10 Months in New Zealand—Three Months In.
Kia Ora friends and family! This weekend marked a relatively special day for me. When April 23rd rolled around, I turned 21 years old. Legally, it’s not a particularly important birthday here in New Zealand, where the drinking age is 18, but it is heavily celebrated (probably due to that pesky American influence). On the day, I was in the middle of a bit of vacation up on the North Island with some friends, and frankly I’m not into raging as much as some of my other peers, so the night consisted primarily of a few casual drinks and good chat. I was also reminded that I first arrived in New Zealand on January 22nd, meaning that I’d just surpassed three months in this incredible country. During that time, I’ve visited almost all of the major cities in New Zealand, traveled to and completed some epic tramps, and explored the heck out of every trail I could get to from my front door. It’s all been amazing. Still, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows all the time (...