A few more farewells to report upon...
We had a lovely morning tea in my honor at Kaka Street School, the special ed school where I've been volunteering and subbing this year. The kids presented me with some lovely photos of the Mount and wonderful cards. That afternoon, the staff threw a little get-together in my honor - complete with a "Who Wants to be a Millionaire"-style game where I was challenged to answer questions about the students and staff of Kaka Street. I'm pleased to report I am a "millionaire"!
The weekend offered even more excitement. We went to a friends' house on Saturday night to watch the All-Blacks rugby match versus France. It was an intense game, with the All Blacks coming up with the victory. Said a few goodbyes there, then headed home to gear up for Sunday.
Dawson, who has helped coordinate Cory's fellowship (answering dozens of emails before our arrival and looking out for us since), organized a fantastic day. In addition to gathering together the staff doctors and the current registrars, he got ahold of the guys that were working here when Cory began, and they were able to come down too. The afternoon started off with a paintball game. The guys came back with stories of Rambo-like-stature, as well as clothes covered in paint and grass stains. They compared welts and bruises before heading off to the showers to get ready for our big dinner that night. The wives of the former registrars came to our place, where we wandered around the Mount and sat in a cafe. Pleasantly, no welts to report from our day.
We went to one of the few and our favorite Mexican restaurant that night, sitting at a long table to seat all 20 of us. At the end of the table where we sat, we could look down the stretch of it and see so many familiar faces. Some we knew we'd keep in touch with and hoped we'd see again; others we hadn't gotten to know as well as we wished. But it was a table filled with smiling faces and another reminder that our time here is almost over.
Cory has just begun his last week of work, and our last visitor, Brownie, is here for the next two weeks. After that we have just a few days to enjoy before hopping on a plane...
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
The Beginning of Goodbye…
We’ve had to begin to say goodbye. It’s started slowly, but the momentum is building. This past weekend we traveled to Auckland to see some friends, squeezing in that one last visit before we fly out. Then on Monday I said goodbye to the kids and staff in the special needs unit at Otumoetai College. And last night, Cory and I said goodbye to Jaap, our yoga instructor.
We went up to Auckland for the purpose of catching up with some of registrars Cory used to work with at Tauranga Hospital. Two of the couples left Tauranga and moved to Auckland for their next training. We joined them for dinner Sunday night and got to spend the evening catching up and playing with their kiddos.
The next day brought the next goodbye. I’ve been volunteering at Otumoetai College (a local high school) one to two days a week, and it was the last day I would be there. I took in morning tea for the staff (pumpkin bars, which is a real novelty, as pumpkin is more of a savory ingredient here) and chocolate chip cookies for the kids (which I had to call chocolate chip biscuits so they would eat them). One of the staff made a CD with videos of the kids saying goodbye which was really fantastic.
Then, Monday night was our last yoga class. I got Cory to sign up with me several months ago, and we’ve been loving it. It is the first class Jaap has ever taught and, while he sometimes struggles for the right word and says “chin” instead of “shin” (his first language isn’t English), he does a good job and makes the class really enjoyable. He is really kind and makes a point of looking after Cory, who may possibly be the least flexible person ever. With a visitor coming next week, it may well be the last yoga class we go to.
All these goodbyes are beginning to make the end seem so near. We are truly just weeks away from our flight back. Someone asked the other day if we had seen all we wanted to see in New Zealand. There will always be something more we want to see – a different hike to do; another cool place to visit; more time to share with friends… I don’t suppose we’ll ever be ready to leave New Zealand, but I guess we are ready to be home again.
We went up to Auckland for the purpose of catching up with some of registrars Cory used to work with at Tauranga Hospital. Two of the couples left Tauranga and moved to Auckland for their next training. We joined them for dinner Sunday night and got to spend the evening catching up and playing with their kiddos.
The next day brought the next goodbye. I’ve been volunteering at Otumoetai College (a local high school) one to two days a week, and it was the last day I would be there. I took in morning tea for the staff (pumpkin bars, which is a real novelty, as pumpkin is more of a savory ingredient here) and chocolate chip cookies for the kids (which I had to call chocolate chip biscuits so they would eat them). One of the staff made a CD with videos of the kids saying goodbye which was really fantastic.
Then, Monday night was our last yoga class. I got Cory to sign up with me several months ago, and we’ve been loving it. It is the first class Jaap has ever taught and, while he sometimes struggles for the right word and says “chin” instead of “shin” (his first language isn’t English), he does a good job and makes the class really enjoyable. He is really kind and makes a point of looking after Cory, who may possibly be the least flexible person ever. With a visitor coming next week, it may well be the last yoga class we go to.
