Halfway Home

Well not quite, but close enough. I will soon be hitting the halfway point of my journey here in New Zealand and to say it has been a journey would be quite an understatement. I've seen a lot already, but also have a lot more to see. In about 40 hours I will depart on my greatest trek yet; a tour of the South Island, beginning with a two day stop in wine country, and ending with an All Blacks game in Wellington. I expect it to be exhausting, but at the same time I also expect it to be the pinnacle of my journey here.

The last week and a half have been spent here in Hamilton, and I must say that I do not know how the others in my group do it. While traveling has worn me out, Hamilton proved to be a quite boring place if you don't want to milk cows or go to the bars. Granted I would like to go to the bars, but I'm also trying to save money for spring break (wine tours, Queenstown, glacier walks, All Blacks etc.). And while traveling has made the experience more than worth it, I have to admit that being on campus for an extended period of time has made me a bit homesick. The consistently rainy weather doesn't help either; I have been forced inside a lot, which means a lot of sitting on my computer seeing what my friends at home are up to. It bugs me that it's been like this, as I would much rather have my own adventure than live vicariously through my friends at home. In fact, being so connected to home was something that I DIDN'T want to do here. But that's life here in Hamilton, and Ive only been here for a week and a half. New Zealand is a pretty dull place in the winter (as dull as a place this exciting and beautiful can be at least), especially Hamilton, and the locals will admit that. So I think that as winter turns to spring-and it seems to be right around the corner-Hamilton will get at least a little bit more exciting. All in all though, its "sweet as," as they say here, the time off has given me time to recharge my batteries and spend a lot of time in the gym. Needless to say that "spring" break really cannot get here fast enough though.

But maybe this is exactly what I needed. Maybe I needed to struggle through seeing everyone go back so that I could appreciate what I have at Furman a lot more. A greater appreciation of Furman was certainly a goal of this trip. Maybe I needed time away from my usual antics and behavior to recharge, not burn myself out, and reflect on the first half of my time in college. We learn more from losing than winning, we learn more from adversity than we do from normality. In the end, I know that God has a plan for me, and always has. God meant for me to go to New Zealand, he meant for me to come to Hamilton, and he will lead me through the rest of my journey too. 

I know that this post sounds a lot more bleak than my previous ones. But admittedly it has been tougher than expected seeing all of my friends move back into school, and having to watch, bored from the other side of the world.

Halfway through, its tough to be reflective. I don't think that I will really understand the magnitude of this experience until I am on my way home, at home, or back at school.

But if there is one thing that this country has taught me, its that there is a rainbow at the end of every storm.

Ill be back in three weeks, with new stories and plenty to write about. Until then, Kia Ora!

-Wilson