Friday, February 26, 2010
Chores and Kiwi Life
So I called the toy store a couple times and I still have not been successful in reaching the guy who called me. I don't know what is happening with that, but I am kind of thinking it won't work out.
Anyway, Alison and I met up after her work yesterday, and we went to get groceries. Shopping is a horrible chore for us, because the store is on the other side of town. We go and buy multiple things that, of course, weigh a ton. Then we try to stuff them in our bags which are already partially full. We buy a couple of plastic bags (5 cents each) that have to carry heavy things and we become worried the items will break through the plastic. Then we venture out of the store and hobble to the shuttle as the shuttle is already at the stop.
Well, the shuttle was completely full, but the driver told us we could go on. So we did. I was RIGHT next to the driver and tried to put the stuff on the floor and secure them with my feet and hold on to the pole for dear life. Then we have to pick up the stuff and walk the remainder or the way home (which is still pretty far). We put our stuff away and massage our poor muscles and fingers!
I am really tired. I have not been sleeping well for the past week. I don't know what is going on, but I am really sleep deprived. Just felt like mentioning that. Anyway, I was walking around the Gardens today and a guy said hello to me and asked where I was from. He was about to ask if I was from Holland. I thought that was just wonderful. Hee hee.
A couple weeks ago, a guy told Alison and I that it is interesting that we took off and decided to live hear for a year. He said he didn't think people from the United States typically did that. He told us it was more like the Kiwi way of doing things. We took that as a major compliment.
Well, there is really not much more to say. I will be putting up more pictures soon.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Possibilites
Well, it has been a couple days since I have posted, and I have a kind of a lot to update on. So a while ago, I emailed the preschool owner again to ask if there was any way that I could be hired as an unqualified teacher, or what could I do to be qualified or even unqualified, or if she had any advice, since nothing was coming up for me. I hadn't heard back from her, so that was that.
I got a few more rejection letters, but nothing new. I went to the Botanical Gardens again and looked for the rose garden. I found a really nice and shady bench that was in a secluded area and sat down. The bench had writing on it that said, " Our Secret Place." I thought that was cute. But then I got attacked by several mosquitoes, so I moved to another bench. It was sooooo hot! My flatmate told me it was somewhere in the 30's. I almost laughed out loud.
I also received two care packages. Kevin, Michelle, and Karsie sent me a package with all kinds of great stuff like M&Ms, a bunch of pictures of Karsie (which I immediately attached to the wall), a fun booklet of pictures, hand sanitizer, punching balloons (which will be used quite soon)...all kinds of great stuff. I also got a package from my mom with all kinds of food items, recipes, mints, tortillas, pistachios...my family really knows me well! Thank you guys so much! It really meant a lot! I even got a card from Karsie. What penmanship for a 7 month old! Quite amazing!
So that brought my days up a lot. Plus, I got a call (although I didn't hear it, but I heard the message) from a toy store saying they wanted to interview me. Actually when I heard it, I was on a busy street and I couldn't understand what was being said. I had to go to my room, and look up where I had applied to. I didn't want to call him and ask, "So where are you, what was the job for, can you give me the address?" That would be a little embarrassing. So with a little research, I got it all figured out and called back, but it was after hours.
I also got a call from the preschool owner telling me she could offer me some work. It would not be full time, but there may be a chance to get more work later. So I was kind of excited. I called the toy store back, but the guy was not in, so I left another message. Kind of getting irritated with that. So now I have a choice, possibly, between two places. I think I know which way I want to go, but I want to wait a bit and see what happens. It is just nice I am getting some calls!
Also, yesterday, Alison and I just took a day out. We went to Sumner and to the beach. Yes it took us all this time to have a day to ourselves and even go to the beach. We sat out for a while, and I decided to brave the beach. It was kind of unique. There are not just one or two really big waves, but about 12 or 13 little waves going all the time. There are quite a few layers of just waves. Plus, when you go in, you could be standing in the same spot for a long time and at times it will be higher than your waist and other times to your ankles. It is really difficult to predict. I went all the way in, but didn't swim. It is kind of hard to swim in the kind of water. It was very cold too.
Then we went and got an ice cream cone and started heading back. Then we decided to go to the Gondolas, which we actually got a year pass. So we will probably go there every once in a while. It also includes going on the tram in town. Kind of fun. We were exhausted by the end of the day, but it was a really good day. The only thing that was weird is that we were both up at 3:00 am and for some reason could not go to sleep. Don't know what was happening there.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
The Unknown Path and a Perfect Garden
Finally kind of back up to date. Sorry about the multiple day posts. I hate being behind, but many times, I don't think there is a whole lot to say.
Today was interesting. I woke up in a really foul mood. I tried not to show it, but I was feeling the lonely and depressed and jobless type feel. It didn't help that Alison was going to work from 12-9. Well, we got dressed and got ready to go to Church. It was a new Church that didn't have a building of their own. They are currently meeting in the Town Hall. It was a contemporary church and quite small. Don't know the denomination. As we walked in, they gave us visiter cards with free chocolate! As soon as we sat down, two people came and talked with us. Eventually they left and the church started. It started at 10, but the pastor spoke for an hour, so at 11:50, Alison had to leave to get to work on time. I went with her, since the service was almost done anyway. We were just singing the ending song.
We had planned to get a crepe, but it was too late, so she went to work. I got a crepe though. Cinnamon. Quite tastey. Anyway, I went back to the room and changed and made a salad. Then I went to the library to check out a couple books, but only one of several I wanted was available. Then I walked to the Botanical Gardens.
I have realized the Botanical Gardens are my safe place. A place I can come to at any time and be at peace. Feel closer to God. Be in his creation and just listen to the nature. I love sitting down and seeing the magnificent flowers, hear the wind, hear the millions of insects that sound like high and low clicking sounds...almost as if you were in the desert. It gives me time to stop and think about things. What am I missing? What should I be doing?
I have been here a lot recently, and today I kind of just stopped and paid attention to the people. I decided to look around and not be focused on what I need to do, and where I need to go, but pay attention to my surroundings. There were hundreds of people around. I wanted to look at people and say hi.
Then I discovered something. I found that less than a quarter of the people I would look at even bothered to glance my way. Of those people who looked at me, less than a quarter of them bothered to smile or say hi back. Most just ignored me and looked away quickly. So many people here are just like the people in the United States. Granted, many of these people are just visiting New Zealand, but it still made me feel insignificant. Unimportant enough to acknowledge. People are just occupied. Businesslike. Unavailable.
