Reentry Shock...it will get ya!

I can honestly admit that this journey back home has been a challenging one. I am trying to slide right back into my "old" life and "old" routines but I'm finding it rather difficult. I have my ups and downs but I'm trying to live with the outlook that when the future seems overwhelming, remember that it comes one moment at a time.

It was difficult to jump off the plane-rush home-and head off to the hospital to see my papa as he was getting out of open heart surgery. The first few hours and days were hard to get through physically and emotionally. Suffering  from major jet lag (sleeping for 3 hours at a time leaves one cranky girl) and also the stress of life in the States made things even harder. Not to mention the shock of driving on the right hand side of the road again! It is amazing what little things in life you take for granted and don't think twice about. You go someplace where your world is flipped upside down and you learn a new way of doing things and when you return "home" your "old" routine becomes foreign.

After my first night home and many trips back and forth to the hospital I headed up to Muncie (Ball State) to organize my life for next semester and see everyone I had missed for the past three months. During my stay I spent some quality time with Alex, had a fun time with some girl friends at the mall, went out to dinner a few times, scheduled all of my classes for fall semester, enjoyed my time at the rock wall, made it to a cookout, and even had the time to see my Aussie family at a get together on my last night.

By the end of my stay I was feeling a little ill so I headed home and stopped off at a med check just to get cleared for my visit to see Papa in recovery. I found out that I was indeed sick and could not safely go visit the hospital until I was feeling better. I had a soar throat (strep test came back negative) and had a throat sample sent off to the lab for testing. Also have been having body aches, headaches, trouble sleeping, and nausea. All symptoms I was told will go away with some R&R. Not exactly what I was hoping for but at least it wasn't anything serious.

It has now been a week since I have been home and a week since the major surgery and life is starting to settle down. Papa is in recovery and having more positive days than negative...I am getting better at sleeping as well as recovering from being sick. Even though I still miss Australia, I am starting to get use to being back in good old Indiana. Trying to stay positive and tell myself that one day...Ill make it back to the Land Down Unda!

Back in the States

The flight to Chicago was delayed after the plane was deemed inoperable. We boarded the first plane and had to wait while they worked on the plane for about an hour and a half until a new plane landed and we could be moved. Because the flight was delayed so much we didn’t think we would make it for our next flight to Indy however after landing we called the gate and told them we had 17 passengers on our way and explained the situation. As soon as we got off the plane we all ran to the next gate and thankfully they waited for us and we made it!

Landing at the Indianapolis airport, May 2^nd, was quite the rush. I was nervous, excited, scared, happy, and sad all at the same time. Reality of the real world was about to hit hard. As I walked down the terminal I couldn’t help but to think about everything that had changed since I had been gone. When you go away for such a long time you start to think that your life back home was put on hold and when you get back you can just push play. When in reality life goes on. Accepting everything that has happened and coming to terms with it is one thing that is very hard to get use to.

Alex was the one who picked me up from the airport. At first I didn’t see him when I walked down the terminal but as soon as I did I snuck up behind him and whispered pssst right behind him. He immediately turned around and grabbed me. It was comforting to be in his arms again and was the first time I felt like I was home again. I might have cried when I landed on American soil again but I now know that it is time for me to be home…at least for now. It is time for me to be here with my friends and family.

Heading back to the States!

As the journey back to the States begins I cannot help but to feel a little bit of sorrow. Traveling has been my life for the past three months and that is all about to change. Reentry back into my old life is going to be very challenging. We started our trip home when we left Queenstown on Saturday morning. We all couldn’t get on the same flight so we were split up and would later reconnect back in Auckland. Our first flight was to Christchurch and then from there to Auckland. The flights were pretty smooth and quite short. Every flight has an instructional safety video but the best part of these flights was that they featured Richard Simmons! Everyone was dressed in 70s workout clothes and turned the safely features into a workout. . .it was pretty entertaining! The first was about 30-45 min and the second a little over an hour. I think we spend more time in the airports than on a plane! To pass the time we played Gin 13 and took a lot of pictures. After we arrived in Auckland we waited for the rest of the group to get back and then we headed into town for our last night in New Zealand and our first night in Auckland. We booked a hostel and our bus (to and from the airport) at the airport so we wouldn’t have to wonder around the city at night. The Base was our hostel of choice this time (since we had just stayed in one the night before) we were comfortable with their accommodations.

Queenstown Airport group!

Leaving the airport

Waiting for take off

View from the plane

Christchurch Airport group!

Once we were all settled into our hostel and had some dinner we decided to head out and enjoy our last night on this amazing adventure. Our bar of choice was the Ice House! It is an ice bar in Auckland where everything is made of ice and inside is -5 degrees…you literally walk into a freezer! They provide jackets and gloves for you and are limited to 30 minutes in the bar at a time due to the temperature. The cost was steep but it included a free drink, jacket, gloves, and of course the experience. The $25 was worth it for me.

Our room :)

The group before we headed out to the bars

Ice Bar

Free drink with entry!

Even the cups were made of ice!

The group at the bar

Brrrrrr

ICE HOCKEY!!!!!!!!!!

