G'Day Mates!
I have been in New Zealand for a few days now. The journey over here was a bit overwhelming but I survived. My flight left Chicago on Monday at 8:30 and took me to San Francisco where I had a 5 hour layover. By the time I got to San Francisco I had already read a 400 page book. From San Francisco I flew to LA where I had a 2 hour layover before I boarded the gigantic Qantas plane. This plane had 75+ rows of 10 seats per row. It also had an upper deck as well. I was stuck flat in the middle of a 4 person row of course. The best thing about it was the free meals, in flight movies and of course, free wine and sparkling!!! The 12 hour flight went pretty fast--I watched 3 movies and managed to get a little bit of sleep. I arrived in Aukland, New Zealand on Wednesday around 9 AM. Only one more flight to go! I re-checked my bags and went through customs. They welcomed me with open arms. I finally arrived in Christchurch around 10:30 AM. I gathered my belongings and got on a bus to find my accommodations at Charlie B's Backpackers.
After I checked into my nice dorm-style accommodations, I walked around Christchurch. It was very warm out and I was still dressed for winter in the Midwest. I was sweaty and hungry so I stopped at a local pub for some lunch. I had a beer and salad for $30.50 NZ dollars. Things are a bit more expensive here. I went back to my hostel and around 5:30 PM read my book and went to sleep. Don't forget that I had been up for almost 35 hours now without a good nights sleep. I woke up at 5 AM to catch the TranzCoastal train to Blenheim. It was a beautiful train ride down the East Coast of New Zealand. It reminds me a lot of Northern California with the cliffs and beaches.
Someone from Delegat's Oyster Bay was waiting at the train station to bring me to my final destination in Renwick. I live with 9 people. It is a bit like the Real World or my last Nashville trip--inside joke for some of you! There are 7 guys and 2 girls. There are 3 Germans, 1 Austrian, 2 Canadians, 2 South Africans and me the lonely American. Overall, a great group of people. More people will be arriving over the next few weeks. I think there are 3 more houses of people.
Renwick is a very small town. It is even smaller than Stoddard, WI! It has a supermarket, 3 bar/restaurants, a post office, museum and a hotel. Not too much to do here. Blenheim, population of 27,000, is 10K or 6.2 miles away. Yesterday, the 2 German guys and I walked from Renwick to Blenheim. I am a bit sunburned and my feet hurt! I walked 8 miles in flip flops to get to town and then we walked back--this time I was wearing my new running shoes. There is no transportation between the two towns except feet, bike or a taxi. I plan on buying a used bike soon.
Well, I will write more later.
My address here:
31 Alma Street
Renwick, New Zealand 7352
For now,
Becky
I WAS BORN WITH A SUITCASE IN MY HAND: ADVENTURES AROUND THE WORLD Becky Rochester would gladly live out of a suitcase if it meant she could see the world, and that is what she did and continues to do today. She has lived in WI, IL, PA, CA, OR, New Zealand and Australia. Working in different wineries and vineyards and now a brewery, she lives life to the fullest. Sometimes following her heart instead of her head put her in some difficult situations, but she wouldn't change a thing.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Two Days until Departure
My bags are packed, a cat sitter has been found, all of my stuff has been moved into storage and I finished my last day at my job at Bargetto Winery. Now the real adventure begins. Monday morning I depart from Chicago and fly to San Francisco. I have a little bit of a layover in San Francicso and then at 4:30 PM I board Quantas airlines for my 13 hour flight to Christchurch, New Zealand. I arrive in Christchurch, on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 and will spend the day and night here at a local hostel. Thursday I will be boarding the TranzCoastal train to Blenheim, New Zealand.
The time difference from New Zealand to CST is only 5 hours but remember NZ is a day ahead and the time difference from NZ to PST is only 3 hours and NZ is also a day ahead.
Check out the map of NZ.
Cheers!
Becky
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Goodbye
To my Friends and Family:
The best move I have ever made was back to the Midwest. At the time, I really didn’t know what to expect. All I know is that I wanted to be closer to my family and to the few friends who I have been rock solid with throughout my life. After a few months back in Wisconsin, I grew bored (go figure, huh?) and decided to move to Chicago. All I can say is that I love Chicago. I have been truly blessed to have met so many great people here. To all my new friends I have met since I moved to Chicago and to all my old friends, you are all great people and I have thoroughly enjoyed the time we have been able to spend together. You are each unique and wonderful people.
