Doing Business in Auckland ...

Our flight landed around 9 and we were on our way to a meeting by noon. Our first line of business was a meeting with Margaret Mooney. I realize that most of the people reading this won't understand, and quite possibly won't care, about the business aspects of this trip. Just know this ... The people that we were meeting with, and talking to, and discussing ideas with, and absorbing knowledge from are like celebrities, no they are celebrities, in the education world. They are world renowned, international superheroes when it comes to early childhood and literacy education. They are the people that I studied in college, the gurus that helped guide literacy practice in my classroom, educational reformers that brought focus to the whole language approach, and authors that brought so much joy to my children who were learning to read and appreciate the written word. I don't expect people to understand the magnitude of the experience or share my elation, but just know it was amazing.

I am most familiar with Margaret Mooney's work in early childhood literacy and have studied her book Reading To, With, and By Children in college, throughout my teaching, and even here in Japan. She's amazing and on the way to her house (yes, she invited all 16 of us over) I realized that this is what it must feel like to meet a celebrity. That's exactly what I felt like I was doing.

Margaret Mooney's bookshelf ...

She had the most amazing books

So there we were ... studying curriculum in Margaret Mooney's living room!!!:
And of course, like a true celebrity, she signed autographs for everyone:

Yea, that's right ... it's me & the real life Margaret Mooney:

Our meeting was a HUGE success. Margaret Mooney was incredible and so inspirational. I can't say enough good things about the experience, and I won't bore everyone with the technicalities, just trust me when I say it was amazing.

So afterwards we all went to a really (allow me to emphasize that once more - REALLY) nice restaurant right on the harbour and celebrate the start of our trip and our more than productive afternoon, and toast to everything that was yet to come. I'm pretty sure I was officially on cloud nine, where I would stay for the next 9 days.

What else do you eat when you're on an island in the south Pacific? Seafood, of course. Anyone that knows me well knows that I LOVE seafood, so I was in hundred-dollar-a-plate heaven.

Fish, shrimp, more fish, sushi, sashimi, eel, crab, oysters, you name it, we ate it.
And if was all amazing:

Well, almost all of it. I wasn't really hip to the raw oysters, but

Daniel made an honest attempt .. and he didn't throw up. :)

And with dinner came lots and lots (and lots) of wine. Red wine, white wine, sweet wine, dry wine, you name it and we drank it. I can't even bring myself to mention how much our wine bill was, just know that it was a lot.

Especially when Mariko was double fisting the glasses ... then again, who wasn't? :)

The whole group celebrating our amazing jobs:

After dinner and a few too many drinks, we split into two different groups and some went back to the hotel while the others found their way to a small pub for after dinner cocktails. I'll let you guess which group I followed, or led for that matter. :)

Of course ... the pub group. Even though it was raining and windy and freezing (well compared to the Japanese weather anyway), we walked until we found a place to really celebrate our location.

Miwa & I, bonding. Peace style:

Daniel & Kyoko ... are both a riot:

Emi & I were cold & wet, but still smiling:

Especially when this is what we were drinking ... a sample of local New Zealand brews.

Thanks Beth!!

Daniel & Kazuyo seriously approved of all the beer:

Our walk home was as much of a riot as the rest of the evening. Proof:

I couldn't have asked for a better start to the trip. We could have done without the rain, but I'm not one to complain. I feel asleep in the same spot I was earlier, on cloud nine. What a sweet place to be.

much love

-tara-

xx

The Business Trip of a Lifetime ...

Way back in January I was negotiating my contract for my second year in Japan when I got the invitation to go to New Zealand and Australia with a group of professors and principals on the business trip of a lifetime, thus far at least. I mean, I know that the trips to Des Moines and that one weekend in Atlantic (was that even the name of that town?) and Chicago were all great business trips, but this one actually required a passport and some literacy celebrities. I was so excited I quickly signed my second year contract right on the dotted line.

I really have no idea where to start blogging about this trip. The thousand pictures, five hundred stories and twelve videos are a little overwhelming, but avoidance clearly isn't working so I'll make an honest attempt.

The details of the trip are as follows:

- August 21st - August 31st

- 3 days in New Zealand (Auckland and Wellington)

- 7 days in Australia (Sydney and Brisbane)

- traveling through Korea (Seoul)

- a total of 7 flights & 2 express trains

- 16 people (13 Japanese, 3 Americans)

- somewhere around 30 pieces of luggage

- & a pretty strict work schedule

So, here we go...

