Bigger than small, but smaller than big. Waves: a Surfing tale.

I had my first surfing lesson earlier this week! When I was young we'd spend summer days at the local "Wave Pool"....woooo! Besides lakes, this is the closest thing us landlocked folk have to the sea. Well, here in New Zealand the sea is almost always in one half of your view. The kiwi's enjoy life on a tiny little green gem perched in the middle of the big blue. It's grand, really. Surfing is a way of life around here.

Being that I have just over a month left here, I've naturally stressed a little bit over a few things I haven't yet done but definitely want to before I take off. Surfing is one of these things. I mentioned this to my nice friend Ben & he kindly offered to take me out one morning. We drove to a local surf beach called Titahi Bay, suited up, and headed in. I was a wee bit nervous right off the bat, but after the first test ride it was all fun. I loved it and only wish I would have started earlier! Oh, and it's winter here, so the already cold water is supposed to be extra cold at this time of the year. In all honesty, it didn't feel cold to me at all. Must've been a pretty cozy warm wetsuit!

Things to do... 1. Surf NZ. Check.

My instructor, Ben.

I almost got up a few times, but attribute sore arms from the gym as my biggest hurdle. It was hard to be quick!

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 weeks. 8!

That's all. Eight weeks is all I have left in lovely, beautiful, hilly, wet, caffeinated, wonderful Wellington, New Zealand.

It's begun...the scramble of events leading up to the harsh reality of actually having to say goodbye to a place and people who've come to mean so much. AND the sweet reality that on the other side of my journey lies home & my family who I miss a lot. How is it even possible to dread and look forward to the same moment? Hmmm.

The next couple of months hold lots of to-do's, wrap-ups, & miscellaneous tid-bits.

I am of the sentimental sort so I tend to be the person who wants to leave having given each person I've met a personalized little something or other; card, photo, etc. I am also of the creative sort so it needs to be...you know, creative. Lastly, I'm of the "I'll probably have overweight luggage and need to pay the fee" sort so my sentimental creativity needs to be costly cheap, not cheaply cheap. I'm happy to announce...no stress here. I have an idea and it's halfway done. Yes. Check.

Back up a bit...luggage. This is my biggest stress at the moment. My bags were overweight when I arrived and I got away with it, crazily. They were even maxed out overweight. Honest to goodness I did not bring that much stuff!! To LIVE in another place on the other side of the world and only bring 2 suitcases, a guitar and 1 carry-on. I should get a medal. And airlines should get real. Regardless, I have to downsize. The madness.

Travel. I head over to Melbourne, Australia on July 21st for about a week & then spend my final week and a half in Wellington before road-tripping it up to Auckland where my flight to LA departs from. I'll then stay in LA visiting friends for a week {and where my sister is meeting me!}, then finally to Minneapolis. Oh, I have a layover in Tahiti. Tahiti!! Anyone else get red mustaches from those syrupy sweet tahitian treat drinks as youngsters? I sure did. We're there only for a wee bit, but long enough for a drink in their open air-airport. Ahhh...

I'm also teaching an after school photography program for high school students during these final 2 months as well. We've met twice now and it's been great. The kids are cool and the challenge is needed.

Oh, and I have lots of coffee to drink before I'm nowhere near a flat white of any sort, photos to take, places yet to see, people to spend time with, 3 little boys to cuddle lots before I'll leave and they'll grow up fast, and a wedding I'm very much looking forward to...Stu and Fritha-my cool employers.

That's me for now.

Love,

Rach

Seasonal Associations & Favo(u)rite Things...

The earth has revolved around the sun per usual and as June approaches so does winter here in New Zealand. With the ringing in of the season, jackets, hats, layers, hot drinks, I am ready for Christmas. 'Tis the season to be jolly' comes hand in hand with winter, it's a seasonal association. It seems a bit anti-climactic to have such cold weather with no holiday cheer to warm our hearts and help us forget that we can't feel our toes. But just as I was in December when BBQ's and flip flops were in full swing, I am reminded that the world is much, much bigger than just how I've known and experienced it. A simple swap of seasons has opened my eyes to the fact that normal to one is not always to another.

Cheers to that.

I have compiled a little list with photos of some of my favorite things here in Wellington & it goes a little something like this...

Feijoa's.

Delicious. Feijoa trees bear a seemingly endless supply of these things when they're in season. Just cut them in half and scoop out the middle.

Frankie, Ted & Sonny.

The 3 wee fella's I hang out with a few days each week. They are beautiful little guys.

