Because it was decently early (10:00 or so), the tour wasn't very large. I ended up going with only one other from my group, as the other three weren't very keen on spending the rather large sum of money for a ticket. You really had to be a diehard fan to want to go on this tour. So me and Annika borded the bus with two others and took off. Aside from a few uncomfortably but slightly hilariously tacky comments (such as an introduction to our bus as "Frodo" and a confession that "the hobbits aren't around their holes today, unfortunately"), our guide actually had a lot of cool things to say about the filming production and logistical aspects of renting out an entire farm for a billion dollar film production over 14 months. Apparently Jackson hired the New Zealand military to construct the roads through the farm for his trucks, as he couldn't risk any accidents with his expensive generators and other equipment. In fact, after being "on the fence" about this lady after her Frodo-the-bus speech, I think I began to accept her as a fellow human being. She had a lot of cool things to say. I began to wonder just how long it took her to memorize all of this information.
Driving through the farm to the filming location, we passed one of the owners shepparding sheep with his 4 wheel rover. Sort of a futuristic, tech-driven version of our romantic visions of a shepard. Interesting. Soon after, our guide informed us that all the sheep had given birth to their lambs during the last two days. Basically the entire ride to Hobbiton was accompanied by charming visages of sheep hanging out on the hill with their as-yet-undetached umbilical cords hanging out of their uh...yeah. The girls went "awwwwww....". I went "eh". Not my cup of tea, sheep umbilical cords. Different strokes for different folks. However, it was impressive to see the cycle of life and death that these creatures go through play out before my very eyes. So yes, it was disgusting and beautiful at the same time, I suppose.
Along the ride our guide pointed out several unreachable filming locations in the distance, such as Gandalf's entrance scene ("A wizard is never late"). Some of these places took a full day to get all of the necessary filming equipment up to. It really makes you appreciate the hard work put into an epic production like this when you see the wild, untamed nature of the filming location and think of the incredible logistics required to make everything work perfectly. An entire field was reserved for the kitchen and catering services. They had to feed over 200 people every day. I've said it before: lunch ladies are the unspoken real American heroes.
Turning the corner I caught a glimpse of Bag End. I will not lie, it was very exciting. For someone who is (if you have not already gathered) an immense fan of the book and films, it was a very unforgettable and unique experience to see this location firsthand. After the films were finished, the owners of these farms started getting knocks on their door requesting to view the locations. This gave them the idea to open their own tour business. They requested that New Line halt the deconstruction of the sets, and after a long, lengthly contract negotiation, they attained the rights to show the locations to the public. About half of the hobbit holes had been deconstructed (including Sam's. Bummer), but 17 still remained.
I was a little worried about seeing this place. I know that sometimes (very rarely), I'll watch a "making-of" documentary about a film that actually ends up detracting from my experience of the film because I've seen how it was made in the real world. This takes away from my ability to conceptualize the story as a fictional, fantastical entity. Because of this, I was worried that my seeing these rolling fields in the real world would taint my view of the film scenes, knowing subconsciously that they do NOT exist in Middle Earth but in New Zealand, Planet Earth. I watched The Fellowship of the Ring with my flatmates last week and was very relived to find that it was quite the opposite. My recognition of the landscape (down to specific trees and bushes) actually enhances my ability to place Middle-Earth as a realistic, existing location. The fact that I saw this place in the real world didn't detract from my enjoyment of the film, it actually gave it another unique level of appreciation and enjoyment which can only be obtained by seeing the place in real life.
Now, taking in Hobbiton was very, very chilling (in a good way). Now I'm no freak. I wasn't going there expecting to force myself to believe that it was REALLY "The Shire" and desperately hoping for Hobbits to pop out of the holes. The chills that ran down my body stemmed from the knowledge that right here, on the ground that I stood on, the magic that is The Lord of the Rings came to life. Here was the place that our world and Tolkien's fantastical, mystical and everlasting world intersected and produced a new vision which so many people could love and appreciate. I stood atop Bag End and saw the exact shot in which Gandalf and Bilbo exhale smoke rings and smoke ships as the sun sets. I walked the bridge and saw the places where the children chased after Gandalf, screaming for their fireworks. Off in the distance, pointed out our guide, was the field where Sam summoned his courage to leave home: "If I take one more step, it'll be the farthest from home...I've ever been." I thought of this scene a lot on my trip here, especially sitting on Air New Zealand. I love these stories because I find identification in so many of the characters and their stories. It's hard and sometimes frightening to break the routine and see the world from a different place and a different experience. I didn't feel like I was taking that "one more step" until I got on the plane at Los Angeles leaving for New Zealand. These stories have such longevity because of their real, dynamic and relatable characters that the viewer/reader can identify with. I think that's the key to everlasting music as well. You have to be able to see yourself in the music, or see in the story a representation of your own struggles or inner demons. It has to relate to you somehow. I'm going off on tangents. Apologies.
One of the greatest parts of my tour was seeing the beginnings of set reconstruction for "The Hobbit". They're filming this multi-part prequel beginning in March, and the planting had already begun. It was very exciting to see the rebuilt shrubbery and shining green grass around Bag End along with newly cemented bridge that Gandalf enters in on his cart. They had also marked out where the new Hobbit holes were to be built. I know, I'm a nerd. But this was really exciting, I'm telling you.
