Further musings on "like"

As difficult as it has been to be here in NZ I have found that once I hit my breaking point it has all become a bit easier. I think I needed to get to that point where I was so frustrated with my life here that I had no choice but to give up or change it. Well, never one to give up (its much easier to just not try in the first place) I figured that I needed to change perspective.

I do some days have quite a hate on for Christchurch. The idea of being here much longer than January, some days, does make me seriously reconsider sticking around. But for as much as I miss things about Vancouver I am starting to wonder if I might find those things here if only I were to change my definitions. I really miss cheap fresh food, I miss East Van queer dance parties, I miss independent cinema (oh cinematheque), I miss indie rock concerts, and I miss the company of having a lot of acquaintances even if I didn't have many close friends. But all of those things do have the potential to be here, I just haven't really gone looking.

What has stopped me? Well money has been a big part of it. In my time here I have found that I have either been working too much and have no time, or not working enough so don't have enough money. Soon that will balance itself out as it has been confirmed that my new job is starting next Tuesday. The no time thing may become a factor as I will still be working the cattery as well, but the cattery has also become a major social outlet for me as my boss there is pretty awesome.

I think also what has stopped me is that in the back of my mind is the thought that I will be leaving here in a years time, so whats the point in creating that network just to have to pick up and leave it all all over again.

But when I think about going back to Vancouver and suffering through another winter of rain and dark for months, or going back to the hustle and bustle of the city that I find holds a lot of aggression. I mean, winter here is stunning and locals have been saying this is a tough year. The people that I have met are super friendly and super accommodating. This is a beautiful city and country even though it is quite conservative, drinking is a sport rather than a past time, and racism is rampant. So its hard to think about giving up the good here to go back to Vancouver so soon. Maybe I am not giving it the time it needs to foster itself into an amazing city yet. I am just not sure my waffling will help any.

Oh Christchurch why can't your food be cheaper, your dances be eastvanesque, or your ocean be closer to downtown?

Oh Vancouver why do you have to do nothing but rain, for months, and months?

113 Days

Just updated my self portrait a day and realized that it has been 113 days since we have been gone. Its getting pretty close to a third of the trip being done. It is stunning to think how long it has been, but also how short so far.

Had our housewarming party last night, which also happened to correspond with Anzac day (sort of like our remembrance day). It was awesome to get lots of the people we have met here in NZ together in one room and realize that we have made some pretty great connections.

Drew is back to school tomorrow after a brief respite (from lectures at least as he was at school almost everyday during the break) and I am going to miss having him around again. But I should be busy myself as I will be working almost every day over the next two weeks, which is wonderful as I could use the infusion of cash right now. Really beginning to find my groove with the two jobs I have and feeling that I am starting to find my place here. Still getting used to the changes in social life and activity levels but it will all come with time.

Looking forward to welcoming in Autumn and have been loving the amount of light (and heat, today its 25 degrees) that we are still getting. It is amazing to have an Autumn with leaves falling to the ground dry and brittle instead of wet and soggy.

A Karen Update

Things have been falling into place here now and its feeling great. I never realized how much of my mood was dependent on me being busy although it really shouldn't have been a surprise for me. So here is a bit of an update on how things are progressing:

1. I have a job at a retirement home. I started today and really enjoyed myself. I am exhausted from having been on my feet for 8 hours, as well as having been awake at 3am, 2.5 hours before I needed to be due to the nervous and excited energy. I will be doing bathing, food preparation, food delivery, linens and bed making, and possibly wound dressing etc. There is so much to learn and its totally different from what I have ever done before which is really exciting.

2. The opportunity that seemed to have fallen through the cracks (the nutrition cook school) has resurfaced and should turn out to be a great job. I will be working there 13.5 hours a week and in that time also be learning how to teach the classes, going to classes myself and should be starting a series of classes in Christchurch city (the school is about 45 minutes outside of Chch) where I will be teaching 10 week nutrition programs. I am *so* excited. This excitement is what led me to bite the bullet for the next point...

3. I had been hmming and hawing about doing a Natural Nutrition course that is offered via correspondence through CSNN for quite sometime, and decided that due to how elated I got over learning nutrition that it was about time I tried to do so formally. So coming to me in the post is the course materials, should arrive in 4-6 weeks and then I need to be dedicated to studies. I am very thrilled about learning and being graded again. I like that structure and I thrive in it, if only I could be a professional student.

