Making a life: food and friends

Kia Ora, friends.  A Maori greeting, in case you didn't guess.

It's been more a week about making a life here than one about being a tourist.  John continues to go out and about with staff from mental health, visiting patients in suburbs and outlying communities.  I began volunteering at the hospital, connecting ICU visitors with staff and ultimately with the loved ones they are coming to visit.  It was a little different kind of role than the one I am used to, but it was ok to be there and try to be of help.  I think I've only made one person mad so far, a nurse who came in and posted a "leave on 24/7" note on a light switch I had inadvertently turned off.

We have heat again, which is a significant improvement.   The weather has improved too.  Bright sun and cold wind are parts of every day.  At some point, it gets cloudy too.  Seems much like San Francisco. I remember a famous quotation about SF's weather, "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco," and I wonder if it will ever be warm enough here to wear the three summer outfits I brought in addition to the three winter ones.

Those of you who know me well know that my social needs are high.  It's been very odd to know no one, and it's been nice to have a few social contacts this week.  Thursday night we had dinner at a restaurant called "The Hop Garden," to help say goodbye to one of the drs. who is leaving.  Friday night we ate Indian food on Cuba Street, a very happening place with shops and restaurants where the youth culture is strong and our more geriatric walking was skirted by skateboards and tattooed walkers in short skirts.

 Saturday we Skyped with the Walter-Fromsons, including Kathryn, and talked to Claire on the phone and did a little baking.  I made cookies with something called "Choc Bits."  After baking, we decided to walk up the very steep stairway down the street to take a walk on the southern walkway of the town belt.  The trail wound  about a mile and a half thru the woods with beautiful views of the harbor here and there, mostly UP to the Mt. Victoria lookout, where you could see the whole landscape--several bays and the city in the midst.  Lovely and worth it, I think.  After making our way up, we felt pretty good about ourselves, but pride goeth before a fall, and we lost the track somewhere on the way down and ended up winding around and meandering back the long way thru town.  No real harm done.  Just sore muscles in the aftermath.

 Saturday night we went to the meetinghouse for a soup supper and game night, hosted by the Australian family who are Resident Friends at the Friends Center here.  Apparently, Quakers everywhere have a similar low-key sense of what is fun.

Today we went back to meeting and to the market.  Then we spent some time at Te Papa, the national museum, looking at art.  Maori art is characterized by elaborate carving.  There are totem gateways for houses and meetinghouses and posts and prows for elaborately carved wakas (large canoes for many rowers).  Also beautiful ornaments carved from greenstone--looks like jade or malachite but is much harder and was even used to carve chisels.  Much black, white and red in the visual art, much like the first peoples used in the Pacific Northwest, which makes sense if you consider the link to Pacific Islander heritage.

 After worrying about  you and the earthquake and hurricane back home, we were homesick to hear someone "talk American," so we went to the lovely Embassy Theater to watch Don Cheadle in "The Guard."  Pretty fun.

Common phrases in NZ:  "mmm"--very expressive and can mean almost anything like "prego" in Italian,
"have a think".  Vowels very different--fish like terakihi ?, all "frish and noice"  (fresh and nice); someone who has died is "deed".  Food:  fabulous citrus (lemons with a slight tangerine note, the best oranges I've ever tasted),  purple sweet potatoes called kumara, weird little red yams, fruits we've never seen that are kind of tropical like feijoa and tamarillos, great fish and chips with garlic salt and lemon pepper, fascination with beetroot, lots of lamb, kind of weird desserts--Ex. the ice cream choices today at the theater were plum/creme fraiche, honey/fig, and hokey pokey (NZ toffee).  New Zealanders are very serious about coffee, with the regular choice being a "flat white" (latte, yum, often served with a silver fern--the nat'l symbol--imprinted in the foam).  No such thing as pickle relish.  No dryer sheets.  Not so many varieties of everything.  Many kinds of chutney.  The best butter.  Serious about jam.

Unfortunately, I left the camera at home when we were on our long trek, but here is a picture of the Quaker meetinghouse, with the Friends Center attached.  As I listen to Friends' concerns about making a place in their society that is fair to all and concerns about peace and social and economic justice,  I realize that these  concerns are a part of my home wherever I am in the world.

