One coin in the Trevi Fountain means

you will return to Italy (worked), two coins means you

will fall in love (we'll see), three means you will marry

an Italian(haven't thrown the third yet as I know Laurie will

kill me)- wavering on dangerous territory here

on my second coin....

Zuppa a la Toscana, cheating on Rome for a dish

Piazza del Popolo, next to the spa

I went to for my birthday massage and facial

On a night out, bumping into the Colloseum

The Spanish Steps

Living in Rome means trying to take a

shortcut home at night and getting thwarted

by the ol Forum

Nothing like turning 30 in Rome to make a girl feel young again. Something about the 2,000 year old buildings might have something to do with it. A lot of you were worried about me being alone for my 'big' birthday, have no fear that the ol buildings kept me company and made me feel young.

Birthday - Since I was turning a somewhat big birthday by myself, I decided to treat myself with a facial and massage. There's nothing like having someone rub your face for an hour and then your whole body in the opulence of Roman spas to make you feel like turning 30 isn't so bad after all. That coupled with a new SLR camera, 4 bouquets of flowers, a bottle of hot sauce, and 10 cards that you all managed to get to me all amounted to me feeling like one girl shouldn't be so lucky. Thank you - if this is how my thirties are going to be, I can't wait!!!! I also spent my 30th evening at a Spanish dinner party (as the only non-native spanish speaker) followed by clearing out the dinner table to make a dance party, right in Campo di Fiori, ended with a sleepover with my spanish friend Lidia and waking up to making nutella pancakes. Thirty = So Good

Transport - People always complain about how bad the public transport is in Rome - unreliable, random strikes, doesn't run late at night, etc. I've found a very reliable form of private transport, with my own music choice - my feet. I've partly been intimidated by the public transport and partly not wanted to be smashed into a sweaty pickpocketing metro/bus, and partly just enjoyed being outside so I've basically walked everywhere since I got here. People often ask how I'm getting home and when I say walking, they look incredulous - again the largesse. But what all this walking has meant is 1) Total DOMINATION of the streets, mini cars and motorinos, I'm not scared of you, dog poop on the other hand.....2) I've gotten to know Rome really well and actually where things are in relation to other things. I lived in Boston a whole year before I realized how close certain T stops were to each other and realized it was ridiculous to be taking it certain places 3) I've gotten real good at the passegiato or Italian word for strolling....

Eating - A lot of you have asked me about the food, and yes as you know, it is amazing. But I'm also not on vacation here and I have to stop eating like I am or I seriously may balloon to 250. One friend asked me if I thought prosciutto would get old, ummm no. But I could see pasta getting old, so I'm trying to only have the very best. I eat most meals at home and I've decided that I'm going to conquer Italy one region at a time through cooking the quintessiential dishes of each area. This week - Rome - Bucatini alla Amatriciana. I had planned to feature pictures of each dish, but I got so excited about this first one that I ate it all before I remembered to snap a pic. My friend Giuseppe helped me prepare this one and insisted that he buy the pancetta and pecorino because he wasn't confident I would buy the right one. You'll have to just imagine the pancetta/tomato goodness that it was. Next on my list Minestra di Pasta e Lenticchi - Lentil and Pasta Soup. In the meantime, I cheated and made a dish from Tuscany, aka Olive Garden, see above.

Oh New Zealand, my heart is with you - devastating week with the earthquake in CHCH and I continue to struggle a bit with the adjustment and dreams of the beach and mountains. I couldn't sleep last night so I thought I would try counting sheep, and then THAT just reminded me of NZed again....I had planned to do a post before I moved here comparing NZ to Italy, and potentially that is still forthcoming. It's impossible to compare and yet impossible not to

Lost in Translation - learning Italian is proving more difficult than I wanted, mostly because I work in English all day and the only time I have to speak in Italian is in shops. I am taking a class, and I can understand it, but it still pains me to speak. And even in English there's a bit lost in the difference.....Example A, I decided to tell some Italian friends about my first experience with the Italian mail system since I had heard it was so bad, and I had had a positive experience this last week with Schultz arriving!!! Convo = Me: So I had my first Italian mail experience. Them: Oh no, were they really pushy? I will apologize in advance, I'm sorry I feel like every American has one of these. Me: Oh no it was really easy, and I was quite surprised......Fast forward to them thinking I was talking about my first Italian MALE experience....uh awkward and no. Oh please speed up my Italian speaking ability

Home/Life - In addition to settling into a new country and learning how household things work (aka no water pressure, no dryer (thank you again NZed for preparing me), lighting the stove with a lighter, etc.), this is also the first time I've lived alone and had to figure everything out myself AND be left alone to my own devices. Needless to say, I'm still getting used to it. Landlord is making it easier = complaint about the water pressure and he arranged to come with the plumber before I had to go to work and then gave me a ride to work (he's 80 for those of you that think he's trying to woo me). I have made friends with a homeless guy on my street by giving him my change three days a week = so it's beginning to feel like home. I went to Ikea this weekend for a few odds and ends that my flat was missing and I can confidently tell you that Ikea is the same in every country - very convenient on the one hand, and on the other full of crowds/exhausting/annoying, but you always leave with meatballs

