good morning and happy new years day! 

last night was ridic as promised.  the streets were packed, people everywhere, stages playing music, beers abound.  kaleb and i found ourselves in the company of a british couple that we met in milford sound.   they were totally shitfaced when we met up and from there the night took a turn for the drunker.  jaager, vodka, and some blueberry soda rounded out the night i believe.  K and i decided early on in the day not to lose our shit that night and we definitely succeeded in maintaining a nice buzz until bedtime. 

at midnight we made our way to the beach and pulled up some sand to watch the fireworks directly overhead; sound magnified by the water and surrounding canyon.  you could feel the pounding in your chest every time one went off.  it was perfect.  beautiful.

then it was bedtime.  surrounded by drunks.  many, many drunks.  screaming in many languages, but mostly english.  and good lord they only had 7 toilets for 300-500 people for 2 days.  they also ran out of toilet paper about 2 days ago.  i am now a master at 'holding it'.  trust and believe.

im exhausted and just discovered that i goosed myself by drinking a ton of coffee on an empty stomach which always is a recipe for disaster.  totally made my slight hangover worse rather than better.  balls.  i suppose this means its time for an actual breakfast.

its new years eve! 

today i believe i am going to watch kaleb bungy jump off something high, and im going to lay out on the rugby field where we are camping and catch some sun.  there are too many people and not enough camp sites, so they are charing us $25 per night to pitch a tent on the field with literally 300 other people in their mid-20s looking to party.  this is going to be utter madness. 

i think i need a beer.  its 11:15am.  dont judge me.  i promise ill shower later...maybe.

im not sure what else to say because im pretty well caffeinated and having trouble thinking because its so hot and im in jeans.

on this NYE do what i do and follow what my granny said: "YOU DO NOT ALWAYS HAVE TO BE GOOD, BUT YOU SHOULD ALWAYS BE SAFE."  -Lea Feuerberg

sorry i havent been updating for a while, but please take that as i sign that i am having the time of my life and just keep forgetting to check the interwebz.

i am learning that plans change a lot when youre backpacking, but im really ok with this.  i was supposed to be in methven for christmas, but ditched out on that the night before and hopped into a car with an alaskan man and another californian that i met in the hostel in christchurch and we headed straight for queenstown.

it was a wonderful 8 hour drive during which we entertained ourselves by listening to classic '70s and '60s american rock, playing "hey cow/sheep!", and stopping every few hours to take photos of each other climbing on top of statues of fish and fruit.  naturally i won, but the victory was shortlived because now the cows that i startled haunt my dreams.  i also learned that i am not super fond of cows up close.  dont ask me why.

queenstown is amazing.  i walked out of the car and felt right at home.  this place is at the base of a mountain and surrounding the north side of a magnificent lake.  and wow does that town have a personality!  more outdoor stores than you can shake a stick at, bars and restaurants, skydiving, bungy, rafting, boating, kayaking, hiking... theres a million things to do.

we chose to get burgers at fergburger and then drive around until we found a wicked beautiful campsite 4km down a gravel road.  cannot tell you what it felt like to wake up on the side of a mountain and dip my feet in a lake to wake up.  despite the massive quantity of bugs and bites that i acquired (i think its up to 20? in one day), i wouldnt have traded it.  if i were to do one thing differently about that night, it would have been to shut the window before going to bed so that the mosquitoes couldnt get in.  FAIL.  but we are actually car-camping instead of using a tent, so its pretty convenient all things considered.

christmas came and went in queenstown just like any other holiday celebrated by travelers: with great quantities of booze.  my travel buddy kaleb went paragliding while i sunned myself on the beach.  then he and i had pizza and beers with the bikers that i met in tekapo, napped, and spent some time by the hotel pool before heading down to the impromptu party of beautiful young people in the lake.  the rest of the night included more americans, dutch girls avoiding the american men, the aussie biker getting attacked by some chick, and much dancing.  ah backpacker bars...

