Reason #8: The Food

I just noticed there's no July post, and am therefore in danger of losing my link to Michael's page. As a result, this isn't the most highly edited work:

The food here is amazing. We live in Hawke's Bay, the fruit basket of New Zealand, and have access to really fresh produce all year long. Kiwis are in to eating seasonally; you can get foreign produce in the grocery stores, but I've seen almost no one actually buying it, with the exception of bananas. Admittedly, there isn't an abundance of great restaurants, but cooking at home is more rewarding than I ever found it in the U.S. My list of the BEST Kiwi food:

1. Pies. (the kind with meat and/veggies, not sweet!)
2. Butter (the richest, freshest stuff you've ever tasted)
3. Milk (the skim doesn't taste like water, and the full doesn't taste like pure fat!)
4. Eggs - if you've never had fresh eggs, you're missing out
5. Kiwifruit - we eat it almost every day
6. Pumpkins (the Kiwi generic for squash)
6. Whatever fruit is in season - right now, pretty much Kiwifruit and apples.

Reason #7: Rugby

Anyone reading this probably knows I'm not a competitive athlete. I'm a slow cyclist, a terrible runner, and a sailor who hates racing. But as a New Zealander, I adore rugby. I may enjoy watching it even more than football (sorry, Peyton.) My favorite team is, of course, the All Blacks. Here are Nicole's Top Ten Reasons that All Blacks rugby is the best sport ever:

10. You have to perform to stay on the team: the roster changes every week.
9.   The clock never stops.
8.   No commercials.
7.   Coolest. Uniforms. Ever. (Unlike other national teams, a minimum of sponsor logos.)
6.   When you watch on TV, you can hear everything the ref says (not that I understand most of it...)
5.   Instant replay.
4.   The kicker actually plays the whole game (and Daniel Carter is amazing.)
3.   It's a gentleman's game... the ref calmly explains the rules, when necessary, to the captains.
2.   The boys wear shorts.
1.   The Haka.

New Zealand is hosting the Rugby World Cup in 2011. We'll be trying to get tickets to see the USA play Ireland on 9/11/2011.... can't wait!

Reason #6: Everything is Reversed

In New Zealand, everything is backwards. Of course, New Zealanders don't think so. Case in point: when our Samsung fridge was delivered, the young bloke hooking it up had trouble turning it on.  Finally, he figured out that he had to flip the switch up. His comment? "The switches in Japan must turn on when you flip them up. Huh. That's weird." (Note: this is the only Kiwi I've met who wouldn't know that Samsung is a Korean company; but this post isn't about their freaky geography prowess.) Light switches do indeed switch down to turn on, which is a never-ending source of amusement for me.

Other things are backwards as well:

1. Roads, obviously. In New Zealand, as in most other Commonwealth countries, we drive on the left. I actually like it, for some indefinable reason. Perhaps my love of English literature?

2. Drains. Nope. That one's a myth. But toilets here do seem to violently flush straight down. Newer toilets have 2 buttons... I'm never quite sure which to press.
3. Time. When we first heard "eleven half," we weren't sure if that meant 10:30 or 11:30. Since it was a lunch date, we went with the latter. Luckily, we were right.
4. Using the credit card machine at the grocery store. You have to wait for the cashier to tell you to swipe, then you swipe, choose your account, and enter your pin. Something about the order feels wrong, though it sounds the same as in the U.S. Nevertheless, I always do it wrong.
5. Pumping gas. You pump first, then pay. It's old-school U.S. There are also people to wash your windows (no tips, of course.)
6. At the end of the meal, even in a nice restaurant, you go up to pay at the counter. I think they will bring a check if you ask, but no one actually does. I'm guessing it's gauche to ask. Queues form just before the rugby game is going to start.
7. Prepositions seem to be reversed and used without articles. "Good on ya" and "in hospital" are popular phrases.
8. The nicest, most helpful people around work at the Post Shoppe.

Reason #5: Quiz Night

While taking a break from stacking wood (quickly becoming my #1 reason NOT to move to NZ) I am pondering the fun that was quiz night at the Rose and Shamrock last night. While not a NZ phenomenon, quiz nights are incredibly well-attended here in Havelock North. The Rose and Shamrock is not a small pub, and it was packed full of people of all ages (over 18, of course.) We had to bring in the plastic chairs from the patio so that we could sit down. The teams with the most points win bar tabs, which would have been pretty darn cool. We all agreed to drink the tab immediately should we win.