All these goodbyes are beginning to make the end seem so near. We are truly just weeks away from our flight back. Someone asked the other day if we had seen all we wanted to see in New Zealand. There will always be something more we want to see – a different hike to do; another cool place to visit; more time to share with friends… I don’t suppose we’ll ever be ready to leave New Zealand, but I guess we are ready to be home again.
Friday, June 12, 2009
It all makes cents!
(Fair warning: I’m not sure this will be a fascinating post, so if you’ve got something better to do, I suggest you think hard about doing it!!)
We have one last visitor coming, and I was emailing her to give her a few updates about traveling in New Zealand. I mentioned weather, clothes, and activities, and then remembered to mention money. It’s something that Cory and I almost forgot when we were making our plans to come over, though pretty much everyone who has come over has thought to ask. (Luckily for us, when we called just days before leaving the States, an extremely helpful representative of National Bank here in NZ helped us set up an account and transfer money into it so that it was available upon arrival in the country!)
The country was one of the first to embrace EFTPOS (electronic funds transfer at point of sale) or debit cards. They are widely accepted, along with credit cards. I can’t say that I can recall anywhere we’ve been that didn’t accept eftpos cards. ATMs are also widely available, so as long as you know your pin number, you can use an ATM or debit/eftpos card just about anywhere. Most US banks and credit cards charge a small percentage to convert funds from US dollars to NZ dollars, but spending your money won’t be a problem.
Upon arrival, changing money is easily done at any bank or money changing stall. The proliferation of tourism has assured this convenience. And the New Zealand currency you receive is colorful and attractive. Interestingly, one New Zealander told me how hard it was to differentiate between US bills; I guess I’ve just always looked at the number, as looking at color and size wouldn’t be very useful in the States.
New Zealand has a 10 cent, 20 cent, 50 cent, 1 dollar, and 2 dollar coins, in addition to 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 dollar bills. The 1 cent and 2 cent coins were done away with in 1990. Paper bills for the 1 and 2 dollar amounts where replaced with coins in 1991; the 5 cent coin disappeared in 1996.
Even though there is no denomination smaller than 10 cents, prices are often still listed down to the penny. If you are paying by eftpos, you will be charged to the penny; if you are paying by cash, the price is rounded up or down to the nearest tens. New Zealand also has a national sales tax – the GST or Goods and Service Tax – of 12.5%. Almost all listed prices are inclusive of GST, so there is no calculating the tax in your head.
Speaking of tax, the fiscal year ended in March, so it is tax time here. As in all things in New Zealand, tax time seems a bit more relaxed than it is in the US. The IRD (Inland Revenue Department) website points out that most people have their income taxed at the appropriate percentage and, therefore, do not need to do anything at tax time. Those who think they may have overpaid or who may owe tax should complete a return. If you think you have overpaid, you can file a return for any of the past five years. Pretty relaxed, huh?
I recently completed an online calculator for Cory’s and my taxes. There is no such thing as a joint return. The questions were specific to income (including that of interest), tax paid, tax credit eligibility, and personal info. It was pretty simple and pretty quick. We’ll file these, along with an additional form indicating we are leaving the country before the end of the next fiscal year. So far, so good. Hopefully all goes according to plan!
This task will be one of the last we cross off the list before heading back home. The days are ticking by!
We have one last visitor coming, and I was emailing her to give her a few updates about traveling in New Zealand. I mentioned weather, clothes, and activities, and then remembered to mention money. It’s something that Cory and I almost forgot when we were making our plans to come over, though pretty much everyone who has come over has thought to ask. (Luckily for us, when we called just days before leaving the States, an extremely helpful representative of National Bank here in NZ helped us set up an account and transfer money into it so that it was available upon arrival in the country!)
The country was one of the first to embrace EFTPOS (electronic funds transfer at point of sale) or debit cards. They are widely accepted, along with credit cards. I can’t say that I can recall anywhere we’ve been that didn’t accept eftpos cards. ATMs are also widely available, so as long as you know your pin number, you can use an ATM or debit/eftpos card just about anywhere. Most US banks and credit cards charge a small percentage to convert funds from US dollars to NZ dollars, but spending your money won’t be a problem.
Upon arrival, changing money is easily done at any bank or money changing stall. The proliferation of tourism has assured this convenience. And the New Zealand currency you receive is colorful and attractive. Interestingly, one New Zealander told me how hard it was to differentiate between US bills; I guess I’ve just always looked at the number, as looking at color and size wouldn’t be very useful in the States.
