Friends and Travelling

Last night was spent hanging out with the last of the firefighters that were around Christchurch. We had dinner together and drank a few beers. We laughed, bitched about the things that had plagued us over the summer, and looked forward to getting home. After they all went to their hotels, I decided to have a drink at the bar next to my hotel. I met a couple Brits and Irishmen/women that were on a tour of the south island. I always tell people when I'm in the states that you can never get a good look at our country until you're in another one or you talk to people that don't live in the US. Talking with these travelers was refreshing. It's amazing how much of an impact our country has on the world. It was pretty cool listening to grown men talk about how they almost cried when Obama was elected. After talking politics and other small talk, they dragged me to another bar a few blocks away where we played pool and talked some more. After the bar closed around 3 AM we all went home. I'll probably never see them again but I do wish them well.

Today will be spent hanging out with a few friends (locals) and getting ready for the Cook Islands tomorrow and flying home on Tuesday. I've spent most of the mornign taking care of some school work and issues, as well as figuring out somethings about work and the fire season this summer. I've been catching up on emails and talking to family and friends. The one thing I'm really hoping for today is the time to just sit down and figure out what the hell I'm going to do in Rarotonga. I bought the ticket, I'm incredibly excited to go....yet I have no plans when I set foot outside of the airport. I guess that's half the adventure....