Catching Up

Good Evening, your time,

Well, yesterday was the 22nd of December, and New Zealand is becoming familiar.

Kamini (pronounced K, with a short A and equal stress on all three syllables), David and I spent most of the day shopping and gathering Christmas decorations for the house. Last year, their first year here, was spend in Sri Lanka where Dineli's (equal stress on all syllables) father had recently gone on to Larger Life, as it is said in the Anglican church.

Weather wise it was the loveliest day since my arrival. It was warm, though not hot, with bright, healing sun and clouds reminiscent of puff pastry - and gratefully no wind! In between our stops at too many stores to list, David, Kamini and I , along with Sky and Emma, the resident dogs, trekked up a local mile high mountain, where we are pictured. (It was really a hill, but nearly mile high as it wove higher and higher to its precipice, where Kamini and I are pictured.)

Our goal was to view a memorial placed there by the Turkish government after WWII. The memorial honors the New Zealanders and Aussies who lost their lives as they charged Turkish boundaries. You see, the British (smartly?) sent in NZers and Aussies first in order to reduce the enemy troops before they charged. Huge, huge numbers of NZers and Aussies died in this manner and here they are memorialized. In part the wording of the large brass plague reads:

Mothers who send your sons to fight this war, know that they now rest on welcoming soil." (very paraphrased)

After the strenuous and the emotional impact of the memorial, we lingered to take in the beauty of Cook's Straight and the houses peppering the hillsides. Gradually we collected our energy while a myriad of birds chirped away, only gently breaking the peace filled silence.

Decorating for Christmas

The decorations we've purchased are both simple and quirky: a camellia bush to decorate for indoors and later plant outside, small red and green tinsel strips, small twinkling white lights and a golden star, woven of metal, for the tree's top. We also purchased a long string of bold white, lighted stars that will hang on the three palm trees bordering the deck and some quirky lights to string in the kitchen. Our 'tree' will occupy the hearth in my room, which is actually the lounge - or living room where we'll spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. (We spend far more time in the kitchen than other rooms.)

Nothing pleases Kamini more than shopping, so we've done our share, gauging the quality of the item or that and comparing its cost in Kiwi with the American dollar and the Sri Lankaan rupee. We look more than buy. But Monday was the exception. In the morning Kamini connected with Rowan, her son in Indiana, on Skype and learned that her new grandchild, expected in May, would be a boy. Her smile was joyful and contagious: we headed off to the yarn store where she, an eager knitting novice, purchased materials for a baby blanket. As for me, in yarn stores and garden stores I have no monetary limits. Passing one's fingers over possum yarn*, cashmere and merino can be likened to visiting heaven with an angel as guide! I purchased enough for three projects!

* Possum is a new commodity indigenous to NZ and rightfully gaining popularity.

New Zealand

Since arriving, I've needed to put the patches of life here together. I'd flown many miles over the course of two days, yet there was no immediate culture shock. Quite the contrary, there was no foreign feeling to the city. My last major trip, to Sri Lanka, was one where the air pulsated with third world differences. Three languages dominated the airport and I was confronted immediately with cows, chickens and uniformed school children moving about the 7:00 a.m. sidewalks and streets. There horns beeped incessantly as cars, buses, motorcycles and tuk tuks all vied for space on the small overcrowded streets. (Son David calls this beeping 'The Sri Lankaan Anthem.')

Here Kiwi English was not only familiar, but signaled Sri Lanka and GB. Only rather friendly, open-faced light skinned Kiwis peopled the shops and streets. The terrain resembled San Francisco where I had just spent 10 hours. The patching together comes slowly, but I can share a few observations.

First, people seem to move about life not slowly, but in a rather undetermined fashion. Shops are closed at unusual hours. Christmas vacations are sometime a month long. (The health club all but closes down from December 20 until January 5) and there is no sense of urgency or enterprise in the air.

Second, there seems to be no need to know on the part of the many Kiwis I've met; no desire for accuracy. I mentioned this in an earlier post, and it was highlighted with the comfort I felt when it was juxtaposed with our visit to the yarn store. There the female clerks knew their stock, and were clear on the exchanges between US knitting terms and those used here. Moreover, though they were quite busy, a clerk was always available to answer a question - with surety and accuracy. It was so refreshing after more than a week of receiving kind but frustrating guidance.

In following these thoughts through, I dug out a piece of another trip, which I took in the mid-eighties. This one was to Tortola in the BVIs. On my first day there, I thought I'd loose my mind to impatience with the slow pace of movement. However by day two, my own pace easily mirrored that of residents. I gauged this quick absorption of the culture to need to accomodate the tropic climate, which certainly does not prevail here. (As I write the winds gust at 40 - 50 mph) Then I wondered, are these transitions, too, just a bit slower to take hold as the calendar years of one's life increases?

The geography of New Zealand is beautiful! Wellington, on the north island, is nestled in a series of lush hills and deep valleys. For the most part, the houses are built into little and large hillsides. Cook's Straight flows into the Tasmanian Sea and then the Pacific Ocean. It takes your breath away - and yet since it is so pervasive, it can become mundane.

Last night was a perfect time to be swaddled in the island's atmosphere. As we finished the last of our shopping, we stopped at New World, a grocery, where Kamini and I picked up some makings for an easy dinner: curried hard boiled eggs, timbouli, marinated artichoke hearts and prawns, which Dineli, a natural chef, allowed me to prepare. (I'm trying to be very observant of the old adage that two cooks in the kitchen can spoil the pot - and sometimes the evening!) Later we had fresh, delicious ice cream for dessert. But though the food was delicious, the real delight was the company and the fact that it was shared on a table set on the front deck overlooking Newtown. (not to mention the lovely local wines!)

Today is a day at home with time to work on Christmas gifts and a good walk with the dogs. Tonight when Dineli and David return have dinner and do the decorating!

There is much more to say, but work to do. I hope this finds all well and in the spirit of joy and celebration! We need it so these days!

Please always feel free to comment on this site or by email.

LOL,

B