Possibly the BEST christmas EVER

Merry Christmas!!!!!

It's boxing day for me actually but you get the idea.

My Franz Josef, New Zealand christmas was very possibly the best christmas yet. I've always wanted to go a year without celebrating christmas. I always wanted to just go away and be alone for it; skip all the drama and hubbub and whatnot. Not that I'm a christmas grump; I just find the whole thing over-rated, anti-climactic, and even a little bit shallow. I love my family and enjoy the getting together part of it, I LOVE my christmas carols and the decorations. It's just the stress part of it I can more than do without, and the commercial side of it that makes me feel sad and jaded.

But here, there are no stores and I have no tv. I didn't get anything but good cheer and love for christmas and that's all I wanted.

On christmas eve I worked until 9pm, went to visit a friend and bought myself a bottle of gin, then visited some more friends and watched a bit of Bridget Jones' Diary (one of my favorite movies) while eating their food (they made me do it!). After that the "festivities" began: I headed to the bar where there was supposed to be a raging party - there wasn't. But I danced up a storm none-the-less while I waited for more people to show up. Once they did, I managed to get eveyone on the balcony singing christmas carols at the top of our lungs! At midnight the bar had to close because in NZ you can't buy/sell alcohol on christmas day. There was a plan to head out the Glacier Compound (the little group of flats where I live) for a keg party - and party we did, singing carols all the way there. Any group of people on the street that we past were told to follow for the celebration. by the time we got to the appointed house it was a huge group! I can't remember the last house party I went to (oh wait, yes I do, it was at Guin and Ryan's old house - good times...). Anyways, the party was off the hook and I loved it. Every once in a while you would just hear a group of people burst into singing christmas carols, and yes, I was almost always in that group. There were even people on the roof! Hilarious!

The next day I got up to feed the kitten next door and played with him while talking to Chelsey on the phone. That's what christmas should be. Simple and genuine. I felt so content, I didn't want for anything else. I also got a call from one of the girls I became friends with here who left. It was so unexpected and so incredibly sweet! I was elated! In the afternoon I went to a place called the Forks where some friends were swimming, then we went to lake Okarito to watch a cricket game between the Forks folks and the Okarito people. It was beautiful - both in weather and sentimentality. The whole time I felt so happy and warm just to be there. It was awesome. For dinner we came home, I just did my own thing which was a bit lonely. I was really tired too from drinking during the day so I ended up taking a nap until like 10pm. Then I just went next door and played with the kitten and watched some tv alone. It was good though. I felt ok.

So that's it. One for the history books of mine. Today I'll just relax - it's raining again too. Tomorrow I'm going skydiving if the weather holds out. I'll blog about that too once I get a chance. I hope everyone at home has a wonderful christmas. Savour every moment that you can. I'm thinking of you and with you all in spirit!

love Chelsea

merry merry chrisssssssstmasssssssssss

this pre-christmas update includes information on the following:
1) job decisions made
2)roomates and neighbors
3)new and old friends
4)things I can't remember that I wanted to say thatI will hopefully remember at the end

#1 - After much debate I've decided to stay in Franz Josef. I surprised even myself with that one. The main reason being that I came to NZ to live my dream and going from one mediocre job to another isn't living a dream at all. The job in Queenstown paid less and I guess that was the second reason for not taking it. While I would have been in a place that actually had life happening in it, with real stores and things to do; I would have had my own car to use on the weekends and would have been living in a central location of the south island - I would have also being paying more for rent and spending my money more in general on things I can do at home. I realized that I would just be living a normal average existance in a really pretty place. It seemed counter to what I had set out to do. Living in Franz Josef however means living in a place that I don't always love and finding ways to make the most of it. The best part is that I'm actaully very happy here even when I'm not! Yay me.

#2 - The day I came home from Queenstown I had a new roommate. I'm not thrilled about it, but I am getting used to it. She's actaully quite nice and a true west-coast Kiwi from Greymouth. She's only here for 5 weeks and I remind myself of that when I'm wiping up water of the bathroom floor... There is one other new roommate in my unit - my neighbor got a kitten for christmas!!! I met him today and he's adorable. I haven't played with a kitten in such a long time I actually forgot what it was like. He's so small!!!! Expect to see more pictures soon.

