Here I Am, and There You Are.

NZ. Two letters. It’s been 5 months. Maybe six? God damn, I can’t even look at those letters without being moved. They’re special to me. NZ.

I meant for this to be a postmortem. To be honest, I don’t even know what that means, other than the literal “after death”.  But really, maybe that’s fitting. A large part of me has died, that never will be again. When I moved overseas I left my life behind: who knew me, who I was, what I did, what I was. It was gone.  I was a blank slate. A fresh sheet. Who could I be? What could I leave behind? Who would I show to the world?

I had always wondered what I would make of it if I was given the chance to write my book fresh.  I made grandiose plans of me proving myself to be an athlete, or an adventurer, or even a professional. I failed on all those accounts.  I don’t know if I made the best of my blank pages, but I sure as hell wrote some good stories.

The ironic part is that I was in a country with the most amazing scenery, and not a huge population comparatively, but if I were to write you six chapters on the best experiences I had while I was in New Zealand I would write you six chapters about people. 

Vi. Mark. Wayne. Laura. Lena. Rory.

Even typing your names seems foreign.  But… Why? Where did you go?... Or… Where did I go?

If you can’t tell by this far in, I’m a little lost myself, and certainly wondering where I should call “home”.  New Zealand feels so right. Forget the multitudes of sports we focus on, the economy we wretch over, the immense nation we gripe about. New Zealand was a true culture of one.  I felt like I was part of a community there, not a “West vs East vs Prairie” political split, nor an “America vs Canada” battle.  We’re full into an American election season and I feel so involved.  Why? A Canadian shouldn’t feel so involved… yet I am. Because, as a Canadian, it matters. It will affect me just as much as my own National election will.  The kicker is: I don’t want to care.  I enjoyed the days when my biggest political gripe was weather the Prime Minister was at the rugby game, or what flag we were going to raise next year. 

I don’t want to call New Zealand “simple” in the sense that they aren’t a complex, observant, intelligent nation, because they certainly are, but I want to call it “simple” in the fact that they care about what matters, and ONLY what matters, and thin out their agenda to include only the issues that they truly care for.

As I near 30- which does not scare me, don’t get me wrong- but as I approach 30 I see so many paths which I can take, slithering off in different directions into the abyss. Where do they go? Which is the right one? How can I fuck this up? New Zealand had less snakes, less trails, less disaster.  Does that make me “less adventurous”? Perhaps.  Or perhaps I found the right group of paths that would lead me to where I want to be.  And of that, I am terrified, for I put more distance between me and those paths that one should ever put between themselves and happiness. Perhaps happiness is, literally, on the other side of the earth, and here I am, trying to find it. 

We've been There, now we're Back Again

Jenna: Well, this past year has certainly flown by. I can't hardly believe that it is our last week in New Zealand. I know I'm going to utterly fail at putting into words exactly what I'm feeling right now, but I'll try my best.

Reading back on our first posts, it's easy to tell Mitch and I were uneasy about starting a life here. After a relatively short while, though, we realised that fitting in was a lot easier than we expected, and it was going to be the leaving part that was going to be hardest. So far that's proving to be true. I've been riding a roller coaster of emotions this past month, striking anywhere between excited, sad, anxious, stressed, thankful, and elated.

I'll give us some credit where it's due; I think Mitch and I did a pretty good job of seizing every opportunity to try something new or meet new people. We kept open minds and open hearts and were rewarded with riches of the greatest kind: a sense of belonging, and new, lifelong friends. Life in New Plymouth hasn't always been easy - it's hard to try to settle into a place when you know it's only temporary, and I think it's human nature to want to really feel at home - but it's been pretty great. I'm so incredibly grateful to the company I work for for giving us the opportunity to spend the year here, and for making the transition as easy (for the most part) as it was. Back home, I'm grateful that we were able to rent out our home with zero issues to report (thanks, Dad!) and to family who stored all of our crap (thanks Mom and Debbie!). Finally, I'm thankful for the Kiwi people who so impacted our lives here and are making it terribly hard to leave. It's the people we met and befriended who influenced our lives here so much. It's to them we owe every unique Kiwi experience, every Kiwi word absorbed unknowingly into our vocabulary, and every new space in our hearts, just for them. My heart has never been more full.

Thanks, especially, to Mitch - for sticking with me, for supporting me, and for being my partner in crime this past year. We have so much to look forward to, and our year here together just makes me more sure that we are ready to face whatever challenges life throws at us from now until the end of our days.

I'm so sad to leave the wonderful people (you all know who you are) we have met this past year and I will miss you all terribly. I'll miss the country itself, too - its quirks, its landscape, it's Kiwi-ness. It brings me to tears to leave. But I know that we will always feel welcome in this little country again, and we will be back to visit. We are richer people for having been here, and we had a bigger experience than many can even dream about. I'm so glad we took the leap of faith. So while I'm sad, I'm thankful for that sadness - it means we had something truly special here that can never been taken away, or moved away from. We will carry it with us always.

Right, so with all the sad stuff said - I'm REALLY EXCITED to come home! I've missed everyone so much! This Christmas is going to be a special one. I'm excited to go back to our little house and really make it ours. I'm excited to REALLY start planning the wedding - hello, wedding dress shopping! - and just settle into being at home. I'm looking at it with new eyes now, and I've got to say that Canada is looking pretty great. If travel makes you appreciate even one thing, it's how good home is. I'm excited to put to work a list of ambitions I have for when we come home. Life is looking up, and I couldn't be more excited or grateful.

Much love, Farewell, and See You Soon,
Jenna

The Kiwi Way

Jenna: One of the little things I look forward to almost every day lately is getting up in the morning and getting a glass of water from the kitchen sink. This isn't because I'm thirsty when I wake up (though I am) but because when I look up and out the window over the kitchen sink, I can just see the tip top of Mount Taranaki, usually free of clouds in the early morning. It's pretty beautiful, and it's something I can't experience at home in Sherwood Park.

