Godley Head, Stargazing, and Easter treats

We've had a few nice experiences outside, trying to take advantage of the decent weather before winter sweeps in again. We went for a drive to the Godley Head area past Sumner on a beautiful, sunny day. There are some military buildings left over from World War II while the country was on the lookout for enemy ships or submarines. 

We also went to South New Brighton and walked for a bit on the beach. There were some horseback riders behind us which was cool to see. I have yet to go riding on the beach but have always wanted to.

For Easter, we went to a friend's family's house about 45 minutes north of the city. When it got dark out, he brought out his telescope and we looked at Jupiter and its moons, Orion, nebulae, stars, and star clusters which was a new and fun experience. It was a clear night so you could see the Milky Way pretty clearly too. 

At school, there was a Canterbury Historical Association lecture by Patrick Evans, who discussed the different receptions he has gotten from his history books vs historical fiction books. He had some interesting points about writing fiction and how even history is really a fiction from a specific perspective. We also heard from Abbas Nazari on being a child refugee who made it from Afghanistan to New Zealand and has been successful despite previous hardships. He played a clip from a video essay called "The End of the Line: The Refugee Crisis and the Fate of the West" which posed some challenging questions about the West blaming refugees for the loss of their way of life. I want to watch the rest of it now.

We couldn't resist going to Warehouse for some clearance Easter candy, and ever since last year, we have been waiting to get the chocolate Biggy Piggy (for sharing!), so we bought it this year - only $15! The other big one is for a friend.

Random Collection of Photos

I don't have anything positive to report on the housing front, so instead this will be a random collection of food items and things around the city.

Ducklings: these are cute anywhere they are in the world!

We went to a Little Britain store which had food and drinks from the UK and the US. Although they were horribly marked up, it was a fun nostalgic trip with things we saw and/or bought when we lived in the UK. We had been joking about them having Batchelors over here (I got the broccoli cheese flavor which didn't really taste that good but I had it about once a week over there anyway), and there it was in the Little Britain store! It's $4.50 but I will get it once sometime for nostalgia's sake. Tastes and smells have a strong tie to memory.




Cookies are called biscuits like in Britain. We needed something sweet and bought the cheapest pack we could find. Instead of chocolate chip, it's called choc chippie. Cute!

We haven't tried out the Mexican fast-food joint called Pepe's Mexican Grill yet, but we have successfully made refried beans in the crock pot, although it wasn't much cheaper than buying the $4 can. They did taste delicious though, and putting the jalapenos in made them nice and spicy. D has made quesadillas and burritos with them and the yummy cheese here. It's on our list to make tortillas next. Living abroad is no excuse not to enjoy quality Mexican food. :)

The street sign just sounds better than icy.

This "Groovy Glasses" ad made me smile and was unlike anything I've found in the US.

Sunday was a nice, clear, sunny day so we went to the Sunday market at Riccarton Racecourse. It was a mix of food trucks, dealer booths, and garage sales. D tried the New Zealand soda called L&P which is a lemonade-type soda. Then we took the bus to New Brighton Beach which reminded us a lot of Santa Cruz: a pier, lots of people on the beach, kites, and surfers in freezing water. On the way we saw the so-called Container City downtown which is essentially a shopping mall run out of containers since the buildings were destroyed in the earthquake. It's called Re-Start, a fitting name for returning life and commerce.