24th November, 2009
 
Dear
It is Wednesday, and I have totally broken with my ritual of sitting in front of the television  on a Sunday writing to you as I had done over the years that I spent with Han.  However, since moving into the cottage two weeks ago, I have found that Sunday evening has been a time when I have reflected on the week by sitting in front of my fire, listening to music.  My weekends are still filled with family and friends, and the garden takes a lot of my time, as always, but I also have lots of organising to do as I fit the last forty years of accumulated possessions into my tiny cottage.  It is now Wednesday afternoon, and the sun is pouring into my office as I write to you.  I have had a day of mainly pottering, and it is good to have days which are not so full on, but give me the chance to ground myself.
I really enjoyed teaching you on Monday, and I came out of the classroom feeling energised.  I don’t think I will ever lose my passion for teaching, and watching students feel empowered in their learning is the ultimate thrill for me.  Yesterday, we found out that three of our students reached the high IELTS goal they had set for themselves, or rather had imposed on them by various institutions, and we can all rejoice in their success.  One student is now able to become a nurse, another to enter university, and the third student to apply for New Zealand residency.  The sun is shining today, and I feel that all is well with the immediate world around us. 
Today was Amber’s birthday, and it was wonderful to gather all the students together to celebrate with her by sharing the delicious birthday cake which was made by the Dessert Room. I am not into cakes, but I enjoy a thin slice of this rich, but not overly sweet treat.  I far prefer savoury food, and seldom eat dessert.  There is nothing better than fresh seafood followed by a fresh fruit salad. What is your favourite food?  For me, food is so important, although in traditional Kiwi culture, food does not feature as being very important.  I think this is because the early immigrants from Britain were from peasant stock, and food was a form of sustenance, and their diet was a very plain one.  This was in contrast to the Japanese culture, for example, where equally poor peasants planted a variety of crops, and sitting down to a meal was an important part of daily life. When I lived in Japan, I admired their ability to use soya beans in a wide variety of ways, and incorporate them into delicious meals which were a feast for the eye as well as the stomach. 
Speaking of my English and Scottish forebears reminds me of a small segment I heard on the radio the other day, in which a researcher into early migrants to New Zealand talked about the reasons why Kiwis are not direct in their dealings with each other, nor aggressive in business. This researcher put it down to the fact that most of the early settlers were either farm workers or servants to large land owners, and consequently were used to being subservient in their dealings with others.  This inherent subservience has been passed down through the generations, and even today, Kiwi businessmen do not have the sharp aggressiveness of businessmen in other parts of the world, and ordinary Kiwis find it difficult to confront issues and be upfront with people who upset them. I wish I had been able to hear the whole report as I find such analysis of reasons why a race behaves in a certain way fascinating.  Do you think your culture suffers from an inability to be open and direct?  I love the fact that Kiwis are, on the whole, very kind, honest and hardworking, but I know that we also come across as rather aloof on first meeting. I was talking with a Spanish student today, who said that through emails with a Kiwi family, they expected to be met in person with a friendly greeting, and even a kiss on the cheek as they would do, but instead were met with a simple introduction and an awkwardness developed when she didn’t know what to do next.  Unlike most cultures, we do not have a set pattern when meeting someone for the first time, and I always have found this interesting.  In London, I always taught students to shake hands when introducing themselves, but here, some people shake hands while others just lightly nod their heads and say, “how’s it going?”  How do you greet people on first meeting?
With this glorious weather we are finally having, I am looking forward to going home to my cottage.  In the weekend, my second daughter and family came out for Sunday lunch, and we sat on my newly constructed steps at the front of the cottage and had a delicious lunch together.  The children played on the grass as we sat on the verandah, and I love the way the garden flows from the house, becoming part of the living area in good weather. In the big house which Han now has, the house sits up overlooking the harbour, and the garden is not seen directly from the living area.  It is glorious when you walk down the drive and into the garden, but it feels separated from the house.  Both concepts are special, but I am delighted to be living in my small, humble cottage with its large lawn and mature trees.  Every weekend, it takes me two hours to mow the cottage lawns, and I am fortunate to have a kind neighbour who takes about an hour to mow the lawn on the other section across the road.  We used to have a huge vegetable garden, but I am going to convert this into more lawn and fruit trees as this has always been my dream.  I have contracted a builder to convert the shed on this property into a studio for Jan, and although it will cost a lot more than I had expected, it will be a wonderful space for Jan, and an excellent little guest house when Jan leaves the nest. There are also plans to add a decent kitchen, bathroom, bedroom and study onto the cottage as, although I am happy in my present space, it is really too small long term.  At the moment, the shower is just a tiled area at the back door, not a very satisfactory bathing place for anyone!  This all costs money, but I have total faith in the power of creative visualisation and my ability to work hard not only to make ends meet, but also meet the added cost of extensive renovations.  I have worked all my life, and will certainly not stop now!
I found a letter I wrote in November, 2004, and will share it with you below.  Some things never change, and some things have changed dramatically in my life!  We now have wonderful Karina as Administration Manager, but in 2004, another special woman called Robyn was working with us.  Luke was a full time teacher, who two years later went on to marry the first female student we had at the school, a fabulous person called Rie.
 