The rest of my morning is usually spent trying to ignore the fact that I'm FREEZING. Seriously. The lack of central heating in New Zealand homes, combined with poor insulation, makes for a chilly morning pretty much every day outside of the months of December thru March. Breakfast is made with cold fingers, and I usually sit huddled up while I eat breakfast in front of the morning news with my flatmates, Lena and Rory. When they're in the country, that is...they've been travelling Europe since August, and we only moved in with them in July.

When we first moved to New Plymouth, I cherished being able to see the sea every day. The WorleyParsons building is right on the waterfront. If you're on Level 3 or above, you can see the mountain from one side of the building, and the sea from the other. It's pretty unreal. I still look forward to seeing the sea every day, but I've noticed lately that I already take it for granted. Only 10 months in, and I already "forget" to acknowledge the sea every day, even though I see it literally every day, twice a day, 5 days a week. I'm trying to rectify that, but I have a sneaking suspicion that this is likely the case for other things in my life. I tend to stress over little things, and sometimes that means they detract from my enjoyment of the larger things. I can very easily get into a groove of "finish work, go to the gym, come home and cook dinner, clean up from dinner, do laundry/dishes/to-do list" and then the day is gone and I haven't taken the time whatsoever to appreciate where I am. But having said that, it's also part of what comes with LIVING in another country. Life and its various responsibilities don't stop when we leave home. We still have to work, we still have to clean the house, do laundry, cook dinner, and buy groceries. We can't spend every second travelling every corner of New Zealand, living the backpacker life. I think that's what a lot of people don't understand about our situation here. Every moment is not an adventure, but the year as a whole is an adventure in itself. There are some situations that we take advantage of because our time here is limited, but for the most part, we live a pretty normal life here in New Zealand. A normal Kiwi life.

Mitch touched on a lot of the things that make New Zealand, well...New Zealand. There are the obvious ones, like the way Kiwis speak, the different words and phrases they use (that we now use, too...the human brain is just a giant sponge), and how active they all seem to be. The not-so-obvious ones that we have come to notice are, but not limited to, the following:

1. Kiwis are extremely friendly (perhaps this is obvious, but I wanted to point it out). They give us Canadians a run for our money on this point. They sincerely want you to enjoy your time in their country, so they'll go out of your way to make sure that you do. One of the main reasons Mitch and I have experienced so much here in such a short time is because of our friends and their willingness to include us without hesitation. We'll be forever grateful for that.
2. Ice cream is outstanding here. Seriously. This is an important one. I love ice cream. I will miss being able to buy a $3 ice cream cone the size of my head at almost any corner store ("dairy").
3. Fish and chips...on the beach. This one might be specific to Taranaki (?) but it's a thing. And it's great. Grab FnC from takeaway shop for <$7. Head to beach. Consume. We've only actually done this once, but we'll be doing it again.
4. They go barefoot everywhere. Supermarkets, sidewalks...they just don't like shoes, or something.
5. Lots of other things I can't think of right now.

Another thing I really love about living in New Plymouth is the closeness of the community. Coming from a so-called "bedroom community", I find it extremely cool that I can have a 5-minute commute to work, where I'm in the centre of town and can go for a beer or two after work at any number of cool pubs within walking distance of my building. Since New Plymouth isn't that big, most of my coworkers can meet in the town centre for drinks, and the vast majority won't have a massively longer commute home than the next person. It creates many many more opportunities to get together outside of work, which I've found also creates a better sense of community within the workplace.

AND since work is right on the water, it means that in the summer months, an after-work swim is not only possible, but common. In the "extreme" a lunch-hour swim or even surf is not unusual. Which leads me to another point - I find a lot of people here are genuinely interested in what you like to do OUTSIDE of work. My manager here, when screening new applicants, specifically looks for what interests the person has that are non-work related in order to get an idea of how well-rounded the individual is. It's something I definitely need to work on, but I'm getting there. This probably isn't Kiwi-specific, either, but this is my blog post and I'll do what I want.

I'm sure I missed a ton of things I wanted to say, and perhaps I'll come back and edit this later to include anything I forgot, but in closing...I've learned a lot about myself in the time we've been here. I've learned to be patient, to take life a bit slower, to say "yes", and to not back down from a challenge. I've also learned, though, that life isn't REALLY that much different here. No matter where Mitch and I are, as long as we have good people around us (which we have been lucky enough to have) and open minds, life is fun and exciting. Our life in New Zealand is amazing and unique, and we are so very thankful - but life is what you make it. I'm confident that by surrounding ourselves with good people and continuing to adventure (big or small), we'll have a great life no matter where we are.

Getting Lost

Mitch: When talking to friends back home the first question I usually get is “What is life in New Zealand like?”.  I typically answer “good”, “fun”, “relaxing”, or some other vague one-word answer.  In reality, it’s impossible to translate our life here in to words, and certainly few want to listen to me ramble if I tried to do so. In my experience, listening to someone describe their every-day lifestyle is like listening to a story about a dream they had: you don’t really care, but you smile and nod anyways. 

With that being said, I will now attempt to describe every-day life here in New Zealand.

A kiwi home is cozy, but not cramped.  Clean, but not tidy.  Timeworn, but not broken.  It is a retreat in which to return after an exhausting adventure, not a castle to tower over one’s neighbor.  Nature seems to seep in through any crack and cranny; cobwebs constantly need to be swept from the corners, and rogue ants are often found exploring uncharted walls.  Every house is unique; there are no “cookie cutter” homes here.  Each building has been designed and built to fit the property, which is typically chock full of wild vegetation.  As to be expected, fern trees are quite common.  Nikau palm trees are quite common as well, which may not be unusual except they are often found near Norfolk pines, also known as “Star Pines”, or “Natural Christmas Trees”.  The contrast is quite stark. 