We landed in Auckland, New Zealand after an overnight flight from Korea (and after about 24 hours of traveling) and we had enough time to drop our luggage off at the President's Hotel, change clothes and make our way to our first meeting.

I wasn't joking about the luggage.

Baggage claim was always eventful.:

We were SO excited to have finally landed, even though we were all a little tired:

New Zealand money is so much cooler (& smaller) than American money:

After exiting the airport we realized just how cold it was in August in New Zealand. I knew that it was going to be winter, but having spent the last 4 weeks in the summer heat of Iowa and then being back in Japan for a couple short days (HOT, short days) I had forgotten what winter felt like. It wasn't December in Iowa cold, but it felt like it in comparison to the 100 degree, 95% humidity Japanese summer the day before. And it was raining. Not exactly the 'Welcome to New Zealand' whether we were hoping for, but nothing could taint our excitement.

We were in Auckland for literally 24 hours. We spent our first (and only) Auckland afternoon in a meeting and the evening out to dinner together as a group. We went out for drinks after dinner, back to the hotel to sleep a little & up in the morning to do some 'sightseeing' (around the hotel) before leaving for the airport around noon. Ridiculously short, I know, but we had to, in the words of Tim Gunn, "make it work". So we did.

Our driver from the airport to the hotel took us on a mini tour of Auckland and offered lots of 'facts' that Daniel wasn't so sure about. :) He was entertaining nonetheless. He took us to the Waitemata Harbour and showed us the Auckland Harbor Bridge. Obviously not my favorite site to see, but I didn't cry. Thankfully.

And we got a view of the CBD (Central Business District):

& Wellington Tower (because everywhere we go has to have some sort of tower):

Across the street from our hotel was this crazy bungy apparatus. Everyone knows about bungy jumping and it's popularity in the 90's, but did you know that, "Commercial bungee jumping began with the New Zealander, A J Hackett, who made his first jump from Auckland's Greenhithe Bridge in 1986?" Yea, neither did I. And, "during the following years Hackett performed a number of jumps from bridges and other structures (including the Eiffel Tower), building public interest in the sport, and opening the world's first permanent commercial bungee site; the Kawarau Bridge Bungy at Queenstown in the South Island of New Zealand" (WP). So basically everything & anything in New Zealand has some sort of bungy jumping component and things like this are found on every other block:

Although no one in our group was hip to bungy jumping or bungy-ing whatever that other thing was, they were interested in Auckland Tower. Of course they were. You can read all about it here, if it in fact interests you: Auckland Sky Tower

Auckland Tower from the ground, where I like to stay:

And, of course, you can bungy jump from the top of it.

No one was really interested in that either. :

On our one free morning, excuse me - 3 free hours, in Auckland we went to Queen Street, named after Queen Victoria, which is famous for it's shopping, architecture, and all around Auckland vibe. We ate breakfast, mostly as an escape from the rain, but then decided to battle the storm and make the most of our limited time. We did make it to the famous All Blacks Rugby shop, which was on the top of my list, but it was cold, windy & rainy. Not the best weather by any means.

What most of our shopping adventure looked like:

That's right, 7 pictures from our sightseeing in Auckland. I couldn't even give the city a fair shot, but business-wise, it was so good. I'll blog about that next.

much love,

-tara-

xx

Amanda ...

So three weeks before I left for America I took Amanda to Osaka and put her on a plane back to Alabama ... for good. It was by far one of the saddest days I've ever had in Japan and I will openly admit that I cried for a good half hour on the train. I had this uncontrollable stream of tears and the poor Japanese man sitting next to me had NO idea what to do. He kept looking at me through the corner of his eye and then quickly turning away. Finally after about fifteen minutes of me not being able to control my tears, he reached in his bag and handed me a tissue. So sweet. Made me cry even more.

Amanda and I became very close over the course of a year and there will never be anyone else that understands what the first year was like in Japan quite like Amanda. We did so many first things together, traveled to so many new places, and shared so many hilarious stories. There was some not so hilarious things too, like all of the emotional drama and the ups and downs of being so far away from home and missing out on important stuff 7,000 miles away. We quickly became the only family that we had here (with the exception of our Japanese families, of course) and knowing that she was going home and I was staying broke my heart.