#3 - on the bus coming back from Queenstown I met a bunch of people that I'll never forget thanks to a flat tire. One of the guys was even from Calgary! It was great. I was excited right fromthe start to have a flat tire. I was half-asleep when we started hearing a thumping sound then stopped. When I realized what was happening I exclaimed "what an adventure!" and everyone laughed. Someone said "if a flat tire is an adventure to you, you must come from a very boring place"..... If only they lived in Franz Josef... It was cool though, everyone got out and introduced themselves to one another. It was an interesting mix of people and we were all quite positive despite being delayed an hour and a half. There were even 3 buddist monks with us! People were getting pictures taken together and interviewing one another on camcorders. I love when stuff like that happens because thats when real life happens. You are forced to give up your plans and go with whatever happens. Some choose to enjoy it, and many others do not. I'm proud to say I was thrilled by it - perhaps I'm staying true to my dream after all.

#4 - shoot. I didn't really remember.... ummmmm.... I saw my first glow worm the other night walking home from the bar. I live at the end of a dirt road with no street lights so I carry a flash light with me all the time. I had seen something glowing a few nights before but on this particular night it had been rainning and I was soaked from jumping in puddles. I figured I was wet anyways so why not wonder into the bush? It was really neat to see up close. .... hmm, what else... well I'm sorta dating someone. But I'm not going to talk about it. Ha!... nothing else really to report. OH YEAH! The french-canadian girl that I was travelling with in Paihia is in Franz and got a job at the bar I frequent. She starts wednesday (kareoke night!) and lives here now! I'm very excited about that. Oh, also I might buy a car. And I'm going skydivng on the 27th hopefully. And I'm going home to do some baking..... and I'm sending out christmas cards that you'l probably get in january some time.

and I miss and love you all.
I hope everyone has a warm, happy, and healthy christmas! I will blog again next year :P

love Chelsea

ahhhhhh HA!

Can you believe it?! I'm updating again. Incredible.

My last night in Queenstown. I'll be heading back to Franz Josef in the early morning. Today I took the gondola up to the top of a mountain then did a cool luge thing a couple times. I'm a bit too tired to explain it, sorry. Rest assured I had a good time. I also had my interview today for a mobile massage company. It went well and the job offer is on the table if I want it. I just need some time to consider my options. I wouldn't mind living here though. It's dry for starters, ha ha! There is life here and a climbing gym. There's even outdoor climbing if I want to go. I think I wouldn't have too much trouble making friends either. Soooooo I'm leaning towards yes... but I'm extremely indecisive and, as I told my dad yesterday on the phone, in 15 minutes I'll change my mind again so it's not even worth talking about right now. Give it some time... I will take the liberty of looking for potential places to live just to get an idea of what I can expect to pay for rent. Queenstown is quite expensive.

Speaking of expensive, I also took advantage of a little retail therapy. Since I've arrive in NZ I've gained at least 10 lbs - not even exaggerating! So all the clothes that I brought that I was so excited to wear doesn't fit me nicely anymore and I've been feeling very blah. I treated myself to some spiffy new running shoes and a pink skipping rope. I'm looking forward to getting off my ass and burning some blubber.

That's it for now. I am putting up more pictures as I type this (multi-tasking genious that I am) so check those out. Keep warm Edmonton (and to the rest of my loved ones across Canada).

love!

heh heh

so......

I'm clearly not going to finish my previous post because a) I've forgotten what I really wanted to say and b) it's kinda boring if you're not me. Mainly I just want everyone, where ever they are, to take a look into the history of the people around them and the places they live in. It'll be great, I promise.

The latest news is this:

I have now done my first week of full-time work at the hot pools. I work sorta odd hours that prevent me from being productive in terms of blog/email up keep, or keeping proper groceries stocked. The week was good and I even got two tips! (tipping in NZ isn't common practice and generally only comes from north americans). My feelings towards Franz Josef have been improving as my friendships are developing. If it weren't for the people I'd be looooooong gone.

At the moment I'm in Queenstown for a mini getaway before the busy season starts and they don't let me leave. My contract at GHP has been changed from 4 days on 3 days off, to 5 days on 2 days off - which is a huge piss-off because that was one of the main appeals of the job to get the 3 days off in a row for "tiki tours". So, I saw this as my last chance for a little while to get out. It came just in time too because it has been pouring rain for the last several days. My shoes finally have a chance to dry out.

