Cheers Mates!
Today is Wednesday June 9th. On Friday is my first exam at Vic and the beginning of the end of the study process here in New Zealand. I think I will be happy to finish it.
Today was an absolutely gorgeous day. The sun was out, there were few clouds in the sky and it wasn’t terrible cold. As well, the passing of the rains (to be honest they will probably be back tomorrow) revealed that the mountains to the North are covered in Snow. It is absolutely gorgeous. That combined with the view of the still water on the Harbor is undeniably breathtaking.
A picture of the marina from where I was sitting, late afternoon. Taken with my iPhone.
I took a long time off from writing on this blog and I believe I did myself an injustice. Stephen Covey writes “Writing is a psycho-neuromuscular activity and literally imprints the brain.” I think he is quite right as I often think about what I am going to write hear throughout the day and then finally bring it all together when I sit down to write. Yet still I let the short term goals of completing schoolwork outweigh a capsule of insight and thought that is this blog.
I came across two notable things today. First, that I am incredible fortunate to have had the opportunity to travel, study, and more accurately LIVE here in New Zealand.
Second is the fact that my real life takes place 12000kms away in Georgia. I of course knew that I would be leaving friends and family behind when I came here but the thing is I had never really been outside of my life. It is quite a weird feeling to meet and interact outside of your life because there are way fewer consequences in this setting. I could be incredible rude to almost everyone here and it would have no bearing on my life back home. However I think this is a double edged sword. While this has allowed me the amazing opportunity for introspection it has also left me with a profound feeling of superficiality. I think most of the time this was trounced by the simple fact of learning and experiencing new things, but none the less this is more termed a vacation than it is life.
This does not mean that everything I experience, do, and see is less valid, it just seems like it is through a different lens, a different paradigm than If I were to experience with someone significant from home. The connections I make have to inevitable come to an end and that it something that almost forms a barrier to entry.
In my real life I feel that I had to be more careful about what I did. Things were more interconnected and related, which was and is still the case unless the world has shifted immensely over the past 5 months. However I do look forward to taking this knowledge of taking chances and valuing people back with me to hopefully have the ability to continue to grow and change my paradigm, definitely for the better.
So as far as my legacy in New Zealand goes, I’m not sure I will leave a terrible influential one. Hopefully I will have convinced Kiwi’s that Americans are good, hardworking, funny people who aren’t solely concerned with world domination.
However I think in the bigger picture New Zealand will leave a legacy on me. Of knowing what it feels like to be an outsider, and expat. Of being able to empathize with those who might be lost of confused. Of valuing time spent relaxing and enjoying relative to that of working. Of spending time and effort into relationships rather than things. Of using drinking as a social medium (yah that one is controversial, but probably the most universal of all of these). Of not judging people based on what they wear. Of delicious Kebabs and Indian food. Of neighborhood dairies where the owner knows your name. Of efficient mass transit systems. Of living without things you thought were necessary. And most importantly of how much your loved ones truly mean in your life.
All the best!
-Mathias