fire fairies, magic, and the kindness of the human spirit.
It's impossible to express the kind of lovely comfort, happiness, and gratefulness I'm feeling right now.
Roger Mannins and Caroline Lynn are two jazz musicians in Auckland. They teach at the University here, and they arranged with me beforehand to sit in on Rog's gig on Friday at the London Bar (Tierney, apparently you sat in there when you were here, too!). And then on Sat to give a master class and a concert at their house. Friday night was lovely. Craig and Frank, my new couchsurfing friends, showed up and we chatted while we listened to some great musicians play the first set. For the second, I sat in, and we just had a lovely, lovely time. Rog then picked up all of my stuff from the hostel and of we were to their house just outside Auckland, only about a 15 minute drive. The house is so lovely and quaint. There's a coal fire in the fireplace, there's always some tea on, and kiwifruit (both green and golden) are aplenty. But the best thing about it is their amazing daughter Milli. She's 5, brilliant, hysterically honest as most 5-year-olds are, and an artist like no other 5 year I've ever met. She can draw, fingerknit, and make all sorts of fun art projects.
Yesterday all manner of people showed up for the class--singers, instrumentalists, singer-instrumentalists. The piled into the living room and we had a nice long chat about where/why/how extensions are available, guide tones lines on the blues, and I even got to hear 3 of them sing and give them a bit of constructive criticism. They're all actually beautiful singers with big, powerful voices--many of them are students of Caroline and some of the guys from the band.
After the class people started showing up for a barbeque! We grilled sausages, had wine, beer, I made my jerk chicken...and we completely forgot to grill the lamb we'd gotten--it's all right, now we'll have it for dinner tonight. Everything was delicious, and the company couldn't have been brighter. Craig and Frank showed up, and all told there were probably 30-35 people here for the bbq and concert. Warm, smiling faces, and donations in the pot so by the end of the night I was able to pay the band a bit. Our bass player Tom Dennison is only 19 and has great time and feel. The concert was a hit, the students seemed to be inspired, and I unpoaded (sold) a bunch od CDs and signed autographs, which is lovely because those CDs were making my suitcase awfully heavy.
After cleaning up from the day, Roger, Caroline, Milli and I sat around the fireplace. Milli told me some stories she learned at school about the fire fairie and the wind brothers. I then concocted a tale of how the fire fairie and wind brothers are actually cousins, who sometimes get in an argument, and that's what makes the candle flame flicker. Milli liked it. It was a long day, and we all went to bed happy and smiling. Today it was morning tea, a bit of internet, and then I think they'll take me for a NZ adventure. All said, the people here are so kind, generous, warm, and lovely, it's a wonder to behold. I couldn't be happier or more grateful.
Signing off for now, and cheers from New Zealand. I'll speak to you next from Sydney, Australia.
love,
sara
Roger Mannins and Caroline Lynn are two jazz musicians in Auckland. They teach at the University here, and they arranged with me beforehand to sit in on Rog's gig on Friday at the London Bar (Tierney, apparently you sat in there when you were here, too!). And then on Sat to give a master class and a concert at their house. Friday night was lovely. Craig and Frank, my new couchsurfing friends, showed up and we chatted while we listened to some great musicians play the first set. For the second, I sat in, and we just had a lovely, lovely time. Rog then picked up all of my stuff from the hostel and of we were to their house just outside Auckland, only about a 15 minute drive. The house is so lovely and quaint. There's a coal fire in the fireplace, there's always some tea on, and kiwifruit (both green and golden) are aplenty. But the best thing about it is their amazing daughter Milli. She's 5, brilliant, hysterically honest as most 5-year-olds are, and an artist like no other 5 year I've ever met. She can draw, fingerknit, and make all sorts of fun art projects.
Yesterday all manner of people showed up for the class--singers, instrumentalists, singer-instrumentalists. The piled into the living room and we had a nice long chat about where/why/how extensions are available, guide tones lines on the blues, and I even got to hear 3 of them sing and give them a bit of constructive criticism. They're all actually beautiful singers with big, powerful voices--many of them are students of Caroline and some of the guys from the band.
After the class people started showing up for a barbeque! We grilled sausages, had wine, beer, I made my jerk chicken...and we completely forgot to grill the lamb we'd gotten--it's all right, now we'll have it for dinner tonight. Everything was delicious, and the company couldn't have been brighter. Craig and Frank showed up, and all told there were probably 30-35 people here for the bbq and concert. Warm, smiling faces, and donations in the pot so by the end of the night I was able to pay the band a bit. Our bass player Tom Dennison is only 19 and has great time and feel. The concert was a hit, the students seemed to be inspired, and I unpoaded (sold) a bunch od CDs and signed autographs, which is lovely because those CDs were making my suitcase awfully heavy.
After cleaning up from the day, Roger, Caroline, Milli and I sat around the fireplace. Milli told me some stories she learned at school about the fire fairie and the wind brothers. I then concocted a tale of how the fire fairie and wind brothers are actually cousins, who sometimes get in an argument, and that's what makes the candle flame flicker. Milli liked it. It was a long day, and we all went to bed happy and smiling. Today it was morning tea, a bit of internet, and then I think they'll take me for a NZ adventure. All said, the people here are so kind, generous, warm, and lovely, it's a wonder to behold. I couldn't be happier or more grateful.
Signing off for now, and cheers from New Zealand. I'll speak to you next from Sydney, Australia.
love,
sara
posted by sara leib at 1:55 PM
4 Comments:
This comment has been removed by the author.
Glad you're having a great time Sara. It is those experiences with new people that really make a trip. Sending you lots of love from Cali! -Josh
Hi Sara, glad you're having such a great time here in NZ. I have a few pics from Saturday night if you want them. The lighting wasn't that great but they should give you some good memories. It was a wonderful concert and I really loved the openness and sincerity that came across when you sang. Cool CD too. I'll try my best to get one to the King!!
Best wishes on the rest of your world trip...
Peter K
Sara, I love your blog... keep writing! xoxo, Jayme
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