Christchurch

My visit to New Zealand is mostly about visiting with old friends. First Mat and Sarah, with whom I lived my first year in Korea. But I also have another friend I met in a hiking club in Korea. She returned to New Zealand a year and a half ago, and I thought to also visit with her if possible. But then, the earthquakes in Christchurch happened and I wasn't sure if she would be in a position to have visitors or not. Luckily she was and that was partially behind my wanting to go to Christchurch. At least that's going to be my story and I will stick to it to anyone who asks. Morwenna met me at the spot where I got off the bus in Christchurch. Well almost. She looked up the bus company on the internet and they informed people that the bus lets passengers off at such and such a place. In reality, the bus drops people off around the corner and down the street a ways. I got off and looked around. No Morwenna. Hmmm... Well, I'm a big boy, so I figured that I would go and find an internet cafe, see if there was a message from her, then find someplace to stay for the night and figure out how to contact her and get connected. I wasn't sure where to find those things, so I wandered down the street and around the corner to look about. And there was this familiar woman kind of hanging out. I approached, but of course I was this shadowy male figure approaching a lone woman on a dark street with low traffic. She kind of shied away and I had difficulty in actually making sure it was Morwenna before I said anything. (I didn't want to walk up and say, “Hi Morwenna!” only to have that awkward and embarrassing moment of wondering what to do next when it turns out that it isn't who you thought.) On further reflection, as I realized what her thoughts must have been having this shadowy figure approach her on the lonely-ish road, I guess I should have announced myself first and risked that bit of embarrassment. Oh well, we did recognize each other and Morwenna took me to her home, which she shares with her boyfriend and a couple other roommates.

Christchurch has been hit by 2 rather large earthquakes in the past year and has suffered a fair amount of damage. Many older heritage-type buildings suffered major structural damage, with some even collapsing outright. When we read about these sorts of events, we find out about that sort of damage and, in the case of a place like Christchurch, we are saddened by the loss of life and of the loss of historical buildings. But I think we don't really consider everything that happens in an event like an earthquake. For instance, many residential buildings also suffered damage. Homes mostly suffered reasonably minor damage, with chimneys falling, or plumbing being disrupted. But these things can really have an effect on how people conduct their lives. In Morwenna's house, the house was shaken around to the point that the insurance company isn't sure if they will have it repaired or taken down and replaced. Their plumbing was disrupted so that the toilets don't empty properly into the sewage system. So, while they can take showers, they had to have an outhouse brought in for everything else. In the city, electricity was out to most spots for at least a while. That left people with decisions about food in fridges and freezers, how to cook food using electric stoves and such, how to clean clothes. Gas ranges would have had their own trials with the dangers involved in shifting gas lines and resulting possibilities for explosions. And everything had to wait for inspections to let residents know that it was safe, sometimes even to enter their homes again.

Happily, Morwenna's home was only minimally disrupted, with the necessity of using an outhouse being the only major change, plus whatever happens with the building later, to be decided by the insurance company.

After an evening of catching on old times and then a good night's sleep, the next day Morwenna took me to a weekend market where something like a combination of flea market and farmer's market. Later that afternoon, we went for a walk on the beach. Despite health warnings about the water in the bay, and the chill of the air, there were lots of people out on the beach with their dogs and children. It was a nice day to spend just kind of hanging out.