2nd November, 2004
This has been such a strange week, as it is the first time that I have handed over my class to anyone, and have spent all day at my desk.  I must admit to finding it difficult to sit at my desk in the office all day, and I think Robyn finds it challenging having a person who flits, or bounces from one idea to another, and fires these new ideas across the room at random!  I am lucky that Robyn is so flexible and doesn’t mind being thrown off task too often.  “Variety is the spice of life,” and I certainly love spices!
However, days like this are good for me as I have a chance to ground myself and get more in touch with the business side of the school.  I have left so many things on the back burner that it is a wonder I can remember what they all are!  I pride myself on attending to matters at hand, and when I feel there are too many loose ends, I cannot rest easy.  The first day I thought I would achieve so much, but at the end of the day I realised that I still hadn’t touched on the report I needed to write!  Clearing my desk was an achievement, and I did tick off a few of those tasks which needed my attention.  At the end of day two, I realise, yet again, how much I love teaching, and how much I need to be in a classroom.  I feel complete when I teach, entering a world of intense sharing in which I see both students and myself grow daily.  I look forward to seeing you again on Thursday, although judging from the wonderful time you are having with Luke, I fear I may be redundant!  I know there are graveyards full of people who thought they were indispensable, but it is nice to know that you are needed in some way! 
I missed out on finding out what you did this past weekend.  On Friday night, I had invited the Immigration Service and all of us at school for drinks and some nice food.  The evening started slowly, but over nice wine and nibbles people opened up, and later in the evening, Han went across to Jizo and bought takeaways for everyone.  It was a wonderful way to end the working week, and I love having such special evenings.
On Saturday morning, I awoke early and dragged my two homestay girls out of bed to make sure they arrived at the airport in time for their flight.  I was so concerned that they would miss the flight that I mistook the flight and had them there two hours early!  At first I was horrified to find an empty terminal, but soon relaxed when I realised I had mistaken the check-in time……………..
 
It is funny not being able to host students as my cottage is so small, and I have hosted students since I first arrived back in New Zealand from Japan in 1989. I even arrived back in the country with my friend’s daughter, and she was actually the first international student to study at high school as a fee paying student, at a time when only scholarship students attended high schools in New Zealand. There would be about two hundred students we have hosted in our home over the years, and I loved having them in my home.  Although it is an invasion of privacy, in some way, I have always relished the cultural mix.  On top of these students, we always had our children’s friends around to stay, and I loved having lots of people round our table, laden with good food.  Entertaining is one of my pleasures in life, and I love cooking a big meal for people.  I am lucky that I find it very easy to throw a big meal together, and I think it is important to put a nutritious, appetising meal on the table every night. Even when I felt tired, and there were seven children at home, I made sure that we all sat down to a meal over which we could talk about the events of the day.  Every weekend, I have made bread, except for the past few weeks when I have been moving into the cottage, but I intend to resume that tradition again this coming weekend. 
I look forward to being in class again tomorrow, guiding both students learning English and those training to be English teachers on our TESOL certificate. I am indeed blessed.  Please write back to me, and I will certainly reply to you.
 
Love
 
Sharron