My first kiwi phone call

I talked to Fiona and Sam last night for the first time over the phone! It was great to talk to them, and to hear that fabulous kiwi accent (which only served to get me even more excited to venture on over to New Zealand in a month and a half). When I called at 6:30pm Saskatchewan time it was 12:30pm on Saturday there, and Sam was just on his way out to see Fiona play netball. It's funny how many differences I noticed, even before Sam picked up the phone - like the sound of the phone ringing, for example. It's a totally different pitch, timbre, length, etc. than it is in North America. Then when he picked up the phone and said "hello?" in his kiwi accent (that isn't noticeable to them at all), I just about stumbled over my words because I was so surprised to hear such a heavy accent! Hahahaha. I will get used to it in no time, and I'm sure I will even pick up some of the inflections and definitely some of the slang while I'm there. I called back again at 8:30pm Saskatchewan time, and Fiona was home so I got to talk to both of them at the same time. The funny thing about actually hearing their voices over the phone, I've determined, is that when I read their blogs or e-mails that they've sent me and stuff like that, I automatically read it in my head in a Canadian "accent." I'm going to have to start reading everything in a kiwi accent to get myself prepared! Hahaha. I've already forewarned them that I will be attempting to imitate their accent, just to see if I can do it. :op

My parents changed our long distance plan at the condo to one that allows us to call New Zealand for something crazy like 6 cents a minute or something, so I figured I had better take advantage of that. 1 hour and 15 minutes later, I found myself wondering if this plan is, in fact, as cheap as I remembered. Here's to hoping that it is. I suppose my parents will find out when the phone bill is sent to them in PA! Hahahaha, sorry mom and dad! Oh well, it was worth it to get to talk to my fabulous new kiwi friends!

I'm so excited for everything that's coming up in my near future - IMC, New Zealand.... it's all going to be great! My mind is going in a million directions right now though, getting everything ready and set to go. There's a lot to make sure is in place before I head off, but the to-do list is getting shorter by the day so that's reassuring!

Last night after I got off the phone with Fiona and Sam, Quenton came over unannounced, wanting to see me considering I had just gotten home after 3 weeks in Yorkton. I was fully intending to have a quiet night alone with my thoughts, but he showed up and so we went for a walk and I spilled everything that I was (and am) feeling. To make a long story short, I really care for him deeply, but I'm finding that it's on more of a friends level than anything. I know that he feels differently about me, and it was getting increasingly more serious on his part while getting increasingly less serious in a romantic sense on my part. And especially considering that we've only been seeing each other for just over a month (and I was in Yorkton for 3 weeks of it), I figured that if he was getting too attached this fast, it's in both of our best interests to call it off sooner vs. later. When I met him I was not intending to get into anything before I went to IMC and New Zealand, but I thought I would give it a chance. As it turns out, I'm not ready for a relationship at all right now - I just got out of one that lasted nearly 3 years, and I think what it comes down to is that I need time to be selfish, to focus on my professional life, to be free from any sort of romantic relationship until I'm truly ready for it. I feel much better about the fact that we talked about it and that I did what I needed to do, but I feel awful knowing that I hurt him. He was, and still is, one of the most amazing people I've ever met in my whole life, and because of that I hope that we can still have a relationship, just on a different level. The ball is in his court now - I'm ready to start building a friendship whenever he is.

And there's the update for now. Cheers.

- Lauren