THE INTERNAL - NEWSLETTER 41/04
CHRISTMAS TIME
 Did you all clean your shoes on Sunday night??? … and did Saint Nicolas put something into them??? It is too bad that this tradition is unknown in New Zealand, isn’t it?!
Some of us came together on the weekend to have breakfast together. This time we didn’t miss the candle and even thought about something traditional of New Zealand: candy canes!
I hope all of you had a blessed second advent! Have a nice week and enjoy listening to the Christmas Carols in the streets!
FEEL LIKE X- MAS PARTY???
What do you think about coming all together and have a little Christmas party - with Stollen, Lebkuchen, Gluehwein, Orangen etc… ??? As a fun option everybody can bring a unisex present with a number on it ?! Since many Christmas parties are already celebrated at work I would suggest next Monday Dec 13. If the weather is nice we can have like a BBQ outside, otherwise we have to find a place indoor. Let me know if we want to do that or not…!
NEW INTERN COMING IN JANUARY
 As we had to say goodbye to a couple of interns last week we are now really looking forward to meeting some new ones! Monika Kube will be the next year’s first intern joining our group in the beginning of January. She will arrive Jan 04 and stays until March.
PICTURES … PICTURES … PICTURES
Annekathrin was the intern working for WoX before Sedina. Now she is back to write her diploma thesis and popped into the office to say hi. She offered to show us her picture presentation if we want to. So those of you who are interested in looking at some nice pictures and learning about some places to go to let me know.
TRIP TO WAITOMO CAVES
Due to the rainy weather we decided to go on a trip where you are mostly “indoors”… thus we ended up visiting the Waitomo Caves Region. We didn’t visit the most popular Waitomo Glowworm Cave, but instead went on the Spellbound Tour ($40) - which was definitely a good choice! We had our own guide for a group of ten people who guided us through the hills in a van. We learnt much about the hydrology of limestone and the Karst system of this region and enjoyed a guided tour through the cave. He even showed us how to feed some eels and explained us everything about a glowworm’s life, about the difficulty to take pictures of them and gave us much insider information on various other things. In the cave we went on a boat tour and could enjoy the beauty and silence of the glowworms around us with a cup of hot chocolate or coffee and some cockies – a nice surprise!!! On our way home we stopped at Raglan beach and hoped to catch sight of some surfers… but without any success. The wind was extremely heavy and almost blew our heads off. Then we had dinner at Vinnies World of Eats – really nice place, only a bit too many birds around the tables J !!! Thanks to Bastian, who had to order a very complicated Italian Pizza which took really long to be served (so we all had to wait for him) we couldn’t leave before 9pm…
I can really advice to everyone to go and see the Waitomo Caves, but don’t just visit the single Waitomo Glowworm tour, go on one of the adventurous tours since they are much more fun!!!
 
 
WHAT’S ON IN AUCKLAND
The Civic Theatre celebrates its 75th Anniversary and as part of the celebrations it is opening the doors to the public Dec 10 – 12 from 10am till 4pm. You can await exhibitions and life performances etc.
On Wed Dec 8 some Auckland celebrities will ride a relay race down Queen St to the Viaduct to compete for a donation to a charity (12.30 – 2pm). There will be different teams, and they change riders at the intersection of Victoria/Queen St and at Britomart. Maybe it is fun to watch them…
One of Auckland’s favourite outdoor events takes place on Dec 11 from 7.45 – 10.15 pm at Auckland Domain. There will be lots of music (gospel, hip-hop, Christmas Carols) and dancing in the park, and in the end fireworks at about 10pm.
Waiheke Island will definitely be a good choice for this weekend since it is the Waiheke Xmas Festival Weekend. In Oneroa Village there will be the Santa Parade on Saturday Dec 11 which starts at 2pm. On Sunday in the evening a local choir willl sing Xmas carols in St Peters Church.
REVIEW OF K- ROAD FESTIVAL
Although it was pouring with rain some of us didn’t flinch from going to the festival on Saturday night. The whole day through there were different bands playing onstage and people dancing – especially when the rain came down in sheets… The highlight was definitely the parade in the evening! It was quite different to traditional German processions and therefore we had tuns of fun watching the outlandish costumes!!!
STARDOME ON THURSDAY…
If you want to come and learn something about the sky and star constellation of the southern Hemisphere please let me know until Wed noon. The show starts at 8pm, but if the weather is nice we can meet earlier and visit Auckland’s famous One Tree Hill… For students prizes are $10.
