We’ve been here in Christchurch (”Chch”) almost a week, and we’ve seen lots that both reminds us of the United States and also that reminds us we’re “not in Kansas” anymore.

Some observations:

1. New Zealanders drive on the left side of the road

It hasn’t been too much of a challenge re-training our brains to look right and then left before crossing the street; however, we have to be conscious and cautious at all times, lest we get up-close-and-personal with one of the many buses zipping around here.  So walking around isn’t too hard - check back with me when I start driving!

2. Lots of backpackers

I’ve definitely seen a lot more backpackers here than ever in the U.S. - people of all ages!  There are lots of hostels and cheap rooms for rent available.  I think, along with the ability to trust strangers and the general friendliness of New Zealanders, this is a popular stop of people from all nationalities.  Which brings me to my third observation…

3. Many different nationalities reside and travel here

Christchurch is a small city by U.S. standards (about 330K people), but there is so much diversity here!  I’ve seen many nationalities - from Australian to Greek to Swedish.  I’ve even run into a group of students from Virginia Tech. (I asked how many of them were there, and one girl told me: “There is a shit-tonne of us here - like 40″; Stay classy, U.S.A!  BTW, I don’t think a “shit-tonne” is an actual form of measurement, even here).   At any rate, the variety of food available because of all of the different people is astounding for such a small area (as a comparison, you’d see the same number of different restaurants somewhere like New York or Los Angeles).  Since we’ve been here, we’ve patronized Greek, Turkish, New Zealand, Chinese, Indian, and Japanese restaurants.  Look for more information about restaurants in a later post!

4. The weather is “temperamental”

The weather here has totally thrown me for a loop.   One day it’s 85 degrees (29C) and sunny, the next it is 52 (11C) with raisin-sized hail literally covering the ground and torrential downpours that flood the streets.  Since we’re only six miles (9km) from the coast, it tends to be quite breezy with often strong gusts.  How fast the wind is blowing typically determines if you need a jacket.  It can be an ideallic 75 degrees (24C), sunny - and you might need a jacket - or you just might not (seriously, just bring a jacket already!).  At the same time, New Zealand is close to the equator, so the sun is very intense (sunburn alert!).  In our first week, we’ve ventured out in clothes ranging from fleeces/jeans/sneakers to tank tops/shorts/sandals.  The bottom line is that the daily high temperature is deceiving, and I can’t base what to wear day-to-day based solely on temperature.

I’ve also noticed there are people (I’ve seen at least 15 so far) who don’t wear shoes.  I find this bizarre since the city isn’t like, perfectly clean or anything, and there’s quite a bit of broken glass in places.  On the streets, in the stores, in the restaurants - no shoes.  So, this morning, I asked the barrista who made my mocha, a native New Zealander, if these people were part of a particular group whose identity includes going barefoot, (foot-nudists, perhaps?).  He said, “No, I just don’t think they like to wear shoes”.  Fair enough.

First and foremost, Happy New Year!

We made it to New Zealand! I am sitting outside on the hotel balcony writing this and enjoying the sounds of the city and the glorious weather (75 degrees (23C), sunny, dry, breezy). Rus and I got up around 8.00AM and walked to the supermarket and bought some groceries and a “plunger” - a French press coffee maker - and made breakfast in the large community kitchenette in the hotel. Life in New Zealand is so far, so good!

But it didn’t start out this well…

We arrived at Philadelphia International Airport three hours before our 3.55PM flight to check in our six huge pieces of luggage. It took 45 minutes to get us checked in, and we discovered that we didn’t have assigned seats on our boarding passes. When we got to the (very) crowded gate, we found out that our flight to Los Angeles was delayed two hours, which put us in danger of missing our long-haul flight (13 hours) to Auckland. Although this was nerve-racking, our biggest concern was getting on the flight to Los Angeles in the first place; US Air had overbooked by six seats and everyone showed up. Rus eventually got a boarding pass and was told I would get on the flight, but it wasn’t until he was already on the plane that I actually got a seat. Luckily for me, it was on an exit row - and there was an open seat next to mine! I asked the flight attendant if Rus could move back with me, and she made it happen. So not only did we get on the plane, but we got to sit next to each other in an exit row (given the situation, and our long legs, this was kind of a big deal). What a difference in comfort it made on that first flight!

