Gorgeous green land for little green men

If I found my happy in Fiji, I'm grateful to still have a tight grasp on it here in New Zealand. Three weeks into my trip, I've been steadily impressed with how I've handled myself so far. Sure, Golly and I got into a few sketchy situations in the North Island, and my ankles are raw with sand fly bites, and my last night in Mana Island a Fijian firedancer tried to kiss me... but all in all I've been healthy, even-kealed and high on life. I tend to be an optimistic and smiling person, but traveling has really brought out a different kind of pure inner joy in me-- I would even say I've been blissful. I even end every diary entry with a resounding, "Yay life!" :)

This was no different during the last three days and four nights WWOOFING (working on organic farms in exchange for room/board) for Geoffry and Briar in beautiful, sunny Nelson. I slept until 10am every day, worked on a compost heap or weeding the veggie garden, ate delicious vegetarian food, and-- uniquely different from my time WWOOFING in Motueka Valley-- I enjoyed complete freedom to do whatever I pleased during the evenings. Two nights in a row, Briar lent me and fellow WWOOFERS Pablo from Chile and Gustavo from Argentina her car so we could drive 15k/9 miles to gorgeous Cable Bay. It's a small expanse of rocky beach with high sheep-grazing cliffs on either side, and calm warm water perfect for swimming. We splashed around and joked in Spanish, before coming back home, where I slept in a little private caravan in the garden. So much fun!

Somehow while driving back from Cable Bay the second night, Gustavo and I were cloud-gazing and got into a lengthy conversation about UFOs (or in Spanish, OVNIS-- objetos volados no identificados). He claimed to have seen heaps of floating disks and strange lights while growing up in the Argentinian countryside, and at the beginning of 2009, he even took a picture of one which won him a featured article in his local newspaper and an official invitation to attend a UFO Congress for the National Government.

I was dumbfounded to actually be having this conversation AGAIN. I didn't think it worth mentioning in my last blog about WWOOFING at the Meditation Retreat in Motuaka Valley, but amidst our efforts toward spiritual enlightenment, there were some rather crazy conversations taking place-- at length, mind you-- about extra-terrestrials. I was a bit disappointed that the leader of the ET-believing posse happened to be the one other American that I've met so far in New Zealand. I had a weird feeling about him from the get-go, when he announced that he's adamently working to end the swine flu conspiracy for the past several months, and that he was a famous "Big Whig" in his previous life. One morning, the group somehow allowed Ray to lead a 2-hour workshop titled "Letting Go," in which he went on and on about all of his past lives, and the importance of meditation as a means toward communicating with extra-terrestrials when they come to make contact, notably after 2012. He even claimed that his "crazy colleague" (haha), Steven Greer, already communicates with extra-terrestrials, since he had a near-death experience as a child in which he formed relationships with them, but too bad that the government is stopping his efforts. Needless to say, I meditating on "letting go" of what he was saying, so at least I got something out of the workshop. :)

Granted, I spoke with other retreat participants afterwards and admitted that I don't think we're the ONLY life-forms in existance. However, I doubt there's any other intelligent beings in our solar system, let alone any who zip in and out of our atmosphere in discs who are communicating with my American friend, or his previous lives for that matter. My conversations about aliens at the retreat are probably the longest I've ever had on the subject, and when I was repeatedly asked whether I'd seen the movie Zeitgeist, as though it offered legitimate evidence to contradict my previously held beliefs, I chocked up the conversations as inner-chuckle-worthy entertainment.

So, you can imagine my surprise when I found myself having this conversation AGAIN with Gustavo. Not only did he seem like a regular guy with only one known life to speak of, but the topic came up naturally in our conversation, as though he assumed that most people have seen UFOs. I decided to ask Briar about it when we got home, and thank goodness she agreed with me that she doesn't disbelieve in extra-terrestrials, but also doesn't have much to say on the topic. She did freak me out however when she mentioned that large numbers of people are moving to a beautiful place near Nelson called Golden Bay, because they believe that that's where the extra-terrestrials will make the first contact with humans after 2012. Maybe it was because of the conversations combined with the full moon, the eery silence, or the fact that it was my third night sleeping in a tiny creepy caravan without a proper lock on the door, but I could hardly sleep that night... and when I did finally fall asleep, I had an epic dream about playing soccer against an unstoppable, evil team of aliens... hahahaha

Well, if New Zealand is the gorgeous green land where little green men choose to visit, I certainly won't blame them. Already I've met dozens of people from all over the world-- Canadians, Brits, Dutch, Scottish, Chilean, Argentinian, and myself included-- who say that New Zealand reminds them of home. It doesn't have a population or environment problem, with only 4 million people in an area the size of the U.K., and 98% of its energy comes from renewable sources. I think it's a beautiful representation of planet Earth, and if the rest of the world was more like New Zealand, we'd most likely all be much better off.

