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I converted my physical sim card from the last time I was here into an e-sim card. I have the same local NZ number as four months ago (!) , and my home US phone number is still active on my phone. Which means anyone in the US can still text me for free if they have an iPhone, which sends texts via iMessage.

Mark came by the Vrbo on a rainy Saturday morning (9/23 here). Great to see him again. And he’s psyched to continue filming.

He recommended a series on NZ TV 1 about moko, and I am now set up to stream programs and movies on NZ TV 1, 2, and 3.

I have a very mellow stay-at-home, rainy day on Saturday, and with the local time change that night, my sleeping hours are now 10 PM to 6:30 AM (not 9-5:30), and there is only a four-hour time difference, instead of five (but still a different day across the international date line).

Sunday (9/24 here) dawned sunny and gorgeous. I spent the morning walking from my Vrbo to Eastend Beach, across Te Henui Creek and along Fitzroy Beach, all on the coastal walkway. Lots of folks were on the walkway and at the beach on this early spring day, eager to be out and about after the winter’s grey and cold.

Rangi and Phil came by the Vrbo at 2 on Sunday and we visited for an hour. Phil had a gig Saturday night playing in an R&B band for the half time of the NZ Warriors game (the sole NZ rugby team), and would have gone to Australia to do the same next weekend. But, alas, the Warriors lost, and are out of the play-offs. Rangi has healed well from his hand surgery, and is as busy as ever.

They are both psyched to continue the puhoro, and also to help me tell my story on film.

Tomorrow, Monday 9/25, we begin again, meeting at the moko pod at 11 AM, after Rangi’s iwi meeting in town. We’ll sort out the rear design, which Phil will draw in detail. Then, hopefully, we begin inking my butt spirals!

In preparation for being a little less mobile, and having to lie on my belly while the rear moko work is done and healing—a position I normally never find myself in—I laid in takeaway Indian food from both Cinnamon and Flame that will last me a week. Lamb Nawabi, Butter Chicken, Saag, Dal Makhani, Channa Masala, Aloo Gobi. Yum!

The westerly breezes roll in off the Tasman Sea, bring the sound of surf, the tang of brine, ruffle the palm fronds in the garden.

With the sun, I’m in short sleeves and shorts, just like the locals, even though it’s still in the low 60s. Without it, in the 50s, I’m in fleece-lined pants and fleece. But if I’m walking briskly, the pants are un-lined and I’m in short sleeves.

I feel more and more integrated here. I have my own NZ phone number. Enjoy three NZ streaming channels. Have a great location two blocks from Eastend Beach. Have favorite restaurants I can easily walk to. Know my favorite NZ brands for food like cereal and crackers and tea, know where they are in the nearby Countdown grocery store. I drink milk, half-and-half and eat sharp cheddar, all from local dairies. And, of course, I love the local honey in my morning tea.

With each passing day, I feel more and more Kiwi.