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On Saturday early morning we set out for a marathon 15.5 K hike on the Queen Charlotte Track. Our first stop after a half-hour boat ride was a brief 1.5 K hike to the top of Motuara Island. It was at the top that one of my favorite pictures of Jody and me was taken.  We crossed over to the next island to really begin our 15.5 K hike on the Queen Charlotte Track. This island was originally founded by Capt. Cook and it is a big deal in British Colonialism.  
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On Friday afternoon we left Wellington on the Interisland Ferry for Picton on the South Island for a three night weekend stay, just the two of us.   The view of Picton Harbor from our hotel room at the HarbourView Motel.  Downtown Picton, portal from the ferry to the South Island.  On Friday morning, we had beautiful weather and returned once again to Wellington's Botanical Gardens. We had been there several times last year during the Summer, Fall and Winter. But, we had never experienced Spring in this beautiful landscape. This time we did and the tulips were simply over-powering.                          On Thursday Jody gave her second NZ talk at Fulbright/NZ, the local sponsoring agency for her Ian Axford Fellowship last year. This talk was dedicated to her work in Uganda and the publication of COLD WATER: THE WOMEN AND GIRLS OF LIRA, UGANDA. Again, it was wonderfully received before a standing-room only crowd.    On Tuesday, October 6, we traveled back to the Middle of Middle Earth (Wellington) to stay with Jody's mentor, the lovely Judi Alkinkaya. On Wednesday, we did a marathon 5 1/2 hour walk around Wellington visiting old haunts and soaking up the city we so much loved living in for eight months in 2014.  On Monday we visited Waiheke Island, did three major ziplines, and toured the wine country doing a gourmet lunch and many wine and beer tastings. It was great that we didn't have to drive :-).    Yes! We're both tree-huggers.  I love these little guys.  Following the conference, Jody and I left the dorms at the college and traveled the short distance into Auckland to stay for two nights at the Quest Auckland Hotel on Queen's Street. On Saturday Jody worked with one of her colleagues while I bummed around Auckland. On Sunday, we visited Tiritiri Matanga, a bird sanctuary island, by boat from downtown Auckland. Just a nice, relaxing tour of the island and the sanctuary.             On Friday, Jody gave her keynote presentation. It was highly successful and was very well-received. Not surprising as she humanizes her research into the refugee experience with many personal comments from refugee children. 
Following Jody's presentation, we were given a tour of the Mangere Refugee Center in Auckland where new refugees experience six weeks of orientation into NZ culture. We had a chance to hear personal stories of refugees and their struggles escaping from dangerous environments in their war-torn home countries. While saddened at having to leave their original homes, they are thankful to have found such a multi-cultural home in NZ where they are accepted and can rebuild their lives. 
Jody with many of the Auckland staff of the Ministry Of Education. 
On our second day at King's College (please note that in NZ, "college" actually refers to "secondary school" in the U.S. Thus, King's College is really a private high school), Jody picked up her registration materials and her acknowledgement as the Keynote Speaker at this National Symposium for refugee education.  At the opening ceremonies, we were greeted by a traditional Maori ceremony, standard throughout NZ.   Later that afternoon, we had a wonderful lunch in the school's dining hall with several of Jody's colleagues.  |
Dick StammerArchives
July 2017
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