Work and Town

27 patients seen, all notes done, and refills signed...

So, I thought I'd include a few pictures of the main street and my clinic, along with a bonus at the end.

My clinic ("surgery") from the front

My office right now, where patients are seen.

Downtown Otorohanga

Otorohanga Public Library

And, here's a tour of my clinic.  Excuse the dorky narrator.

Lake Rotoroa and Monopoly Domination

Hey all!

We went to Hamilton, the nearest big city (pop ~300,000) about 45 minutes north of Otorohanga yesterday.  While there, we bought a Monopoly game and have played it twice in the 19 hours since then.  Blake won last night and this morning, I concurred all with Monopoly Domination!

So now that the kids tears have slowed to a trickle and my maniacal laughter has faded a little, I have a chance to send this post out.  It has been raining pretty much all day today, so now the kids are playing chess and watching TV.

While in Hamilton, I visited 2 yarn stores, both of which had already closed by 2pm on Saturday, which is actually pretty typical here.  On a quest for a promised visit to a playground for Blake, we ended up at Lake Rotoroa.

Lake Rotoroa in Hamilton, NZ

Look familiar?  It would be hard to tell it apart from Greenlake if it weren't for the interesting wild-life.

The kids had a good time on the play equipment, which was also unique.

... and a fabulous tree hanging over the water that was great for climbing on.

The clinic works really differently here, but it works well.  I'll explain more in detail in a later post.
Thanks for comments.  It makes me feel like I'm staying connected with you all.
Amy

The call of a Tui

The Tui, a Native New Zealand Bird

Kids in School

Good morning everyone.  I am sitting at my dining room table, computer in front of me, listening to one of my geeky podcasts sans kids.  Liza and Blake are at their second day of school at the Otorohanga South School.  They came home yesterday very excited about being back in school.

I've been into work a couple times trying to figure out the computer system, etc.  Contrary to what I'm used to, it actually seems very user friendly.  There are 2 billing options based on whether patients are registered with the practice or not.  That's right, I said ONLY 2!  No more 9921whatever!  If that does not make sense to you, feel lucky that you do not need to know the medical billing system in the US.

Liza and I got our cell phones activated yesterday.  We are on a pay as you go plan and the rates are very reasonable.  We can even call a landline in the US and talk for an hour for only $2.

More random pictures...

Te Kuiti

  This statue is in a town about 10 miles south of us called Te Kuiti.  This statue proclaims Te Kuiti to be the "Shearing Capital of the World".

Horses in the park?

Took the kids to the park once the rain cleared up.  I have realized that "gumboots" are a necessity here as it was pretty soggy there.

  
A man brought his little girl via miniature horse to play at the park.

 The man hopped onto the back of the horse for a bit, but it looked like the poor horse was about to collapse under all of the weight. 

The kids are both pretty wheezy.  Apparently, asthma is very common here, even for people who don't have any history of it.  I think I'll have to have them seen at my new clinic on Monday to get inhalers.  We brought albuterol with us, but it's not really working. 

The plan today is to go to Te Kuiti, a town south of here, to buy gumboots.

INTERNET AT LAST!

We're finally hooked up again to internet here at our home away from home in Otorohanga, NZ.  We took a train from Wellington to Otorohanga yesterday.  It took about 10 hours, but was filled with absolutely gorgeous views of the NZ countryside and more sheep than I could have ever guessed.

 Blake's seat on the train happened to be next to a very friendly teenager traveling to Aukland for a gymnastics competition.  He pretty much entertained Blake the ENTIRE WAY.  His name is Chris, but Blake called him Harry Potter.

Chris and Blake

The house that we are living in is great.  It is 3 bedrooms and has a very spacious well-lit dining area and kitchen.  Central heating is not the norm here and there is a sort of space heater in the living room, but the bedrooms are c-o-l-d!  Fortunately, the beds have these electric heated mats that are placed under the fitted sheet and made for a very good sleep last night.

The kids woke me up with breakfast in bed (toast and a kiwi - yum).  We are going out to explore the area today.  I think I start work on Friday.

Wish me luck driving on the wrong side of the road. 

Welcome to our blog!

Hi all.  We are a family of three from Seattle, WA, moving to rural New Zealand for 6 months to work and go to school.  I am a family doctor and my kids are 8 and 12 and will be going to the local school in Otorohanga, where we will be living.

We arrived in Wellington yesterday morning, exhausted and dirty after 21 hours of planes, airports, baggage, customs, etc.  We will be here for 5 days until Friday, when we take a train to Otorohanga, our final destination.  This is a rural town of 2700 people in the middle of New Zealand's dairy country.

Yesterday, after a nap, we explored a small bit of Wellington.  The weather was wet and just like home!  The kids are still in shorts and tee shirts, but the temperature was in the 50's and it was windy.

                       Playground on Wellington's Waterfront