tickets are bought (gulp)

after much consideration of school semester schedules, paul work demands and general procrastination, paul made an executive move and bought our five tickets to the other side of the world.  there is no turning back now, and all the details will fall as they may.  we will be leaving for christchurch january 9th and our friend stephen will be staying at our house for the six months we are away.  cats and plants will be happy and healthy with family members, and the house is getting a good cleaning.  it feels like a dream that soon we will be so very far away from all that is familiar, and trying to figure out what of that familiar will fit into a suitcase to comfort is a hard job.  some things are easy- favorite teddy bears, books, posters, clothes-and some not so much-the art club and hike thru history mia will miss with her friends, musicals the boys won't be performing in at their schools, scouting events paul won't be leading...it is hard on this side of the adventure to avoid seeing the losses, but we know that after a mere 26 hours in 4 airplanes we will be creating our own experiences to cherish and share.

before we leave, we will want to say "see you soon" so we will be at the roadhouse tavern rt 236 on saturday jan 7th from 6-9.  they have burgers and wings and karaoke for all starting at 7!  (no pressure)  hope to see you!  kara

Christchurch (ChCh) From Paul

I am not a big sharer...but from the beginning of this adventure, I have found my/a voice.  The entries below were excepted from various emails I sent to friends and family in my first few weeks in ChCh...


Response to my Mother's email entitled "Day 3":

It it going well here.   I have had a few "What have i done moments..." Moving into temporary housing today and looking at long term rentals.  I am getting that NZ was once an idealic place.  Since the earthquake, the downtown is devastated and the populous is scared.  There have been over 8000 aftershocks.  There is sushi on every corner (Mia will be excited). I hope to start work on Monday.  It is Saturday here to your Friday."

Amazing Christchurch Movie Trailer: 

"http://www.viewchristchurch.co.nz/films/when-a-city-falls-film-video-20558.html.  Saw the movie last night. The trailer is just as good as the movie and the devastation is worse in person.  While this is a good opportunity for me and my family, it is also very sobering."


My response to a family member whom wrote "I hope that you find what you are seeking":

"I am not sure that I am seeking anything but the moment. I will say that routine makes the moment more difficult to attain, for me, and hence some restlessness."

To a family member:

"Distance does make the heart grow fonder...I found a room to rent with a common kitchen and laundry that is working out well.  The devastation to Christchurch is immense. Over 16,000 structures are slated to be demolished. Very sobering.  I miss my family desparately. Harder this time because of the distance and 3+ weeks is a long time. I will be home on Dec. 23. I have found a house to rent right next to a park and Canterbury University."

To a friend who was concerned that I did not make it out of ChCh before the 12/22/11 EQ:

"Just got back this morning.  My flight took off a couple of hours before EQ.   From my limited experience in country, another EQ is not what the people of Christchurch needed."

paul returns home from NZ

paul has been gone for 3 and a half weeks, for the crazy month of december which was chock full of concerts for all 4 of us, sickness for 3 of us, and lots of appointments and planning.  we were in a sort of limbo waiting to hear whether new zealand and the work would be a good place to temporarily move our family for 6 months. in  february 2010 there was a 6.3 earthquake in the city of christchurch south island new zealand, and the city is still recovering and trying to rebuild-paul will be a geotechnical engineer brought in to help with the damage assessment and building.  it is something paul and i had always dreamed of and tried to make a reality: live and work overseas.  how could we say no to something so well-placed in our laps?  paul had a good adjustment to the area of christchurch where he will be working, mostly discovering food joints, sushi and fish and chips plus some zen groups and running to occupy his time.  by the end of his time there, he had rented a house for us, bought a car ( i will not be attempting to drive on the other side of the road!) and loked into schools for the kids.  all three kids have adapted to this idea in different degrees and timelines: alex ecstatic and positive, kogen hesitant at first and mia was positively adamant that she would spend no longer than 2 weeks there.  this is always her first reaction: say no and then hear more details.  she is now on board for 6 months :)  kogen was pretty quiet about the move and when i asked him his ideas he told me " at first i didn't want to be away from home for so long, but then i thought, if my life is like a long book, and i was reading that book, would i want my character to take advantage of this opportunity?  and i decided yes." 

pretty amazing perspective: would you want to be reading your own book? would you enjoy it? shouldn't we all be living our lives with this in mind?