Life in Rewind

It's hard to believe I haven't blogged in about 2 months! I guess for part of that time, too much was happening that I didn't have time to write and for the other part, there wasn't much worth writing about. Without some freak catastrophe occurring at my building, I suppose life can be a bit dull, but that's okay. Between things falling apart at will, the living room floor cracking open, and the gas explosion, I've perhaps learned to start expecting the unexpected around here. For awhile I found myself approaching the elevator with caution wondering if a cable snap would be the next big surprise in store for me. Where did I put my Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbook?

Basically, to recap, since my January entry we've had a few holidays in Taiwan, starting with Chinese New Year, or Lunar New Year. I enjoyed 2 weeks of vacation between the end of January and the beginning of February. The first week of my time off I spent at home doing very little. I did enjoy catching up on sleep, movies, things around the house, and catching up with friends here. I got to hike one of the mountains near the sea that offers some great viewpoints as well as cool banyan trees perfect for climbing.

The second week of vacation was spent in New Zealand. Though I had been wanting to go there for awhile, my trip was actually planned quite last minute, as in I bought the tickets one day and flew out the next. Until I actually got there and got settled, I couldn't help wondering, "Did I just make a huge mistake? What am I getting myself into now?", but it was great! A week is certainly not long enough so I definitely hope to go back one day. I spent most of my time touring the South Island but spent a day and a half sailing and sight-seeing in Auckland before returning to Taiwan.

As 9 rolls of film might suggest, for a trip that was only a week long, there's a lot to say about New Zealand. I'll spare you from most of it right now, but I did want to share a few journal entries.

1/31/2006

Where am I? My body is currently at rest on a most comfy bed at a hotel in Queenstown, N.Z. My body, however, feels as though it's still in motion aboard a bus or a boat, two places which I spent the day.

Where am I? Right here and a thousand miles away. Transfixed on the scenery before me, a feast for the eyes, my thoughts are free to roam from what I am seeing to what I saw this time last year and from the possibilities of the future to the memories of the past. Thoughts drift from old desires to new, old friendships to new ones, the old year to the present.

One day, a million thoughts, indescribable beauty. Lakes, streams, mountains, plains, hills, glaciers, fiords, palms, pines, lowlands, highlands, sheep, deer, cattle, ostrich, green, grey, yellow, blue, white, clouds, rain, and sun. It was a full day, nay, it's been a full few days.

2/3/2006
I look out the window. Colors and lighting seem perfect here. The sky's always a perfect blue. The lighting has a way of making things look amazing. Yellows, greens, and blues are so rich, not washed out. Even the clouds look amazing. They have an almost unnatural quality about them, as though they're from a painting.

What a whirlwind week it's been. The days have been so full they've felt like more than single days. I don't mind though. It's great to be back somewhere with long summer days, where there's still light until 9-9:30pm.

Today's been a day of planes, trains, and automobiles not to mention buses and vans. This morning I left Franz Josef to complete my circle of the South Island. From there it was travel by bus to Greymouth, stopping at some scenic spots along the way. Once in Greymouth, I boarded the Tranz Alpine Train for a 4 hour trip from the west to east coast across Arthur's Pass. We went through numerous tunnels, one extending for 5.6 miles and taking 15 minutes to get through. We also crossed over several viaducts - high train bridges through the gorges. Arriving in Christchurch, I was met by a shuttle van to get back into the city where I transferred to a cab to get to the airport where I presently find myself still waiting for a flight that was scheduled to depart 40 minutes ago.

About a week after Chinese New Year was Lantern Festival, generally one of my favorite holidays in Taiwan. I've always enjoyed an evening stroll along the river checking out the lanterns. This year I was a bit disappointed. I think the displays have been better in the past, but it was still nice.

Since then it seems like it suddenly became March and now here we are nearing the end of the month already. Last weekend I got to enjoy the company of 2 old roommates who stayed over on the weekend. It was a bit like old times again, only better. Last Sunday we celebrated Becky's birthday outdoors at the Youth Activity Center where the young at heart can act like kids again while the kids, at least the jr. high ones, rolled their eyes at our childishness. It was a great afternoon complete with water fights, cargo nets, suspended rope bridges and chair swings, and crazy group activity obstacle things like we had back in the days of summer camp.

Hopefully this will fill you in a bit as to the past 2 months and hopefully it won't be another 2 before I write again.