Yesterday was my last day WWOOFING in Nelson, and after a beautiful day with my Latino friends spent jogging to the beach, finishing weeding the garden, walking along Tahunanui Beach, and sleeping in a comfortable bed (inside the house!), I'm back on the Magic Bus, in Greymouth as we speak. I have 10 days left to see the South Island, which is definitely not enough. I'm already mentally planning my next trip to this part of the world, which I think would be adequately planned with an open-ended-return or a one-way ticket. Prior to my trip here, one of my friends told me that two weeks is enough to see all of New Zealand; another friend told me that I'll need twice as much time as I think I do. I don't think either of them have it right. I think traveling in New Zealand is like traveling in California, or Europe-- you could always return, live for small periods of time, and see something or meet someone new that's beautiful. So if there are any aliens out there reading this, I congratulate you if your decision is to make the first human contact in New Zealand. Please just wait two more weeks, so that I'll be long gone by then. :)

Yay life!

Enjoying the Orange Flowers of New Zealand

The past five days that I’ve spent WWOOFING (working on organic farms in exchange for room/board) at the Vistara Bed and Breakfast/Meditation Retreat Center in Motueka Valley, New Zealand, have been interesting to say the least. It’s been fantastic to have a bit of a break from traveling—to sleep in a comfortable bed as opposed to a 12-bed dorm hostel, use a real towel instead of my square-foot size travel towel, and eat the best vegetarian meals of my life rather than variations of peanut butter, nutella and jam on apples, bananas and baguettes. My work has been minimal, ranging from weed-whacking to apple picking and veggie garden weeding for maybe 3 hours a day, and seems insignificant compared to all the healthy mind and body benefits I’ve reaped. Yesterday I chilled at the top of a plum tree for about an hour, happily enjoying the fact that I’m not afraid of heights, gorging on fruit, and braving climbing maneuvers that got me really high and really dirty. :) Amidst all of this, the highlight of this stay for me has been meeting about a dozen real Kiwis, who are attending their current Meditation Retreat.


I’ve always been interested in meditation, yoga and learning about diverse spiritual paths, and it’s been a real treat to learn about Ananda Marga for several days, a global spiritual and social service organization which teaches self-realization and service to humanity through meditation and yoga. It seems fitting to delve into spirituality while in this beautiful green valley, since the chirping birds and iridescent shining sun somehow invite a reflective and peaceful outlook. Surrounded by bright-eyed “magiis” or followers, as well as the “dadas and didis” or monks and nuns who wear bright orange robes, I’m definitely seeing another side of New Zealand than on the tour busses and tourist sites. It’s not unlike the hippie-friendly Whole Earth Festival held annually at UC Davis in Northern California where I attended college for four years, but it still feels like another universe.

My first day here, I was inducted into the retreat with a chanting session called Kiirtan, in which we all dance, play instruments, and sing “Baba Nam Kevalam” over and over in different melodies, which in Sanskrit means “Love is All There Is.” After that, we meditate for about a half hour to forty-five minutes. I felt really calm and relaxed, though a bit intrigued about the pictures of their guru on the alter. I was especially caught off guard when I noticed that one of their major symbols featured a side-ways Nazi symbol… apparently in Sanskrit it means “perfection,” haha. It’s funny that generally, I have a faint idea of what’s going on because I’ve read a popular book called Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, in which she travels to India to meditate in an Ashram for three months of her 9-month trip around the world. Perhaps it’s reflective of how New Age spirituality is becoming more commercialized? At the very least, I’m grateful to know a little bit about how Sanskrit, gurus and chanting is normal, otherwise I’d probably be more reserved and wary that I might have stumbled upon a cult. :) I’m feeling really happy about keeping an open mind and heart, and I think I’ve been able to grow spiritually as well.

My second day, my friend Didi from Taiwan (a wearer of the orange robes—she’s a nun) taught me how to meditate and gave me my own personal mantra and guru. Unbeknownst to me, this apparently meant that she initiated me into Ananda Marga. :) I thought it was pretty funny when I found out a few hours later, because it reminded me of the time when I was eight and I raised my hand in church and that signified that I had accepted Jesus Christ into my heart. I don’t take any of this too seriously—I believe in God, I believe in doing good to others, and I will always work toward social justice—so anything that falls in line with all that is okay by me. I’ve really enjoyed asking a ton of questions from Didi and the other Magiis, meditating several times a day, and singing beautiful music with beautiful people… so all is good in the world. :)

I’ve also realized something quite beautiful here at Vistara, which is that I’ve found something I was looking for in New Zealand. While I was getting my tattoo a month before leaving on my trip, during the most painful moments, for some reason I found myself meditating on the “orange flowers of New Zealand.” I had no idea at the time whether there were orange flowers in New Zealand, and to be honest I haven’t seen any growing in the wild so far; the hills are mostly green with little white specks of sheep and cattle everywhere. However, here at Vistara I’ve found my orange flowers of New Zealand that I meditated about… the orange robe-wearing Didis and Dadas, the dancing candle-flames of the meditation alter, and an added significance to my own orange flower tattoo, which before symbolized global consciousness; now, it also means “Baba”—father, beloved, pure consciousness, supreme consciousness.

