Welcome to my travel blog!

  Hello, and welcome to my travel blog! I should have started this 10 1/2 months ago when I started traveling, but better late than never. My main reason for starting this blog is because I've decided not to come home after my one year mark... I would like people at home to know more of what's going on here and why it's made me want to stay until my visa expires for New Zealand next summer. I was planning on sharing what I've learned when I got home, but saying as it's a bit of a ways away now, I might as well start this.
  So where to start....? After I left home November 1st, I arrived in Australia November 3rd. That was the 18 hour time difference in addition to the 20 hours or so of being on an airplane/in an airport. I've had various jobs since then, the first one I had help getting because honestly, I was terrified of going to another country with no idea how anything worked. Since that job, whenever I needed money, I would walk around town with resumes in my hand (but sometimes not even that!) and pop into cafes and bars asking if they're looking for work. As something always worked out, I've been able to make my way around to different places and work and explore as I pleased. For seven months in Australia, I alternated work and travel. I've only been on the East Coast which is probably the most traveled part of Australia. Besides the coast lines being inhabited, Ayers Rock/Uluru lies in the middle of the Outback that attracts travelers, as most of you probably know. The West Coast is also a popular backpacking destination but I  haven't made it there yet either.
  The beautiful beaches, kangaroos, koalas, screetching cockatoos, green and lush bushwalks, the outback, and everything that you know as Australia is amazing. It's not disappointing, at all. I'm going back for three weeks next month to see a few more places before my visa expires. Truth is, I'm a rocky mountain girl, and I missed the snow, and I got a job at a ski resort in New Zealand and I had to take it. I left Aus at the end of May, my destination: Auckland. I spend a month there, found a job to pay for food and accommodation until I could begin my barista job at Mt Ruapehu. I've been working here for like 3 months now, sharing a house with my friends Mitch and Mon. They're from Auckand and I couldn't have ended up with better house mates. Transport is arranged for staff... it's a 20 minute drive to the mountain. Mon and I make coffee (and I thought WA state was into coffee! Not compared to Aus and NZ...) and Mitch is a lifty/de icer. My mom actually just sent a box of American goodies for them to try. It was just as exciting for me as it was for them, just to see all our American candy and treats again! Sometimes, as I'm going up the chair lift on a tree-less mountain, I remember the fact that I'm snowboarding on an active volcano and it makes my heart beat a little faster. But I'm not complaining :)
  I could write a book for you guys right now, but I'm going to stop myself! I've decided to stay longer in this beautiful country because I haven't really seen anything in it. The South Island is supposed to be the best and I've only really hung around the North Island-  the mountain town of Ohakune, and Auckland. I just don't think I could live with myself if I went home before seeing what I've always wanted to see. I'm finally here, and if I went home when I knew I had the opportunity right in front of me to subdue my travel bug even longer, I know I'd be mad at myself. I love home and there truly is no place like it... and I'll prove it to you with my travel blog! If you have any questions you want answered, as I know I did because I was pretty oblivious to traveling and living abroad, ask them already! :)