Why?

Why?  This word has been both permeating and plaguing my psyche lately.

Why did my heater break?

Why did that Sallies grad shoot up LAX?

Why does a second checked bag on Air New Zealand cost $150?

Why am I doing this?

Why New Zealand?

That last one I've been asked a lot lately, right after the initial "holy shit." Why New Zealand?  My answer has consistently been "Why not?"  But I admit that is a bit of a cop out, so I'm going to attempt to embellish a bit....

I do believe that a picture is worth a thousand words.  So here are 100 pictures to equal 100,000 words:

The above video gives you a glimpse into life in New Zealand.  Matt and I went to New Zealand expecting breathtaking scenery, great food, and incredible adventure.  And we got it.  What we weren't ready for were the people, the trust, the safety, and the spiritual awakening that awaited us.

New Zealand is about as close to Utopia as you can get.  Sure, it has its dark side, its issues, its politicians, and its shortcomings.  It's not perfect.  But.....it's pretty damn great.

Even before we got to New Zealand, we met a Kiwi on the plane from San Francisco. Her name was Annabel, a cool chick with glasses, a pixie haircut and pretty smile. We were slightly caught off-guard by her willingness to actually hold a real conversation with another human being on an airplane (seriously, who does that?)  After chatting on and off for two hours, she said "So when we get coffee tomorrow, I can tell you of some good places to check out around Christchurch."

Coffee?  When did we make a coffee date?  Was I asleep during that part of the conversation?

(Flat White: the King of Coffee)

I brushed it off as a fluke.  But as we got off the plane, she gave us the name of a coffee shop overlooking the (once taller) city of Christchurch and said "See you tomorrow for coffee."  We were shocked. Did she  mean to murder us?

We went for coffee and had a smashing time.  She brought a friend along, and the morning was refreshingly authentic.  No insufferable banter about the weather. When we asked her friend "What do you do?" (meaning "What do you do for a job?") his reply was quick: "As little as possible." (We heard this statement several times during our stay from different people. I believe it really sums up the Kiwi philosophy of work-life balance, something Americans desperately lack).

We thought maybe the coffee date was a fluke. But nope: Annabel came out to my show that night at Cassel's Brewing Company and brought a friend.  I was incredibly touched.

We thought maybe Annabel was some sort of awesome alien creature who transcends humans in hospitality and social engagement.  Maybe she was an anomaly.  Surely there can't be more people like this.

Nope. Wrong.  As I was packing up my gear from my gig at Cassel's, a gentleman approached me. "Hi, I'm Al. I own this place.  Where you guys headed tomorrow?"  I tell him we are on our way to Akaroa, a picturesque French settlement harbour town 90 minutes east of Christchurch where miniature dolphins swim and you can see cows lounging on the grass from your sea kayak.

"Oh yeah, Akaroa. Beautiful," Al the bar owner says. "So you'll have to drive by my house to get there. Come by for coffee in the morning and we can sit and I can tell you the best way to get there and where to eat."

Okay.....here's where I need to explain something:  I have been playing in bars for almost 15 years.  Never, EVER have I been invited to coffee by the establishment owner, let alone by a bar owner who had the time to play tour guide.

(Above: cow overlooking Akaroa Harbour. The high road to Akaroa was scary to drive, but beautiful. Thanks to Al and his detour tips, I was able to get this awesome shot!)

Everywhere we went, we ran into more people like Annabel and Al:  the dude from Chicago who let me busk with him in Queenstown and who gave me some of his tips without me even asking; the musician at the Whare Flat Folk Festival in Dunedin who lent me his guitar for the weekend (it was too expensive to bring my own from the states); the photographers we "glamped" with in Milford Sound.  Humanity is more human in New Zealand, it seems.

Sure, you had the bad apples, the Scrooges, the teenage baristas with the bad attitudes.  But for every one of the sour heads, we met 20 incredibly generous, authentic, down-to-earth, chill people who would give you the shirts off their backs.  Their personalities, their values, their magnetism infects you.

So Why New Zealand?  For me, self-actualization is everything; becoming a better person with the goal of making the world a better place (through my music, my writing, my actions, my activism) is paramount in my life.  To that end, New Zealand seems like a pretty good place to meet and learn from some like-minded people.

Still not convinced? Go ask a New Zealander.  They'll take you out to coffee after you ask them.

~ Melissa