Water

We tramped* 20 km along the Young River today. Everyone raves about water in NZ and, having spent 2 years now in Australia, I echo their praise. One foreign tramper once told me he never tramped with a bottle in NZ, only a cup, so ample and potable the water is. Yes, today was one of those days where I remember his words and ask myself why I am walking along a river, carrying
water in my bottle upstream.

The water is strong, cold and clear. The noise and sight induces continual thirst (and urges to relieve oneself, my sister added), so I indulged myself (in both) frequently.

Is this a picture of God and his abundance? I thought, after a swim. Surely his grace and blessings are not unlike this powerful body of water we follow. There is enough - much more than enough - to go around, but we can only consume one cup at a time. Throw even a cubic metre at us and we would be consumed. So in His wisdom he sustains us

    step by step
         sip by sip

and oh how refreshing it is.

'Whosoever drinks of this water [from this well] shall thirst again. But whosoever drinks of the water that I give him.. in him shall be a well of water springing up into everlasting life'   
                                                                              ~Jesus to the Samaritan woman, John 4v13

Young River, Mt Aspiring National Park, New Zealand 

*'tramping' is the kiwi word for 'hiking'

Plebiscite colours

As a FOB,* ineligible to vote and preoccupied with world poverty and the parliamentary elections in her own country, I have been slightly removed from the uproar. Might I add that New Zealand legalised same-sex marriage in 2013 with some controversy, yes, but no 'voluntary postal vote'. It went through parliament like all other bills and we moved on to more referendum-worthy matters such as...er....changing our national flag. So now Australia has come to the party and with everything I've heard and seen, I couldn't help thinking that: 

If I helped euthanase my elderly mother, if I enticed a married man to leave his wife and kids, if I stole my sister's girlfriend, smoked and drank whilst pregnant, aborted my unborn child, dabbled in drugs,  denied the holocaust, evaded tax, committed suicide or wore socks and sandals to work.... I am sure I would come under less fire and judgement than if I voted 'No' in this plebiscite on 'marriage equality'.

Australian public, I (and even yourselves perhaps) thought you were a pretty chilled bunch: kind to the homeless, protective of possums, welcoming of  kiwis (churs bro!) and refugees (many of whom might very well vote No if they could, you realise?) v

Yet I have seen this turn from an issue of 'rights', 'freedom' and 'love' into one of oppression, intolerance and restriction of speech. 'Hate' is such a strong word, but sadly not inappropriate
to describe the atmosphere here.

Australia, be careful. Are these really your true colours?

*'Fresh Off the Boat'  - ie recent immigrant 

Election excitement

Its election time again in NZ and Esther, being a nerd, is excited.

Now, I know many don't share my sentiment (nerds are used to flying solo), but perhaps by the end of this you might, just a bit.

In our comfortable 21st C lives, we take democracy for granted. But somewhere along the line, someone bought our right to vote. Some paid for it with their lives. In other countries this right still doesn't exist, so fighting does. They are dying to vote and we find it hard to drag our butts down to a polling booth on election day (even harder if its raining)1.  We're so reluctant to vote, yet so willing to criticise and complain about the government.

I also feel we too easily, and unfairly, label politicians as idiots and liars and [insert other descriptive term here]. Now, I'm not saying they are all angels (but then, I don't claim to be one either). But no matter how much I disagree with their policies, ideologies and behaviour even, hey, at least they have a vision for the country (do you?), and they obviously care enough to do something about it (do you?). Your barista has a huge responsibility to get your daily coffee just right...to say nothing of those responsible for running the country (hence the salary difference).  And it must be hard trying to be popular with as many people as possible... I find it hard enough impressing my peers, patients and clients.

I guess guess at the end of the day, if we want to live on planet earth and our respective countries within it, then we have a responsibility to be good citizens. You know, like: work hard, be honest and flush after going. The Good Book2 says if you owe taxes, pay them. If you owe revenue, pay it. If respect and honour - likewise3. There is no order without law. Politicians are called to serve, we are called to show respect. We're privileged to have decent politicians and a system that works so lets not treat it lightly.

Come on Kiwis, lets vote.

1. 1 in 4 eligible voters didn't vote in the 2014 election
2. Tevye's ref to The Bible in Fiddler on the Roof
3. Romans 13:7

Machines

Booked myself in for a late night reality check last night and went to Machines, a Melbourne International Film Festival documentary, directed by Rahul Jain.

Basically it was slow, largely wordless filming of factory life in India. There was some dialogue, a welcome relief to the constant whirring of machines, but there could have been more.  Always like to hear what people are thinking, what people are feeling (if they feel at all). Makes them more....human. Bridges the gap between 'us' and 'them'.

I was tired, it had been a full on day off. Like the young boy filmed falling asleep at his post, I found myself closing my eyes, just a little. Some of the clips were quite long. And monotonous. Ok, we get it. They stand there all day sorting cloth. Lets move on - show me something different.

Then I woke up. That's exactly it. The clips are a little longer than we're comfortable with, exceed our child-like attention spans. After 30 secs I'm bored in my cushioned cinema seat watching labourers watching cloth. These guys stand for 12 hour shifts, and some do double shifts, day in, day out to feed the family. I'm working on my popcorn.

Poverty and popcorn. 'Us' and 'them'. Its not just distance that separates - its like we have different existences. Except that the fabric they make are the clothes I wear.  I keep them going. For better or for worse. A reality check indeed. 

3 Things I wish the public knew

1. Vets aren't expensive.
Digital X-rays, blood analysers, anaesthetic machines, a purpose-built clinic, qualified nurses and great receptionists don't come for free (and alas no government subsidies) so we just can't treat at mates rates.

2. Medicine is fraught with uncertainty.
Animals don't read textbooks; 'Normal' is defined by a bell curve; Cancer will do as it pleases. Treatments fail. Animals die. Vets cry (oh believe me we cry).

3. I can't hear you when I have my stethoscope in my ears 
 

Pressure bandage

Sometimes I find it hard
To know precisely what the problem is
And then to fix it -
As fast as possible
As cheap as possible
And maintain a genuine smile.

Like a pressure bandage I just can't chew off
Removed only at retirement

Is this struggle of stress and satisfaction
I chose for myself
Guess there's no one to blame
 
Between me and you, dog
I think you're better off. 

Soccer for the soul

13 Nov 2016

Like any good Chinese kid, I had a childhood full of individual pursuits. Violin, piano, swimming, gymnastics, badminton, maths competitions, horse-riding* even.

Now don't get me wrong, I had a great upbringing. And all of these activities have 'helped shape me into the (stubborn, driven, over-committed) person I am today'.

But you know, the one problem with individual pursuits is that, when things go wrong there's kinda no-one to blame. I mean, I've tried to blame my accompanist, my horse, my sister in the audience (she smiled at me, that was distracting) - but it doesn't really work. Deep down you know it was your fault and nothing - and no one - can offer consolation. So you step up the training, schedule more rehearsals and beat your self esteem until an opportunity for redemption.

Then this year, I joined a soccer team. 

I noticed something strange: my teammates actually stuff up too. But when they do - and this is more surprising - I'm quick to forgive ("Unlucky!" "Play on"). 
And then I noticed something else: that in being quick to forgive others, I slowly learnt to forgive myself. 
How... liberating.

A season of soccer taught me what a childhood of music lessons never did. It was:

   Piano to perfection
         Soccer for the soul

*(yes pretty un-asian nevertheless individualistic)