Safe Harbor

Reflecting on 2020, I know how fortunate it was that I ended up being in one of the safest countries during the Covid-19 pandemic. For all of its issues, New Zealand turns out to have been quite a good place to move to a few years back. I had no idea how all of the world politics would play out back then of course, but it's made the decision about whether to stay or go back to the US after studying fairly easy. Now that I have secure employment, there's really not much to go back for anyway. Building up networks takes time, and the idea of having to do that yet again in a place where I'd just be another American doesn't sound very appealing. Four weeks of paid vacation, two weeks of paid sick time, and plentiful paid public holidays, along with free public healthcare really take the stress levels down compared to the U.S. Things can always change of course, but for now, I'll enjoy the relaxed lifestyle, ten-minute walk to the beach, and freedom of movement due to NZ's elimination strategy for Covid.

So what have I been up to since the lockdown period that ended in May 2020? 

We got kicked out of our flat because the landlord sold the building, and having the constant string of open houses and viewings was a real pain. But it turned out to be a good thing because that place was damp and full of mold and didn't have a proper kitchen. And when I pulled out stuff from the storage area under the house, there was even more mold so we had to do a lot of extra cleaning just to be able to pack stuff.

This area next to the fridge was hiding lots of gross mold.

After the inevitably exhausting move itself, we've settled into the new place which feels like a real house and has a heatpump/AC in the living room plus two screen doors on either end so we can get more fresh air and be more comfortable. Unfortunately, the landlords here weren't very exacting with the cleanliness when the previous tenants moved out, so I also had to clean up a bunch of mold on the door and window frames at the new place. I was really tired of cleaning for that month because it felt like it was endless. But otherwise this place is pretty good. It's also a quick walk to the beach.

Our cat adjusted quickly and has claimed sleeping spots pretty much anywhere available. We promised to get him a bigger cat condo after the move so he has enjoyed perching here to watch the birds and enjoy the sunshine.

We've gone to the zoo several times and enjoyed watching the animals playing and sleeping and doing what they do. 

There was a second lockdown in Auckland in August due to a community outbreak. I haven't experienced waiting in line with social distancing to go to Kmart before, but there we were. Thankfully this outbreak was contained relatively quickly and since then things have felt close to normal.

Big news was that we got to vote here and see how simple the ballot is compared to ones in the U.S. Two things to make a decision on: local representative vote and party vote, and then two extra things this time for referendum votes on legalizing cannabis and euthanasia. No ID required and there were voting stations everywhere. It felt like how a real democratic process can and does work.

I discovered Martha's Backyard, "The American Store", which is outside of one of the big malls here, and was amazed by all of the food and treats and baking supplies from home available. They had Rice and Corn Chex which made for better Chex Mix and Muddy Buddies. Due to import prices though, it's like going to Costco. You walk out with a handful of things and the bill is over $100. Worth it though!

We had a Halloween party with new coworkers and friends and the pumpkin carving was a hit. I know they don't have these silly traditions elsewhere, but it's still astounding people can live for decades without having experienced things that I did/do every year! There was still trick-or-treating, although apparently we don't live in one of the neighborhoods that has a lot of kids doing it. We got about five or six groups of kids and almost all of them were in costumes. And we had mini Tootsie roll pops from the international section of one of the grocery stores to give out, so I suspect they were in for a surprise when they got to the center of those! I know my coworkers were. What is this? I had to explain and show them the owl commercial. :)

I've been taking the ferry occasionally to get downtown (parking is outrageously expensive, so it doesn't make sense to try to park the car down there), and it's a nice 10-minute cruise across with nice views of the harbor and bridge. 

During the Christmas break, we went to the Auckland Museum and Maritime Museum. They have some cool stuff and it wasn't too crowded at either place. The Maritime Museum had lots of sailing vessels, including traditional boats and outrigger canoes from Polynesian cultures all the way up to the big yachts they use in the America's Cup competition, which is going on during the summer months in Auckland.

There's a special Lego exhibition at the museum, so they added
mini Lego versions to some of the exhibits.

Finally, I felt obligated to go out on New Year's Eve since NZ is one of the few places able to have people congregating and ringing in the new year. I was glad I did - the excitement of a crowd counting down till midnight and enjoying fireworks together is a good way to close out a year. NZ has felt like a safe harbor over the past year and hopefully it continues to be so.

