Auckland/Wellington—After a four-year delay, I finally managed to visit easily among the most beautiful corners of the world, thanks to the generous support of the Asia New Zealand Foundation. When the possibility of joining a week-long program of lectures, briefings, and sightseeing in New Zealand came up during a conversation with Kiwi embassy folks in Manila back in 2019, I was naturally elated. After all, this was the gorgeous island, with an impeccably temperate climate, where among the most iconic movies of our era have been made.
Thanks to its relative isolation and geological attributes, New Zealand has also attracted the attention of plutocrats from the world over, especially Silicon Valley billionaires. Peter Thiel, the co-founder of PayPal, has described the island nation as “the Future”—a barely-disguised euphemism for the apocalypse-bunkers-cum-ranches mushrooming in the most rustic corners of New Zealand. Above all, the policy wonk in me looked forward to the possibility of personally meeting then rising global leader, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who embodied everything ordinary Filipinos like me had hoped for among our political leaders: progressive, energetic, compassionate, competent, and youthful.
But just as I prepared to embark on my trip to New Zealand, the COVID-19 pandemic upended everything. Four years later, New Zealand turned out as, in some ways, a different place altogether. Don’t get me wrong, it was just as distinctly beautiful as I .
