Buggin

Hellos! Since I last posted, I've seen Milford Sound (completely mindblowing, natch), partied in Queenstown with my new friend Kyle the glacier guide from Alaska, eaten a Fergburger, bought "Ferg Loves You" underwear, ridden a bus through Southland (I'm gonna write it off as scary hickland - too deserted for my liking), peeped Dunedin (student city at the bottom of the South Isle) in the dark, and then spent 2 weeks chillin back at the Blueberry Farm, which brought a real nice sense of home, as well as a chance to reunite with a few more pairs of socks, etc.

Last night I couchsurfed for the first time. I was fed a lovely dinner by an older and very well-traveled British/Kiwi couple and given my own room looking out overy the city and the hills (a stone's throw from the airport, and yet I still could see the midnight stars - amazing). Linnea has been to Tonga (she's a librarian, and was there setting one up for some schoolkids) and told me all about the sweet scent of flowers in the air, the fresh coconut milk, and the packs of aggressive dogs + supersized cockroaches that you have to shake out of your shoes to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

Um, terrified. Two of my biggest fears for sure. When I set up the WWOOF spot, I did get a qualifier email from the farm host, Lee:

"We do have creepy crawlies here, and some of our wwoofers have been bothered by this which is why I am mentioning this now. We have large spiders, but they won't hurt you or bother you. We also have big cockroaches, mosquitoes, rats, mice, ants, etc. After all, we are a sub-tropical country made up of many islands."

At the time I was living with rats (outside the doors of the cafe and my bedroom, but never *saw* one inside.. heard is a different story), being eaten by mosquitos round-the-clock, and visited by the occasional giant cockroach, so I wrote back and just asked Lee if there would be rats in my bedroom. That was what I imagined would be my line, in that cute little world in my head where I'm an actual badass. He assured me I'd be all set, and well, now I realize my real line is a lot closer to something like "no remote possibility of waking up with a giant spider on your face."

Also, I just received this email from the US Consulate (the closest one is in Fiji):

"This warden message is being issued to alert U.S. citizens residing and traveling in Fiji, Nauru, Kiribati, Tonga, Tuvalu, and French Polynesia that the U.S. Embassy in Suva, Fiji will be closed Monday, March 15, 2010 due to the approach of Cyclone Tomas.

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) in Honolulu, Hawaii and the Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre (RSMC) in Nadi, Fiji (http://www.met.gov.fj/advisories.html) have issued alerts for a cyclone located approximately 295 NM northeast of Nadi, Fiji as of 4:00 p.m. Fiji local daylight time on March 14th. At that time, the storm was tracking southwestward at 8 knots.

U.S. citizens in the storm’s path are urged to locate shelter, monitor media reports, and follow all official instructions. U.S. citizens should carry their travel documents at all time (i.e. U.S. Passport, Birth Certificate, picture ID’s, etc.) or secure them in safe, waterproof locations. We also suggest that U.S. citizens contact friends and family in the United States with updates about their whereabouts."

Awesome! I'm actually more scared of the cockroaches than of the cyclone. Not sure if my flight tomorrow will take off, but it'll all get figured.

I find it most fun to blog my neurotic moments -- after all, isn't it more fun to hear that vacation is scary than "I'm in summer and you're not?" But I must say, despite the occasional creepy German farmer and jerky rugby player, I think the best part of this trip is learning that most people are good, real good, so good that they will take in strangers and feed them dinner, not because they have to, but just because they can.