Autumn Red and New Car

I'm nearing the last stages of the thesis writing, and it's not a pleasant task to have to go through drafts you wrote years ago and update and edit them. It's not something we really teach or encourage undergraduates to do, then suddenly it's all you're doing at the graduate and professor level, because you have to get feedback and make edits on almost everything you write if you're looking to get published. In this environment, there are always seemingly more pressing things to occupy your attention (sometimes they are more important, sometimes not), so it becomes a challenge to stay focused and move through the additional research and writing. I'll get there eventually, but it will take a lot of effort.

Meanwhile, the mostly not-very-good summer has gone away and turned into a cold autumn. I can turn the heater up in my office, which is nice, but the walk to and from the parking lot is still cold and windy. The high next week is supposed to be 52F (11C) and rainy some of the days, so I'm not looking forward to those. The leaves changing color are still pleasant to see, although they really clutter up the car crevices and the parking lots and walkways everywhere. The garden only had a few crops manage to produce through the colder weather -- the cucumbers are still churning out a couple small one -- and my sunflowers had a brief but nice run for a couple weeks when it was nice out. They grow so tall!

We sold our car that had been pretty good to us since we bought it two weeks after we arrived because the auto shop said that it would have some major repairs coming up and wouldn't really be worth fixing since it had so many miles/kms on it. We sold it to a traveling American and it only took a week or so to get another one from an American backpacking couple who needed to get rid of theirs. It's a little 'newer' and has its own quirks, but we got it new tires and a tune-up, and hopefully it will last us for as long as we need it. It rides like a Cadillac compared to our old car though, which is a bit hard to get used to. And I've never had a white car before, but at least it's two-toned. There was a big spider living just above the driver's seat that came out while I was driving one night and it stayed there for several weeks, but we let it build its web back up and finally were able to get it out of the car and send it on its way into some plants.

A friend highly recommended I attend a spoken poetry evening with a famous Palestinian poet, Rafeef Ziadah. Admittedly, I don't know much about the issues, but she was so passionate and her stories were quite moving about the losses she and others have suffered. It is great to hear poetry performed live, and her musical accompaniment was also very good.

Rafeef Ziadah

Kraft Mac & Cheese (albeit freezer kind) finally makes it to NZ!! $5 though...

Can't resist clearance chocolate Easter eggs!

Autumn sunsets

Autumn and DIY Double Glazed Windows

Autumn is here. Time for falling leaves and chillier weather. The last of the garden plants are finished -- some nasty infestations of bugs got to some of them unfortunately. Electricity bills are rising. Winter is coming.

You know you’ve been in New Zealand a while when you accept that substandard housing is a fact of life and attempt to DIY double-glaze your windows with the plastic film and double-sided tape. I know it’s ridiculous, but windows are the main source of heat loss, and our bills were so high last winter, I figured it was worth a shot at trying to keep more of the heat in, at least in the front windows which are right next to the heat pump.

The advertisements for home improvement stores started having sections on the DIY kits, so we got a couple (the box of course unhelpfully didn't say that it included tape, so we ended up buying a separate roll). You put up the double-sided tape around the windows, cut out and fit the plastic film to the tape, and then gently blow-dry it to make it taut. Wala – homemade double glazing. From the package instructions: "CONGRATULATIONS On choosing Stormguard Seasonal Double Glazing: Comfort and heat saving economy at a fraction of the cost of double glazing." Technically they are only designed to last one season, and when you factor in the time spent, they are definitely a pain to put up. Hopefully the cat doesn’t destroy all of our work! We also bought a frost cloth for some of the plants (before realizing the bugs had gotten to them) and a fabric thing to put under one of the outer doors to reduce the draught coming in under it. Here's hoping...

old, thin windows

cool mushrooms!

 

Limited edition Whittaker's chocolate "Jelly Tip" with raspberry jelly filling
inside a combination of white and milk chocolate (see cutaway of actual chocolate piece in picture).
It is very sugary but melds nicely!

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.

Valentine's Day Earthquake and Aftershocks

Although there is not much in the way of "New Zealand cuisine" to serve visitors, we have taken to buying a few products that we have found to be unique to New Zealand, or at least tastier versions of what you would normally buy in the U.S. Unfortunately, a lot of them are full of sugar!

