Deja Vu: Peace out Pearson!
Trip Start
Oct 11, 2010
1
21
Trip End
Ongoing
Belleville, Ontario, Canada
Thursday, September 30, 2010
It's been awhile since I have posted an entry
in this blog; the end of my Africa trip to be precise. However, I am
about to embark on a new and very different journey across this awesome
world of ours, and I want to bring you all along once again!
It
really is crazy how this all happened... I left for Africa October 12,
2009. This time, I am New Zealand bound October 11, 2010. One year ago,
on Thanksgiving Monday, the Bennetts and Culberts were (hungover) on
our way to Pearson International Airport where Den and I would be
catching a painstakingly long flight to the African continent. I ended
up falling in love with everything about Africa: the people, the
animals, the endless references to The Lion King, the diverse
landscapes, the weather, the music, and it's spirit. I did not,
however, fall in love with East African food. Ugali has not since grown
on me, and I do not think it ever will. I really did have the best time
of my life in Africa though and still feel like no trip I do will top
it. There was something about that place that I became so infatuated
with and I must, someday, go back.
Even though I had fallen
deeply in love with Africa, I quickly realized there are so many other
places I have left to explore on our earth, and so I turned my
attention from Africa to the South Pacific. I have always wanted to
visit Australia and New Zealand since I met some crazy Aussies and
Kiwis on my European Contiki Tour in 2005. Their accents and beach
lifestyle alone made me want to go. This trip to New Zealand is more so
of a life change for me than a vacation though. Unlike my trip to
Africa where I basically spent all my time being a happy-go-lucky,
wide-eyed, partying tourist, I will have to find employment in New
Zealand. I cannot afford to be bungee jumping, white water rafting,
safari-ing, lion taming, shopping, and tanning everyday like I did in
Africa, so that is why I have gotten a twelve-month working holiday
visa for New Zealand. By getting a working holiday visa I can at least
work for various amounts of time while I'm there to afford my crazy
adventures. Because, lets be serious, I will be bungee jumping, white
water rafting, and beaching while I'm there! haha
I am very
excited to be sharing my journey this time around with my very good
friend Kristen. It's going to be very weird though heading to Pearson,
exactly a year after we left for Africa, without Denise. I am happy,
however, that I will get to wake up each and every day to my other best
friend in the whole wide world, Kris! We are going to become so Kiwi-ed
out it is going to blow your mind! lol
I feel like I really have
a leg up heading to the land down under though (well, kinda the land
down under...). 90% of the people on my Contiki tour were Aussies or
Kiwis, and about 70% of those on my Africa trip were from these places
as well. Because I have spent a lot of time being the minority on these
trips, in that I was usually one of maybe only 2 North Americans in a
group of Aussies, Kiwis, and English people, I obviously had to adjust
my way of speaking and lingo and learn theirs. So, I already know that
"the bin" is the garbage, "an eskie" is a cooler, "how ya going?" means
how are you, "mate" means friend (duh), "good on yah" means good for
you, "havaianas" are a staple pair of "thongs" (flip-flops), "queef"
means having a Snooki-poof in your hair, and "Hungry Jacks" is actually
Burger King. I am not sure if Kiwis do this as well... but Denise and I
both defintely realized that when Australians say a word that ends in
an "a", they turn that "a" into an "er". So, for example, Uganda became
"Ugander". Hilarious.
I CANNOT wait to be once again escaping
the Canadian winter! Kris and I will be flying into Auckland, New
Zealand (via LAX) on October 13th. We are going to be spending a few
nights in Auckland, and then catching a naked bus (just the name of the
bus company :P) to a little surf town called Mount Maunganui (which we
JUST learnt is pronounced Mon-ga-newy). Google images, it looks
amazing. We are going to be playing everything by ear though, which is
exciting and will force us out of our comfort zones just a little. We
really don't have many plans beyond what I have just mentioned. Once we
get to "The Mount" (a local and more easier pronounced name for
Maunganui) we will try to find jobs and set up home for as long as we
want to stay there.
Although my blogs will not be consistently
as exciting as my adventures in Africa, I know I will have some wild
things to report to you all back home! Once again, I will miss everyone
heaps (another word I learnt on my trips)!! Skype will be a must to
keep in touch, so those of you who will want to chat get your bums on
there! My Skype name is: brittney.bennett.
The next time I write I will be in New Zealand!!! A country where sheep out number people!
Love love love!!
- Britt :)
Comments
Brittney I just read your email and know you are in Auckland. Glad to hear your flight went well- I'm sure you are very very tired. I hope the weather is awesome there -most likely warmer than we are here in Canada.
I enjoy reading your blog entries so try to do it often. The house is feeling really empty now. The dogs are barking and you are not here to yell at them.
Stephanie headed back to school today and Madison went last night. Riley got her hair done today and is presently over at Justin's. Miss you terribly! Have fun but be careful.
Love your Mama!!