NZ Political Parties' ECE Policies

I know that this will interest some of you more than others, but I find it fascinating as an exploration of the different ranges of beliefs/policies that are available in different societies, so I am sharing it.

These are all of the major political parties in NZ, and their policies on Early Childhood Education, published in preparation for the election that was last weekend. National and Labour are the two biggest parties, with Green and Māori being the smaller but still significant ones.

You will (I think) notice that the baseline from which these parties are working is far different from the baseline in the United States. Not one party is debating whether public-funded, government-run ECE is something worth spending money on - it just depends how much. While I have done nothing to make this happen, and am simply here benefitting from it, I have discovered that I have a great deal of pride in this aspect of my adopted country. Unfortunately, I have also discovered that I don't think I should have to be proud to live in a country where children's welfare is looked after. That should be a given, and maybe someday I will see it as one, hopefully without losing my appreciation of it.

Note: I know that the text on the pictures is rather small, but if you click on the pictures, they'll get bigger so that you can read the text easily.

The National Party is the closest to the Republicans in the States (although still pretty liberal by US standards, which is part of my point).

The Labour Party is more like the Democrats in the States, if we remember that the whole spectrum is shifted in a very liberal direction.

Also, notice that while the Labour Party is trying to increase the 20 free hours to 25 free hours, the National Party is not advocating to decrease it. No major party is advocating taking away children's access to quality ECE at no cost to their families. 

It says, "Re-establish the target for 100% qualified staff" (first bullet point) because it was in effect for a while, but was deemed too difficult/expensive and reduced to 80%.

Yes, to be clear, that means that the current debate is whether 80% or 100% of people working with children under the age of five need to be professionally trained. I wish that that's what we were debating in the States, but... no.

Translations:

~ PAFT is Parents as First Teachers

~ HIPPY is Home Interaction Program for Parents and Youngsters

~ PAUSE and PAUA are both home-based care programs

~ kōhanga reo are Māori immersion centres

~ whānau led centres are family led centres

All of these programs are out there doing lots of good for children and families in the communities where I have worked. It is great to see so many good options.

The fourth bullet point, outlining the need for professional development for Te Whāriki is important because it is still a relatively new curriculum, and teachers need support in fully understanding and implementing it. (Again, I will devote an entire post to Te Whāriki sometime soon).

I'm not sure, but this party seems a bit wishy-washy on the 20 free hours idea (see the fifth bullet point). I wonder if they actually don't support it, but don't quite want to admit it? I'd say that is also a telling aspect of the political atmosphere, although I may be over-interpreting.

Mana is a Māori word meaning "prestige, authority, spiritual power, control, status, influence."

To end on a nice, positive note, notice the sense of humor in the blurb about the author.

Spring Walk in Pukekura Park

There is a beautiful place in New Plymouth called Pukekura Park. I'd say for every five people in Whanganui I told about us moving here, three would say, "Oh, you have to go to Pukekura Park in the summer!" They would then explain to me how the park is always beautiful, but in the summer there is a festival of lights, and the whole park is lit up and becomes a wonderland. It took me a while to realize that summer is also Christmas time here, so the light displays probably have something to do with that. I have wonderful memories of the Fête des Lumières (Festival of Lights) in Lyon, France, but I have a hard time picturing it without cold and snow creeping into the picture. Although I would not change my French memories at all, I do look forward to the beauty without the cold.

Anyway, it is not yet summer, and the park is not yet bejeweled for its annual celebration, but J and I went for an exploratory walk a few weeks ago anyway, and were not disappointed. Pukekura Park is rambling and happy, with a mixture of careful planning and natural growth that is both comfortable and impressive. I love that such a place exists right in the middle of the city, and that so many people are proud of it and go to enjoy it.

This red bridge is the iconic symbol of Pukekura Park.

Difficult to see in the picture is the shear size of the beautiful pink and white flowers on this, and many other, trees.

