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

Previewing Auckand, Kawau Island

Change is afoot, and I will soon be moving to Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand (but not the capital - that's Wellington). Lots of people in Christchurch complain about Auckland being too big and crowded, and the traffic being bad, but relative to California traffic, it's really nothing, and the big size means it has a lot of stuff to do, most of the touring concerts and things only go there, etc. Auckland has around 1.66 million people, which is more than 1/3 of the country's total population, and that percentage is set to increase. Although the government tries to encourage people to live and work elsewhere, it's hard when that's where most of the businesses are, so the strategy isn't working very well. It's also quite ethnically diverse, with 23% Asian and 15% Pasifika peoples living there, in addition to other ethnic groups. 

I'm looking forward to a change. It will be more crowded and more expensive, but the trade-off is a bigger, more bustling city, with more to do, and new people to meet. The university environment here has grown stale, and when you're not growing anymore or being challenged, I think a change of scenery can be good. Plus, it will give me new stuff and new parts of New Zealand to write about! :)

I went up for a visit recently and rented a car, and was surprised that they gave me an upgrade to a brand new car (only 13km total on the odometer). I had never heard of a Toyota C-HR, and it was a bit cramped and had lots of blind spots, but it was definitely sporty and cool to drive one straight off the lot. The back doors open from the top, like some futuristic car. 

Speaking of cars, I need to give an update on my own car. I decided to sell my Subaru Legacy and upgrade to a Subaru Forester, which is the number one car in New Zealand. I sold the Legacy to a German backpacker who was happy with it, and I am very happy with my new one. It feels so luxurious to have a newer car with modern upgrades, like heated seats and a sunroof, plus Bluetooth and computer safety features. It also has a tow bar for the move north to haul stuff.

Back to Auckland...there was a cool night food market with lots of stalls and choices. I tried something new at a South African place - it was a really tasty marinated steak sandwich - then got cheesecake in a cup and a piece of peanut butter chocolate cake. 

There are way more birds in Auckland, which is great, and you can hear the tuis and see the wood pigeons in town - you don't have to go out of your way for an encounter. They're hard to photograph since they like to move when you get your camera ready, but I got a couple with the zoom. I can't wait to get to hear tui every day.

I took a ferry out to an island called Kawau Island, which is supposed to have some Australian animals there (wallabies and kookaburras), but unfortunately I just got to see the peacocks and other normal birds. The hike was nice though, and the views looking over the ocean were great. There were some remains from mining there too.

I also finally got to try the chocolate-covered ice cream bar that has been advertised in Christchurch but that I haven't been able to find at the grocery stores. Apparently it is just sold in individual packs at the dairies (convenience stores). It was butterscotch popcorn and it was delicious. Definitely worth the $4.50 price!

In Christchurch, I haven't done much besides tutoring and preparing for the move. You are reminded how much stuff you have accumulated over the years and what a pain it is to haul it around with you. I'm trying to clear out stuff, but I won't part with my books. There was a pop-up Krispy Kreme store at the mall for two weeks and when my coworkers said they had never had one, I had to get some for them. You couldn't just buy a couple though, so I got a whole box and got to eat a bunch of the leftovers myself. They taste just like I remember - so yum.

I also went out for a friend's birthday to a Chinese restaurant that serves dim sum for lunch, which I hadn't ever had before. They are like tapas in Spain - little plates with just a few items, and you order a bunch of them and share. It was a good new experience and different from the other restaurants we've been to - there was more gelatin in the dishes and thicker coatings, but the flavors were good. We ordered one Chinese-style dessert, which was glutinous rice in a carrot-shaped breading. I thought it was cute so snapped a photo of that one.