Americans impressed by Christchurch hosting

Press, 16 August 1988, Page 30

Americans impressed by Christchurch hosting

Sue Jaffe, a travel writer of Miami, gained a good first impression of New Zealand after just one day in Christchurch. She writes ...

Most of us know and recognise how important first impressions are, and this is especially true when visiting a foreign country. We travelled recently from Florida to New Zealand, via Sydney, where my husband, a pathologist, attended, first, the Royal Australasian College of Physicians golden jubilee meeting.

were friends. We appreciated the opportunity to eat typical fare in a New Zealand home. A very special touch was the delightful homemade wine that accompanied dinner.

During the evening our conversation ranged from travel and medicine to family life. I particularly enjoyed hearing how Gwen spent Mother’s Day. She told of how her family had brought in food to the home and salads were prepared around that. I thought, “she is a woman after my own heart.”

Based on what we had read and heard from other Americans, we opted to spend our holiday after the meeting in New Zealand rather than Australia. We had profited from the friends who said, “We wished we had planned more time for New Zealand.” Because we love the outdoors and the mountains, it was not difficult to determine how to approach our holiday. Our first real introduction to New Zealand began in Christchurch. It was here that we were truly guests rather than tourists.

On Mother’s Day, we had left Tahiti in the early morning, but I lost the rest of the day when we crossed the international dateline. I always cherish this special day at home with my family, and I really was happy to hear how Gwen spent her day. I was again reminded that, regardless of where we live, we all share common feelings and responses to special days and events.

We don’t like to be thought of as tourists and prefer the term visitor or traveller. Somehow the word “traveller” has an adventuresome connotation, and we like that. After leisurely exploring the Christchurch area and enjoying its effervescent charm, we ended our day in a way that will long remain very special to us. Through Home Hosting, we visited Gwen and Chum Crossen in Cashmere.

Through our hosts we were given a warm and memorable welcome to New Zealand — an unforgettable first impression, which will long remain with us.

In essence, we found that New Zealanders bring out the true beauty and radiance of a magnificent country — nature and her landscape have merely, provided the backdrop.

Their warmth and friendly welcome at the door made us instantly we

We know now that we must again return to New Zealand.