Dear Walkabout Fall 2010 team: Ross, Hannah, Samira, Stephenie, Michael. R., Eric, Sam, Kellon, Michael C., Tate, and Gabe!
Benny and Simone here welcoming you to your new and exciting blog! We hope you have all been enjoying the last bits of summer and are ready to extend the sun and fun right into the South Pacific…woot woot. We are here in Portland at the Carpe Diem headquarters getting all geared up to finally meet you all and to begin our outrageous adventure together. If you haven’t already heard from us, you should be getting a call from one of us in the next few days to go over some final details before we all head off.
Definitely let everybody and anybody know the address to this page so we can keep friends, family, and envious folk all up to date on the ins and outs of our exciting jaunts through Fiji, New Zealand, and Australia! All of you will have a chance to do the writing here and uploading of photos, so start thinking about creative things you may want to add. Other than that, enjoy your last week(ish) wherever you may be, and we will see you all at the airport soon!!!
“Kia hora te marino, kia whakapapa pounamu te moana,
Kia tere karohirohi i mua i tou huarahi.”
May calm be spread around you, may the sea glisten like greenstone and the shimmer of summer dance across your path.
-Maori Blessing
Peace.
Simone and Benny
P.S. – To get you all a little more savvy on Maori and New Zealand culture, here is a video of the New Zealand rugby team the All Blacks performing the Maori Haka, a dance traditionally used to intimidate ones opponents.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdMCAV6Yd0Y
