Okay, I made it safely back to my city from New Zealand.
It was INCREDIBLE. I'm not sure I can even properly convey in words how awesome it was!
I will post pictures and describe the trip one day at a time here (maybe also on Xanga; still deciding).
"Aotearoa" is the Maori name for New Zealand. Maoris are the indigenous people; they're a little like Hawaiians in a way. Both come from the same original Polynesian people group, I'm pretty sure. Anyway, it means "Land of the long white cloud" because that's what NZ looked like to them when they first arrived there.
The one thing that I can say in this little post right now is this: I absolutely fell in love with the place. It's funny...New Zealand was never at the top of my list of places to go. I pretty much want to go just about everywhere, so when the opportunity arose I thought it would be a great thing to check off the list. I was unprepared for how awesome it was going to be. I think part of my regard comes from the fact that I've been in China, so I was able to appreciate some of the less significant differences between the countries (for example, being able to drink unboiled tap water, no spitting on the street, no kids peeing in random places, flushing toilet paper instead of throwing it in the trash, speaking the language...). In and of itself, though, New Zealand is a gorgeous country with a rich history. I don't really know what exactly did it or when or how it happened, but I would definitely say that I seriously fell in love with the country. I want to go back. I fervently want to go back. I used to have a similar feeling about Germany, wanting to go there and wanting to go back so badly. Somehow this seems even more heightened and intense this time.
I know that they are constantly looking for teachers, so there might be a real possibility of going back for an extended period of time. :)
Okay I'm going to stop going on about it for now. I found my little piece of paradise, and I'll tell you all about it little by little as I get the pictures. I'm still going home in the summer, so no worries, I'll see you all! :)
Love to all of you! Thanks for still reading!
(oh, and seriously - if you want to know why I've started protecting my sites more, e-mail me and I'll tell you) :)
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