The other side of the world...

...is where you can find me. I arrived yesterday in Wellington, New Zealand where I plan to live for the next 12 months! Just before I left I had many people ask how I was feeling about my upcoming trip...my response each time was "Very excited, ready to go, not really nervous at all." It's true, I was all packed and ready for a new, beautiful adventure...I didn't have a stitch of hesitation about going and I really was not nervous about anything (except the possibility of my luggage getting lost in the mix and not making it all the way, thankfully it did make it and I was spared having to walk across that bridge!) My flight(s) over were pretty uneventful...all of them were on time, smooth, and went by relatively quickly. Even the long 12.5 hour stretch across the pacific zipped by with a couple of movies, some halfway decent rest, and two excellent meals (seriously, they were better than what I've had in some restaurants!) I sat next to a young girl from Switzerland on this flight who is on the final leg of a 5 month "trip around the World" ticket! Then at the airport, I met an older couple from NZ who just spent a month traveling in the US/Canada & offered for me to stay with them and get SCUBA certified when I get a chance this summer. I also met a girl from Tahoe spending a month in NZ for a snowboarding competition. I love meeting new people!!

A friend I made through a connection in Nashville gladly opened up their house to me for the first week or so as I get my feet on the ground here. He met me at the airport, loaded my luggage into the car and off we went, on the wrong side of the road, to the house. We talked a bit, then I took a shower and crashed around 6:00 pm.

I woke up at a just past 5:00 am this morning to my first real day in NZ. I am so grateful to be here and have such a unique opportunity to stay for an extended amount of time in another part of the world. I want to get as much as I possibly can out of the next year not only in learning and experiencing a new country and culture, but in personal growth as well. In my relationship with God - making it stronger and closer, in my creative passions - I want to write more and continue climbing upward with photography, and in my heart of hearts - I want to be honest with myself about the things in my life that are the most important, cling to them & pray that God will lay down a path for me that includes these things. I would be lying of I said I wasn't missing my family and friends back home already, because I really, really do...but I know you are all there cheering me on and have truly made this possible with your endless amount of support, encouragement, and love.

I'll end this post with one of my favorite quotes, it's one that a patient of mine from Dr. Wells' office in Nashville sent to me after hearing about my trip. I hope you find inspiration from it as I do.

"If I were to wish for anything I should not wish for wealth and

power, but for the passionate sense of what can be, for the eye, which, ever

young and ardent, sees the possible. Pleasure disappoints, possibility

never. And what wine is so sparkling, what so fragrant, what so

intoxicating as POSSIBILITY?" - Soren Kierkegaard (unknown year)

Love to you all,

Rachel