I think I'm ready.
- little heating device
- coat hangers
- yoga mat
- large sauce pan and steam basket
- bottle of Bushmills BlackBush
- medium large ring-band sketchbook
- some special goat and sheep cheeses (I'm cow's milk intolerant)
- eraser
- zipper, needle and thread (to repair my handbag)
Check!
It's like that question, "if you had to move to an uninhabited island, what would you bring?"
Years ago, I drove down the Western French coast, into Spanish Basque Country, up to Donostia/San Sebastian. Youth hostels and back-packers hostels are great for such trips: basic comfort, friendly company and interesting conversations. In Donostia, the youth hostel is located along the coastal Compostela trail. It was full of walkers taking a brake. A wonderfull opportunity for long conversations, to hear their stories.
What struck me most was this common experience they had of shedding. When you leave for such a long travel, you pack everything you think you will need. As you advance on you trip, you shed. They all said it was a very spiritual experience to come to the realisation that every object they had given away, left in a hostel, thrown away, represented a fear or anxiety that they had overcome.
Packing my bags to come here, not for a life-time, not for a visit, but for over half a year, had already been such a shedding exercise. Preparing for lock-down is another one.
What is really important to me? What do I need to feel safe? To feel comfortable?
(Let's keep it real in the sense that, at the moment, we're looking at a month her in NZ. Still very First-World-Problem level for me. Way less harder than for many others)
I will miss people. I had recently been accepted as a member of the Wellington Potters Association where I could share the workshop and other facilities. When I was working there, people were coming and going and I got to know a few a bit better.
Four of us were at work there yesterday around 1:30pm when one of us turned the news on. I was heading out to get lunch at Le Marché Français @lemarchefrancais but stayed on as they were announcing the Prime Minister. As of immediately, all café's and restaurants were to close - no lunch today!... - and everyone had to go home. Schools had 48hrs to shut down, non-food shops had 24hrs. So we had a day and a half to prepare.
- I'm just describing the process as it happened here, but has it been the same in every country going into lockdown? -
As I was cleaning up my work space and wrapping up the piece I am working on, I felt very sad to not know when I could, literally, lay my hands on it again. Very kindly one of my new friends offered to drive me home with my piece carefully held on my lap.
By now it was not even 3pm. After a quick bite and a bit of thinking, I went for the first identified essentials, making haste to get there before closing time between 4 and 6pm:
For my sculpting:
- a turn-table
- a set of basic tools like a cutting thread, a sponge, a hollowing tool
- plastic trash bags
I also needed:
- some baking tools
Having to spend much more time in my tiny apartment, I realised last night that I would have to make better use of my physical interface with the outside world. So I turned all the furniture around in my Kitchen/living space. Now the couch faces the large bay-window and the table is next to the window to maximise daylight in this end-of-summer. As I write this, I see people coming and going
A last thing I did today was to go around the food stores in my neighbourhood to know where to find what.
I have a pile of books to read, my sculpting and carving kits, access to the internet, a smartphone and food for 2-3 days.
Oh, I also bought a 500ml thermos flask to go have a cup of tea somewhere with a nice view. This to compensate for visits to my new favourite café Lido. I'm quite happy with the thermos. I like the idea of going somewhere with a good book and serving myself some nice hot tea and watch whatever life is going on around me (from a distance).
But, in the end, what do I Really need?
Tuesday, March 24, 2020
Monday, March 2, 2020
Sunny Summer Sundays
So, what does one do on a Sunny Summer Sunday in Wellington?
Well, one has a nice lie-in to start with, but then:
The New Zealand Festival of the Arts is in full swing and is offering a lot around literature beside the usual dance, theatre, music and the such. In many of my meetings in the previous week, this had been mentioned so I booked tickets to a few events.
I started my late day with a 'conversation' with Alan Duff in the Michael Fowler Centre. Alan Duff was presenting his new book, "A conversation with my country". Best known to me as the author of the novel "Once were warriors" that was made into an impressive film, I discovered him as a highly critical and creative person. Half-Maori on his mother's side, he has delved deep into this side of his life.
His new book is rich in insights. "Returned from living in France, he views his country with fresh eyes, as it is now: homing in on the crises in parenting, our prisons, education and welfare systems, and a growing culture of entitlement that entraps Pakeha and Maori alike." A chapter per topic.