I'm not sure why, but this simple picture seems to me to be the most idyllic one I've ever taken. I don't remember being struck by that at the time that I took it, so it must be something about the photo itself that strikes me, but I find it calming and almost unreal in its peace and beauty.

J and I were amazed by the shear size of this tree. Only after a bit of looking did we notice that it has roots growing down from bits of it that are not anywhere near the ground. Interesting.

This arch is for New Plymouth's sister city in Japan, and is much like the thousands of arches that make up the mountainside temple of Inari that J and I toured and fell in love with when we were in Japan.

J and Holly, very proud to have reached the top of the small hill next to the lake. Happy days.

Early Childhood Education in NZ

After most of a year teaching in ECE in NZ, I thought I would give you some information about how it works here, because it is quite different than the US or Canada (which are also different from each other, but not as much, and that's its own story).

We'll start with some general ECE information, then move on to Kindergartens and Early Learning Centres (ELCs) individually.

All ECE in NZ:
~ Based in Te Whāriki Bicultural Curriculum, to which I will devote an entire post sometime soon. For now, just know that it is very holistic, inclusive, and awesome.
~ Play based - children make their own choices of how to explore the materials available, and are not expected to sit down and do assigned work. Teachers explore and learn alongside the children, and work hard to structure the environment to provide appropriate learning experiences and to support the children in having positive interactions with each other and the broader world.
~ A minimum of 80% of teachers in each centre must be qualified teachers.
~ With few exceptions, children have free movement between inside outside, and usually some kind of in-between space, like a verandah, deck, porch, etc.
~ There are national safety requirements, but they leave plenty of space for risk taking, which is great.
~ Teachers and parents seem to have a good understand that even in the safest setting, children do get hurt sometimes, and that we don't have to get too stressed about that. No one seems to have a desire to bubble-wrap the children.
~ All 3- and 4-year-olds are entitled to 20 hours of free ECE per week. This can be used for home caregivers, kindergarten, or ELCs, and can be divided up between them if that's helpful to the family. And when I say free, I mean free. No charge.
~ The first year of school is Year 1 (with Kindergarten being public ECE and not in a school).
~ Children go to school the day after they turn five, regardless of when that is during the school year. I found this hard to wrap my brain around at first, as it means that children are joining the Year 1 class every week of the year, but Kiwis find it equally hard to imagine the first day of school entailing 25-30 new children that teachers have to settle in all at once. I can see the benefit of both ways, and my limited experience seems to indicate that both work pretty well.
~ Regulated by the Educational Review Office (ERO), which comes and assesses them on a 1, 2, 3, or 4 year cycle, depending on how well they do. The better you are doing, the longer they feel you can go without getting checked up on.

Early Learning Centres (ELCs) in NZ:
~ Privately owned, but there are some huge corporations, like Kiddie Corp, which owns centres all over NZ.
~ Can care for children from birth to age five, but usually only have children who are at least 6 months old, due to longer maternity leave in NZ. Some choose to only have 3- and 4-year-olds, but it is up to them to choose what license to apply for.
~ Usually children can attend full time. They can use up their 20 free hours, and then pay for whatever additional hours they use. The ELC where I worked in Whanganui charged $4.60/hour for the additional hours.
~ Usually have a manager who takes care of administration and a director who oversees the teachers.
~ Open year-round, except for public holidays.
~ ELCs are quite varied, just like they are in the US. Some are in converted homes, some in purpose-built centres, some have many classrooms, some just one, etc.
             (Note: I have actually been forbidden to say "classroom" when meaning an ECE space, because people here perceive that word as describing sit-down desks and worksheets, which is obviously not what we go for in ECE. However, I have yet to find the right word to replace it, and am therefore a bit stuck. I am really trying to avoid it, though, because I was told that my use of it in interviews made people a bit nervous about hiring me, because they thought I wouldn't be play-based and would want to stand in front of the children and lecture. Word choice is more influential than we often think!)

