6 months!

Wow. We touched down in New Zealand 6 months ago today. Mostly, it's gone so fast. I sat down to write about how it has met our expectations (or hasn't)... and then I sat here for several minutes trying to figure out what our expectations were. Did we even have any? I should have written them down... Ha. And where do we want to be in the next 6 months? What's next?

Note: All photos are from around Wellington, but weren't sweet enough to make it into my last post.

On top of the Sea to City Bridge

Expectations

We were well informed of how expensive it is to live in New Zealand. But we still may have underestimated it just a teensy bit.... But it doesn't really bother us these days. We're a tiny island, southeast of the middle of nowhere, just north of Antarctica. As a few of my friends and our parents are aware... shipping to this place is expensive. (Why the wool is so damn expensive is still a bit of a mystery, but never mind.) So all of the goods are going to be expensive too.

Thankfully, when it came in regards to Christchurch, we didn't know what to expect. Absolutely no one told us it was back to normal. Good thing. Christchurch is a mess. Part of me braced for something worse. Part of me was idyllic. (Part of me still is). For the most part, it doesn't really bother me. I have my favorite cafes and pubs. We can go to the movies or out dancing. Most importantly, the bike trails, the beach, and the mountains are still there. But Christchurch is still very much in the process of recovering.

I knew there would be cultural diversity in the sense of the Maori population and the white population here in NZ. What I didn't expect was the diversity of other cultures. It may be partially because we're in Christchurch, and people are coming from all over the world to help with the rebuild. But wanderlust souls also seem to gravitate to New Zealand as well. Combined, Scott and I both work with folks from about 14 different countries. And currently my closest friends are British and Finnish, as well as Kiwi.

Te Marae, Te Papa Museum

Unexpectations: What didn't we expect?

The traffic! I hate to say it, but we didn't see it coming! Christchurch, pre-quake, was quite easy to get around. So in theory, all this congestion is temporary (and it really is just bad at peak commute hours)... but still. We didn't move to a place roughly the size of California with roughly 1/7 the population, to be stuck in traffic!

The first-worldism. I mean, New Zealand is a first world country, so I knew we would have the luxuries of cars and drinkable water. But no one drives a new car, and insurance is optional. And frequently sheep are roadblocks. So who knew that everyone would be totally caught up on Games of Thrones and The X-Factor? And the tabloids are alive and well. You really can't not keep up with the Kardashians, even on the other side of the freaking world. I could do with a little more media isolation in my life, but apparently we'll have to get way more remote than New Zealand to find it.

We had no idea Scott would end up working as a geologist on the rebuild. But this is a good, no, great "unexpectation". Getting to be outside every day and getting to be part of a massive city renovation are pretty big perks of a new job in a new country.

View from the farmers' market

Becoming Kiwi

Driving on the left side of the road is no big deal. It was weird for about a week. It felt like everyone was driving at WARP SPEED. And then we just got used to it. And now sometimes we complain about how leisurely the Kiwis drive. Don't they even try to be at work on time?

Sticker shock is wearing off. Sure, almost everything still seems expensive. But since we expect it, only the really pricey things raise an eyebrow. A $4.50 cappuccino or an $8 pint of beer is just the norm. $25 for my normal mascara seems ridiculous though and therefore I haven't bought any (hint...).

We find ourselves using more Kiwi-isms every day. Scott will mention his bike is munted (per usual), or that his ride last night was sweet as, and I don't even blink an eye. Usually I internally acknowledge that he said something Kiwi... but then I'll ask for just a wee bit of milk in my tea without even noticing that 6 months ago I neither would have said wee, nor put milk in my tea. Bizarre.

When we moved, everyone told us winter is cold here. By the numbers, it's really not that much colder than where we're from in Northern California, but there's a vital difference between the two places. Americans use insulation and double-glazing. Kiwis do not. Sure you have a heat pump in one room, and an electric blanket on your bed... but a jacket, socks, and sometimes a beanie is totally cool indoor wear in these parts. And you just harden up.