 

Earthquake, Pollution, Voting

It’s been a busy time lately, and New Zealand was once again on the international news with the 7.8 earthquake that devastated Kaikoura and also parts of Wellington. It was different from all of the other earthquakes I've felt here so far: over a minute of a gentle rocking, like being on a houseboat rather than in a house. It wasn't scary, although apparently the tsunami risk goes way up if a quake lasts for that long, and the evacuation plan for the coast is, well, not quite formulated very well. People ended up stranded for hours on a narrow peninsula and would have been engulfed if an actual tsunami had gone. Needless to say, residents over there are ticked.

I went to my first hui, which is the Maori term for a meeting, and that was an interesting experience where the topic was a very contentious political issue regarding children. I also went to a talk on freshwater pollution in New Zealand, which was very illuminating. New Zealand bills itself as clean and green but the reality is quite different. 74% of NZ freshwater fish are threatened or in decline and in a few decades there won't be any left. Plus, there is no protection under NZ law for them. 43% of NZ lakes are polluted and have too many nutrients (causing algal blooms). 67% of NZ waterways are polluted and the Canterbury region (which is where Christchurch is) has some of the highest rates worldwide of gastrointestinal disease. They're sobering statistics for sure.

algal bloom from report on freshwater in NZ

In the academic realm, I have gone back and forth on my thoughts on its function in today’s society. In discussions with some professionals outside of academia, I discovered that people outside the ivory tower have a surprisingly low opinion of academics. Their view was that many academics are the people who never left school, have little understanding of the ‘real world’, and couldn’t necessarily be successful having to work with other people in another job. They saw academics as more likely to be dysfunctional, which then explains why things like aspects like discrimination and backward-thinking still proliferate without much consequence. I have to say I’m starting to agree with some of this viewpoint, because of the resistance to change and lack of dialogue about critical issues that I have found this past year. Also, when I was helping tutor a student, I realized that they weren’t relating the book at all to their own life and struggles, and it occurred to me that we’re failing as educators (or the lecture system is failing) if they aren’t connecting what they’re reading and learning to their own life.

As part of this system, I had the opportunity to do several teaching sessions this year and experienced first-hand the issues with the lecture-style of teaching, because it is such a one-way, non-engaging style. It is still quite persuasive though, and allows you to shape others’ opinions. I also have been able to do more public speaking in front of hundreds of people, which I certainly wouldn’t have thought possible a few years ago. Practice definitely helps. I helped organize a conference and a different seminar and in the process found a great TED Talk on how technology distracts us. I keep coming back to it (especially his bit about how checking social media updates is like gambling) so I think it’s a good one.

Other things that have happened were good celebrations of Halloween and Thanksgiving with friends. Funnily, I put out candy on my office hour but the New Zealanders were largely too timid to take it while I was there, but then when I came back most of it was gone. In the U.S., that wouldn’t have lasted a week! At a weekend festival, I tried fried pumpkin for the first time and it was yummy. And finally, I voted via email for the first time and it was very easy, and I hope that in the future electronic voting can become more of a thing, because I think it would increase the percentage of people who actually partake in elections.

 

Halloween Party

I submitted my article finally. What a relief! It was a lot more work than I anticipated, even at the end with the formatting and last-minute realizations that I'd left certain critics out. Fingers crossed that the reviewers like it. I was only 9 words under the word count. I've now moved on to another article about pedagogy (teaching) and Digital Humanities. Then there is a conference in three weeks where I am presenting on Wikipedia and editing bias...I'll get to writing my thesis eventually.

Felt really good to haul these back to the library!

On the plane ride back from the conference a couple weeks ago, I sat next to a guy doing his PhD in Tourism at Lincoln University, and since they actually put some effort into making international students feel welcome and giving them the chance to meet other people, he works in a kind of international development role and puts on activities for them. Anyway, he invited me to their last get-together for the semester at a Mexican restaurant this past week so D and I went and had a good time meeting other international students from Lincoln. A couple of them even used to go to our university but much prefer Lincoln because it is smaller and has a more welcoming environment. The food was not quite what we expect from Mexican food, but such it is in New Zealand. There was a student from the U.S. there and we were talking presidential politics across the long table -- several of the students from China were just listening intently and after we said we should stop because we were boring them, they said oh no, we weren't boring them; they find it fascinating how Americans get all into political discussions. They were a nice bunch of students, very full of energy and excitement. It's nice to have a break from the normal routine and hear about what other people are doing with their lives.

