Where North is South, East and West Remain Constant

I was recently in New Zealand for just over three weeks and in that time I slowly got to terms with the fact that South is cold and North is warm (NZ being in the Southern Hemisphere). Winds from the South are cold there - which is counter-intuitive for a North American who expects cold winds to come from the North and that Southern winds are a warm and welcome change.

NZ also challenged my North American brain by forcing me to try to remember that I need get into the “passenger side” to find the steering wheel, I need to have oncoming traffic to the right of me and that I need to be left of a centre median when driving. Not to mention that I can't signal with my windshield wipers so I ought to remember which side of the steering wheel the indicator lever is on - all things that can perplex a person from North America.

But the one thing I can take some solace in is that East and West are still East and West. The sun still rises in the east and sets in the west and dawn comes around about 0630hrs and dusk is around 2030hrs.

It's funny that the entire time I was away I was busily comparing the exotic and distant New Zealand with the familiar and (dare I say) common Canada. What is it about people that they feel compelled to find the familiar in the unfamiliar? Does it help them to relate, acclimate, accept? I know for me it did.

People have asked me since my return - what was it like? My answer is usually a bit vague but invariably I say something along the lines of "There are things that remind me of Canada, and there are things that are completely different. Mountains and oceans, like Canada, but more exotic trees and a milder climate. Similar but different."

We all need a frame of reference to work within, it comforts us, assists us. With out it it's hard to describe things to someone else. How would you describe a snowy and pine-covered mountain to someone who has only ever seen the flat and grassy plains where it never snows?

The familiar is comforting, like an old sweater whose fashionablity and structural integrity have both long past their wear-by date but which still gets worn "around the house" because it's comfortable, familiar things offer a sense of continuity.

Though I was disappointed to have to leave NZ and was not looking forward to the three flights and over 20 hours in-transit, I was comforted by the fact that waiting for my return, at the airport, was a good friend of mine. A familiar face, welcoming me back to all things familiar helping me slowly adjust to the fact that even though I'm still sitting in the right-hand seat in the car, I no longer have a steering wheel in front of me. My friend also brought me an extra jacket – the wind from the North is awfully cold in these parts these days!