I’ve just set foot onto American soil for the first time in almost 3 months. Since l’ve been away, there’s been a major oil spill in the gulf, the Twins have opened their new stadium, Greece and Iceland have wreaked havoc on the world economy, and Betty White has hosted Saturday night live.

You’ve all been very busy.

Here’s what I’ve been up to — a potpourri of facts ‘n figures from the last 78 days:

Countries visited: 20

Countries where I only saw the airport: 2 — Colombia and Kenya

Countries where English is one of the primary languages: 8

Foreign languages I attempted to speak: 7 — Spanish, Italian, German, Swiss German, French, Zulu, Korean

Flights taken: 30

Nights spent on a plane or train: 9

Modes of transportation: 21

* air: large commercial plane, small jet, prop plane, helicopter

* land: train, tram, subway, bus, cab, safari suv, van, rental car, rides from friends, bike, my own two feet

* sea: ferry, speed boat, rescue boat, zodiac, river raft, canoe

Times I ran to catch one of them: more than I’d like

Hotels stayed in: 20

Hotels stayed in twice: 3

* Ilaia in Chile

* Allegro in Switzerland

* The Peech in Johannesburg

Hottest climate: Singapore

Coldest climate: Antarctica

Furthest time zone from home: 17 hrs ahead, New Zealand (which I know because I never changed my watch from Central Standard Time)

Shots and medications: 7 — Malaria, Meningitis, Polio, Japanese Encephalitis, Yellow Fever, Typhoid, H1N1

Injuries sustained anyway: 7

* stabbed self with shopping cart in Chile

* got foot caught under garage door in Argentina

* banged into pole AND fell off bike in Belgium — incidents not related

* whacked knee with pulley in New Zealand

* got bug in eye in Botswana

* …and then made it exponentially worse by rubbing said eye with hand that had been covered in DEET

Personal items lost or destroyed: 6

* cash card and favorite face wash (disappeared in Chile)

* cord for charger (voltage meltdown in Switzerland)

* handycam (fell into Okavango Delta in Botswana)

* toothbrush and lipbalm (dropped in toilet — but not at the same time)

Animals that charged, chased or harassed me: 5 — cats, dogs, monkeys, elephant, annoying guy at a 7-11 in Sydney

Most memorable meal on each continent:

* South America: 14-course extravaganza with Sara and Dave at El Invernia de Gualterio Bolivar (Buenos Aires)

* Antarctica: cold chicken and rice out of an aluminum tray

* Europe: fish ‘n chips with my mom on our first night in London

* Africa: watching a young homeless girl eat my leftovers (Maun, Botswana)

* Asia: home-cooked Indian feast made by Ruqxana during cooking class (Singapore)

* Australia/New Zealand: kangaroo and emu pizza (Sydney)

Things I wish I hadn’t eaten: 3

* terrine in France

* potted ham in the UK

* chikanda in Botswana

Most memorable drinks on each continent:

* South America: Vino del Pinguino — wine served in a penguin pitcher at La Dorita (Buenos Aires)

* Antarctica: vodka on glacial ice

* Europe: pinot noir from a bottle covered in mold (Beaune)

* Africa: my first glass of wine after getting clearance to drink while taking malaria meds (Botswana)

* Asia: cold Singha on a steamy evening (Singapore)

* Australia/New Zealand: complimentary end-of-the-day Mayan hot cocoa from a small chocolatier called SHE (Governor’s Bay, New Zealand)

Days I tasted more than 20 different wines: 3

Days I drank too much wine: no comment

Guided tours: 7

* walking in Singapore and Zambia

* biking in Buenos Aires and Brussels

* wine in Beaune and Sydney

* safari in Botswana

Favorite natural wonders: Victoria Falls and the New Zealand countryside

Favorite manmade wonders: The Dom Cathedral and Sydney Opera House

Favorite wildlife: penguins in Antarctica; giraffes, elephants, and leopards in Africa

Friends and family I saw on the road: 19

People I met on the road: too many to count

Things I’ve learned:

* How to live out of a suitcase.

* I suck at reading maps.

* The importance of perserverance (something that was necessitated largely due to the aforementioned discovery).

* Joy is everywhere.  And so are McDonald’s and Starbucks.

* I can figure out any public transportation system, anytime, anywhere, in any language. Bring it on.

* Small acts of kindness mean a lot.

* People assume I’m either from California or China.  No one ever guesses Scandinasian from Minnesota.

* Everyone has a story to tell and something to teach you.

* You aren’t supposed to swirl a sparkling wine.

* The world is smaller than you think, but there’s more to see than you could have ever imagined.

* My family and friends are avid Facebook users.

* Life isn’t about perfection or everything going the way you expect it to.  It’s about the experiences you have.

* I’m accident-prone.  REALLY accident-prone.

* What I’m capable of.  And that maybe I haven’t pushed myself hard enough yet.

* Going this long without a haircut is not a good look for me.

* It’s hard to do anything alone — especially traveling the world all by yourself.

Which means there are a ton of people I need to thank.  Because without their help, there’s no way I would’ve been able to trek around the planet:

THANK YOUs

* The Buckners: for being the Buckners.

* My mom: for joining me in London, and for resisting the urge to call me constantly to see if I’m ok.

* The Johnsons: for being my airport transportation and temporary home.

* Trisha, Sara, and Jana: for helping me do errands from abroad.

* The Rippes: Dave and Sara for entertaining me in Buenos Aires, and Melinda for hosting me in Sydney.

* The Farrells: for letting me stay with them in London.

* Cesar and Jill: for driving my mom and I to Windsor castle and keeping us fed and watered.

* Brad: for being my blogmaster extraordinaire.