A Star Pine with Nikau Palms in the distance.

The citizens of New Zealand are much like their surroundings: Peaceful, comforting, beautiful, and wild.  Kiwis aren’t defined by materialistic things or societal standards.  They aren’t slaves to their jobs, nor does their profession set their social status.  Life here is not measured with money or belongings.  Kiwis strive to experience the world around them, and if there’s a better place to do so I certainly haven’t been there.   

I’m still amazed by how active people are here, and Kiwis are always keen for an adventure.  It’s common practice to head out on the weekend for a camping trip, mountain climb, ski outing, or whitebait piss-up.  Technically, whitebaiting is net fishing, but from what I’ve seen it consists of little more than sticking a net into a stream, getting drunk with buddies, and periodically collecting the whitebait from the net.  Whitebait are tiny fish that look like bean sprouts with eyes.  They’re consumed by frying them with egg to form whitebait fritters.  I’m pretty sure whitebait is a valid form of currency in New Zealand. 

Whitebait.

Much like Canada, New Zealand is a cultural mixing pot.  You don’t have to go far to find an Indian, Brit, South African, or Argentine.  There are even a few Canadians around these parts.  Many expats arrived here for work or travel and simply fell in love with the country, or a local, and never went home.  Some are spouses of kiwis that lived abroad and recruited a future kiwi.  There seems to be a unique tradition (if you can call it that) among Kiwis called an “overseas experience”, or O.E. for short.  Nearly everyone we know who resides in New Zealand has moved overseas for an extended period of time, akin to Jenna and my current situation.  Europe is the most common destination, however a handful of our friends have lived in Aussie, North America, or Africa as well.  It’s not uncommon to hear “so-and-so is away on their O.E.”, just as we would say “so-and-so is away at college”.  Since arriving here, 3 of our close friends have moved overseas for an indefinite amount of time, two to the UK and one to South Africa. 

Driving in New Zealand is an adventure in its own.  There is no such thing as a straight road here.  As the crow flies, Auckland is just over 200km from New Plymouth, but the drive takes roughly 4.5 hours.  The highway speeds are 100km/h, yet driving at such speeds is nigh impossible, as you frequently have to slow down to 20-30km/h to navigate a sharp turn, or chug your way up a hillside.  Many roads are carved through dense forest or along steep cliff faces, and highways rarely have shoulders.  This makes for an extremely scenic, but somewhat stressful, driving experience. A Canadian driver’s license is a valid license for up to 1 year, so we were able to drive upon arrival- or, rather, we were legally able to drive upon arrival.  Kiwis drive on the left-hand side of the road, and the wheel is located on the right-hand side of the vehicle, both of which are opposite from back home.  Things were hairy for the first few weeks, but we eventually got used to it. Note: Don't drive in New Zealand if you have a thing for possums.  Actually... New Zealand just isn't safe for possums in general. Don't travel to New Zealand if you are a possum. 

A typical Kiwi highway

Just as hockey is a religion in Canada, rugby is religion in New Zealand.  Rugby Union, which is a variant of rugby, is the most widely supported in New Zealand.  The Super Rugby league has five teams in New Zealand: Blues, Chiefs, Crusaders, Highlanders, and Hurricanes.   Other teams are based in Australia, Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Taranaki, where Jenna and I live, currently fall into the region of Chiefs supporters, which is somewhat controversial. Prior to this season Taranaki hosted Hurricanes games, therefore most locals are still Hurricanes fans, even though Taranaki no longer hosts Hurricane games. (Kind of interesting: Instead of saying "Go Chiefs/Hurricanes/etc.", Kiwis say "Go The Chiefs/Hurricanes/etc.").  Of course, the first time the Chiefs and Hurricanes met in league play it was hosted at New Plymouth’s Yarrow Stadium.  The game sold out in hours, and the atmosphere was electric.  Beer is unusually cheap at the games, and comes with a convenient carrying handle so you can tote 4 beers with one hand.  We are currently in the midst of the rugby World Cup, which the All Blacks, New Zealand’s national rugby team, are the defending champs.  Several houses, boats, and cars don an All Black flag: a black background with a silver fern spanning diagonally from corner to corner.  Thanks to CNN hysteria I occasionally find myself thinking we’ve been invaded by militant terrorists, whose flag is somewhat similar.  Australians likely fear both on roughly the same level. 

Go The All Blacks!

Yarrow Stadium, Chiefs v Hurricanes

From what I assume is due to the prominence of the All Black brand several other New Zealand sports teams feature similar names:  Their soccer team is the All Whites, cricket the Black Caps, field hockey the Black Sticks, basketball the Tall Blacks, and the badminton team the Black Cocks.  Even though they received an increase in publicity, and several condom sponsorship deals, the Black Cocks were forced to change their name due to opposition from the IBF.  All twelve supporters of the team were severely disappointed.

Jen and I were put up in a long-stay hotel when we arrived until we were able to find a place to live.  As we were walking to a property management office I noticed a sign for a local GIS company.  Seeing as I had experience in GIS, I fired them an email describing my situation.  The owner responded and asked to go for coffee.  After a chat she offered me a job doing field work for them, which involves hiking around New Zealand's back country hauling GPS and survey equipment.  The work is difficult at times, but the landscape is beautiful and serene.

Picture taken during some field work, about 5-10mins from New Plymouth.

