I flew into Christchurch, New Zealand on Sept. 9th 2008. I came on the plane with my college friend Jessica and her Kiwi boyfriend Jono. Together we drove down to Jono's hometown, Queenstown. I was invited to stay with Jono's parents for a brief amount of time, getting to visit with my friends, before I was to travel up the West Coast eventually making my way to Rotorua in the North Island, where I was expecting to find rafting work. But that would not be the case. Turns out Jono's father Russell, an extremely nice man, happened to know a few folks with Queenstown Rafting and was spreading the word that his son was bringing an American Guide over with him. So my leaving soon turned into finding an apartment, and my hopes of trekking my
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