Te Huruhi Primary School

Nik and Isaac's school is situated on a peninsula on Waiheke Island. About a 45 min walk from home (A) to school (B). We'll try the bikes next.

My commute is from "A" along Ocean View Rd to the Matiatia Harbor on the west side. The arial view shows one of the catamaran ferries (white object) at dock. Ferries are promt and run every hour; 35 min later I am in Auckland and have about a 25 min walk uphill to the University. The Internet connection at home appears to be fast enough to allow me to work from home as well. Attended my first "virtual M.S. student defense" yestereday on Skype. I think the student had to keep from laughing every time Jenn walked by in the background to get something out of the kitchen--at least she was dressed. The 6 hour time difference + 1 day means I need to be online early for meetings.

As previously mentioned, Te Huruhi Primary School is a series of buildings surrounded by small courtyards / play areas to allow good air flow through the rooms. Nikolas is seen on the ramp up to room 17 (with a stunning view of the bay to the west--kayaking to school is an option to be explored). Inside the classroom Nikolas is rummaging through his desk. His teacher, Mrs. "B" commented that Nikolas is not afraid to ask questions when he doesn't understand an activity (either due to dialect or different teaching methods). However, he did confide to me that it would be nice to not be the "new kid", because then you would know everything and fit in. As a parent you always wonder at what age your kids will engage you in adult conversation--for Nikolas it is age 9. At 6 Isaac just goes with the flow, aiming to please, always hungry, always running, skipping or jumping in puddles.

Biomineralization

Two conch shells and Isaac's front tooth--prime examples of biomineralization. The latter fetched NZ$2 under the pillow.

Jenn has Guinea Pig Flu or something

Jenn hasn't been allowed to sleep in the same room with any of us since arriving on the island. She is a coughing, wheezing, mucus factory. Tonight we are trying a NZ natural remedy: Black Adder Liquorice Tea with Manuka Honey (and some Johnnie Walker Red for good measure). We ran out of the good single malt stuff aquired at Duty Free while bording with Bryon and Amy and Pascal (hereafter referred to as "BAP"). BAP own two Guinea Pigs, see Figure 1 (bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/s2008/nickel_sara/). I suspect the pigs as the source of all our misery.

Figure 2 is a representative image (n=1) of what Jenn's sleeping space looks like in the morning. The rubbish bin was empty the previous night (we don't have "trash" in NZ, we have "rubbish". i.e. Drinking Jonnie Walker Red is a sign you might just be white rubbish.) A box of 200 Home Brand tissues from the local Woolworth Store stands at the ready.
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Despite her quarantine to the living room the virus has managed to infect the rest of us to varying degrees. I tried some swimming in Oneroa Bay on Friday to see if I could get the upper hand on the bug--it was a classic "freeze out" war: Protein encapsulated nucleic acid vs. the "Higher Organism" swimming at 36 deg. south lattitude in July--the map shows the water temperature off the coast of NZ's only known three cities (http://www.weatheronline.co.nz/water.htm)

The freeze out battle was conceded to the pseudo-life form, but the war has just begun. If the viroid does not submit to an immediate unconditional surrunder I will take it to Christchurch for some 10C swiming. If linearity still holds south of the equator and adjusting for the Coriolis effect, I estimate that 10C = 18+32, or just about 50F. Johnnie goes marching on...

School Days

The kids are digging their new school here. Dave already mentioned that not everybody wears shoes to school here, which the kids say totally rocks. However, when it's 5 C and raining in the morning, I insist they do, poor guys. The other thing I found amusing on the first day, was that the principal said they would have to cancel the school Assembly that morning because of rain. What? Oh, they don't have a big indoor Assembly hall like Edith Bowen, but I guess the weather usually permits them to meet outside, so it's usually not a problem. The outside equipment is awesome. They're excited to get to school and we always have a hard time dragging them away after school.

Isaac is now in the middle of Year 2 (1st grade), and he has some catching up to do; I'm just glad he had Mrs. Anderson last year or he'd be hopelessly lost. Nikolas is in the middle of year 5 (4th grade) and is doing great. In fact, they signed him up to compete in a Math quiz in a couple of days and I'm sure he'll do well. Thank you to all the great teachers they've had at Edith Bowen.

Kumara

They have a delicious sweet potato here called kumara. We all love it, but nobody as much as Isaac.

We are trying to be local-vores here, and it's a great place to be a local vore, since we are in the heart of olive oil and wine country with a great selection of locally grown food. However, it's hard when you see the beautiful cherries and peaches at the store, probably imported from Brigham City, for all we know.

Be sure to enjoy them for us since you can! Our Aussie friend Bec told me not to despair, though. She said that she grew up with nectarines, cherries, and watermelon being Christmas time food. Can't wait.

Nice commute

So yesterday, we picked up the kids and walked home for a change. We took a new route, though, and it involved finding shells on a beach for Nikolas' homework puppet project, helping each other over some slippery rocks, and finally, exploring a steep trail up the mountain side behind our house. Admitedly, it took us a long time to get home, and Isaac was tired towards the end. He said, "Why do we have to walk so long? That's no way to treat a hungry bear!" :-) Aaah, Bear. At least he had enough energy to jump on the trampoline when he got home. I, on the other hand, had to lie down for a couple of hours. This cold is kicking my a**.

