ASH CLOUDSo my last day in Wellington is coming to a close. But so much is going on I can barely focus on the fact that I'm leaving!
The ash cloud from the volcano in Chile has been messing up flights in New Zealand and Australia all week. Some airlines haven't had one flight come in or out at all. Virgin Airlines was looking fine up until they gave me a call today.
Instead of my flight looking like this:
Departure at 7:00am Friday the 17th
Wellington, NZ --to-- Brisbane, AU --to-- Los Angeles, CA --to-- New York, NY
Arrival at 7:00pm Friday the 17th
Get the shuttle to Hartford at 8:30pm
Get picked up in Hartford like 3 hours later by parents and pup and brought home.
It will instead look like this:
Departure at 4:00pm Friday the 17th
Wellington, NZ --to-- Sydney, AU
Stay in a hotel in Sydney for the night
Departure at 10:20am Saturday the 18th
Sydney, AU --to-- Los Angeles, CA
8 hour and 15 minute layover
Los Angeles, CA --to-- New York, NY
Arrival at 11:45pm on Saturday the 18th
No shuttles that late so I'm getting picked up by Brendan in NYC.
I am trying not to be bummed about this, and for the most part, I'm not. I get to stay in Australia and explore it a little (for free) which is sweet, and I've also never stayed in a hotel all by myself before so that's kind of fun. I'll have a big bed and a TV. I am pretty bummed that I don't get to experience like 40 straight hours of the same day. I would have left here at 7am on Friday and arrived home at 7pm the same day, after traveling for like 36 hours. I was actually pretty excited for that. I'm also kind of annoyed that I can't just get home and I have to drag out this big long trip for another whole day. It's kind of tough on the mental state. But I'm seeing the silver lining. I get to see my friend Nick who's studying abroad in Sydney, too. Which is wild. We're gonna meet up at the Opera House. One minute I thought I was going home to America, the next I'm meeting Nick at the Sydney Opera House at 8. This is my life.
So yes. Today was my last day and it was just a blur since I was all caught up in this flight stuff. I ate breakfast at Wholey Bagels next door, and then spent some time on campus finishing up my portfolio, getting it bound, and handing it in. It looks so professional! I spent a little time after that walking around town with Alexis as she shopped. It was a really nice day out. Came home around 4:00 and that's when the whirlwind began. We made our last trip to Burger Fuel for dinner in which I FEASTED on a huge burger, fries, AND a shake. Yumyumyum I'll miss you Burger Fuel. After that Alexis and I walked off some of the calories by the harbor and sat and admired the nighttime views.
I am going to miss so much about New Zealand it's unreal. Sophie asked me what I'm going to miss the most and I said she was going to think I was crazy but I think it would be the hills. The hills make everywhere have a magnificent view. A lot of houses in Wellington are basically made of windows because of this. It'd be a crime to live in a house with a wall blocking a Wellington view. There is a house by Oriental bay that has entire walls made of glass so you can see straight into their living room.
I'm also going to miss the harbor, the fact that it's a 10 minute walk away. I'll miss my spot at Oriental Bay. I'll probably miss walking through Parliament to get my groceries, even though I sometimes think it's a hassle when it needs to be done. Obviously I'll miss all my friends. I'll miss the big, square, yellow buses that are not intimidating to ride on. I'll miss the accents. As much as I complain about it, I'll miss the Stafford house. I'll miss the heck out of the Botanic Gardens and the fact that I can catch the cable car right up to them whenever I want. I'll miss being able to walk to any place I need to go, including rugby games and movies. I'll miss Verve cafe. The clear water, the mountains, the trees, the good air. I'll miss being a foreigner. I'll miss Courtenay Place and Cuba Street and Lambton Quay. I'll miss Tim Tams and pineapple lumps and peanut slabs. I won't even realize half the things I'll miss until I get home.
But now I don't feel like I'm going home. I'm distracted. I'm going to Australia, not home.
