The trip to school takes about 40 minutes. A trip by car from home to school would take less than 15 minutes. So, why do I want to keep on taking the bus?

Frankly, I don’t want the hassles of driving. I figure I will avoid an identity crisis when I am 80, as well. Primarily, I am saving a lot of money. No petrol to buy and no driving through McDonald’s because I am in such a rush to get here or there. I know myself too well.

Christchurch has just introduced the Metro Card. For never more than $3NZ a day I can ride anywhere in the city and its suburbs, including as far away as the Maori settlement of Rapaki beyond Lyttelton.  Once I have used $15 in a week, I ride free on the weekends, which is great as there are always special things happening in the city day and night. Tourists can take advantage of this, too. It’s good value. Within the Four Avenues - the central business district - there is a free shuttle bus.

It takes about an hour to get home after school; more waiting for buses involved. That could seem like a lot of time, but in my last American teaching job, I drove for over an hour each way every day and was thankful I could! It has been very relaxing to “leave the driving to someone else.” Often, I take in a movie in the city with a friend or some cultural event.

Heading in and out of the city on the #28, I see and meet all kinds of people. I always urge those tourists I strike up a conversation with on the way home not to end their journey at the Gondola (which gives glorious views of the plains, the Southern Alps, the city and the sea and is incredibly romantic at night). It’s the last stop before the tunnel into Lyttelton. 

I tell the tourists when they have done the Gondola (www.gondola.co.nz), get back on the bus headed for Lyttelton. Don’t let the driver talk you out of it as he will just be concerned with getting you back into the city quickly. Spend another hour more of your lifetime and come on through the tunnel. Get off on the fourth stop in town near London Street and walk.

Stop at Satchmo’s and let Sue make you a cup of the best coffee in Canterbury. Ladies, browse around at Second Hand Rose’s. Stop in at the Volcano Caf? or the adjoining Lava Bar where some of artist Bill Hammond’s paintings hang and have a plate of great nachos. The owner lived in Mexico for ten years.

Next, take the bus ride to its furthest stop, up and down a winding road which is reminiscent, at times, of Highway 1 from Santa Barbara to San Francisco, and wind down into the Maori seaside settlement of Rapaki. Then, feel the hush of the earth at rest.

Thursday, April 8, was the last day of school for the Easter break. Everyone, students and teachers both, were exhausted from 11 weeks of study. I hurried as fast as I could to catch the next bus into the city. Students gathered at the bus stop when I approached - probably ones who had escaped early - were a small group of Year 9 Kiwi boys (13-14 years).

I guess middle-aged women must truly be invisible as someone has said because they didn’t act like I was there. But, I could hear them. They were totally foul, of course, having each other on about whose sister did or didn’t do what to whom. Then they tried to see who could spit the furthest. Next, they were smoking up a storm. I decided to play teacher and tapped one on the shoulder, gently reminding they were not to smoke in their uniforms. 

“Oh, well…,” he said in a nonchalant voice, took a deep drag and passed it on. I figured I had totally cut myself off from any further dialogue.

Then a group of Asian students I teach approached. It was fun to greet them and chat a bit about their plans for the holidays. I could see they were happy to be practicing their English outside the classroom. Soon, some Year 9 Kiwi girls approached and the group dynamics changed. Suddenly, the Kiwi boys were jumping, laughing and cavorting up and down the sidewalk.

One of the boys, for unknown reasons, had two colorful neckties hanging down his shirt front. Perhaps it has been for a bit of a joke on the last day of school, I thought.  Neckties, especially two at a time, aren’t really part of the uniform at our school. The boy sitting next to me - the one I had spoken to about smoking - asked if he could see one of the ties. Once it was in his hands, he turned to me and said,

“Can you put this on me, Miss?” 

His voice was very sweet, not like the one he used just minutes before.

“I think I can,” I said just as sweetly. 

