Thursday, December 31, 2009

A Kiwi Christmas....







Forgive us for being poor bloggers. Per our previous posts, we have had a few curve balls thrown at us- a parent dying and a quick trip back to Oregon for Cara and single parenthood for 3 weeks for me. Cara arrived back on the 11th and went right back to work and we mostly have settled back into "normal" life in Aotearoa.

We managed to scrape by a Christmas spirit of sorts. We bought a live Christmas pine tree from the Anglicans. It really more resembled a Christmas bush or a Charlie Brown tree than the trees we are accustomed to in the land of douglas and noble firs. Our friend R gave us a box of Christmas ornaments which gave the tree some much needed x-mas cred. All in all it had its own special charm.

We played our Crosby, Sinatra and John Denver and the Muppets x-mas music but somehow the snowy, firelight images didn't mesh with 75 degrees and baaing sheep. The kids were thrilled to have some x-mas cheer in the house and enjoyed opening their presents. After all, presents in the Southern Hemisphere are still presents and Santa visited us first, which was cool.

The next day (Boxing Day, a new holiday for us yanks) was spent at the beach in Sumner, building sand castles and watching Will fall into the surf.

It has been a strange, lonely but memorable Christmas for our family. Enjoy the pics...

Thursday, December 3, 2009

In memoriam.....


My father passed away on November 27, 2009 surrounded by his three children. It was a privilege to be by his side and to be present as he passed from this life. I am grateful that I was able to make the trip from New Zealand back to Oregon to be with my family though sad to have to leave Mike and the kids behind.

A dear friend sent me this and I feel compelled to share it here:

When sorrow comes, let us accept it simply, as a part of life. Let the heart be open to pain; let it be stretched by it. All the evidence says that this is the better way. An open heart never grows bitter. Or if it does, it cannot remain so. In the desolate hour, there is an outcry; a clenching of the hands upon emptiness; a burning pain of bereavement; a weary ache of loss. But anguish, like ecstasy, is not forever. There comes a gentleness, a returning quietness, a restoring stillness. This too is a door to life. Here, also, is a deepening of meaning – and it can lead to dedication; a going forward to the triumph of the soul, the conquering of the wilderness. And in the process will come a deepening inward knowledge that, in the final reckoning, all is well.
-A. Powell Davies

Thank you for all of your healing thoughts during this difficult time for our family.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Expect the Unexpected Part II


As most of you know, my dad suffered a stroke a few days ago. I have been checking in with family every day, chatting via facebook and trying to stay sane being so far away. It is looking like a quick trip home is in order, leaving sometime in the next few weeks. I did not think I would be headed to Oregon so soon after our arrival and under such crappy circumstances. Will keep you posted.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Mike's Big Day Out






For those who don't already know; I fish. I fly fish to be exact. And also for those of you who don't know, New Zealand has some of the best fly fishing available on the planet. With a population of just over 4 million and a perfect climate for clear, cool trout waters, the country has a gluttony of fishing riches. Trout were introduced from Tasmania in the 1800's and they have flourished. There are no real predators for the fish to worry about and the waters are very clean. So this past weekend, thanks to my very indulging and understanding wife (who also fly fishes), I was able to get a full day out on one of the local Canterbury rivers and was into fish all morning and afternoon. Usually fishing is done by sight, meaning you spot a fish and then fish to that particular critter. This river was turbulent so it demanded lots of blind fishing which is the norm back in the states. Any likely looking water was met with a strike. Did I mention that the fish here are huge? As in nothing under 20" long. They don't even measure fish here in length but rather by the kilogram. I was into consistently 2 kilogram fish. That's big by my standards. As I was by myself, I was of course unable to get photos of any of these beautiful rainbows, but the scenery was not so bad either......

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Guest of honor


We had our first guest over for brunch last weekend. R is one of the only people we knew in New Zealand before coming over here. She is the step mother of an old and dear kiwi friend of mine from my middle school years in Corvallis. We stayed with her on our honeymoon back in 2004 and have kept in touch the last few years. We even got to see her in Portland a few years ago since her sister lives there.