I noticed that New Zealand was hosting the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup.  New Plymouth was hosting 5 round-robin games, as well as a quarter final match.  We had drawn Brazil to play their games in New Plymouth, which was a high-profile affair, as several of their players were already multi-million dollar athletes in the Premiere League.  I had a bit of free time between field work, so I volunteered.  I received the position of "Sideline Medic", even though I had no medical training other than basic first aid.  Basically my job was to sit 5m from the pitch and watch 6 matches of soccer.  Every time a player would go down with what appeared to be an injury (hint: soccer players do this a lot) my heart would stop.  My job was to carry the stretcher, and I've seen enough videos of stretcher-bearers screwing up to know that if I messed up I would be forever YouTube famous.  Luckily all the sissy soccer players got back up in the end and I never had to cart anyone off! I met a few really cool people that were on my crew, who had just as much medical training as I did.  It was quite an amazing experience.  Seeing powerhouse Brazil lose in the final to local-favorite Hungary was pretty exceptional as well.

Sideline Medic

Shortly after settling in to New Plymouth I began looking in to playing competitive soccer.  One of Jenna’s coworkers, of whom I had never met at the time, said his club was looking for more players and that I should come out to pre-season kick-arounds.  Unfortunately Jenna’s coworker was currently committed to his cricket club, and could not make the kick-arounds, so I would have to there alone.  I’m somewhat of an introvert, so this was rather daunting, but since saying “yes” has gotten me this far, I decided to give it a shot.  The only one there when I arrived was Mark Nicholson, the Div 1 team manager.   We chatted for a bit as more players trickled in.  It was a hot day, and I was rather out of shape, but I was not expecting to be outclassed as bad as I was; everyone was quite phenomenal at soccer.  I had some catching up to do, since it had been several years since I had played high-level competitive soccer.  8 years, in fact.  Little did I know, many of the guys that showed up that day would end up being some of the greatest friends I have.  They have undoubtedly helped shape my New Zealand adventure in to the joyous experience that is has become.  

FC Western Div 1

I will miss a lot about this country when I return to Canada.  The hills, the beaches, the ocean without the ocean smell, the wine, the small-town personalities, even the sheep.  But I will miss the people most of all.

So, what is life in New Zealand like? "Adventurous."

The fun hasn't stopped, the blog posts have

Jenna: I read a blog post recently that said "the fun times haven't stopped...the blog posts have." This rang a little true for me at the moment. I kind of expected it to happen - I figured we'd get lazy with it after a while, and we have. So I'm sorry, for those who were hoping for more regular posts. We've been negligent, but unfortunately I can't promise we'll write more frequently. It kind of happens when it happens.

But you're in luck now! I've gotten all ambitious and have some time on my hands. I'm sitting here on a Saturday night, alone in our "new" flat. Around the time (actually, at exactly the time) that Mitch got the call to go to the South Island to help out our friend's family on the farm, we were in the midst of moving into a new flat. It's not right in the centre of town like our old one, but it's not too far away, either. It's about 3km from where I work. We moved in with my coworker Lena and her boyfriend Rory. They rent a 3 bedroom house on their own and were planning a trip to Europe for a few months. They were hoping we would be interested in moving in with them to look after the flat while they were away. They left at the end of August, but we moved in at the end of July, just to help us all save a bit of money (we're paying about half what we were paying at the other place) and get used to the place before they left.

Lena and Rory are an awesome couple. I think as I write this they're currently in Italy (Hi guys! Hope you're having a good time!...yeah, they probably won't read this, though...). So for now it's just me and Mitch again. Oh, and Shaq. He's Rory's goldfish. So I guess I'm not totally alone here tonight.

Mitch is out at the Central Football awards night. His soccer season wrapped up at the end of August. Last weekend the team had their end-of-year prize giving. The whole team got together with their wives and girlfriends and got all dressed up for a night of fun. It was a really great time! I've come to get to know the guys that Mitch plays soccer with and they're a really great group of guys. The soccer ("football") league here is in a club format. Mitch is a member of FC Western, one of the several clubs that play out of New Plymouth. The nine or so clubs in the Taranaki region play in the Central Football league. FC Western's Div I team, of which Mitch is a member (the club has three teams: a premiere team, a Div I, and a Div II team) finished second in their division this year. I'm really proud of all of them - I thought they played really good football. I'll leave it to Mitch to explain a bit more (perhaps I shouldn't be writing this particular post) but I wanted to say a few things about it. I think that the club has been a defining factor in Mitch's (and my) time here in New Zealand. Everyone has been really welcoming to Mitch as a new member of the team, and his commitment didn't go unnoticed at the awards night. Mitch was awarded both Players' Player and Player of the Year (one chosen by the team, and the other by team management). I am incredibly proud of him, and think he his deserving of both awards (despite his protestations). And hey - I didn't walk away empty handed, either! Mark, the team player-manager, awarded both Laura and I with a box of chocolates in recognition of us as "most devoted fans". Tonight's awards are for all of Central Football, where the teams will receive their first place trophies, and league-wide awards will be given. I've just received a message from Mitch that he's in the running for Male Player of the Year, so here's hoping that he comes home with yet another trophy!

Anyways, what else? Oh - Mitch's dad came to visit! He planned his trip so that he could attend Mitch's last game of the season, on August 22nd. We were so happy to have him here! He spent the first week of his two-week stay here in New Plymouth. Mitch took him around to see the different sights and introduce him to his teammates and our friends. I couldn't take both weeks off of work, but the second week he was here I took some time off and we hopped in the car and went touring around the north island.

