Well, what can I say? The people who know me well will know that I tend to leave things to the last minute. Infact, talking to Emily on the phone the other day confirmed that- she said I would come to my last day before leaving Nz and be like 'I'm leaving now, but THIS is everything that happened!!!!' lol. So, Ive come to my last full day in Fox Glacier... which has been my home for the last almost 10 months. The time I've spent here cannot be summed up in a blog entry, although I will do my best to note down my feelings for now- even if noone wants to read the whole kit and caboodle of this, I think it's very important for me to remember my time here- which went by in a whirlwind to be honest!! I've had so many new experiences here, both good and bad, that I think Fox has been a very important stage in my life in all aspects! I've met so many amazing people, whether travellers or locals, and Ive met so many arseholes at the same time!!! (what can I say, you get them everywhere, you dont need to live in 'Chav Ville' E.g- MEDWAY TOWNS!!! back in England to meet you fair share of low life.... but I digress.... lol
This place is so beautiful, -the amount of photos Ive taken of the surrounding hills and mountains with the change of the level of cloud, and also pretty rainbows and awesome red skies will bore people at home for weeks and weeks I think!!! Lmao- yet you tend to take that for granted after a while (especially me being me!)- but I think this is an important lesson for me since being out here in NZ as a whole! The grass is always greener, there are ups and downs to everyplace, but you just have to take it as it is. I have had both amazing and awful memories here- the awful ones mainly due to small town bullshit, which Ive not had any time for, and its taken me a while to get used to being a 'towny' and all that!! Ive lived a different way of life here compared to back home for that I can only take as positive experience.
Its Tuesday 30th December and Im being organised for once in my life- getting some washing done, cleaned the bathroom in the house and also my room, and running a few errands before I do anything else- woah- maybe I have learned not to leave things til the last minute so much!! Hehe. I woke up this morning to a note on our whiteboard that my housemates Maria and Jared are going to cook me a leaving dinner tonight... i was in tears when I read that!!! Haha Im a big soppy 'little flower!'(Reference for LuLu) lol.
Theres no possible way I could mention every person or everything thats happened here,especially on such a last min blog!- but in Fox I feel I have made some friends for life- who I will miss very dearly when I leave, and I hope they dont forget about me!! - I have been on the glacier several times, which was something very new to me indeed!! I dread to say it, but before I got here, I was one of the naive tourists who was like- 'ah, I wonder what happens in the summer?! Maybe you can only go walking on the Glacier at all'... however, I wasnt ever dumb enough to think it totally disappeared altogether.... these were many 'classic' remarks from 'special' people who came into work at the guides armed with these types of remarks and questions!!!!
From the glacier, to Ice Climbing on it, to my first ride in a helicopter being in Fox, seeing Mount Cook, Mount Tasman, working in a glacier guiding company, to working in cafe neve and learning how to make coffees for the first time in my life(!), living in the country, in a small village with hardly any shops (!!!- shock, horror, yes I have changed alot! Bring on Bluewater and sunrise to sunset shopping again!!!), seeing everybody who is familiar everyday, and so many different personalities in one small place (some getting along famously, some clashing- I like to think of Fox as a microcosm of society as a whole! lol)- I also had my 20th Birthday here, which I spent mostly with Kate- then up at Karen's party at Intercity House (the guides staff houses all have names...the one I live in being Clarke House), Christmas on the glacier (yay- was sooo awesome!!!!) with Maria and Ayla and a few others in Maria's family, and having a xmas BBQ at a nearby motel with Ayla and her family- having a nice wine soaked Taco casserole Boxing day dinner in with my lesbian lover Jill at Matheson Motel.... :) The experiences here have been endless! The weather is in a whole league of its own.... lots and lots of rainfall on the west coast, however the winter here had some suprisingly hot and clear days compared to what Im used to in winter!! Totally unpredictable.
To think I started off in Fox in a real state- which is true!!! - keeping myself to myself and with hardly any money, is shocking. I have come out the other side of it with a mixed bag of experiences, however better for it.
I'm so excited about leaving now, as I cant really do much more here, and Im eager to go and explore the rest of the country finally, however its just hit me today that its my last day here, and Im a little sad and anxious!!! The big wide world of traffic and shopping and lots of people awaits me again!!! hahaha. Its so easy to be in your own little comfort zone here!! Feels so weird that I've had a few friends come and go too, and for them to be all the way back in Europe!!! I had some awesome memories (minnehaha, lake matheson...funny guy taking a pic of us outside the BP of all places!!!!) with Theresa and Anna here, who are now back in Germany studying, and have been for a number of months, and also Goran who is now back in Slovenia...so weird how the world seems so much smaller to me now since Ive been away from home!
I'll never forget the time here, nor the lessons that I have taken from here.... and I definitely wont forget the varied characters!!! I hope to be back one day!!
Some photos are to come from my last few months in Fox.... Enjoy!!!
For me now.... leaving tomorrow (new years eve) and driving down to Wanaka with Ayla (who I met working at Cafe Neve recently) and her bm Tara to spend new years by the lake and hopefully with some fireworks and good music! then Im off to explore the south, and will meet Ayla again where she lives in Christchurch to go and explore North with her (yay, a travel companion!!!! :D )- and no, I didnt have to pay her :P haha!!!!
Lots of love and hugs and best wishes and all that from me- cant wait to be home!!!
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