My sister, brother in law and family had visited me here in the States a couple of times over the past 15 years. However during this time many changes have occurred back in Christchurch, including a new home for them.
So it was certainly time for me to make the trip to Christchurch, New Zealand to reconnect with the city and renew family ties. Actually this trip was long overdue.
It had been a long time since I traveled at all. In fact the last trip was to Cuernavaca, Mexico which ended with a bad accident on the way back. I was driving a Chrysler at the time, something I would never do again. I am positive the steering was faulty as it went out of control way too easily. It rolled twice.
However, thankfully I survived with just some bad bruises, scratches and a light concussion. The local newspaper headlines reported the accident as a miracle. I am here still for a reason 
Swine flu scare
It was great to get back into the traveling mode again, even for a short time. I was to travel at the height of the swine flu scare. There had been some outbreaks of this flu in Texas, even in San Antonio. New Zealand is very careful with incoming travelers and so I was not sure what to expect.
Then to top off my concerns I decided to buy some lunch in Los Angeles since the stopover was a long 6 hours. Meat loaf sounded “safe’. However apart from being the worst meat loaf I have ever eaten, my stomach began to gurgle just a few hours away from Auckland. Oh no! I dared not let the stewardess know of my plight despite several hasty trips to the bathroom. They might think I had caught the swine flu!
However after requesting some club soda a couple of times my stomach settled down. What a relief! One person on the flight WAS led out to quarantine by the health department before we were allowed to leave the plane.
Flying over the alps to Christchurch.
A short stopover in Auckland and we were climbing again for the short flight to Christchurch. It was a sunny day and the alps were glorious. I was so busy admiring the snow capped mountains that I forgot to take out the camera. Sorry about that.
It was great to see Sandie and Martyn waiting for me when we arrived in Christchurch after a 24 hour journey. It was 8am in the morning and despite the long trip, I was ready for a full day. So much to catch up on of course.
My nephew likes to cook, so there were some special things on the menu such as Hot Cross Buns and Licorice Ice Cream.
The latter is made with the best soft licorice and is one of those out of this world tastes. It will certainly be my top request on the next trip!
It did not matter that the Hot Cross Buns were out of season. They too are always a favorite. Sandy has always been a good cook, so of course Andy has a great teacher.
Family games continue to be a tradition after the evening meal. Blokus, some card games and then there is the memory game that was created by Andy. You have to match countries and states with their capitals. (These are all written out on small cards and placed on the table upside down).
Result?
Andy knows the capital city of a large number of countries in the world, as well as most States of the USA. It won’t be long before Andy AND his parents will know the capital city of every country in the world (countries I have not even heard of).
This memory game is not just a lot of fun, but is one of the many techniques suggested by the accelerated learning programs.
What games do you play with your family? Are they helping you to learn some new things also?
What fun things do you like to do with your family and extended family?
I would love to hear from you.
Shileen
school grants
Jill
Bruce