kaleb and i woke the next day and proceeded to spend way too much money shopping like tourists and then white water rafting later on.  i cannot oversell the drive to the river as it was hands-down the most dangerous road that i have ever been on.  the bus driver and guide had way too much fun torturing the women with fear of heights by driving with only 3 wheels on the road at one point.  clearly, you had to either laugh or cry from fear.  i chose laugh.  the rafting itself was fab although slow at first.

yesterday we checked out of the hotel and went wine tasting down the coast.  in lieu of camping another night in QT, we made our way to te anau which is about 4 hours south and then west of QT.  because there is naturally no tv and i am a super-nerd, we entertained ourselves by cooking our first healthy meal in too many days, and reading shakespeare out loud. 

that finally brings me to today.  today was for milford sound.  we drove up here looking for some kayaking and hiking adventure, but as it turns out we got up here late in the day because the drive was longer than we thought, and the kayak tours were all sold out.  we opted for a 2-hour boat cruise through the fijords instead which was stunning.  although we (read: me) had every intention of hiking this afternoon/evening, it looks like rain and i found the internet and my wine.  theres also some laundry in the works as well.  so now its tomorrow for hiking haha!  i think ill trick kaleb into a 5-hour hike instead of the 3-hour one i promised him... thats if it isnt raining like the weatherman promised tomorrow.  then its probably back to te anau for a night if we dont go straight back to QT until new years which is shaping up to be just f-ing wild.

and so, with the sweet strains of a live recording of the police's SOS in my ear, i must away for to make dinner.  and more wine.

i love you.
Taryn

ah... lake tekapo.  i will remember you fondly, and not just because i was finally rid of my crazypants tagalong. 

i pulled over to check out the town and ended up staying for 2 days because it was just stunning.  i set up my tent overlooking the water that is a beautifully unnatural shade of blue.  unfortunately it was super far from the bathrooms, but this proved to be a problem only in the mornings. 

yesterday i went for a morning hike that turned out to be almost a half-day excursion because i had to keep stopping to take photos.  the walk was from the lake to the summit of the hill that surrounds it, topped with a little cafe that served awesome breakfasts.  exactly what you want after a good workout.  the rest of the day was spent doing laundry, internetting, attempting and failing to make a proper gourmet lunch in army-style cookware, and generally putzing around the lake. 

well, that is until this group of motorcyclists in their mid-50s (with one super hot aussie adonis in his 30s, natch.  no lie, when i walked up he was sunning himself on the back of his bike like a cat and i might have tripped a little at the sight.) pitched their tents next to mine and invited me to come drink a few beers with them, which turned into pizza and beers in town, which turned into us drinking copious amounts of frangelico/whiskey/mango vodka around our potable stoves to keep warm until sometime around 2am.  sitting around and bullshitting with those guys was one of the best times ive had thus far in this country.  they were absolute riots and music snobs.  i totally appreciate that.

why frangelico and mango vodka?  i have no idea but i couldnt stop laughing at this scene of tough bikers sipping their drinks with shaved chocolate in them. 

this morning found me groggy and with a mouth that tasted of sweet, sweet frangie, but pretty well off considering.  then it was off for mt. cook.  the drive took a little longer than i expected, but you really cant complain when you have these incredible views.  when i arrived and saw all the snow and glaciers, i quickly realized that i am seriously lacking in the camping gear department.  my sleeping bag is barely warm enough for lowland adventure, let alone mountainous tramping with near-freezing temps.  so i checked into one of the hostels here and laid down for a quick cat nap that lasted 3 hours. 

i spent the afternoon perusing the base camps for hiking and did a little walking and sightseeing myself; planning for tomorrow.

now if youll excuse me, my internet time is almost up and i must drink my 4th liter of water before a seriously, seriously needed shower. 

i dropped the bomb yesterday and said that i just wanna travel alone.  he didnt get it.  its gonna be an awkward car ride for tim this morning.  poor bastard.

had to get out of christchurch.  it looks like bosnia without half the number of attractive people.  so i decided that i would come to the beach/mountain town of akaroa.  an interesting irishman said that he would split the rental car with me if he could come.  so i agreed.  i believe that was my first mistake.

