Not At Home (But Kinda!)

Like last weekend, my second weekend in Wellington consisted of more urban exploration.  This time, I meandered through the Friday Night Market scene and took a Saturday stroll through Oriental Bay and Mount Victoria.  To end the weekend, my mom and I nerded out with a Lord of the Rings movie tour that took us to Kaitoke Regional Park--or where Rivendell was filmed on location.

In my wanderings, and even in conversation with the people that I meet, I'm finding how similar Wellington is to San Francisco.  From the steep hillsides cascading with turn-of-the-century Victorians to the numerous, yummy Asian restaurants; from the unpredictable, bayside climate to the pockets of food truck gatherings.  Wellingtonians claim that their city is the miniature of San Francisco, and I agree!  Granted, there are touches that make the pace of life appear slower and simpler here, not centered on who's got the latest app and who worked the most hours this weekend.  Touches of home mixed with touches of something a little more...exotic. 

I spent Saturday evening amongst a new group of co-workers for a birthday house party that ended pleasantly with a large, raucous, roundtable dinner at a local Thai Restaurant.  Out of about 15 plus or minus, 80% of us were American.  It's natural instinct to drift towards your own kind, and though I am well aware that living abroad should be a time where I should be mixing in with the locals, I am also aware that hanging around with a group like Saturday night's is still pleasantly refreshing.  After all, we all have something in common, other than work: we all want to live abroad and experience something new and adventurous.  

So with an urban landscape reminiscent of home and a fun group of fellow US expats, life in Kiwiland may just be made that much easier.  Though I'm not at home, it doesn't have to feel so far away.