Thanksgiving Reflections

Thanksgiving is my favourite holiday. I am not into buying things, and so many holidays revolve around that now. I am, however, into eating, so that works well. More than that, though, I love spending time with family, and I have wonderful memories of Thanksgiving throughout my life. With four days off work/school, my whole family spends the time at Grandma Verschelden's house, playing games (from Trivial Pursuit to Pitch to football), eating, laughing, telling stories, doing puzzles, etc. I look forward to this time every year, and it always feels warm, comfortable, happy, and loving. I have missed a few Thanksgivings over the years, but not many.

This Thanksgiving (or the day after, here, since that is when it lined up with "real" Thanksgiving in Kansas), I had plans to Skype with the Verschelden family in St. Mary's in the morning, but I got called in to teach at a new Kindergarten. I was very thankful for the opportunity, and I had a fantastic time. I was much more successful at learning the children's names this time, and felt that the day went well. I also met (and made a good impression on, I think), the reliever coordinator, which is good. I was very thankful for children's inclination to love, and for my training that helps me to respond appropriately to them. One of the first things that happened when I got there was that two children got in a fight over positions on a barrel swing, and I had to remove one of them from the area for trying to kick the other in the face. As I pried her off the swing and gently carried her to the couch to calm down, I reminded myself that being calm and supportive, but firm, was the best thing to do. But even as I acted on this knowledge, I had to fight down the frustration at feeling that it was sad that this was my introduction to these children - no time for positive relationship building before becoming the disciplinarian. To my delight, however, the child calmed down, ran over to me and said, "I'm happy now, will you read me a book?" She and I got along great the rest of the day - she both sought me out as a playmate and listened well when I asked her to do things. Before I left, she made me promise to come and visit again soon. I was both honoured by her affection and grateful for my education that helps me to be both a consistent disciplinarian and an affection, playful companion.

Anyway, when the day was over, I rushed home to my rescheduled Skype time, and was so thankful to see person after person cycle through Grandma's little computer room to talk with me. I wished J could have been there to see them, too, but he was at work. It was lovely to talk with everyone, and I am so thankful for Skype allowing me to do so. After hours of talking to everyone, they all moved on to other things, and Abe and I were left to talk. That was really lovely, too, because I don't often get to talk to him, and we had a nice conversation.

While we talked, I frequently heard bursts of loud laughter, shrieks of surprise, or excited exclamations coming from elsewhere in Grandma's house. At the time, absorbed as I was in talking with Abe, I didn't think much of it. But after we had hung up, I realized how badly I wanted to be there, laughing, shrieking, and exclaiming, surrounded by my family. It is a unique and irreplaceable feeling, and I wanted it so much. In spite of myself, I started lamenting how far away NZ is from them, and how difficult moving here has made it to have those kinds of experiences. I distracted myself with other things, and by the time J got home from work, I thought I was better. But when his first question was, "How's the family?" my flood of tears indicated otherwise. (On a side note, I believe that J is beginning to look at coming home to me as an unpredictable grab-bag of an experience. Oops.)

I talked with J about everything, and felt mostly better by bedtime, but I couldn't bring myself to be 100% sure that living in NZ was a really fair exchange for missing Thanksgiving at Grandma's. Given that we do live in NZ, and it's better to see that as a positive, it was not a great feeling.

Then, last night, I had a dream. I dreamed that we had to leave NZ (for some unexplained dream reason), and I was distraught. I was surrounded by my friends and family, who were all being very kind and trying to make me feel better, but I was unconsolable. I cried and wailed and struggled throughout the whole dream, desperate but unable to make it so that we didn't have to leave. When I finally woke up, I was deeply relieved to find that we didn't really have to leave. I don't usually buy in to dream interpretation very much, but this one seemed like a very kind effort on the part of my psyche to make me feel better. It didn't make me forget what I've sacrificed by moving here, but it did help me to remember that it is what I wanted, and that I am happy here.

In conclusion, I am thankful for my life here, and thankful that I have so many wonderful people throughout the world who care for me and make me happy. I am thankful that I have the ability to move across the world on an adventure, and thankful that no matter what, I have a wonderful home in Kansas to return to, Skype with, or draw strength from when I need it. I am also thankful to be able to come to terms (at least for now), with the fact that moving internationally is not easy, but it is worth it.

Māori Legends

This is a picture of a Māori carving/weaving that was in a museum in Wellington. I was lucky enough to get to hear a tour guide explain it to a bunch of children. It was neat to see how much the children already knew about the legends, because almost all of them weren't Māori, and I think it's amazing that the school system is working to keep the Māori culture alive and well.

(If you want to make the picture bigger to see the parts I reference, you should be able to click on it to blow it up).

