Seasons have change since I last posted. I tend to forget about blogging when I am living in once spot for an extended amount of time since I am not technically "traveling". But I am still living overseas, and I still experience daily challenges and wonders I would not were I back at home, even if I have grown so used to them they are just part of life.
There are some things that you just learn to live without. Those spur of the moment, unexpectedly long phone calls with friends or family, for instance. Time zones tend to cut down on spontaneity since conversations must often be planned in advance. There are people I could call here, but with the cost of using a mobile phone, which is all I have, I may as well just meet them. Or it's just the end of a long day and no one but your best friend or mom will do, only it's three o'clock in the morning back home so you can't in good conscious give them a ring, no matter how much you want to. Sometimes it's a hard balance to meet, when time limitations can mean having to choose between spending time with people here or getting in touch with someone at home.
As a perpetual traveler I also have to be perpetually planning ahead financially. I suppose this is true for most people who like to live with some amount of security, it's just all slightly more... exciting... when running out of money means being stuck in a country with not enough funds to buy a plane ticket before your visa expires, or relying couchsurfing.org to not let you down when even hosteling is not an option any more. Oddly enough, despite the occasional moment of extreme stress, the fact that I am still alive and well and exactly where I want to be has reinforced in me a sort of relentless optimism. In my experience, even when the situation seems bleak and things are just not working out like you wanted them to, if you make an effort to keep at it the world will give back and you will make it through somehow. Call it Karma, getting what you give, a guardian angel or just being resourceful or persistent, but there is always way for things to come together rather than fall apart.
There are also plenty of small wonders waiting for me in any new place I live. I get to see the season change in a whole other environment (and thank goodness they finally are, I might add, summer cannot come soon enough!). When friends invite me for a weekend trip just outside the city, I get to walk through forests and landscapes I've never seen before. A plain old walking track is a fun adventure for me, even if the people I'm with don't know what a toque is and have never heard the childhood road-trip songs I know so well. On any given day I might meet someone who gives me insight into a different way of living, a different culture, or just a different outlook on life. And in Wellington in particular you are always likely to run into, (or be run into by), interesting, beautiful, and sometimes plain weird works of art.
My time in Wellington is coming to a close soon, however, since in a few weeks I will be resuming my title of nomad to travel the rest of the country. In the mean time, I still have a job here and will need to wake up for it tomorrow so as much as I would like to continue this much needed catch up, I should probably get some sleep.
