I was looking at my blog the other day and suddenly realised that I had written one blog post for the entire of 2019. I felt like I had written so much more than that, but nope. One blog post for a whole year. I guess I didn't feel like I had anything to say for once in my life. Or I was feeling less inspired because I was trying to figure my life out.
I did write a bit about what I got up to for the first half of the year. If you want to read the full spiel then you can find it right over here.
After living in Brisbane for six months in 2018, I spent five months in New Zealand with the parents and my brother, before heading out for a trip around Australia and flying back to Scotland to get on with my real life. Sadly I was absolutely miserable living in Edinburgh again. I love the city and I love Scotland. Getting to see my friends and spending so much time with family in Perth, was the best thing about those four months in the bonnie land. The whole time I was there though, something didn't feel right; I felt like I was living in a shell of myself. I tried to slip back in to the life I had before, but I was a different person. I couldn't go back to the beaches and walks where I had always gone with my dog. Living in an area of town where I first lived when I was a student years ago. Wandering the streets and doing the same things I had done all before. It wasn't home for me anymore and it took a while to accept that. There was a time I remember thinking that I would never leave Edinburgh, because I couldn't imagine living anywhere else.
I think when you have this ideal image in your head of what your life is going to look like, you sometimes don't think of much beyond that. But when you actually start to live that life you find it wasn't everything you thought it was going to be. And that was me living in Edinburgh as a student. After a year away, I went back to Edinburgh because it was what I knew. Within a couple months, I had booked a flight to New Zealand. I remember the moment I hit purchase on those flights and genuinely cried. I was so happy that I was doing something positive for myself and doing what I hoped was right for me.
I wasn't sure what I was going to do when I got to New Zealand, I knew that I just wanted a little bit longer in the sunshine to enjoy. One more summer wasn't going to hurt. As soon as I booked the flight, my Scottish friend living there told me she had just booked a flight back to Scotland. It meant we could see each other again in Scotland before I left, but things definitely weren't going to be the same coming back over without her.
I didn't have much of a plan other than making the most of my decision. Which of course meant going to London for a few days on my own to see some musicals before going to the land of very little theatre. The brand new Mary Poppins musical was opening on the West End the same week as my flight (couldn't help but make sure I planned the flight around that) so naturally I couldn't leave the country without having seen it. I also got to see Ian McKellen doing his one man show, which was one of the best things I think I've seen to date. I tried to get tickets for it when he was playing at the Fringe over the summer in Edinburgh, but it sold out too quickly for me to get my hands on any. And just to kill time before that I saw School of Rock as well - cause why not?
Then it was off to Heathrow, a 28 hour flight with three hours layover in Singapore and I was back in Auckland. I stayed in a hostel for a few days and caught up with my friends that I had just seen a few months before. With them living in Auckland, it's normally a good shout to see them when I'm flying in and out of there...two birds, one stone right?
Then by the beginning of November I was on a flight, headed back down south. Rotorua. The town I never thought in a million years I would live in three times; I lived here when I was about eight years old. My parents thought New Zealand would be a better lifestyle for my brother and I to grow up in and I think they were right. After a few years over here though as a child, we all found it a bit too much being away from family and chose to head back in time for starting high school.
What I love about Rotorua though, is that it's such a touristy town. Perfect place for backpackers, sun and lakes. You get to meet so many people all the time. Annoyingly they then leave, but that's the name of the game with backpackers. (I'm looking at you Tess). A lot of the friends I had made last year of course went to different places. Mostly down south where it's just a bit too cold and expensive for me to venture for time being. Holidays, yes. Living, no.
I got my old job back working in the heart of Eat Street. It's a pretty good place to be in town. Chilled out, great craft beers and pretty decent food. Not for me sadly as their vegan offerings are slightly lacking in this summers menu, but what they had last time was pretty amazing (bring back kimchi buns!)
I've been back in Rotorua now for almost as long as I was back in Scotland and the only flights booked to get out of here are for a couple of holidays. You know you've made the right decision when you suddenly realise three months have flown by. I feel a thousand times more comfortable working back at Brew than I did working in the bar in Edinburgh. It's completely a reflection on me and knowing that I didn't like being in Edinburgh at that moment in time, that made it hard to be as happy working there. On the other hand, the place may have been expensive and had the best colleagues, but it was anything but five star. Crappy food, kitchen staff you would argue with on a daily basis, a boss who came in drunk, telling you if you all didn't get better, he could easily replace every single one of you (and on a couple of occasions did) and hygiene standards that I'm surprised they've not been shut down over.
Look at me now, all grown up and making big decisions on my own like travelling the world...again.
Besides who could resist the glorious sunshine and outdoor views that you get to have here.
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