In the upper left corner is a carving of Maui, a very mischievous Māori demigod. According to the legend, one day, his brothers decided to go fishing, and Maui wanted to come, but they wouldn't let him, because he played too many tricks. So before they left, he hid in the boat, and waited until they got out to sea before jumping out and surprising them. But they just laughed at him, saying, "How are you going to fish without any bait?" Maui was so determined to fish that he punched himself in the nose and wiped the blood on the hook for bait. His hook, which you can see between his legs in the carving, was made out of the enchanted jawbone of his ancestor. Maui cast his hook, and soon he caught a huge fish. He struggled and struggled to pull it up, and when he did, he saw that it was a gigantic stingray. That stingray became the North Island, with Auckland up on the tail, and Wellington at the head. That is why the North Island is also called Te Ika A Maui (The Fish of Maui). Their waka (boat) became the South Island, and their anchor became Stewart Island, down at the south end. I have included a picture to demonstrate how it fits.

In the lower left of the carving, you can see two taniwha (sea monsters). They were brothers, who lived in a huge lake next to Wellington. One brother, Whātaitai, was calm and content, but the other, Ngake, had lots of energy and wanted adventure. He could hear the waves crashing in the ocean over the boundary of their lake, and wanted to escape. Every day, he would swim faster and faster around the lake, even getting up enough speed to jump over Matiu Island, in the middle of the lake. One day, he went so fast that he crashed into the edge and knocked it down, turning the lake into a harbour and escaping out to sea. His brother, Whātaitai, decided to follow him, but the tide had gone out, and he got stuck. He was trapped for a long time, but then an earthquake pushed up the ground he was on, and when he got pushed up out of the water, he dried out and died. His body became part of the of land that extends out into the harbour, and it is still called Hataitai after him.

In the upper right corner of the carving, you see Kupe, who was the first person ever to come to NZ. He was a fisherman in Hawaiki, and had always provided for his family by fishing. But one day, his nets came up with the bait stolen, but no fish. When this happened multiple times, he realized that it must be an wheke (octopus) that was doing it. He put a spell on the wheke that made it stay near the surface of the water, rather than hiding in the depths, and decided to chase it until he could catch and kill it. He took his family on his waka, and they chased the wheke for a long time. You can see the wheke between Kupe's legs in the carving. Also, at the top of the woven part, the big, black and white triangles at the top signify the big wings of the albatros, which is what Kupe followed when he couldn't see the wheke. On the middle one, you can also see the Southern Cross constellation, which is what he followed at night. Eventually, they arrived in Wellington. Kupe left his granddaughters there to get things ready for everyone to live there, while he continued to chase the wheke. It took a long time, but he finally caught and killed it.

In the lower right corner, you can see Kupe's granddaughters (or daughters, or nieces, depending on the version), Matiu and Mākaro. They worked hard to get things ready in Wellington for Kupe, but he was gone for so long, they thought that he must have died. They loved him very much, so they had a big ceremony for him, mourned him deeply, and even cut their bodies with sharp shells to show their grief. That is why part of Wellington is called Pariwhero, because it means "red rocks," for the rocks coloured by their blood. When Kupe finally made it back, he was so honoured by the tribute his granddaughters had paid him that he named the islands in Wellington harbour after them. They are shown in the middle of the woven part, biggest to smallest (although they are the same size in the weaving) - Matiu, Mākaro, and Mokopuna (Grandchild) Islands.

I think these legends are fascinating, and was so happy to hear them engagingly and beautifully told by a tour guide who clearly cared about them, and by children who were interested and eager to learn. I hope you enjoyed them as well. :)

The Past Few Days

I am sorry that I haven't posted in so long. I have been quite busy, and very caught up in what I was doing. I confess that I got all the way through Friday, and almost all the way through Saturday, without even realizing that I was supposed to write a blog post. Although I realize that that is somewhat irresponsible, it is also nice to be happily involved in my life here to that extent.

On Thursday, I was awakened at 7:00am from a dead sleep by the phone ringing. It was the builder who was supposed to come next week to fix our windows and doors. He said, "Change of plans, can I come and work today?" I said yes, thrilled that he would finally get this work done, since we've been waiting since we moved in. His response, however, was, "Good, I'll be there in 10 minutes." Yikes! I catapulted out of bed, and managed to get dressed, wash my face, and clean up the house by the time they got here. Two men were at the house all day, working on three windows, both doors, and the shed. Amazingly, they got everything done, and now everything works properly, which is so lovely! I spent almost the whole day feeling unsure of what I was supposed to do while they were there, because they kept having questions for me, so I felt that I needed to be accessible, but I didn't want to hover. I decided that just reading in the living room would be okay, so that's what I did all day. Since I was in the middle of a very interesting book (Hagar's Daughter), I was happy to do so, although I would have preferred to do it without loud hammering, drilling, and power sanding going on all around me.

On Friday, I spent the morning volunteering at an early learning centre, and had a really wonderful time. I didn't get to spend much time with the children, because the director wanted to spend some time showing me around and telling me about the centre. I would have thought that this was not as good, but I was wrong. As it turns out, she and I have a lot in common - she took over this centre when it was not being run very well, much as I took over my centre in Canada. She is having many of the same struggles that I had, and we had a long, wonderful conversation about dreams of improvement and the importance of best practice. It felt amazing to discuss theory, design, curriculum, and teacher training with someone who is as passionate about it as I am, and I feel that we really connected. I will definitely be going back there in the near future.