I had a look at the book but it was sold out at the Festival book stand.
Having been saved by re-discovering books aged 15 (his dad is a scientist and his grand-dad a writer), Duff has cofounded "Duffy Books at Home" bringing millions of books in the homes of millions of people who can't afford to have any. There is still a lot of anger in his energy but, like he says himself, he has learned to channel it in creativity and constructiveness.
The Festival bookshop was out of copies by the time I got there but I managed to appropriate another beauty of a book that was presented earlier that day in my absence: "We are here" (see further)
Before heading to my second conference I had a few hours to kill so I headed with my Ukulele to a Uke-in up Cuba street. This was my first experience of such a Uke Jam where ukulele players bring their instruments and the organisers provide scores and a location to just play together.
Now I know that I could play ukulele practically every day of the week in Wellington and surroundings. The "New Zealand Ukulele Network" is the Facebook page to be.
There was still an hour to kill so I headed to my favourite café for a cup of tea, a late lunch/early supper and a read in my beautiful new book "We are here, An atlas of Aotearoa" by Chris McDowall and Tim Denee. It is gorgeous both visually and content-wise! check out some of the content here.
The day neared a closing with a conversation between authors Catherine Robertson, Bronwyn Sell and (British) Lucy-Ann Holmes on issues such as their creative journeys or how society in general and the literary world more specifically treat literature by women and for women.
For my stroll back home, I chose the way leading along the water and all the activity in the little time left before sunset. Walking around in Wellington, it is easy to forget how near to the water you always are.
Have a nice week!
Nga mihi
Well, one has a nice lie-in to start with, but then:
The New Zealand Festival of the Arts is in full swing and is offering a lot around literature beside the usual dance, theatre, music and the such. In many of my meetings in the previous week, this had been mentioned so I booked tickets to a few events.
I started my late day with a 'conversation' with Alan Duff in the Michael Fowler Centre. Alan Duff was presenting his new book, "A conversation with my country". Best known to me as the author of the novel "Once were warriors" that was made into an impressive film, I discovered him as a highly critical and creative person. Half-Maori on his mother's side, he has delved deep into this side of his life.
His new book is rich in insights. "Returned from living in France, he views his country with fresh eyes, as it is now: homing in on the crises in parenting, our prisons, education and welfare systems, and a growing culture of entitlement that entraps Pakeha and Maori alike." A chapter per topic.
I had a look at the book but it was sold out at the Festival book stand.
Having been saved by re-discovering books aged 15 (his dad is a scientist and his grand-dad a writer), Duff has cofounded "Duffy Books at Home" bringing millions of books in the homes of millions of people who can't afford to have any. There is still a lot of anger in his energy but, like he says himself, he has learned to channel it in creativity and constructiveness.
The Festival bookshop was out of copies by the time I got there but I managed to appropriate another beauty of a book that was presented earlier that day in my absence: "We are here" (see further)
Before heading to my second conference I had a few hours to kill so I headed with my Ukulele to a Uke-in up Cuba street. This was my first experience of such a Uke Jam where ukulele players bring their instruments and the organisers provide scores and a location to just play together.
Now I know that I could play ukulele practically every day of the week in Wellington and surroundings. The "New Zealand Ukulele Network" is the Facebook page to be.
There was still an hour to kill so I headed to my favourite café for a cup of tea, a late lunch/early supper and a read in my beautiful new book "We are here, An atlas of Aotearoa" by Chris McDowall and Tim Denee. It is gorgeous both visually and content-wise! check out some of the content here.
The day neared a closing with a conversation between authors Catherine Robertson, Bronwyn Sell and (British) Lucy-Ann Holmes on issues such as their creative journeys or how society in general and the literary world more specifically treat literature by women and for women.
For my stroll back home, I chose the way leading along the water and all the activity in the little time left before sunset. Walking around in Wellington, it is easy to forget how near to the water you always are.
Have a nice week!
Nga mihi
Thursday, February 27, 2020
Lucky number 20?
Do you remember the picture I posted in the previous post. During that flight - the last leg of my travel to Wellington - I was wondering about my seating on each flight. First I flew from Brussels to Washington DC, US, second from Washington to San Francisco, third from San Francisco to Auckland, NZ and finally from Auckland to Wellington. Well, on 3 out of the 4 flights I was seated on row number 20.
