Highlights from a year we’d all rather forget

It’s been over a year since I last posted to this blog. There have been multiple reasons for the delay; I was busy finishing my PhD and launching a new publishing company (more on that below). But mainly, it didn’t feel like there was a lot to say. With the benefit of hindsight, I can now see that’s not the case at all.

COVID has derailed everyone’s plans—some more than others. We didn’t get back to Rangimārie, our canal boat in France. She’s tucked up in her port, hopefully waiting patiently for the day international travel becomes possible. I missed my Mum’s 90th birthday in March, I didn’t make my usual trip to Melbourne in October to visit schools and assist with their Languages programs, and we weren’t able to cruise around New Zealand that much either. But beyond those limitations, we couldn’t be luckier.

New Zealand has been a safe haven from more than just a global pandemic. Watching the way this country pulls together in times of crisis, and respectfully handles differences of political and social opinion in between, has left me with a deep sense of respect for her people – Māori and Pakeha alike. Linguistically and culturally, it’s a fascinating society, from which I feel I have much to learn. I’m grateful for the welcome I’ve received here, and for the opportunity to make a new home.

Both Richard and I are well, continuing to enjoy our live-aboard lifestyle. We were able to spend most of the lockdown period in early 2020 anchored at Urapukapuka Island, which became our local zone for exercise. The sheep were happy to comply with social distancing, and an iso-birthday is still a birthday when family and friends can wish you well, virtually or otherwise.

Richard’s installation of diesel heating was a godsend this winter – we were warm and toasty inside the boat. Less enjoyable was needing to replace both motors at the end of the lockdown period in May 2020 – “Ouch!” said our pockets!

We were both a bit stir-crazy by that point, so made a hasty decision to do a road trip to the South Island, which I’d never seen. Photos can never do justice to the scenery – it is truly breathtaking. The locals were friendly, but attempting to simultaneously stay warm in a campervan designed for summers, travel almost every day (often without good wifi) and meet a PhD thesis submission deadline was not always a recipe for a happy Kathy. There’s a distinct resemblance between my demeanour and one of the seashell creatures Richard began creating for amusement during the year.

Despite the challenges, the thesis was finally finished and submitted. Feedback from examiners was long in coming but worth waiting for. It’s now officially Dr Kath, and I was delighted and honored to be the recipient of the 2020 Penny McKay Memorial Award for contribution to knowledge about Language learning in Primary school-aged children.

Towards the end of 2020, the prospect of potentially needing to spend another winter on a boat (even with diesel heating) gave us reason to ponder the future. For the moment we still want to live aboard, but we realised we did need to secure a land base before prices rise beyond our means. So after much searching and a couple of disappointments, we purchased a section in Kerikeri. The romantic notion of tent camping was quickly shattered the first night it rained and we discovered pools of water on the floor beside the inflatable mattress. If we’re going to be afloat, we’d rather be on a boat! Nevertheless, it’s still fun to plan what we might build one day, if we ever decide to become landlubbers again.

So what’s next? The short answer is… who knows? It will be a long time, if ever, before the world returns to the way we knew it pre-COVID. There are undoubtedly some changes we’d be better off not reversing. In the meantime, I’ve launched a new venture to allow me to continue contributing to Languages education – a publishing company specialising in animated, read-along children’s eBooks in multiple languages, with embedded interactive learning activities.