Andi's Adventures

Hello friends, I spent a week and a half on the North Island of New Zealand- traveling to Rotorua and exploring the thermal pools and redwood forest, visiting a Māori village, wine tastings at various vineyards and hitchhiking on Waiheke Island, forest bathing in the Auckland Domain Park and visiting the art gallery. I really enjoyed my time on the North Island when I wasn't in Auckland- the grey city life just isn't for me. After traveling to many cities so far this year, I've come to realize that every city is basically the same no matter where you are. There are often great parks, restaurants, museums, etc. and I'm sure that when you live in a certain city the uniqueness of your own city emerges and is more important to daily life than when you're simply visiting. It's nice to have people to connect with in certain cities because then it seems a bit more personal than visiting it by yourself. But most of my traveling is solo so when I do get to spend time e...

Howdy folks, Yesterday I bade farewell to Australia. My last 3 weeks there involved returning to Mullum for the HNAT reunion, visiting the Blue Mountains to hike and interview people, and then spending time in Sydney. I can't believe 1/4 of my year is finished. Australia was amazing, I loved it there and I love all the people and places I came to know. You bet I'll be back! My time in NZ was off to a rocky start, because as soon as I got off the plane I realized I was quite ill and needed to get treatment but it was like 10 pm and so nothing but a hospital would be open. After crying to a poor bus station attendant, I got to ride in a police car to a hospital about 20 minutes away. Then I hung out in the emergency room for the entire night and was finally seen by a doctor at about 6 am. It was not fun, especially when I had my huge backpack with me and had to lug it around the hospital amid lots of weird looks. The doctors and nurses were very kind and were doing their best...