Not often, but occasionally, Taupo smells like sulfur. This is due to the fact that it is quite literally sitting on the edge of a supervolcano. The kids like to say it's just the volcano farting to say hello. 

Ki-o-rahi

Bekah is playing Ki-o-rahi which is a traditional Māori game. She's really enjoying it! I hope I get to see her play!

I haven't shared much about work but I'm really liking my job here. I work with a great group of folks - GPs, NPs, nurse prescribers, pharmacist prescribers, nurses, medical assistants, and admin staff. Everyone has been very welcoming. People regularly check in to see "how I'm going" - which is a phrase that cracks me up every time. It's like a combination of "how are you?" And "how's it going?"

I've seen a good number of elderly folks - similar to when I was in NC - but I've also gotten to see younger adults, teens, children, and babies. I forgot how much I had missed that breadth of care. In NC, my patient panel had become increasingly narrow at my CHC job. I LOVE my older adults (still miss the folks I had to say goodbye to) but there is something about seeing kids that just gives me a bit of life and energy, so I'm really glad to get to do more of that again. 

Quinn started guitar lessons at school! They offer lessons during school hours, which is very cool. Chris drove all the way to Hamilton and back yesterday to get her a 3/4 size guitar. 4 hours of driving but he said it was worth it. :)

I had a Spanish-speaking patient today! She was almost as thrilled to discover that I speak Spanish as I was to discover she did!

It's unlikely I'll get to use my Spanish here regularly but it was definitely a bright spot in my day!

Clark's teacher is from Peru and I'm looking forward to meeting her. I've already told Clark that I'm going to become her best friend and plan weekly coffee dates. He doesn't seem thrilled about this for some reason… 

I just found out that a jersey is a sweatshirt.

Bekah's teacher sent out a reminder about "lake school" - where they go down to the lake and do some outdoor learning. The reminder said to make sure kids had sunblock, a water bottle, a hat, and a jersey. Fortunately, a quick internet search helped us figure out what we needed to bring.

There are so many examples of similar things:

Togs = swimsuit

Jandals = flip flops

Plaster = bandaid

Bin = trashcan

Rubbish = trash

Some are easier to figure out than others but I love learning new things - and these small differences are no exception.

We went tramping! (That means hiking for all you Americans). We walked along the edge of the lake and out to Rangatira Point. I'd love to show you more photos but I was relaxing too much to take any. 

New Zealand loves its tasty cheese. They aren't wrong - it's delicious. Tastes like a moderately sharp white cheddar. But it makes me laugh every time that it's just called "tasty cheese."

Quinn makes her own lunches and has been getting very… creative lately. This is a chicken, broccoli, green bean, jalapeño corn chip wrap. ….yum?

I just had someone say that they loved my accent! It feels so funny!

Did you know that in NZ they call soft drinks "fizzy" or "fizzy drinks"?

It just tickles me! But is it really stranger than calling all soft drinks "coke" like we do in the south?

I drove 2 hours to Hamilton for an all day advanced resuscitation training yesterday. It was actually really enjoyable. It's interesting to see the subtle differences compared to American Red Cross training. 

I had to ask what seesaw breathing was because we don't use that term in the US (that I'm aware of). 

Before heading out of Hamilton, I stopped to get dinner at The Dumpling House. It was phenomenal. I've been craving spicy since it doesn't seem kiwis like spicy that much. Everything I see labeled spicy is only very mildly spicy, if at all. Which makes me laugh because I'm a spice whimp compared to some of my friends back home. 

To finish our birthday celebration for Bekah, we went to the rock wall in town. The kids had so much fun climbing and Chris and I got to belay for them. 

 We drove to Tauranga (on the eastern coast) to pick up our new-to-us kayak. We decided to stop at the beach since we drove all that way. The kids had a lot of fun in the ankle-deep waves. It proved to be too tempting for Quinn though and she kept trying to go just a bit further out. Then a bigger wave came and she fell completely into the water while running backwards. She ended up riding the whole 2 hour drive home in just my sweatshirt. 

Bekah was the first to celebrate a birthday in NZ. She turned 11 today! Kids at school sang happy birthday in English and Māori! 

We were planning on meat pies for dinner but since the place we were going to go closes at 3, it seems that's more of a lunch thing here. Saturday meat pies it is!

Quinn came home from school yesterday complaining that she was starving. Turns out, she decided to eat her entire lunch at "morning tea" so she had nothing left to eat at lunch. Needless to say, she learned a valuable lesson. 

Morning tea at school is like a snack break/ recess. At work, it's a coffee/tea break and a chance to catch up with coworkers in the break room.

I don't drink tea and can't drink more coffee without triggering my heart arrhythmia (200 bpm doesn't feel great), so I'm never quite sure what to do during "morning tea." I've decided it's a good time to fill a water bottle so I can still get to know my coworkers without making it weird by just standing around… 

New Zealand knows how to do ice cream right. This was absolutely amazing!

Sunblock by the litre

We buy sunblock by the litre now. NZ sun is intense. The UV is no joke. 

Eggs

Did you know that in NZ, they keep their eggs on the counter at room temperature? This is because they don't wash off the bloom like we do in the US. 

This morning we went to the Garden Cafe for breakfast. The flat whites here are unreal. 

Afterwards, we got some shopping done and picked up my new e-bike for commuting to work. Riding it home following the edge of the lake, I just kept thinking, "I can't believe I live here."

I'm at the park with the girls listening to another family's music while they play. 

If you want to imagine you're with me:

https://youtu.be/pDiCbxPuUmI?si=IrSJ3c4P0uYZrq5L

Someone told me once never to buy anything significant in NZ unless it was on sale - especially at Briscoes. They told me that Briscoes has a sale every week so you just have to wait until the thing you want is on sale. 

I didn't fully understand what they meant until I went into a Briscoes. The prices were sometimes absolutely insane and the sales were just as nutty. 

For example: I saw a $300 pillow. It was not on sale.

But this robot vacuum was! It's normal price was $999 and it's on sale for $229. 

Only shop the sales is right…

This is my favorite place to eat lunch right now. I just walk down to the lake and sit on this stone bench while enjoying a gorgeous view. Sometimes I call home because it's 6 PM in NC. 

Today it was misting during lunch. It does that a lot here. It can "mist" for an hour or more. (Great for rainbows!) I have never seen this kind of "rain" for an extended period of time in the US. Or it could start pouring. Honestly, you never know with rain here. I see clouds and my NC brain says, "oh, we've got a storm rolling in" but then the clouds just mist or maybe they just keep on rolling. 

 Today was the girls’ first day of school and they were very excited. Quinn was so excited that she wanted to walk to school even though it was raining. (It’s about a 15-20 minute walk).

Some of the classes at the primary school are combined year classes, so Quinn is in a Year 4/ Year 5 class and Bekah is in a Year 6 class.

Their school is situated with classrooms all around a central courtyard area.The kids were largely barefoot (by preference). 

Quinn was greeted by a friend we made prior to school and took off happily. Bekah was quickly greeted by a girl she’d met at the open house who then introduced her to 4 other girls. As I turned to walk away I heard her say to Bekah, “you’re in good hands” and another girl say, “So you’re from America?”

The girls talked the whole walk home about how great their first day was.