We Voted!

J and I became permanent residents of NZ last August, and we immediately registered to vote, being thrilled to have that right. Also, NZ puts a lot of effort into getting people to register, and sends letter after letter telling you that you need to register if you have not. So it was also nice to get those letters to stop.

I have to admit, before launching into this post about elections and politics, that this is not a strong suit of mine. In fact, calling it a weakness would still be an understatement. I know that my vote is largely based on education and environmental issues, and I know who I need to vote for to support those things, and I don't know much else. That was true in the States, and is equally true here. This post will, therefore, be link-heavy, as I feel that it's better to refer you to sources than to try to sound knowledgeable about a topic in which I am ignorant.

In my understanding, NZ elections are held every three years, but it is up to the Prime Minister to decide when exactly they happen. This year, Prime Minister Bill English had until November to hold them, but chose to hold them in September. J says that the Prime Minister might choose to do it early for a variety of reasons, including wanting to switch up who is in parliament, or feeling that the political climate at the time is more likely to result in their party getting the majority, etc. 

Here is the first of several links, which has a great little video about how NZ's MMP system works:

http://www.elections.org.nz/voting-system/mmp-voting-system

This one is full of its own links, and explains more about the government systems:

https://www.govt.nz/browse/engaging-with-government/government-in-new-zealand/

And this one tells you about the leaders of the two main parties, National (more conservative) and Labour (more liberal). 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/19/new-zealands-general-election-all-you-need-to-know

So for this election, because we were registered in advance, we got this in the mail:

You'll notice we had a couple weeks to vote, which is nice. The letter also included a list of places in Wellington where we could vote, and there were lots of them, and they were well positioned. We had one just a the bottom of our hill, as well as at my university. (J used one, I used the other.)

Also included were our EasyVote Cards, which we took with us to vote. (I erased our address and a number that I think might be my voter-ID from mine, so I think it's okay to put the picture up).

I went in, handed them my card, they checked me off the list, I voted for a party and for my local MP (Member of Parliament), and I was done. Very simple and straightforward, which I appreciate.

Unfortunately, NZ, like many countries around the world, seems to be going in a more conservative direction, and National got the most votes, again. Disappointing, especially as those of us in ECE were really hoping for a change. National is not nearly as supportive of education and social programmes as Labour or the Green Party are, although I have to remind myself that it's still not as bad as in the States, for which I am thankful. National does not want to give ECE nearly as much money as we need, but even they are not going to take away the 20 hours a week of ECE that the government pays for for every 3- and 4-year-old child in the country, completely free of charge to parents. So the baseline is still much higher. 

This link gives a summary of the results:

http://www.electionresults.govt.nz/

As you can see, the Labour Party will still have lots of seats, and hopefully plenty of influence, especially when they team up with the Green Party, as I understand they usually do. 

Also, Wellington Central voted in the Labour Candidate, Grant Roberston, as our MP, which is awesome. The capital city is more liberal than much of the rest of the country, apparently.

29th Birthday

A couple weeks ago, it was my 29th birthday. I don't feel a need to do anything particularly special for my birthday, but I was a bit disappointed to spend it at home with a chest infection. Oh well. I'm lucky that I have a job at which I wanted to be on my birthday, and people (preschoolers and grown-ups) who are delighted to help celebrate with me, even if it's delayed due to illness. We had a lovely little celebration when I came back to work.

On a much more positive note, I was delighted by the thoughtfulness of the presents I received the week of my birthday. I am not particularly into owning lots of things, and so getting presents is a mixed bag for me, but when people are so intentional about choosing things that I will use and enjoy, it is wonderful. And that's what happened.

J bought me this stunning tea set, which is just perfect, and which I have used almost every day since he gave it to me. He knows how much I love to have tea parties, and also that I am not allowed to have caffeine (because of my heart), so I need to be able to brew my own tea at said parties, so as not to limit my distinguished guests to the distressingly narrow choice of decaf tea. Therefore, personal teapots. Perfect. Also, the same pattern done in different colour schemes is one of my favourite things. Perfect again.