Shopping - I had to leave a few things in NZed including a pair of black boots, so I've been struggling a bit with some outfits that demand them. I swear I've been in every boot store in Rome and have mastered how to ask for them and say my size in Italian and yet NOWHERE seems to have my size in a city that is obsessed with boots. I do love that Italians don't really wear heels because of the cobblestones, added bonus. I went to a big public market the other day to look at bikes, and came home with a pasta/meat/vegatable grinder/maker. I'm not actually sure it does any of those things - again why my shopping needs to wait till I speak better Italian

Living in Rome vs. Vacationing Here - A lot of you love to say to me, "oh you're just like Elizabeth Gilbert", and while I love you, I am not 40 or recovering from a divorce and I am not living here for a month to just parade around Italy. This is my real life (and yes at times it is hard to believe, but it still is). Which means, I have to get up and do laundry and pay bills adnd run errands just like you, and it means getting anything normal done takes me ages cause I don't speak the language and Rome frankly isn't set up for easy living if you're not on vacation. Your other favorite thing to say to me is, "Well at least you live in Italy". Yes, true and don't ever think I don't appreciate it, but life is not all pizza and gelato here. However, it is true that gelato makes everything better. Another thing about living here is that I will be trying to find the easiest route home after a night out, and think I found a shortcut and then get thwarted as I come upon a huge pile of stones - oh right the Forum, guess I have to go around those thousand year old rocks

In short - I love it - I'm getting fat eating so much and enjoying every moment - I'm exhausted, while it's easy to find beauty treatments, impossible to find a house/land phone and other basic items - Italian, I'm trying, but this is going to take more than I thought, But I will not be thwarted - Rome/Italy I will make you my home

Rome Wasn't Built in a Day

Welcome home to my apt in Roma
The mini kitchen with washer
My dressing/getting ready room
Bedroom on raised steps
Living room with fireplace (thats a sofabed guests)
On my walk to work across the Tiber
My grocery store
My church
Just wandering around the Jewish Ghetto
My first meal I made myself in my new place

orrechiette with pancetta, garlic, basil, spinach

I've now been in Rome for one week, and frankly the main thing that has run through my mind all week is - WILL NOT COMPUTE. If living in New Zealand was surreal, I haven't quite been able to come to terms with the fact that I actually live in Rome now. It could also partly be the jetlag, 48 hours of flying time and who knows how many times zones. I still haven't quite managed to stay awake past 10pm and still wake up at 5am (or earlier) everyday, or like last night went to bed at 7pm and woke up at midnight. Anyway, I'm here and in one piece even if I'm not totally together mentally yet.

Here's a bit of a summary of my first week of life in Roma -

My arrival was made a bit smoother in that my driver was from Ecuador so we could habla en espanol, and the vacation rental that I had reserved was right in Trastevere so I could quickly get some prosciutto in without venturing too far. The next day, my first full day here I had set up an ambitious day of apartment viewing. With map and dictionary in hand, I set off. The day was characterized by me asking questions in Spanish and them answering in Italian - this has become a theme which I am desperately working to break with Italian studying. The second place I saw actually brought a tear to my eye because I couldn't believe the place for the price. Rome apts are very expensive and most don't have full kitchens (meaning no oven, and usually only a mini fridge and two burners), and I had set a high standard wanting a terrace/outdoor space but also within walking distance to work. I went to see another four places, but just reconfirmed that the 2nd place was the one. The other thing to figure out was getting 1100 Euro in cash immediately, from my foreign bank accounts. The end result is I'm all moved in, my landlord is adorable and welcomed me with fresh fruit in the kitchen, champagne in the fridge, and a fire in the fireplace. Um you had me at Buongiorno - so for my 30th birthday I got myself an apartment, first ever time living alone. When in Rome....(ps, how soon do you think Rome cliches are going to get old? In the meantime....)

-Work: While going back to work full-time is not awesome, if I have to be in an office 40 hours a week, this isn't a bad gig. To start off the day, I walk past the Forum and then my office has a window, and I share it with two girls, one from Mexico and one from Spain - more hablaing en espanol which is good cause I've been worried about losing it. Also, the transition into the subject matter has been pretty easy since its what I was doing before NZ and I know a lot of the people already. Not to mention, my office is directly next to one of many coffee bars and the cafeteria which has an outdoor terrace with views of all of Rome. And thankfully the IDB gave me a good understanding of what working in a huge bureaucracy is like with all the infighting and largesse and ten coffees a day. It's also nice to be exposed to a ton of interesting projects/studies/work and have the freedom to explore and make the position somewhat into what I'd like. However, I do get lost about ten times a day just in the building. Another added bonus of working for the UN is they figure all the Visa stuff out for me and even give me a diplomatic card, which makes life in Rome (and the EU) much easier. Extra added bonus - there's a post office, and "commissary" on site which sells American products at discount prices, and a whole Expat group that also offers Italian lessons.

