New Zealand Chapter 1 ~ April 7-21, 2009 ~ Personal

The last month has been such a whirlwind. I feel like I have been on a plane more than on the ground and I am not sure which time zone to follow. It may be tough to sleep upright, but the sacrifice has been well worth it.

In between packing our temporary home in Singapore and moving to Cambridge, England, Brian and I managed to skip away to the illustrious South Island of New Zealand. It has been on our list of places to visit for ages and finally it was our turn to see it's magnificence.

I am deathly afraid of heights so climbing the Franz Joesph Glacier was a heart-pounding experience. But heights were the least of my thoughts. Deep crevasses, melting ice and near vertical slopes conquered my every thought as I continued to climb. "Why did I elect to hike on a glacier? Were pictures worth the risk of falling into a crevasse? Would I survive if I fell into a crevasse? Wow, the ice seems to be melting awfully fast! Maybe I can turn around and wait for everyone at the bottom."

At the end of the climb my fears became triumphs and I walked back to the bus with a myriad of stunning pictures. Now, there was only one fear left to defeat: bungee jumping.