HEY! Alright, I don't have much time since I'm in an internet cafe and the clock is ticking, so I'll make it brief:
I landed in Auckland and de-jet lagged for about 3 days, and left for Waiheke Island, which is a half-hour ferry ride from there. Nothing good to say about Auckland-- commmercial districts, smog, unfriendly people. I stayed on Waiheke for a week which an older couple and did work in their massive, beautiful garden. They were certainly the odd ones... aged hippies into ayurveda, crystals, tinctures, and star signs. That being said, they were incredibly nice and friendly and imparted tons of information relating to medicinal herbs and gardening techniques. I also learned a bit about bee-keeping (certainly not vegan, but very interesting). It was a good place to stay for a first WWOOFing experience, as it was laid back, beautiful, and not overwhelming. After that, I took a ferry from Waiheke to the Coromandel Peninsula and ended up at the Wilderland Trust, a FANTASTIC intentional living community tucked into the NZ bush. It's 150 acres of blooming fruit trees, bed after bed of veggies, an estuary full of mangrove trees, wild blackberry bushes gone mad, wonderful, loving people, and tons of knowledge. [There's no electricity of heated water... it rules!] I'm staying here for two weeks and wish I could stay longer-- it's exactly what I'm looking for. I feel comfortable and looked after, and actually part of something larger than just me. I'm learning by doing as every day I"m assigned a new task... I have: sowed dozens of different types of seeds, built around 7 beds for root veggies (think massive... root veggies grow completely underground, of course, and so the beds have to be BIG...), made natural balms/ointments, harvested tomatoes/beans/avocadoes/mandarins, learned how to make soil healthier, learned what wild plants are edible, learned how to make pita over a bonfire, learned how to make ketchup without electricity, met tons of awesome, strong, empowered, inspiring women, learned how to make herbal teas, learned how to make olive oil, learned which plants I can brush my teeth with, learned how to make an outhouse, stayed a night in a cave, kayaked through mangrove trees, learned how to transplant seedlings, learned how to make the soil healthier for no-dig farming, learned how to measure the nutrient density in food, learned how to make candles, AND MUCH MORE. Every day I learn something new and meet another fantastic person. The commune is full of productive hippies, realistic punks, groovy straight-laced normies, 10 year olds who act like they're 40 and 40 year olds who act like they're 10. I've met a couple who do sideshows and busking for a living, (I'm learning some magic tricks!), someone who does freakshow performaces and suspensions, a Maori chieftan, an Israeli couple who do pro-Palestinean activism, ahhh so many more.

Books I've read so far: Dune, Rabbit Run, Portrait of the Artist, Foundation, Da Vinci Code (I know...), Freedom Next Time, I Will Fear No Evil... I know I've read more...

Honestly, I'm completely overwhelmed and delighted by what I've gotten myself into. It's lovely and beautiful, and so much better than I could ever expect second semester of senior year to be. I'm tremendously lucky. Not only do I feel enriched with knowledge, but I also feel happy. Content. Rested. Optimistic. Hopeful.

I gotta run, but I miss DC, my friends, and my family very much (even though I'm having such a great time!) In a week or so I'll be going to a women's gathering on the South Island, which will be awesome.
I'll post more soon! I don't have frequent computer access, but I'll try my best.

MK!!