Here's what I jotted down on my flight to Wellington:
"20 seems to be my lucky number on this trip. On 3 out of my 4 flights, I was seated on row 20. Twice as an upgrade and now not an upgrade but at the window. On this clear Tuesday, I am going to fly over half of New Zealand's North Island with a view to the part I hadn't visited yet, the land West of Tongariro volcano."
These words make me think two things. First that I am a true optimist, and second that 20 was indeed a number a numerologist would ponder on, because guess what.
Guess what number is the apartment I ended up renting - and no, I wasn't aware of the coïncidence.
It is number 201!!!
Maybe I should investigate as to what went wrong on the flight where I was seated on a different row... Taking that seriously would take me down a whole other mindf**** trip :D
As I'm not into numerology and tend to not being too aware of the numbers around me - I'm dyscalculic (look it up. It's right under dyslexic) - I've probably missed a few other "20" occurrences.
By the way, I didn't have much choice other than apartment 201. During the 2 weeks of my search there were maybe 5 or 6 furnished places but the other were either off the market by the time I applied for a visit or in a poor state.
Housing is a bit of an issue in New Zealand. There is not enough of what the market needs and too much of what the market can't afford. Oh yeah, and then the huge mansions built by gazzillionaires who are never there but have it in case of a major fuck up in the US or a zombie apocalypse. Largely empty and gated mansions and estates.
Prices in Wellington are similar to what you'd pay in Brussels and I don't like the idea that my being here is influencing the price increase up.
This morning I was listening to a radio show taking calls from listeners on the subject of a new law more in favour of tenants rights. It is now looking more like what we have in Europe, or at least in Belgium, in terms of needing a valid reason to get rid of your tenant.
This is a country where despite a few centuries of feeling cold in the winters, houses still don't have built-in heating systems... There is a ventilation system in my apartment to suck out the moist air of the bathroom mostly, the walls are very well sound proofed, and there is excellent glazing in the few windows, but no heating is provided.
People here still buy little electric heaters.
Go figure...
Oh, I see another number 20! since my arrival in Wellington, temperature has been oscillating around 20°C. It's kind of nice, although you have to get used to feeling fresh/cold in the shade and warm/hot under the sun. This makes dressing up a bit complicated. Maybe that's why the dress code is more casual around here.
Oh, one more! one more!! My street number is 2. That's almost like 20, isn't it?
To end this post, shall I say a few words about chocolate?
I visited the Wellington Chocolate Factory yesterday , a bean-to-bar entreprise, and bought some Dominican Republic chocolate - Trinitario beans, just so you know. Over the 12 years of my visits, there has been a significant improvement in the chocolate situation of New Zealand. 12 years ago, I remember seeing some praline production and more of that 2 years ago. This year I'm actually finding different brands of locally produced chocolate bars in the supermarkets. Not all bean-to-bar, but still.
(The picture "Denzien gin, because no great story started with someone eating a salad" is a little free publicity for an award-winning gin maker also in Wellington.)
On this happy note, I bid you a fine day.
Here's what I jotted down on my flight to Wellington:
"20 seems to be my lucky number on this trip. On 3 out of my 4 flights, I was seated on row 20. Twice as an upgrade and now not an upgrade but at the window. On this clear Tuesday, I am going to fly over half of New Zealand's North Island with a view to the part I hadn't visited yet, the land West of Tongariro volcano."
These words make me think two things. First that I am a true optimist, and second that 20 was indeed a number a numerologist would ponder on, because guess what.
Guess what number is the apartment I ended up renting - and no, I wasn't aware of the coïncidence.
It is number 201!!!
Maybe I should investigate as to what went wrong on the flight where I was seated on a different row... Taking that seriously would take me down a whole other mindf**** trip :D
As I'm not into numerology and tend to not being too aware of the numbers around me - I'm dyscalculic (look it up. It's right under dyslexic) - I've probably missed a few other "20" occurrences.
By the way, I didn't have much choice other than apartment 201. During the 2 weeks of my search there were maybe 5 or 6 furnished places but the other were either off the market by the time I applied for a visit or in a poor state.
Housing is a bit of an issue in New Zealand. There is not enough of what the market needs and too much of what the market can't afford. Oh yeah, and then the huge mansions built by gazzillionaires who are never there but have it in case of a major fuck up in the US or a zombie apocalypse. Largely empty and gated mansions and estates.
