The Land of the Kiwi

Just a quick post to let you know we are safely in New Zealand. It almost seems like a dream. The beauty of this nation is unbelievable to the eyes. Such a beautiful world we live it! We spent one day in Christchurch, one in Blenheim and today we are in Nelson. We are touring the country counter clockwise...wish we would have gone clockwise so the site seeing areas were more accessible. We are managing driving on the left...no scrapes, we hope to keep it that way. I even drove yesterday along the coastline. Tomorrow we are heading down to Franz Joseph Glacier...a long drive so this post will end now as I need to get some rest! Enjoy a few photos of the journey from Christchurch to Nelson.

Our next adventure

Tonight we are flying out to the South Island of New Zealand. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined I would set foot there, but it seems I will! Visiting Australia was such an incredible experience I can't imagine how New Zealand could be better. It is a long journey, one I am not looking forward too! It is about 5 hours to Hong Kong, then a 3+ hour layover then an 11 hour flight hour flight to Auckland and finally 1.5 hour flight to Christchurch. Sounds fun doesn't it? It is interesting though when I am excited about spending the 3 hours in the Hong Kong airport as it will be clean with nice western shops and food! We land in Christchurch in the morning and will pick up our rental van and stay the night before our tour of the South Island. You can pray for safety as we drive on the left side of the road! I hope to be able to post some photos to the blog while there so stayed tuned! I am anxious to try out my new wide angle lens Ted gave me for my birthday! So off to the land of the Kiwi!

My new ride

I have always wanted to ride on a bullock cart..why you ask? I guess because I like cows and it is something different. A few weeks ago I was out with my friend Margot and mentioned it and before I knew it I was out of the van and on the cart getting my photo taken. Meanwhile Sundar our driver is wondering what in the world "ma'am" is doing! So once again another priceless memory captured on film (or memory card!).

Frogs getting married?

On Sunday there was an interesting article about frogs getting married. Yes, you read right, they are marrying frogs in India! Assam, a place in northern India has been experiencing a severe drought and they performed a frog marriage in hopes that the rain god would bring rain. It is amazing to me the things that occur in the cultures in India. The ceremony even had all the songs, ornaments and dress associated with normal weddings. Let's just hope they didn't dress the frogs up! After the marital vows were exchanged (or croaked) the two were released into a nearby stream celebrate their honeymoon. And according to the weather forecast rain is expected later this week. Of course if it does rain I don't believe it has anything to do with the marriage of two frogs!

A copy of the is article can be found at: The Hindu

Happy Birthday Mason

Today our house has a teenager in it...Mason today turned 13 years old. I don't know where the time has went but it has gone by quickly! Mason is such a great addition to our family. He is not only taller than me, but he is much better at math than me, can solve my computer woes (you know the computer just does things all it its own), can figure out electronics for me, can load up my iPod, etc. He is quite a help to his siblings too! This year has been an really neat year to watch him mature and we are thankful to God for placing him in our care! He is a joy to talk to, of course this normally happens when on his way up to bed...it is a stall tactic but I still cherish this time together! He has had a great year in 7th grade at AISC, he enjoys school and has lots of friends. He has been busy planning a birthday party for this weekend and it has been humorous to hear him talk about inviting both girls and boys. Times are really changing!

Happy Birthday Mason! You are an awesome son and we love you!

You can haul just about anything

One thing I really like about living in Chennai is how interesting everything is. I would have thought the "newness" would have worn off by now but it hasn't. It seems like I always see something new. This blog is just about how creative people are in the way in which they move things from place to place. It still amazes me that to this date you still have the oxes, rickshaw (auto and bicylce powered), bicycles, two wheelers, lorries, buses, automobiles and the usual livestock sharing the same road. Below are just random photos of the way people haul their merchandise...and in some case dinner (or for those Brits...tea).

These people were hauling a treadle sewing machine, refrigerator and dishwasher all with a motor assisted bicycle.

What a load of bananas!

I believe this man is hauling recycled paper or plastic.

A lorrie with a load of old dilapidated rickshaws

Bottles used for carrying water

Balls!

And my favorite...goats on a two wheeler!