Thinking back on the last year in Japan with Amanda makes me instantly laugh out loud. We had so many good times. When we first got here we were convinced we needed a camera crew following us around to document all of the mayhem we caused ... we might not have any footage, but we have a lot really, really good memories.

Like that time we flew to Tokyo:

Or all those yakiniku nights:

And hanami ... we all remember that night :) :

Or 4 sailors & a santa at Aussie ...

Amanda & I will never forget the Naked Man Festival for as long as we live ...

& remember how we never found the bus again:

Or that time we went to ... wait, where didn't we go is the more appropriate question:

Yakiniku - again!! I'm telling you, we lived there:
Who could ever forget our enkai & Disney karaoke & those violent massages with the damn yukatas & Mayaka's modeling ... oh, good times:
& 7am train rides on the way to Hiroshima:
We rocked this country:

Amanda ...

I miss you everyday but there's no doubt in my mind that I will see you again ... after all, we still have that trip to Saipan we're going to take and I am practicing my Alabama cheer for the football game we're going to next fall, right. Rammer Jammer Hammer? Yellow Jammer Hammer? I swear I'll get it. xx

It's not all tears and sadness though ... There is a newbie that has replaced Amanda, although obviously she is irreplaceable. Daniel is here and he is proving to be awesome. I can only hope we have as much fun together this year and Amanda and I had last year. It will definitely be a challenge.

much love

-tara-

xx

Stateside ...

I have a lot to blog about & it's kind of overwhelming, but here's my attempt at putting a dent in the blogging stack.

I was back home from July 20th - August 19th and the whole trip was a blur. The longest consecutive sleep I had in one city was four nights in Vegas and four nights in St. Louis. The rest of the time was a night here, two nights there, a four hour drive and a one night stay to get up and drive another three hours the next morning. I was tired more often than not, but I had to do what I had to do to see everyone I needed to see. I'm just happy I won't have to make another trip like it again. Hopefully.

First item on the agenda: Meet the girls at Suds. It was the perfect thing to do as soon as I got home, after hugging my lovely family that picked me up at the airport.

Home sweet home:

Next item up: Some time in Des Moines & Molly's wedding

Molly & Andrew Pollard:

Molly, Ashley, me & Brandy ... celebrating love & whatnot:

A little Japanese flair:

The wedding was good. Molly was beautiful, the weather was perfect, everything was smooth sailing, Carmie was happy & I had the best date of anyone there, although Molly might argue with me on this one. :) The boys were looking hot, the girls were looking hotter. We danced (Josh & I apparently do the best rendition of Paradise by the Dashboard Lights), we sang, we drank (just a little champagne). I attempted to beat TC in Golden Tee at the bar after the reception & failed miserably and we didn't get home until some ridiculous time in the a.m., but we had a lot fun.

The whole shabang at Cocktails between the ceremony & the reception:

Ashley (TC's new best friend) & I on the party bus:

Next up: Okoboji.

I spent a few days in Okoboji at the condo with Deb, Greg, Lauren, mom, Jimmy & Tony. We had a good time, as always, except this killer sunburn that I got compliments of falling asleep on the back of the boat.

My little hawkeye:

Lauren & I hanging out on the boat with captain Tony:

Deb & I doing what we do best in the summer time on the boat:

Oh yea, & of course we rode the roller coaster ... twice!! :)

Next: St. Louis with Zach to spend time with mom, Kory, Ky & Madi

We really did a lot while we were there. We took Madi to the zoo and she was all smiles (for the most part).

She's so adorable:

And we had Christmas in July since we weren't all together in December. I made sure everyone got their Japanese whatnots. Kory was a huge fan of the squid (written in the most sarcastic font ever) & Kylee & Gretchen tried out the chopsticks. Zach looked a little skeptic & even the dogs were a little weirded out by their presents.

Mom & Phil in their yukatas (they also practiced bowing Japanese style).

Dorks: :)

My beautiful sister & I:

We went to Six Flags (where I almost died on the Superman ... ok maybe a slight exaggeration, but it was terrifying) and we spent a lot of family time around the table playing board games, which is one of our favorite things to do. This year I dominated Monopoly & I think we each took a turn winning Yahtzee, although Zach was pretty impressive with 3 yahtzees in one game. I still think he cheated. :)

Eating ice cream with Madi:

Of course I made it to the graveyard. I always do. This time I added a little Japanese flare to Whitney's grave.

