We're here

Life in Wellington is still not normal for us. But for now and the rest of 2011 at least, there is no turning back. We've signed a lease for a bedsit in a suburb we've fallen in love with. Yes, only a one roomed place with a separate kitchen and bathroom for the two of us. Why so small? Several reasons: the landlord was the only one who allowed us to have a dog, we can actually afford it, it is newly renovated with nice new whiteware etc, it is within walking distance of town and Felicity's future school, and we fell in love with the suburb of Aro Valley.

So the place is extremely small? I've always wanted to downsize and live simply. And since we've given away most of our belongings and left our furniture behind (you could say we were in a hurry to leave those aftershocks behind), this stint which will last at least 10 months will be a wonderful experiment.


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Don't get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with where we are living at the moment, and I have been blown away by the kindness of the wonderful people of Wellington, of New Zealand. But it will be easier to be in a proper routine in our own house. By a stroke of luck, after falling in love with Aro Valley and where it is, while out strolling through the cute Aro Street and that end of town, we bumped into the owner of our future home and asked him if he would let the house to us, and our dog. He agreed - as I have owned my own houses for the last 14 years, I have no tenancy references but he still took us on - I have promised to be the perfect tenant, and he said he'd try and be the perfect landlord.

I grieve for our beautiful Christchurch, the places in town we regularly dined at, and the shops we patronised. Our beautiful Piko Wholefoods is no more, although I am so happy no one was killed inside at least. See below the before photo from my gardening blog post and the after photo.

Piko from the side (my bike in foreground) before the 22/2/2011 earthquake

Piko from the front after the 22/2/2011 earthquake

I grieve for our not living in our own house: the little white townhouse with the chamomile lawn and my productive gardening spaces. However, as a consolation, I have since found out that there are three community gardens in Aro Valley, and the day after we move, there is an Aro Valley community fair. Near where we live is the park (for the dog) and between our place and town it is flat (great for bicycling). And of course I grieve for lives lost, while being grateful that we still have each other. I feel for Japan, knowing exactly what they are going through, although of course their difficulties are greatly multiplied.

And so our life in Wellington has begun.

"The next message you need is always right where you are." — Ram Dass