Update

For those of you who check my blog, you might be getting tired of seeing pictures of my feet. The Planar Fasciitis has been long gone now and I thought it might be time to give a quick update.

Since I last posted, I've changed jobs, shifted flats, applied to jobs back in the U.S., sold most of my possessions in New Zealand, and have ticket for the 29th of July to return to the states.

Job Change:
I stopped working for the Salvation Army at the end of April and took a long-term sub position at a very good high school here. I haven't been in the classroom in over a year, it was a bit daunting, but it's going well. I'm teaching Math and Physics. I've never taught Physics before - I studied it - but teaching something is completely different. So, I have alot of prep work to do for the 2 classes Im teaching. The math classes are fine, I could teach those in my sleep - and I think I have.

I moved out of my little flat/box and moved in with a friend for the last couple months that I'm here. I love that it's an old beach house with a yard. It has a lot of character (which means that it's old and drafty and we had a mouse).










And Im planning on moving back to the states - I think. I've lived in New Zealand for almost 4 years now and it is home for me. My little beach town, the Mount, cafes, the backdrop of the sea - have all become home and it's a little scary to think of moving away from it all. This is just another Sunday morning at the top of the Mount.



But, if feels like it's time to go back to the states. I'm not sure why, but it honestly feels like the right thing to do. Maybe I'll move back to the states just to decide that I should be living in New Zealand. But for now, I'm moving back and I'm not sure where that will be. I thought I was going to get a job back at my old school and move to Baltimore. That was my plan. But other people have other plans and I didn't get the job at my old school and now I'm looking for jobs anywhere - Baltimore, Portland, Virginia Beach - well not anywhere, just in these places.

So, for now, I know I'm moving back somewhere in the states and I want to be close to family. The good thing is that any place in the states is closer than New Zealand. I'll try to keep you posted when I find out about any of the jobs and when I make my decision.

Plantar fasciitis

This post is for those of you who were wondering what the pink tape was for in the last post.

I played netball (New Zealand's attempt at basketball) a few weeks ago and the next day I could barely walk. It felt like I had glass in my feet everytime I tried to walk. By last Sunday, I thought for sure I had broken part of my heel off. So, I self-diagnosed me and was ready to go get an x-ray when a "Dr." asked me what I did. He didn't believe me - apparently it's pretty difficult to shatter your heel by playing netball. He diagnosed me with plantar fasciitis, inflammation on the arch muscle that connects to the heel. I was very disappointed in the diagnosis because about 10% of Americans have it and a common cause is obesity. I though for sure it had to be something more serious to match the pain I was having. I have to admit that I've never taken anyone seriously who suffered from plantar fasciitis. And now I have it.

So, I made an appt with the alternative medicine doctor, Dr. Sam, and he checked everything out, from diet, to sleep patterns, history of car accidents.... He gave me a path to wellness and said he could fix me but it would take time. He tried to release the nerves around the achilles and calf muscles and then used Kinesio tape to help stretch and relax those muscles so they wouldn't pull on the arch. And the only color he had was bright pink. He put the tape on me on Friday and said I needed to keep it on as long as possible.

That last until Saturday night.

Then, I decided to go see my p.t. who helped me with my knee. He said the main problem is that my achilles and calves are so tight they are straining and pulling on the arch muscle. So, he taped up my arches to give them support, gave me some stretches to do and said it should be feeling better within a couple of weeks - only if I wear super supportive shoes. That will be tough because I live at the beach and that means I can't wear flip flops. So, this is what my feet looked like after visiting him. He said that I should keep this on as long as possible.

It lasted a day.

Now, I am wearing running shoes wherever I go, even in the house and I can't go on any walks or jog for the next 2 weeks. And I need to apologize to you if I ever smirked or rolled my eyes when you talked about your painful heels and plantar fasciitis. I understand now.

kiwi ingenuity

So, I don't have a lot of space to store stuff in my apartment and one of the places I use is the space above the cabinets in the kitchen. I had my camping gear up there, some tutoring books and other random stuff. Thinking that the top of the shelves went all the way to the wall, I put my American friend Dana's book on top of the cabinets. But I put it in the 6-inch gap of the top of the cabinets from the wall and as soon as I let it go, I heard the sound of paper fluttering to the bottom. Dana and i were stumped how to get it out. We kept saying we need kiwi ingenuity - Kiwis seem to have a built-in MacGyver quality about them.

So, I asked my landlord and this is what he came up with - rope, a hand weight and duct tape.


I had a few attempts and one by one started getting the random papers that had dropped down there too.


Here's dana and her little boy Max waiting.


And finally, I got it.


Thank you Kiwis - for never doing anything the conventional way and always having some crazy idea that works.

Survival Mode and Sore Backs

This past Tuesday, I went to start my scooter and felt something pull and stretch in my back that shouldn't have. I thought I was fine and went to work in my car because the scooter never started. Then, I went on my daily walk into town to get the mail and 10 minutes into it, I could hardly stand up because my back hurt so bad. I got back to work and had to lie on the floor until Ben and Bobbi came and got me. It was a very long 20 minutes of floor lying. At one point, my colleague came in and asked if there was anything she could do and I asked if she could bring me my dignity.

Anyway, they drove me home, bought some muscle relaxers and I waited for them to kick in. Celine called and asked if there was anything she could do and of course I asked her if she could get McDonalds for me. I figure not feeling well or hurting yourself is license to eat whatever you want. When my friend Bobbi gets a cold, she orders a large pizza and dips it in ranch dressing. So, the muscle relaxers kicked in and I took about a 3-4 hour nap. Then I realized that I had left my car at work and had to figure out a way to get to work the next day.

