Back to reality: Home, and on with the rest of my life

New Zealand, one year later...

So as we got closer and closer to Auckland, I got a more and more excited and emotional. After a year of saluting whenever I saw something with "Product of New Zealand" on it, I was eager to land. I probably sounded like a real dick to the others in the plane, with my "touchdown", "welcome back", and "Honey we're home" etc etc, but I was just stoked to be back.

I was a bit miffed at the airline (their only mistake) because they didn't say welcome home to the New Zealanders, but I was stoked that the guy at customs (who was a nice guy) had the insight.

Unfortuately getting through customs and getting my luggage took quite a while. I felt a bit embarassed after all the times this year I had said under my breath "In my country we don't have this problem..."

Anyhow, made it out of customs and met my parents, and headed off home. Via BP Connect Ngaruawahia for a pie and a sausage roll. Nice.

So that was a week ago, since then I have just been sleeping (making up for a year without a "relaxing" holiday (there is a difference between sight-seeing and vegeing out)) eating (a reunion with cheese, which I better cut out soon) - it only took me two days to have ticked off the tri-fecta of food I wanted to eat - A pie, Mutton, and fish and chips. The sad thing is, food doesn't taste as great as I remember it. Although I didn't lose any weight in Japan (I thought a diet of fish and rice was iminent and so was weight loss - stereotypes) I think my appetite died down, and I don't crave food so much.

Other than that, I've just been visiting people, and catching up. I was surprised how easy it was to drive again, no bunny hops (although I did get the wheels spinning in mums car).

Other observations? We do have an accent. We seem to talk like we are talking to our own chests, or through our noses or something. We use O instead of other vowels, still/stool etc.
I can see so much sky! in Hamilton everything is pretty much 2 storeys or less, even in Victoria street, the hub of the city!
Its weird being able to understand every conversation I hear.

Overall, its nice to be home, although I'm a little lonely and bored at the moment, after an action-packed year. Everyone seems to have moved on with life.

Keep watching this site. I plan to put up a heap of photos, and I will probably keep this site going until I get a real job (and then I will probably start a new one) so this site will have covered the lead-up, the journey, and the following return.