First 3 days in Wellington

27 August 2008

I’ve been in NZ for 1 week and I feel it’s time to commence recording my thoughts prior to moving to Codoo…and what better time than now since I am playing with my new toy, a Mac. It’s my first venture into the world of Apple Inc. (apart from my Ipod), and it had an exciting start. I managed to throw a glass of red wine across the keyboard within 2h of opening the box. So far, the computer seems to have survived the red swim, but the Bluetooth module has vanished so the laptop cannot detect my wireless keyboard or mouse. Perhaps the Bluetooth was a little thirstier than the other hardware.

The first week at home has been a whirlwind. I arrived at my parents’ home just after midnight on the 21^st. I lay in bed (after sharing appropriate exclamations of delight at the renovations completed since my last visit) and decided to watch a few minutes of the Olympics. I was pleased to catch the 1500m medal ceremony at which my family friend, Nick Willis received his bronze medal. It was terribly exciting and a great chance to feel proud of a hard-working NZ athlete. Nick is also open about his relationship with Tama and gives credit to Aroha for his superb running ability.

On the 22^nd, my brother Paul graduated from the police college training program. I couldn’t suppress giggles when I first saw Paul in his uniform. He looked very professional, very chuffed with his achievement (in a nice way) and proud to be part of the NZ Police Force…..but he still looked like my little brother playing dress-ups. After the obligatory round of photos wearing Paul’s police hat (while he ran an errand), we shared lunch on an unusually clear and sunny Wellington winter day. Paul’s future parents-in-law, two closest buddies and a few members of our extended family came for the celebration. The ceremony was formal and consisted of a few speeches and reminders about the role of a policeman/woman. 76 graduates of 80 who commenced, and of those, 60 males. The females seemed to be much, much shorter than the males, but perhaps I was looking for differences. I was extremely proud of Paul’s achievement, and so pleased for him that he has found a career that he is passionate about. He’s worked in retail selling CDs and Kathmandu gear, as a cricket coach, completed NZ Army basic training (before deciding it wasn’t the career for him), completed a tourism and marketing degree and played sport at a high level, but never quite figured out what to do long-term. Until now. Paul initiated a few interesting conversations with me and others about the quality of the police training, the length of course, the theory versus practical components, how he plans to preserve and practice his moral and ethical beliefs in a difficult profession, and what was expected of the new Constables during their 2 years of on-the-job learning after college. He spoke of being particularly moved by some senior police officers who are open about their relationship with Tama on the NZ police intranet. Wow. I’m just so proud of him and it’s exciting to watch him begin this journey.

One of the minor but thought-provoking highlights of the day was a conversation I had with a college cleaner before the start of the ceremony. We had a small-talk convo and I ascertained that he was from Samoa but had been in NZ for 6 years and lived with his wife. One of the first questions he asked me (apart from “why are you here?” and “are you married?” followed by an nice look of horrified surprise when I said no, single) was “So what are you? Pakeha?” I believe it is the first time I have ever been asked the question (other than the census form). I may have been asked if I have Maori blood before, but never if I am Pakeha. I wasn’t sure how I wanted to answer. It’s potentially a loaded question given the history of difficult relations between the NZers of Maori or Pacific Island descent and the particularly pale-skinned variety. While I don’t think I have Maori or Polynesian ancestors, I was a little reluctant to proclaim that I was indeed Pakeha. I muttered that I was Pakeha if that meant that I have no Maori blood and my ancestors came from Europe. I deliberately avoided mentioning my Australian great-great-grandmother(!).

We had a party at hotel Mum & Dad’s the following night for Paul. Extended family, a number of Paul’s mates, a few of my parents’ friends and all the neighbours and their kids came. Quite a crowd. A fun night by all accounts, although things began to turn messy once Graeme (Paul’s lovely but wild best friend) found the box of cocktail ingredients. Graeme whispered not so quietly that he planned to get me drunk. Mum responded with ‘Good Luck’. She was right, although Shelley (future SIL) and I did get photographed taking shots of Bailey’s and Midori! Mum was a little surprised to find the next morning that Graeme had managed to use an entire bottle of Tabasco sauce in his cocktail creations!