Remote postcard from...Whangarei, New Zealand

Hi everyone,

Hope you’re all doing well and are at home staying safe and healthy away from corona.

Luna students met Laura here 20 years ago!!!

Here in New Zealand we have been in lockdown for one month, and it has been extended for one more week until Tuesday. This means that everyone in New Zealand has had to stay home and only communicate with people in their ‘bubble’ in person, the only time we are able to leave is to go for a short walk/bike ride or to an essential service (supermarket, pharmacy etc). I have been staying with my family on a farm in Whangarei, but will be moving back down to Auckland after the alert level is low enough to continue with work and prepare for university which I will start in July!

I miss all of you so much, and love seeing all of the photos of everyone on Luna’s social media!

Lots of love,

Laura :-)

It's like riding a bike

Before coming to Japan I hadn’t rode a bike in a long time. After a classic ‘no hands’ incident I swore off the concept indefinitely.

When I returned home to New Zealand from my stint in South America, I became worried for what was to come. Much like the fear of getting back on my bike, I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to pull through with what I thought was expected. Although I had left home once before, heading into something where I knew exactly what was going to happen seemed a lot more difficult than heading into the unknown. But luckily for me, as I arrived in Japan, I was gifted a new pair of training wheels in the form of Jim, Yukari, and everyone who surrounds and forms Luna’s family.

It always starts off tough and there are always setbacks and learning curves, but it’s just like riding a bike. The expectations you place on yourself and those that you believe others have set for you are what inevitably limit you from your best ability, but if you keep riding, it’ll be like you never stopped.

P.S. Two months in and I haven't yet fallen off my bike. Progress?

Luna's super Marios meet Super Santa!

As Christmas sneaks up on us, in tow comes our annual Christmas party!
A huge thank you to everyone who came to celebrate with us and a special shout out to Yukari for the incredible organisation of food, venue and fun, Cedric, Matt and Naomi for helping to keep the whole thing afloat, Jim for being the backbone of the entire celebration, and Santa himself for taking time out of his busy schedule to help us spread Christmas cheer!

Complete with games, smiles and presents galore, it was a brilliant way to end 2018.
We look forward to seeing you back at Luna from the 7th of January.

Take a peek at the festivities with the link below:

https://flic.kr/s/aHskP7zoey

Merry Christmas everybody!

The Unseen Danger

 There has always been a stigma around solo female travellers. As one myself, the questions “you’re travelling by yourself?” and “aren’t you scared something will happen?” have hung around like a bad smell ever since I left home. I’d always had the idea in my head that I would be fine; I’m smart about how I travel, I contact my family every chance I get and I trust my gut. I’ve always been a very trusting person, believing the best in people until proven otherwise. That is, until now.

On the 1st of December 2018, a young woman went missing. She went by the name of Grace Millane and she was six weeks in on a year-long trip around the world. Having spent most of that time in South America, she headed to New Zealand and explored the Far North before checking into a backpackers in Auckland. Here she stayed for less than a week before supposedly going on a date, and this was the last time known that she was seen alive.

New Zealand is globally recognised as one of the safest countries in the world. I should know, I grew up there. What some people fail to recognise is that this could happen anywhere, any time, to anyone, regardless of the situation. I’ve always walked around and believed that as long as I stick to what I know and don’t put myself into bad situations that everything would work out okay. I travelled and lived in South America for seven months believing this, just as Grace had done. But the thing is, she never did anything wrong. She went about things in the right way, but it could happen anywhere.

The fact that some people pinned the blame on her, saying that she had ‘asked for it’ after speculation arose that she had met her date on Tinder is absolutely ridiculous. People should be free to go on dates with whomever they want, without being worried that their date will harm them. People should be able to walk down a street without being worried that the person walking behind them will harm them. The world is developing at an incredibly rapid pace, but no one is going to truly benefit from any of it until the people living in it do as well.

See you later, take care, goodbye!

So the day finally arrived when we toasted Damian for being the star of the show at Luna for last 3+ years, and into the bargain welcomed Laura back to our car park BBQ (she joined us last year with her parents, remember?!).

For a while there, sad & lonely Jim was on his own there snuggling his beer & reflecting on how lucky we (Luna) have been with his endless enthusiasm for the "job" here - which is as much as a teacher can make of it...and he has made it a very big job with countless attributes & thorough preparation.

Therefore, no surprise when a whole host of students and rugby types rocked up & shared fabulous munchies, smothered the lad with hugs and sayonara messages.

He's not gone yet though - covering Jim's classes for a final hurrah and to help super cheerful Laura find everything!

Find the rest of the photos here https://flic.kr/s/aHsmvPx9sE and also on our FB page