After that, I went and bought a bunch of gardening supplies at Mitre 10. By the way, Mitre 10 is the NZ equivalent of Lowes or Home Depot.

This is the Whanganui Mitre 10. As you can tell, it is quite big - in fact, much bigger than it looks here. They even have a little restaurant inside, next to the greenhouse.

Their motto is "Easy As." J and I saw commercials for it on TV at the hotel, and they said "Easy as" at the end, and both of us came to the conclusion that someone had messed up the commercial, and cut off the end, during which they must have explained "easy as" what! Then we started hearing people say, "Sweet as!" This was a bit disconcerting for me, because it sounds like "Sweet ass!" and was being said by preschool teachers to children! As it turns out, Kiwis say lots of things that end in "as," with the implication that it means "... as can be" or "... as heck" or "... as all get out" as we Kansans might say. Anyway, you can say, "Easy as," "sweet as," "hot as," "stupid as," etc. Well, Kiwis can. I haven't been able to integrate that into my rather rigid sense of grammatical correctness yet, but maybe I'll come around.

Anyway, I bought some plants, a spade, weed mat, etc., at Mitre 10, then came home and worked in our back yard for hours. We have nice soil, but it has been neglected, so it is packed down, hard, weedy, and full of broken glass, nails, trash, etc. I worked all afternoon, and successfully dug up, cleaned up, and planted one section, with a weed mat underneath. Unfortunately, I realized the next day that I'd put the weed mat way too deep, so I had to dig it all up and start again. But now it is done properly, with several pretty little plants, and it looks very nice.

Speaking of working outside, I am getting a kick out of talking with people about the temperature. It has been 25-27C (77-80F) all week, and people are stunned and slightly appalled that J and I work outside in this heat! Everyone seems to be complaining about how hot it is, and saying that they just get exhausted being outside at all, because it's so hot! I hate to be prejudiced, but I just can't understand it. On a day like today in a Kansas summer, everyone would shift around their schedules to be able to do all of their outside things while it's nice and cool, but here they all want to stay inside under the fan! It is so funny to me how much everything is relative. I wonder if J and I will feel like 27C (80F) is hot by next summer, when we've acclimated?

After working outside, I cleaned up and started on my other new project - recording audio books. There is a website (librivox.com) that organizes volunteers to read books out loud and record them, and then they make the available as audio books online for people to download and listen to for free. Of course, this is only books that were written 100+ years ago, and are therefore in the public domain, but it is still really cool. I love reading out loud, and I think it is a wonderful service to provide. I have been interested in doing it for a while, and I decided to just go ahead and do it now. So I spent then entire evening recording and editing, and I got two chapters done, which felt amazing. They were my first ones ever, and when I uploaded them, the coordinator for the book said that they were wonderful, and I did a great job! So that felt good.

On Saturday, I went out to Jan's house for the first time. Jan is my friend who owns the café, and I have still been visiting her and drinking chai at her café every week, but I hadn't been to her house. She lives out in the country, and I brought Holly out to meet her dog, Buddy. He is a very nice dog, too, and they got along great. Jan also has some pretty sheep, and Holly could barely contain her enthusiasm for them. She wanted to get into their paddock so badly, and she was smart enough to find the gate and figure out how to pull it open! Fortunately, it was bolted, so she couldn't pull it enough to fit through, but it was a close call. What a smarty!

I had a wonderful time with Jan and her husband, sitting outside drinking juice, watching the dogs play and chatting. It was the picture of a beautiful country home, with perfectly lovely people in it, and I felt calm and content.

After my visit with Jan, I went and fixed my work in the garden from the day before (as I mentioned), and then cleaned up and headed over to my friend Anna's house for une soirée française. I met Anna at a barbecue we went to at J's colleague's house, and we discovered that we'd both lived in France and were interested in speaking it to keep up our skills. She invited me over to spend the evening with her, as long as I promised not to speak English. That was exactly what I wanted, so it was perfect. She cooked a French meal, and I brought a French dessert, and we chatted away in French, and then watched a French movie. We have a very similar level of fluency - no problems with grammar or comfort, but with the occasional laps in vocabulary, necessitating an online dictionary from time to time. :) We had a lot of fun, and I know that it did me worlds of good to start thinking in French again, even just for a few hours. I am so happy to have found Anna, and we will definitely be having regular French nights, and inviting more people who speak French, as we find them.

Wow, that was a lot of updating! How nice to have so many positive things to write about! I have decided to aim for a post about every other day, but not to hold myself rigidly to that schedule, because I don't want to start stressing about posting when I am busy with other things. It will also, hopefully, keep my posts more interesting, which is better for everyone, I think. :)

First Day of Relieving!

Guess what? I got called in to teach yesterday! I was sound asleep when the phone rang at 7:00am, but I was immediately wide awake, thrilled at the idea that it might be a school wanting me to relieve. And it was! The Kindergarten Association had a centre with three teachers all gone on the same day, so they sent me there. I was a little nervous, but mostly just excited and thankful.

