Impressions of Earth-Western Australia

Well! We sit in the Departure Lounge in Perth, awaiting the call to board our flight to Wellington. So concludes the first leg of our 'overseas experience'. I am thoroughly looking forward to being back in Nelson and hooking into a vege samosa from the Hare Krishna stall at the flea market! And popping the top off an ice cold Speights. And seeing my Whanau.

Perth in a nutshell according to Levi:

People are in a hurry. All the time. I don't just mean they need to be somewhere and they are rushing to get there, I mean they are in a hurry to finish their lives, in more ways than one. You have to drive fast, you have to get on the train first, you don't have time to eat well, you don't have time to be courteous and polite.
Almost everyday I see near misses when driving, I see massive queues at the hundreds of fast food chains on every street corner and I see hundreds of unsatisfied people rushing through their lives without taking time out to have a good time.
Perhaps that is city life. One of my favourite pastimes is being in no hurry. I drive slow and take my time getting on the train, often getting in other people's way and receiving glares and the odd comment about hurrying up and other such nonsense that I don't want to buy into. I just don't get it. I like being happy and try to avoid putting myself in situations where happiness is the victim.

I see travel and working in another country as a means to take bits and pieces out of different cultures and apply them to my own life. I can't see myself taking to much from here. I'm not saying I don't like it here, because there is a lot to like, but I couldn't call it home.
My highlight so far is spending time with family members I haven't had the chance to spend much time with previously. It's always good to build on friendships and relationships. Although we may only be here briefly, we can still take something more permanent away with us.

It will be good to return. Its a massive luxury doing the same work as in Nelson, but now having the money to live well and save, not just one or the other. I can't understand how I ended up being born in New Zealand where pain and problems are as far away from me as money and travel are from 80% of the worlds population. I hope I can pay some of the debt in some way in my lifetime.

The boarding call just sounded, catch ya soon!