Ayako's visit to New Zealand

Ayako was due to arrive in New Zealand as a brief exchange student in March 2011---the day the earthquake hit Japan. She was on her way to the airport when the earthquake hit. In the end she did come, but for only 10 days. Ayako told us, in very good English, that she liked nature, so nature is mostly what we took her to see.

This picture is taken beside the Waikato River as it runs around the botanic gardens. We went down there to eat kebabs.

This is most of us sitting at twilight in the English Garden in Hamilton Gardens.

This is in the Italian Garden. Edwin Merinda and Ayako are in the distance, overlooking the amphitheatre that is behind the far wall.

This is taken on one of the bridges in the Chinese garden.

Back in the English Garden the next day. We got to see only a little bit in the first visit, because the gardens close circa sunset, about 8PM.

This is Edwin and Ayako in the Spanish Garden that overlooks the lake.

Kay took the kids to see Maungatautari. This is a mountain that is surrounded by a pestproof fence, so that no pest species can get in to compete with or eat the native species. Ayako told us that this was her favourite place.

The surrounding fence is broken by occasional "pest locks", like airlocks on a spaceship, but designed to excluse pest species instead of keepin in the air. This is the kids in one of the locks.

We also visited Anna and John to show Ayako an alpaca. Here she is petting the latest addition to the flock, only a few weeks old.

Ayako drove me back from the alpacas in the Blue Typhoon with Merinda riding shotgun on the back.

This is Ayako at our farewell family dinner at The Woodbox. We avoided eating any Japanese food for most of the stay, because we figured Ayako wanted to eat "what the natives eat", but she could not pass up Wagui-Angus cross beef steak!

What is most noticeable in the photos is that Ayako smiles more as the days wore on. She arrived rather timid and very proper. By the end of the visit she was much more relaxed and comfortable with us, laughing and having a good time. Like many of the host families, when it came time to say goodbye, there were tears in our eyes.