Today has definitely felt like an ending. Since I arrived in
NZ I’ve been told (repeatedly) that I was going to see quite a few Maori with
full face tattoos, particularly because of where I was bassed. Well, I’ve been
here for 13months and despite everyone else apparently seeing a fair few people
with full face tattoos, for some reason I never had – until today. Walking down
Queen Street in Auckland on my last day in NZ I see a guy walking towards me
with a full face Maori tattoo! I can’t help but think that’s find of fitting.
Later on I saw a huge protest over the Israeli-Palestinian
violence and the supposedly biased media portrayal. I had goosebumps seeing so
many people gathereing and marching in solidarity for cause which I’ve become
gripped by. This might sound a little weird, but seeing the protest on my last
day just echoed really strongly something me and Hanne had been discussing not
too long ago. The ending of the Lord of the Rings (books) and the Hobbit
Uprising is painful to read as you desperately crave the Shire to remain
preserved through it’s isolation, despite the external turmoil. And that’s how
I’ve come to see NZ itself, it’s so insular in many ways that it can often feel
so far removed from what’s going on in the world. But seeing the protest was a
sharp reminder that NZ is subject to the same atrocities of the world as being
insular doesn’t prevent the world encroaching.
Maybe it’s just because I’m feeling sentimental in my last
few hours here, but regardless everything seemed to just fit together on my
last day. And I’ve only just now realised I’m leaving a little bit of myself
behind here, having had one of the most amazing years of my life so far!
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