3 Weeks in Nelson

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Finally I am getting up to speed with the blogging thing! Photos do take a while to upload here so don't get mad if this entry doesn't have any just yet!

After leaving Wellington I realised that I hadn't applied for my IRD number so that I could get a job here. Call me crazy, but it just didn't occur to me to get this organised when I landed which was probably a bit stupid. But hey, you know me! Always leaving things to the last minute!

So I called up a hostel in Nelson on the South Island, called The Bug. The first thing I asked them was whether they had any work for me to get my accommodation for free. They said yes, so off I headed to Nelson. The first week was pretty weird and it started hitting home that I had agreed to clean a hostel for my accommodation for three weeks. My first week cleaning felt a lot like Groundhog Day and I wondered whether I would be able to do this for three weeks. I got friendly with an American girl who was also doing the same thing. We had a laugh but didn't get on to any serious topics. There was a broadcast on the radio about Serbs destroying an American Embassy after Kosovo gained their independence. She was obviously quite annoyed by this and asked me why anyone would do something like that. I explained to her the situation but it became pretty apparent that she wasn't sure what I was talking about so we went back to running around doing Forrest Gump impressions. She was a great laugh and we did have a lot of fun but it also made me more aware of the fact that some Americans are not really clear on world events that effect their country and that made me feel a bit annoyed. Not with her, or Americans, just that the media and government are so closed about what they will share with people that they are vastly effecting some people's awareness and development which makes me kind of sad.

Anyway, the second week in Nelson is where things started getting interesting for me. I met a German girl called Kirstin and we hit it off pretty quick. There was also another guy called Nick from Canada who joined this little group. We all got on really well and played regular games of Monopoly! Nick was only around for a couple of days before heading further South but Kirstin, bless her, stuck around for another week which made me happy because it got pretty hard getting to know people for a couple of days before they moved on. So, Kirstin and I shared ice cream, went to the cinema, took a drive around Nelson in somebody else's car and generally had a good time. Then towards the end of this week a few more people turned up including Kyle from Canada. This was the first time I had met a group of people where we all hit it off so there were good times to be had for the remaining time that I was there.

All sorts of funny things happened during my time in Nelson. One of the best was when some Israeli girls showed up at the hostel. Kirstin and I were sitting eating chocolate ice cream and I overheard these girls saying something about it in Hebrew. Then they laughed hysterically when Kirstin left the table and I got the distinct impression that they were laughing at us. The laughing got more and more intense so I finally turned around and said: "ma nishma?" (I think I spelt that correctly!). All of a sudden these three girls had all looked up at me with mouths agape but they ignored me and continued to talk in Hebrew quietly. So I asked them where they were from in Israel. This received a quizzical look as if I didn't know where they were from. Shortly after me saying I understood a little bit of Hebrew, these girls promptly walked off and never spoke to me again so I think it's safe to say that Kirstin and I were subjects of their conversation!

Then Kirstin left in my last week to go back to Auckland before leaving for good to go to Germany. I ended up feeling pretty down for a few days as I am not yet used to saying goodbye to people that I make friends with while I am traveling. But, at the end of the day, I have made friends with people that I am sure I will be staying in touch with. In Kirstin's case, I will be going up to Auckland to spend my birthday with someone I enjoy spending time with rather than hanging out in Christchurch with a new job and possibly doing the birthday thing alone! Besides, I never did go to the Kings Arms Tavern.

I will be meeting up with Thomas from Germany in Christchurch and Anja will be in the same hostel as me when I arrive so it won't be too lonely when I get there. All I have to do now is pray that I can get a job quickly and start making some money for that car!

Nelson has been nice. The weather has been great, the people have been even better and this has definitely been a highlight of my trip so far because of the people I have met. Christchurch is going to be a whole different challenge because I will have to be in one place for a long period of time so it's going to be my first proper home since leaving London. But I know I haven't seen the last of the good times in Nelson, they're going to start all over again in a new place!

So now I have an IRD number, a New Zealand bank account, and now have to look for a job to pump some money into it with!

Pictures will follow people! Keep checking back!

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