The pots and cups are beautiful, as is the way they stack together. The saucers have my favourite pattern of all, and I admire them each time I use them.

J also bought me some loose-leaf tea, and managed to find some that is decaf and also delicious, which is impressive.

Also, I discovered by accident that when the cup is in the sun next to a shadow, the gold leaf makes wonderful reflective patterns. I foresee hours of entertainment.

One of my children gave me this beautiful flower, which she'd brought back from the Marshall Islands (tiny islands in the Pacific). They make these flowers there from coconut flower fibres, and they are unique to the Marshall Islands, which is so special. Also, my wonderful children all think that I look like Moana when I wear it tucked behind my ear, which is a serious compliment, and a special connection to the child who gave it to me, with whom I sing Moana songs almost daily. You'll also notice that my necklace, which J gave me seven years ago (long before Moana), is accidentally lit up in this picture. That is fantastic, because the children remark on a regular basis that it looks like "the heart of Te Fiti", which Moana wears in a necklace in the movie. It looks even more like the magic movie one when it's lit up like that. Also, I was wearing the beautiful earrings that Mom sent me for my birthday, which you'll notice are also ocean themed. Conclusion: I definitely became Moana when I turned 29. 

(Note: If you have not seen Moana, you should watch it. It is not only a truly inspiring movie, it is also a wonderful way that Pasifika is being celebrated in the wider world. I will have to post about it sometime.)  

My lovely colleagues at work, and my head teacher in particular, got me these stunning orchids. She had no way of knowing that I love orchids, but she does know that my favourite colour is green. She picked well. Plus, two weeks later, they are still gorgeous and are brightening up our dining room.

Mom sent me this charming canvas painting, along with the delightful suggestion that I use it as inspiration for imaginative storytelling with the children. I suspect that they will come up with some fantastical ideas about how she got in the jar and what she might do. I love gifts that I can use with my children, as they bring joy to me and to some of my favourite people in the world.

I am so thankful for the kindness and generosity of the people around me, and it is touching that they know me so well that they can pick out things that are so meaningful to me. I'm a pretty luck 29-year-old. Pretty lucky for any age, I think.

Adrenalin Forest

Recently, I found a voucher on GrabOne that looked interesting: a high ropes challenge course about 1/2 hour outside Wellington, in Porirua. It is called Adrenalin Forest, and it looked like exactly my kind of adventure, and something J could enjoy as well. I wasn't quite sure what we were getting into, but then our friends Christophe and Anaïs said that they'd done it and really enjoyed it, and that's when I started getting quite excited. I am happy to report that it was, in fact, quite fantastic.

We walked into the forest, and our eyes were immediately drawn up into the canopy, where we could see a variety of platforms and bridges and all manner of exciting things.

First, we learned about how to stay safe, using these amazing Clic-it carabiners, which I just learned were invented in France, which is cool. Anyway, they have a magnet system so they can only clip around the steel cord, and they lock so that only one can release at a time. You clip onto the first metal cord at the beginning of a course, and then move from one challenge to the next, around trees, etc. by unclipping one at a time to hook to the next cord, but there is no possible way for you to have both of them unhooked at the same time, until you're back on the ground at the bottom of the course. At the end, there is a tail that allows you to completely unhook. It is actually impressively idiot-proof, which is a necessity when you're allowing random people to be up to 31 metres off the ground. Anyway, the point is that they're very cool, and made us feel completely safe.

We don't have a lot of pictures of ourselves, as it was challenging to be taking pictures while maneuvering the course, and they're all of me, as J was the only one with a zip pocket in which to keep the camera safe. This is me getting through the last of an upside-down tunnel bridge.

And on a rope ladder. This is in stage one, which is only a few metres off the ground.

I would recommend clicking on some of these pictures to make them bigger, as there is a lot going on and it's hard to see all the levels of ropes.