Prices in Wellington are similar to what you'd pay in Brussels and I don't like the idea that my being here is influencing the price increase up.
This morning I was listening to a radio show taking calls from listeners on the subject of a new law more in favour of tenants rights. It is now looking more like what we have in Europe, or at least in Belgium, in terms of needing a valid reason to get rid of your tenant.
This is a country where despite a few centuries of feeling cold in the winters, houses still don't have built-in heating systems... There is a ventilation system in my apartment to suck out the moist air of the bathroom mostly, the walls are very well sound proofed, and there is excellent glazing in the few windows, but no heating is provided.
People here still buy little electric heaters.
Go figure...
Oh, I see another number 20! since my arrival in Wellington, temperature has been oscillating around 20°C. It's kind of nice, although you have to get used to feeling fresh/cold in the shade and warm/hot under the sun. This makes dressing up a bit complicated. Maybe that's why the dress code is more casual around here.
Oh, one more! one more!! My street number is 2. That's almost like 20, isn't it?
To end this post, shall I say a few words about chocolate?
I visited the Wellington Chocolate Factory yesterday , a bean-to-bar entreprise, and bought some Dominican Republic chocolate - Trinitario beans, just so you know. Over the 12 years of my visits, there has been a significant improvement in the chocolate situation of New Zealand. 12 years ago, I remember seeing some praline production and more of that 2 years ago. This year I'm actually finding different brands of locally produced chocolate bars in the supermarkets. Not all bean-to-bar, but still.
(The picture "Denzien gin, because no great story started with someone eating a salad" is a little free publicity for an award-winning gin maker also in Wellington.)
On this happy note, I bid you a fine day.
Sunday, February 16, 2020
I'm baaack!
I'm a bit reluctant to write again.
My issue is that I don't want to sound too positive about my adventure. Not because it's horrid, on the contrary. It's really nice and I don't want all of you to come over and spoil it.
So you're not getting pictures this time (that would make it look to good :D). Or maybe just one, of Mount Taranaki, as seen from the plane to Wellington.
OK, so, Wellington.
I'm on a sabbatical to try out life in NZ and I have about 8 months. 8 months will take me through winter here to get not just the holiday feel of NZ but more of the real-life feel.
Why Wellington and not, for example, Auckland? Wellington has the government and plenty of culture. Considering my interest in policy and change, this is the place to be. Also I had been traveling through Wellington a few time and it was probably my favourite town in NZ.
We'll see about that in a few months but until now it seems just about right.
It is strange to settle someplace new when you've lived in the same place for 15 years. I'd forgotten about rentals and electricity and location and furniture and stuff.
On these first days, I'm also testing my networking skills but so far so good. Not every contact is achieved as fast as I'd like it too but I'm making friends and nice acquaintances and learning a lot about every thing.
So essentially:
- arrive at destination - check
- recover from jet-lag - check
- find a rental - check
- get a local mobile number - check
- organise to have electricity at the rental - check
- meet new people - check, check, check, check ... and check
- write my first blog post for this adventure - check
My issue is that I don't want to sound too positive about my adventure. Not because it's horrid, on the contrary. It's really nice and I don't want all of you to come over and spoil it.
So you're not getting pictures this time (that would make it look to good :D). Or maybe just one, of Mount Taranaki, as seen from the plane to Wellington.
OK, so, Wellington.
I'm on a sabbatical to try out life in NZ and I have about 8 months. 8 months will take me through winter here to get not just the holiday feel of NZ but more of the real-life feel.
Why Wellington and not, for example, Auckland? Wellington has the government and plenty of culture. Considering my interest in policy and change, this is the place to be. Also I had been traveling through Wellington a few time and it was probably my favourite town in NZ.
We'll see about that in a few months but until now it seems just about right.
It is strange to settle someplace new when you've lived in the same place for 15 years. I'd forgotten about rentals and electricity and location and furniture and stuff.
On these first days, I'm also testing my networking skills but so far so good. Not every contact is achieved as fast as I'd like it too but I'm making friends and nice acquaintances and learning a lot about every thing.
So essentially:
- arrive at destination - check
- recover from jet-lag - check
- find a rental - check
- get a local mobile number - check
- organise to have electricity at the rental - check
- meet new people - check, check, check, check ... and check
- write my first blog post for this adventure - check
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