First Day of Work and Marvellous Weekend Day

Pictures: Silver fern; Waihi beach

30.09.
For me the day meant mainly preparation for my orientation week at the practice. For the family it seems to be mainly waiting for school and everyday life to come in.
This evening a beautiful walk with Elena through the young night. Light rain and a warm wind. In the beautiful Victorian houses, villas and bungalow lights, partly shining through coloured glass and mosaic windows. The smell of sea, fresh earth and flowers. A peaceful atmosphere.

01.10.
First working day. Orientation, still without patients. Very relaxed atmosphere, the time schedule partly poorly related to that what we really did – some of the scheduled appointments were not held, others spontaneously. When I came in I noticed that most of the staff were wearing blue wigs, and when I asked why they told me that it is because of “Arthritis Day” - every Friday is dedicated to a certain health problem which is connected to a certain colour – which they wear in form of a wig!!! About midday we (John, an new American doctor and me) assisted two Maori ceremonies, the first being the presentation of a health cookbook, which was developed by staff of Te Korowai. After the presentation ceremony we were invited to taste some recipes of it, and it was delicious! Immediately after this there was another ceremony, about the Farewell of another American doctor who was about to leave after the usual five months. It was moving, as he had been very happy here. That is because Te Korowai consider themselves as a big family in which they include you with this typical Maori ceremony. From that very moment on you're considered a member and not a guest, even if you stay for a limited time only. I came to talk to several members of Te Korowai, or employees or trusties (Te Korowai is a trust), and they were all very nice and friendly. One of the elders impressed me with his wisdom, and several Maori (but also Pakeha) women by their warmth and sense of humour, especially the one who had to show us the computer system. The last thing was the appointment with our supervisor, who introduced us into the way how he is to help us and to assess us. Altogether I think I will be able to fit in. Certainly I had some difficulties with understanding people, but that will get less. The New Zealanders are generally very willing to help anyway.

02.10.
Today we discovered more of the wonderful surroundings of Thames. We seized a visit to friends in Waihi to see two wonderful spots here (or was it the other way round?): Karangahake Gorge and Waihi Beach. The way led us past beautiful green hills with cattle and sheep and blossoming trees. Karangahake Gorge is a historical place of gold mining and you can access the tunnels they build, at least partly. You have to bring your own torch though. The kids had much fun. The vegetation is very typical for NZ. There is a very nice walk along the stream between the big rocks on either side. Then we had a look at the gold mine of Waihi, which is still in operation. A huge pit in the soil. Waihi Beach is a typical beach of the East coast: broad, dunes, white sand, surf. Beautiful. Fortunately we had perfect weather for the whole day.