Writing is fun!

After consulting with our lawyers, we at An International Love Affair have come to the unwelcome conclusion that we do not stand to benefit from our solidarity with the Writer's Guild. Boo. Guess that means we've got some catching up to do.

Chapter 1: Of Cows and Computer Simulations...

In November, Kate decided that her desire to teach High School Biology in New Zealand was not equal to New Zealand Ministry of Education's desire for paperwork and certification payouts. Instead, she returned to her original calling; managing bullsh_t.












Kate's new job working for Auckland Regional Council (translation: State Government) as a Rural Compliance Officer (translation: Environmental Police Officer) has allowed her to take the management of sh/t to a new level. Kate now spends approximately 40% of her time tramping around dairy farms all over the Auckland Region (or riding around them on the back of a four wheeler), attempting to spot environmental problems with their effluent disposal systems (translation: cow poo irrigators). Although her experience with managing dairy waste was previously limited to once having milked a goat, Kate has learned quickly. It hasn't been too hard to learn because, as she explained to her manager during her interview, "I like cows."

Sputtering and flapping over the finish line like a pukeko in a trundler, Benji completed his first year of postgraduate bruahaha with distinction. Among his multitudes of final projects, one of the more interesting involved using GIS technology to show water-gathering strategies on a remote Hawaiian Island. Over the summer, he'll be working for a local archaeologist, sorting through tuatua shells and carbonized fish bones in order to prove that Maori did, in fact, eat seafood.

Chapter 2: The Great Visit

Kate's parents came to visit as well, and while we can’t rightly say it was the Griswold’s Go To New Zealand…
















...there may have been a few similarities. Our first trip out of the City of Sails took us to Kerikeri, a bucolic spot up north in the Bay of Islands. We saw giant kauri groves, beautiful endless beaches, and explosions?

You bet. We just happened to be out on a cruise of the bay while the famed ship Canterbury was being scuttled, so while we missed out on dolphins, we did get to see something large and expensive blown up. Ah, memories.

We separated briefly, letting the folks travel the countryside while we returned to our real lives, before reuniting in Dunedin, a lovely burg in the extreme southeast of the country. We ventured out to the end of the breathtaking Otago Peninsula, taking in an albatross colony there, and then made our way west through steppe and slope to Queenstown.

While we’ve been known to swipe a picture or two from the internet to express a point, you can be sure that 1) yes, we did take this picture and 2) yes, it really does look like that. In fact, we were so suspicious that it was really just a huge, airbrushed backdrop that we ended up waist-deep in an alpine snowfield trying to find the backstage area.

Queenstown turned out to be a lovely experience. We wined and we dined. We snoozed, we cruised, and we even luged. We made the most of the few days we spent there, and still left with lots to come back and see.

After a final swing through Auckland, where the folks enjoyed dinner at the Fortress of Fun and a ride across the harbor to hike Rangitoto, we bid farewell and promised to see each other again soon. But how soon? Only time would tell…

Chapter 3: Kiwis Come Home!

In the middle of December we were planning a fantastic camping trip. We would hike up the Tongariro Crossing to the top of an active volcano, then we'd paddle down the Whanganui (fan-GA-noo-ee) River for three days. We were just about ready to put a down payment on our canoes when serendipity struck. As it does.

Each morning we check Air New Zealand's Grab-a-Seat fares, keeping an eye out for decent deals. That morning there was a flight to Los Angeles listed, with a price to be posted later in the day. We mused about the prospect of a surprise visit home, and, just for fun, we set a ridiculous dollar limit that would determine whether or not we'd actually commit to it. We set to our daily tasks, which included making arrangements for accommodation on our camping trip. Later that morning the price was posted: one dollar below our predetermined limit.

Who are we to blow against the wind?

After letting the folks at home know "weeeeee'd be hooooome for ChriIiIiIstmAaAas" in the video posted on our A Kiwi Kristmas? entry, we packed our things and, on Christmas Eve, took the 20+ hour flight back to New Hampshire. We stepped through the front door at home at approximately 12:15am Christmas Day, just minutes ahead of Santa.

While we only had six days on the ground at home, we made the most of them. Christmas with all the family units kicked it off, followed by gatherings with grandparents, supper with siblings, functions with friends, and, occasionally, we got some sleep. Fresh snowfall gave us the opportunity to go snowshoeing in Walker State Forest, and, of course, a reunion show for Losers Fight It was obligatory.

Our escape from the States had serious metaphysical overtones; we flew out of Los Angeles on New Year's Eve 2007 and arrived in Auckland on the morning of January 2nd, 2008. It was pretty much Back to the Future IV.

Chapter 4: Back to the Future IV

In the future, it was summertime.

We took advantage of this fact by recovering from our second 24 hour flight in one week on a beach on Auckland's well protected North Shore. In short order we also went camping in Wenderholm Regional Park , held a successful BBQ at Casa de Davies with a handful of Kiwi buddies, and took part in an all day musical event, Big Day Out, the largest music festival in the Southern Hemisphere. We have to try to keep things interesting, since it is just the two of us down here!
The Big Day Out was a highlight for both of the Southern Davies. In one day we managed to see; Spoon, Billy Bragg, Acealone, Unkle, and long time favorites, Rage Against the Machine and Bjork, perform. In addition to the international acts, we also enjoyed local bands Katchafire and Battle. And we can now bear witness to the fact that the Kiwis are absolutely the most rabid music fans on the planet. When local-boys-gone-big Shihad took the stage, the entire audience was on their feet, fists raised, singing along to ALL the words (see photo above). Meanwhile, we sat mesmerized at the back of the arena, asking eachother: WHO ARE these guys again?

Although some of the Kiwis were less than impressed with Bjork's musical extravaganza, particularly pinioned as it was between hard boy acts Shihad and Rage, the icelandic enchantress managed to cast a spell over most of the audience, and made the entire Big Day for the Davies. While a description of her performance merits a blog entry twice the length of this one, we will limit ourselves to saying this: A Genius in Her Own Time.

Next time on "An International Love Affair..." the Davies go to Mordor . Don't miss it!