Tomorrow I leave to WWOOF on another organic farm in Nelson before jumping on the Magic Bus again to continue my tour of the South Island. My Ananda Marga friends are bummed that I'm leaving, especially since tomorrow's their fasting day, haha. I'm going to try to fast in spirit with them anyways, since it'll not only be a nice gesture, but I think I've put the weight back on that I lost from two weeks of non-stop hiking due to all of this delicious vegetarian food. I doubt that the new WWOOFING farm will be as hippie-dippie as here, but the folks I'll be staying with-- Jeff and Briar-- seem really lovely. Yay for my next adventure! :)

The (mis)adventures of Gardy and Golly

What a whirlwind the last few days in New Zealand’s North Island have been! I’m finding that one of the benefits, and contradictions, of traveling alone is that I’m never actually alone. Sure, it’s annoying to have the same conversation 10 times a day with different people: “Where are you from? How many days are you in New Zealand? Where do you go next? Where’d you get those pants? My you have a funny accent…” These are all with amazingly interesting people mind you, and I love love LOVE that I have yet to meet another American in New Zealand. Yet amidst the same-old, I’ve consistently been refreshed by funny, eye-opening, sometimes life-changing conversations with people who I randomly click with. One of these people is my new friend Surekha Gollapudi, who for whatever reason felt like an old friend from the moment I first met her. That’s probably why we got into a ton of adventures or trouble together, depending on how you look at it. :)


For the past week, I’ve been attached to the hip to my faithful friend, an English girl of Indian descent who’s also a mid-twenties solo traveler. She’s witty, geeky, ambitious, and has a guy-oriented sense of humor—all the qualities that make me swoon. Throughout a week of bonding on the North Island, we constantly laughed at the small differences among our ways of speaking (i.e. ice lolly vs. popsicle, swimming costume vs. swimsuit, vest tops vs. tank tops). We also found ourselves on five “girl dates,” almost died twice during extended nature walks, and finally solidified our friendship—not only on Facebook—but by giving each other smart knick-names on our last names (she’s Golly and I’m Gardy, in case you didn’t notice… apparently this is common in Britain :) .) I’m now devoted to making sure that Golly visits my best friend Adriana while she’s in LA, so that our friendship circle is complete, and also to seeing her again either in New Zealand or Australia. Yay for accomplishing the first goal of my trip, to meet amazing people!

After I last wrote on Sunday January 17th, Golly and I set out from our Urban Retreat hostel for a hike around Huka Falls, a gorgeous set of rapids just 4km (1 hour walk) outside the city of Taupo. We took a shuttle to the falls and proceeded to walk in a 12km loop for 3 hours, before we headed off on another 4km hour-long walk to the natural hot springs. Since I’d gone for a 4 mile run the day before, my leg joints were pretty worn after a 10 mile “bush walk” through seemingly untouched jungles and forests, so the naturally hot water from the springs was just the ticket for me to feel 100%. After lounging for an hour, we got out and realized to our dismay that a) we were dehydrated with no water, b) we were starving with no food, and c) we had been devoured by sandflies. As we melodramatically crawled the 4km back to town, we couldn’t stop cracking up about our predicament, and finally arrived at a restaurant where we demolished two loaves of garlic bread, two personal pizzas, and two beers. For being our third girl date after our museum-day and dinner-extravaganza in Rotorua, we had a great time!

The next day, Monday January 18th, Golly and I split up and I hiked the 19km/12 mile/6.5 hour Tongariro Alpine Crossing, hailed as New Zealand’s best one-day walk. I was a bit unprepared, having walked nearly a half marathon the previous day, gotten 4 hours of sleep due to some partying neighbors in my hostel, and forgotten the food that I had packed for myself in the van; yet it was a fantastic hike. Due to the kindness of strangers, I gleaned an apple, two bananas, a salami and cheese sandwich, as well as fistfuls of peanuts and raisins from my new friends, probably eating more than others who had actually prepared. :) The weather had been reported as gloomy, but only the first 20-30 minutes were rainy (I was fine because I’d borrowed a rain-jacket from a nice Irish woman), and after that it was misty as we ascended into the clouds. We saw beautiful views of the “emerald lakes” on the way down, as well as clear views of crystal-blue Lake Taupo in the distance. Realizing that I should probably up my standards for food intake, that night I impulsively bought 12 sandwiches which went stale after a day and a half, but at least I didn’t starve. :)

Tuesday January 19th, I jumped on the Magic Bus to continue south to my final destination on the North Island, the capital city of Wellington. After an uneventful bus ride except for a rousing game of “bus bowling,” whereby passengers competed amongst ourselves to knock over six soda bottles with tennis balls on a moving bus (seriously… only in New Zealand), we arrived in the city. I was psyched to meet up with Golly right away at our Nomad Hostel, and since it was still light out we decided to go for an 8km/5 mile/3 hour hike uphill to watch the sunset from Mount Victoria. We loved the spectacular views of the South Island so much that we forgot about the time, and ended up being stranded at the top of the hill with only a dark, steep nature trail leading back to our hostel! I had accidentally lost my water bottle, so again we resorted to survival skills and decided to walk instead of risking sleeping for a night on a park bench. I busted out a handy lipstick case with a small LED light on the end, which we used to find the streets below without twisting an ankle. Again, we melodramatically cracked up at our predicament, and decided to take it easy the next day with just visiting the Parliament and a museum.

