Christchurch

You can't imagine the damage that is done until you see it up close. I never understood what it meant to have a city crumble from quake after quake, wave after wave of aftershock. The buildings are crumbling to the ground, the roads are warped and cracked, and the city is trying to pull itself together still a year after the biggest earthquake to hit NZ. The damage in Christchurch is the largest ever amount of damage caused by fault lines they weren't even aware of. There were 184 people that died in collapsing buildings. That number doesn't seem too large but in Christchurch you can't talk to a single person without them knowing one of the ones who died or lost their own property in the quake and aftermath. It is incredibly depressing and inspiring at the same time to see this city striving to be great again in a whole new light.
Here are some quick facts about the quake:
10,000 earthquakes since sept '10
1400 buildings in the downtown core which 1200 are coming down.
Sept earthquake was 7.1 on the rictor scale
Feb quake was 6.0 but it was so shallow (only 5km deep) it caused the most damage from an earthquake ever
dbl the force (2G) of Japan's quake which was 200km deep and only 1G

It's crazy to see this city and can't imagine how it would feel for people to walk through downtown knowing what use to be standing there.

I flew into Auckland looking forward to seeing a guy I met for 5 minutes and I ended up feeling like part of the family within a few hours. I flew into Christchurch looking forward to meeting Angela, a connection through Jenna, and feel like I'm hanging out with my aunt. I have been so fortunate to be able to meet and get to know such incredible people. It feels like I have gotten the best possible level of interaction and Kiwis since I've been here. Karma...you're fabulous!