My List Keeps Growing.

Since I am still not in New Zealand, I obviously don't have much to post on here. I am, however, constantly thinking about my time abroad and planning what I want to accomplish overseas. I had an assignment in a class last semester to create a "Bucket List:" a list of tasks you want to accomplish before you die. There is a good chance I may be able to cross some things off my list within the next 6 months, and a greater chance that I will add to it. But for now, here are 30 things I want to accomplish before I die:

1. Become a talented, experienced knitter.

2. Own my own dog

3. Go backpacking through Europe

4.  Own a manual shift red Jeep Wrangler

5. Stay in the ice hotel  

6. Learn to sail

7. Bungee jump

8. Hike the entire Appalachian Trail

9. Get a tattoo and never regret it

10. Live in a big city

11. Own a house with dormer windows and a balcony

12. Learn to blow glass jewelry 

13. Own an antique typewriter

14. Consistently keep a journal for at least one year

15. Attend a large music festival

16. Improve my snowboarding skills to the point where I feel completely competent (...to the shred the gnar)

17. Have kids

18. Live by myself with no roommates

19. See Van Gogh’s original “Starry Night” in the museum of modern art in New York City

20. Send a postcard to PostSecret

21. Have my own blog that people actually read

22. Go on a blind date 

23. Ride in a hot air balloon 

24. Learn to sew and own my own sewing machine

25. Go fishing, catch a fish, cook it over a fire and eat it 

26. Spend New Years Eve in Times Square 

27. Paint a mural

28. Fly first class

29. Eat sushi in Japan

30. Donate my hair to Locks-of-Love

No turning back.

My flight is officially booked. I will be leaving Washington D.C. at 2:54 p.m. on July 5th, flying about five hours to L.A. where I will meet up with about 15 other students going to schools all across New Zealand. We will all get on our 20+ hour flight at 10:30 p.m. on July 5th and arrive in Auckland at 6:25 a.m. on July 7th. I'll be flying for about two days of my life, but this concept will be great when I gain two days on my flight back to the U.S. in December.

Through Australearn and Facebook, I have met two people who will also be in Auckland with me! Lauren is a senior at Arizona and will be studying at a nearby school in Auckland. She is also going to Bonnaroo in June so if I end up going we could potentially meet up. Justin is a junior at Washington State. He will be at AUT with me and is also staying in the Wellesley Apatments. He seems to be very interested in backpacking and travel, so I think we will get along very well.

51 days left in America and my excitement to leave grows more each day!

The First.

I want to leave right now. I feel as if there is no better time for me to head to New Zealand than right this very moment. But since I can't go, I guess starting this blog will get my head there even when the rest of me is not.

So the plan is to leave for Auckland, New Zealand to study at AUT University on July 5th. I will have my own room in the university's Wellesley Apartments where I will share a kitchen, common area and bathroom with four other girls. The apartments are supposedly a three minute walk to campus (uphill, but Boone has definitely prepared me for that and it will probably make me feel more at home). I will take 4 classes: Photography, Maori Studies and 2 Journalism courses. The Maori course is what I am looking forward to the most, a requirement for passing is spending a long weekend with a traditional Maori tribe which will most likely be an amazing experience.

I have been constantly reading anything I can get my hands on about New Zealand. My most recent obsession is a travel guide that was a birthday gift from my parents. Here are a few of my favorite things I have learned from it:

Page 6: "A country unspoiled by industrial excess or overpopulation,

it is a land that was made for physical adventure, and few other places in the world are as geared as New Zealand to participating in its environment in every imaginable way.

After all, this is the nation that gave the world, among other things, bungy jumping."

Page 123: "The New Zealand dollar...[is] below the the value

of the American and Australian dollars,

making shopping in New Zealand

good value for visitors from abroad."

Page 126: "Both English and Maori are official languages."

Useful Maori Phrases:

Kia Ora! - Hello!

Kei te pehea koe - How are you?

Aue! - Alas!