Mairangi Notes #29 — 2026.10.29

MHJ

my mairangi

Issue

#29

2026.10.29

Yussi's Note

Days That Take On Colour

Life with three kids is always busy with little events. This week alone, there was Min’s athletics day, an ESOL shared morning tea at Hyun’s school, and a quick cup of tea with the mum of Jin’s new friend. Getting ready for an overnight power cut and preparing for Halloween, which is suddenly just around the corner, were on the list too. Days that take on colour like this make our lives all the more colourful.

Main Story

Life in Aotearoa · 2026.10.30.

Mum’s Birthday: Oddly Weary, Awfully Funny, Fondly Comfy

A power cut hit right as the birthday candles went out, and Jin insists the celebration isn’t over yet. Notes from a birthday that won’t end.

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Lunch Box

MON

Just Like My Friends

One day, when I was making rice balls for lunch, Min asked me to wrap hers in cling film, just like the ones her friends bring to school. At our house, rice balls are always made bite-sized, easy to pick up and eat, but I suppose she wanted to try eating them the way her friends do. Sometimes, when she likes something a friend has brought for lunch, she comes home and explains it with all sorts of hand gestures, or even brings back the packaging so I can buy it for her. Still at that sweet age of growing up alongside her friends.

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Campus Notes

TUE

CV Days

The last assignment I handed in, that gruelling group presentation, ended on a high: 95 out of 100. It was the kind of mark I’d rarely managed on my own, and when it came out, we all cheered in our group chat.
Placement is drifting towards its final stretch without any big issues. Registration applications haven’t even opened yet, but I’m a jobseeker all the same. These are days of lazily polishing my CV and tweaking cover letters.

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English with Jin

This Week's Expression

“Happy birthday, Mummy”

Unlike her two older sisters, Jin often has her simple, everyday conversations with me in English. On my birthday morning, when she woke up beside me, it was the same. “Morning, dear.” “Happy birthday, Mummy.” When I whispered, “Who’s gonna sing for me first?”, Jin started singing “Happy birthday to you” before her eyes were even fully open.
These days, when I say this and that to the kids in English, they answer or react without a second thought (the older two in Korean), though they still ask me to speak in Korean when there’s something they can’t quite understand or the conversation gets long. Little by little, our bilingual home is taking shape, inside the kids and outside them too.

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Local Guide

🎃

Halloween

Halloween at Butterfly Creek

Sat 31 Oct & Sun 1 Nov, 9.30am - 5pm
A spooky weekend with a walking dino, Halloween entertainers handing out treats, free face painting and a giant pumpkin hunt with prizes to win. Some of the animals are joining in too, with Halloween-themed encounters. Come dressed in your favourite costume. All ages.
📍 Butterfly Creek, 10 Tom Pearce Drive, Auckland Airport, Auckland 2022

💀

Exhibition

Day of the Dead Altar Exhibition

Sun 1 Nov, 4pm - 8.30pm · Free (no booking needed, koha welcome)
A celebration of Mexican culture at the Lake House, with colourful altars, live music, a piñata for kids at 5pm and a traditional dance performance. Mexican food and drinks are for sale, so bring cash, plus a hat, sunscreen and a rain layer. All ages.
📍 Lake House Arts Centre, 37 Fred Thomas Drive, Takapuna, Auckland 0622

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From the Archive

Little 15 Mins

So We Made Our Own

When no app or workbook quite fit, we built our own in Auckland. 104 hand-made word cards and the beginning of something much bigger.

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

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