On my last day of work at Fiordland Lodge (thankfully that betrayal is over), I met a family from Taiwan. They were in excellent spirits and I enjoyed serving them as they explored different types of New Zealand food and Wine. At the end of the evening, the mother purposefully ran into me and explained [...] [...more]
While living in Te Anau, Justin and I see hitch hikers from time to time. These individuals fit the description of your typical backpacker or budget traveler. Unfortunately, because we have been living and working here, we have been unable to pick up any of these individuals and assist them with their transportation needs. However, one [...] [...more]
In the Venice airport I met a middle aged former backpacker, his wife, and his 2 kids. After politely asking about our travel plans he looked at me with a mischievous grin on his face, before imparting the following advise, in halting English. “It good to work and travel. If you forget why you travel. Work [...] [...more]
When it is not raining too hard, Natalie and I have once again begun to play the hi tech game of geocaching. Geocaching, for those unfamiliar with the term, refers to an activity where one uses GPS coordinates to find hidden treasure (sorry, no money included) or caches that are placed on public property. In [...] [...more]
Fiordland, which consists of the southwest corner of New Zealand’s South Island, is a rain forest. With over 200 days of rain each year, the local meteorologist IS forced to measure rain in meters (3 feet – 1 meter). After 4 days without rain, the local fire warning signs begin to show an increasing danger [...] [...more]
The Milford Sound is one of the “must see” natural attractions for most visitors to New Zealand’s South Island. A multimillion dollar a year industry is in place to funnel visitors from all over the country to the Milford Sound by plane, boat, and bus. In fact, the Milford Road, which runs from Te Anau [...] [...more]
Tuesday morning was the third morning I woke up with a sore throat. It had become apparent, from the white dots that lined my tonsils, that I had strep throat. Unfortunately, although I was 100% certain that I had strep, just as in the States I had to jump through the hoops (fill out the [...] [...more]
People who travel the world (whether for a week or a year) inevitably take part in, what I will simply call, “the cultural exchange game“. As an American, it is tempting to believe that all cultural exchanges flow in one direction. After all, many local people appear to possess an adequate understanding of American culture, [...] [...more]
Justin and I recently received two separate Christmas surprises. As we got home from work yesterday, I checked the mail and, surprise, a Christmas card from my grandma and grandpa was waiting for us. Mailed all the way from the United States. I opened it up and inside was a family photo taken in October at [...] [...more]
Wealth, in my experience, appears to breed a narrowing of perspective by its possessor. The more wealth an individual accumulates is often directly proportional to the decrease in their understanding of non wealthy lifestyles. Over the past 3 weeks I have worked for a service based hospitality/tourism lodge that caters to a wealthy clientele. (For the [...] [...more]
