Kiwi Camping

When I found out camping in new Zealand didn't mean camp fires and s'mores I was pretty disappointed! What's the point of sleeping on the ground surrounded by bugs and with no showers if you can't sit around the fire and make s'mores at the end of the day?
They do it a little different than what I'm use to. We're staying at a camping "resort" that comes equipped with hot showers, toilets, blow dryers (an essential in my books), kitchen, BBQs and anything else you may need! Everyone has their own blow up mattress and there is even a laundry facility on site and of course a wi- fi station! Instead of sitting around a fire to stay warm you can set up a table to gather round! The other thing that I find comical are all the little cars! Back home camping, all I ever remember are SUVs and trucks at camp sites, none of this pee wee sedan kind of stuff! So not quite the same feel but it's always good to try something new! And with my family there's plenty of entertainment to go round so there hasn't been a dull moment yet! I'm glad I'm able to experience a typical "kiwi" summer vacation!

Merry Christmas! Ho!

Well so much for a white Christmas! This year I spent it soaking up the sun and eating heaps of seafood! Nothing like anything I've ever experienced! I was hesitant going into it but it turned out to be a great day! My sister and Oliver got engaged in the morning so we had lots to celebrate!! It was so fun to see our two families interact! We spent it at Olivers parents house and his mom had it decked out with Christmas decorations! It was perfect!

I'm not going to lie though, it was pretty upsetting going into Christmas this year. It never even feel like the holidays! Here in NZ, Christmas time is also summer break for everyone so I felt like there was no emphasis on Christmas. Normally, I'm sick and tired of all the Christmas music everyone is playing but I found myself searching for it this year! I might have heard a song every few days if I was lucky and I hardly saw any Christmas decorations. Now that I have officially experienced a summer Christmas I can say without a doubt I prefer a winter Christmas!

The Black Jetta Convoy Begins

So the Bartholomew adventure up New Zealand's north island has begun! We aimed to leave the house 10am on "boxing" day, the day after Christmas, however did not end up leaving until 12:30! Typical! But all is good, we barely hit any traffic and so far we have yet to forget anything!

The last time we did this drive was my second day in the country and I kept attempting to get in the drivers seat not realizing it wasnt the passengers seat! It's crazy that yesterday, I was the driver, of one of the cars that is! We are the black jetta convoy, so if you see us coming watch out!!! Yesterdays leg took us about 6 hours with a few stops in between! My poor mother has been forced to take pictures out of the window, there's just no time to stop!

Our first stop is Taupo where we are camping for 4 nights! I survived night 1, only 3 more to go! Today, we went on a "20 min" hike according to Oliver and Amanda who have "done it before!" 2.5 hours later we returned back to camp! It was well worth the hike though! Huka Falls is the most visited place in New Zealand and I can see why! My favorite part about the hike was spotting my first New Zealand fern. I've seen a million pictures of the beautiful ferns that grow and twirl and today I got to finally see it in person!

Bring on December

December has always been one of my favorite months. You've got Thanksgiving in November that prepares you for the festivities to come. For me, getting through Thanksgiving means it's officially okay to put up Christmas decorations and of course bring out the movie ELF!h It also means days are typically spent curled up inside watching movies by the fire and drinking hot chocolate. I feel that people become more friendly and really get into the Christmas spirit. One of my favorite parts is being home and getting to see all those friendly faces and catch up with old friends you don't get to see too often.

This year is already quite different. Wellington has been putting on a show with the gorgeous weather the last week or so, it's really starting to heat up. Instead of ordering hot coffees I find myself ordering ice cold lemonade or  beer while at home they're dealing with snow and power outages. I think I can get use to this. I haven't heard any holiday tunes yet which I am a bit disappointed about but I'm starting to see some Christmas decorations up so that is a plus. I am excited to experience my first Summer Christmas and eager to see if it will still feel like the Christmas I've always known. I guess when you think about holidays what really matters is being surrounded by family and friends and appreciating those that are in your lives. My parents will be arriving in less than two weeks and I couldn't be more ecstatic about it. This will be one Christmas to remember.

Earthquakeeeeee

I just felt my first earthquake in New Zealand and let me tell you it was not fun. I was home alone and the windows upstairs were wide open making a sound like they were going down. It started off as a subtle shake and I thought it was just the wind, windy Wellington right? Nope! It progressively got stronger to the point where I was thinking, "oh shit, this might be a big one." If you know where I live it might make a little more sense as well seeing as how I basically live on a cliff. Good thing for all the education we got on what to do in an earthquake, after just a few seconds I stood in the door frame just in case. Apparently it was a 5.7 on the richter scale and was felt the strongest in Wellington and Blenheim.