Wednesday January 20th, Golly and Gardy continued our adventures by sharing breakfast, shopping, and then visiting the “Beehive” in the afternoon, New Zealand’s circular-shaped parliament and executive building. I was surprised to learn about how the country belongs to the U.K. Commonwealth and therefore acknowledges Britain’s Queen. It was too bad that we had just missed Prince William who had been in the capital the previous few days, as well as Hillary Clinton who decided to visit Haiti instead of New Zealand that week. We shared lunch, then walked to the famous Te Papa museum where we enjoyed its interactive art, geologic and cultural exhibits. We rounded out our fifth and final girl date with ice cream on the pier, followed by dinner at the hostel and 3 jovial beers.

This morning, January 21st, we caught the ferry to Picton, where we jumped on another Magic Bus and drove straight to Nelson where I jumped off to meet my wonderful WWOOFING hosts, Bruce and Guruvati of the Vistara Bed and Breakfast. I will miss Golly a great deal, but I’m also excited for my next adventure—volunteering, learning about organic farming, and meditation. So far the food here is delicious, local and vegetarian… here’s to not starving! :)

Laid back or action-packed, New Zealand is FUN!

The last few days in New Zealand have been speckled with action-packed adventure and low-key hanging out, which so far seems to me to be the "Kiwi way." :) The last day I wrote on Friday the 15th, I ended up laying low in the Kiwi Paka Hostel in Rotorua with my friends Surekha from the UK, Roelie and Nanik from Holland. Combining our wits, talents and creativity in the kitchen, we transformed a regular pasta dish into a fancy shmancy meal complete with flowers on the table, two bottles of cheap Aussie wine, a few different spices scavengered from fellow travelers, and toilet-paper table runners and napkins proudly displaying our names. It was hilarious and too much fun, considering how excited we were about our meal which back at home would have been pretty uneventful. I decided that it no longer felt like New Zealand, but rather an "international land of happiness." :)

Saturday the 16th we were quite pleased to get out of Rotorua on our Magic Bus, though we admitted that we had a great time. Our Kiwi driver whose knickname is Thumper completely cracked me up, and though I was sitting about four rows back on the bus, he and I carried on a lively conversation as we drove through the rolling green hills, mostly making outdated jokes about why Americans elected President Bush. One of his first comments was that we were going to experience the delight of meeting his mother during our drive that day-- and that "what she does she has to do, and it doesn't hurt." I thought it was an inuendo-laiden riddle, but it turned out that his mum is a bunny-shearer! Most of us had previously heard of New Zealand's second favorite sport to rugby, sheep-shearing, but bunny-shearing was definitely a shocker. We watched as Thumper's mom tied a bunny down and then proceeded to shave its back, belly, ears and tail-- it was pretty hilarious once we got over how strange it was!

After that we headed to Waitomo, famous for underground caves filled with glow-worms. I opted out of the $30 tour in the dark, and instead happily hiked around the caves with another friend I met from London named Julie. The views of a passing stream, verdant plants and bushes, and occasional caves were gorgeous!

Finally at 1pm we hopped back on the bus and headed to Taupo, home of the biggest crater-lake in the world by which the city gets its name, Lake Taupo. At 616 square kilometers, it's bigger than the entire country of Singapore, and everywhere you stand near the lake you can look around and see that you are within the crater of an ancient volcano. Although it's a beautiful city, I was excited to arrive because Taupo is also the site where I had signed up to go bungee jumping! Since Thumper and I had established a good rapour, he realized that I was the only one on my bus of 30+ who had signed up, and proceeded to tease me in front of everyone about how scary my jump was going to be. I wasn't that nervous for the 48 meter jump, since I've bungee jumped three times before in California (admittedly at a lower height), but I WAS excited to potentially dip into the water up to my ankles! The best part was definitely the anticipation of jumping off the ledge, and while I only dipped in up to my arms since the water level was low, it was still a blast.

After that, we headed back to our hostel and I went for a four-mile run around the lake, taking in the beautiful scenery and reflecting upon the great time I'm having in New Zealand with my new friends. I'm excited that two days from now I have identified my WWOOFING host, a Bed and Breakfast called Vistara in Nelson on the Southern Island, a.k.a. "sunniest place in New Zealand." I'll be working on their organic farm and helping them to prepare for a mediation retreat taking place the following week, which seems pretty great, and the hosts Bruce and Guruvati, seem wonderful from my email correspondence. Although I'll be sorry to leave my friends from the Magic Bus, I'm really looking forward to some down time and getting to know the locals!

