When I was still living in my childhood home, I would constantly rearrange my room. There were times I would stay awake until 2am rearranging furniture and lamps and my little plants or my string lights. One of the last ways I designed my room was based on a feeling I needed. My life became a routine of working 2-3 jobs, online school, and keeping up with endless chores at home. I was stressed and sad and tired constantly. I created a type of Dojo of my room. I put LED lights along the ceiling that I was able to change based on my mood, usually pink, blue, or orange. I had fairy lights on one side of the wall, I would put on a diffuser with tea tree oil or eucalyptus, spa music, and enough space for my yoga mat. It was my safe space and it quickly became popular among my family members. My dad was a frequent visitor and I would often times find him fast asleep on one of my bean bags with the music and lights on. While I was aiming for more solitude, the attraction of the calming room I created was apparent and it was something I looked forward to coming home to everyday. The inspiration for my title was from my room. It’s a safe space for me and anyone else that wants to join. It’s meant for peace, recharging, reflection, and good vibes.

Moments in New Zealand: October 6-October 31

Watching Noah immediately make friends at the first hostel we stayed at. Noah came back into the room after looking for the toilets in the hostel we’d be staying at for the next week. We had just arrived to our hostel which we’d be staying at for the next 5 nights. While I was mentally preparing myself to live in a sweaty 8 bunk room with no window, unfamiliar people with unfamiliar accents, and barely an AC, Noah was looking for the toilets to relieve himself. He came back with a big smile on his face and could tell he felt giddy. “I made a friend,” he told me. “A British guy walking with two other girls saw me, pointed at me, and said he liked my vibe. He wants me to hang out with him later.” I was so excited for him. I was exhausted and a little emotional from the long journey so I wasn’t able to match his energy, but I was really happy for him. The British guy’s name was Ryan and we learned he was temporarily working at the hostel. I don’t personally remember many details about him because I was still assimilating to my new lifestyle while slightly battling jet lag. I just remember that once he knew I was with Noah, he immediately approached me to hug me and rave about Noah, which I thought was sweet. I like people that go out of their way to connect with others around them. You could tell he was extremely confident and I quickly realized people would follow him around when he would get up to move, he was just that kind of person. I figured out he was a big softie like Noah and they would have long conversations about tattoos and life. I would hear them while sitting around the outside table set up for the hostel guests, which were a majority of 20-30 year olds from Germany and France.
While we were in Auckland, I was able to see my friend Sasha whom I had met almost 5 years ago when I solo travelled to Tanzania to volunteer. She’s one of the coolest people I know. She’s from South Africa, has blonde hair, a contagious smile, a capturing voice, and bright blue eyes. She used to work on yachts which is where she eventually met her fiancé while working in France. Her fiancé and her now reside in Auckland (her fiancés hometown) and will be getting married in March. She was 25 when I first met her in Tanzania and the last 5 years you could see that life had slightly aged her. Her bubbly and engaging personality was still there and it was so refreshing to reminisce on the times we had in Africa. She refreshed me on what she’s been doing the last couple of years. Most currently she was working as an admin for one of Auckland’s most prominent projects: building an underground transportation system. She also gave me a new sneak peak of her new bathing suit company that she had created from the ground up over the last 5 years. She has to plan her wedding, she was also picking up her new Australian shepherd puppy the following morning, and she’s currently earning an education degree to become a teacher. Oh my lord. She was all over the place, but I applauded her stamina because she seemed like she was doing all of this flawlessly. I refreshed her on my school situation and how I’m currently taking online classes to get my Bachelor’s degree in Human Services. I told her how I had originally planned to move to St. Petersburg, Florida, the home of our mutual friend Savanah, a girl from Illinois that we met in Tanzania as well. The three of us always had a close bond, we bunked together in one room, visited Kenya for a weekend, and would always share our cigarettes at the end of the night. It was amazing how quickly I was launched back into that time in my life while talking with her.
Our first WWOOF Val. Val was a playful and energetic older woman with thin blonde hair, colorful plants, and the ability to share every thought that passed through her mind and instantly launch you into an informative or amusing story. She was thoughtful, accepting, and would end up teaching you endless amounts without you even noticing. In the mornings, Noah and I would wake up to toast waiting in the toaster, a set plate, and a mug next to the kettle. Sometimes she would leave a note on the table saying, “Be back at 10:30!” or “I’m in the garden, just yell if you need me!” She told us to wait to work until the afternoon because it was too dewy in the morning. She never wore shoes while she worked and usually had a twig or a leaf hanging off of her hair within a few minutes of being in the garden. “Go grab a lemonade,” she would tell us halfway through working. She would often have friends visiting her house. One of the friends she had around was Ken. Ken was an older gentleman that needed help with his current situation, I couldn’t remember the details of what had happened, but I knew he had lost two children in his life which was sad. My first interaction with Ken was him bringing me my water bottle while I was sweating and clipping off dead branches of a rose bush in the back of Val’s garden. It was just the thing I had been thinking of. He came with us to the crafts fair in Cambridge as well, Val was dropping him off at some sort of appointment. Val was constantly dropping things off, buying others gifts, going to meetings, picking up flyers, getting phone calls from patients, picking up plants, etc. There was a younger couple that visited at one point, a 30ish year old girl with a brown bob and her boyfriend who had long blonde hair that was tied back. Val admitted to us later on that she didn’t know this girl until she revealed she lived with Val for a brief time 15 years ago. Val just didn’t recognize her. On our last day, Val mentioned these card decks she had with depictions of animals from New Zealand and one’s that were made in reference to Native American animal spirits. In the New Zealand animal cards, you shuffle the deck of cards and then pick one, the animal you pick is meant to describe your personality or a quality you possess. I can’t remember which animal Noah picked, but I picked up a spider which represented Elegance. The spider represents artistry, manifestation, feminine power, and ancient wisdom. It was a fun little activity for Val to give us on our last day before we needed to be driven to the Transport Centre.
Sitting in the loft airbnb the first night in Rotorua the night of Halloween. We had just finished recording a podcast and the sun just started going down. From our room, we had a huge three panel window where we could see all the different kids that had dressed up coming over the mountain to go trick or treating. This was so interesting for me because I don’t think I’ve experienced a specific holiday in a different country before. I spent Halloween in Disneyworld when I was 13 once, but that was it. I was intrigued by what kids in New Zealand would dress up as. Most of them were clowns and the rest were just typical halloween costumes you’d see with kids; a cat, a wizard, a police man, etc. Prior to Halloween, I noticed that no one here really decorated for Halloween, not like back home. It was a little eery to not see a skeleton in someone’s front yard or some faux spider web on a bush or something. There were minimal decorations sold in stores too. When I thought about it a little more, the reason for this is because New Zealand only recently opened back up in terms of Covid regulations. About 5 days before Noah and I left New Jersey, I saw that New Zealand had lifted it’s vaccine mandated travel restrictions. So this Halloween was probably the first one they’ve had in years.