• L&P soda, a lemon-y kind of ginger ale
• Fresh Belgian chocolate milk (like drinking a luscious chocolate bar)
• Honey (most famous is manuka, but other flavors are unique because of the trees in the area)
• Hokey pokey ice cream (hokey pokey is just caramelized sugar pieces, but it is so good)
• Whittaker's chocolate (amazingly good chocolate with no additives)
• General dairy items like full fat cheese, milk, and cream
• Gold kiwis (sweeter and much easier to eat than green kiwi fruit)

Our car failed its recent Warrant of Fitness (WOF) test so had to be taken in for repairs. We opted to go to a AA shop this time (similar to AAA) and I felt a lot better than some of the other places we've taken it to. Unfortunately, while attending the Asian Noodle Market and Sparks fireworks in Hagley Park, someone(s) decided to break into our car parked in a residential area and steal the new Bluetooth speaker in the glove box. Thankfully, I had taken everything else out before our trip to Australia, so that's all the jerks found. A lot of the police were managing the park, so I assume people thought it was a prime time to go around to all of the hundreds of cars parked around the area. I reported it to the police for statistical purposes, but since our car's speakers finally gave out, now we have no means of playing music or audiobooks in the car.

There have been a few summer days hot enough for us to turn on the A/C for the first time since we've been here (the heat pump is also an A/C). Since it isn't terribly expensive to have it on for a few hours, we have chosen not to suffer when the house gets up to 26-28 C (79-82 F) and turn it on occasionally. What can I say? Americans like their comfort.

I stumbled upon an expat migrant website for New Zealand where people who used to live here detail their negative experiences and warn others that NZ isn't all it's cracked up to be. It's nice to know you're not alone, but we still have a ways left here, so I don't think I'll dwell on that site. I also went to a training session at school where a Pasifika woman gave a presentation on how different island cultures look at the world differently, and that this often impacts how they can fit into a society and university built on an independent, autonomous, and individualistic way of operating. She said that their cultures value interdependence and caring about others before yourself, and that studying for an exam alone and having to push aside concern for anything currently happening with your friends or family just isn't right to them. It was a lot of food for thought and made me think what a loss it is that these kinds of worldviews are considered less than and not shared with the dominant culture, which could use more compassion and empathy in many of its relationships, from business to family ones.

Valentine's Day Earthquakes

But the big news around here has been the Valentine's Day earthquake and aftershocks. The first one hit around 1:30pm and was a 5.8 off the coast of Christchurch and shook the house for quite a while (in quake terms, I'd say it was about 10-15 seconds). We had been in the kitchen cleaning out the pantry and our cat bolted into the bedroom and went under the bed, staying there all day. Then there were aftershocks, then lulls about every hour. There was even one while I was just falling asleep. Can’t escape them! I was quite scared and just when I would be settling down, another one would come. Most were off the coast which is not far from where we live in the east, so we really felt them. I just don’t feel safe in this country with their poor infrastructure. The earthquake was big enough to hit international news. The cliffs in Sumner had some falling sides and kicked up a ton of dust, so of course that was what made the news. There were 83 quakes on Valentine's Day alone.

Earthquake knocked second layer of books off shelf

The rest of the week we had aftershocks that we could feel at least once a day. While we were at an open-air Shakespeare play of Hamlet, there was another one, and it was the first time I had been sitting on grass during an earthquake. Admittedly, it was a lot less scary because you're outside and it feels like a rumble but you don't have a creaky house making all sorts of noises to put you in panic mode. But just as the aftershocks had finally stopped for a few days, there was another big one (4.3) that woke most of the city up at 3:30am on February 29th. It's hard to get back to sleep when your adrenaline kicks in. I can definitely see why people left the city and were tired of putting up with all of the commotion.

Open-air performance of Hamlet

Conference and Dessert

The conference at the University of Queensland went well, and the campus was really nice. One thing I didn't like at the conference dinner was the alternating plates, which apparently is a pretty common thing in Australia. So your meal could have been the chicken or the really rare lamb, and you don't get to choose unless you switch with your neighbor. And then, it was torture for dessert, because one plate was chocolate cake and the other was little meringue things. Um, you don't give one person chocolate without giving it to everyone else. 

Other things that happened during the week:

We couldn't help popping into the university used bookstore and buying four books, one of which had such a great title I couldn't help myself (Xinran's What the Chinese Don't Eat). We had a nice chat with the cashier about peanut butter and chocolate going together -- his family thinks it's gross -- and when we complained about jam and fillings always being in things in Australia (and New Zealand), he said they have a history of convicts, so of course they learned to hide things! It was a fun conversation. I have been impressed by how friendly and courteous the staff are at places in Australia compared to New Zealand.

