I Didn't Exist . . . Again

The flight from Vancouver to Auckland was scheduled to be a long & arduous 14 hour journey. If only Air New Zealand had faster planes. Can't someone design a modern Concorde? Well, at least I had an aisle seat - easier access to the washroom. As well, I would spend this flight aboard a Boeing 747 for the first time. What a moment to cherish. After an hour of boarding, the white aerodynamic beast roared down the slick runway & lifted into the night sky.

What's great about the Air NZ entertainment systems is that you don't have to sit through 5 minutes of previews. You have libraries of movies, tv shows, and music to access at your fingertips. I decided to start off the long flight by watching the movie 2012. I won't spoil anything & just say that I expected better, a lot better. Pacing & plot development, those sort of things. Thankfully, I was able to laugh off my disappointment with the comedy film The Hangover, and then finish off with the classic action flick Die Hard. Dinner was a choice between chicken and beef. I chose the beef dish with complimentary white wine.

The rest of the flight was mostly a blur because I kept lapsing in & out of consciousness. Sleeping in the sitting position is tough for me. I tried dreaming that I was sleeping in first class but it didn't work. As I tried to get some rest, the 747 crossed the International Dateline, leaping into the future. We left Vancouver on March 7th, but crossed the dateline into March 9th. A second void was created in my life. I, nor the other passengers existed on March 8th, 2010. The first void was July 4th, 2008.

Somehow, I had gotten some shut eye because I was alert when the pilot announced that we were about to land. It was still dark outside when the 747 touched down in Auckland. If there were still people sleeping, then the pilot did a good job waking them up because the landing was hard & sudden. I know for a fact that several passengers around me jumped at the sound of the loud boom!

With the plane safely docked with the air bridge, I disembarked into the Auckland terminal thinking whether to shout, 'I'M BACK!' or get into the security checkpoint line. Due to my tiredness, I chose the latter. Luck was with me again because on the flight, I was told that I no longer had to pick up my luggage in Auckland & transfer it to the Christchurch flight - that would be done for me. As well, I wouldn't have to go through customs until I arrived in Christchurch.

The wait for the Christchurch flight was only an hour & there weren't that many people travelling at this early hour. Plus, we were transported to the plane via bus, so I briefly got the opportunity to step onto the tarmac. Once again, the plane lifted with ease into the morning sky & made its way south, towards my final destination; Christchurch. I wondered what to expect?

Back To Middle Earth

Wow, it's hard to believe that it has come to this so fast. Feels like just yesterday I had arrived back in Canada to take a break from my New Zealand studies. But now the time has come, after many months, to return to Middle Earth to complete my Graduate Diploma in Secondary Teaching. The next four months are going to be hectic, rewarding, and memorable.

So much has happened since my last post in June 2009: the end of the 2000s decade; the release of James Cameron's Avatar (now the highest grossing film of all time); the devastating earthquakes in Haiti & Chile; and the Vancouver Olympic Games, just to name a few (Crosby! Crosby! Crosby!). To the examples I just mentioned, I'll just say: the first decade of the 21st century was interesting, I still need to go see Avatar, Haiti & Chile need aid and time to rebuild, and the Olympics were quite magical, despite several setbacks.

The Canadian Team did more than just go for the bronze. They also went for silver & gold, and managed to win the most gold medals by a single country in the history of the winter olympics! Canada certainly owned the golden podium.

I found myself paying a lot of attention to the Games, via TV, newspaper, magazine, and the Internet. And after all that, I still can't wrap my head around how scoring works in curling? The women's hockey team beat the living daylights out of every opponent, while for a time, it looked like the men's hockey team would be eliminated before making it to the final. Thankfully, the ymade it to the final match between Canada & USA. The game was intense and it almost ended at 3rd period if the Americans hadn't tied the score just seconds before the end of the 3rd period. I'm glad that Canada had Sidney Crosby to end the dispute in Overtime. And when he scored that golden goal, 34 million Canadians were on their feet chanting his name. From beginning to end, the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games brought Canadians & their patriotism together.

Anyway, after spending several days with family & friends, I woke up on the early morning of the 7th, had a quick breakfast, and checked my packed luggage. After 3 checks, I bid farewell to my mother, and was driven to the airport by my father. At the airport, my father wished me well just before I entered the terminal.

