Suddenly I'm at the halfway mark in my time here. So many of my friends here are returning home, and it feels so strange to send them off while I remain here for six more months. Our little group of au pairs has gathered together in such a specific little club, it feels so final to watch people walk out into the mist of the "real world", especially when it seems like I've just gotten to know them. It's an odd time, this halfway point. I know soon, probably too soon, I will be the one struggling to pack my suitcase, having my final hot chocolate at Corelli's, saying goodbye. It's hard to imagine.
Rotorua reminded me a lot of Gatlinburg, or at least as close as NZ gets to that particular brand of tourist town. There are billboards everywhere for slightly hokey activities like luging, gondola rides up the mountain, petting zoos, all that jazz. Of course, even NZ at its most touristic doesn't hold a candle to the PT Barnum absurdity of most of the US tourist traps (I'm lookin' at you, Fountain of Youth)! It was fun to see that side of Kiwi culture though, after doing so many trips taking us to remote edges of the country.
Thanks for bearing with my ramblings, dear readers. It's nice to share my travels, external and internal, with you.