It got me to thinking about me. I have been that way too, especially more recently. So occupied and self absorbed with this whole job thing. Just get from point A to point B and don't pay attention, because I have things to do, places to go...I don't notice people and they don't notice me. It is sad that people feel that others are a bother, not worth their time. They shouldn't be bothered. I now some people are so focused and can't hear, but that is a problem too. We need people and relationships. We can't build relationships this way. If we want to follow and be closer to God, we need to build relationships with people. I am going to stive to do this. I want to continue to smile and say hi to people. Recieving this "friendliness" has always put me in a better mood, so I need to allow others to have this opportunity by doing it myself.
I wanted to go to the central rose garden, the hydrangea garden and the area that has my favorite flowers, but there was some kind of concert going on, so I decided to find this other rose garden that I haven't seen. So I started heading in the direction of this garden and found a path I hadn't taken before. So I decided to take it. As I started on the path, I saw a very hidden path that almost didn't look like a path. I started to pass it thinking I would try it another time, but it seemed mysterious, and it intruigued me. I just had a desire to take it and see where it would lead me. So I turned around and started on this path that had bushes and other things growing over it to hide it. I had to push leaves and brush back to get through it and it was challenging at times, but it somehow just made me smile at the kind of challenge it brought me. It led me to a parkish area that was open. So I really didn't know which direction to go.
I turned slightly and headed in one direction where there was no path in sight. There were no paths anywhere here. I decided to go to the rose garden and just headed in the general direction I thought it would be in. As I continued to walk, something caught my eye. Some kind of bush. I decided to explore it, so I decided to take a side trip and then go back on my way. As I approached the bush, it became hydrangeas. Then those became other flowers. Then I realized there were roses and it became an entire garden. This was the rose garden I had been looking for, but if I hadn't taken that path, I probably would have overlooked it.
This rose garden was not as beautiful or picturesque as the central rose garden, but it was beautiful in its own way. Definately less visited. Overlooked. Perfect. It seemed to have more character in the variety of flowers and plants. I wanted to sit down in the garden, but there was no bench in the shade. So I headed out of the garden, looking for a place by the river. As I got further away, I looked back, and saw that at the edge of the garden, was a bench that was mostly covered in shade. How perfect was that? So I sat down and wrote and wrote. Played Sudoku, and read. It was crazy how much this journey and event spoke to me. Could this message be any more blanant?
Spending Time On My Own
I went to Pak-N-Save today (a local grocery and necessity store that is cheaper than the other stores in the city). It is quite a ways walk. They have a free shuttle that goes part way. I spent a lot of money on food as we didn't really have any and had to walk all this food (and plenty of toilet paper) all the way back to the room with the shuttle helping a little. My arms were quite sore by the time I came back. I also tried to hand in my CVs to the gift shops, but they were so full of tourists, I couldn't find anyone who wasn't extremely busy. I tried to give it to one shop, but she told me not to bother. Wow.
During the weekends, the cruise ships port and thousands of tourists flood the city. They obviously have to get a bus to take them here, since we are not by the coast. You can tell the cruise ship came in, when all of the tourist shops say 10% off on cruises. I went to the Gardens and sat for a while waiting for Alison to come home from work. At around 4:30, I started heading home, since Alison got off at work at 5:00. I beat her home so I did some job hunting. 5:30, 6:00, 6:30, 7:00, 7:30...Alison still didn't come home. I was getting worried, so I texted her at 7:45 to see if she had eaten and where she was. She texted me a little after 8:00 saying she was coming. She worked all that time...12 hours. She had already eaten, so I fixed dinner for myself. She said she was feeling like her workaholic self and it felt great. She also told me not to wait for her, because this might happen frequently.
A new flatmate came in so now we are a full flat. She is a Kiwi girl (I think), which was disappointing. I was hoping for another international person. Our singing flatmate was...singing...a lot...very loudly...with a tambourine! He wanted another flatmate to tape him and put it on YouTube. Apparently he had done that before and had several hits...I don't know if I would take that as a compliment considering why many people put things on YouTube and why they have so many hits...
Saturday Feb. 20, 2010
Two of our flatmates went out to a party last night and came back around 5 in the morning and were talking quite loudly. One never went to bed and stayed up all night. Wow. Well, today Alison worked from 10-5 and had a concert at 7:30 so basically I wouldn't see her at all. So I spent the day on my own.
Daisy and Alicia told me they would be on skype at a certain time, but I never saw them. When they were off, I got a message telling me they were on and they would try back later. I texted her telling her that I was on too, and that I would stay on. She actually texted me back saying she was on, although it never showed me she was. Really weird. I don't know what was going on, but I called and she was able to answer.
It was so cute! They bought a cake and had a candle on it and sang to me for my birthday. Then we talked for a while about...lots of stuff. It was so good to see them and just talk. Although it was difficult to hear them at times. For some reason the sound would go in and out frequently so I had to constantly turn my volume up and down. They told me they could tell when I couldn't hear them, because I had a blank look on my face.
I then made lunch and headed out. I passed by Alison's restaurant, and actually saw her, but she didn't see me. I then went to the Canterbury Museum to finish what we didn't see. I really like that museum.
I came back to the room and Alison came in a couple minutes later. She ate a little and I walked back into town with her. She went to the concert, and I decided to be a tourist. I took pictures of all the sights I could think of. Some are in daylight, and some at night. It was fun, but at night, only the clubs are open, so the drunk people come out and act crazy. So I started heading back. When I headed back, I looked at the stars. It is hard to see the stars, because there are so many city lights. I did see a few...they were Orion's belt, and other appendages. It was cool to see, since those are the stars I can easily identify in California. It made me smile.
When I went in the room, I was getting ready for a shower. One of my flatmates asked if I was hungry, because she had made Korean food for friends and she made too much. I said thank you, but I was fine and took my shower. After my shower, I realized I was really hungry and told her I changed my mind if she was still willing to give up some of her food. She jumped right up and started cooking this...thing. I don't know what it is called, but there is an egg and flower base, so it kind of looks like an omelet. Inside there is a cucumber type thing, and squash type thing or something, and a type of grass type thing. Really don't know how to describe it, but you dip it in a kind of spicy soy sauce. It was sooooo good. Alison came home and she made some for her too. We watched The Terminal while we ate. Mmmmmmmmmm.