Our team was Sarah, her partner Nick, our Irish friend Aoife, Michael and I. The categories for quiz night last night were:


1) Famous name changes
2) Plays and Playwrights
3) Monarchs
4) Geography
5) Sport
6) Music
7) Inventions
8) Trivia


Needless to say, Team Green did not win. There were some pretty obscure questions, and the music category consisted of the announcer playing a 70s disco song, and you had to list the artist who sang it.


My two best answers of the night were the ones my team voted me down on:


Longest ruling British monarch? Victoria, of course! But the queen's subjects at my table all thought it was Elizabeth I, so naturally I acquiesced to them. Why didn't they listen to the American?


The author of The Importance of Being Earnest? Oscar Wilde was my first answer. But Aoife insisted it wasn't him, and since he was an Irish bloke, I had to go with her.


Answers I almost got: which race started in 1903 and goes for over 2000 kilometers? I answered the Iditerod. As it turns out, the Iditerod didn't start until the 1970s, although its roots are older. The answer: The Tour de France!!! How did I miss that one???


And what did Colonel Schlick invent? I said the safety razor, which we amended to disposable safety razor. He actually invented the ELECTRIC razor.


Of course, at least I knew Monopoly was based on Atlantic City, which from the groans in the pub, was an answer few teams got right.


All in all, an entertaining evening. And I owe Aoife a beer.

Reason #4 - Our House

A video of our new digs
Our house in New Zealand

Despite its quirks (no garage, really, really cold) I like the house we're renting in Havelock North. It's in a quiet neighborhood, I'm sharing no walls with neighbors, and it has a fig tree. I've had a good time setting it up and getting everything just so. There's nothing like moving across an ocean to get you to purge your stuff down to a manageable level... and since clutter is overpriced here, I'm not tempted to buy more!

Reason #3: Clotheslines

Everyone here has a clothesline. (Except our Candian-American friends in Auckland, but they aren't real Kiwis, I guess.)

One appliance saleswoman was sort of talking us out of getting a dryer. She mocked a neighborhood in which she had lived in Australia because they wouldn't allow clotheslines. "They said it made us look like the third world or something. Imagine."

Kiwis hang their clothes to dry. Not because they have to. Not because dryers are outrageously expensive (though they are.) Because they can. And why not? The air is clean, the sun is extra-bright, and no one thinks you're poor or trashy for having a clothesline. It saves a few dollars, yes, and is good for the enviornment, but mostly, it's practical.

I have a fabulous clothesline. It's hung above the edge of our deck, so I don't have to reach up, and there's lots of room for big items like sheets to hang clear of the ground.

Due to the lack of a vent for a dryer, we bought a washer-dryer combo. So we have a clothes dryer, but I'm using it less and less. Why not hang stuff out on a sunny day? It's picturesque, It will make our clothes last longer, and Michael will learn to live with itchy jeans.

It's the Kiwi way.

NZ Move Reason #2: Tea

Since my brief stint in Russia, I’ve missed the daily ritual of tea. I love tea. I drink it without sugar, sometimes with milk or lemon. Since the day we arrived, I’ve commented on a daily basis that the first thing we need to buy for our Kiwi house is an electric tea kettle.


Like their British relatives, Kiwis drink tea. At work, you don’t just have breaks; they are “tea breaks.” And, as Michael discovered you use the tea brink to drink tea. Employers provide tea, and people actually drink it.

Every hotel room has an electric tea kettle and a tea pot, and we were handed a small bottle of milk at check-in in Napier so that our tea would be properly fortified.

The best example: at a barbeque on Friday night, Michael commented to an Irish coworker that we don’t have electric tea kettles in the States. This turned into a conversation with the whole group about the inconceivability at our tea-kettle deficiency. They were incredulous when I told them Americans heat our water for tea on the stove. It was tantamount to announcing that Americans are barbarians. Perhaps the only thing more tragic in a Kiwi’s eyes would be warm beer.

I think I’ve convinced Michael that the tea kettle is a necessity…. we otherwise might be ostracized from Kiwi society.

Why did I move to NZ? Reason #1 Parks

Reason #1: Parks

While it may not be my MAIN reason for moving to NZ, I think Kiwi values are well represented by parks.

This week, I've spent a lot of time in them. Today, I'm typing this blog from one.

Kiwis love their parks... so much that they have a plethora of names for them. While I have no official definitions to back up my descriptions, here are my observations:

A large wild park (think a national park in the U.S.) is called a Reserve. It may only be a square kilometer or two, but it's basically wildland, with lots of trails for tramping. And sheep, of course. There usually seem to be sheep involved. This morning, I spent a half hour admiring the Redwoods in the Te Mata domain. And our new home (once we move into it) has a reserve behind it.