Remember how patience was one of my goals/NYE resolutions for 2010, well its going to get its true test living in Rome. A wise friend who moved to Europe a few years ago, LJ, always talked about the hassles of life in Europe and I while I tried to mentally prepare, living in New Zealand certainly didn't make the transition to Europe's way of doing things any easier. As one example, I bought a SIM card at the airport which I had researched prior to arriving to make sure I would have a phone right away. Well come to find out that SIM card is incompatible with my phone, and after a long convo with customer service the only way I can get a refund is by going back to the airport. So I went to go purchase another SIM card on my lunch break, but alas the Metro was shutdown because of a strike. Just one of many examples this week....

-Learning paso per paso:

-Apparently you can't order a cafe latte or cappuccino in the afternoon unless you want to

look like a total tourist. Only some version of espresso. I've come to favor the macchiato (with milk froth) or the cafe marocchino (with bitter chocolate)

-You also should only take pasta with lunch, not dinner unless you also want to be a tourist

-Dominating the streets: needless to say the craziness of Roman traffic is a bit to adjust

to from tranquil NZed where you often don't see any cars. Coupled with the fact that on

my first day in the office I found out my co-worker was out all week cause she had been

hit by a car walking home from work. In true Roman traffic sense, the pedestrian light will

be green when it is also green for cars to turn, and no they don't stop for you, so you

either wait forever and never cross or you DOMINATE the streets and walk with authority

and pray that no one wants to commit manslaughter. Or you find a local who is crossing

and keep them to the side of traffic so they get hit first

-Grocery shopping - best done at public markets where you can also negotiate prices and

they usually (in my one week here) throw in a few extras, like bits of herbs or a few extra

tangerines. I went shopping for the week and spent 40 Euro for tons of veggies, fruits,

cheeses, prosciutto, pancetta, and fresh pasta. I did end up with quite a few more items than I had been planning on given that I can't really negotiate yet and when they rapid fire me with Italian I usually just give in and say "Si". Soon to be on this blog a before photo of the giant food baby that I am about to give birth to, so you can follow my bump as it grows

-Shopping in general - I had to leave a few things behind in NZed (just replay Dulles and

you'll get the gist but without the tears) and I needed a new bag here in Italy but planned

to take my time finding a bargain, well the canvas conference bag I was using temporarily

broke on my way the other day and after going in a few places, one lady got the better

of me rapid firing me with Italian telling me how it was all made my hand and of very good

quality, needless to say I am now the proud owner of a new Italian leather handbag. Note

to self, if I want to hold onto any Euros, hold off on shopping till I can speak a bit more

Italian.

And it's nine now, so off to bed, more soon hopefully from a more clear mental place, but all in all - yes Rome you and I are going to get along, I'll work on my patience, and you just continue to work on being kind to me while I learn Italian- deal

Once Upon A Time

Once upon a time the NZ gov't and the US gov't arranged a three way call and gave me a ring and said, "We were wondering if you'd like to live in New Zealand for a year on us? Not convinced? We'll throw in a free Masters degree to sweeten the deal. No no, don't worry about taking the GMAT or GRE, we got you. All we ask is that you speak in your hot American accent, learn how to blowdry your hair, learn a bit of Kiwi slang, give up shopping, and most importantly that you put yourself first and get real comfortable spending time alone. You will also never experience February 2, June 21st, or August 1st, 2010, but we will let you do June 10th, July 25th, and February 4th twice. Oh and one more thing, we forbid you to work".

Okay, so that's not exactly how it happened, and I won't lie and say it's always been easy or that the loneliness and homesickness weren't crushing at times - but if you asked me if I would do it all over exactly the same, I think you can tell that my answer would be a resounding yes. Even the not so choice moments (rewind to my flight here or being told to go home and learn about Native Americans) have all been worth it because they have taught me a lot, most importantly perspective.

And obviously I have a lot of people to thank for contributing to the truly outrageous fortune of this year -

-U.S. taxpayers and Fulbright NZ- if I haven't convinced you through this blog (considering my minimal discussion of my research), the Fulbright is an amazing program and it has changed my life. Even if you're not buying into the whole peace and understanding part, if you want your kids to be able to go live in NZ and get a free degree one day, just remember that when it comes time for voting

-My family - thank you for letting me go be selfish for a year and not making me feel bad for missing big events/gatherings/holidays back home. And thank you to my Mom and Allison for using up all your vacation time to come celebrate with me here.

-My friends - thank you for staying in touch so well and learning to use skype or google video, or sending me random links and photos to keep me in the loop and feeling like I'm still a daily/weekly part of your lives.

-Those of you who realized that mail does get delivered to New Zealand - thank you, I was excited and thrilled about every card, thank you note, Xmas photo, Save the Date, care package, flowers, etc.