Kindergartens in NZ:
~ Public, government funded.
~ Usually 3, 4, or 6 hours per day. Children can use up their 20 free hours and then pay for whatever additional hours they use. If they use all 20 hours at kindergarten, then it is $1.00/hour for the additional hours. If they don't use all 20 at kindergarten, it is $4.60/hour for the rest.
~ With few exceptions, only 3- and 4-year-olds go to kindergarten.
~ Teachers are responsible for administration as well as teaching, and therefore spend more time "off the floor" (without the children) doing other jobs. This is considered a good think, because being more involved in the running of the kindergarten increases ownership, and having a balance of office time and teaching time helps keep you motivated and refreshed for both.
~ Run on a school year schedule, meaning they are closed for school holidays (10-11 weeks per year). Teachers get part of this time off, and part of it is used for professional development and special projects.
~ Usually in purpose-built centres that are very well established. Most that I have learned about are 35-60 years old, which I love because they have great big trees grown up and fantastic outdoor environments in general that have been cultivated and perfected over many years.
~ Kindergartens are under the umbrellas of Associations, which cover their region (e.g. Whanganui Free Kindergarten Association, Kindergarten Tarakanki).
~ Kindergartens and Kindergarten Associations are overseen by committees of parents and community members (a big one at the Association level, and smaller ones for each kindergarten).
~ Kindergarten teachers have pay equity with primary and secondary school teachers, which means they are paid more than ELC teachers, and have quite decent salaries.

~ This is just my personal experience, but it seems to me that kindergartens have very good reputations, and people tend to have more professional respect for kindergarten teachers than ELC teachers. This might be a skewed sampling because I personally like teaching in kindergarten best, but I do think that it seems to be the way people lean. That being said, I taught with great teachers in ELCs, and think that everyone just needs to find what fits them best, and that will be different for different people.

For your viewing pleasure, I have included some pictures of several other kindergartens in Taranaki that I have visited. I just think that their outdoor environment are so wonderful! While you're at it, don't forget to look back at mine and be appreciative again! :)

http://mercierkiwiadventures.blogspot.co.nz/2014/05/wow-i-am-finally-posting-long-awaited.html

Small but gorgeous sandpit.

Special place for bugs to stay. I will do a post sometime about the one that I made with my kids sometime soon.

Lovely little pathway, and great murals along the back fence.

Mahau (shade structure) for dramatic play and bicultural inclusion.

Stunning stage for all kinds of exciting performances.

Climbing structures with an amazing view of Mount Taranaki in the background. Too bad it was covered in clouds the day I visited, but you can still tell what a great spot they have!

Huge and well-stocked carpentry area.

Clay tools and other "making" materials.

This skirt is called a piupiu, and is a fundamental part of any dress-up area in NZ, but this was the first time I'd seen one in baby doll size, and I thought it was so cool, I just had to include it!

A Few NZ Creatures

I have taken various pictures of animals over the last few months, and thought that it might be nice to share some of them.

This first one I actually took not very long after we arrived in NZ. I remember that when I saw this snail, I was shocked and amazed to see one that big! Now, having built a Bug Hotel with my kindergarteners and found many snails to put in it, this looks like a completely normal sized snail. So... I'm wondering... have I simply become accustomed to the large range of NZ snails, or are they actually not particularly bigger than American snails, or was this actually a huge one and I just can't tell in the picture? In any case, there are lots of snails here, and the children and I love finding them.

Firmly within the "abnormally huge" category, however, are the wetas we find. They are native insects of NZ (I believe I mentioned them after I learned about them in the Te Papa museum in Wellington). Most types of weta like to live in the forest, so we don't find a lot at kindergarten, but it is very exciting when we do.

In my kindergarten explorations, I have learned that girl wetas (like the one I'm holding) have long egg tubes, and do not bite. The boys can bite, but apparently it's not too bad. The spines on the back of their legs can hurt a bit, but we are very careful and not one of the kids has gotten jabbed, so it's all good. Each time we find one, the kids are quite nervous to hold something that big for the first two minutes or so, then they're all demanding turn after turn, until I eventually assert that the weta is all tired out and must be retired to the Bug Hotel for a rest. (Part of the goal of building the Bug Hotel was to have a safe, respectful place to put bugs, so that they don't get "explored" to death by troves of well-meaning children. It works very well.)