When I got there, I was told that I would be in charge of monitoring the "rolling tea/lunch" room, "rolling" here meaning that it is available all morning, and that children come and eat when they're ready. The room is a covered deck with two long tables that can seat a total of 16 children. Many of the centres have rooms like this, with plastic roll-up walls that allow the room to be open or fully enclosed, as weather permits. I really like them, because they successfully blur the line between inside and outside. Anyway, the children had tea/lunch boxes in cubbies, and water bottles in tubs on the table. I voiced my concern at not being a whole lot of help because I didn't know any of the 40 children's names, but I was encouraged that the children would do a lot of it themselves, and that I could just ask for help when I needed it. Soon after I arrived, the children rushed out from mat time (where they had been doing some fun dances), and swarmed the tables, cubbies, and water bottles. I felt totally lost, trying to figure out names, guide appropriate eating behaviour, and monitor movement well enough to make sure that each lunch box got put back in the appropriate cubby. This last bit was particularly difficult, since many lunch boxes were not labelled, and some of the younger children seemed content to put theirs in a cubby that was in the general vicinity of their own. Yikes! In addition, as the children came in and out of the classroom, they were supposed to either put their sun hat on, or hang it on their hook for later. Unfortunately, this is the first week when that has been the expectation, so the children don't have the routine down yet. This meant a lot of time spent searching for hats, which, again, was complicated by the fact that the name on any given hat I found did not actually help me to match it with its owner. Most of them also had pictures on them, but not knowing the children, sometimes even that was hard to match, as a child who is deeply engrossed in play (or running across the playground) seldom looks much like that same child when told to smile for the camera. Yikes again!

Despite this rather hectic picture, I actually believe that this was a good kindergarten. In fact, the time that I spent all the way inside the classroom, or out on the playground, felt like an engaging, positive environment, with plenty to do, explore, and learn. The tea/lunch room was the most chaotic place, and I still think that that had I only known the children's names and been familiar with the routine, it wouldn't have felt that way. In addition, I am very confident that the children quickly noticed that 3 of their 5 teachers were relievers, and decided to go ahead and see what they could get away with. Add to that the always difficult transition to new expectations (such as wearing sun hats outside), and it is only natural that things weren't running as smoothly as they likely do on a "typical" day. I put "typical" in quotes because when you put 40 kids between 2 1/2 and 4 years old in one place, how "typical" is anything, ever? And I mean that as a compliment - I love that they are inventive, full of surprises, and never caught up in the mundane (or if they are, it's because things that adults label mundane are actually quite fun for children).

The good news about all of this, however, was that in the midst of struggling to find a hat for a child who had repeated his name to me five times without it seeming any clearer to me (remember that many names here are very different than those that I'm used to), while trying to make sure that the children at the table didn't leave without putting their things away.... I was wonderfully happy. It felt amazing to be back in the classroom, and each and every time I remembered a name and used it on the right child (I think I knew about 20 of the 40 names by the end of the day), I was so proud of myself! The children were, as children tend to be, dynamic, enthusiastic, affectionate, and positive, and I was so glad to be contributing to their day, even if it was only to ask them to show me where their cubbies were. It warmed my heart when they climbed onto my lap, or asked me to sit next to them while they ate, or showed me a scratch and asked me to kiss it.

Also, twice during my day there, a teacher came by and asked me how I take my tea/coffee, and then brought some out to me and encouraged me to sit down, have a rest, and drink my tea. In the morning, two other teachers came and sat with me - just for a few minutes, and with watchful eyes still on the children - but we all sat together and talked a bit about how the day was going, which was really nice. J says that they take breaks very seriously at his work, too, and I have heard that that is true across NZ. If your shift includes even a 10 minute break, you are expected to stop working for that entire time, and to relax and eat something. The teachers at this kindergarten each took a break, from 10 minutes to half and hour, depending on how long their shift was. I think this is nice, and that the time is well worth it, because even a little time can be quite rejuvenating.

I don't know when I will get called again, but I am so happy that yesterday happened! Despite my imperfect performance, I feel that I did my best, and I know that it was exactly where I was meant to be.

Bare Feet

Now that it is getting warmer and not raining so much, it is really feeling like summer. Unfortunately, it is also mid-November, and my brain seems to only be able to handle one of these facts at a time. When people talk about Christmas shopping (which, of course, they started doing weeks ago), I still figure that they will have to bundle up to go out to the stores. When people talk about going to the beach and having barbecues, I file that under "June" and look forward to the 4th of July. Which, in case you didn't notice, is double-wrong, since they do not actually celebrate American Independence Day in NZ. Oops. Anyway, in either case, I eventually have to do a mental double-take as the duplicity of my thinking becomes clear. I am not upset about this. In fact, there would have to be something really wrong going on for me to be upset about the weather getting warmer. But I am surprised at my inability to remember that it can be summer in December, and at my surprise each time it is brought to my attention.

