Wainui Beach School

the hill and playground behind the school

Today (April 15th) marks the end of the first term of school year here in New Zealand.  Liam has been attending the Wainui Beach School and has been loving it!!  Of course, if you remember, the first couple of weeks Liam had a hard time adjusting, but as of last week he told me he was having better days at school than at home (not sure how exactly I feel about that, but I'm glad he is liking school).  Going to school in New Zealand was a pretty big change for him... and us.   A day after arriving in Wainui we went down to registrar him.  We got the tour of the school.   Very different than our enclosed schools of Minnesota.   All of their school rooms open to the outside courtyard.  There is a huge playground and playing field, picturesque hills in the back, and the beach across the street in the front.   (and, in case of a big earthquake the kids need to run through the "tsunami gate" at the back and up that picturesque hill).  Like I said, very different.   There is also no cafeteria.  Kids need to bring their lunch and they eat them sitting on the porch walkway in front of their classrooms.   Actually they bring their "morning tea" and their lunch.   We were also told that Liam needed to bring his togs (swimming suit) and a hat.  The hats are required for playing outside as the sun is so strong down here in New Zealand... they take their hats very seriously.  As for the togs, for the first 6 weeks, the kids went swimming every day in the school's outdoor pool.   Liam was actually not so much a fan of this, as some days were a little cool and I think the locker room was a little too crazy for him.  He also had some questions around that time of why some of his parts looked different than the boys here.

Like I said, though, Liam has been doing a great job.  He was one of the first kids in his class to fill up a reward sticker chart.  Of course, the first few weeks when I would ask him what he earned a sticker for, he most frequent response was "for being the first boy out of the locker room".   He has been getting more confident everyday though.  At first, it was a struggle to get him to do homework (as you may recall, one of those times led to the "this wasn't my dream" meltdown).  Now, he asks to study his spelling words and he has been reading up a storm.   His teachers did an assessment half way through the term and he was reading 3 levels higher than where they had him.... and I am sure they had him in the right spot to start with.  His hard work paid off too and I am excited to announce that he was awarded one of the school's "Term Achievers" awards today at the end of term assembaly.   His award read "Liam your consistent hard work and awesome attitude definitely makes you a role model in Room 8. You are always on task and trying hard with everything you do and because of this you have made awesome progress. You're a pleasure to teach and we admire how kind, patient and thoughtful your are towards others.  Well done Liam, we are very proud of you"   And so are we Liam, so are we.

If you ask Liam what his favorite part of school, he might tell you that it is not having to wear shoes.  Yes, most days I am begging him just to at least take a pair with him.   It is near impossible to make him wear any, as no one else does.  I have even seen his teacher without any on.  You have to love life in New Zealand.  I can't even believe that it bothers me that I can't get him to wear shoes.  Maybe it is because I bought him a lot of nice shoes before we came.  Maybe I am just a little jealous.  I have never liked wearing shoes, and now, just in the last year, I have developed plantar fasciitis, which forces me to wear shoes or to be in pain.  Come on,  just pure torture to live on the beach, in a place where shoes are not required, and I have to wear shoes....NOT FAIR!

But, I digress.  Liam's school is pretty cool.  Both Brett and I agree we would like to return to childhood and go there. They have had some fun activities and field trips.  Some notable ones being beach day and the communtiy hangi.  On Beach Day, some of the school went to the beach for the full day, learning about water and sun safety, surf lifesaving, and just having fun.   The hangi is a traditional Maori meal that is cooked in a pit in the ground and covered with dirt.  I helped prepare the meals of chicken, lamb, pork, kumara, pumpkin, cabbage, and stuffing. Brett got to help dig it up.   Tickets were sold and we all ate on the lawn listening to a variety of music acts playing on the steps of the new school library.  Pretty fun night.   On the other hand, the recent school disco was a little too much for me.  Overall though, it was a great first term of school.  Now, we are off on holiday and on to some new adventures for the week.  