Holly is so cute when she sleeps all curled up! I know that she's not really a "NZ creature," but she is from here!

I love that I can see new baby calves nursing on my way to work!

I was all excited to get this picture when J and I were in the park, because I think that these birds are quite pretty, but they hop around so fast, usually pictures are out of the question. I got home and googled it to see what kind it is, and it's a Common Blackbird. For the record, I don't believe that names of things that people might get excited about should include the word "common." It's like the name itself forbids you to think that it's cool. Well, I think it's cool anyway. So there.

J and I have been taking Holly for lots of walks, now that the weather is warmer and it doesn't get dark so early. That is making her a very happy NZ creature, and also making it almost impossible to leave the house without her thinking that she's going on a walk.

Because NZ is so awesome, a family came over to kindergarten one morning and said, "I brought some of our new baby animals to Puketapu School for the kids to see. Do your kindergarteners want to come visit?" Not surprisingly, we did! 

This gorgeous calf tried to suckle on everyone's clothes and hands, and the children were so calm and caring, even though it was a bit scary to have that big mouth close on you!

I have been loving seeing all the lambs in the fields, so I was very excited to finally get to see one up close!

The girl holding the lead is the granddaughter of the animals' owner, and used to come to kindergarten before I started. She was so proud to show off her grandma's animals!

(Also, I am so used to seeing that particular child in that dinosaur costume, I almost blurred out the dinosaur's face to protect his identity. I might be losing my mind.)

NZ Book Recommendations

Despite my best efforts at maintaining my assumption that everyone in the world loves to read, I am repeatedly forced to admit that some people don't, and therefore have no interest in my book recommendations. Which I find quite upsetting. More upsetting, however, is the uncomfortable admission that even people who enjoy reading the occasional blog post might still have no inclination to pick up a delightful historical fiction, novel, or cultural study. Shocking.

The upside of all of these unpleasant concessions is that, as an unashamed and overt book lover, I can post recommendations all I want, under the assumption that you probably knew one was coming at some point when you started reading my blog. I also operate under the solid assumption that you are all capable of the basic critical thinking skills necessary to realize that you are welcome to disregard my recommendations entirely. So feel free. But recommendations you will receive. Also, please note that despite my voracious reading of every book I can get my hands on, I have graciously opted to only include those that have to do with NZ, thereby saving you from reading a fairly infinite list of "must-reads." You're welcome.

#1 - The Bone People, by Keri Hulme

This is an amazing book, but it is no walk in the park, so don't expect a light, Sunday afternoon read. It is written as a mix of poetry and prose, weaving in and out of speech, narration, and thought without much concern for whether the reader knows which strand is being woven at the moment. The imagery, however, is stunning, as is the author's ability to make you feel emotionally connected with what's happening even when you're not sure what that is. 

As for the plot, the story is about a part-Māori, part pākehā (European Kiwi) woman, a Māori man, and his adopted son of unknown origin (culturally and personally - he was found on the beach). Their personal and cultural struggles and discoveries are interconnected and set within the fascinating context of a rural town on the coast of the South Island. Māori culture, especially the personal meaning of cultural objects such as jade carvings, and the need to know who and where you come from, play a big part in the evolution of the characters.

The story is very dark and includes more pain and tragedy than I would usually tolerate in a work of fiction, but I find that the experience of this particular story is worth the effort of wading through the often unpleasant reality of human interactions.

This book is well known in NZ as a mainstay of Māori writing, which is why I read it, but I believe it to be a valuable book for its own sake as well.