The weather is beautiful here now. It is 20C (68F) and mostly sunny almost every day, and the wind has calmed down a bit, which feels nice. I have heard that spring is terribly rainy and windy, (which is what we've experienced so far), but that once summer settles in, we'll get a long stretch of good weather. I am optimistic that it is here, and I am really enjoying it so far. I am still liking sitting outside to read (now with Holly resting by me or chasing cats), and J and I have started doing some work on the gardens, which is nice. By the way, if anyone has suggestions on low-maintenance perennials and/or good pollinator flowers for a very mild climate, I would be happy to hear them.

Anyway, my main point is that here, shoes seem to become optional as soon as the weather does not require them. I saw a whole class of students doing sprints across the grass in P.E. today, all barefooted. J and I went out to a rather nice Indian restaurant for dinner the other night, and the couple at the next table were barefooted. The kids at many of the early learning centres leave their shoes in their cubbies for most of the day. People go grocery shopping, go to the bank, and who knows what else, with no shoes. I love it! My favourite barefoot family so far was a mom, dad, and two kids - the kids had shoes on, but the parents were barefoot. I don't know why, but I thought it was quite charming.

I think that the absence of shoes is a nice reflection of the relaxed outlook most Kiwis seem to have. They are not so bothered by little things, and would not see the point of a "No shirt, no shoes, no service" policy. Both J and I have noticed that people here seem to do what they like, and not worry about what other people do or like. Of course, this is a huge generalization, and like most generalizations, it can only be true to a certain extent. But I enjoy what I see of it, and I am happy to see people padding around town on bare feet.

Meet Holly Mercier

We adopted a dog today! Yay for us! We had actually not made up our minds about whether or not we wanted a pet, but then J stumbled upon a dog named Holly while he was doing some research on animal welfare. Holly is a stunningly beautiful border collie from the pound. She is three years old, and she ended up at the pound because her owners moved to a place where they weren't allowed to have pets. They came back and changed their mind several times, so they must really have loved her. Unfortunately, she has a grade 4 heart murmur, which means that she can't be exercised too hard, and will need some extra care. When J saw the listing on the SPCA website, he was immediately concerned that no one would adopt her with such a serious condition, especially since it prevents her from being spayed (because she can't go under general anaesthesia) and that she would have to be euthanized.

For those of you who don't know, we had a border collie named Callie before we moved here, and my mom very kindly adopted her when we left. She is a wonderful dog, and I think she and my mom are happy together now, which is wonderful. But the point is that we are predisposed to liking border collies.

We weren't 100% sure what we wanted to do, but we decided that we absolutely needed to go and see her. When we showed up at the pound, we told the lady there that we were interested in Holly. She looked sad and said, "She's the nicest dog, and everyone loves her, but she has a heart murmer..." J reassured her that he is a vet and could take care of her, and her face lit up and she practically jumped out of her seat to take us right over to Holly and tell us all about how great she is. It made both of us feel good about it, that she is the type of dog that people care about that much.

We both really liked her right from the start, and we were glad to find that she can actually run around a bit and get excited without seeming to make herself uncomfortable. It seems like we'll need to keep it to short walks, or make sure to rest for a while in the middle, but that she can still participate in nice activies. Since we're so busy anyway, I think that will suit us very well. So... Holly became Holly Mercier, and we're very happy!

This is Holly on the way to the pet store from the pound. We had the back window on the other side open for her, but she was determined to catch the wind out of my front window, so she jammed her face in between the window and the seat and looked like she'd never been happier.

While J went and bought some necessary dog things, Holly and I went for a walk. This is her watching another dog run by. Notice the cute little white marks on her paws - she has at least a little white on all of them.

I thought that Holly couldn't look happier than she had in the car, but then I scratched under her ear. She leaned back, closed her eyes, lolled out her tongue, and was the picture of doggy bliss.

When we got her home, Holly enthusiastically explore our yard while J and I did a little cleaning and maintenance to make sure that she'd be safe and happy. She seemed to be pacing herself a bit - she'd run around for about 5 minutes, then lay in the shade for about 5 minutes, then go back to exploring.

There are some birds that fly under the overhang of our porch, and Holly was thrilled to chase them, although it seemed clear that she knew that she was never going to catch them.

After we were all hot and tired from being outside, we showed Holly around the house, and she is now contentedly alternating between sleeping and watching me type.

In case the pictures have not adequately proved it, I would like to point out that Holly is an amazingly winning and beautiful dog, and we are lucky to have her. I also think that she is lucky to have J, because she will get the best care possible for the rest of her life.

Job Status and Last of Wellington Pictures

I feel the need to follow up on my complaints from my last post, and to reassure any of you who are worried that I really am okay. Everyone has days when things seem like too much, and although I am facing some of those, I know that everything will work out for the best.

