Caught up with the lovely Sabine today.For those of you who don't know who she is, she's a German girl who stayed with our family for a couple months a few years back. I met up with her and Pia, her sister, in Christchurch one night, months later, but sometime after returning to Germany, she lost contact with our family. So it wasn't until September last year when I happened to leave a message on a Kerikeri website - probably during a bored patch whil...

As the big cliche goes, a big part of travelling is about experiencing new things, right?So I thought I'd update you with four new things I've had the pleasure to experience, or at least spectate on, in the case of the latter two:1. Speed friendshipping: "Life's too busy to make friends the long way - why waste quality time? Just spare an hour of your Monday and you'll make new friends in an instant! Four minutes per person is all it takes fo...

Imagine this:You're walking down the streets in downtown San Diego with a bunch of people, clutching sleeping bags, on your way to a suitable sidewalk to sleep on. It's night. And it's winter.Some guy approaches the group, telling you his partner's seven months pregnant, and asking if some people could come sleep nearby them. They live in a parking lot.So some of your group ends up sleeping near them, and hearing about their lives. The expectant m...

Friday, we're going to experience homelessness. Or at least a tiny glimpse of it. Watch this space.

Yesterday we painted.This journal entry is mainly for the benefit of someone who was on my back about updating even though I haven't had any crazy adventures to update about lately, unlike her who has been almost endless stories of hilarious, nutty and trialling situations as she travels through that unfamiliar continent she's in at the moment, taking it a day at a time. Not looking at anyone in particular...Enough of that, back to the picture. Gave ...