Antipodal Posting – Seven Stars of Matariki

Antipodal Posting – Seven Stars of Matariki

Happy…Canada Day, Independence Day and Matariki

Celebrations seem to be underway everywhere we look.

I’ve never been the most enthusiastic of global citizens in terms of embracing indigenous culture and ceremony. Probably because I’ve never found the connection and often find the promotion of one culture over another as self-serving. Nevertheless, due to our travels, I continue to find myself unexpectedly learning things once considered unforeseeable.

Geothermal Forces

Unsurprisingly, Maori culture is one such thing, and something that I still greet with mixed feelings. A language once on the cusp of extinction roughly thirty years ago, the Maori is taught in schools as one of the three official national languages (the other being New Zealand Sign Language – a distinct form of signing from American Sign Language, Australian Sign Language (both referred to as ASL) European Sign Language and the roughly 300 distinct forms that exist.

Why sign language hasn’t merged into a few ostensibly similar forms to facilitate the relatively small population that uses it I’ll never understand. Especially when there are such strong examples of the Scots and Italians using four or five clear gestures that are universally understood. But I guess this isn’t an immediate issue, as Spencer isn’t learning NZSL but rather Maori. A language of limited geographic scope, but like the forms of sign language, shares some familiar ground with other Polynesian languages. But still…

Geothermal Geyser 

Because of our move to New Zealand, we’re exposed to the Maori culture through local popular culture and Spencer’s education. While not particularly keen about Spencer learning a language of limited use, such as Maori, rather than something more broadly practical such as an Asian or European language, we take it as it comes. All as a part of living in New Zealand and accepting the culture of our current home. I suppose that all learning can be considered positive if put in the proper context.

For Spencer this means that she is learning a handful of words and phrases, such as numbers and colours, but also local traditions. Again, probably a positive lesson in understanding our world, tolerance, as well as empathy and perspective.

Last Friday was the Matariki celebration at Spencer’s school.

Passage from beach to the Three Sisters

In addition to a reminder of how painful these obligatory school events are, Matariki marks the Maori New Year through the return of the tangible and intangible. A convergence of things that can be directly observed and those, which are only observed through reflection. During this period, the constellation we refer to as Pleiades becomes more visible in the Southern hemisphere. The Matariki legend refers to the seven stars of Pleiades as the Stars of the Seven Sisters. It is the returning of these seven sisters that serves as a reminder of claims the spiritual return of those we’ve forgotten. A reflection of the past and future of our lives.

Strangely, I like this idea. I appreciate the idea of making direct observations of celestial bodies and noticing how the world is always changing, moving past us. The idea of seasons of remembrance is good as well. This allows us to make the loss, or the distance, in a measured and important manner, but then also moving beyond the past and into the future.

Three Sisters at Low Tide

It’s amazing how various societies have turned to the stars for guidance, both physically and spiritually. As amazing as the stars are beautiful, they serve to guide us to new worlds, through familiar waters and reflective pursuits.

Matariki provides me with a reminder of the losses that we’ve experienced, missed opportunities and the things that remain incomplete. However, the idea of an annual reflection also spurs me to take the losses in stride, to mourn them and move on. Perhaps most importantly, to not only move beyond, but to learn and look forward to the year ahead.

Time marked geologically

For Spencer Matariki marked the memory of all the Princesses she met at Disney who she now misses. For me, it was lamenting the time I waited in line to see the Princesses, sometimes while Spencer had fallen asleep during the wait.

In the observation of Matariki, I hope that you all have a great Canada Day or Fourth of July, or both. As we look upon the stars in the coming week, weather permitting, we’ll have you all in our minds. Hopefully our stars will align and our paths will cross again in future days. For our friends in Calgary, Stampede Week will soon be upon you and memories will again be fleeting.

Be well.

For all that's behind us and for everything that lies ahead...

Antipodal Post - Lessons We Learn

Antipodal Posting – Lessons We Learn

One of the commitments Nicole and I made leaving Calgary was to change our lives in as many positive ways as we could. To learn what we could, wherever we were. Adapting in such a way not only facilitates our movements abroad, but also results in experiences that make these moves enjoyable.

So far? Well…so far, so good. While there is always room for improvement, we are finding living as expats rewarding and full of rich experiences that we might have otherwise missed. However, there have also been some unexpected results from this adventure. Most notably our general awareness of the world around us.

