New Zealand...At Last!

As my final plane touched down in Wellington, New Zealand, I felt as if everything froze, and my life had become surreal. Looking out of the plane from the awkward middle seat, I saw snow covered mountains that would make just about anybody stop and stare. The combination of the crystal clear white tip of the plane's wing, and the hazy Wellington skyline, was surreal.

Now let's go back about...20 hours. I am sitting on Air New Zealand flight 1. The LAX runway is covered in a layer of fog, as usual. My plane is sitting on a runway of its own, saved for the "broken planes," or the ones that can't get their third engine to work for three hours so the passengers need to sit on the plane for three extra hours and sweat because the air conditioning doesn't go completely on until the plane is airborne. I just have the best luck flying to the Pacific (Note: I had a very very very long journey to Fiji in 2008).

Finally, two and a half hours after our scheduled departure, we were airborne. I finally fell asleep after watching a movie called The Joneses (I have very mixed emotions about the film...I would possibly recommend it?). I landed smoothly in Auckland, New Zealand. Everything was going well until I was on a big green bus. Two business men were serenely exchanging the stories of their wives at home in Christchurch, New Zealand, and how they dealt with the massive 7.4 earthquake that struck at 4:45 that morning. My thoughts immediately became frozen at the word: EARTHQUAKE. I took a deep breath and continued to listen to their tales. Having no clue where Christchurch was in relation to Wellington, I ran into the Domestic Terminal after the bus pulled over, and glued myself to a television. The news broadcaster had worried eyes, but was reassuring that there were no deaths, and only a few injuries. I was relieved at that statement, but even more so when I realized that Wellington is on the North Island, and Christchurch on the Southern Island.

Anyway, my first day in Wellington was great! The weather was nearly perfect. 55 degrees Celsius, no wind, and 100% sun. My roommates and I had a delicious lunch after walking around at a great Indian place. We then went to the area by the water to a craft fair. We were pleasantly surprised by a basketball street performer. We finally arrived back to the apartment (which is quite nice, actually), with bags of groceries occupying our hands. I made dinner after relaxing in my room for a while and unpacking. Let me tell you, I failed miserably. I bought Tomato Paste, thinking they used a different word for sauce in New Zealand. EW!!!!!! See Mom and Dad, you can screw up pasta!!! I went to bed at about 8:30 to the movie Along Came Polly. I slept for about 12 hours and now here we are! Today, I think I am going to go out and explore a little on my own with my camera!

More adventures to come!