A large city park (say Golden Gate Park) is a Domain. They appear to have all the amenities of any large urban park - playgrounds, sport areas, formal gardens, etc. I haven't found a Domain in Hawkes Bay just yet.

There are many plain old parks... you can hardly walk for ten minutes in any direction without running into one. I'm not talking about a big slightly-browned lawn with playground equipment and hoodlums, a la SoCal. I'm talking about expanses of grass surrounded by beautifully maicured flower gardens. There are monuments everywhere - WWI Gallipoli monuments being most popular. And, no matter what kind of park, there are PEOPLE in parks. Young people, old people, normal people just out enjoying hte day. The other day, I had to look hard to find an unoccuiped bench in a park midmorning. And there are plenty of benches. No bums sleeping on them, either.

Parks here are a joy. They are a safe haven. On an afternoon I'd be wasting walking around a mall in the O.C., I'm sitting on the grass in the middle of town looking at a 100-year-old fig tree. (I'd be sitting under it, but fig leaves are rather sturdy and hard when they fall on your head.)

Last Night of Hanukkah...

Hanukkah presents for 2008: (all from Michael)

Multi-colored pearl necklace
Coldplay CD
Garmin for my bike
Garmin adapters so I can put it on 2 bikes
Cute bubble bike jersey
Flowered bike socks to match the cute jersey
Scale that measures BMI, body fat, etc
Two inner tubes for my bike tires


Michael received from me...
A Dell mini
Bike tights
Bike shoe covers
Black T Shirts from the Gap
A reversible belt
Season 3 of Arrested Development (a Hanukkah tradition)
An autographed Steve Poltz CD
And something else I can't remember at the moment.... darnit

A post just for Sarah

I'm sure it is a surprise to none that Michael is once again posting disinformation about Rainbow on his site. However, since Sarah asked, here's a picture of a quilt. This is a small one I made for a girl last year. It's a memory quilt... each square is from a different girl in the Assembly.

Thanksgiving Menu

Beautiful Browned Turkey
Nicole's Evil Stuffing
Bouteille Call Cranberry Chutney
Creamy Mashed Potatoes
Michael's Corn
Green Beans with Shallot Crisps and Walnuts
Gorgeous Fall Salad
Hot Buttered Dinner Rolls
Baked Apples and Sweet Potatoes
Steal-the-Peeler-from-Big-Sister Apple Pie
Dueling Pumpkin Pies a la Jenny

Flying!

On Saturday, our friend Marty took us for a flight on his beautiful airplane. We went for Catalina for lunch and a hike, and then flew back to the OC. I flew on the way back, right over the Huntington Beach pier.

This was far less scary than I expected. In fact, I liked it way better than flying commercial. You can read more about it at Michael's site.

Platy McFatty, Rest In Peace

I am sorry to report the loss of Ms. Platy McFatty this evening.

Her death came not long after her return from fat camp, where she successfully transformed from a morbidly obese fish into a moderately overweight yet stunning lady. Although she died the same day as the earthquake, her death is believed to be unrelated. The family declined an autopsy, wanting to remember her as the happy fish she was.

The Clown Loach Army has declined comment. Mr. Plecostomus said, "she was pretty nice, but shouldn't have eaten all the clown loach food. She should have left the stealing of their food to me."

She was the mother of ten (possibly more) and only ate one of her offspring (that we know of.) Eight of her offspring preceded her into the great beyond. She loved red flakes and carnivore pellets. She was afraid of nothing and no one, and dominated the tank since her arrival.

Platy McFatty is survived by her daughters Zippy and Zippy Jr., and her dear friend Miss Skinny. Private funeral services were held in the upstairs lou.

The Zippy sisters request that in lieu of flowers, mourners send snails for the clown loaches. If the Army is distracted, its pellets will be easier to steal.

Not the wisdom teeth!

They apparently have to come out. In my poorly scanned X-Ray, above, you can see that my bottom wisdom teeth are growing sideways into my other teeth. Those regular teeth have old, old fillings that are crumbling, and therefore have to be capped. Therefore, my poor wisdom teeth must go.

As my friend Tom pointed out, I can't afford to lose any wisdom.

My awesome day

Today, I had the honor of meeting Professor Francisco Jiménez . He is the author of several autobiographical works detailing his experiences as an immigrant child of migrant farm workers in California in the 1950s. Jiménez , inspired and helped by teachers, attended Santa Clara University despite crushing poverty, went on to attain graduate degrees at other prestigious universities, and today is a teacher at SCU.