We had a splendid meal of veggie frittata, homemade blueberry muffins, strawberries and some bubbly for the occasion. And lots and lots of good conversation. We are so happy to have her here in Christchurch.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Bike commuter


I am woman, hear me roar....down the streets to work on my new bike. It was a public holiday on Friday so the roads were abandoned at 7am which made for an easy ride to work. Monday will be the true test when life around Christchurch is back to normal. On the way home I was riding into a brutal head wind so it took a little longer than the morning ride. And in the winter time, all bets are off. We shall see how that one goes though I suspect it will be no worse than a mid-winter commute in Portland.

One thing I noticed is how wonderful the "no turn on a red light" rule is for bikers. It sucks as a driver because you end up sitting at the light with no traffic coming and thinking that you just want to go! But this rule is a life saver, literally, for bikers. There are a few "bike boxes" along my route as well which make bikers more visible to motorists when stopped at an intersection. I never got the purpose back in Portland but now I understand. My one confusion is the many roundabouts here in Christchurch. They are straightforward as a motorist but as a biker? Not so sure what to do. I have seen bikers just "be" a car and go on through the roundabout but with all of the different directions that cars are taking, I don't feel comfortable going through the roundabout this way. Instead, I take the pedestrian crossing which makes me feel a little safer and will continue doing so for the time being.

It will be great to start my days off with some exercise. Now I need to get my butt back into the pool a few days a week and I am 2/3 there to being able to do a triathlon! (HA! No thanks....I am not a runner). I haven't really been in shape since starting a family so I am looking forward to a new physique in the months to come.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Four Seasons in One Day...

is a song by Crowded House and though the song is mostly about the challenges of love, it aptly describes the weather here in New Zealand. New Zealand has a maritime climate which means that the weather can (and does) change rapidly. Yesterday, we awoke to sunny, clear skies. At noon, it was gloomy, overcast and a bit cooler. Later in the day it rained and then it was clear again an hour later. And then we were pelted by gale force winds for most of the evening and early morning hours. It is nuts! Without a large continent to moderate things, New Zealand is subject to the whims of weather patterns that bellow up from the Antarctic without much to stand in its way.

Here in New Zealand, the weather can be described as "fine" (sunny, clear skies), "dull" (gloomy/overcast), "settled" (a period of several days when weather is "fine" or dry), or "unsettled" (as above but rain likely to occur). We also have northwesterlies (norwesters), northeasterlies, southerlies, and the like to describe the weather patterns. Norwesters are notoriously warm and dry as they arrive off the Australian continent and southerlies are notoriously cold as they are weather systems coming off Antarctica.

And now for a little geography.....the South Island of New Zealand lies on the 45th Parallel of the Southern Hemisphere. This is the same parallel that runs through Salem, Oregon which is noted by a boring traffic sign along Interstate 5 which you may or may not have noticed in your travels up and down the Willamette Valley. Christchurch is at 43 degrees latitude which you would not have noticed in your travels up and down the Willamette Valley. New Zealand is also the most isolated country of its size on the planet. So we are really out there. Thanks for tuning in.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

And a few more pictures....

In the Port Hills at the Sign of the Kiwi...

Ice cream....
Our beauty.....

Sunset in our backyard....

Miss M and Mr W do the "boom boom"

In search of the land of Rohan...

Well, we didn't take our planned trip down the east coast of the South Island to the Otago Peninsula since it turned out to be a holiday weekend. This meant that most accommodations were booked. Instead we went to Hanmer Springs and over Lewis Pass:
The following day, we headed up toward Arthur's Pass National Park and stopped at Kura Tawhiti Conservation Area for a spectacular picnic:



We fully expected to see Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli as they tracked the Orcs with Merry and Pippin as their captives but then again, we are supreme dorks.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