I honestly don't understand how people still live in Christchurch. From the looks of it, Christchurch seems like it would have been a great city to live in when you ignored all the rubble. I was only in CHCH for one night so I can't say much but in that time I was visiting there was a minor earthquake, luckily I slept thorugh it. In the last year this seems to be a pretty regular occurrence. I could only imagine how those who experienced the one in February feel anytime they feel a shake. I mean you never know if it's going to be the big one and I just don't know how they cope. Do they go running for safety immediately or are there one's who sit where they are trying to wait it out hoping it's not another big one? My thoughts and wishes go out to everyone there, they are a strong group of people.

Thanksgiving

This year, being in NZ where they don't celebrate Thanksgiving was strange. I had to use some of my annual leave to get the day off for starters. The other weird thing about it was having it on a Friday, which meant it was truly Thanksgiving in America. The entire day I had the urge to say Happy Thanksgiving to everyone but I controlled my excitement. It was Amanda and mines first year actually being in charge of the dinner, SCARY! We did several grocery trips always seeming to forget one thing or another. Amanda even had to call around to different grocery stores to see who had the biggest turkeys since it's not really a big time of year for them. It was also tricky being in NZ because they didn't have all of the ingredients we needed but we made do. Mom sent us Thanksgiving decorations which definitely help to set the tone. Brigid came down from Auckland and Lisa came up from Christchurch and we put them to work in the kitchen. We had another friend in charge of the pumpkin pies and they were superb!We hosted 15 people for dinner and it was a great success.  It was really nice sharing our thanksgiving tradition with fellow kiwi mates who have never experienced it. 

Always an Adventure

I had quite the adventure the other day. I had an appointment somewhere I've been multiple times however; I was coming from a different direction. I had two options, back track about 15 minutes to get on the right motorway and take the way I would normally go or use my trusty gps on my iphone. I figured, let's just go with the iphone, step out of my comfort zone and don't be silly and "back track." Well, next thing you know, I am in the middle of a forest, no cell service and not a person in sight. My friend said, and I quote, "I bet that was an anxiety fest." And yes, yes it was! She knows me too well. During my drive I went through several emotions and thought processes. First, I was feeling accomplished, I didn't know where I was going but I knew I could do this. Then about 20 minutes into the forest I did the "wait a minute, what am I doing?" I could either turn back now or continue on the narrow single lane road that they use for two-way traffic knowing it had to come to an end. Turning back meant I for sure wouldn't make it to my appointment so I carried on with another sense of accomplishment. As I continued down the road I started to worry that I was the only one out there. The hysterical laughing began for how ridiculous I was being. I managed calm it down and figured it's just another adventure. As the trip continued I started to I think how lucky I was that I had the catering in my car just in case I got stranded out there. With that, I'd be set for at least a few days. About another 20 minutes passed when I FINALLY ran into another car. I was so thankful to know I wasn't out in the forest by myself so you better believe I stayed on his ass the rest of the way. I was able to relax a bit at this point and I tried to enjoy the beautiful scenery surrounding me. As the drive continued I honestly thought I was going to end up at the top of the north island. The little rendezvous lasted about an hour but actually felt like the entire day. When I popped into the little town of Waikanae I had the biggest sense of relief. Being in Waikanae also meant I had overshot where I really needed to be. Needless to say I was a just a wee few minutes late but I made it to my appointment.
 
This brings me to the question though, is it really necessary to try new things when you know something that is good/ works?

Seasons Changing

I knew moving over here in April probably was not the best timing on my part. It was finally starting to warm up at home and I chose to move to NZ where things were starting to cool down. Well I have survived! We are starting to get warmer days and more days with sunshine than not. It has been a long time coming. I'm not going to lie, it brought me great satisfaction when I heard they had their first snow fall of the season at home while I was sitting and enjoying gelato on the waterfront.