its only an hour or so drive, but tim decided that he wanted us to brave downtown rush hour traffic and gather some camping supplies for him, so the drive took 3 hours instead of 90 minutes.  while i was mildly annoyed at this, i was soon mollified by the drive out to akaroa, which is stunning and mountainous.  plus tim was afraid of my driving and i took both pride and pleasure out of that.  im not ashamed to admit it.

the town is so quaint; quiet and laid back even though it was originally settled by the french.  who knew?  we are camping at a hostel on the side of a mountain that is also a working sheep farm.  words and pictures cant quite capture the majesty of this place.  ill have to post pics of the ridiculous sunset last night when i get a chance. 

so this morning was a little rough after the few beers last night but i had faith that this next week traveling with tim around the mountains would go fairly well.  im beginning to think i was wrong.  we went for a hike today and i am finding so many things that annoy me about this man.  he constantly mumbles in a thick accent so i have to keep asking him to either repeat whatever inane comment he just made, or simply grunt in assent.  he seems to be ok either way.  he also has an annoying habit of trying to take care of me not in a chivalrous way, but in a parental way, which dara will tell you that i hate.  he even reminded me to "bring some toilet roll on the hike in case you have to 'country pee'".  i just about quit right there.

he keeps talking about how he was in the army and what boot camp was like, but im beginning to have the suspicion that he may be lying about that, and is instead an avid follower of military practices that borders on stalking.  he even tried to teach me how to properly walk down a hill without tripping.  this from a 32 year old, morose, pudgy lord of the rings fan who wears his pants above his belly button and was upset because he didnt have his correct military webbing for his water canteen.  the hike was just for 2 hours.  yeesh.

needless to say, im thinking about just giving him my half of the car rental money (which we are supposed to have for a week) and telling him that i need to be on my own.  i actually miss being quiet and having quiet around me. can i break it to him?  should i just continue to get schmammered instead?  i really dont want to say that i spent a week of my 6 weeks in new zealand with someone i dont like.  decisions...

that being said, this town so so cute i could eat it up.  one main road and we are living above it all, up in the clouds.  the sheep woke me up this morning and the only place to shower or cook is in a lean-to shed about 100 yards from the campsite.  its perfect.  we leave tomorrow morning for mt. cook in the middle of the south island.  i believe there are inactive volcanoes and whatnot there.  super excited to see all of that.

i love you.  i miss you.  send me strength.
taryn

hello again my crazypantses.

im here finally in christchurch, new zealand after a fucking trial of a 48hours.  i tok a bus from byron bay to sydney (16hours) and then stayed with a friend that i met only one time back in the states.  he was incredibly gracious and allowed me to stay last minute in his spare room because he is a scholar and a gentleman.  youre the best, sid.  he even made me coffee in the morning and brought over his friend who hadnt been to sleep yet for my entertainment.  at least, thats how i like to think of it.

then the next day i had to re-acquire all the shit i sent off, so i met my aunt dodie's niece from the states who lives in sydney and she was able to help me with all that.  in exchange i bought beers.  and i actually ate a real meal with her for the first time in a very, very long time.  she was so nice.

then it was off to the airport.  i waited in line to check in and they told me that i actually needed a printout of my flight NZ from another airline before i could check into a flight there.  fine.  so i did that.  then i went back to the check in station and they said oh no!  you need your exit itinerary from NZ because youre such a threat to the environment or some shit.  so i did that.  i rushed and ran and even cried a little in the bathroom bc i thought i was gonna miss the plane again, but it turns out the plane was 2 hours late.  there was no need for the theatrics.  ah well i needed the practice.

so i arrived in this lovely country at 2am i id be damned if i actually paid for a room and only stayed in it for 6 hours, so i proceeded to sleep in the airport like about 40 other people and relax until the comupers turned on and i could get directions to my hostel.

the bus was actually amazing because i met this english guy who was willing to pay my bus fare because the bus driver couldnt break a fifty.  he and i chatted for about an hour and then stopped as soon as we got into town.  christchurch looks like bosnia.  it experienced an earchquake in april 2010 of 7.1 which rocked the city to its core and demolished much of the town and its surrounds.  then in february of this year, they had another huge earthquake that made the grad total percentage of damage to about 70%.  im not kidding when i say that this town looks like it had been bombed.  there are even tours beign given of the destroyed churches that used to be on the "church tour".  its really sad.

