Green Minds Think Alike

Day 1 Journal Entry: Lylo Hostel, New Zealand “Today I am feeling very alone. It’s not every day you travel 26 hours to end up in a foreign place without anyone or anything you’ve ever known. I keep thinking that I am not meant for this, but I am, or else why would I be here?”

Day 2 Journal Entry: Luna Bakery, New Zealand “Today I am feeling unsure—unsure of how to do this and what I am doing here. But it is only day 2 and I have time to figure this out.”

Day 3 Journal Entry: Lylo Hostel, New Zealand “Yesterday I wrote about how difficult it has felt to make friends. Mere hours later, I asked one of my hostel mates to get dinner with me. Marielle, who is from Quebec, asked me about my project and I shared with her my love for gardening. She then said she wanted to give me a book. The book, “Braiding Sweetgrass”, is one I was recommended years ago and talks about how humans and nature are one, and the Indigenous wisdom to be learned about the natural world. Sweetgrass also symbolizes strength, healing, and resilience. Little did she know, the gift of this book made me feel like I am exactly where I am meant to be.”

Today marks one week of being in Auckland, New Zealand. I had not realized the weight of what I would endure and experience over the next year until I sat down with tears welling in my eyes to write this blog entry. It seemed impossible—too good to be true. Now as I sit in the outlook of my hostel and scan the cityscape, I feel overwhelmed with emotion: gratitude, fear, fervor, awe.

One week into my yearlong journey, I feel incredibly lucky to be living this life I could have never dreamt of. Right now, it is winter here, which is much preferred to the miserably hot Arkansas summer. While it is winter, the temperature only ranges from 40-50 degrees Fahrenheit, so it is still remarkably green. Auckland is beautiful, and most days I find myself abandoning Google Maps so that I may get lost on purpose and stumble upon something of interest. I am not sure what I envisioned a hostel to be like, perhaps military-style bunks and crappy coffee makers, but to my delight, I have a great fondness for my first hostel experience. I am situated in the heart of Auckland, and I am about a 20-minute bus ride from the garden where I have been volunteering for the past week, though I much prefer walking to the bus system here (the only thing I have not enjoyed about the city so far). My first two nights at the hostel were the most difficult, mostly because of jet lag, but also because everyone already seemed to know one another. Now, a week in, I can say that I have made friendships that will last beyond my time here.

The women that I have met at Lylo Hostel are anywhere from New Zealand to France to China to Canada to Korea to Australia to Japan. While it may seem like an exaggeration to suggest that these friendships will last a lifetime, it is the beautiful essence of female friendship and companionship that makes me so sure of this. The friends I have made have come from all walks of life and are brilliant in every sense of the word. Sitting crisscrossed on our dormitory floors and recounting experiences in our home countries, sharing stories of love and heartbreak over gin punches, eating scrambled eggs while discussing the importance of finding yourself, dancing like nobody’s watching, and singing “Dancing Queen” at the karaoke bar—nothing could top the feeling of sharing life with new friends.

This morning, as I sat to share a coffee with my friend Clémentine, we talked about the shared experience of finding a group that has made our time in New Zealand feel so much sweeter. “While we are here together now, it will not always be that way. And for that, we cannot be sad but enjoy the time we have together. At some point, we will all go our separate ways and most likely never meet again. But that is why we enjoy this time while we have it.” I was on the edge of tears as she said this, but then recalled that this is the beauty of life and friendship and travel.

A few days before, my friends Marielle, Clara, and I were walking on the beach when an older gentleman stopped us. He told us of his many years of travel and the importance of seeing the world at a young age. “Life is like a book. If you do not travel, you never get past the first chapter.” Afterward, I insisted that the three of us girls climb a tree, and to my excitement they obliged. Clara suggested that we all sing a song together, and for whatever reason, we chose “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele. I will never forget that silly yet significant moment, just as I will never forget the wonderful people I will meet on my yearlong journey of solo travel. Just as I found friendship here at the hostel, I found a similar friendship at the community garden where I have been volunteering for the past week. I never would have imagined finding my footing so quickly somewhere I had never been before.

Life can feel so lonely at times, but life is also so much bigger than I could have ever imagined. There is so much to learn from the people around me that I feel lucky to have crossed paths with. A week in, and I am happy to have the opportunity to do what I love and continue to learn about who I am beyond who I have been before.

More to come on lessons learned from the gardens…