Adult Under Construction: December 2012

As I promised at the end of my last post, another month has brought with it plenty of activity. The season has definitively shifted from spring into summer, and the accompanying staff turnover at work has been even more dramatic. More coworkers means I have to stay late less often, and more sunny days means I can jump into the Bealey River after finishing on time. It may be summer, but I can still see the snow that melts into the water I swim in.

The beginning of summer has brought plenty of new people to live in Arthur's Pass, which certainly livens the place up. But the number of local events has also begun to climb, especially as Christmas approaches: there have been two gatherings celebrating anniversaries of arrivals in the village, one for 2 years and one for 30 (the second was much larger than the first). The end of the quiz night series left a gap on Wednesdays that we filled with a single curry night, with vague intentions to create a weekly event. The Christmas season has picked up that slack lately; even in this village of less than 100, there were two Christmas parties for me to attend, and that's not including the celebrations we will have on Christmas Day and over New Year's.

Last year I mentioned that Christmas doesn't feel the same here. It makes it easier to avoid homesickness, but it is bizarre to listen to Christmas music - much of it about snow, winter, sleigh rides, etc. - when it's hot enough to wear shorts and sandals. After over a year in this country, the seasons still make me forget what month it is. Christmas has not made a difference, although luckily this year I have people with whom to celebrate it; the celebrations are primarily barbecues.

It's easy to lose track of time here as well. I recently made a quick visit to Wellington, where I spent my first four months in New Zealand. Once the plans were in place, I realized that since returning to Arthur's Pass in June, I had spent a grand total of one night out of the village. Even locals give me looks of amazement at that statistic. Needless to say, Wellington was refreshing. The weather was perfect, the company was generous and friendly (thanks for putting me up, Chris and Donna), and my small pub quiz team of three won first prize. I also caught a matinee of The Hobbit on the day it opened for public audiences in Peter Jackson's favorite cinema.

I hope everyone is doing well this holiday season. I'm not sure where I'll spend the next one, but you'll probably be able to read about it here.

P.S. Though staying one place makes my numerous new experiences seem routine, here's one that I didn't see coming when I headed for New Zealand: one of my coworkers is away over the holidays, and I have been entrusted with the care of her three chickens. And I get to keep the eggs.