Sorry for the brief hiatus; I’ve been dealing with a minor visa fiasco. After about two months and three weeks of traveling through Schengen Zone countries (most of the European Union and Switzerland), I learned that I was only allowed to spend three months in Schengen countries without a visa. Since I am studying in France, I assumed it would be easy for me to get a student visa. However it turned out to not be that simple.…
At last, an update from Chamonix. Sorry for not posting sooner, but I’ve been busy settling into life here and figuring out my plans for the winter. I’m on Winter Break from French, so I finally have time to take photos and update this blog.
It looks like I am going to spending a good portion of the winter living in Chamonix studying French and skiing. I’m still planning on traveling to Asia and New Zealand, but right now I am enjoying being in once place for a little while.…
I’m back in DC, slowly adjusting to the freezing weather and extreme time difference. But it’s not all bad, I’ve been able to hang out with friends, play with my cat, and sleep in an actual bed.
More than anything August seems worlds away. I’ve jammed so much into the past four and a half months that I find myself struggling to remember details from a week or two ago, let alone September or October.…
I arrived in LA this morning- exhausted, jet lagged, and ready to be off the plane. The odd thing is that I left Tuesday afternoon and arrived Tuesday morning, so my plane arrived here half a day before it departed Auckland since we crossed over the International Date Line sometime last night.
I’ve had it drilled into me from a young age to always allow plenty of time for any delay that might crop up at the airport, so when I heard about the new security measures I figured I should be sure to arrive extra early.…
I’m leaving New Zealand for Los Angeles tomorrow morning. I have two days in LA and then back home. The reality is only starting to sink in and I don’t think I’m not ready for this trip to end. I know I’m not ready for the cold front that is currently blanketing the East Coast.
There’s a lot more to say, but I need to finish packing so I’ll save it for another post.…
As my trip winds to an end, I’m spending a few days in the Bay of Islands, also known as the “winterless north”, hanging out on the beach and getting a tan that is bound to look out of place in the snow that I hear Washington, DC has been getting.
Although I’m still not nearly ready to leave, I feel like I have just about seen all of New Zealand.…
Only in New Zealand…
…Can you roll down a hill in what is essentially a giant beach ball.…
I’m in the midst of a quick tour of the North Island. I was in Wellington two days ago, Taupo yesterday, and am currently in Rotorua. I’m off to Auckland tomorrow and then to the Bay of Islands and Cape Reinga for a few days on the beach.
It’s summer here, and it seems like half of New Zealand is vacationing in Taupo. Taupo is located on the largest lake in New Zealand and the lake– another instance of interesting New Zealand geology.…
I’m spending a day in the coastal town of Kaikoura and was looking forwards to going swimming with dolphins. It turned out it was much too windy to swim, but the trip still ended up being quite eventful.
The area around Kaikoura is famous for being home to large pods of dolphins and there is a place here that arranges a boat that goes about half an hour out and jump in and swim with wild dolphins.…
