Hei konā rā Aotearoa



Even though I still have one more day in New Zealand, I would use this time to say: Hei konā rā, Aotearoa. What a ride the past two and a half years have been. I came here with expectations and nothing that I expected about this country was true, except that I knew I would love my time here. I feel that being able to reside here for so long has given me an appreciable sense of independence and growth as an individual.

I have met some people who I know I will be friends with probably for the rest of my life. Not to mention the amazing experiences that they have given and shared with me. I have also had some great lecturers for my undergraduate degree. There have been some rough times and some smooth sailing, but overall I have no complaints. So thank you to my parents for allowing me to stay here for so long. I have missed you, but some things you just gotta do.



Last night was my final hurrah in Auckland. This morning, the 2 beer "hangover" was treated with a trip to the Chocolate Boutique in Parnell with Morgane and Hannah, followed by an afternoon of walking around Auckland CBD and trying to get myself to realize that I'm leaving. I bought some NZ wool to keep myself busy while I am sitting in LAX for 9 hours, anxiously waiting for my flight to DTW.

Yes, I am excited to go home and see family and friends. So much that I forget that I'm not just going away for a month, I'm moving away now. My time in NZ is complete and it's time to move on to the next adventure. Back to the Mitten until August 10, and then the new journey begins in Bergen, Norway. It will be very different from New Zealand, but nevertheless, I am very eager to see how it goes.

It appears I will be missed...


Comments

  1. PopsJune 27, 2011 at 4:57 PM

    I love you so very much. You are in my thoughts and in my heart daily. You never really "left", you "went". Life is a gift to you because of a precious appreciation of your journey. You will never "leave" New Zealand because it is now a part of you--of who you are. The Navajo believe that children are a gift and not their own, but a part of them that "makes us whole". You have made us whole. The world is a better place because of you. Thank you. Love to you, my darling daughter, Dad (Poppy)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pancho is 6 months and I'm finally published!

Image
Work is going fine. My boss has given me some lab activities to keep me interested in my work, so I'm testing antibodies. The positive control turned out as expected, but it is such a pretty staining that I have to share the picture. This is an embryo of a starlet sea anemone ( Nematostella sp.) approximately 30 hours old. The green is actin (a protein in cell walls), the blue is nuclei, and the red/pink is clusters of DNA. There are some pretty examples of cell division in this embryo! Also, as of a couple weeks ago I'm officially a published scientist! ....well, the paper has been accepted for publication, so it will likely not be in the journal before next year. The journal is called ICES Journal of Marine Science. Furthermore, this weekend the mountains got a nice thick layer of snow, so I took Pancho up for his first time in a proper bit  of snow (not counting the icy leftovers that were on Jutenheimen this summer). He's now 6 months old and weighs bout 34
Read more

This week on M/S Brennholm

Image
[There's something wrong with the synchrony of the acoustics] My job aboard Brennholm is to work on the acoustic part of my thesis. So I am practicing some sonar and echo sounder scrutinozing. I am also relating the mackerel movement to the currents, but this will be hard since mackerel are so hard to see at all on any of the acoustic equipment since they lack a swim bladder. It is nice to just have a 7:30 to 10 work day though and I have my supervisor right next to me for help. Everyone on the cruise has gained weight, and despite doing some exercise almost everyday I am no exception. We are feed too well on the boats and you don't move around too much. (I was even convinced to try salted and dried whale meat from the Faroes. I stayed far away from the blubber!!) At least I have been able to run 13.5 km the past couple of days with the calm seas. There aren't many options for exercise on this ship compared to G.O. Sars. [The "gym" in the bow of th
Read more

Smalahove

Image
Many Norwegian traditions are distinctly regional. Even recipes are variable by region to go along with dialects that can be different by town separated by just 50 kilometers. This tradition, that both Marius and I were new to trying, was from a town just about an hour and a half east of Bergen called Voss....smalahove, or half of a sheep's head that is cooked in a broth for several hours. Smalahove comes from two Norwegian words: smale = sheep, and hove = head. It is served before Christmas with potatoes, mashed rutabaga, and red cabbage. Many of my friends were telling me that the cheek is supposed to be the best part, and others were saying that they wouldn't dare eat it. So I can now say that I have done something that many other Norwegians haven't dared try. I actually really enjoyed it! It had a texture like corned beef and had a very nice flavor. Marius went as far as to try the tongue, and thought that eating the eye was a normal thing, so tried that as well...bu
Read more