We have lived now for 6 months without a microwave, dishwasher, or blender. (Ok, we bought the latter a few weeks ago, but it's been too cold to make smoothies!)

Botanical Gardens

What's Next?

So 6 months from now... where will we be? For one, we will be in summer! Yipee! But what else?

We hopefully will have sorted out our immigration situation by then. We will have applied for, paid for (ugh), and hopefully been accepted for residency. (Don't worry moms, that doesn't mean we're staying. It just means better health benefits and the capability to move around the islands freely, not tied to our jobs.)

We will have moved flats. Yes, we're moving again. The EQC (Earthquake Commission) decided it was time to fix the place we're in right now. After some house hunting and soul searching, we decided to move, and found a flat that we're super excited about. More on that in a few weeks.

We are hoping to visit Australia for our anniversary in September! Warm beaches, Great Barrier Reef, and rain forest exploration are all on the menu. It will be a fabulous break from the long New Zealand winter.

Lastly, and no surprise here, I'm sure we'll be traveling, riding, and racing our bikes all over the country. We're hoping to hit as many MTB races as funds and full-time jobs will allow.

Looking for tuis

Jeez.... how's that for a disjointed, very incomplete and almost confusing compilation of thoughts? Should I even proof read it? Delete it? May as well just post it.... and 6 months from now I can look back at how much my writing has (hopefully) improved, as well as how our acclamation to New Zealand has progressed!

Oh yeah, I also hope in 6 months time I become a better photographer (and therefore better photo-blogger). I know you guys hope so too!

7 - An Interview

Im sitting at the kitchen table with Scott and my folks (and there might be a few beers involved). As we sit here and chat, Scott and I reflect on the fact that there are several questions that we get asked a lot... well, constantly. So I figured, why not answer them here... perhaps it will save us from answering the same old questions again, if even just once.

The Players: Kristen (yours truly), Scott (the bike husband), Katie (mom), Del (dad), and Everyone (the general population asking the generic questions we answer every day).

Recent picture of us (Scott unaware he was being photographed?) - thank you Ashley

Everyone: Why are you moving to New Zealand?
Kristen: This is the most common question, of course. We're moving for adventure. We visited New Zealand in 2010 for our belated honeymoon, and we've been scheming on how to get back ever since. We loved the people and the beauty of the country. We always figured we would move out of the country, and originally we were thinking somewhere in Europe. After we visited New Zealand though, we had no doubt that that's where we wanted to be.
Scott: The mountain biking there is bad ass. And the dirt jumps are subsidized by the city. What else do you need?
Katie: They're going so that I have a place to stay when I visit for the 3 months that I'm allowed in the country. Isn't that convenient?

Everyone: Are you going for a job?
Kristen: No. We had to get a job to move to New Zealand- they won't let you into the country if you aren't contributing something (ie: labor or monetary investment). We didn't decide to move to NZ because of some fantastic job offer.

Everyone: So do you have a job?
Kristen: Yes, I have a job with Pegasus 24 Hour Surgery Center in Christchurch, NZ.
Scott: I don't have a job yet, but I will. Unlike Kristen, I can get any job I want. Our work visas are contingent on her staying at her job with Pegasus, but I can work as a geologist, a teacher, or a bike mechanic... or an artisan cheese maker or microbrew master.

Everyone: You must be making more money in New Zealand.
Kristen: Not even close.

Everyone: So the cost of living must be lower then.
Scott: Not even close.
Kristen: We're not going to make money. Money comes and goes. We're going for the experience.

Everyone: You're moving to Christchurch? Did you know there was an earthquake there?
Kristen & Scott: Yeah, we're aware. We were in New Zealand in February 2010 when the earthquake happened. We were lucky to see Christchurch prior to the quake, but we saw it afterwards as well. The city center is still rebuilding, and is still a mess. But contrary to popular belief, there is still a thriving heart to the city. The shops, restaurants, and bars that were downtown and were destroyed have moved and rebuilt in nearby suburbs and are doing great. These nearby suburbs have also become desirable places to live, and are the neighborhoods we plan on exploring for our own future home.