I had my meeting with the Kindergarten Association, and am hired on as an "unqualified" reliever. I cannot be "qualified" until the Teacher's Council finishes my application, which will be up to six weeks from now. The unfortunate part about this is that the Kindergarten Association always calls its qualified relievers first, and apparently they have lots of those right now, so it is unlikely that an unqualified teacher would get called in. After receiving this information, I decided to get on the reliever list at a few other centres, and have already done so at three. I will be visiting a fourth tomorrow, and then one more next week. I would have thought that five early learning centres, plus the ten kindergartens that the Kindergarten Association coordinates, would be too many, but I have been told at each centre that they won't be needing relievers very much in the near future. So I'm just spreading out a bit. I am still just a little dubious as to how all of this is going to work out, but I'm glad to be officially on the lists, and the idea that I could be called in to teach is nice.

Okay, back to Wellington. I have some pictures from the Te Papa Museum, which is a very exciting place, full of interesting displays, interactive exhibits, and a great deal of variety. I know that pictures of a museum seem weird, but since when has that prevented me from sharing? So here goes.

This is one of the main attractions at Te Papa. It is the biggest and most complete Colossal Squid on display anywhere. It was caught near Antarctica, examined by scientists, and then transported here. I was actually a bit disappointed, as it seemed smaller than I imagined, but it apparently shrank in the preservation process, and it was still twice as long as me. To give you a bit of scale, it's eyes are the biggest of any known creature - the size of a soccer ball!

The goat-ish animal on top of the mountain is a Chamois, which came to NZ in 1907 as a gift from the Austrian Emperor. They have spread over the South Island, and are now hunted freely, to restrict their impact on native species. The birds in the lower left corner are native Takahē, which are flightless birds that almost went extinct when Europeans came to NZ, but are making a recovery.

This picture is part of the absolutely fantastic earthquake exhibit at Te Papa. The red line shows the division between two tectonic plates, and quite clearly demonstrates why there are so many earthquakes here. Doesn't look like a very safe place to be, does it?

This is the Māori god Rūaumoko, who controls earthquakes and volcanos. You can see a lightening bolt coming out of one eye, indicating that he also controls storms. It is hard to see in this picture, but he has pieces of earth in his eye and mouth, to show his control over earth and its movement.

This picture shows that some wētā (insects) from NZ weigh as much as three mice! I don't know why I find that so fascinating, but I absolutely do. I want to see one in real life now.

This is a tuatara eating a wētā. Tuatara are native to NZ, and (as is true of almost all native species here) is found no where else in the world. They are very important little lizards, because they are the only existing members of the Order Sphenodontia. Apparently, there were lots of species in that Order, back when there were dinosaurs, but all the others have died out, leaving only the tuatara. I think that's pretty neat.

This is a moa. I confess that until I went to Te Papa, I thought that moas were made up creatures that only existed in J's video games. Wrong. They are extinct now, but they lived in NZ not all that long ago. I am amazed by how much like look like huge kiwis. Amazingly, though, moas actually had no wings at all, not even the little ones that other flightless birds have. The bird that is attacking this one is the Haast's Eagle, which was its only natural predator. Unfortunately, the moas were overhunted and lost a lot of their habitat when Māori people came, and they became extinct in 1400 A.D.

This is a traditional Māori whare (building). I was not allowed to take pictures of the inside, but it was beautiful, full of carvings of people and gods, with paua shells inlaid, and amazing detail.

That's it for the museum. There is so very much information in there, and so very many things to see, that I could post pictures and stories forever, but I will restrain myself. I have just a few more pictures before letting go of Wellington and moving on to other things.

This is J's new umbrella. Do you like it? There were several very cool sculptures/fun things downtown, and J and I had fun finding them as we walked around looking for a place to eat on our last night.

I took this picture out the window of the bus on the way to Palmerston North. (By the way, I took the bus because Lionel decided to stay for the weekend and tour Wellington, and J didn't have room in his car until he dropped his colleague off in Palmerston North.) Anyway, I think that the land mass is Kapiti Island, which is apparently beautiful, and to which we will be going some day. What it made me think of this time, however, is the Māori name for NZ - Aotearoa, which means "the land of the long, white cloud." According to Māori legend, a man named Kupe was the first person to ever come to NZ. He sailed here with his wife (who, being a woman, doesn't count as the first person who ever came here). When she first saw NZ, she yelled, "He ao! He ao!" ("A cloud! A cloud!") It turned out that the cloud was floating low over the land, much like in this picture, and that's where the name originated. (There are other versions of the story, but I like this one best, and you can see how it could be true.)

Apathy

Yesterday and today (Monday and Tuesday), I have felt terribly apathetic. This is not a typical experience for me - usually have more fervour than I know what to do with (unhelpful in it's own way, at times, but at least I'm used to it). I think that coming back from Wellington to the continuation of waiting for paperwork and not having a job was quite a downer.

I know that that's silly, because my Criminal Record Check actually went through this week, and I have an appointment with the Kindergarten Association tomorrow to hopefully start relieving. The NZ Teacher's Council received my application, and they will take up to six weeks to process it, but at least my part should be done. So I am much closer than ever to starting work, but I just find myself feeling lethargic and defeatist. What if I get hired as a reliever, but they never call me because they already have plenty of relievers? Then things will just keep going as they are. Which I hadn't thought was so bad - I mean, I live in NZ, how bad can it be? But still I find myself sad, tired, and uninspired.