-The Maori Orgs - thank you for making time for my academic pursuits and for being so frank and open in sharing your perspective. I not only learned a lot about climate change, but even more about values that I'll carry with me the rest of my life. And thank you for letting me crash your conferences and the heaps of kai, waiata, and Tohu wines

-Fellow Fulbrighters - thank you for letting this ol girl hang out with you ivy league youngins. and sharing in the trials and tribulations of adjusting to life and Fulbright and Kiwi randomness

-Matty NZed, Cap'N Steve, Anton and Amy, Jesse, the 505ers - thank you for befriending this American and for inviting me into your Kiwi lives/homes and letting me relax and forget about my research for awhile and making me feel like I really lived here

-The Sciascia Family - thank you for adopting me, feeding me, trying to matchmake for me, and generally making me feel like I had a family here

-Alice and Aaron - I couldn't have asked for a better living situation and frankly made everyone else jealous with what I had found with you two. I could go on forever, but thank you for letting me live in your awesome house with your awesome view and the new habits you've taught me, sharing meals and teaching me to make things from scratch, new music, sharing your friends, and putting up with all my inane questions from cricket to cars. Now get married already so I can come back for the wedding

-New Zealand - thank you for giving me the most gorgeous of padded walls to explore my mind, for being kind to me (through wallet loss and car probs, etc), for teaching me what meat is supposed to taste like, helping me appreciate simplicity, your quirky ridiculous humour and love for superlatives, and so much more

Thank you to all of you for supporting me in my Fulbright Fairy Tale. I hope I can repay the favor somehow/someday, so let me know.

Now I had planned on shutting this thing down, because frankly you must have had enough of the inner workings of my mind (I know I have) and as my friend Meredith says she knows what I eat for breakfast and what time I go to bed. But alas, I am moving to another capital tomorrow, so I'm debating what to do about that.....I had also thought I would be coming "home" and planned to say a few final words to the person who made the largest difference in my year here.....

To ME:

"Oh hey you, been a great year huh? It's been awesome getting to know you better. Thanks for laughing at all my jokes, you're pretty funny yourself too, and thanks for consoling me when things were rough and figuring out how to get through it. I'll never forget this year together....it's just that I think in order to grow that it's time we saw other people. It's not you, it's me"

Oh wait, uh awkward, I guess we're stuck together for a little longer? You better get some new jokes then.....

And as I think about the fact that I'm leaving NZ today I can't help but be sad, because its over, but I'm thrilled that it happened, although it all still feels totally surreal. And in surrealness, onwards to Italy

Italy I hope you're ready for the hot mess that is about to explode on your doorstep.....

Getting Amongst It - Hard Out!

Finally making a 'pav' or pavlova,

officially invented in NZ, don't listen

to the Aussies.

And two more friends came all the way

to NZed to send me off with one more adventure


NZed, I'm really really gonna miss you
Mt Cook in all its glory

Finally got to Mt Cook with these jokers,

thanks for an amazing week you two, double high five!

And although you

can't see it in this pic, it is truly spectacular (on a sunny day)
Reba really wanted to go ziplining, well

this was more like riding a barca lounger through the sky =

the development of a new verb - getting skywired

Marlborough wine tasting never gets old
Mt Cook and Tasman glacier terminal face with

iceburgs in Tasman lake not as spectacular in the rain
One of many gorgeous sunsets in Coromandel

Two of my favorite Kiwiisms and yes I'm combining them. Get amongst it means get after it or something similar and Hard Out can simultaneously mean Awesome! and go hard after something. Now that you have the gist....

I know I've been missing from blogging, but I warned you back in December that it was going to get a bit crazy here towards the end and while I would normally do a pre-trip blog and post trip blog from my recent visitors - Regis and Ghighah (aka Reba and Gimple), I frankly haven't had a spare second and they don't read this blog anyway, so there.

So the next two posts are going to be a 2 part Finale as we're one week out till I exit New Zealand (yes there is a tear winding its way down my cheek as I write this).

I decided to live this year as a combo of an episode of MTV's Made - like it was the year before my wedding - my last year on Earth - and like I was turning 30. Yes, only one of those is actually happening - that I know of. But regardless I decided why wait for the other three to happen - might as well go hard out and get amongst it and go after all the goals I wanted to set for myself and push myself as hard as I could while also making sure to appreciate every moment (especially those moments of sleeping till whenever I wanted and never using a clock, taking a MeMoon, etc. and always remembering what TI said). And while I may not have become a pro surfer, solved climate change, or found a husband to sail around the world with, I'm more than happy with the way this year has gone. Here's a bit of a recap including superlatives, accomplishments, and a tallying of exactly what I've been up to this year in case you missed the last 40 posts-

-Trip/Visitor superlatives: You all have asked me how your visit/trip compared with the others, well I'm finally going to tell you. I can't believe how lucky I was to have so many of you travel all the way to the other side of the world to visit me and let me show you NZed, and I'm not lying or exaggerating when I say each of you brought a different adventure and brought something unique to my experience here (in no order of importance) -

-Best sampler/viewer/experiencer of Middle Earth: Bob, you saw more of Middle Earth and the randomness of NZed (Shantytown and Blackball for starters), and beauty of the South Island

-Best connoisseur and purchaser of Kiwiana: Laurie Beall, you brought home more of

NZed than even I am, and you did it with zeal and managed to find really unique, special

items that even I hadn't found before living here a year

-Best adventurer/embracer of the outdoors that NZed has to offer/Amazing Racer: Allison Beall, which was clearly going to be an easy category for you to win. Thank you for helping me get amongst some of the adventure items I hadn't bothered or tried to conquer before.