Winter is by far my least favorite season. Don't get me wrong, I love the SNOW and how beautiful it makes everything, but with the beauty also comes the hassle of driving in it, ice, and storms causing days with power loss which to me = NO FUN! Luckily, New Zealand winter here in Wellington was not too intense however it seems to have lasted forever. I was here to witness the First snow fall in Wellington in the last 30 YEARS! Unbelievable! Of course the year I move here it happens. I have never met so many people who have never actually seen snow fall. My first thoughts were how that was even possible. I guess you just don't think of things like that when they are your "NORMAL." It's like my fellow friends who live in the middle of the USA and have never seen the ocean. That just seems ludicrous to me. Enough on that tanget, needless to say the faces that day/ week were priceless! The other strange thing about that was getting snow fall in August?? And speaking of that, I'm still unsure how I feel about having a summer Christmas! I love the years when I've woken up to snow covered trees and spent the day staying warm with hot chocolate. This year will be spent basking in the sun and barbecuing. Weird!

Moving over here in April also meant I'd miss Fall this year. This is probably my favorite season. I'm absolutely obsessed with Fall colors and all the leaves falling. I miss the days living in Chico when there would be HUGE piles of leaves and no room to park because there were just so many. Instead I guess I've overlapped on spring. That hasn't been a total disaster. I adored all the little baby lambies and calfs I'd get to see on my drives. The baby lambies were definitely my fave seeing them hop around so awkwardly.  They were just so cute but way too distracting. Sadly, now they're all turning into plump grown lambs and cows. This can only mean one thing, Spring is coming to an end and SUMMMMMMEEERRRRRRRR is finally moving in!

 I've got one of the best views in Wellington in a house that has windows in the living room that completely open up to let all the sunshine pour in. There's a great running path along the water front which I hope will keep me busy this summer. I have also been eying all the fun water sports I want to take up this summer. I'm even thinking about giving sailing another shot! Should be a fun summer!

FYI: Man Drought in NZ

Sadly Dan Carter is engaged and off the market!

Sonny Bill Williams 

Dan Carter

For those of you who are worried that I'm going to meet the man of my dreams here in NZ and never move back, rest assured the chances are slim to none. An article came out in the Taranaki Daily news that referred to the "Man drought" in NZ actually being more like a "Man Desert." Let's just say depressing. But really it's actually quite funny. According to some polls there are only 24,000 eligible men that are straight, single and earn more than $60,000 while there are over 50,000 eligible women. Sonny Bill Williams to the left was one of NZ's most eligible bachelors until recent reports of a girlfriend. I guess I was just a little too late.

And below is the lovely Dan Carter who is also taken. So why does it seem like the men always have a much wider selection? I remember going off to college freshman year and finding out the ratio of men to women was somewhere around 1 to 7.
Unfortunately it was too late to change schools. Needless to say I am happy to see that my friends are doing their best to change that ratio.Way to go Lauren, Sharice, Raquel and our soon to be momma Molly for trying to even out the playing field.

Backing BLACK

The Rugby World Cup 2011 has sadly come to an end and the final result was no surprise. Kiwis knew it from the beginning that the All Blacks had it in the bag. I couldn’t have imagined a better place to be. Backing BLACK all the way!  It was the kind of event you will always remember where you were on "that" day. This whole experience made me fall in love with New Zealand. Seeing the pride they have and the support they showed to each and every team throughout the tournament was outstanding. I mean, what other country changes the names of the streets to represent the country they are hosting?! For instance, heading into Palmerston North there was a massive sign saying “Home of Romaina!” How sweet is that? It was two months of seeing flags in the paddocks, cars decked out to support your team of choice (The All Blacks) and window displays with everyone showing their support. 

This is a country that when their national anthem comes on, no one can help but to sing along, even if they don't know the words. The most searched thing on google in the last month has been the New Zealand national anthem.

 It’s crazy to think that just a few wee months ago I had no interest in rugby-what it was or who these players were. For heavens sake I met Dan Carter and had no idea who he was and proceeded to ask him if he’d like me to slouch down so he didn’t look so short! Who says that to the best/hottest rugby player in the world? He is like the David Beckham/ Tom Brady of New Zealand! Now, I can name just about half the team and I refer to the “dog piles” as scrums! Big improvement there! Then we have the HAKA! Just about my favorite part of rugby. It’s such an intense thing but it sets the mood and you know it’s game on! When I was chatting it up with Ali Williams he even admitted to practicing his faces in the mirror, hence the reason for him having some of the BEST facial expressions during the Haka. 


My absolute favorite part would have to be all the good looking players. Not too often you can find talented men that are smoking hot too! And lets just say Real men play rugby! I don’t know how there aren’t more serious injuries or even deaths in this sport. I mean they don’t wear pads and it’s 80 minutes of full-on tackling. To be honest I still don’t get the whole idea of passing backwards to move the ball forward. There’s still a lot of confusion when it comes to my understanding of rugby but I’ve come a long way! Thank you New Zealand for throwing the PARTY of a lifetime and letting me be a part of it! It couldn't have been done better!

