Another journal entry that I kept for when I arrived.

First thing, woah! That was a long plane ride. 12.5 hours is way too long to be cramped into a little seat. Surprisingly, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be though! I had two lovely girls next to me that were great company! I had some pretty bad anxiety thinking about everything that could go wrong from PDX to LAX to Auckland and then finally to Wellington, New zealand where I call home for 12 weeks. LAX was just as bad as everyone said it was going to be! I had never flown in or out of that airport until this trip and it was easily the most stressful part of the travel. I got lost and thankfully I had a two hour layover because after an hour of walking and searching I finally made it to my terminal.

When I arrived in Auckland I had to go through customs which went well and then I hopped on the plane for a short ride down to Wellington! When I arrived at the airport all I could do was get to the baggage claim and hope that my bags had arrived from Los Angeles. On my way down, I had to snap some pictures of huge birds they had in the lobby! While I was waiting for my bag, I was approached by the lady that found me my internships and housing and we set off from there and took a little drive around the city, went to the grocery store and then came to where I am now, my new apartment!

The weather is okay today for being Summer here, it’s a tad windy but it doesn’t seem to be too bad. My apartment is nice and is a block away from the heart of the city I hear. I will begin my adventures today as I have two days before I start working!

Until later,

Amanda

My home for 12 weeks!

It took my awhile to get computer access so I’m a tad late as I am already in New Zealand, but I kept a journal entry for while I wasn’t able to post.

It hasn’t hit me yet that I will be leaving in less than a day! I feel like yesterday I still had a couple of months and hadn’t even started thinking about it yet. Writing this all down has got my nerves going a little bit, I’m starting to get a little anxious, excited and nervous all at the same time. I feel like I am someone that really can’t fathom things that I have not seen and since I have never been to New Zealand before, I don’t really have any expectations of what the country will have to offer. Of course, I hear they have a lot of sheep, love rugby, and are crazy about The Lord Of The Rings, so I guess I’m leaving with that notion.

While I have heard only good things from people about their travels in the country, I am crossing my fingers that I have a wonderful time as well. I am beyond excited to start my internships and am so lucky to have two great internships coming my way with what seem like pretty amazing people. I am looking forward to seeing what the country has to offer and the experiences I will forever take with me.