Guy Fawkes Day

Over the past week, the hours at dusk have been awfully noisy with fire crackers lighting up the night.  ChCh kiwis are supposedly celebrating Guy Fawkes Day, as a few signs I have seen have stated.  So I have decided to do a bit of research to see what all this celebrating is about.  

In 1605 in Britain, Catholics were being persecuted under the rule of Queen Elizabeth I and her successor James I.  Guy Fawkes was a member of conspirators in Britain, who secretly planted 36 barrels of gunpowder beneath the House of Lords, to be set off on November 5.  However, the conspirators feared the deaths of innocent people and began deciding against setting the House ablaze.  But, when the House was stormed on November 5, Fawkes was caught, tortured, and executed.  Apparently, to celebrate the safety of the king, on that night in 1605, bonfires were lit throughout London.

Now, on November 5, people celebrate Guy Fawkes Day by lighting bonfires and setting off fireworks.  A celebration of Fawkes' execution or an honor to his attempt to abolish the government?  Remains a mystery!

umbrellas and elections

Yesterday was a blustery and rainy day.  The weather in ChCh is quite confused...and confusing.  I dressed lightly, but grabbed a coat just in case, and throughout the day was bombarded with patches of warm sunshine, intermittent hail storms while it was still sunny, ominous clouds, and torrential rain.  I was busy about town, taking a scenic tour via bus, and working.  On one bus trip, there were nearly 70 people on the bus!  And only half of whom were seated!  I have learned my lesson; I will not ride the bus at the same time that students are getting out of school!  Bless the bus driver though, poor guy.  Work was brief, and I was forced to walk home with groceries in tow, all dressed up, in the pouring rain.  It was miserable and I arrived back at the flat soggy and cold.  I felt a bit like Mary Poppins, the nanny with the umbrella, walking down the street, but far less glamourous.

Last night, Bret and I watched the election results via Fox News in NZ, a comfort to Bret seeing American news being broadcast overseas.  It was very interesting watching the celebrations going on back in the United States, but we agree that the impact hasn't really sunk in for us yet.  The election in the United States is all over the NZ news, as their election is this weekend.  However, we both feel so far removed from the situation, except for the snippets of American news and broadcast of political opinions via Facebook.  It is exciting and scary all at the same time, and undoubtedly last night was a historic event.  Stay strong U.S.A and good luck in the long months and years ahead...we'll be rooting for you down-down under and can't wait to get back!

clotheslines

In NZ, a majority of people line-dry their clothing, which is an altogether new concept for me.  Sure, from time to time I would select special items to air dry, and they were often slung across furniture throughout my apartment, but here it is mostly the norm.  I have been clothesline challenged since arriving.  Prior to living in the flat, we shared a small drying rack with other residents at Tranquil Lodge, and it was a good day if you could snag it early on for maximum sunshine.  Now at the flat, there are three clotheslines out back for use for the block of five flats.  Now here's my thing(s) about clotheslines:  (a) you have to make time for drying since you have to consider the weather and time it takes to dry the clothes, (b) I don't like my clothes hanging out there for the whole world to see, (c) I am not nearly tall enough to reach the lines, (d) it is time consuming, (e) on several occasion, my clothes have blown off the line, (f) the clothes dry stiff, and don't have that Downy feel, (g) it just isn't as easy.  But other than that, it's just fine...  ☺
   

So, I am sure you now have an excellent visual of me, laundry basket of wet clothes on hip, wandering out to the clothesline in the back, taking several minutes to arrange the clothespins on the line, standing on tiptoes as I hang everything from skivvies to t-shirts, towels to jeans, across the lines, hoping they don't fall down, blow away, or that I don't run out of clothespins.  It's been quite the adventure, just laundering, but wonderfully humorous.  I've even made the mistake of starting the washing machine early in the morning, anticipating a nice long day to dry the clothes outside, but neglecting to look out the window to see that it's raining.  Which further requires that I create a make-shift clothesline strung across the flat, with a bungee cord Bret brought, and again, scatter items around to dry.  Laundry has proven to be quite the escapade, but adds to the overall experience! 

Feelin' betta.

Here in NZ, they shorten lots of words that end in -er with an a, hence the title.  I have been consciously working on relaxing to help me sort out my homesickness.  We are currently working on some feng shui fixes throughout the flat, to combat any bad energy that may be surrounding us, and I am attempting to turn the mood around by surrounding myself with happy things.  I am in the process of creating a photo collage to jazz up the empty space here, and to remind us of home, so I have been perusing my photo albums and picking out the favorites and best ones. 

