Back home and a bit adrift. Kiwi sunshine now behind me, and before me, well, who knows? Back now in this odd bit of Europe where we drive on the left, use a local currency not a Euro, don't shut for lunch, and open on Sundays. New Zealand seems European in a lot of ways. Listening to recorded guides, and reading information, history, looking in museums it's kind of fascinating the way the people arrived in the Island. Everyone and everything seems so new. The Maoris weren't significantly earlier than the Europeans, although, to my mind, established enough that it's really odd that the names they gave places, and landscape features have largely been replaced by the good old arrogant empire building brits. Dutch explorers were there at a similar time but seem to have taken a much more look, learn then get in and claim kind of approach. It's an odd thing the remains of an Empire / Commonwealth. Odd in particular because you get the feeling that New Zealanders see themselves in some way as European, and yet here I am, back in the UK listening to radio debate about Polish immigrants, and somehow it seems we have yet to embrace being European. I wonder if I have?
Odd feeling of being slightly disconnected, which I associate with being in a zombie like not sure if I'm tired or not kind of a state, as well as that weird place where I have no job, no plans, a good chunk of emptiness (not in a bad way) stretching out. And indolently, I seem not, for today, to care.
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