Welcome to New Zealand, a.k.a. Cassie Paradise

I've never experienced so little culture-shock while traveling abroad as I have in New Zealand. Today's my 5th day in this green, hobit-friendly land, and I feel more like I'm in California-- or the Pacific Northwest-- or Canada for that matter, than the opposite side of the globe. (Note: I've only been in Canada once as a baby, but it just seems like how I imagine Canada-- laid back, outdoorsy, friendly people and beautiful scenery). So far, only the crazy-bright sun, my fellow travelers, and the cars driving on the oppoisite side of the road remotely remind me of how far I am from home.

However, I know I'm removed from my normal world when I jump on the internet today for the first time in four days and realize that I've virtually slept through a ginormous international crisis. As the rest of the world's by now realized, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit Haiti on Tuesday (or is that Wednesday my time?), impacting hundreds of thousands of people. The fact that I've been socializing with 30+ fellow travelers for the past two days, and no one mentioned this to me, strikes me as crazy alarming. I mean, I know internet is costly at $4/hour, but COME ON people! Thanks to my stepdad Richard's encouragement, I'm 90% sure I"ll travel to Haiti in June to volunteer for a bit, though I'm bummed that my travel plans are too solidified for me to go help out now. Along with my friends and family, my thoughts and prayers go out to Haitians in need right now.

So, it's time for an update: what have I been up to for the past 5 days since you missed me? ;)

Last day in Fiji, Monday January 11

My last day in Fiji was beautiful. After leaving my comfortable couchsurfing home of Diane and Paul, I met a high school-age girl named Tanau at the bus stop who offered to show me around downtown Nadi. She wouldn't let me pay for our cab, and then took me to the post office, a tiny cheap handicraft shop, and a few tourist shops. Her kindness totally touched my heart, and made me fall that much more in love with Fiji. I definitely hope to return some day!


As a culturally-competent observer of "Fiji Time," I arrived at the airport a mere 1.5 hours before my flight instead of the recommended 3 hours. Thank goodness I made my flight with no problems, however I became seriously worried when our plane turned around half-way through the flight due to a "minor technical glitch." AHHH! Well, clearly I didn't crash into the South Pacific to become just another Castaway, Island of the Blue Lagoon or Lost victim, but it was a little nerve-wracking nevertheless.

Uneventful day in Auckland, Tuesday January 12
I stayed at the Fat Camel hostel in Auckland for 2 days, where I stressed about my $ and plan for seeing New Zealand in a short month, to the point where I missed the art museum. Eventually, I had to remind myself WHY I'm here in New Zealand: to hike, explore and enjoy New Zealand's beautiful natural wonders! Refreshed and resolved about my decision to take a slightly more expensive but flexible Magic Bus through the country, I walked to a park, enjoyed the birds, and prepared myself for the next day's trip througout the North Island to Rotorua.


Running around Rotorua, Wednesday-Friday January 13-15 
I was happy to only have spent a day in Auckland, as I got out of the city and began to see the New Zealand I'd heard and read about-- a magical, sunny, green land of sheep, open farm and Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings film locations. One of our bus's first stops was Matamata, the site of Hobbiton, where I took some funny photos with Gollum for my 10 year-old cousin Sam's enjoyment. :) I increasingly felt like I was in Cali when we stopped at an adventure park, a jade factory and a mini-Redwood Forest (no joke), until another stop at a Maori museum again snapped me into reality. I loved that I'm the only American on my bus of 30+ Europeans, Aussies and Asians, but was a bit bummed to not meet a real Kiwi (i.e. a person from New Zealand).


Upon arrival in Rotorua, I took a long, 3-hour run to explore what the city's famous for-- geysers, geothermal mineral pools, and steam wafts over cauldrons of boiling mud. I loved the beautiful parks and a huge sulfur lake, where I saw 10+ species of beautiful birds that made me want to be an ornothologist in my next life. At one moment while running through a paved trail in a park, I saw a sketchy grass trail veering off to the left. As most people who know me will attest, I have a bit of a snake phobia, whereby I jump 10 feet at cords, ropes, noises in bushes and anything else remotely snakey. So normally, upon finding sketchy grass trails in nature, I would skiddaddle without a second thought. But, in that moment, I realized with utmost glee that there's no snakes in New Zealand! (This was, in fact, the winning factor in my decision to stay 4 weeks in New Zealand and only 1 week in Australia-- the zero to 1,000s of deadly snakes ratio). So, I happily traipsed off along the sketchy path-- which of course led me to a parking lot. :) STILL, I was so happy to be in New Zealand and have no fear!

