Settling into Wellington

We have been here for just over two weeks and are finally feeling more settled in. Our first two weeks we spent mostly looking for a used car, and a house to rent (or to "let" as they say here).

We bought a Mitsubishi Legnum station wagon that scrapes the ground every time we go over any small bump, but is blue with a sunroof, so the kids are happy. Driving on the left side of the road has been a bit of an adjustment, especially around the many curvy roads, but we are getting pretty comfortable with it now, as long as we remember to get into the car on the correct driver's side!

We found a great house to rent in a cute little area called Kelburn, up one of the many hills that extend out from the city centre. The house has nice space, with a second floor that the kids have deemed "the children's floor," which is fine with us! There is a little patio off of the kitchen and a bit of outdoor space for the kids to play, and incredible trees, bushes and flowers, which thankfully the owner is responsible for the upkeep. The views from the house are fantastic - green hills in all directions with the city and Wellington Bay at the bottom. It is about a 15-20 minute walk down into the main city, a beautiful stroll down through the Botanical Gardens.

In between the house and car hunting, we spent time checking out the Wellington area, especially the local playgrounds. The kids favorite one is in the Botanical Gardens, which has their favorite ride, the "Flying Fox," which is basically a disc on a zip line that they can jump on and go along. The "Rocktopus" is another favorite with tires on poles that spin around a center pole. (See photo - Jordan on the Flying Fox with Rocktopus in background. Link to more playground pictures.)

The girls started school last week at the local elementary school. Despite occasional difficulties due to the language differences/accents (eg. Jordan thinking that her teacher said that when kids are misbehaving that they go to a "Time-Out Beach" as opposed to a "Time-Out Bench" ), they are settling in well, and both seem to have great teachers. The nursery schools, called kindergarten here, or "kindy," have waiting lists, so at the moment Zeke is just hanging out with us while we wait for an opening. We are trying to get him into the Jewish kindy, which seemed really great when we went for a visit. Since kids start school here the day that they turn 5, space in a kindy should hopefully open up in not too long.

We went to a tot shabbat service this past Saturday morning at the liberal synagogue here, Temple Sinai. It was not the same as our beloved children's shabbat services at Temple Beth Avodah. However, we did meet some people there who seemed very nice and friendly.

We continue to get settled into the house which we moved into over the weekend, and just get generally acclimated. It is winter here - not particularly cold, but Wellington is quite a windy place, which can make it pretty chilly, especially when it is overcast. However, yesterday it was very sunny for a good part of the day without the usual wind, and it was gorgeous - we had the doors to the patio open and felt nothing like our Boston winter! At times it feels a bit lonely without friends or family here, but at the same time exciting to explore a new place, see the way that they do things here, and have more time than usual together as a family (mostly a good thing!). Please know that we have space for guests, and would gladly welcome any visitors who are willing to take the long trip here to see this beautiful country.