the great debate and final decision

remember this post just a few days ago?

it was probably all really confusing considering i didn't really explain anything that was going on.

in short, my plans have changed dramatically in the past few days. originally i had planned three months in new zealand and another three almost four in nepal, but that was before . . . before i got a little email.

i got this certain email while i was in the blenheim library. at first i was shocked to see who sent the email but i was even more shocked once i started to read the message. a few months back, i wrote about going to see a documentary by mary olive smith. the documentary, "a walk to beautiful," is about women in ethiopia living with fistulas. i thoroughly enjoyed the film and talking with mary olive after the show. i had asked her back in the fall if she had any contacts in nepal and we had a brief email correspondence for a while about the filmmaker/ photojournalist friends of hers in asia. after a few months, i had not thought about it much, that is, until i got an email from mary olive just a few days ago.

in her email she asked if i would considering being her production assistant for a short film on family planning in nepal.

what?!

i was all ready to write back and tell her, absolutely, until i saw she was getting in in early march. in march, i was still supposed to be in new zealand.

but, after talking with everyone here and back home, i realized, this is an opportunity i could not pass up! it isn't everyday that an emmy award-wining filmmaker gives you the chance of a lifetime.

she knows i am a novice, but this is ultimately what i want to do for the rest of my life.

mom and i talked a couple of months back about what i saw myself doing with the rest of my life, and i shared with her that my dream would be working as a photojournalist/docu. filmmaker who exposes issues relating to either women's issues or malnutrition. i just had no idea i would have an opportunity to do that very thing so young/ so soon!

even though i'm sad to leave nz early and miss out on australia almost entirely, i know that they'll always be there {just waiting for me to come back!}. i've already had a lifetime of fun here and i know that nepal will be incredibly rewarding and challenging.

i made it to queenstown {the adventure capital of the world y'all!} yesterday afternoon after a nine hour bus ride and like all the other places i've been in nz, i fell in love almost instantly. the views here are unreal. i'm currently sitting in the hostel meeting room and every way you look there is something lovely. i can almost touch the remarkables {the mountain range} from where i sit!

on the long, but surprisingly pleasant journey from christchurch yesterday, i realized just how happy i am right now. this might just be the happiest i've ever been in my life. i'm living my dream and i feel so incredibly blessed, supported, and loved.

thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. it made be the crazy decision, but i also think it might be the right decision.

. . . nepal here i come!

{p.s. this photo is just one of the many reasons you might be able to understand why my decision was so difficult! this shot was taken on the tranz scenic train across the country on wednesday}