Alone again in New Zealand and other revelations

My mom and Jim left this morning on the bus to Wellington. We arrived at the station early and had a little coffee before they set off. The sun was shining gloriously, so they should've had a beautiful tour of the country on their way south. I was a little jealous, since I have a love affair with the peaceful bus rides in New Zealand. 

I stood on the side of Hobson Street waving as they pulled away. It's funny when people leave. It's the thought that I'm in a foreign country and they're going back to the US. Not that I actually want to go back to the States at this point. But it's a funny feeling.

This past Friday at work, I gave written confirmation of my final date at the University. I've been wavering on what to do, wondering if I should stay and try my hand at teaching, but it feels right to move on. I'm going to sit the optometry board exams, which will give me the freedom to practice anywhere in Australia or New Zealand. 

Between my last day at work and the board exams, I'll have some time to kill. I realised that if I were a teacher, I'd be owed about 21 months off from work for all the years I worked straight through, so I'm not going to feel one bit guilty about taking 3-6 months off or more. Plus I have frugal gene and money saved, so I'm safe in my decision.

I plan to stay in New Zealand for a while (won't actually get booted out of the country until January 5th) and travel around, camping and whatnot. Then take a flight up to Bangkok and do some exploring up there before I return to take the boards. This, of course, could change.

I may be living out of my car and my tent for a while. ;)