Rock Zendala Project

Over the summer holidays, I wanted to do something relaxing that also felt productive. I have a hard time doing things that are for pure relaxation, because I have the sense that I'm "wasting" time. I know that this is not really fair, and J has actually helped me to get a better perspective on this, as he values relaxation highly and intentionally spends time doing "nothing" to keep his brain healthy. However, I still find that when I have things to do that I label as both relaxing and productive, that is when I feel the best. Reading is the best example of that for me, and is part of why I spend so very much of my time engrossed in a book.

Anyway, I decided that over the holidays, I would do some rock zendala for the children. I read about it in an early childhood magazine (the same one my article was published in, actually), and thought it would be perfect for Whare Kea (my centre). We like to have lots of "loose parts" in our environment. Loose parts are objects for children to play with that don't have any designated or official use, so the children need to be creative and inventive in order to find a way to use them. This also means that they are likely to use them in a multitude of different ways, as their imaginations grow and they're inspired by the unique circumstances of each day's play. Ideally, loose parts should be interesting, beautiful, inviting, inspiring, challenging, etc. For me and my team, we also like our loose parts to be natural resources, as we aspire to have our programme as nature-based as possible. Fortunately, nature provides some of the best, most inspiring loose parts, so it's not hard to meld those ideas.

We had some stones in our environment, but the children didn't often use them, and I thought it would be nice to make them more inviting. Zendala, as I understand it, is simply drawing different patterns and shapes, often complex and detailed, and it has recently become popular as a relaxing, zen-like activity (hence the name, I assume). 

So, I bought a paint pen and some clear sealant to go over the top, and collected some rocks. J informed me that all rocks on NZ beaches belong to the Queen, but I decided that she wouldn't begrudge me a few, and if she did, she'd relent when she saw how beautiful they were.

I got my cup of tea and my audio book (as I couldn't leave reading out entirely) and settled in, ready to be both productive and relaxed. I did have a momentary surge of uncertainty as it occurred to me that I didn't know if I could actually create pretty designs, but at that point there was nothing to do but try, so I went for it. Turns out, it is beautifully relaxing, and a perfect complement to audio books!

These are the rocks that I drew on. I tried to make each design unique, and so while some of them have overlapping characteristics, they should all have their own special aspects.

You can click on that picture to make it bigger if you want to see the details better, and I've also taken individual pictures of some of them.

I made some that are a specific object, like this feather.

But I made more that are not any particular thing, but rather just designs. A lot of my "just designs" turned out a little bit flowery, but I decided to forgive that, as I like them so much.

This one inadvertently ended up a little snowflake-like.

I'm not sure about the swirls coming out of this one, but I accidentally stained the rock with sunscreen, so I had to cover it up! Necessity is the mother of invention, right?

I intended for this one to look like a pōhutakawa flower, but J says it looks like a pollen spore or a virus. That actually made me happy, because it should be open to multiple interpretations. Also, I did a side view of a pōhutakawa flower, so that's covered anyway.

I did some that are more typical of what I've seen in bigger zendala designs, which is various shapes filled with smaller designs. Not really my favourites, but fun to draw.

I also did some more geometric ones, which are the most successful at not actually looking like anything, but still being nice to look at.

I think this one might be my favourite.

This one managed to start out completely geometric and then still end up looking like flowers, which made me laugh.

Hmmm, maybe this one is actually my favourite.

I did a couple koru (unfurling fern spirals), which are very thick and solid compared to the others, but I quite like them.

This is the first geometric one that I did, and remains J's favorite.

Oh no, maybe this one is my favourite! I have a clear bias towards the flowery ones - I can't help it. I've always loved floral things! But please do admire my willpower to have done plenty that aren't flowers!

Trees have been my favourite thing to draw for most of my life, as I love the smooth curves and lines of the branches flowing up. I don't think this probably counts as actual zendala, but I had to do it!

I had a fantastic time doing this, and would have done even more, but I discovered that leaning over to do careful drawing really aggravated my lower back. My lower back hurts almost all the time anyway, and I have to be careful not to do anything that makes it angrier, so I started doing my drawing in shorter stints. That helped, but I still decided that this was enough. I'm going to do some with my children as well, and see what kinds of designs they come up with, which will be fun!

If you ever want to take something simple and make it into something special and beautiful, I highly recommend trying rock zendala out!

Swimming at Tarakena Bay

After a chilly Christmas, the sun came out on Boxing Day, providing us with a beautiful, warm day to head to the beach. J had heard that Breaker Bay (on the other side of town from us) was particularly good, so we drove that way. 

