5/11/10
Location: various airports (Queenstown, Christchurch, Brisbane, Cairns)
Today was back to the airports as it was another travel day. I was not looking forward to more “flying and waiting” (see May 4 entry), but the day surprised me. I was struck by how many things seem so familiar, even though I’ve never seen them before, just because they’re so similar to what I already know.
For example, we were picked up in Queenstown around noon and we asked our bus driver if he would be so kind as to drive us into town so we could take pictures with the sandbags. Yes, us Fargo-Moorhead residents can’t escape the sight of those white bags filled with sand! Queenstown had many sandbags down by the waterfront of Lake Wakatipu because the lake was rising and they have historically had floods fairly regularly since the town was founded. There’s a lot of concern because the town began by the harbor of Lake Wakatipu, and most of its treasured historic buildings are the ones in the most danger. Anyway, as you can see below, we Concordia kids and Professors Olsen and Steinwand were happy to pose by our old friends from this spring and last spring, too.
When I have been viewing all of the sights on this trip, I often catch myself thinking about what I’ve already seen before, such as “Oh, those kind of look like the mountains I skied on my family’s vacation in Big Sky, Montana,” or “Wow, that river behind the city reminds me of the Potomac in Washington, D.C.” It only makes sense to compare the new to the old, but it’s just strange how often it happens. I have a feeling this compare and contrast vision will only continue and grow. Scott has been consistently saying that one of the key purposes for our extensive amount of travel is that we will view each new country based on our observations and experiences in the previous country(-ies). He always uses the example of seeing the Egyptian exhibits in the British Museum after we have already been to the Great Pyramids in Egypt.
I also see traces of home and things that don’t even look like anything or anyone I’ve seen before, though. I can see pieces of home and my previous experiences all the time. When I see a family hugging each other and saying goodbye in the airport, I think of my family back at home in North Dakota, even though the only thing they have in common as that they are both families. When I see a guide dog helping his owner across the street, I automatically think of my dog, even though my dog isn’t a guide dog and wasn’t even remotely close to the same breed. When I see a café or grocery store with a cooler full of Coca-Cola and Fanta, I think about the void of Mountain Dew in my life at the present. You get the picture. I can see virtually anything or anyone and somehow make a connection to what I already know, even if that connection is a large jump or vague—it’s still there.
Our May seminar group had a meeting the night before we left New Zealand as both a recap and looking to the future. Jenny said something that really stuck with me. Scott said he would like to play devil’s advocate and said that he thinks we haven’t really learned anything about New Zealand as a country, just ourselves in New Zealand. Jenny replied that we are learning about ourselves in other places, but that is just as valuable, and everyone is making different connections and we all aren’t having the same experiences, even though we are on the same around the world trip. I think that’s true, and while I may not be able to tell you what’s going on right now in New Zealand politics, I can tell you that the local people I talked to were all warm and friendly, and helped me out with whatever I needed. While I can’t tell you what’s happening in New Zealand’s economic sphere, I can tell you that I spent a lot of NZD on paragliding, but the experience was worth every cent. I definitely don’t know what makes Lake Pukaki so milky blue, but I know that I just love looking at it. I think learning about ourselves and our connections really is what this trip is about. In 20 years, I may not remember how high Mount Cook is or which island is more populated. But, I will know who I am in 20 years, and I will know that this trip played a large factor in the person I’ll be then.
Today was back to the airports as it was another travel day. I was not looking forward to more “flying and waiting” (see May 4 entry), but the day surprised me. I was struck by how many things seem so familiar, even though I’ve never seen them before, just because they’re so similar to what I already know.
For example, we were picked up in Queenstown around noon and we asked our bus driver if he would be so kind as to drive us into town so we could take pictures with the sandbags. Yes, us Fargo-Moorhead residents can’t escape the sight of those white bags filled with sand! Queenstown had many sandbags down by the waterfront of Lake Wakatipu because the lake was rising and they have historically had floods fairly regularly since the town was founded. There’s a lot of concern because the town began by the harbor of Lake Wakatipu, and most of its treasured historic buildings are the ones in the most danger. Anyway, as you can see below, we Concordia kids and Professors Olsen and Steinwand were happy to pose by our old friends from this spring and last spring, too.
When I have been viewing all of the sights on this trip, I often catch myself thinking about what I’ve already seen before, such as “Oh, those kind of look like the mountains I skied on my family’s vacation in Big Sky, Montana,” or “Wow, that river behind the city reminds me of the Potomac in Washington, D.C.” It only makes sense to compare the new to the old, but it’s just strange how often it happens. I have a feeling this compare and contrast vision will only continue and grow. Scott has been consistently saying that one of the key purposes for our extensive amount of travel is that we will view each new country based on our observations and experiences in the previous country(-ies). He always uses the example of seeing the Egyptian exhibits in the British Museum after we have already been to the Great Pyramids in Egypt.
I also see traces of home and things that don’t even look like anything or anyone I’ve seen before, though. I can see pieces of home and my previous experiences all the time. When I see a family hugging each other and saying goodbye in the airport, I think of my family back at home in North Dakota, even though the only thing they have in common as that they are both families. When I see a guide dog helping his owner across the street, I automatically think of my dog, even though my dog isn’t a guide dog and wasn’t even remotely close to the same breed. When I see a café or grocery store with a cooler full of Coca-Cola and Fanta, I think about the void of Mountain Dew in my life at the present. You get the picture. I can see virtually anything or anyone and somehow make a connection to what I already know, even if that connection is a large jump or vague—it’s still there.
Our May seminar group had a meeting the night before we left New Zealand as both a recap and looking to the future. Jenny said something that really stuck with me. Scott said he would like to play devil’s advocate and said that he thinks we haven’t really learned anything about New Zealand as a country, just ourselves in New Zealand. Jenny replied that we are learning about ourselves in other places, but that is just as valuable, and everyone is making different connections and we all aren’t having the same experiences, even though we are on the same around the world trip. I think that’s true, and while I may not be able to tell you what’s going on right now in New Zealand politics, I can tell you that the local people I talked to were all warm and friendly, and helped me out with whatever I needed. While I can’t tell you what’s happening in New Zealand’s economic sphere, I can tell you that I spent a lot of NZD on paragliding, but the experience was worth every cent. I definitely don’t know what makes Lake Pukaki so milky blue, but I know that I just love looking at it. I think learning about ourselves and our connections really is what this trip is about. In 20 years, I may not remember how high Mount Cook is or which island is more populated. But, I will know who I am in 20 years, and I will know that this trip played a large factor in the person I’ll be then.
The group by Lake Wakatipu in Queenstown, New Zealand.
You never know what you'll run into halfway across the globe!
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