From the Desk of The Kiwi Champ – Jill Rapley

Every now and again it is good to step back from your daily routine and take a look at where you are and in what direction you are going.

This little exercise will help you make sure you are still on course.

A trip away will always give you the opportunity to gain a new perspective on your daily routines. There is nothing like getting away from your familiar surroundings for a while to help you to think clearly.

I recently had this opportunity and it was certainly good to be able to have some time to think clearly and re-evaluate many areas of my life.

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Do you have certain memories of seemingly insignificant conversations that just stand out in your mind? I am sure you do. Some of these memories may go back years, yet they are still vivid. I often think that these events in our lives have a purpose. Some have certainly served a great purpose in my life.

One of these strong impressions that stands out for me was a conversation with our tea lady who was from Holland. I was working in the Education Board in New Zealand. Our “tea lady”, who’s name has slipped my mind, had just made a trip to Holland after being away for about 10 years.

She was devastated when she returned to New Zealand. She had found nothing in Holland to be as she remembered it.

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My sister, brother in law and family had visited me here in the States a couple of times over the past 15 years. However during this time many changes have occurred back in Christchurch, including a new home for them.

So it was certainly time for me to make the trip to Christchurch, New Zealand to reconnect with the city and renew family ties. Actually this trip was long overdue.

It had been a long time since I traveled at all. In fact the last trip was to Cuernavaca, Mexico which ended with a bad accident on the way back. I was driving a Chrysler at the time, something I would never do again. I am positive the steering was faulty as it went out of control way too easily. It rolled twice.

However, thankfully I survived with just some bad bruises, scratches and a light concussion. The local newspaper headlines reported the accident as a miracle. I am here still for a reason

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My recent trip to New Zealand was a well overdue one. It had been 15 years since I was last there. Time can certainly get away on one.

Time has flown by.
The last time I saw any of my aunts, uncles or cousins was at my mother’s funeral, now over 17 years ago. Phone and email is certainly not the same as knocking on their door. Email communication was even lost when my aunt changed internet providers which also changed her email address.

A short trip to Motueka was planned.
A few weeks before I was due to take off from San Antonio, my sister sent me a DM on Twitter. She said “we can do a 2-3 day trip while you are here, where would you like to go?”. I did not have to think twice, and immediately sent a reply: “Motueka to see our Aunt and cousins”.

Motueka is located at the North West tip of the South Island in the province of Marlborough.

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I have just returned from a very long overdue trip to New Zealand. It has actually been close to 15 years since I was last in my home country.

My sister and family have visited me in the States twice during that time, so it was certainly my turn to make the trip. The original plan was to make this trip at Christmas time when it is summer over there.

However, this did not work out, so I opted for May when the New Zealand weather hopefully would not be too cold. My sister had several weeks vacation in May, so it would work out well.

Of course there were a lot of changes around the city of Christchurch, which I originally left back in 1976. Lots of progress and new things to discover as well as old things to rediscover.

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