So I’ve just touched down in New Zealand at 5:45am.
After a 14 hour and 38 minute flight.
About as far away from where I started as you can go.
Below is the longest flight on earth.
SIN > JFK: (15,353 km or 9,540 mi)
Scheduled flight time: 17hrs 50mins
Flight Number: SQ 22
Aircraft: Airbus A350-900ULR
From what I can tell after blearily wandering around the first few hours is Auckland is lovely. It reminds me of Vancouver, which I understand is sort of a cheap thing to say of a place that is 11,351 kms away, but I am not the first to make this comparison. The locals do it when they discover I’m from Vancouver.
“Oh yeah, really similar I reckon.” One enthusiastic skate kid pouring me a latte says. Quick aside here, the coffee is incredible. In fact the whole of the Oceania does coffee with an incredible attention to detail.
“We like, have a focus on lifestyle here, over you know, the rat race or whatever.”
This is confirmed to me by the people I’m working with, and also by the schedule of the work I’m doing, we have a four day weekend coming up for Easter. Something unheard of within the grinding gears of North American work worship culture. Then after that is Anzac Day. Which is sort of Remembrance Day for us Canadian and Brits, sort of like Memorial Day to the Americans. This day is mostly about Gallipoli for those among who like history.
More wandering, I am outside so I don’t fall asleep and yet almost do sat at a park bench in the sun at around 2pm. I am beside a skate park that looks like it is out of a Y2K era commercial. City High’s What Would You Do? Is playing on what I assume is a boombox somewhere.
Quick little observation. Australia and from what I’ve seen today New Zealand have a bizarre relationship with hip hop which I love. There are taggers here, and people breakdancing on cardboard with no level of irony whatsoever. There seems to have been sort of a mid 2000’s hip hop cut off here which has produced the beautiful environment where you can happen upon Ja Rule and Ashanti’s Mesmerize without it being the “throwback” hour on the radio.
The rest of the music is completely updated. Pop, Rock, EDM, all other genres have all the latest artists. But Baby Keem is no where to be found.
There is a girl dressed up like early 00’s Paris Hilton, replete with tube top, Von Dutch hat and white plastic pleasers. She is watching her boyfriend, who looks like Kfed, skate, he is quite good. The surreal environment and my mounting jet lag is starting to make the world feel all fake and I get up and try to find my bearings.
I see the big syringe in the sky and realize where I am staying isn't too far.
First, I have to go find some more coffee.
-A
Avan! You're in Aotearoa, how exciting! Hope you enjoy your stay, and drink as much of our coffee to your heart's content. <3
I also just want to say that these posts of yours have been helping me though a really rough and dark time. Thank you.