Five amazing months down, Seven exciting more to go!

I have been a pretty bad blogger in the last few months, only reporting major adventures and glossing over, or completely neglecting to write about the every day stuff. A little update is in order, I believe. But before that, a quick wrap up of my adventure up north!

I spent last weekend in Northland (basically, everything north of Auckland) and actually managed to cover a lot of ground in a relatively short amount of time. The highlights include, first and foremost, Cape Reinga, the northernmost point of New Zealand and one of the only places in the world where you can see two oceans collide. (The other place is at the Straight of Gibraltar where you see the Mediterranean and Atlantic oceans meet.) Seeing the waves of the Tasman Sea in the west literally crash into the opposite moving waves of the South Pacific in the east was one of the most humbling sights I've ever beheld. It was one of those places in this world that I absolutely live for; the places that make you feel minuscule.

Other highlights from the weekend include Kauri trees and gum. Kauri trees are the second largest trees in the world, only smaller than the Redwoods of California, and they can live to be six thousand years old. They are, sadly, quite sparse in New Zealand anymore. The wood is, from all descriptions I've heard, perfect for just about everything so it was milled nearly to extinction by Maori and (to a greater extent) European civilizations alike. It secretes a substance known as gum, resin, or amber, depending on how long it has been outside if the tree hardening. I am absolutely smitten with the stuff, mostly because of its gorgeous smell and delicious color. Plus, the legacy of a 'gemstone' which comes from a sacred tree hundreds of thousands of years old, the younger and alternative forms of which can be used for anything from sealing a boat to healing the sick, is immensely appealing to me. I treated myself to a Kauri amber necklace. The man who made it and found the stone told me that he estimates it to be between 20 and 30 thousand years old. If some twist of fate has led my future fiance to read this, he should know that I want a ring made out of white Kauri amber (or the extremely rare blue or green varieties), thank you!

The last highlight of the weekend was 90 mile beach, which is actually more like 70 miles of vastly wild and deserted sand which does daily battle with the vicious Tasman tides. You can drive along the beach, but it's the only place in New Zealand that most car insurance companies won't extend their coverage. The occasional steering wheel or rear view mirror sticking half-buried out of the sand reminds you why, in case the increasing proximity of the raging Tasman waves allows you to forget why this might be the case. It's probably not a coincidence that such a harsh and dangerous place is also one of the most sublimely beautiful landscapes I've ever visited. The new photo at the top of my blog, behind the title, is from 90 mile beach. To see more photos from the weekend, click here.




So, now for the everyday life update. I have now been away for just under 5 months (whoa!) and have spent the vast majority of that time working in Auckland. My au pair job has been rather stressful, most specifically because only a few weeks after I started it the younger of the two children in my care became dreadfully ill. The Pneumonia Debacle began mid-February and things have really only fully returned to normal in the last week or so. I have never seen a child so sick in my life and it proved to be an enormous challenge for the entire family, myself included. Life was definitely turned upside down, especially during the 10 days that she spent in the hospital. UNderwent surgery to drain fluid from her lung, and had tubes in her for days. I hope never to see the inside of a children's intensive care unit ever again--it's a desperately sad place to be! The silver lining is that I got to see the inside of New Zealand's medical system and, more importantly, the whole experience deepened my bond with the kids and brought the whole family closer together. But I'm still glad to be done with that!



The kids are enjoying their school holidays at the moment. They get two weeks off at Easter and we have been packing in as much fun as possible. It's hard to believe that I'll be leaving Auckland in just a few weeks. I have really come to like it here, and I NEVER anticipated that change of heart! I hated it here at first. But there is a lot to like. First of all, it is New Zealand's "big city". At a population somewhere between one and two million it may seem small to an American or Brit, but when you consider that their are only 4 million people in the whole of New Zealand, Auckland suddenly seems a lot bigger. It has very distinct neighborhoods bursting with character and all quite close together. There are heaps of beautiful, well-maintained parks for walking, running, sitting and reading, you name it. Auckland City Council also puts on a very generous amount of high quality, FREE entertainment, including concerts, art festivals, food festivals, cultural festivals, sports festivals.

Because New Zealand is so small, you don't have to look far for its famous and talented, and these people generally haven't developed the kind of egos that grow in larger, less isolated nations. So they're often willing to, say, give a free concert in a small garden or other intimate setting. To be a spectator at such an event you don't have to expect to fight a huge crowd to take part, because if you miss it this weekend you can just go see something equally cool next weekend. And, when attending such an occasion, make sure you pack a picnic lunch with "bubbles", New Zealand's homegrown answer to the technicality which forbids us to use the familiar term "Champagne" with reference to any sparkling celebratory beverage fermented outside of said terroire. I love it so much more than "bubbly". Bubbles, please. As a side note, New Zealand's bubbles are cheap and tasty, emphasis on the tasty, which is probably why people pack them in their Sunday lunch basket and make for the park with a spring in their step. Definitely a little custom I wish I could bring home. But sadly, I'd probably be arraested if I tried this in the States.



All in all, I have come to like Auckland a lot, I must confess. When I leave in a little over a week, I know that I'll miss my running routes, of which my favorite takes me past the Prime Minister's house just before reaching the Auckland harbour at dawn. The view never, ever, fails to move me. I'll miss that. I'll miss my favorite cafe on Parnell Rise, where you can get the most delicious coffee and blessedly free internet. I'll miss the goofy newscasters on the morning news program that I watch. I'll miss knowing where everything is, and I'll miss knowing that if I'm looking for something from home, I'm most likely to find it in Auckland than any other part of the country. I'll miss driving (on the left side of the road on the right side of the car! Which I am finally used to...I even had a dream the other night in which I was driving, but I can't for the life of me remember on which side. Also, I watched a minute of Amizing Race the other night and the camera was in the car. I had a shortlived and minor panic as the car turned into the right side of the road...as in, I did a little gasp as if expecting a head on collision!) I'll miss the parents that I have met, chatted with and gotten to know while waiting for the bell to ring at the end of the school day, and many of the kids that come running out to greet us when it does. I'll miss the family in Tohunga Cresent that I have come to know and love well .

But, I have a lot to look forward to. Like, the whole of the South Island! I'll be doing a partial tour of the island in May and part of June until making my way back to Auckland for the most exciting part of the journey yet. My family is coming to visit!!! Mom, Dad, Dave and I will do a two-week-whirl-wind tour of New Zealand. After that, I'm pretty sure I'll need a job again, if I'm not desperate for one, and the plan is to head to Nelson for the remainder of the winter and just see what happens. I'd like to be in Wellington for the Wearable Art Festival and Awards Show during the last week or two of September, but after that I don't know how much longer I'll stay before coming back to the States. I can only stay until the end of November 2009, due to the stipulations of my visa and plane ticket.

I started writing a post about the differences between my experiences of American and New Zealand cultures, but after several revisions, rewrites, and reconsiderations, I decided that this topic is probably not best discussed via blog. I'd love to discuss it with anyone who's interested, though, so email me if that's you.

It's always so nice to hear from people at home. I miss you all, and so appreciate your interest, and your support. I hope you're all enjoying climatic improvements up/over there. I am feeling an unsettling nip in the morning and evening air and watching the days get shorter and shorter. Starting to see the other side of the token that had me complaining about the heat in Janurary and February! Summer was lovely, but Auckland's fall is a poor excuse of a season and really makes me appreciate our beautiful Midwest autumn.