Two Birth Days
I went to the library to print off CVs, but it started to rain so I headed back. Then a group of teenagers were walking in front of me and a huge cloud and smell of smoke followed them. I couldn't pass them, so I had to slow way down to avoid the smell (which actually makes me sick).
I got back and checked my email, and my friend Alicia skyped me. She told me she was engaged! Then while she was talking to me, she found out she got into UCLA for grad school. Way to go Alicia! She definitely was having an amazing weekend!
A little later, Alison came home and we thought about what to do. We wanted to go out to a nice place for dinner (called Valentino's), but it was raining. We waited a while and decided to brave the rain. It wasn't too bad, but when we got there, the inside was full. Outside had heaters and was somewhat protected by awnings. So we decided to sit there. We ordered our food (Carbonera! I'm not exactly sure how to spell that.) and had an amazing meal. We were too embarrassed to ask for a box (especially since some restaurants don't have them), so we ate every bit of it...plus dessert. We got Creme Brulee (amazing!) and the waitress actually brought out a candle for me to blow out. It was cute...and good! She asked if we had big plans for my birthday. There was an awkward silence until I told her this WAS our "big plans."
We were so full, we practically hunched over to walk home. My stomach hurt really bad that I couldn't even lie down straight to go to sleep. It was such a foreign feeling.
On Thursday, Feb 18th (Feb 17th and my true United States birthday) I was awakened by a phone call. It was a relief position for a school. The horrible thing was, there was no way I could have made it in time. I explained and told the principal, but I am afraid that is the last time I will hear from him. I was just so irritated at the luck. I can go on and on about the life of a sub and the disadvantages, but maybe that should be on a different blog. I have quite the number of stories there.
Anyway, we tried to sleep, but Alison then got a text on the phone about our plan. A minute later, I got a text. Then another minute I got another text saying the same thing. Alison got another text, but by that time we gave up and got up. We were obviously not going to get any more sleep. One of our flatmate was singing loudly and stamping his feet (as he does frequently...at 5:30 am). He even did it in the shower.
I looked online for jobs, and got a rejection letter from a bookstore telling me I was not going to get any further in the narrowing down of applicants. I did get an email from my mom, Alicia, Daisy...and Disneyland! saying happy birthday. It was so fun getting them. So then I decided to make pasta. As we were preparing lunch, a flatmate (with a car) tried to back up. He hit a couple things along the way (like the side of the house) and was struggling quite a bit to get out. It is a very narrow and long driveway. It was raining a lot, so we went into Starbucks and sat, played sudoku, read, wrote...After a while, I got antsy, so I went out to the Botanical Gardens. It was not raining at the moment. After a while, I went down the road to a place I had applied to. Best Western...as a cleaning lady. It is pretty close to our house, so it would be fine. Well, I figured out a way to get from there back to the house, but I miscalculated. It took me a while to figure out where I was and how to get back (trying to look through the bus routes). Basically it looked like streets went through, but they didn't, so I had to be creative. I did make my way back.
Then Alison and I decided to play card and invited our flatmates to play. Alison taught them to play Rummy. It was fun, but it was kind of...interesting...Anyway, we ended up staying up later than we meant to, but it was a good...bonding time?
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
An Unbirthday Birthday
Well, today is kind of my birthday, but then again not really. The date is my birthday, but I guess since I was born in the States, I guess it is not technically my birthday until tomorrow. I guess it is good considering I am 25 years old and feel like I am going no where fast.
Anyway, the days are kind of becoming the same in a way. Looking for jobs, applying to jobs, getting nothing back. There have been a couple vacancies in the primary schools, but they don't start until term 2 which is middle of March I think. I have also gotten off my high horse and just applied to anything I can do. Anything...library, bookstores, tutor, caregiver, cleaning lady...I am hoping to hear from someone soon, but haven't heard anything. I have been getting out there in the city giving my CV to just about anyone I can think of. We will see.
So back to the week, on Monday Alison was scheduled to work, but when she arrived, they said they were overstaffed. So she had to go home, with a side trip to pay our rent. We also decided to do one load of laundry and sneak to put the clothes in the drier. We feel like we are entitled to it since we barely use our lights and we never watch TV...unlike our other roommates. We didn't even finish the load, because we felt guilty using the drier. Anyway, I got to talk to Kevin, Michelle, and Karise on skype which was awesome. I also got to talk to my friend Daisy too. I was going to talk to Alicia, but we were not able to get on at the same time unfortunately. There is really nothing more to report on there.
On Tuesday, Alison had the day off. We looked for jobs and applied. Then we decided to make pasta. At that time a roommate came back and kind of snapped. He was just so frustrated at the house looking like a mess and went on a cleaning frenzy. He put all the dishes away, vacuumed the floor, mopped the floor, cleaning the trash items...things like that. We tried to stay out of his way, but had to fix our lunch. It looked amazing when he finished and we were glad that he wanted to have a clean house just like us. He just was a little more aggressive about it than us.
Well, then we went to get a couple things from the store. We needed a hamper and we found one for 99 cents. Well, we have discovered that at this store, prices are not reliable. Things are horribly marked and mismarked. It was so irritating when we stand in line, it rings up way more than it is supposed to, and we have to stand back in line to exchange it. So then we just found a free shuttle and waited for it. Of course the shuttle was way late, so we stood there for a while. when it did come, it was REALLY full and we had to stand. Well, at one of the stops, there was this older lady who was pushing a cart. Someone asked if I could help since I was right by the door. So I got the cart and tried to lift it off the bus to the side walk. IT WAS HEAVY!!! Well, I got it to the sidewalk and offered my hand to help her down. Well, the shuttle doors started closing so I continued to help her while making sure half of my body was on the bus. So my body was being squished as the doors closed, but I refused to move so the bus couldn't go without me. It did work and he eventually opened the doors again so I could get the rest of my body inside and continue on our way.
Then today happened. It was so sweet. I got up after Alison went to work. I noticed, through my mostly blind eyes, something on my nightstand. I couldn't tell what it was so reached for it. Alison gave me a really cute birthday card and my favorite cadbury eggs! She also gave me a map of an upside down world. I know only a couple people know this, but this map was actually my idea. Making the world upside down, but someone got to it first. Just a random and probably confusing fact for you, but oh well. Anyway, it just made my day to see it. When she comes back for work, we are going to a place for dinner and have good food. What a treat! I am probably going to be sending out more CVs the rest of the day.