Beach Day (at Midway beach, NOT Wainui)

The school rock band at the hangi

digging up supper

The Coat Rack

Today is the 14th anniversary of my Mom's death.   Have to admit, that I wasn't even thinking about the anniversary coming up, but I have been thinking about my Mom a lot lately.  I know she would be so proud of me for making this journey.  She would also be sitting at home nagging my Father about when they would get to come visit.   I still always regret not taking her up on offers to bike around Europe when I was in high school..  I remember thinking "no way am I doing that" and "how stupid".  You know, the typical teenage thoughts about their parents.  And, then, I remember thinking in my early twenties "how stupid was I to pass up a free trip to Europe" and "maybe my mom knew what she was talking about".   By the time I was traveling and living in Europe, she was not feeling well enough to make the trip.  Maybe that is one of the reasons I am here, because you just really have to take the opportunity to do these things while you still can.  And, because my children don't think I too stupid for doing them yet.

Anyways, what does this all have to do with a coat rack?  Well, because I was really feeling like I was channeling my inner "Jean Broberg creativity" this week. And I kept thinking about how proud she would be.  I have really wanted a coat rack, and I had a perfect place to put one.  But, alas, the shopping here in New Zealand was not going to comply with that dream.  So, I decided to make one.  And I did so with out any tools and not much expense.  A little like McGuyver, a little like my mother.   All it took was a piece of drift wood, rocks, shells from the beach.  I bought a planter and package of ten garage hooks (for 6.99,  real hooks were going to cost me 11.99 a piece).   I may have used a kitchen knife to saw a little off the bottom of the wood.   But, I did it, and I love it.  As I was screwing the last hook in last night and thinking of my mother, I realized it was the April 11th (we are day ahead here), the day we lost her.  Love you mom, and I dedicate this coat rack to you.  Thank you for teaching me I can do anything!!

Any Art Deco Lovers out there?

A couple hours after dropping Jenna off at the Gisborne airport we headed out of town for some more exploration.  This time we were off to Napier, a larger, more touristy city located 3 hours south of Gisborne.  Yes, the same city that Jenna ended up in a couple weeks ago, after her flight to Gisborne was cancelled.  As you may have read, the road to Napier is not fun. In fact one of our guide books says this about it "south on SH2 for the next 100km to Napier is a bitch- one of the island's most up-down twisty chores.  Don't drive it if you are hurried or tired."  I would also like to add to that... don't drive it for the first time if it is raining and pitch black outside.  Not sure I have ever gripped onto a car so tight.   Thank god the kids slept through it.   I think Brett was wishing I would have just fallen asleep as well.... he was not a fan of his wife gasping and screaming "slow down" for 2+ hours.  We both agree that driving those long, straight, cruise control freeways back home is going to feel like preschool.

So, Napier is a very different, interesting city.  Not sure I have ever seen anything like it.  In 1931, Napier had a 7.9 earthquake that pretty much destroyed the city.  It was rebuilt entirely and it was done all in the early 1930's style of Art Deco.  I have always been a fan of Frank Lloyd Wright and have been intrigued by architecture, but I still didn't think I would I would think that  much of this city.   Well, I was wrong... it just grew and grew on me.  Not sure if Brett was as impressed.   I just couldn't get over how every building in the downtown area was influenced by the 1930's - it was a little like walking back into time.  Also, I can't imagine there can be too many towns that built ALL of their buildings in the 1930's.  No wonder they have a huge Art Deco weekend where everyone dresses up and drives around in old cars.   The city also has a great ocean walkway and lots of cafes and shops. Not a bad place to hang out for the weekend.  Of course, the first day it rained.  But, have to say, part of the weekend get away was getting to stay in a hotel with TV channels (still no TV hooked up at our house).  Brett finally got to watch some rugby.  Still not sure how much he understands.   Otherwise we filled the weekend with a little shopping (I was actually excited to find a K Mart), a trip to the aquarium (saw the rare Kiwi bird), a game of hide and seek in a rainy park, a walk along the ocean, and a round of mini-golf.  Happy to report that the ride home went a lot more smoothly.  And, we topped of the trip with a stop to our favorite hot springs 45 minutes from home.  

