
When I was a teenager, I didn’t want to go camping.
My parents didn’t like it either.
But I also didn’t think camping was a good idea.
So I’d be lying if I said camping wasn’t an option.
I’d never been to a campground and, when I did go, I’d probably have to sit in the cold for an hour or two.
I didn’ even like camping.
I loved to watch people sleep in a tent, but I’d just been up there and I was bored.
I had an apartment in a city and I didnn’t want that apartment to become a bedbug nest.
So in early 2016, I decided to leave New Zealand.
When I returned, I found it was pretty cold.
And I knew that I would have to pack for the summer.
So, I started planning a trip.
But then the weather started to change and I started to worry.
I realised that, even if I packed and left, the bugs would still be out there.
So then, I packed up and took off.
The summer I spent in New Zealand was a wonderful time.
It was warm and sunny.
I visited some of the most beautiful places in the country, like Waikato, Hamilton, Dunedin, and Wellington.
But, in the midst of all of this excitement, I was struggling to get a jacket.
After a month or so, I came to the conclusion that I wasn’t going to be able to afford a good one.
When I got back, I thought that I had to get it.
I started researching and searching online.
I found a few that were cheaper than the ones that I was buying, but it wasn’t enough.
So on the back of a whim, I went to a small shop in New York and asked them if they could give me a new jacket.
The staff was friendly and very helpful, and I quickly found a new brand.
And so I started shopping.
So far, so good.
I was in love.
But then one day, I got an email from the store.
It was from the NZWAC.
They’d just got back from the winter tour and had just finished sorting the equipment they had brought with them.
And, they wanted me to get one of their jackets for the tour.
What do I need to do to get this jacket?
I asked them to look at the instructions.
It said I needed to put on some clothing, put on a hat, put my jacket on, and wear it outside for a few days.
That sounded like a great deal.
I asked if I could get a sample size jacket.
And they agreed.
And so, the next morning, I put my first layer of clothing on and I set out on the road.
For two weeks, I travelled around New Zealand, travelling from the North Island to the South Island.
Every day, for two weeks straight, I spent time at different places.
I went camping with friends, I did a lot of hiking and camping.
And then I did some more walking and walking on the beach.
I did the same in the evenings.
But at the end of the two weeks I was back in Auckland.
As I travelled, I realised I was missing a lot.
I noticed that I could see the bugs on a lot more people than I thought.
And at one point, I even noticed that some of my friends were getting bitten.
This led me to think that, for the most part, I needed a good winter jacket.
It didn’t take long for me to realise that the jacket I’d been wanting was probably not the right one.
I looked through the options on eBay and found that, although it had good reviews, it was made in China.
I asked around and, of course, I ended up at the one that was closest to me.
By this point, the jackets were getting more expensive than they needed to be.
Eventually, I had enough and decided to spend a lot on the jacket.
I got my first pair on sale.
Of course, there were two reasons why I was so desperate to buy one.
First, I just wanted it to be my winter jacket, and the second reason was the price.
Unfortunately, I could not find a good deal on a jacket in New England.
Thankfully, I met an Australian friend, who had purchased one for me.
So, I bought it.
But that didn’t stop me from spending more money than I should have.
Eventually I was spending more than I needed on a pair of jackets.
I had to decide whether I was going to buy another one or not.
Fortunately, I knew how much I could spend on a good summer jacket.
In the end, I opted to go ahead and buy another pair.
In the end I spent about $300 on the second jacket, but, I couldn