There is one other reason I'm in Queenstown. I have a job interview for a mobile massage company. This way I can also see how I like Queenstown before moving all the way over here. This place is beautiful, btw. I'm seriously considering it. But I must wait and see how the interview goes tomorrow evening. Keep your fingers crossed!

One last thing, I'm finally going to catch up on my pictures. They may be a bit out of order but you can see shots of where I work (BEST office in town) my new flat the day I moved in, some of my friends here in town, and the ever popular kareoke night! Enjoy :)

ps. the title of my previous blog was just a translation of a maori saying that made me laugh. I haven't lost my mind quite yet.

Are you listening or are your ears painted on for decoration?

first: I'm sorry for all the forthcoming typos. I have to hurry because I am behind schedule in my day (for 2 very good reasons) and will thus mash the keyboard in a hasty effort to blog. Think of it as a fun game of mad libs...

What has been going on:

1) I'm not longer sick (though I think my allergies are kicking in but that's tolerable).

2) I have moved from the moldy 6-person-3-bedroom house and into a two bedroom unit of a dulpex in a place I loveling refer to as the Compound.

3) I went to a fascinating cultural experience on tuesday and wednesday that was not only quite exclusive, but very inspirational.

ok so I have nothing more to say about #1. So #2, the compound is named as such because it is owned by the company that owns the hot pools that I work at. That company is called Ngai Tahu Tourism. They also own the Glacier Guides which is a company that takes thousands of tourists on to the Franz Josef glacier each year. For anyone who may not know, it's the glacier that makes Franz Josef a big toursit stop on the map. I have yet to visit the glacier. Anyways, the compound is mostly for the glacier guides to live in seeing as there are so many (on a side note, the glacier guides, or GG's, are renowned for their habit of sleeping with as many customers as possible and passing along a wide variety of STI's. More about that later perhaps). My place is one of the best units you can get on the compound because it's right near the front so it gets a bit more sunlight than the others that are nestled into the rainforest. The compound itself is just on the edge of thise edge or a town. In fact, the paved road ends block away fromthe drive to the compound and there are no street lights after that point so I've taken to carrying a flashlight (which doubles as a blunt weapon when walking home in the middle of the night). The place itself actually smells like pee. I'm working of fixing that. But I have space in the fridge for my food - I can even use the freezer! I have a room ALLLLL to myself, AND I have hot water. Why am I braging about things that should be standard? ... I'll let you answer that for yourself.... At the moment I don't have a roommate so I'm living alone. I needed to get out of the other place. I love the girls that I lived and worked with, but I need my space and alone time and there was none of that there. I didn't even have a proper shelf in the cupboard or the fridge! My neighbors at the new place are girls so that's good. Soon I will have a roommate and hopefully it will be a fellow massage therapist or at least a girl... or at least not an asshole (they smell).

#3!!!!!! This is the really exciting part for me. Ngai Tahu Tourism is owned by the Ngai Tahu iwi, or maori tribe. For that reason, I asked when I was hired if I would have the oportunity to take part in cultural events or something. I was extremely lucky in getting invited to a marae (pronounced "mar-eye") which is a maori meeting house. They are considered private property and you aren't aloud to go in one without an invitation. There are also protocol that you need to follow while you are there. I'm not sure how best to describe it, I want to say it's like a church but it isn't. But it is sacred and the main part of the building I was in was full of the most amazing carvings I have EVER seen. They were magnificent. I wanted to trace all the lines with my fingers. There where no cameras aloud obviously but I will try to find some pictures in books in the furture. The two days that we were there we talked about maori history and the history of Makaawhio ("mah-kah-fee-yo") which is like a sub-tribe of Ngai Tahu I guess. We also learned about the Te Reo Maori language and how to pronounce things properly. Many places in NZ still have their maori names so that was an important one. The language itself is experiencing a revival over the last two generations since it has been put back into schools, but when NZ was fist colonized it only took them one generation to learn english then 3 generation to lose te reo maori. It's still not a language thats used for everyday communication so it's forced to evolve to include modern things like computers and texting. We also talked about some of the maori stories of creation - my favorite! I love that kind of stuff!

