Well, before I get started, let me first start at the end. Today is Friday, October 14, and I'm currently sitting atop the hill of a one-lane road on the small Island of Waiheke. I have just flown for a combined 16 hours (19 including layovers) half-way across the globe, and now at long-last, I'm home. The weather is kick-ass and I just polished off a venison-beef cheeseburger, which I must say, was pretty damn good for being un-American. Now, before the impending jet-lag takes hold, I'm going to jot down in a vaguely chronological order a collection of weird coincidences, arbitrary states, and obscure observations that I've made within the past 48 hours I've spent wandering the globe.
First out of the gate, let's start with the proverbial elephant-in-the-room - I have, in the last day, been in three different countries. Yeah, given Fiji was a bit of a run-through, as I was just there for a three-hour layover, but still! That was three hours of gorgeous, incredibly humid weather and beers I've never heard of, shared with a dude I barely knew. Each of these places - although warm and sunny - were incredibly different in setting and population, but all of which share a distinct similarity. One thing in my 23 years on Earth I've come to take solace in is my proximity to open water.
That being said, it didn't all come easily. As much as I thought I had everything in check, waltzing into LAX two-and-a-half hours early expecting to just wander onto a plane with no setbacks was a bit of delusion on my part. So naturally, I wasn't more than five minutes into the international departure terminal when I was asked by my Fiji Airline check-in adviser to produce my New Zealand visa... I took one look into my little manila folder of valuable documents and promptly shit my pants. Long story short, the following hour-and-a-half was filled with panic, phone calls and stress.
Ultimately after some convincing of my flight official at the gate, I was assured I'd, in fact, be allowed on the plane. Two over-priced airline beers and a certain generic of Xanax later, I was happily semi-comatose, and ready to take on a nice, long overnight haul.
On another more recent note, after nothing more than a day overseas, I have been asked about Donald Trump literally 10 separate times. My response every time has been about the same; "I have no idea... But I'm so sorry." Aside from that, I find myself having to explain where my particular accent comes from, and that not all Americans sound like southern backwoods hillbillies after all.
Overall, the people just generally smile more down under... I'm gauging this from just minuscule interactions - even just passing people on the street. It may be due to the fact that Pokemon Go isn't a thing down here... And people aren't buried in their phones everywhere they walk.
Also, ketchup is referred to as "Tomato Paste" - which is dumb. Mayonnaise is referred to exclusively as "Aoli," which, although isn't quite dumb, but certainly is pretentious.
Most important though, are the people I've talked to along the way. I cannot begin to express how gratifying it is meeting complete strangers and making conversations, memories and friendships out of nothing. Something as small as a seat accompanying someone else on a ferry ride or a park bench can lead to brilliant conversations and interesting stories - or in my case, a job waiting tables at an American Gastro-Pub.
48 hours in the bag, and one simple principle has become quite obvious down here: positive attracts positive.