so anyway, yesterday i finally arrived at the hostel and it seemed like a gift from the universe.  i was so tired that i couldnt get warm, and i thought i was getting a fever because it was so cold outside that my face had windburn (i thought this was supposed to be summer?!?).  oh well, i decided that i was going to absolutely nothing all day except sleep, eat good meals, and read my book.  and it was perfect. 

today, after almost 9 hours of sleep (hold cannoli) i finally got up and felt amazeballs.  i had light breakfast and proceeded to go for a 6 hour hike with a 40 year old aussie man who kept saying, "EASY!!"  every time he wanted to accentuate something he said.  cant hold that against him though bc he was super nice and generous.  we walked up and down hills, went shopping for supplies, and generally had a pleasant time.

after a little hiking, trespassing, and a few beers, here i am: in a hostel lounge again, dreaming of all of you.  i love you.

tomorrow i will either go window shopping downtown or hiking with a young german boy who needs the money and has a car, while i need the car and have money.  (we may meander down south together to queensland and do some camping if it works out in both our favors.)

thats the super brief version of my last few days, and if you want more stories ill have to be chargin ya.

TF

im trying to plan for my last few days here in Oz, because i dont want to have high amounts of leftover currency and have to trade them in for kiwi dollars.  i also dont want to buy tons of food because itll make my pack heavier and i dont wanna fly with it... idk its all strategical and whatnot. 

i just arrived in byron bay today, and its this magical mix of santa cruz hippie chic and progressiveness in the food arena, and the santa barbara laidback-ness of a surfing community.  its like im back in college and it feels amazeballs.  i am SO glad i just outright booked my last two days here.  my hostel even has a pool!  and americans!!  i think it used to be a motel and was then converted.  wish the weather wasnt shitty but you cant have everything and at least its not cold.  im in shorts right meow. 

chatted with some canadian woman on the bus about how freakin expensive this country is.  i honestly cant begin to tell you how flabberghasting it is to try and buy a case of cheap beer and have it be upwards of $40.  but i did find a cute dress for like $20 and finally bought some toenail clippers but had to pass on the eyeliner ($23 are you kidding me?!).  ah, the essentials, i suppose.

i keep getting reminded that this country is like the US in so many ways.  at least i keep doing the same things that i would naturally be doing back home, anyway.  movies, beach, wine tasting, beer, road trips... maybe thats why im so excited to move on.  looking for something different than my normal life.  

i have also been considering the fact that for some people i am an emotional drive-by.  i engage perfect strangers in intimate and revealing conversations, truly connecting with them, then leaving them in the dust as i go along my merry way.  this lovely german man seemed to be slightly upset that he and i shared some private things with each other and that i would simply be evaporating from his life.  im thinking that perhaps it was an unusual occurence for him, but more likely a few people have felt the same way.  perhaps i should think before i divulge. 

or not.  those conversations are super fun. 

also: the voices in my head seem to be changing nationalities on a regular basis.  super frustrating.

sorry about all the made-up words.  i was just feeling it today.

also, for future reference, do NOT read the shining in a tent alone.  it tends to make one jumpy.

write that down.

well, as you might have guessed, i missed my plane to brisbane yesterday.  i had too much to do in the morning and indeed, my day was filled with the mean kind of assholes that were not inclined to be obliging or helpful to me in my predicament.  i literally had to tell myself to hold it together at the ticket counter when the lady told me i was too late.  and i almost reached across that counter to smack her when she told me that it would be beneficial if i were "at least an hour early for a flight in the future."  simpering woman...

anywho.  so i sat outside for about 30 minutes just reading and thinking about what to do next.  i made my way to the information center and asked where the nearest campsite was- about a 90 minute walk- and proceeded to make my way there.  i felt much better walking in the comforting morning sun to the beach and it turned out to be a great, relaxing day.