(ah crap! I have to go! I'm such a slow typer! I will continue this blog tomorrow... sorry!)

the sickness

bbllllaaahhhhhhhhh.

I'm homesick and regular sick.

Just a cold or something. I called in sick and slept the entire day. Plus, I lucked out and it was our one sunny day of the week so that helped. The sun shines on the bottom half of my bed for most of the afternoon so I was curled up in that wonderful, healing warmth. Thank goodness!

So the job stuff is all up in the air. Yes I have the massage job but I'm wondering if the company isn't just a little bit sketchy. I'm still waiting to see what my contract is going to be like and how that will work with the lease at the new accomodation that I'm supposed to move into at the end of this week. Mostly I'm concerned with the "What if" that involves me leaving before my contract is done. I'll be sure to inquire about that before I sich anything.

I just feel kinda like New Zealand sucks. I know, I kow, that's not fair - I'm in a bad mood and I haven't really seen much of NZ at all. Franz Josef is NOT New Zealand. It IS a very small part of it but that's it. I can't sum the rest of the country up by it. But why is everything so expensive and everyone so indifferent? Why don't I feel more excited about being here? And if that's how I really feel then why don't I leave?

I guess even in my worst mood I still have hope that there's potential just around the corner, and I just need to give it one more chance. I hure hope I'm right.

Chelsea is gainfully employed

Erg. I don't like technology today. I just did this update and it didn't work so now I have to re-do it!

very quick update:

I got a full-time position as a massage therapist here in Franz Josef. I'll work part-time until mid december when I finish at the motel. After that I'll be working 4 days on, 3 days off so that I can still travel around the south island a bit. I'll just have to rent a car I guess. My contract goes until the end of april so I'll be spending the entire summer here. I'm not sure how I feel about that yet, or even how I feel about Franz. We'll see.

(I'm trying to hurry this because I pay for internet and I only have $2.50, which buys me about 40 minutes. I'll do a much longer, more interesting update later when they fix the ATM here)

Rain, rain, go away, come again... in 15 minutes.

Oh wow. I'm in a tropical version of Canada. Weird...

Franz Josef.

I arrived here yesterday evening after two bus rides, an overnight stop in Christchurch and a plane ride (in reverse order). Anyone who has the opportunity to fly with Air New Zealand should take it. They are great, and their safety video was hilarious. If you though the people at Westjet had a good sense of humour you'll love these guys. Anyone with the opportunity to stay at the Base hostel in Christchurch should avoid it, and any other Base hostel for that matter - they're awful (unless you're into that). The whole trip to the south island was nice though. Lovely scenery. I took Atomic Shuttle east from Christchurch at 7:30am and it rained all the way to Greymouth on the west coast. It stopped raining long enough for me to drop off my bag for a couple hours, go to the nearest outdoor sports store and spend way too much money on a beautiful pink rain jacket before it started raining again. And rain it did. I switched shuttles in Greymouth (hense the shopping/waiting in the rain) then headed south along the west coast to Franz Josef. The whole time I was looking out the window expecting to see deer or elk or moose, but NZ doesn't have those animals. In fact, the only animals in the wild other than birds are rats, stouts, and possums (but they call them squash'ems) plus the sea creatures like whales and seals and more birds. Lots of sheep (obviously) and cows though. I got here at 4:30pm-ish, met my employers, saw the motel I'm working at, got a very quick tour of the town, and was taken to my new "home".

I'm sharing a 3 bedroom house with 5 other girls. My room roomate is from France. The rest are from Hong Kong, Taiwan, England, New Zealand, and Canada (oh that's me). I also work with all of these ladies. They're nice enough. I haven't really gotten to know them much so it's not like I can really say more than that. Is it weird that I immediately assumed that I'd have problems with the french girl? Does that make me racist? She's fine actually (and I'm fine too). 3 of them leave in a month, then we'll get two more - another english girl and an american girl. :D

