Today I decided not to change to my second train and instead chose to walk to work from the city. I am fortunate that I can walk along Melbourne's Yarra River. In the morning the path is filled with joggers, runners, cyclists and walkers like me. There are rowers on the river and I love watching them glide along the water, their oars hardly making a splash.

I often cycle along this same track but walking is a different experience. I wrote the following haiku as I walked: 

On the river bank / warriors stand tall - mist rolls over the water

The flax growing on the banks reminded me of tall warriors and the rowers, of canoe that my brother rows on the mighty Waikato River in New Zealand. My brother was sent to live with my grandparents when he was 13. He has a much closer ties to the Maori side of my family than I do. My other siblings and I were raised by our pakeha (white) mother in the deep south of New Zealand. 

Since Robert went back to NZ ten years ago he has reconnected with his Maoritanga (Maori culture) and I admire him for that. It has made him a better person.

I don't get home-sick for NZ much now. I experience home-sickness more when I visit. My home is here but some times I hear it call me.... today was one of those days. 

 

 

When I was in NZ I discovered that a painting I sat for in 1991 with my daughter Billie is on the cover of a book of poetry (awesome). One of my nephews also discovered this photo of me with my eldest daughter Lucy. I love it to pieces. The painting is by my mother-in-law Annie Baird

who passed away in 1999. She was a truly amazing woman and her paintings are an absolute joy. 

Rain, rain and more rain for the rest of this week. I am off to NZ for the LIANZA10 conference tomorrow where the temperature will be in the low 20s. Dunedin is my home town and it has been a long time since I have been back.  

I apologise in advance for tweets. I will be using the tag #lianza10 at the conference. I spotted these spectacular flowers on the way to work this morning. 

Last night I was asked by a friend to go along to her Australian Citizenship ceremony. It was a really big deal for her like many of the other people in the room. I am a New Zealand born, Australian. I decided to become an Australian citizen so I could vote in an upcoming State election many years ago.

I wanted to have my say. Although in a two-party preferred system like ours the choice does seem limited.

Some of my favourite moments from the ceremony were:

1. The Australian Youth Choir singing Waltzing Matilda (people were singing along)
2. The cheer squad in the back row that started cheering for everyone
3. The theme tune to Star Wars playing in the background as people started arriving. I kept expecting Darth Vader and storm troopers to arrive

Devaki is genuinely thrilled to be an Australian and the Lord Mayor of Melbourne Robert Doyle did a great job. As he said on the night many Australian born citizens take the Australia for granted. I love living here, especially in Melbourne. But my immigration experience has been a privileged one:

• I speak English
• I had family already living here
• I joined a housing cooperative when I first came to Australia so I had secure, affordable housing
• I went to TAFE/University here in Australia and came a way with excellent qualifications
• I now have a fantastic job

Australia has been very good to me. I often think about what the immigration experience must be like for those who aren't as privileged.

New Zealand will always have a place in my heart but Australia is home. Although I am toying with living further afield in the next few years...