Winter travels part 4: Hawai'i

If you're counting, yes, this is my fifth trip this winter, the third trip that involves crossing the Atlantic. I've seen a lot of films on aeroplanes now. This wasn't a trip I had anticipated making, but I got a call inviting me out to Hawai'i for a job interview! (All travel costs covered, of course.) This wasn't totally out of the blue -- I'd applied for the job, and I'd had a preliminary Skype interview, but there are usually so many applicants that the odds of being invited for an in-person interview are very low. So, it was time to pack my bags!

As you may know, my contract here in Paris ends at the end of August, so I've been looking for new opportunities. As I explained in my post "What is a postdoc?", my goal is to get a permanent position in teaching and research. That'd be a "lecturer" in the UK, an "assistant professor" in the US, and a "maître de conferences" in France. The Hawai'i job is an assistant professor job, so it's a big deal if I can do it right.

It's nearly 7,500 miles from Paris to Hawai'i (that's nearly 12,000km), and that's plotting a straight line. There are no direct flights from Europe, so you have to fly via some major hub in the US (or in Asia, which is slightly longer but doesn't make that much difference). All told, it was about 24 hours from takeoff in Paris to landing in Honolulu. The time difference from Hawai'i to Paris is 11 hours.

The Sans Souci State Recreational Park. Yep, sans souci is French for "no worry".

Given all of that, I decided to arrive in Honolulu on Monday evening, which gave me a couple of days to adjust my internal clock before my visit formally began on Thursday. Academic job interview visits in the US are fairly intense. In this case, it involved meeting one-on-one with each faculty member in the department (for 30 minutes to an hour), presenting a research talk to the whole department (faculty and postgraduate students, plus any other interested parties), teaching a (real!) class as a demonstration of my pedagogical methods, being formally interviewed by the entire faculty of the department, meeting with the dean of the college, meeting (and being interviewed by) the postgraduate students, and then also going to dinners with various faculty members in the evening. It's a real marathon, designed to test your skill and aptitude as a researcher and educator, and also your collegiality and ability to get on well with others. Those extra days were crucial for me in de-fogging my jetlagged brain, and also in allowing me time to explore the island and investigate what it'd be like to live there. This last part was especially important as it's not a temporary position, so any relocation to Hawai'i has the potential to be permanent.

Of course, you don't want to know the details of the interview process -- you want to know what was Hawai'i like?

A view of Honolulu. The hilly crater in the distance is Diamond Head. Buildings on the left are part of the university campus.

Well, it was quite lovely, especially in contrast to Paris in February (rainy, cold, dreary). It was apparently a little colder than usual when I visited, but I didn't notice. Since records began in 1877, Honolulu has never been colder than 11C (52F) or warmer than 35C (95F). It's usually between 23C and 27C year round (73F to 81F), so it's extremely pleasant.

A lovely tree at Kailua beach. Hawai'i has lots of lovely trees.

Some miscellaneous observations:

• Everyone wears flip flops.
• No-one is in a hurry.
• Apparently there are centipedes and flying cockroaches. (I didn't see any myself.) They lurk.
• I had been in Hawai'i for three days before I heard a car sounding its horn. (You might get three minutes in Paris if you're lucky.)
• A quick scan through some radio stations while driving revealed chamber music, reggae, Japanese punk rock, Korean slow jams, and surf rock.
• This will sound strange, but the closest point of reference I have is New Zealand. Hawai'i is like New Zealand, but tropical and American rather than temperate and British.

There are several dramatic cliffs with secluded beaches below.

The island of O'ahu, where Honolulu is located, is about the size of the isle of Skye in Scotland, and is home to about 950,000 people. (Skye has 9,000 people.) This means that it can be pretty crowded, especially in the city; but it also means that you can find most goods and products that you need, like any major city. You will pay a lot of money for them, though. Most cost of living indices put Honolulu at about the same level as San Francisco or London, just behind New York. It's not cheap to live in paradise.

