Thursday, July 17, 2008

Lost and Found

After two months of being lost in transition, I finally find myself in Wanganui, New Zealand. The Singapore shipment arrived shortly after I did, so now I am unpacking the boxes while the man I am married to is off at work. It's cold here but not at all gloomy. People are accessible in a way that is real, immediate and reassuring. And the thing that grabs straight away, is an unfailing sense of humour that crops up in the most unexpected of places. I went to Good Year Tyres today to replace a punctured tyre on our rental car. A handwritten sign said, "Please be patient. I only work here because I'm too old for the paper run, too young for the pension and too tired to have an affair." On a previous visit, the River City Cabs taxi driver who was driving me up the main street asked if I was newly wed. I said I wasn't and his reply? "Well, I like to say that Wanganui is a town for newly-weds or nearly-deads. So if you're in the middle, good luck to you miss." Yes, I'm here and I'm much in the middle so good luck to me indeed!