Well, Happy Birthday to me. And and Very Merry Unbirthday to You!
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Valentine's Day and Trash Stories
Happy Valentine's Day! I know that this is not Valentine's Day for most of you, but it is for Alison and I.
Well, we have slowly been trying to reduce our trash. Apparently, when we put the trash out, the city wouldn't accept it. They picked up the plastic bag that fell out, but they slapped a sticker on the bin that said too full. Yeah...like that's going to make it less full. Now we have to wait another week for them to pick it up. It was irritating too, because our landlady texted Alison (and one more roommate) to tell us that the trash was unacceptable and that maybe we should contact the city for a bigger bin. It was irritating, because she was telling that to us, when we only had one small bag in there that belonged to us. Most of the trash was empty beer bottles and that kind of thing.
My trash story was nasty too. I went to dump our small bag which contained some papers, so I had to put it in the recycling bin. There are 3 bins. Recycling, regular trash, and organic (foodstuff). Well, I tried to stuff our trash in, then ventured to find the recycling. I openned the lid of one of the cans and about a million bugs flew out and started landing on me. It was the organic bin. So I quickly closed the lid, stuffed the recycling in the correct bin, then ran to the bathroom to wash my arms. It was so nasty. Well, we have been trying to reduce the trash by taking a couple bags when we go into the city and stuffing them in public trash cans.
So back to today, we got up and got ready for Church. We decided to go to the Baptist Church, and we really liked it. They tried to combine traditional with contemporary. I don't know that it worked, but I guess it was better for us, because it is our favorite Church so far.
So right now, our roommates are in the kitchen making rice with the pressure cooker. We encountered this yesterday. It is fine until suddenly it makes out loud and airy piercing sound that is very loud. It does this every few minutes and it scares us each time it sounds.
Of course the kitchen is back to being messy with all the dishes. The French couple will move out Tuesday and as far as I know, no one is taking the room. The one person we met who thought about taking it found another place.
We were going to go to another Church tonight, but as it is 7:00 now, we will not be able to make it. So we will probably go to another one on Sunday. Hopefully we can find a Church soon. Well, now it is the start of the week again. Hopefully something will come up for me in terms of work. Thanks for the prayers.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Catching Up
It has really been a hard couple of days. After the phone call, I had to do something to keep myself occupied. I looked through the bus routes, looked for jobs, but I got to the point where I just got fed up. I put my face down on my bed to keep Alison from seeing me cry. I hate crying, especially in front of people. Even my best friends haven't seen me cry, that I can remember...except my mom of course...and my brother. Anyway, Alison and I just decided to eat and go to bed.
The next day, I got up and just searched for jobs. I felt like the word UNQUALIFIED was continuously staring at me in the face for each advertisement. I am even unqualified to work in a restaurant. I know that my sound like I am just being stupid, but for those who know me well know my balance and coordination is...not up to par. I know I would be fired quite quickly. I can't even be a nanny, because I need a car. I was able to find a library assistant vacancy and applied to that. I went through hundreds of advertisements and finally found a website that allowed me to email every school in Christchurch (including all the suburbs) to ask about a teaching position or a relieving position. There were about 60 schools. It was exhausting.
Then I took a shower to wash the day away. The searching took a lot out of me. Plus I was so focused that I didn't eat anything that day. I tend to make eating a last priority when it comes to stress and having a lot to do. It is my focus mode. Anyway, for all the searching and being hunched around the computer all day, my elbow joint really started hurting. So I wrapped it tight. Eventually Alison came back and we went to eat dinner.
On Friday, I hadn't gotten any emails from the places I applied to, so I got the list of schools and the emails, and emailed all of them. Apparently the website I went to did not work, so I emailed them through my account. After I was done, I checked my email and I got a response back from the library assistant job (saying thank you and if I make it they would be in touch with me). I also got an email saying they didn't need me. I got another email saying to be a relief teacher, I need to contact an agency. Apparently to be a relief teacher, you have to go through an agency and they will get you into the schools you want to relieve (good thing I wasn't told about this before, huh?) You would think my adviser would be very clear on this so I would know. I got still another email saying there was a vacancy and I could complete an application, which I did immediately.
I then went to go down to a school in person to deliver my CV. They obviously didn't need me there. They tried to be nice enough, but they tried a little too hard I think. Then I went to a Christian bookstore to apply there.
Then I called my mom. I can pay $2 for 1 hour, so I called to be able to speak to her, which really helped a lot. Plus, I got to talk to my friend Daisy on skype, which helped me too. I really have been blessed with many family and friends who go out of there way to show they care. Thanks again.
Well, when Alison came home, she told me our landlady and electrician had texted her about our outlet not working. It actually started working a couple days ago (for who knows what reason), so she told our landlady it was fine. She later texted the electrician that we didn't need him. Then he texted when he should come over and what her work schedule would be next week so that he could come in. She told him that she didn't know yet and to contact our landlady. Then he asked if we could put the key outside somewhere for him to pick up. At that point she texted our landlady to say she didn't know what to do. So the landlady said that was weird and to tell him that she (the landlady) would be there in the morning and to contact her (the landlady). Alison did so, and he still texted saying to tell our landlady that he would be there, because he left all of the contact information of our landlady at work. Wow! What an ordeal. And that only cost Alison $.20 a text! Not something she should have had to deal with.
Well yesterday (Saturday 2-13-10), was a work day. We had a lot of shopping to do...Well, that didn't start until way later. We got up and had breakfast and decided to wash the nasty dishes that have been piling up. Basically, the whole kitchen is nasty. The floor is dirty, there is a whole bunch of dishes, the counter was disgusting, there were empty boxes...The trashcans are completely full. So Alison and I just started washing LOTS of dishes. then we started cleaning the counters, then we started organizing. One of our roommates came in and I guess felt guilty, so she started helping. Then two other roommates came in and I think they started feeling guilty too, because they started helping with vacuuming, sorting, cleaning the empty or old food stuff that belong to people before us...Well, it took a long time, but it started looking way better.
