Welcome Home

A funny thing happened in Laos. (Right now you're probably thinking, "What does Laos have to do with anything? She's not there anymore.) Well, I'll tell you. One morning I woke up in my hotel and had to repack my backpack to move on to a new city. And I didn't want to. I didn't want to get out of bed. I didn't want to leave my hotel. I wanted to put my toothbrush next to the sink and know it would stay there. I wanted to hang my clothes on hangers and make friends with people I would see day after day. I wanted to be able to wash my clothes somewhere besides the sink. I wanted to decorate my room. And the little green backpack that has been my best friend for so many years: I wanted to shove it under the bed and not have to use it for a while.

I dismissed the thoughts as just being tired and a little bit sick before a long boat journey. So I moved to Australia and decided to stay in one place for a while. I found a room to rent in a house with 4 other girls. Soon similar thoughts started dominating my thinking. I wanted to paint the walls different colors. I wanted to start a food storage program but knew it was pointless because I wouldn't be able to use it. I wanted to plant a garden. I was tired of people drinking my milk. Instead of dreaming about the next trip I started dreaming about interior decorating. I noticed I kept thinking the words "well, I'll do that someday when I get home." The thing was, all this time I never knew where home was. But I always pictured myself back in Utah when I said 'home' so I got thinking one day that maybe all this time I've been looking for a new place to live but all it's really done is make me appreciate where I came from. If I had never left, I would never have realized this. Of course, I couldn't just go back without seeing what I came for, and in a last ditch effort reapplied for the working visa in New Zealand. When I arrived at customs there was no record of any working visa. I took that as a sign and after my two week visit I came back to Utah.

Even before I left Australia I had been looking at houses for sale in Salt Lake. One caught my eye but wasn't in my price range. A week after I got home the price dropped subsantially. It seemed fate was working after all. So after a long process and a few miracles and a lot of help from those around me, I've finally found a place to call home.
I can now put my toothbrush down and leave it there.
I can paint the walls. (Although I kind of like the way they are for now.) But the option is there if I feel like it.

I can start my garden and food storage.

The backpack is in a box where it will stay until the need to travel brings it out again. And then it will be much more appreciated when it does come out. And even though there are times when I get worried about the commitment I've made, I think this will help force me to put down roots somewhere and live life instead of saying, "Why bother? I'll just be leaving soon." To help me get started my aunt Nancy threw a housewarming party. Sorry some of the pictures are a bit blurry.

It's so much fun being around friends and family again!

Transitioning to Reality

I know it's been a while since the last post, and I've been home from New Zealand for nearly two months now, but I thought I'd at least post the last few things I saw there. I went up north to a town called Whitianga, which is a jumping off town for Cathedral Cove. I wanted to see Cathedral Cove even before I knew where it was in the world. Some fellow hostel members and I got dropped off to start hiking along the cliffs and down to the beach on a beautiful day. I would like to imagine that the name of that boat is "The Dawn Treader."

Cathedral Cove is where the Pevensie children return to Narnia in the second movie, Prince Caspian. It's an awesome rock tunnel onto a sparkling beach that was completely deserted that morning. That's the beauty of going to New Zealand in the winter. (The water was pretty cold, though.) The view from the other side is also nice. I'm glad I got to see so many movie sights while in New Zealand. I knew that was one reason for wanting to visit, but I didn't realize how much I would enjoy seeing all the different sights. After the cove we decided to go to a place called "Hot Water Beach." I'd seen lots of signs pointing the way and brochures in the tourist offices but I didn't really know what the big deal was. The taxi driver told us it's a place where at low tide the geothermal activity under the beach heats the water and if you get a shovel and dig a hole you can make your own hot tub on the beach. Then he let us borrow his shovel so we could make our own. It was fun but almost too hot in some places. Here you can see the steam coming out of the sand.The next day I took a bus to Auckland and had a day to relax, buy some last pieces of my favorite New Zealand candy, and get a lot of sleep before the long long flight home. I did not expect to come home so soon but it felt like the right decision.

It was fun to be with family again, and to see more of southern Utah. While I was in Torrey my parents and I drove the Hell's Backbone Ridge Road and this cliff was anything but relaxing. I also went over to Escalante to visit my friend Matt and we drove down the Hole in the Rock road to do Peek-a-Boo and Spooky Canyons. Unfortunately my claustrophobia prevented me from finishing Spooky but they were still awesome to see. The last time I hiked these canyons I was only a child and it was easier to squeeze through.Amidst the job hunting process I took a break to go with my brothers to San Francisco to watch them do the "Swim from Alcatraz." Of course we visited places like Chinatown, Haight and Ashbury and Ghiradelli Square.Seeing them swim it made me want to swim more, too.Of course none of the prisoners who tried to swim from Alcatraz ever made it because they were probably still wearing chains and being shot at. Clay and Jed made it just fine, though.

And now I haven't mentioned anything about the latest news, but I'll save that for the next post. Maybe I'll name that post "Transitioning to Realty."