The town is small. Quite small. "Town" may actually be an exagerration. But what it lacks in size it makes up for in SPECTACULAR scenery! O.M.G! Seriously. I'm stunned every time I walk out my door or look out my window. Oh, and there are parrots here! I saw a dead one so I know there has to be more (yes I almost cried and could be heard wispering "wake up, don't be dead").
Anyways, I had my first day of work this morning and it was ok. I'm just cleaning motel rooms so really what can I say? It's actually a really nice place though. When I hear the word motel I instantly imagine stained things, broken things, and garbage (and prostitutes); but these units are very clean (thanks to me and my team) and very modern looking. This is a high end motel! I like it as far as cleaning jobs go because I have to walk outside to get to the next room - and you know how I feel about walking outside. Did I mention the scenery? It's SPECTACULAR. Yeah. It's hard work though. I'm going to have a strong back (or a broken one, eek) and a strong core (or a hernia, aaaaaahg). But I only do that for 4 hours, 6 days a week. Saturdays are my set day off.

Hey, I've been in NZ for two weeks now! It feels like a year and two weeks. Interpret that how you like.

Here is the very exciting part though: I'm getting a second job in the evenings so that I'll actually have money. Plus, I wouldn't be me if I wasn't juggling too many obligations. Why is that exciting, you may ask. Well, I went to an interview for a job I wasn't particularly enthusiastic about and mentioned that I'm a massage therapist. Everyone here knows everyone else; and her friend is the assistant manager at the Hot Pools Spa and they just happen to be hiring massage therapists. So I went there to meet this person. I think she is wonderful. I think the Spa is spectacular (there I go with that word again...) and sometime tomorrow I will have a proper interview including a trial massage. She seemed quite pleased with my credntials, experience, and attitude so I think I have a very good chance of getting this. I really hope that I do. If I don't I won't sweat it, I'll just go back to the gift shop (which despite being retail would still be fun). Or I'd do something else. I'm ridiculously employable thanks to all my strange jobs and adaptability (somebody had to say it).

So I guess that's it for now. I'm feeling better. I'm glad I'm here. I'm proud to see that I'm willing to make the most of it, whatever it turns out to be (I had my doubts about me)...

One last thing, that pink raincoat I mentioned has come in use many times already. Franz Josef gets approximately 178 days of rain per annum. But it's more like they get 365 days of rain, but each rain is short in duration, starts and stops like a switch, and is relatively mild. I kinda like it actually. Plus, I smile everytime I put that jacket on so I can't wait until it rains again!

at last! Employment!

During my 4 hour bus trip back to Auckland I recieved a phone call in regards to a job I had applied for a few days before. It's a housekeeping position in Franz Josef, which is on the south island on the west coast. This little town's claim to fame is a big 'ol glacier. Supposedly the town has a population of approximately 300. Eeeek! I will be working in a motel called 58 on Cron and living in a staff accomodation that sounds like it's seperate from the motel itself. I still have to pay rent but it's subsidized. I think the proprietor said there were 3 or 4 other girls living there that'd I'd be working with too. I only have to work 9am to 1pm each day so I can get another job in the afternoons/evenings if I want. I think I will. I was excited about it until the bus driver told me it's the STD capital of NZ! He also said it was a ghost town. That really killed my enthusiasm, but I think I will still go and give it a shot anyway. If it's lousy then I can always leave, and atleast I'll have a chance to settle for a bit and make some money. Plus, that guy had a much different personality than I do, what he hates I might not mind or may even enjoy (well, I don't think anyone is keen on STDs but I wasn't planning on shaking up anyways).

Speaking of shaking up - as many of you may remeber, I had a running half-joke before I left about meeting and falling in love with the rich, charming, handsome, fun kiwi bloke of my dreams, and getting married and living happily ever after. Well I haven't met him yet. In fact, there is a man shortage on this island and the south island for that matter. I'm told that statistically there is a 3 to 1 ratio of women to men in my age group. Fiddle sticks! So, I guess I'll have to settle for an Aussie... ha ha! just kidding (well, half-kidding). That actually works out well though. I've met quite a few people who are in relationships and either traveling without that person and wishing they were at home with them, or traveling with them and fighting/compromising all the time. I'd rather do my own thing and enjoy the places I'm at. I'm having a hard enough time doing that while I worry about money (not that I'm having any serious finacial crisis, I just am running low on the money that isn't my savings. I would like my savings to stay just that).

Thus, tomorrow I head over to IEP to organize some paper work, put some things in storage, and get help booking a cheap flight to the south and a bus to the west coast. We'll see how this all works out...

