Months 6 & 7 Reflections

I spent this past weekend with an incredible Irish family from Belfast.  We met under unique circumstances.  I met Caitlin (pronounced “Catch-leen”) months ago on a beach in Napier, NZ.  She was travelling with her mom, and I was alone.  When I saw them taking pictures of each other with the beach in the background, I approached and asked if I could take their picture.  We then talked for the next 30 minutes, exchanging contact information at the end since I would soon be moving to the Wellington area where she was living with her family.  

During my time in Paekakariki, I was still struck with loneliness, though not as bad as before in Rangiwahia.  I discovered that nannying was just not conducive to meeting people.  Paekakariki was a huge improvement from where I started out, but it was still a very small community.  I did what I could to meet people, but it was still a struggle and one that I had little patience for after being so isolated for so long before my move.   The best thing I did for myself in trying to meet people in this area was joining a yoga class which I loved.  I had always wanted to try it but had been intimidated.  I discovered that I could adjust the moves to my skill level and that it left my body feeling great for days.

Looking back after this weekend, I wonder why I didn’t try to get in touch with Caitlin sooner.  I think I was focusing on trying to meet people in this area, and I neglected to branch out as much as I could have.  And she was essentially a stranger, and in a way I think I was also burnt out on putting myself out there so much since I’ve arrived.   But what is important is that we did connect, and I can happily say that I’ll be leaving NZ on an incredible high.  Perfect timing after all.

I met Cailin, her husband Patrick, and their two young girls (Phoebe and Hannah) in Wellington.  From there, we drove to a lookout on top of Mt. Victoria, drove along the coast and then headed to their home on the outskirts of the city.  After a nice meal, Caitlin and I joined a few of her friends for dessert, wine, and conversation- my idea of a perfect evening!  The next day, we had a fabulous brunch (the first time I had French toast since leaving home!).  We drove to Greytown, a small town with a fabulous chocolate shop.  I ate roughly a bar of chocolate in little teeny samples, and it was amazing.  They had all kinds of unique combinations such as their best seller, Lime Chili.  Then we headed to Martinborough, a famous winery town for a playground stop for the kids and time in a local café.

I know I’ve talked about how amazing it is to meet people since I’ve been travelling solo, but meeting this family reminded me yet again how lucky I am to be here.  We talked for hours about travel, politics, and about both of our experiences.  They had been in NZ for 14 months and had plenty of ups and downs of their own.  They helped me to see how brave I was for travelling on my own and for sticking it out when most people would have left long ago.  We talked about how this perspective will be something I’ll always draw on and that it helped me to learn things about myself that I would never have been able to had I stayed where I was.  Caitlin and I both realized that from our experiences, we’ll both me much more apt to reach out and help someone new to a job, a neighborhood, etc because we knew what it was like to feel lonely in a new place.

I met Caitlin in a very random way as I’ve met a few of my closest friends here.  I still keep in touch with Brittany, the girl I met on a bus when I was heading to Taupo in January!  It is a reminder to me that you can meet friends in unusual ways if you’re willing to put yourself out there.  This successful meeting brings me back to becoming best friends with my roommate, Sasha, from Freshman year of college , of meeting my first friends in Osceola and at Surpass, and all the random encounters I’ve had here where I’ve walked away feeling energized by engaging with new people.  Just this weekend, for instance, I had a Scottish man tell me at the train station that I sounded just like Julia Goulia, Drew Barrymore’s character in the Wedding Singer.  Awesome.

Truly, I could not be more lucky to have spent time with Caitlin and her family.  I’ve struggled to meet people that I could identify with, and they were the first people that I really felt that instant understanding and connection I had been longing for.  They’ve invited me to their house Thursday night before my flight for a nice meal, and Patrick will drop me off at the airport early the next morning.  They have given me the gift of leaving NZ for AU in a very positive place!

Wellington from Mt. Victoria