The Morere Hot Springs....ahhhhhhh

The Long and Windy Road

With the arrival of our first house guest, I was feeling a lot of pressure for this to be a trip of dreams.   Like I said previously, it takes a lot of time and money to make such a journey.  And, then, I was reading comments on Jenna's facebook that said things like "this will be a trip of a lifetime".   Yikes... not sure hanging out with me, taking the kids to school, and hanging the laundry on the line is going to live up to those kind of expectations.  At least we can offer up some beachfront accommodations and home cooking, and, our city is supposed to have one of the best climates in New Zealand.  And, I knew Jenna would be happy just sitting in the sun on the deck, looking at the ocean, forgetting about the horrible Minnesota winter. Also, I had planned a few things for the first week, including a visit with Liam's school to a Marae (a sacred communal meeting place of the Maori, the native people of New Zealand), a "beach dig"  with Phoebe's preschool, a trip to the Rere Rockslide, and a weekend getaway to Rotorua.    I thought these would be nice little activities to break up the days of sitting in the sun and walking down the beach.

Jenna's beachfront accommodations - the "Drift Inn".  Just kidding.

Well, let's just say, things did not go exactly as planned.  As you may have read in the prior blog, Jenna's plane was unable to land because of some really bad weather and she was forced to take a shuttle on some really long and windy roads to get here.  Her unfortunate luck did not end there.....  First, of course, there was this horrible weather.  The whole week prior to her arriving, the weather was top notch - bright sun, no clouds, high 70's (which is warm here), and low winds.  Simply gorgeous.   And, the longer it stayed gorgeous, the worse I felt that she may get some bad days.   But, I knew, it never really stays bad for long here.  Or, at least, that is what I thought.   Yep, the weather sucked pretty much Jenna's entire stay.  Rainy, cloudy, cool, windy.  Sure, we had some peeks of sun but it was not enough to show of the turquoise water or to even sit that comfortably outside.   Jenna and I spent a lot of time watching weather reports, only to be let down, over and over again.   Finally I had a guest from home to show of my paradise too, and that would be happy just hanging out at the beach with me, and the weather was not letting me do either.   So frustrating, for both of us.

Good thing I had some other activities planned.  Or, maybe not.  Yep, the school trip was cancelled due to a death, and the beach dig was cancelled because of the poor weather.   So, we drove out to the rockslide.  The Rere Rockslide is supposed to be one of New Zealand 101 things every Kiwi must do.  It is a natural rock slide that you go down.   Looks awesome.  And, it was the destination that we did not make it to the day Liam started puking a few weeks ago.  So, I was very excited to get there.  Well, we got to the rockslide and not only was the weather freezing, but all the rain we had had made it look just a little too dangerous for us and there was a warning sign saying the same thing.. which, of course, are our excuses for chickening out.  So much for those plans. 

The Rere Rockslide - we totally chickened out!!

The next thing on the list was the trip to Rotorua.  Another place I had not been yet.   It is actually one of the biggest tourist cities on the North Island.  A city more inland, situated on a very large lake, and in the middle of very thermally active lands.  Lots of mineral springs, bubbling mud, spas, as well as the all the adventure and adrenaline activities New Zealand is know for.  I thought is sounded like a pretty good girls getaway.  I had arranged babysitting so we could get out of town early on Friday, as Brett had to work late.  We also had just bought another car that week,  a '99 honda accord station wagon with 4 brand new tires.  So, we dropped off Phoebe and headed off for a 3 1/2 drive thru the gorge, another long and windy road.  Annnnd... about 8 miles out of town, we got a flat tire in one of those brand new tires.  I then may have told Jenna that she is cursed. 