Paihia, Cape Reinga and 90 Mile Beach

Hello all!

It's been a little while - or atleast it feels that way. I have been in Paihia for the last four days and managed to pack in A LOT.

Tuesday was the bus ride from Auckland. That was nice. Nothing particularly special. I enjoy riding the bus so it was good. I took many pictures (all blurry) through my window as we went. The northern New Zealand country side is very lumpy. Not just hilly, it actually looks lumpy like something out of a cartoon drawing. With equally unbelievable colours. We arrived in Paihia at around 4pm. There were two dutch girls on the bus and I was riding with a girl from Quebec who was also on the same flight as me coming out here - doing the SWAP thing as well. So the four of us rented a hostel room together with an ensuite. It was so nice to have a semi-private bathroom. That evening we went acros the street to the party hostel called the Pipi Patch for a $12 BBQ. It was fairly good and that's actually a reasonable price because everything in NZ is expensive it seems. That night was trivia night at the hostel's bar so the four of us girls plus one other were a team called the Moustache Riders in tribute to Movemeber (which is quite popular in NZ). That was really fun. I was the only one of use that has english as my first language so I found I was answering most of the questions, but they got a few that I never would have known and was very surprised they knew. It was a very good time. Wednesday the other 3 girls were of doing their activities so I had the day all to my self! Glorious! I sat on the beach and relaxed, did some laundry, etc. Then at 5 I boarded a boat called the Rock for an overnight trip around the Bay of Islands. There were 2 couples from Alberta, 1 from Calgary the other from Edmonton; plus two girls from Toronto (who were a bit snotty) and an older couple from BC! Yeah Canada! Within the first hour we were watching a pod of Orca swim around us - AMAZING! I got a picture of one of their backs. Then we cruised for a couple hours, did some fishing (didn't catch anything though, probably becaue of the whales), and had a big sit down dinner together. After it got dark we set up to do some night kayaking to see fosforescent algea. There were 3 groups and I was in the third. Unfortunately it was a full moon and a clear sky so the algea couldn't really be seen. But we weren't out of luck as far a spectacular sights go because those orca came back and we were completely surrounded! There was probably 6 of them or so, one of which was a big bull male. It was unreal. The water was completely calm and quite and we could hear them breathing. Then periodically they'd break the water. I had never before seen a real life wild orca! The next morning I watched the sun rise and they made us a deliscious breakfast of porridge, fresh fruit, and cereal. Then we cruised to another island to go for a hike. I got to kayak again because we didn't all fit in the taxi boat. The island was a bird anctuary but we didn't really see any. Once on the boat again we looked for a new spot to go snorkeling and for the weather to clear upot a bit. We did eventually go and it was freezing! But I was determined; I had never snorkeled before or even swam in the ocean really so I had to go. I didn't see anything particularly cool. But I did cut my hand on an oyster bed. After that we cruised back to Paihia and on our way we tried some rowe from some kind of sea creature, I forget the name. It was salty and strange but not particularly bad.

The next day (Friday) I caught a tour bus up to Cape Reinga (with a side trip to the Gumdigger's camp), which is the most northerly point of New Zealand, and it's where the Tazman Sea and the Pacific ocean meet. Some days you can actually see the line where the two seas crash together. We had a really nice day so the line was harder to see. After we went to the west coast to do some sand dune boarding - very fun. Then on the 90 Mile Beach which may have been my favorite. The beach isn't actually 90 miles, I think he said it was mor like 70 but still... We drove down the actual beach which was cool. The tide was on its way out but we still had to be very careful. The Tazman sea is ferocious! Our driver said that the waves were small that day because the weather was nice. They looked pretty big to me. Appearantly there are wild horses in the area but we didn't get to see any. On the way home we stopped at the best fish and chips place in the whole country, it was voted #1 three times or something. But it really was the best fish and chips I've ever had.

Being on the boat on wednesday night was the first time I was able to understand how lonesome I've been. It was because of those bitchy girls from Toronto. I hadn't met many Canadians until that point and they snubbed me. It's hard to find people who get you, and when you're having these incredible experiences you want to be able to share that moment. I was excited to meet them and they were above it. It was mean. However, I did meet another girl from Edmonton on the Cape trip tough and she was fantastic. We may secretly be twins. I needed that, I needed someone to understand me because traveling is stressful even when it's fun. I'm very happy to be here but that doesn't make it easy - it just makes it worth it.