7 Weeks in...

And 7 things we like about living in New Zealand:
  • Being so close to so many beautiful places and with far less people enjoying them. We are 10 minutes from the beach, an hour and a half from the mountains, 10 minutes from a variety of scenic hikes and we have miles of bike trails at our disposal. In a few days, we are taking a trip down the east coast of the South Island to the Otago Peninsula where we plan to see yellow-eyed penguins and the only mainland Albatross colony in the world. How AWESOME is that? And to think that we have only touched the tip of the iceberg. Stay tuned for many more adventures and discoveries to come.
  • Slower pace of life. People aren't as rushed here. People seem happier here. The customer service pretty much anywhere you go is superb and friendly. People are just plain friendly here. And we like it.
  • Having one parent work and the other stay home. This has been one of the biggest changes for our family and we are SO much happier with this arrangement. At least for the moment. Mike will be itching to get back into the studio soon and in time, I suspect he will miss his teaching but for now, we find it much more sane to have one of us at home and the other one bringing home the bacon. And we love, love, love BOTH being home in the evenings and having dinner as a family every night. Except for Mike's scrabble night. He still needs to feed his addiction....
  • Living in the city but feeling like we are in the country. Our house backs up onto a pasture. And we have a view of the Southern Alps. And the Port Hills.
  • Living more modestly. We are still working on our food expenses (which was a huge part of our budget in the states too) but for now, we have no TV, only the basics for furniture, one car (that we use A LOT less) and we live in a modest house. This is a nice change for us. Not that we lived extravagantly in Oregon but our life here is pared down. The way our life was structured in the US did not lend itself to living simply but here, it does.
  • Working as a Nurse in a health care system that provides universal health care. Professionally, this is the place for me to be....no question. The system is not without its problems but I feel like I am able to provide much better care here than I did in the US. I find that there is a much more collegial work atmosphere. I find that there is much more adherence to the idea of "best practice" in health care rather than only lip service paid to this concept. Health care in the US is predominantly driven by fear of litigation and by the influences of big Pharma and health insurance interests. It is implemented in the confines of a short-term perspective (and profit oriented model) and places little value in the importance of preventative care. Since starting my job, my co-workers have asked me numerous times what I think about the NZ health care system compared with the US system and I can without a doubt say that NZ does things much, much better than the US. They are so surprised to hear me say this, given the American propensity for hubris ("we are the best!" "we are number one!"). Granted, I am working in a small area of the health care beast (maternity care) but from where I stand, the health care system here kicks ass. I will have to devote a few more blog entries to this subject but for now, this will have to be enough to pique your interest.
  • Being residents in a country that provides universal health care. Since the moment we stepped into the country, our family has had full health care coverage. Mike and I both feel a sense of relief that our coverage is not tied to my employment in any way and that there is an expectation that all citizens (and residents) of NZ have health care.
So the consensus is that we kinda like it here a whole hell of a lot. We realize that we are in that "honeymoon" phase of the emigration process but really, we have settled in quite nicely here.

Birds of New Zealand Part 1.



Welcome to this week's ornithological installment of Kiwi-a-go-go. With a bird as our moniker (and a fruit for fairness sake), I thought it only fair to include a little natural history with our posts. Meet our neighborhood Silvereye. This is a very social little bugger with quite the twinkle in its eye. It introduced itself to the shores of New Zealand from Australia in the 1800's and has prospered within our fine land. It seems to be comfortable eating a variety of bugs, seeds, nectar and fruits so it has an interesting reputation as both a menace and a boon to the farmers of the countryside. These pictures were taken out of our kitchen window. There will be a quiz in our next installment of "Birds of New Zealand" so be sure to familiarize yourself with our cheeky little neighbor. Ta Ta!

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

A Day at Orana Wildlife Park





Having a couple of kids changes your life in many ways. You don't sleep well, you fight with your spouse more and drink more alcohol to cope. Another way things change is you move to New Zealand, become members of the local wildlife park and get to pet and feed real live giraffes!! That more than makes up for the downsides. Enjoy.

