whoa, whoa, whoa, everything.

i just killed a sandfly on the computer screen. they are the only bad thing i have discovered about the south island thus far. stike one, new zealand.

due to the scattered nature of my brain, the incongruencies of my thoughts, and the rapid rate at which i am experiencing newzea life, i am going to number the rest of this post.

1. the bit about the sandflies probably should be copied and pasted into the numbered section.

2. i hope you didn't read #1.

3. we are so happy to be at carolyn's and spending time with her lovely family. i had forgotten that high school aged teenagers can be exceptionally cool. carolyn's kids are reminding me of this. we have a board and rope swing that hangs from the tree beside our cottage at the top of a mountain. that part rules in itself. but the real beauty of it is that when we swing out, we can see the crazy clear river 300 feet below us.

4. i just realized that i have been on three different swings the eight weeks i have been here. i am averaging more than a swing ride every three weeks. (incredible math, huh?) i think this means that my life right now is a dream.

5. on our nine hour drive from outside of auckland to wellington to catch our ferry to the south island, robin and i did lots and lots of singing. at one point as we were driving around the stunning lake taupo with the sun reflecting in our glasses singing obediah parker's cover of "hey ya" at the top of our lungs (not nearly as well as cc does, but hey - we try), i looked over at robin and could not believe our incredible fortune. that moment was EXACTLY what i had imagined our life would be and then, poof! it is.

6. a few hours later in the drive to wellington our tape deck converter was having a bout of PMS and stopped working. we started singing to each other instead. the only song that got sung twice? UNC(go heels, go)'s alma mater. goodgodfest, college was heaps of fun.

it's time for dinner. more later. i am happy. i wish you were all here. you can be. just get on a plane!

love,
maggie