New Zealand

Countdown New Zealand Day 23

05/14/2020 by John Leave a Comment

This is a series of posts that will log some of my thoughts in the month leading up to my moving back to New Zealand.

Road near where I work at The Outdoor Academy

This week I’m finishing up my life here as the Outdoor Education Manager at The Outdoor Academy. As I go about my day I periodically remember that very soon we are moving back to New Zealand. Nine times out of ten this brings a smile to my face. The other time it terrifies me.

We are doing something that so many others can only dream about. I harbor some guilt about this. I wonder why are we so fortunate? And then I think about choices. Mary made a great career choice. We chose not to have children. Those two decisions have allowed us to do things that would have been much more difficult otherwise.

Our choices have consequences. But these consequences usually don’t reveal themselves until after the choice has been made. Going back to New Zealand will have unforeseen consequences, some of them with positive effects. Others will be challenges we’ll hopefully be able to overcome and learn from.

Countdown New Zealand Day 24

05/13/2020 by John Leave a Comment

This is a series of posts that will log some of my thoughts in the month leading up to my moving back to New Zealand.

I’m feeling some growing anxiety about returning to New Zealand. It won’t be easy. Difficult things never are. Staying here wouldn’t be easy either. It probably comes down to comfort. Being in this large (to us) house is comfortable. Living in a small community where you often run into someone you know is comfortable. Having a job where on many days I can come and go as I like is comfortable.

But living in such a volatile political climate is uncomfortable. I could make a list of things that are uncomfortable about being here, but why? Am I trying to convince myself we’re making the right move? How many brain cycles have Mary and I spent ruminating over whether or not we are doing the “right” thing or on what that right thing is? Countless.

Feelings come and go. Excitement about running up, over, and around the hills of Wellington one minute, followed by anxiety about being so far from friends and family the next. The transition times are usually the hardest. Maybe this one will be less so since we are going back to something more or less known.

Countdown New Zealand Day 25

05/12/2020 by John Leave a Comment

This is a series of posts that will log some of my thoughts in the month leading up to my moving back to New Zealand.

Last night we watched a series of videos of Stephan Colbert’s trip to New Zealand. It reminded me of the beauty of New Zealand, the friendliness of its people, and how quirky in an oh so appealing fashion it can be. New Zealand is a blend of Polynesian and European culture. Its native forests look tropical, yet temperatures are often on the cool side. Down jackets worn with shorts and no shoes are not an uncommon sight.

Do I feel like I need to explain myself? To justify to others and perhaps even to myself why I am leaving my country, family, and friends behind? I don’t think so. I think I just love New Zealand. And before I left last June, I was beginning to feel like it loved me back.