An Unforgettable Summer: Welcome to Paradise

5/6/10
Location: Wellington, New Zealand

I’ve skipped May 5 because I didn’t experience May 5 this year, or at least not for very long since we crossed over the International Date Line in our 757-400 jet to Auckland. The flight was over 12 hours long, but it wasn’t so bad because the flight wasn’t full and I got a whole row (4 seats) to myself—as did most everyone. It was like being suspended in a drug-induced dream. I don’t remember much since my perpetual cycle of eating, sleeping, and episodes of House all blend together, until I finally wake up when we arrived in Auckland. But the journey didn’t end there: we still had to go to Wellington. I was so tired of traveling, tired of moving really, at that point but there’s not much choice in the matter. By the time I arrived at the Hotel Ibis in Wellington, I wanted nothing more than a hot shower. I wanted to feel clean.

No such luck. We hit the ground running and after changing clothes, we took a cable car to the top of a hill in Wellington and explored the trails and gardens. The views were breathtaking. I honestly couldn’t believe that I had just arrived in a place so stunning to my eyes. It’s paradise.

New Zealand is everything I want in a place to live. I’ve always, always wanted to live in California, preferably on the southern coast around San Diego, but New Zealand trumps California 100-fold. It’s definitely modern and Wellington is quite urban, but New Zealand is also so completely raw and unpolluted in a way that makes it strikingly different from California. The beaming sun, the stretches of ocean that fade from teal to slate blue and back again, the mountains in the distance at all times, and greenery everywhere. Even the homes are nestled on the hillside so unobtrusively; they just look like they are supposed to be there. I would love to live in a big beach house on the hillside on the coast of New Zealand. I would wake up to the sun, the crash of the surf and the chirps and calls of the gulls. It’s just how I think life is meant to be lived.

Life is not freezing your ass off, scraping belligerent ice off of your windshield while wind whips in your face and your cheeks flush bright pink against the bitter cold in North Dakota. Really living and loving the life all around you is what I think New Zealand offers.

I’ve never been so taken aback by a place.Another thing that struck me about Wellington besides its raw, natural beauty is how similar is really is to the United States, besides the different landscapes of course. In its unnatural aspects—shops, restaurants, etc.—everything is the same. Food tastes the same. Stores look the same, and most of them are the exact same since America exports absolutely everything media and pop culture. People even dress and carry themselves the same. Of course, they have an accent and say some words differently, but I can thoroughly understand everyone’s English.

After exploring the landscape, streets, and waterfront of Wellington, we checked out New Zealand’s national museum called “Te Papa.” My favorite exhibit was the one about the giant colossal squid. They had one on display (dead and preserved) and they are the only museum in the world to have one. The dark, unexplored depths of the oceans have always fascinated me and it was very cool to see the huge squid’s unbelievably long tentacles covered in suckers and eyes the size of soccer balls. The variety of creatures on this Earth is indeed amazing. I also learned a lot about the nation of New Zealand: the islands’ origins and its history.

After eating with Scott’s New Zealand friend—an actor named Casey who is originally from Wisconsin but has lived in Wellington for 20+ years—at a Wellington restaurant called the Southern Cross Café (awesome atmosphere and I recommend the potato wedges and garlic mayo—a combo that’s everywhere in New Zealand but particularly good here), I crashed into bed. The shower I had and the night of sleep I had were the most delicious and fulfilling I have ever had in my life. I woke up not even knowing where I was, momentarily forgetting that I was halfway around the globe and thousands of miles from home.