i'm a bit the same ...came home from aussie...landed in Christchurch, met a lady the next night...still here almost 30 years now...different lady but...
Yeah we were shook up bad....slowly being rebuilt...not too many tall buildings now, alot of the older buildings are gone and replaced with modern, low slung looking buildings. Couple years back i took my lady up in a chopper and surveyed the damage from the air..it was eye opening!
Changed alot of peoples lives forever that earthquake.