It was, indeed, very beautiful. The hills are on the other side of the opening to the harbour.

We were looking for a place that wasn't too busy, and was good for swimming. I think these places with rocks in the water are the most beautiful, but they're hazardous when it comes to swimming, so we kept going.

We got to this little beach, and decided it was perfect. By this time, we'd actually gone past Breaker Bay and into Tarakena Bay, which neither of us had heard of, but it was lovely.

We played catch for a while near the beach, partially because we enjoy it, and partially to get warmed up before swimming, because even in summer, the water is freezing!

We got changed into our wetsuits at the car, and then headed down to the water.

While I'm often at the beach, I haven't gone swimming for a while, so I was very excited to start!

It was absolutely frigid as the icy water started flowing into our wetsuits. I got to the point in this picture, or a bit deeper, and then just dove under, while J slowly waded all the way up to his neck. Neither way really diminished the cold, but you do what you can.

But once we got in, the wetsuits did their jobs, and we kept moving, and it was wonderful. And I always forget how much fun salt water is - it buoys you up, so it's beautifully easy to float.

You can barely see me in this picture, but I didn't want to crop it, because the ocean is so stunning!

This is the view from the edge of the water.

There were plenty of beautiful places to explore, although we didn't stay too long after swimming, because the wind was just cool enough that it kept us from fully warming back up. So we went home for a cup of tea.

New Year's Eve with Katie

Happy New Year, everyone! It's the day after New Year's Day in NZ, which is also a national holiday, which I think is fantastic. We can't just have one day and then go back to work - that's no fun! I have the whole week off work, and we start back on the 9th, but J goes back to work on Wednesday the 3rd, after Monday and Tuesday being the observed holidays. We both had all the days between Christmas and New Year's off, so it's a nice break from the business of daily life.

Our cousin Katie has been traveling the South Island for the past couple weeks, and then came to visit us in Wellington before heading back to the States. It was such fun to see her and show her around, and it just happened that she was here on New Year's Eve, so that was extra special. We don't usually do much for New Year's, but having a guest made it unique, and inspired more celebrating, which was great.

One thing I definitely wanted to share with Katie was Te Papa Tongarewa (the museum), and so we spent a chunk of the day there. We also walked through some of my favourite parts of the Botanic Gardens, and I showed her where I work. Unfortunately, my centre is under major construction and in a state of total disarray, as we're getting a new sand pit (sandbox) installed outside, and the cleaners are doing a very thorough clean of all the floors inside. But still, she saw it and knows exciting developments are happening. We had lunch at a super fun sushi place where all the food goes by on a conveyor belt and you pick off plates of what you want. We were particularly impressed by the raw salmon and tuna, which was melt-in-your-mouth delicious. We then went to a beautiful old cathedral that Katie had heard about (and I hadn't), and which was stunning. I've decided to devote a whole post to it later, so don't worry, pictures are coming.

As we strolled through downtown on our way to the cathedral, we explore the area around The Beehive. It's a fun building itself, but I like the building next door to it even better, with its variegated stone. I just learned, in fact, that The Beehive is just the executive wing of parliament, and does not, as I had previously believed, hold all of parliament between its rounded walls. 

This much more beautiful building is Parliament House, which contains the rest of parliament, including the debating chamber, the Speaker's Office, the visitors' centre, and the committee rooms. If anyone reading this sees Katie, please let her know, because I told her I thought it was the Parliamentary Library, which is actually the building next door, which we thought looked like a church. 

This one. See? Looks like a church, right? We poked around a bit and discovered that it looked like offices and such inside, which made sense, as a church doesn't really belong with parliament, but it didn't occur to me that it was a library, since I thought I knew which one was the library. Clearly, it's dangerous for me to think I know things. 

I also snapped a picture of a Pohutakawa Tree in bloom, because I have been delighting in their red, Christmasy displays for weeks, and I thought you should get a taste. Not the greatest layout, in retrospect, but it's the only time it occurred to me to take a picture, so that's what you get.

In the evening, after going home for a nice dinner that J cooked for us, we headed back downtown to the harbour, where they do a fireworks display at midnight. Actually, they do one at 9:00 for the children who can't stay up until midnight, which is very sweet. It happened right as we got to the waterfront, which was fun.

The Wellington Shake 'Em on Downers were playing right in front of a little bay off the harbour, and people were gathered all around listening. I love them, but Katie and I agreed that it wasn't the right venue for them, because their music is great for dancing, and there wasn't room to dance. But it was still nice. There was another band later, which did covers of popular (almost exclusively American) songs, and they were fun, too.

