How yeah goin’?

This is the Kiwi version of ‘How’s it going?’ People walk a lot here in Waikikamukau, both to get from place to place and to keep fit. Whether or not a greeting is offered when one is out for a constitutional and meets another soul face-to-face seems to be pretty random, not necessary determined by age or gender. Salutations run a narrow gamut from Hullo to G’day. Yesterday’s utterance, an exception, came from the mouth of a healthy male specimen—a small mesomorph in Southern-man style—he was tough verging on menacing but a straight shooter, judging from the delivery of the friendly words. A warm gesture of acknowledgement from a passerby is a boon, giving a welcomed lift to one’s communing with the great outdoors.

Sometimes it’s a small thing that makes aware of living in a new culture or connections to the distant past. Our most recent mayonnaise need was met by eschewing ‘Best Foods’ (Hellmann’s in disguise) and opting to go for “SW Whole Egg Mayonnaise’, thus incurring a savings of $1.50. The taste of the new product is not bad but the appearance is off-putting. A quality of translucence put me in mind of the paper paste we used in kindergarten back in the pre-mucilage age. (The ancient Miss Scott of that era claimed to have also had my father in her class before me.) The taste of mayo is a bit more food-like than the paste but not by a large margin.

It is just over four hours until the New Year arrives in New Zealand. The International Dateline falling where it does means that I have four plus twenty-four hours to compose a last blog entry for 2007.

Looking back at our first complete year here in Waikikamukau (excepting a couple of jaunts over the big pond) the high points of the year would be success in school for Wim and Lily, the wedding and the wedding trip to the US, a visit to the UK par moi, and employment at the Uni for Tessa.

My own New Year’s Day was celebrated with a bike ride to roller-blading along the harbor then a family New Year barbie.

Okay, next day…Happy New Year! It is now 2008 in New Zealand. Best wishes to all for what lies ahead. Drop us a line and tell us how you’re goin’