Home- Anna Mac

My song at the moment. By kiwi girl Annah Mac.

coming home

Some of you may know this, but most of you probably not. Over the last while I've been waging a vicious battle between my head and my heart. Let me explain: back in October I needed a light at the end of the tunnel, so I booked tickets to come home for Christmas. To cut a long story short, I then (almost on the same day!) began to wonder whether coming home would amount to quitting when the going got tough - and although I am many things, a quitter is not one of them. From then on, I've been going back and forward regarding 'to fly, or not to fly'... I had until last Wednesday to make the final decision. Come Tuesday night I had convinced myself I would stay in Germany. Come Wednesday morning I once again had no idea. Come Wednesday midday I decided to go home. Come Wednesday evening I had thrown some stuff in my suitcase and left for Frankfurt. On Thursday it snowed and Frankfurt airport was thrown into chaos, but thankfully by Friday the Germans had dealt with the snow and I was able to fly out. Totally disorganised, goodness knows what I've taken and what I've left behind, having to cancel my commitments at extremely short notice - but the feeling of making a decision was absolutely immense. The feeling of coming home was even better.

I despise flying at the best of times, but decided fairly quickly that I despise flying with Lufthansa more than usual. No onboard entertainment, "food" (apparently...) and it was even more crammed than usual. I was beyond thrilled to get to Los Angeles, for several reasons. I've never been to America, so was fascinated to see what it's really like. Plus, I'm a closet celebrity junkie so L.A. was of special interest to me. I almost changed my mind though as I stood for 2 hours, first in a queue to get through passport control (which includes getting printed and having a photo put on file...), and after that in another queue for customs! Despite having my bag checked through to NZ, even in transit you need to go through the controls. Mind you... I was waiting in a line about 100 people long, and I saw someone who looked a bit familiar. I stared for a while before realising it was Sienna Miller. My first 'real' celeb sighting! I was probably a bit more excited than I should've been, haha.

I had 9 hours transit in L.A. - reduced down to about 6 after I got through customs and worked out how to leave the airport, haha. I was amazed that I could actually leave the airport though, as I'd had images of my having to sleep huddled up under a bench somewhere. So, I wandered out and found a hotel shuttle. After discussion with the driver, he told me that the hotel he was working for was too expensive and he'd take me somewhere cheaper. It was only after I got into his van (alone) and we took off that I started realising how potentially dangerous the situation could be. He could've been anyone; he could've taken me anywhere - but thankfully he was just being genuinely nice. It was like a breath of fresh air! Every single person I dealt with during my 9 hour American adventure were extremely helpful, friendly and charming so I've come away with a good impression. Unfortunately, by the time I got through the airport and then slept a few hours I didn't have time to actually see anything in L.A. (sad!) I just HAD to get a meal at McDonalds though, haha. I had images of a gigantic 'Supersize Me' style meal, and was amazed to discover that American 'large' is the same size as in NZ and Germany. Hm. I was kind of disappointed! Ha.

My next flight was from L.A. to Auckland - another 12 hours of fun, although at least I had an entertainment system this time (go Air New Zealand!). I began hearing Kiwi accents all around me, so was beginning to get excited. Watching the line on the map come closer to NZ was almost unbearable! I touched down in Auckland... caught a plane to Christchurch... waited... caught a plane to Dunedin... then after 45 HOURS of travelling, was finally home. I didn't mention before that hadn't told my family or Florian that I was coming back, haha. My Dad met me at the airport, took me to Mum's, then I rang her from outside the house and asked her if she could help with my suitcase. Being home again was just... I can't even describe the feeling of happiness and relief. It was just beyond words seeing everyone again, speaking English without anyone mocking my accent, relishing my familiar surroundings - I immediately felt my mood lift out of the basement. I am so lucky, and there is nothing else to say. I am lucky, and I am happy. So, One Wandering Kiwi is home in paradise for a month, and will be reporting from here for a while. I'm viewing my country from the eyes of a tourist, so be prepared. NZ = LOVE.

thought for the day

Zufriedenheit:

'Denke nicht so oft an das, was Dir fehlt, sondern an das, was Du hast.'

Contentedness:

'Don't think so often on what you miss, rather on what you have.'