1 Week Down, 51 To Go!

My First Week as a Watson Fellow and in New Zealand

This past week has been so fulfilling and I have learned and done so much already! I can’t believe that I have another 51 weeks of this!

Friday, 29 July 2022

I arrived in Auckland on Thursday and on Friday I was up, out of bed, and ready to go for the day at 7:15 am NZT. Jet lag, who?! I spent the morning sitting on the sofa staring out the window, a bit shocked that I was actually across the world watching the sun come up over the trees. I marveled at the little birds hopping and flapping around outside. I took some quiet moments to write in my journal, a very bright and colorful book given to me by my fantastic supervisor from my child life practicum at Connecticut Children’s Hospital, and document my feelings at the outset of my year. After a while, my host Fi and her two dogs (Harriet and Mollie) got home from their morning walk. We decided to venture out in Fi’s car to try to orient me to the area. Walking up to the car, I internally repeated to myself that I needed to go on the opposite side to access the passenger’s seat, so as to not embarrass myself. We drove up and down hills, along the coast line, and I took it all in from the car window.

We then stopped at a really lovely little cafe for breakfast. I ordered some gluten free paleo bread, jam, and scrambled eggs, thinking they would be more to my liking than the poached or fried options listed since I don’t like runny yolks. Well, the first unanticipated reminder about the differences that exist between the US and elsewhere of my trip came when my plate arrived with the soft scrambled eggs that are typical for non-American folks. Oh well… they still tasted quite good, even though they weren’t what I had expected.

After our brunch, we stopped at the grocery store so I could pick up essentials for the week. I had to do a fair bit of subtle observation of the other patrons to understand how to navigate the store without walking around with a big metaphorical “tourist” sign in neon lights over my head. I don’t think I succeeded as well as I would have liked, especially since my accent gives me away in an instant. But, I was able to get everything I needed without any issues. I was surprised, both at breakfast and the supermarket, how widely available gluten-free items are in New Zealand and how clearly gluten is labeled as an allergen on ingredients lists. I was also very happy to discover that unlike in the US, the gluten-free counterparts of many items are not 2x-3x times more expensive but are much more comparable in price to their gluten-containing friends.

Back at the house, I crocheted and peered out the window more. And, then I started to worry that I wasn’t seizing the day how I should. Despite being only a few hours off of my 30-hour travel extravaganza, I worried that I was wasting my time by just taking a bit of time to recover rather than going out for a long walk with my camera to capture the scenery. I wrote in my journal,

I put aside my worries and soaked up the moments of calm for the rest of the evening.

Saturday, 30 July 2022

Again on Saturday I woke up bright and early and watched the sun come up and journaled. This morning, my scribbles were consumed with silly worries. One example was whether I would need to bring lunch to the hospital when I worked there and what I would pack it in. As an update, I did bring lunch, I used a tupperware container from the house, and I didn’t end up eating it since I left soon after a normal lunch time on my first day. But, this morning, I joined Fi, Mollie, and Harriet on the morning walk, which was really lovely and quite grounding. Along the way we got a cup of coffee and I was shown the route I’d be taking to walk to the hospital for my first day.

We also took another little drive and stopped at an overlook where you could see the volcanos out in the distance and just an expanse of water! I was sure to ask for a picture of myself to send to my parents to prove that I was alive and thriving.

I did some other housekeeping tasks throughout the day and chatted with Fi so we could get to know each other more. In the course of her asking questions and me answering, she said that I’d better prepare myself to be asked these same questions over and over again. To that I replied that this would be a year of repeating myself and introductions, but that it was an exciting prospect. In the midst of the conversation she said,

Wow. What a thought. I wrote this down in big bold letters in my notebook as something to reflect on as I move through the next 12 months.

Sunday, 31 July 2022

Sunday was another eventful day. I took myself on a little walk alone this morning. I wanted to see if I could make my way to the hospital and retrace the path I was shown the day before on my own. Turns out, I couldn’t! I made it to the general vicinity but not quite where I meant to be. I ended up stopping at a small pharmacy when I passed by it and I bought a sharps container to round out what I needed in terms of diabetes management for my time here. The pharmacies work differently than they do in the US. I’m not sure if it is because of the pandemic or what, but in general they are much smaller and tucked away than what I had anticipated. They sort of reminded me of the little souvenir shops you’d see along the streets in Myrtle Beach, Cape Cod, or Downtown Geneva-on-the-Lake. I’m not sure why, though. Overall, my walk lasted an hour and a half and by the time I got back, I was pretty tired from trying to navigate the city alone. I spent time planning and prepping for my first day of work the following day, crocheting, cooking, and listening to the Grief Out Loud podcast hosted by the Dougy Center in Portland, OR. It was nice to be surrounded by American accents and turns-of-phrase for a bit.

Starship Hospital - Pediatric Palliative Care

It was finally time to dive into the real meat of my Watson project and I was so ready! I will discuss generally how I spent my time with the hospital, my observations, and the significance of this time as it relates to my project in a separate blog post after I finish my second week with the team!

For now, here are more updates about how I spent some of my time outside of the hospital.

Monday, 1 August 2022

After I left the hospital in the afternoon, I walked back through the Auckland Domain to the place I am staying. On that walk, I took my time to admire the beauty of my surroundings. I stopped at a little duck pond, listened to a podcast, and ate my lunch outside. I could never dream of doing that in the winter in Cleveland!