Then we started the laundry. The washer was doing weird stuff and it was difficult to figure out. You have to make sure the wash is on cold (which we did, but when another roommate pushed the button, for some reason it worked). Anyway, that took us a while too. Then...we went shopping. We needed hangers, food, and other stuff. It took us the rest of the day.
Then we got our clothes. Apparently we cannot use the drier (often) so we have to put our clothes on the line outside. We didn't want to leave our clothes out there all night, and we didn't want to leave our nice things out there either, because it would be sun bleached. Plus, there were spider webs and cobwebs all over the lines. So....we had to bring them in our room. Clothes were all over our floor. It looked ridiculous. Plus it was difficult to move around when we go from one end to the other. Good thing we have lots of floor space.
When we got ready for bed, we made sure the door was securely closed. Except once. Alison left for a second and left the door open. Well of course that is when one of our roommates came to use the bathroom which is right across our room. When I heard the footsteps, I tried to quickly close the door. I don't know if he saw the ridiculous sight, but it made us laugh so hard we cried. Here is a picture of the ridiculous flo
or. Good times.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
The Bottom Dropped Out
I just feel so let down. How is it this always seems to happen? Well, tomorrow will be a busy day trying to get everything together. I emailed my advisor to see if she would continue to help me.
I just don't know. I just don't know.
Up to Date...For Now
Wednesday 2-10-10
Well, I have finally caught up. Sorry you have been getting multiple days in one day, but I knew I had to catch up. I had to do all of this before I start working and have less time to do it. Well, today, I have slept in and have actually not been doing much.
I have figured out how to work the stove and microwave, and I have been writing. It is difficult for Alison and I to do cooking. For one thing, neither one of us has really cooked a lot. Hear and there maybe, but nothing really. Well, one of our flatmates is actually in school to become a professional chef. Kind of intimidating. We just feel embarrassed that he is cooking his gourmet meals, and we make spaghetti with already made sauce.
Well, I was writing, when I hear a knock on our door. I was the only one in the flat, so I answered hesitantly. There was a guy who was fixing the water pump or something and wanted to know where it was. Of course I have absolutely no idea, so I showed him in and he called the landlady. I guess she told him or something. Then he asked me something else. I told him, “I just moved in here, so I really don’t know where anything is.” How embarrassing. I am getting embarrassed a lot lately.
Moving Back to the Unknown
Tuesday 2-9-10
I got up late, because I felt really tired. I tried to charge my computer, and it wouldn’t work. So I tried to charge Alison’s computer. Didn’t work. I wasn’t sure what to do, so I brought my laptop and carried it with me to the preschool so that afterwards, I could go to the library and charge it.
It took just over an hour to walk to the preschool. I got there, but no one was in sight. I can’t go in, because I need a code. So I waited until someone noticed I was waiting at the door. The owner noticed me and talked to me for a while. She said she would call my referees (references) and contact NZQA to make sure there was government funding for me.
Then the site director talked to me about what the daily schedule was like, among other things. So the preschool owner came in and said it would take 48 hours to know if they got government funding. Now I am getting a little worried that they won’t get the funding. What then? Do I not get to work for them? As I was there, I liked it more and more. I think I would enjoy working there and I really like the people. I guess I will just have to be patient. I just hate this unknown. Although you would think I would be getting used to it. Not me.
So then I walked back to the city and mailed my postcards. The lady gave me stamps to lick. I hate licking stamps. They are disgusting and I think you get 6 calories just by licking them. I tried to avoid it, but there was a big line behind me, so I just licked. Yuck!
Then I went through the Cathedral Square. A man was playing the recorder (the recorder looked like it had a goiter). It sounded pretty. There is always someone playing there: a recorder, violin, guitar, drums…
I went to the library. I actually was sitting across from a small man. I thought he was just short, until he stood up and I realized he was a dwarf. It kind of surprised me, but I have actually seen him around before. Then I tried to plug my computer. It wouldn’t charge. Then I looked at the converter and tried to charge my computer without my charger. I know it was risky, but it did work. So I found out the fuse in my charger blew up, and that was why nothing was working.
I also got another email from the science museum. They talked about what I would be doing, but I realized it was a volunteer based job. Well, if I am not getting paid, I really don’t want to be committed to it. At least not now.
Home Sweet Home and Hokey Pokey
Monday 2-8-10
So we got up, made toast, crammed our food (and a free bag of noodles from the hotel) and started to go to our new home. It took a while to get there. We just dropped everything and Alison left (after showing me what to do with the wireless). Our power was off, so nothing worked. I got my computer and went to the library.
My mom actually called me on skype so I instant messaged her for a while. We had little problems here and there like getting cut off or not seeing each other. Then my computer really cut off and would not allow me to go online anymore. I was in the library and it told me that I reached the maximum download. I didn’t download anything unless skype is considered downloading.
I got a call from the preschool owner’s husband and he said he would let her know she could call me when she was available. Then I tried Chinese noodles. I was afraid to try it, since I am allergic to MSG, but I did not have a reaction. They didn’t taste that great, but it was food.
Then I came home. The power was on, so I tried to figure out the wireless. I could not do it for the life of me. So I just gave up. My flatmmates were watching the Superbowel, which was really funny to see. There was a rock band/heavy metal/screaming boy type band across the street that was practicing. It sounds awful and annoying.
Alison and I had no motivation at all for unpacking, but we did it. Unpacking is like the worst thing in the world (aside from packing). We sorted everything in some kind of order. Then we, with the help of a flatmate, go our wireless working. Then we decided to check out the nearby stores. While Alison went to get something, I decided to figure out the power surge. So I got the power surge, put in the adapter, put on the converter, put on the other adapter, then plugged in the power surge. Looked ridiculous. Then I turned the power on. There was a loud pop, a bright blue spark, and a horrible smell. Ooops! So, I waited a second, pulled everything out, and left the room. The flat has a funny smell anyway, so I hoped no one would notice.
So Alison and I went to the store to buy a few things and got food. We decided to watch While You Were Sleeping (a comfort movie), but realized we could not plug in our computers. Mine was dead and hers was just about dead. So we watched about 10 minutes of the movies, before it stopped.
Then we ate Hokey Pokey ice cream, supposedly a New Zealand favorite. It is vanilla ice cream with Hokey Pokey pieces in it. Hokey Pokey is like circular Heath bars with caramel surrounding it. It sometimes tastes like the Lucky Charms marshmallows. At first we weren’t sure about it. But we really like it.