Here’s some other random stuff I wanted to share:

Top Left: Aida, Val’s cat was so skiddish and afraid of anyone that came near her. On the last day at Val’s, she put the cat on the couch next to me and then sauntered off to the kitchen to help Noah because he was making dinner that night. After she left I figured Aida would just slowly slide off the couch and trot away like she usually does, but she let me pet her. After a good 10 minutes of this amazing job I must’ve been doing, I was surprised to watch her slowly tap her paws on my lap, indicating that she felt comfortable to maybe climb on top? Nope. She sat back down. This happened again a few more times until she finally decided that I was worth the sit and she finally relaxed onto my lap. It was so rewarding.

Top Middle: In preparation for the trip I bought a brand new pair of New Balances that I wore for a whole day while Noah and I had a layover in Las Vegas. There were no issues that day with my shoes, but when I went to put them on again after we arrived in Northecote they were killing me. They didn’t give me blisters, it was more like bruising in my heel. It was unbearable and after accepting the fact that I bought a faulty pair of sneakers, Noah convinced me to get these Vans. I’ve always secretly wanted these shoes so I wasn’t too opposed, they were also slip-ons, and they didn’t hit the bruising from my previous shoes. I was excited so I took that picture.

Top Right: Sorry for the jumpscare, I’m in desperate need of a pedicure. I thought this picture was funny because it was one of Val’s many holistic approaches to trouble sleeping. She took out a pendulum before this to see if I was low on magnesium, which I apparently was. After getting her answer from the swinging rock, she told me to soak my feet in warm epsom salt water for 30 minutes. I don’t know if it was a placebo effect or what, but I slept great that night.

Bottom Left: I just thought this looked cool haha.

Bottom Right: Me walking on some rocks when Val took us to Raglan, which I honestly think has been my favorite place so far. I just want to go surfing really badly ok.

Bloopers: