At last...hello New Zealand 🇳🇿 😍

20yrs ago I visited Nz with Math.I felt like I'd come home,lost all sense of proportion that we were in the middle of a holiday and phoned a Nursing agency to ask if there were any jobs .I was told yes ,when can you start...which brought me to my senses..I have no doubt I could have emigrated here at that point, but I was mindful of my pending responsibilities for Mum,which is partly why I did the 6wk trip with Math at that point ,I anticipated it would become untenable in due course and I was prepared for that
Returning to Nz, still feels like coming home, but ,I no longer meet the emigration visa criteria quite as easily....so, il settle for a longer visit for now and aim for spending a uk winter here in future .
Christchurch is lovely! It feels very English..a large park ,driving on the left ,a red phone box with a phone! and a generally English vibe.
The city is still recovering from the earthquake 14yrs ago ....
Whilst the centre has been rebuilt in terms of shops , there are many places that have not been rebuilt and are flat gravel covered areas .
The cathedral was badly damaged and lack of funding means the restoration is on hold
I have a studio apartment. It is opposite the town hall...which was apparently badly damaged too.
I set off with my map in hand,to look for the Quake City exhibition.
A local lady noted the map and asked if I needed help.. I explained where I was going and immediately ,she offered to walk with me .En route we went back past the town hall,which she explained had an auditorium with amazing acoustics and the Nz symphony orchestra were playing this afternoon...I wanted to change plans immediately but didn't want to be rude to her by doing so
The Quake city exhibition was stark!
People on camera talking bout their experiences that day
The exhibition has the clock from the city that stopped exactly when the quake happened.
They also have various items saved from the experience and a wall of traffic cones as a piece of art ,remembering the time when the city had cones everywhere
I have reflected that this is the 2nd country I've visited that has had a life changing disaster.
I'am impacted by the images, but the people in Sri Lanka experienced the Tsunami and here in Nz , a catastrophic
earthquake...185people died ..
Christchurch is only a small city and the people here say it's changed forever, it's nice but not in the way it used to be .
In terms of Architecture there's are some lovely buildings in beautiful stone ,so if it was all like that then I understand why they feel as they do.
There is a sense people are still affected by the earthquake, it actually gives a sense of still being raw.
After the exhibition I wandered back to the town hall and went in thinking I might see inside the auditorium at the interval.
I was approached by a lovely member of staff,to whom I explained my intention.
She actually offered to sneak me inside free of charge for the 2nd half..I was delighted! Can't lie i half hoped might get the opportunity. I was prepared to buy a ticket and I did offer to pay, but she dismissed that.
So ,a brew and chocolate brownie later , I found myself listening to Dvorak 's symphony No 7 in Dminor Op 70.,played by the Nz symphony orchestra who were excellent.
Afterwards, I wandered, looking for food .The shops and bars area is all new .The Riverside market area , has a lot of different kinds of eating places .I found a burger place where I could see it being made ...iv not had a burger since having a Macdonalds in Osaka ,about 6th April!This was fresh and soo much better than Macdonalds..An amazing taste of home/ western food...which i thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated ,but didnot make me homesick!
Returned to my accommodation and attempted to start the penguins app, but was nodding off so gave in an went to sleep at 6pm....but !! ...not before I'd had a National Emergency Alert on my phone ..which somewhat freaked me out....loud alarm ...message on phone in red ...button to press to acknowledge!..
.I'd no idea if it was the real thing in the moment and then remembered I'd seen it was a test. ...big relief!
A good 1st day ,when I just went out ,mooched around and let the day unfold ...I'd intended to go on the tram but it didn't happen so not to worry il do it tomorrow 😀
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