                                            

From the Outback to the City

After our week in Uluru we stopped over in Sydney for the weekend to try and soak up as much of Aussie as we could.The transition from Uluru to Sydney was a major culture shock. To go from seeing only a select few familiar faces to hundreds of thousands people was a bit overwhelming.

Thursday night we stayed in Darling Harbor which was such an awesome spot. It had heaps of restaurants and bars right on the water! We had a pretty relaxed night just trying to recover from the week and prep for the weekend ahead of us. Sadly, we woke up to rain on Friday. For some reason, when I looked at the weather for this trip I only looked at Uluru which mind you is about a 4 hour flight from Sydney and in the desert. But I was ready for the beach and that summer weather I have patiently been waiting so long for so when packing there were few things suitable for cold and rainy weather. We spent the majority of our time shopping! It was great to have the options that we just don't have in New Zealand. We enjoyed a great night out on Friday which left us all a sight for sore eyes on Saturday but we managed to make it to the infamous Opera House. It was beautiful! That was the one thing I knew I had to see in Sydney and I was able to tick that off the list. When we woke up Sunday to sunshine we knew we had to make it to Bondi beach. This definitely made the entire weekend. It was a perfect day. The beach and park was full of people and kites! They had massive kites flying, one in the shape of a whale. Bondi beach is absolutely amazing! We sat at a restaurant on the beach and treated ourselves to a pitcher of Australian beer or 2.... couldn't think of any better way to end a fabulous trip!

Desert Rain

I just recently got back from a work conference in Uluru, Australia. It was pretty amazing to say the least. The entire week I was in awe. There are definitely some hard days in my job but as we spent the week working and soaking up the sun and the beautiful sights, I realized just how lucky I am . This week just made all those tough days somehow seem worth it.

It started off with an early 6am flight on Sunday from Wellington, NZ to Sydney, Australia where we met up with about 30 of our other colleagues. From there, we flew to Uluru. It was not at all what I was expecting. While yes, it was out in the middle of nowhere it had a lot more greenery than I expected a desert to have due to the late desert rain. There's Ayers Rock Resort which is basically the where the entire population of Uluru lives. It has multiple places to stay as well as some shops, a few pools and a great look out point where you can see Ayers Rock in the distance. The part I found most comical about Uluru was that everyone who lived there had multiple jobs. The one man band who played 6 nights a week was also a flight attendant. Then there was the bartender, flight attendant at day and bartender at night. The list goes on. It was pretty funny going from place to place and seeing the same faces doing completely different jobs.

I won't bore you with all the details so I'll skip to the highlights of the trip. My favorite day was definitely the day I witnessed the sunrise and sunset all in one day. It started off with a sunrise camel ride. We had to be up and ready by 5:45 for the sunrise ride before work started. Sadly it wasn't as glamorous as Carrie made it look on Sex and the City but  it was still fabulous. It was quite the sight to see! When we arrived there were about 12 camels with saddles all lined up sitting just waiting for us. Watching the others get on made me more and more nervous realizing how high up you are once they stood up. It was about an hour and a half journey through the desert with spectacular views of Ayers Rock. Truly an experience I think everyone must have at least once in their lives. After the camel ride I had the opportunity to feed a baby camel out of a bottle. And then there was a baby roo. His name was Red and just about the cutest thing I have ever seen. We even got to hold him. After all of this, it was time for work. The day went by quickly and soon enough we rushed to get ready for our sunset dinner under the stars. It was stunning! The sand was so red and the sun going down just made the colors pop. And this was just all in one day.

Our entire trip was a whirl wind. I just tried to take everything in while we were there. I guess the motto is "Work hard play hard," and that is exactly what we did.

I’m back.....

