As though we never left...

It's been just over a week of being back in California. We left early fall in New Zealand, to be in early Spring in the States. How lucky are we?

We are also very lucky to come back to the generosity and warmth of friends and neighbors, of beautiful weather, and nature all around.

With fondness, we look back at our experiences in New Zealand: the people we met, the beautiful landscapes we explored, the culture that is just a little different than our norm. We will take all the lessons learned, and hopefully use them in our next chapter of adventures yet to come.

Images above were taken today at Greyhound Rock Beach - the site of our wedding ceremony almost eight years ago now!

Lay Over

If you had to wait 7 hours at the Auckland airport for your next flight, this was not such a bad place to hang for a few hours.

Out of his generosity, Jeff Masson invited us to his home, on the beach just outside of Auckland. The day was warm (almost sub-tropical compared to what we had left in Dunedin), and the water was calm.

We enjoyed lively conversations, a delicious lunch, and the beach thanks to Jeff.

Well fed, and well rested, we hopped on the direct flight from Auckland, to San Francisco.

And our adventures continue, on the other side of the Pacific ocean.

St. Paddy's Day

Celebrated St. Patrick's Day (in honor of my mother-in-law since I have NO Irish-anything in me), with style in Dunedin...well, actually Port Chalmers, but very close to Dunedin. Many people in green, clanging pints of Guinness all around!

Almost...

Our time in the land of the penguins is coming to a close. It was meant to be a longer adventure, but we decided that we have had enough of this adventure, for a variety of reasons. And so, my friends, we will be going back to the so called 'land of opportunities'.

Until then, remember to enjoy each day to its fullest!

Oamaru weekend

It was our second time to Oamaru, this time with grandparents in tow. We wanted to show them the smallest penguins in the world: the little blue penguins. We achieved that quite easily since we had learned from our last visit where and how to spot these cute creatures. Though Oamaru may be known as a 'Penguin town', we managed to enjoy other things the city had to offer as well.

In the old days, Oamaru was a rather large, thriving New Zealand city. It boasts beautiful Victorian buildings, with local Oamaru stones used to build and decorate the town. There is a bit of an art scene here as well which was felt today a the Market fair in the old part of town.

Riverstone Kitchen

The kids enjoyed a 'wee' train ride at the Botanical garden, finding horse chestnuts under the large trees, and letting off their jitters at the playground. We also dined at quite a fine dining restaurant a few minutes outside of town called Riverstone Kitchen. All in all, a lovely visit to be remembered.

500th

Student studying under a tree by the Otago Museum

When I started this blog 499 posts ago, I did not really know where it was going.

I used to be a journal keeper. From the age of 13, I kept a journal that had details of my daily lives, so detailed that you might fall asleep reading it.

Now that life has gotten busier, this blog has become than a journal (although I do have a real journal that occasionally gets opened...but don't ask me when the last time it was that that happened).

It does feel odd to think that other people get to read about our mundane lives. Okay, maybe not so mundane.

I do hope that you have enjoyed the journey of this journal. It does bring me peace, and actually, joy, to share glimpses of our days with you all.

The Otago Farmer's Market

The first Saturday we were in town, we went to this farmer's market. We were told that it was at the Taieri Gorge Railway Station, possibly one of the grandest buildings in New Zealand.

It was a cold, rainy, windy day. It was our second day here. It was supposed to be summer. You get the picture.

So we got to the train station, and there was nothing. Wrong day? No. Wrong place? Maybe.

I stopped a man who did not look like a tourist. He was walking with a purpose, exiting the building. I asked him about the market, and bingo, he knew exactly where it was. He mans a cheese stall there. And oh, it is summer holiday here, so you might not find what you are looking for, he warned.

As it turned out, the market is held just adjacent to the station, in a lot. We ventured out, to find a handful of stalls with rather sad and wilted looking vegetables. There was one place, however, that had hot steamed buns and fried dumplings! Those tasted great on a cold and wet day!

Now, fast forward 8 weeks. I woke up to catch the sunrise like usual. The air was cool, but not cold. It felt like winter time in Thailand. I grabbed my bag, and off I went to the same market. This time the lot was full, the place was bustling with customers and vendors alike. Stone fruits in season bulged out of their crates. It was much more like what a market is supposed to look like!

I must say, though, that I have given up on trying to figure out what season it is equivalent to the States because what I see in the market now reminds me of early summer back in California. But whatever. I shake my head, and enjoy the freshly grown produce from the people who grew them. That's what these places are about.

