Dazed and Confused

Just as we awoke from thirteen hours of choppy slumber, our snazzy Qantas plane touched down upon Middle Earth. Next, we braved customs and security in our fragile states, and, hindered only by our forty-pound, unwieldy backpacks, trekked through the airport to the shuttle awaiting us. On the way, we realized we really must be in New Zealand, because only in New Zealand would we see a sign that looks like this:


Our shuttle drier dropped us at our hostel, the highly recommended Borders Beyond - not before imparting us with words of wisdom: don’t walk down scary dark alleys alone at night.

Jetlagged and stubbornly refusing to sleep until a normal Kiwi sleeping time, we explored our new neighborhood. Borders Beyond sits at the foot of Mount Eden in the Ponsonby district, a twenty-five minute walk from Auckland Center. Artists, vintage shops, and kebab-eries abound in here. Reveling in our discoveries, we jubilantly returned home.

When bedtime in New Zealand arrived, we found ourselves chatting with a Scottish twenty-something named Amanda. Three girls cross-legged on bunk bed blankets, we talked about home countries, Kiwiland, and animals. Finding ourselves abruptly animal deprived, we told Amanda of our deep longing for a creature of our own. We jokingly said we should adopt a sheep.

“You could, though," Amanda replied pensively. “Mix together baby formula, pop it in a bottle, go to a field, and lure the lamb. You can drop it off with my boyfriend at the end of the trip. His family has a farm.”

Our sole conversation with sunny, informative Amanda – she left the next morning for adventures in Darwin, Australia – was one of many first-day encounters with sunny, informative people.

Margaret, a local designer working for www.thebigidea.co.nz, and Tom, a New Zealand native who knew local beaches like the back of his hand, where among those helpful spirits. Asking nothing in return, Margaret and Tom spoke with us at length about this country and Kiwis.

Newcomers have no choice; modify your interactions with New Zealanders to match this generous conduct, or come across abrupt. We complied, following that adage, "if you can't beat them, join them." In return, friendly faces cropped up left and right. We liked Middle Earth.