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Back in Wellington

Had a really good time with Denise, Ross, Ellie, Jack, Ben and Maddie – the kids were all fun to hang out with, especially little Maddie, who’s a cheeky and irresistibly cute little monkey. I looked after her yesterday morning at the children’s playcentre while the boys played, and it reminded me of how much I enjoy taking care of kids – it’s been a while since I had the chance. If I can, I might try to find a babysitting gig or something here in Wellington.

I arrived back here late last night, totally exhausted, the bus being about 40 minutes late. Took a cab to the hostel because I simply couldn’t be bothered trying to figure out which bus would take me to where I needed to go. I was carrying a nice big box filled with cutlery and crockery for my new home, courtesy of Denise – now I’ll definitely have to take a taxi to get all my luggage moved on Monday after the international orientation at Victoria University (which I’ve taken to calling ‘Vic U’ in my head, although I have no idea whether that’s what people call it).

No special plans for this weekend, although I’ve met a German girl who’ll also be studying at Victoria, so we might do something together. I’ll definitely have to do laundry and I might even get around to reply to some of your emails… Please don’t yell at me if I don’t, though! *g*

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Back in New Plymouth

When I was in New Zealand for the first time in 2003, it was to do a fieldwork exercise for uni. I stayed with my friends Denise and Ross and their little daughter Ellie for six weeks in New Plymouth in the Taranaki Province, and it was really great.

Now I’m back with them – they’re now a family of six and I’m having a blast spending time with them all. I’ll be back in Wellington Friday night, again in the youth hostel, where I’ll have internet access again. Until then I hope all of you reading this are doing well! *hugs*

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Kia ora from Aotearoa!

Have made my way over LA and Auckland finally to Wellington, where I got picked up by another international student from Victoria University. She dropped me off at the YHA, where I’ll spend a couple of nights before (hopefully) taking a little trip to New Plymouth and visiting Denise, Ross and their family before coming back for the weekend.

Tomorrow I’m planning on dropping by the Vic International offices, to ask about the orientation next week. Other than that I’m pretty much dead on my feet – I think I’ll go lie down for a bit once my internet shuts down. I’d been kind of hoping to find a Starbucks with free wireless, but the walk I took while they got my room ready proved unsuccessful (although I found a place that serves very yummy waffles), so I’m currently paying for wireless access at the hostel. Which is fine, except that I really should be able to check my email regularly the next few days, until I get everything organized. Ah well, I’m sure it’ll work, one way or the other… *crosses fingers*

And yes, I’m rambling – my brain’s about to shut down. Have I mentioned that I loathe long-distance flights? So glad I won’t have to take any for a while…

Edit: Also, the time difference to Switzerlad is currently 12 hours – wow, I really could not have gone farther away, could I?

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Leaving San Jose

This afternoon I’m leaving California – Bronwyn and I just came home from lunch with Molly and her husband Jon, and Jon’s going to drive me to the airport in a little while (thank you!). This morning we went to the mall so I could buy a DVD, a journal and two pairs of tennis shoes – it was a lovely surprise that Bronwyn got the day off work, as we hadn’t really been able to spend much more than weekends and evenings together. I’ll miss her so much! *hearts*

The highlight of my time here was probably the Halloween party organized by Corli (one of Bronwyn’s friends) and held here in the apartment building. Everyone was dressed up, including myself (as a hobbit lad, including ears, foothair and a pipe, courtesy of no less than four people donating costume parts *g*), and I’ll be sure to post my photos soon, as we were all very pretty!

Other than that I’ve been to San Francisco (I seriously love that city!), and here in San Jose to the very interesting Egyptian museum (which has a very cool replica of a rock tomb as its main attraction), to The Tech (which has fun hands-on exhibits as well as an IMAX cinema) and, with Bronwyn, to the Winchester Mystery House, the weirdest house I’ve ever been to, with stairs that lead into ceilings, windows that lead nowhere and doors that lead into thin air… Also, Bronwyn’s flatmate Kathy took me to Santa Cruz on Halloween. It was already dark when we got there, but the whole town was out and about celebrating, so it was a lot of fun.

