It's funny how things don't always work out the way you plan. I am currently sitting in my bedroom in Oak Park, California, the one I lived in since I was about 11 until I left for college when I was 17.

Less than a week after I got to New Zealand, I learned that my brother, Michael, has cancer, a type of sarcoma to be exact. I flew back home yesterday in time for his surgery on Wednesday. I will stay in California for about a month and then fly on to Baltimore, where I plan to stay a few months until I can go back to New Zealand.

New Zealand, of what little I saw, is absolutely incredible. The landscape is lush, all hills of indescribable green. There are fern trees and palm trees, and cypress along the coasts. The ocean water is turquoise, and the beaches I got to see were white sand, though I know along the west coast of the North Island the sand is black due to the volcanoes. I stayed in Auckland for about 3 days when I first got to NZ, and hung out with a terrific French-Canadian girl named Catherine. I then went on to Waihi, where I WWOOFed for about a week and a half, and spent my days in the garden and hanging out with other WWOOFers from all around the world (but mostly France), talking, laughing and playing drinking games. A group of 8 of us spent a few days driving around the Coromandel peninsula, stopping wherever we felt like it. We camped on 2 beaches, including Cathedral Cove, the 10th most beautiful beach in the world. It was a wonderful trip with some great people. I then went back to Auckland and spent the last few days exploring the city and hanging out with some people I met in my hostel.

While New Zealand is not perfect, it is a wonderful place to be. My heart goes out to everyone affected by the Christchurch earthquake (in short, every single New Zealander). I can't wait to go back, though perhaps not alone this time. Until then, I will try to enjoy my time here as best as I can and offer support to my brother and family.