Aaaaand We're Off!

Almost a year of going around saying "I'm moving to New Zealand," and we're hours away. My carry-on is packed, my purse will be soon (soon!), and for the first time in my life I'll be a true backpacker. My parents laughed uproariously when I first put the backpack on and toppled backwards onto the bed.

Tomorrow at noon I'm meeting my college pal Esther at the airport, where we fly to Tokyo. I would be looking forward to it a wee bit more if the friend we're visiting had given us a tad more information than just his address. When are we meeting? Which tube/metro stop does he live off? Is he even alive? Exactly.

Well, after our four days in Tokyo we'll be going off to meet two of our girlfriends in South Korea: Esther's Texan friend from her Master's program in London, and my English flatmate from when I studied in Wales. Activities will include going to a 'bang' (the word for rooms you can rent -- e.g. a DVD bang, where you watch, you got it, DVDs), and possibly getting a fish pedicure. Supposedly when the minnows eat the dead skin off your feet it feels like your foot's asleep.

Then it's farewell to Esther and hello to China -- for eight hours. I ran downtown and back twice on Monday to get my visa, so I'm set for tooling around Shanghai for a few hours. Now, if only my friend's friend would write me back and let me know where to meet her... Story of my life right now.

Finally, after a 10-hour flight to Sydney, a one-hour layover, and a three-hour flight, I'll be in Auckland, and in my homeland for the next 12 months. My visa program is putting me up at a hostel for a couple of nights, then I'll stay with a friend-of-a-friend. I've already arranged with another American to celebrate Halloween with her. I'm going as someone related to the election. Guess who.

At the moment, having never set food in New Zealand, I'm imagining it to be a mixture of Wales and Hawaii. Remote and seen as a bit of a backwater by its larger neighbor (Wales with England, NZ with Australia), but with the Polynesian culture and stupendous natural beauty of Hawaii.

I can't wait to find out if I'm right.