We couldn’t get too comfortable, though, because we were going to cut it very close with making our next flight when we got to Los Angeles. If we missed it, we would have to spend the night in L.A. and take another flight sometime the next day. Little did we know just how close we would cut it until we did.  We got off the first plane and sprinted out of the domestic terminal to the international one next door, which required us to go outside, pulling our carry-ons behind us. Since the signs were not clear, we didn’t exactly know where we were going.   We saw flight of stairs, ran up them, and hoped for the best.  Glancing around at the top of the stairs, we saw the Air New Zealand check-in counter (I think I heard angels singing)…and all the lights were turned off.  Miraculously, we saw two employees behind the counter, walking out the door for the night. We shouted, “Wait! We’re here!”  Not only did they check us in right away, they also notified the plane (which had already boarded) that we were checking in.  Furthermore, they had a person escort us through security. If we were another thirty seconds late, I doubt we would have made it. Phew! Rus got stuck at security, so I ran to the gate (amidst strange stares from passers-by) to tell them that we were there. Rus caught up with me, we got on the plane (to applause?) and before we even sat down, the flight staff offered us champagne. I think we both said “hell yes!”, but my memory escapes me…

Heart rates and breathing returned to normal, along came a lovely dinner that Rus and I agreed was “restaurant quality”. Afterwards, it was “lights out” for most, but I couldn’t sleep. I had taken two NyQuil to battle the cold I had (and hopefully to knock me out), but I think all it did was make me sick - so a few hours later, I almost bowled over the poor lady sitting next to me on my way to the toilet so I could vomit. Ugh. The good news is that after all of that, I was absolutely exhausted and able to get in a solid three hour nap. I do not typically sleep at all on these long flights, so this was a definite “plus”.  Rus, on the other hand, slept about 7-8 hours. During the flight, I was able to look out the window and see the night sky over the Pacific Ocean - with no city lights with which to compete, the stars were amazingly bright and plentiiful. Before we knew it, it was time for breakfast, a stunning sunrise, and our decent into Auckland. As we landed, we saw islands and green-covered mountains and fjords right up to the clear, blue water. We could have been looking at Ireland or Hawaii…it was breathtaking.

When we touched down in Auckland (7.00AM local time), we were required to go through immigration, collect our baggage, go through customs, exit the international terminal, and enter the domestic one to catch our third and final flight to Christchurch, which departed at 9.15AM. We figured two hours was more than enough time. We figured wrong! Immigration was no problem, and when our bags did not appear on the carousel, honestly, we were not surprised. We had to fill out some paperwork at Baggage Services; they confirmed our bags were still in L.A. and would be delivered to our hotel the next day. I was actually happy because we wouldn’t have to deal with getting all of them to the hotel in our condition (exhausted, dirty, sick (me), etc.). At this point, though, our next flight was 45 minutes from departing - and we still had to go through customs and get to the domestic terminal just over a half-mile away! Customs was a breeze, and then once again, we were sprinting with our carry-ons flying behind us, down the sidewalks to the domestic terminal. We entered, passed through security, and arrived at the gate just boarding started. Waves of relief swept over us once again.

The last flight was just over an hour long.   We didn’t fly very high (about 3000m); therefore, we got to see a lot of the landscape from the air. One of the first things we noticed is the lack of development. The land is pristine and absolutely beautiful. Lots of forests and farmland, rolling hills flanked by ocean and dramatic mountains. The coastline is unspoiled. Miles and miles of beautiful coastline - and not a condo or hotel or high-rise in sight. Even though summer just started (here the seasons are flip-flopped from the Northern Hemisphere), there are snow-covered mountains. Parts of the scenery reminded us of flying over the western part of the Colorado Rockies - desolate and void of vegetation but beautifully carved from the melting snow. The water everywhere - rivers, ocean, bays - is azure, like the Caribbean, and so clear you can see down to the floor.

Once we landed, it was smooth sailing since we didn’t have to go to baggage claim. We summoned a taxi, rolled down the windows (mostly because of the awesome weather and partly to “air out”) and went straight to the Hotel SO, a trendy boutique hotel in the city center. We like it because it is inexpensive and has a large lounge with eating area and the aforementioned balcony and large kitchenette. The rooms are not huge by any stretch of the imagination, but the beds are super comfy, and the space is functional and well-designed. We showered and took a short nap and went to grab lunch at an outdoor cafe. After that, we stopped in at some shops to buy some essentials - more shampoo, adapters for our laptops, etc. Then, we went back to the hotel to chill and eventually moseyed out to grab dinner and mini bottles of champagne. Though we were very sleepy, we were determined to make it to midnight to ring in the New Year. The streets were alive with people of all ages decked out to celebrate. We were in the only clothes we had - jeans, t-shirts, sneakers - but being in the atmosphere was still fun. It was still warm and stayed light outside until after 10.00PM. There was a large outdoor concert and we tried to go see, but since I had the champagne in my handbag, they wouldn’t let us in. So we spent the last few minutes of 2008 (happily) in our hotel room, split one of the mini bottles, and went to sleep shortly after the clock struck 12.00AM.

So we’re here now in Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand - safely, soundly, a little dramatic - and our big adventure begins!