Week-1 at Waiheke

Finished the first week of island living and feel good about the decision to live "offshore". The ferry commute is convenient and permits me to work, although I spend most of the time looking for signs of whales or dolphins. A pod of orca was spotted in the Waiheke harbor a couple weeks ago. If I can find a catamaran I'll consider sailing to work...

We've been in our "permanent" house for three days now. The kids are stoked because the previous renters left a trampoline! The house is perched on a small hill on the narrowest stretch of the island, so we have views of ocean to both north and south. The Blackpool beach (south) shown in the middle two pictures has a very shallow aspect, so the tide changes are quite dramatic, beaching a number of large boats, then buoying them up again several hours later. The bottom picture is looking north toward Oneroa Beach.

Nikolas and Isaac completed their first week at the nearby primary school and enjoyed it thoroughly. Nikolas made a "new best friend" on the first day. The school has a stunning view of the ocean--I'm sure the local kids do not realize how amazing it really is. The classrooms are a series of small freestanding structures, which will allow nice breezes in the Summer. Right now it has been rather cold in the mornings (near 3 C), but there are a number of kids who go to school without shoes (just because they can?) It is a NZ thing. Needless to say, no school uniforms at Te Huirhi school! We were under the impression all schools required uniforms--but the parents had a vote at this school, and the vote went 60:40 against. Power to the people. Makes our life easier!

Almost Moved In

We have left the "mainland" and are residing in a temporary house on Waiheke Island until the current tenants move out of the house we have selected. The temporary house is a nice vacation property belonging to our landlord's sister. Since this is the off-season (Winter) it is available. The driveway is absurdly steep--glad we have an automatic.

The kids enjoy riding the car-ferry. Once we back the car onto the deck, we head upstairs to play cards (hearts is their favorite...they relish passing off the Queen of Spades to Mom). Two photos of Isaac on the ferry (search hard to find him in the top image)

The Transition: LA to NZ

Some important steps have been overlooked in making the move from US to NZ...

Each transition involved much packing, unpacking, consolidating, and leaving excess crap with people along the way. We thought we had brought just the bare essentials from our home to Jenn's parents (where we stayed for 7 weeks after renting out our place)--but we ended up sending a pickup truck full of stuff to the D.I., and a jeep full of stuff back to our home for storage.

The Subaru wagon is well equipped to transport 2 adults, 2 kids, 2 bikes, 6 check-in luggages, 4 carry-ons, and 3 laptops.

In Irvine, the bikes were loaded into their boxes (we had to give up on removing my seatpost--it is one with the frame).

Next, the big unloading of six overstuffed suitcases, duffles, and backpacks plus two bikes at LAX. Did we mention we arrived 8 hours early, just to avoid LA traffic?


Once in Auckland Inernational Airport one must go through Duty Free and pick up obligatory beverages for the host family, then customs, then biosecurity, where tents and boots are inspected to avoid introducing non-native organisms / pests. Isaac, surprisingly energetic after a short night's sleep, submitted himself for inspection on the biosecurity table--we had to soak his feet in bleach for 1 hour to remove the "oh my god, what is that funk eminating from your child's shoes?" response by agent-NZ-5 (who informed me that no photos are allowed in biosecurity after I took the above photo)--note the Ajax spray bottles.

A final reloading of all our gear in the AKL-International parking lot, where Bryon, Amy, and our 'new' Subaru awaited us. A cold but sunny Winter day welcomed us to the Southern Hemisphere.

First casualty of 240V

Alas, unlike the cell phones, laptops, and electric razor, the Philips Sonicare Toothbrush is not meant for 240V.

Tawhanui

Here, Nikolas paused long enough for his picture to be taken, while Isaac and Pascal are sprinting towards some more caves that need exploring.

Nikolas, after squeezing through a tight fitting cave and making it to the other side.

The wood burning stove was delightful, but it was a process to get it started in the evening, especially since we forgot the matches.

Amy and Isaac, with Isaac showing off some of his shells. It was low tide, and the tidal pools were amazing. I also like the sheep in the back ground.

Skipping stones!

Amy's a faulous cook

Our first weekend here, Bryon treated us to a fabulous getaway bach at a bird refuge, with some amazing beaches near by. Here are Chuck, Bryon, Amy, and Pascal.

Isaac must be growing. He's eating constantly! The other morning, we had the following conversation:

"Hey, Isaac, do you know what we are going to do today?"
"Eat?"
"Well, yes, we are going to eat, but do you know what else we are going to do today?"
"Ummm... I don't know"
"We are going to a really neat, super duper cool beach house!!!"
"And then we can eat????"

He was thrilled!


Here he is, showing off a shell he found on the beach, or his magnifying glass so he can see me better.

Trees

There are HUGE trees here! This one is 800 years old, healthy, and has 7m girth. We also saw some wood slabs of a 28,000 year old tree, which had been preserved in the swamps.

Leaving for New Zealand

Getting to New Zealand involved filling up our car to the top, driving to California, and spending a few days in Laguna. Then it was onto the plane!


Ringing the bell! It's time to go!













Leaving Mom and Dad's (aka Grandma and Grandpa's or Art and Mary's)






Finally! We can get in the car so I can play my iPod!










Stopping by for some pizza and another hug from Grandpa B and Aunt Beth.

Limited water living

One option for housing is offshore on Waiheke island. The water for each house is collected from the roof and stored in a cistern. This is used for showering, washing, and drinking.

Waiheke Island

We got to visit Waiheke for the first time, and fell in love with it. We explored a couple of local beaches and are now trying to decide which one to rent.