New Zealand
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 to help everyone efficiently, but it was extremely busy and I wasn't dying so I was a (very) low priority. Luckily, the doctor said that since I was so easy to treat (I just needed antibiotics) that they weren't gonna charge me anything. I also hadn't planned any place to sleep that night anyways, so the hospital was actually my best bet. I'll definitely plan a little bit farther ahead next time and not just assume that I'll find a place to stay when I land in a new country. Since I hadn't slept at all the night before, when I finally made my way to Auckland city and wandered into a hostel, I practically begged them to let me check in early so I could sleep. It involved a few tears and some guilt-tripping ("I don't think you heard me- I just spent the entire night in the hospital!") but eventually got a bed and slept the all day yesterday. But I'm sure the rest of my time in NZ will be wonderful (:
Today I wandered around Queen St. in Auckland and wrote up my first Quarterly Report for the Watson year, and it was difficult to summarize everything I'd experienced in the last 3 months in just 1,000 words. My time in New Zealand is going to be used learning about Māori culture and mental health. This weekend I'm going to visit the local museums and galleries, and planning how I'm going to explore the rest of the North Island next week. I'm then going to the South Island (flying in to Christchurch) on the 14th to meet with some organizations and people doing adventure therapy work.
I pulled my flannel out of my bag this morning and realized that it's fall in the States, my favorite season, and I'm going to miss it! I'd love to transport back to Clinton for a weekend and go to the cider mill, walk in the glen, drink Opus, see my friends, etc. But last night I had a nightmare that I did go back to the States on my way to another country or something and the Watson people found out and cut my year short. Scary! Everyone who has asked me why I'm traveling has been surprised at my answer, how I've received an awesome fellowship to just travel and explore and meet people and learn about stuff I care about. My uber driver the other day said something like, "people work their entire lives to be able to do something like what you're doing, this is going to completely change your life". And it's true. I'm struggling with balancing that feeling of complete freedom and wonder with feeling pressure (from myself) to be productive on my project, and to not waste a single moment of this incredible opportunity. I'm just trying to take this all as it comes.
Love to you all, thank you for supporting me on my journey!
-Andi
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 to help everyone efficiently, but it was extremely busy and I wasn't dying so I was a (very) low priority. Luckily, the doctor said that since I was so easy to treat (I just needed antibiotics) that they weren't gonna charge me anything. I also hadn't planned any place to sleep that night anyways, so the hospital was actually my best bet. I'll definitely plan a little bit farther ahead next time and not just assume that I'll find a place to stay when I land in a new country. Since I hadn't slept at all the night before, when I finally made my way to Auckland city and wandered into a hostel, I practically begged them to let me check in early so I could sleep. It involved a few tears and some guilt-tripping ("I don't think you heard me- I just spent the entire night in the hospital!") but eventually got a bed and slept the all day yesterday. But I'm sure the rest of my time in NZ will be wonderful (:
Today I wandered around Queen St. in Auckland and wrote up my first Quarterly Report for the Watson year, and it was difficult to summarize everything I'd experienced in the last 3 months in just 1,000 words. My time in New Zealand is going to be used learning about Māori culture and mental health. This weekend I'm going to visit the local museums and galleries, and planning how I'm going to explore the rest of the North Island next week. I'm then going to the South Island (flying in to Christchurch) on the 14th to meet with some organizations and people doing adventure therapy work.
I pulled my flannel out of my bag this morning and realized that it's fall in the States, my favorite season, and I'm going to miss it! I'd love to transport back to Clinton for a weekend and go to the cider mill, walk in the glen, drink Opus, see my friends, etc. But last night I had a nightmare that I did go back to the States on my way to another country or something and the Watson people found out and cut my year short. Scary! Everyone who has asked me why I'm traveling has been surprised at my answer, how I've received an awesome fellowship to just travel and explore and meet people and learn about stuff I care about. My uber driver the other day said something like, "people work their entire lives to be able to do something like what you're doing, this is going to completely change your life". And it's true. I'm struggling with balancing that feeling of complete freedom and wonder with feeling pressure (from myself) to be productive on my project, and to not waste a single moment of this incredible opportunity. I'm just trying to take this all as it comes.
Love to you all, thank you for supporting me on my journey!
-Andi
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