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!

Road Trip.

After nearly two weeks in New Zealand, Tyson and I decided we'd better take a wee road trip and see some of this beautiful country before starting work. We rented a car, {Sunny} loaded it up with our tent and some food, and hit the road last Friday. Our only known destination was the southern coast and Curio Bay, a place known among things, for penguins! As Queenstown faded in the rear view, we drove along Lake Wakatipu and the mountains shot up clear into the clouds.

Soon after heading out, we realized how truly remote is this part of the world. With no CDs in tow, and no radio stations coming through on the dial, we were absolutely ecstatic our ipod and speaker set made its way into the backpack. Beautiful scenery brought to life by the sounds of a great song as it flies by


Little did we know a swirling display of varying landscapes existed around every corner.Lush, grassy hills peppered with endless sheep as far as the eye can see.



As the coast drew near, we traded blue bird skies for the familiar coastal grey of Seattle. Sunny pulled into Curio Bay campground and between the breathtaking coastline and the sleepy, green waters of Porpoise Bay, trying to decide on a site made our head spin. On the one hand, Porpoise Bay was shielded by the strong winds coming off the coast, and boasted the opportunity to see dolphins and nocturnal penguins. On the other hand, the peace of the endless sea. We settled on Curio Bay, this spot specifically.
.

And as we unloaded the car, this little fellow crossed the road in front of us.


With little knowledge of the area and no agenda, we woke on Saturday and decided to let the adventure continue. We hopped in Sunny and headed east along the coast, stopping anywhere that caught our eye. We hiked through the forest to the McLean waterfall. Um, really great. Next up, we hiked down to the beach and to the Cathedral Caves near Papatowai. Because the weather wasn't necessarily great, I wasn't expecting to be blown away, but the closer we got to the beach, the sunnier it got. And by the time we reached the sand it was full on sublime.





After that we were pretty happy. It wasn't as easy as we'd hoped to find a camping area and we ended up grabbing a spot in a off-the-beaten-path campground that wasn't anything special. I didn't mind considering we'd had such a great trip already. It was cold and rainy though, and I was ready to sit back and relax. We set up camp and then drove up to Nugget Point just in time to see two yellow-eyed penguins returning from sea to their nests. So cute!


Sunday, we drove back north through Balclutha, the fruitlands and Alexandra. As previously mentioned, the landscape was remarkably different throughout the weekend. Though New Zealand isn't the most culturally different country I've ever been to, it is one of the most spectacularly beautiful places I've seen.

Getting out.

Heading out of town this weekend to go camping on the southern coast. I simply cannot wait. From the moment we made the decision to go and the rental car was booked, I instantly felt more alive. More normal. Freedom! We have a car. Part of this experience is working and living, and part of it is obviously travel and seeing the country. I'm gonna go do that. Back next week!

On a side note, here's another excerpt from that fantastic book continued from the other day. I'm sure variations on this type of story have been told in a million ways, but I really grabbed onto it. And I didn't feel like typing so hopefully its actually legible. Hugs!

Fresh.

Maybe when I'm done having an adventure, I'll dress like this. Yes, please.

Happy Two Seven!

Yesterday was Tyson's 27th birthday, and what a day! Sunny and beautiful, we decided to indulge in a cheesy tourist activity called the Luge. Located at the top of one of the mountains in town, we could either take a gondola ride, or hike it. Hike! Views from the top were worth every pound of my heart as I feel SO out of shape.

The top boasted every activity you could imagine ranging from zip lines, bungee to parachuting and LUGE! Luge, meaning you sit in a tiny go-cart-type contraption and zoooom down a track of twists, turns and drops. So dorky and yet so fun.


Happy Birthday in NZ, and now Happy Birthday again on U.S. time, Ty!

This is next on my list to check off <<<<

I've been blown away by the clouds in Queenstown since arrival. Every day its like a new art piece.

Hire me, please.

Pounded the pavement yesterday. So odd after many years working "professionally" to simply walk around and ask, "Hello, do you happen to be hiring?" Humbling, really. The first few places I popped into were my first choices, one of which = Destination Organic, a natural foods store where I thought it would be fun to learn about food and cooking and possibly purchase all natural make-up and care products. Their answer, "Nope, we're not hiring (insert a teeny laugh). We're actually selling the store so you can buy and hire yourself if you'd like." Um, no thanks. Cut to me walking out of the store with my tail between my legs. By the time the fourth and fifth places told me they too were not hiring I let my standards drop, and started asking just about anyone. This method proved successful and by the end of the day I'd handed out eight resumes and generated some interest. Then there's the ever so enticing question of Do I want to do something "cool" in NZ, or just do something, and then use whatever means to do cool things thereafter? I think it may end up being the latter.

At any rate, I've since had one interview with a high-end clothing boutique of which I would NEVER buy anything inside, and have been offered the job. Twenty hours a week paying probably $18-$20/hour. I am interviewing with another clothing shop probably today or tomorrow and the draw on this particular place is that its near the lake, and views through the large windows inside yield mountains and water. Sigh, sounds relaxing to me after the stress of working in advertising for so many years.