Sometimes I get the occasional blog response to my expat blog that I wrote mostly from September 2012- Feb 2014. It is from one of my 18,000 readers. The latest asked, "How are things in NZ now for your family?"
My family has mostly adjusted to life in NZ. Ben is in year 4 ( 3rd grade) and Zack is in Year 1 ( kindergarten) at Waimairi School. They just celebrated their 9th and 6th birthday at Inflatable World in Redwood. Both enjoy bringing their scooters to school daily,going to Scouts, and swimming.
I have passed all my housing inspections this year, so we are tidy enough for the housing manager. My lease was just renewed last week for another 6 months, so we are happy to be living in this house for a while longer. So over packing and moving!
Zack loves Marmite and butter on toast. He has a bit of a Kiwi accent when he says, "school", "as well", "mum", etc. Zack's best friend David has lived here for 2 years and is originally from South Africa. The boys get along because they are boisterous and loud together, and they both love playing Skylanders Trap Team.
Ben still has an American accent and his best friend Harry , who was born here in Christchurch, has a mostly Kiwi accent, since his mum Analyn is from the Phillipines and moved here over 15 years ago. She and I are great friends.
Mike just celebrated his two year anniversary at Telogis, a GPS software company in Christchurch. I worked last year at Burnside HS, and got a one year job working full time at Lincoln HS.
NZ is still sometimes different, but mostly it seems like home. I can navigate the roads and roundabouts driving 100 km/ hr on the open country roads with ease. The mountain passes are still crazy and dangerous to drive, so I usually make Mike drive the windy parts, like when we drove from Queenstown to Wanaka.
Last year was a crazy and busy year for our family back in the US. My grandma Portia rapidly became ill and passed away at age 79, and I Skyped in to the funeral, so I could be part of the memorial service.
During term 1 holidays, my brother sent me And the kids tickets to go visit with family and we had a reunion of sorts in March.
Mike's dad needed a kidney as his diabetes was progressing and he was experiencing renal failure. It turned out that Mike was a perfect match ( blood type O negative) and flew home several times for tissue screenings and CT scans. He was finally approved for kidney donation as a live donor in May, and the surgery was scheduled for late June.
We made plans for Mike to go on leave from his job for 6 weeks and I went on leave from my teaching job at the end of June until July 4. Then the school was in winter holiday break for two weeks.
Mike flew ahead of us and did his final kidney blood checks in mid June. The surgery went successfully. The kids and I lived for a week in a hotel opposite Tufts Medical Center while Mike was recovering on the same hospital wing as his dad Stephen.
The kids grew restless at the hospital, so we went on day outings to the Science Center, the Aquarium, and the movies ( How to train your dragon 2).
Once Mike was on the mend, he got to go rest at his family's home in Kingston, MA for two more weeks. During that time, I took my kids up to New Hampshire to see their cousins at Treetops, our family summer cottage on Newfound Lake. The kids loved having an extra summer and we spent our days swimming, rock collecting,and hiking Mt. Cardigan.
Mike got the good health check and we all flew home together at the end of July for the beginning of term 3 at school. I was given more responsibility at work and took on a 4th class when a teacher needed more time in her role as dean. I was teaching two year 11 science classes, one applied science class for year 11, and one year 9 maths class. This kept me super busy!
My brother Mike got tickets to come visit us during term 3 break. The highlights were going jet boating in Hanmer Springs and hiking near Lake Tekapo.It was good to be around in NZ for term break and not flying internationally.
NCEA tests are mostly these end of the year final exams in all of your classes in high school in NZ. Sometimes you get internal exams that the school puts on during the year, but a lot of credits and weight are placed on the end of the year exams, which run for 3 weeks, starting mid November. All of my year 11 science students studied for their exams in adid/ base chemistry, physics/ mechanics, and genetics.
Then, after the senior exams, all senior students in years 11,12, 13 were gone, leaving me with only one year 9 maths class to teach until Dec 4. They had their final at the end of November, and then we soon left school.
On my last day at school, I wore a university robe and attended the awards / prize giving ceremony. Then I drove out to my interview at Lincoln HS. Later that night, I was offered a full time job for this year as a science teacher. Hooray!
I accepted the job and relaxed for the summer with the kids and husband. I learned to crab off New Brighton Pier. We went on a week long roadtrip( roadie) to Invercargill and Stewart Island in Jan. We have been to a few places in NZ now, including Timaru, Dunedin, and Greymouth.
Now, I have been at my new job for 4 weeks. My students are awesome and my coworkers are fun and friendly. Here's to an awesome 2015!
In Pennsylvania, assimilation into the local culture meant having a Hannukkah bush instead of a Christmas tree. It meant enjoying Spring Plastic Egg Hunts for candy and prizes, and then also celebrating Passover with local Jews at the temple and having matzoh ball soup.
Living in Christchurch, we are lucky to have a Canterbury Hebrew Congregation in the city. We can still go to family services on a Friday night and eat matzoh ball soup. Sometimes we even have a Hebrew School teacher to help the kids learn Hebrew and info on the Torah.
I value having times where I can be comfortable in my local community as a Jewish person.
The Jewish community in Christchurch is unique in that it is a blend of Israelis, Americans, and Kiwis, as well as a handful of Europeans. All come to celebrate holidays and pray for High Holy Days.
Purim, a holiday with a carnival theme, is coming up in early March. The kids are having a carnival party at synagogue and the adults are having a drinks and dancing night at Cargo Bar. Most of the Isrealis insist that Purim is a huge holiday in Isreal and that drinking is essential. Mike and I have a friend watching the kids this Friday, so we can go out. A spring Egg hunt will soon be underway at the local park.
Then on Sunday, we have the kids' carnival. We will see how that goes. Kids had a great time last year celebrating. I am glad that we have other friends in the minority to hang out with, and some friends in the majority Christian Kiwi society that accept us for who we are. Jews are all a bit different from each other in NZ, but we all have many commonalities that bind us as a community.
