Here's a pic of my 33 week belly which Clinton took of me about a week and half ago. These last few weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind for me. I am finishing up my year of teaching here in NZ ( I have a week and a half left), I am planning for our wedding ceremony (or at least trying to), applying for academic jobs for next year (or at least trying to, again) and trying to juggle what seems to be a dozen other lil to big projects...all with increasing hormones and growing belly. Some days feel a bit crazier then others...but mostly because of these hormones...emotionally I'm not sure what I'll get. We've (mostly Clinton) has learned to take it day by day...lol and its really the only way to do it. This week and a half have been great...I'm sure the sun, warm weather and longer days has helped (summer is finally coming).

Well to all who are juggling lots and determined to finish it...cheers...you have kindred spirit on the other side of the world

Re-learning how to spell

September 14th, 2010



I have been away from the university for about three weeks and out of the country for about 2 weeks (we had 2 weeks of university recess and I took an extra week for Jen's PR wedding) and it feels more like three months. Just four weeks ago, I was feeling intune with kiwi ways and life but I'm now back in NZ struggling to understand the kiwi accent and desperately trying to recall all the cultural comforts I had aquired before I left.

I can't tell if this is just "pregnancy brain" or just incomplete acculturation...either way I am still not kiwi-fied.

The perfect example of such an occurrence happened yesterday.

My university password had expired during the break so I called the IT help desk to get it reactivated. The helpful women promised to get it sorted in a less then 2 minutes. She asked me what my favorite hobby was and I quickly answered "travel!" She told me that she had temporarily changed my password to traveling. "Easy enough" I agreed and hung up the phone. I logged back on and typed in traveling...ERROR. I took my time to type in again...ERROR. I called the help desk again and luckily got the say women. I told her I was being denied access even with the new password. I read to hear the error message and she asked me to retype the password making sure the cap lock was off...CHECK. Then she asked me to type the word in all lower case letters...CHECK. Right before I press "ok," I her spelling out the word letter by letter and realize my mistake...I forgot that I was in NZ...which means traveling is spelled TRAVELLING...TWO Ls...darn! I quickly fixed my "misspelling," pressed Ok and finally logged onto my computer. Too embarrassed to admit it, I acted surprised and bewildered that all of a sudden the password worked.

I hung up the phone and laughed.

I don't know if its complete laziness on my behalf or implicit resistance but I do not use English NZ (british) spelling in my PowerPoints...actually its a combination of both most of the time. It takes a few seconds for me to realize (if I realize at all) that I should have spelled "realize" as realise or spell color as "colour" instead. At times, I just don't allow myself to think about spelling it any other way. For example the word "Colonization." A professor came into my class during the end of my lecture and commented on my spelling of colonization with a "z." I laughed and explained that I was from the states and he smirked and said "I know."

I guess its a bit Americo-centered of me... but I just can't spell colonization with an "s"...I am not sure how to explain it but using the "s" seems to soften the word in my eyes and I'm just not down with it. Ok maybe I'm being a little melodramatic but there is something I have internalized about letters and phonetics and thier hard/soft connotations...I'm down for some cultural linguistic analysis of it all but till then Colonization stays with a "z."

New Zealand's National Health Care

Once we learned we were definitely pregnant, our next thought was "insurance!"
During Clinton's contract negotiation, he inquired about health insurance and was told that New Zealand had a national plan. Though we did not fully understand what that meant, Clinton assured me that IBM insures thier employees and that he would inquire about me. However, in two weeks time I was being interviewed for the Teaching Fellowship and I thought I would get my own insurance.

During my interview with the Director of the Anthropology department, the Dean of Faculty of Arts and Science and a Human Resource representive, I asked about health insurance which the human resource answered that this is a welfare state and that employees didn't recieved their benefits from the university but from the state. He recommended I consider apply for permanent residency so that I can recieve all the benefits that kiwis do. I felt a little embarassed that I didn't know more about New Zealand's medical system and thus didn't push the issue. I figured Clinton would follow up with IBM and I would have insurance that way. However, we learned that we were pregnant before we could sort out my health insurance...which for us Americans (at least for now), this was a scary predicament.

I did a quick search for women's health organizations in hopes of finding someone to talk to about my options. I came across a organization called MAMA materinity which explained that my 2 year work visa should cover my materinity care...WHAT?! Really?! I asked if I was limited to specific clinics, doctor's offices, etc. She responded by suggesting I find a general practicioner in my area and then a midwife. Her answer didn't really address my question but I figured I was lucky enough to get as much information as she offered. She took down my address and said she would send me a list of midwives in my area and a few pamplets on maternity care in NZ.

I made a few more calls a made an appointment with a General Practioner at Queens Doctors. Clinton and I showed up on a Thursday in late March, checked-in at the front desk and showed our US passports with NZ visa. The receptionist checked my visa and said we were covered...ie there was no charge for our visit. Within three to four minutes, our GP came out and escorted us to her office.

We explained that we had 2 positive at-home pregnancy test and would like a blood test and scan to confirm that the fetus was developing in the uterus. We also explained that we were from the states and needed a little guidance navigating the NZ system. The Doc had some experience with the US system and explained to us the following:

* Over 80% of New Zealanders use midwives to deliver thier babies
* Midwives can deliver babies in the hospital, birthing center and homes
* Most births occur in a hospital with a midwife and if baby and mommy are both fine then both are shuttled to a birthing center within 2 hours for rest and 2 overnight stays
* Not all midwifes are the same. There is not a systemitzed training for midwifes.
* It is very important to find a midwifes that has a similar birthing plan/ philosophy as you. SO make sure to ask relevant questions regarding birthing plan (home vs hospital birth, drugs vs no drugs, C-section etc)
* It is also important to secure a midwife soon, if I am pregnant, because they book up quickly.

Our GP, stated that a midwife was covered under the NZ medical plan but that a OB would cost us about NZ 2,000 extra unless I had a complicated of high risk pregnancy then the national system would cover it. Her recommendation was that we try to get a midwife with nursing training. She had three in mind and she gave us thier contact info.

She also gave us a referral for blood test and scan. She explained that if I was pregnant then the next step was for us to secure the midwife...we would no longer need to come see her. BUT if we didnt find a midwife in the next 3 weeks or so then to make an appointment to see her then. We thanked her and said good-bye, not paying a pretty penny (or gold coin). We went to the lab and scan place and again didn't take out our wallets for that as well. That day we learned that we were having our first little one and to our wonderful surprise the NZ welfare state would cover her care. All of it was an amazing experience.

Update:
Since those early experiences with the NZ medical system, we have continued to have a comforting and empowering experience with our prenatal care. Now that I am 34 and half weeks a long, we are now preparing for the delivery of our little one. We are planning for a natural, drug free birth and feel quite prepared for the challenge. However, we know that many things can happen during delivery, including complications, which could mean not having a natural birth. Whether we do or not, we feel ready to make those decisions. I know that being here in NZ, where we are constantly reminded that pregnancy is something that the female body naturally prepares itself to do, has made me feel confident about my own abilities. Pregancy is also seen as a family/community event, so there is lots of emphasis on preparing not only me but my whanua (family), especially my partner. We have taken a prenatal/labor massage class and a prenatal course which taught us techniques to celebrate and mitigate the pain of labor together. These courses have helped us connect with other prego partners here in NZ, which has been great.

So as our time approaches, we are packing our hospital bag, finishing up the nursery (which Clinton put together for me while I was away in Puerto Rico as a surprise) and enjoying the last few weeks of pregnancy. We are excited about meeting our little Black/Puerto Rican Kiwi-Born lil girl.