Only in New Zealand (part 1)

My friend Dan started a mini series of posts of "things you see in Redding." I have lived in Redding and in So. Cal. so it makes me laugh, plus Dan is so witty that I always find myself just laughing at the way he paints the pictures of Redding life for us. All in love, but very funny! I decided that I will start my own little mini series of "Only in New Zealand." This first one is a bit long, but has a few other adventures and thoughts along the way as well. Thanks for inspiring me Dan!

So how many times have you gone to Office Max, or Office Supply or any of those "officey" type stores. (yes I just used that word....it's okay to make up words in blog world, isn't it?) Today I went into the work for the first time. We had a staff meeting that made me giggle a little. I feel as if I have only learned a little Kiwi culture, but today felt very "kiwi like." It was efficient--short and to the point. It didn't feel rushed but wasn't a meeting that dragged on and on.

I much enjoyed, not only my first staff meeting (really for my American friends that isn't even the right word to use because to compare it to any of the staff meetings I have been in over the years it would not be the same at all! But for lack of a better word there you go) but my experience with this place so far, the people, the culture. The things that are valued here seem to be the things that I value. The other day I was telling one of my friends in LA I feel so weirdly known here, yet they don't know me well enough to see how known I really am. It was an eery feeling of just relaxing once I got here. My friend commented that those exact emotions are what she went through when she drove into LA. It was a city that just got her. A city that she connected to and felt like she had just come home. Many of my artist/industry friends have had that experience in LA. I had always heard that, but never really understood what they meant....I did not have that experience when I moved to LA. In face, I have wrestled through some really hard stuff since the week I moved to LA. It is intriguing to me that we are all wired so different, and there is such a spiritual aspect to our lives and our connections with places and land.

My New Zealand friends are very connected to the land. Over my time here I have learned that the native people of New Zealand (the Mauri people) value where the live and find identity in the space that they live and exist. As the meeting I was in came to the end Grant (who I work with and for) stopped me and said the first thing we will do today is get you a spot to call you own. This spoke so loudly to me that this was important that I felt like I had a place. I didn't expect it and was fine not having that. I even prepared myself to not have things like that for three months, but to them it was unacceptable not to help me feel ready to work, ready to create, ready to be apart of what they were doing. I thanked them a couple times for doing this because for me I felt so valued. They looked at me with such strange responses, as if their eyes were saying, "why are you thanking us? This is normal and the bare minimum you would do for someone." They couldn't know this, but these are the moments that add up to feeling so known by a culture--when a culture naturally values and prioritizes what you do, there is a sense of connectedness. I have had glimpses of this at times, and have listened to friends all over the world talk about this, but never truly experienced it before.

In order to feel like you have a place there are certain things that MUST be done--SHOPPING, of course:) Deby took me shopping....what else does one do when you need a space, but shop for practical and cute?

We picked out all the office type stuff. Which I actually love to do---I get a slight smile in office stores when I see all the paperclips, and post it notes, and things to organize. Ironically I HATE being in the office all the time, but for me to be creative and for me to have that sense of freedom and adventure I need to have some landing spot--a stable area that I can trust will be there. I am most free to create once there is an infrastructure in place. Some people are wired to experience life to it's fullest with no need for that safe place to land, nor do they need or desire an infrastructure of life in place. That even hinders them at times. And some of us are wired to need that and with it we come fully ALIVE and will far surpass what we even thought possible. For me this is why my parents stability of home and love has been so key in all that I have done. They are THE MOST CONSISTENT parents I know. And for creating a safe landing place no matter how old I am or where I live, I will forever be grateful. I will always pay it forward and carry on the legacy that they left me as well.

Which now brings me to why I felt such UTTER DELIGHT in the office store. Once you are finished, they ring up your items like normal and you pay your bill. NOT LIKE NORMAL they give you a HUGE box of chocolate covered almonds. Deby knew it was coming and had a smirk on her face as we payed, which I just assumed was her being happy to help me because I had thanked her a billion times already. Little did I know that I was about to get the best treat ever. I looked at the guy and all I could say was "I LOVE NEW ZEALAND!" And yes I definitely made the office supply guy stand their and take a picture with the bags of staplers, and post it notes and the yummy box of chocolates. [I did it on my phone so I can't post the picture, though:(] From now on if anyone needs office supplies I will gladly "sacrifice" my time and go get them for them:)

Only in New Zealand....
(small disclaimer--mostly for Amy R, Sea Jay, Amy and Danielle--remember it is only my first week and I am still in honeymoon phase, I am not moving here. We will see where I am at in 5 weeks time...no need to worry yet:)