wce.80d.org

i arrived in christchurch yesterday after traveling for 29 hours. the trip was mostly uneventful, aside from some interesting conversations with my row companions on the 14 hours flight from san francisco to sydney. i rode downtown with some strangers from the airport and my first impression of this place is how friendly everyone is. my second impression is that if i don’t get hit by a car while i’m here, it will be damned miracle. i need to memorize a mantra to remind myself to look in the opposite direction before stepping out, but i’m so confused about which direction the cars are coming in that i can’t figure out what an appropriate mantra would be. the other problem is that this place is so beautiful; it is hard to focus on moving vehicles when there is so much else to see.

i am staying at folley towers, an amazingly well-kept backpackers hostel. it is a short walk from downtown, gratefully, and across the street from an organic grocery and the herb shop, both of which i intend to explore this afternoon. the people, again, are super friendly and super rigorous. i saw a young lady leaving this morning with a quads bigger than the meatheads at dixon. quite randomly during my first walking tour of the city last night, i ran into someone from EPA who i met last year at NABS in alaska and we went to dinner along the river. we caught up over dinner and he, because he’s been here several days already, had stories of hitchhiking, hiking, and camping along the tracks that made my mouth water. despite the lack of jet lag and no sleep for three days, i wasn’t tired but decided against heading over to the battle of the bands with him for an honest attempt to catch up on some sleep. i shouldn’t have bothered. my mind was racing as i layed in bed listening to the kiwis outside my window talking about american culture. i’m so pleased to spend the first week in town and the second in the woods and really wish i had more time to legitimately explore this place.

cultural notes – nothing here opens before 9am except the liquor stores. literally. i tried to find a place to get tea and breakfast this morning and the only thing open at 7:30am was the liquor store. i finally found a coffee shop, which appears to be the equivalent of starbucks but who had no food this ‘early’. also, there is no wireless internet anywhere in this city about which i am both pleased and disappointed.

things i forgot:
hairbrush
toothpaste
shampoo
towel
summer clothes – it is really warm and sunny here. the long sleeved shirts and pants aren’t going to fly, but i am incredibly grateful for the suggestion to bring my chacos. oh, and the sleeping bag is perfect, too.

encounters - are always interesting when you’re sleep deprived and in a foreign place. last night was all about encounters and connecting with people in life that i admire.

the first dream i remember after i finally did sleep was a conversation with someone that i was dating, and though i can’t remember who it was, i recall that i kept calling him drew instead of whatever his name was. my face apparently betrayed my mid-conversation discovery that i was in love with drew instead of this person. while this scenario of dating and leaving someone has no relation to real life, the anticipation and excitement in discovering love was surprisingly strong. then i dreamt about jamie, and it was a strangely accurate reflection on how we actually met. the dream was so intense that i swear i remember talking to him last night, even though i know i didn’t. our conversations during our walk along the river that afternoon and every one since, while totally harmless, have inspired such a strong sense of adventure and trust that i still dream about them over half a year later.

i hope to have some more of these encounters over the coming days to report to you and i'm already falling in love with new zealand.