Ok, I FINALLY made it to Oxford after 24 hours of traveling and I'm happily sitting in my bunk bed after being freshly showered trying to stay awake until at least 8pm (3 am in OK I think?)
Here are a few things that I learned on my journey.
1. Automatic toilets flush pretty much continually from the moment you enter the stall until the moment you leave it
2. Children are always cuter when they have an accent
3. I wish "cheers" was something we said in the US
4. There are no food stalls open in the Dallas airport after 6pm...only sit down restaurants
5. There is no bathroom in the domestic terminal of the Auckland airport once you pass through security. The security guys got to know me well
6. There is like a mile long hike from the international terminal of the Auckland airport to the domestic terminal
7. It's really hard to walk that far when you are carrying your weight in luggage

There is one that I wanted to write down that I am forgetting, but to be fair I haven't slept in..awhile and I'm busy retaining the names of my fellow YWAMers and all of the bits and pieces of information I learned while touring the base.

Oh, also just to add onto the story. I sat next to a very friendly English guy on my 13hr 30min flight, and I never asked him what his name was, I just started referring to him as Liam in my head. Also when I got off the plane in New Zealand I vaguely knew that I was supposed to go through customs, pick up my bags, recheck my bags and check in to get my boarding pass to Christchurch...but I had no idea where all of these things were supposed to occur and the customs guy I spoke to had no idea what I was talking about when I asked if I was in the right place...so that was interesting and character building.

I just wanted to let everyone know that I made it! I will write again after I've had some sleep : ) lovely sleep.

I am packing right now, the day before I leave of course, using the space bags that the Alexanders so graciously lent me, and as I'm shoving everything into every square inch of my backpack so as to use it to its full potential, I am praying that I will be able to lift said bag once I am finished; and that without the use of a vacuum cleaner in 6 months, I'll be able to fit everything back inside including anything I've acquired while I'm away. It's insane how much space five days worth of clothing takes up (5 t-shirts, 5 pairs of pants or shorts/leggings, 3 sweaters, 2 jackets and 3 pairs of shoes, plus undies and socks)
Packing has been an adventure in and of itself. I bought a travel power converter last week only to open it up on Sunday evening and promptly lose it. I searched the entire house for it, including inside my dresser drawers and my bathroom cabinets, and lo and behold, found it in the laundry basket I've been using to throw everything into that I'll need to bring with me.
I'm going to be leaving for the airport in about 24 hours and I've been informed that I'll need to have some sort of electronic visa in which to travel which should have been activated when I was issued my passport? This is the first I've heard of it, and I'm hoping that I'll actually be able to board my plane tomorrow, otherwise that'll put a pretty big kink in my plans.
I've said my goodbyes to just about everyone, it's been pretty surreal. The way it felt on the last day of high school when you couldn't quite believe that you wouldn't be seeing everyone again at the end of the summer. I've spent a lot of the past 14 years of my life saying goodbye to close friends and not seeing them for 6-12 months at a time and we have all survived, so I'm not too worried. I know the time will go by quickly and I'll be back before we all know it.
Everyone has been asking me, "Are you excited?" and I know that's the first question that comes to mind, like when you see a kid at church and the first thing you think to ask is "how's school?" But do you remember how many times people asked you "How's school?" when you were a kid...after awhile the answer just turns into "good" So yes, I'm excited, but it's hard to say how I really feel after becoming a bit numb to the question. I am dreading the traveling, I hate airplanes and the longest flight I've ever been on was 8 hours to Hawaii this Summer. My flight from L.A to Auckland will be 13 hrs 30 mins along with three other connecting flights. I'm a little nervous about everything going smoothly during the traveling as all of the trips I've been on alone did not include customs or passports. But this is all part of growing up, right?
So once the initial anxiety of traveling and being forced into community with a bunch of complete strangers is over, and I've discovered I'll be spending the next 6 months of my life with extraordinary, passionate people that I'll have a life-long connection with, I am sure I'll be excited for this God-given opportunity that I've been planning my life around for the last year and a half.
Talk to you again when I get there!
Megan

p.s here's a link to my school for anyone that is interested:
http://www.ywamoxford.org/justice/

and my mailing address!
YWAM Oxford
P.O Box 47
Oxford, North Canterbury 7443
New Zealand