Hello Those Reading,

It’s Friday here in Wellington and winter is in full swing. The week has been filled with off and on rain, heavy gusts, and southerlies (like I know what those are, but the locals mention them all the time.)

I had dinner with my NZ Family last night and then played volleyball up at Victoria. These people were better at Volleyball then me, but it was good to play with slightly better people. Also there were only 6 of us so there wasn’t too much of a team aspect. Also this one guy had an amazing vertical. In order to dig his spikes you had to basically be down at the court.

Otherwise I have completed my Phil Project and am turning that in today and then working on my IBUS paper(s) due next Wednesday. That shouldn’t be too terrible as I quite like International Business.

Things have gotten better since the beginning of the week, so that is an improvement. I am going to pick up something to read over the weekend granted that it isn’t too expensive.

I have been thinking a lot about my return to the States and leaving New Zealand. There are lots of things I love about both but I am not sure what it will like being back at home with such a different perspective. I think it will be much better, but I am not sure how it will affect my relationships and perspective. The thing I do know completely is that I don’t think I will ever be the same. But that is a good thing.

I will miss the Wonderful sound of the electric trolley busses going by. The unique outfits that the locals wear. The friendly people at the neighborhood dairy. The ability to walk 10 minutes and be at the waterside. The contentment in the populace. The colour of the houses and roofs. The interesting products, names, and restaurants. Kebabs. But I think I will miss the beauty of New Zealand a lot. The mountains and the sea with the parks and the buildings. It really is gorgeous.

Another thing I have discovered is how much easier expats get along with each other. I think it is because we all share the common bond of being away from home that we are able to interact easier. It has helped me understand why there are places like Chinatown, etc in cities across the globe.

I have also discovered that I use Yah a lot as a beginner word. I gotta stop that.

Anyways I am off to class. 2 hours till the weekend! Woot!

All the best!

-Mathias

Hello All,

So I have to say that the last 4 days have been some of the most challenging I have experienced in Wellington thus far.

Friday and Saturday of the weekend last I spent cleaning and enjoying myself. I did a lot of reading and Saturday was a gorgeous day so I went down to the waterfront and read in the sun and people watched for a few hours. Then I went to a new grocery store, Moore Wilsons, which is kinda a cross between a Sam’s Club and a Whole Foods/Trader Joe’s. It was too expensive for my taste, but I got some legit cheddar cheese and some mung beans.

I then took the Bus over to Pak n’ Save in Kilbirnie and loaded up on all of the cheap food there. Saturday night I cooked and felt really good about myself and my day.

Sunday was not so nice. It was sprinkly rainy out so not too much fun. I went to volleyball which was nice, did a little cooking, and read but I felt like something in my mind had changed.

Monday continued much the same way. I honestly can only contribute this feeling to waking up on the wrong side of the bed? But I think subconsciously it has to deal with the fact that I have to go back to reality in 8 weeks.

This is not to say that this reality is bad, maybe it is that I don’t really want to deal with that change. Maybe it is the fact that for the first time I see that limit to my time here. I think it might be that. Just the fact that I am leaving what reality I have constructed for myself here.

With that being said, I have this shadow effect that is constantly bombarded of amazing memories from the past 4 or so years of my life. Fun sporadic events that I haven’t thought of in a while come rolling in like the waves, but at more random intervals. These make me smile, but it now is only a short term happiness.

I think another aspect of it would be my involvement. I think I somewhat need to be needed. I definentely do not think I am alone in this aspect and it doesn’t consume me, but I do like to be in leadership positions. It is a natural extension of who I am and I drastically miss that.

It also comes down to how I reenergize myself mentally, spritually, emotionally. I don’t know what it is exactly and I thought I had it figured out on Saturday that I recharge by organizing my life and taking it easy. But that seemed really short term. I think volleyball has a lot to do with it as well, but maybe it isn’t the game so much as it is the team aspect.

I just plain don’t feel energized right now towards too much in my life. Throughout my cultural adjustment process I have experienced highs and lows, which is very common, but this one feels a bit too extended for my comfort, but maybe it is just another phase of adjustment.

I know that there is also the problem of readjustment once I get back to the states and I am not looking forward to that, but hopefully it will come easier than my adjustment here (I think it will).

However, I think the most likely reason for my lack of energy is my effort to improve myself has just reached another plateau. I feel like my relationships are in good phases, being nicer and more open is becoming easier, and overall things continue to work out. I am thankful for a continued grace that seems to flow through my life. This new plateau means that I will have to work even harder to get to the next level of being a better person and I am not quite sure where that is going to be. And that is hard.

Anyways, I know now that I have settled into to Life here I don’t write nearly as often as I should, but I think that is common. I do hope that this feeling goes away soon because constantly thinking about many different things on different levels of thought gets tiring.

Love ya All!

-Mathias

Hey!

I must admit if you happen across this post than I am very thankful. It has been over a week since my last blog. And the funny thing is I resolved to try and keep this updated every other day. But alas the road to hell is paved with good intentions right? Not that I will go to hell for not writing a blog post but you get the point.