All watched - the boys, the girls, even the Asian students - as I began a Windsor knot around his neck. What power for a disempowered teacher! I could strangle him!

But, instead I was having a very pleasurable experience. I tied it slowly and carefully, not so much because it had been such a long time, but because so many memories were flooding back - my father teaching me to tie his necktie, tying my husband’s ties, tying my sons. That singular intimacy. With an international audience!

When I finished, I got a “Thank you, Miss” and the boy jumped up to join the others, catching the eye of a Kiwi girl. We may be heading for winter, I thought, but it might as well be spring and “April in Christchurch.”

The last time I answered questions, I said I would answer some related to immigration. Frankly, the immigration policies have changed so much since September 11 I am kind of out of it. Putting immigration, New Zealand>> into your search engine is the best place to start.

Some of the readers I hear from are using agencies to help them through the process. The best way I know of is to have a job lined up and a letter stating that you have work, even if it doesn’t pay! Another good and related idea would be to do a CELTA course (search engine again). CELTA qualification results in a certificate to teach English. It is the most respected in the world. “You can get a job anywhere in the world” with this, I was told! 

The following questions came mainly from a reader named Ted. Thanks, Ted.

Did you and/or Tom research NZ very much before deciding to move there or was it pretty much a job opportunity decision?

I had always had a thing about New Zealand. I don't know why. Maybe it was, as I wrote in my first article, because the smartest girl in my high school class came here as an AFS student. But, the job opportunity was for Tom and it all came together. The job was the open door and I don't think we would have come without the security of having it. Although some do retire here, New Zealand is really a place for people who want to live and work. Families with children are encouraged to immigrate.

When you and Tom first decided to move to NZ, did you do so with the thought of never returning to the U.S. or did you half way promise the kids you would return "someday" to keep them from getting discouraged about the move?

We were ready for a big change and in the past had not had trouble making decisions like that. Tom was convinced the kids would love it. I was willing to follow him to the ends of the earth! We didn’t really tell family or friends what we sensed, that it was a more permanent move. It was very hard for our sons, who were 12 and 13 at the time, just getting into socializing. My poor mother-in-law had to put up with us for several nights in her small condominium near Los Angeles before departing for Auckland. But, as soon as we arrived the beauty of the country overwhelmed us and the friendliness of the people drew us in. One of my sons noticed right away that picking his nose wasn’t as much fun because the air is so clean!

If you were just now moving from the US to NZ, what would you do differently from what you did initially?

Not much. I think we did it pretty well. Maybe have the residency finished up Stateside - that is probably something an agency would insist upon. There were some very tense moments in the airport when we first arrived because we just had our completed papers, a bunch of money, a letter of a job offer, and one-way tickets! They let us in once they had heard our story, and we got permanent residency before the 3 month visa was up. One of those “fools rush in…” things.

Who would you say adapted easier to the lifestyle change initially, you and Tom or your children - and your thoughts on why?

There were lots of adjustments for all of us, but I think the children adjusted the best, especially our youngest daughter. As a consequence she is the most Kiwi-ized. She is much more liberal minded and adventurous. As a high school student, she was able to go to Vienna with her bel canto choir which placed first in an international competition and also Tahiti for her French studies. All these were through school programmes.

While my oldest daughter only lived here for just over a year before love called her back to the States, she had the best year of her life. This was because of the openness, liveliness and friendliness of Kiwi young people.

My sons had no trouble making friends, but they did have some troubles adjusting to school and wearing a uniform.

I asked a teacher trainee in my school last year (who had come here from Japan only 5 years before, not speaking English well, but speaking it beautifully now) how she had adjusted so successfully. She said she made Kiwi friends. I think that is the best advice to anyone whether you are a native English speaker, just learning or an immigrant from anywhere in the world.

Another immigrant said to me that when you change countries, you do it for your children. As parents, you will live out the rest of your life doing what you can to survive, but your children will inherit the future. It’s what immigration has always been about.

