The Rose in the Lily Pond

It took a sweet little old lady who barely spoke a word of English to remind me that Christmas isn’t all bad. Whether you are a Christmas lover or hater it’s an extremely stressful time of year. I am more in the hater camp and resent that I have to spend some of my holiday time in queues. Aucklanders spend enough of their lives waiting around in traffic during the working week. The supermarket and shopping mall become a cesspool of stressed out, strung out people who look likely to snap at a moment’s notice. It is supposed to be a time of giving and generosity, but on Christmas Eve, shopping is my least favourite task imaginable. I hadn’t left myself much choice however as I tend to operate on a last minute, or not at all, basis and I was on a mission to get shortbread, mascarpone and strawberries. I had to go to three separate stores and line up in three incredibly long queues to buy the items individually, due to stock being depleted by the hoards of last minuters. I

My facebook friends have been subjected to daily hunger posts from me and are probably suffering from Live Below the Line fatigue by now. On the last day, food is all I can think of, and so it might be beneficial to remind myself why on earth I signed up for this and my experiences while completing it.  The live below challenge is to eat and drink for $2.25 per day. This amount has been adjusted to the New Zealand economic environment from the global extreme poverty line figure of $1.25US per day, which more than a billion people live on. The idea is to raise money for an anti-poverty organisation, and I chose ADC who is helping break the cycle of poverty in Myanmar and Malawi.  When Nick and I were in India we saw a lot of people living below the line. One image that I won’t be able to get out of my head anytime soon was of a man suffering from leprosy losing the coins we had given him through the stumps of his fingers and scraping his barely there digits along t

New Zealand money  It’s a massive shock to go to the grocery store in Auckland, buy a few snack items and it ends up costing $50. One reason why people don’t travel is because of the cost, but here in New Zealand (especially Auckland) is one of the most expensive places in the world to live day to day.      Nick and I saved a ridiculously small amount for nine and a half months of travel. We went mainly to developing countries which I found far more interesting and insightful, and spent far less than what we would in regular life. I’ll let you in on my tips on how to travel on the cheap. SOUTH EAST ASIA The power of two   Accommodation will be much cheaper in South East Asia if you are travelling in a pair Logically you would think that staying in a smelly sweaty dorm room would be the cheapest way to go. Dorm life includes listening to nightmarish snoring, smelling the odours of feet, stale alcohol and cigarettes, as well as being forced to listen to the oc

Carefree, matted hair, alpaca sweater, world wonder, sunset - this photo pretty much sums up why I love traveling I returned to New Zealand on July 19 after nine months of traveling. This line sounds very similar to the start of all my cover letters as I am now scrambling to find a job, pay off debt, and join the grown up world again. Coming home is a mixture of bitter sweet. It’s so nice to see my family, friends and my parents’ pups again, but it’s not that easy.  I have now been on two significant and life changing trips. One in my early twenties which was filled with parties and travel romances, and one in my late twenties which was more about learning new things and trying to be a global citizen. There were times that gratitude overwhelmed me. Whether it was at the top of the Grand Canyon feeling humbled by the vastness of my surroundings, or on a boat in India where a man plonked his smiling child in my lap - which counteracted the feeling of hopelessness after

It’s a great time to be in Colombia. Their World Cup team have made history by being the first selection to get through to the quarter finals. Before 2014, the furthest they had got was the final 16 in 1990 and 24 years on, they still replay on television the equalising goal against Germany that made that possible. But now they have new goals to celebrate with James Rodriguez scoring twice for Colombia, winning 2-0 against Uruguay, and propelling them into a quarter final match against Brazil. The Colombians celebrated the victory with such intensity that you would be forgiven for thinking they had won the World Cup. Fans celebrate the Colombia win against Uruguay. Photo: AFP  We watched the monumental match in Medellin, most well known (unfairly) for being late drug lord Pablo Escobar’s home town. A big screen was set up in a plaza, in the fashionable neighbourhood of Poblado, and it was surrounded by bars and restaurants. Everywhere was packed, and I’m sure an aerial photo of

One of the official flags of Bolivia. The colours closely resemble the gay pride flag, but confusing the two will provoke a strong reaction.  Before I came to Bolivia, I knew that it was a predominantly Catholic country and patriarchal society. I knew that gay rights would be miles behind New Zealand, but that didn’t stop me being shocked and on the verge of tears when I had a conversation with my Spanish teacher about such matters. He is an otherwise progressive Bolivian who I get on well with. He doesn’t believe in religious extremism and moved away from his family to attend university when the majority of Bolivians depend on their parents until they are married, or even after. He has formed views that go against the societal norm when it comes to equal rights for men and women, but he thinks there is something weird about being gay. He said he doesn’t like how feminine gay men are and he just doesn’t get it. He thinks it’s unnatural and he is even scared of gay men, once re

The rooftop patio where all the action happened.  Such a beautiful setting with Volcano Misti in the background. “Oh, Kiwis, I love Kiwis. Which part of New Zealand are you from?” This is about the seventh time the 73 year old has asked us this. At first we thought he had amnesia but we have since discovered that he has cataracts and sees things in blurs. “Auckland,” we say. “Oh wow, there is another couple from Auckland staying here too, you Kiwis sure get around.” We don’t have the heart to tell him that the other couple is most likely us - when we were wearing different clothes. We meet Ricardo, otherwise known as Richard from California, at our hostel in Arequipa, Peru. Even though his eye sight is failing him, he seems to be doing ok for an old dude in his seventies, especially considering the amount he smokes and drinks. The other day a French guy offered him a joint, and he tried to swipe it clean out his hand, almost crushing it. “Oh, it’s one of those,” he says, e