Doctor D Down Under

 A replica of a Maori meeting house at the Museum of Taupo
Kia Ora from New Zealand!

I am writing on Sept. 22, 2019 from North Island, the small town of Taihape.  If you are interested in receiving this post, tune in once a week.  Otherwise you can just cancel out.  Doing a Blog is a totally new experience for me, but I felt it might be the best way to communicate with a number of friends and family.

I left Evanston on Sept. 18, Peter's birthday, and flew New Zealand Airlines direct from Chicago to Auckland.  Auckland is the most populous city in NZ, I have discovered, since half the population lives there.

In continuing my locum tenens experience begun 4 years ago, I accepted a 3 month position as a physician with the Taihape Health Limited, a clinic in Taihape.  I have been excited about the prospect of learning about another country's medical system, and also, of course, excited about the prospect of traveling around this wonderful country.  Everyone is so nice!!

My apartment is on the lower level of the home of my landlords, both really nice, who run a B & B, but leased the apartment to my clinic for me.  From the livingroom I have a view of the highest mountain on the North Island, Mt. Ruapehu, and people are still skiing on it.  We are just starting spring here, so there are magnolias and daffodils.  Due to the climate, you can also see palm trees near deciduous trees, especially in Auckland.

It is extremely hilly here, but the grass on the hills is well-manicured by sheep everywhere.  There are lots of lambs;  when I walk, I sometimes stand to look at the sheep, and they stand and look back, not sure what I am going to do.  I go " hi, guys!" which usually makes them back off.

I have now successfully driven to a big town (Palmerston North) on the left  side of the road without incident.  Just introduced myself at the clinic and getting orientation.
More later,
Adrianna

Comments

  1. UnknownOctober 4, 2019 at 3:34 PM

    Dear Adrianna: I'm so glad that you are doing a blog. You are very intrepid, and I'm looking forward to hearing more from you! xo Lindsay

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownOctober 7, 2019 at 5:14 AM

    Love hearing your news and experiences...thank you. You are busy at the clinic! Glad it isn't too hard to learn...keep the news coming. Love you...xoGinny

    ReplyDelete
  3. JosieOctober 13, 2019 at 12:52 PM

    WAYYY to go girl! When I was in New Zealand for part of my medical school experience in 1984 [YES IN THE STONE AGES!!!] I was give a bicycle and that was enough adventure for me riding in a right hand drive country!
    Good for you that you were actually in a car. LOL!

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownNovember 21, 2019 at 11:06 AM

    Hi Adrianna,

    Thanks for including me on your blogs. You certainly get around. You seem to be happy being a locum tenens and are really having great experiences. Julianna and I are fine.

    Carlos

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
Kia Ora! I'm sitting in the Wellington Airport waiting for my flight back to Palmerston North, where my car is waiting to take me back to Taihape after a busy weekend. The South Island! Te Anau is the town I drove to from Queenstown via rental car, a two hour journey. The town and Milford Sound, my other destination, are on the south end of this island.  The guide for our nature cruise said that it rains 4-9 meters per year here.  When I arrived, the mountains were enveloped in low white clouds, an air of mystery in the sky, with on and off fine rain.  Te Anau itself has some charm, bordering the second largest lake in New Zealand (Lake Taupo being the largest.)  It is also quite deep (greater than 400 meters in places) and cold, but people do swim in it in the summer.  The town is full of tourists, most bent on seeing Milford Sound either via tramping the Milford Track or like me, going via coach bus, and hence to a water cruise.  I was able to walk a...
Read more
Image
Day # 1 Totaranui -  South Island " So, the water is only supposed to be knee deep as we cross." said Alec, our young guide.  She had led groups in the Abel-Tasman National Park before, but this was her first season back this year.  It had been raining a lot, the skies heavy and overcast, and the tide was out; the boat we saw in the distance looked to be grounded.  It was meant to be our transport across the inlet at Awaroa, and on the other side was a short walk to our lodging for the night. There were four of us travelers, plus Alec who was a New Zealander, but had been raised on the islands of Vanawatu.  We had all met earlier that morning from our various pick-up points in Nelson, and been transported by coach bus to Kaiteriteri.  Along the way we introduced ourselves, N. and J. from Cambridge in the U.K., and S. who came from Glencoe, practically in my back yard.  The others had been to New Zealand previously.  They were as eager as I t...
Read more