One Year.

I came to Greyhouse to do my Bio homework.  But with the sudden realization that this day marks my one year “anniversary” of landing in New Zealand, too many feelings and emotions have arisen that I must get out. In my head, I had until tomorrow (the 13th) to ruminate over this occasion. But in Christchurch it IS the 13th! (Thank you, Emily, for reminding me of this.) While my NZ friends posts have all addressed this one-year anniversary over facebook (as everyones date is different)… I have tried not to linger too long over it. My attempts are failing right now.

I am part sad… but part joyful. Joyful in that I realize the immense blessing those 5 months were. There is one thing that I cannot stop thinking about. About two weeks before I left, I had a small breakdown. One of those twenty-year-old-sobbing-to-their-mother kind of breakdowns. I knew New Zealand had so much to offer. I was excited about the possibilities. But I was so scared I would have no one to share them with. A journey is not measured in miles, but in friends. Sure, I could experience a ton of magnificently gorgeous places, but I knew if it was with a bunch of strangers, it would not be the same. So yes, I reverted to a slightly junior-high mindset asking my mother what would happen if I didn’t make any friends. Boy, it’s so funny, ironic, etc. to look back at that night. My prayers were more than answered.

Emily and Jon were my flatmates in Sydney for a week. Since they were also going on to Canterbury, I thought it was so great that I would at least know a couple faces once I got to Christchurch. Emily was so bubbly and full of energy, the first time I met her she gave me tons of Australian candy (helloooo violet crumbles, how did she know the way to my heart?). Jon was chill and cool and he showed me how to get around Sydney. We took surfing lessons together and got to watch Avatar on the largest IMAX in the world ha. But I had no idea if I’d ever run into these people again.

I landed in Christchurch I believe around 3pm in the afternoon. It was a chilly summer day. Someone told me the air smells different in NZ. It really does… it’s.. pure. Well when I first got to Uni, checked into my flat, one of the first things I did was set up my internet (duh haha- with the last ethernet cord available, I might say). Lo and behold, I had a facebook message from Emily. We just happened to be in the same building (P, represent). She ended up inviting me up to her flat for dinner. Without her, who knows what I would have done! She had already hit up Pak’n'Save and had food to share. One of her first of many gracious acts of generosity. She informed me that our friend Jon was in the building… right next to us. He invited us over to O107.

Little did I know that first night I ventured in the sliding glass door of O107, the many nights I would end up spending there. Little did I know that the people I would meet there that night I would share the next 5 months of my life with. They would be with me sharing the  experience of my first summit, volcano, glacier, penguins, cricket+rugby games, etc. They would also see me at my not-so-best (I’m tellin ya, as much as I love it, traveling sometimes brought out the worst in me) and still love me the same.

First impressions are funny… the most amusing to me is that of Damon. Liz was Jon’s roommate and Liz’s friends Nicole and Damon came over since they were in the same Study Abroad group. Damon mentioned he was in a fraternity back home. This is terrible, but I have a bad stereotype of a typical frat boy. So, I took Damon’s quiet humor as arrogance. Psh, oh how wrong I was. I came to know him better and now he is seriously one of the most thoughtful, considerate  men I know! I had better instinct with Nicole… I saw how fun-loving she was right away. I remember telling her she looks like the actress from Swimfan. I hope Liz is not offended when I say I don’t remember my very first impression of her… it just means that it was a good one. Little did she know she’d become one of my favorite redheads.

I shared my journey with other unmentioned precious people. You are not un-thought of. But that first night set the stage for the rest of time there. I literally thank God for all of you. New Zealand would never have been the same without you.

Over New Years, I was able to reunite with some of these people. Liz, Damon, and I drove up to Boston to meet up with Emily, Alexis, and Geoff. Hmm, we’ve never see each other outside of NZ. What if it’s not the same…Okay I really wasn’t worried about that at all, but it could have been a valid concern. What a sweet reunion it was. I hope there are more to come.

This is in no way a concluding summary of my time in NZ. Just an homage to the blessing of friends.

p.s. I must admit… this whole time my blog has been a sham. The header picture is actually of the Blue Grotto in Italy. I always meant to change it to a picture of NZ, but I loved it too much. Ha.

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~ by Juli on February 12, 2011.