Countdown New Zealand

Countdown New Zealand Day 4

06/02/2020 by John Leave a Comment

This is a series of posts that will log some of my thoughts in the month leading up to my moving back to New Zealand.

New Zealand shines across the water like a beacon, calling me home. That’s the difference this time. When we moved to New Zealand in 2018 it was into the unknown. Going back now feels like returning home. I have a family doctor there and a driver’s license. I know which bus to take to get me downtown the quickest and which one to take if I want a more scenic route. I know where to get the best vegan treats in the cafés in the neighborhoods surrounding me and the exact routes to follow to complete runs of varying distances. The unfamiliar has become familiar, while still leaving a lifetime’s worth of exploration still ahead of me.

Countdown New Zealand Day 5

06/01/2020 by John Leave a Comment

This is a series of posts that will log some of my thoughts in the month leading up to my moving back to New Zealand.

The hotel room in Philadelphia is overstuffed with our stuff. How is all of this supposed to come with us onto the plane? The answer is that not all of it will. The packing usually doesn’t end until the hours prior to departure. Sometimes it lasts until we check in to the flight and the baggage scales send us scrambling to reshuffle items to balance the luggage out so it fits under the weight limits. It will all go somewhere. It has to.

Countdown New Zealand Day 6

05/31/2020 by John Leave a Comment

This is a series of posts that will log some of my thoughts in the month leading up to my moving back to New Zealand.

Yesterday we drove across five states en route to Philadelphia to visit family before departing for New Zealand. It was a strange experience across a disjointed society. At some stops, the vast majority of people we encountered were wearing face coverings while at others virtually nobody was. In the hotel lobby, there were competing news broadcasts showing protesters across the country reacting to the murder of George Floyd and a President who threatens to use “vicious dogs” and “ominous weapons” on them.

How did it come to this? I look around me and I see a country that seems to want to light itself on fire. I feel like I don’t understand my country anymore. This is one reason I am moving to New Zealand.

I love the United States. Watching it fall into such disarray breaks my heart. I feel like I’m leaving the States at a time of need that I have no idea how to fill.