I will always want you on my team.

-Best co-captain/trip planner/navigator/early riser/schedule meeting/logistics CEO:

Stephanie Montgomery, you know I think I can plan/schedule a good trip, but you really

grabbed the sheep by the horns and made me feel like I didn't even need to do much, and

made me feel like the lazybones sleeping till 9am.

-Best one night stand and thank you gift givers: Patty and Mike, even though I only saw you

for one night, it was so relaxing and I really appreciate you including me in your

honeymoon and the UA gear for us all was over the top. First pair of shorts I've liked in

about 12 years

-Best road warriors: Reba and Gimple, you two made the car a party - literally, even in

bad weather and broken antennas, and were my best visitors at singalongs even without

music. A capella Sound of Music soundtrack anyone? (you all were great road warriors so

don't take this personal, reba and gimps had the advantage of a group)

-Best experiencers of my real life here - Laurie Beall, Allison Beall, Reba and Gimps, all for

different reasons - Wellington, Fulbright, Maori

-Best wine/beer tasters/samplers - Allison Beall and Stephanie Montgomery, god forbid

you two are ever on a trip together, cause I'm pretty sure it will end in wine enduced fistacuffs

-Best think on their feeters/getting amongst it on a whim - Bob and Reba and Gimps, your

trips were the least planned and it resulted in new unexpected places/adventures and lots

of laughs

-Best Kiwi accent/impersonation - Reba by a long shot

And I could go on and on, the moral is there wasn't one better than the other, they were all different and truly awesome. I know I'm a bit emotional right now, but you all really blew me away with what awesome friends/family you are (no slights against those that didn't make it, I know it is ridiculously far, and I love you just as much).

And now for the stats. As I've mentioned previously in this blog, I set a few goals for myself here, and here's a bit of a report card:

-Fitness: I don't know how long I said in DC that I wanted to get fit or work out on a

regular basis and never did it. I also was resigned to just never being athletic or being

able to keep up with people. The big joke was watching me run. In NZed I've still felt like

Phoebe on Friends, and it wasn't till my recent visitors and the last few months that I've realized maybe I've made some progress. We'll see what happens when I actually have to balance fitness with work again.

I've run 4 races and I wish I knew how many total kms this year, but it doesn't matter,

what matters is I can beat you up a hill :)

-Conquering fears: I've had a fear of edges (the cliff sort, not brownies) and jumping off

things since I cracked a rib jumping 60 feet off a cliff in Saranac Lake in college. In NZed

I've gotten over this - Five waterfalls jumped off to date, but no I won't be bungying in the birthplace of bungy before I leave. Some things I don't feel the need to check off.

Baking, conquered, I've explained this previously, and metric system you don't scare me anymore either

-Learning two new languages (Kiwi English and Maori) and neither fluently

-Fishing, learning to fish for my dinner and dive for shellfish. This is the life I always wanted

-Gardening: always liked it, never knew seasonality very well or pests or how to build a

worm farm and while learning all that I somehow taught it to little cherubs

-Traveling: I wish I had tallied my total kms, but I have seen almost every corner of this

country except for the far South and most places many times and yet just yesterday I got

jealous of someone going up North. NZed places just keep you wanting more. I also squeezed

two additional countries in this year (Samoa, Australia). Total of the 365 days that I have

been away, I've been traveling for approximately 175 days

-Wwoofing: Would have liked to have done more of it, especially since my first experience was so hilarious here, but maybe I'll have more opportunity in Italy to practice for my eventual farm owning

-Three of the Seven Great Walks done

-Approximately 60 wineries visited and probably over 200 wines tasted

-Ooodles (but never enough) blue cheese eaten

Unexpected occurences:

-Becoming more American, that sneaky bugger Senator Fulbright knew what he was up to

-Realizing there's always money to be found in Academia, you just have to look for it. I now finally understand why people do PhDs (other than the whole learning part). Its a pretty cushy life

-Actually giving up shopping and eating out

-I somehow came here with three email addresses and ended the year with seven

Things I never did and thought I would:

-Camping - I bought a fancy sleeping bag and pad so I could sleep on glaciers, and even

brought a tent all the way here. Tent never used, sleeping bag got used in maraes instead of on glaciers. Frankly, camping alone just sounds like a hassle

-Horseback riding - suggested to each of my visitors, but never happened.

-Never quite found Gollum

-Never made it south of Te Anau, I'll just have to come back to see you Dunners and

Stewart Island and the Caitlins

-Fact I'm most upset about - never snuggling a baby sheep

Part Two of this Finale coming your way shortly.....but first in a reverse 100 days of Beall edition, things I'm not going to miss in NZed -

1) Fighting mold constantly all winter

2) Towels never drying in winter

3) Living so far from friends and family

4) Fried pies, especially of the meat variety

5) Baked beans or spaghetti on toast for breakfast

6) Expensiveness of food, books, movies, clothes

And the real 100 days of NZed edition -

-Southeast Asian food of all varieties - I had to move to New Zealand to start to like Indian food and my favorite restaurant here is Malaysian

-The Wellington Waterfront - such good people watching, gorgeous on sunny days, and tons to do

-The amount that people talk/know about wind. Never in my life have I used the terms "Northerly" and "Southerly", and especially not on a daily basis

-No matter the time of year boots and floral skirts are in season

Okay, Part Two shortly....

