"Are you going home?"
That question was put to me by a pleasant fellow passenger
on the flight back to New Zealand. I paused as I was stuffing my backpack in
the overhead compartment. The ultimate answer is no, of course not, my Home is Fort Bragg, CA, 95437, but I was
headed back to Timaru, New Zealand, 7910, a place where I feel very much “at
home” since 2010.
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| Caroline Bay, Timaru, New Zealand |
This feeling was even more clear once we arrived the last
day of January, 2014. The town, the
people, and the workplace have changed very little since we left 3 years ago.
The biggest change was due to the 2nd major Christchurch earthquake 22
February, 2011, my last week of work. This had damaged the integrity of the
Gardens Block, a tower built as a nursing school dorm, converted to offices.
This necessitated a major re-shuffling. Instead of individual rooms, the
physicians and their secretaries are grouped together in a few larger rooms, and some support offices have moved off-site.
That aside, 80-90% of the employees are the
same, and seem genuinely glad to have me back (but Kiwis are in general very
polite people). Former and current co-workers greeted me on the street and
welcomed me back from Day One.
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| My desk is to the far right |
It feels a bit like a time warp here. People can’t believe
it has been three years since I worked here. There are five other doctors in my
department (2 Yanks, 2 Germans, & 1 Kiwi), three of which I worked with
previously, and who were instrumental in getting the DHB (District Health
Board) to take me back. Even the computer refuses to believe I was away for any
length of time. Telephone calls were initially transferred to the cell phone I
had back then, and when I went in to check my clinic schedule, the tab “previous
clinic” went to 23 February, 2011, and announced “Clinic cancelled due to
earthquake”.
There are two principle phrases in NZ you will hear from constantly: 1) “No worries”; followed by, 2) “It will be sorted”. They go a long way
to understanding what it is like living and working here. “No worries” is uttered in reference to something where there is
in fact cause to worry; otherwise there would be no reason to bring it up. It
is used as a calming mantra, a rosary or chant almost, along with the
optimistic reassurance that whatever it
is, it will in time be sorted out satisfactorily. God forbid if a Kiwi actually acknowledges there
are reasons to worry, and they may not be sorted out. They do fret here just as
at home, and like elsewhere most of the time things do work out (and if not you
just deal with it). The end result is zen-like, and less of a personal
burden than one typically feels in the States.
February 6th is Waitangi Day in New Zealand. I
was here three years ago and wrote in my blog then:
“Recently they "celebrated"
Waitangi Day, honoring the treaty between the British and the Maori which
established the country. There were no parades, no fireworks. I realized it is
in some ways the opposite of Independence Day. This is the day the Maori ceded
(or may have, depending on who you believe) sovereignty to the Crown. Instead
of uniting people, to date it seems to bring up some resentment and grievances
on both sides. ”
All that is still true. I was surprised to find this flier
on my car Waitangi Day morning.
Apparently a tiny group of white supremacists in the region were responsible, an unpleasant
reminder of the conflict the day brings out. The lunatic fringe aside, I think
I understand this conflict a bit better. Unlike Independence Day, Waitangi Day
was only declared the national holiday in 1974, initially called New Zealand
Day, renamed Waitangi Day in 1976. Even deciding what to call it remains
contentious. Currently, it is a day marked by protests due to the nature of the
Treaty itself. It was largely ignored
from 1877 when Chief Justice James Prendergast declared it to be a 'legal
nullity', until the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975, when it regained
significant legal standing. Since then, a lot of time and effort has been spent
trying to reach just settlement of breaches of the Treaty going back to 1840.
One side says it has not gone far enough, another that it is too much. It would
be like the US having a tribunal to try to adjudicate grievances from Native
Americans or the descendants of slaves. The second article of the Treaty
guarantees to the chiefs full "exclusive and undisturbed possession of
their Lands and Estates Forests Fisheries and other properties”, and there were
extensive areas of land illegally confiscated from the tribes in the 1800. What
a mess, right?
Here is a completely unsolicited opinion (and probably
unappreciated). I give the New Zealanders a lot of credit for addressing these
difficult issues. They are even actively debating whether to change their flag,
to make it look less like the Australian one and to remove the Union Jack.
Imagine someone in the US trying to change the Stars and Stripes! Ultimately, I
hope they can see the commemoration of the founding document of their unique
country as something to celebrate. I can think of no other major country
established by a contract between native and European peoples. The way the USA
and Australia dealt with the indigenous people was not nearly as enlightened or
equitable. (American Indians were only granted the right to vote nationally in
1924.)
Furthermore, the modern Kiwi identity is a blending of the
Maori and Pakeha (European). Look at a map of NZ and you will find a majority
of Maori names for places. The typical greeting is kia
ora. The All Blacks, World Rugby Champions and pride of the nation, feature
many star Maori players and begin each game with a fearsome traditional haka. And for the 17.5% of the
population that consider themselves Maori, most have some Pakeha blood, and no
one is seriously proposing a return to the 17th century ways. From
the earliest contact, the natives were eager to acquire muskets and nails,
among other commodities from Europe, and the whole concept of a written treaty
and legal standing in court come from Western institutions. New Zealand would not be the great place it is
without both.
But enough pontificating......
We have been doing a lot of walking in Timaru since our
return, covering places we didn’t see before, such as Dashing Rocks, part of a
coastal trail around the seafront. There are geometrical formations of basalt
marking where the lava from Mt. Horrible reached the sea.
We also made a run down south, through Waimate, the quiet
town known for imported wallabies and domestic bad water. There is a pub, the
Empire Tavern, which claims to have had the first “Happy Hour” in the country.
The story goes after WWII good whiskey was in short supply so the government
decreed for four bottles of gin must be sold for each bottle of whiskey. The
locals weren’t fond of gin, so they decided to almost give it away one hour per day.
Waimate is also proud of their bushmen,
And giant strawberries.
“Are you here permanently?”
That was a second question for which
I was unprepared. This answer is quite clearly “No” as nothing is permanent,
and while I plan to work here indefinitely, I will be returning Home after my
work in done. The question, however, really means are you here on a locums (temporary) contract, or a
permanent (open-ended) one. With a locums
contract here, the DHB provides housing and use of a car for the duration, and
with the permanent contract, these are provided for a two month period, then
you are on your own. (More on the search for a place to rent and a car in the
next blog).
PS-Happy St. Paddy's Day!
PS-Happy St. Paddy's Day!
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