i snuck into the campsite so that i wouldnt have to pay ($40, cheah right!) and picked my spot right near the beach.  it was perfect.  i hung out, took a nap, laid out for a tan, and watched the sun set on the sand dunes.  all in all i suppose the universe watched out for me.

unfortunately i woke up with some painful ribs from the way i had been sleeping and a minor sinus issue that involves massive amounts of tissues.  oh well.  i caught my plane and tried not to throttle the lady from yesterday who made a snide remark about how i was on time today, and arrived in brisbane... a day later than expected but i suppose its all part of the journey.

the weather is shitty again and its too bad that i only get one day here before im off on a bus (again) to head south towards sydney and eventually NZ.  theres a girl in my room that is doing the same thing and i think i may actually have a bus buddy for once.  should be fun!  im looking forward to finally being able to do the check on-check off thing and just stop wherever my heart desires on the way to sydney.

on another note, you ever notice how loud your thoughts can get when you are alone?  i was there yesterday and laughed when i had to tell myself not to lick my Leatherman after using it to spread peanut butter.  hilarious!  and everyone appears to be right, that the obsessive thoughts about home and the people there seem to die away after a few weeks.  its odd but in a way i kind of miss them.  they could be rather comforting after a while.

ah well im tired and my back hurts and im a little lightheaded due to sinus and no-eating.  off the the free bbq on the roof of the hostel.  ttfn.

T

tomorrow is going to be a day of assholes.  by that i mean its going to be another day of travel.  its not that people are mean or anything, its more that youre seated around a bunch of other people whose asses are big enough that they have no conception of where their flesh ends and my face begins.  i cannot tell you how irritated this makes me, and the fact that i have been using copious amounts of long distance public transportation should tell you how sensitive a topic this for me. 

other than that, i am trying to work out how i am going to ship my wine when the post office opens at 830am, i have to also return the rental car, the airport is 30 minutes away, and my plane leaves at 955.  sweet jeebus.

im super excited to spend the next few days on the beach and taking the long road back to sydney.  talk about the most amazing road trip this past month.

finally made it to adelaide after a 13 hour bus ride, and had the most amazing sleep that ive had in quite a while.  whatever i paid for this hostel is totally worth it.  even the instant coffee is good.  although it could have been the ear plugs (thanks again, bree!), or the utter fatigue, or the couple of beers.  either way, i woke to the first day of true sunshine that i have had in almost 2 weeks.  i plan to spend it on a bike, wandering the city.

tomorrow im going to rent a car (i know.  i might die.) and go wine tasting!  gonna try out those lovely new business cards (courtesy of RR) and see what i can finagle for the next couple of days.  mclaren vale and barossa valley, watch out.  if you want some wine, message me on FB or something.


its weird what travelling alone can to to you.  you either make friends from faraway places and stay outside yourself all the time, or, if youre like me, you become very introspective.  i would rather that i focus my mind on world problems and intellectual/philosophical debates, but more often than not im just thinking about my own shit.  people, places, things, past transgressions; they are all swirling around.  even reading or playing loud music doesnt keep me out of my head. 

i cant figure out why its so hard to stay present.  ive stopped calling home so much and leave the internet alone for a couple of days at a time, and still cant seem to stop my mind from making these racetrack patterns of the same topics. 

on the other hand, maybe i just shouldnt think so much.

aloha from apollo bay, victoria! 

I took a couple of buses from melbourne and ended in lorne yesterday during what can only be described as a "schoolie infestation".  this means that kids who are just graduating from high school are on their christmas break and hang out in the little towns down here for drinks and debauchery. 

ah i remember the days.

so, silly me, i decided that i would walk to the next campsite, seeing as it is not on the bus route: eta about 3hours of walking.  not a raw deal, really, but when you consider that i have what is now at least a 50-lbs backpack the game changes a little.  i might as well have walked up a friggin mountain. 

but i got to cumberland campsite in one piece and proceeded to spend the rest of the day lying next to the stream where i set up my tent, and talked to the ducks for a little while.  it was an absolutely amazing place and ill definitely have to show pics when i get the chance.  there was a river running through camp that had carved a gouge in the side of this enormous rock face over millions of years.  there were all kinds of birds hanging around and good lord they make a racket!  best of all i bought this bug repellent cream thats like 80% poison and it works like magic.  i laid out by the water until sunset and didnt even get bitten.  ah, gifts from the universe and the people who make DEET.

