Good bye, Itinerary

Well, I didn't last more than 2 nights on my original itinerary...but I guess that is part of what makes traveling fun.

Tonight is my 2nd night at Peter and Carol's. However, Peter and Carol are not here. And here is the story...

I woke up this morning, did emails, had eggs and toast, said goodbye to Elinor (Peter & Carol's granddaughter) as she left for Kindergarten ("kindy"), then got dressed, and made a sandwich to stuff in my backpack while I waited to Carol to return. When she got back from dropping Elinor off, she told me to grab my rain jacket, and soon we were out the door to go get my photos taken for the work visa.

We were backing out of their driveway when Carol got a call from Peter. He talked for a long time, and from what I could overhear, and the expression on Carol's face, let me know something was definitely wrong. She pulled back in the driveway, & hung up the phone.

She explained to me their 20 year old daughter is traveling in India alone, like me. However, this daughter, Frances, was on some motor vehicle w/ an Indian name that I don't know, had a little too much to drink, found herself falling off/out of the vehicle, & reached/grabbed for the wheel. This resulted in her breaking her ankle, collar bone, damaging her shoulder and wrist, and needing surgery on her shoulder, and pins in her wrist. Thankfully no one else was hurt. Because she had been drinking they did not want to give her pain medication yet, and calling with a language barrier was not helping either.

I knew Carol was trying to hold it together. She said they did not need to make a decision in 5 minutes, so she still took me to get my pictures. She was very anxious, and almost cried a few times. But I gave her a hug, and she said she was glad to have someone to take care of. We then went to Peter's office where they tried to sort out their plans. That is where we said goodbye...

I had a city map, a backpack, and passport pictures...and I was off to face the city alone. I found the immigration center, had all the right things except a bank statement. So, Monday I will bring it all, and hopefully my application will be ready to go through successfully. After waiting there for a few hours, I had the rest of the afternoon to myself to roam around Wellington. Being my first day I was still very cautious about not going too far out of the inner city limits.

By 3:00 I decided to head back and try to find Peter's work. As I was beginning to wonder if I would ever find it, considering I forgot the name of the building, I saw a number 11 bus! I ran after it, because that is the bus that stops right in front of their house. I hopped on, and arrived 45 minutes later.

Well, I was in for a shock. Elinor and her mom were there, along with another one of their children and his fiance, an electrician, and Peter and Carol packing for India. While they packed the rest of the gang took me to the local NZ food spot where you get NZ fish and ships. Greasy, but delicious. Shortly after dinner Peter and Carol were off to the airport, and are probably on a plane to India now.

Now I am here for at least a week, maybe two, helping take care of Elinor...and do what they need me to do around the house. This will also give me free time, time for the visa, and time in Wellington. I am wwoofing at Peter's now. We didn't expect that, did we?

I'll post pictures of my afternoon in Wellington...that is the latest!