The first flight was a 4 hour hop to Calgary that passed by with relative boredom. The plane was packed but at least there were no crying babies. Once in Calgary, I walked around & sat for 4 hours, waiting to board my flight to Vancouver. I have to admit that if you don't have a book or laptop to keep you occupied, time will advance ever so slowly. Finally, the long wait was over & I was on my way to Vancouver. This time, the Air Canada plane was only half full, meaning a more quiet & relaxing flight. Too bad it only lasted an hour.

Vancouver was surrounded by fog & rain when the plane touched down on one of the runways. Once off the plane, I had no choice but to walk a long distance to get to the international section of the terminal. Thankfully, I didn't have to manually transfer my luggage to the Air New Zealand flight. During the 3 hour wait, I bought some Tim Horton's donuts & an Ice Capp and enjoyed the consumption. After that, I would have to survive without Timmy's for four months!

On a side note, I was surprised to see a bottle of French Champagne Cognac (aged a century) on sale at a Duty Free store for $34,000! I thought Duty Free was where you could buy cheap alcohol? I wondered what the price would be at an ordinary liquor store.

See you on the other side!

The Journey Home

Cadets this past Monday went by like standard routine; the only differences were that I had to return all the resources I borrowed & tell the unit where I was heading off too. The cadets wished me well on my way back to Canada & my upcoming summer employment. The officers held a small after party to celebrate my time spent at the unit & mourn my departure. Or was it the other way around?

By the time I got back to my empty room, it was late in the night & I decided to stay awake rather than nap. With the help of my roommate Ben, we carried my suitcases to his car at 4:45am & drove towards the airport. The Christchurch Airport is in the middle of a mass expansion project, meaning I had to be dropped off several metres away from the International terminal. With my suitcases stacked on a metal cart, I thanked my roommate for the lift & bid him farewell until the next time we met.

Lucky for me, there were no queues at the Air New Zealand check in counters & I was able to get everything done in 5 minutes. Once free of my heavy suitcases, I reluctantly paid the $25NZD departure fee & made my way through security. With two hours to spare, I napped on a chair for several minutes before I was awoken by loud Chinese tourists.

The flight to Sydney was uneventful & I spent most of the time watching the critically acclaimed action film The Dark Knight. My plane touched down in Sydney 3 hours later & I was dropped off in the same area where I waited for my flight to Christchurch after visiting my brother in Australia. Unfortunately, I couldn’t locate that $3200AUS cognac set in the Duty Free store.

It was here where I met up with my brother & we both hopped onto the 14 hour flight to Vancouver. Yes, 14 hours! Nothing serious happened when we were waiting except for the occasional crying baby. Despite being in my twenties, I have yet to fly in a Boeing 747 or an Airbus 380 – the largest passenger jets in the world. It’s tough to sit through a 14 hour flight, especially when you’re flying second class (PC name is economy class). Despite the entertainment system, the flight slowly progressed to its end, and the quality of food wasn’t that bad but not as good as before. Next time, I’m flying first class (PC name is business class).

Landing in Vancouver ended my 51-week absence from Canadian soil & after disembarking from the aircraft, I had an extreme craving for Tim Horton’s donuts. Unfortunately, my brother & I didn’t get the chance to seek out a Timmy’s because of the long customs lines, baggage transfers, & the fact we missed our direct flight to Ottawa. Luckily, we were transferred to the next flight two hours later. However, the chosen plane had to be grounded for mechanical failure, and the replacement was smaller meaning staff had to divert several passengers to even later flights! Wow, air travel is so great, isn’t it? I’m kind of glad that the Ottawa flight was downsized because it limited the amount of crying babies.

Personally, there has to be a section on a passenger aircraft dedicated to parents with infants & little children. Earplugs can only do so much. And the second class seats need to be bigger – airlines are making a big mistake favouring quantity over quality.

I was ecstatic when I walked into the new modern Ottawa Terminal that had not long ago finished an expansion project. There was no trace left of the old run down terminal of the 1980s & 1990s. I was also glad because my return journey was finished. Flying halfway across the planet in a span of 28 hours & crossing 8 time zones can be hard on the head in the form of jet lag.

