Hey Sarah.. go over there to take a photo... Me.. AHHH theres a seal!!

Once again, sorry its be awhile since the last post....

Many things have happen since the last post,  We had our makshift easter celebration, booked some Thailand stuff, the Royal Wedding crazyness, I drove for the first time on the left side of the road, and we spent the weekend out at Cape Palliser which is one of the most beautiful places I have seen.


Easter in New Zealand is HUGE.  Not necessarily the religious aspect of it, but the idea of eating candy and having it be a public holiday.  We got a 4 day weekend because good friday is a public holiday, and then it was ANZAC day (like a memorial day) on Monday.   Instead of there being tons of Easter bunnies and premade Easter baskets, there are just TONS of giant and small Easter eggs, all types you could think of. The whole notion of being politically correct and not talking about a religious holiday doesn't apply here, we had an Easter brunch at work, and I got lots of Easter eggs from people at work.

We went to an STA travel night and continued to book our adventures in Thailand!  We booked our three day trek in Chang Mai which is going to be amazing!  We also got free beer and wine, food, a free Thailand lonley planet book ($70NZ dollars) and 50.00 towards more!  All and all it was pretty sweet, which made me start to think about our next adventure... and I am thinking South Africa, a 10 day tour through the country and then a few extra days in Capetown... Don't you worry everybody... IT WILL HAPPEN, though I have no idea how I will make money when I get back to the USA, I will get to South Africa, and many other places around the world! :)


The Royal Wedding happened, and man oh man was it a HUGE event!  I spent alot of time at work talking about what Kate would wear, how it would be hard to be her, and anything else.  Everyone had wedding parties with high tea (Fancy tea party with the party stacked platters and each one has sweeter treats)  Or there were themed parties, or dress up ones for charity which mimicked the wedding events.  it was crazy! I also bought the souvenir edition of the newspaper here! :)

On Friday night we met up with Caro, our friend from Belgium and had dinner, she made us an amazing dinner! The weirdest thing about it is that she had a girl staying with her... and she was from Olympia! how crazy! She was super nice, yet if you wanted to describe anyone as an Evergreener she would be it! (and she is trying to go to school there too!)  But really it was fun to talk about all the signature Olympia stuff and think about how I can't wait to get back and eat Old School and Meconies!

One cool thing we learned from Felix (girl from Olympia)  is how to make an amazing desert!  chocolate coconut balls... it was just avocado, sugar and coco whipped together and then rolled in coconut. oh man it was amazing!  I recommend trying it! and you can add macadam nuts. YUMMY!

Anyways, this weekend we went out to Cape Palliser, its the southernmost part of the north island.  Its on the east coast and there is a 150 year old light house that you can climb up the 250 steps to.  so we rented a car and were on our way!  I got in the drivers seat we headed out of the parking lot.  I immediately turned on the windshield whippers... as they are switched, and got flustered.  It took some getting used to but by the time we returned the car on Sunday I felt better.  Although driving on the left side is odd.. I felt like the part of the car between the two windows (front and side) was so hard to see around!  Only once, and it was in a parking lot, did I accidentally go on the right side of the road.

So we got out to Cape Palliser and it was amazing!  It also known to have a lot of seals, which we saw!  They were sleeping all over the place, like a foot from the road (which wasn't really a road, more like gravel)  we got out and took pictures and then climbed up a huge cliff area to take more.  We figured we were safely away from the seals as we were up very high and Colin told me to go down a step for a cool photo.  I started to walk around and almost got there, when all of a sudden this seal started hissing at me! (and for those who didn't know they are actually really dangerous and can slither around really fast and then your done for...)  I screamed and ran back up.. so basically Colin was trying to get me killed! although really it was hidden behind a rock...


The scenery in this area was crazy.  We were right on the coast but then there were these huge green mountains so close to the water.  The waves were giant and came crashing down onto the seals, and big rocks.  They would of easily engulfed a car and taken it out to sea.  Then looking out there was a soft mist from the water which made it look almost unreal.  I know it doesn't do it justice, but it was beautiful.

