% of Americans hold passports. The US is so big it doesn't necessarily require going abroad. But we miss out on everything else: the cultures, the people, the different perspectives.

I'm sure I sound incredibly idealistic, spouting my new experiences and viewpoints all over blogspot. That's okay, though, because I've learned my life can be what I want it to be: I can leave the US, I can travel, I can continue to learn. At Hangdog campsite I met travellers who had been sustaining a lifestyle of travelling for over a year. Wooffing (working in exchange for food and shelter), maybe working if they had a work visa, cutting corners where they could-bar alcohol- and otherwise making their dream happen. While I know I wouldn't personally find it fulfulling for more than a few months, it happens all the time and it's certainly feasible.

Wow, this isn't where I intended this post going at all! I'm loving Wellington the more I get to know it. I love the busy harbor, eclectic Cuba St., business-y Lambton Quay... While I'm a little burned out on the nightlife, I'm developing a real taste for coffee, which is one of Wellington's signature claims to fame. I love the proximity to the South Island (just jump on a 3hr ferry), while still being able to explore the entire N. Island and nearby Wairarapa (wine region). I love funky Kelburn and even the hellishly steep Devon St., which I climb up every day for music classes at Vic. Uni., which is also growing on me. I love Elim International Church, which I've been attending and welcomed into. I love how I almost always run into someone I know when I'm out. I love the Sunday farmer's market where I can get all of my weekly fruits and veggies for under $10. I love going to Peter's rugby games on Saturdays, and getting familiar with the beloved sport. I love the proximity to beaches and nearby mountains- I definitely love Mt. Victoria, which I discovered a running pathway up to last weekend. I love the stylish downtown flats and the quieter townhomes a few streets over. Wellington has burrowed into my heart, and I would definitely want to live here at some point in my life. This place is one to watch out for on the global spectrum, especially with New Zealand coming into more of a destination spotlight.

All this is to say I have six weeks left to soak it all up. It's so hard, sometimes painful, to think about what and who I'm leaving, but all I can do is smile and be grateful for the incredible times I've had and what it's all taught me. This weekend? Skydiving in Taupo! haha living it up until the very end.

p.s. HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY, MOM!!
p.p.s. Lauren chopped off my hair last week, in a moment of shared spontaneity. It's shorter than it's been in years.
p.s once more: I made banana nut muffins AND a combined effort Eva-Lauren-lattice-crust apple pie last week. What in the world is getting into me??