Katie: Are you really going to live in a van?
Scott: No. We're going to get a sweet van with a bed in the back to travel around in and see this beautiful country. But we will have a great 2 bedroom place for all of you to visit.

Image Via

Del: New Zealanders drink Steinlager. Californians drink hoppy organic microbrews. I hear you have been brewing your own beer, do you plan on introducing this to your fellow Kiwis?
Scott: I hope so. We have only experimented with 2 homebrews, but they were successful enough for our tastebuds, and we hope to share that hoppy goodness with our new friends. Hopefully they're open to new beers!

Everyone: How long do you plan to stay?
Kristen: Our plan right now is to stay for 2.5 years. This move was 14 months in the planning, so we have to give it a good run. And just like our move right now, we can't imagine going from one hemisphere's winter to the other, so we'll stay two and a half years to ensure we move back from summer to summer. There is, of course, a chance we'll stay longer!

Del: I've heard there's all kind of poisonous animals there. Are you going to live in bubble wrap?
Kristen: It's a common misconception that there's poisonous plants, snakes, jellyfish, spiders, and other treacherous animals in New Zealand, but those actually all reside in our neighboring continent, Australia. New Zealand has barely (if any) poisonous creatures, and actually has no snakes at all.

Katie: But New Zealand and Australia are so close...
Scott: They're not. They're actually 1,200 miles apart, which is as far apart as California and Missouri. They actually formed in completely different ways: Australia broke off from the mega-continent of Pangea, bringing with it all of the animals and plants from the area from which it came. New Zealand, on the other hand was formed where it currently resides, from subduction of Earth's plates and volcanoes, thus creating land masses without nasty spiders and deadly stinging nettle trees.

Pangea... for those of you who care (anyone?)
Image Via

Everyone: So that's like a 22 hour flight right? I'm never coming to visit.
Kristen: If anyone spent as long researching their next vacation as I do (Scott can't stand looking at all 50 hotels on Trip Advisor for wherever we're going and I can't understand why).... they know that the flight from San Francisco to Auckland is only 12.5 hours. And all the personal movies you can watch and booze you can drink are included in the price... so it's kind of a cramped mini-vacation.

Scott: Can we go to bed yet? I've had several tasty beers, I've been working non-stop on all of this, I'm falling asleep, and I have bikes to ride tomorrow!!
Kristen: I thought we were packing tomorrow and planning our finances.
Katie: Zzzzzzzzzzzz......

8

I've become a free internet aficionado. I've had tea at several different places in town now. Need to handle finances? Go have tea to use free wi-fi. Need to email someone in NZ? More tea. I've had so much tea I may never enjoy it again, but I finally found a place on the couch at Scott's former place of employment, with good wi-fi and no fluid intake requirements. My bladder is thankful.

Anyways, we're wrapping things up in Chico today. A handful of errands, and we'll be off. It's a beautiful day in town today. There were crazy wind and rain storms all weekend. The creek flooded the parks and nearby neighborhoods, and there's some trees down and some power out. But today seems to be the calm after the storm (or between?), because the sun is out and is mildly warm. There's barely a breeze. The air is SO clear, it finally feels safe to breathe in (the local farmers burn crops during the fall in Chico, and although I enjoy their crops, they destroy our air quality for months). Even though it's a nice day, it also feels like a nice day to say goodbye. Or at least, goodbye for now.

For those of you that don't know, Chico is a pretty cool town. Theres a mid-sized state university, as well as a decent art scene, great food and wine, one of the nation's largest city parks, and some of California's friendliest people. I grew up in the bay area, and I didn't know that people this nice existed (outside of Minnesota) until I moved here. They have the time to help you with directions, they smile and look you in the eye when they say "thank you". It's all in the little things, but after being here for nearly a decade, I notice these little things and try to incorporate them into who I am.