New Zealand has a 10 cent, 20 cent, 50 cent, 1 dollar, and 2 dollar coins, in addition to 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 dollar bills. The 1 cent and 2 cent coins were done away with in 1990. Paper bills for the 1 and 2 dollar amounts where replaced with coins in 1991; the 5 cent coin disappeared in 1996.
Even though there is no denomination smaller than 10 cents, prices are often still listed down to the penny. If you are paying by eftpos, you will be charged to the penny; if you are paying by cash, the price is rounded up or down to the nearest tens. New Zealand also has a national sales tax – the GST or Goods and Service Tax – of 12.5%. Almost all listed prices are inclusive of GST, so there is no calculating the tax in your head.
Speaking of tax, the fiscal year ended in March, so it is tax time here. As in all things in New Zealand, tax time seems a bit more relaxed than it is in the US. The IRD (Inland Revenue Department) website points out that most people have their income taxed at the appropriate percentage and, therefore, do not need to do anything at tax time. Those who think they may have overpaid or who may owe tax should complete a return. If you think you have overpaid, you can file a return for any of the past five years. Pretty relaxed, huh?
I recently completed an online calculator for Cory’s and my taxes. There is no such thing as a joint return. The questions were specific to income (including that of interest), tax paid, tax credit eligibility, and personal info. It was pretty simple and pretty quick. We’ll file these, along with an additional form indicating we are leaving the country before the end of the next fiscal year. So far, so good. Hopefully all goes according to plan!
This task will be one of the last we cross off the list before heading back home. The days are ticking by!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Happy Birthday, Queenie!
It was the Queen’s Birthday this Monday, which is really a very confusing holiday. Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday is actually in April, and New Zealand is really an independent country (though still a commonwealth, whatever that implies). The date marks, apparently, the start of the ski season. An additional treat is the giving out of the Queen’s Birthday Honors on this day. (A friend was telling about how her sister-in-law got an MBE this weekend; I heard “MBA” and asked where she had studied. Turns out she received the honor of being identified as a “Member of the British Empire” for her work in healthcare for minorities. The conversation ended up sounding like a new-fangled version of “Who’s on First?”) Coincidentally, it was also the first day of winter. Anyway, all that is important to most New Zealanders is that they have a three-day weekend.
For the three-day weekend, we accepted an invitation from Andy, one of Cory’s co-workers, to come with the family to their bach at Opito Bay up in the Coromandel Penninsula. A “bach”, initially known as a “bachelor’s pad” where mates might meet up for a weekend of fishing, is a holiday home that provides the basic comforts (a roof over one’s head, walls to block out the wind, and perhaps a fireplace) and might be comparable to a cabin in our lingo. (Interesting fact: In the South Island, the term “crib” is used in place of the term “bach” to refer to the weekend holiday home.) This particular bach also boasted running water, electricity, plenty of space, great views, and the company of a very charming family.
After Andy and Cory rounded Saturday morning, we headed up north. The drive was pleasant, with sunny skies, cool weather, and a nice stop for hot cocoa mid-way. The little ones, aged 4, 2, and 5 months, also got a quick play in on a great little playground before bundling back in the car.
We arrived at Opito Bay, where the scenery boasted the trademark Coromandel views. Green, rolling hills were lapped by the blue ocean waters. A few rocky off-shore islands broke up the horizon. A small beach offered a nice area for a walk or a play, as well as areas to park the tractors used to haul boats to the bay.
We arrived and began the chores: unloading vehicles packed with clothes, food, and toys for the kiddos; turning on water and electricity; starting a fire in the pot-bellied stove; and generally just settling in. After a great meal cooked on the grill, we turned in for the night.
Sunday morning we had some breakfast and then headed out for a walk. The boys donned their gumboots; everyone layered up; the baby was lifted into her frontpack; and off we went. Walking along the beach provided all sorts of entertainment for the two little guys, as well as the rest of us. We spotted shells and seaweed; jumped over puddles of water; found dog tracks and people tracks; and made our own paths in the sand. We even stopped for a go on a home-made swing tied to a low-hanging branch of a pohutukawa tree. A little further along, Andy spotted dolphins jumping and playing. We watched for a long time, before continuing the walk and commencing the climb up an old pa site (fortified Maori village). From the top, we could look down on the pod of dolphins, still jumping and racing about. We counted over 2 dozen and watched until our necks got tired of looking downward. We continued on, scooting down the hill to enjoy throwing rocks in a small little cove, before traipsing back across paddocks to the beach.