Yesterday, Thursday the 14th, I was psyched to finally meet and bond with a super cool Kiwi named Nigel. How did I meet him, you might ask? He was my river-rafting instructor! It was my first time rafting, and I had a CRAZY AWESOME time. As a dare-devil enthusiast, my favorite parts were rafting down a seven-meter waterfall and completely submerging under water, as well as voluntarilly jumping out to go down a few rapids by myself in just my lifejacket. :) They knick-named me "the Asian" because I had my waterproof camera with me and was documenting the whole experience... but hey! I have some great footage to show for it! :) It turns out that Nigel is coming to California next May through November, so I hope to see him again in the future, and hopefully my roommate Adriana won't mind if he crashed on our futon, haha.


After my rafting adventure, I paired up with a sweet English girl of Indian descent named Sirika, as we explored the Rotorua parks, geysers, museum and lake. We had a lovely day, exchanging coloquialisms and laughing at each other's quirky expressions. She was a great sport while we watched the "Welcome to Rotorua" interactive movie in the museum-- the whole theater shook to simulate an earthquake, and I nearly jumped on her lap I was so startled.

Exhausted after our long day, we bought our groceries of noodle dishes, fruit, bread and peanut butter/nutella for the next few days and walked home. I decided to take it easy today with some trip-planning, blogging and maybe a run later on, as well as arranging my WWOOF experience for next week when I'll be on the South Island and hopefully volunteer on an organic farm in exchange for room and board for a few days. I'm still waiting to meet more local Kiwis to learn about the culture, lifestyle, and make new friends... wish me luck! :)

Traveled back in time... and found my happy in Fiji

It's day five of my trip, and it may finally have sunk in that I'm here. I keep pinching myself just in case. I have to say my arm is almost purple at this point from all the pinches. Or maybe that's just my crazy sunburn from 5 days under the South Pacific sun?

Looking back, I really can't believe all that's happened since I last wrote from my lazy life in San Dimas. Monday the 4th was a whirlwind of packing, frantically calling friends and family to say one last good bye, and settling the manner of my Ethiopian visa. I'm psyched to report that due to my status as a Sierra Club volunteer, I was able to draft a letter of invitation to myself to enter the country, and the Ethiopian consulate actually accepted it! (Hope that's cool with my Sierra Club bosses if you happen to be reading this.) ;) What an amazing first example of my international travel mantra-- "flexibility is the key to success!"

The flight itself was smooth sailing. I had a very self-satisfying moment at the airport when the lady checking me in asked me three times, "is that ALL the luggage you have- you're not checking ANYTHING?" (Haha- ohhh yeah). :) On the flight I finally read a little bit about where I'd be landing in Fiji, stretched out across three seats, and passed out for the vast majority of my 10.5 hour flight. At the Nadi airport, I learned another important lesson for my trip, called "Fiji time." Basically, it's best to not have a plan of action when you're in Fiji, because everything has around a 2 hour delay. I have to say I enjoyed waiting around for 2 hours for my hostel pick-up; I chatted with fellow travelers, was dazzled by the crazy bright southern hemisphere sun, and enjoyed the humid weather against my skin. I couldn't believe that I had just traveled counter-clockwise around the globe to now be 19 hours ahead of Los Angeles-- essentially back in time-- to arrive in Fiji!

Emboldened by my new accomplishment of time travel, I had an amazing first day in surrounding Nadi. I took a taxi to the Garden of the Sleeping Giant, an orchid garden with pungent aromas that I wish I could have bottled and taken home. I got lost in a garden, read my hilarious "Getting Stoned with Savages" travel book about Fiji, and smelled flowers for 2 hours, marveling at my good fortune. After that I wandered down a long empty road at the base of a glorious green tropical mountain to find the Sabeto Hot Springs. I passed it at first, and after asking a bunch of Fijians who shouted "Bula!" (hello) and offered me coconut juice, I turned around and found what I was looking for-- a giant hole in the ground full of dirty water. Success! Fortunately an Aussie lady had braved the bath first, so I got in right behind her and covered myself with mud. What followed was two hours of bathing, mud-covering, and baking in the sun (i.e. wash, rinse, repeat x 3). Finally I rinsed myself off and tried to catch the 2pm bus... when it never came (yay Fiji time!), I curled up under a big umbrella and passed out for two hours. Sooo relaxing! Why we don't bathe in mud in the U.S. and instead spend hundreds of dollars to lounge in resorts, I have no idea. Afterwards I caught a bus back to town and talked to a sweet farmer whose crops were badly affected by the cyclone that hit the islands 2-3 weeks previous, and who thought Obama was "just okay." Gotta love international perspectives on American politics. ;)


After a fairly uneventful night with some divers in my hostel who showed me Fijian hospitality of treating for a cab ride, pizza and beer, the next day I caught a boat to beautiful Mana Island. On the boat there I met some super friendly Americans and Brits-- Matt, Rob and Robin from Denver, and Craig and Dan from a few hours north of London. At the island we joined Steve and Deborah, solo-traveling Californians from Sacramento and Ventura respectively, and with that we had a little group for 2 days with whom we could enjoy the white sandy beaches, crystal clear turquoise blue water, and stunning views of neighboring islands. Every day felt like an absolute dream-- waking up to lie in the sun and work on my angry red tan/base coat for my trip, lounge by the beach and read, play fooseball or cards, walk around the island, go snorkelling, and at the end of the day hike to the highest point on the island to capture the sunset on camera. Did I mention my arm is purple from trying to wake myself up?!

