Cloud 9

As I sit here and look at the past week I wonder how David can update this thing so much… Oh that is right you only work 15 hours a week! Anywho I am on cloud 9. Everything is amazing and just falling into place. After much searching and many times looking and meeting with the realtors, we found a house! It is perfect, 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, heat pump, double pane windows and well no furniture…

Ask one person and they will send you to another person and then you have full kitchen ware, table, refrigerator, a bed, 2 mattresses, and an almost furnished house! The people here are so nice; I could never imagine back home moving to a new town and with in a week be able to furnish a house off of what people give me. I have met so many people and I hadn’t realized until people were coming out of no where giving me stuff.

I have two other flatmates; Louis, from England, and Rodney, from Canada. They are great and I am glad that is who I am living with. We gather at night for “family” dinner and then in the morning Rodney has been making us breakfast before work and school. Rodney as well being the only guy living there is in charge of all the "manly" stuff like mowing the lawn and well... Moving our fridge 3 blocks on a dolly while we sat in the car!

Last week I ended up going with my boss to go to what is called the reservoir. It is beautiful there with clear water and the clear views of the mountain behind. It is about 10 min outside of town. We went there with her and her daughters. She isn’t so crazy anymore, just at work. We sat and talked as we drank a beer together.

I have even met some boys here… There is one from England named Tony. He is doing farm work out here and works to death. But he came over to hang out today and I was washing the sink full of dishes and he jumped right in grabbed a towel and dried the dishes and put them away. Men out here know how to do things!
Work is going better though as I gain more responsibility and learn how to not take what Marya says seriously all the time. But I am not getting a ton of hours so I am going to go to the retirement center here and try to get a weekend job there taking care of the elderly. It is weird when I came out here I wanted nothing to do with nursing, but then these two cute old woman came into work to order food and drink. When I went to pick up her dishes she looked at me and said “sorry for the mess my dentures are fitting a little lose, making it hard to eat.” I miss them.

When I say I am floating on cloud 9 I really am. I wonder when or if it is all going to crash down on me or not, but for now I am holding on with both hands and going along for the ride!

HERE!

Alot has happened! I left Auckland and made it to Christchurch. Weird thing is that I forgot that is wasn't in the US when I went to fly out. I got there 4 hours before my flight... I walked straight to check my bags and then to security. I got my boarding pass and passport out expecting some harsh guy to ask for it, wrong. They didn't ask for anything I just put my bag through the machine, and walked through the metal detector with my shoes on. I later realized I had a whole pack of razors in my bag, but they didn't care.

Once I arrived to Christchurch I met a very nice lady that helped me out. I was just going to catch a bus to a hostel, but no no. She put me on her privet shuttle to the hostel. It was another very large hostel, but I was too tired to do anything so I went to my room and went to bed.

Through much hassle the next day I made it safely to Methven and met up with Cameron. It is a very small town but it is so amazing. I love it! I just hung out for the weekend. We went to the Blue Pub a few nights. It is a small town bar, but during the winter it is a very happening place with music and the whole nine yards.

On Monday I went to go search for a job. I walked around to some different places and into this one cafe. I asked if they were hiring and to my surprise the lady said yes can you come tomorrow from 9-1. Easy as that! But now you need a little description of this place since I have worked there for two days. It is a cafe and serves very good food and coffee. Oh side note, coffee here doesn't mean coffee pot and black coffee, it is all frou frou drinks. I don't think I have seen a coffee maker once. So along with the cafe it is a "antique store" to me it looks like a small Goodwill. There is the most random stuff in there and you have to search very far to find a treasure. Everything in the store is for sale. Weird... Weird just like the owner. I guess you would have to be to own this kind of place. She is crazy, but fun. Everything has to be served exactly her way, weird because the place is cluttered. Oh well. It is a very busy place with many locals. All of which I am introduced to as "this is Diana from Colorado." I am learning the ends and outs of the place. But it is hard to understand everything she shouts out for me to do. Even though it is English it is hard to know what everyone is saying.

There is a resort that is opening in March that I am going to try to get a job at. It is very nice with a bar, restaurant, dance floor, pool, and a DISCO ball! I will have to just work at the cafe for now...

We went house searching and have hopefully found a place. It is this lovely house in the picture! Kidding! It is actually very nice and very new. But we will have to see if we get it or not because the owner has to approve us first, and the skydivers have sometimes got a bad rep. Yeah I am moving with 3 of the skydivers here, 2 guys and then 1 other girl. Keep your fingers crossed for us.

I have met alot of people. Last night we met up with some other skydivers. We ended up going back to there house and playing soccer. They didn't seem to care that it was two girls and two guys because it was full tackle soccer. It was a blast though. We are learning to make our own fun since the town is pretty dead.

Well the jet lag has caught up with me. I went out last night to the bar that is right next to the hostel but I was eager to get away from there because it was a lot of people just living in the hostel. I found my room mate and we went to a more local pub/bar. It was fun they were playing good music that we just sung and danced. I woke up this morning and have just wanted to sleep all day.

Last night though I went on the boat ride. It was fun. The captain was very entertaining, with many jokes that wouldn't fly in the US. It was very pretty to see Auckland as a whole, and it is TOO big. The city is spread out along many coast and has 1.4 million people. It isn't the real New Zealand it is very European. I have an orientation tomorrow morning and then fly to Christchurch in the afternoon, thank goodness!

HELLO!!
I am made it to New Zealand. I am in Aukland now. It is like a small NYC... So i am a bit eager to get out of here but it is a nice experience. The hostel is big but the rooms are small. Thus far i have met one room mate, a boy! I suppose I better get used to that. I have made a friend here though and we will be going to do an evening harbor ride tonight at sunset. So far though everyone is super nice and i am loving it. Of cource I miss you all back home.

The plane ride here was very nice. Everyone had their own TV that you could watch movies, listen to music, play games and so much more. But I choose to sleep most of the flight. Well my time limit is almost up for the internet. Keep you posted! Much love to all.

4 DAYS!!!!!!

All is still crazy here with getting ready to go. I am hoping to go skiing for the last time in Colorado tomorrow, they are getting dumped on as we speak. I am starting to wonder what they skiing will be like in NZ. But my curiosity will have to wait till about July since the seasons are opposite. I talked to a friend here that just spent the semester in Christchurch and am learning some of the fun things to do there (not like fun will be a problem).

Hello all!
My departure is nearing at just 12 days. It has been fun trying to figure everything out before I go. So far I do not have a job lined up but I do have my work visa, which seems pretty difficult to get in New Zealand. I am flying into Auckland, on the north island, for a two night stay. Then I will fly in to Christchurch and be shuttled to Methven, where I plan to stay.