My beautiful sister's Japanesed-up grave:

Zach and I flew back from St. Louis on Tuesday, drove to Sioux City and spent some time with dad before driving to Des Moines on Wednesday. I spent the night there & Bob & I flew to Vegas on Thursday. See the whirlwind I was dealing with? :)

Final domestic flight to: VEGAS!

Cassie, Bobbi & I decided to go to Vegas for a little quality girl time & I was on a mission to learn how to play craps.

Bobbi, me & Cass rocking out at the airport...

I'm like an airport professional:

The girls & I did the typical Vegas stuff. We gambled & I learned how to play craps, although I still have yet to figure out the appeal of the game. We went to some clubs, spent a lot of time at Tao :), did some serious shopping, considered playing golf at the Wynn, but ultimately decided we didn't have enough time (haha), did some touristy stuff & went to see Blue Man Group, which was amazing. Matt & I also went to see Lance Burton & I still have dreams about the strange stuff he was doing during the magic show, but it was great. Matt was a good date ... most of the time. :)

HAHA ... Bobbi, me, Blue Man #2 & Cassie ...

Bobbi fits right in?:

Cassie & I being pretty:

aww ... Bobbi, Matt & I before we met the mafia:

We spent a lot of time at the Venetian & every time we saw the gondolas I had this strong urge to just jump in one. I really, really wanted to go on a gondola ride & I had wanted to for a long time. Like since the last time I was in Vegas. We decided to take the romantic ride & who better to go with than two of the people that I love the most? It was pretty sweet & we made wishes that were 'guaranteed' to come true (still waiting) & we sang love songs & blew kisses & all of that sweet stuff you do with the person/people you love.

We were definitely feeling the love:

Vegas required little sleep.

Look how happy Cassie & I look after sleeping for a mere two hours the night before:

Honestly, one of the funnest things we did while we were there was go to the wax museum. It was a riot. Too bad Matt wasn't friends with us that day because I think he would have had fun. :)

Cassie & MLK Jr. ... preaching about peace:

& Bobbi showing Shaq her skills:

And really, honestly could we leave Vegas without one of us getting hitched? Who would have ever thought I would wear such a hideous dress?

I looked really excited about it anyway:

Your dress doesn't really matter when it's George Clooney

you're marrying. & Despite what TC says, he does to look happy. :)

Vegas was a lot of fun, for the most part, but at the end of our trip we were tired, sun burnt, Bobbi was broke, Cassie was sick, I was kind of crabby, & we were excited to get back home. We did everything we intended to do & I think the general consensus is that we don't have to go back for a long time. I can catch the remaining 24 shows that I want to see on the road. :)

I made a quick trip to Cedar Falls to take care of some business, get some stuff worked out & some things in order & to spend an evening with my colleagues ... but really they're so much more than that; they're my friends. It was SO good to feel like I was back in my element with the people that understand the most. I was so happy, even though our time was short.

The most amazing colleagues I know:

After a freak storm (eerily similar to the storm that happened the night of my going away party), we went outside to try out our demon fireballs, compliments of the Japanese toy store. Talk about physical knowledge:

Final stop: Des Moines

I spent my last weekend in Des Moines with Bobbi & TC. It was so bittersweet. My trip was coming to a close and I was happy to be there but sad knowing that I wouldn't be there again for another 15 weeks.

Double O Kevin & I at the Coop:

Kevin, Bobbi & I playing a little Buck Hunter with Richard:

I drove from Des Moines to Cedar Rapids on Sunday. The drive was a little sad. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little teary eyed. Leaving, especially Des Moines, is never easy but I really had a lot to be thankful for. Spending time with Zach, holding Madi, hugging my grandma & grandpa, eating Zoey's with the fam, my Monopoly domination, boating in 'Boji with Deb & Greg, spending time with Matt, being a part of Molly's love celebration, hanging out with TC, picnicing at grandma's with dad, reuniting with the girls, drinking gigantic margaritas with mom & Jimmy & everything & anything in between. I really feel like I have the most amazing people in my life.

much love

-tara-

xx