Amidst hours of mafia game-playing, cross-dressing competitions and long intense political conversations with my new friends whereby they decided I was a communist (oops- guess I came on a little too strong with my Sierra Club jargon, haha), one of my favorite experiences on the island was getting to know a Fijian from Rotuma island named Alex. He works as staff at the hostel and is a self-taught knife and fire dancer. I continuously confused him and his twin brother Philippe, and was struck by his hilarious and totally out-of-place sarcasm. When I met him on the first day, he carved me a necklace made out of a coconut shell in in the shape of the "Ohm" symbol, which is cool enough in itself. But while casually asking me questions about my background, my family and my trip, he threw me a question I'd never heard before: "What's your happy?" A little confused, I asked him what he meant. "You know, that thing that lights you up and makes you feel alive and happy-- your thing. Mine is dancing." This question completely threw me for a loop. Sure, I know what my passion is-- women's health and rights rolls off my tongue about as easily as my name, these days-- but my happy? It struck me as amazing that I really had no idea, nor had I ever thought about the question. Shouldn't we all have a happy? If so, what would mine be- meeting diverse people? Art and creativity? Genuine heart-felt conversations? I decided that I would think about it, and lazily sunk back into my island-induced stupor of not thinking about anything but the sun, the breeze, the water and the sand.

Over the next three days on the island, this question remained in the back of my mind while the Fijian island culture and landscape worked its magic with me. On the boat back this afternoon, I revisited this question of what is my happy, and realized that while I might still not know what what it is-- whatever it is-- I found it on Mana island. Who would have thought that five days into my trip around the world for 8 months, I'm feeling more relaxed, comfortable, peaceful, content and serene than I can remember. I can't imagine a better beginning to my trip around the world.

Now, I'm staying at a wonderful couple's home in Nadi as part of couchsurfing.org, a sweet but hardcore and say-it-like-it-is Irish woman named Diane and her Fijian husband Paul. I was a little nervous at first, especially when one of the first things Diane told me when we met, was that her husband's cousin, a 21 year-old named Noah, had stolen money from her purse last nigh, and as punishment she was planning on breaking his fingers this evening. However, they are an incredibly kind and accommodating couple, who treated me to pizza downtown, gave me a key to the room I'm staying in, and have given me tons of advice and insider-info on Fiji. Now I'm drinking kava and sharing funny stories with them and a fellow German traveler, and as I prepare for the next month of my trip in New Zealand starting tomorrow, I'm so happy to have had this time in the happy islands. Maybe during the rest of my 8 months of traveling, I'll actually take the next step and know what my happy is. :)

It's the final countdown... tomorrow I'll be flying like an Eagle!

I originally wrote this post two days ago and the title was "Freaking Out." As you can see from the date/time of this post, and the fact that I haven't written since December 7th, I have been way too busy to write. Hence, there's no more time to freak out. Here it is! I'm leaving for Fiji in less than 24 hours! It's the final countdown! (Begin dramatic electric guitar solo...)

Sitting in my mom's computer room in San Dimas, CA at 4am in the morning, going over my final to-do list of everything I need to accomplish before I need to get to LAX tomorrow at 6pm for my 9:30pm Air Pacific flight, I can't believe it's actually here. My friends keep asking me if I'm excited, and all I can say is that I'm in utter disbelief and denial. Sure, I'm physically, mentally and spiritually prepared, more or less-- I've certainly been vaccinated for every disease known to man, packed and repacked my bag a million times, memorized my Vagabonding and Rough Guide travel books, and said all of my heartfelt goodbyes to friends, family, colleagues and loved ones. I thoroughly enjoyed my last few weeks of a week-long trip to snowy DC, to finish projects and bond with my now former colleagues (sniff sniff). I thank my lucky stars that I somehow arranged a 6-week internship with a coalition for population, health and environment issues in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia. I'm so excited that I'll have concrete projects to work on, I'll have a wonderful place to stay for free, and that while I was in DC I was able to meet with colleagues and learn about the project so that I'll actually make a difference. And I had a rocking Christmas and New Years with my beautiful LA family and friends. Maybe it's because I'm feeling so very loved by the important people in my life right now, that it's so weird to be leaving everyone tomorrow for the next 4 months. For example, it wasn't until the clock struck midnight on New Years that I realized-- 2010 will always be defined for me as alone abroad. Crazy!

