As the last of the election parties die down and the smell of fireworks dissipates, a new day unfolds here in New Zealand. It is the start of what has promised to be CHANGE. "New Zealanders", says Mr. John Key, the newly elected Prime Minister of New Zealand, "have voted for prosperity, for a brighter, more ambitious future."
Sound like anybody you know?
It seems as if people around the world are looking for change. Or at least a way out of the old and into the new. For the last 9 years, Miss Helen Clark has been the Prime Minister of New Zealand. (I bet some of you didn't know that the leader of this country was a woman.) As you may have read in a previous blog post written by Chris, Miss Helen Clark has a reputation of being a strong and tough political leader. Even Senator Hillary Clinton has her opinions about how tough Miss Helen Clark is, having been quoted saying, "Helen Clark, former prime minister of New Zealand: her opponents have observed that in the event of a nuclear war, the two things that will emerge from the rubble are the cockroaches and Helen Clark."
Yikes. (By the way, this was a statement made by Clinton in April 2008. Clark was still PM then. Oops.) Clark and the Labour Party did not win this time around and Key and the National Party will take over.
So while Chris and I wake up to a new day for many Kiwis, we still revel in the new day that has just begun for Americans. Even Americans living in New Zealand.
Chris and I actually took the day off to watch news coverage of the election results as they were being counted. It was surprising to us that New Zealand television actually had an organized television program to cover the U.S. election! And although our election party was small in size (just the 3 of us), it was filled with feelings of anxiety and HOPE. It IS one of those important where-were-you-what-were-you-doing events in our lives ...
The state of Ohio going BLUE. The election of President-elect Barack Hussein Obama. The first African-American President of the United States of America. Seeing the new first family walk out onto the stage at Grant Park in Chicago, IL. People crying. Hugging. Cheering. Sighing with relief. Listening to the inspirational and unifying words of Obama's acceptance speech. Looking at my belly and my husband and feeling as if there is HOPE for my country that I now feel proud to be a citizen of ... because of my voice, my vote, my independence, my actions.
We've decided that we'll move back to the U.S. afterall.
It's a New Day. (ETK)
Check it out for yourself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHWByjoQrR8
Sound like anybody you know?
It seems as if people around the world are looking for change. Or at least a way out of the old and into the new. For the last 9 years, Miss Helen Clark has been the Prime Minister of New Zealand. (I bet some of you didn't know that the leader of this country was a woman.) As you may have read in a previous blog post written by Chris, Miss Helen Clark has a reputation of being a strong and tough political leader. Even Senator Hillary Clinton has her opinions about how tough Miss Helen Clark is, having been quoted saying, "Helen Clark, former prime minister of New Zealand: her opponents have observed that in the event of a nuclear war, the two things that will emerge from the rubble are the cockroaches and Helen Clark."
Yikes. (By the way, this was a statement made by Clinton in April 2008. Clark was still PM then. Oops.) Clark and the Labour Party did not win this time around and Key and the National Party will take over.
So while Chris and I wake up to a new day for many Kiwis, we still revel in the new day that has just begun for Americans. Even Americans living in New Zealand.
Chris and I actually took the day off to watch news coverage of the election results as they were being counted. It was surprising to us that New Zealand television actually had an organized television program to cover the U.S. election! And although our election party was small in size (just the 3 of us), it was filled with feelings of anxiety and HOPE. It IS one of those important where-were-you-what-were-you-doing events in our lives ...
The state of Ohio going BLUE. The election of President-elect Barack Hussein Obama. The first African-American President of the United States of America. Seeing the new first family walk out onto the stage at Grant Park in Chicago, IL. People crying. Hugging. Cheering. Sighing with relief. Listening to the inspirational and unifying words of Obama's acceptance speech. Looking at my belly and my husband and feeling as if there is HOPE for my country that I now feel proud to be a citizen of ... because of my voice, my vote, my independence, my actions.
We've decided that we'll move back to the U.S. afterall.
It's a New Day. (ETK)
Check it out for yourself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
1 comment:
I love the pictures of you guys in your Obama shirts! But you gotta be kidding me on John Key election. I might be wrong, but this guys sounds like a free-market neo-con. It looks like the markets rallied on news of his election. Hopefully this will be a good thing for NZ, but after the last few years you can understand why an American would be nervous about a former stock trader taking office.
Post a Comment