A Lot Can Happen In 10 Years

Yesterday marked the 10th anniversary of me landing in New Zealand. I was only meant to come here for a couple of years to work and see this side of the world... needless to say, I'm still here.  Time flies when you're having fun!

A lot's happened in the past decade.  Some of the highlights (and lowlights) include (off the top of my head):

Personally:

I became a resident of New Zealand.

I met the man of my dreams (after meeting a few of the men of my nightmares!)

I went to Singapore for an amazing Golden Jubilee Darbar.

Phill and I got married (in NZ and in Canada), bought a house and had a beautiful baby.

 I missed some family weddings (boo!)






We got to go to do a bit of travelling and go to some family weddings and engagements overseas (Aussie and U.S.A.).





Navaz and Shazeen got married and gave us our beautiful Noah & Maya.

 Phill's brother, Grant got married to a lovely lady, Jenna and also gave us a beautiful niece.

I developed an (unhealthy?) addiction to wool and knitting.


I've made some amazing, lifelong friends here in NZ (so blessed! These photos are by no means all of the amazing friends I have here, but simply the ones that are already on my blog and a small selection of the wonderful people I know.)

  Globally:

The rise of social media - the way we connect with each other and stay in touch has changed dramatically over the past few years. Along with that goes the mass dissemination of information - things happen and the world knows almost instantaneously... I feel that this is both good and bad in equal measure and something that has changed the world (my world) most drastically.

The iPhenomenon... Apple's changed the landscape of portable music/phone/tablet devices.



The first African-American president of the U.S.A. -  A pretty big deal if you ask me
The deaths of Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston - two of my childhood favourites and idols

A royal wedding and birth - such lovely occasions to celebrate!

Natural disasters - earthquakes in Christchurch, Japan, Haiti & Pakistan / The Boxing Day Tsunami / Hurricane Katrina


The All Blacks finally win the Rugby World Cup again

The Global Fiancial Crisis

The Maple Leafs in the Stanley Cup Playoffs (twice in the past decade actually)

There are many, many more - what's happened in the past 10 years that resonate the most with you?

Eight; Huit; Acht; Ocho; Ba; Otto; Oito; Aath

source

I've always liked the number 8.  There's something lovely about a number that is not only a perfect cube, but also a Fibonacci number.  The Chinese consider the number 8 to be a lucky number (not that I'm Chinese, but a nice little tidbit to throw in.)  In addition, Scorpio is the 8th astrological sign of the Zodiac... a bit of symmetry what with me being a Scorpio and all.

Now, it appears that last year I had the date wrong in my blog post - I was a week too early... tomorrow (July 26th) is the eight year anniversary of my arrival in New Zealand.

Happy anniversary to us, New Zealand... it's been fun so far - I can't wait to see what other surprises and adventures you have in store for me!

Today... grateful for 'N.'

"A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving. " - Lao Tzu

photo credit

Wow.

Today is the seven year anniversary of my arrival in New Zealand... and while I miss home a ridiculous amount, I am so incredibly grateful for the opportunities that I have been given from living here. 

The past seven years has been equivalent to 2 557 days.  That's 61 368 hours, which is
3 682 080 minutes and so on and so forth.

A lot has happened in the past seven years... a lot of laughter and many, many tears.  I've made friends that will last a lifetime and conversely had friends and acquaintances drift in and out of my life. 

I came on a bit of a whim - I found a job posting, it sounded good, I got the job and away I went.  I liked it when I got here.  It felt right... there were times it was tough and I wasn't sure I'd manage, but I did and I came out better for it. 

I've gone from the top of the country to the bottom and been awed and astounded by its natural beauty.

I've had (and continue to have) professional opportunities within the Montessori community, which I doubt I would have had in Canada.  I've got a fantastic opportunity in khane which I'm certain I would have only been able to aspire to had I stayed in Toronto.  I've been lucky enough to go to Sydney more times than I can count (when I was a child, I always wanted to go to Australia - that's one dream fulfilled) and had the chance to spend some great quality time with my family there.  I went to Singapore for one of the most beautiful and memorable trips I've ever had.  Finally, I've met amazing people and have a wonderful support network in my friends, co-workers and my "new" family (are they still counted as "new", when Phill and I have been married for over two years now?)  In all honesty, it's turned out a lot better than I ever could have imagined and I feel so blessed. 

Each and every day is a journey and a new adventure. 

photo credit

"A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. And all plans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are fruitless. We find that after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us."  John Steinbeck

I didn't plan to stay in New Zealand. I didn't plan to fall in love with the country, the people and the culture. I didn't plan to make a new home for myself. I didn't plan to meet my husband here (and marry him... twice.) 

But I'm so glad that I did.