Finally well in Wellington

From one Windy City to another! Whereas there are doubts as to how Chicago got it's nickname, there can be none in reference to Wellington. My first day here I had to hold onto the signposts at intersections to avoid being blown into oncoming traffic while waiting for the "green walking man". And that's no exaggeration. The first night I could barely sleep as the shutters slammed against the walls. And it's also a city that epitomizes the NZ reputation of displaying all four seasons in one day (as those Crowded House fans - who hail from NZ - may recognize from their song by that name). Today it was sunny and warm for a while, then chilly and windy, then downright freezing and practically sleeting, then back to sunny and warm.

The bus and ferry ride from Christchurch was fairly uneventful and momentarily entertaining. One the bus ride I was accompanied by two boys around 11 years old who sat behind me. They had apparently just been introduced and were traveling together. I caught snippets of "uh-huh; nuh-uh; uh-huh", "what's your last name; that's for me to know and you to find out", "do you have a girlfriend; of course, she's american so she talks funny", "have you seen the movie the hills have eyes?; no; how about the hills have eyes II?; no; how about the hills have eyes III? etc" and my personal favorite, "you're gay; no you're gay; well your mom is gay; well your dad is gay; well your whole family is gay." Glad to see little boys are the same everywhere. One of them tapped me on the shoulder to ask what time we were supposed to arrive. When I answered, he said, "Hey you're American, aren't you?" When I confirmed his suspicions, he said knowingly, "I know. I can tell." This must have been the one with the American girlfriend.

The tough part about planning the last stop on the trip, is you never know how much time to leave for it. As it turns out, four days is WAY too long in Wellington, at least for me and during this time of the year. The good news is it's cheap for tourists! Since it's the capital, it has many free places of interest, just as in places like Washington DC. I've spent two days at the free New Zealand museum (amazing) and went on a tour of the Parliament buildings, all of which were free. NZ just celebrated 100 years a few days ago of becoming a dominion. That means 100 years ago they officially ceased to be a colony of the UK. The reason they are called a dominion is they still acknowledge the British monarchy as their monarchy, but that is the only remaining connection. Their system of government is fascinating, especially for the fact that it is continuously changing and hopefully improving. NZ was also the first country to grant the right to vote, in the late 1800s. About ten years ago the parliament buildings were overhauled to withstand earthquakes, which was incredible. Basically the buildings now sit on massive springs with another foundation underneath, so the building will just gently move side to side in an earthquake, rather than up and down. One item in the parliamentary buildings did get me choked up for a minute - on the wall is a battered NZ flag which was found amongst the rubble of the World Trade Center after 9/11.

If the weather holds up tomorrow, I'll hit the zoo and maybe do a tour of the city. Then Thursday I head back to Auckland to catch my early Friday morning flight to Sydney!

Oh, and the title of my post refers to the ever increasing sore throat I started to get in Dunedin which finally led to full on laryngitis (sp???) by Christchurch. When it continued to get worse in Wellington, I relented and visited a doctor here for a throat culture. Unfortunately, the doctor told me it takes at least a week to get the results back! Craziness!!! So he told me he would prescribe an antibiotic in case that's what it was and it would "either get better because of the antibiotics or because it was going to get better on its own and either way I get the credit!" I was a little annoyed that I paid $100 to be told they couldn't do any tests, but since my sore throat completely disappeared after only 2 doses of the antibiotic, I'm pretty sure it was strep (or something similar). At least pharmaceuticals are cheap here, to offset the doctor bill. A week's worth of Amoxicillin (sp? again), 3x day cost about US$6. I'm so happy to be landing in Sydney back to 100%.

One final comment - my hostel room is on the 5th floor with a great view of the harbor...and the Wellington office of BBDO. Which is especially funny since my hostel in Auckland was a block from the BBDO office there... You try to forget about work on vacation, but then it rears its head again!