So we climbed to the top of the light house and then headed to a small town (the first colonized NZ town) called Greytown.  We stayed in a cute little hotel and had an amazing dinner at the White Swan... It was very good, although we didn't have much of a choice since the ENTIRE town was basically already closed and the whole town was only main street.

We made it home, and spent today going to the market and catching up on things, it was actually a beautiful weekend and day in Wellington with no wind, so we got to air out our shitty house and didn't have to hang out in our sleeping bags (which is becoming quite popular as our house is usually so cold you can see your breath.. cool....)  That is one thing I will NOT miss about NZ!  un heated/insulated houses..




Fringe = bangs
Servett = napkins
Brain Wave = ex; I need a brain wave, or i just had a brain wave, like an awha moment, or the light bulb came on.

Different places throughout Cape Palliser! Enjoy!

I can't believe we have already been here for over 2 months!

Alright, so according to some of my readers (Alex....) I don't put up enough posts... so I am trying to be better!

I have been home sick the past 2 days which isn't any fun... but I found out that I am officially contracted until February with Westfield! and the best part is they are flexible around me traveling, its like the perfect situation!  So we can still go around and see the country, just as long as I don't have a big project or anything.

I love all the people I work with, each one is so nice!  Megan (In picture below) is like a mom figure, she is soo nice I almost feel bad! but that is just the way New Zealanders are.  We met up for the Lower Hutt Duck Race (Phebe didn't win.. she got stuck up the river...) and then she had Colin and I over for an amazing lunch and desert, and then sent us home with carrot cake too! She also helped me win a air popcorn maker (yes Savannah and Alicia, I now have one. THANK GOD!) and even drove out to pick it up!

Everyone is generally curious about different American things, so I get some funny questions.  like Jaime asked about Twinkies because she read about them in the babysitters club when she was little, another one was about how fat Americans really are.  Half of the staff at work hadn't seen a air popper before, ya know for popcorn, so we are now buying one for the work kitchen and I am making them some with brewers yeast of course!  Some of the pronunciation is different as well.  such as advertisement, glacier, garage and aluminum.  Its hard to describe but the 'a' is drawn out so its like gaaarage. or glaaacier, etc.  If i write certain sayings like greeting everyone, or something else they tell me thats very American. :)

Everyone thinks is funny that I say anyways, not anyway.  Also instead of saying "check out below," they say "check out the below."  odd... Also:  the paper size is different here, three ring binders are actually 2 ring binders, they don't use the letter z in words like organize, its organise.  Self checkouts are a new revolution here.

On each Wednesday we have morning tea, which is always fun.  We all sit around the table, have tea and different treats and just talk.  It's a nice break from work, and something Americans would consider odd, I think...

Another interesting thing is the different in food ingredients.  The US standard for food is SOO low (THANKS USDA/FDA)  There is no high fructose corn syrup here, or aspertaime.  Even the cheaper food here has less ingredients in it, just using the basics.  Jaime was interested to hear that I always read the ingredients at stuff back home (and here) because there is such odd thing put in food.  EX.  coca cola here is like the Mexican kind with just sugar, not high fructose corn syrup.  I wish the food standards at home were higher so even if you were poor you could still have healthy non fake food!

We now have a part time flat cat named Kitty... she comes and visits each day and we have no idea who she really belongs to, but we like her.  Our door to the deck has a cat door so she just walks right in and then meows till we greet here.  She is pretty cute, and curious about everything!  Its fun because she is only a part time kitty!

Some other interesting things about New Zealand include:

- on domestic flights there isn't any security checks.
- Heaps is a common word, ex: I hope you feel Heaps better!
- Most guys here were shorts, shoes and tall black socks, its like a fashion trend.
- Clinque face wash $14 US = $45NZ!!
- A palate of 4 eyeshadow shades from YSL brand, was $114!!!!

Below:  our lovely house!!  The window above the red roof is our room.
- Phebe making her way sideways down the river.
- Megan and I with the big duck.
- Phebe after being rescued from the river... she got a little beat up!
- Our cat kitty, stopping by for a nap on our bed.

I'm a big girl now, with a big girl job!

Hello Everyone!

