This is what my room looks like. My queen size bed is so super comfy...
This is where I am sitting right now writing this blog...
I got a temp job in an office for 2 1/2 weeks doing data entry and although I was grateful to be making money, the work itself was doing my head in. I literally did 4 tasks over and over again for 8 hours a day. If I thought about it too much it made me want to throw myself out the window (which is probably why they didn't open). The wages in NZ are a little more than half of what they were in OZ so even though I was so unhappy, I was contemplating staying on if my contract got extended because it was a higher paying job than anything in hospitality. Luckily the decision was made for me and the contract wasn't extended. I was quite relieved. I'm sure it won't be long until I find something new.
A few days after I got here it was Guy Fawkes Night. Here is Lindsay and I on the beach waiting for the fireworks to start. I met Lindsay in Melbourne at Cirque Du Soleil. She is from Regina. I was used to 30 degree weather on the island so 15 degrees was a bit of a shocker to me, as you can see...
This is Ivan. He is from China. We hang out with him a lot...
This is Brian from Seattle. We hang out with him a lot as well...
and this is Annette from Germany. We weren't sure whether we were supposed to be supporting the fact that Guy Fawkes didn't succeed in taking down the parliament or the fact that he tried so we just kept yelling "Yay Guy Fawkes". For some reason it was hilarious to us at the time...
This is the waterfront in Welly. It's very pretty but Wellington is so windy that it's often hard to go and sit by the water and enjoy.
There was one day however that was hot enough to go to the beach, although you have to be very careful with the sun in NZ because there is absolutely no ozone layer to protect you because of this. It's easy to get burnt in about 10 minutes, even when it doesn't feel that hot. Lindsay wasn't taking any chances...
We played a game of Scrabble which Lindsay won by 1 point. So annoying!
Do's/Don'ts:
Do: Ride a unicycle around the city...
Don't: Build a water fountain in the middle of Cuba Street (very busy street with lots of cafes, bars and shops) that splashes water about 3 feet around the borders of the fountain so you get wet if you walk by...take it down to fix it...and then put it back up just to find out it splashes water about 4 feet over the edge now...
Don't: Build a water fountain in the middle of Cuba Street (very busy street with lots of cafes, bars and shops) that splashes water about 3 feet around the borders of the fountain so you get wet if you walk by...take it down to fix it...and then put it back up just to find out it splashes water about 4 feet over the edge now...
Do: Go to Southern Cross Bar where they have giant Jenga competitions...
as well as giant Connect 4 and regular size Scrabble that you can play while you're drinking beer with your mates. They also have hot water bottles and blankets that they will lend you if you're sitting out back on the patio and it's cold out (why don't we have this in Canada?) They often also have free really good bands playing including a Brazilian band that I went to see where there were at least 10 people on stage with instruments. So good!
Don't: I know Movember is for a good cause and everything but man am I glad it's over. Now I can see what the men in Welly really look like. (Pic taken at a Couchsurfing party that we attended)...
as well as giant Connect 4 and regular size Scrabble that you can play while you're drinking beer with your mates. They also have hot water bottles and blankets that they will lend you if you're sitting out back on the patio and it's cold out (why don't we have this in Canada?) They often also have free really good bands playing including a Brazilian band that I went to see where there were at least 10 people on stage with instruments. So good!
Don't: I know Movember is for a good cause and everything but man am I glad it's over. Now I can see what the men in Welly really look like. (Pic taken at a Couchsurfing party that we attended)...
I also went to see the Yayoi Kusama exhibit at the Wellington City Art Gallery after Nathan highly recommended that I go and I'm really glad I did. It was different then anything I've seen before. If you ever get the chance, you should see her stuff. She's a very interesting lady...to say the least.
Just a regular Sunday afternoon for Lindsay and I. Most likely hungover and enjoying Bloody Mary's (they don't have Caesar's here) on a patio (although it's not usually nice enough to sit on the patio!).
One Sunday Brian drove us to a beach about an hour outside of Wellington. I'm pretty sure it was Waikanae Beach. It was cloudy most of the day but warm enough to sit on the beach and play a game of Scrabble and have some snacks.
On Wednesday nights there is a quiz night at The Kiwi Pub. We somehow managed to win 1st prize one night (not on account of my help at all...I suck at trivia...however I gladly took part in the winnings:). I think it was mainly due to our multi-national team mates who were made up of a Canadian, a German, an American, an English dude and a few Kiwi's. We got a $50 bar tab and since they have $10 super jugs there (about the same size as a pitcher in Canada), it resulted in a bit of a rough Thursday considering it was a school night...
Here we are on one of our many nights out. This was at The Establishment which I try to make a point not to frequent often. It's such a typical backpacker pick up joint.
Ivan's big nerdy head is hiding my pretty one...
Aren't we a good looking bunch?
This was when we decided to leave the boys at home (or wherever they went that night) and have a girls night...
Because Welly is so small and there is never a cover charge to get in anywhere, we tend to get to no less then at least 4 bars each time we go out. If we're not feeling the vibe somewhere, we just go somewhere else.
Linds and I at a Couchsurfing party we went to last weekend...
Lindsay's birthday present to one of her mates that she met while she was living at the hostel when she first came to Welly...
No hands!
Nice!
We also went to the Santa Clause Parade. Which is always still so strange since it's not cold out...
I'm not sure what The Ghost Busters or...