People in Chico bike to work. They go to farmer's market, at least twice a week. They support small business, and there's more Runs for This and Walks for That than anywhere I've ever seen. The sense of community here is huge, and I love it. Of course Chico has it's downsides, like any town. It's a college town, so there's alcohol abuse and cool-old-mansion-turned-frathouse abuse. There's crime and way too many transients (probably my biggest complaint). But it is beautiful, and it's become home. And I truly feel that Chico has shaped who I have become. I suppose all I'm getting at, is that I'll miss it.

Bidwell Park (and creek, about 15 feet lower than currently...)

Don't get me wrong though. I am super excited. Everything feels surreal right now, and between my cushy vagabond princess life (living out of huge suitcases, still having 2 cars, having my own shower...) and the fact that I haven't had the normalcy of going to work or making dinner, etc... I just feel like I haven't actually gotten to soak in the reality of our move. But I have a feeling that over the next 8 days, that will become much more real.

Can't wait!

10

I'm sitting at the Naked Lounge in Chico, blogging on my new laptop, using free wi-fi. For some probably all of you, this really isn't that exciting. But it is for me. I've never gone to a public place to write, blog, etc. My husband and I used to study here when we were in college, but that's because our roommates were so loud/drunk/messy that we couldn't find a decent place at home. But for the last 4 years, I haven't really had a reason to leave home to do stuff like this. I'm a huge nerd, but I'm totally loving it.

So on that note, we're homeless!! We're living a cushy vagabond life- currently staying at Scott's co-worker/friend's house. We have a little studio apartment to ourselves, and being that his buddy's name is Larry, we call it "Larry's Place", which my dad said sounds like a dive bar. 

(Side note: just tried to upload a picture of Larry's Place, apparently the free wi-fi I was so excited about is cheap, slow wi-fi. I guess you get what you pay for. It's probably Comcast... Which for us today, means no pictures!) 

Anyhow, we were at our house until 11pm cleaning floors and walls last night. It wasn't so bad with streaming music (I miss expensive, functioning wi-fi) and Indian food to keep us fueled. A crazy, torrential downpour made the cleaning more interesting as well- I would clean the floor, Scott would walk across it to pack stuff in the car, I would wipe up the mud, he would forget something and traipse back through. And repeat.

But enough about the cleaning. It's done! 

We also had a hiccup yesterday that took another year or so off my life: our insurance company called us to tell us that we were being dropped. They graciously and efficiently handled our insurance claims after our car was broken into 3 weeks ago, and I've been singing their praises ever since. I've told anyone who would listen to switch to ***** **** (I wont publicly slander, but I'll let you fill in the blanks) because I was so pleased with their service. And then yesterday, my agent called us to tell us that due to our claims (ie: having to use the insurance company for their integral purpose) we would not be able to continue our contract with them. 

I had a heart attack, a quick power cry, and then got on the phone with a family friend, who hooked us up with an agent in Toronto of all places, who was friendly, understanding, and got us a cheaper rate than we had with those previous criminals.

I was planning on some really inspiring post about after the rain, comes the rainbow. Whatever your trouble, it all will come together, and it will all be alright. The universe has our backs, as long as we keep our chins up and our hearts open. Yesterday afternoon there was a phenomenal full rainbow across the sky after the storm. It was so fitting, and I had a great moment of clarity. 

I would share the photo I took with you... but alas... the free wi-fi. 

Lastly, and most importantly: Our visas came today! While I was on the phone with my folks, no less, the doorbell rang and the month of fretting and grey hairs in the making came to an end. We. Can. Go. 

10 days.

11

11 days until we leave.

So much to pack, so little time. Thankful for my parent's help, and the semi-cooperation of the weather (Ie: it looks like the mega storm is coming, but it's not here yet).

But one bit of fantastic news: I got an email yesterday. Our visas have cleared. They are in the mail. They should arrive in the Bay Area not long after we do.

Huzzah!

12

My parents came today. I had a (very) small work get together at my favorite pizza place. I was hoping to introduce Farm Star to more of my collogues, but the torrential storm weather kept a few at home.

