I can do this!!

Still flying my flag for Wales!!

I felt so proud of my adopted city today!  In the supplement in this morning’s Herald ... which I’ve read courtesy of my neighbour cause she’s away .... there’s an article on the Kiwi Experience ..... Overseas visitors ‘take’ on NZ, and Auckland in particular.   The one comment which I loved and is how I’ve felt since being here was “I’m having trouble finding a Kiwi who’s not friendly and smiling .... even if this place was a desert, it’s the people that would bring me back.” ...... and that came from a South African!!!

That's what makes this country so awesome .... Kiwis in general are a laid-back people with an awful lot to smile about and an awful lot to be grateful for. Yes .... I occasionally meet the few whingers who have nothing better to do than find something to complain about but, for the most part, people here are really happy .... and that happiness is infectious.  Because they're happy, they go out of their way to show kindness to others .... to  lend a helping hand .... to give someone a hug .... to just lend a shoulder to cry on ..... it's a microscosm of what our world should be like .... and I love it.

Sebastion ............and ......................Abi

There’s a genuine concern here for the welfare of others too ... volunteer work and community service is huge.  I’ve recently volunteered to help the Foundation for the Blind, specifically with the Guide Dog arm, and they’ve sent me a pile of forms to complete.  I looked at all these forms ...... I need Police Clearance ... I need 2 referees to vouch for my character (hmmm ... that might be tricky) and there’s a whole host of personal information I have to provide them with ... but, despite all this red tape, there’s a whole army of volunteers who’ve been prepared to struggle through all this just so they can be of service to others.  It makes my heart feel so good ..... but I’ve still got all these darn forms to complete if I want to help out too!!

My beach at lunchtime ... the tide was really low!

I had thought of volunteering for puppy walking ....  you have to provide a home for the puppy for the first 12 months or so of it’s life until it’s assessed for it’s suitability as a ‘seeing eye’ dog.

The kids thought it was a great idea .... another lab puppy in the house .... Gav wasn’t so keen. The only downfall though is the puppy isn’t allowed to be taught to retrieve ANYTHING ...... NO BALLS .... NO LOGS ...... NO NOTHING AT ALL!!   I can just see the confusion on my hound’s face ...... a retriever that isn’t allowed to retrieve!!!

He's allowed to lie in the middle of the boardwalk ... he's 14 years old!

It does make sense though ..... can’t you just picture it ...... a blind handler walking down the road with well-trained Labrador who loves to chase balls ............. and someone throws a ball ... hmmmm .....

The next step on the agenda once the volunteer work is on track is to find me an outlet for my cards.  I’m going to have to pluck up the courage to go ‘cold-calling’ ......... not something I’ve ever had to do before .... but I guess it’s a case of nothing ventured, nothing gained!

Sometimes in life we become so accustomed to the way things have always been though, that it takes a major upheaval like moving countries to make us aware of the enormous strengths we really do have ...... I ROck!!