Where does the time go? Today we are in this country for 1 year 10 months and 11 days. And it has been more than two months since our last sign of life. It must be a good sign. We must have been very busy, and yes we have!
Dagmar, Jurriaan and Mare
Halfway through November two of our Dutch friends and their daughter decided to move from Wellington to Auckland. We helped them cleaning the place and preparing for their trip up north. We are very sorry to see them go, since we started to have some good fun together. It might seem close by, at least it is the same country, but it is as far away as Amsterdam and Bordeaux are from eachother.
Labour Weekend
A nice long weekend where everyone is taking it easy. No stress and a lot of fun. Like last year we decided to go up north to the Taranaki Wave Classic. A fun windsurf event. And like last year there was not much wind. When the wind hits Taranaki, it hits it well. But we seem to have something terribly wrong with our timing. On the other hand on the first competition day, the caravan hit Waitara and the surfers amongst the windsurfers were treated to tow-in on an overhead A frame. And well, you’re out and about, camping, relaxing and in nature. We did have some nice waves to surf, so no complaints. A very nice session at Kina road with only our surf buddies Nils, Margreet, Fabrice, Ala, and Alan. What more do you want? The sun was shining and the mood was good. To top things off there was also a very nice session at Sky Williams where the waves had to be shared with a couple of ‘strangers’.
The Duck
Our sole mate and companion since we came to NZ has gone to it’s last resting place. The southerly winds have been getting to him and he started to corrode under our very noses. Also the Warrant (NL:APK) didn’t come through. In need for something to sleep in, more economic and environmentally friendly than a 22 year old diesel, we decided to step up a bit. Our newest and latest friend is called ‘The Duck’ (or Duke). A 2003 Holden Combo. Which neatly fits some surfboards, gear, stuff and a place to sleep. All you need.
First visitor
Again this year we have an impressive list of upcoming visits to this neat little place. So many that we sometimes aren’t home when people come by (when we are on holiday ourselves). We feel very fortunate that so many of our friends and family like to travel, and like to travel this far. We know for a fact that there many are other immigrants who live here who don’t have this luxury. Our first visitor of the year has been Stefan Thie. He is travelling alone and meanwhile writing his novel around cognitive behavior. Visiting the most fantastic places. We took him to a bbq hosted by our friends Sophie and Vale who live in Paekakariki (what?). A quiet, stunning, precious coastal town. They live in the old backpackers, which has a hottub (which Stefan knows all about). We spend the afternoon eating and playing Kubb on the beach.
Interview
Meanwhile I had an interview at Springload. A great web development company located in Wellington. I applied for the role as Front End Developer. Since I decided I want to pursue working in web development and teach yoga (see below), I thought I’d give it a go. They were enthusiastic, but I am not there yet. I’d probably wouldn’t have made a good replacement for a guy who was called ‘the guru of JS’ 
No worries. It just means a lot more of the learning stuff. Keep you posted on this.
Yoga Teacher training
Finally, November came. I had already signed myself up for the course in May. It was worth the wait. Last Sunday was the last day of almost a month full of Yoga. And it was incredible. Our teacher, Nicky Knoff, born in 1938, is inspirational and definitely showed me what good can come from a life full of Yoga. We learned asana’s, pranayama, meditation, philosophy, anatomy & physiology, teaching methodology, nutrition, and much much more. The group was wonderful. All yogi’s dedicated to become a better, more loving and healthier person. You can imagine the amount of energy we brought together every day.
Now my day starts at 5.45am and the first thing I do is step on my mat. No matter the weather or the mood. I have been practicing yoga for the past five years and have seen gradual improvement in my physical and emotional health. The amount of intensive practice I have done over the past month has brought it all together. The improvements I have seen are immense. There is no doubt in my mind that Yoga (in its full glory) is one of the most comprehensive and complete systems that foster a healthy body and mind.
Teaching Yoga
The weeks before Christmas I’ll be teaching friends in our living room. In the new year I’ll be working towards teaching all around town. Wherever people have the space and want to learn the ways of Yoga.
Sjakie Jansen
The weekend before Sinterklaas (5th of December) Klaas went with his mate Greg to Taranaki for weekend of surfing and an outdoor concert of Jack Johnson in one of the most spectacular parks of New Zealand presenting an almost perfect Amphitheater surrounded by old and large trees brilliantly lit up. The surf on Saturday didn’t seem to be getting anywhere, there was 30 knots of wind! 25 more than expected and no windsurfers in the Duke. The wind died off and we had a few great surf session topped off with aperfectly timed session at a 250 m overhead point with not too many people in. Did I already mention that the weather was great? You guessed it, these weekends don’t get much better!
Sinterklaas
No presents, but we decided to eat some sweets and cry our eyes out at the Sinterklaas classic ‘Alles is Liefde’ with our Dutch friends Willemijn and Geert. No better DVD than that one to mull over the goods of Holland, for an inkling forgetting why we were living on the other side of the world. And especially nice because Wil en Gert hadn’t seen it before. We laughed our socks off! Thanks guys!
What’s to come
The Scholten family is in ‘da country’. We are so very happy. Linda and Mark have travelled all this way with their two kids. We had a great weekend together in Wellington. Tomorrow we’ll pick them up from the ferry and we’ll travel North together. Of course not missing Taranaki
On the 3rd of January we pick up Klaas his brother from Auckland airport and head down south again, in the meantime enjoying ourselves a lot, of course! Let the new year come!
‘May you love and be loved in these special times of the year, and in the rest of your time to come!’
Love
Klaas and Merel
De kerst
