February 1

Chantal spent approximately six hours in aisle 7 searching for a conditioner.  I left her to be by herself so she could make a decision.  I came back to her and she says to me with a serious face “something terrible has just happened.” Of course I was a concerned but was instantly relieved with laughter when she told me that as she was smelling the conditioner, the conditioner squirted up her nose and parts of it landed on her glasses, all of which I could see was true. She was not lying- there was conditioner leftover on the bottom of her nostrils and on the rims of her glasses.  I think she even had some in her hair.

The moral of the story is to never leave Chantal alone when she wants a new conditioner.

February 3

Enjoying my new pair of Jambi socks Tiffy, Ted, Brenyn, and Finley sent me!

February 4

Another epic (rare vocab usage here for emphasis) rainbow (double rainbow actually) outside our kitchen window.  No freaking filter either.  The colors!  Bam!

February 5

(February 4 in MN)… This was the Superbowl for me this year!  Not quite the same.

February 7

Just some girls hanging out at the park!

February 11

Chantal’s last day at the Moana house.  This girl is one-of-a-kind so of course I was sad to see her leave….  BUT I know I’m going to see her in Switzerland and I cannot wait!

February 13

Kristie and I had the opportunity to go to Milford Sound on a moody day aaaaand I loved it!  I’m happy to have experienced a misty, cloudy Milford as it offered some dramatic scenery and  b-e-a-u-ti-ful waterfalls.  Some of the pictures look like they are in black and white, but really, there was just lack of color.

This was the first outing I was to take with Kristie and I was looking forward to it.  Kristie is a smart, laid-back Kiwi with a subtle sense of humor that I thoroughly enjoy.  She doesn’t try to be funny, she just says the best lines at the best times.  Milford provided the scenery and Kristie provided the commentary.

 

February 21

Marie and I set up one last weekend to hang before she was to head back to Germany. We chose to meet in a party town, Queenstown. On a whim, we purchased a wine tour in Gibbston Valley which is a half hour drive from Queenstown. My favorite wine that we tried was Mt. Rosa’s pinot blanc… Marie made me purchase it at a wine cellar in town since I wouldn’t stop talking about it and I wouldn’t be able to find it elsewhere in the country.  Good choice!

Following the wine tour, we took a short nap, then prepared ourselves for the evening.  We met with Kristie, my roommate, for some dinner at an Indian restaurant in town.  After dinner Marie and I continued on with the night by meeting one of her friends at an ice bar.  I missed Minnesota’s freezing temperatures so much that standing in a negative degree room seemed like the best way to cure my homesickness.  The ice bar was interesting, but I can’t say that I’d opt to go in one again.  We pub crawled around the city attempting to whoop it up one last time.  We decided to leave that bar at 2:00a and go for a walk which was  quite refreshing.  My hips could only take so much techno-grooving.

Because we all need a little Celine in our lives.

 

 

February 22

My last day in Queenstown with Marie was a success, even though I woke up to the hostel manager knocking on the door and informing me (and unfortunately the three others I didn’t know) that checkout time was 9a and that I needed to scaddaddle asap (it was about 9:20a). Yikes! I definitely forgot about checkout times. I hurried myself off of the top bunk and said my goodbyes to my hostel roomies… Which that in itself is kind of odd.  I don’t think I’m supposed to say goodbye or “check out” with hostel mates, but I always do and I usually receive uncomfortable looks/responses…. Anyways.

I met Marie on the hostel deck to enjoy some breakfast. To my surprise, the mountains were covered in a white powdery dust. The scenery was enough to make me happy, but to top it off, the weather couldn’t have been any better. We sat in the sun chatting, eating, and drinking flat whites. After breakfast, we walked around for a bit in search of some new shades, ate some Fergburger at the lake (famous burger joint in Queenstown), and walked around some more. After spending much of the day with Marie, it was time to depart and say “until next time”.

February 24

Third helicopter flight!  Woah.  Talk about lucky.  Lei, my fellow housekeeping coworker, and I had the opportunity to go with a pilot to fill up the helicopter’s gas tank.

February 27

There isn’t a day that goes by without genuinely appreciating the view or experience here in New Zealand.  I am aware that time goes by quickly. Soon a year will pass and I’ll think of New Zealand’s mountains and about the times in Te Anau… and how fortunate I was to take on this new whirlwind of a life.

I don’t know how to caption the video below because it was a feeling inside me that inspired me to take the video in the first place…  I was appreciating the space that I was in and wanted to somehow remember it.

Had I stood up and walked to the table where the four French speakers were having a conversation, the language would have switched to English.  That in itself is pretty amazing to me knowing these folks can speak two (or three or four) languages, but I also think it’s pretty neat to know such inclusive people. Most people that I’ve met know English as their second language, but they have always made an effort to speak in English when I’ve been around, even when the majority speaks their native language.

For me, this video is a tribute to all those that have included me in conversations when it would have been easier to speak in other languages.  Merci!