THIS WEEKEND COMING UP
For the 3rd advent weekend most of us want to go to beautiful Coromandel and sleep outside under the starry sky … hopefully we will be able to see any stars!!! The weather forecast says that it will be quite sunny, no rain, but no really warm summer days – so maybe we are lucky!
As I have already mentioned above there is a Christmas Festival Weekend on Waiheke Island, that might be an options for those who do not want to come along with us to Coromandel…
COOKING WITH JAMIE OLIVER
Christmas Bombe
This is an excellent Christmas special that is very simple and great to get in the bag as you can make it days before the big day.
For the chocolate sponge:
7 ounces (200grams) butter
7 ounces (200grams) caster sugar
3 large eggs
7 ounces (200grams) self-rising flour
1 rounded teaspoon baking powder
3 rounded tablespoons cocoa powder
For the filling:
2 (250 gram containers) ricotta cheese (about 19 ounces)
Around 2 3/4 ounces (80 grams) sugar
1 handful of mixed glace fruit
1 tin cherries, drained
4 ounces (100 grams) chocolate, broken up
1 handful flaked or shaved or thinly sliced almonds
2 heaping tablespoons good coffee beans, crushed
2 egg whites
A good drizzle orange liqueur
Cocoa powder for dusting
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Line 2 (10-inch) (25 centimetres) cake tins with greaseproof paper and rub with a little butter. In a mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add the eggs, flour, baking powder, and cocoa powder. Mix well and divide into the cake tins. Cook for 7 to 8 minutes at 350 degrees F (180 degrees C/gas 4) until firm but soft.
So, you have 7 to 8 minutes, while the sponge is cooking, to make the filling. Add the ricotta to a food processor and blitz with the sugar until shiny and smooth. Scoop into a bowl, add the chopped fruit, cherries, chocolate, and almonds and stir together. Now add the coffee to taste (bash the hell out of the beans using something heavy wrapped in a tea towel, or use a coffee grinder if you don't like too much noise?). Whip up the egg whites and fold into the ricotta mix.
By now, the sponge is probably ready. Turn it out while it is still hot and cut it into 8 wedges. Line a shallow round bowl, about 9-inches (23 centimetres) across, with two sheets of cling film, making sure it fits the shape of the bowl. Then fit half of the sponge pieces neatly around the insides of the bowl (as you would if you were making summer pudding).
Drizzle with liqueur, then pour in the ricotta mixture. Level it out, then place the remaining sponge over the top. Drizzle again with liqueur. Pull the cling film over the top and weigh it down with some plates, pushing down on them before placing in the freezer for at least 4 hours. Serve this 'semi freddo' (semi frozen), dusted with cocoa powder and sliced into wedges. If it's very frozen then that's fine; just pull it out of the fridge when dinner is served so it can slowly thaw as you are eating.
Yield: 10 to 12 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 4 hours
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: Medium
Anyone interested in making it???
NEXT WEEKEND SUGGESTIONS
Robert suggested to watch Cruel Intentions 1+3 on Friday or Saturday next week… Many of us will already be on their trips to the South Island, Australia or some other places. I guess, most of us will pretty much be gone, but those who are still in Auckland could just come together and look for a trip! If you want to let me know where you want to go and can organise accommodation or anything you need …!
MESSAGE FROM JONATHON
Hey guys and gals! Hope everything is going well for you!
I was thinking the other day of what to write here and decided to say just a little bit about some NZ history.
The Maori of course were the original settlers in NZ. There has been some argument that they were not the first, but rather replaced a group of people known as the Mariori. That the Mariori existed is fairly unanimous, but the argument that the Maori came, saw, conquered and ate them has been hotly debated. Of course the biggest advocates of the view that the Maori were not the indigenous or original settlers but were a bunch of conquerors comes from those who’s political views resent being held accountable for past injustices done to Maori people. The idea for them is that if the Maori did it to the natives, then what’s wrong with the White People doing it to the Maori?
Most reasonable people, however, acknowledge that the history of settlement in NZ wasn’t entirely pleasant for the natives. In European terms, this settlement was fairly recent, as it has only been about 150 years since NZ came into its own as a colony of England.
If you would like to know a bit about the darker side of what life is like as a poor Maori person in NZ, have a look at the film Once Were Warriors. Definitely not a flattering picture, but one which represents how many people of Maori background have grown up.
Well, enough bad news and negative history for now. Next week I will tell you some positive highlights from NZ history. But just one quick question, to see how well you’ve been paying attention since you came to NZ. What is the famous geographic landmark from ANOTHER COUNTRY that is actually represented on the NZ five dollar banknote?
Answer next week!
Jonathon
That’s it for today!
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