Speaking of home, mine's a disaster, but nearing emptiness. We have a ridiculous amount of things that we're going to try to bring on the airplane, so I'm truly no sure how it's all going to work. I blame the shipping company- if they came today like they were supposed to, we could have been a bit more organized, and there would have been 2 or 3 more boxes of stuff on the boat. (Box of stuff on boat: free. Box of stuff on airplane: $120.) Oh well! It's an adventure!

On a side note, I was also totally irresponsible today and took 2 hours out of the afternoon to get my hair done pre-NZ. I'm brunette again!

Couch relocation 

Starting to look more empty.... still looking like a lot of work ahead!

Tomorrow we will be out!

14

14 days until we get aboard our plane to Christchurch.

The shipping company called yesterday and basically said, "You remember that 72 hour window, Wed-Fri? We can't do that. We'll see you tomorrow at 1pm."

Needless to say, my last two days of work turned into one day. We fueled up on wine and pizza, and nearly pulled an all-nighter last night.

It's now almost 3pm Tuesday.

Look at my car for comparison! So tiny!

This monstrosity just took away all of our belongings, save for 2 suitcases, 2 carry-ons, and 2 bikes.

The moving guy also bought our recliner off of us. 40 bucks!

Scott is selling my car as I write.

Due to the surprise schedule change, these little buggers are staying until tomorrow:

Scramble and Hop, sprinting for treats. I'll miss them!!!

I'm mostly feeling fantastic, and fantastically exhausted.

Is it wrong to open another bottle of wine?

Quick Progress Report

We're in a sort of survival-packing mode. There's no food in the house except Scott's birthday cake, some pickles, and some condiments. Good friends have made us food, offered to have us over for dinner. Anyone who's come by immediately states their concern for our wellbeing...

Oddly, I feel like a photo of my living room looks cleaner than what I'm looking at right now. The stack of boxes on the right (boxes for the cargo ship) has tripled, but somehow the rest of the clutter hasn't diminished. This week, we'll ship all of our cargo to New Zealand, I'll have my last 2 days at work and work party, we clean and move out of our house, and this weekend we'll have our Chico going away party.

Backing up for a minute though, and the thing about the shipping company: they gave us a 3 day window regarding the pick up date. 72 hours. We're supposed to have ALL of our belongings (save the most important things coming on the plane) ready for pick up in a 3 day window. It's a little absurd. It's like, hurry up and wait! We might have to be ready Wednesday morning, we might have to be ready Friday evening. WHO KNOWS!

They'll actually call us 24 hours prior to pick-up, but still. By tomorrow afternoon we have to have all things ship related packed- which actually means we need to have all things plane-related packed. Why? Well, airplane baggage allowances went down in the last year (ie: you only get one free checked bag on international fights) and extra baggage fees went UP. For us to bring 4 extra bags (our original plan) would cost $700! Are you kidding me? So now we need to know exactly how much will fit on the plane, so then, how much to ship. Make sense?

Accomplishments:
Sold the 350 Z!!! (Well, as of tomorrow morning)
Replaced our things that got stolen
Painted walls
Packed a ton

And tomorrow, the chickens move out!

Who, me?

One Week

We bought our house in August 2009. We had only been in the market to buy a house for about 4 days. On day 3, we walked through a house listed at $300K (we were in a recession then, but $300K will buy you a mansion in Chico now) and Scott and I still laugh about that house. The floors were so uneven one could consider them ramps between rooms. Among ancient looking family heirlooms and dust bunnies, we saw discarded oxygen tanks and cannulas, which honestly just made me feel sad that some elderly folks had to sell their home. A heavy heart isn't exactly what you want to feel when you buy a house. 

Anyhow, the rooms were small, painted dark colors as I recall, and had an odd pattern of all connecting within each other. Like a small maze-house, great for hide-and-seek. As we braved the walk through a treacherous kitchen and out the back door, we faced a jungle. Kind of a cool jungle, but a jungle none-the-less. Gardens grew within old furniture and antique car parts, and small paths braided their way around the back yard with no rhyme or reason. It was several times the size of the house, and had a similar disorganization. There was an awesome greenhouse (where Scott saw multi-bike storage potential), but the dense foliage between the house/gate/greenhouse would have prevented any bike entrance. Conclusion? At least $20K in renovations and months in clean-up, for a house that was about 4 blocks out of the neighborhood we wanted.