Then I tried to charge my phone. Our outlet is dead, so we tried the one in the hall. That was dead too. So I charged it in the living room. After that was done, I tried to charge my laptop. It didn’t work for some reason.
The preschool owner texted me, but it was really late. She wants me to meet her at the preschool at 12:30 tomorrow to talk again. I have decided to do the term-by-term contract.
The Pentecostal Way
Sunday 2-7-10
So, Alison went to work and the other girl (roommate) checked-out. I got up and ate toast and juice. That juice has really tasted good to us. Then I ran to the bus exchange and went to see what platform I needed to go to. By the time I got there, I thought I missed it. Well, I actually came just in time. I got off at the right street, but I wasn’t exactly sure where the church was located on that street. I had to walk a little ways to find it. I found it and went in.
I took a seat and the pastor introduced himself to me. Then he went up to lead the songs. They had a computer for the words and music. The music was like choir singing. So it was kind of hard to follow, because there were solos and choir parts. Not the same as singing with a piano and worship leader.
Anyway, then they took the offering. There were 13 people total including myself, the pastor, and the district superintendent (who was actually speaking). After he spoke, I tried to figure out what to do. A guy came up, introduced, himself and invited me to lunch and asked if I would come again. I really didn’t want to answer him, so I kind of bypassed the questions. At this point, the District Super came back, because he said he forgot to take Communion. They take Communion the first Sunday of the month.
After Communion, EVERYONE came up to me. They actually formed a line. After talking to me, they congregated to the kitchen for lunch and tea. Then the District Super started talking to me. He asked if I was musical. I said I like to sing and could play a little piano, but wasn’t very good. He asked why I was here and I mentioned I was a teacher looking for a job. Then he started going off a bit when the pastor came in and asked me all these questions and they talked to each other. Apparently they have been wanting a teacher to come in to help their Church grow and they wanted someone to be their worship leader. It was kind of hard for me, because I really didn’t want to stay and I really was thinking, “This isn’t the right church.” It was too small and I don’t want to get THAT involved so soon. I would like to get involved, but I kind of want other things to start falling into place first before I start making those kinds of commitments. I felt like my statements were giving them false hopes and encouragements.
Well, they told me to come for lunch and tea. I said I had to go catch the bus, but they told me they would drive me back. I felt like I had no more excuses, so I accepted. They had Egg Sandwiches and cheerios (mini hot dog like things with a red casing). I started eating and then they gave me tea (EWWWW). I felt rude, since they served it to me. It was too hot, so I waited for it to cool off a lot first. Then I gulped it down as fast as I could. Then I got another egg sandwich to take out the flavor. It was nasty.
It was kind of funny being with them. I am not used to being the young and new foreigner. EVERYONE wants to know all the little things and differences about my country. I am not used to that kind of attention where everyone stares at you and hangs on to your every word. They had so many questions.
People started leaving and a lady offered me a ride home, but the pastor and Super decided to take me back to the hotel. This is one thing I have to say about Churches here. Small or big, everyone really tries to do what they can to help you. When they hear we don’t have jobs, they pray for us immediately. When they hear we don’t have homes, they try to think of options for us. All of them have given us their contact information. Everyone offers things to us. They truly care about us and want to make sure we are taken care of. I haven’t felt that way about Churches in a long time, which is sad. People really go above and beyond to help us feel welcome. It is sad that we feel uncomfortable at that kind of attention, when it should be the norm. People should feel accepted and wanted and taken care of. I have loved that about these Churches. We feel like we could contact anyone in the Church and they will do their best to help us out.
Anyway, we left and they drove me back to the city. The pastor gave me his number to call him if I would like to. Then Kevin called me on Skype and I answered and muted it. It was so fun to see Michelle and Kevin and Karsie. Of course Kevin was making me laugh a lot (as he always does) and I had to try and muffle the laugh sounds in the library. People kept looking at me funny.
My computer died, so I went to the room and then to the Botanical Garden. I was writing in my journal when I heard someone say “Hello.” I looked up and there were two guys looking at me. They gave me a flier for a Church. I took it thinking maybe it was a Church we might want to look into. Then they started talking to me and asked what I believed. I briefly explained telling them I was a Nazarene and that we believe we need to have a relationship with God. They asked if we had the guys grow out their hair like Sampson…I thought that was funny. So then I asked them what and where their Church was. They said they didn’t have a Church, but were meeting in houses. They said they were Pentecostal. Well, then our conversation turned to other things for a little bit…then they moved into speaking in tongues. Great!
Then the conversation began to be more frustrating. I know some of you are not Christians and may have no idea what I am or will be talking about. It you are interested, then send me an email I will explain these things to you.
Anyway, I told them that I don’t believe that we need to speak an unknown language to have a relationship with God and that speaking in tongues was not something I practice nor plan to practice. So they started going on about people who “believed as I do” but decided to try speaking in tongues and their ministry took off: healing people…
Then they started sharing versus they underlined, telling stories about the Bible…all of which I knew and could quote myself. They said that sometimes we don’t know what to pray and that if we start muttering, God will put the words in our mouth…the Holy Spirit will give us the language or something and we will be filled with the Holy Spirit…
It was so frustrating. I agreed with everything they said up to a point. I just don’t think we have to speak in tongues. They kept going on and on trying to convince me to speak in tongues. Then they would wait for me to say something. It is such a trivial thing to argue about, and they seemed to think it was vital. It is like they were afraid I would be a lost soul if I did not speak in tongues.
I tried to keep myself from laughing at times, because I just wanted to tell them, “Guys, I am fine. I understand your ministry, but my faith and my relationship with God are secure. Not speaking in tongues will not separate me from God. I am a Christian. Find someone who is not, but try not to scare them away.”
They eventually left after showing me their website. Then other people sat on my bench. We were watching the punters (the boat rides along the Avon River). I watched the ducks chasing each other. There was some kind of choir concert in the distance.
Then Alison texted me and I met her on the street. She was on her feet all day, but she seems to like it better and better. She told me that her boss and another guy at the restaurant saw us moving our luggage yesterday. They told her, “Well, your luggage wasn’t as bad, but your friend’s…” Made me feel wonderful having them all making fun of me. Apparently they thought we had all that luggage just for the weekend. We were just glad they didn’t see us with our first load.
