Tammy's Chile/New Zealand/Australia Trip

  Tuesday, May 28 My last flight was from LA to San Jose, and I arrived around 2 p.m.  Goodbye Los Angeles Midway to San Jose Almost to the SJ Airport Silas brought my car to pick me up at the airport, and then we went to his house where Ruby Sunshine and I had a nice reunion! I waited there for the commuter traffic to thin out before driving over Highway 17 and Highway 1. Silas & I went out to dinner together, and then I drove home with Ruby. She was so happy to get to ride in the car. I had a hard time staying awake, but I made it home safely. I only had enough energy to unload the car and get to bed. I had to put sheets on my bed first because I had left it unmade. I slept until 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday (with a couple times getting up to take Ruby out for a potty walk)! In the daylight, I discovered that my property was overtaken by weeds! (Anyone want to come and pull weeds with me?) Plus I have a mountain of mail to sort through and 15 messages on my landline. Reentry c...

I was impacted by the efforts to honor and acknowledge the indigenous peoples who occupied the lands before the foreigners settled them and still live among them in Temuco, Chile, New Zealand, and Australia. Below are some examples of the many ways they honor the indigenous peoples.  TEMUCO, CHILE: THE MAPUCHE PEOPLE AND MAPUDUNGUN LANGUAGE Many cities, streets, and businesses have Mapudungun names Mapudungun translations abound NEW ZEALAND: THE MAORI PEOPLE AND THE TE REO MĀORI LANGUAGE “Kia Ora” is what everyone says to greet each other in New Zealand. It literally means "be well/healthy" and is translated as an informal "hi" in the Māori Language. Many places also have indigenous names here, such as Waiheke Island and Onetangi Beach. Mount Maunganui is a sacred place for the Maori people Indigenous art and textiles Church Core Values AUSTRALIA: SEVERAL INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND LANGUAGES, EACH AREA TRIES TO RECOGNIZE THE PEOPLE WHO LIVED THERE Artwork done by studen...

Monday, May 27 (Memorial Day) On Monday morning I worked on packing my luggage for travel (distributing the weight, figuring out what to throw away or give to Christina, etc.). I tried to take it easy that day to be well-rested before my long journey home. (I also tried to catch up on my blog!) Christina prepared me a lovely lunch with salmon and a green salad with pears, knowing I would not eat on the plane until close to midnight.  Christina & Ian My last animal encounter in Australia  (in the bathroom after my shower) Christina called me an Uber around 7:00 p.m. Fortunately, she lives close to the Brisbane Airport. I made it there early to check my luggage and pick up my boarding passes. Goodbye, Brisbane! My first flight left at 10:15 p.m., heading for Taipei, Taiwan 🇹🇼 (a 9 hour flight). I had a window seat, but the middle seat was not occupied, so that gave me and the aisle seat occupant more space to spread out. I was able to sleep until dinner was served at 11:30...