Lessons Learned, Wisdom Gained

It'll be my 7 days anniversary tomorrow for starting my journey and in these seven days i've learned alot as follows:

1) don't freak out -> if something goes wrong or isn't exactly what you wanted, don't worry cuz it'll all work out in the end
eg: you try to get on a bus that'll get you to your accomodation only to realize it's the "i've got all day" bus, it took FOREVER! it was like bussing it from downtown van to langley to richmond then surrey and then finally home in EV! i kinda freaked out but then realized i am seeing alot of auckland and i should sit back and enjoy the ride cuz i'll get to my destination eventually

2) not everyone will like you but that's ok -> yes people warned me of racism; however, *knock on wood* i haven't experienced any. mostly its the staring and stupidity of other brown people i've had to deal with. AND i still have brown guy stalkers. i asked one about the bus cuz he was at the bus stop and then he sits behind me and then 30 mins later asks if i'm a student i said no, at the end of the line he kinda waited for me to get off the bus; i booked it lol

3) you can't plan for everything -> ya its awesome to be impulsive but at the same time there's stuff you gotta remember to take care of
eg: allergy meds (...shoulda realized i'm going somewhere summery so i should've brought the darn stuff!), proper wires and current changer things...hope i can find one for my netbook or i'm screwed, etc

4) find beauty in every moment -> (thanks for reminding me virgil) you have to enjoy every single second of every single moment meaning do what you enjoy :)
eg: stuck on that horrid bus i still tried to people watch and enjoy the sights, going to an old lady's house whom i don't even know for 2 hrs--i tried to have fun and laughed at the old people stories (lol she thinks the butter in the states stinks. i thought it was hilarious that they would say that :P), lady gardening wearing a garbage bag! i mean, really?! a garbage bag lol

and last (cuz i'm sleepy) but certainly not least

5) realize that the only person who can help you is you -> yes you will have the support of your family and friends but at the end of the day it's your personal strength that will guide you through anything


Thanks for reading & please leave a comment so i know someone is reading this :)

love ya, nitee nite

crazy awesome cool!

pic 1: me being a dork in a plastic shark lol
pic 2: it's a kiwi! nz's national bird
pic 3: i saw penguins! :D
pic 4: auckland city harbour area--city of sails!

Hey!
sorry for the lack of updates--i've had alot to do and not alot of access to a computer. i'm currently sharing the fam computer with my cousin and his family cuz they can't remember their wi-fi code :( it's all good, i'll work around their schedules.

so what have i been up to the past couple of days? well on saturday it was pretty chill, i spent the day getting over my jet lag with the cutest person ever--my aunt who is old enough to be my gramma! she's so sweet and treats me like i'm her daughter <3 on sunday my cousin and his family came back from their trek (that i could've joined them on; however, i was having coordination issues cuz of the jet lag--i kept walking into coffee tables and such, so that would not bode well for a trek!) and they took me around some pretty sweet areas in auckland--the highest point is called One Tree Hill! It was gorgeous and the view was amazing. then we crossed the auckland bridge, that i want to climb, saw the skytower which is the highest tower in new zealand--sorta like the CN tower. and what else, we went to an armoury type place and that was gorgeous. then we came home and ate and planned out how to plan out my next two weeks lol. looks like i didn't realize how much planning would go into this but then again, when you know nothing about a country, how can you plan anything?

so i'm looking at a 8-10 day trip around the two islands to get in a few sights of the countryside. one thing i realized though (well, i've known forever too) is that i'm a city girl. i can't stay in the remoteness of the country, especially when i have to rely on public transit.

->speaking of which, public transit over here is friggin crazy! kinda pricy but the busses do have A/C and comfy seats! but it's not very expansive. i took an express bus this morning and that was awesome, but on the way back i ended up taking some stupid bus that went through three towns, took me twice as long to get home--at one point i thought i was lost but i calmed myself down and figured it can be fixed PLUS i should just enjoy the fact that i'm seeing so much for just 6.80 lol.

so that's all for now, talk again soon :)

Getting ready for departure after departure

Picture 1:
Anne & I at YVR
Picture 2:
We had to check in my North Face backpack so my dad tied up the straps to make sure they wouldn't get damaged--got to Auckland only to see that my dad's hard work was for nothing cuz TSA cut off the string!
Picture 3:
My parents and I saying good bye at YVR

Saying good bye to everyone was really hard for me--yes, I chose to go on this trip all by myself and I planned most of it all by myself too but I guess I never realized how many people would miss me :P My family was a biggie; no matter how much we argued or didn't see eye to eye, at the end of the day, they're my family and we love each other. It was really hard to say good bye to them but at the same time, we expressed alot more to each other in those five minutes than we have in the past five months! ...well, maybe not that drastic of a time chain but you get the idea.

Saying good bye to my friends wasn't easy either--but I guess for me saying good bye in general is hard. The idea of not seeing any of my support network for a very long time was daunting at first--but once I finally got into my facebook account over here, I saw that everyone was rooting for me and I can't express how much that means to me. Oh wait i can: ALOTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!

As far as my journey to Auckland goes, the flights were pretty good, both times the seats next to me were empty so I flew like a princess! And the food wasn't that bad actually--had mahi mahi for dinner with some veggies and tiramisu for dessert. Best part had to be the Cadbury hot chocolate before bed time, it had a marshmallow too! YUMMERS! Watched alot of movies; one was bollywood and it was so funny I was laughing out loud--or maybe I was just delirious from being tired lol.

YVR has nothing on Auckland Airport-their duty free section was amaaazinnng! not that I bought anything, it was all just well displayed.

So for now, I'm staying with my cousin, which is kind of in the countryside which means I have no way to get around till he gets home or till I figure out the bus system. Today will be a rest up, watch tv, eat food, and research research research day! Main goal: plan out next couple of weeks and get allergy meds.

Will post soon, till then lots of love :)

I made it!!!

-->forgot to post this will explain why later!

So this is my first morning waking up in Auckland New Zealand, and I have to say, I do love it. The scenery is gorgeous--lush green fields, clear view of the mountains and crazy cool plants in the garden. I guess I never expected it to be so green and beautiful--which is why I didn't bring my allergy medicines! It's all good, I have some right now for the time being, but will have to go buy some eye drops asap.