Epsom Mansion

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The house that I'm currently staying at (and have been staying at since I returned to Auckland) is for all intents and purposes, a FULL house. We call it the Epsom Mansion because 1) its in the suburb of Epsom (duh) and 2) it is literally a mansion. Yeah, we aren't that creative! For the last few months, I was living with 7 other people and at one point 9 others! Four of these 7 are as Kiwi as you can get and 3 are international students on an exchange for a term (2 from the US and 1 from Ireland). The two that lived with us for a short period were couch surfers from Argentina. Over the last little while, our flat has gotten so close. We did lots together; flat dinners (where groups of us took turns cooking themed dinners for the others), held themed house parties for their fellow classmates and my Auckland friends, went on adventures together (surfing, camping, hiking and snorkelling to name a few), etc. Naturally, I have grown very fond of them. The term just came to a close two weeks ago so many of them started heading back to their respective homes (Nik, Ferin and Jay left and have since been replaced by new housemates Dave, Eduardo and a traveller from Brazil that I am yet to meet). I got particularly close with Ferin these last few months. Ferin is from America (West Virginia) and she studies at a university in Ohio. She is so lovely and we got along so well. Saying bye to her was really tough but good thing Toronto isn't that far away from Ohio! I'm sure I will be seeing Ferin very soon!

As I mentioned, we have some new housemates so there is some change happening. I'm not exactly considered an "old" or "new" housemate because for the next little while, I'll be in and out of Epsom mansion. While most of my stuff will be stored here, I'm planning to spend my time after I return from Australia in various parts of the North Island, doing some more WOOFing (working for accommodation). With Ferin's help, I was able to stumble upon a work exchange program called HELPX where many families across NZ advertise postings on this website and ask for help from travellers etc. Ive already gotten in touch with a few and I'm working out all the details about when and where I will be going. I'm really excited about one lady who wants help around her property (painting, gardening, etc) in exchange for accommodation and food because her home is a hop skip and jump away from an amazing beach with incredible surf! She also has a few surfboards that she said I'm welcome to borrow so I can't WAIT to practice my surfing everyday when I stay with her.

More on that later….!
night x

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