First, the disappointing news from last week. Last Wednesday, Josh called the Ohakune i-site to check the conditions on the Tongariro Crossing. The lady that Josh spoke to said that the Tongariro Crossing was covered in snow and that we would need to be experienced climbers with ropes and ice crampons for our shoes in order to climb safely.
Needless to say, we were majorly disappointed by the news. I guess we'd thought that all the snow would have melted by the end of October. Now, we aren't sure where to go or what to do. No doubt were in better shape, however, we're upset we can't do what we planned to do.
Onto the birthday/end of work celebrations. Josh gave me my birthday cake a couple of days before my birthday so we could start eating it early as it is so big. We didn't put candles on the cake until my actual birthday on October 20. This was the chocolate cake from New World that we'd been wanting for awhile. The day before Josh bought the cake for me, I'd gone to New World looking for it. However, all the cakes except for one at the bottom of the case were gone. So, I ended up buying cinnamon doughnuts and vanilla ice cream instead. The next day, Josh waited for the bakery to make me the cake we'd been wanting.
This was coming home after my last day of work. Josh surprised me with flowers and a sign. My flowers are so pretty...I LOVE them!
We picked up some Bangkok Thai for dinner and rented some DVDs: High School Musical (we accidentally rented High School Musical the Concert first so we had to go back to Blockbuster to exchange it), Ocean's 13, and Who Killed the Electric Car. It was a great way to celebrate the last day of work. It's crazy to think that we have about 2.5 months of vacation ahead of us.
On my birthday, it was rainy and gray outside. I had leftover Thai food for breakfast before Josh gave me some of my presents. Josh gave me a couple of CDs and a desk calender with quotes. One of the CDs, Brooke Fraser (a Kiwi artist), was a keeper but the other CD and desk calender were on their way back to the shop. But, we had planned on going into town anyway so I could by a lotto ticket for my birthday. They play lotto on tv here every Wednesday and Saturday. Since my birthday was on a Saturday and we always play without actually buying a ticket, I thought it would be fun to play for real. After we returned the things in the mall, I went to buy my lotto ticket. I picked my own numbers after the lady explained to me how to play.
After buying the lotto ticket, we ran by McDonald's for some birthday lunch. We didn't win anything on lotto that night but we decorated my birthday cake with candles to celebrate the right way. There are 2 and 8 candles since we didn't have enough candles in the box (Josh picked out the pink and white candles for me). For the life of me, I could not blow out the candles. It took three tries!
The next day, it was such a nice sunshiny day that we went out to the beach to enjoy the sun and read our books. Josh is re-reading the Left Behind series and I brought the sixth Harry Potter to finish (finally!). The sea was muddy and rough because it has been so windy here. All these people were fishing along the shoreline. 
Today was my first day at home since I quit working. Josh and I went through a lot papers that have accumulated since we moved here. We threw away a lot of papers we don't need anymore. We're quickly approaching the end of our time in New Zealand and it is so bizarre to think about.
In the last month or so, I've really begun to question if and how I have changed since living here. I think the biggest thing that Josh and I have hit upon as far as a life lesson goes is this: You can get by without a lot of stuff. You don't need many things or the best things. You might want them, but you don't need them. I think we knew this and lived our life this way before coming to New Zealand, however, it has really sunk in here because people live very modestly here. New Zealanders aren't all about showing off with the biggest car or house.
I'm also thinking about what I'll miss in New Zealand when we leave. It's hard to imagine that we won't come back here for a very long time, if ever. It reminds me of the places I lived when my dad was in the military. I know that the Air Force Base in Okinawa and Alaska still exist today, however, I haven't gone back to see where I grew up.
I think I'll miss the quietness of our lives here (not a gazillion things on the news and celebrity watching), the landscapes, and being close to the beach. I'll miss the ability to catch a flight without having to take my shoes off and go through various forms of "security" check points. I'll miss the popularity of staying in holiday homes instead of hotels. I'll miss everything in Palmerston North being within a 5 minute drive of the house and no traffic. I'll miss not living next to a river and a park within a 5 minute walk of the house. I'll miss hanging our laundry out to dry on a sunny day. New Zealand is just very peaceful.
I won't miss the weather here. It has seriously been one of the rainiest, grayest periods of my life! I need the sun! I won't miss the cold house without insulation. I won't miss the high prices and limited selection in the grocery stores. I won't miss the high price of going out to eat. I won't miss the high price of gas. Many things are so expensive here in comparison to the states.
Overall, Josh and I have had so many experiences here that are beneficial professionally and personally. We really went out and honored the Rotary commitment by giving over 20 presentations and I still can't believe I worked as an International Student Co-ordinator when that was my goal before moving here! We have traveled much more extensively than we thought we would and still have more travel planned. We're both walking away from the experience feeling like we maximized our time and the opportunity to be here.
I'm not really sad to be leaving because in a way I feel like I've just been on an extended vacation with some work on the side...which is interesting because I'm here on a Working Holiday Visa so it seems like that was really appropriate for me. Some days I think, should we try to stay in New Zealand to live here permanently? But, ultimately there is no real reason for us to remain here.
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