Birthday!!!

Happy happy birthday to Caaaaaaaaaaaitliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin.
23 years old. Wow. WOW. And I'll be home in, like, less than 20 hours. Woooow.

I spent my last days in Christchurch living at my friend Hannah's house. All week it was POURING rain. It really felt like winter too, it got so cold! Wore my gloves and hat and anything warm I could get my hands on. When I could feel my hands. I spent my mornings in the central library reading and just avoiding going outside. The Avon River was basically flooded. I hated staying inside so long, so eventually I would venture out into the wet and gloom trying to find things to do.

My friend Joana was staying in Chch too, and we decided to see the movie Boy, by the same guy that did Eagle Vs. Shark, and I really enjoyed it. It's a coming of age tale about a Maori family living on the East Coast in the '80s, just after Michael Jackson's Thriller came out. If the movie goes to America (or maybe it came and went?) I reccommend seeing it, it's a really great look into the Maori small-town lifestyle and mentality. And you get to hear the accent, which I'm sure I will miss coming home...

On Wednesday I wanted to celebrate my birthday, effectively a day early, so that I wouldn't have to worry about going to the airport straight from a celebration. Basically everything fell through because when Hannah and I got back to hers and finished eating dinner (we made fajitas! sooooo good! I'm so looking forward to having burritos again!!!) it was just too cold and wet outside, and Hannah had work the next day, and it's a 30min walk into town. We all just didn't feel like braving the night. I felt really lame, but didn't think it was the end of the world because I could just celebrate my birthday on the actual day.

So Thursday I turned 23 (woo!) and met Joana and her boyfriend Simon for lunch, and we took our time because, surprise, it was raining, and it was warm in the restaraunt. Joana gave me a really awesome canvas bag with kiwis on it - which is really cool since we worked on the kiwi orchard together - and wrote a really lovely note on a picture of the beach near Opotiki where we had spent one afternoon. She also bought me a cookie from one of her favorite shops, which definitely made my heart start pumping with the insane sugar rush. It was really hard to say goodbye because Jo and I really connected and we've run into each other so many times in the last few months that it's just hard to believe we won't see each other anymore. It's probably why I didn't cry- it's just too hard to believe.

The only reason I broke away was that my friend Pina, from the vineyards, was also in town and had been texting me to come to her hostel because she made me a cake. It was 4pm by this point, and I was going to meet Hannah for a drink after she finished work at 5, so I was a little hesitant to see Pina because I was worried about the time. I had asked if she wanted to join me and Hannah in town, but she said it would be better for me to come to the hostel because of the cake. She also said that there was another surprise for me, and I figured she must have gotten me a present. It was really sweet, especially because we weren't best of friends at Copper Beech (vineyard hostel). It sounded like she just put some effort into my birthday (and had remembered it when I was in Chch before, at the rugby game, like she had put it into her planner and was all excited for it) so I thought it would be good to drop it. Plus, she was always baking in Copper Beech, and it was really sweet that she made me a cake, so I texted back that I would drop by but only for a little while in order to meet Hannah on time. When I finally got to the hostel (and it was FREEZING outside, was very glad to be in the warm) it was closer to 4:30 and I thought I would only be able to stay for 15 minutes before having to walk to meet Hannah, and it made me sad, because it would be too short, but I figured a small visit was better than none at all.

I asked the desk manager where I could find Pina, and he went to get her for me. I love this girl, she comes bounding out all smiling and gives me a big hug. I was flooded with affection for her, and immediately glad I came over. Pina is overly excited, beckoning me through the kitchen and into the dining room, I'm guessing just because she wants to dig into the cake. I open the door and suddenly

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAITLIN!!!!!!!!!!!

It's a huge crew of Germans from Copper Beech throwing me a surprise party!!! I had NO idea, they completely surprised me, and I felt so loved. I didn't think that I would get to see these lovely people again, and it was just the best present I could have asked for. I mean, they were planning this party for over a month, I think since I left Blenheim, and these guys drove and hitch hiked from all over New Zealand just to be with me! How sweet is that??? I really meant it when I said Copper Beech was like a family, and it definitely felt like a reunion seeing all of them there in pink princess birthday hats and blowing party horns. I almost started crying, I was so touched.

We catch up over Pina's brownie cake, and I couldn't have been happier celebrating with all of these familiar faces. It's so crazy because I've literally said goodbye to some of the girls 5 times since working with them in Opotiki, then departing in Gisbourne after seeing the East Cape together, then meeting/departing in Wellington, working together on the vineyards in Blenheim, then running into each other in Wanaka then departing in Christchurch... and then again in Christchurch!! I'm certain that we will stay in touch forever, because so much of my time here has been spent with these girls. So, I guess while I didn't get to see every single part of New Zealand, or go on all the walks, or feel a little regret for not travelling to another part of the world before coming home, I've truly had a wonderful time because I've made really good friends. That, and if I ever want to go to Germany, I'll be set, because it seems I've befriended the entire country...

Hannah treats me to dinner (and the Germans require that I wear my pink party hat out, and some guy on the street commented "That'll keep off the rain!") and I realize that she's one of the first people I met in New Zealand, all the way back in Auckland at BASE. And we basically saw each other once a month for at least a day since February. Essentially Hannah has been at every step in my New Zealand travels, which was so cool that we could say we tracked each others' progress over the months. It was even harder to say goodbye to Hannah because she's the person I've known the longest and it really feels like I'll just meet up with her again next month. I just had to tear myself away and try not to think about how sad it really is that I won't see so many of these wonderful people again... That's what I'll miss more than anything about NZ.

After returning to the hostel for drinks and general merriment, I get to the airport at 5 am (and didn't sleep, which I was hoping I would, but oh well). I made my flight and slept in chunks. I didn't expect to get our own tvs because it's such a short flight, but it IS international and they even fed us, fancy! I wasn't really expecting United Airlines to be so nice. I'm on them again for my main flight back to SFO, so while it's not Qantas it's a pretty decent substitute. But now I've got 3 hours before my plane even boards. Luckily there's free internet at the Sydney Airport...