I have a few reflections about our trip to New Zealand.
It was a our longest trip, maybe ever. Before we married, we were in Argentina and Paraguay for at least month. This one was 42 days, including nights spent at JFK going out and coming back.
- I actually really don’t get tired of travelling. A lot of people on each part of the trip asked me about that. If the trip went on a longer, I would have been happy. I was also happy to head home. I really just do like being on the move. I did get a little tired of my clothes, and the second program was less active than the first, so I did wish to move a bit more. But although I like my home very much, I don’t start to long for certain foods, my bedroom, a routine. Every once in a while I wished I could sit on a couch and watch Netflix, and I do think about my dog every day, but for the most part, I guess I am durable. Mark, by the way, while also being durable, was ready to head home.
- Go to New Zealand for the beauty of its corner of Earth. Fortunately, I always had the feeling that the Kiwis know how great their landscape was. There are so many instances: care for sustainability, conservation, pride in the trail system, generally being an outdoorsy culture, even with 1/3 of the population living in Auckland!
- Way ahead of the USA in terms of grappling with hard history. The fact that lands were removed from Maori, and their culture was attempted to be destroyed by the European immigrants is not glossed over. The politcal system gives Maori a voice, even if they wish it were stronger. While no place is perfect, New Zealand is trying to face its hard history. It is such a stark contrast to the United States, especially these days. I see the facing of hard history as a powerful position. Move on is not the correct term for what it enables, but move forward might be. I wish more Americans could talk with New Zealanders about how they are integrating and processing their joint past and future of a Maori and European culture. It is possible for a country to acknowledge wrongs and have a prosperous country.
- Best public restrooms in the world that I’ve seen. We could drive into any town and stop at clean public restrooms. Many times they were little booths with a ten minute limit that you can keep track of because cheerful music is played while you are shut inside. The units even remind you to wash your hands. They were always clean! I know there are many fewer people in New Zealand, and this may be why. Honestly, though, I came away thinking, “This is a bodily function that all people on earth have in common. Yet so far in my experience, only New Zealand gets it right! Why can’t we all learn from this– there is actually a right way to have public bathrooms.
- America/Americans can be hard to understand. Our trip was just weeks after the inauguration. Following the news was easy to do, and frustrating. Most of the people in our two groups were not now and had never been supportive of this administration. But some were. Still, we all watched the stock market plummet, and I kept apologizing to people in stores for the tariffs. The New Zealanders who asked, really tried to understand how the people they knew from America could be the same people who put the current president in office. I’m not able to explain that either. I did listen carefully to everything we heard about the multi-party, parliamentary system. It has a lot to recommend it and would certainly prevent a lot of what is happening in the USA now from being able to sustain for very long.
- I love ferns! We grow ferns in our backyard. I had, at one time, voiced the desire to have one of every native New York fern. New Zealand ferns are epic. I love all the fern motifs I brought back. When I see fern art now, it’s New Zealand that jumps to mind first, not New York or New England.
- The people, the people, the people. New Zealnders are nice. They are kind, and friendly. From my experience, they sought to be helpful and had an appreciation for those that made the trip. Of course I am biased after my adventure with the cell phone. Even so, when I remember our trip, it is often the interactions in general that jump to mind first. I could imagine living happily in New Zealand, if I were much younger and ready to make a change.
Thank you, Aotearoa!