Monday, October 5, 2009

Moved

Just a quick post to let everyone know we are moved into our house. Our boxes are unpacked and as I suspected (see post from August 6th), I did wonder why I packed certain things and cursed myself for not packing other things. The toys are a big hit and I am so thankful that we brought them as they have made a world of difference for Miss M. She has been shutting herself in her room to play with all of her toys for most of the day with the occasional departure to demand a snack. Mr W finally has his own room and toys which means less torture from his older sister. We had to do a big shopping run to outfit our kitchen and to find a few other essential items but all in all, the house is coming together and we are making ourselves a nice little home.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

The Port Hills-Late Winter Hikes






We've been a bit behind on our posts, but here's some more New Zealand loveliness. These hills are about 7 minutes from our new house and there's miles of hiking trails to choose from...

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Home sweet home

We have a place to live!

A vintage 1950's-early 60's grandma house! Our new abode is fully furnished (appliances, furniture, even dishes!) which will be a tremendous help to us since we have come to NZ with very, very little. We are the first to rent this humble abode. It was previously owned by an elderly couple who took immaculate care of the place and though it is "dated", we like to think of it as "retro". There is a nice conservatory in the back and a plot for a veggie garden. The garage will hopefully serve Mike's studio needs. Miss M's future school is just 2 blocks away and I will have an easy, flat bike ride to work.

We move in at the end of the month.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Monday, September 14, 2009

Siblings on a boat

Baking gone wild


This was my first attempt at baking in the southern hemisphere, the very easy chocolate chip cookie, but alas, something went terribly wrong. They taste alright but man, gonna have to tweak the recipe a bit.

First day of work and a query

First day of work today. My head is still spinning with the names of all of my new colleagues and the new information that I am required to stuff into my brain (which has suffered since having children...mommy brain anyone?). Learning about "registrars" (residents), "lead maternity carers" (midwives who provide prenatal and postpartum care to women and families), and the ins and outs of a Baby Friendly Hospital. Have I mentioned that this is the perfect job for me? I know there will be challenges, as there are with any job, but this is really, truly a great opportunity for me.

My new colleagues held a mid-morning "tea" for me which was lovely. I met many of the midwives and found that about half of them were from the UK. Somehow, we started talking politics (maybe I brought it up! Go figure!) and this led to a discussion about the current debate in the US around universal health care. One of my colleagues just bluntly asked "Why would anyone be against universal health care?" While I wanted to unleash my wrath on the no-good Republicans (I just typed "Repuke-likans" on accident! Maybe this term will catch on!), I restrained myself and then thanked my lucky stars that I get to experience working in a health care system that provides universal health care. Hip hip hooray!

Sunday, September 13, 2009

My brush with fame...


Well, not really. But I swear, the skipper on the cruise in Akaroa looked like Neil Finn. As many of you know, I am a huge Crowded House/Neil Finn fan and I could have sworn that he was Neil's long lost other brother. Alas, I googled and found no such brother. Ah well. He invited Miss M and I up into the cabin for the end of the cruise and we had a grand time.

And here is a little video of the Hector's dolphins, the world's smallest species of dolphin only found in New Zealand.


Dolphins and Penguins and Seals, oh my!

A few pictures from our trip to Akaroa.




Tuesday, September 8, 2009

A Day Up In the Hills of Christchurch 2




Just because they are so damn cute......

A Day Up In the Hills of Christchurch






So today was a good day as you will see from our pictures. It's late winter, very early spring here in Christchurch so we were pleasantly surprised to have a warm, windless 18 degrees Celsius day. A perfect day to take the gondola up to the hills just southeast of town about 8 kilometers. It's a quick ten minute drive up the gondola and the views let you truly soak in your surroundings. The outdoor living will be easy....
We also saw a nice house today out in Bryndwyr. Smaller, cheapish and very sweet and cozy. We put in our application and now we wait to see if the landlord takes a shine to us. She is a nurse so we have that going for us...which is nice (movie reference anyone?). To cap it off we also did some window shopping for some bikes and found the store where we will be purchasing ours. John Bull Avanti Plus is the place to go in Christchurch in our estimation! Super friendly and the always appealing good deal. Enjoy the pics and once again stay tuned. As an added clue to the internal movie reference remember this line: "A big hitter the lama.."