We have just over 6 weeks before we head home. Of course we all have mixed emotions about this. Our time here has been amazing - and at this point I do feel like we've done and experienced everything I wanted to do. The impatience I had when we first arrived - to explore at every opportunity - has all but disappeared. It's been replaced by some mundane tasks and time spent just enjoying living a life that is simpler and less cluttered. I am not sure what effect this has had on me in the immediate sense, but I am fairly sure that once we hit the US, all remnants of this simpler life will be crushed by the familiar quick pace of life at home. Certainly no mixed emotions surrounding this fact. Anyway, we are still exploring, in a way.
We began our weekend with a quick change in plans. I was reading the local paper over breakfast on Saturday and learned that the local marae in Turangi, the town where I work, was holding an open house as part of their Matariki celebration. A marae is a Maori meeting place with a courtyard and a meeting house. We have blogged about them before, I am sure. We have never been invited to a marae and I thought it would be amazing to go to see the marae where lots of my patients belong. Our plans for the day involved only a yoga class that I didn't need to attend and a playdate for Jasper in the early afternoon, which I was certain we could still make it back in time for. I remembered that it would be a long time before we could decide in the morning on a Saturday what sort of adventure we would have the rest of the day. So I remembered to feel grateful as we piled into the car.
We arrived at the marae right on time, and were formally invited to visit inside with singing and speeches and were cleansed of tapu by eating and drinking before we could enter the whare. Before this is done, visitors are seen as strangers and unwelcome. Afterwards, they are considered as family. We have read about this lots (and seen it in movies) but it was so special to visit this particular place and have my patients around me, telling stories about their past and their families and the Maori legends as well as stories about the mountains and lake. The Hirangi Marae is almost one hundred years old and they are preparing for a special celebration in a few years. They held a fundraising dinner last night at the marae for this purpose and it sounds like it was very well attended.
It was amazing and we could have lingered for much of the day, but -- we had a playdate back in Taupo for which we were already quite late! Jasper's friend was very understanding, and we got to meet his parents, who were super friendly. We had to drop Aidan at a marathon birthday party also - seven ten year olds in one house for almost 24 hours! I was happy to hear that Aidan did not participate in the Halo(?) x box game playing and that playing ball tag and tag with flashlights in the paddock were his favorite parts of the party. So that Jasper wouldn't feel he was missing out on parties, we took him to a party at our German neighbors' house across the street that evening. By coincidence, the psychiatrist who visits Turangi once a fortnight lives across the street from me. He is the only psychiatrist my patients have access to. We get along well and I have loved watching their infant daughter grow - she is now about 4 months old and super adorable. Lots of his friends work in mental health also and are my colleagues as well - so it was fun hanging out. We will be sad to say goodbye to them a bit early -- they are leaving for Germany a few weeks before we leave - and we will be gone when they return :(
Today we had a visit from friends who brought us a gift of a beautiful painting of a tomtit, one of the first native birds that we made friends with, walking along tree trunk gorge trail together in the national park not long after we'd arrived in New Zealand. The tiny tomtit followed us for a bit while we walked and I was so surprised that it was so curious and friendly.
Yes, I realize that this does not sound like a simple and uncluttered weekend. Did I mention that Tom conducted a concert on Friday? It was very fun - a midwinter Christmas concert (because, of course, Christmas and midwinter never coincide for Kiwis - sad fact.) We followed the concert with our first visit to our local pub, called the Mole and Chicken, with a few band members. Perhaps the simplicity is more a state of mind than a state of affairs.
p.s. no photos - sorry - none were allowed at the marae, also, we thought for a while that our camera was broken -- turns out we had just purchased cheap batteries! promise we will post photos next time
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