There were all different kinds of challenges, including logs that spun when you stepped on them, rings to balance in, a snowboard that zipped down the rope when you stepped on it, ziplines, tightropes, log ladders, loops of rope that blew in the wind, etc. In addition to being up high, it was very physically challenging.

This is looking down at stages one and two from up on four. They go up to six.

This was by far the hardest challenge, You have to move from log to log, balancing on those little pegs at the bottom. The picture does not do justice to how far apart the logs are - a long way! 

J and I both made it across, but ended up with extremely tired arms. The fatigue had been building, but that was the limit. I noticed that there were two ziplines and then the end of stage four, and concluded that those logs were put there to make sure you recognized if you were too tired to continue to level five, and J agreed. Then, when we got to the bottom and talked to an employee, he explained (without us even asking) that that is exactly why it is there! I felt triumphant to have figured that out, and also completely convinced that it had done its job, as my arms were quite clear about their fatigue.

This is the view looking down from the platform after the convincing logs.

I managed to get the camera across the second-to-last zipline and take a picture looking back, but you can barely tell that that's J standing on the platform, about to zip.

And here he is coming down the last zipline of stage four, but again it's hard to tell it's him. I promise that it is! The ziplines were exhilarating, and I especially liked some where you flew right over the top of some shorter (but still plenty tall) trees.

We would very much like to do stages five and six, as they are even higher, which would be lots of fun. We've decided to keep an eye out for another GrabOne deal, and then go back and start straight into five with fresh muscles and see how we do. I'm excited already!

You can read more about Adrenalin Forest here if you'd like.

Pronunciation Hilarity

Thinking back over the past two weeks, wondering what to write about, I was forced to admit that we have done nothing blog-worthy at all. We do have the excuse, however, that I have gone straight from the misery of vomiting to the head-spinning torpor of dehydration to the vexation of a chest infection and barking cough. I have therefore spent every moment that I wasn't at work trying my best to heal so that I don't miss any more work. We are still a teacher down, as a teacher on my team resigned and the position hasn't been filled yet, and so is temporarily filled by substitutes who, while well-meaning, do not pull the weight of a team member. This means that it is a huge challenge for the remaining teachers to get everything done even when we're all there, and a mammoth task when someone is away. I hate leaving my team in that situation, so I'm really trying not to miss any days, but have already been forced to take 4, which is too many. I've been resting all weekend, but I can't get my chest clear, so I'll be going back to the doctor again, and hopefully I can get fixed up.

Anyway, I did discover a little gem that I'd forgotten to post about, so I thought I'd share that today.

I saw this picture in an early childhood centre that had lots of Samoan children, and so was encouraging the teaching team to use some simple Samoan greetings. I almost laughed out loud, and couldn't resist taking a picture. Do you notice what's interesting about the phonetic spellings?

I will keep this picture forever, and pull it out whenever one of my Kiwi friends asserts that Kiwis do, in fact, pronounce their 'r's. I believe that this definitively proves that they do not.

What I do not understand is what the added 'r's actually do to help pronunciation. Based on how I know to pronounce those Samoan words, it seems that the 'r's accomplish the same thing as adding an 'h', which is to show that it's a soft 'aah' sound and not a hard 'ay' sound. But as they also use the added 'h' (like in 'Tah-low-far') I suspect that there must be a difference. The way I've been taught to say Talofa, I would say that the two 'a's sound the same, but there could definitely be subtlety that I'm missing, as I know very little Samoan.

Really, in this situation, I'm just happy if it works for them and their Samoan pronunciation is good. But even after four years in NZ, I can't look at that and not hear those 'r's completely ruining the beautiful Samoan words in my American accent. 

Any Kiwis reading this, I would love some insight into how the way these are spelled phonetically helps you to say them properly. 