Now, Ben and Bobbi both came to pick me up and it didn't occur to any of us that one of them should drive my car home I was telling my American friend Dana and she reminded that when crisis hits, I go into survival mode, not smart survival mode. Survival mode is getting the job done, getting out of a tricky situation alive but it also means maybe forgetting details, doing something embarrassing or hysterical. Smart survival mode is Bear Grills - keeping calm, making sure all the bases are covered, not forgetting any details.

I don't think I will ever know what smart survival mode feels like but I did end up getting a ride to work the next day and getting my car back and I got to eat the Big Mac meal and didn't feel guilty about it. Eat your heart out Bear Grils.

The Exile

"Yes, she had left America, and America had forgotten her, and were she to come back to it permanently she must build herself anew into another niche....She left America with rare tears brimming in her eyes and loneliness in her heart. There was more than the physical separation this time; there was a beginning of a separation of the spirit, and she went out somehow homeless."

- The Exile, Pearl S. Buck

I just finished reading the biography of Pearl S. Buck's mother, a missionary to China. Now, I know that her going to China as a missionary during the late 1800s is very different from me moving to New Zealand, but I identified a bit with the above quote. I made the decision to move here over 3 years ago and I knew I was ready for a change. I wasn't running away from anything, not trying to reinvent myself, not sick of the political and economic climate, just ready to do something I said I always wanted to do. And now I've been here for over three years and I'm trying to decide what to do next. Do I stay in New Zealand or go back to the States and pick up (hopefully) the great job and life that I left behind? Sometimes, when I get frustrated with life here, my first thoughts are that I don't fit in here, that I belong back in America. But, when I go back to visit, I feel less and less like I fit in there. What is it that makes someone ready for change? What is it that makes people feel content in their surroundings? Maybe it's just life that, at times, makes everyone feel restless and maybe I find the obvious thing to blame it on. Or maybe living in different cultures is honestly difficult - even if its 2010 and cultures have blended and the world has gotten smaller.


Sometimes I do feel stuck between 2 worlds and both are beautiful and wonderful and it's hard to figure out where to go next - whether to stay or leave. I suppose it's a good thing to like so many places and people because that's what makes the decision making difficult. I'm not surprised by missing my family and firneds back home and the longing to just pop over to familiar places for a visit. I am surpised by the homesickness for Baltimore and familarity and wintry mixes in the winter and humidity and heat indexes in the summer.

My Not So New Digs

I've been in my 'new' flat since beginning of October. I guess it's not so new anymore. I absolutely love it. I live on my own- I was definitely ready for that.

It's a tiny 2-bedroom flat that is just right for me. I love that I can be as social or anti-social as I want. Most of you who know me well enough will know that I usually opt for the 'as social as I want to be.' I love having people over for dinner and I'm in a central location (I sound like Michael Scott - near the elevator for a central location for the Scranton party) so people feel free to pop in. I love it.

Here's the deck and "yard." The grass is getting a bit long but I think I'm just going to use scissors to trim it. I'll try to take some photos. Celine gave me all the plants on the deck and the barbecue and Ben and Bobbi gave me the deck furniture.


Here's the 'view' from my deck. Those are back of the shops which are on the main drag of the Mount. My view is the back ally, the Mexican restaurant and a few pubs.

The living room was decorated courtesy of Sair and Rhooky, Ben and Bobbi, Emma and Chris, and Ted. I did buy the leather chair.

Kitchen, with very high microwave. It just fits perfectly up there and I can't see in it to clean it.

Bedroom furnished courtesy of Celine and Ben and Bobbi.

Dining room set - courtesy of Ben and Bobbi.


I love my place but I love the friends that lent me furniture even more. I love the evenings spent on the deck talking, the card nights in the dining room, friends washing dishes, cooking dinner, blending in the morning, watching movies and to quote Aunt Trish 'making memories.'

I think we're speaking the same language...

When I moved to New Zealand 3 1/2 years ago I sometimes couldn't tell if I was speaking the same language as Kiwis. They all seemed to talk out of half their mouths, and they were mumblers and quiet talkers. I always had to ask people to repeat what they said and then after the third time, I'd get tired of asking and just smile.

After 3 years, I can understand the Kiwi accent and the Aussie and British accents as well. But, sometimes the colloquialisms from each culture still surprise me and context clues don't even help.

So, here are some of my favorites (or favourites) with translations:

British/Kiwi ... American translation
It's all swings and roundabouts... Six of one half dozen of the other.

I'm not tellin tales out of school... I'm not saying anything I shouldn't be.

Can I have a squiz?... Can I see?

It all went pear shaped... It didn't turn out as expected and went bad.

Turned to custard... It didn't turn out as expected and went bad.

Money for jam... Getting paid for doing nothing.

Up at sparrows fart... Up at the crack of dawn.

I got stuff all done today... I didn't get anything done today.

Mutton dressed as lamb... An older woman trying to look young. A cougar.

I was talking with my boss - who I got some of the expressions from - and he was surprised that Americans didn't have as many sayings. I couldn't think of any. Do we have any expressions or metaphors that are half as interesting? Maybe it sounds so out of the ordinary and noteworthy and, I hate to say it - quaint, because of his thick London accent. Whatever it is, it definitely makes life at the office a bit more interesting.

Anyway, thanks for having a squiz at my post.