4. Next week I will be doing work at the Internation Flower Show coming to Chch for the first time. Will be doing cashiering and some cooking. Really looking foward to working with 200+ people in order to possibly create a friend circle for myself here. Plus it will be fun to work outside and get to see some (supposedly) really amazing flower and garden displays.

5. I joined a meditation group just a block or so away from the house that our flatmate and I will be attending weekly. I am hoping as well to get started on yoga and qigong soon enough. Have found the classes just need to find the time and desire to go. Spent so much time on resumes didn't feel motivated to do much else lately.

Reflections on New Zealand

I know I keep saying I will update with more information about our travels but time just seems to be getting away from me. We are still trying to find a bed to sleep on, for a reasonable price. Going to go see one tonight so hopefully that works out. If not, more floor sleeping which leads to bad sleep and cricked necks. But things are going really well in our new place. Hopefully have pictures up shortly!

But here are some of my positive and negative reflections on New Zealand so far.

Neg: No Craigslist. I didn't realize how much that site rocked until we came here and have to use Trade Me, which is essentially eBay. It is done on an auction system which is great for the seller as people who haven't even viewed the product jack the price up which means in the last five minutes of the auction the price goes up 50-hundreds of dollars. This system sucks.

Pos: Ketchup. The Ketchup (or they call it Tomato Sauce) is amazing. It tastes like it has a little bit of nutmeg in it and actually doesn't taste like one is eating a red blob of sugar. So tasty.

Neg: Prices. Everything seems to be more expensive. Food, bikes, supplies, gas (currently at a lower price of $1.65/litre), absolutely everything is higher. And we are trying not to get into the habit of thinking of how good the exchange rate is as soon we will be living off of NZ money.

Pos: Rent. We are currently living in a shared hosue that has two large bedrooms, a shared office, huge kitchen and huge living area, as well as a nice yard that we can do gardening in. We are paying just $600 a month, plus expenses. This blows me away as we were paying $740 for a small attic suite (all in) just a few months ago. Amazing.

Neg: Lack of familiar foods. They don't know what perogies are here. I have yet to see a 99 cent pizza joint. Breakfast foods are $15 for a plate of food we could get in Vancouver for $3 at Bons. There is no cheap sushi (Drew more than I). No familiar potato chip flavours, chicken potato chips just seem sacreligious.

Pos: New foods, or old foods that are better (in addition to ketchup). Rice milk is stunning here and tastes just like milk. Meat Pies are the staple cheap food, tasty but not too good for the belly. Fruits and veggies taste like organic although they aren't.

Neg: Bad drivers. No one seems to know how to drive here. This isn't so bad in a car as Drew is a really good driver, but its scary to think of what cycling will be like.

Pos: Small city. Christchurch is a very small city in comparison to back home. This is making it very easy to figure out where things are and learn how to get there. After just a week of navigating around I am starting to sort out where things are. Drew not as much as he is paying attention to the bad drivers and trusting my navigation skills.

Neg: No Ikea. You don't realize how wonderful a place like Ikea is until you are trying to furnish a home on the cheap and its not available to you. This is when you need to rely on something like Trade Me and lose auctions because spending $200 for a stained mattress is just plain gross.

Pos: Free things. We went to see some beds to see if we wanted to bid and ended up getting a free dresser and chair. That was cool.

Neg: Effort. It seems that everything here is just a little bit more difficult than back home. That is all due to being in a new place and all, but its exhausting trying to navigate a new system of buying, driving and eating.

Pos: Having a yard. Having a yard means that we can a) garden and b) compost! I got worms yesterday, very exciting. It is like having a pet!

Neg: Owning a car. Having access to a car is fantastic, liberating and we wouldn't have seen as much if we didn't have it. Trick is that it costs, a lot. That isn't so much fun.

Pos: Extremely friendly people. I read in a Winnipeggers blog post before coming here that NZ was more friendly than Winnipeg. And, well, they might be right. Its been great meeting people and have them give us their numbers and say to call anytime. Our flatmate is also really awesome and gets along well with both of us. I am hoping that this trend continues as with Drew starting classes soon I will need more people to fill my time with until I find a job.

There are lots more little things. Will try to write more soon.

Settling into home

So, we have been in Chch (Christchurch) for about 32 hours or so now. In that time we have found a place to live with what seems like a cool roommate and will be moving in in just a few hours. Not bad I think!

Will have internet there (in a cafe right now) so will be able to update on our travels in much more detail.

Now the trouble of finding a job starts. Wish me luck.