I was the undefeated champ!

The group for the night...after the ice bar

After the ice bar we went on a tour of the city trying to find the apartment that the rest of our group (from back in Australia) had been staying for the week. When we found it we hung out with them for a bit until it was time to head back to the hostel and get some much needed sleep.

On Sunday morning we woke up around 8:45am to shower, pack, and catch a bus back to the airport. Our flight out of Auckland wasn’t until 7:15pm but we didn’t have anywhere to store our luggage for the day so the airport was our hang out until it was time to fly back to LA! It took me awhile to get my suit cases all organized and underweight but with the help and extra room from a friend I made it work. The only problems we had were the changed rules that the airline had saying we were only allowed 1 checked bag instead of the 2 we were allowed to have on the way here (this rule I did not know at the time). But no worries it was soon all sorted out and everyone got both pieces of luggage checked and we all made it through security and to the terminal smoothly. Now it was the big Hurry up and Wait theory of traveling that we all love so much!

Heading to the Auckland Airport



Auckland Airport

The flight to LA was about 12 hours long. It was a smooth trip despite a few patches of turbulence. At first my seat was pretty far from the rest of the group but thankfully one of my friends asked the front desk if we could change seats and they were more than accommodating. I got moved to a window seat and my friend got to sit with me as well with no problems.

I didn’t sleep very well on the plane due to a cranky man sitting behind me and complaining about leaning my seat back but the food was pretty good and the movies were entertaining. For dinner I had lamb and for breakfast I had hotcakes. Watched a few comedies’s and took a few short naps. By the time we landed in LA I was exhausted but excited to get back to my phone. I made my first calls from the plane and soon realized that I didn’t miss my phone as much as I thought I did. We have a 10 hour layover in LA. So far we got our first sweet teas from McDonald's and a few free drinks at the bar to pass the time. While at the bar we met a really nice lawyer and his son (who is also a lawyer) and they offered to take all three of us out to dinner. They were from Denver Colorado and were here visiting family. It was very sweet and we got a free dinner and bottle of wine out of it!

My first sweet tea back in the states! ohh how I have missed you :)

Out to Dinner in LAX!

The Restaurant

Lava Lamp Fun!

hehe :)

Can't wait to see everyone back in Indy! Its definitely a bitter sweet return. 

There is no such word as TRY, there is only DO or DID NOT DO!

Today was one of those days that you will never forget. It was my very first sky dive! We woke up in the morning and to be honest, I was pretty nervous knowing we were jumping out of a plane later in the day. Then after taking one of the guy’s bungee jumping and walking around the town it was time for us to check in at the sky diving shop NZONE. Once we signed two waivers we were loaded onto a bus and driven about 20 min to the dive site.

Here there was a coffee shop, reception area, and of course the planes and gear. We waited for a bit and then it was time to gear up and meet our dive masters. My dive masters name was Boris Adamov. He was originally from Russia and did a great job at making me feel comfortable. After I suited up in my jump suit and harness we waited. By now I had forgotten all about being nervous and was running on pure excitement! I met my photographer and watched as people fell from the sky.

Dive Site

Loved this!

Then it was our turn! We loaded the plane by sitting in between our dive masters legs and then our photographer sat in between our legs and so on. The plane was packed full of people and we were all getting ready to jump. The plane ride was surprisingly smooth considering how tiny the plane was. It had a door that lifted straight up (like a garage door) that opened whenever we reached the altitude that the next person was jumping from. I jumped at 15,000ft which was the highest you could jump.

Plane ride up to the dive site

There is no turning back now!

I had 60 sec in free fall and then parachuted to the ground. I was the second to last person out of the plane but the last person to land. My dive master and I had a lot of fun in the air. He even let me pilot the parachute for a bit! He handed me the handles and told me to pull down hard to the right . . . not knowing what this would do I listened. Soon we were spinning in circles quite fast! I LOVED IT!!! He pointed out that we were flying over the remarkable ranges (the only mountain range that runs true north and south the whole length of the range), and lake Wakatipu (399m at its deepest point).

One of the Greatest Feelings I have ever had!

Words cannot describe the feeling you get

when your free falling!

Landing

Me and my dive master :)

It was definitely one of those experiences that you just have to do for yourself. Put all of yours fears behind you and go for it! Embrace the Fear. There was a quote at the NZONE place that I really like…

I must not fear,

Fear is the mind killer

Fear is the little death that brings

Total obliteration

I will face my fear

I will permit it to pass over

And through me

And when it has gone past

I will turn the inner eye to see its path

Where the fear has gone there will be nothing

Only I will remain

~Frank Herbert

I kept this quote in my mind as we were flying up to the dive site and I truly believe that I was fearless on this trip and I conquered my fears and made my dreams come true!

Our group!



I had the time of my life on this adrenaline packed adventure...I wouldn't change my experiences the past three months for the world!

 Tonight we are staying in a hostel in Queenstown called the Base. It has it's own bar, lounge area, wifi, and lots of activities. We are ready for a good nights sleep and are getting ready to fly back to Auckland for our last night in New Zealand before heading back to the States.

My Traveling Family!