Mairangi Notes #12 — 2026.06.26

MHJ

my mairangi

Issue

#12

2026.06.26

Yussi's Note

Magical Rainbows

It rains often here, but the showers usually pass quickly — perhaps that's why this year has been drier than most, with quite a few places running short of water. This week, rain that some will have been glad to see has been falling for two or three days now. Welcome as it might be, I'd thought the children would find it a nuisance, pulling on their raincoats each morning and heading out across the wet grass. Not a bit of it. On the way to school, a great rainbow peeked out through the rain, and they lit up, grinning from ear to ear. Even in a country where light, frequent rain means rainbows are a common sight, it's still a small piece of magic that lifts the mood every time.

Main Story

Life in Aotearoa · 2026.06.22.

IVE World Tour : SHOW WHAT I AM

IVE world tour concert, 'SHOW WHAT I AM' in Auckland. At the Spark Arena merch queue, the lightsticks, and two preteen fans seeing their favourite group live.

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Lunch Box

MON

Soy-Sauce Tteokbokki & Chicken Chippies

I packed soy-sauce tteokbokki for once. When it's going in a lunchbox, I blanch the rice cakes first and rinse them, then toss them in a little oil with the other ingredients before adding the seasoning. Carrot, beef, mushroom and spring onion would make it a proper royal-court tteokbokki, but for the lunchbox I just tore in some thin ham. I season it with soy sauce, oligo syrup and garlic powder, then fold through sesame oil and sesame seeds so everything's lightly coated.

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Campus Notes

TUE

Living within a Community

Since last year I've been volunteering, on and off, with Age Concern. Mostly it's helping run the regular classes and occasional events held for Korean seniors at libraries and community centres. As the faces grow familiar — the older people who come along to the classes, and the other volunteers too — it's become something I look forward to: not just volunteering, but a time of small connections and quiet enjoyment.

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English with Jin

This Week's Expression

“It's my favourite!”

Bit by bit, my child is finding words that come more easily in English than in Korean. Usually they're the things she learns at school — numbers, colours, shapes. Green seems to reach her more directly than 초록(chorok), circle more than 동그라미(donggeurami), five more than 다섯(daseot). Lately the word she reaches for again and again is favourite. When she talks about her favourite colour, her favourite day, her favourite shape, "It's my favourite!" slips out all on its own. The pronunciation is still endearingly childlike, but watching the things she can say about herself grow, one by one, is a discovery that never stops being wonderful.

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Local Guide

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Museum Event

TARTAN DAY: A Celebration of Scottish Heritage

Saturday 27 June · 10am–2pm · Free with Museum entry (programme runs to about 1pm)
A lone piper opens the day on the Museum steps, followed by a procession of the clans. Through the morning there's Highland dancing, fiddle, and ceilidh dancing you can join in, plus designing your own tartan and a clan expo. Watch the traditional haggis ceremony — address to the "Great Chieftain o' the puddin-race" and all — then sample it yourself. The day closes with everyone singing Auld Lang Syne. Come in tartan if you like.

📍 Auckland Museum, Auckland Domain, Parnell, Auckland 1010

🚂

Stamp Tour

WESTERN LINE EXPLORER

Sunday 28 June · 10am–3pm · Free
A choose-your-own-adventure by walk, wheel and train along Auckland's Western Line. Collect your map, pencil and AT HOP card at Henderson Station, then hop on and off the train to explore local spots, complete activities, and collect stamps along the way. It's self-guided, so you go at your own pace. Finish three activities and return to Henderson to claim a prize. A free AT HOP card for participating adults; kids ride free on weekends with their own registered HOP card.

📍 Henderson Bike Hub, 14 Edmonton Road, Henderson, Auckland

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From the Archive

Settlement

Night Above the Clouds

Farewell to our home of eight years, our car, and Korea itself—the emotional departure day and eleven-hour flight to Aotearoa New Zealand.

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www.mhj.nz · Mairangi Bay, Auckland, New Zealand

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