Then we had dinner and searched for a Church for a 7:00 service. We found one. As we were walking, the buildings to our left had 333 address. To the right had 200 addresses. There was a huge gap between the right and the left. The address we were looking for was 332, so we had to walk further until the addresses to the left were up to 500 or something.
We found it and sat down. A girl came up to us and talked to us. She asked if we had been to only Pentecostal Churches….Great! Another one. I was afraid those guys would show up and say how wonderful it was to see me here. They didn’t fortunately.
Anyway, I only knew one song. Everyone would talk and pray at the same time. It was okay, but just seemed chaotic. The pastor came up and prophesied about a couple. Then a man spoke. This was his last Sunday. Alison and I have yet to go to a normal service where the pastor speaks himself! So this man got up and started praying. Then he started prophesying about a whole bunch of different people. He had a couple stand up and started prophesying and had them “Take a prophetic step.” As soon as this couple stood up, the pastor and a guy stood behind one person. Then the speaker lifted up his hand and pushed, kind of, on the guy’s stomach and then pushed back on his forehead and the guy started falling back. The guy behind him caught him. Then the speaker pushed back on the lady’s forehead and she fell all the way back (kind of supported by the pastor). She stayed laying on the ground for a while, and the speaker was still talking. It was unnerving. I was afraid he was going to do something to us.
Well, he finished and started yelling and screaming as he preached. He told us we needed to speak in tongues and he passed out a couple books about speaking in tongues, one about planting Churches “because if we want to follow God we have to plant Churches.”
It was just too chaotic for us. So when he was praying (I think at the end) we kind of ran out so we wouldn’t have to talk to anybody. I have had more preaching at me today than I would like.
Buses to Lyttelton and Sumner
Saturday 2-6-10
So there is a guy who smokes all the time near our room. Whenever I go to the room, he always seems to be around. I don’t know if he works here or what, but I am going to develop lung cancer or something from second hand smoking! I hate that smell.
I also found out the couple next to us are on their honeymoon. Not surprising. I kept hearing them kissing…fortunately nothing else!
My calluses are peeling, so my skin is driving me crazy. Alison and I walked to the bus exchange and took the bus to Lyttelton (a town about 20 minutes away). We only spent an hour going up and down streets. It was really small and not a whole lot to see. It was cute and had a harbor, but it was also cloudy.
We found a museum that was only open from 2:00-4:00, so we didn’t go. You could see the harbor, hills, and houses. There was a farmers market that we meandered through. Then we went on another bus to go to Sumner (another town). This was our first time using the bus, so I was nervous. It wasn’t bad though. If we use 2 buses during the day, the rest of the day is free. We used more than 2 buses, so we had a lot of free rides.
We took the bus all the way to the end, but realized we should have gotten off earlier if we wanted to go into town. So we walked back along the beach. It was a really pretty area. When we got into town, we were starving, so we ordered an Aloha Pizza (pineapple and ham). We split a large pizza between the two of us and ate the whole thing. The people next to us (4 people) ordered a large pizza and split it among the four of them. Kind of made us feel like pigs.
We then went back to Christchurch and finished packing. We decided to take the buses to our new place so we put our stuff somewhere. We went back and forth to the bus stop. It was not fun and we had a lot of luggage. We took two trips to the bus stop and took two separate ways to get there. The first trip wasn’t bad. We went to our seats and got to the house fairly quickly. The second trip was the obese bags trip. We waddled all through town to get to the bus stop. It was not easy. Then we had to climb the steps (the bus driver asked to make sure I didn’t want to go to the airport since this bus was not going there). Anyway, we got to the house, but the house has a rocky driveway up to the door. So I had to put the suitcase on my feet, and then hurl the suitcase to move it a couple feet. I had to continue repeating this until I got to the door. I dragged it then to our new room.
We then walked back partway and took a bus the rest of the way (making 7 bus rides in all). We then took showers and I wanted to blow dry my hair. Well, there was no blow drier in my bathroom, so I had to take my shower and then transfer to another bathroom to get the drier.
Considering the Options
Friday 2-5-10
So the girl above me spazzed out every few minutes. She would twitch once in a while and it was quite difficult trying to sleep.
We asked the hotel when we could leave with a full refund. They said Monday. So we will have a permanent home to ourselves in a few days! Now we just need to figure out how to get our luggage there. It is a lot cooler today. Alison got tickets to a musical when I meet the owner of the preschool later today. So we decided to go to the Canterbury Museum.
Side note: There are joggers, walkers, bikers, or people doing some kind of exercising all over the place here. There are many unicycles around. They are actually used as a mode of transportation, not entertainment.
So we went to the Museum. I loved it. It looks small, but is actually huge. There is an underwater center, Antarctic Center, a Maori area, clothing…just a whole bunch of stuff. I will probably go there several times. All through the museum, Alison and our landlady were texting each other. It is a loud signal, so Alison tried to muffle the sound. It didn’t work that well. We couldn’t see all of it, so we left early.
Then we came back to the hotel and attempted spaghetti again. So we turned on the gas and tried to light it. Alison went through 2 matches. So then I tried it. The gas was being turned up higher when it wouldn’t light. So by the time I lit it, it ignited and flames erupted everywhere. We both jumped back. It terrified me.
So we made the noodles while eating fruit. Then we heated the sauce, ate, and cleaned the dishes. Then we walked to our landlady’s house. We were ½ hour early, so we walked around, kind of getting lost, but not really. We sat in the shade for a little while, until we thought it was an appropriate time to go to her house. We got there and knocked on the door. We saw a blue car pull up. Her car was silver, so we thought maybe we were at the wrong house. That would be fun. Well, it was her car and she came to give us a copy of the lease and our keys.
Then we went to go to the back to deposited the money in her account (a bond that we would get back when we moved out, and first weeks rent). I took money out of the ATM and we stood in line. Alison wanted to pay by credit card, so we asked if we could do ½ cash, ½ credit card. The lady said it had to be in cash, so we went back out and Alison got the cash out.
We went back in and paid. Then we went to the dorm and the preschool owner called me. She picked me up and took me to her house. They have a really nice house. Her backyard has a creek running through it. They have a bridge to go to the other side, and there is a playground on the other side. It is so pretty.