After picking up our baggage, my brother & I were picked up by our joyful parents who treated us to a welcome back dinner (alcohol included) before we collapsed onto our beds for much needed rest. My bed is a lot higher off the ground than I thought it was.

Well, this is it for a while. My BLOG is not finished or over, but in a state of limbo. I’ll definitely be paying Middle Earth another visit in the near future (predicting March 2010). In the words of Arnold Schwarzenegger, "I'll be back!"

As long as the Internet & Google exist, this BLOG will be present in cyberspace. Even though I won’t be posting anything new for a while, that doesn’t mean you have to stop visiting. There’s 76 posts to reread & enjoy!

So, until next time, cheers!

Top Ten Moments of My Middle Earth Stay

Even though the TVs in Ilam Village give you access to just 5 channels, I was glad that one of them, C4, provided me with The Daily Show with John Stewart. If I chose to stay up later, I’d flick over to the Prime Channel to watch The Late Show with David Letterman. Letterman’s comedy is good enough for me to endure his opening monologue & his Top Ten List.

So, to recap the best that has happened in Middle Earth, I’m going to mimic Letterman with my own Top Ten List. Letterman, if you’re reading this, I’ve credited you as the creator, so please don’t sue.

Before I begin, I would like to point out that these are NOT the only moments/memories that have happened during my stay. There was much to choose from when I jotted down all the non-incriminating stuff that I could come up with. After much deep thought & personal debate, I’ve finally come up with a list. To those moments & memories that didn’t make the cut, don’t feel like I’ve forgotten about you, because I have not and never will.

Okay, so let’s begin. [drum roll]

At Number 10: Skiing the high mountains of Temple Basin & tramping the scenic landscape.

[drum roll]

At Number 9: Constantly hearing riders say ‘Thank You’ when getting off public buses.

[drum roll]

At Number 8: The bigger & comfier movie theatre seats & the fact that they’re assigned.

[drum roll]

At Number 7: Ilam Village Life (random power failures, loud drunken parties, elevator breakdowns, TV with only 5 channels, roommates, etc).

[drum roll]

At Number 6: College Life (bar outings, entertaining lectures, parties, friends, etc).

[drum roll]

At Number 5: Touring Dunedin, Invercargill, Sydney, Brisbane, & Canberra with my older brother Roman.

[drum roll]

At Number 4: Whale watching & drinking expensive wines with my visiting parents.

[drum roll]

At Number 3: Being called Mr. D. on teaching practice & at cadets.

[drum roll]

At Number 2: Learning Maori & NZ English culture (Rugby & the All Blacks, CHC to Phuket ad, Hair Poo, Te Puke, the Haka, Shag Point, LJ Hooker Real Estate, etc)

[extended drum roll]

And the Number 1 Moment of My Middle Earth Stay: Skydiving over Christchurch from 12,000 feet!

Next up is catching my flights back to Canada while meeting up with my older brother, Roman, along the way, in Sydney. Hopefully, we’ll arrive in Canada swine flu free & not be quarantined and subjected to intensive searches by Airport/Border Security.

When I lift off from Christchurch to Sydney tomorrow in the very early morning, my record for surviving on my own will stand at an all time high of 30 consecutive weeks!

Final Thoughts

Where do I begin?

My room is beginning to look empty & barren, as I slowly pack everything that I’ve chosen to take with me into two large suitcases & my laptop carrier. After choosing what will be left behind & recycling the academic waste, it still looks like I’ll be taking a lot of stuff with me. In a way, the cleaning & packing makes me feel like the secret police, completely erasing all traces that this room was occupied for 51 weeks.

When I shut & lock my room door for the last time, I’ll be closing another chapter of my history. The memories & interactions from this chapter will remain in people’s heads, in digital pictures, and of course, through this BLOG. It’s most likely I’ll return to this isolated archipelago in the southern hemisphere because of all the positive moments that have occurred, (and it’ll give me a reason to continue this BLOG).

This past week, I’ve been relying on pre-made food such as pizza, Subway, & sushi (two packages for $10!). Hopefully, the business establishments that I frequently visited, such as, Woolworths, Subway, Hell Pizza, & Blockbuster, will be able to survive without my financial input.

