En Zed lately.

So I'm officially into a routine. Or about as routine as its going to get when you're living in a house mixed with randoms and working retail. Last weekend was my weekend off and therefore I spent Saturday doing all sorts of things that rule. Tyson and I spent the morning together cooking and mixing up some cookie dough to freeze for cookies at our disposal. Then he headed out into the world of work and I had an agenda-free afternoon and evening. I decided to take a walk into town and visit the beach I see people en route to all day long from the windows of my store. Their towels tucked under their arms and plastic bags full of beer as little puckles of them walk past the shop in droves. Puckles. puckle: This is a word my mother uses to describe a small grouping of things. It is only in the last six months or so of my life that I have learned this is a made up word. There, now its out and into the world. Maybe it'll catch on.

Here is my store. Its right on the corner and as it wraps around the other side of the building, all of the windows face out to the lake and the mountains.


And here are the heaps of people enjoying the sunshine.



I sunned myself for a while. Walked around. Read my book for a few hours. Had a beer at a small cafe. And then went on an hour long run. Not a bad Saturday!

Tyson's sister and her hubby arrived on Sunday and its been great showing them around. They are off checking out Milford Sound at the moment and we are eagerly awaiting their full report. I definitely want ot make it there at some point during this experience.


Ok, off to the shop!

Chronicles of the shop #002.

The other day I was ringing an American woman at the counter. Queenstown is loaded with tourists and most of the time they are European so when she opened her mouth and an American accent came out, I couldn't help but ask, "Where are you from?"

"Oh I'm from the states?"

"Yes." I realize that..."Where are you from in the states?"

"Oh, right smack dab in the middle of the country, at the top."

"Which state?" And does she not realize I'm American?

"Minnesota."

Finally I let out a squeal that I too was from Minnesota. Well, she nearly fell over. Couldn't possibly believe she was running into another Minnesotan. The world is so small! It is. It really is.

The more we got to chatting I learned she is actually from Wilmar, MN. I decided to play the lovely game of Do You Know? and asked her if she happened to know the Boylan family as I'd gone to college with their son and he's an old friend of mine. Yes, she knew of them. A connection. At a counter in a small shop in New Zealand. Funny how things like that happen.

Chronicles of the shop #001.

Today I helped a pair of the dearest sisters. Definitely both well within their seventh decade, they arrived put together and finished with a glaze of bright red lipstick. I didn't know they were sisters right off the bat. They were chattering and chuckling. And when I asked if they needed any help, Juliene piped up that she'd "very much like a hat just as the one her sister is wearing." "She bought it at Country Road several years ago." These were English gals and they were sweet as pie. Eventually, when they were both trying on the hats, I offered up to Juliene how fun it must be to have a sister. Her response, "Yeees. They're quite useful." Useful. What an interesting and yet adorable response. I explained that not everyone has such splendid relationships with their sisters to which her response was, "Well, these things come and go. We have not always been this way. But eventually, we get to a place where we realize that friends and family are more important than so many things we needn't worry about." Just then her darling sister appeared wearing a white cardigan she'd just plucked from the shelf and tried on. Contemplation. I told her she looked smashing. She explained that she needed to look smart and not stodgy for bowling. Lawn bowling that is.

Adorable.

anywhere.

Tyson is working. I settled in for a evening of white wine, corn on the cob, and if you can believe it -Project Runway. I don't even have cable at home in Seattle to watch this show. I feel like I could be anywhere right now. Odd how that feels sometimes.

Cheers.

Heaps new.

So we moved yesterday. I worked at the shop from 11-7pm, and when I walked out the door Tyson called my name from the window of a car I did not recognize. Sure enough our new roommate, Dave, was lovely enough to help us move and zip us around in his set of wheels. A Subaru, for which they pronounce SooBAHroo here.

Here is a view from the 12'x6' window in our living room and the scene of which I'm looking at now as I type. Our new neighborhood, Fernhill, is just outside the town center and about a 20 minutes walk. As we climbed the hill en route to our new house, I couldn't help but feel a pang of dejavu from my daily walk home up Capitol Hill in Seattle. Having the town so tangible I already felt a sense of independence and excitement for this next stage in our experience here. We have two roommates - Dave and Neil - both of which are absolutely lovely and warm.

We settled in and unpacked. I absolutely loath packing and unpacking and its been nice to have twice unpacked, each only requiring maybe twenty minutes of my time. Somewhat inspiring me to clean out my home in Seattle this summer.