Flat White's.

To stay. Or, to take away.

Roti Chenai.

'Nuff said.

Cuba Street.

Has it all, including my favorite cafe's and people watching benches.

Public Transportation.

I've actually loved my car free year. Trading a car for the bus, less convenient? Slightly. Less stress? Ummm, YES! All I have to do is sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride while the driver battles traffic and getting through town. My biggest stress is deciding what to listen to on my ipod.

The Novelist.

A Wellington band that happens to be made up of 4 friends. Tim, Matt, Travis & Rene. Check them out at www.myspace.com/thenovelist.

The sky.

More often than not it's beyond amazing, especially if you catch it at sunrise or sunset.

Unreal.

Gigs.

Always interesting.

Always fun.

Bushwalks.

City, sea, bush...all within an arms reach.

There are many more favorites, but these will do for now!

Love, Rachel

Coffee? Yes, Please.

Growing up I never understood why my mother loved coffee so much. It looked, smelled and tasted not so great to me, yet she almost always had a cup in hand. Even up until last year I wasn't really into it. I'd get it when someone would do a Starbucks run at work, but I wasn't at all a daily devotee of the liquid poison.

Shortly after arriving in Wellington I realized that I truly am my mothers child. Wellington is THE place when it comes to perfectly roasted, perfectly ground, perfectly pressed, perfectly frothed, perfectly made coffee. They are serious about their coffee & it's amazing. I've crossed the line & now feel a bit off when I don't get my cup. I'm a grown up. I'm the grown up I looked at when I was a kid and wondered why or how they could drink so much of that no good stuff. Funny.

Not only is the coffee here quite grand, but the cafe's are also very much a staple to the culture in this city. Cafe's are to Wellington what Pizza spots are to Chicago. You don't go to Chicago and not get a famous slice of chicago style pizza. Just the same, you wouldn't come to Wellington and not indulge in the coffee. Unlike back home where there's a Starbucks nearly every 10 steps...there are only 3 (that I know of or have seen) in this entire city. They just aren't up to par and I'm pretty sure that most of their customers are school kids getting Frapp's and tourists who don't know any better.

The menu's are simple...notice in one of the shots below a list of most popular coffee's. Flat White's are my favorite. Sometimes they come in glasses, and sometimes in bowls (for the American visitors...ha). But the standard is just a regular little mug with a moderate portion. Just right. They also roast most of their coffee beans right in the city and a lot of the cafe's are fair trade friendly. Major plus.

I've started my coffee addiction at the top and I think I may have, by default, become a bit of a coffee snob. In a nice way, of course.

Love,

Rach

Saw this in the bathroom at one of my fave

cafe's. I just love it so I wanted to share...

Road Trip!

Two of my cool kiwi friends & decided to take a wee road trip a few weekends ago. It was fun to say the least & unforgettable to say the most. I'm sure this has come across in previous posts, but Wellington is (in my opinion based on my short time & travels here...) in it's own little bubble. It's just different than any other place in New Zealand. The weather is different, the culture is different, the layout is different, it's different. I love it and in fact every time I leave to do a bit of traveling I miss it. But unlike anywhere in the States, in New Zealand you can drive a few short hours in one direction or another and literally be in a completely different climate. This makes getting away for a few days all the more fun. So...one of my flatmates, Abi, grew up in a small-ish town about 5 hours drive Northwest of Wellington called New Plymouth which is part of a region known as Taranaki. Abi, our friend Emma and I decided to take a trip up to hang on the beach & pay a visit to Abi's cool Nana. In the 'Naki' as they say, you'll find the Surf Highway which is just that, miles of black sand beaches with some of the best surf in NZ. There is also a lone Mountain called Mt. Taranaki that can easily be summitted and back in a day. The weather was amazingly warm and there wasn't a sun-less day. The whole weekend was just plain fun. One night we decided to overindulge on many levels and hit up a schnazzy 'All You Can Eat' Buffet. Not such a novelty in America, but here it kind of is. We definitely went in hungry, definitely spent over 2 hours there, definitely got our money's worth, and definitely didn't regret it. Well, Emma might've a wee bit. Abi showed us all of the good spots around town, including an amazing park where they did some of the filming for 'The Last Samurai' and it also hosts big outdoor concerts during the summer (the photos of the bridge & flower were taken there...). Nana proved to be great company and a lovely host as well.

I loved New Plymouth and of all the places I've been this definitely ranks high on my list of favorites.

Love Love Love,

Rachel