I have been here in New Zealand for about a month and a half now. It is nothing like Australia, even the accent is different. My friend Brady came to visit for the first couple of weeks that I was here. This was a great experience for both him and for me. We went on a long roadtrip along the South Island's West Coast, hit Queenstown and come back to Christchurch. This was a great trip and a great opportunity for me to catch up with Brady. It was strange to have him over here, since I have been so used to being "on my own" for so long in Australia. When I saw him in NZ, it felt like I was back at home. This was nice but kind of threw me off. I was so used to being basically an unknown person to the Southern Hemisphere, which is a free feeling. It was strange to have a piece of home here in NZ, and I think I went through a little bit of a reverse culture shock. I am very happy that Brady came over, for many reasons. I know he had a great time, and that is one of the most important things. He got a small taste of what it's like to be away from home for awhile.
So adjusting to life in NZ became difficult at times. All my friends from Australia had settled
back at home, I was meeting new Americans, I was not going to a community dining hall anymore where I saw a large group of people. So I think I was expecting NZ to be the same as AUS, but I was in for a suprise. This was actually a good thing, because it has taught me not to have any expectations, because they will almost always be wrong. It's much better to take each day as it comes and experience the moment when it's happening. This had become deeply rooted in me as I went on this journey. At home before I left for AUS, I was starting to feel a quiet contentment inside myself based on the way I viewed life. This sense of inner quiet and peace was able to flourish while I was living at home. I then saw this develop throughout my time in Australia, and I could see it affecting my daily life in ways I could not have imagined. Everything seemed right in the world. I cannot truly put it into words, for that would belittle the feeling entirely.But as the semester progressed, I formed relationships with all kinds of people, went to wonderful places on holiday, and learned a whole lot about myself and what I wanted to do in life. This growth happened all the time, and I was expecting it to continue in New Zealand. It was difficult to say goodbye to all my friends in Aussie, but I knew that if we were god friends we would see eachother again. I got to New Zealand and met all the new Americans and was in a vacation mode. Everything in NZ seemed magical and I was ready to see it all. My time with Brady and meeting all these new people kind of put my fantasies to a halt. I realized that I was going through some sort of reverse culture shock since I felt like I was back at home with Brady. I was very confused, because I was on such a high after leaving Australia and I entered this whole new world in NZ and felt like my journey was just beginning. After Brady left, I had some struggling with accepting the fact that my fantasies about NZ were in fact not all true. I realized that I had to go to school and still get down to work. Traveling was going to be difficult without a car, and a whole bunch of other things just kind of threw me out of place.
About a month later though, I look back on that time and understand that I was going through a journey, there were some rough parts and some great parts, which affected me in ways that I didn't realize were happening. But now I see that I basically let it all get to me. I had developed such a sound mentality in Australia and forgot all about that when I got to NZ. I think a number of things were factors in this, but now I understand it and am able to get back to my center. For awhile, I was lost in the woods, but now I feel like myself again.There have been a few things that keep me centered, and they all involve doing something to bring me to the present moment. I now that I will always be able to live in the moment if I really allow myself to.
So now I am just continuing schoolwork and have a 2 week break starting next weekend! I am going to Tonga to work on a coffee plantation, and Auckland right before that with my roomate Leslie. I am soooooo excited to see Tonga, and am going to be open to anything and everything.
Well I think that's about enough for now, but can't wait to have a great semester and come home and see everyone I love!