Everyone took a well-deserved nap that afternoon, and later in the day, Cory and I went out fishing with Andy. They were hoping to catch some snapper, and I was hoping not to hook either of them. My fishing experiences having been pretty limited (a fast drive home with a live fish in a cup of water after a childhood fishing outing and an annual trek with my students to a nearby pond to pretty much drown worms being about it), I was anxious not to mess anything up. Andy showed me how to let out line until the bait was just on the sand and how the line would feel if I got a bite. Cory got a nibble, but all I managed to do was pull up some seaweed before darkness settled in.
The next morning, we again bundled up for a wander on the beach, but, upon setting foot on the sand, Andy spotted dolphins. So we flagged the walk and hurried out in the boat. We spent the next hour or so cruising alongside them, as they zoomed, jumped, flipped, and generally just left us in awe.
And then, like that, it was time to pack up. I took the boys out for a last play in the sand while the others loaded vehicles, packed up foodstuffs, and shut up the house. We headed slowly back towards home.
It was a really wonderful weekend, with beautiful sunny days; cozy evenings; gorgeous sights; and the comfort of a family (even if it was a borrowed one). The weekend reminded us once again how grateful we are to the many fantastic people who have befriended us here and how excited we are to return to our family and friends!
For the three-day weekend, we accepted an invitation from Andy, one of Cory’s co-workers, to come with the family to their bach at Opito Bay up in the Coromandel Penninsula. A “bach”, initially known as a “bachelor’s pad” where mates might meet up for a weekend of fishing, is a holiday home that provides the basic comforts (a roof over one’s head, walls to block out the wind, and perhaps a fireplace) and might be comparable to a cabin in our lingo. (Interesting fact: In the South Island, the term “crib” is used in place of the term “bach” to refer to the weekend holiday home.) This particular bach also boasted running water, electricity, plenty of space, great views, and the company of a very charming family.
After Andy and Cory rounded Saturday morning, we headed up north. The drive was pleasant, with sunny skies, cool weather, and a nice stop for hot cocoa mid-way. The little ones, aged 4, 2, and 5 months, also got a quick play in on a great little playground before bundling back in the car.
We arrived at Opito Bay, where the scenery boasted the trademark Coromandel views. Green, rolling hills were lapped by the blue ocean waters. A few rocky off-shore islands broke up the horizon. A small beach offered a nice area for a walk or a play, as well as areas to park the tractors used to haul boats to the bay.
We arrived and began the chores: unloading vehicles packed with clothes, food, and toys for the kiddos; turning on water and electricity; starting a fire in the pot-bellied stove; and generally just settling in. After a great meal cooked on the grill, we turned in for the night.
Sunday morning we had some breakfast and then headed out for a walk. The boys donned their gumboots; everyone layered up; the baby was lifted into her frontpack; and off we went. Walking along the beach provided all sorts of entertainment for the two little guys, as well as the rest of us. We spotted shells and seaweed; jumped over puddles of water; found dog tracks and people tracks; and made our own paths in the sand. We even stopped for a go on a home-made swing tied to a low-hanging branch of a pohutukawa tree. A little further along, Andy spotted dolphins jumping and playing. We watched for a long time, before continuing the walk and commencing the climb up an old pa site (fortified Maori village). From the top, we could look down on the pod of dolphins, still jumping and racing about. We counted over 2 dozen and watched until our necks got tired of looking downward. We continued on, scooting down the hill to enjoy throwing rocks in a small little cove, before traipsing back across paddocks to the beach.
Everyone took a well-deserved nap that afternoon, and later in the day, Cory and I went out fishing with Andy. They were hoping to catch some snapper, and I was hoping not to hook either of them. My fishing experiences having been pretty limited (a fast drive home with a live fish in a cup of water after a childhood fishing outing and an annual trek with my students to a nearby pond to pretty much drown worms being about it), I was anxious not to mess anything up. Andy showed me how to let out line until the bait was just on the sand and how the line would feel if I got a bite. Cory got a nibble, but all I managed to do was pull up some seaweed before darkness settled in.
The next morning, we again bundled up for a wander on the beach, but, upon setting foot on the sand, Andy spotted dolphins. So we flagged the walk and hurried out in the boat. We spent the next hour or so cruising alongside them, as they zoomed, jumped, flipped, and generally just left us in awe.
And then, like that, it was time to pack up. I took the boys out for a last play in the sand while the others loaded vehicles, packed up foodstuffs, and shut up the house. We headed slowly back towards home.
It was a really wonderful weekend, with beautiful sunny days; cozy evenings; gorgeous sights; and the comfort of a family (even if it was a borrowed one). The weekend reminded us once again how grateful we are to the many fantastic people who have befriended us here and how excited we are to return to our family and friends!
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