i headed out this morning after struggling a little with my camp stove to make some tea to warm me up; just dreading the giant hill id have to climb straight out of camp.  i was on the road for less than 5 minutes when my ipod died and magically this man pulled over to pick me up.  again, gifts from the universe.  he and i had a nice little chat and he was gracious enough to even buy me coffee and split a muffin when we got to wye river.  Brett, wherever you are, you have some amazing karma coming your way.

deciding to abort the walking routine for the rest of day, ive chosen to remain in this little town of apollo bay for the night and im shipping some of my- what can only be described as unnecessary shit- up to my aunt's brother in sydney while im carousing around down here and before i head to NZ. 

tomorrow entails a great deal more walking/hiking around this area and perhaps a bus to the next campsite.  im really loving this method of travel.

hope you all had an amazing thanksgiving.

taryn

finally booked my tickets to NZ and Bali.  this is real and im so frickin excited. 

welcome to melbourne!  i was a little out of sorts after being on the train for almost 12 hours, but i was smart enough (for once) to book a hostel just down the street from the train station. 

of course, i get there and its a huge place with tons of groups of backpackers, which makes it hard to make friends, but thats not really a problem for me.  im kind of a solitary being for the most part.  so i paid for a bed in a 10-person dorm and its got these truly frightening bunk beds that weave and wobble and screech when you climb into them.  and when i say climb, i really mean climb.  you have to shimmy up the side like a monkey up a drainpipe and then pray that the whole thing doesnt come down on top of you if theres no one in the bottom. 

then im laying in bed, planning the next day when i realize that the exposed pipes- painted in red to stand out from the white walls- are actually the pipes from the bathroom and you can hear every time someone flushes.  i couldnt stop laughing at the hilarity of the situation.  the austrian girls did not think it was so funny which made it worse. of course.

i decided that im going to be walking along the great ocean road, starting sunday when the weather clears up.  my time this morning was split between reading in a coffeeshop and walking around for a camping store.  i finally found it in the form of an army surplus store and it was glorious. 

the guy alternately laughed at my ignorance and helped me find what i needed (including a map.  who knew?!).  on a sidenote, he looked at me funny when i said that bear grylls was an asshole and i was like, "omg im so sorry i said 'asshole'".  he said, "oh its not that, its your accent when you said 'asshole'".  i also informed him i already had a couple of knives on me when he suggested that i buy one, and he looked at me like i fulfilled all his expectations of americans as trigger-happy lunatics.  amazeballs.

so i picked up a stove, tent, pots, flashlight, maps, and an extra towel for the low, low price of $200.  i figure that i should be saving a little money- or breaking even- because most of the campsites ill be staying at are free.  i might regret not getting a sleeping pad, now that i think about it...  oh well. 

on to adventure!
taryn

its been raining here all week and as shitty as that is, its not really cold or anything and my mother had the good sense to stuff a poncho in my bag so im pretty set.  except that my pants dyed my bag black and im afraid to take them off for fear of what my own legs look like.

spent the day perusing museums and just strolling through my last day here in sydney.  it was glorious.  i havent done something like that i think since i was in europe with D.  and i sort of loved the irreverent take on history that aussie curators take.  its like they dont take themselves too seriously and use words like 'poo' in their exhibit descriptions and depict graphic animal deaths.  and they actually encourage people to interact with the stuffed animals and they dont shield their children from visions of death. 

its fabulous.  i laughed my ass off.

so tomorrow morning im headed to melbourne.  ive decided to spend the extra $30 and go for comfort and speed rather than thrift.  sue me.  itll be 11 hours or so of drinking wine with strangers and reading and i want to be able to relax... whatev.

then its going to be all wine tasting for days and probably the great ocean road trek for a few more.  http://www.visitvictoria.com/Regions/Great-Ocean-Road/Activities-and-attractions/Outdoor-activities/Walking-and-hiking.aspx


be safe, be well.
taryn

good evening followers and friends.

