Weeks 21 & 22: Keeping Up With The Bozadjians

(Sorry this is so late! Between flying home, the holidays, and moving back to Arizona for my final semester at ASU, I haven't been on top of my blog.)

November 19-December 1

For some reason, I was extremely nervous to see my family, even though I had been away from them for longer periods of time than five months before (one of the hardest parts of going to uni across the country). I kept thinking I'd see the back of my sister's head but it would turn out to be a random person in the airport. My hands were clammy and I was nauseated.

All the anticipation and anxiety dissipated when I finally saw my mom and two sisters. Of course, they didn't follow my instructions to go right once they left customs, so I had to chase them down. After a round of hugs, I wondered why I was nervous in the first place – these are the people I'm most comfortable with, my family. We talked about their long flights as we shuttled to the car rental place.

And then, our two week adventure in the North and South Islands began. We had some incredible, once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Each day was jam packed with at least one excursion, and we did heaps of driving. By the end of it, Becky finally remembered to stop using her windshield wiper as her turn signal.

We started out in Auckland, staying in a cute Airbnb in the backyard of Eden Park. Throughout the trip, we drank and dined like QUEENS. Rachel is stellar at picking out fun, funky restaurants and we splurged quite a bit. I could write a novel, but I'll try to sum up the two weeks' worth of unforgettableness in bullet points.

- A two-hour horse ride in Ruapuke from the bush to the black sand beach where the more experienced (or brave) of us galloped along the pristine coastline

- Visited UoW in Hamilton and gave my fam a tour of my old dorm and the campus

- Ogled at the pure beauty of Blue Spring in Putaruru (where a lot of NZ's drinking water comes from)

- Geeked over hobbit holes at Hobbiton in Matamata

- Flew among The Remarkable Mountains into Queenstown on the South Island

- Stayed in an Airbnb on (practically in) Lake Wakatipu with breathtaking views

- Frolicked in a field full of gorgeous lupins

- Kayaked in majestic Milford Sound – saw a penguin!

- Zip-lined down a mountain (surely my screams could be heard for miles, but the views were incredible)

- Ate Thai food and cookie dough for Thanksgiving dinner in bustling Qtown (remember it's summer there)

- Did a wine tasting in Wanaka and finally got a photo of the famous Wanaka Tree

- Said goodbye to the South Island and ferried 3.5 hours across the Cook Strait to Wellington

- Did the Weta Workshop tour and drove by Peter Jackson's Tesla

- Saw Thor: Ragnarok at Embassy Theatre, where the premiere of LOTR was all those years ago

- Explored the harbor and saw a manta ray

- Witnessed the impressive Gallipoli exhibit at the Te Papa museum

- Enjoyed thermal pools in Taupo (minus Becky falling and slicing her leg up)

- Celebrated Rachel's 24th bday a few days early in Auckland harbor where J. Cole also happened to be eating

The final two weeks were a fantastic end to being abroad, and sharing it with my mom and sisters made it even more special. Needless to say, I was sad to leave. We packed up and headed back to the Auckland airport. Rachel and I sat together in the second-to-last row of the plane and I distracted myself from the sorrows of parting from New Zealand by watching four movies I wanted to see: Baby Driver, The Beguiled, Zootopia, and Cool Hand Luke. The 13-hour flight was over and before I knew it I was back on American soil in California. Rachel was heading back to work in CA, and Emily back to uni in NC, so my mom and I said goodbye before heading back to Boston.

Seeing my dad, who picked us up from the airport, and my fur babies helped combat the melancholy I was feeling. So did eating American pizza. I was definitely happy to be home, yet also sensed that I was forever changed.

Up Next: Epilogue (cue the tears)