At this point I should mention that in June, after I got back from my week in Canada (which is a whole other story completely), Mitch and I spent a weekend in Wellington with our friends Viranchi and Laura. The best way I can think of to describe Wellington is as some sort of mixture between San Francisco, Halifax, and Victoria...but with a kiwi twist, of course. It's a beautiful city. Driving around it is a bit bonkers - kind of like San Fran - but worth it for some of the views you can get as you go. We lucked out with an absolutely spectacular day, weather-wise (unusual for "Windy Welly"). We went on a tour of the Weta Workshop, the studio that was responsible for the special effects and props for the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies. It's kind of amazing that this (now) world-famous movie studio is tucked away in this quiet residential neighborhood in Wellington, but there it is. We got to see and touch a lot of cool props from various movies that the studio has been involved in. Laura (having lived in Wellington for a few years) took us to various lookout points as well. We drove up to the Mount Victoria lookout, where we could get a great view of the city all around us. We also took in the Gallipoli exhibit at the Te Papa museum. Te Papa is a large museum on the Wellington waterfront that is completely free, and has a ton of stuff to see and do. The Gallipoli exhibit is dedicated to New Zealand's involvement in World War I. Gallipoli (as we learned on Anzac Day) was the landing place of the New Zealand troops in Turkey on April 25th, 1915. It's pretty special actually that Mitch and I are here in this particular year, as it marks the 100th anniversary. We also got to see the only fully-intact giant squid specimen in existence! Note: not part of the Gallipoli exhibit.

Wellington from the wind turbine lookout

Back to our trip around the north island with Jim - we went back to Wellington to show Jim the city as well, as good tour guides do. We doubled up on a few activities, but we had another stunner day weather-wise (note: the only good one of our whole trip) and fully enjoyed every minute. We even tried to take in a rugby game the night we arrived (and managed to get some free tickets from someone giving them away at the gate) but the weather was so awful, we only stayed until half time. The game was kind of a wash, anyways as the Wellington team was fully beating up on the other team.

Yet another aside - we were also in Wellington the night that they announced the final All Blacks squad for the upcoming Rugby World Cup. It was kind of cool to be there when they made the announcement. Rugby is king here, so this was as big as announcing the Olympic Mens hockey team selection in Canada, as a comparison. Sitting at a bar later that night near our hotel, we even saw a few of the All Black players pile out of a rental van and into their hotel next door. We're starting to be able to recognize and name a few players on our own, and watched a few All Blacks matches leading up to the World Cup, so we're starting to catch the fever too. As Rory put it the day I told him I saw and recognized Conrad Smith in a crowd of people without anyone telling me who he was, "the transition is nearly complete". Mitch even got me a really nice, official All Blacks jersey for my birthday! I'm looking forward to sporting it during the World Cup (sorry, Canada). It officially kicked off this morning, but the All Blacks don't play for a couple more days. Unfortunately, the Cup is hosted in the UK this year, so the time difference makes watching the games a bit difficult here. Legislation is already in place to allow bars to open during the games, though. Priorities! Also, I'm pretty sure the UK is seeing the highest influx of Kiwi travellers at one time in its history. Go the All Blacks!

My other "New Zealand" themed gift from Mitch - a silver fern!

A cupcake and keychain that Laura made/got for me for my birthday!

ANYWAYS. We spent two nights in Wellington with Jim, before heading back up the east coast of the north island to Hawke's Bay. We stayed one night in Napier (unfortunately we couldn't escape the rain) and did a few wine tastings. Hawke's Bay is known worldwide for its vineyards. We passed countless ones in the countryside as we drove. I think I like Pinot Noir, but I'll have to do more research (read: drinking) to be sure. After Napier, it was on to Taupo and Rotorua. We just passed through Taupo for the day, but I think it was my favourite day of the trip. Remember the natural hot springs we soaked in the weekend we did the Tongariro Crossing? Yeah, we went back there. We picked up a couple of six packs of beer, bought a couple cheap towels, and drove down to the thermal park in the rain. We soaked in the springs and talked for several hours while the rain fell. It was a really great afternoon. We continued on to Rotorua in the evening (only about an hour's drive north of Taupo) and found a hotel there. The next day's weather forecast said the morning would be fine, with rain in the afternoon. We knew we wanted to hit the luge, so we made sure to be there early the next morning. We were some of the only people there (highly contrasted to our last visit) and raced down the slopes. Jim only nearly killed himself once! We decided to chance the weather with a walk in the redwoods ("the trees will help shelter us if it does rain") and halfway through our walk it started to sprinkle. A few minutes later, that sprinkle had fully turned into rain, and we were quite wet. Not so sure Jim enjoyed that afternoon in the rain as much as the previous one!

Rotorua from the luge chairlift

The boys

Huka Falls

After Rotorua it was time to head up to Auckland. We arrived Wednesday evening and planned to stay two nights until Jim's departure back to Edmonton on Friday afternoon. Unfortunately for Jim, he was sidelined by a bit of bad luck with his gout medication, so I'm not sure he got to see very much of the city. We did at least make it to Mount Eden, which is an old dormant volcano right in the middle of Auckland. The crater is overgrown with grass, but is still quite obviously a crater, and it's a great lookout spot.

Mount Eden crater and downtown Auckland

We really enjoyed having you here, Jim! We were sad to drop you off at the airport - it felt like your time here flew by! Hope you enjoyed New Zealand - what we could show you, anyway!

I think that pretty much brings you guys up to speed on our adventures. I've definitely forgotten something or someone. We've got plenty more planned though - Mitch's mom arrives in just over a week! She'll be here for three weeks, and we plan to tour around the south island when she's here! I'm really excited. Stay tuned for a post about that one!

Miss you guys - don't worry, we love it here and it will be hard to leave, but we're starting to wrap our heads around coming home, too, and looking forward to it. Lots to look forward to in 2016!