Photos and false starts

Of course, I did not take this picture.  Saturday we went to a photography show with the winners of the International Photo Journalists awards for 2010.  Most news is not good news, of course, and the pictures showed a lot of suffering and mayhem, but I think they did create a response of compassion, so I guess that's the point.  The winning photo is this one of a beautiful young Muslim woman who had been disfigured by men who felt she was behaving disrespectfully; they had cut off her nose and ears, but she is dressed beautifully, and you can still see her beauty--very disturbing, provoking both outrage and sadness.

On a lighter note, one of my favorites was of Kim Jong-Il of N. Korea, looking dubiously at his heir; it's just a moment, but you can tell by his expression he doesn't think the kid is up for it.

To continue to update you on our activities:  Saturday night we went out to dinner for our anniversary (34!) to Ortega Fish Shack.  It was good.  Restaurant food seems very expensive to us, but it's a little deceptive since Kiwi dollars are worth about $.82 U.S. and because there is no tipping.

Sunday we followed what has become our ritual of meeting, then the open air market to get a roti and buy our veggies for the week.  This week:  leeks, spinach, broccoli.  Afterwards, we took a drive around the coast.  We saw signs to watch for them, but we didn't see any little blue penguins.  Apparently, they cross the road when the come out of the sea in the evening.  We did see two cormorants, a black shag and a little shag (very funny looking, sort of like he is wearing a toupee).  Have heard but not seen the tui (their mockingbird).  Lots of flowers blooming--including calla lilies and tiny irises and pulmonaria.  Right across the street there is a very steep stairway up to a greenway that leads to the Mt. Victoria lookout.  We haven't gone that far yet, but we'll check it out before long.

Today was supposed to be my volunteer orientation at the hospital (above), but my trainer was MIA.  Turns out she had a family emergency, so I will go back tomorrow so that I can work on Thurs.  By the end of the week, I may get pretty good at riding the bus.  I did get an i.d. made and was issued a uniform which, to John's disappointment, was neither pink nor candy-striped.  Was helped looking for my bus stop by a young Malaysian student from Victoria University who is working her way thru by working as a maid at a motor lodge in Newtown across from the hospital and just next door to our old home, the Southgate.  It is fortunate that people tend to be kind and helpful since I need a lot of help. :-)

Surviving the Snow

The forecast saying "snow thru Tuesday" kept being amended as the southerlies continued.  It snowed, then rained, then snowed again.  There was also lightning! Wellingtonians had not seen snow like this since 1976, and they were excited about it, at least initially.  The snow got almost as much news coverage as rugby early in the week.   On Monday our heat pump went out, so I have spent much of the week huddled by the space heater, waiting for Hamish, the repairman. I learned a few new weather terms, including "graupel" which is something between a hailstone and a snowflake which is what was out there for the most part.  Volunteer orientation at the hospital was canceled, as our orient-er was stuck in snow somewhere.  Some of you kept me a little saner by keeping the email coming, for which I am grateful.   Finally, on Thursday, Hamish and his assistant showed up and diagnosed the problem, but the fix will require multiple steps, so I'm thinking it may be mid-week before we're back in business heat-wise.  Things are pretty laid back around here, for better and for worse.

Thursday night we headed out to the grocery store and a cafe but were not inspired to do much more, what with the wind and driving rain.  Last night, though, we braved the brisk wind to go to City Gallery to hear the Cantorus Choir sing some unearthly beautiful music by an Estonian composer named Arvo Part.    The City Gallery has an exhibit up called Oceania, with portraits and art of Pacific Islanders hung all around the walls.  The combination of the beautiful music and the art was haunting.

Fortunately, there was a little sun this morning, and this (above) was the view from a couple of steps out our front door.  We have been nesting.  Most of the really good food we've had here so far is what we have cooked at home (also true in Gso, plus that cooked by Paul and at potlucks with the usual suspects), so this week's highlights included lamb chops with curried rice and fresh spinach and cauliflower pasta.  John has baked his first loaf of bread in our convection oven, and I have managed to light the gas stove without blowing anything up (so far).  We have also been cleaning, trying to determine what is dirt and what is wear.  Got library cards and new "fly-by" cards by which we can collect points (to what end I'm uncertain). The new guitar has gotten a little use this week too.