* All of You: for sending funny and inspiring emails, indulging my new addiction to skype, and humoring me by reading my blog.  Incidentally, just because I’m home doesn’t mean I’m done posting things.  I still have photos, videos, and stories to upload. And beyond that, it may still live on in another form.  Either way, stay tuned.  It will be the gift that keeps on giving.

After all, this isn’t the end of my journey.
It’s just the beginning of what’s next.

I spent my last few days in Sydney at the beach and in the wine valley.  On Sunday, Melinda and I braved the rain and made the walk from Bondi Beach to Coogee.

And yesterday, I took a tour through the Hunter Valley, one of Australia’s 61 wine-producing regions.

Now I’m in the airport, eating make-your-own-pancakes from the Popcake machine (brilliant) and waiting for my flight to LA.

See you in a few days… Kara

 

Melinda is quite an accomplished sailor.  In fact, she’s the reigning National Champion in Tasars (14-foot sailing vessels originally designed for male/female or parent/child crews).

Yesterday, she had a race at her local club, so she invited me to tag along.  I jumped aboard the rescue boat (although — let’s be honest — if anyone needed saving, it certainly wasn’t going to be me who was doing it).

It rained during the morning, but the sun came out just in time for the club to run three races in the afternoon.

Bruce (a legitimate rescuer) and I tooled around in our small craft, setting up course markers and keeping an eye on the action.  While the racers did the real work, we watched yachts pass through the harbor and ate KitKats.  Bruce even let me drive the boat for awhile.  It was VERY strenuous.

 

Remember my friends Sara and Dave?  (They met me in Buenos Aires in March.)  Dave’s sister Melinda lives in Sydney, and she’s been kind enough to let me stay at her place while I’m here.

So last night when I arrived from Christchurch, Melinda gave me the “Official Sydney Welcome.”

We started with a walk across the Harbour Bridge, where we were treated to a fabulous view of the Opera House.  When we reached the other side, we walked down to “The Rocks” – one of the oldest areas in Sydney, chock full of bars and restaurants.

We stopped in at the Australian House for dinner, and ordered a very Aussie pizza: one half Peppered Kangaroo, one half BBQ’d Emu.

After getting over the initial guilt of eating a cute furry creature, I actually enjoyed the kangaroo (which had a mild venison-like flavor).  The emu was good too.  In Melinda’s words, “It’s like a beefy chicken,” – not beef, but not chicken either.

After dinner, we walked around the Circular Quay to get a full view of the Bridge.  We ended up on the opposite side of the harbour, close to the Opera House – so I also got a peek into its intimidating performance halls.

By then, it was after 10, so we took a ferry back across the harbour to Melinda’s apartment.  We sat out on the ship’s deck where the wind was brisk – to put it lightly – but the view was worth it.

On day 2, there was a little sunshine and a little rain.  I made another walk across the Harbour Bridge, and then wandered through the Royal Botanic Gardens toward the Sydney Naval Base.

I met up with Melinda for dinner in Darling Harbour, where we walked past some of the musicians performing at the Jazz & Blues Festival.

Just before we ordered dessert, fireworks started soaring over the water.
“You get fireworks on your first full day in Sydney,” Melinda said.
Not too shabby.

For the first time on my trip, I’ve seen more cloudy skies than blue.  But New Zealand still lives up to its reputation as one of the most beautiful places on earth… and for having lots of sheep.

 

Rain in New Zealand… for the 4th day in a row.  But drove up the coast anyway to get a look at the north shore and do some wine tasting.

Adrenaline Forest: Survived tightrope walk 65 ft in the air, but injured myself on the ground by slamming a pulley into my knee.  Nice work.

UPDATE:

Although probably ill-advised, I actually shot some footage while on my last “Choose Your Own Adventure” adventure.  It might not be Deadliest Catch, but it was more than enough death-defyingness for me.

After two straight days of drizzle, I’m hoping the weather clears tomorrow.

Based on the results of the Choose Your Own Adventure Poll, I’m scheduled to do an aerial obstacle course, and something tells me it’s not as much fun — and much more difficult — when it’s wet and soggy.

The course (which is marketed as “The Adrenalin Forest” — cue strobe lights and booming cracks of thunder) is located in Spencer Park, about 20 minutes outside Christchurch.

It consists of an intricate series of ropes and pulleys that stretch more than 1 mile and are 65 feet off the ground at their highest point.  Typically, it takes about 3 hours to complete, and you need to be a height of at least 1.45 meters to do the entire thing.

You, shutty. I AM tall enough.

For obvious reasons, I will not be taking photos or videos.  But maybe I can bribe someone on the ground to shoot something for me.

Wish me luck!

YESTERDAY…
It was warm and sunny, so I took a scenic drive through the hills.
I passed sheep grazing peacefully in the countryside.
Saw the evening mist gently roll into the valley.
And almost flattened a few cyclists.

TODAY…
It was cold and rainy, so I stayed indoors.
I wandered through the Art Centre and Weekend Market.
Watched a local potter create a unique piece from scratch.
And had a coffee from Starbucks.

THIS MORNING… I went to Christchurch Cathedral.
THIS EVENING… I went to HELL.
One is a Christchurch church, which makes it redundant.
The other is a gourmet pizza place, which makes it sinfully good.

It’s fall in New Zealand.  And spring in the States.
It’s night here.  But it’s morning there.
And don’t even get me started on the driving thing again…

It might sound like I hate it.  But I love it.
I guess part of being Down Under is being Upside Down.

Adventure Driving Day 1: Successfully avoided head-on crash… twice. Tomorrow attaching note 2 steering wheel that says “Drive on the Left.”