Life is a Trip

It was a frosty winter morning in the town of Christchurch, but it didn't matter... because there are days when, simply, everything feels all right!...

It doesn't always feel so, and it definitely didn't when I first landed in New Zealand... a few things suddenly were different... I was back in the civilized world, it was cold, days were short, things were expensive, and... it was not Samoa!

My NZ guidebook didn't help much either... for moments it made me feel as if I won't be a complete and happy tourist unless I do lots of expensive things, including bungy jumping, and rafting, and jetboating, and heli-skiing, paragliding and skydiving... and well, I don't know how many places I needed to jump out of in New Zealand... but the credit card had to jump out of the wallet just as much...

Travelers in New Zealand were also of a different kind to what I was used to... most of them were younger than me, either students on holidays, or people in their early tuenties with a working visa spending many months in New Zealand... very few were doing anything similar to what I'm doing...

Put that all together, alone in a sudden winter, and you can get a good deal of confusion... But I had also very good moments here in the opposite side of the world... like visualizing that my body is in inverse position compared to my friends in Europe... like learning about the Maori culture... and witnessing the breathtaking nature of New Zealand, like the best rainbow I've ever seen... or a whale breathing in front of white mountains, or an unexpected dolphin swimming and jumping right next to me in the beautiful Milford Sound...

And the more I've been in New Zealand, the more I like it!!... I really do!!... gradually, I managed to get myself comfortable in New Zealand, to feel all right here, and enjoy the new environment which at first seemed so scary... because it is expensive, but cheaper than Europe... it is cold, but as a good kiwi commented to me "we need to have winter so that we can appreciate the summer"... it is a capitalistic country and they try to get as much as possible from tourism... but that's no trouble, I spend in what I considered cool and reasonable (jumping out of a bridge for 100 euros it is not)... and I gave myself the time to relax, to cook my own food, and to feel at home... because we are always at home, always here, no matter where we are or what happens around us... it's just that sometimes we just need to stop and relax to remember it...

Unexpected visitor entered home here in New Zealand, his name was change, and I didn't see him coming... but change is always visiting... next time he comes as cold wind, I hope to greet him with a warm tea, and a smile, because I will recognize him as the old friend he is... many good things he's brought home (even a spanish World Cup!!)... and much you can learn from him (like not expecting to win the next one)... but mostly, here in New Zealand, he taught me to keep feeling at home, no matter what color he paints the furniture... and to keep such this mood, when everything feels all right...