The Party Tree was as large and beautiful as it looks in the film. Don't tell anyone, but I smuggled out an acorn from one of its branches. It's humongous and very beautifully shaped. I spent about an hour walking among the trees and grass and lakes, just trying to clear my mind and appreciate the silence and the beauty of the landscape. It was fun to see the remnants of the Hobbit holes (they were mostly white frames) and to be able to go inside some of them. I was afraid of maybe being underwhelmed when I finally got there given all of my expectations, but it did end up being the special experience I thought it would be.
Having summed up my favorite parts of the trip, I think I'll just conclude by giving you a public link to my facebook album of my entire journey: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2020870&id=1487820100&l=659739d4d. You can check out any photos that I've somehow neglected to squeeze onto the blog on here, including an absolute overabundance of Hobbiton photos. I filled up my camera, it was ridiculous.
I'm in my eighth week of school and will have four weeks of school remaining after this. I just received the dates for my final exams and they worked out quite well. I was worried I might get unlucky and have an exam scheduled the day after I leave (I'm leaving the day before the exam term officially ends). However, I have a good ten days of nothing before and after my two exams on the 4th and 5th. I'm hoping to take a plane down to Christchurch on the South Island and doing some bungy jumping down there before I head home on November 14th. I have somewhat of a lull this coming week in terms of written work, which will give me time to catch up on my reading.
I am now decently over halfway done with my time here in New Zealand and will be flying home in less than 2 months. It's strange how fast time goes by, even when sometimes the days seem to drag. I will say that my experience here is much different than I'd expected. There's a tendency to romanticize a study abroad experience in your head (especially when going to New Zealand) and imagine yourself scaling mountains and achieve the ever-elusive "finding of yourself". When I got here I was shocked to discover that Wellington is in fact a real city and that even people in New Zealand wake up and work 9-5. I still had to go to school and do (sometimes not so fun) schoolwork the majority of the week. And most importantly, any problems or vulnerabilities that I had expected to magically be "left behind" traveled here with me. My first month here involved me coming to terms with the fact that the real world exists here as well, and perhaps the escapist fantasies that I had imagined may not have been incredibly realistic. However, getting past this has afforded me an opportunity to build new friendships and create new and exciting experiences for myself that I certainly wouldn't be able to do at home. For example, I'm going penguin hunting this Friday night. Not bad at all.
One thing that I'm really looking forward to after my New Zealand experience is a newfound appreciation for Rhode Island and the people I've left there. I've come to the conclusion, after coming here, that people seem to be bored and relatively unimpressed with their home no matter where they live. I get the question "Why New Zealand? It's boring" from kiwis quite frequently. I can't believe my ears. Many of them haven't seen much of this tiny, beautiful country outside of their hometown and Wellington. I studied abroad partly because I needed to "get out of here" and "see the world", as if Rhode Island was some boring old rural town where the only job option was to go to work in the mines. This is a sentiment shared by many native Rhode Islanders, particularly those who have stuck around at URI. While it has been an absolutely invaluable experience to see another side of the world, I've also come to appreciate the world that I left behind. Rhode Island is beautiful. There's nothing like the smell of a Rhode Island beach or the sound and sights of colorful autumn in New England. Therefore, I say to the kiwis of New Zealand and to all back home in Rhode Island: Don't let your routine blind you to the unique aspects of the world around you. Appreciate where you are. I'm excited to have a slightly new and fresh perspective on what was far too familiar to me after 5 months of being away.
Quick thoughts: I've just watched a trailer for "This Is It", a concert documentary of the production and rehearsals of Michael Jackson's last, ultimately unperformed tour. They're releasing it in late October. I think it IS a bit shameless that they're capitalizing on Jackson's death so soon, but I must admit that I'm also very interested in the film. He was intriguing in a slightly creepy way, especially in his later years. Also creepy is the fact that the rehearsal footage filmed for this movie was professionally photographed the day that Jackson died. He literally performed this concert, went home, and died. Very weird.
R.I.P. Patrick Swayze. Nothing more needs to be said.
I'm beginning to feel slightly uncomfortable at the way America is idolized by New Zealanders. People here say things like "I want go to America! I want to see a Wal-Mart!" WHAT?? You don't need to see a Wal-Mart!!! Look at your country! It's beautiful. The large hand of our media reaches too far. I turn on the TV here and I see The Ghost Whisperer. No matter how much people and groups of people like to say that they hate America, they are also far too influenced by it. I don't think we're evil or anything, I just don't like seeing a degradation of one country's culture at the hands of another one thousands of miles away. The kids from Germany download "Friends" on their computers at home and don't watch any German television. Eh, maybe it's just the quality of our programming as compared to other nations. I just don't understand how something like "eating a sloppie Joe" could be someone's overseas dream. And yes, I've heard that as well.
How great is Seinfeld? I've just started getting into this show and I can't believe how smart it is. I'm buying "The Kramer" portrait for my wall when I get home.
Did my font change halfway through this post? I'll never figure out how to use this thing properly.
Finally, here's another album showing a bit of Wellington. I have more, and I'll put those up soon as well. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2018314&id=1487820100&l=eed84d1f07
Alright, I'm going to go do some reading. Talk to you soon.
Bill