Katie and I plopped down on a boulder and listened for a while, then walked around for a bit and ended up at a nice outdoor terrace of a bar, where Katie kindly bought me a celebratory glass of wine, and we chatted about all kinds of things until closer to midnight. It was very comfortable and fun, and a great way to wind down 2016.

When we got back to the little bay, there were many times more people than when we'd left, covering the entire circle of the bay (which has a narrow opening onto the harbour). It was neat to see so many people out there together for the show, despite the fact that it was a bit chilly for summer and slightly drizzling. 

Also, notice the cool light displays on the building behind the people. There were many interesting effects, and even bigger ones on the taller buildings on the other side.

Pictures of fireworks are something of a lost cause, but I got a couple to commemorate the event.

The fireworks display won't set any records for inventiveness, but it was beautiful, enjoyable and special for me, as I haven't seen any fireworks in several years. And such fun to see it with Katie!

As I come to the end of this post, I am realizing that I didn't take a single picture of Katie herself while she was here! It's a bit of a pity. But you can trust me that she was here, and we had a great time, and it was wonderful to spend the end of 2016 with her. She flew out early in the morning on the 1st, and so is safely back in Kansas by now. I'm crossing my fingers that NZ made a good enough impression that she'll come back and visit again sometime!

Relaxing Christmas

Merry Christmas, everyone! It's Boxing Day in NZ, which makes it Christmas in the States, and since Boxing Day is a national holiday here, we are now in "holiday mode" on both sides of the world, which is a nice thought.

J and I had a lovely, relaxing Christmas Day yesterday. We slept in and lazed around, then J played his video games and I read Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, which I've been meaning to read for years. I also worked on an art project I've been planning for awhile, which I will post about when I've finished. Then we played our new board game (Codenames) in the afternoon, followed by more time when we each enjoyed relaxing in our own ways.

Then, in the evening, I read out loud to J while he crocheted, which is something we've enjoyed from time to time for years.

J is making a lovely, brightly coloured dishcloth. Between the ones Grandma Verschelden has given us (Thanks, Grandma!) and the ones J has made, we have quite a beautiful collection.

We're reading Stiletto, which is the sequel to The Rook, which is one of our favourite books. I read the whole book in about a day when we got it a month or two ago, and now we're enjoying it together.

You may have noticed my adorable, cuddly companion who was keeping us company while we read. He is J's wonderful Christmas present to me, and we've named him Enzo, after a character in a book. Red pandas are my very favourite animal, and when we went to the zoo a long time ago, I saw these lovely plush ones on the way out and was very impressed. J remembered for all these months and went and got me one, which is very sweet. It's a perfect gift, because it's something I will get lots of entertainment from, but would never buy for myself. I get a surprising amount of satisfaction from having a soft, squeezy something to cuddle while I read, and Enzo is just perfect for that! Plus, look how totally adorable he is!

Well, after a cloudy and surprisingly chilly Christmas Day, we now have a hot and sunny Boxing Day, so we're off to the beach! Merry Christmas, everyone!

A Hilarious Gift from an Unexpected Visitor

A couple months ago, I was sitting on the couch, looking out over our beautiful view, and I noticed something brown and tan out on the deck. I first assumed it was a leaf, but immediately ruled that out, as the enthusiastic wind does not allow such things to rest on our deck. Actually, the more I looked at it, the more I thought it looked like a small toy giraffe. I ruled this out as well, because our deck is about 12-15 feet off the ground (depending on the side) and there is no way a toy could have ended up on it. (I know how inaccessible it is, having unsuccessfully tried every possible way of getting onto it one time when I locked myself out of the house). I then decided it must be a seashell from my hanging seashell display outside. I was contented with this for about two minutes, but couldn't get over how much it looked like a giraffe, so I actually got up off the couch (despite being very cozy and comfortable) and went out to get it.

It was a little toy giraffe. 

The only explanation I could think of was that one of the neighbour children threw it onto our deck from their deck, which is about 10 feet away (being on the other half of our duplex). I still found this highly improbable, but it was the clear winner over spontaneous generation, which was my second-best hypothesis.

I therefore went over to the neighbours' house, knocked on the door, and awkwardly asked them if they'd thrown this adorable little giraffe onto our deck. After an impressively short pause for them to wrap their heads around this, everyone in the house confirmed that they'd never seen it before. They agreed that it was fairly impossible that it had ended up on our deck. Then the mom had a crazy and awesome hypothesis: there are Kaka (native NZ parrots) living in the mountain bike park next to our house, and one of them could have dropped it there. Kaka are very mischievous and love to steal things, so one picking one up just for the fun of it would not be out of the question. Still... really? A Kaka dropped a giraffe on our deck?