 And no, I don't mean I'm back in the US! After a week or so of being homesick and probably not the most fun person to be around, I'm finally back. Usually, my overseas travels wrap up after 10 weeks and I'm on the next jet plane home. But this isn't one of those trips. I'm going on 4 months now. I bought a one way ticket and who knows how long I'll be here for. I'm sure I will have many more spouts of feeling homesick but I know I can get through it. This time it took a lot of skype dates and talking with my parents for things to get back on track. It hit me as I was driving over the Rimutakas singing my heart out to Taylor Swift just how ridiculous I had been. I literally broke out laughing. I am surrounded by beautiful scenery and I have friends and family that love me, what more can I ask for? Summer maybe? haha

It's funny though, sometimes the smallest thing can make you feel the farthest away from home. For me, the tinniest thing going “wrong” or “abnormal” makes me an absolute mess when I'm already feeling homesick. It may be the simplest task like taking your clothes for dry cleaning or getting your hair done. But how do you know where to go, there's a million places, where do you even start? Those little everyday things that are easy and come natural to you can become such a chore when living in a new place especially a new country. I mean I just want to go to Target where I know I can find everything I’d ever possibly need! That's part of the adventure though isn't it? So don't get me wrong, I am very grateful for where I am and being able to be with my sister but I have my fair share of hard times. It means missing loved ones birthdays, weddings, births, new jobs, etc. I have amazing friends and family and I want to be there to help through the tough times and celebrate the successes. I guess you can say I suffer from FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). But I can’t help it, I want to be there for everything. So for those of my friends and family who are reading this I LOVE YOU all to pieces! Now that things are back on track, I will continue to write and fill you in on my adventures in Kiwi land!

This week I’m in Wanganui for a few days seeing a couple of practices. The town is a bit “dodgy” as they would say, but my accommodation makes up for it. That is definitely one perk of my job. Not many people get paid to travel so I’m living it up and appreciating it while I can!

Real Life: I drive on the wrong side of the Road

Well here it is for those of you who had asked me for a blog. I was hesitant at first because let’s be honest I live a pretty standard life. I wake up in the morning, go to work, get home do laundry la de da da but I LIVE IN NEW ZEALAND and DRIVE ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD (thank you Raquel for pointing that out)! Each and every day is filled with an adventure here. Getting gas, a simple and easy task at home has turned into an ADVENTURE and something I try to avoid here in NZ.

Since I’ve lived in NZ I’ve only gotten gas twice! TWICE! And in case you don’t know, my job involves driving every day. That’s how much I despise getting gas. To be honest, I almost ran out of gas the second week I had my car. I was so busy focusing on “STAY LEFT,” I forgot about that minor detail. My first outing for gas I picked up my sister cause I figured she knew the ropes. I asked if there was anything different or tricky here and she said “oh yea, it’s annoying you have to hold up your gas card so they know you have one and they’ll turn on the pump…” Ok yea seems reasonable right? Well here I am standing at the pump waving my gas card at the attendee while he stares at me and eventually comes out to meet me. Show him my card and he looks confused and says “oh sweet as, thanks?” So alright good to go, fill up the tank, go inside to pay wait…. Didn’t hang up the pump right so run back out to adjust it and there’s a bus waiting behind me tooting his horn. Ahhhhh yea a little chaotic but everything worked. Later that night, ask my sister “hey who told you to show your card?” and her response, “oh I just do it!” lol Oh ok so hmmmmm so we don’t need to show our cards? Nope! Sweet as, thanks sis! Second outing…. Sister and I go to work together and she so kindly let me drive. Well, just my luck I needed gas. Find a mobil station, and hey there’s the diesel pump. Cool, pull up get out DON’T show my card and grab the pump to start filling. Ahhh yes, diesel all down the side of my car, just what I wanted thanks! Then I yell at my sister “HELP, I can’t get it in the hole.” Well sure enough, here you see two blondies from California trying to fill up at the Trucks and buses pump. I pull around and before I even get out here is a service guy to do it for me! Phew!

So enough about that, what drove me to finally start a blog was my trip to Blenheim. Left this morning from Wellington for a 30 min flight to Blenheim. Sure enough, smallest plane I’ve EVER been on. Who needs security when you just walk yourself right onto the runway and plane? Best part get this, I thought I was being all smart when I was given the option to request seats and I chose seat 2. I’m always stuck in the back of the plane so for once I was thinking I was lucky to get up front. Yep, basically flew the plane this morning while my luggage was strapped in the seat beside me. Then I pick up my rental car. The lady gave great directions, NOOOOoooootttttt! So here I am wondering around the parking lot pressing unlock in hopes of seeing a car light up. Well luckily I did no thanks to HERTZ.  For the most part, I’m finally starting to get use to this whole “stay left” thing and I love that in the rental cars they even have stickers that remind you. What I’m not use to is having my turn signal indicators on the right and windshield wipers on the left. So I spent the majority of the day being an asshole driver who didn’t signal and instead drove around the round abouts with the windshield wipers full blast on a beautiful and sunny day. Love life!