To be honest, I really don't think reality will hit me until I get off the plane in Fiji and feel from the humid atmosphere that I'm in another place and time. (That's right, I said time-- since I'm going counter-clockwise around the globe, I'm leaving January 4th and arriving January 6th, essentially losing January 5th, incidentally my older brother Jared's birthday. Guess he gets to be 30 for another year in my book. :) ) A few of my well-traveled friends warned me that I'd be freaking out right now in disbelief, so I'm just kind of rolling with it. Maybe it's reverse-culture shock? All I know is that although I'll get virtually no sleep tonight for being worried about a million things that could go wrong throughout the duration of my trip, when I'm actually on the plane with my Fiji book at this time tomorrow night, I'll be crazy excited for my adventure. :)

You'd think I should feel more grounded, given all that I've done over the past few months to prepare for this moment. I have my 30 pound backpack full to the brim with every polypropolene, nylon, and quick-dry fabric imaginable. The dudes at my local REI, Best Buy and the lovely Distant Lands travel store in Pasadena know me by name since I've been going so much lately to pick up goodies. In particular, I'm excited about these items:

-Action sandals, better known as Keens which you'll see in a lot of my photos next to my tattoo :)

-Green zip-up fleece jacket purchased with my mom and cousin Lisa back in September

-Olympus stylus tough shock-proof camera, which my brother Jared also has and swears by

-Quick-dry underwear (I just think it's really cool since it dries in 3 hours... sorry if that's TMI-- too much information ;) )

This whole process of "what to pack on a trip around the world" is just SO incredibly fascinating to me, since it's a letting go of all your "stuff" in life to really narrow it down to the bare essentials, and is a very freeing process. This is probably why I've obsessively packed and unpacked so much, and I'm sure will do so plenty of times before I leave tomorrow. In case anyone's interested, the most useful resources for my packing process have been my Rough Guide and this really great website for independent backpacking travelers. I particularly liked how the Rough Guide emphasizes that all you need for a trip-around-the-world are sandals, and how the independent traveler website breaks down the great debates like a sleeping bag vs. sleep sheet, shoes vs. sandals, and umbrella vs. rain jacket. For the record, I'm bringing both sandals and running shoes since I'm planning on doing a lot of hiking; just a silk sleep sheet since I won't be camping and will mostly be couchsurfing/staying in hostels; and a rain jacket for added protection against the cold. (See, isn't this just so fun to think about??) :)

Clearly, I think my issue of feeling unprepared has to do with my weird priorities in how I got ready for this trip. A month ago, my number one priority was getting my uber-symbolic tattoo so it would have time to heal; 3 weeks ago, it was going through separation anxiety with finishing all of my Sierra Club projects; 2 weeks ago, it was purchasing my big-expense items like a camera, clothes and sleep sheet; and for the past week, I've focused on spending quality time with my loved ones to say good bye. During all this time, I haven't done HARDLY ANY research on the places I'm going. Safety advisories, health notices, wiki-travel websites and blogs have remained virtually untouched on my computer's search engine.

Which is why I had a huge freak-out the evening of January 1st when I casually googled about visas and realized that I completely forgot about obtaining them for Ethiopia and Kenya, which are required for entry into the country and take a week minimum to process. (!!!) I called my friend Tim who works at STA Travel in Georgetown who booked my flights, terrified that he'd have to re-book my tickets for a week later than tomorrow. He helped calm me down, but really it was talking to my Dad that made me realize that I will get through this, it's just my cold feet looking for an excuse to freak out. As one of my friends told me, "I'll make it work while traveling, because I have no other choice than to make it work." :) Sure it's a bonehead thing to have forgotten, but I'm going to wake up in 2 hours and call the Ethiopian embassy in Washington DC at 9am their time Monday morning, and hopefully they'll tell me one of three things: 1) I can get a same-day visa tomorrow in their LA office; 2) I can pick up a visa while I'm in New Zealand; or 3) I can simply show up at the Ethiopian airport and hope they don't tell me to go home. Either way, I have faith it will all work out. And as my best friend/roommate Adriana reminded me, everything happens for a reason. ;)

Which brings me to why I chose these pictures for this, my last blog in the U.S. for at least 4 months. They're from when I went sky-diving with my Dad at age 18. In the first picture, I LOVE the look of terror on my face when I first jumped out of the plane. At that moment, I was in complete disbelief that I had just jumped out of a plane, and was actually hurtling toward the ground from 13,000 feet. But the second picture marks the moment when I realized, while free-falling, how much I felt completely alive like I never had before experienced. Right now I'm feeling the moment of total anticipation and fear before I jump out of the plane. I have been soaking it up ever since 2003 when I first dreamed up this crazy scheme. That day of skydiving, I bought a T-shirt which has one of my now favorite quotes, to commemorate the experience-- Take risks not to escape life, but to prevent life from escaping. So that's what I'm doing! I may be terrified right now, but I truly can't wait to be soaring through the air... I can't wait to fly like an eagle and let my spirit carry me. Cassie Joy Round the World here I come! :)