Given the lack of other options, J and I dubiously accepted this one, and I have smiled at the mystery every time I've walked by the little giraffe, which has joined other adorable oddities on my bookshelf.

Then yesterday, I was sitting on the couch reading, and I look up to see...

... a Kaka! On our deck! 

(Sorry for the non-zoomed in picture. I didn't want to scare it away by getting up to get my camera, so I used my phone.)

I called for J, who came out in time to see it. The Kaka obviously heard me, because it whipped its head around and looked at me, but didn't fly away. We got to watch it for a few minutes before it flew away, and it was very exciting.

The giraffe and I have decided to believe that it was that Kaka who brought it to our deck. I hope it comes to visit again!

If you'd like to read more about Kaka, please see my post from our visit to Zealandia here and scroll down to the part about Kaka.

Kiwi-ism are Creeping In

Well, it's been a year and a half since my last post about Kiwi language, if you don't count my wildly entertaining rant on the use of the word "tea."

Two things prompted this post:
1) A coworker pointed out something as "so American" that I never would have labeled as such, indicating to me that both Kiwi and American things have become normal to me such that I'm starting to mix them up.
2) I have noticed both J and I using Kiwi phrases, but always after the fact, as at the time they're so natural that I don't think about them.

I have therefore complied a list of some words I don't think I've written about yet, and a bit about how they've come to my attention

Cornflour - Cornstarch
~~ We use this for the very important task of making delightful gloop. While it's not very exciting, it makes the list because I saw "cornstarch" on a recipe the other day and thought, "That's odd. I wonder where they call it that." Obviously that shift has been made fairly decisively.

Take the piss - Make fun of/Not taking seriously
~~ I shocked myself by using this today, referring to a toddler who totally disrupted a lovely singing session by belting out only loosely musical sounds so loudly that no one could hear the actual song. I remarked to another teacher, "But he was really trying! He wasn't taking the piss or anything, that's just how he was singing the song!" While I hear this often, I believe that was the first time it entered my own utterances. Also, it occurs to me now that it might be rather rude, and not the sort of thing teachers tend to say while teaching, given that it has the word "piss" in it. Sometimes those subtleties are lost on foreigners like myself. I'll have to find out.

Twink - White-out
~~ I learned this in both directions - If a person asks me for twink, she receives the same blankly confused look that I earn when I ask for white-out. But I mostly remember to say twink now, so that's good.

Hottie - Hot water bottle
~~ My introduction to this word came via my friend Paula. I was staying at her house, and about to tuck myself into her spare bed, when she said, "Would you like a hottie?" My brain proceeded to frantically jump around, trying to land on a logical conclusion that was not an attractive man, as I was quite determined to believe that that's not what she meant. It wasn't. As this was also my first experience with a hot water bottle, it turned out rather well!

Bach - beach house or vacation home
~~ I still find this one strange, because it sounds like the shortened form of "bachelor," or even "bachelor pad" since it's usually clear that we're talking about a house. Perhaps if I am ever rich enough to have one, someone will explain to me why they're called that.

OTT - Over The Top
~~ I hesitate to include this, because the way the English language is evolving, it's very possible that this is now commonly used in the States, along with TMI and OMG. I am not a fan of abbreviations, but I do like saying that things are "over the top." We say that in the States, right?

Judder Bar - Speed Bump
~ There is a large sign warning of judder bars in the parking lot by our grocery store, and it always makes me happy, because "judder" is such a good word for what happens to you when you go over one as big as the ones there are.

Stink - Bad/A pity
~~ As in, "You have to work all weekend? Stink!"
~~ As in, "I told him I couldn't go, but then I felt a bit stink."

Lollies - Candy
~~ I have managed to incorporate this into the language I use with children, but still say candy around adults, to the vast amusement of my colleagues. Also, apparently American accents are particularly noticeable on words like "candy" and must, therefore, be imitated whenever possible.

Chuffed - Proud
Puffed - Out of breath
~~ At the Pak'n'Save grocery store in New Plymouth, there was a big sign that showed their mascot, the stick man, going running. It said, "Voted least expensive NZ grocery store two years running. We're puffed, but chuffed." It always made me laugh, both because of the terrible pun and because I love the world "chuffed."
~~ Note - I wrote this under "chuffed" and then realized that I don't think Americans say "puffed" to mean "out of breath" either, so it really needed both. The distinction is getting harder to see!

