Money Matters

---

After my body recovered from the Milford Track, I made my way through Dunedin and on to Christchurch. Dunedin was definetly memorable because I met up with three friends from Chicago; Emily Fitzmaurice, Katie Pascente and Nora Houlihan. It was a lot of fun because I got to see the contrast between our two travel experiences. Whereas Rachel and I blitzkreiged our way throughout the whole country in two months, these girls settled in Dunedin for three months. They had their own room in a hostel, had a group of stable friends and had jobs. I had a great time hanging out with them. We went to the beach, talked about pastimes, got sick from eating too much chocolate on a Cadbury's chocolate tour and had a Mexican Fiesta Bon Voyage night.

At this point Rachel and I were ready to leave New Zealand to head to Australia, and, after seeing what the Chicago girls had created in New Zealand, Rachel and I wanted to create the same for ourselves in Australia. We were exhausted from hitch hiking and travelling everywhere for two months and were ready to slow down. We spent two nights in Christchurch, which I quite liked, then Rachel and I split ways; I headed for Sydney and Rachel flew off to Byron Bay. it was when Rachel and I were apart that the reality of the whole trip hit me.

Because this trip was the first time I have ever been on my own financially, I was so overwhelmed. Being on my own has been a good experience for me, but at the same time, it has been the hardest thing I have ever had to learn in my life. Before Rachel and I left the States we inaccurately dreamt up a budget that would last us one and a half years while travelling around the world. Unfortunately our projected plan of spending ten dollars a day wasn't going to get us far because a hostel alone was at least $25 a night, and if I wanted to eat as well, a couple packets of ramen was at least five dollars. Watching this money that I had worked so hard for in college disappear so quickly was a complete shock for me and was really emotionally draining.

I absolutely did not know what to do. My whole dream of travelling around the world and volunteering was destroyed. I have been so lucky that my dad and mom have provided for me all these years. Not that I thought money fell from trees, but I had no idea how expensive life is and in actuality, how hard it is. I tried making the best of my situation in Sydney so I arrived in Bondi Beach with the attitude that I had to make money and that was the only thing that mattered. I stayed with a friend from Esalen, Jhanna, for a week while I went out searching for jobs and a flat. I searched so hard for a job that I ended up having four jobs all at once! I waitressed at an upscale cafe called Trio during the day, made falafels at Sababa'a after that, then babysat and cleaned houses in between. I worked myself so hard to the point where I became so lonely and confused that I crumbled into pieces and broke down.

On the night before Easter, I went out to a lovely dinner at the Sydney Harbor with Nora Houlihan, her mom and her sister. The evening could not have been anymore perfect. The Sydney Opera house was in the background, the moon was full and bright and the air was crisp. We laughed and dined at a fine Italian restaurant and had a marvelous evening. The next day I woke feeling really empty because my whole family was together on Easter, yet I was alone and halfway around the world. My breakdown then led me to meet up with Rachel in Melbourne, which is in southern Australia, so we could hang out together, enjoy travelling and not be soley consumed by the thought of spending our savings.

---