It's late at night, or should I say very early in the morning, and I'm chilling on the hotel room floor waiting for my hair to dry and trying to keep quiet so my roommate can fall asleep. She's not feeling well—I think these last few days have been tough on her, considering how hectic it’s been.

We just finished our last New Zealand show last night and I'm having one of those reflective moments. Just thinking about how tour's almost over and how these stressful but riveting days will soon be a thing of the past.

We performed in Auckland, and now I’m writing from Wellington. It was Shen Yun's first time in Wellington, but I believe we left a good impression. St. James Theatre was packed, and the people who came to watch us were lovely and an absolute pleasure to meet. They were the kind of audience members that get your spirits up and dive in to become part of the show. And thank you for the three curtain calls each night telling us you had a good time!

Wellington is now in my books as a favorite destination. It's a quiet, sleepy and mess-up-your-hair windy kind of town. I only got to spend three days here and walk as far as the theater and grocery store, but the atmosphere is wonderful and I've fallen for the town's artsy vintage charm. Think: on the bay, clustered beach houses on steep hills, reminiscent of San Francisco with small rustic boutiques and cafes edging cozy streets a la a Tuscan town. I need to come back again.

Now back to how tour is ending very soon... It’s been an intense season. Taiwan was amazing—I say that in a “I can't believe I'm still alive” kind of way. We had shows almost every day, but the full houses every performance more than made up for our hard work. And we had enough visits to night markets, bubble tea, and hot pot meals to keep us giddy, and now that I look back it wasn't that bad.

We did have that last Taiwan show at 10:00 in the morning—what an experience. I couldn't believe I was all dolled up and ready for the show at a time I find more suitable for getting out of bed.

Tomorrow we fly to Sydney and, after 11 shows there, our last stop—beautiful Honolulu. Wow, right?

I'm so excited about going back to Australia—my homeland and my love. Sydney's going to be a long run at Capitol Theatre, and will be a good chance to enjoy the Australian breeze while digging in to my favorite goodies—Tim Tams, Shapes, good old fish and chips, Four 'n' Twenty meat pies and shepherd's pies... absolute heaven!

April 27, 2012