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christchurch new zealand I've been letting myself be overly melodramatic again and I hope to change that soon, because even I am getting tired of hearing it. Stepping outside of myself I have to say that things aren't completely doom and gloom here in the fair city of Milwaukee. My life is not merely a daily grind. I just haven't been able to focus very well lately. ... Not only did I check out some guidebooks for Australia, but I also got one for New Zealand as well and spent part of the night at work reading it. At one time I had thought of just going there for a vacation, because it seemed like less of a tourist trap that I had imagined Australia might be. However, after making friends with some Australians in Europe, I quickly changed my mind. Listening to them talk about their country made it sound so appealing and if other people there were just as friendly as them, I knew that I had to go there at least once. Somewhere during the trip Andrea started to explain to me why some of the Australians and the people from New Zealand don't get along, but she was interrupted before she could finish the story. What I do know is that they have more than a few nasty things to say about one another. ... New Zealand doesn't come up that often in casual conversation and I can't say that I know that much about it. The people there just don't seem to make as big of an impact on world culture as the Australians do or at least that's the way that I see it. Somehow I envision them as being more of a quiet and reserved people. This lack of knowing also made it more appealing to go there. Most people have heard of a few Australian landmarks and tourist destinations, but before I read the book tonight I couldn't name one famous site in New Zealand. The best that I could say was that it a wet mountainous country taken from the Maori. Beyond that quick sketch most of the country was a blank for me. My most vivid impression of New Zealand comes from the film, The Piano. Years ago I had seen the film Heavenly Creatures with a young Kate Winslet in it, but until tonight I was under the impression that it had happened in Australia. I was wrong. It took place in Christchurch. Personally I think that Winslet did a better acting job in Heavenly than she did in Titanic. ... Tomorrow night I dine with some strangers.
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