I learned reo Māori at the Wānanga about 15 years ago and it was a great experience. The resources were great and they use a lot of different teaching methods. I imagine their resources have only gotten better over time. Plus Olly Ohlson was a guest teacher!

That's still a catch phrase between my husband and me when we go somewhere crowded.

It's been 34-36 degrees over here the last few days and we're all melting, but last night we had a doozy of a thunderstorm which broke the heatwave. Such a relief. Not that I'm missing winter at all - we get -10C then.

I've been here for more than ten years now. It really is beautiful, and the opportunities to explore Europe have been incredible. But Switzerland is a notoriously unfriendly country and maintaining friendships here is work. Plus our parents are ageing, we miss being close to family, and I especially miss living by the ocean. Going back was always a possibility as an early retirement plan - it's also too expensive to retire in Switzerland.

Mountains and meadows are nice for a while, but driving six hours in the era of carbon footprint reduction to get to a warm bathtub (the Mediterranean) gets a bit stale.

(I might have some strong opinions)