#2 - Come on Shore and We Will Kill and Eat You All, by Christina Thompson

The title of this book comes from one of the first interactions between Māori and Europeans. The story goes that after a few brusque encounters in which the lack of common language resulted in fearful interactions and hasty departures on both sides, somebody had the brilliant idea to bring a Pacific Islander from an already "friendly" (read "conquered") island to translate. The captain of that ship wrote down that the Māori paddled out in their waka (canoes) and yelled, "Come on shore and we will kill you all." Historians believe this translation to be fairly accurate. The "and eat you" part, however, seems to have been added (for flair, assumedly) at some point during the communication back to England through various letters and messengers. Those who have studied Māori culture at the time believe that asserting that they would kill all the invaders was protocol for a show of strength, but declaring that they would eat them would be considered rude, and so would not have been said, at least not during the initial challenge. 

Interested yet? Well, there is lots more where that came from in the book. 

This book tells two parallel stories:

     ~ Story #1 - A young American doctoral student visits NZ and falls in love with a Māori man.

     ~ Story #2 - The British Empire discovers a new land, full of beauty and dangerous people.

How are these parallel, you ask? Well, let me tell you. 

     ~ Parallel #1 - There is a rather awkward adjustment period when two cultures collide.

     ~ Parallel #2 - When faced with a different way of life, you may well learn a lot about your own.

     ~ Parallel #3 - Uncertainty or a lack of understanding sometimes feel a lot like fear.

     ~ Parallel #4 - If compromise is your goal, how do you find the middle ground? 

Fortunately for the author and for anyone who decides to read this book, said parallels are much more eloquently (and logically) stated within the book. Personally, I found the transitions from modern-day romance to historical escapades and back again masterfully done and very complementary. Also, it was neat to read a fellow American's take on things.

#3 - Ask that Mountain: The Story of Parihaka, by Dick Scott

The sense that I have gotten so far is that if you intend to live in Taranki and have any desire to understand Māori, you have to read this book. So I read it. I have to say, I expected it to be historical fiction, which I enjoy, and was fairly devastated to realize that it was pure history, which, despite years of distance from high school, has retained its place in my mind under the category of "classes I hate." Fortunately, I made the discovery that if high school history class had been about Māori nonviolent resistance to land confiscation, I might have loathed it considerably less. 

This book is about Te Whiti and Tohu, two Māori chiefs who lead an amazing nonviolent campaign against illegal "sales" of Māori land to the settlers. Parihaka, where they lived, is a 45-minute drive around Mount Taranaki from our house. I actually went there for the celebration of Puanga, the Māori New Year, but was late and missed the festivities. Anyway, the point is that it is very close to me, which makes it all the more interesting for me.

To make an attempt to summarize the many years of history and conflict in this book seems vaguely insulting, so please take into account that it is insufficient. Basically, the Europeans decided that any land they wanted should be theirs, and justified taking it from the Māori with reasons ranging from "they don't really use it anyway" to "we want it" to "they'll all be dead soon enough." Some Māori fought back with violence, and some joined the Europeans, who promised them bigger shares of land in exchange for loyalty. Te Whiti and Tohu, however, launched a campaign to maintain the mana (prestige/spiritual energy/pride) of their people by staying true to what they believed and by entirely avoiding violence. Throughout their various nonviolent protests, statements, and campaigns, the thing that stands out to me is their steadfast belief in the rights of their people, their ability to remain calm, and their scorn for the Europeans' willingness to bend the truth to their will.

The book is told through a mixture of narration and quotes from letters, laws, correspondences, etc., and is shockingly engaging and easy to read for a history book. Though never overtly condemning anyone, the author's often biting narration and clever juxtapositions clearly point out the difficulties facing the Māori in dealing with the Europeans' presumptuous mindset. I find Te Whiti to be an inspiring figure, although hard to imagine in real life. As I read more and became increasingly impressed by him, I came to the conclusion he and Gandhi would have been soul mates if they had met.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in historical examples of seeking justice through nonviolent means, as it is one of the best examples I have seen. 

#4 - Tikanga Māori: Living by Māori Values, by Hirini Moko Mead

This last book is likely to be the most useful of all to me, but I will have to say the least about it, because I have not yet read it. Perhaps it should not, therefore, be included in this list, but I am so confident that I will find it valuable that I am preemptively recommending it. Don't worry, though, if I read it and discover that it is not worth the time commitment, I will let you know. 