While we're on the subject of language, I should mention that I've been increasingly aware of my own failings in completely accurate pronunciation when it comes to 't's. I do fine with most of them, but it's words like 'pretty,' 'dirty,' 'little', and even 'tomato' where I discover that I replace that clear 't' sound with a 'd'. Mostly I forget about this, as it's just the way I've always spoken, but sometimes it's brought to my attention. For example, we're currently having a lot of discussions about chickens at Whare Kea, because a child is bringing his in next week. I read out loud from a book that the thing that hangs down from a chicken's chin is called a 'wattle.' One of the children said, "Like a penguin?" It took me a moment to realize that he was associating it with 'waddle,' and then another to become aware that that was a totally logical response, because I say those two words exactly the same, whereas Kiwis would say them very differently. Hmmm. I don't like it when accents result in different words sounding the same, and here it is happening with my own accent! I'll have to think about that.

Language is infinitely fascinating to me, and it is so delightful living in a place that still speaks English, but with so many interesting differences to discover. Once I add Māori and French into the mix, my life is a linguistic feast, and I love it!

Congratulations to J!

The big news in our lives is that J has accepted a new job, about which he is very excited! Starting on the 11th of September (4 years to the day from our arrival in NZ) he will start in his new role as Senior Advisor in the Biosecurity Response team. It will be his job to organize things when the government needs to respond to a biosecurity threat. This will include things like foreign insects eating apple crops or a pneumonia in cattle that came over from somewhere. This is particularly vital in such an isolated country with such unique flora and fauna.

He is still working for the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), the branch of the government for which he has worked, in various roles, since we moved here. He feels good about working in this organization, and is looking forward to getting to know his new team.

He says that he is very excited for this job because it is an opportunity for him to step up and take on more responsibility, to take risks, and to make a name for himself. He feels that it is a step in the right direction towards long-term goals of my management or leadership roles. He also thinks that he will find the work more rewarding, which is awesome.

Those are the things that J wanted to share about his new job. You'll notice that he is much more succinct than I ever manage to be. We all have our strengths.

I just want to add that I am so proud of him, and that being hired for this position shows that other people are recognizing how amazing and brilliant he is. J works hard every day, and really deserves to reap the benefits of that, and I'm so glad that it's happening.

New Discoveries at Zealandia

As you will recall, J and I are lucky enough to live close to Zealandia, an amazing wildlife sanctuary. I love spending time there, especially to show visitors around. I love helping others learn about the incredible creatures and plants in NZ, and I also discover new things myself each time I go.

I have posted about Zealandia before, so you can click here if you'd like to see my post from May 2017, and click here to see the one from back in July 2016. I am thinking that this one will not overlap much with either of those, as I've included mainly new things, but hopefully it will be interesting even if I end up with some repetition.

This time, I went with my friend Belinda, who had come to visit from Whanganui and had never been to Zealandia. We had a lovely walk when she was here, and then I used my ticket, which is good for two days, to have a solitary stroll the next day after she'd gone home. Both were wonderful.

This, apparently, is what happens when a frond gets broken off of a mamaku (black tree fern) right where it joins to the trunk. It looked like sap, and so I was expecting a hard, sticky, somewhat crystalline substance, but I was wrong. It was like jelly, and was amazing to touch, because my finger glided around the globules and came away slightly wet, but not sticky. J informs me that this is because it's made of cellulose, and I'll believe him. It is still sap, just a very different kind than other trees have.

Just to give you some context, this is what mamaku (black tree ferns) look like. 

I also learned about this plant, called Tutu (Coriaria arborea). The sign at Zealandia, which I uncharacteristically took the time to read in its entirety, read as follows:

"Surely one of the more infamous plants in NZ, tutu is a native shrub that can grow to 8m. Every part of this tree, except for the juice of the swollen purple petals, contains the poison tutin. Many cases of stock death were recorded by early farmers - even circus elephants have fallen victim to this fatal poison. Honey derived from bees gathering honeydew produced by sap sucking insects feeding on tutu has accounted for many cases of poisoning amongst humans.

