Christchurch

I love Christchurch. I use to think it was too massive, too scary, too dirty, and too much not White Rock. But it has really grown on me, I love the city now. It may be the case that I just love where ever I am living, if so, that's cool. But right now I love Christchurch. Its big enough so that there is always something to learn about it and small enough so that you can feel like you own the place.

Below are some pictures I took while meandering around the city yesterday. They are mostly for my benefit so that when I am away I can come here and peruse them, but I am also keen to share my very amateur photography skills and practise putting up pictures.

This is my current flat on Bealey Ave. I will be looking for someone to take over my room in March, so if anyone wants a cheap room real close to the city, set back off the road with two ridiculously good looking flat mates then let me know.

This is looking west down the Avon River from the Barbadoes St bridge. Note the "ducks are swimming on the water"... you can't have a collection of photo's of Christchurch without some ducks.
Looking down New Regent St. There is a cafe down here called... Veronica's I think. Lauren and I went there to get an iced chocolate, they were really tasty. Best part though, they were massive! Not sure if the cafe chick made too much or what, be we got out two glasses and a JUG as well. It was one of the best days of my life.

Cathedral Square during the buskers festival. The Blackstreet Boyz were performing, and they were fantastic. Very amusing and talented dancers. Well worth checking out if your about.

"Practise makes perfect, no one is perfect, so there is no sense practising".
Blackstreet Boyz.

This is the best Soulvaki shop in Christchurch. Well, the best in the City. The lamb soulvaki is awesome, I highly recommend it. One thing to note though, if you go for the extra olives for $1 be warned they are not pitted. So the awkward process of eating a soulvaki gets even more awkward. Don't say I didn't warn you.

"The Hack", City Mall, with my old office in the background. It was here that I met Nathan and his boys when we were out street witnessing. They came along to the Upper Room which was fantastic.

I apologise if all these pictures take ages to load. But I struggled as it was to whittle the number down to these ones, lesson learned. There are some pretty sweet sights in Christchurch. I highly recommend being a practise tourist for while and walking around checking it out, you will need to put on a foreign accent though, try Dutch, or else get some couch surfers and show them around.

So it begins

I have decided to publish my thoughts and travels for all the world to see, and this is the result. I will take this opportunity to first explain the title for this 'blog'. "In the Middle" is the title for one of my favourite Paul Colman songs. It is a song about being stuck in the middle, between two opposing views of the world, and the struggle that can be. The chorus says it all really:

Sometimes I feel like I'm in the middle
I'm not good enough for you
Not dirty enough for some
Sometimes I feel like I'm in the middle
Not safe enough for you
Not crazy enough for some

I guess I can relate to that. Its a very subtle struggle that is played out in all aspects of life, from the most significant ethical decisions through to the seemingly small things which ultimately shape our character.

So there you go, there is a small glimpse into what you may expect here. But don't fret, this will mostly be stories from my travels through the Middle East, Crete and beyond. But I am sure I will find it hard to resist using this medium to express my many random and often contradictory thoughts and ideas.

Thank you for your time and I look forward to sharing with you.

Keep it real!