Common threads from here to there | View From Down Under

Kia ora!

If anything encapsulates my introduction to New Zealand, where I arrived two weeks ago for a yearlong adventure in sabbatical form, it’s this greeting offered as a salutation in correspondence and one of myriad forms of welcome.

Kia ora comes from the Maori language, translating to “good health” – but adopted ubiquitously as catch-all for “hello” and “good luck” and (akin to “Aloha” in Hawaii) even “goodbye.” It fits the warm, caring attitudes that permeate the people here.

Here happens to be Blenheim, a large town or a small city, depending on your perspective. After calling it “Blen-hime” leading up to the move, I learned just before arrival that it’s pronounced “Blen-um” (sort of like how Chicoans say “Es-pleh-nayd” instead of “Es pleh-nahd”). We’re situated on the northeast