I’m sold!
Less than 24 hours in the country… and I’m in! The kindness of the peope is extraodinary, at least when your mostly known to the harshness of most of Europe. Don’t understand me wrong. People, which know you, are kind, carering, loving. People you meet in the streets are feasonable, if you’re lucky. Often, we face more ways of giving the other an hard time. Didn’t find any of that here (till now).
The decency I met here within the first hours impressed, heavily impressed me!
Little things, like offering some kindness, just because it can. Offering a better seat in the bus though you can better follow where it is going, thanking the driver of taking care, a little talk at the street corner. Everybody included. Love it. Just love it.
After breakfast and sorting my next travels – seems I mixed up calender dates yesterday evening… crossing a date line does something with your sense of time, I think. Now, I think, I’m really ‘here’!
One of the bizar thoughts this morning – I realised, that I have, that I can take time for selfcare. I know, it’s necesaary. And I liked the idea, it’s possible now. I didn’t like the thought, that came next so much: Having this thought means, I wasn’t able to stick to the slower pace I intented to after my last journey. Confronting. Do I need these travels also to create more space for a slower pace? Do I need the distance to slow down? What would be necesaary to stay in it when I’m back in Europe? A lot of questions, instantly on the first day.
As you might guess by now, I took the bus to the city center of Auckland. I admit, I didn’t expect much of the city, not much in terms of deeper experience. And, yes, the modern city style is not really selling to me. Some older buidlings… about 200 years, I asume, are cute. It’s more the little things, the cute exeptions, which are speaking to me. I try to get my head around the (superfical?) expression of polynesian heritage in the touristic line and the (deeply?) english livestyle, every corner breaths. How does it integrate for the people living here, not just passing by? What of my own assumptions and preceptions are getting in the way to understand or… just except?
Roaming the Waterfront area – redevelopment of the harbour – I stumpled across a library to switch books in a container. A place to my heart! Spent quite some time to scan whats on offer, a bit ashamed I had nothing with me to bring in … I promised myself, I’ll put back the books I choose into the next bookstand I come across. Now, I had to find a place to sit down and read. Easy! The park just across the street at the motel. Settled for the rest of the day.
