I have been back in the states for about two and a half months and, at the risk of being far too punctual, I have decided its time to finish the blog. I would like to say that I have been too busy to write the final post but lets be honest, with the exception of the last three weeks, I haven’t been in school for three months. Better late than never though right? 

I arrived back in Wellington from Beijing with about a week and a half left of my time in New Zealand. Aside from an unscheduled flight to Christchurch due to bad weather, travel went smoothly. It was great to be able to spend my last week in New Zealand saying goodbye and checking the last few things off my NZ bucket list. On a whim at one in the morning, a friend and I bought bus tickets to National city for one final road trip, complete of course, with hostels and hiking. We spent the weekend hiking what is largely described as the “best day trek” in New Zealand, the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. Mt. Tongariro is better known in the states as Mordor, or Orodruin, the volcano from the Lord of the Rings movies. The trek is 20 kilometers in length and is hiked in one direction over the course of an afternoon. This trip marked the first planned backpacking adventure in which the weather did not decided that rain was the best option for hiking. While this messed up a pretty serious streak of bad weather, I decided it was one tradition I was willing to break. The hike was unbelievably gorgeous. We walked through several different terrains throughout the day ranging from phenomenal views of the valley to thermal pools and volcanic craters. We stopped for lunch next to a dark turquoise sulfuric pool and enjoyed lounging in the sun before continuing our walk. Climbing down the side of the mountain/volcano was more like an exercise in stylish falling than anything that resembled walking.  Luckily, I have gained a substantial amount of experience falling during the course of my time in New Zealand and made it safely down. The next fifteen minutes were dedicated to watching others attempt to do the same before continuing on. 

We were picked up at the other end of the track by a bus and taken back to our hostel. A well deserved nap and delicious pasta dinner followed. We treated ourselves to some prepackaged, frozen strawberry tarts only to discover once returning from the store that its was just frozen pastry crust. This proved to be far more devastating than rationally acceptable but we made due and turned the dough into makeshift scones for breakfast the next morning. The drive back home was gorgeous, even after four and a half months of living there, I am still astounded by the beauty of New Zealand. 

My last few days in New Zealand consisted in a final couple of walks in the botanical gardens with friends, picnics on the pier, swimming with friends I am so grateful to have made, and of course, time at the farmers market. On our final night, the girls I went on spring break with and I headed up to the gardens that overlook the city to watch the sun set from the top of Wellington’s trippy tree. We shared our favorite dessert, biscuits and frosting, while laughing hysterically at absolutely nothing. Some things don't change. One would think that this would be the perfect way to say goodbye, however, we had other ideas/aren’t too great with goodbyes. We woke up before the sun to climb mount victoria and watch it rise. Corny as it sounds, it was fun to see the final sunrise and sunset before leaving the country.  To say we saw the sunrise may be a bit of an overstatement though.  The weather, as cooperative as it had been three days prior decided to revert to its old ways, so we climbed to the top in the rain and watched as the black sky turned to grey clouds, complete with typical Wellington hurricane force winds. Walking along the beach on the way back, we spotted a a stingray close to shore. We looked closer an realized they were everywhere, creeping up so close to the beach it appeared they would be stranded in the sand. Confused, we wondered if they maybe sleep near the shore and retreated to deeper waters in the mornings. A couple of women running in wetsuits down the pier answered our questions. Apparently an orca’s favorite food is stingrays (who knew!) and a pod of the whales had just arrived in the bay. We had heard that they occasionally came into Wellington harbor but had yet to see them; a final morning viewing was quite the treat. 

Back at my room, I finished packing and cleaning and checked out of my apartment. A traditional English breakfast cooked by a friend and one last walk to the bus stop concluded my morning. The next 14 hours were a mix of excitement to be heading home and such sadness to be leaving New Zealand and all the friends and memories I had made there.  I flew home with one of my best friends so we were able to delay goodbyes for another half day, but our goodbye to Kaitlin and company at the bus stop had its fair share of tears. Fear not though, the twenty elderly woman on a group field trip to the movie theatre comforted us as they exited the bus. Our flight was uneventful, exactly what you want when flying the length of the Pacific Ocean, and I landed at the Sacramento airport to my very favorite welcoming party.

     The next two months were a whirlwind of hellos and goodbyes. A week in Chico, family time in San Diego, a week or two in Wooster swimming with my team, back to California for Christmas with my family, training trip in Florida and one final (until next year at least) 24 hour bus ride brought me back to Wooster. Having spent a maximum of two weeks in any one place for the last three and a half months has given me a whole new appreciation for the significance of the third week of school. My suitcase is fully unpacked, the only traveling I have planned is a bus trip to swimming conference in two weeks, and I’m not-so-secretly loving being back in classes.  I am so grateful for the adventures I was able to have this last semester, to learn so much about the world and about myself and to spend so much time out of my comfort zone I'm not even certain I have one anymore.  

I cannot wait to see what come next.   

Home! 

With family

Game night

Back with my team 

Totally and completely normal

Love them so much