California - Food

The California trip involved eating more Mexican food, Italian, sourdough bread, fast food, sweets, and more. I was really satisfied with the food eating on this trip.

 

 

Life in Lockdown

It turned out to be a good thing I went up to Waitangi in early February, since traveling has been off the table during the pandemic. I feel very fortunate to be relatively safe in New Zealand - being an island nation certainly has its benefits - though I worry about those whose fates rest in the hands of less capable governments. New Zealand's approach was to go hard, go early, and it closed its borders and began quarantining all arrivals for two weeks, which helped stay on top of things, although it wasn't soon enough to prevent multiple clusters of outbreaks. It got into two rest homes, so most of the 21 deaths have been in these vulnerable populations.

It has been strange to have the rest of the world experience some of the isolation and working from home that I was already doing upon arrival to a new city. The lockdown has meant that I can't go to local libraries to work, but otherwise not much has changed except for the anxiety of everything going on around me. I have been reading the news more than usual, and watching the press briefings when they announce changes to the alert levels.

I have experienced a city with millions of people grind to a halt, and the empty roads and storefronts have been eerie. It's one thing to see it in the apocalypse movies; another entirely to have the silence of the usual hustle and bustle. More people have been experiencing their local parks and neighborhoods, though, and appreciating the natural world. Hopefully some of these bright sides continue.

Empty highway during Level 4

Some people had creative ways to brighten people's walks

Love hearing the tui birds on neighborhood walks

More cars start returning to the road at Level 3

We have seen how dependent people here are on restaurants making their food for them. Unlike in other countries, all restaurants including take-out were closed here for five weeks. There was panic-buying at grocery stores, and shelves have been clear of flour most of the time. People who didn't know how to cook and/or were reliant on Uber Eats hand-delivering their meals to them had to figure something out. I'm curious what they did. I suspect many women were relegated (even more) to traditional roles of cooking and cleaning for others. It wasn't that long ago that people didn't go out to eat all that much, and certainly didn't buy one or more coffees on a daily basis, so we don't need all of these restaurants and cafes for actual survival, but the convenience factor for those with money seems to have been too tempting. It is predicted that many restaurants will close permanently - some already have - because they can't pay staff and don't expect business to resume to previous levels. But they were already operating on very thin margins, so this isn't unexpected.

Rush on restaurants on March 25, the last day before the lockdown at Level 4 began

People are happy that restaurants reopened for take-out/delivery at Level 3 

We did get some American-style pizza after months without :)

The country moves to alert level 2 in one day, which will allow most businesses to resume but with distancing and safety measures in place. Bars are going to be the last to open since they are high-risk areas and designed to bring strangers together. I am conflicted about the 'return to normality' - in one sense, it has been nice to feel no pressure to socialize or go outside of my bubble, no pressure to work on projects because everything this year has been thrown out the window. But in another sense, continuing to be isolated and watching people suffer because they didn't plan for a crisis (and many couldn't, especially migrants in precarious labor) isn't sustainable long term. The hope is that New Zealand doesn't have to move back up the levels into full lockdown if it can stamp out the virus and quarantine any new cases in Kiwis who return home (borders are still shut). Then domestic affairs can resume more normally, and hopefully we can all continue to participate in conversations about how to rebuild the country in a more sustainable and equitable way. It's refreshing to see these are the kinds of topics in the news here; it gives a sense of hope that is lacking elsewhere.

In house news, we have been experiencing ant infestations and crickets. These worsen when it rains. The ants were almost under control, but now there are single ants wandering around places they didn't used to go, like the couch and doors. It's not clear if they are part of other clusters. As for the crickets, they are bigger and darker than what I'm used to. They also really like to chirp. They have been sitting in the wall in the living room and starting up in the evening, or under the cabinets in the kitchen. Sometimes they crawl across the floor, but they are so fast sometimes we lose them and then hope that the cat points them out to us. We had almost no insect issues in Christchurch, so this is one downside of living in a milder climate. There have been a few tiny roaches, but nothing major yet thankfully. 

one of my plants liked the fall weather and started flowering

 

black field cricket

Vacation in Hawaii

After a hectic semester teaching and grading papers, I took a nice break in Honolulu, Hawaii. It was so nice to get out of the freezing cold winter weather in Christchurch and into a tropical American zone. It ranged from 75-86 degrees Fahrenheit (24-30 Celsius) while I was there, which meant I could wear short sleeves and shorts pretty much any time of day or night. Thankfully it only sprinkled a little during the first part of the trip, and waited until the last two days to have a steady rain, so we were already preparing to have to head back when it turned gray.

A little bit of an ocean view from the condo in Waikiki

free tourist dancing show in one of the malls

Waikiki Beach at sunset

We met up with family and did a lot together: shopping, eating, playing games, snorkeling, kayaking, hanging out at the beach. Pretty much just enjoying the time and planning as we went along, which isn't usually my style, but you can kind of get away with doing that there. The only thing we had to plan for was a Pearl Harbor visit, since tickets can sell out. I will say I was surprised at how non-eco-friendly Hawaii was. Restaurants gave out styrofoam containers, plastic water bottles were common, and recycling was hit and miss. I was also surprised at how cash-heavy it was. Where elsewhere in the world no one carries cash and cards or mobile phone swiping is ubiquitous, in Honolulu not only were there some places that only took cash, but you had to have exact fare (in cash) for the bus, and that meant getting a roll of quarters and putting bills and coins into an automatic counting machine after getting on the bus. It felt so antiquated, and was a real pain as a tourist having to carry around cash and coins and ensuring I had the right amount for how many trips I was going to take. It is quite behind other tourist destinations, and I suppose it's still there because there's enough demand regardless of the inconvenience.