Friday, when it stopped pouring for 15 whole minutes at a time, I went swimming at the Freyburg Pool, which is about ten minutes' walk away.  Apparently, it's been a Wellington institution for quite some time, since my fortyish neighbor tells me she remembers swimming there with her family when she was 3.  It's quite the architectural marvel too, so I'm including two views:  one of the front, which shows you the portholes which let the light in throughout and another of the view from the side which shows the glass wings that enable people who are swimming and working out to look out on the harbor.

Our lime-green Suzuki Swift has been replaced by a more tasteful and subdued but harder to spot silver one, and we set out in it this morning, determined to find our way through the hysteria-inducing roundabouts to the post office to pick up the small watercolor prints of Oriental Bay we had ordered from a local artist on TradeMe, hopefully without dying or killing any pedestrians. Success!  The plan for the rest of the day is to visit an exhibit of award-winning photos by journalists at the Museum of City and Sea and to check out the Ortega Fish Shack for an anniversary dinner (34!).  Like Doc Watson says, "I don't care how hard it rains, the clouds are gonna roll away" eventually.

Snowy Weather

According to the news, snow comes to Wellington once in a decade, and we are seeing it today.  Southerly winds blowing up from Antarctica are bringing a chill that is supposed to last through Tuesday.

It's been a busy week.  We said goodbye to Newtown and moved into our little apartment on the bay on Thursday. It's a little like playing house.  A little on the bare bones side.  Apparently, NZ houses are not famous for being well insulated, and they are heated with heat pumps and space heaters.  So it's also a bit chilly. Since moving, we've been off the grid with no internet access till yesterday afternoon.

Our next door neighbor did invite me over for tea Thursday.  She and her partner have a fabulous view of the bay.  He is a sound technician on"The Hobbit" movie. Like most Kiwis we've met, they are very active--cycling, hiking (called tramping here), etc.

  On Friday I faced my fear of getting lost and took the bus downtown.  Other than that, we've mostly walked everywhere.  Friday night we went to dinner with the other medical staff employed by Global Medical.  It was a goodbye event for Michael Allen, the dr. John is replacing, at a restaurant downtown called Two Souls. Yesterday we went down to the Museum of City and Sea to listen to some "country/cowboy" music.  A little Johnny Cash, a little Merle Haggard, a fairly engaging woman singer with a dobro and a bass.  Fun.  At night we went to see a French film which was part of the NZ International Film Festival at the Embassy, a beautiful old theatre that reminds me a little of the Carolina.  Apparently, it was restored for the premier of "The Lord of the Rings."

Today we met some new people at meeting:  a young teacher who'd just returned to NZ after teaching for a while in London and a woman who has been working on a video project to put cameras in locations of choice for long-stay hospital patients, so that they can have scenery from their gardens or whatever they choose as they are confined in the hospital.  That woman, whose name is Jan, has already emailed to invite us to participate in a discussion related to the treaty between the Maori and the Pakeha  (sp?)(white people of NZ). Apparently, this is an ongoing conversation and a strong concern for Friends here.

After meeting we returned to the market for a butter chicken roti and to shop for veggies for the week. I had decided to buy an inexpensive guitar I can sell back on Trade Me (NZ's Craigslist), so we went down to a music shop near Cuba St. to pick it up.  Then we went to Te Papa (the national museum) for another short film, "Tiny Furniture."  When we came out of the theatre and looked out the large round window of the museum, it was snowing. Went to visit the giant squid exhibit (Te Papa is free, so we can do it in tiny bites like this) before gathering our umbrellas to brave the cold and dark. Walked back to the apt., getting soaked in the wintry mix.  Probably sounds pretty good to those of you feeling parched back in Carolina. Then hot tea with milk and sugar.  A very civilized and calming ritual.  Trying to take a page from my husband and not worry till tomorrow about the icy weather.  Hope you are getting a little rain but also enjoying the sunshine back home.