Then we headed into town - on foot! - for some dinner and a celebratory drink. No joke, the entire walk down the hill is magnificent. The view! Mountains and Lake Wakatipu in sight each step of the way. Hard even to put into words the spectacular scenery of this place.


Today neither Tyson or I had to work and therefore we marked it as the day we would finally stock up on groceries. A bus connects our new home and the largest grocery store in the area. Worth the $10 fare for the much wider selection and lower prices than the grocery store in town. As we paced the isles I battled with whether or not to stock up on items like flour and vanilla having only two months left here. But after living with Caitlin and her amazing cookies, we bit the bullet. Two months or ten months, we're making cookies here in En Zed. And you forget what its like to start from scratch, having to buy everything from olive oil, salt, pepper to sugar and baking powder. Here is our bounty riding around on the bus packed away in two backpacks, a box and of course, a 12-pack of Speights Beer.

We even put down some roots and planted an herb garden. I guess the more times we make decisions like these, the more it feels like home here and not just a small step before we get to the next stage. Slows things down, maybe.

We are in week four and it really has been a turning point. We're both working, we've got a stocked pantry and we're settled in to a new home. Feels really good.

Haps.

Yesterday. Saturday. A pretty "cruisy" day on the all around. Every day is pretty cruisy around these parts. For the most part I enjoy this. However, I do have moments of panic when the Project Manager in me feels like I should be accomplishing something. Checking it off the list I suppose. You see, I have made maybe one list since arrival. Making a list no less than 4 times a day is not unusual for me back home. Aside from starting my job, I don't really have things to do per say. I don't have house projects or errands to run for the most part. I don't have a social life aside from things Caitlin and Loren plan and subsequently invite us. The craziest part of this new life of no agenda is that I haven't had a cell phone since arrival. Yes, I have borrowed Tyson's phone on occasion and I definitely use Skype, but the daily text exchanges and voicemail retrieval is non-existent. Its odd going from literally 1500 minutes/month plus maniacal texting to literally zero communication via telephone. I thought I would want to kill myself and yet, I hardly had a mourning period. Why is that? How is that even possible? I'm not really sure. I am looking forward to the structure my job is going to bring me. And, AND! -Tyson now has a job also! We will both be bringing home the bacon. And I think this will be a welcome change for our relationship which has been pretty much he and I hanging out non-stop and not a lot of time for just little ole me. Andrea Time = important. We'll be meeting some new people and share the stories of our days in the evenings. On another note, we are moving tomorrow also which I think will do wonders for me. Independence. New people. Getting to town will be tangible. Another experience. This New Zealand thing strikes me as quite odd sometimes. How it all unfolded and how its still unfolding.

At any rate, getting back to Saturday. Caits, Tyson and I decided that the old fashioned run was not going to be our workout of choice. Instead we opted for a swift pace along the Moonlight Track. Alas, our workout was as good as gold. Later that evening one of Caitlin's girlfriends was celebrating a birthday and we tagged along. Fun to be out on the town and meeting people.






I will say that though I'm enjoying myself quite a lot and meeting some great people, I'm still struggling a little bit. I'm struggling to find my place here and to feel comfy just yet. And I'm struggling to find what I want to get out of this experience. I know its all part of the process and I think its why I'm able to cruise along keeping anxiety to a minimum. Week Four will prove to be pivotol I think. As mentioned, we are moving and we will both be working. Looking forward to another week here and all that New Zealand has to offer.

Schooled.

I've gotta say, I'm lovin some of the terms these Kiwi's use for things. Give me a couple more months and I may just take some of these phrases home with me!

Chilly Bin = A cooler. Like a cooler full of beer, except, its a chilly bin full of beer.
Mate = Friend.
Heaps = A lot.
Wee = A little.
Spot On = Well, I think this can be used for many things. For instance, it could be used to say something is either correct, or really great. Aww, that's spot on!
Jandals = Flip flops.
Good on ya = Expression of approval, friendly approval of somebody's actions.
Sweet as = Great.
Gutted = Used like, "I was gutted." Meaning, I was sad.
Flick = Used like, "Ay, just flick me a text." or "Flick me an email later."
Hire = Rent. "Hire a car for the weekend."
Zed = common pronounciation for the letter Z. So anytime you hear a web address ending in .nz, people say, "yadda, yadda, yadda dot en zed." Really messed me up for a while.

A handful of foods are also called something different.
Courgette = Zucchini
Capsicum = Bell Pepper
Rocket = Arugula

In any case, there are heaps more terms I could report, but I only have a wee bit of time at the moment. Off to start my new job at Country Road today!