Momo and Beaz Down Under

The habour bridge in Sydney
Laurie really got into the posing like statues

in the Botanic Gardens

The opera house
Biking around Sydney, and the Oprah set

in the background. Laurie was super excited about Oprah
At the Jack Johnson concert
Exploring the Australian bush, Three Sisters in background
Mom embracing hiking in the Aussie bush

Kayaking in Sydney
Beachbound in Sydney
Mom frolicking with sheep. This never gets old

Beach strolling and more rock collecting on

the Kapiti Coast, NZ
Sunset in Martinborough
The river we were supposed to canoe down

but the rain made the level too dangerous.

Laurie put those stripes on of her own volition...

Mom double-fisting in Lake Ferry,

vacation location to the stars (and us)
Spent about 2 hours watching these guys

They do not smell good
We were so inspired that we took posing

like statues to a whole new level. Note seal

in background that we are trying to embody
Mom loves rocks, she found some

green ones on this beach

Finally found some unpenned sheep!!!
The NZed Christmas Tree, the pohutakawa

and Merry Xmas to me with a shopping day with Mom
Learning all about sheep shearing at the Wool Shed
Mom getting a taste of Wellington wind,

skirts worn at your own risk
Ahhh Wellington, finally a visitor that

I can share all of the wonders of it with
Xmas present exchange - learning Italian (thanks Ulix!)
Mom got a new umbrella, I think all the

rain got to her and she became obsessed with this

umbrella, so I made her dreams come true and got it for her
Finally got a greenstone, thanks Mom! This one signifies

safe travel over water - I'm gonna need it
And Laurie got a greenstone too, three stones (her fav)!
Laurie crossing over from the Old World to the New,

in the Wellington Botanic Gardens. She tried to come

back through and I made her go back so she could stay

in the New World (ultimately I may be to blame for her travel

delay getting home)

Laurie's visit was a whirlwind. First, I'm not sure how many of you (almost 30somethings) have spent two uninterrupted weeks with your parents recently, but add to that dynamic visiting two countries and the holidays and lets just say it was full of a lot of unexpected surprises, most namely how much we learned about each other. Here's a few highlights from our Mother/Daughter Down Under adventure below:

-Weather: I knew that before we arrived in Sydney they had had torrential rains and flooding, so I was hopeful that they would clear before our arrival. The day before Laurie arrived, I read the weather report in Sydney and it predicted rain for everyday that we were there (damn Australians) and then low and behold it was sunny and hot and perfect everyday we were there (sneaky Australians). Well those Aussies are clever, I'll give them that, trying to garner my Mom's favor by having better weather than NZed. My one visitor to come in actual summer, and we arrived in New Zealand to torrential rain and wind for approx 6 days straight. I kept saying, "It was so hot and sunny in November"....I'm pretty sure this wasn't helping. Well Santa trumped the Aussies and brought NZed some sun and warmth for the last four days of my Mom's visit - so there

-Activities: As I had mentioned in my previous post, Laurie had put in a request for a lot of hiking, biking, kayaking - and I aim to please so that was all on the agenda. I think Laurie still fancies herself a 17 year old boy, and it was quickly apparent that the aggressive activity schedule I had planned might be a bit much, especially combined with jetlag. Here's a few of our activity highlights:

-In Sydney, we took a bike tour with a company that Patty and Mike had recommended from their honeymoon. It's basically one older dude who's just getting started - he also aims to please = perfect combo. Laurie and I share a love of mornings, and we requested an early morning bike tour for 2 hours instead of the sunset or the full day (4 hours), and he obliged and met us at 8am with shiny neon green helmets awaiting us. About an hour and a half in, we had only gone a bit around the Rocks, and over the Harbour Bridge and I nudged Laurie and said, "If you really only want this to be two hours you're going to have to say something to him". Ended up, Laurie and I were on those bikes for 8 hours and saw basically all of Sydney, including a coffee break in Hyde Park, seafood kabobs at the fish market, and even a photo with the Oprah set (gasp). Needless to say, this tour ended with Laurie in bed for a nap, which she quickly had to rouse herself from.....We found out on the bike tour that Jack Johnson was playing a concert in one of the parks that night but tickets were hard to come by, well good ol Graeme our bike tour guru scoured us tix. Should be said that Laurie once told me that a great Mother's Day gift would be for us to see Jack Johnson together - well Mother's Day came early this year. The concert was culminated with a pedicab home, that I got the number of the guy while passing him on the street earlier in the day to see if he would pick us up after the concert. Oh how I love pedicabs...While we were zooming home in style, the rest of the concert dwellers were queued up for a taxi for forever

-Hiking: The Blue Mountains are only 2 hours from Sydney via train and you immediately feel a world away. The bush is much different than that in NZed and we went on what we thought was a nice little 50 min jaunt through waterfalls and awesome views, which actually became us lost and about 2 hours of a lot of hills = Laurie ready for our jaunt to be finished. Funny how the Aussie version of hiking times is actually doubled where NZed is halved.