His works inspires kids to believe that change is possible in their lives if they work hard and are willing to reach for futures that sometimes seem impossible.

I've met other authors before, but it was inspirational to see Jiménez speak. He was addressing a small class of English language learners from all over the world who are attending San Jose City College. The students had very limited English skills, but he made them feel comfortable and encouraged them to ask questions. He was gentle and inspiring, and very gracious. He expressed over and over again how much he owed to his teachers, and thanked our little group from the OC for doing what we do.

It was worth the negativity of the annoying people at Ethics Camp this year just to have today's experience. (They don't know where we disappeared to for an hour and a half today! Ditching is fun.)

Jiménez's inscription in my copy of The Circuit, which he was kind enough to sign:

"To Nicole -

With respect, gratitude and admiration."

How cool is that?

Another Post?

I know. It's amazing.


I'm back at Santa Clara University at Ethics Camp. Truly pathetic that I've posted only once since the last Ethics Camp. Today we were asked to think about what effort we could make to change something in our lives. I'm resolving to put more effort into blogging.


Of course, this might just be me maintaining the Rainbow blog, which I also haven't been doing. In my defense, Michael spends a lot of time in our computer playing poker, so I really can't be blamed. And work blocks blogspot, so that's another way I can't waste time there.





But today was a good day, professionally. I just presented some of my brilliant teaching ideas to alternative ed teachers from all over the state. Although they had a plethora of reasons why they couldn't possibly do what I do (none of them, oddly enough, an honest "I'm too lazy") they were deeply impressed by my stunning classroom activities. This is my favorite. It's an illustrated word wall in the shape of a flag. Obviously. I won't bore all of you with the the teacher-y reasons one must have a word wall as part of one's teaching strategy. I just think it looks cool. :)


Negative people are irritating. I love ethics camp. It's re-energizing and enlightening and soothing. It's a chance to get away from the classroom for a week and be with other professionals who care about students. However, there's always a group of people who are forced to come, and choose to see the week as an assignment rather than a privilege. Why can't they just sit back and enjoy themselves? Why must they criticize and spew their negative attitudes over everyone? They're bringing me down.

Tour de Cure 2008!!!

Michael and I are riding in the Tour de Cure again! Woo-hoo!

We're quite excited as always to be helping to raise money for the American Diabetes Association. This disease adversely affects the lives of millions of people every year, including members of our own family. We hope that our efforts make an important contribution to finding a cure.

Please support me by going to my Long Beach Tour de Cure page and making a donation. Or, if you prefer, visit my Napa page and support those Northeners. Every contribution, no matter how small, is greatly appreciated.

I'm also looking forward to raising more money than Michael for the fourth year in a row!

Ethics Camp

I'm spending a fun-filled week at Santa Clara University at Ethics Camp. This is a teacher thing, and most of you won't be fascinated by details, so I won't give you any.

For those of you who are wondering "what is Santa Clara University?" it's billed as the oldest-operating college in California set on the grounds of the 5th of the famous California missions. However, being a University of the Pacific alumna and former campus tour guide, I am fully aware the UOP was chartered first. Also, perusing SCU's website, I noticed that it was actually a prep school in 1851, not a college. Therefore, I think UOP wins. And it has a better website.

You can't beat Santa Clara for beauty, though. I must admit, it is a gorgeously tended campus full of gardens and lush lawns. However, as I thought when I was a 17-year-old picking a college, it's a bit sterile. You might be stoned if you picked a flower or trampled a blade of grass.

Graduation!!!

Graduation was today!
For the first time, it was my students graduating!
This is a picture of me with my wonderful graduates, my two favorite students -

Alberto and Darius.



Yes, I cut my hair.... here's me last night after it was done.
I don't look good because I had been crying. Not about the hair, though.



....The crying is a subject for another post.

Yes, I have a personal trainer

Her name is Gina.

This is Gina training some guy who's much stronger than me. I do not look like him when I lift weights. I look much sillier.

For those of you who are unaware, I have lost almost 20 lbs in the last six months. This primarily involved eating less.

About three months ago, I decided I needed to exercise more to go with it. However, I hated running, wasn't biking enough, and eschewed all other forms of exercise. I still hate running, but am now financially obligated to exercise at least twice a week. And Gina's fun. Perhaps my legs will make it up those Tuscany hills in September.

I really need to get in shape because I'm doing something insane this summer.

I'm becoming a middle school teacher.

"Middle school is great," many teachers say. Jenny loved middle school. Tricia would love to teach it someday. However, think 12-14 year olds with raging hormones who have been expelled from their regular middle school. That will be my world.

I will need much energy.