Leaving for New Zealand Today

Hey everyone,

Welcome to my blog for my New Zealand experience... I am going to be spending the next 5 1/2 months exploring New Zealand and its culture as well as going to school at the University of Otago in Dunedin. My flight leaves today at 7:30pm or so from LAX and I arrive in Auckland 2 days from now at 5:00am (January 12). I hope to use this blog as a way to catalogue my journey through journal entries as well as photos and as a way for all my friends and family at home and abroad to keep up to date with my travels and experiences. I don't have too much to report right now except that I am all packed and ready to go. I have my backpacking backpack full of gear (rope, climbing rack, sleeping, bag etc...) a duffle bag full of clothes etc., my carry on with some more clothes and random items, and a my laptop bag with a few books, my computer, and whatever other "necessities." Trying to pack light...but somehow it still seems like a lot!

My hope for this trip is that not only do I have an amazing time exploring the mountains, coast line, and inland parts of New Zealand, but that I also come back to L.A. next summer with a new perspective on my life and maybe with some idea of where I should be putting my energy from here on out! Taking a step out of my normal every day routine for a little while is a nice way to figure out what exactly I want to do!

For now, I am going to end this post and save the words for when I actually start doing some cool stuff!

Here is a little quotation to ponder while you all are waiting another entry!

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." -- Mark Twain

-David