Star Wars has to do with X-Mas!?
At least Santa Clause showed up. That made sense...
Speaking of Santa Clause...if anyone wants to send me a card or gigantic present (actually gigantic is not such a good idea since I need to be able to fit my life in a backpack), or money or a plane ticket home for April from Bangkok I will be at this address until the end of January:
153 Ghuznee Street
Just a regular Sunday afternoon for Lindsay and I. Most likely hungover and enjoying Bloody Mary's (they don't have Caesar's here) on a patio (although it's not usually nice enough to sit on the patio!).
One Sunday Brian drove us to a beach about an hour outside of Wellington. I'm pretty sure it was Waikanae Beach. It was cloudy most of the day but warm enough to sit on the beach and play a game of Scrabble and have some snacks.
On Wednesday nights there is a quiz night at The Kiwi Pub. We somehow managed to win 1st prize one night (not on account of my help at all...I suck at trivia...however I gladly took part in the winnings:). I think it was mainly due to our multi-national team mates who were made up of a Canadian, a German, an American, an English dude and a few Kiwi's. We got a $50 bar tab and since they have $10 super jugs there (about the same size as a pitcher in Canada), it resulted in a bit of a rough Thursday considering it was a school night...
Here we are on one of our many nights out. This was at The Establishment which I try to make a point not to frequent often. It's such a typical backpacker pick up joint.
Ivan's big nerdy head is hiding my pretty one...
Aren't we a good looking bunch?
This was when we decided to leave the boys at home (or wherever they went that night) and have a girls night...
Because Welly is so small and there is never a cover charge to get in anywhere, we tend to get to no less then at least 4 bars each time we go out. If we're not feeling the vibe somewhere, we just go somewhere else.
Linds and I at a Couchsurfing party we went to last weekend...
Lindsay's birthday present to one of her mates that she met while she was living at the hostel when she first came to Welly...
No hands!
Nice!
We also went to the Santa Clause Parade. Which is always still so strange since it's not cold out...
I'm not sure what The Ghost Busters or...
Star Wars has to do with X-Mas!?
At least Santa Clause showed up. That made sense...
Speaking of Santa Clause...if anyone wants to send me a card or gigantic present (actually gigantic is not such a good idea since I need to be able to fit my life in a backpack), or money or a plane ticket home for April from Bangkok I will be at this address until the end of January:153 Ghuznee Street
Te Aro, Wellington, 6011
New Zealand
I'm actually looking forward to X-Mas this year (can't believe this is my 2nd x-mas away!). My flat mates are all Kiwi's and will be with their families so my house will be backpacker central. Nerys, Brady and Chaz (who is from Welly) are coming around Dec. 15th for a few weeks as well as Nathan who is coming for a few days on Dec. 27th and my friend Hendrik (who I met while on the Island) at some point around the same time as well. Should be good times.
Side note: One of the things I love about NZ is their history and how much it differs in terms of how the Aborigines who first settled here were treated compared to the violent history that Australia and North America have. In 2006 the population of New Zealanders was 429,429, Europeans 2,609,592 and the Maori population was 565,329. From what I know (which is not much at all) Captain Cook was not interested in conquering New Zealand and so a Treaty was signed between the Europeans and the Maori chiefs. I realize it hasn't all been roses and there are many different versions of what actually happened and how the treaty has/has not been executed, but just the fact that the Maori population is so much bigger here than the Native population in Canada and that Maori songs/language and traditions were learned in most schools by everyone is a huge step up from Canada's violent history.
Merry Christmas everyone. Hope Santa is good to you all!
Candy canes and turkey and over eating and chocolate and fancy parties where co-workers get too drunk and do embarassing things to you all. Hope it's not too cold. Brrrrrr. (I'm going to be SO annoying my first Winter back in Canada, complaining every second about the cold. I apologize in advance).
I'm actually looking forward to X-Mas this year (can't believe this is my 2nd x-mas away!). My flat mates are all Kiwi's and will be with their families so my house will be backpacker central. Nerys, Brady and Chaz (who is from Welly) are coming around Dec. 15th for a few weeks as well as Nathan who is coming for a few days on Dec. 27th and my friend Hendrik (who I met while on the Island) at some point around the same time as well. Should be good times.
Side note: One of the things I love about NZ is their history and how much it differs in terms of how the Aborigines who first settled here were treated compared to the violent history that Australia and North America have. In 2006 the population of New Zealanders was 429,429, Europeans 2,609,592 and the Maori population was 565,329. From what I know (which is not much at all) Captain Cook was not interested in conquering New Zealand and so a Treaty was signed between the Europeans and the Maori chiefs. I realize it hasn't all been roses and there are many different versions of what actually happened and how the treaty has/has not been executed, but just the fact that the Maori population is so much bigger here than the Native population in Canada and that Maori songs/language and traditions were learned in most schools by everyone is a huge step up from Canada's violent history.
Merry Christmas everyone. Hope Santa is good to you all!
Candy canes and turkey and over eating and chocolate and fancy parties where co-workers get too drunk and do embarassing things to you all. Hope it's not too cold. Brrrrrr. (I'm going to be SO annoying my first Winter back in Canada, complaining every second about the cold. I apologize in advance).
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2 comments:
Brrrrrr.
I'll miss you at Christmas. We should go on a beach holiday for Christmas next year, so you won't have to complain about the weather.
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