Nicholet excited for travel – Photo by Theo and Belle Photography
I love traveling but this trip will be the farthest I have been from home! And I have seriously been geeking out about how to announce that we are taking a trip to Aotearoa (aka New Zealand)! I imagined a twist on the iconic fan-made Lord of the Rings music video [cue music] – They’re taking the Parkhursts to Isengard-gard-gard-gard-gard! – or simply going with a classic Tolkien quote.
“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door,” he used to say. “You step into the Road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to.” -J.R.R. Tolkien
Nicholet holding the One Ring. The script reads, “One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them, One ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.”
Even Air New Zealand, the airline we are traveling, gets us! [Watch the video!]
This will definitely will be one our most exciting adventures alongside the cruise we took to the Yucatán Peninsula where we saw one of the Great Wonders of the World Chichén Itzá and scuba dived along the Great Mesoamerican Reef.
Nicholet’s family in front of El Castillo of Chichén Itzá
This trip is for school purposes – to present my research ideas at an international conference – and am just as excited to learn about and from the Māori. In fact, I will even get to hear from Linda Tuhiwai Smith, author of Decolonizing Methodologies, a leader in the methodology that has been influential to my scholarship. And I’m excited to be amongst other Indigenous doctoral students and to hear about their work, which I’m sure is amazing! I’m looking forward to being motivated, inspired, and empowered by other bright and energetic Indigenous scholars!
Nicholet ready for adventure. – Photo by Kendra Lee Imagery
Scholarly pursuits aside, I’m excited and nervous because this will be my first flight across an ocean! I have traveled internationally, most recently to Vancouver and I’ve traveled to Mexico, but traveling to another continent via airplane and over a huge body of water is a bit scary. This becomes even more challenging as a person of size and how aircrafts are not designed to accommodate all types of bodies. If you’re on Instagram I have a highlight up on my profile where I talk about the issues that fat bodies face while traveling via aircraft.
Regardless, I am determined to make this trip an adventure! If you’d like to receive a postcard from me while I’m abroad, complete the form below to sign up for my email list and I’ll send a postcard to the first 10 people who subscribe! *UPDATE: All 10 requests for postcards for this trip have been received. If you’d like to receive physical mail from me in the future like a note or want to be considered for a postcard on my next trip then please add your full name and mailing address when subscribing.
I’d love to know where you would take or have taken your most epic vacation too! Comment below and let’s chat!
I was totally feeling the vacation-bug a month ago during this collaborative photo shoot at the Click! Collaborative event hosted at the Hotel Valley Ho. I had so much fun working with amazing photographers who captured my smile and personality just right!
Time to relax! – Photo by Wildlings Photo Co.
-Nicky