Tuesday, 2 August 2022

I took a slight detour before leaving the hospital and walking back home this afternoon. I went to the little places in the hospital atrium where I had wanted to snap pictures of unique fixtures and art. Something important must have compelled me to take that short 15-minute break before leaving because I arrived on my path back to the house just as two gorgeous, vibrant wild parakeets did too! I looked it up and the type I encountered were eastern rosella parakeets. I stood frozen, watching the two birds play, capturing only a very quick, poor zoomed in photo before they flew away.

Wednesday, 3 August 2022

I finished up at the hospital shortly before 1pm this day, so I decided to take myself on a little field trip. I journeyed off to the Auckland War Memorial Museum to explore all of the exhibits inside. I spent about 3 hours in the museum, taking my time to read every placard and carefully examine every artifact. One thing that really struck me was just how much more in the museum I was able to be touched and intently interacted with than what I am used to at home. So many fewer items were behind thick panes of glasses and hoards of school children were bustling around, exploring the tactile sensation of the intricately carved Maori canoes and chattering away about their discoveries. In general, New Zealand is a much younger country than the US. So the oldest of items they have would be considered relatively young in the US, I believe. One of the museum workers was explaining that some of their oldest bones from New Zealand in the museum are 800 years old. For comparison, in the Cleveland Natural History Museum there is a bone that is 225 million years old.

During my visit, I learned a lot about the history of New Zealand, Auckland, and the Maori and other Pacific Island groups prominent here. I learned about culture, the environment, art, religion, the geography, and social concerns past and present. It was probably the best $16 spent to introduce me to the area and lay a solid foundation of information for my time spent here interacting with the people, places, and culture that make New Zealand what it is.

That evening, I went to the opening night of a kiwi documentary called “A Boy Called Piano: The Story of Fa'amoana John Luafutu” at the New Zealand International Film Festival. In the film, Fa’amoana told about his experience being a state ward and being in boys’ homes in New Zealand beginning at the age of 11. He detailed the abuse he suffered during this time, but more so focused on intergenerational trauma - talking with his son and grandson and themes of redemption, forgiveness, and speaking up for the voiceless. Fa’amoana was one of the key individuals in a recent Royal Commission of Inquiry into abuse in state care. It was heartbreaking and powerful to listen to this story and the tumultuous history of state care in New Zealand as well as its rippling effects both during the film and in the Q&A with the cast and crew afterwards.

Thursday, 4 August 2022

I did some more housekeeping working this afternoon, scheduled a Zoom meeting with a grief camp in Ireland (always thinking ahead!), and looked into places and ways to explore NZ while I am here. I think that I will book a few bus day trip tours to various areas within driving distance on my days off so that I get out of Auckland and have the ability to see more of the north island before I move south. I have my eyes set on the Bay of Islands, Rotorua, and Waitomo Caves as of now. Fi and I are making plans to visit Waiheke Island too.

Friday, 5 August 2022

Well, I think the week finally caught up with me. When I got home after my time at the hospital today, I had big plans for how to spend the evening – I wanted to read a 100-page report I had found earlier in the week about administering pediatric palliative care in New Zealand, I was going to crochet, do laundry, and then go out and visit the winter gardens in the area. None of that happened. I listened to some podcasts, cooked, and mostly stared blankly out the window. I wrote more in my journal and began to summarize my observations from the week, but that was about all I was able to muster. It also doesn't help that it was a very foggy day...

Saturday, 6 August 2022

Saturday was an exciting and lovely day! After a slow morning with a nice walk, Fi and I went on an adventure! We walked to the downtown ferry station and caught the ferry off to Devonport, a lovely and relaxed seaside town. It was only a 15 minute ferry ride, since it is a suburb of Auckland. But it was really nice to get out on the water and get some really nice views from the boat. The village has some very cute little shops, beaches, and a bustling playground. Fi and I walked along the coastline and took in the scenery.

Then, we made our way up to North Head. This is a volcano and Tūpuna Maunga (ancestral mountain). It has some absolutely fantastic views of the harbor and the city skyline. Another cool thing about North Head, though, is that it was the administrative center of Auckland’s military coastal defense in WWII. So, along the mountain are also preserved observation posts and military guns built into the side of the slope.

After the short walk, we took a stroll through the little town, peaked into the shops, and looked at the lovely library from afar. We sat and sipped on lattes and munched on espresso energy balls as we chatted the afternoon away before hopping back on the ferry and making the journey back home.

Sunday, 7 August 2022

And, here we are today! This morning, I decided to get up and go to the mass service at the Holy Trinity Cathedral, an Angelican church up the street from where I am staying. It is well-known in the area and has gorgeous stained glass windows surrounding you. It received a lot of praise and admiration from those I spoke to, so despite not really being very religious, I decided it would be a good experience. Religion is also an important area of exploration for my project as many turn towards faith and spirituality in times of grief. It is important that I explore and try to understand the prominent facets of religion, spiritual community, and belief in the cultures that I visit. Fitting, the sermon today focused on what they called the “travel narrative”. After I got back, I took my second trip to the grocery store and bought a few more classic New Zealand treats and snacks to try throughout the week, including some Tom & Luke Snackables, which I have heard are very popular! I booked my flight to Christchurch for the middle of September and have reflected on my time here so far and what is still yet to come!

Stay tuned for more updates! They likely won’t be in this day-to-day format, because it is hard to remember what I do each day and some days are a bit less exciting than others!

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