Love,

Jen

"I Don't Want To Be A Farmer" -Mitch, Age 6

Mitch: Vic McCullough was the first person we met after arriving in New Plymouth. She's a fellow process engineer with Worley Parsons. Prior to our arrival her and Jen had exchanged several emails in preparation for our move. She was undoubtedly our first "kiwi" friend, and played a large role in introducing us to most of our friends here in the land of the long white cloud. As our overseas journey continues, Vic's just began: she recently left us to travel the USA, where she is currently discovering the magic of country music and cowboy boots. Afterwards she will be making her way to the UK, where she will be living for the next couple years. Vic's work duties have been turned over to Jenna, and her role as a daughter has been taken over by me. Seriously: I am currently in Vic's old bed on her family's farm in Temuka, South Canterbury, New Zealand.  

How I came to be here is a whirlwind story. Vic departed New Plymouth a week prior to her leaving to the USA. She went home, back to Temuka, to spend time with her family before the big move. I received a phone call from Vic on the Sunday, the day before she was due to depart to America. She asked if I wanted to come down to Temuka and help out on the farm for a few weeks, since she leaving and her parents needed a hand. I said I had soccer commitments, and my team currently holds the challenge cup and therefore our remaining few games were crucial. She said okay, and hung up.

A few seconds later my phone rings again. It was Vic. She had looked up my soccer schedule and explained to me that we were playing the best team in the league next weekend and will "probably lose anyways.". She had a point: We had just lost a tournament game to Rangers FC the day before and were due to play them in season play, at their home grounds, in 6 days time. Even though our team was in 2nd place in the league, the Rangers had a firm grasp of first spot with a perfect 16-0 record. I told her I would think on it.**  

**We ended up beating the Rangers 3-1

I texted her back a couple hours later, saying nothing more than "I'm in as long as I only miss the Rangers game.", meaning I would need to be back in New Plymouth in 13 days. I didn't get a reply from Vic, so I assumed that 13 days was too short of a timeframe.

Later that evening Jen and I were watching TV with Rory and Lena, our new housemates. We had moved in with them the day before and all my belongings were still in suitcases. Jenna had already unpacked. My phone rings: it was Vic, and Steph, Vic's mom. I was on speakerphone.

"Okay, you gave us the green light! You're booked for a flight 11:00am Tuesday to Christchurch. How many bags do you want to bring?". 

I said I would only need carry-on luggage, as I glanced back at my clothes, which were still stuffed into the two giant suitcases I brought from Canada.  11:00am Tuesday was roughly 36 hours away. Vic left on Monday, which meant that she wouldn't be there when I arrived. I had never met Steph before, nor Dougal, Vic's dad. I told Vic to show her mom a picture of me so we could find each other at the airport, and we hung up. I suddenly became very nervous; "What did I just agreed to?".

Tuesday morning came and I shuffled some clothes and a toothbrush between suitcases and headed to the airport. The flight from New Plymouth to Christchurch is only 90 minutes, which is still 90 minutes more than I want to fly on any given day. All things considered it was a perfect day for flying. Our pilot took us (terrifyingly) close to the peak of Mt.Taranaki as we passed by, and for a brief instant my fear of plummeting to my death was overcome by amazement thanks to New Zealand's natural beauty.

Mt. Taranaki from the flight.

I arrived in Christchurch and exited the plane. "Now what?". We had not made a plan as to where, or how, Steph and I would meet. I looked around as I entered the arrivals area: it was completely empty. I thought of going to baggage claim, but Steph knew I didn't have any bags. As I walked towards the exit if the airport I walk passed a lady, who smiles at me and I smile back. Just as I turn away she says "Mitch?". " Yes?" I reply. Steph walks over and gives me a hug. I notice she has a clipboard with the name MITCH written on and flowers drawn around it. "I've always wanted to hold up one of these!" she says. Vic had forgotten to show her a picture of me so I was amazed that she found me.

The drive down to Temuka from Christchurch is about 90 minutes.  Steph played tour guide along the way, telling me a few stories that only the locals would know: The first ever airplane was constructed and flown just outside Temuka by Richard Pearse, eight months before the Wright Brother's historic flight.  There's a town called Dunsandel which locals refer to as the "Knackered Boot".  The local rodeo committee is shadowed by political turmoila and rich with insider gossip.    

Nice try, America.

The farm is a "typical" Kiwi farm: The drive is lined with trimmed square hedges.  Several sheep roam freely on the property to keep the grass at an acceptable length. There's a garden, a chicken coop, a workshop, and several sheds housing various pieces of machinery.  They have 7 dogs on the farm: 6 sheep dogs, which look like German shepherd pups, and Riley, a larger, hairier, older sheep dog who is more of the family pet than a farm dog.  They also have two kittens, who are completely fearless, as most farm cats are.   

Smootches and Fluffy

Meg

The McCullough's keep cattle, sheep, and deer on the farm.  During the summer they grow several paddocks of barley and kale, and during the winter they use the paddocks to feed the animals.  To keep the stock from overeating they string an electric fence across the paddock, allowing the animals to access only a small portion of the crop.  Each day the fence is moved 3-5 feet, which isn't too difficult as the fence was nothing more than a single line of string, lined with conductive wire.  It doesn't take long for the animals to learn what the fence does, so they keep their distance.  The sheep fences must be moved once a day, whereas the cow fences are moved twice daily, as the cows will trample and defecate on some of their feed if you move the fence too far.  One of my jobs was to shift several of the fences each morning and afternoon.  

When I first arrived to the sheep paddock I noticed several of them had what appeared to be blue spray paint on their butts, right above their tail.  It turns out that they let a ram into the sheep paddock in the fall to impregnate some of the sheep.  In order to know which sheep may have been impregnated, they fasten a paint vest to the ram.  When he mounts a sheep it sprays a blue dot on the butt of his love buddy.  I thought that was hilarious.  

