In conclusion.

Well, I've been back in the USA for 3 days now. It's been hectic as hell. I landed in Houston around 10 PM on Sunday (and I left NZ around 8 PM on Sunday - only a 2 hour flight! Brilliant). I'll be with my parents until tomorrow around 1 PM, when I depart once again. That's it. Just 3 days. Then 3 days of driving until I get back to Mudd on Sunday, July 2. Meeting people along the way will be great, but I wonder when I'll actually get some rest.

So now that I'm back, I get to deal with all the "how was it" type questions. This is probably the worst question to ask, as I'm not going to respond with any more than "good", or if you've caught me in a good moment, "it was a blast". And why would I? It's like asking "Hey, how was high school?" Seriously, what answers do you expect? Fortunately, my parents are intelligent and wise, which means they don't ask dumb questions (they only have unreasonable expectations, which is perfectly normal). I've found that I just refer to a lot of stories and memories that I have there like I would in any other place I've lived. I suppose that makes sense.

In a sentence, New Zealand was fantastic, but I would never ever work there. I've seen so much stuff goes wrong there in the workplace. I never got any good impressions of any long-term focus or career building. It's no wonder that the country suffers something of a brain drain watching young students work abroad for more money and more career building. It's also no wonder that so many young people just don't go to university and do a ton of other things that are a lot more enjoyable. Because seriously, that country is so much fun. Everywhere you look, that's what the very essence of the country is about. Escape and enjoyment, and I definitely got large servings of both during my time there. Four classes required me to devote about 100 hours of work... for the entire semester. That's 100 hours over 18 weeks. That's a little over 1 hour of work per day, for a five day work week. Not a bad workday, I'd say. Conclusion: I'm retiring to either Nelson or Kaikoura. I'm hopelessly in love with the top of the South Island. It never stopped being gorgeous while I was there, regardless of season. Kaikoura is idyllic, Blenheim is peaceful, Picton is cosy, and Nelson is vibrant.

Living in New Zealand, I also realized how alone in the world America is. America is pretty much the only dominant country "over there", i.e. not in Europe. New Zealand is definitely way more British, and I assume that New Zealand's stronger affinity to UK culture is like other of the multitudinous former British colonies. America may claim to be the world's only superpower, but no country has rooted such a worldwide cultural presence than the British. I'm sure traces of the British lie like this in all their former colonies. Actually, I'm not sure, because India was a former British colony, and they like the Americans a bit more, but that just might be because of the gold in their pockets. Also, no matter how much America sucks (which I wholeheartedly disagree with, by the way) the country is definitely my home. India is great, and it may contain my roots, but I was born and raised in the States. Too often do people confuse a country's culture with its politics. Why do you think everyone thinks France is all about surrendering? There's definitely more to it. While Bush may suck, Clinton was the fucking man. If Clinton was president while I was abroad, man, we would have been treated a lot friendlier, and be a lot less ashamed to call ourselves American. But a president can't make a country. I feel like America will survive the Bush administration. While the bureaucracy may seem like an unstoppable juggernaut, surprisingly enough other governments are worse. They just don't make their mistakes visible.

Being an Indian from America was pretty easy. Most people assumed I was Indian if I didn't open my mouth, and Canadian if I did open my mouth. I've visited Vancouver once, so I was able to play along with the Canada thing. Indians were everywhere in Auckland, and that was really reassuring to have a support structure there. I could be sure to find whatever Indian supplies I needed to cook up any food I wanted to, although I could never be sure of the quality (just like Indian products in America!) We didn't receive too much crap about being American from anyone really, except our residential manager, who complained that we drink too much. What the fuck do you expect, we're in college.

I made some good friends while I was there. It's always tough to see people go, but I've gotten used to it. Having two finals the day before I left was no fun either - I definitely did not have any time to decompress and I still haven't really. Right now is the first chance I've had to think about it a little. I realize I really haven't discussed much specifics here, and I can't really. There are too many stories, and you just have to ask me or bring up the right topic of conversation, I suppose. It's impossible, otherwise. Actually, I bet it's really easy, but I'm no good at journals. :\ In any case, I'll be seeing you Mudders around, so if you have any (not stupid) questions feel free to ask. Till then, peace out.

- N