On one hand this makes sense, after all living abroad, in largely unfamiliar cities and countries, you don’t have the same historical familiarity to draw upon as when we were in Calgary. There’s no “remember that park when…” or “just down the street from Steve’s…” we simply don’t have those benchmarks.

Now we navigate based upon posted names and distances to the nearest 10m. In fact we’ve often found ourselves lost, staring a signs only to be told, “Yeah, mate, it used to be called something else….” Pure awesomeness.

How Far We Have Travelled -
Spencer's first art interpretation projection

We strain to catch the local nuances in vernacular, accents and cultural references. A challenge more difficult than we anticipated and often I think how taxing it must be for immigrants that also have to struggle with a new language as well as new geography and nuances.

Among all the changes that we’ve experienced, I continue to be surprised how much and how often Nicole and Spencer change. Not much of a surprise with Spencer, she’s growing and absorbing information like a dry sponge, and because of the combination of travel, multinational friends and school we are besieged with interesting conversations. Conversations such as “if the sea formed the earth, where did the water come from?” or “does Canada have a North and South Island like New Zealand does?” to discussions of the differences between lo-fi and hi-fi recordings (Spencer doesn’t like lo-fi). There are also more introspective discussions like when Spencer shared her feelings of a painting we have on our wall.

For Spencer it has reminded her of a recent visit to Ayers Rock / Uluru National Park. In particular the colour of the sky as dawn faded and then again later as dusk settled. The tracks across the painting, which I've always assumed was a grain field in Western Canada, (something Spencer has only a limited reference to), reminds her rather of the sands in the desert coming alive in the light and the paths that she spotted during our trip. Amazing little brain that always astounds us with how much is going on in there, clearly something she gets from her mother.

Spencer also inquired one day about the meaning of “fitness”, resulting in the “Princess Fitness Challenge”. A discussion that I’ve managed to manipulate into a renewed commitment to eat better and exercise more.

Racing the Sunset

"What’s fitness?" She asked.

"The ability to do more without getting tired," was the best I could articulate.

“So like I could walk further without complaining and needing a rest?”

“Exactly.”

"OK. Let’s get more fit so if I go to Disney I can see all the Princesses without getting tired!"

With that, we’ve become committed. Like a puppy that wants to play in the park regardless of the weather; in all the lessons that are at my disposal from Pavlov to Icarus to Frankenstein, I’ve failed to avoid creating a monster.

What started as a 4km (~2.5mi) scooter ride to our surf beach with a race up the stairs at the end has now become further than 6km (~3.5 mi) effort at a sub 50 min 10km pace, with Spencer wanting to chat most of the way.

Princess Challenge in full flight

Rather than accepting the prevailing position that we should discourage our daughters from being drawn to princesses, I’ve taken a different stance. Princesses don’t have to be silly and vapid, they can be kind and responsible and they can inspire us to be more than we currently are, plus there will be lots of examples from Nicole about how successful you can be by using your brain.

What Spencer doesn’t know is that we’ve projected a Disney trip to something “after her next birthday” but is actually going to happen during our return from our upcoming trip to Calgary. Next week. She doesn’t know, which will be part of the fun of landing in LA. So please, please, please don’t say anything. We’re telling you here as part of the fun for everyone else.

Strangely, I also continue to be surprised how far Nicole has come (and also that she’s kept me with her the entire time). Always a capable engineer, Nicole has and continues to elevate her game. Growing from drilling technically complex wells in Alberta to leading a small team in Brisbane, Nicole is now managing a larger team of drilling and completions engineers as well as managing and mentoring the graduate program. The graduate program is something that she’s actually championed and is designed to take baby propeller heads from university and turn them into fully functioning super geeks. I suppose there are never enough engineers around.

Other lessons are less meaningful, but interesting all the same, such as that from our German Au Pair who demonstrated why the Germans are destined to dominant the world markets. A model of organization and pragmatism; she gave Nicole birthday gift of a night at the movies. Her $30 gift certificate translated into an $80 babysitting gig. Kirsten is now in charge of our investing advice. 

In the end, we’re living in a beautiful country. A place that while it’s raining and cloudy a lot of the time, it’s blessed with more rainbows here than at a Pride Parade. It seems like there are lessons and rainbows behind more clouds than you’d guess.

I’ve also learned that I like sharing these experiences with all of you.

Rainbow Capital of the World

Rough Seas 

Rains so often you hardly notice