I know its been awhile, I've been super busy!  Since coming back from our last trip, I have been working full time at Westfield Queensgate.  I am the new marketing coordinator, and it is so much fun!  I have my own office, and the people I work with are great.  I am learning alot about the differences between the company within the US and NZ.  There are many cultural differences too, the way you write emails, and my favorite one... wine each Friday.  Yes, thats right the last half an hour of work we relax and end the day with a glass of wine! They all think its funny that you can't do that in the US.  and everyone was in shock to hear we only have 2 weeks paid vacation.  I also found out their maternity leave is 14 weeks too!

Anyways, besides my job which wares me out! we have been planning our next place to visit.  Good Friday is a public holiday, as well as ANZAC day, which is like our Vetrans Day.  so we have a 4 day weekend!  We are going to Hawks bay, which is on the east cost of the North Island.  We are going to do a biking wine tour, which I am so excited for!  I hope to do some more traveling alot, were really just wanting to make some money and then go around the country.  We love Wellington but are feeling alittle tied down, though I am sure it will get better once Colin has a job as well.   It could also be us just missing home and friends/family.

In other news, our flatmate Stephanie is moving out (not really sure why...) and so Greg is most likely moving in with us!  at least until August.. so if anyone wants to come live in NZ for a while, we have a room open! 

Some common sayings:
- Let me have a think about it.
- I can't be bothered.  (ex.  I want some ice cream but I can't be bothered walking there!)  I think its funny.

- Singlet = tank top
- Theater = operating room

Below:  My duck Phebe... for the Lower Hutt Duck races... More pictures to come!! She debuts tomorrow, and I hope she wins!!

The other two pictures are our night out on the town with Greg and his Dad.

I'll try to put up a post more often, as I know I am missing stuff!!  But hopefully in the next few weeks well have more interesting things to tell everyone about!

"An Oreo? Oh thats a real American cookie isn't it!"

Colin and I spent the last week over on the South Island for a little vacation before I started working full time at Westfield.
But first - I have to admit I have come to love my cell phone, though it is the most basic Nokia in the world, not even a camera! I have grown to appreciate it and am glad I have a cell phone, even though no one calls me because we don't have any friends here.... :)  Also all the toilets here have two buttons, but none of them are labeled!! I have constantly wondered what the difference was and finally asked Colin about it... He said the same thing! Were guessing one is for number 2 and one for number 1 but there isn't any kind of indication for which one is which.. its kind of humorous.

Also everything closes so early and it drives me nuts! I can't get used to it! if you work till 5:30 you have at the most 30 min to go somewhere and shop.  Food places stay open but everything else closes.  Even the Mall's hours are 9-6 monday - wednesday.  Luckily some places stay open till 8 on the weekends, but everything is closed by around 2 on sunday.  The lifestyle over here is just different and not so focused on working all the time like in the US.  And women here don't only have their engagement, and wedding band, they also get an eternity band as well, and some even get a baby one! basically, the rings are huge! 

Anyways, We left for Nelson on Tuesday on the Ferry.  It's a three hour ride across to Picton.  We arrived and walked to our hostel.  It was a fun bright blue hostel with a huge porch, chairs, a hot tub and a tree house.  After checking in we went on a hike around one of the coves and walked back along the beach.  as usual the town shut down around 5ish and we walked the deserted streets looking for a place for dinner.  Picton was a super cute town, just really small and not alot going on.

We met a super nice girl from Manchester who gave us some good travel tips.  and we talked about Prince William and Kate, they call him willy.  HA She did tell us though (which proved to be true) that there are 27,000 Germans in New Zealand and no one can apply for a working holiday visa for the next year since its so pack.  two of our 4 roommates in the Nelson hostel were German.


The next morning we took a bus from Picton to Nelson.  There was this older man on the bus talking on his phone, but he would put it to his ear to listen and then move it to his mouth to talk.. it was pretty entertaining.

Nelson is a super cute town! there is alot of fun shops (but alot of them i didn't get to see because they all close!!!) But there is a great I-site station.. I-site stations are all around NZ in each town where they can give you information, book things for you and other fun stuff.  We booked two day events for hiking and kayaking up in Abel Tasman National Park.

So the first day we went to a brewery in this odd old town that was like some weird replica of an early 1900's town.  except nothing was really open and it was deserted... so we just did a beer tasting and then headed to some pizza dinner.