On the last day of the conference, we went out for dinner with a group of students and conference organizers and got to discuss topics like student loans and healthcare in Australia. It's nice to get multiple perspectives. Then a small group of us went to get ice cream at Gelare and ended up talking for hours which was quite enjoyable. They had Belgian waffles on the menu with all kinds of combinations, but I was stuffed from dinner and couldn't get them. I was already planning on returning though in the few days remaining. As some of us were trying to make a case for some good science fiction books, movies, and TV shows, I discovered that sometimes people who say they don't like sci-fi haven't actually really read or seen much, if any, sci-fi. Or they read one book for a class and don't like it, so they write off the whole genre. 

We did go back to Gelare and got Oreo and Cinnamon Churro waffles. They were pretty much big sugar bombs, but it was the first waffle I had had since leaving the U.S. I resolved to get a waffle iron after returning to New Zealand. We also went to Chocolateria San Churro and got some churros with dark chocolate dipping sauce and a big piece of chocolate caramel cake which was very tasty. I knew it was my last chance to get good dessert!   

daytime downtown Brisbane

nighttime downtown Brisbane

Roadtrip: Dunedin

Our week-long trip had enough stuff and photos to spread it out over a couple posts, so this one will be about our first stop, Dunedin.

Dunedin is the second-largest city on the South Island of New Zealand. It is supposed to be about 4.5 hours driving distance south of Christchurch. But...it was raining most of the way so I drove more slowly. I was very glad we got new tires put on before we left. We made it into the city too late to be able to do any of the things only open until 5 (because we got a late start out of Christchurch, having to drive our cat to the cattery on the other side of town), so we headed out to our Airbnb place to stay. It was our first Airbnb experience and it was a lovely home with a big, upgraded bathroom and kitchen. Our hosts were very friendly and their 9-month-old dog was nice, too.

Our host suggested going out to one of the beaches on the peninsula to see some sea lions. We saw two animals, either sea lions or fur seals. We also saw a bird with a long beak poking holes in the sand to find food for its two chicks. It started crying at us when we got too close. Afterward, we drove out to the end of the peninsula which is an albatross and penguin breeding colony. You have to fork over a lot for the tours, so we hung out with the large population of seagulls nearby instead. On our way back to the car, far away from the hoards of gulls we had just been around, one decided to target D and pooped on his head! I tried cleaning it off with a napkin, but it didn't help much and was so gross! After cleaning that up at home, we stayed up late chatting with our hosts about the city, our life so far in NZ, their kids who all live abroad, and eventually NZ and US politics. It seems to be a lot safer to do that here than in the US which is kinda nice.

not the guilty one :)

The next day, since the weather was still bad, we skipped the Larnach Castle and instead went on a Cadbury Factory tour. It was a 75-minute tour through the actual factory and we all had to wear hair nets and take out everything from our pockets and take off jewelry. I couldn't help but inwardly shake my head at the wall display as our energetic host explained the ingredients that make up their milk, dark, and white chocolate. I wish those were everything that was used! It was missing all of the additives and preservatives actually listed on the candy bars. Example: Sugar, Full Cream Milk, Glucose Syrup, Vegetable Fat, Butter, Cocoa Mass, Milk Solids, Cocoa Butter, Food Acid (331), Emulsifiers (Soya Lecithin, 471), Humectant (422), Salt, Flavours. May contain traces of Nuts. Ultimately, the New Zealand brand, Whittaker's, makes much better-tasting chocolate than Cadbury. It doesn't cut corners.

After an obligatory photo stop at the Dunedin Railway Station, the most photographed building in the country, we visited the Toitū Otago Settlers Museum which was a good, big museum (and free). I can't imagine trying to survive here after coming off a long boat journey. What a risk! We had a little time leftover before 5 to do some of the Otago Museum (also free) which is located next to Otago University, the oldest university in NZ. I enjoyed the section on the birth of modern conveniences -- they really are so relatively new in the history of the world.

leopard seal (the bad guy in Penguins of Madagascar)

Otago University's pretty architecture

Next we drove to the steepest public street in the world, Baldwin Street. Several other groups of people were also there, and some even climbed it! A couple enterprising homeowners had little shops run out of their houses on one side of the street with t-shirts and refreshments. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em, I guess. We learned during the Cadbury tour that every year, 75,000 Jaffa balls (orange and chocolate balls) are released at the top of the street and the first 5 to make it to the bottom are winners. Charities get the proceeds from selling raffle tickets for the numbered balls. It sounded like a great fundraising idea.

The following day the weather cleared up so we got the nice harbor view from our place that I was hoping for. We took the high road on the peninsula with great views of the water. Then we were back on a two-lane highway to our next destination: Queenstown!