Christchurch

 Judy. I can't "leave" New Zealand without a short blog about Christchurch, or at least, my reaction to it.

When we came to New Zealand on our first visit six years ago, we made a conscious decision not to go to Christchurch, as they were only a few years past the devastating earthquake that did so much damage to the city. We just didn't feel that we were much needed, with all the work going on. When we wanted to go this time, the refrain we heard over and over was,"Oh, it just won't be the same as it was before the 'quake."

Well, I don't know. I didn't see it before the 'quake. But I had a friend there, and our niece Ashley's best friend from high school was there, so we decided to make the trek. And I'm so very glad.

The Arts Center is back and busy

What we saw was a city coming back. Yes, there were still scaffolds and wraps around buildings, and the magnificent Cathedral isn't expected to be finished until 2027, but the Botanical Gardens were in full bloom, the Arts Center (formerly the University of Canterbury, but repurposed years ago) had music, plays, art galleries, and tours open and in use.

A tiny garden in the magnificent Botanical Gardens

We walked to the "Cardboard Cathedral", which is more technically called the "Transitional Cathedral". When the old one was destroyed, a member of the staff saw an article in an architectural magazine about a Japanese architect named Shigeru Ban, who had designed a cardboard church after the Kobe earthquake. After visiting Christchurch, Ban offered to design one for the Cathedral parish, so they had a place to worship until the massive work on the old church could be finished. 

The front of the Cathedral

The interior--the cardboard tubes lift the eye to the cross

The old Rose Window was destroyed, but this one brings color into the sanctuary

According to the flyer I picked up there, it is built of cardboard tubes, local wood, and steel, with a polished concrete floor and a polycarbonate roof. It's built to 130% of the current earthquake code, and is designed to last at least 50 years. When the Cathedral work is finished, it will become a parish church. I found myself deeply moved by the building and by the parish that is still very active. It seemed a metaphor for the city itself, refusing to give up, and getting right on with its new life.

My two meetups gave me the same feeling. 

I met Mary about three years ago in Santiago, Chile. She was in a bad, bad marriage, and was quite ill. As a former nurse, she disagreed with the diagnosis the doctor gave her, and so, leaving behind her marriage and her home of 27 years, she returned to her hometown of Christchurch, where her loving family took her in, gave her a place to live, and nursed her back to health. When she took us to dinner at her brother's home, I could hardly believe this vibrant, beautiful woman was the same Mary I had met. She's now a nurse in a home for the elderly, and loves it, and is in the process of building her own place on her family property. Like the city, she got herself back together and is building a new and better life.

So happy to see this glowing Mary!

Charlotte and her husband moved from Seattle to Christchurch shortly after the earthquake to help in rebuilding. Her husband was a contractor, and she, a lawyer. They made a home there and had a daughter, Maple. Unfortunately, Charlotte's husband died sometime after they arrived, but she and her feisty daughter Maple have made a home in New Zealand. She loves the simple lifestyle with plenty of opportunities to explore nature. She is an attorney specializing in building contracts--making sure the codes are followed. Again, reinventing her life, like the city is.

Maple likes to "climb on things that aren't meant to be climbed on!"

Three women in Red. Great day with Charlotte and Maple

No, we didn't see the Christchurch of 2010. But we saw a city embracing the old and the new, and coming back stronger than ever.