Our hostel in Nelson was awesome! it was the nicest one we have been to by far, and they served free chocolate pudding and ice cream each night! The next morning bright and early and took a boat up to Bark Bay in Able Tasman where we were dropped off on the white sand beaches and to start our hike.  We met a super nice girl from Holland who was hiking as well.  She talked about how cool it would be to live in America and when I offered here an oreo she was so excited and replied saying "This is a real American cookie isn't it!"  Our hike was gorgeous! we would be in a desert area, then to tropical, then to deep forest, and all of a sudden we would be looking out to the beautiful water.

The next day we took a bus up to Able Tasman and set out to kayak for the day.  After an orientation that seemed like forever we were finally on the water and went to two different island and 3 beaches.  It was so much fun, great weather and amazing views, but i was exhausted by the end of the day.  We once again had our chocolate pudding and then headed to bed.

During our stay in Nelson we met a super nice Dutch girl named Tabby, she was so full of life and hilarious to talk to.  We talked about the huge differences between the US and Holland and she told us about her country's celebrations for new years, such as fire works at midnight, but then everyone walks into town and shakes hands with everyone else wishing them a happy new year.  How fun!  We also talked about how much Americans work.  Her impression of Americans was:  "They work work and work all year till they get 2 weeks of vacation and play play play and take lots of fun pictures and then come back really tired."  It was so funny to hear her point of view, because the Dutch get 5 weeks and even New Zealand gets more!

Well we made it back, the tsunami warning in NZ got canceled and we are home in Wellington.  Just in time for me to start my job with Westfield! I am a marketing assistant with a contract right now and hopefully will get to stay on for longer!  It has been a fun 2 days and all the people are so nice.  The marketing and mall operations in general are so different than in the US.  but excited to learn more!

All and All,  it was a great vacation and I am excited to be working.  We are still planning more trips around to the glaciers and a biking wine tour on the South Island and just booked tickets to the World Rugby Cup game, USA vs. Australia!

We live in earthquake country

Well its been over a week since the Christchurch earthquake, and there are 166 officially dead.  So sad… They're slowly looking for more people in pancaked buildings and getting things back to "normal". 

There have been two earthquakes in Wellington this week. They were around 4.5.  We felt the first one but the last one was Friday morning around 2AM and I didn't feel that one.  There hasn't been any damage luckily, just kinda scary.

We have been going on hikes and going to museums around Wellington and planning a trip hopefully next week down to the South Island to Nelson for a few days to go play in the sun and go kayaking and to some breweries. 

There have been some pretty gross windstorms here recently where I'm pretty sure I was going to get blown away.  Yesterday while walking the bag Colin was holding onto broke and went flying into the street from the wind.. WOW! it was actually pretty funny though because right before he said that he joked about it happening. 

I have something in the works with Westfield that I am super excited about but its not official yet so wont say… I'll keep everyone posted when I find out for sure! :) 

There is a film documentary festival coming to Wellington this week and were going to try and go to some of those movies, they look really good!  Also we did some window shopping yesterday comparing prices and went into a outdoor store with Northface stuff…. I found my coat US250… it was NZ549!!!! which is $417 US!! AHHH thats crazy! the exchange rate doesn't even compare, people here are getting so ripped off! we keep finding crazy things like that where the prices are so much more. 

Also, interesting fact, the Police here don't have guns, only tasers, no one has guns here.

We are in the works of getting a ticket to the USA VS. AUSTRALIA rugby world cup game in September too!

Anyways, more news to come! hope all is well back home!

The pictures above:
- Colin and I in Auckland, Island Bay, and our latest hike!

We are safe and not in Christchurch

well its been an interesting few days!

First of all WE ARE NOT IN CHRISTCHURCH - we are in Wellington and safe from the Earthquake.

 - the earthquake in christchruch struck on Tuesday our time (Monday your time) and we have been watching coverage of that a lot of the time.  Its interesting to see how the media over here is different than at home, yet still the same. 

Right now the death toll is a 113 but im sure it will go higher.  The flags at the capital are half mass as well as everywhere else and even just walking places or ridding the bus people are talking about someone they know who's down there. 