I guess the reason I haven’t written in awhile is a combination of many factors. Now that I have settled down into a routine, I have to make more effort to do things that you can’t really schedule like writing. In fact part of the reason I am writing this now is because the philosophy paper I am working on has been kicking my ass all day. Like seriously I just don’t fundamentally understand all of the arguments or what really is wanted. But ohh well I will try my best.

Other than the paper this weekend and my assignment last weekend uni has been good grade wise. I did well on my IBus test and slightly well on my IBus assignment.

But the most important thing I did in this last week was to try and connect more with my family and friends back home. Some of you may know what I am talking about and I am trying my damndest to make a lot of parts of my life work. Reading that sounds a little negative, but it should be a positive.

However, I have found that I seem to be low on emotional energy lately. I really don’t know if that is because I have been steadily increasing my emotional muscle and now I am just at a level lower than a newly found max or what. But I can’t seem to remember the things that used to be an emotional booster for me. I mean its not unhappiness and it doesn’t mean I am doing less emotional things, its just that for some reason I feel depleted.

I think the things I used to find charging involved a few primary things. 1. Spending time with friends and family. 2. Volleyball for sure. 3. Media. And unfortunately those are things not currently availiable.

Speaking of Volleyball it has been going well. I have consistent games on Sundays and Mondays and occasional games on Wednesdays. Mondays have a lot of coaching involved so that is really interesting. And it is fun being coached.

The funny thing is I had a list going of blog topics last week but I lost that list. I did remember a few things though so here it goes:

1. This girl sitting next to me one day in tutorial had a timepiece. Like an actual oval watch with a chain attached to it. And she was normal as well. It was very interesting.

2. Women’s butts look completely different in heels. This is something I think all males have known for a long time but still I don’t understand the physics behind it.

3. I made Lasagna this week for the first time. It was good and I continue to try and improve the recipe.

4. It seems that if you act a little vulnerable people will take to you more. I guess it is kinda like fishing in the fact that you gotta leave your line lose to try and meet people and then reveal your inner knowledge or confidence. This relates a lot to experiences in volleyball.

5. My flatmates are one of those couples that do everything together. Like there together a good portion of the day. They even shower together regularly (I don’t know how they do it, it must be tight). I am not sure I will ever be one of those persons who can spend that much time with someone else. I mean since he doesn’t have constant employment (as a side note I have learned lots about the film industry ) he just kinda doesn’t do a whole lot during the day except visit her. I don’t know it is just something I have noticed and found odd. But maybe that is what it means to be infatuated with someone else. Or maybe I am just overly independent.

6. At training for Faculty Boards, I met this guy who was rich. The kinda rich where you don’t have to worry really. Like I have only met 2 others in my life with this same attitude. Sharp dresser, but then I couldn’t help feeling that his money was the biggest part of his personality. And that annoyed me. However, these type of people are fairly easy to charm. I though y’all would like to know that

Other good things over the past week:
1. I have fairly well connected with my professors and one of my tutors. So that is a kinda nice thing to have.

2. I went to my first faculty board meeting. It wasn’t like the aux services meeting back home, but it was still nice. And the room it was in was baller. Like seriously something out of the 17th century. And the microphones actually worked. Anyways it helped me learn about the system and administration here at Vic and I am grateful for that opportunity.

3. I had a wonderful lunch with a friend I met in Marketing. Her name is Rosemary. It was actually a very intelligent, rewarding lunch, one that you don’t find often because it focused on ideas and thoughts. More on that later.

4. I have been trying earnestly (I think this is the word I want) to increase my tolerance for dealing with people who bug me. Basically there are people who I have met who somewhat bother me, but I continue to talk to them, somewhat like immersion therapy. I think it is helping.

5. I had a wonderful reminder of home on Wednesday night! The aforementioned Rosemary had a dinner get together at her house with some people I hadn’t met. It was in celebration of Cinco de Mayo and reminded me of the lots of dinner party’s I have been too at home. The most notable point of learning that night was the fact that Kiwi’s become very American while intoxicated. Basically, they get louder and talk slower. It was much easier to understand!

Other Thoughts Continued:

I would like to thank those who continue to be an active part in my life. I am very appreciative of your effort.

I think people are natural storytellers. I think we are also somewhat big picture people and stories help us connect people places and ideas. I for one am always up for a good story! And when you share a story with someone else I think part of you becomes imprinted on their soul. It becomes a linkage between the two (or more) of you that helps build a foundation for friendship.

The other thing that has become abundantly clear is that all people suffer in one way or another. No ones life is perfect and people who make comparisons across people typically ignore others weaknesses or pitfalls which can end up hurting themselves. I hope that makes sense.

The same damn kids answer all the questions in philosophy class. I do enjoy when they talk because I can always look at the other people I know in that class for a good eye roll. Although most of the time their arguments do provide me with a nice chuckle. (lols chuckle)

In conclusion, this is a little over 50% of what my essay is but this was much more satisfying to write. I won’t make any promises with the post just that I will try and do better in the future. Yes I think that is ambiguous enough!

All the best,

-Mathias