Did Australia ever enter into the picture? If a job opportunity had came up in Australia, would you and Tom have given it favorable consideration?

Australia might have seemed appealing had we not come to New Zealand first. I always say that Australia is to Texas as New Zealand is to Vermont. If you think you would like Texas, you would probably like Australia. But, if Vermont has any appeal, New Zealand is the place to be.

Since moving to New Zealand, have you traveled to Australia? If so, what areas and your opinion on living in that country?

We stayed in Sydney for about 12 hours on a trip back from Hawaii following a memorial service for my parents three years ago. We got a terrible room (that was advertised at the airport! I was looking for something cheap.) where we could crash and/or get up and walk around. We didn't see much of the city, but enough to convince me that New Zealand is where we belong. Adelaide and Melbourne have some appeal for me, but because I have made friends with people from there. Australians seem more like Americans to me. 

HOWEVER, I am about to leave for a 10-day holiday on Norfolk Island, a part of Australia. Less than 1900 people are residents of this 3X7 kilometre island, one-third the descendents of mutineers of the Bounty and Tahitians, one-third Australians and one-third New Zealanders. They have celebrated the American Thanksgiving since the 19th century when American whalers first introduced it.

What are the most significant (and bothersome) burdens placed on foreigners (especially Americans) when they first come to NZ (property ownership, voiting, etc) and are these restrictions automatically lifted on acquiring NZ citizenship?

When you have an address in New Zealand, you can vote! It doesn’t matter if you are a permanent resident or a citizen. That was a real surprise. Anyone can own property. We do not have citizenship, just permanent residency, but even so I will qualify for the Superannuation scheme with I retire because I will have lived and worked here for ten years before retirement at 65. There is some talk of doing away with a retirement age as elsewhere in the world.

Do you see any problems with having dual citizenship (U.S. ? NZ)? Am I correct in assuming you use your NZ passport when you travel outside NZ?

I have only a US passport. But, Americans can have dual citizenship and have two passports. One reader told me that they were told by the American consulate that most Americans return to live in the US at some point.

Am I correct in assuming that besides the Maori, the next prevalent cultural group in NZ are Asians? Probably less than 10% of the total population? How would you describe the attitude of New Zealanders towards the Asians?

Maori could be considered a cultural group, but it would be a mistake, I think. Living in New Zealand is about getting over the colonial thinking that sees the Crown as dominant and superior. It’s difficult because we know the history of western civilization, we know we can’t deny history and yet we see the mistakes that have been made. We want to make things right for the future. New Zealand attempts to be a bi-cultural country. It attempts to honor the treaties and agreements of the past with its first immigrants

There is some prejudice against Asians. I hear stories from my Asian students of being called names or having things thrown at them. These things usually seem to happen when the Asian student is new and perhaps, an insensitive young Kiwi senses the insecurity and does something stupid. Once the student adjusts to life here, they seem to be fine. 

I think Asians or any people who immigrate are better off than those who are here temporarily as students. Stereotypes do develop because often Asian students come here, buy fast cars, experience different kinds of freedom for the first time, get into accidents, wrap their cars around trees…A big lesson everyone is having to learn these days is that with freedom comes responsibility.

How would you describe the attitude of New Zealanders towards Americans - improving over the years, about the same, or deteriorating a bit?

I think the relationship is fine. Americans and Kiwis get along very well. 'Kiwis are generally a more quiet people and Americans can sometimes seem loud when you hear them talking. When 9-11 happened I was surprised at the outpouring of sympathy our family received. The American spirit and patriotism are admired here.

Next time Candy hopes to have some stories to tell about Norfolk Island.

The following are the two previous articles that Candy has written about New Zealand for the magazine:

• Life, Liberty, The Pursuit Of Happiness And Dying - Reflections On Immigration To New Zealand
• Is There Trouble In Paradise? - In New Zealand

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