-Kayaking/canoeing: We kayaked in Sydney, well mostly floated and discussed online dating with a bit of paddling here and there. I had planned a whole canoeing trip for us on the Wanganui River in NZed, where you go up and stay at a lodge that is only accessible by the river and then canoe back out. The rain was against us and the river levels too high, so instead we stayed at a romantic riverside lodge, complete with peacocks, emus, turkeys, and white stallions, played some weird marble board game that we both were skeptical of, and motorboated our way out.

Two weeks together and traveling teaches you a lot and I feel really grateful for having this opportunity while we're both still reasonably young. My Mom's visit also heralded a few new things for me -

-Finding unpenned sheep - finally!!!! And of all places they were roaming on a golf course on a lonely beach in Cape Palliser. I tried to chase them down, but sheep are quicker than you think. I did get a few unadulterated frolicks in with them though with Laurie as my very willing photographer.

-Australia - I was so ready to hate on it, but really Sydney was spectacular, both my Mom and I thought so. Maybe it was actually being in a big city again, or the number of parks, or things to do, but in a way it reminded me of being in cities (maybe NY or SF) back home. The habour is also especially awesome and the proximity of things to do and public transportation is a winning combo. I'm sorry I judged you Australia, and thanks for rolling out the red carpet for Laurie and I. I definitely want to come back, maybe for my Mom's wedding to a hot Australian

-Laurie and I while a lot alike in some ways (we love mornings, and going to bed early, and trying to tackle 8 million things in one day) we have developed a few different interests. For example, I took Laurie wine tasting to a vineyard in Martinborough and afterwards she said, "I don't really get wine tasting. It just seems like shooting the s$%^". Let's just agree to disagree on this one

-Getting reacquainted - As I mentioned I haven't lived near my Mom for over ten years and most of our time together has either been at her home base in the Roc or in SD where we used to live. I had a picture in my mind of my Mother from my childhood as I'm sure my Mom also had a picture in her head of me of some sort. It was good for us both to realize the evolution that our lives have taken and the new people we've become. For example, my Mom really knows what she likes at this point and doesn't feel the need to necessarily push the limits on certain things - ie. she is adamant about not rock climbing or scuba diving, but please bring on the kayaking and biking. Whereas I am trying to check as much off as possible

-Accommodation - One thing I've always known and loved about my Mom is her willingness for new adventures and meeting new people (see above and below, to a point!) so I figured since I am broke that I would have us stay at backpacker accommodations but obvi with our own room. I was unsure how this would go, but Laurie really took to it for the most part, other than in one place where our room had no windows and the claustraphopia started to set in. And for my part, especially in Australia we could have chosen some better places. In the Blue Mountains, I'm pretty sure many people have been murdered in the place we stayed and there was a painting in our room of a woman whose nipples had been burned off - questionable to say the least. Laurie grinned through it all and in Sydney we stayed at a place right on the beach with free boogie boards (Laurie's excitement about this was huge) and bikes. Laurie really embraced the backpacker culture by offering another woman (age 70) some of our extra food. However, Laurie felt the need to clean the kitchen to Laurie standards even though I kept telling her that it was communal and we only needed to clean up after ourselves = Laurie probably the best backpacker a lodge could find.

-Curiosity - I think my Mom should have been an explorer. She is probably the most curios person that I have ever met concerning facts, natural surroundings, people, the weather, my choice in clothing, you name it. One of my favorite illustrations of this was her ripping the leaves off a tree that she especially liked the flowers on so that she could show someone (a random botantist that we would run into?) the leaves and inquire about the tree species. This had a non-botanist end in the Sydney airport when I informed her that biosecure NZed would not appreciate her curiosity and import of foreign Aussie leaves. I also left her on her own in a little beachside town near Wellington while I worked one day and she managed to discover two Maori artisan galleries (that I never new existed) and learn more about Maori culture than the rest of my visitors combined. Yet another example, when we were taking a casual picnic down at a seal colony beach, I literally had to tear her away from the seals, she could have stayed there for hours watching each of their little personalities and smelling their awfulness

Trooperness - Laurie arrived after a 25 hour plane ride to my aggressive itinerary and criticalness (yes I need to work on this) and soon developed a cold. She was a major trooper, never complaining even though she was up coughing all night some nights, and grinding through my aggressive itinerary without a complaint. Her stamina and good will is something I will aspire to especially at her advanced (but not that advanced!) age. I have only ever seen this kind of trooperish behaviour in one other person - Laura Jack in Italy, but LJ is 30 years younger so Laurie still gets extra points in my book. She was cured by NZ (so there Aus) and even kept up her spirits/stamina on a rerouted/delayed trip back to the US. You're my health/attitude hero Laurie!!

