Changing of the Guard

This past weekend we had a lovely visit from the young GP who took over my position at Ruanui Health Centre a year ago. We had a great time commiserating about the trials and joys of working for a Maori Health Provider and discussing joint patients we had taken care of over the last two and a half years in succession. As expected, there have been many deaths of favorite patients, but also some great successes. Being a young female, similar to myself, I’m sure the transition was easy for the patients and Kristi has a wonderful attitude that the patients would have enjoyed. She has now finished her time and is spending six weeks exploring the country before she heads back to the high speed pace of America. So, to kick off her travels, we drove out to Raglan on the west coast, about an hour from Hamilton. The day started out rather dubious with clouds and rain hanging overhead, but turned into a brilliant sunny day on the coast. After some shopping, during which Kristi contributed nicely to Raglan’s commerce, we had lunch and then drove out to watch the surfers attempt standing in the world-famous left-hand break. The physics of left-handed surfing slightly beyond the scope of our never-having-surfed comprehension, we still delighted in commenting on how they could improve their skills. The wind eventually chilling us down, we drove back to Hamilton, stopping for a brief moment to visit Bridal Veil Falls, a 55 meter plume of water cascading over the edge from a seemingly small creek. It generated a great discussion of weather eels ever fell over the waterfall and if an experiment could be constructed to test this theory. After deciding it would likely be against any animal rights act, we drove on home to enjoy some dinner and a few cosmopolitans, watching the locals get ready for the Aussie-New Zealand rugby match that night. Sunday was a lazy day soaking up the sun that has all winter evaded us, walking through the Hamilton Botanical Gardens and along the overflowing Waikato River. We gave Kristi some tips on places to visit on her trip over a plate of local and French cheeses. It was hard not to be jealous of her six week holiday, although I can say I’m not sorry to live out of a car and short-stay hotels for that length of time. Her visit also generated another realization; I will soon be making this same journey home in three short months, making the transition to fast-paced American life and the US health system. Guess I better enjoy the lackadaisical days I have left.