Life is feeling pretty settled so far. Despite being so far from home, I feel very comfortable and at home, which I didn’t think I would feel so soon. The highlights of my days have consisted of sitting in different cafes with a cup of coffee, sampling my way across the city.

I still haven’t branched out of my shell too much. My human interaction is limited to random and unexpected connections or the standard customer service ones. I know friendships will come in time, and I’m lucky I enjoy my own company enough to still have fun exploring out on my own. While part of me still hopes a stranger will just reach out and befriend me, I know I’m going to have to step out of my own comfort zone to make some actual friends.

Overall, I’ve been enjoying my stay in Christchurch. I’ll admit I’m feeling a little antsy to get out – it’s still a city, and I want to see more of the stunning views I’ve heard so much about – but I’ve been exploring my surroundings as much as I can to take advantage of the time I have here.

My first adventure occurred within the first hour of my being in the city. I called my family on FaceTime the instant I dropped my bag in my new room, giving them a tour and a rundown of the flight. At one point in the conversation, I looked up to find a creepier version of a daddy long legs hanging above my patio door. I am not one who can even get near any sort of insect easily. It took my family’s impatient encouragement and my dad’s problem solving to get me to kill it with the long floor squeegee thing I had in the bathroom (the shower floor is even with the rest of the bathroom floor, so after every shower I have to squeegee the water back in to the drain – who knew!). I always knew bugs would be my downfall when I lived alone, and it was some cruel joke that I had to encounter that situation so soon.

The next adventures consisted of the mall that stands less than a mile from where I live. Lucky for me, it has everything, from the Pak’nSave grocery store, to the Warehouse which is similar to a Walmart, and even a bank. I got to complete all of my adult tasks, like setting up a bank account, applying for an NZ tax number, buying a prepaid phone so I can have an NZ number, and many other things I’ve already forgotten. And now that I’ve gotten most of the finer things set up, I keep researching ways to satisfy the itch for adventure that’s always running like a current beneath my skin.

Now, my first actual adventure was the Botanic Gardens. Christchurch is known as the “garden city,” and even though we’re in the midst of winter, it was easy to tell why.

The city has the Avon River running through it, and I walked along it, admiring all the familiar geese and ducks lining its banks as I made my way to the gardens. The water is some of the clearest I’ve ever seen, and it makes me not want to go near the Delaware River ever again.

The gardens were free to enter, and took me through winding paths that kept leading to different clearings or water gardens. I got lost more than once, but an older woman asked if I knew how to get around the gardens, so at least I wasn’t the only one. I had to tell her I’d only been in the city for a few days at that point, so I wasn’t much help to her. I ran into her later on my third lap through the rose garden and we talked a bit more, her asking how long I was here for, me telling her about my visa.

After the gardens, I decided to try my hand at taking the Metro, the public bus system in the city, home. I briefly considered walking back, but that would’ve tacked on another 3 miles to my daily trek, and I let that convince me to not be a wimp and try something new.

I went to the bus interchange in the center of the city, which is where essentially every bus will stop eventually. I assumed that would make it the easiest first attempt at taking the Metro. Poring over my phone screen to make sure I was taking the correct line home to the Northlands mall, I confidently stepped on the 1 line heading to Princess Margaret Hospital & Cashmere.

What I soon realized was that Cashmere was the opposite side of the city from where I lived, and took me on a scenic tour of the hills outside the city. Unfortunately for me, I could barely enjoy the views on the way up through the anxiety knotting my stomach.

Although I knew I’d messed up and was certainly heading the wrong way, I held out hope that all of a sudden the bus would turn around, zoom directly through the city, and drop me at the other end.

Instead, I took an hour long joy ride into the hills, realizing I’d reached the end of the line when the bus emptied out. Accepting defeat, I went to the bus driver and asked if eventually this bus would be going back to Northlands. He informed me that he’d be happy to take me back there, but the next bus run wasn’t scheduled to leave until 4:04 – 20 minutes from that point.

The driver invited me to stay on the bus with him, and so I did. No sense sitting on top of a windy hill if I didn’t have to. 20 minutes and one additional passenger later, we made our way back down the hill, my nerves fading with every sweeping curve on the descent.

When we got back to the bus interchange, a backpacking couple came up to the driver and asked if he was going to be passing the stop they were looking for. He said they had the right line, but that stop was in the opposite direction.

After we left the station, he glanced at me and said they had the opposite problem of my own predicament. I admitted I should’ve done what they had and asked first.

Once the conversation seal was broken, I moved up to the frontmost seat. The driver asked some questions and shared his own stories as we made our way back through familiar territory.

He had an “American wife” as he kept calling her, so he excitedly told me he’d been to the US before. They have since divorced. He also shared stories of living in Japan and teaching English. I struggled to hear him half the time because of the noise of the engine, but I did what I do best and pretended that I heard every word.

Eventually, when we got to my stop, I gave him a fond farewell and he said it was nice to meet me. Despite the disaster I’d made of my first attempt to ride the Metro, I’d enjoyed myself and didn’t regret a thing.

And I’m happy to share that I have now successfully taken the bus a few times since then.