On The Strength of The German Thumb

Kind Ladies and Kind Gentlemen-
What's cookin? It seems as though a lot has happened to me since my last posting, so I will attempt to edit out the mundane garbage and hit the high-lights. I took a ferry from wellington across cook strait to a small port town called, "Picton", two days ago. The ferry was incredibly scenic, and by chance I was adopted by a group of travelling germans as their honorary american. They practiced their english on me, and I got some interesting info out of them about their daily lives in the home land. The wind on the ferry was something fierce, but it was damn fun to lean against the wind without falling down. All of the germans and myself stayed in the same hostel upon arrival in Picton, so we got a chance to sip on some beers and get a little loose. One of the german girls, Stefanie, decided to hitch-hike with me today to a beach town called, "Nelson". She is a pretty interesting individual and laughs at damn near everything I say. I'm not sure if this is due to my hilarity, or to the fact that she probably doesn't understand what I am saying, either way it is a great boost to my self-esteem. Stefanie is an incredible hitch-hiker, I've never seen such aggresive tactics. She gets herself damn near in the road and jams her thumb out at every passing car, a huge smile on her face. I sat back, relaxed, twirled my mustache, and let the rides pour in. A scotsman and his wife picked us up. They were truely too kind. Half-way through the trip to nelson they stopped at a pub and bought us a couple pints of beer...Extraordinary! Front door service to our hostel! Now I am in Nelson with a belly-full of tomato soup. I'm not sure what my plans are from here on out, but I can safely bet that I will stay in Nelson tomorrow and attempt to hit the beach and wash my foul clothing. I hope you are doing well and I'll post another message when something exciting happens. Soyonara!