Summer is in the way...though the weather keeps very unpredictable - this is Wellington, this is New Zealand! :)
Anyway, during the month of November, most of the days were good (or at least, had a lovely morning or afternoon), which gave the oportunity to enjoy some great time playing outdoor soccer (early evening twilight), participating in some golf tournament (in the Wainuiomata course, organized by IRL) - it was my first time playing golf (not easy at all, I mus admit), or even restarting surfing and watching beautiful sunsets in Lyall bay (with Sudhir - who no longer needs to be introduced, and Eva - cool intern student from Germany; my very good friend and colleague, Matt (who also doesn't need introductions, will soon join this gang as well). I am sorry that I haven't taken any pictures in any of these places/activities, but I can assure you that in any of these sports, I had the opportunity to experience lovely landscapes - I promise, for the nearest future, to take a few shots in the Lyall bay and then share it with you!
I have also been to Auckland (again)...this time I have managed to do some decent sightseeing, though I went there for a conference (New Zealand Geothermal Workshop). It was great. Everything - the sight seeing (and party) around Auckland, as well as the conference itself.
During the fisrt night, I was walking around the Auckland streets, trying to get lost. Fortunately, I managed to, thanks to some kind of "on special" pub crawling, where I met some spaniards, from Madrid - what a characters (and I envy them soooo much) - they have been travelling around the World for about 1 year...and their plan is to keep travelling, at least, 1 year more; their aim is to have some kind of spiritual trip, experiencing the places around the planet, where, they believe, there is some kind of special energy (to which they associate different chakras). Whatever are their believes, it was great to meet them...as we were in a pub crawling, you may guess how did we end up that night! :D
During the sight seeing in Auckland, I have been walking a lot downtown, went to the Museum of Auckland (where I managed to watch a beautiful Maori performance show) and also went to Waiheke island, but only for a couple of hours, as I have arrived there already quite late. I also managed to meet Aurora, the manager of the portuguese group "Amigos de Portugal na Nova Zelandia". It was very good to have a couple of good warm chats, in portuguese language.
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| Garden around museum of Auckland |
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| Tai chi practicing, just in front of the museum of Auckland |
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| Maori performance show inside the museum |
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| Me and 2 of the performers in the Maori show |
Do you know why Maori people started tattooing their face as well?
Because, when they have arrived to New Zealand, as opposed to the pacific islands (where they came from), they have started to cover the whole body because of the lower temperature found here. Consequently, the face was the only zone of the body that was not covered. Hence, tattoos (ta moko) in their face became more common, so that they could keep their identity (the tattoos are associated with their general culture, to a specific tribes or even to the individual). In the Museum of Auckland, I had the chance of admiring some paintings of several Maori former tribe leaders:
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| Maori leader I |
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| Maori leader II |
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| Maori leader III |
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| Maori leader IV |
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| Maori leader V |
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| Maori leader VI |
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| Maori leader VII |
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| Christmas marketing in Auckland |
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| On the ferry, in the way to Waiheke island |
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| Waiheke island - beautiful and relaxing landscape |
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| Oneroa bay, Waiheke island |
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| On the ferry, back to Auckland |
Regarding the conference itself, it was very good in many senses - the great people I met there, the good contacts I made and the feeling of attending my first conference (in the context of my research). Also met a few characters; as the australian (who lives in Japan) and the canadian guys, who had this interesting dialogue:
Australian: - For the last 30 years, I have been giving up everything in my life for there creatures (refering to worms): relationships,wage,liver,career...
Canadian: - That is a good cause,though! They need someone to take care if them!
Australian: - Yeh,but they are just some wierd "stuff"!
(Difficult to express in words how hilarious was this conversation - the Australian dude was in this conference, as he was currently studying the worms that are found in the geothermal environments).
Back in Wellington, I kept attending the English courses - the one in IRL, where I managed to meet some other colleagues; and the one in Wellington High School, where Jhonny is also attending, and we have already managed to meet some interesting people. Obviously, I have improved my english language understanding and skills, as well...
In abstract, at the end of November, I feel like quoting the title of my favourite movie, in my favourite language: "La vita รจ bella".
