One year ago I flew out of NYC on my way to NZ. Leaving New York was always a mixed bag for me. One year later I still feel the same way. There are a lot of things I really liked about being there. Maybe the thing I liked most was just that, Being THERE! 6.5 years in the Big Apple. Being the hermit that I am, I never took advantage of it like I could/should have, but still...the energy of that city is different than anything I have experienced and I enjoyed many aspects of that. I liked the diversity most of all. Really every type of person you could ever expect to see you would see in NY on a daily basis. Walking down the street hearing the kaleidoscope of accents and languages was so great.

I never got over the intensity of feeling when I would see the skyline of Manhattan when driving in Queens. All of the different neighbourhoods with such distinct personalities. The unmatched variety of food. All of the little and not so little dogs.

Of course, beyond that were my friends I left behind. Not that I had so many, but I had a few that it is hard to be away from. Carrie was my best friend for 6 years and very difficult to walk away from that support and love. Paul was a great buddy and was almost enough to motivate me into being a healthier person. I think New Zealand itself has taken over for him, I'm really trying to stop being a couch potato. Nina, my friend that I would never see, but we always meant to spend more time together. Also, all of my other friends all over the states, it just feels that much less likely we'll see each other now that I am on the bottom of the world.

Honestly though, this was a move I still feel I had to make. Not just because I needed to be with Letlet (though that is more than reason enough), but because I needed to get away from it all. I have always wanted to really live somewhere else in the world and though in some ways Wellington New Zealand feels a lot like home (home being Portland and the pacific northwest), it is also a very different experience. I have not yet made close friends after a year here, but I do feel connected to people. I think I can belong here, that I can happily spend my life here.