i'm broke but it's okay

2008 is coming to an end like real soon. not too sure what i achieved this year but i can pretty much said i had a ball of a time backpacking and snowboarding in nz. definitely an experience to remember. it's really crazy walking around in heavy backpack, a laptop bag and food bag. if i ever go backpack again, i will try to remind myself to loose the laptop...lolz but it did come in handy during the trip. there are times when i feel bored and i can just watch some downloaded dramas and animes. many must be wondering how it feels like to backpack in another country all by yourself. i guess it was really fun. the best part was meeting heaps of different people from all walks of life and different background and culture. initially it was a getaway vacation from my life. sort of like a journey to find who i really am and what i really want from life. honestly i was quite lost then, i lost my directions, walking this concrete jungle not feeling belonging. i told myself, just may be, i might find myself in the middle of nowhere again. i just have to let go all my doubts and enjoy the ride where ever it takes me.
why new zealand? why not? i had never been to kiwi-land before this and i heard so much good reviews from people who has visit that enchanted land where many beautiful scenery were captured on films and photographs. actually, my first backpacking plan was UK, but my plan backfired because back then i didn't have enough cash, not enough guts to be rejected and loose that visa fees which was not cheap at all. few months later an ex-colleague of mine told me about how easy it was to get nz working holiday visa. all u have to do is surf, click and apply (have your visa card ready) everything done online. So i gave it a try since the visa fee was reasonably cheap. got my visa within 3 days! so that was the part where i sent in my resignation letter and try to get myself a travel buddy to go with. unfortunately, the plan did not turn out the way i wanted. i ended up going there all by myself which was fine.
i got myself into trouble with the custom when i arrived at the airport. the officer was checking on me for at least 15 minutes while many people waiting eagerly behind me. i was of course freaked out....asking me heaps of questions like where am i going to stay, how much did i bring and what will i be doing for the next few months....*later during the trip only have i realised that there are too many malaysians who travel to nz and just work there instead of backpacking...and i guess the immigration people is not too thrilled about it. it's like we give u working holiday visa (which translate to working part time and in order to get yourself some pocket money for travelling) and u come to our country just to make money.
i don't know about u guys but i had a thing for korean and japanese girls back then and it would be fantastic if i get to meet just 1 korean or jap chic! i think fate has a lot to do with this trip as i met a group of japanese friends on my first day in Auckland. not only that, most of the time while travelling from places to places, i met so many japanese and i made friends with them. it was unbelievable. well, i can tell u that nz has way too many german backpackers and they always say the same, "we come here to learn english, and we bums into so many germans all the time we can't practise english".... LOL...damn funny i tell u. during this trip, i met a lot of friends from taiwan, malaysia, japan, uk, argentina, chile, some holland, hk, korea, france, germany, israel...and some local kiwis too! it was during my mid of june that i decided to use the rest of my time in nz just for snowboarding. i didn't know what i was getting myself into. before meeting my current gf, i met this jap girl whom worked together at the apple packing house. she was the one who got me excited about snowboarding. so i decided to meet her in that small town that later became my "home" for the next 4 months. i did have a crush on her but things did not turn out alright. luckily, this small town called Methven was a ski and snowboarding resort town and it was famous for japanese tourists and winter sport lovers. i didn't know about it beforehand. guess i was really lucky. in a small town, i got myself a job in a thai restaurant as waiter/kitchen hand. it was so weird because there was so many japanese around that i feel like i was living in a small town in japan instead. well, the town is basically consist of local kiwis and "temporary" visitors that stays few months for skiing and snowboarding.
it was then i met my current gf. we met on the ski resort mountain in the cafeteria. i got to know a lot of japanese friends because the hostel/backpacker i was staying at was full of japanese skiers or riders. and it has become a norm for them to mistaken me as a jap (i think mainly because of my facial hair) that was how i was mistaken for a jap on my first day in NZ! i got mistaken by some of the elderly jap tourists many times during this whole trip as they were trying to strike a conversation with me which was sad because i couldn't speak much of nihon-go.
it was so nice and strange because for 4 months, i live with japanese friends in the same hostel. day in day out, i hear more japanese talking then english. let alone the manager of the place speaks fluent jap too...and he is a kiwi! (he used to work in japan)
i think not many people get to do what i did....i know most of them are just backpacking in nz but to stay a full season for snowboarding? i was like the only malaysian rider on the mountain that did a full season. of course i fell a lot, during the first 2 weeks, i crashed so much and hurted my body so bad i feel like giving up but i didn't. Snowboarding was one of thing i was in love with when i was growing up. it was the chance of a lifetime and i gave my best. riding together with all the top jap snowboarders, we were hitting the mountain like nobody's business. we jumped off cliffs, doing kickers, boxes, rails...anything u can imagine. thanks to that, my left knee hurts when i sleep especially cold nights. (had a bad crash and hurted my knee once when i had a bad landing off the jump!)
i envy japanese because they work few months, go on snowboarding vacation for months without work. apparently, part timer in japan get really good money. they gave me the feeling that they don't really bother much about life. just live to enjoy. i envy them because they have snow in japan...when the snow finish, they fly to snowboard again in NZ! damn these ppl!...LOL which means they have 2 winter season in a year!!
after 4 months of backpacking, 4 months of snowboarding (can't get enough of snow) i am finally back in reality. then the recession. its not looking too good on my side as i am slowly feeling the impact on me.
i am still jobless (hopefully i'll get a reply from the agency soon *double fingers crossed*) but i'm happy. the gf is painfully hard to reach but i shall wait and see. they say love is patient. but this dude is one impatient fella. there are some that suggested it is an impossible relationship and there are some that saw the good in the bad. well, my goal now is to focus on getting a job first thing first. then we will see what goes on from there.
ok, it's so "early" in the morning i should go to bed already.
anyhoo, may u guys have a wonderful year ahead, do what u want in life cos u only live once! don't look back regretting.