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Lovewells vs The World
There's no place like home...Although that doesn't necessarily mean we want to be here! It always blows my mind that you can be swimming in a pool in one country in the morning, but then later the same day can be in a totally different country and climate. The flight was uneventful, Glen slept for a good chunk of it, and both kids got 4 1/2 hours, even I managed 1/2 an hour. Watched a few more movies and the time went quickly, 9 hours doesn't seem that long anymore. Arrived to a typical grey Auckland day. I have to say we were disgusted at the attitude of the staff at immigration. There were two women on the floor to guide people in the queues, but no guiding was happening, instead one of them was getting in to an Asian group who had ended up in the wrong passport line. In any other country they would have simply been escorted to the right place, but not in Nz...here they were told to "move it" , get out" and "go, you're in the way". Her tone was despicable, and the people might not have had much English but still knew exactly what she felt. She then showed off to her colleague "so how was that...ha ha ha". We were appalled and I was embarrassed to be a New Zealander. The other lady then snapped at us because we waited too far away from where she wanted us to be. But there were hardly any people behind us and we were doing exactly as we'd been asked to do at EVERY other airport. So welcome to NZ...we were ready to board the next aircraft and quit the country. But instead we trundled over and caught our flight home, met once again by the lovely Mr Hunt to cart us and our luggage to our home. Very excited to see our cats again, and they were happy to see us which was nice. Now comes the unenviable task of "disestablishing" our travelling selves and getting some sense of normality about the place. The house is filthy. The lawns are about ready to cut for hay. There is a mountain of washing and a tonne of bookwork. The phone is back on and instantly busy, and the kids want every new thing as well as every old thing they own out to look at. As Glen said today "it's all a bit overwhelming". When I think back over everything we've done, we sure packed a lot in! It's been great, and suited our family well. I know there are a few people reading this who are thinking of doing something similar, so here is my advice: •Consider flying premium economy if you possibly can, it makes a huge difference on a long flight • involve your kids in the planning, you may be surprised at the things they want to see and do • consider travelling in the off season... The cheap prices and reduced amount of people make things more achievable than they might otherwise be • don't accept the presence of guns as normal...inevitable, ubiquitous and expected they may be, but there is nothing normal about seeing guns in family spaces. Discuss it and hear the kids ideas/opinions, for it is their future that's most affected • get the kids blogging, the knowledge that their friends are reading what they write is very motivating, and the blog is an excellent keepsake at the end of the trip • spend time with another family if you possibly can...it gives the kids someone else to play with and ensures you get a break too • a dash of luxury to break up the trip home is good for the psyche! I look forward to answering questions more specifically too ;) They say the best way to overcome the anti climax of coming home is to start planning your next trip straight away...looking into the where and how rather than the when. We are already looking forwards: the kids want to go back to the Uk to play with their cousins/buddies who they really missed on the last 1/4 of the trip, and also to France as for them it is unfinished business, there is so much more they want to go and see. They want to test out other parts of Europe too. We want to return to Singapore as its own destination, it seems s great place to meet up with others. And of course we all want to return to Finland! But in the meantime, we will be making plans for California in later this year, a little sooner than our original intentions... but it's not every day your brother gets married! So we are back saving our pennies. But hey, what does a few more months of weetbix for dinner matter if it helps us to see the world?!?!? Thanks for joining us on our journey, I hope you can be back on board for Lovewells vs The World, Part 2!
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