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