walking on a dream: Shaky New Year for Christchurch

Happy New Year everyone! It's been almost a week or so since I've last posted...so let me bring you up to speed.

Last Wednesday, we finished up work at Owen River Lodge. It was quite sad to say goodbye to the people we've met there, but it was time for us to move on and explore this beautiful country. By Thursday morning, we were all moved out of our little farm house and on the road to Christchurch to spend time with our NZ parents, Rick and Lynn Vandertie. It had been awhile since we'd seen the American couple that has been amazingly generous to us so we were excited to finally spend some quality time with them. They graciously gave us their spare room so we plan to be here most of January while we gather up tramping gear for the rest of our summer adventures. We've spent the past week eating Rick's amazing meals, watching old movies, walking around the city, going to the beach, and most notably...experiencing a tremendous amount of earthquakes!

Liquefaction from the Dec 23rd quake, causing severe damage to roads.

Growing up in New Jersey my whole life, earthquakes were something I never really understood. I've experienced hurricanes, blizzards, and lots of bad storms over the years... but never have I experienced a natural disaster so unsettling. The first earthquake we felt was the first night we arrived in Christchurch. We were all sitting in the living room watching a movie when the house began to shake and ground started to move back and forth. I barely had time to freak out before it was over. It all happened rather quick but an hour later, another one came. Hour after hour, it seemed like. That first earthquake I felt was a 4.4 on the Richter scale, which was pretty light, but a few days later we felt a 5.5 that violently woke us up in the middle of the night. That one was a lot scarier--things falling of the shelves, more intense shaking. Yesterday alone, there were 17 quakes in 18 hours. What amazes me is how normal it is to the people of Christchurch--they are barely even phased by some of the smaller ones. I suppose we are getting used to it by now, not waking up in the middle of the night as often, but it is definitely scary! Today has been better so hopefully we will have a break from all the shaking at least for a little while. Not a good way to bring in 2012 for a city who just spent all of 2011 recovering from February's quake that took the lives of 181 people.

Anyways, despite all of the quakes, the past 6 days have been really fun. We spent New Years Eve in Hagley Park and somehow managed to sneak through the massive crowds to be in the front row for an amazing cover band. They even had a bagpiper perform "Auld Lang Syne" when the clock struck midnight.

New Years Eve, Hagley Park

NYE Cover Band

Bagpiper, "Auld Lang Syne"

We've also spent some time exploring the different neighborhoods around the city, many of which are now considered "Red Zone" areas, meaning the damage is too extensive and uneconomical to rebuild. (Over 5,000 residential homes are in the Red Zone now, which is the reason why many Canterburians are moving to different cities or fleeing the country all together). We attempted to go hiking on the coast but every trail we found was shut down because of the damage. Kind of a bummer, but that just means we have to travel a bit more outside of Christchurch to do some bigger tramps and hikes. It's really sad to witness it all firsthand, but it's also inspiring that so many people refuse to leave their home despite what has happened here.

The sad truth is that there's a lot in this world to be afraid of--if it's not earthquakes, it's something else. I'll never forget what my Pop-Pop told me growing up. In 1996, after the TWA plane crash, I became terrified of flying and swore to myself that I would never get on another plane again. After I rambled my irrational reasoning to my patient grandfather he just simply said, "Becky, you can't live in fear. If you live your life in fear, you'll wake up one day and realize you never really lived at all." That advice has always stuck with me throughout the years and now that I'm on the other end of the world, I've obviously boarded many planes since 1996. You can prepare yourself for natural disasters or other unfortunate events, but there's a lot in this life that we can't escape or control. I think that's the mentality in a lot of Christchurch citizens. This has always been their home and earthquakes aren't going to scare them away.