Lovers' Leap and the Chasm

Another lovely day in Dunedin. We are supposed to make the most of it here since you just never know what system will be coming around the (island) corner.

We decided to go to the peninsula again, to explore the unexplored. We had heard about Lover's Leap, and how dramatic it is. And drama was just what we were looking for (umm...not really).

Not knowing the paths at all, we just took a chance and went up the 'overlook trail' first, only to find out that it was connected with the trails to Lovers' Leap and the Chasm. But, this trail had some obstacles. Namely, there were lots of spiky plants, and stinging nettles. The trail was also very dense with vegetation in parts that it was rather unclear which direction we should go.

We persevered, and eventually got to the two spots, both of which had truly dramatic settings of extreme cliffs. I am talking the kind that if you have any fear of height (like me), you don't really want to look to see the bottom.

Despite the wobbly feelings I had in my legs looking down these things, can I just say how glorious the day was? And the landscape all around us? And how lucky we are to be enjoying such superb sceneries, of course shared by numerous fluffy sheep?

The Walk

I took my camera with me this morning. Won't you come along for a walk with me?

First path

Second path

Plethora of ferns in the bush before getting down to town

Not so pretty part of the walk

This is when you know you are in New Zealand

Some of the steps I take back up

City view

More steps

Path in the bush

Wild flowers

Last view before heading home

As you can see, this place is hilly. And picturesque. And green.

It is also full of pathways that meander through neighborhoods, streets and bushes. They twist and turn, and you never quite know where they will end up. It's ironic for me to be taking these paths everyday right now. It's a symbol of our transition in life.

We are not quite sure where our paths will go, but we know that along the way, there are some beautiful things, and not so beautiful things that we will encounter. And that these paths always go forward, and do lead somewhere. We just need to make sure that we choose the right ones.

Thank you for coming along on this ride with me.

The Situation

Each day that I read the weather forecast here, I have wanted to share it on the blog. Maybe because we came from the land of 'no weather' that is called California, the weather here has been a bit of a shock.

To give you a glimpse of what happens around here meteorologically, here is an excerpt of today's "Situation" (don't you like how they call it, too?) from the Otago Daily Times.

"A ridge of high pressure slowly pushes onto the South Island while a low over the central Tasman Sea extends a warm front over western areas of the North Island and moves slowly south. Fronts east of the country move away to the northeast. A low approaching from the Tasman Sea crosses the South Island tomorrow night. A southwest flow then gradually spreads over New Zealand on Thursday and persists on Friday and Saturday, with several fronts passing over the south of the South Island."

In short, today, we are going to have some 'fine spells' (beautiful sunny day), and the next few days ... well, who knows!

Around Here

Our house here faces East, over looking the Otago Peninsula. On most days, even with clouds, I wake up to see the sunrise. Some days, I can tell exactly which way the wind is blowing by the way the clouds are (quickly) moving. And occasionally, there will be nothing but the shimmering light of the sun coming up to the clear blue sky.

Around here, I take a lot of walks. After I drop the children off to school, I put on my ipod, and I walk down the hill, just so that I can walk up again (for my heart). I listen to my favorite podcasts (This Story, and This American Life) downloaded effortlessly from the computer. It makes me feel closer to home somehow, even if I am thousands of miles away.

On my walk, I see a lot of familiar plants (to the ones in California), and a lot of unfamiliar birds. I take note at how a lot of things here are the same as back home, and yet...so different. I also question little things. People dry their laundry outside here even on cold wet days. How come Californians with more sunshine than we ever need, don't do that? Most of the mailboxes here have "No Junk Mail" right on them. Does that work? How come we never thought to put that on ours instead of complaining about how much junk mail we get daily? I also question more meaningful questions. Life questions. Why are we here? And where are we going?

Around here, I am learning a lot. Big things. Little things. And I remind myself that I am very lucky to be living life to its fullest.

Life without the internet

Near Allans Beach, Otago Peninsula

Living space in our house

Beach north of Port Chalmers

We are back. Online, that is.

We spent the last couple of weeks visiting internet cafes, and the library for access to the internet. And while it is a good reminder how much more challenging it is to live without internet access at home, it was not always fun (and quite expensive, I might add).

Needless to say, I am glad we are 'online' and connected again.

We have explored some more of our new neighborhood. We have also learned a lot about living here, and the pros and cons of life outside of the US.

Sometimes, it takes being away from 'home' to see things more clearly. I believe that this is one of those times.