So I'm heading back to Auckland in an hour to regroup. I still have no plan, but I do have some feasible ideas...

the Plan is there's still no Plan

Friday morning I went to my orientation at IEP. It was four hours long and very informative. A little overwhelming in fact. I applied for my IRD (tax) number and that was easy which is very nice. I could have applied for my bank account but everyone (60ppl!) was doing it at the same time and I was very hungry. At the end of the thing, I was lingering around to ask a question about the bank account when one of the guys at IEP asked me if I wanted to work that night serving drinks at a halloween party. It was a work for trade gig. I was still VERY jet-lagged but I really wanted to do it so I said yes. It was put on by a bus tour company called Stray and it was an employee/industry party in their bus garage. It was so much fun! I met a lot of really nice people that I'm sure I'll get to meet again because I have a bus pass with them too.

Saturday I bought a phone. Message me for details.

Sunday was brilliant! I met up with Nigel and his partner Melani for the day. Nigel used to work at VIRG so that's the connection (yay networking!). We started of by doing a quick trip to One Tree Hill for some pictures, then a quick lunch before doing some indoor rock climbing. The gym here was pretty cool. Very spacious compared to ours. But that was about the only thing you could say against VIRG. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't at the same level of standards that's all. They had really neat climbing walls for kids though. I really wanted to climb them but adult children and inner child's were not allowed. Foowey! After climbing we headed over to St. Helen's (?) beach in one of the harbors in Auckland. It was gorgeous - did I mention it was a beautiful day? Well it was. The wind was a bit nippy but the sun was nice and hot. After some ice cream we went back to their place for dinner. They made me dinner! So sweet. I had such a good time with them and their little daughter. I'll see them again no doubt.

And finally today... today was frustrating as hell. I felt very bitchy for most of the day. BUT I did finally get my bank account set up, and I even found a JP to sign an application form for me for free. Then I was happier. Oh, and I finally typed up my CV and applied for two jobs. I was going to apply for more now but my time is about to run out.

Tomorrow I'm heading up to Paihia for two nights in search of... well.... inspiration I guess?

the Plan

I have now slept and showered. I got a free breakfast this morning, yum. So now I suppose I should figure out what I'm doing.

For the people who I didn't tell or the ones who forgot, I will tell/remind you that I came to NZ with only the first 2 nights accomodation arranged and no other plan (I do have a hop-on, hop-off bus pass that I can use at any time but I'm not ready to do that yet). Anyways, my goal for the year was to live my life as it happens. That means rolling with the punches and staying open to life and opportunities. Ultimately my goal is to prove to my "logical" brain that I can trust the unknown and I don't need to know what will happen next. To trust myself, my judgement, and my intuition. Oh goody!

Sooooooo, now that I'm here I need to find a direction. I'm waiting for inspiration it seems. I have a feeling I will find it (or maybe it finds me) today. At 10am I'm going to an orientation on getting myself set-up here with a bank account and government tax number, as well as getting help with my job search. I have taken the liberty of booking myself a bed in a different hostel as this one is a bit of a shit hole. I move there saturday and stay for three nights. By then I will hopefully have a direction.

Trains, planes, and automobiles.

I have finally arrived in Auckland, New Zealand after 18 some hours of travel. Of glorious travel. It went like this: car, plane1&1/2 hrs, train, train (Terminal N and C in the Seattle airport can only be reached by taking an LRT from the main terminal.), plane 2&1/2 hrs, bus, bus (again a case of reaching unreachable terminals in the LA airport), plane 13 hrs, bus to hostel.

I'm exhausted enough to be nearly convinced I'm dreaming. I even feel a little dizzy to add to the effect. In an hour I'll check in to my hostel room and have a nap followed by a well desereved, and quite needed, shower. This city is beautiful. It's very hilly and green. It reminds me of Montreal, but cleaner (no offense to Montreal, I love Montreal). Once I've freshened my mental state I will go out an explore some more and maybe even find a sim card for my cell.

I've got to go get a good spot in the check-in line - this place is busy!

Testing testing, one two three!

So I'm blogging now. 

I guess this is how it begins.