Beauty Beyond the View

New Zealand’s landscape is absolutely gorgeous, but the true beauty of this country lies within the people themselves. Kiwis are by far the most caring and friendliest humans I have ever had the pleasure of being around. And I worked for DISNEY. That’s saying something. They are also incredibly laid back. I have a friend from New York, who told me what she loves about California is our laid back culture. Born and raised here, I never really thought about it. However, I think I now understand how she felt! I would say going from California to New Zealand is like going from New York to California. There’s way less people and everybody is just so chill! 

Kiwis are very natural in the way they present themselves. No one I encountered was overly “done up” or in flashy attire. Hair was simple and make-up rare. Shoes were worn as often as not. From children running around school, to grown men walking through the grocery store, bare feet were a common sight. It’s not that people can’t afford shoes, as was the case I ran into most often in India, but rather it’s just not that important. No shoes, no problem. Really.

Now I know in a foreign country you should always be on guard. Which I was, but there were times I felt safer here, than I would even at Disneyland. One Friday at a club downtown, the two local girls I was with left behind their purses and coats at a booth while we set out for the dance floor. Seeing my raised brow and “are you crazy look”, they assured me it would be fine. Not being accustomed to such trust, I made my purse my main dancing partner all night, clutching it tightly to my side. When we made our departure somewhere in the early morning hours, sure enough, their belongings were left untouched and intact.

Unreal.

The first day of our road trip across the North Island, Elena and I (not surprisingly) got a little turned around looking for a grocery store. I don’t know if it was our five mile per hour speed, or the fact that our car was drifting a little too closely to the right on an empty back road that lead a man to drive alongside us and call out his window;

“Hey you girls okay?”
“Oh yeah…thanks… just looking for the Pac-N-Save we were told was somewhere around here?”
“ Yeah, if you turn right here and…”
*Blank faces*
“You know what, follow me”
“Really? Okay, thank you SO much!”

My overly cautious 'anything-bad-that-can-happen-will-happen-to-me' mindset combined with too many Friday nights spent at home watching 20/20 episodes, caused immediate red flags. I had a momentary vision of this man leading us to an abandoned building where multiple men would jump out the backseat of the van, throw us in a barn, treat us like sheep, and use our skin for purses and teeth for tribal necklaces; a hot commodity in the New Zealand underground market, I’m sure. Oh wouldn’t Barbara Walters have a hay day with this one!

Since the sun was out and the streets were busy, I decided to take a leap of faith and follow this kind stranger. Besides, we did have an empty beer bottle and heavy book within hands reach just in case he tried to do anything fishy. Yup, that should do.

Once our destination was in clear sight, I gave a ‘thumbs-up’ out my window. I was ready to pull out the big bucks and buy this man a well deserved ice cream or chocolate bar, but he just smiled and waved as he made a U-turn back onto his original route. He went out of his way for two strangers and didn’t even wait around for a thank you or reward. What a selfless deed!

This kind of behavior became quite ordinary for the entirety of my stay. New Zealanders’ genuine kind nature combined with their relaxed vibe was calming and comforting. Everywhere I went, whether it be the corner dairy, the bar downtown, or the array of hostels, I felt welcomed and at home. 

What a beautiful world.