Community Classes

One of the things I love about New Zealand is how easy it is to get involved in community activities. There are sport activities for all ages, book clubs, new mum's groups, coffee groups, and one of my favourites, adult community education.  The government subsidizes community education that takes place in the evenings at community halls and schools. Classes are offered for anything that you can think of and we thought it would be a great way to meet people. 

Joe and I decided before we moved here that we would sign up for one as soon as we arrived, since we arrived at the beginning of a term. We decided to join a "Photoshop for Beginners". 

Last week was our last night of class. We really enjoyed the class and learned a lot. It was harder to get to know people than we had expected, but we did connect with a few people. We really got to know and enjoy one of the gentlemen in our class and we look forward to connecting with him more- he has run multiple marathons, his wife is a teacher, and he is an awesome photographer so we had lots to chat about during class! 

We learned how to do many different things with photos, though most are just tweaking the picture to make it look better! I will eventually post some pictures up here, but the blog site is being slow!

Thanks for your prayers, and please continue to pray for us as we meet people in the different activities we are involved with.

A City Favourite

Last week we were out and we met another couple. They invited us to lunch at one of their favourite spots to eat during the weekend- an international market downtown. This little market is just across from the art museum and is filled with entertainment, food, culture, shops and heaps of people, even on these cold winter weekends! It is a great glimpse of Christchurch culture and a great place to see lots of people.

After going last week and enjoying the few hours that we spent there, we decided to go back Sunday afternoon. This Sunday it was a bit nicer out and the markets were packed with people. We enjoyed watching some jugglers, listening to some music from some buskers (people who play on the street) and watching a Maori performance group while we ate Thai and Solvakian foods. We also just enjoyed walking around and being with so may people. Below are a few pictures from our time at the markets. 

One of the many food stalls. 

Here is me enjoying a Solvakian kebab while listening to music from a busker.

      Some of the many specialty booths set up. 

Lots of people come out to enjoy the markets each weekend. 

Maori performance group singing. 

Community Hot-spot: The QEII

One of our biggest jobs right now is getting involved in the community of Christchurch, specifically in the north-east side. In finding ways to get involved, we have located some of the popular places on our side of town, and started to become regulars there. Throughout the next couple of weeks, I will introduce you to some of these places. 

A big draw to our side of town is the Queen Elizabeth II Centre-most people call it the QEII. The QEII is a huge attraction in our area as it has outdoor stadiums, indoor courts, indoor pools and water slides, a cafe, workout classes, hosts sporting events, and has a full gym with work-out equipment. As you can imagine, in a community filled with young families, the QEII is busy all hours of the day. 

We live about 2 kilometers (a little over a mile) from the QEII. The QEII is now a regular part of our lives. We have included it in our daily schedules, going around the same time each evening and are even starting to feel like regulars. It's been a great way for us to begin to get to know some people.