Paul, my teddy bear of a roommate, is a handsome Irishman in his late twenties. Three years ago, a recently divorced Paul decided to take a six-week vacation to New Zealand. He has never left. In his still thick Irish accent (he says fill-um instead of film), Paul will tell you anything and everything you want to know about Christchurch, or New Zealand for that matter. To my surprise, i found out that Paul has spent the past 18 months living in the staff dorms of Base Backpackers. He is one of the managers of Saints and Sinners (located directly beneath our room), a pub hailed as one of the best in Christchurch and often the favorite place Dan Carter (All Blacks superstar) likes to go to for a pint.
Pablo and Diego are lifelong best friends that hail from Argentina and Uruguay respectively. Pablo´s scrawny legs and near bald head are a deceptive indicators of his huge heart and wonderfully giving personality. Diego, the more Rico Suave-desk of the two, is a self-proclaimed gambling and cigarette addict who spends nearly all of his free time religiously watching the sporting events he has spent his life savings betting on. He is also a savvy smart alec and one of the most caring friends i´ve ever met.
Sophia is a reserved Frenchwoman who´s quiet but intelligent demeanor makes her the perfect mate to hang out with during any occasion. Sophia helped me get my bearings when I arrived in Christchurch (a huge blessing!) before leaving me for a month while having her own grand adventures. Not to worry, she comes back Friday and I fully intend on recruiting her for one of my own roadtrips.
Natalie and Jenny both graduated from University in England and have set out to save the world, one building at a time. Both aspiring architects, they recently finished a greenhouse project in South America for a school of impoverished kids. After their current short trip in Australia they will be flying to Thailand to make playgrounds out of recycled materials in some of the poorest neighborhoods in the world. Not only are they inspiring, but both Natalie and Jenny are natural comedians. Between the two of them they can impersonate accents from dozens of areas around England and the world (their Texas cowboy impersonation was spot-on)! After spending only a short two weeks with them I have no doubt they will be lifelong friends!
Nikki failed to mention she has a fun little medical condition called epilepsy when she joined our cleaning crew. It wasn´t until she had a series of seizures that lasted through the night that we found out that little tidbit of info about her. Aside from a terrifying trip to the ER, Nikki has kept things interesting in many other ways. Nikki hails from a little place I like to call Holland. She is nearly 6ft tall but says she is short compared to most Dutch women. Always game for a joke, Nikki dishes out plenty of jabs toward Pablo, Diego, and myself but we always get her back and come out on top. I mean, she´s dutch...what more do we need to tease her about?
Amanda is probably the eldest of my group of mates but you wouldn´t know it from looking at her or hearing about her life. Born in Italy to the head of a well known mafia family, Amanda has spent the past 18 years living my dream life in New Zealand. From working at a white-water rafting company to bartending at a ski resort in Queenstown Amanda has nearly done it all.Riki and Andre are two brothers who have the most incredible smiles and impeccable taste in fashion. Native Kiwi´s (both are full-blooded Maori and can speak the language fluently) they are two of the most delightful young men i´ve met on my travels. Riki will soon be on his way to San Fransisco on a prestigious dancing scholarship while Andre can only boast being on New Zealand´s National Netball Team (a sport only surpassed by ruby and cricket in popularity). Ever the helpful locals, both have agreed to put together a team for Christchurch´s inaugural American sloshball game!
Tasman is by far the most fun local i´ve met so far. A Pacific Islander native to Hawaii, Tasman has lived in New Zealand for quite sometime. She is very close with Riki and Andre and they all consider each other family. Tasman also has a huge extended family, all of whom play or coach rugby; which is hysterical because Tasman is the most ultra-feminine-i-hate-anything-athletic-besides-dancing girl i´ve ever been friends with. Tasman and I spend a few nights a week harassing Paul while he works at the bar in between discussions about the romantic lives of our co-workers.
Margie, a 50-something year old Canadian who grew up in New Zealand, should be named the Patron Saint of Hospitality. A random encounter at a sports club led to Margi lending me a bike worth almost as much as the car I just bought, taking me on a wonderful hiking trip, and making me an incredible dinner with her entire extended family before she headed to Australia to compete in the World Triathlon Championships. Of course, due to the fact that I only surround myself with the best of athletes, Margie ran away with the Gold Medal and is now officially a World Champion Triathlete!
There are dozens of others worth mentioning but I do not have the time or patience to write about them all! Needless to say, the world is full of some incredible and wonderful people! I strongly suggest that if you haven´t already, buy a plane ticket and go meet some of them!
Roadtrips begin next week! Stay tuned for the details!
-Ashley
FUN FACT: Policemen in New Zealand do not carry firearms between the hours 6AM and 6PM. Their vehicles also resemble checker boards with intimidating patterns of blue and orange.
No comments:
Post a Comment