Despite its fearsome reputation tutu does have beneficial uses. Māori mashed the tender shoots into poultices for bruises, cuts and boils. They even made a refreshing drink from the juice of the petals. The fruits and seeds are favourites of birds and insects and unfortunately possums."

Interesting, right? 

I'm including this and the following picture to demonstrate how incredibly up close and personal the birds got while I was walking quietly by myself. You can see a Tīeke (Saddleback) in the shadows of this picture, and it was just a couple feet away from me. (There are better internet pictures in my other post, but I'm proud to have gotten one myself.)

 This Toutouwai (North Island Robin), which looks depressingly far away in this picture, was really very close to me, along with several of her buddies. (Again, better internet pictures in other posts.)

I may have raved about this before, but seriously, can you see how many pinecones are on this tree? So many! Sometimes you can barely see the branches themselves because they are so covered!

Lovely view out over the sanctuary. Have I mentioned that it is 225 hectares? That is almost a square mile, which didn't sound as impressive as I'd thought, but he assured me that it is massive. Anyway, it seems like its own world when you're in it, despite being just a few minutes from the city.

I love little bush tracks. I love chatting with friends as I enjoy being out in nature, and I love walking by myself and really taking in everything around me. I'm working on slowing down and being present in my life, and this is a great way for me to do this.

I don't know if I've shared this before, but I love spiderwebs. I find them strikingly beautiful and endlessly fascinating. My camera didn't feel the same way, and had to be wheedled into focusing on it instead of the background, but it was totally worth it.

Well, that's all for this visit, but I'm sure I'll make some more wonderful discoveries next time I go.

Certificate in Māori Language

Back in June, I completed my Level 4 certificate in te reo Māori (Māori language). As I shared a while back, it was an online course that started back in January. Several of my colleagues did it as well, and we all supported each other to varying degrees, but mostly worked independently at home. 

I found the course impressively resourced and useful for something that is completely free to all students. I got to listen to audio tracks of a native Māori speaker interacting with her whānau (family) throughout daily events, as well as retellings of well-known fairy tales is te reo Māori. The former were often helpful in building vocabulary and grammar, but frankly, not super interesting. The latter were endlessly entertaining to me, as I delighted in using a combination of my knowledge of the Māori language and my knowledge of these stories in order to piece together and puzzle out the language itself. None of the stories were translated into English, but I was always able to figure it all out. The coolest thing that came out of this is that I can now tell the story of Ngā Poaka e Toru (The Three Pigs) entirely in te reo Māori. I made puppets to go along with the story, and so I tell it and act it out. I used the version from the course as a foundation, but modified and rewrote parts of it so that all the phrases are much more concretely connected to what I can show with the puppets, so that the children can be building their understanding without the need for English translations. Unsurprisingly, the children are picking it up faster than I ever could, and last week they acted it out themselves, with me providing the narration and them saying the characters' lines, all in te reo Māori. Some of them asked for reminders of what to say, but many of them completely knew the lines already from me telling and retelling the story. It was amazing and rewarding to see.

I am also using an app that lets me make my own flashcards to study words and phrases. I want to drill them into my head so thoroughly that when the occasion presents itself to use them, I am ready and not wasting time searching through my memory trying to find the right words. I think it is working rather well, although I still need lots more work.

This week, I received my whakapūmau (certificate) in the mail, so it's all official.

I have done my best to translate it for you, with help from a Māori-English dictionary.

University of Raukawa

I will not fail.

Emma Leilani Mercier has completely the learning for the qualification of Poupou Huia te Reo on the 30th of June 2017.

Certified by the professor of Raukawa University.

The president addressed the assembly, and this certificate was awarded.

I'm feeling wonderful about the progress I have made, and about my increasing comfort with this language. I have just started the Level 5 certificate course, Poupou Huia te Reo - Te Hōkairangi. So far it seems like it is going to be very challenging, and therefore very stimulating and helpful in my drive to improve my Māori language. I am again feeling nervous about the time commitment, but I know that it will be worth it.