There Wasn't a Goodbye ❤️

As I sit on the last plane of this journey of mine, I can't help but think how extremely grateful I am for not only the last 2 months since I blogged, but my entire Down Under experience. I guess I figured if I stopped blogging, then it wouldn't have to end. I know I left some people curious as to what I have been up to, but, to be honest, I was trying to stop time. I love my family and everyone at home and am excited to be back for awhile, but I don't think I was ready for my semester to be over. This is something that they don't really tell you enough at the study abroad meetings and articles...how hard it is to leave your new "home". Of course, everyone's experiences are different and there are people that want nothing more than to go back home. And, like I said, I am excited for that part, too, but I also want to be able to go back to my family at 1/777 great king street. We will visit and see each other again, but it won't ever be the same. That's the hardest part of studying abroad. From now on, I will always have pieces of me in other places of the world and I think that's what makes me whole. I have the whole world on my back and I intend to leave my mark on the whole world. It's a symbiotic relationship really. Alright, I'll give you a skimm of what happened while I was MIA(sorta). I went to a couple more classes to finish out my semester in the middle of October. I took a final exam before heading up the islands with sister Kat and Erin. We rented a campervan and traveled for about 10 days. Our first stop was Queenstown for a chilly, wet, jet boat ride. We left out mark on Wanaka(or the other way around) and made our way up through Haast Pass and to Franz Josef and met up with Greta. Our night in the campervan in Wanaka was a bit cold(I had my entire face covered in a blanket. I never cover my face. Never.) so we decided to stay in a hostel in Franz for the night. We took a helicopter up to the glacier the next day and kept driving. The driving is absolutely incredible. I never get bored of the scenery. I think Katie left a permanent mark on the "oh sh*t" handle but otherwise we made it unscathed. A rainy ferry took us to Wellington and then we went up the north island. Cards were played. Rivers were rafted. Driving was done. And sooner than we would've liked, we were coasting into Auckland. A massage and delicious meal to end a glorious trip, then back down to Dunedin for me. It was time to lock in on the whole school thing. (In other words, I learned a semester's worth of material in a couple days for two classes.) Finally, I took the tests, and my strenuous semester of homework was over. A last hoorah at the beer fest, and the next day the rents and bro showed up. They brought an earthquake to make sure everyone knew they arrived. I toured them through Dunedin and then the final night at Strügl Stret was upon us. Bittersweet goodbyes were said by some. I don't do goodbyes so I stuck to my "see you sometime" and cleared out my room. The amazing people who I knew in Dunedin will never know how much I'll miss them for the rest of my life. At least I got a couple promises for North Dakota visitors. And I didn't get to Stewart island, so I have to go back to NZ sometime. The Fischer "awed" our way through Milford Sound on an overnight cruise full of waterfalls, seals, penguins, and an absurd amount of disgusting sand flies(I still have the bite marks). For the second time in a month, I was driving Haast past and almost the entire length of both islands. And guess what?? I still wasn't sick of it. I could do it hundreds of more times. Maybe. We stopped and said hello to Greta in Franz, hello to the glow worms in Hokitika, and up to Golden Bay. A relaxing(when jax wasn't being a brat) kayak trip through the ocean to see birds and seals and beaches, and we were on our way to the ferry. It was actually sunny this time with a cool sunset. I decided it was the South Island telling me "see you sometime". A night in Wellington and then across the north to Taraunga. Three great nights full of sunshine, surf lessons, salt, farms for some, dinner with Sam and Veronica, and all too soon, we were back in Auckland. Jax and I decided to jump off the Skytower for a little adrenaline rush. 3 planes later and here I sit. Those two months literally felt like 2 days. I got back from Australia and then my parents were there. Everything went so quickly. I am still excited to get to go home and see my friends and family and of course, dogs.(did I tell you I'm getting a King Charles spaniel sometime? It's happening.) Leaving home I knew that I would get to come back to it in 5 months. That's not the case when leaving New Zealand. Some of the people I left behind really will be a goodbye and I'll never see them again but for the others, the special ones, I'll see you sometime. ❤️