-Meeting new peeps - It's always easier to meet people when you have a buddy rather than just by yourself, but Laurie has a special magnetism for meeting new peeps. We were at a bar in Dee Why (near Manly in Sydney, and yes that's how it's spelled for some reason) and I left her alone at a table for all of two minutes while I got us drinks and she was already chatting away with a gentleman (conveniently quite attractive) and even getting folks to comment on how much they liked her accent. Needless to say this encounter cemented Dee Why in my Mom's list of favorites of the trip to the point where she was taking photographs of any sign (and I mean any, like a hardware store) that said Dee Why. Or in Paekakariki Laurie was collecting business cards left and right from all the people she befriended in a 4 hour stretch of alone time. This may come full circle one day, we will see....

-Eating - In Australia we sampled the kangaroo (oddly delicious), the local fish the barramundi, and had true British scones and creme in the blue mountains. I've never been a real carb eater for breakfast and never really fancied scones, but these changed my mind. I not only felt so refined eating them, but they were filling. In NZed, we cooked a Xmas dinner of Cioppino (shoutout to Italy) for Alice's family and cranberry spinach salad (our whole meal was red and green) and cherry and apple crumble. I think this might be a new Xmas cooking tradition for us. We had Vietnamese dinner one night and Kiwi whitefish and scallops the next. We also did real well at packing in our consumption of cheese and chocolates (even visiting a chocolate factory where Laurie bought 1o bars to bring home at 11 dollars each, that's Schocingly good chocolate).

-Shopping - My Mom has always frowned on my love of shopping and even inquired as to whether I use it as a crutch when having a bad day. Now I have sadly (but successfully) given up shopping this year due to my meager stipend. I was completely shocked that of all my visitors my Mom came with a shopping agenda and even I couldn't hold her back. From an opal ring at a shop with cages and security in Sydney to chocolates and soaps and umbrellas and greenstone. Add to that all of the rocks she was "shopping" for on every beach and riverbed we came across. On her last day she told me I needed to bring a box to her hotel so she could ship stuff back to herself (this was avoided). However, I was also the willing recipient of my Mom's shopping binge where she wanted to take me to buy work clothes (since those didn't quite make it to NZed and since I'm not coming home I'm going to need something to wear in Italy). One thing I think my Mom underestimated was the price of clothing here, so sticker shock set in real quick but I made it out with probably the best pair of pants I've ever owned. Laurie's shopping was not quite complete as she really wanted to take home a beach towel, but we didn't manage to find a perfect one. Yes she lives in Rochester

I promised my sister that I would record some of the all time greats of Laurie sayings over the two weeks and here's a few that really made me laugh:

Me- Aren't you going to be hot wearing pants?

Mom - No, because I'm going to wear a shirt

Cabbie - What hotel are you going to?

Mom - Rochester, NY

Mom - Cambodia's economy must be doing pretty well cause there are a lot of Cambodians here.

Me - Oh how can you tell they're Cambodian?

Mom - I just can

Mom - We (referring to her and I talking to hot dude in Dee Why) just met in Sydney

Me - Well we didn't just meet, we've known each other for a bit

And probably my favorite part of my Mom's visit was having a visitor who had the time to just take in my real life here - meeting my advisors, and my host family, and Alice's parents, and seeing my office, touring Wellington, grocery shopping and making dinners at home. I've really enjoyed touring the country with my other visitors, but there is something also nice about just getting to show my Mom (especially) where I've called home this last year and the people that have been a part of my life and my NZed family.

Thanks Momo for our Down Under Adventure!!! It was truly amazing and interesting and intense and different (four of my Mom's favorite words) all at once. I loved every moment of it. And I can't wait till our next adventure somewhere awesome

100 days of Beall NZed style -

The simplicity of life - on my Mom's visit we really got to just embrace the nuance of what makes New Zealand awesome. Easy days with nice people, cooking meals and strolling in beautiful scenery, and you know learning about sheep shearing

Going to the beach on Xmas - After my Mom departed, I had Xmas brunch with my flatmates family, and then took myself to the beach. As I stated in a previous post, I've never been a humongous fan of Xmas, but I could really get behind it with adding the beach in

Variability of weather - some people love the seasons like my Mom. I happen to love sun and warmth more than cold other than when I'm skiing or a big snowstorm for about one day, but one thing I do really appreciate in New Zealand and especially Wellington is that you can easily experience four seasons in one day and no matter the weather report the weather can change in an instant (something about it being an island and Antarctica's proximity). This really makes you appreciate the sunny/beautiful times and take full advantage, and then you can get back to work on those rainy/dreary days

Being able to get lost in the bush on a run ten minutes from my house and come out on a beach, and at the same time live in the capital city which is totally walkable

That you can never actually get lost in NZ for more than 30 min. For one, everything is really well signed to the point of "Historic place 300 meters" and for two, the roads that there are all lead to where you want to go

The mix of the metric system and our system - I had to work in the metric system for my previous job but I never fully understood it and frankly it always intimidated me. Now I realize that it makes way more sense, I mean 100k is so much easier to calculate than 60 miles. NZed has really facilitated this unintimidating learning curve for me by combining the two. Even baking in the metric system has lost its fear factor, oh you want me to weigh that butter? I'll just eye it.