Tikanga means "cultural customs and practices," so how could that not be interesting? It covers things like ngā pōwhiri (welcome ceremonies), ngā mahi auaha (creativity and performance), te takoha (gift giving), etc. I am very excited to read it!

I realize that these books are very likely difficult to access on the opposite side of the world, but they are all available to order on amazon.com, in either print or digital form. Just so you know.

Kindergarten Events

In case I haven't been clear, I love working in kindergarten! I love the challenge of supporting children with all the different things that they need, I love the collaboration with the other teachers, I love the activities available for the children and me to enjoy, I love the relationships I build with parents and children, and I love the fulfillment of knowing that I am helping children to grow into happy, healthy, kind individuals.

Now, in addition to that, I can say that I love kindergarten events! I have not had a lot of experience with them in the past, as the private places I have worked haven't had many, but since starting at Puketapu Kindergarten, I've participated in several, and I really like them! I thought I would give you a summary of some of them.

Kindergarten Taranaki Inaugural Banquet:

Since it does not involved children, this banquet only half counts as a kindergarten event, but J and I had fun, so it's included. The theme was "winter on the mountain," and we were expected to dress up for it. Unfortunately, I was the only teacher from my team who could go, so we didn't get to have fun planning our costumes together like other teams did. There were teams of snow angles, Māori atua (gods), snowboarders, etc.). J and I opted for wearing all blue and dousing ourselves in white, frosty glitter, which unfortunately did not show up in the picture. Trust me, we were impressively sparkly. 

The hat and bouquet came from a teacher I met there who was dressed as the winter sun, with yellow-orange flowers everywhere and dark sunglasses. I'm not sure how they ended up on us, but there they are. 

We didn't know anyone there, but we got to meet a lot of different teams of teachers, which was great. Although we all work for Kindergarten Taranaki, teaching teams don't get many opportunities to see each other, so I enjoyed this event.

Frozen Movie Night:

This is my makeshift Anna costume, which I wore the day of our Frozen movie night. I adore the movie Frozen, and love singing all the songs, so when the committee asked what movie we should watch at movie night, I eagerly suggested Frozen.

Although Anna does wear a green dress for part of the movie, the important part of my costume is the white lock of hair (ribbon) running through my plait (as they call them here), indicating the place where Elsa's ice magic turned my hair white. I spent most of the day tying ribbons into all of the children's hair so that they could be Anna, too!

That night, we all wore our pajamas (I wore my glow in the dark rocket ship footie pajamas) and watched Frozen at kindergarten. I know the kids' faces look funny partially blurred out, but I wanted you to be able to see their wide open mouths - we are all belting out the songs in Frozen, which are amazing! We sing them all the time during the day, and it was particularly special to sing them all together along with the movie.

Dress-Up Disco:

Disco? At a kindergarten? In costumes? YES! And I must add that we are rocking out to techno remixes of songs like Bob the Builder and Elmo's World, as well as "classics" like What Does the Fox Say? and the chipmunks version of Chris Brown's Yeah. You know, in case the picture wasn't goofy enough already. 

So... yes, I dressed up as spider woman and danced around like a maniac with all the children at the disco. In fact, given that I was one of the few adults who went crazy dancing, I usually had a line of children waiting to dance with me.

Notice that I am dancing with no two boys who are also spider people. Spiderman is the superhero of the year in kindergarten-world, so I think there were about ten of us. Some of the boys were so excited to see me dressed as spider woman that they couldn't even talk!

This is me with the only other female spider person - one of my kids' 2-year-old sister. I wish that I could unblur her face so you could see how stunningly adorable she is, but hopefully you get the idea. She followed me around all evening, dancing like the party animal she is, grinning from ear to ear. It was great!

Snow Collecting/Celebrate Winter Day:

At kindergarten, we celebrate each season with special activities relating to that season. This year, for Celebrate Winter Day, we decided to drive up Mount Taranaki and fill up a trailer full of snow and bring it back down to kindergarten for the children to play in.