The cows are separated into several different paddocks depending on their sex and size.  I was typically able to leave the paddock gate open while shifting the electric fences, as the cows were more eager to eat than to experience sweet, sweet freedom.  Dougal informed me that one mob of cows (yes, they call the mobs, not herds) typically misbehaved and would wander out of the paddock if the gate was left open.  For the first couple of days we shifted the fences together, so I would open the gate, Dougal would drive though, and I would close the gate behind him.  The first day Dougal let me shift the fence myself I figured I had enough time to open the gate, drive through, then go back and close the gate behind me.  Apparently not.  I drove through the open gate, look in the rear-view mirror, and witness several dozen cows running through the open gate.  Sweet freedom, indeed.  I attempted to herd the cattle back into the paddock, but if I stepped away from the gate more cows would exit.  Dougal had to rescue me from my disaster.

Several days later, while I was shifting fences, that same mob of cows decided to jump the electric fence while I was shifting it.  There were four or five cows on the wrong side of the electric fence and I had to figure out how to get them back on the correct side.  It was impossible to chase the cows back over the fence, as they would usually avoid it and skirt back around me.  I decided to drop a 20 foot section of the fence, so the cows could run back over it to the correct side.  What instead happened was a dozen cows, who were on the correct side of the fence, ran over into the wrong side, making the problem even worse.  To add insult to injury, one of the cows caught her hoof on the fence.  Thinking she was about to be electrocuted by the magic stinging fence she started running aimlessly around the paddock, fence in tow.  It was chaos.  Dougal had to come sort the cows out for me once again.   I was clearly not prepared for this.  

Me and the ladies.

Jock, Vic's younger brother, was coming down from Christchurch with some college buddies to go snowboarding for the weekend.  I was invited to tag along.  Seeing as I would likely never snowboard in July ever again in my life I figured I would give it a go.  We woke up at 6am, the boys helped me shift the morning fences, and we headed off to Mt. Dobson.  

We boarded from first chair to last, stopping for only a few minutes to grab lunch.  The snow was shit, the runs were short, but it was boarding non the less.  A day on the mountain is a great day, regardless of conditions, and we made the most of it.

"Mt." Dobson.

Steph informed me one of her friends was a tugboat captain and asked if I would be interested in going out to sea.  I figured saying "yes" to everything got me this far, why stop now?  We drove down to Timaru, the neighboring town of about 30,000, and drove to the port.  We arrived just as they were about to raise the gangplank.  The trip was short and sweet: Rosie, the captain, took us through the port.  We roped on to a large cargo vessel named the Asia Pearl II and pulled her out to sea.  While it might sound boring to someone well acquainted with marine activities, it was a lot of fun for me.  

My last night on the farm was a bit of an adventure.  Dougal had squash and Steph had a meeting to go to.  About 10 minutes after they left the power on the farm went out.   Being a city boy I was used to 5, maybe 10 minute brown outs, which usually were isolated and not actually that dark; There's usually a decent glow from the nearby subdivisions that still have power.  On the farm it was a bit different:  I could see absolutely nothing, and my phone was at 4% battery. It was eerily quiet. I fumbled around the living room looking for a flashlight.  Luckily, I found six.  That's right: SIX flashlights.  I started to think these power outages weren't that uncommon.  I used them to find some candles and matches.  "Now what?" I thought. There was very little light, and I couldn't use my phone as it was about to die.  I realized I had become uncomfortably dependent on technology.  I sat in the dark wondering if the first settlers ever died of boredom when I had a sudden flash of brilliance: I grabbed a flashlight, dug through my bag, and found my eReader, which conveniently has a back light. I spent the next few hours reading in the dark. Technology wins again.  Thanks, future!

Prior to my flight back home Steph took me on a drive through Christchurch.  I first landed in Christchurch on my 21st birthday, 6 years ago.  It was the birthplace of my love for New Zealand, and where I met several people that I spent some of the most exciting days of my life with.  Since then the city has been ravaged by earthquakes; The iconic cathedral in the heart of downtown is in ruins.  The hostel I stayed in, which was only a few tens of meters from the cathedral itself, has been demolished due to quake damage.  Most of downtown was boarded up and inaccessible.  It was difficult to see such a beautiful city ripped apart like that.  I'm glad I got to experience her before the tragic events that occurred only a few months after I was there.  In a way it made my glad I came on this little trip to the south island: It reminded me that everything won't last forever.  Take opportunities when you can, because who knows when an earthquake will strike and ruin everything. Or something like that... 

Leanne took this photo on our first day in New Zealand, nearly 6 years ago.

What the cathedral looks like today. The spire and steeple are completely gone. 

Anzac Weekend in Rotorua

Jenna: Sorry we've been MIA the last little while...we've been busy, but also we felt a bit bad about bombarding everyone with our engagement news, so we took a little hiatus, unofficially. But I've been meaning to publish this post for a while, so here goes...

(Mitch: I'll edit in red! So fun.)

Anzac Day in New Zealand is like our Remembrance Day. It always falls on April 25th, which is the day that ANZAC (Australia and New Zealand Army Corps) soldiers landed at Gallipoli in 1915. This year's ceremony was rather special, since it marked 100 years since that day. The typical Anzac service in New Zealand cities is a dawn parade of veteran representatives, army personnel, youth clubs, etc. A typical service lasts about a half hour and consists of a hymn, a prayer, the laying of wreaths, the playing of the Last Post, Reveille, and the playing of both the Australian and New Zealand national anthems.

This year Anzac Day fell on a Saturday. Our friends and Mitch and I planned to attend the dawn service (which starts at 6 am) and then gather for breakfast at Vic's place. Laura, Viranchi, and Bianca picked Mitch and I up at our house around 5:45 and we headed to the centre of town. The streets were crowded and parking was hard to find but we eventually parked the car and made our way quietly to the war monument at the centre of town. It was eerie, almost - the hushed chatter of people, the quiet footsteps, watching the clouds produced by people's breath in the cool morning air. It was still dark, but there we were gathered all around with hundreds of other people, waiting for the solemn ceremony to start. It's definitely something I'll remember for a long time to come.

