Hello dear readers (and hopefully friends),

I’m currently sailing the seas between the North and South Islands! By that, I mean I’m aboard an enormous ship that is decidedly not like the Washington state ferry system. It turns out that if you are late here, you get a personal call from a ferry worker, which is very considerate.

Anyway, I’ve accomplished a lot in the first week of being here, though it also feels like very little since I haven’t embarked on any big outdoor adventures yet. More or less, this is what my to do list looked like:

• Frantically search Facebook marketplace for car (and bike and bike rack and skis)
• Meet said person to test/get the car (they went with a greeting hug — not sure how I feel about that)
• Get an overseas license (super excited to have a form of ID that doesn’t have a picture from when I was 15 with braces)
• Make friends with everyone at the DMV office (this happened by accident, but the lady literally gave me her personal contact info without me asking… thanks Malduka)
• Get car insurance (also from my besties at the DMV office)
• Get a phone plan
• Set up a bank account
• Buy a bike!!!!!!
• Figure out why no coffee shops here have Wi-Fi

I’m happy to report that almost all of those things have been completed! My mom says that is impressive, but really I think it is an easy way to know what to do every day.

Besides the logistics, I’ve also explored some truly awesome trails around Wellington, dipped in the ocean, visited a few bookstores, went to a climbing gym, camped somewhere off a gravel road, and continued to randomly message people on Facebook. How am I feeling, you might ask? Relieved to be a bit more settled but also eager to get going on some adventures, I might answer. 

No, but seriously, I have already had plentyyyy of time to think and reflect. So, here are some thoughts:

1.

I’m not lonely unless I’m around other people and actively thinking about how they are hanging out with each other. On Friday night at my hostel in Wellington, both of my roommates kindly commented on my staying in and watching tv in bed. Truthfully, I wanted to be in bed (I am my mother’s daughter)… and I also didn’t have anyone to go out with! I woke up the next morning feeling lonely for the first time since coming here.  But, after getting out of there, setting my stuff up, and leaving the city on my own, I felt so much better. I felt free and unbridled and giggly. That trend has continued. So, it’s really not the being alone that makes me feel lonely. Instead, it’s being around other people and constantly seeing how I could, or should, connect with them. The message, as always: comparison is the thief of joy. 

2.

It was pouring all of yesterday. Unfortunately, my lifestyle here is pretty weather dependent. So, I found myself sitting in a coffeshop, sipping a flat white, and itching against the feeling that I would waste the day away. For some reason, I feel so anxious about the thought of just killing time. I want each day to feel meaningful, not like a stopgap until the next one. As I discussed with my friend Lauren while walking on the PCT weeks ago, I came here with one goal that really has nothing to do with that experience of time-wasting.

You know that feeling where you wake up and think, “I really do not want to do today.” Then, you roll over and curl up in the covers for a little bit longer, until you really can’t hide anymore. Maybe that sounds a bit dark, and maybe I have that feeling a bit more than others, but I think almost everyone has felt that way at some point in time. Whether it’s racing from class to a meeting to a presentation to practice at Williams or hiking through the rain with shy kids at Overland, I’ve felt that dread towards the day far too many mornings in the past few years. It is tiring, and I don’t think it’s how life should or needs to be lived. So, in coming to NZ, my true goal was to not feel that way. Each day, I can wake up and decide to spend it how I like. If I’m dreading something or feel like I don’t want to get out of bed for it, then don’t. Stay for an extra day at a campsite and read. Buy myself a flat white (there’s a trend there). Do something else that makes me excited.

I hear how lucky that mindset is, and I do feel lucky to be able to live like this for a bit. And, I obviously think doing hard things is worth it too. But, this is my goal for now. So, when the rain poured down yesterday, in all honesty, I was killing time. Yeah, that made me feel a bit anxious. But, I can do whatever I want whenever I want. That’s what I was searching for!

3.

They should really make me take some kind of test or do some required reading before letting me loose on the roads here. Seems dangerous.

4.

Lots of coffeeshops everywhere. That’s awesome. No drip coffee. That’s less awesome.

Okay! Well, that seems like a good place to end. Time to eat some more of this banana bread because it’s fire, change my clothes, figure out where I’m sleeping tonight, try not to get seasick, and plan where to go ride my bike!

lol (lots of love),

Jaquelin