A Search for New Zealand

"Where in the world is New Zealand"? "Who in the world are New Zealanders", Some people might feel insulted that I would even consider that they might not know. I apologize right off - but lets' be real. We are a small country on the edge of the Pacific Ocean, at the bottom of the world and have a total population less than a lot of cities in America.

Many years ago - just before my teenage daughter was thought of. I as most New Zealanders sooner or later do, was in the middle of my OE. To interpret NZ speak 'Overseas Experience." So here I was in LA buying a car to travel around in. Quite proudly stating I was from New Zealand, when down to earth I came crashing. This lovely couple said "Oh I have always wanted to go there and also Norway". Like they were just next door to each other. I didn't have the heart to tell them the problem with that idea.

So back to New Zealand -"Where in the world are we", well not attached to Australia by a bridge, to start with. Nor are we a state of Australia. Even if it takes only 3 hours to fly from here to there. To be exact we sit on the 45° parallel, which means to the layman we are placed halfway between the equator and the South Pole. We are I admit quite small, but it takes more than a week to get around us, and give any justice to all we have to offer. The harder question to answer is "Who are we"? Personally I am a New Zealander,a "Kiwi" not as if that helps much. Yes it could be said we are a South Pacific Island, but on last look we don't run around in grass skirts So where does that leave us.

I believe that New Zealanders are a special lot. Yes we once had strong ties to England, but that is fast disappearing. Our indigenous people are the Maori, who like most of the rest of the indigenous people of the world are demanding we give back what us white men, "Pakeha" took from them. We have though started to try and fix those wrongs and our younger generation is much more natural and accepting of this culture as core New Zealand. We also are becoming more and more multi- culture every day and we believe in saving this world. (Will come back to that).

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