yesterday was the kind of day where you just dont want to get out of bed... so i just moseyed around the hostel and didnt do much of anything.  the previous night was a loong one that ended with me, and irishman, and a german falling asleep while drinking milk in the hallway at 4am.  amazeballs.

today i went and got myself pleasantly lost on the way to the koala sanctuary where i saw tons of animals and got to pet a bunch of kangaroos!  they kinda remind me of deer in a bad way that involves lots of flies and a slight bit of mange.  still freakin cute though.  i also chanced upon a talking cockatoo (germans call them cockadoos) and was surprised at myself for being surprised with its aussie accent.  i laughed my ass off and got a vid of it that ill show you later.

its a little different travelling on my own than i thought.  i have to make all the decisions and its a little difficult to engage other people in trying to help me weed out the options.  for example, i would love to go to melbourne on wednesday or thursday, but i cant decide how to get there.  i could take a bus, train, rent or buy a car, or even fly.  i ruled out flying because i want to actually see the countryside, and then driving was out too because just crossing the street is a challenge for me.  

and then theres the question of finding another hostel.  its not that i dont like where i am, its just that these people arent really backpackers; more like long-term hostel residents.  this means that im not meeting people with whom i can travel on the road, which is more along the lines of what i wanted.  

ahh whitegirlproblems...

tomorrow im headed to the movies and a picnic in the park with a german woman from the hostel, then perhaps ill actually make some more decisions.

love you dearly.

taryn

good afternoon!  what a glorious day it is to be hungover!  i sit again in the back of the turkish restaurant that is blazing hot and i think im sweating booze.  my voice sounds like ass and i have that morning allergic reaction that makes you sound like youre dying.  im also sunburned and covered head to toe in insect bites that i seem to have acquired in a matter of minutes.  amazeballs.

yesterday was truly amazing.  i spent the day doing touristy things and walked around the town for literally 6.5 hours.  after about 3 hours i saw this man with an FCS backpack and i thought hey!  this guy must be american because FCS is an american company right?  wrong.  he was german and i thoroughly embarrassed myself trying to explain why i was touching his backpack. 

he forgave me the awkwardness and we proceeded to spend the next 8 hours together walking around town, napping in the royal botanical gardens, and generally laughing our asses off.  his command of english was nearly perfect and since my understanding of german is nil, it worked out fairly well.  we parted ways in the evening because he had to catch a bus down south to be a surfing instructor (i informed him that he was what we like to call in america "living the dream").

later on in the evening i went out with this english dude who want to show me around because he's been here for 'for-deen monfs'.  we started at this bar that reminded me of newport intensely.  i felt right at home being underdressed in a sea of beautiful people. 

i wont bore you with the details of my wild barhopping night, but it is sufficient to say that i ran out of the business cards i brought for the night, i woke up with a number of friend requests and a mysterious email from someone who knows im going to the beach today and wants to join.  i might also have played 'i have never' with some irish men.

i would also like to say that i love a country where you can drink outside on the street... which is what i did for most of the night.  it was wonderful and i felt dangerous.  haha. i also learned that i am shitty with names.  like really shitty.  this is turning out to be a major problem.

love you.
taryn

also, is it normal to still feel like youre on the plane hours later?  good lord i must be more dehydrated than i thought.

also, will i get arrested for having a knife?  not that i do or anything...

hello my lovelies! 

today i arrived in sydney, australia.  it was 18 hours of madness and hurry-up-to-wait-in-line, but i finally made it. 

i had been numb until i finally got on the plane and was super excited until the guy next to me turns and says, "have you heard the news?"  my heart sank.  i spent 9 hours on a cramped plane sitting next to a mormon proselytizer.  that definiety threw a wrench in my xanax/beer plan for the flight.  now i have no problem with most religions, but i just dont like to have it shoved down my throat.  so some pamphlets, theoretical bantering that was blissfully muffled by the engines, and 9 hours later, i arrived in fiji. 

the religion-choking aside, those guys were pretty cool.  they had just come back from their 2-year mission and had not seen their families the whole time.  we chatted about their culture and what it was like to move to another country when they had never before even left their island of fiji.  although now i am a bit more informed about the mormon version of history...

