June 2009
19 posts
The cold continues
It’s going to be a long winter. I mentioned before how most houses here are built to a horrible standard, without insulation and all, right? Well, it’s not just the houses.
I’m sitting here in my office, in an office building in Napier center, it’s 2:00 pm, and I still have my coat and scarf on. The little oil column radiator has been churning away since 8:30 this...
What's old is new
Remember Odd Todd??? Ha ha ha. That was like, 7 years ago! And now everyone’s getting laid off again. Sweet.
American expats! Uncle Sam wants to know...
… have you set up a bank account in your new country?
Most Americans living overseas should know that the US requires all citizens to file a yearly income tax return, regardless of the country they’re living in. Well, that deadline (April 15, the same as for… patriates, is that a word?) is long past, and I’m glad to tell you I successfully accomplished filing that return...
Watch6 months ago today we arrived in New Zealand. We’ve had ups and downs, and our thoughts go round and round. This is where we are. For now.
reality check
inteawetrust:
Coming here, I’ve always known there would be a time and place when someone I knew from back home would get very sick, or hurt themselves or worse, and I’d have to deal with it from very far away. I was warned to consider this pretty seriously by other expats, and did, and decided to just handle it when it needed to be handled.
Living in another country is very much a little...
cold continued
I mentioned the lack of insulation and central heating, right? Did I mention the fact that the all of the windows are singled-paned (called single glazed here)? Combined with the lack of central heating to dry the air out , this causes quite a condensation problem. There’s all sorts of physics involved, but the end result is me, toweling off the windows every morning to try to avoid a...
Wild horses problem in New Zealand →
Who knew? All mammals (besides bats) were introduced here. I find it strange that such large animals would be released and find a niche here.
Kinda like the wild camel problem in Australia.
Why I moved to New Zealand
Peace
cold cold cold
You may think, “Surely New Zealand winter can’t be worse than New England winter.” But only 1 day into the official winter season here, I can tell you that it is worse. Worse to live through, because though it doesn’t get as cold here outside as it does in Boston, it gets way colder inside. In the States in winter, most people set their thermostats to what? 60° F at the...
May 2009
2 posts
God Defend New Zealand
Recording made for the...
long live the queen
Today is a holiday. It’s called Queens Birthday. Apparently, the Queen of New Zealand is the same as the Queen of England. We get a day off work today for her birthday, though the actual current Queen’s birthday is really in April.
According to New Zealand’s Ministry for Culture and Heritage, New Zealand has two national anthems of equal standing, one of them being “God...