After moping and puzzling for a while, I figured out the problem. I need a job. It's no longer just that I would like to have a job because I like my work, or it's nice to make money, or that's what grown-ups do. Now it's that I have an emotional and psychological need to be a teacher again. The problem is, I am not doing anything meaningful or important to anybody now. I keep busy running errands, learning Māori, reading, visiting early learning centres, etc., but on a daily basis, no one would care if I didn't. I am (as you all know) very extroverted and enjoy being interconnected. I have friends here, and please don't think that I don't value them, or that I feel isolated. On the contrary, I am amazed and thrilled with the connections I've made. But I don't get up knowing that a classroom full of kids is waiting for me, that they would miss me if I wasn't there, and that my skill at my job is helping them a little bit every day. Turns out, I really like that feeling.

I am in the spectacularly privileged position of having found exactly the job I want to do for the rest of my life, and of finding overwhelming fulfillment in every day of my work. I am so thankful that this is true. The problem is, I am not doing that job right now, and, in fact, have not done it since I quit my job in Canada six whole months ago. That is the longest I have ever not worked in a preschool in four years, and now I know why. I need it. It gives me purpose, energy, fun, direction, love, and joy. Of course, I have all of those things in other ways in my life, but it's not the same. When I don't have kids to focus on, love, worry about, plan for, hug, laugh with, puzzle over, etc., my mind has trouble filling up that emotional and cognitive space, because nothing is quite like it. I am trying to be optimistic about finding many of these things in relieving, and I really did enjoy doing it in Canada, but I still see it as a stepping stone to settling down into my own classroom. And much as I want to be excited for this next step, and even though I know what an important one it is, today I just wish that I was done taking steps. I am ready to get there and stay.

I feel stupid whining about all of this, given how lucky I am to be here, and knowing that I will eventually find a job that I love, which is more than many people do. But I am not good at being unemployed, and when I left my job in Canada in May, I never would have thought that I would make it all the way to mid-November without a new one. Again, it is dumb to complain about a sequence of events that landed me in NZ, but... I am anyway, I guess. I am still thankful, but I am also tired of waiting to get back to doing what I love.

On the bright side, please wish me luck at my meeting tomorrow. I'm not sure if it's an interview exactly, but I am confident that it will move me forward towards relieving, and I am glad.

Pictures: The Harbour, The Beehive, and the Botanical Gardens

Hello everyone. I have had a very busy day, which included three separate Skype dates, and then a high-energy and delightful barbecue (apparently that's the Kiwi way to spell it) with some friends who very kindly invited us over. I am very happy with our day, but I feel all talked out after so much discussion and sharing with so many people. Not surprisingly, that does not put my in a blogging mood. Fortunately, today's post relies heavily on pictures, so hopefully you will not be too disappointed in my lack of enthusiastic descriptions. Be assured that I was enthusiastic as I was actually seeing these things. :)

The first set of pictures are of my walk down Oriental Parade, which is a road that runs along the harbour. It has a great walking/biking trail that goes along next to it, with stairs down to the beach.

I stopped to get some ice cream, and found "Kapiti Coast New Zealand Originals" in a little shop. The Kapiti coast is just west of Wellington, and is very beautiful. I got this passionfruit ice cream popsicle, and it was ridiculously delicious.

As I was walking, I noticed a trail zig-zagging up a hill, and so I followed it. It lead up through forested areas, with houses build here and there on the side of the hill, and when I got up high, it gave me great views looking back on the harbour where I'd walked. (I walked along that strip of sandy beach you can see in the left side of the picture and around to the trail at the bottom right.) When I found it on the map, it was labeled Mount Victoria, and it looks like there are trails that extend quite a ways from the water. I did about half an hour of hiking, but there is lots more for next time.

At the top of one of the trails is this wonderful slide, which, of course, I tried out. It is actually quite fast, especially when you get to the curve. :)

This is Matiu/Sommes Island, to which I had missed the ferry that morning. I am definitely going next time we're in Wellington! You will hear more about it when I post about Māori legends sometime soon.

This is the beach where I found the paua shell and the sea glass.

The next few pictures are from Wednesday night, when J, Lionel, and took the cable car up to the Botanical Gardens. It was rather cold and definitely raining, so we didn't linger as long as we might have otherwise, but it was still beautiful.

I know it's cliché, but I love drops of water on roses.

I have never seen roses this colour. Seems like they would be a hit at K-State.

On the way back from the gardens, we went by the capital buildings. I had already seen them when it was not rainy, but J and Lionel got to see them, so that was good.

This is Parliament House, where they have the Debating Chamber and the Speaker's Office.

This one is called "The Beehive," and it is the Executive wing of the parliament buildings. It is much bigger than it looks in this picture - I could not get far enough away from it to get the whole thing into a picture without a big tree in the way or something.

There is plenty more of Wellington coming - I may have to space it out in between updates on other things, because it is going to take me a while to cover it all.

