Buenos Aires

I'm in Buenos Aires now (flew in yesterday) and finally getting over my jet lag. It took a little time (and copious amounts of sleep) but I'll be off and running and ready to see the city tomorrow.

The North Island of New Zealand was AMAZING. I stayed with Holly, a friend of my sister's who lives in Auckland and she was wicked to hang out with. She took me to Bethells Beach which is an amazing black sand beach about 20 minutes from her house that gave me one of the greatest sunsets I've seen on my trip thus far (Africa was also a land of fabulous sunsets). I went zorbing and black water rafting in a glow worm cave (basically floating in a rubber inner tube down a serene river in a cave) on the North Island and basically just re-charged my batteries and got ready for South America. I should be off to Patagonia in a few days and I'm exhilirated and also a bit scared. My Spanish is coming back a bit (I talked to a Chileno at one point and had no idea where I was pulling my words out of but we understood each other, so that's good from a Spanish-speaking viewpoint).

I am excited to be almost home though. Less than 2 months and I'll get to see my family (I'm really excited about seeing my dog because she can't talk to me over the phone so I miss her terribly). A little over 2 months and I'll be in Columbia visiting quite a few of my friends (April 7th to 14th, so mark your calendar, Mai) before beginning my yoga teacher training in San Fran the week after. I'll also know where I'm going to law school at that point so that'll be nice to have set up. I'm ready to live it up in South America and then get myself home!

New Zealand (South Island)

I'm in New Zealand now, steadily working my way up to the North Island. I went skydiving (again) yesterday and have done 3 bungy jumps over the past 2 days as well. In Australia, Melbourne was a fantastic city and I got to meet up with friends from my time in Greece and Africa. I stayed in a really beachy neighborhood, which was glorious to relax in. I also bought a few new clothes and some cute jewelry to make me feel like less of a hobo backpacker.

In Sydney I stayed with one of my friends from Africa (Katy) which was GLORIOUS. She has a really nice family and they were willing to put me up for the week and have me at their bbqs and just in their lives. I got to see the Opera House, Harbor Bridge, and visit the zoo and aquarium with massive discounts. It was wicked to hang out with a family and have some normalcy in my really hectic life. I can't wait to see my family and friends in 2 1/2 months. It'll be great to see everyone. I have yoga teacher training when I get back too, but to see people for the first time in a while will probably be the best bit.

South America is looming so I'm starting to freak out a little bit. It might be time to practice my Spanish a little more.

Also, Mai, going to Santorini? That's going to be AWESOME. You go, girl!

Australia

Ok, so I'm in Australia now (Melbourne to be precise). I just finished diving the Great Barrier Reef, which was FANTASTIC! I really want to watch Finding Nemo again now because I saw so many fish from that movie (and sharks and sea turtles, which was awesome). Also, my debit card problems will hopefully be cleared up soon, so I'm excited for that. Visa has given me provisional credit now so I'm solid footing in paying for the rest of my trip and I should have a new debit card waiting for me when I get to Sydney, so yay! I've just uploaded some photos from Africa onto my facebook and hopefully I can put some on here soon.

Also, on the good news front, my friend Laura might come backpacking around South America with me, so I'm excited. I'll be calling her tomorrow and hopefully it works out.