Auckland, Continued

I will try to pick up where I left off in New Zealand. After my 2 day long side quest in Taumarunui, I got on another bus (the correct one this time) and watched out the window as the magical North Island hills rolled by- for nearly 7 hours. Something I didn't expect is the physical toll that travel days can have on a person. Nevertheless, I was so excited to be in a familiar place again. Most of my first wave friends had left the hostel by this point, so I enjoyed sitting in the common room and meeting some new people. I even pulled out the board game that I bought in Auckland the week before and found some people interested in playing. If you've ever played Settlers of Catan before, I'm sure you know how intense the game can get. I still had no idea how I planned to fit the entire board game in my bag when the time came, but that was a problem for another day. I soaked up as much of Auckland as I could before the day I took an Uber to the airport.

Remembering my mishap in the Quito airport, I made sure to check not only my hand typed itinerary but also the email confirmation sent to me months before my trip. This way, I got the information right from the source. 12:45 pm was the confirmed departure time of my flight to Melbourne on the way to Bali. I patted myself on the back for learning my lesson and reclined my seat back, when it occured to me I could take it a step further and check in online through the United app. This is when I was reminded that the process of real-life trial and error is rarely so straightforward. All I know is that at some point between receiving the confirmation and the day of the flight, it had been moved backwards. I had never heard of this happening; the only unforseen time change I prepared for was one that would result in me sitting at the gate for an extra hour or two. But lo and behold, the United app boasted to me the updated departure time: 11:10am. I could spend the next few sentences justifying why it wasn't my fault that I missed my flight that day, but I've been traveling enough to know better. In reality, the solution is simple. Confirm the time of your flight from the one source that makes real-time updates regularly. I suppose the universe knew I wasn't done learning how to be organized, and I don't expect to be done for the rest of my life. All I can do is make little improvements that accumulate over time. Organization has been one of my main focuses this year, and it excites me to watch myself grow bit by bit. When I see a pattern emerge that I'm less than proud of, I know it's time to either break down a habit or construct a new one. Everyone knows this is no easy task, and it takes a lot of time. I think the least we can can do about this is just be aware of what you'd like to change, and think about it often.

I actually came to be very thankful for my extra time in Auckland, which turned out to be 2 whole days. The next available flight came on the following Tuesday. In the meantime, I booked two nights in the Kolmar Inn. I was again pleasantly surprised by the sense of peace that came from a private room. For lunch, I popped in to the Indian cafe one door over from my room. It was then that it occured to me that I just might have been the only person in town who wasn't from India. I ordered my entree, only to be warned that I probably wouldn't like the curry. I sampled it, and it was absolutely delicious. I stood by my selection. "Coke zero?" the lady at the counter asked me. I kindly corrected her and told her I wanted a mango lassi. I took a seat and admired the artwork on the walls. When the food was delivered, my server spent a good minute explaining to me how to eat the food. I could have chosen to react to this situation in a number of ways, but I welcomed the experience with open arms. I am going to live in India in under a month, I reminded myself. I asked questions to better equip myself for future Indian restaurant endeavours. The food was amazing and the wait staff was extra friendly. This lunch was a good reminder that sometimes the best place to be is outside of your comfort zone.

The inn was conveniently situated between my two local Auckland friends, J and Ashten. The first night, I had J over to my room and we watched a horror movie together. The next night, I arranged for all 3 of us to gather at Ashten's place to play Catan. Organizing such a gathering between these particular 3 was a feat, which is why it was rewarding to see it actually happen. They had never met each other before, and I hoped they would get along. An hour into the first game, it was like we had all known each other since birth. They loved the game; none of us wanted to stop playing. We had deep discussions and gave each other handwritten notes to read after we parted ways. This was a memorable and emotional Last Night in Auckland. Something tells me it had worked out exactly how it was supposed to. Early the next morning, I was to try again. I took another Uber to the airport and made it to the gate with a good amount of time to spare. I had a 4 hour long layover in Melbourne, and then I was off for Indonesia.

I'm just now catching up to myself in the story line of gap year. In the near future, you should expect to hear all there is to hear from my arrival in Bali to now. As always, I love to hear from everyone and the comments make my day. I'd love to see some previews to what you're all up to on the other side of the world in the comment section! Keep living and learning.
Peace and love, Jonah