Day 1 Christchurch and Travel

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Today I left home around 1:30 to make it to the airport 3 hours prior to departure. First stop LA. Not much to say about it, the flight was about 5 hours, and very cramped. By the end my butt was sore I couldn't sit anymore. I did have an interesting conversation with an Israeli man about world traveling and the establishment of Israel. I embarrassingly asked him if he was reading arabic, and his response was "no its Hebrew". This was before I knew he was from Israel. He told me of a time when him and his brother were in Turkey and were going to walk/hitchhike towards Greece. They weren't aware, neither was I, of the conflict between Greece and Turkey over Crete. They ended up running into Turkish guards with guns drawn. They chanted the name of some Turkish leader who's statue was all over the country and the soldiers joined them. After seeing their Israeli passports they were let go. Hopefully I won't have any similar things happen while here in New Zealand.

I landed in LA and waited out another layover. The lack of direction given in such a big airport is alarming. If you don't ask people where to go I don't think it is possible to figure out. Luckily I ran into a mother and daughter from Windsor who happen to be traveling to Christchurch as well. They were going to visit their daughter/sister who now lives in Christchurch. Together we were able to find our way to the terminal. When I was getting my boarding pass I was questioned why I did not have a return flight. I told them I was on a working holiday VISA, luckily I printed it before I left. I didn't plan on it since I no longer plan on staying long term. While waiting in the security lines I saw a lot of New Zealanders, and the ones that stood out were the native Maori. They looked like island pacifiers, and some wore interesting clothing. Sandals, dress like bottoms, and tropical shirts. I boarded the Air New Zealand plane on time. What a remarkable difference from the flight to LA. The seats were much softer, had much more leg room, and best of all, the flight was about half full. Entire rows were empty, allowing people to spread out. I met a girl from a small skiing city in Colorado. I can't remember the name of it but she called it the less glamorous Aspen. She was going to New Zealand a second time. She had already spent a few months last year skiing and teaching children how to ski. She travelled the country in a van she bought, and then sold at the end of her trip. Dinner was served slightly after take-off. I had a small salad, beef with potatoes and beans, a bread roll, and a chocolate dessert. All the staff had accents and I was kind of relieved that I was almost there, just a 13 hour and 1 hour flight left.

The flight flew by no pun intended. I watched Dr. Parnassus Imaginarium Imporium before I fell asleep. Apparently I slept a long time because when I awoke, we only had 3.5 hours left. I watched the Book of Eli a little while after I awoke, and by the time that was finished we had landed. I got off the plane, went through customs, had to pick up my luggage and recheck it. There was a woman with a beagle walking around, we had to let him sniff our bags for any illegal substances. I then had to run to my gate, which included a 15 minute walk outside following a blue and white line. The air smelled like beef jerky, I hope this isn't how New Zealand smells! My gate number was not on my boarding pass, so it was fun trying to figure out where I was supposed to go. I am glad I had these layovers or else I would have been in big trouble. Now I wait to board my plane to my final destination. When I arrive I need to exchange some currency, get a phone, and get my hostel arrangements set up!

I arrived in Christchurch and got my rent a car. My TomTom decided not to work for 20 minutes, so I had to get directions to my hostel. I was given a not so detailed map and the car rental guy highlighted it for me. Needless to say I got lost… Luckily that was when my TomTom asked me if I was in New Zealand, then I was all set. My rent a car was a bit sluggish for the first few miles, then I took off the emergency brake. The whole left side of the road thing took a while to get used to, and I am still not completely used to it. Especially when I come to a traffic loop. I just go slow and hope I don't get hit.

I got to my hostel and grabbed a room. The owner showed me around the place. There's what you would expect, community bathrooms, kitchen, laundry, and living areas. The rooms are like dorm rooms but with 4 beds. I have a japanese roommate who's been here for a while. She cleans a couple of hostels to pay her way. I met some of the other people staying at the hostel, each with an interesting character trait. I met a japanese man with a Japanese/Australian accent. An Irish girl who had a mouth like a trucker and had the solution to any problem, "fohk it!". A German guy who worked as a network administrator somewhere in Christchurch and hated it. A french guy who I hadn't heard a word from. The most interesting person though is the Canadian woman here. She is slim, about my height, and has crazy frizzy long blonde hair. I'd say she's in her early 30s. She's worked in what seems like every country in the world. She seems indifferent to any form of technology created in the 20th century. Quite an interesting character.

My day in Christchurch wasn't too exciting. I did some admin things like exchange currency, get a cell phone, contact parents. I took a few pictures along the way. Cathedral square is pretty cool. Always lively, merchants selling souvenirs, street artists performing, a Mormon preaching. I ate lunch at a sandwich shop that had an Obama BLT. I got the chicken salad. While in Cathedral square I got to watch a native Maori song and dance routine which was pretty cool. Towards the end of the day I walked through the botanical gardens. Unfortunately since its fall not all the flowers are in bloom. However, the trees do have some pretty colors. I went back to the hostel, chatted with some people, and was in bed by 8:30. Set my alarm for 7 am so I could make the dolphin tour in the morning.

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