So we had a long talk. She went through several options like looking at other preschools, relief work for preschools or Primary schools, Independent Contract, One Year Contract…She said the Site Director really liked me. It is kind of funny, because they both seem to really like me and think I will be a great addition, but they don’t really say what they themselves are thinking. They just tell me what the other person is thinking. Anyway, she told me that I could do a term-by-term independent contract meaning I would be with them through a term and if something comes up in a primary school, I could go to them in the next term. The primary schools go by terms (4 terms in one year). Most positions that will come up now will be for the following term. So this would seem like a good choice for me. There are risks though. They would still be looking for a person who would go for the year, but they said they don’t think it would really turn up and even if someone does, I would still get the relief work. They have told me that I have gone the further than any other person, because they have an idea of a person they would like to add to their team.
If I go on a one-year contract, I would be there for one year, they could help me be fully registered as a preschool teacher (which would take 2 years), and I would get holiday and vacation pay (where I would not get these advantages in a term by term contract). I would actually get paid a bit more per hour on an independent contract, which would probably cover the vacation and holidays I would get. So the money issue would be about the same in the end. I’m just not sure if I want to be committed to a one-year contract if something in a primary school does come up. I want to feel out the preschool and make sure I would like it first. Also, if I try to get fully registered, that would already be a 2-year commitment, and I want to make sure I really like the school, before I would commit to something like this.
She told me to have a “good think” about all this and let her know what I decide over the weekend. She told me to text her husband and her husband would let her know when to call me. All through our talk, we were outside, dinking juice. The sun was blaring in my face and blinding me.
So now I have a lot to sort through. I am really thinking the term by term would be best for me now, but I want to think about it for a little while. After our discussion, we went inside, and they cooked dinner. It was chicken with vegetables everywhere. They had pumpkin, beets, potatoes, peas, summer squash, and many other things. Most of it was absolutely wonderful. I was telling her and her family our typical dinners and meals. Her little girl said, “So is this better than peanut butter or subway?” It made me laugh. She also asked if I was from Canada. Apparently a student teacher she had was from Canada and she said I had an accent that sounded like hers. How funny.
After dinner, they made chocolate crepes with Golden (which was like a thick honey, syrupy substance), Cadbury chocolate shavings, and vanilla ice cream. It was quite tasty. Then she gave me an application to fill out and said she would try to figure out when I could start.
When I came back to the room, I showered. Alison came back and was thinking about how hungry she was. I told her all about the wonderful food I had. I felt kind of bad afterwards.
I found out that in New Zealand, the government funds private schools. They said that like 97% (or something) children go to preschool and nurseries. Kind of interesting. It is so high, so there is a demand for preschool teachers. She also said that preschool teachers are more highly respected. Many preschool teachers are asked to be primary teachers because of how the children turn out (or something like that). So that sounds pretty cool.
There have been many bangs like shotguns, right now. Tomorrow is a holiday, so I am assuming that is why it is so noisy. Our neighbors are being really noisy too. They are moving a bunch of stuff around and are using something that sounds like a staple gun. It is getting really annoying.
Unpredictable Gas
Thursday 2-4-10
Alison had work today, so I refused to get up until our roommate left. He left around 9:00, so then I had apple\orange juice. So their apple juice is a little different than ours. It is not clear but cloudy. It kind of tastes like you are drinking applesauce. I also had a piece of toast. Then I walked to the library and used the free 15 minutes on their own computers for the Internet. That way I didn’t have to drag my laptop around. I heard back from the science museum asking if I was interested in helping on Saturdays (like showing kids around and stuff. So I wrote back and said yes I was interested and could they send more information.
Also, yesterday, we actually emailed the pastor from the Presbyterian Church to see if he had any suggestions about housing or flats. We are desperate to get out of the hotel. We are tired of moving from place to place and would like to have somewhere to put all our stuff and make it feel more like a home. He did email us back and asked us questions.
Then I walked to my interview. I was 15 minutes early and they were kind of in a tizzy about that. I guess proper first impression is different here? I feel like everything I know about being proper or just being normal should just be thrown out the window. The site director was really friendly and told me the owner was REALLY impressed with my CV and that I took the time and effort to be registered in New Zealand (that process really was a lot of time and effort).
We talked for a long time as the owner was out on an errand. When the owner came in, we sat and talked a lot. I got asked a lot of questions about different things. I really liked them, but it was kind of hard to get a feel of the preschool itself. It was toward the end of the day, and it just seemed chaotic. Kids were everywhere and there didn’t seem to be any order, but then again, parents were coming in…They apologized at the time of day it was and everything. I really don’t know how I feel about it yet. I almost feel like, “Hey it’s a job. Who are you to turn anything that might come your way right now?”
They said they wanted to talk to each other first and they would get back to me later that today. So I left and went back to the hotel. Alison was in the front room wondering if she should call or text me as she just got off work. So it worked out perfectly.
So we discussed our days. She said today went a lot better, but it was still chaotic. Maybe that is just the New Zealand way and we will have to get used to it. Then we did laundry and ate avocados and just talked about everything. When I switched the clothes to the drier, I got a call from the preschool. The owner wanted to meet with me tonight, but we had actually just made plans to visit another flat, so I couldn’t do it. She asked if tomorrow would be okay. I agreed. She would call and pick me up.
As soon as the drier finished, we went to the flat. We almost passed the place. We met the landlady right in front of the house. We looked through all the vacant rooms and loved all of them. The landlady really seems to care about her tenants. There are 5 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, a kitchen, a living room. Every room is furnished with everything we would need. She actually had another house on a different street we looked at, but we decided this house suited us best. Wireless is included, an electric stove (hurray!). It just seemed perfect for us. So, we got it, signed a 6 month lease and told her we would like to move in as soon as possible, but we needed to talk to the hotel to make sure exactly when we could move in.
So…we decided to try to make spaghetti again. Alison got matches, so she lit a match and tried to light the burner. Nothing happened, so I turned up the gas. Still nothing. Then she moved to another burner and it lit up fast and scared the daylights out of both of us. The knob does not match the burner so I don’t know how Alison even decided to use that burner. We were amazed there were no injuries. So we waited for the water to boil. It took a long time. We kept debating how many noodles to put in. We compromised and I put them in. A guy in the kitchen was watching us…amused. Alison wanted to put more and more noodles in. I kept thinking she was putting too much and wanted her to put in less and less. I was wrong. We needed to have more noodles. It did satisfy us enough though.