You are not alone in this..

I'm finally back from the best road trip of my life. I'll admit it was quite freeing to be out of contact with the rest of the world, and not worrying about the internet or cell phones. For once I was living completely in the present and enjoying the purest of interactions with people. Now that I'm back I'm a bit overwhelmed by technology! I felt like I should be trying to open up my laptop with a rock yesterday. What is this foreign device?!

In the past three weeks I have learned more about myself than I have in two years of being away at college. I have become closer with my peers and made friendships that I hope will last a very long time. I have sat on the beach and basked in the sun while looking at snow covered mountains. I have sat in solitude and enjoyed peace and quiet and contentment with myself. I have looked a dolphin in the eye and felt its soul. I have woken up for countless sunrises. I have laughed until I cried and held in tears that should have been wept. I have been accepted into the loving arms of the Maori culture. I have shared stories, hopes, and dreams in crowded tents on rainy nights. I have spent days living off of only what I could carry on my back.

While I was gone I wrote down a few things every night at the back of my school notebook so that I wouldn't forget it when I got back. It's really hard to write one entry about the entire trip, and I don't think I'll ever be able to do it justice. I've come to realized just how privileged I really am to be where I am right now. My favorite experience so far, from my entire stay in New Zealand, was the time I spent at the Marae in Kaikoura. We all slept in the wharenui together side by side under beautiful and intricate carvings of the ancestors. We shared stories our of families and where we come from. We had a "talent show," sang songs, learned a haka, made delicious dinners together. I got out of my comfort zone, and it felt all right. I woke up early to wander the grounds and watch the sunrise over the ocean and light the snow covered mountains pink. Our goodbye on the last day was very emotional and I felt like I was leaving my family behind, just like we do in Poland every time I leave. But just like leaving Barlinek, I know at heart that I will do whatever it takes to come back to this place.

The South Island in list form, so I don't forget the little things:

Car bingo, jumping on trampolines and feeling like a kid again, ferry ride into the Marlborough Sound, 7000+ foot mountains coming our of the ocean, swimming with wild dusky dolphins, talking cycling with John (a former EQ field leader), weeding the harakeke trees, Innovative Waste Management in Kaikoura, seeing the largest bird of flight in the world, the Albatross, drumroll "chooo!", the NZ song, keeping the wharenui warm, oh Hamner Springs!, verbal pacts, Bootsy, the guys from Phoenix and the guys from Christchurch, last to go to bed at night and first to wake up in the morning, trail running in Nelson Lakes National Park, kiwi hunting at night, seeing the reflection of the stars in Lake Rotuiti, "morepork" calls and mouse sounds, the palace hostel and gourmet italian food in Nelson, stripies!, backpacking the entire Abel Tasman National Park in 3 days, tent buddies with J.Do and pre-slumber giggle fits, my tent staying dry in the downpours (woohoo!), being hounded by the DOC, crossing estuaries at low tide at 7 in the morning and eating breakfast with a kind German, storming Separation Point, "Sarah can we come and play?!", hitchhiking to Takaka, meeting wonderful hippies and eating an entire pizza to myself, back to Nelson again, Accents in the Park- a beautiful hostel with triple bunk beds and the coolest lounge I've ever seen, adventure park in Levin, Te Araroa and placing the first footprints into this conservation project, the untamed beauty of the East Cape.

I can't post them all of course, but here are a couple of key pictures to highlight my trip.

Early morning walk in Nelson Lakes National Park. This is Lake Rotuiti, the smaller of the two lakes.

The basalt rock gardens in Te Araroa. In a decade this landscape will be completely transformed with the elimination of pests and the installation of a predator-proof fence.

One of the views from Separation Point, a side hike on the Abel Tasman Track.

The stripey crew! Our group that went on the Abel Tasman hike. From left to right: Sarah, Drew, me, John, and Holliday.

Going for an early morning run and catching the sunrise in Kaikoura, one of the many places in New Zealand where the mountains meet the sea.

The East Cape, arguably the most eastern part of the world (you know, if the earth is flat).