so rush rush only to wait out a 4-hour layover and awake to be surrounded by piles of screaming children.  anyone who knows me knows that this is not my ideal situation.  the flight was fairly quick and only included being searched 3 times.  im convinced its because i made a joke back in LAX at the ticket counter about being a felon.

so like i said, i am here in sydney.  i got a phone but apparently you cant call me, i can only call you so watch out for a 615 number.  sorry about that.  then i hopped on a train and then into a cab during rush hour only to find out that my hostel is closed til 4.  truth be told, im not sorry about that.  i spent the last 2 hours reading, drinking beer, and eating a full meal for the first time in 24 hours in an empty pub.  life is good.

and may i say, bree, that the hand sanitizer you gave me just came in handy because i had to use the bathroom in the back of this turkish restaurant where im using the internet.  no TP or paper towels.  boo.  resourceful serb that i am though, i saved the airplane napkins.  booyah!

massive anxiety attack aside (mostly due to dehydration and the bathroom situation) i am happy to be here.  ill be even happier to get more than 90 minutes consecutive sleep as well tonight. 

Taryn

It's getting down to the wire and all I can say is that its 3:30pm and the chardonnay has just been opened.  I mean, you can't blame me!  I've been up since 6am, worked out twice, moved boxes, and cleaned my apartment.  My fantastic mother has also planned a "dinner" (Taryn, it's not a party.  I know you don't like parties about you.) for 18 people.  Yes, 18.  And no, apparently it's not a party. 

So things are almost all together.  Most of my things are in storage or my old bedroom in my parents' house.  Emails have been sent, bills paid off, goodbyes said... it feels like I am going to be gone for a year instead of just 3 months. 

I am thinking about where I am going to stay in Sydney, and if any of you have any ideas for hostels, lemme know!  Also am compiling a list of must-sees so make mention of that too, if you please.

TF

4 days! 

I am freaking out so much that I am sitting back in the wonderful Wine Lab even though I am officially on sabbatical.  It's like a comfort food.  I love it here and these people.

So I just got back from a whirlwind trip to Paso, SLO, Morro Bay and Santa Cruz.  It was madness but since I am going to be gone for the holidays I thought I would drop by and say HI.  A little more comfort people, you could say.

Hm.  That's all for now.  I'm off to half-price sushi with Breezle.  It's not as gross as it sounds...

TF

My plane leaves in less than a month!  I am freaking out just a little, I'll be honest.  And by freaking out, I mean that last night was the first night in many, many weeks that I didn't have vivid dreams bordering on nightmares.  I know I'll be OK (what with my newly-acquired streetfighting skillz), but still...

Anywho.  Krav maga is kicking my butt.  Everyday I wake up sore and bruised, but I am loving it.  I literally have a shoe imprint on both thighs and bruises from wrists to elbow.  I like to joke and tell people that I am slightly self-destructive, but I just channel it into something positive.  Haha!

Well now I am off to clean my room and start to funnel some more items into my backpack.  I'm tempted to start a pool where the winner is the person who guesses how much it weighs the day I leave. 

I'm guessing it will weigh around 50lbs.  Crap.

Things are getting crazy!  I am packing up my apartment, having it painted, and actually kind of living in my parents' garage... Madness.  I have also been looking at travel books galore and trying to figure out how im going to see 2 countries and an island in just under 3 months. 

I am also looking to meet up with friends or friends and make contacts all over in order to spend as little time in a hostel as possible, instead opting for couches and whatnot.  So if any of you have friends that probably won't draw on me in my sleep, then I would love to have their contact info.

Freak out.
Taryn.

Hooray! I am going to be traveling around the southern hemisphere for the next few months and I am super freaking excited!!

I am leaving November 15th and will be gone until the probably February 1st. I will be a month in AUS, and month in NZ, and two weeks in Indo.

Jealous much? You should be.

I will hopefully be updating you all on my travels via this blog as often as possible. I love you, and I will miss you more than you know.

Truly.

Ttyl. Taryn.