Despite a week with cold weather, Halloween turned out to be a nice, warm day. We brought a taste of America to New Zealand with our Halloween party, and folks enjoyed the theme, the food, and the carving of pumpkins (first time for most of them). We played some Halloween Pictionary and took the pumpkins outside in the dark to light them up with tea lights. I think this part really amazed some of them -- to see their own carved creation lit up with fire! And we got lots more trick-or-treaters this year --  I believe the balloons and sign on the mailbox helped. Still had to flag down one group that were about to pass us by. Very reluctant over here.

 

missing items weren't ready yet: cheesecake, boo cups, and garlic bread

forgot to capture pumpkin cheesecake at the beginning

boo cups had melted ghosts but were still tasty

"feely boxes" with marshmallows, cold noodles, & crushed pineapple

got the biggest squash/pumpkins we could

they carved up pretty nicely

These are ours -- I was going for a round mouth but failed!

Some of our friends' happy pumpkins :)

Gardening, Seminars, and Holidays

Gardening

It is possible I was a bit overzealous in our gardening trip. I may or may not be pinning all my hopes and dreams on these fruits and vegetables growing and thriving... But I have always wanted to have a garden so I figured I might as well go all out. We bought fertilized soil and extra fertilizer as well as a medley of seeds. We also bought a jalapeno plant and parsley, basil, mint, raspberry, and strawberry seedlings. Please, something, grow.

I spent several hours over the past couple weeks weeding the garden bed and found a large rhubarb plant still thriving which I let be but removed everything else (mostly weeds). There was a lot of rain this past week so I figured it would be a good time to plant. Today we marked out what would go where, put down fertilizer, put down some soil, spread the seeds, covered them with a thin layer of soil, then watered. I also transplanted my berry plants to the corner of the bed. Now we wait. If things happen, I will post updates. If it fails, there was never a garden attempt.

Postgraduate Seminars

We spent the past two weeks on-campus in sessions designed to help postgraduate students stay on track, progress through the writing process, network, present their research, finish their paper, and get a job. I wish I had had something like these sessions either at the start of or mid-way through college, because they really encourage you to think beyond the present moment about what your plans are for after you finish. You have to start networking and getting your resume/CV full of the things you'll need before you reach the point you need to seek employment. Even if you think you'll be prepared for the job you want, it doesn't hurt to have backup plans and support for career changes (especially as younger generations can expect to move jobs more frequently).

The first week's sessions were the first time the postgraduate office attempted to do them all together instead of spread out over a year, and everyone agreed it was better this way. We were able to see familiar faces each day and make acquaintances which made the time spent more comfortable and enjoyable. There was a large number of international students as well, and I met students from Iran, Saudi Arabia, China, Vietnam, Sweden, and Canada, which is probably the most exposure to other cultures and accents I've had in one compressed space. It really makes you think twice about things you just assume everyone knows or does.

Halloween

We had fun carving small butternut pumpkins, although the actual night was a bit of a let-down because we only had one group of kids trick-or-treat, and even then I had to flag them down through the window since they completely missed our pumpkin on the driveway. We ended up driving over to give a bunch of the candy to our previous homestay host's children since they weren't able to go trick-or-treating. I won't say we didn't keep some of the Cadbury chocolates for ourselves...

Guy Fawkes Night

Since we found out that fireworks are legal here (only during this week), we couldn't wait to buy a pack and celebrate the 5th of November, Guy Fawkes Night. The grocery store had them for 50% off the day before, so we bought a $60 Thunderstorm pack for $30. It rained all day so it almost didn't happen, but it finally let up after we started watching the awesome V for Vendetta movie, so at 9:00pm when it was dark we went out into the cold. Super cool! I haven't lit off fireworks since I was little at my grandma's house, and it is still fun. We didn't have the parachuting army soldiers or the black snakes, but we had spinners that whizzed, fountains, sparklers, smoke bombs, screamers, and a few big, loud, traditional fireworks. Can't wait till next year!

Cat

Our cat has definitely adjusted to life here, as well as becoming an "old" cat who sleeps under the covers during the day and night. He also enjoys having furniture he can scratch and/or sleep on. He does not provide a good role model for someone trying to get work done.