Overall I haven’t really done all that much, but I’ve met so many awesomely nice people: Molly, Jon and their son Zach, Kel, Corli, Ronnie, Glen, Avi, Mira (in San Francisco, which was great fun – such a lovely lady!), Kathy and her brother Kris (who took us to dinner in the Apple cafeteria, which made my Mac lovin’ heart happy) and several more. Thanks to all of you for making these two weeks special – most of all of course my darling Bronwyn! *hugs*

Now I’m quite nervous about going to New Zealand – I really dislike long distance flight, and I’m just hoping that things will go smoothly once I’m in Wellington. The people from Victoria University are supposed to pick me up and drop me off at the youth hostel, and I have to find out the whens, wheres and hows of moving into my residence hall and the orientation week for international students… Yes, definitely nervous, but I’ll be sure to check back with you guys when I’ve arrived!

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Quick update

Because some of you might be worried after hearing about the fires in California on the news: Here in San Jose there doesn’t seem to be any danger. We’re quite a bit higher north than Los Angeles, at the foot of the San Francisco bay. It’s summer-y (almost 30°C) but not extremely hot – apparently it was cool and raining until I arrived on Friday night.

Other than that we haven’t been doing all that much so far, because of my jetlag, headaches (I’ve had them pretty much every day, probably because of the weather, but Bronwyn had an actual migraine this weekend) and today a stomach bug of some kind. So we’re mostly just enjoying each other’s company and I love meeting some of my online friends and hanging out with them.

I’ve seen parts of San Jose (the 10th biggest city in the US, but it doesn’t feel that way) and will go explore Bronwyn’s neighbourhood on foot in a little while. We’re also planning trips to the beach in Santa Cruz and (of course!) to San Francisco, and I’m looking forward to meeting some more of my online friends face-to-face. Truth be told, after all the stress of preparing for New Zealand, I’m enjoying the pressure-free life very much…

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Arrived!

This has been a REALLY long day, seeing that I left home over 24 hours ago with my parents, but I’ve now reached my friend Bronwyn’s place in San Jose (near San Francisco). I’m exhausted but not really sleepy – gotta love jetlag… Also, my luggage didn’t make it here, probably because it took forever to clear customs in Los Angeles – there were only 40 minutes to spare before my connecting flight left. It should be delivered tomorrow. Or rather, today. *crosses fingers*

I’m very glad to be here and am looking forward to two weeks in beautiful California…

Btw, during the day the only connection to the world I had was via Twitter, which can be updated by text message. You’ll see round-up posts of my Twitter postings here once a day (if I make any, that is). But boy, that old tri-band mobile phone sure has its kinks – I can’t wait to get to New Zealand and use my pretty new one (bought in Singapore) again. /end randomness

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Almost gone…

Checked in my luggage (one big suitcase, one big backpack) at the train station today. This makes it all the more real, but, occasional anxiety attacks aside, it still feels not very different from my usual trips. Except that I’m not coming home this time – at least not to this home, as my parents are moving while I’m gone. Which adds a whole other level of strange to the experience.

But first I have to actually get there – I’ve now booked hostel accomodation for the week before university orientation and announced my intention to visit my friend Denise and her family in New Plymouth (where I spent six weeks in 2003 and fell in love with beautiful New Zealand). So now all I’m missing is final word on uni accomodation – let’s hope it comes soon, but first I’m looking forward to spending two weeks with my friend Bronwyn near San Jose, California!

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Bye bye… Evamaria’s “Leaving for New Zealand” mix

For my goodbye party last Saturday I made a special music mix, which I gave to my friends with personalized cover art. However, I also made a more general cover, using photos from my last visit to New Zealand. It’s all about getting ready for something new. I’d love to hear if you like it…

Right-click for full-size
Right-click image for full-size cover.

Continue reading “Bye bye… Evamaria’s “Leaving for New Zealand” mix”

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Officially open

With only two weeks left until I leave, I finally managed to get the site done and the blog archives working. I’m planning to use this as a way to let those interested know how I’m doing all the way down there in New Zealand, what school is like and anything else I might feel like sharing. That might be daily posts or not, I guess it’ll depend on whether I have anything to say. But do check back – and keep in touch!

And now I should get the suitcase and backpack from the basement and see how much stuff will actually fit into them…

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Off for a week in France

I’m accompanying Sibylle on a visit to her grandmother’s in Troyes. However, we’re also planning on taking a couple of trips to the Paris area, maybe Versailles and Giverny (where Claude Monet’s garden is). With all the traveling back and forth I’ve been doing between Basel and Bern in the past months, it doesn’t feel like such a big deal, but I’m looking forward to spending some quality time with Sibylle before The Big Trip… 🙂