Leaving

Flying from Christchurch to Auckland on Wednesday to stay at Antara for a couple of days before boarding another plane to LAX en route to Seattle. I'll be in Seattle enjoying three weeks of what will be the only real vacation time of the trip.

Saturday we played the Sumner Wave, a senior div-2 side (their first team is div-2) who hadn't lost in two years. They still haven't lost, but our guys played harder than any team I've been a part of in heaps of wind and rain to make it a close game and a tough win for them. I stepped in at blindside flanker and was Linwood's 'player of the day' for the match. I went the full 80 minutes and probably played the best game of my time here. I was given a club jersey and a small trophy by former All Black captain Tane Norton and got to make a speech in front of the whole club. I definitely slept in the jersey last night.

I'm excited to get back to the States, but it's been pretty sad to say goodbye to all my friends here. Typical sob story, to be sure, but I've felt at home for months. I have made friends and contacts from six different countries and rugby mates who may come to visit me in America in a year or two. Lots to think about, but right now my brow is swollen and aching and I look like Frankenstein's monster.