  

Cures for the Blues

By Friday last week I was a little blue, missing family and friends.  So John decided we needed to go shopping (at rush hour!) (on the left!) at Briscoes in search of pillows and such, not provided in the new apt.  It was terrifying, but we survived.
Then on Saturday:  seal therapy!  Eschewing the $100 tour, we drove down to the Marine Reserve Center and walked the sandy rocky coastline, mostly in the company of a group of Chinese students, often passed by dog walkers and cyclists, as we squeezed to the side of the narrow path for the occasional ATV or 4WD vehicle to pass.  The wind was blustery.  At times I thought it might blow me down, and we sometimes had to ford little streams as they made their way to the sea which was grey at first, then blue when the sun came out, with lots of whitecaps.  There were a number of huge rock formations, probably the most interesting of which was Red Rocks. According to the MRC, no one knows why this formation of red, green and purple rocks is so different from the surrounding landscape.

Finally, about three miles in, we came to Sullivan's Head on Cook Strait, where the seals, in all their smelly glory, were lounging on rocks or in the sand or swimming, raising one flipper at a time, out in the water.  They were pretty nonchalant about pictures, but we were supposed to stay 20 yards or so away.  The Chinese students were fearless and approached with their lenses till a low moan from this huge bull warned them away.  

Just past the seals, there was a rocky pass, and the South Island was clearly visible.  Apparently, it's only eight miles away, though tricky currents mean it takes 3 hours to get there by ferry.
Fairly done in by our long walk, we had brunch at Vista, a restaurant in our soon-to-be neighborhood and headed home for the evening.
On Sunday, we went to meeting, where they read our  introductory traveling minute from Tom Edgerton.  It was a lovely introduction, and, listening to it, we wondered who those nice people might be.  The morning was warm and fine, and after meeting, we headed down to the market at the waterfront for a roti wrap, then browsing around the trendy shops on Cuba St. before perusing the Central Library.
Looked at guitars in a music shop and shopped in vain for coffee for our French press.  By then the sky had turned dark, and it actually started hailing, then sleeting before we made it to the beautiful Embassy Theater for "The Kid on the Bike," a French entry at the NZ Film Festival.  Big city life has its charms.  But we still miss all of you.

Finding our way

Good news! We have found an apt. on Oriental Bay.  It's pretty basic--everything white and sort of student-esque inside, but outside is another story.  You walk out the front door and turn left, and a view of Oriental Bay opens up before you:  a small sandy beach and sparkling water, lots of little shops and cute restaurants on the street.  It's the perfect place for friends who might want to crash in the extra bedroom:-)  I There's a pool about 10 minutes walk away.  That gym is surrounded by glass, so you can see the bay from inside.  Our landlady will live upstairs from us, and she's been trying to get us straight on all of the paperwork, etc. that needs to be done. The guy who's living there is some kind of sound technician who's been working in Wellywood (the film studio working on The Hobbit) but is now moving to Sydney.  Also, the apt. is about  a 20 min. walk from Wellington Friends Centre.

The time for acting like tourists ended yesterday, when John crossed the street from the Southgate to pick up his lime-green Suzuki Swift and drive (on the left!) to work in the clinic in Porirua, where he will be one day per week.  I, on the other hand,  gathered my courage as one who is directionally challenged and walked over to the hospital to see what I could learn about volunteer opportunities.  The chaplains there apparently get most of their calls by denomination (Catholic, Anglican, Maori, Tonga).  I doubt that many Quakers request a chaplain, so I'm not sure what they'd do with me, but Fr. Ray is going to check things out and let me know.  Also stopped by the regular volunteer office where I had some friendly banter with the director who told me I "talk funny."  I liked the volunteer application which talked about offering hospitality and warmth (manaa) on a ward or in the accident/emergency section.  Sort of wonder if I might actually prefer that.  We'll see.

After visiting the hospital, I got my shopping bags together for my daily trek to New World (the supermarket), resolving not to give away all my cash before arriving there.  Though I feel a little wary and not altogether safe in Newtown, I have to say I enjoy the vigor of the cultural and ethnic hodgepodge and hearing the different languages on the street.  People have generally been friendly and helpful.   One of my favorite encounters of the day was ordering fish and chips for dinner at Fresh Fins.  None of the fish except groper (grouper?) were recognizable to me...taranaki?  But the proprietor was friendly, and it was all delicious, sprinkled with lemon pepper and garlic salt.

We both have colds and are feeling a little stressed from the newness of everything.  Sleep is still a bit off, and we miss those we love. Sometimes when people speak quickly, it's hard to understand them, and the way of doing almost everything is just a little different. Still, we are excited to be here, having our minds opened to what it's like to live here in this place.