Diary of SpanishI was Born in Latin America, My Friends are in Europe and I'm Living In India… My Daily Life… My Friends… My Diary

Today I want to write about the New Zealand trip but I don’t want to actually type so I’m using the Microsoft Windows speech recognition software.  But since the last 30 minutes I have been able to finish only two lines.

But I’m determined to write using the speech recognition software, so let’s talk about the trip.  Our journey to New Zealand was really boring as we had to sit for almost 11 hours in the airplane so we got tired and bored of watching the same movies and the listening to the same music.  The food which was served on board was really really bad.  I don’t think anybody liked it.  But still we were hungry so we had to eat.  The whole night it was thundering in the sky and we saw the lightnings from the window the whole night.

At 2:00 in the night I fell asleep and so my husband.  Next morning when I woke up I saw the rising sun from my window and it was beautiful.  At 10:00 a.m. we landed at the Auckland Airport.  As soon as we came out  from the airplane we started noticing the self declaration boards everywhere.  At first we did not pay much attention, but later on when we saw that it was all over the airport we really had to think about it. So we checked if we had any fruit, vegetable or any eatable thing inside our handbag. One Sardar Ji who was ahead of us didn’t declare in his form and the official found out that he was carrying an apple in his handbag. As he didn’t declare the same, they charged $500 NZD as a penalty for him and I think he will not eat an apple for the next 5 years coz $500 NZD x Rs.34 = is somewhere around Rs. 17,000/- in Indian currency. I guess he was done with his apple at the New Zealand airport. Poor of him.

The weather of New Zealand was extremely good and it was very pleasant for us, it was like beating the heat of Delhi. We stayed in the main square of Auckland as our hotel was on the main avenue in the heart of  Auckland from where we could see the whole city. The rooms were quite nice and clean as compared to some Indian Hotels. We stayed in a 3 star category hotel so it was good enough to spend some nights at that place.

The New Zealand’s culture it quite different,  the country is divided into two parts when it comes to culture. I felt that the youngsters are quite open, fun loving, party going, showing the love in public, boozing and shopping and most of all dressed in the latest fashion, while I saw the old people quite, calm,cool and composed not paying much attention to what was happening next to them and they were not bothered about anything as long as they were comfortable and things were happening quietly around them.

Our stay included some countryside views and we went to the Agrodome. We also had some visit to Maori people and dinner at the wonderful places in New Zealand. This trip was not as good as Switzerland when I compare it with the scenic beauty and the warm welcome of the people but every culture has its own taste. You cannot ask for ice-cream in the North Pole and you can’t ask for a quilt in Delhi in June so… we really enjoyed.

The girls were quite joyful and enjoying their adulthood there and I saw the spark in their eyes which you hardly see in most of the Indian girls. In India no matter how open the city is, still there is a limit and a constrain of “moral police” which I never saw in western or European countries. I guess that’s what divides the east from the west. I saw the multiculturalism in New Zealand… I saw many Indians, Chinese and Asians there working in hotels and shopping malls.

The city was full of mixed culture and many races. I guess it was not the pure New Zealand, it was the cosmopolitan New Zealand. You live your life once and you will never be young again… you will not get your adulthood back again… you will not get you age of 21 again, so if you enjoy it the way you want it (of course without hurting others and keeping the values in mind) it’s a wonder and gift in life. Coz when you will be old these memories will come in to your eyes like the hazy water and will wash you away in the yesteryears… I wish if every girl can get this in her life.

The journey to New Zealand gave me another experience to meet a new world and to see how people live there. Sometimes I wonder who am I… what am I… I mean there are billions of people living in this world. The one who was driving the taxi at Singapore… the one who gave us a drink on board… the one who served us food at the hotel… the one who smiled at the crossing at the New Zealand harbour… the one who came with us in the rain to show us the volcano in a Maori village. What are they doing now… will I ever know… or will they ever know what I’m doing… who I am. Life is strange but every day I wake up… and I feel it beautiful.  It’s really beautiful… I know it can’t be perfect but it is wonderful because I have started enjoying it. Enjoy the moments in your life… they may never come back again. It’s life… things hardly happen the same twice. Keep smiling…