I (being super into emergency management) have given my application to the Ministry of Civil Defense and the Red Cross in hopes to go down and do some work.  we shall see!! (what a great experience to go help people in need and get field experience to apply back in the States!)

Our lovely flat has continued to have problems… First the toilet didn't work and it still doesn't really work correctly, then we had a gas leak and coulda blown off our heads each time we used the stove, now our dishwasher is broken and we have to hold it shut for it to run, and our modem for the internet is faulty.  But in our luck… Nelson and Colin went to exchange it and they won't have any until next week, so we have one computer hooked up. And to top it all off there is massive construction outside our place that goes until May and they have been randomly turning our water off each day.. SO MUCH FUN!   - its really not too bad though i guess we have just gotten used to living with numerous things broken.

I started my first day of work with the New Zealand Rugby Association.  I am working on a project that was suppose to last two weeks but its really only gonna take me a few days.  I am imputing data about all the professional rugby players in New Zealand, and according to them die hard fans would love to have access to the information I'm dealing with.  The company is really cool and laid back, everyone is super nice.  It would be a lot of fun to actually work there full time.

BUT Westfield emailed me and though the GM is down in Christchurch there is a project that i should hopefully be able to do there and so I am meeting with the Assistant GM this next week to discuss it!

as far as everything else, we are starting to plan and get ideas for trips ( this means I am doing the research and planning and Colin gets the easy part and just shows up places he needs to!)

We went to Island Bay and played in the water a cool 80 degrees ish and got some much needed sun.  And we have finally got fully adjusted and all settled.  I feel pretty confident walking around town and know what busses to catch so life is good!

 the pictures below = our flatmates and us in the park BBQING - the capital, also known as the Beehive, and the flags at half mass for the victims of the Christchurch earthquake, and then Island Bay scenic pictures! 

The old ladies LOVE Colin!

finally some pictures!! 

so the first one is of us and Greg on the walk down to town from our house (in Wadestown suburb).

next is colin and I on a rope swing on our hike to the mt. victoria lookout where there are 360 views of the city showing water on each side of the north island.

and then the last one is of some of the fruits and veggies in the weekly farmers market.  Its a huge market with tons of good food, and I even found this Indianish place and they had Chapaiti!! (it was my favorite food in Kenya, kind of like a tortilla but better...)  I have been wanting actualy chapaiti forever and I guess I just had to go to New Zealand to get it!

I spoke with my family today in Spokane and that was really fun, it was fun to see my grandparents on skype and my grandma wondering how it works.. but my aunt asked if there was anything we missed or they don't have and I couldn't think of anything but.....  There is no cilantro here! our roommate didn't even know what it was! Also according to Colin the salsa here isn't really salsa, and I am sure we will find more things.

On our way back from the Market on the bus, Colin got hit on by a old lady.. she told me she was watching the worlds most handsome man contest on tv the night before and he coulda won! but after she left the bus driver said she tells everyone that... pretty funny though!

HOpefully this week I finally get a job! Should hear back from WEstfield and i am now with a temp agency that calls with work so that should be good too. 

we are slowly figuring out our news plan, and here is a VAGUE outline.

 - now until August = working and doing short trips around the north island (but south of Auckland) 
- places like Taupo, Kapiti coast, Tongario and Whanganui national park (more to be announced later)

august - (were booking this today!!!)
 - Thailand for 2 weeks  - bangkok - chiang mai for a trecking experience and to see temples and meet different tribes, and then the beaches down south to soak up the sun!



 Then the rest of August and through October working to get some money and continuing our small travels through the North Island

In the end of October/ early November
 - travel to the south island for a month(ish) tour and we may even be able to use our roommates family's travel van which would be awesome!!

and finally after that coming back to Wellington, working and spending Christmas here or somewhere close and warm and finishing January with going to the tip of the North Island with the nice white beaches and then spending a few more days in Auckland.

We will fly out of Auckland in the last week of January to Fiji for around 5 daysish to soak up whatever they have to offer us and then finally come back to the United States!

Hope everyone is well back home, i can't believe its already almost been a month! more pictures soon!!