"Hi mum and dad, meet my boyfriend. He lives in hostels and there's a chance he may have to leave the country one day, but I love him so let's try look past that." No, this isn't the tagline to a cheesy rom-com, this is my reality. I'm dating a backpacker, and let me tell you, it's sure been one crazy journey. From spontaneous camping trips, to travelling the country together, dating a backpacker has taken me on some cool adventures. However, the best thing about dating one is how much I've come to appreciate New Zealand.
A year ago while I was a fresher adjusting to uni life (studying, clubbing, being broke, and repeat), my boyfriend had landed in New Zealand and was adjusting to kiwi life. I'd never really appreciated New Zealand before, I've lived here my whole life and I've never traveled to a different country. I knew that New Zealand was a great place to live, we have it pretty good in this wee nation. However, it wasn't until I met a backpacker that I opened my eyes to how beautiful our country really is.
Before I met my boyfriend, I'd never met someone so in love with New Zealand. The two of us met in town at a bar (yes, believe it or not, you can find love while clubbing), and one of the first things I learned about him was that he has the silver fern tattooed to his chest. I remember thinking "well then, this guy must really love rugby." Further into the conversation it finally clicked that he wasn't a rugby obsessed kiwi, he was actually a Brit! Now I know what you're probably thinking, how did I not notice his accent? Well, in my defense, we were in a noisy bar, and he said "bro" more times than I could count. To me, he seemed like your typical Kiwi bloke.
He told me about his first encounter with New Zealand. He was eight years old when he visited with his parents. One of his favourite memories was being on the Earnslaw boat in Queenstown and watching the sunset. As it set over the horizon, all the snow on The Remarkables (a snowboarding mountain) glowed a pinky-purple. This image stuck with him over the years, and when he turned 21 he decided it was time to return to the land of the long white cloud.
After just one conversation with him, I felt a great appreciation for Aotearoa. And since dating him, I've learned more about New Zealand from a Brit than I had ever learned in school. I swear this man knows more about our country than someone who has lived here their whole lives. Did you knew that a New Zealander invented velcro? There's a fun fact for you!
I never realised how chilled and easy going living in New Zealand was until I dated someone from another country. He always says "The U.K is a great place to visit, but not to live." He's enlightened me on just how different living in New Zealand is to living in the U.K. Being a small country, there's more of a sense of community. He noted how in the U.K, it's so crowded that you'll never bump into the same person twice, whereas in New Zealand, he felt as though everyone knew each other. People are friendlier, the oceans are bluer, and the scenery is beautiful from every angle.
Since dating, I've finally been able to visit Queenstown. We went camping at Twelve Mile Delta, where we floated in the middle of a lake on a dingy boat drinking beers and soaking up the sun. We went on The Earnslaw and laughed at all the tourists as they watched in amazement as a sheep was shorn (it's funny how much the sheep amused them). Though my favorite experience traveling with my boyfriend would have to be when we went to Auckland. We went on a boat that took us to watch dolphins and whales. We saw hundreds of dolphins dive the water, and even caught a glimpse of the tail of a whale. It was a magical experience that I will treasure forever. There was also a night we got really drunk in Auckland and spent $120 on Chinese food. It was a fun night on the town, from what we remember.
Yes, dating a backpacker has been pretty cool. To some people, it can be an interesting concept. We've been asked many questions about our relationship, the most common being "What if his Visa doesn't get renewed and he has to leave?" "Does he travel while you're at uni and come home in the weekend to see you?"
While backpackers commonly don't like to spend too long in one place, I'm lucky enough that my backpacker boyfriend is happy to live in Dunedin while I study. He's in no rush to leave my side, and once I do graduate I now have someone to travel with. Since he's traveled all over the globe (including the U.S, Singapore, Hong Kong, France, Italy, Germany, the list goes on!), he has a lot of experience traveling, so I'll feel safe and secure exploring the world with him. As for his Visa, the U.K and New Zealand have a good relationship, we're buddies from way back. It's easy for him to get his Visa renewed. Someday, with proof of our relationship being legitimate (e.g. joint bank accounts, living together, and possibly this article...), we may qualify for a partnership Visa.