Saturday, December 7, 2013

From my travel notebook

I had these thoughts written down and thought I should put them here with the rest of my New Zealand expedition:

My observations on New Zealand:
--The roads are a scary thing. Maybe because there are only 2 lane highways, no street lights - only roundabouts, too many tourists who are not accustomed to driving on the left side of the road, speed limits that seem way higher than what they should be, and windy windy roads.
--Possums here are like squirrels in the US. Tons of them dead on the road. They say if you see one whilst driving to try and run it over. But they use the fur in wool goods, because the possum fur is apparently the second warmest animal fur after the polar bear.
--razor scooters
--video rental stores
--theaters showing old movies
--war memorials
--so hard to understand on phone



The good and the bad of traveling with my parents:
--They fight about driving. 
--Dad books shared bunk rooms at hostels and then complains when he has to share a room with strangers.
--Mom freaks out about little things long before its necessary.
--Mom can strike up a conversation with Anyone.. I wish I was more like her in that way.
--Dad can be the most stubborn, difficult customer ever, and I get embarrassed.
--They both geek out on this beautiful nature, and I love it.
--Dad will never admit that he's wrong.
--Dad puts up with me and my mom.
--Mom puts up with me and my dad.
--Dad makes things happen. He's not afraid of anything.


Sidenote: I've discovered myself out here in New Zealand. I've realized that my calling in life is to be a stand up comedian. This came to me when I thought up a bit that I'm sure Jerry Seinfeld himself would use. It starts like this: you can tell a lot about a person by the type of shampoo they use.. Ask me to finish the joke when I get home. I should have a whole routine by then. Ha

Sidenote: I finished The Picture of Dorian Gray, and have moved on to The Call of the Wild. #classics #bookworm #somebodystopme

What do I miss back home?
Friends - Kate, beau, bj, Michelle, willi
Denney
Mom and dad
The broadway theatre
Cheap food
My city - slc
Sleeping in, my own bed, my own room
The mountains
Familiarity, consistency, predictability
A kitchen, refrigerator, car, bedroom, bathroom, closet, pillow, alone in my room
Places open late!
The Mormons!
Saving money
Stuff to do at night
Netflix, tv, dvr, movies, wifi, cell phone

What do I think I'll miss about here?
The spontaneity, freedom, independence
Meeting people from other places
No work! All play!
The water, the beauty
The bakeries, Indian/Thai restaurants
The walkability of the cities
The sunshine
The newness of everything
L&P, weetbix, pumpkin soup, timtams, ferg lamb pie, milk and eggs :)
Fresh air
New Zealand!!

What won't I miss?
Expensive everything
Being alone
Not having to book hostels and buses and arrange an itinerary every day or two
Hostel showers, bathrooms, beds
Snorers!! Sleep talkers, creaky bunk beds!
German accents
Feeling lost

Thoughts about John Wallace:
Strange, funny, typical old man. Tan man with long white hairs growing on his nose.gremlin-like.
Wildly inappropriate. Asking to kiss on the lips. Touching Marion's boobs!
Flies everywhere. Not sure if what he cooked was sanitary, but I chose not to think about it.
Never wore a shirt. Wine breath. Close talker. Kissing on cheek. Making me nervous.
Kind and generous, everybody knows him in town. Takes in travelers, keeps a guest book, photos, stories, invites you to stay long and come back again.
Thinks that a German girl named verena sent me to him. I really think her name was yula, and we are thinking of different people, but I just went along with him thinking it was verena. No harm there.

No comments:

Post a Comment