Part of this is because most goods must be shipped in on planes or container ships. At more than 3,000km from the closest continent, Hawai'i is by some measures the most isolated archipelago in the world. Unlike the isle of Skye, there is no convenient bridge connecting you to the mainland.

A panorama of the Mānoa valley, the neighbourhood where the university is located.

Even with the extra time I built in, it was a whirlwind trip. I was able to tour around Honolulu and some nearby places, but there's only so much you can do and see, especially when you're fighting an 11-hour jetlag! The 11 hour time difference also made it difficult to stay in touch with Talia. We'd talk in the mornings and evenings while we were both awake, me sharing stories of banana trees and mangos and her sharing stories of baby poops and interrupted sleeping. Before I knew it I was on a plane back to Europe and home in sunny Paris.

PS, I got the job! I start in August.

New Zealand, part 3

We're back in Paris safe and sound now, but we still have a lot of pictures and New Zealand-related stories to share. Here are a few of them.

(See parts 1 and 2 of our journey to New Zealand, and Talia's writing.)

In case you forgot the backstory, I was invited to the University of Canterbury by a former colleague to finish up a linguistics project we've had going for several years. It had stalled and delayed, but setting aside some time to work together intensely on the project was a fantastic idea. This arrangement meant that I was working at the university most of the time, with free weekends to travel, while Talia amused herself around Christchurch and other places.

You may have heard of Christchurch as being the location of a devastating series of earthquakes in 2010 and 2011. Around 185 people died, and the historic centre of the city lost over a third of its buildings. The effects of the earthquake still loom large in the city. The centre of the town was basically closed for over a year, while workers destroyed the damaged and dangerous buildings. Many of the eastern suburbs, built on marshland, underwent liquefaction and became uninhabitable. The consequent loss of homes, plus the influx of aid and construction workers, lead to a housing crisis. The city is still rebuilding, and even now there is construction all over the place.

The current state of the Christchurch Cathedral.

One of the first weekend trips we took was out to Akaroa, a beautiful seaside town on the Banks peninsula. Akaroa has a curious history - it was originally settled by French colonists. In 1840, the Treaty of Waitangi was signed, which established all of New Zealand as being under British sovereignty. A few weeks later, with news of the treaty not having reached Europe, a group of French colonists (and a few Germans) set sail for New Zealand, hoping to establish an outcrop of the French Empire. When they arrived, 5 months later(!), they learned the islands were now British. They decided to stay anyway, and form a little French village.

The local butcher's shop.

Today, the village is very proud of its French heritage, with the French tricolour flying all over the place. I think they also play up the French connection as a tourist attraction, a quaint little slice of France on the other side of the world. We actually heard a lot of French being spoken, too, but it was all from tourists. The main vestige of the French origins of the town is in the street names.

It's like we're back in Paris!

The Banks peninsula, where Akaroa is, was formed by a series of volcanoes, and has very dramatic hills right beside the sea, leading to a beautiful landscape. The gentle turquoise colour of the sea also adds a lot. It's easy to see why this is a popular holiday destination for Kiwis, and why so many people have second homes here!

The view from the top of the Akaroa lighthouse.

After our trip to Akaroa, Talia went to visit Dunedin, the south island's second largest city, often called "the Edinburgh of the South" for its strong Scottish connections. I'll let her write that post in the future.

Finally, we took a trip out to the west coast. This involves driving through the Southern Alps to emerge at the rainforested area on the other side. The mountains act as a rain trap, apparently, keeping the west coast very wet and the area east of the mountains relatively dry. Our first stop, in the foothills of the mountain range, was Castle Hill, a set of large limestone boulders arrayed around some hills, which from a distance resemble a ruined castle. The area of is of spiritual significance to the Maori, and apparently the Dalai Lama referred to it as the "spiritual centre of the universe".

Limestone rocks.

On our way through the mountains, we were lucky to spot a wild Kea. These endangered birds, unique to New Zealand's south island, are the world's only alpine parrot.

You can't see it in this picture, but it's actually perched atop an informative sign saying "Protect our Keas!" with information on their habitat and instructions not to feed or disturb them.

We finally reached the west coast, greeted by roaring waves (really really big waves) and a beautiful sunset.

