Austin
American Statesman, October 10, 1999
The
Freedom of New Zealand
by
Reneé O'Connor
Texan
Reneé O'Connor wasn't sure what she'd find when she went to New Zealand
for Xena: Warrior Princess. What she discovered was ruggedly
beautiful land, honest people -and herself.
Until I moved to New Zealand in 1995, I thought of it as a
very "New Age" place. But that's what most people had told me -that
it was a spiritual country, one of the most natural places in the
world, where you could drink the water out of every stream....
I laugh to myself when I think about it now, because I've learned
that New Zealand is more complex than that.
Sure, it is incredibly natural. New Zealand is filled with picturesque
landscapes that, as yet, haven't been tortured by modernization. It's
as if you're living in a part of Eden. Yet at the same time, you have
a city like Auckland -my home- which is as contemporary as any city
from around the world.
So it's the best of both worlds, I think. What's more, I've come to
love the "Take me as I am" spirit of New Zealand. It's an accepting
place. People are honest. You feel free to express yourself here.
I couldn't have picked a better country to call my second home. I
love it here. And as it turns out, you can drink the water from some
of the streams -you just have to be careful to pick a spot upstream
from the backpackers.
A code
of honor
I've heard people describe their visit to New Zealand as "stepping
back into 1950's America." A lot of New Zealanders laugh at that comment.
They say, "What does that mean? That we're just developing the color
television?"
I think that observation has more to do with the spirit of the people.
There's a sense of integrity and respect between people that I think
we've lost in the States somewhat. There's definitely a code of honor
that makes people accountable for how they treat each other.
For instance: You can go down to some of the country towns, and people
will have vegetable stands outside their homes. But most of these
are unattended! There's a little basket where you leave your money
and take what food you want. A true honor system... Once I was given
the role on "Xena," I think it was the people - more than the
natural beauty of the country - that attracted me. They're friendly,
personable. The population is quite small - about 4 million people,
at the moment - and there's about "one degree of separation" between
everyone. Everyone knows you, in some way, and what you've been doing.
There is a no-nonsense mentality here. You are who you are. And they
take you for what you give. There's no need for facade, superficiality.
In New Zealand, people wait for you to prove a sort of "mana". It's
a Maori term, relating to honor, a pride you have of family or a person.
And it's quite highly regarded here. As I watch New Zealanders and
how they treat each other with affection, I realize that "mana" isn't
necessarily "kindness" or "generosity". It has more to do with respect.
The
rugged land
I think the natural environment of New Zealand has an effect on the
character of its people. New Zealanders have traveled abroad extensively.
I find that when they come home, they tend to appreciate their country
even more. They see the beauty of it, and respect it more. It's easy
to see, from my own work environment, that New Zealand is a rugged
country. It takes stamina -real physical stamina- to maintain your
endurance here. New Zealanders are used to this, yet they still expect
you to prove your own inner strength, to pull your own weight. As
they say, "No whinging!" -which translates to "No Whining."
Outside the city of Auckland, you can drive miles and miles and not
see another car. Especially on the South Island of New Zealand. During
a day's drive at Christmastime, I went through a rain forest, stopped
at a glacier and then continued on through barren hillsides. On this
tiny island, you can see geological facets from all over the world.
We even have a tundra area, where you can see penguins! The South
Island is surreal. So beautiful, so untouched.
I took an airplane trip from Queenstown, in the center of the South
Island, through a portion of the Southern Alps. It was actually quite
frightening, a little risky. But it was worth it; the land was gorgeous.
We landed at a spectacular place: Milford Sound. It's sort of a fjord,
where the mountain peaks jut out from beneath calm ocean waters....
It takes me about 20 minutes to get to work -and it is a beautiful
drive. We don't work in the city; we work around farmland. So I pass
these beautiful pastures, filled with sheep. And these pastures are
so lush, it's as if they can't be real. The colors are so vivid here;
the sky, the foliage, the streaks of a rainbow.
The sheer variety of native birds... I notice it all the time. Just
outside the door, sometimes, I'll see rosella. It's from the parrot
family, and its colors are brilliant red, green and blue. It thrills
me, to see something like that, still living freely in nature. I grew
up in a suburb of Houston. So even now, after four and a half years,
it's still hard for me to get used to the idea that I live in this
lush, tropical home.
The city life
Auckland is quite a large city, home to 1.3 million people. It's the
major port of the North Island. When I moved here, it reminded me
of San Fransico. You have this great mix of people. And at the same
time, its a cafe, cosmopolitan lifestyle. Because so many different
types of people live here; Maoris, Europeans, Samoans -people are
respectful of different cultures, different lifestyles. And it's interesting
to see how foreign visitors are received.
When you travel in other parts of the world - say in Europe - it sometimes
seems that tourists are frowned upon. Here, they seem to appreciate
it when people come -because then they can talk about their own travels
abroad.
You find that whenever you walk into a shop. They'll ask where you're
from, what you do here. Nice, welcoming conversations. It happens
all the time.
During my first three years here, I lived in a townhouse in the heart
of Auckland. A year and a half ago, I moved into the country. It's
been fun to see the friendly rivalry between the city folk and the
country folk.
If you could live over here... it's such a clean lifestyle, and it's
so clean and beautiful, that you never want to leave where I live.
Still, my boyfriend and I make ourselves take day trips, or get away
for a weekend, just because there's so much to see in New Zealand.
On the west coast, there are beautiful black sand beaches that go
for miles on end, with rolling hills leading up to them. On the east
coast, the land drops away to the white sand beaches.
Not long ago, we took a weekend trip - New Zealanders call it "a holiday
batch" - to Sandy Bay, about an hour and a half north of where we
live. It's on the northern tip of the North Island. And it was a little
cove - a white sand beach cove - and just off the coast were these
little rock islands. We'd just sit, and watch the sun rise.
We stayed in this simple cottage, where you pumped your own water.
It was just as basic as you needed; yet so quaint in the way it provided
those needs. For me, it was just another reminder of how little we
need to survive in the world and be extremely happy. There were no
telephones, no television. Just the beauty around us, and books, and
each other. It was ideal.
Just
be yourself
My experience in New Zealand has completely spoiled me. If I had to
choose a place to live the rest of my life, I would stay right where
I am now. There's only one problem with that: the possibility of employment
after Xena. That's why my boyfriend and I intend to leave New
Zealand to pursue our careers one day -in the hopes that we can come
back to New Zealand in the future. It's the most beautiful place on
Earth to spend your life. I'm so thankful that I came to New Zealand
when I was in my 20s -that crucial time in life, when you begin to
learn about yourself as a person. I learned what it was, here, to
develop a respect for people that was not necessarily about being
"polite." It's about listening to who people are - and appreciating
what it is to be alive and around friends. I grew up in Texas, a state
where "hospitality" and "etiquette" are so important. That's how I
was raised! But people used to make fun of me when I first came to
New Zealand because of how polite I was to everyone. "Hey knock
it off!" they'd say.
You don't have to try so hard in that way. Everybody wants you to
be yourself. And I was able to do that, in the time of my life when
I was trying to figure out who I was. When I spend time with my mother
in Austin, I frequently hear it said: "It's so nice when people come
to visit Austin -we just don't want them to stay!" And I think it
relates to people's desire to maintain the soul of their home, to
protect it from people who come in and don't respect it for what it
is.
And I like that about New Zealand -and the notion of respect. The
key is to appreciate the beautiful place before you come, so
you can truly enjoy it for all it offers.
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