We eventually made it to Rotorua.  Getting out of Gisborne much latter than expected, but as the sun was making an appearance.  We did, however, drive right back into the clouds and had a very rainy weekend in Rotorua.  We did eat some good food there and saw some cool geothermal pools and sat in the hot springs. And, we did not let the rain stop us for doing something else ultracool.   We went sledging.   Sledging is where you hold on to a fancy body board and go down class 3 river rapids, propelling yourself with flippers.   Not something done too many other places in the world.  They actually did this on "The Amazing Race" in season 5 with the same rafting company.  It was really awesome.   So, besides the flat tire, the weekend was feeling pretty successful.  Annnnnnd then.... the most bizarre event of just plain bad luck happened.  We stopped for gas on the way out of Rotorua and as I walked into the station to pay I accidentally dropped my keys... right into the storm sewer I was walking across.  Plunk!! Into a dark abyss of petrol soaked water and muck.  I stood, absolutely shocked.... not sure what to do, I thought for sure they were gone forever.   The store attendant helped us prior the gate off and gave us a rake.  Luckily it wasn't too deep, but I ended up having to lower my upper body into the hole and dig through the yucky water and muck.  But, I did manage to get the keys. Seriously, though, who does this happen too??

Sledging in Rotorua

Thermal pools in Rotorua

success!! but the newly refreshed feeling of the hot springs and shower was replaced by dirty gasoline water

The sun eventually did come out again, and the beach dig was rescheduled, and surfing lessons and a dinner out with some of the new girlfriends was arranged (however, all of this happened on the last night she was here).   It was all still very fun.. even the crazy parts.   The last morning she finally got to see one of the famous sunrises and the whole morning was sunny and beautiful.   Annnnd,  I was so grateful that we had been lucky enough for Jenna to come visit....and I think she felt the same way.


Some more of the highlights of the visit:

International surfing competition taking place on our beach the same week 

Jenna learns to surf with Frank

Jenna's last day and her new favorite lunch (avocado, tomato, aioli and ciabatta)

Thanks for coming!!   Jenna's sunny Wainui goodbye!

y.    

HOUSEGUEST!!!!

    I am sitting here waiting for my first house guest!!  We are so excited for my good friend and old college roommate, Jenna Diem, to arrive from the melting tundra of Minnesota.  We feel honored that she has made such time and money commitment to come and visit us in Gisborne.  Of course, we are living on a fabulous beach and have the extra room and I know there are many that want to come... but we know it is not possible for that many to actually make the long trip here.  And, it is a very long trip.  Jenna left Minneapolis on Sunday, March 20th, at 11:00 A.M. (monday, 5:00 A.M. our time).  She was due to arrive in Gisborne at 10:55 A.M. Tuesday, (4:50 A.M.  Monday in Minnesota).  Well, when I went to pick her up at the airport, I heard the airplane in the clouds (it was pouring rain) but it never landed.....

So, I started this blog almost two weeks ago.  Jenna ended up having her airplane diverted back to Auckland because the weather was so bad.  I had not heard from her and had been sitting on the computer, hoping to get word of what happened to her, so I had started to blog.  In the middle of my blogging I got a message on good 'ol facebook, from someone I didn't know.  It was titled "Jenna Important".   Apparently her flight to Gisborne had been cancelled, so they flew her down to Napier and she was going to be taking a 3 hour shuttle.  She did not have my phone number and ended up calling someone in the states who then found me on facebook to relay the message.   She ended up arriving in Gisborne at 6:00 p.m.,  37 hours after leaving Minneapolis.   NOT a great start to her trip... and, just to add a little more salt to the wound, it was rainy and cool.  It was still so great to have her there and she managed to haul a whole extra suitcase with her full of stuff from home for me and the family.  It was a little like christmas.   So, we got her settled in, and told her not to worry as the weather never stays bad for long, and told her about the things we had planned for the week.  Stay tuned to hear about how it all turned out... let's just say, the cancelled flight was not the end of the bad luck. But we did have a good time and we were sad to see her go yesterday.   And, I was kept busy, too busy to blog... sorry for the absence.

Jenna's cloudy Wainui Welcome

(oh yeah, did I mention, the road from Napier to Gisborne is considered one of the windiest, hilly roads in the country)