Queenstown so far

So here I am in Queenstown, sitting on my friend's couch and I have the apartment to myself for the first time. My friends have gone for a house party, I'm resting my back instead. It's been a rough past few days for my back with the long journey plus the heavy lifting and lugging of the luggage. I admit, playing tennis yesterday morning was not good for it either but I got to meet some lovely Kiwis at the tennis club and indulged in their BBQ at the tennis social.

Up until today it had been rather hectic. The first night here I actually considered cutting short my stay, I had the displeasure of being included in plans for boozing at the rowdy local tavern for young backpackers. This was precisely the scene I was running away from, funny how what you try to evade tracks you down. Tired from the journey and short on fuse I left after an hour when I realized that the beers were not slowing down in the frequency of their arrival. I sat outside to observe a gang of raucous youth indulge in their pub crawl through the town while I waited for M and J.

An observation - the level of happiness I am experiencing in Queenstown is where it was when living in MidValley. In fact, there are greater challenges here. I've now given up more of my privacy for the next few weeks, currently it is confined to the bathroom. For me, privacy seems to be on overall decline since I left California. Ironically there is more noise around me living here than I had in Midvalley since there is little refuge here for me. My Ascension practice has been curtailed too and the lack of quiet contemplation contributes to the increased sense of unease in me.

J has been a fabulous host and definitely patient with me and M. I am grateful to her. J had thoughtfully acquired a rollaway bed for me but I've opted to sleep on comforters and a camping pad placed on the floor in order to prevent the stress on my back from sleeping on the soft rollaway mattress.

Tomorrow M and J leave for a coach ride to Milford and then they will do the day cruise to take in Milford Sound. I've decided to seize the opportunity to rest up some more and really soak in Queenstown properly. Queenstown pop. is approx. 20,000 and the people in this area of town are mostly tourists. Today I enjoyed basking in the sun on the grass by the lake and Ascending while drifting in and out of sleep. The best day so far :)

I know things will look up when my back strengthens and once I get outside to explore the wilderness as I have planned. Looks like M and J have returned from the party... time to tuck in.