After spending the morning further exploring Christchurch and its environs, Secretary Clinton has just departed to continue her Asia Pacific trip. Dr. McWaine and I are standing on the tarmac with Minister Brownlee, Mayor Parker, and other dignitaries as the Secretary’s plane lifts off, happy that the Secretary was able to spend three days here in New Zealand, the longest stop on her journey.

She is now on her way west to Melbourne where she will join U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and other officials for the annual AUSMIN ministerial meetings. Held regularly since 1985, AUSMIN is the principal forum for bilateral consultations between Australia and the United States.

The Secretary will then head home to Washington, with a final stop in American Samoa en route.

The full journey: 12 stops, 13 days, and more than 31,000 miles.

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One night this week 15 folks from our Embassy cooked a big dinner for about 30 residents of the Ronald McDonald House here in Wellington.  One long-term resident of the House told us that it was the best meal she had had during her seven-week stay.  The Embassy crew cooked so much that there were leftovers for breakfast and lunch at the House the next day.

A few of our Embassy iron chefs (from left): Gina, John, Myong Hee, Sara, Vinita, and Dr. Duane.

Located on Riddiford Street in Newtown, the Ronald McDonald House provides accommodations and other support for up to 12 families of sick, out-of-town children who face long stays in Wellington Hospital.  In desperate need of more space, the House is in the midst of a fundraising drive to build a new facility that will accommodate 34 families.  In addition to cash, any type of donation – including toys and blankets – that might make a family’s stay more pleasant are always welcome.

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I’m delighted to announce that one of New Zealand’s most exciting poets, Hinemoana Baker, has been selected to attend the prestigious International Writing Program (IWP) at the University of Iowa this year.

Hinemoana Baker.

Hinemoana was a superb choice for the IWP, and we at the Embassy were delighted to champion her in the process.  In addition to writing poetry, she is a published fiction writer and playwright.  She maintains several popular blogs.  And she is a singer and spoken-word performer who has received rave reviews throughout New Zealand and Australia.  I don’t know where she finds all the energy … physical or creative.

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One of my favorite Chinese proverbs is “a picture is worth a thousand words.”  

Seabird smothering in oil, on the beach of East Grand Terre Island.

It does not at all reduce the power of the maxim to acknowledge that it was coined by Frederick R. Barnard, a New York advertising manager looking to attract clients to his agency in 1921, and not by Confucius. 

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