Russell, Turkeys, and Immer Turmoil

I haven’t said anything about this on here yet, but I have some problems with life here in New Zealand, and a lot of days I’m not very happy. It’s very difficult for me to not have some kind of challenging, productive work, whether it’s a job or just classes I’m taking. Waitressing and cleaning don’t require any of the skills or knowledge I picked up while earning my degree, and I have little or no accomplishments here to celebrate or feel proud of. I’m not contributing or taxing myself – and without a car, and little money and free time, even simple adventures require immense planning. I just feel a bit selfish and lazy. To make it worse, most of the people I’m surrounded by are perpetual traveler types who seem to think money exists only to turn into booze; they’re all people who make fun of me if I bring up something that I find fascinating (and they find overly academic. )

It’s all pushed me into a restless, antsy, rather depressed state of mind, and I’m still considering coming back to the States early, to begin again a job or education where I’m using my brain and in some way contributing to the world. I’ve certainly learned that I’d be a horrible perpetual traveler. I still don’t know what my plans will be – if I’ll come back early or stick it out here – but of course I’ll keep our awesome readers posted. : )

None of this is to say that I don’t have some amazing times here,

or that I don’t love our “Centabay Family,” or that I’m not learning about myself and life by coming here, because of all of that is true. For example, yesterday Jen and I had an expedition to quaint and picturesque Russell, on the other side of the Bay, (the site of New Zealand’s original capital) where we explored the country’s first church and had a beer at the oldest hotel, which proudly holds liquor license numero uno.

We are also currently planning our Thanksgiving. We want everything to be perfect, as we’re inviting our entire hostel family to dinner, and none of them have ever experienced a Thanksgiving before. This, we’re discovering, is a very expensive endeavor. I don’t even want to tell you how much we spent at the supermarket today. Good news, though: our boss Kelly at the Swiss Café has found us a 10 lb turkey! Wish the two vegetarians good luck with roasting it…tips are appreciated.