Getting close as we are to the southern hemisphere summer solstice, this picture was taken at about 9:40pm.

The next day, we visited the Pancake Rocks, named because they look like stacks of pancakes. The ocean runs around and through these rocks, leading to some "blowholes" where water just bursts up into the air from a surging wave. It's really very spectacular.

No maple syrup, unfortunately.

 Later that day we made our way back to Christchurch. The rain prevented us from getting good pictures of the mountains, but I'm fairly sure they were still there.

The pictures we've shown here have been mainly of the landscape, but the people and culture of New Zealand are very agreeable too. They're very friendly and in no danger of taking themselves too seriously, which I think is by virtue of being rather a sparsely populated country, like Scotland. There also appears to be a lack of regard for traditional barriers like class and religion - people are people - that reminded me of some of the attributes I like about the USA. Still, it's not reducible down to simply attributes of other cultures; New Zealand culture is fiercely unique and it's clear that they are proud to be who they are, living in a beautiful country in the south Pacific.

New Zealand-inspired writing

The calm and peaceful atmosphere I found in New Zealand made it easy for me to write, something that I've always enjoyed doing but have put off for many years because my life felt too harried and busy. So it was wonderful to be surrounded by nature with my notebook in hand, being able to examine my thoughts and reflect on the world and my experiences therein. Below are two short products of my time spent in parks in Christchurch. 

Not your average university park

I'm sitting on a tree-shaded bench, staring at a barely moving, bog-like stream. The warm sun is streaking through the leaves, but its heat is tempered by a mild spring breeze. Bird song swirls around me like surround sound, and in the not-too-far-off distance, I can hear cars and construction equipment. In front of me are huge globe-like ground plants that look like Albert Einstein's hair with static electricity running through it. On the other side of the stream, bright green dinosaur-sized kale-shaped leaves hang on thick stalks over the water. Fern trees and pale pink rhododendrons round out the menagerie of unfamiliar plants. Apart from the blackbird hopping about inquisitively near the water, I am entirely, gloriously alone.

If I could block out the sounds of the construction crews, it would be easy to forget that I am on a university campus. In fact, I would surely be unaware that I am in the most populous city on New Zealand's south island. Rather, I would be quickly convinced that I had stumbled upon my own peculiar, quasi-tropical island, and I would feel as though the rest of the world never existed. New Zealand does that. It has a way of kindly but dramatically introducing you to the glories of God's earth and persuading you that none of your petty concerns really matter. Even with all the madness in the world today, I find an unflappable sense of calm and contentment here. The world keeps turning.

Roses were out in full bloom. I made a point to stop and smell them frequently. They were divine.

This side of the earth
I'm sitting on a park bench in Christchurch
feeling the sun and the warm spring breeze.
I'm surrounded by birdsong and roses
and the leaves that are dancing on trees.

How incredibly lucky I must be
to experience two springs in one year,
when back in my hometown of Paris
a cold gray winter is near.

But it's not just the seasons that changed
when I came to this side of the earth.
A calm and serenity found me,
helped my soul to a joyous rebirth.

Not so for the people of Paris right now
whose grief and anger are clear
at the act of hatred and violence
that sowed seeds of terror and fear.

I admit I'm relieved to be sitting here,
to feel safe and protected and free,
but I ache for my friends in the city
who don't have such a luxury.

Yet the news shows us flowers and candles,
Parisians lending each other a hand.
Fighting violence with love and compassion
and showing kindness to their fellow man.

Quelle surprise! I quietly think to myself
as Paris is known for being rigid and cold.
When people don't smile or even look at you,
treating strangers with love is quite bold.

But that's the norm in New Zealand it seems.
Here they're generous and friendly and kind.
Being surrounded by nature will do that to you,
clear your spirit, your heart, and your mind,

So with a clean slate I'll go back to Paris,
which has changed in both bad ways and good.
And I'll try to hold onto this calm I've found
when passing soldiers in my neighborhood.

I hope we will help and support one another
to rebuild and find peace once more,
since it's unity that will heal the world's ills:
At last a cause worth fighting for.

