Blogging in New Zealand

For the first time in twenty-one days, I found myself in a quiet moment alone. It happened just the other night as I stepped onto my apartment elevator on my way to hunt down a friend. The second the big, metal doors closed behind me, suddenly shutting out all the noise and commotion, I realized that my heart was just singing. And a stupid little smile formed on my face that I couldn't wipe off for the rest of the night.

But I'm not going to tell you why I was so happy. There would be no use trying to recreate my experiences from this trip in writing. That became clear to me after the very first day as I sat in front of my journal, staring blankly at the page in front of me. I was desperately trying to assign words and sentences to memories that were other-worldly, trying to sort through true sensory overload until I finally came to the conviction that it would wrong to even attempt to describe something indescribable.

It's already clear that one of the biggest challenges I will face while I'm here will be coming to terms with the fact that I cannot preserve my memories perfectly. I will never be able to communicate the beauty of this place or how much all of my new relationships mean to me. Pictures can't capture it. A journal page couldn't hold it in. I won't be able to bottle it up and sneak it through customs on my way home.

Even as I'm writing this, I'm wondering how I will ever decide what to put on this blog. There is such a wealth of possibilities that it's a daunting task. Yet at the same time, I fully understand the importance of keeping a journal. Thankfully, I've also been inspired by my new friend, Alison, who keeps her journal (a.k.a."doodle book") with her at all times. She pulls it out and artfully documents nearly every moment as it is taking place around her. I won't hold myself up to that kind of standard but I'm glad she's around to remind me how worthwhile it is to literally take note of the world around me.

Anyway, this blog will just be my way of sharing and saving pictures, lists, thoughts, stories, and anything else that may come to mind from time to time. I hope it will give you some idea of what my semester is like since it's harder to stay in touch than I expected it to be.

Now to anyone from home reading this... please, please, please e-mail me and keep me up to date about everything!