U.S.S. Arizona Memorial - closed for repairs but you could still take a ferry by it

Also went to the Army Museum

One highlight was shopping at Costco -- there were all kinds of tasty new food options and I got a new underwater camera that I took with me on the water adventures. We got some cool photos of fish in the coral reef at Hanauma Bay, one of the top spots for snorkeling. We were all really vigilant about sunscreen during the trip overall, and I avoided getting burned, which was a win.

Too nice a shot to miss - at Hanauma Bay on the beach

Something I always notice is how comfortable it is to be in the U.S. compared to NZ. People will strike up a conversation with you and chat for a long time if you want to keep it going, and it doesn't matter that that will be your only encounter -- it can add something to your day. That is so different than here in NZ (or at least in Christchurch), where New Zealanders are mostly timid/reserved and avoid eye contact, let alone talking to strangers. It makes for a not very welcoming place, and the problem is the new people coming in pick up the vibe and end up replicating it even if they don't want to, so after a while you find yourself doing the same thing. On our hike to Diamond Head Mountain, the first time we got into a long conversation with a couple from the mainland after they asked us to take their picture and then another couple on our walk back down and they were so nice and interested in what we were up to and encouraging. On my second hike, I ended up meeting a family from the Midwest who were happy to have a chat. Obviously things aren't always like this and everyone is pretty much on vacation so in a decent mood, but this kind of ease of communicating is not universal. I miss it and it was nice to have.

Many steps to hike to the top of Diamond Head Mountain

Nice views at the top though

We ate out a lot and tried a cool Japanese restaurant and got the full multi-course meal which was quite an experience. I didn't try the octopus on the meat platter, but I did try the fried ball with octopus inside which came later. The food was very flavorful and tasty, and we were glad we tried something new.

first stop: Denny's and cinnamon pancakes

deconstructed burger with yummy gravy

shrimp and lobster pasta dish

the Japanese meat platter - great marinade

stop at IHOP for sprinkle pancakes

peanut butter fudge and Oreo cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory (so rich it hurts!)

malasadas (donuts) at famous Leonard's Bakery

Blue Hawaiian poolside

variation on a mai tai

good old frozen margarita (pineapple flavored) and chips and salsa

I miss Mexican food so much - this enchilada platter was exactly what I wanted

food court pretzel - delicious

finally found a shave ice place - this was so much sugar - banana flavor was yum

it's still surprising how we bleach our eggs - not necessary!

I stocked up (by eating) lots of berries, which are so expensive in NZ

Someone also discovered this little food stall where a guy makes rolled ice cream by pouring a cream mixture on a frozen slab and then cutting up toppings and scraping it around until it makes real ice cream. It was good and we went back a second time. Partly it is cool as an experience to watch him make it. It doesn't look like it will amount to much, but then suddenly it is a cup full.

Kayaking in Kane'ohe Bay was fun. There is a sandbar out aways where you can get out of the kayak and walk around. The water was warm enough for me and it was a beautiful day for it. Elsewhere the reef was very close the bottom of the boat, so it made for a more interesting experience than usual.

We ended up buying too much stuff, as usual, for our luggage allowances, and for some reason on the way back, Air New Zealand actually checks your carry-on weight at the check-in desk. Fortunately, we encountered a sympathetic staff member who let us shift weight around to make our checked luggage overweight and have more than the peasly 15 pounds you're allowed for carry-ons.

I didn't buy these Junior Mints bubbles or the "cereal" (cough, dessert), but I took photos for this blog as an example of what I both like and dislike about the U.S. -- you can literally get anything there...but it's probably not good for you, not necessary, and harming the planet.

Mint scented bubbles - really?

this is getting a bit ridiculous calling these cereal...

Also, I had a conference while I was over there, which went well. Again, it was so nice to be among mostly North Americans who could strike up conversations and sustain them easily. The more Canadians I meet, the more I discover how they even beat the U.S. at friendliness. They are lovely people to chat to. I also made acquaintances with a group of Australians who were also very cool and easy to talk to. I took a ton of notes and my presentation went well and I made some good contacts for the future, even though I'm not planning on fighting for a spot in the academic world.

view from the conference at the university (Diamond Head on left)

We checked out the zoo, which is very close to the main Waikiki area, and got to hear the elephants making a ruckus in response to some antelope-type animals making some calls. That was fun.

alligator ready for a bite

other alligator being more stealthy

we all tried to feed them, but they weren't very interested

such cute foxes

these Green Wood Hoopoe (see below) sounded just like a kookaburra

wild dog, relative of hyena

don't think I've seen a peacock nest like this before - cute

the actual kookaburra was silent but had its mouth open

banyan trees - common around here

I missed Hawaii even as I was leaving, and I would definitely like to go back again, although Australia is closer and there are other islands in the Pacific I'd like to visit. We'll have to see.