For most of you who know me well enough, you know that I have a hard time sitting still. Well, the adventure continues. This time the move is more like a working vacation. February 15, 2008 is my last day of work at Bargetto Winery. I have worked at Bargetto Winery since August of 2004 and have learned so much about the wine industry. Not only did I find my passion in life, wine of course, but it has also influenced how the the rest of my life is going to be spent. On Monday, February 18, 2008 I depart from San Francisco to New Zealand where I will be spending the next three months working the harvest for Delegat’s Wine Estate in Blenheim, Marlborough. Then I am off to explore New Zealand and Australia. If all goes well, I hope to stay abroad until the end of August (Don’t worry Nikki…I will be back in time). I plan on moving back to Chicago in September...just in time for fall, my favorite season, and the Chicago Marathon which I hope to be able to complete by actually running this year. I am guessing I will not have a problem beating my time from last year and setting a new personal record.
Thanks to my family for helping me get things together for yet another move. Thanks to my awesome brothers, Ryan and Robby, for driving down to Chicago to pickup all my stuff. I owe you a Cub's game. Thanks Mom and Dad for letting me store my belongings in the basement and thank you to Nikki for taking care of Javier. I love you all.
Here’s to Nashville and “The Shed”, flooding basements, late nights out in Chicago, the Funeral Dinner, Festivus, Cub’s Games, Thanksgiving in Seattle with a dinner bill of $10 and a drink bill of $150, and more memories to last a lifetime. Whether we met at a bar (even Nick’s Uptown), on the Red Line train, at the batting cages, playing soccer, at work, in Florida or what have you, I am glad that I have had the opportunity to have met you at all. I hope we stay in touch via email (rochester_rebecca@yahoo.com), my blog (http://nzwineadventure.blogspot.com ) or myspace or facebook. My cell phone (831.325.1395) will be shut off on February 18th, so if you want to get a hold of me do so before then.
Love and Friendship,
Becky
The best move I have ever made was back to the Midwest. At the time, I really didn’t know what to expect. All I know is that I wanted to be closer to my family and to the few friends who I have been rock solid with throughout my life. After a few months back in Wisconsin, I grew bored (go figure, huh?) and decided to move to Chicago. All I can say is that I love Chicago. I have been truly blessed to have met so many great people here. To all my new friends I have met since I moved to Chicago and to all my old friends, you are all great people and I have thoroughly enjoyed the time we have been able to spend together. You are each unique and wonderful people.
For most of you who know me well enough, you know that I have a hard time sitting still. Well, the adventure continues. This time the move is more like a working vacation. February 15, 2008 is my last day of work at Bargetto Winery. I have worked at Bargetto Winery since August of 2004 and have learned so much about the wine industry. Not only did I find my passion in life, wine of course, but it has also influenced how the the rest of my life is going to be spent. On Monday, February 18, 2008 I depart from San Francisco to New Zealand where I will be spending the next three months working the harvest for Delegat’s Wine Estate in Blenheim, Marlborough. Then I am off to explore New Zealand and Australia. If all goes well, I hope to stay abroad until the end of August (Don’t worry Nikki…I will be back in time). I plan on moving back to Chicago in September...just in time for fall, my favorite season, and the Chicago Marathon which I hope to be able to complete by actually running this year. I am guessing I will not have a problem beating my time from last year and setting a new personal record.
Thanks to my family for helping me get things together for yet another move. Thanks to my awesome brothers, Ryan and Robby, for driving down to Chicago to pickup all my stuff. I owe you a Cub's game. Thanks Mom and Dad for letting me store my belongings in the basement and thank you to Nikki for taking care of Javier. I love you all.
Here’s to Nashville and “The Shed”, flooding basements, late nights out in Chicago, the Funeral Dinner, Festivus, Cub’s Games, Thanksgiving in Seattle with a dinner bill of $10 and a drink bill of $150, and more memories to last a lifetime. Whether we met at a bar (even Nick’s Uptown), on the Red Line train, at the batting cages, playing soccer, at work, in Florida or what have you, I am glad that I have had the opportunity to have met you at all. I hope we stay in touch via email (rochester_rebecca@yahoo.com), my blog (http://nzwineadventure.blogspot.com ) or myspace or facebook. My cell phone (831.325.1395) will be shut off on February 18th, so if you want to get a hold of me do so before then.
Love and Friendship,
Becky
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