Role Play

As I lace up my shoes for a 5th consecutive run, it dawns on me that this is as close as I have come to any routine over the past 4 months. The predictability of knowing my route along the Wellington harbour affords me the comfort of slipping into a wondering stance as I observe my surroundings and its inhabitants going about their daily life and without realizing I find myself humming an old Dave Matthews jam.

… Don't you ever wonder

Maybe if things had been slightly different

You could be somebody else?

Don't you wonder maybe

If you took a left turn

Instead of taking a right

You could be somebody different?

- Dave Matthews - Dancing Nancies

And while I’m not looking to change my life or its perfectly imperfect circumstances, it is curiously intriguing to dream. The wondrously windy Wellington (fact: the windiest city in the world), along with our other stops on the North Island (Rotorua and Auckland), have afforded us ample opportunity to observe, to wonder, to role play and to dream.

Perhaps one of the most significant things we have observed here is the respectful relationship between the Māori (the indigenous Polynesian people of mainland New Zealand/Aotearoa)and the community at large. Symbols of the culture are woven proudly into the architecture and design of cities, and all visible literature, from street names to brochures, have the Māori language embedded within it. The education system seems to have also found ways to respectfully provide a foundational understanding of the language, traditions and customs both large and small. One such example that was described by our Kiwi friend was the use of a kete bag (a traditional basket made and used by the Māori woven from the leaves of the New Zealand flax) to send home notes for parents in preschool. Incorporating these features into daily life helps me to understand that, although small, they play a significant role in creating a culture of diversity and harmony. Our time spent with NZ friends had India and Oscar practicing the Māori Alphabet song, (A ha ka ma na slow and fast), as well as exploring traditional Huka dances. Throughout our NZ travels, the blended presence of all cultures was alive and well giving cause for hope.

Our opportunity to engage in wonder and role-play came in the likeliest of forms - in the world of movie-making. Before our travels ensued, we faced many failed attempts to try and engage our children in both the Lord of the Rings & Hobbit Trilogies, always claiming they were too terrifying. So although we were hopeful they might muster some level of interest in envisioning themselves amongst these high fantasy adventures, we weren't overly optimistic. In a last-ditch effort, we downloaded the movies for long hauls between destinations. Turns out daytime driving amongst the most epic of fantasy backdrops ignited the switch! India lit up in the most beautiful of ways while exploring and interacting with the WETA Workshops (a special effects and prop company that produces effects for television and films such as Lord of the Rings, Avatar and Game of Thrones) and Hobbiton. From learning how margarine was the secret ingredient to the success behind the Wētā empire, to receiving a quick introductory lesson on one of their most important sculpting ingredients, tin foil, India was hooked! Since then, she has been spotted feverishly compiling a list of creative projects that range from building Hobbit doors throughout our woodsy backyard to designing a miniature “Wednesday” world with our old dollhouse. It is a magical thing indeed to watch your little girl, who is seamlessly morphing into a pre-teen, slip into the absolute wonder of a Hobbit-sized fairytale world. Truth be told we all did. For an insane price that was worth every penny, we rambled, drank, feasted and frolicked amongst Peter Jackson’s insanely and impeccably detailed world of Hobbit. When both our bellies and the moon were full, our guide, who was a master storyteller in his own right, gathered us in a circle upon the Party Feild in the Shire where we extinguished our lanterns and dialled into the moment. Skillfully and gracefully, he led us in a short visualization prompting us to think long enough about a moment so that it becomes a selfie in your long-term memory, thus reminding us of a truth. That something as simple as a clear night sky ablaze with stars is magic enough in itself…

But our three weeks in the North Island were magical for reasons that exceeded the night sky. The essence of human connection is something that has never been lost on us. In the life that we forged in our year-long travels to Thunder Bay and Korea, friendships were what made our time both enduring and worthwhile. In our current life at home, relationships have coloured our daily grind. Here in NZ, we have continued to be on the receiving end of some great connections and kindnesses, receiving personal Auckland tour guide services from my high school pal, Hilary, and her two boys, as well as being taken under her friend's wings during the Easter weekend in Wellington. We can now consider ourselves “schooled” in the likes of many Kiwi favourites, from Marmite (a close relative to Vegemite) to Lumps (chocolate coated pineapple) to Weet-Bix, pies and cheerios (bright red cocktail sausages). We’ve also picked up some new vocabulary to go with it, jandles (sandals), togs (swimsuits) and chilly bins (coolers) might actually stick! Until next time NZ (because there WILL be a next time), Kia Ora.

Look closely and you'll see Indie jumping!

Moments from the incredible Te Papa Museum

Replica of the size of a Blue Whales heart

Remains of the incredible Colossal Squid

Kicking it around Cuba Street

Weta Workshop #1

Easter Weekend

Rotorua

Redwood Forest Walk

The Maori Living Village

Presentation by India

The Geothermal Lands of Rotorua

Things that make you go "wow"

“Bubble, bubble” goes the mud. We visited Rotorua and it smells like rotting eggs because of the sulphur. There was lots of boiling bubbling mud some of it was 200 Celsius! You can almost taste the sulphur. I got a yoyo and I dropped it in geothermal water and my dad reached his hand in and got it for me he said it was not very hot but it was still warm. On our walk through Waitapu Geothermal Wonderland we saw a lot of lakes one of them was a yellowy green and another one was blue and another one was pink. Yellow comes from sulphur and purple comes from manganese oxide. Pink comes from cinnabar and red comes from iron oxide. We also saw these craters that had all the colours in them. The mud looked like something was popping out its head up above the water but it was just big bubbles.

- Oscar

Hobbiton - A visit to the Shire