New Zealand, Part 2

See part 1 of our journey to New Zealand!

We have lots of pictures of our travels in New Zealand. I'll let them do most of the talking.

Our "base of operations" in New Zealand is Christchurch, the largest city on the south island. Before leaving on our trip up the east coast, we explored the city's botanic gardens.

A Californian redwood, with ivy climbing up it! These trees aren't native to New Zealand but they've been introduced.

A flower of some variety.

Coffee! As a former British colony, tea is very popular in New Zealand, but the most recent gourmet coffee revolution begin in nearby Australia, and there's a thriving coffee culture here. Excellent espresso abounds.

 We rented a car and drove north along the east coast to the seaside town of Kaikoura. This area is notable for being close to a mountain range, a large bay with lots of marine mammals, and several seal colonies.

This is a seal.

Talia and Rory. Not native to New Zealand.

There are some seals on the beach waaay in the distance.

A lot of the landscape reminded me of Scotland. And of Oregon, too. It was an interesting combination, with the sea, the beaches, the cliffs, the mountains. A lovely place to be. There is also a fairly large set of businesses that will take you out on whale-watching tours, or to swim with (wild!) dolphins or seals. But there is something more special (and cheaper) just up the road from Kaikoura. Close to a seal colony, there's a waterfall which leads to a large pool. The seal pups trek up from the beach and go to the pool to play and learn to swim.

Click the picture to see it bigger. It's a little blurry, but there are several baby seals playing in the water here.

A clearer picture of two of the seals.

Our next stop was Picton, a northerly village where you can catch a ferry to the north island. It's right by the Marlborough Sounds, a network of sunken valleys with lots of winding water paths. Very wild and great to explore. We took a little boat tour around the area, stopping at a few places.

Clouds! The Maori name for New Zealand is Aotearoa, which is thought to derive from a phrase meaning "land of the long white cloud".

Little penguins! Yes, that's the actual name of this species, also known as "blue penguins" and "fairy penguins". These guys are only found in Australia and New Zealand. The ones in this picture are inside of a nesting box on a nature reserve.

A carved pouwhenua, similar to a totem pole, erected at the site of Captain Cook's first landing on New Zealand. Cook was one of the first Europeans to visit New Zealand. This pouwhenua depicts Kupe, the mythical Maori hero who discovered New Zealand, and a giant octopus.

After Picton, we headed southwest, passing through a national park.

Lake Rotoiti.

Us at Lake Rotoiti.

The Maruia Falls

 Continuing over and through a high mountain pass (where we experienced rain and hail), we came to Hanmer Springs, a popular holiday destination noted for its skiing (in winter, of course) and its hot springs.

Hanmer Springs! Talia called this "ridiculously picturesque".

We saw this happy little tree in the forest near Hanmer Springs.

A male chaffinch. Not native to New Zealand, but fairly widespread (and friendly).

On the way out of Hanmer Springs you pass this beautiful turquoise river. If you like, you can do bungee jumping here too!

Then, back to Christchurch. Such a beautiful country! We've only scratched the surface here. There's so much of the south island we haven't even seen, not to mention the north island. There's a lot to explore here, and we don't have time for it all. Still, everything so far has been amazing, so it's hard to complain!

New Zealand, Part 1

First, a word about Paris. It seems our trip to New Zealand came at a fortuitous time. Whether it was divine intervention or random circumstance, for some reason we were not meant to be in Paris at the time of the terrorist attacks. I am infinitely grateful for this fact, but it was still heart-wrenching and frightening to learn that several of the attacks took place very close to our home. When the attack locations were published, I instantly recognized two of the streets as ones I often travel on. In fact, I walked past the Bataclan concert venue just over a week ago when buying a suitcase for our trip. And we have friends who go to work every day very near the attack sites. It's a decent, relatively safe neighborhood populated by hard-working Parisians, and now terrorists have shattered any feelings of safety and security that once existed. It was our home, is our home, and this tragedy has changed it forever.