And then our realtor called us, not 24 hour hours later, bubbling with excitement about a house that would be put on the market in 2 days. Tomorrow, he told us, was the day all the realtors could come view it to make their listings, but he had already peeked inside and wanted us to see it ASAP. 

We were wary, after the previous day's adventure, wondering if we were up to buying a home. But it was in our price range, smack dab in the middle of our desired neighborhood, and it had a fireplace. We agreed to check it out, and with realtors glaring, we walked in and saw this:

Large, uncluttered living room. No paint needed! No velvet curtains to remove!

No visible lean! 

We walked through all 5 rooms of the house, circled the yard, and ended up out front. We promised our realtor we'd put a bid in the following day. The asking price was below what we had agreed on for our budget of $300K, so I wanted to offer the asking price for the house. I didn't want to lose this turnkey charmer due to a couple thousand dollar squabble. But my father-in-law, who is far wiser than I, talked us though the process of putting in offers and counter-offers, and with his complete guidance assistance, I was able to get over the anxiety of offering less, and we were able to secure the house for $15K below asking price.

4 weeks later, we came home:

I had always wanted a green house with white trim. I don't know if this stemmed from a subconscious desire to be Anne of Green Gables (although I suppose her gables were green, and her house white) or if I truly have a sensible home decorator side that is buried in there somewhere. Regardless, I was so proud when we got our home painted, the lanterns out front replaced, potted plants properly placed, and a beautiful adirondack chair on the porch. 

The last checkbox on my dyslexic Anne of Green Gables homeowner dream wish list was a Christmas tree. I impatiently waited two months, and then a few weeks before Thanksgiving started mercilessly pestering Scott about when we could get a Christmas tree. Lucky for him, Christmas trees aren't actually available until Black Friday (today, incidentally), so I had to practice that patience thing. If you'll recall, I've had struggles with patience.

Anyhow, I finally got my Christmas tree (and a small fortune worth of lights and ornaments), and I finally had a window to place it in front of so all the world could see that I had created the most fabulous of all trees (under 7 feet tall), and that my house was the cheeriest of them all!

Half the reason I buy gifts for other people is so I can enjoy looking at them under the tree

I have enjoyed nearly 3.5 wonderful years in this house. We've had 3 Christmases, including huge holiday dinners. We've had 3 insane Halloween parties. There's been several great cocktail hours, and several hangover inducing nights with friends. We've had perfect date nights at home, in front of the fire place, snuggled up drinking wine. We've enjoyed our 5 chickens, Scramble, Omelet and Quiche (RIP), June and Hop. They're absolutely hilarious, and if any of you think chickens are just stupid birds that can't fly, well you're kind of right. But they're so fun to watch, funny to pester, and eggs from your own back yard really are the best (and make you feel just a tad superior to all other egg eaters.)

We move out one week from today.

I love it here so much, it's such a reflection of who we are (big bike storage, great party house, no room for kiddos, ha!) but I'm calm because I know that even though we'll be on the other side of the world, this little house, this little piece of Chico, is ours. Scott tells me we have great renters, and he is a fantastic judge of character. Our neighbors and friends will keep an eye on the place. We have a great property manager. We can't take it with us, but it's in great hands.

So off to pack more boxes I go. Theres one week left, and so much to do. Those of you that know me, know I'm overly nostalgic, so you can be sure that packing this place up is a wine-assisted process. We'll be extremely hard-pressed to find a spot this nice in NZ (although not hard-pressed to find a spot like this with single-pane windows and imaginary insulation). We don't have plans for chickens at this time, and houses with fireplaces are are rare commodity reserved for rich folks. 

But I do promise here and now, there will be a Christmas tree.