Inspiration

So I have been silent for quite some time. On the last day of April (indeed the last hour), I am making only my third post of the entire month. There is no real reason for the stillness of my proverbial quill. I have not been prohibitively busy, nor have I suffered from a lack of potential content. Quite frankly, I just didn't feel like it. I wasn't inspired.

I found myself thinking a lot about inspiration tonight. I accompanied my father and eldest brother to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra to hear three pieces of varying ages, lengths, and popularities. They also had varying degrees of impact on me. The first was short and uncomplicated. It has an eerie, otherworldly tone and unexpected percussion beats. It sounded like a blend of good and bad, happy and sad. Not a binary, heterogeneous mixture. But blended, like both at the same time. How like life.

The second piece left me cold. In fact, I barely remember it. But the pianist stole the show, if only for his mannerisms. He was a caricature of himself.

The third piece, however, was a storyteller itself, for that is the nature of a symphony. It started out like a battle between a protagonist and an oppressor. The first movement ended with our protagonist in depressing defeat. The second began with a sort of melancholy resignedness, peaked with the hint of something better, and decreased again to a close. The third brought tentative hope and decided playfulness, as though the protagonist had decided to throw off oppression. Finally, the fourth movement brought another battle; this one far more joyful as the protagonist rises up and is triumphant - not in a military or gloating way, but more as the euphoria of survival.

Music is one of those things that both comes from inspiration - that of the composer - and can generate inspiration - among the audience. It can lift you up and bring you down. It can remind you of times gone by or bring you hope for the future. Music can make you think of a special someone or a long lost friend. But mostly, music makes you think about yourself.

While live music tends to be enjoyed collectively, it remains a solitary activity. You hear and process it in the confines of your own mind. You alone know its nostalgias and what thoughts it conjures up. I hadn't sat and really listened to music in a long time. I am grateful for the reminder of its power.

Tonight, for me, it was inspiring. To write, to think, to be.

North vs. South

Many countries have rivalries. West coast versus east coast. One culture versus another. Cities versus the country. Etc. In New Zealand, it seems as though the split is the North Island versus the South Island. And they could not be more different.

The South Island, distinctly closer to that great cold landmass of Antarctica, is, in a word, rugged. Despite being a larger area, it has far fewer people than the north - one third. It is largely rural and much of it is untouched by human hands. There are huge mountains and sprawling glaciers, amazing aquamarine lakes and rushing rivers. And what a great place to view the southern sky (which, I might add is quite disorienting). Oh, and did I mention that it's pretty cold and there are both deserts and areas that get up to 7 meters of rain a year!

The North Island (as far as I've experienced is thus far) is markedly different. It has three times the number of people and is quite developed. It has larger cities and settlements and much of what lies between is productive farmland. It is dotted with volcanoes and - in some areas - sulphur pools, geysers, and hot springs. It is also warmer with popular beaches and surf spots.

New Zealand is a diverse and fascinating country. While it may be small on the world stage, it has so much packed into it - deserts, beaches, volcanoes, geysers, hot springs, mountains, rolling hills, agriculture, fishing, fiords... plus all the adventure sports anyone could handle (certainly more than I can!).

Time constraints prevent me from writing much more today but hold on to the promise that I will be back with many more reflections. Just four more days on tour and then four days in Auckland and then back to North America!

Touring the South Island

So we are five days into our tour of New Zealand. First, let's get over the bad parts of a tour - that are requiring some adjustment from me. Because this is quite large country with long stretches of largely uninhabited areas and because we chose to attempt almost the whole place in a few short weeks, there is a ton of distance to cover. This unfortunately means that so far we have spent most of our time on the tour bus. Yes, it is a good way to see/cover the countryside, but I don't feel like I'm really experiencing a place if I'm seeing it through the windows of a moving vehicle. The second irksome characteristic is living on someone else's schedule. I feel a lot like I'm 10 years old and back at camp. It seems as though everything from the timing of our wake-up to the time and location of dinner is planned out each and every day. Now, that's a bit of an exaggeration, I'll admit, but I do find myself chafing against these restrictions.

Notwithstanding these weaknesses, the tour offers a lot. As I mentioned, it is a great way to cover quite a large expanse of land. It also allows us - two young girls traveling alone - to make it to rural and isolated places that might otherwise have proven tough to reach. Finally, while at times (ok, most of the time) he talks too much, our tour guide is a wealth of information (like, freakishly) and helps us to understand and appreciate many of the things we are seeing.

So far we've covered a large part of the South Island. Starting in Christchurch, we drove over the Southern Alps to the west coast, a cold, rainy, and isolated place. We saw the Fox Glacier and much of the surrounding scenery.

Queenstown has been the highlight by far. In the morning, we went white water rafting. It was pretty fun but not as exciting as I had hoped - they said that the river is really low right now, making it slightly less interesting.

After lunch we went on a jet boat, which is a supercharged boat that can go in as little as 4 inches of water, through canyons at around 70km/h. It was sort of like being on a rollercoaster... It was cool but mostly because of the surroundings.

After returning to Queenstown, we got some delicious gelato and wandered around one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. On a whim, Megan encouraged me to hike up this incredible mountain (which most people take the gondola to see). Almost an hour later, we arrived at the top and were treated to a breath-taking panoramic view of the town, mountains, and glacial lake.

On another whim, we decided to jump off of the mountain we had just climbed up. Yes, really. We paraglided down off of the top of the mountain. I was so nervous, but the guide I went with (it's tandem with an expert guide) was really nice and eased me into it (you really just sort of walk off the top of the mountain). It was one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had and I will carry that day with me for a long, long time.

Yesterday, we left Queenstown and headed for Milford Sound (which is actually not a technical 'sound' but a 'fiord' - i.e. carved by a glacier). It was rainy and misty but beautiful. Our cruise taught us about the area and its wildlife and showed us the beauty up close and personal.

Now, we are in Dunedin. A moderately-sized (by New Zealand standards) college town with a Scottish heritage. We haven't wandered around yet so I don't have much to say about it, but upon a cursory glance, I can't imagine that a walk around will add much to my preliminary assessment...

I have now been away for four weeks - 29 days to be exact - and I am starting to look forward to getting home, to not living out of a suitcase, to having a clean bed and good food.

More than that, some may note that I have been nomadic for much longer than that... In fact, I have not been home for more than two weeks since October 17th when I left for Europe. This year of traveling really has turned out in amazing and surprising ways. However - as expected and perhaps hoped - I am starting to look forward to returning to normalcy...and returning to school. I am craving routine and structure. I am craving intellectual challenge and ...well... knowledge.

We fly out of Auckland two weeks today. Whatever the ups and downs, I am going to make the best of the rest of my time 'down under.'

Aaaand, photos...
So far in NZ:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2139182&l=df157&id=1032

Paragliding:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2138403&l=a0597&id=1032