New Zealand, however, is the perfect antidote to violence and hatred. In what has to be one of the most beautiful, serene, and majestic countries in the world, it seems impossible not to be kind and loving to each other. I want to tell you about all of the amazing things we've seen in only five and a half days, but I'll start at the beginning of our journey and take you there in shorter instalments. It hasn't been the smoothest ride.

Mon, Nov 9 - Wed, Nov 11
We left in the evening, flying from Paris to Dubai overnight on Emirates Airlines. Emirates is a nice airline. They give you a hot towel at the start of every flight, they feed you frequently (you can choose one of their many types of special meals if you have dietary restrictions), and they have hundreds of movies and shows for you to watch. So it was a fine, sleepless 6-hour flight, then we arrived in Dubai (a very blingy and commercial airport), and a little while later we headed to Bangkok on a 5.5 hour flight. Again, no sleep for Talia. I don't do well with sleeping on planes, unfortunately. Next we had a one-hour "break" in Bangkok while they refuelled the plane and we were herded through security in the airport. Then we hopped back on the newly cleaned plane and flew to Sydney. This time it was an 8-hour flight. By this point, I was sore, exhausted, and really not looking forward to an even longer flight. Rory successfully slept for a good portion of this one so as to align his body with New Zealand time. I, however, did not. Finally we made it to Sydney and I'm practically bounding off the plane. It's only two more hours to Christchurch! I'm nearly done! I'll survive! Hallelujah! We got back on the plane for the last time. And then something unfortunate happened.

Sleepless in Bangkok, attempting to smile

Food poisoning. I'll spare you the gory details, but suffice it to say that I quickly realized I had a serious problem. I suspect the culprit came from one of my Emirates gluten-free meals; my hunch is that it was a salad with tuna on top. Future gluten-free Emirates travellers, beware. I spent most of the flight in agony in the tiny lavatory, and once we arrived in Christchurch, for the next two days I alternated between being miserable in bed and being miserable in the bathroom. This was my first experience with food poisoning, and I have to say, I'd rather not try it again.

By Friday, I was well enough to get out of the house a bit, and Rory and I had initially planned to spend the weekend travelling, so I didn't want to waylay those plans with my illness. Not yet feeling completely better, we rented a car and began to make our way up the east coast of the south island. It was a mostly wonderful journey with breathtaking scenery and experiences. But you can read all about that in Part 2.

The Land of the Kiwi

Sometimes I feel very cosmopolitan. There's of course the whole being-married-to-a-Scottish-guy thing and the living-in-Paris thing which add to that feeling. Right now I'm living this crazy fantastical life in which I don't have to earn money and can experience on a daily basis the most popular tourist destination in the world. On Tuesday morning at my yoga class, after sharing my reason for moving to France, I was high-fived by a professional singer from Los Angeles who is in Paris shooting a music video. Is this even real?

Indeed, to make me seem even more sophisticated and well-traveled, Rory and I will be on an airplane to New Zealand four hours from now. Apparently it's not enough to live in vacation-land; we still have to take vacations too. But we're not just going for a holiday. Rory was invited by a colleague at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch to finish working on a linguistics project they had started together at Ohio State. So we'll be spending three weeks on the south island, Rory working for two of those weeks, and the rest of the time will be spent touring the countryside and being engulfed in the natural beauty of the other Land Down Under.

After nearly three months in Paris, I'm really looking forward to being surrounded by hills and sheep and very few people. And hearing English when I walk out the door will be nice too, even if it is a funny-sounding English. I've heard that New Zealand is like the Scotland of the southern hemisphere (sheep and funny accents), so it should be a lovely change of pace from the busy streets of Paris.

We'll take photos and share our travel stories soon, but in the meantime, here are some pretty pictures I took of Paris.

I stumbled upon a magical little neighborhood on a hill.

A carved pumpkin! How rare!

A very friendly neighborhood feline

Roses at Square Severine

Beautiful foliage at Square Severine

Kids playing at Le Square Edouard Vaillant

This is a memorial for the Jewish children from this neighborhood who were deported by the Nazis.

Vroooom!