Here is me and my co-teachers, proud of our harvest. I had to laugh a little at myself - last winter (in Ottawa), all I wanted was for the snow to be taken away, and now this year I am driving up the mountain to haul it down to kindergarten. Yet another reminder that everything is relative.

The newspaper did a story about our snow harvest, and printed it along with this picture (and a picture of the kids playing in the snow). Everyone was very excited about it.

While we were up the mountain, one teacher found an old sign, and we used it to do some makeshift sledding, which was quite fun. I love that I work with people who decide to do some makeshift sledding while collecting snow for Celebrate Winter Day. Who wouldn't?

Quiz Night: This was another childless event, but it was really fun. Quiz Nights are a popular fundraising even in New Zealand - you have teams and answer rounds of trivia questions. I wished that Grandma Verschelden was on our team, because she would have known all the answers, but we still did okay. J was on the "teacher team" with all of us, and he knew a lot of the answers, and we did our best with the rest. A lot of parents came, as well as many people from the community, and it was a very good time. 

A Year Already?

Well, Sunday was my birthday, and I am now 26 years old. More importantly, Thursday is the anniversary of the day we arrived in NZ, so we are now 1-year-old Kiwis! Yahoo! It doesn't feel like a year to me, but I think that that is partially because we moved in the middle, so we haven't had a full year to settle in. 

I decided that in honour of our first full year in NZ, I would post some pictures that haven't quite fit into any of my posts, but are still pretty great. They are not really from all throughout the year, as I tend to delete pictures after a while if I'm not going to post them, but there are still some good ones, so hopefully it will be enjoyable.

First, to take care of birthday information - J and I went snowboarding again on my birthday, and it was wonderful. We were exponentially better the second time, and I went from falling an average of two times per descent to only falling four or five times all afternoon, and even being able to steer! It was a very exciting birthday present! 

This is the view from near the ski fields on Mount Turoa. It's a pity that the picture doesn't capture depth very well. Trust me, you are seeing a very long way. J was telling me just the other day that visibility here is way further than in the States, due to less air pollution.

You will notice a disproportionate amount of pictures that come from my daily bike rides to work. That is because that is the part of my life that most often makes me stop to marvel at how beautiful NZ is.

These are two of the most delicious drinks we've had in NZ (though we didn't know it yet when I took the picture). The one on the right is an iced coffee something with real cream on top and ice cream in it, and the one on the left is a mint hot chocolate.

Notice the beautiful light reflecting off the wet boardwalk.

Holly is the best hugger I have ever met.

Spring has sprung, and little calves in the field next to my bike path watch me go by every morning. They are fairly irresistibly adorable.

I usually love bright colours in the sky, but this shimmery silver-grey in the sky and sea was breathtaking.

Holly waiting eagerly for me to throw the ball, and looking adorable.

Less adorable while actually catching it, but still impressive.

Not sure what made the sun reflect off the ocean like that, but it was stunning!

Again, spring has sprung, and in NZ, that means lambs, lambs, and more lambs. On our long drives back and forth to Mount Turoa, I spent ages fawning over the cuteness of the little fluffs of white prancing around the fields after their moms. This is the first black one I've seen (and fortunately we were walking instead of driving), so I snapped a picture. I love black lambs, although my favourite is actually white wool and black body, like the mom.

Living in Taranaki, I would be deeply disloyal if I did not include at least one picture of the regal Mount Taranaki. People here (including me) are very proud of their mountain. You can see it from almost anywhere, as long as it's not too cloudy, which makes you more appreciative of clear, sunny days when you can see it. It is common to hear, "Did you see how beautiful the mountain is today?" in daily discussions, and each time you catch a glimpse of it, you just have to pause and be thankful that you live in such a beautiful place.

J and I are truly thankful for our first year in NZ, and are so happy to have landed in such a great place. We are thankful to be healthy and capable, and are eager to see what the next year will bring.