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5/7/10 -7/7/10
So here I am, sitting in the bustling Newark Airport awaiting to board the first of three airplanes which will cart me off to my new home for the next five months. It’s almost funny, but I truly feel like this is the first time in the approaching weeks, days, hours to my departure that I’ve actually allowed myself to sit down and relax. Yes, of all the times it’s the two hours before I leave, surrounded by hundreds of people from around the entire world all readying themselves with last-minute drinks, bites, and bathroom visits. I know what’s about to happen, yet for some reason (and I kept telling everyone this prior to my goodbyes) I do not feel the least bit worried or anxious or sad or cowardly. I think when it comes down to it, I am just extremely ready for this trip. That is literally the only word I can think of that captures my feelings at this point. It’s high time I get myself out of this country. I always talk about how much I’m into traveling, but I’ve barely actually traveled (first time out of North America). An opportunity came, I took advantage of it, and a year later I’m on my merry little way to New Zealand trying to figure out how to do any bit of international banking, or voltage conversion, or how to properly introduce myself to complete strangers without coming off like a complete naïve douchebag.
Right!
///// fast forward two days /////
Well. As many expected, my intention of completing an entire book within my 35+ hour voyage resulted in 50 completed pages and ungodly amounts of sleep. We all saw it coming.
When I first arrived in my flat, I was greeted by two flatmates already living here from the previous semester and their friends. Hamish (if I remember correctly) is a native Kiwi. He was only here briefly but was extremely nice and prepared coffee for me while his friend Ash (a Kiwi immigrant from Scotland) got to work making me some unnamed food that tasted absolutely delicious. I all honesty, I was almost unsure of how to handle the immediate hospitality. Part of me was expecting some sort of practical joke at my expense. How sad haha. But as it turned out (to my dismissal of innate and unnecessary defense) there was no Ex-lax in my coffee.
Then I met Moe. He’s a Saudi Arabian who’s been here for about two years. Suuuper chill dude with a unique English accent to say the least. He’s got a super snowboarder-type personality and has been extremely nice to me as well. He’s pursuing his masters in Computer Security which basically means ‘learn how to hack to learn how to prevent hacking and develop the strangest sleep schedule in the process of doing so’. He will literally sleep no more than 4 hours at a time, at various times throughout each day.
This morning I woke up with the intention of taking a walk to get some breakfast, but Moe insisted on preparing me a traditional Saudi dish which was absolutely amazing. He’s currently trying to convince everyone to pitch in some money to buy something like 18 kilos of lamb. Yeah. The dude loves meat. As many already know, I’ve been strongly considering making the switch to vegetarianism, but instances like the one I just mentioned make me think twice. I feel like traveling and fully experiencing other cultures extends to native cuisines that often include meat. In any case, nothing is set in stone as of yet. Meat consumption in The States is another story though…
After I was all good and full, I decided to take a very long walk around campus and throughout the city. Overall I covered about 10 miles of ground by foot. UC campus is nearly surreal. Everything is fairytale-esk: Giant buildings with traditional UK architecture mixed in with rolling hills, rivers, tons of enormous trees and bushes all turning color, little footpaths through woodlands connecting to certain areas. Everything is so well designed and well spread out. There are countless spots to hang out/read/study once the weather warms up a bit. Next I headed towards the city. First I had to walk about a mile or two until I hit the west end of Riccarton Park which leads to the Botanic Gardens. I really took my time through the gardens and absorbed the enormity and beauty of just about everything. I never thought I would be so fascinated by the diversity of trees growing in there. Come warmer weather, lots of the rose gardens and more delicate flora will be budding, too. Downtown Christchurch has a very European town sort of vibe going on (as expected). Everything revolves around the Town Square with cobblestone roads and trolly tracks mixed throughout. I really suck at describing the imagery well so I promise that I will take/post pictures soon to give you a better feel for what my eyes have appreciating. Blah. The coffee shop hunt began, by the way. I was slightly satisfied at Coffee Culture despite its boutique coffee shop vibe that almost through me in the other direction. I’m still on a search for the Underground Espresso Bar which looks pretty interesting. Hamish and his girlfriend told me that they know a few places that may satisfy me. On my way home, the clouds cleared up a bit and the sun came out with a magnificent view of the Banks Peninsula mountains in the near distance. I stopped in the park to watch an organized ‘peewee’ rugby match. Those kids were ferocious. Glad I wasn’t playing - even if I am two or three times their size…
7/8/10
Aside from my flatmates, I’ve met heaps and heaps (word used often over here) of amazing people. Most of them are international students so far(the majority of the kiwis are on holiday and get back next week for classes) who share super common goals, hobbies, and passions - people who are just as anxious to take advantage of their time here as I am. The majority of my time has been consumed with their accompaniment which has been really nice. Last night we all arranged a massive group to hit the city for dinner and some bars. This time a Kiwi who was for whatever reason obsessed with Americans tagged along and led us to an impressive area known as ‘Sol Square’. Much of the seating was outdoors with line-fires and heaters and plenty of couches. The bar we stuck with had a big modernized tavern-style interior (thick wooden bars and tables dominantly lit by a large fire and candles). The entire building was lined with glowing coil heaters. Roughly twelve of us stuck around for a while over some good conversation.
After a late night, I woke up YET AGAIN at 6:00AM to watch another World Cup Semifinal: Germany vs. Spain. That’s right. World Cup matches start at 6:30AM in the NZ time zone. Absurd. But you’d be surprised at how many people pull themselves out of bed that early and head to town to watch the action at local bars. The one I went to this morning is an especially popular bar with no cover. Holy Grail projects the game onto a massive movie screen, has stadium seating as well as upper and lower table seating, serves a full breakfast, and caters to those in anguish of Germany’s defeat (YES!). I’ll be back there first thing Monday morning to watch the final before my first classes of the semester start hahah.
Good stuff!
That’s about it for now. My apologies for my horrible writing - I’m basically just trying to get my thoughts down as fast as possible for my own sake. More pictures to come after the weekend. I’ll be up near Arthur’s Pass at Temple Basin snowboarding with the club here. There’s a pretty remote high alty lodge that I’ll be crashing at with a few new friends and 70+ club members. Should be solid.
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Jeff
non-member comment
how's the beer? you sound positively glowing heh good luck acclimating p.s. your writing's legible