NZ Life

It’s a good day to leave New Zealand.  A few weeks ago I was tramping in the hills on a bright sunny day, gazing at the mountains, enjoying the last bit of my good coffee…  Well, that would have been a tough day to leave NZ.  I had many good days here, but as always such things must end.  And today is a good day for it.

The weather is crappy today, but the mood is crappier.  The All Blacks loss has put the country in a state of shock, dismay and anger.  I’ve listened to the radio all day and read the newspapers, and it really is the only story, and that will probably continue for a while yet.  I’ve tried to find a sports parallel in the US but haven’t come up with one.  The best recent US example of wall-to-wall coverage and sweeping malaise was when Bush was reelected, and a lot of the country had to endure “Four More Years”, just like NZ does until the next World Cup.  Now imagine that the whole US had actually supported Kerry, so the entire lot are just mopey and licking their wounds.  It’s kinda like that here.

So, I’m going to let that all be and quietly leave the country on a bit higher note of a few weeks ago.  It’s been a great adventure–once in a lifetime probably–and something I feel very fortunate to have been given an opportunity to experience. 

On that note I’ll say to NZ one last time: “See ya.”