Reflecting on the Graduate Teaching Program, I’d have to say that the teaching quality is quite good, the atmosphere is mostly welcoming, and overall it’s a program worth attending . . . that’s if you want to be a teacher & have the finances to spend (around $30,000CAD). Studying overseas has taught me why universities like international students so much – they’re willing to pay double the home tuition to get the same piece of paper.

One thing that’s for certain is that I have to take up guitar before I start teaching music in high school. Learning guitar is probably the most popular instrument students want to learn – because of portability, & frequent use in popular music (electric & acoustic). I already have melody & rhythm down pretty good thanks to piano & drums, but now I need to transfer that onto guitar.

Even though I was unable to start an electronic music show on RDU Campus Radio, I’m glad to have been given the opportunity to review 7 NZ & international electronic music albums for CANTA Magazine – it’ll look really good on my CV (my last two reviews will be forthcoming in early July). The best part was that I got to review high profile NZ artists such as Sola Rosa, State of Mind, & Optimus Gryme.

The last week of lectures has mostly been devoted to ‘Thank You’ speeches from professors, course evaluations, and parties put together by the graduating body. I have to admit that my food/alcohol expenses were higher in the last few weeks because of all the celebrations (because we completed the program), and mournings (. . . because we completed the program & will not see the friends we’ve made).

On Thursday, to mark the end of Professional Studies, the class went to Drexels for brunch. The layout of the restaurant is quite contemporary but the menu reminds me of Denny’s in North America. I was surprised to see that they had real Canadian Maple Syrup, and they served 250 dozen eggs per week! After staring at the menu for quite some time, I settled for Eggs Benedict with a hot chocolate.

For Friday evening, the entire gang flocked to Santorini’s, a lively Greek themed restaurant near the Avon River in downtown Christchurch. We took up an entire corner of the restaurant because there were so many of us.

While dining on exquisite food & filling up on exquisite alcohol (Heineken in my case), the entire establishment came to life when two males started playing traditional Greek music. This led to several female waitresses encouraging customers to join in on circle dances. And who could forget the traditional Greek song & dance, ‘The Macarena’? Several birthdays were also acknowledged by having the person dress & dance on top of a barrel with one of the waitresses. The evening festivities were concluded by a friendly limbo contest. Yeah, Greeks sure know how to party. While all of this was happening, I was frequently looking around the restaurant, trying to spot the supposed cameras that were filming a possible My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2.

But the night was not over yet, despite the weather turning cold & into a light wet drizzal. Upon leaving Santorini's, the whole gang hopped across the river to The Bog Irish Bar. There, we were met by the February intake students & we dined on Guiness, Tequilla shots, while dancing to live modern music. (As always, the sound was quite loud). Well, I only opted for Guiness (dark chocolate milkshake looking beer), because I can't handle straight Tequila, along with a side order of Bog Fries for $6NZD. The rest of the night was all a blur but I made it safely home without a scratch & slept in bed for some time before realizing I hadn't starting packing.

My final thoughts will conclude in the upcoming post, ‘Top Ten Moments of My Middle Earth Stay.’ After that, I’ll be documenting my journey back to Canada, except it may take some time to load it up due to jet lag & the busy schedule awaiting me in the Great White North.

Final Week

It’s hard to believe but the final week of my stay in Middle Earth is here. In just 9 days, I’ll be flying back to my homeland for the first time in a year. I’ve been slowly preparing for the day when I have to drag myself out of bed at 0430 hours to get to airport by 0500 & then wait for my 0700 flight. Since I’m not a morning person, I’ll be relying on a good energy drink to keep me awake while I drop off my baggage & go through nit-picky security.

Scared that its 15 minutes of fame are over, swine flu has launched a surprise offensive, especially in Australia, with the total number of cases spiking to 1300! That’s a slight worry for me because I’ll be travelling to Sydney to meet my older brother whose been studying in Canberra for a year. Although, my roommate Ryan just came back from a week long trip to Sydney, he said that he didn’t notice a pandemic & that he was swine flu free.

With the end in sight, the midyears in my class have been planning on how to celebrate the inevitable end of the graduate program. On the 19th, both senior professional studies’ classes will converge to have a group lunch and/or morning tea. Hmm, I should probably ask someone if I have to bring something & if it’s a BYOB?