Partner - Romantic Partner, no connection to gender or sexual orientation or commitment level
~~ In the States, I mostly heard "partner" used to mean a same-sex romantic partner. Here, if you use that interpretation (which we did at first), you will think that an astonishing percentage of the population is gay. Quite amusing, but not accurate.
~~ I love this word, because it implies no specification beyond, "I am choosing to be in a romantic relationship with this person." You can say it about your husband/wife, or your new girlfriend/boyfriend, or your life-partner, or whoever you choose. And that's what I love. You get to choose who your "partner" is, and it's actually no one else's business.

Shout - Pay for
~~ My boss came in one morning and said, "I'm going to shout morning tea. What would you like?" I stared at her blankly, trying to decide if I was meant to be choosing something to yell while she yelled "morning tea," or if I would be permitted to say that I'd quite like for her not to shout at all. Fortunately, she realized the reason behind my confusion, and explained that "my shout" is the equivalent of "it's on me." Which made much more sense.

Cot - Crib
~~ I just learned this the other day, because my friends Christophe and Anaïs were telling me about a cot they'd just bought. The more they described it, the more it was clearly a crib, and when I mentioned this, I learned that apparently in NZ, a crib is called a cot.
~~ Two interesting ideas then popped into my head:
~~~~~ 1) I'd just learned Kiwi English from two French people. Well done, you two!
~~~~~ 2) I wonder how many conversations I've had with teachers and parents, during which we both used the word "cot" and I was talking about something totally different than they were!

Happy Holidays
~~ This is the one I mentioned at the beginning as having been pointed out to me as an "Americanism." An American parent wrote it on a card for the teachers, and our manager said, "Oh, that's so American!" I was surprised by this, having (I suppose) assumed that people say it here. But it makes sense that they don't, because here a "holiday" is what we would call a "vacation." I tried to explain this a fellow American, but got all confused myself, because Christmas and New Years are still "holidays," but they wouldn't clump them together and say "Happy Holidays," perhaps because it is too similar to what you say to someone when they go on vacation. Anyway, when people have been giving out those sorts of wishes at the (multitude of) Christmas Parties I've been to lately, they just say, "Have a good Christmas." Now that I've done all this thinking about it, I feel a bit bad for New Years, which gets completely left out of the well-wishing. Hmmm.

Well, that was rather longer than I anticipated it being. Can you tell how much I love language? It's just so much fun!

If you can't get enough of language either, and you'd like to read some of my older posts about Kiwi language, click on the links below.
June 2014 Post
January 2014 Post
October 2013 Post
September 2013 Post
Also, bonus - The Tea Post

It's funny for me to look back and see the things that were new and different back then. It's hard to imagine that I didn't always know and use some of those words and phrases!

Wellington Waterfront

Before we moved here, when we'd just come to visit, the waterfront was my favourite place in Wellington, Even though I now know many other lovely things about this city, I still adore the fact that it's wrapped around a harbour, so it has a staggering amount of waterfront, just perfect for me to stroll along.

See? More coastline that you even know what to do with! The part of the waterfront where we've done lots of walking is on the west side of the harbour, mostly starting just south of the square-ish protrusion, and curving around and towards the pointy bit just to the east of that. There is, obviously, much more to explore, but we've got lots of time.

My friend Christophe and I have been meeting in the café at the city library every week to hang out and chat. Now that is has warmed up and we're having some beautiful sunny days, we've started meeting at the library (which is right on the coast) and then taking a walk along the waterfront, which is really nice. It can be nice in the winter as well, but the wind blowing off the water is intense and frigid, and that's hard to overlook. I'm looking forward to a summer of lovely afternoon walks!

I actually remembered to bring my camera on our walk last week, so I thought I'd share some pictures that would help you to see why I love walking around the harbour so much.

The waterfront is a popular place, and can be very busy. Fortunately, they've put in very wide pedestrian paths most of the way along, so you don't feel too crowded.

Christophe showed me the trails on Mount Victoria that he jogs every week. They were lovely to walk on, but he's got to be very committed to jog them, because some are intensely steep on the way up!

This is looking back the way we'd come, towards the middle of the central business district.

I love pictures framed by foliage.

It was quite a warm day, and we kept having to take our jackets off and then put them back on, because it was hot in the sun and cool in the shade.

It would be very cool to live up on that hill, with amazing views of the harbour. The only thing our own beautiful view lacks is a water feature.

This is my favourite picture I've taken in a while! I love the colour of the water, and I don't know what it is about rocks in water, but I find it stunning.

Christophe and I had a great time on our stroll. Sitting in the café to catch up is lovely, and I have no complaints about that, but on days when you can have the same interesting chat but also enjoy the natural world, that's just about perfect!