Dawn Service at the war memorial.

Breakfast was fun - I was nervous because Mitch and I hadn't yet broken the news to anyone about our engagement and I was wearing the ring but struggling to figure out if I wanted someone to notice or if I'd rather wait and make an announcement. In the end we announced it when everyone had finished eating. (Mitch: We broke the news when Laura said "Jenna and Mitch had an eventful evening!" and Vic replied with "Wot, did yous get engaged?") We accepted everyone's congratulations and after breakfast began the long process of telling everyone - this meant spending the morning on the phone to all of our family members. It was exciting breaking the news to everyone, but by the time the phone calls were made and I was on my way to Mitch's soccer game with Laura I was kind of exhausted...it was an emotional 16 hours! I should mention that while I was reveling in the joy of the previous night, making phone calls, and breaking the news to various other people, I was also trying to clean up the apartment and pack our bags for our weekend trip to Rotorua. Mitch was playing a soccer game in Eltham (about 45 minutes away)(Mitch: I scored!) and we were to leave for Rotorua (about a 4 hour drive) straight after his game.

We planned the trip a few weeks ago. It had been a while since we'd been out of town, and since I had Monday off in lieu of Anzac Day, we decided to take advantage of the long weekend. It ended up being a nice way to get away and celebrate a bit, just the two of us. We had booked a hotel in Rotorua, looked up a few popular activities, and planned to hit Hobbiton on the way home on Monday (about an hour outside of Rotorua).

Rotorua is a geothermal area of the country. The entire town smells like rotten eggs, I kid you not. There's so much sulfur in the ground there, that is literally runs down the street when it rains. I watched little yellow rivers flow through a parking lot...it's kind of insane. Aside from being smelly, however, Rotorua is a nice place. It's crawling with tourists (Mitch: aka Asians), but since we fall into that category I tried not to let my judgement be swayed by that fact. Nicknamed by some as "RotoVegas" there are quite a few activities to partake in.

Sunday morning we woke early to pack it all in. First stop was the geothermal public park, so we could see what all the fuss was about. As we pulled up, we could already glimpse small puffs of steam rising out of the ground. Various bubbling mud pits were cordoned off in several areas. After our 10th or 11th one, Mitch asked me how many more bubbling pits we wanted to look at. I had to laugh: we was right, it wasn't much to see, but I was still glad we went nonetheless. We soaked our feet in the foot spas before leaving.

Next stop was Mitch's choice: Foot Golf. It's the game of golf, but played with a soccer ball. Yes, the holes in the ground are massive, and yes, it's played on an actual golf course. A par-5 hole was about 180m, with a par-3 being about 60m. The first hole was misleading: I was terrible (I didn't keep score) and Mitch birdied it (he ended up +8 on the round). It was fun, and despite how bad I was, I DID improve as the round went on, even beating Mitch on a few holes (woo!). It started to rain quite a bit by our last hole, so with that good timing, we moved on to our next activity: a walk through The Redwoods.

The Redwood forest in Rotorua is not native to New Zealand; these Redwood trees are of the same giant variety found native to California. Some were planted over 100 years ago, with some being planted as "recently" as the 1960s. They were planted for timber in the early 1900s but this grove stands as a memorial. The Redwoods were found to thrive in this particular area, and the forest is quite breathtaking. There are several trails of varying lengths and difficulties, including mountain bike trails. It was a beautiful walk.

A walkway in the Redwoods.

Endor? The water was crystal clear, and you could see deep into it at all the fallen trees, like the dead marshes in LotR.

From the serene forest grove, it was off to get our adrenaline pumping at the luge! Skyline Rotorua is situated atop Mt Ngongotaha and uses the slopes for various gravity-induced thrills. The gondola takes you to the top, where you can walk, bike, or luge down! We purchased 3 luge rides each. Basically there are various paved tracks (a "scenic route" an "intermediate" and an "advanced" track) and you get in a little go-kart type vehicle that's not motorized, just equipped with a braking system. After securing a helmet and a quick tutorial from the guides at the top, you're off down the track. Think Mario Kart, but in real life. It was a blast! I couldn't help but giggle when I pictured getting a big group together, all dressed up like different characters in Mario Kart, then luging down the mountain...Now there's an idea.

After all that, we realized we hadn't eaten all day! The luge took longer than expected. We met up with another couple from New Plymouth who were staying in the area for the weekend for a drink, then found ourselves some dinner. As has become tradition when Mitch and I explore a new city, Mitch had already scoped out the local watering holes, brewpubs in particular. We managed to hit the local Brewpub, "Brew", twice in less than 48 hours. I consider good food and beer to be an essential part of a good vacation!

Finally, we couldn't end our visit to Rotorua without visiting some hot pools. After dinner we took a relaxing dip in the various pools at the Polynesian Spas. The pools are of varying temperature, and we made sure to check them all out.

I think we made good use of our one full day in Rotorua! We certainly packed in as much as we could, but I felt like we also did a good job of not stressing about it too much: we did our research, made a short list of places we wanted to see or do, and then we just decided after each activity what we felt like doing next. We might have been riding on our post-engagement high, but it was definitely one of the least stressful trips we've taken in terms of feeling like we took full advantage of our time and got to do some cool activities.

Unfortunately, due to the weather, we didn't take many pictures. Mitch might have some on his phone, so I'll bug him to insert some with an edit if I find any. (Mitch: Done!)

I would definitely check out Rotorua again. It's a neat little corner of the world.

P.S.Next post: Hobbiton! We checked it out on our way home from Rotorua since it was only a minor detour.