Kiwi Land, Epilogue

Location: Christchurch International Airport

Date: 6 June 2012

Time: 1:00 PM

Kiwi Land, Epilogue

It’s snowing.  In June!!!  I mean, it’s really coming down.  This is the first real snow they’ve had in New Zealand this year.  When we woke up and left Rangitata at 7, there was already enough snow for angels and great snowballs.  A few inches, at least.

Mal'ach sheleg

Doing the snow dance!

As a result of this epic snow, however, I’m stuck in the Christchurch airport.  My flight (and basically every other) is canceled.  The next flight is not until tomorrow.  Oy.  The power went out for a little while, too.  I’m really getting that state-of-emergency vibe, a bit of a bummer way to end my uber vacation, but I’ve got a laptop and movies so I’ll manage.

Cancelled, cancelled, cancelled...

All my time in the airport did give me a chance to reflect back on the trip.  I’m so glad I came here.  If you remember from my very first post, New Zealand was one of the reasons I came to Australia (the most important reason, probably).  It’s been a growing and learning experience traveling on my own like this.  I’ve met great people (and secured free places to crash in a few European countries).  I’ve seen the most breathtaking natural beauty, the kind that just makes you smile that there are still places as untainted and well cared for as Kiwi Land.  I convinced myself to jump off a bridge, dive of a cliff (three times), and ride in a crazy boat through a canyon.  And to think I’ve only seen a small part of what New Zealand has to offer.

Update: 8:50 PM

I’ve been in the airport for almost twelve hours now.  I’m planning on sleeping in the airport tonight, which will be a first for me.  It’s a bit of a surreal experience.  I’ve lost track of time, which is probably good because otherwise this would feel like an excruciatingly long time.  I must say, though, the airport staff is making an effort to make this as least miserable as possible.  They handed fruit and blankets to us, which was really nice and cheered me up that they’re not just hanging us out to dry.  All us travelers (i.e. the ones with nowhere else to go) were moved to the international arrivals area, a small (and kinda chilly) terminal, but I’m alive.

I’ve attempted to get some work done, but transitioning back to school mode is proving to be difficult (yet again).  Study habits? What are those?

Location: Virgin Australia Flight VA63, somewhere over the Tasman Sea

Date: 7 June 2012 (I think, although I’ve lost track)

Time: 8:40 PM

I’m finally on my way home to Melbourne.  In the end, I was in the Christchurch airport for more than thirty hours.  I was starting to feel like Tom Hanks in “The Terminal.”  It was a fiasco, for sure—it really made me appreciate how well they deal with snow at Logan.  It turns out the flight they switched me to actually had a meal, which I really needed (a welcome change from pre-packaged airport sandwiches).

I’m looking forward to being back in my apartment and starting back up my routine.  I’ll really have to kick it in gear and study.  But who am I kidding, I’m not really going to study, am I?