Last Day of Unemployment

Well, tomorrow I start work for OMV New Zealand. I am excited that not only do I get to wake up at 7, rather than 5:30, but the 20 minute walk to work goes along the ocean. No more 45 minute drive.

My first week in New Zealand has gone pretty well. It was great weather, over 20 C everyday and no rain. There was a big 7 aside rugby tournament in town this weekend and apparently the Kiwis go crazy for this tournament. Everyone dresses up in costumes from cookie monster, to Indians, to pretty much anything else you can imagine. Often groups of people dress as the same thing. Some of them aren't even going to watch the rugby they are just here to party.

Yesterday, I headed North East, over the hill from Wellington into Martinborough. It is one of the famous wine making areas. We went to a bunch of wineries and did some wine testing. The valley where Matrinborough is, the Wairarapa, reminds me of the Valley in Nova Scotia only it is wider. The weather seemed to be similar (hot and drier than on the coast) and it even smelled the same.

Today I started looking at houses. I drove around with Ted's friend Graham, just getting an idea of what each of the neighboorhoods is like. Wellington is a hilly city and the hills in some areas are really steep. Depending on what part of the hill your house is on you may only see a very small amount of sun during the day. The New Zealanders seem to think that they live in a tropical area so houses generally aren't insulated and don't have central heating. Therefore, it is important to make sure that your house sees enough sun that you don't have to spend too much on heating and it isn't really damp. This makes things more difficult. There are some pretty fantastic views from some houses though. I am confident we will find a nice place it will just take some time to figure it all out.

Meg's Arrival in New Zealand

After 3 uneventful flights, a total of almost 16 hours of flying, I have arrvied in Wellington NZ. I arrived at 9 in the morning to a beautiful sunny day with a temperature over 20 C. I spent the first day with friend of Ted's, Graham. He moved to NZ from Canada last year so he knows all the things we need to do. I managed to get a cell phone, a bank account and a tax number with no issues. It is nice that even though we are in a different country they speak the same language.

As I don't start work until Monday I spent the week getting unpacked and figuring out the city a bit. It is a great city, lots of cafe's and pubs and it is right on the ocean. I have gone for two runs and totally killed myself both times. There are lots of very steep hills here that can't be avoided if you want to run for more than 10 minutes. I am not used to that after living in Edmonton. The views from the tops of the hills are gorgeous though.

I had my first experience driving on the other side of the road today. It went pretty well, and wasn't as weird as I thought it would be. It will take some time getting used to sitting on the right hand side of the car, I keep looking for drivers on the other side.

I am struggling to accept that fact that it is summer here, I keep wearing long pants and taking a swearter and then being really hot. I already have a sunburn. I think I am going to try and fully enjoy it today though, by heading to the beach.

I guess that is all for now. I will try to put some pictures up here next time and will try to post somewhat frequently so you guys can see what we are up to.