August 8, 2006

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Ready To Go

Today marks six months to the day of our arrival in New Zealand. We haven't purchased tickets yet, however, I checked out possible flights and our schedules and it seems that leaving Tuesday, February 6 and arriving Thursday, February 8 is our best option. The proposed flight leaves around 3 pm from Fayetteville to LA. After a 5 hour layover we have a 12.5 hour flight to Auckland. Another 2 or 3 hours on the ground (depending which flight out we catch) and then we arrive in Palmerston North. We'll need to purchase tickets soon. Can't wait!

David Collis, our Rotary host in Palmerston North, emailed Josh yesterday. He and his wife, Bermice, are in their early 60s and operate a dairy farm 8 miles outside of Palmerston North. What a relief to have correspondence with someone. He offered to pick us up at the airport and allow us to stay at his home until we find a place to live. My only fear is of how wonky (out of it) I will feel after so much travel. I remember how I felt after the LA flight to Sydney and we even had more room to lay out because the middle row was empty. I'm starting early on my postive thinking for an upgrade to business or first class. I don't want my sleep deprivation to make me come across as rude to our hosts.

We have also had correspondance from the current president of the Palmerston North Rotary Club, Lindsay Knowles. Mr. Knowles and his wife, Jill, are semi retired moteliers (as Mr. Knowles phrased it in his email). Receiving his email was such a nice surprise as it was unsolicited. Thusfar, the two Rotarians who have communicated with us have seemed very warm, personable, and kind. It seems we are moving somewhere great (and I can't wait to leave).

We went through some more of our things last week. On Saturday, we took a huge pile of books and clothes to the Salvation Army. It made me wonder why we hung on to those things in the first place. I told Josh that maybe when you don't have a lot to start out with you hang on to the things you have. Then, as you're able to buy more you can get rid of things like college text books that you'll never use again (hopefully). It felt good to get rid of stuff as I believe in the quote, "The things you own, end up owning you." There are more purges yet to come.

For the time being, I'll focus on what I can do which is continue to plan our move and make progress on that front. Six months is a long time to wait but it is what I have to do. Hopefully, the time will pass and I'll be updating my blog from my laptop in New Zealand (we bought laptops last week). It is amazing to surf the internet lying on the sofa at home!