Summer of 1999 (December) was the first time I visited New Zealand – the country that my Husband, Simon calls “God’s Own Paradise”.
Christchurch CBD, Summer 1999
Before I met Simon, I have heard of New Zealand but didn’t know much about it. New Zealand was never in my list of countries to visit before I die sorta thing.
New Zealand wasn’t heavily marketed in the Philippines then as a tourist destination as much as it is now.
So why did I visit New Zealand? Well, there were 2 reasons.
First is of course, I wanted to see and be with Simon. We were doing the LDR (Long Distance Relationship) thing then and the last time I saw him was 6 months ago when he visited me in the Philippines in July 1999.
Second, I wanted to see if it’s a country I can see myself settling and living in long-term. I wanted to be practical and not allow my heart to complete rule over my head, my judgment.
I wanted to see if this is a country is where I could build a home with Bea. As I said before, after I had Bea, she became my priority in sizing up the men that I dated after her father.
So there I was fresh off the plane a week before Christmas. The sun was brightly shining and I was one of the last people out of the Christchurch International Airport. I saw Simon’s smiling face as I walked out of the airport into his waiting arms.
TRANQUILITY
This is a word I would use in describing my first impression of New Zealand or really, Christchurch for that matter. I arrived around midday on a Sunday and boy, the streets of Christchurch were empty. The first people I saw along the Christchurch streets were a couple of old ladies walking aided by their Zimma frames!
Even the airport didn’t have a lot of people waiting to pick up their loved ones.
It was quiet. Deafeningly quiet. But it wasn’t the scary type of silence you feel that made me feel unsafe.
I suppose having come from a city of 3 million people, landing in Christchurch and then Timaru definitely felt that the place was devoid of people!
LOTS OF WIDE, OPEN SPACES
I lived in the city. Not in the heart of Manila but definitely in a city where space is a premium. Oh boy, the South Island had lots of space. That’s what I noticed when Simon took me around a tiki tour of key tourist spots in the mainland – West Coast, Central Otago, Queenstown.
The Luge in Queenstown, NZ (Summer 1999)
NATURE – UP, CLOSE AND PERSONAL
As we drove down to Central Otago and Queenstown, I felt so close to nature. Literally. Like all I needed to do was reach out and I could touch the hills and the mountains around us.
SHEEP. LOTS OF ‘EM.
Yes, there were a lot of sheep in the paddocks, hillside and everywhere. They said there were more sheep than people and they were right! I had lots of photos with the sheep in the background. Now, I just take them for granted!
THE PEOPLE
The people were friendly. They greeted me with “How are you doing?” and then talk about the weather which was something I was not used to then. Even strangers (check out chicks in the supermarket and shop attendants) asked me how I was. Such a relief from the Filipinos’ way of greeting you – they make a comment on whether you’ve lost weight or gotten fat.
Also, in the Philippines, the shop attendants either ignore you or they follow you wherever you go as if you were going to shop lift LOL.
SHOPPING
What shopping? LOL
This was back in 1999, remember. The shops closed at 5.00pm during the week and were only happen for a few hours on Saturday! The brands I didn’t recognise but I still managed to shop a few trinkets to take back to the Philippines.
THE FOOD
There weren’t a lot of Asian takeaway places back then compared to what we have now so I did struggle with finding food that I liked and actually lost weight while in NZ (a bonus!). I did get sick of sandwiches and meat and potatoes after 3 weeks. Thank God there was KFC or I’d have died! LOL
It snowed in Central Otago in the middle of Summer (1999)
THE CELEBRATION OF CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR
What celebration? LOL For Christmas eve, Simon got up at 11pm and cooked a nice meal for us to share at midnight since he knew that back home, we have family reunions for Africa that started on Christmas eve and carried on till Christmas Day (and night!). It was the last first and last time we ate a meal at midnight.
New Year’s Eve – this is an equally joyous and NOISY celebration in the Philippines complete with fireworks display. Well, we didn’t have this. New Zealand was the first country to greet the new millennium and all we did was stay up till midnight and a couple of Simon’s nephews run to the lake for a midnight swim.
No fireworks. No midnight meal (we had coffee/tea and biscuits from memory). No boisterous greetings from our neighbours of “Happy New Year!”
I wasn’t lonely because I was with Simon but I wasn’t overly joyous and celebratory as well.
So what now?
Obviously, there were more to like about New Zealand because 2 years later I married Simon and migrated here. I am about to celebrate my 9th year in the country 
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nene ka pa sa photos, ate, hehe! =P
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