What? I'm in New Zealand?

I can hardly believe that I am sitting at a laptop computer right now, in New Zealand. I keep telling myself and reminding myself that I am here, six billion miles away from home I am sure, yet it is not real. I am sure once I become a little more familiar with the city and witness a little surfing, that I will feel right at home.

First impressions - I think I love Kiwis! They are so friendly and so nice and I love their cute little accents. The city seems old yet so new all at the same time. It seems accessible and easy. It seems warm and friendly, sincerely nice people surround us. It seems familiar and comfortable, being with my four fellow Canadian friends. It seems foreign and strange. What can I say? I am feeling a lot of things right now that I know are natural yet I still wish that I had everything all figured out. Today will be a day of exploration and from there, I will see where I end up.

Being here though, makes me ralize my true independence. Although I miss home and family, it is not so much that it is intolerable or that I feel the need to go home. It is just enough that I can appreciate all that I have temporarily left behind and realize that in a way, I am kind of on my own. Being here makes me realize that I can do anything and that I am okay alone, in a foreign airport where I am stuck in one country and not allowed into the next. Being here makes me realize that I could travel alone, that I can make all of my own travel arrangements and get from one place to another with elatively no problems. Being here makes me realize that if I choose to go to Korea to teach English for a year, I will be okay.

A few more things about Christchurch. It truly is a beautiful city. It is hard though, to come from Thailand where you can eat an entire meal for $2 and now have to pay $2.50 for a small bottle of water. I just need to forget about the Baht! But Lindsay and I went around yesterday. She showed me the square, the grocery store and a store called Farmer's where I got cheap teacher clothes and am somewhat mad at her for showing it to me :) We went to the Warehouse which is a crappy version of Wal Mart minues all the good deals. I got a New Zealand bank account and I met all of my new "flatmates."

So all around, so far so good. I am in New Zealand!