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I have been meaning to write for ages but have been feeling a little down on New Zealand these past couple weeks so have found it difficult to write something nice. And I was always taught that if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. But I figure I am here for at least 5 more months so maybe I should chronicle some of the good things about New Zealand.

1. Winter
Winter here is amazing. We have had our cold days for sure, but most days it is sunny enough to only be out in a tshirt and hoodie. Some days even the tshirt will suffice as long as you don't venture into the shade. After living in Vancouver most my life this is amazing to me. I haven't had any of the usual winter blues because there has actually been light. Vancouver has never seemed so dark and dreary as it does now in remembering the rainy dark cold that permiates it for months at a time. Winter here has really crisp mornings with beautiful sunsets. It has me opening the windows to let in fresh air and it being warmer for it because the air is warmer outside than in. Insulation would be wonderful, but our new home is much better so I shouldn't complain!

2. Small Community
This is both a blessing and a curse. But overall I have found people here to be so giving. I struggle to think of a time that people were so willing to give us a car to use when ours died, with no strings attached. I have a boss who rewards me on a regular basis, lets me use her car, gives me bottles of wine and says thank you each and every day. She even gave us a dining suite to use in our new house and use of their car and trailer to move. People on the street say hello to you. Strike up conversation about your extremely bright socks when waiting at red lights. They remember you when you go to the gym and ask where you were last week because they didn't see you (even though you had only gone twice before that time). It is nice to never really have rush hour traffic. To not have as much agression out in the world because people are getting to where they need to be on time. Although I don't have the same social community as I did back home I am enjoying the fact the people are interested in me and my accent, and are friendly about both those facts.

3. Birds
It's winter and I wake up to bird calls. I saw two black swans in the Avon river the other day. There are birds here who mimic car alarms when they call. They scare me by jumping out of the underbrush when I walk up to the Cattery where I work. But above all these things there are breed of duck here called a Paradise Duck that pair up and are always seen together. They are beautiful. On a ride one day I saw one that had been hit by a car, and the other was standing guard and calling out. It was both depressing and beautiful to see as it gave me a strange sense of connectedness. Plus seeing penguins in the wild was amazing and awe inspiring. They move quite a bit faster than I exptected!

4. Landscape
Although not as true in Christchurch as the rest of New Zealand, you can easily go from hills to mountains to farms to rolling plains to ocean to rainforest in just a tiny amount of driving. I love that there is so much diversity in the landscape here. I also like that it is flat here as it makes cycling reasonably easier than Vancouver. As long as the wind is in your favour. But its neat to see chickens in peoples back yards, and sheep hearding on the hills. To see so many gardens and green spaces. Its a nice aspect of a smaller city.

5. Cathedral Square
The main square in town which is the center of downtown is home to many different crazy prophets and buskers. It also has a daily market set up on it (see #6) and so you can eat a hot dog while browsing home made scarves listening to someone rant on a box (literally) about how buildings are what have ruined society and we should all be living in the wilderness. There also seems to only be about 4 buskers in Chch and so I get to see the different crowd reactions to the same shows each time I head to the square. It is a great culteral hub as well as there are a few different backpackers and the info center so its neat to watch people discover the buskers and cathedral for the first time. There is also a large scale (about three feet high pieces) chess board and watching the older gentlemen who play in the days is usually really cool.

6. Markets
There are markets everywhere in this city. I discover them often as I am casually wandering through town. Although I rarely buy much more than some food to snack on while I wander it is neat to see how many crafters and artisans there are in this city. It isn't even the exact same people each time I go which is more than I can say for markets in Vancouver. I am looking forward to spring coming to see how the food markets change now that I have found some pretty decent ones. But again, its a great way to spend the day.

7. Boy Racers
Okay, I admit it, I find the boy racers amusing here. For those of you who don't know Chch has an epidemic of boy racers which police and good citizens are a blight on society. We actually live just off of a major boy racer strip in Chch now. And its not what you think as I have never actually seen any of them race here in Chch (Although we did in Dunedin, a few meters from one red to the next!) so what they do is drive down Moorhouse, go up Fitzgerald, down Bealey and then through Hagley Park. They drive these four roads seemingly all night long. They have blow off valves that make cool "pffhst" noises and they talk to eachother between cars. Sometimes they even rev their engines! Now why I find this so amusing is that more often than not it seems the cars they have chosen to sup up is a station wagon. Station wagons are very popular here. Of course you will have a few Toyotas and Hondas in the mix but there isn't much more enjoyable than a station wagon lowered with nice rims. I hear that they do race but have yet to witness it myself. Although we did hear a few single cars fly down the highway by our old place.

8. Spandex
Cyclists that are not wearing spandex outfits, often matching their bikes, is an anomoly here in New Zealand. It seems that in order to ride your bike from point A to point B you must don your spandex and fly like the wind. It is so bizarre and amusing to me even still because as you cycle past these people they give you the nod and check out what you are riding yourself. I can see their egos shrink a little as I come toodling past with knee high brightly striped socks and a hoodie. Although I must admit I gave in to Drews insisting that cycle shorts were a good idea and do wear spandex shorts now. The padding is so worth my fashion disaster. But I also really enjoy seeing all the spandex because more often than not it is on someone very much fit enough to be wearing it.

9. Food
There are definitely food items that are better here than in Canada. Ketchup tastes better. Gingerale actually contains ginger flavour. Potatoes are less starchy. They promote home made yogurt, which is awesome. Food tastes cleaner. I do dislike the prices but now that I have adjusted to that I am enjoying the options that are available here. There are of course things I am missing from home but I am getting used to certain ingredients here and will miss them when we leave.

10. Its all different
Although I struggle with this fact more often than not, it is still pretty amazing to be somewhere new. I have the travel bug again and am looking forward to our departure from Chch (and possibly NZ) but it is still exciting that this is all new, all different. The culture has its similarities but there is so much new here. And I am noticing how much I have changed as well. A lot of my neurosis have diminished if not disappeared, I am reevaluating what is important to me, and overall I just feel like I am striving towards something. There are things that I have lost in myself as well, but I am trying to look at that as a good thing. But the adventure is still going on (even if I struggle with it) and I need to find solice in that adventure.