Blogs from Wellington, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 7

Turns out I didn't need any of the paperwork I printed out to get into New Zealand. In the Melbourne airport, I had to wait in line to get my ticket rather than have an easy time at the machine because my last name is MacDougall and sometimes people (the US government and CU Boulder) decide that my last name has a space in it and won't let me do things (check in for flights, register for classes) unless I spell my last name with a space. It's infuriating. When I booked my flight to New Zealand I had to enter my information exactly as it is on my passport. Usually I spell my name correctly and it works. This time I was not so lucky, so I had to wait in line and get it ... read more

It was the last week in February, and I'd come to a decision that I needed to tell my new housemates that, it looked like, I would be moved out by Easter. No opportunities on the work front had arisen and I needed to focus on an exit plan. In fairness, they were all offering to help and sending me information about any job advertised, from different places they came across. On one of the days, I received a message through about a shop girl needed in the $2 shop located just round the corner from where I live. I grabbed my CV and went round. The lady in the shop was very nice and said they would let me know the following day. I'm not sure why I decided to continue up the street and ... read more

My quest now was to find work. My social life had unexpectedly gone through the roof, after only being in Wellington a fortnight. I had even met another girl called 'Ceri' from Wales who was over here on the same Visa as I was and who had been living in Cardiff. This I was also using as a networking tool, but really I needed to concentrate on applying for all sorts of roles, tailoring my cover letters to suit. I found an opportunity as a Medical Laboratory Assistant - Specimen Reception post. Well here's hoping with both Lab and Office experience, I thought. Many roles had close out dates that weren't imminent so I knew this could be a waiting game. I kept in touch with Jade who was also looking for work in Auckland and ... read more

Beste, Voor mij gisteren, zaterdag, zou ik zoals eerder vermeld samen met mijn huisgenoten een tripje maken naar Wellington. Mij interesseerde het eigenlijk totaal niet waar we heen gingen want alles wat ik zou zien is helemaal nieuw voor mij. En eigenlijk kort maar krachtig gezegd, ben ik allang blij als ik onder de mensen ben en eropuit kan gaan. Na een aantal miscommunicaties tussen de kamergenoten onderling, waar ik mij wijselijk buiten hield, gingen we eerst naar Wellington maar uiteindelijk toch naar Napier en nee toch uiteindelijk Wellington. Dit zou tijd technisch een relatief kortere reis zijn, een zit die je uiteindelijk toch een kleine 2 uur bezig houdt. Aangekomen in Wellington was het nog steeds redelijk mistig, aangezien dat Wellington tussen bergen in licht bleef deze ook nog redelijk goed hangen. Althans op de ... read more

Yes. Only 24 days to go. Looking forward to the big day. This year we will be spending Christmas Day in Hastings with Amy, Jeremy and the kids. Also Pam and Warwick, along with Sarah, Brad, Honor, Taj and Emerson who will all be staying at Amy and Jeremy's. This should be awesome. Since the last blog 17 days ago we have had Di's brother Pete along with Helen staying for a few days while they take a break from the UK and do some tramping in the NZ mountains. Great to have them here. We also had brother Michael staying as he broke his ankle in an accident at the farm. He had to stay off it so filled in his days here. A busy household as Pete and Helen wanted to catch up with ... read more