Christchurch Part Two

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So, I left the stunning beautiful lakeside town of Wanaka to pursue every American teen's dream: getting a car.

I can count the times that I've driven a car on both hands, so this is potentially a very foolish idea. However, rationality was never my forte in philosophy, so I started to pull down adds for used cars in hostels and grocery stores.

I was a bit worried that I'd have trouble using a stick shift with my left hand, so a girl I met took me out driving around the city in her car. It went fine until I turned the wrong way into oncoming traffic. It appears they drive on the opposite side of the road in New Zealand. I've decided that purchasing some insurance is probably a good idea.

I don't have a lot of money, which is why it was handy when I found 1,000,000 lying on the pavement. Instead of my original 1000$ limit, I decided to expand my search to under 1500$. Mainly this was due to the fact that the cars for under 1000$ were all conspicously named things like "Gonzo" and looked like they might not make it out of the city.

I'm not the best shopper in the world (when I go to Hell they're going to make me Christmas shop in Chinook center). So, I ended up buying the first car I went to see: a white '87 GT Sprinter. Unfortunatly, the guy who sold it to me wouldn't take my 1,000,000 bill, so I had to pay him 1100$ in twenties. This means I won't be able to pick up the car for two days, due to my 500$ withdrawal limit!

When I finally got all the cash together, I felt really rich for about five minutes holding 55 crisp bills in my hands. Then, I felt really poor when I realized that I only had 1000$ left. I hope the back seat is comfortable to sleep on!

The car's new name is Mark, a safe name for a safe car. I was going to name him Vladimir, but it didn't quite seem to fit. He's not fast, or red, there's no leather, and I actually recognize what most of the little buttons on the dash do! I spent the better part of the morning christening him (aka vacumming and washing) but he still has that 'old car smell'. Good thing its beautiful so I can drive with the windows down.

Backpacking New Zealand has suddenly turned into road tripping New Zealand, and I'm heading south.

xoxo

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Photos

1,000,000
Now that I've found 1,000,000 I'm rich and can afford to buy a car!!!

New Car
Meet Mark. He's the boy-next-door reliable type. (Hopefully no surprises, touch wood!).

Better in the dark
In the dark, under the street lights, Mark looks slightly more mysterious. Tehe. Or, maybe just darker.

Comments

[T-Sang]

as if
Oh my goodness, Erin, your blogs crack me up. You should be a comedic writer. First of all, bravo, for turning down the wrong side of the road. Only you could pull that one off and not get killed in the process. But then it looks like your luck continues seeing as how you found a huge chunk of money on the ground. Oh and decent car, not bad for $1500. Although personally, I think Gonzo would have been a better name, as previously mentioned in your blog. I'd think a car named Gonzo would treat you right. Have an awesome time and keep up these blogs so I can live vicariously through you. Love ya