Just a few:

 

Craig, Miriam, Bret and me in front of the Full House houses in San Fran

 Last road trip to KC Mo with Jody

My family at the going away party

Bret's family on Bret's 24th

 

My newly-wedded friends, Andrew and Bailey

         

Sigh...  I miss everyone back home...you all should come visit very very very soon!  And send me more pictures to add to the growing collage!

my journey

I woke up suddenly in fright.  As my eyes adjusted to the darkness with a small shadow of light filtering in from the window's curtains, I felt uncomfortable and displaced.  Where was I?  Everything seemed foreign to me; nothing felt like the comforts of home.  I could not shake the nervous dreams that attacked my brain.  I breathed shallowly, sitting up, gazing upon the blank walls of my new home.  I longed for the simple comforts of my old bed, its cozy blankets, and calming whir of the ceiling fan.  The new flat took on a completely sterile feel as I thought back to my old apartment, filled with memories in the photographs, books, stuffed animals, and collectibles that had previously surrounded me.  Here, I could find hardly anything to match this comfort.  I struggled to breathe deeply, working to re-focus my thoughts on trying to be comfortable and feeling safe, while attempting to fall back asleep...

I am working hard to make this new flat feel like home.  It wasn't until the middle of the night, that something reminded me intensely of home.  I miss it.  I miss all of the little things that I took for granted, that surrounded me daily, making me feel comfortable in the home I spent four years to establish.  I thought it would be easy, packing up all of my belongings, going on hiatus from all of my stuff.  And now, I long for nothing more than a photograph of reassuring smiles, my comfy blanket, and my DVR remote.  I am a creature of habit, and taking a step back to examine my last month and a half is shocking.  Completely out of character, I have challenged everything I've ever known in taking this adventure.  I work to rely on faith, and trusting in the comforts that I am able to find here.  Whether it be through Bret, Skype conversations and video chats with my family and friends, and the randomly supportive e-mails of students and children past, I strengthen my will, and congratulate myself on my hugely successful accomplishment as often as I can, as I journey on in peace.  

Barbecuein'

Yesterday we headed to the coast to attend a barbecue at our first NZ get-together.  I had met our host, Jessie, at my first interview at the gym and we hit it off right away.  She's from Oregon, and she's lived in New Zealand with her kiwi husband for the past four years.  Their home was located a short walk away from the beach, so we boarded the bus in the early afternoon and made our way out!

     

The weather here is so up and down.  The sunshine and warmth of Friday had disappeared by yesterday and it was windy, cloudy, and spitting rain sporadically.  Although discouraging, we weren't about to let the weather get us down.  We arrived at Jessie's and the festivities began.  We spent a majority of the day meeting new friends, hanging out outside and playing ping pong in the garage, and getting the barbecue ready.  I think I ate way too many chips...my tummy was not happy the rest of the night.  I actually dabbled a bit at the barbecue with Jessie's husband Jonny, helping him make patties and sausages.  We rolled the sausages in thinly sliced sandwich bread and slathered them with tomato sauce (ketchup).  They tasted like cinnamon and the the tomato sauce complimented them nicely!  After a long afternoon in the wind, we ducked out after dark for the long bus ride home.

   

Me and Jonny at the BBQ

Their dog Indy (short for Indiana Jones)

  

Even though I had a great time at the barbecue, it was exhausting meeting new people...it is something I haven't done in a long time.  It can be a sad reminder that I am far from home and the friends that truly know me.  Therefore, I have been spending most of today relaxing, watching movies, and napping.  And making pumpkin chili to celebrate the season (that we're missing back home)!

el día de los muertos

Besides Halloween, on November 1st, my Spanish class usually celebrated the Day of the Dead, a traditional religious holiday in Mexico.  We would decorate accordion-like paper skulls and do culture activities about the holiday's significance in Mexico.  For at least the entire month of November, the skulls would adorn my back wall, decorated in costumes and sparkles, and we would vote on the best ones.

I even went so far as purchasing Day of the Dead shoes.  Over zealous Spanish teacher, I know.  I came across a really cute pair of Skechers flats, little Mary Janes, that were black canvas with the white calaveras (skulls) decorated traditionally across the shoe.  I picked up a pair for myself and a fellow teacher, and I wore mine frequently with my dress clothes to celebrate.  Unfortunately, they didn't make it into the suitcase to NZ; they would have gone nicely with my Halloween outfit yesterday!

Today we are attending our first barbecue down-down under!  I will post more about that tomorrow!