New Friends

Sunday, Oct. 31
Lucky me, I've been able to meet a few new friends in this week's solo traveling! I met Denise, who rode on the same bus from Christchurch to Picton, at the visitor's center there. We were both getting directions to the same hostel, Wedgewood House. After we arrived, she asked if I were going on the wine tour the next day and thinking I was being labelled as 'old...going on a wine tour', I said, "No, I'm going to hike the 14 Km on the Queen Charlotte track." When I saw her again in our shared room, she said that she had gone on the wine tour, so I think she had asked about it to have someone go with her : / silly me. As we talked I realized that Denise is, as Anne of Green Gables would say, a 'kindred spirit'. She is from Switzerland and is waiting tables while also working in an appreticeship program in restaurant and hotel management. Her friends can't figure out how she could afford to travel, but she said that all her tips go into her travel fund, while her friends drink or spend that extra money. I told her that I, too, live on 'loves' and 'needs', not 'wants' and 'likes', and that is how I am able to travel!
On the bus back to CC, the woman in the next seat and I got to talking. She lives in Blenheim and was going to CC to visit her son and grandchildren. They call her 'Nannie'. She manages a medical center.
That evening, while I was standing in line at the Arts Center cafe across the street from the hostel trying to decide on a low cost healthy dinner, the lady behind me asked if I were alone and wondered if I'd like to eat with her and her friend. YES! Jean and Marie are retired ladies from Australia visiting NZ for a couple of weeks. Jean is a walker and she belongs to the international Volks walking club (?) that Gloria and Mark Merwarth back home in Fernandina are part of! Gloria and Mark, are neighbors in Amelia Park, who graciously loaned their home to my ISU freshman year pals for our reunion! I told Jean that Mark and Gloria have walked a 10K in every state in the US! 
This morning before church a group of six of us 'experienced' travelers were congregated in the kitchen at the hostel, sharing stories, supplies and sugar! One of the Ozzie gals said that she hadn't expected to see so many of 'us' staying at a hostel. Mike and his partner, Jennie are off to an Australian Antarctic research island, Bob is researching family geneology, Graham is on vacation and Karen, her sister, friend and niece are traveling in NZ from Oz.
At 10AM I went to a church service and it was beautiful - Anglican - and offered open communion! The cathedral  looks like the Episcopal Church in Fernandina on steroids - HUGE!! It wasn't damaged at all in the earthquake and was built in 1881! Many parts of the service were in English and Maori, too - beautiful!
Went to a small Thai restaurant off Cathedral Square for Pad Thai for lunch (lunch and dinner considering how much I ate!) and a gentleman asked if he could share the table with me. More interesting conversation! He is a builder from the North Island working here for 3 weeks on and 1 off. He and his group are inspecting all houses and buildings that have put in claims from the earthquake. His team will be here for six months and then another team will take over. He said NZ is very vigilant on building codes and repair work. That's why so many buildings are still standing after that massive earthquake. 

Hung, a CA rock climber, who works at a women's shelter, went to Evensong at the cathedral with me at 5:30PM. Again, the all boy/male choir echoed gloriously in the sanctuary.
So now you've met my new friends, too!
Photos: 1 and 2 - earthquake damaged buildings -unique scaffolding on one; 3 -just married couple having photos taken in front of the cathdral; 4 - countdown clock in cathedral square- getting ready for world cup rugby which will be played here in 2011; 5 - giant chess game on the square - it is constantly in use!