I can't believe this day is here. I really can't. It hasn't hit me. It's not going to hit me until I'm gone. Or at least in the taxi to the airport. Oh my god :(
The ash cloud from the volcano in Chile has been messing up flights in New Zealand and Australia all week. Some airlines haven't had one flight come in or out at all. Virgin Airlines was looking fine up until they gave me a call today.
Instead of my flight looking like this:
Departure at 7:00am Friday the 17th
Wellington, NZ --to-- Brisbane, AU --to-- Los Angeles, CA --to-- New York, NY
Arrival at 7:00pm Friday the 17th
Get the shuttle to Hartford at 8:30pm
Get picked up in Hartford like 3 hours later by parents and pup and brought home.
It will instead look like this:
Departure at 4:00pm Friday the 17th
Wellington, NZ --to-- Sydney, AU
Stay in a hotel in Sydney for the night
Departure at 10:20am Saturday the 18th
Sydney, AU --to-- Los Angeles, CA
8 hour and 15 minute layover
Los Angeles, CA --to-- New York, NY
Arrival at 11:45pm on Saturday the 18th
No shuttles that late so I'm getting picked up by Brendan in NYC.
I am trying not to be bummed about this, and for the most part, I'm not. I get to stay in Australia and explore it a little (for free) which is sweet, and I've also never stayed in a hotel all by myself before so that's kind of fun. I'll have a big bed and a TV. I am pretty bummed that I don't get to experience like 40 straight hours of the same day. I would have left here at 7am on Friday and arrived home at 7pm the same day, after traveling for like 36 hours. I was actually pretty excited for that. I'm also kind of annoyed that I can't just get home and I have to drag out this big long trip for another whole day. It's kind of tough on the mental state. But I'm seeing the silver lining. I get to see my friend Nick who's studying abroad in Sydney, too. Which is wild. We're gonna meet up at the Opera House. One minute I thought I was going home to America, the next I'm meeting Nick at the Sydney Opera House at 8. This is my life.
So yes. Today was my last day and it was just a blur since I was all caught up in this flight stuff. I ate breakfast at Wholey Bagels next door, and then spent some time on campus finishing up my portfolio, getting it bound, and handing it in. It looks so professional! I spent a little time after that walking around town with Alexis as she shopped. It was a really nice day out. Came home around 4:00 and that's when the whirlwind began. We made our last trip to Burger Fuel for dinner in which I FEASTED on a huge burger, fries, AND a shake. Yumyumyum I'll miss you Burger Fuel. After that Alexis and I walked off some of the calories by the harbor and sat and admired the nighttime views.
I am going to miss so much about New Zealand it's unreal. Sophie asked me what I'm going to miss the most and I said she was going to think I was crazy but I think it would be the hills. The hills make everywhere have a magnificent view. A lot of houses in Wellington are basically made of windows because of this. It'd be a crime to live in a house with a wall blocking a Wellington view. There is a house by Oriental bay that has entire walls made of glass so you can see straight into their living room.
I'm also going to miss the harbor, the fact that it's a 10 minute walk away. I'll miss my spot at Oriental Bay. I'll probably miss walking through Parliament to get my groceries, even though I sometimes think it's a hassle when it needs to be done. Obviously I'll miss all my friends. I'll miss the big, square, yellow buses that are not intimidating to ride on. I'll miss the accents. As much as I complain about it, I'll miss the Stafford house. I'll miss the heck out of the Botanic Gardens and the fact that I can catch the cable car right up to them whenever I want. I'll miss being able to walk to any place I need to go, including rugby games and movies. I'll miss Verve cafe. The clear water, the mountains, the trees, the good air. I'll miss being a foreigner. I'll miss Courtenay Place and Cuba Street and Lambton Quay. I'll miss Tim Tams and pineapple lumps and peanut slabs. I won't even realize half the things I'll miss until I get home.
But now I don't feel like I'm going home. I'm distracted. I'm going to Australia, not home.
I can't believe this day is here. I really can't. It hasn't hit me. It's not going to hit me until I'm gone. Or at least in the taxi to the airport. Oh my god :(
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