Pictures: Drive to Wellington, the Zoo, and Downtown

After a pleasant week in Wellington, J and I are glad to be home. And now that I have my camera cord, I can show you pictures of what the week was like.

On the way to Wellington, Lionel and I stopped in Foxton for some chai and something sweet - I picked apple shortcake. A local bird was thrilled with my choice. Right before my incredulous eyes, it hopped up and took a huge bite out of my apple shortcake - right off my plate! I was thrilled, although the future patrons may not appreciate me encouraging this behaviour. But it was very exciting!

This was my first view of the harbour, as we drove down out of the large hills.

This is J and I at dinner the first night - we ate with Lionel and another colleague, and had a nice time.

My first full day in Wellington (Monday) was beautiful and sunny, although the wind was ferocious and cold. I took the bus to the zoo, and enjoyed walking around. The Wellington Zoo is not particularly big, but it is well put together, with lots of shows and feedings to watch.

I know ducks aren't that exciting as zoo animals go, but how adorable is this little family?

This is one of the stars of the Wellington Zoo, Sean the Sun Bear. He was rescued from the wild when he ended up too near a town, and is now a huge local attraction. In addition, Wellington Zoo is a world leader in Sun Bear breeding, and Sean brought much-needed genetic variation to their program.

This is a Nyala - a kind of antelope. This particular Nyala came from South Africa. I think that they are very beautiful. The males, of whom I was not able to get a picture, have beautiful spiral horns.

I love the way this zoo has approached insects, spiders, snakes, and reptiles. The whole exhibit is like a comic book, with the descriptions of the creatures phrased as super powers. I think that it is an ingenious way to get children (and adults) to appreciate these creatures, rather than dismiss them all as "creepy" and just be scared of them.

When I sat down at a picnic table to eat my sandwich, this little duck decided to join me. He hopped up on the bench opposite me and calmly watched me eat my entire lunch. It was nice to have some company.

The following pictures are from Tuesday, when I did a bit of exploring right in the middle of downtown. It was another beautiful day, and I had planned to take the ferry out to Matiu/Sommes Island in the middle of the harbour. I had also planned to be early for said ferry, but due to slight miscalculations, I only got there 5 minutes before it was scheduled to leave. Unfortunately, my worst miscalculation was not having known that about 500 other vehicles of various kinds also leave from that warf, and I found the right ferry just in time to watch it drift away. Yuck.

Fortunately, I had a lovely time downtown. This is only the beginning of my pictures from that day, but the rest are of a different part of town, and will be saved for my next post.

This is a stunning ball made out of silver ferns, and is one of my favourite Kiwi things I've seen so far. The cables holding it up are surprisingly noticeable in the picture - in real life, with movement all around (above and below), you don't notice them, and it really looks like it's floating.

Right by the waterfront is a beautiful bridge made out of weathered wood that is very reminiscent of a shipwrecked boat. I don't know if that's what they're going for, but that's what it made me think of.

This beautiful lady caught my eye because I couldn't tell if it was letters or just holes that decorated her.

Upon closer inspection, not only are there words, there is quite interesting poetry. I had fun reading her skirt. I am especially fond of the bit at the top of this picture, because it's about tea.

I was drawn to the lovely colours of this sculpture, and I have always loved seashells - little did I know that in just a few hours, I would find my very own paua shell on the beach!

More Wellington

I have been having a great time in Wellington, and J’s training is going well. I have been to the Waterfront, to Mt Victoria, to Te Papa Museum, to the Parliament buildings, and up Oriental Parade (a beautiful street by the harbour). These things are all best saved for when I get home and can accompany them with pictures, but I will do what I can today.

I went down to the beach off Oriental Parade, and had a nice, relaxing walk. In addition, I found some lovely mementos, which I can take pictures of on my computer. First, I found two beautiful pieces of sea glass. I find it sad and irresponsible that so much broken glass ends up in the ocean, but amazingly poetic and comforting that it turns into something so beautiful. It’s like nature’s effort to soften and transform the harsher side of human nature.

Here are the two pieces that I chose to keep.

Next, I was astonished and thrilled to find a large, whole, stunning paua (abalone) shell, right there on the beach! They are coveted here, and therefore hard to find anywhere, but especially somewhere like Wellington.

This is the inside of the shell. The colours don’t show through well on the picture, and it should be polished, but it’s really pretty.

This is the outside of the shell. Apparently, you can sand/polish away the deposits on the outside, and then it will look just like the inside! I haven’t decided if I want to find a way to do that or not. We’ll have to see.

In other news, J and one of his colleagues and I went out to dinner at a Phô Vietnamese restaurant. In addition to being a nice place, it brought back great memories of all the Phô that we ate in Ottawa last year. We’d never had it until we moved there, and then J fell in love, and we ate at pretty much every Phô place in the city, which is quite an accomplishment. Anyway, it was a lovely time.

It was cold and rainy today, but it was still a good day. Also, I realized today that I missed our little house in Whanganui, which made me happy. It’s nice to have my own home to miss. J