Neuseelandtagebuch
In which we are exposed to some rather bizarre Christmas traditions, use the break to work on the house and go on a trip across the bay. I'm getting a dangerous present.
We spend a lovely week on a tropical island and we get engaged! Then we come back and see a couple shows. Did I mention we get engaged?
Where the election aftermath drags on, we remember the pioneers of labour laws, and I get sentimental.
After years of abstinence we cave in and buy a TV (even though the program sucks) so we can watch movies on a bigger screen. The country votes, I get a drivers license for the 3rd time in my life, and then there's the seal colony.
Where we go to wine country, which is lovely, and to Auckland, which is mostly big. We shlep wood and the government's trying to get expat Kiwis to come back home.
I'm not really writing this in July but in October which is probably why this is a short entry. It's the one to read though if you want to find out what's going on with the New Zealand flag.
We move into our new house and immediately plan to have a wood burner put in so we won't freeze to death in the coming months. "The Rugby" is in full swing and campaigning for the upcoming general election begins in earnest. TradeMe is in, eBay is out.
A big month where we not only become New Zealand residents but also buy our first house. It must be six months since we got here because the car already needs its twice-yearly check-up. ANZAC Day reminds us why we moved here and not to Australia, while the first storms of winter could almost make us question that decision.
Fires and earthquakes don't faze us as we go house hunting. Wellingtonians love their city but not the new bypass.
No more dilly-dallying as we both begin work. We go on a hike in the city, and I tell you about the tricky national holiday that is Waitangi Day.