Hello!
Thought it was time I added a BRIEF! word to the blog. Here are some thoughts:
The challenge of food: why is everything in North America frosted? And yet low-fat? And who thought cherry was a nice flavour? One of our greatest parenting challenges has been to find snack food the kids will eat. We stick with fruit and cracker bisuits most of the time (without the processed cheese..) Seems kiwi kids just can’t keep up with the Nth American sweet tooth…
The delight of public transport: bus drivers in Canada are fabulous and more than just a little insane. My favourite one so far was the driver who held a quizz over his microphone and handed out free drinks from his cooler to the winner. On a hot day this was a hit with the punters. And made for a very quick trip home from downtown.
The friendliness of folk: every day I am amazed by how friendly people here are. You don’t sit anywhere for any length of time before someone starts chatting. It is true that it is often Jamie announcing that he is ‘Jamie Everton Hayward Le Clonk’ or Charlie giving a wave and a cheeky grin that sets off the conversation, but you can tell that people are used to being friendly. Our neighbours downstairs who were horrified by the boys’ thunderous feet when we first arrived now want to babysit so we can go out; and the couple we have rented this apartment from are giving us the beds we used here to save us the trouble of getting new ones for the next place. This all makes things so much nicer.
The work ahead for me: I am finding my way around the systems on campus and getting very excited about the next few months of research. I hope to take a really good look at what has happened for indigneous Canadians since Canada adopted a written constitution in 1982, in order to contribute something helpful to the debate about whether Maori would benefit significantly from the Treaty being entrenched in some form in a written constitution for NZ. I get goosebumps just thinking about it! What a geek…
On life so far: Paul has told you plenty about the ups and downs of this big adventure. I think the kids are doing well to adjust: Jamie still talks a lot about his friends at home, but was very excited when we visited our new apartment on campus this week. We will move in next week – it is a great location and fantastic for kids. We are getting into a good rountine – a walk around the gorgeous waterfront in the morning for a coffee, and then off for some adventure for the afternoon. This predictability seems to be helping us all settle in. Best of all, Paul has finally found a place that makes good coffee! Phew! (It was quite a search…)
And finally, on breaking all records: we so far have experienced record temperatures for July, record rain for July, and now the start of a strike by city council workers which also looks set to break records in how long it will last. So we have been hot, a little damp, and now we are holding our noses when we take our rubbish to the apartment skip which is long overdue to be emptied! Whatever next?
Love to you all, and more soon, xo Nina
Jamie and Charlie's big trip 