Most of my assignments are completed with some already handed in. I just have to put the finishing touches on the remainders & then I can sit back & relax . . . for several minutes because my suitcases need to be packed. On Monday morning, [insert The Mamas & The Papas song here], I’ll be starting the senior history lecture with a presentation about Parihaka & its significance to NZ & Mäori history. Long story short, think 19th century NZ, Mäori land resistance, & Gandhi like leadership.

Creative English class has been interesting & humourous because students have been showing vids & pics of English being used creatively. And that includes Engrish (failed Chinese/Japanese attempts in translating to English). So far, the class favourites are: Total Eclipse of the Heart - Literal Video Version; The Longest Words in the English Language; & Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukak
Apikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu (all one word) - one of the longest place names in the world. One exercise I particularly loved was creating new diseases; I came up with cardiorrhea – when the heart craps out.

In the world today, it looks like Iran is getting close to erupting into anarchy because the hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won reelection amidst allegations of vote rigging & fraud. The world would be much better off without that lunatic but in a totalitarian society, I have my doubts that the moderate protests will achieve anything.

Speaking of protests, conservative Americans are once again trying to convince the American public to not support Obama’s health care reforms because it’ll turn the system into a failed Canadian system. I have no idea what these people are smoking or getting their information from, but the Canadian healthcare system is far better than the one down south. Sure, we have long waiting lists but at least we don’t have to pay gigantic hospital bills. It’s one of the main reasons why thousands of Americans flock across the northern border to buy the same prescription drugs for a fraction of the American price.

One of the main reasons why I’ll never live in the USA is because of the greedy healthcare system, where the pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies, clinics, and hospitals are allowed to charge whatever they want, rendering millions of Americans bankrupt. It would appear that healthcare is only for the rich. (Currently, there are 43 million Americans without health insurance). I would like to recommend Michael Moore’s film Sicko, which deals with this situation. Only a socialized health system works.

Not Guilty

After much O.J. Simpson like press coverage & anticipation, the final verdicts in the David Bain murder retrial are [drum roll] not guilty. Back in 1995, Bain was convicted for murdering his family and served 14 years in prison before a higher court granted his appeal for a retrial. Despite being in high spirits, he now has to fight the system again for financial compensation. Democracy may be the best form of government right now but they’re still faults in the system. The bigger question one must ask is how does the government calculate a proper sum of money that says ‘We’re sorry’?

Aside from the David Bain retrial, not much else has been happening. There’s been less rain & more sun, but the strong winds are still present. I was surprised to see & hear a flock of ducks flying above Ilam Village yesterday because they’ve been absent for a very long time.

Since there’s only two & a half weeks left for me, my professors are making sure that they’ll remember me . . . via the assignments I owe them. They’re coming along steadily & should all be completed on schedule. I still can’t figure out how & why some people choose to work on an assignment the day/night before it’s due? If I had followed that path, I would have failed everything & be stuck in the alternative education program.

The term is almost finished for my roommates, who’ve taken to partying to celebrate another term well spent. In over a night or two I’ve met many happy, um, alcohol-fuelled people. Thankfully, no one got poisoning. The next step will be studying & passing exams.

With such ‘little time’ left here in Middle Earth, I’ve been skimming the Ottawa Citizen Newspaper to get a feel of what to expect when I arrive back in my hometown. I’m glad to see that construction on a new arts centre in Orleans has finally completed. Between 2005-08, I performed selected piano pieces in a series of community concerts in the building next door.

I’m still not pleased with the planned light rail route for Ottawa because a large portion of it will run parallel to a dedicated bus route. Rather than lumping all transit services into one congested corridor, the city should be expanding transit into communities that really need them. I think every city council member should pick up a copy of the game SimCity 4 & play it for several hours because it can teach you quite a bit on how to plan & build an effective transit system.

Today is June 6th, a significant day 65 years ago, when Allied Forces sent 160,000 soldiers across the English Channel in 5,000 ships to invade the Norway Toast. Er, I mean the Normandy Coast. Operation Overlord as it was called, opened the second front against Hitler's war machine in northern France. To make sure the landings were successful, 20,000 troops were paratrooped behind enemy lines the night before to stir up trouble & prevent the Germans from reinforcing Normandy. If the invasion had failed, my guess is that WWII would have ended in a ceasefire & the resulting World Order would be tripolar (USA, Nazi Germany, USSR).

And now back to assignments.