Authentic Living: Land of the Hobbits and Penguins

Last week was spring break, which seems so weird to say, considering it's October and to me, October is not spring. It was such a wonderful and magical time! I traveled to Auckland, New Zealand and Melbourne in Australia with Paige and Oksana and we had a blast! It is so surreal to me that I have now lived for over three months in Australia and I have also traveled to New Zealand! New Zealand was so beautiful and I could not get over how green and lush everything was! We had an encounter with a herd of cows, I tried to climb up a rock and fell on my back, we got to experience Waitomo glowworm caves, and a natural hot springs stream. The glowworm caves were so amazing. We got to walk around in this really cool cave before getting on a small boat and drifting along a river inside the cave, gazing up at the caves walls and ceiling that was covered with glowworms. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the cave, which was sad, however we got some pictures just outside the cave, by the river. The natural hot springs/stream was equally cool. We donned our bathing suits and hopped in for a nice warm soak. It was like natures spa!

Melbourne was equally beautiful although quite different. The city is glorious and grand. We got to go to St. Kilda beach, which was beautiful, enjoyed a gorgeous sunset, and got to walk onto the pier where there were penguins! They were so freaking cute! I have decided I need one. Also, had no idea until we were there that Australia even had penguins. Apparently they are the smallest of the penguin species.

The greatest adventure while on break was simply driving a rental car...it is an odd experience driving a car on the left side of the road. Once I got the hang of it, it was rather simple, at least in New Zealand. However, in Melbourne, where it is a much bigger city, it was a bit stressful and difficult and nerve wracking. The traffic laws are bizarre (you use the left lane to turn right....like, who does that?!) and the drivers in Melbourne are rather aggressive and down right rude. However, we all survived my driving and nobody died, so I call that a success!

As magical and wonderful as Spring Break was, I feel like I need a vacation from my vacation. I am thoroughly worn out from all the traveling and sight seeing that we did in both Auckland and Melbourne. I also am extremely ready to go home. Something about spring break drove home to me how ready I am to return to my family back home. Maybe it's because I'm not used to vacations that don't include my family. Maybe it's because I have so much to tell them about and share with them. Maybe it's because the break was so wonderful and it made me want to return home so I can tell them all about it. Or maybe it's just because it's been three months since I have been able to hug them. Either way, during the break I couldn't stop thinking about how, when the break ended, I wanted to be able to fly home, rather than return back to school for another month. But that is a tale for another blog post.