On a Humane Scale

“New Zealand is everything that people say it is – friendly, beautiful and proportionally urbane,” American teacher Michael Nesset writes for the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Nesset, who spent “Spring Break 2012,” travelling the country asks: “Why can’t we all live in a place like this?” “The scenery is spectacular, the people friendly and hospitable – ‘You can’t buy yourself a drink,’ said my barber, waving his clippers for emphasis. Along with the humane scale of the country, there seemed to be a more humane scale to peoples’ lives. I can’t think of a better place to learn how to live small and sensibly in an industrial society than New Zealand.”