This morning, we bid farewell to our roommate Riley. He, like Chris, is leaving the hostel to stay with friends for a bit (damn those English - it seems they have mates all over NZ!), while we're heading into our own room for the next few nights. Base has a buy three nights, get one free dealio on the go - so we thought it only fiscally responsible to take advantage (p'raps I should go into politics or something, considering my ability to spout BS like that?) : )
Around 10 a.m., we walk a minute or two to the end of the block and towards the offices of IEP (International Exchange Programs), which run the Work New Zealand Program that we're taking part in. We were supposed to go to an orientation session yesterday, but it was cancelled due to the holiday. The next session is tomorrow, but we thought we'd at least stop by to pick up our welcome kits, which includes information about living and working in NZ. As we near the building, a dude wearing a t-shirt and shorts walks by - but he has nothing on his feet. I've seen this a few times around here. I guess the Kiwis really are a laid back lot! When we get upstairs, we find out we're in luck - an orientation session just started a few minutes ago. The friendly girl at the front desk (an American named Katie) tells us to go on in. There's only one other person in the room - Ian from England - besides the guy giving the session, the friendly and immediately likeable Craig Jack - who is also not wearing any shoes. Craig reminds me of (and kind of looks like) a friend from back home - my old roommate's ex-boyfriend, who is also a very likeable/laid back dude. Craig tells us he's from Vancouver. His dad, however, is a Kiwi, so Craig has spent lots of time here. His accent is interesting - a combo of West Coast Canadian and Kiwi. Craig gives us heaps of info. about living and working here, and makes everything sound so effortless. He seems to finish off every sentence with one word - "simple." Jaya, who is also from England and is also here on a working holiday, joins us. Craig shares with us a funny little video made by an Australian to poke fun at the Kiwi language. The Kiwis, however (being the awesome, easy going people they are) saw the video, said "Yup, that's about right," and embraced it. Suck it Aussies! (I kid, I kid…)
Around 10 a.m., we walk a minute or two to the end of the block and towards the offices of IEP (International Exchange Programs), which run the Work New Zealand Program that we're taking part in. We were supposed to go to an orientation session yesterday, but it was cancelled due to the holiday. The next session is tomorrow, but we thought we'd at least stop by to pick up our welcome kits, which includes information about living and working in NZ. As we near the building, a dude wearing a t-shirt and shorts walks by - but he has nothing on his feet. I've seen this a few times around here. I guess the Kiwis really are a laid back lot! When we get upstairs, we find out we're in luck - an orientation session just started a few minutes ago. The friendly girl at the front desk (an American named Katie) tells us to go on in. There's only one other person in the room - Ian from England - besides the guy giving the session, the friendly and immediately likeable Craig Jack - who is also not wearing any shoes. Craig reminds me of (and kind of looks like) a friend from back home - my old roommate's ex-boyfriend, who is also a very likeable/laid back dude. Craig tells us he's from Vancouver. His dad, however, is a Kiwi, so Craig has spent lots of time here. His accent is interesting - a combo of West Coast Canadian and Kiwi. Craig gives us heaps of info. about living and working here, and makes everything sound so effortless. He seems to finish off every sentence with one word - "simple." Jaya, who is also from England and is also here on a working holiday, joins us. Craig shares with us a funny little video made by an Australian to poke fun at the Kiwi language. The Kiwis, however (being the awesome, easy going people they are) saw the video, said "Yup, that's about right," and embraced it. Suck it Aussies! (I kid, I kid…)
Craig also shares with us some interesting nuggets of Kiwi history, like:
- Sir Edmund Hillary, who graces the NZ $5 bill, was the first person to reach the summit of Mount Everest (along with Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay). On the way back down, they met up with Hillary’s friend George Lowe, to whom Hillary said, “Well, George, we knocked the bastard off.” Hillary, Craig says, is the perfect example of the fun-loving, adventurous Kiwi spirit.
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| From DownhomerDownunder |
- The Maori people came to New Zealand in seven large canoes (or wakas).
- Dutch explorer Abel Tasman, who discovered New Zealand in 1642 (and for whom Abel Tasman National Park is named), never actually set foot in New Zealand.
Craig also gives us the lowdown on some Kiwi terms we need to know. Kiwis, he tells us, don't wear flip flops to the beach, they wear "jandals." Before you get into the water, you don't throw on your swimsuit and swim trunks, you throw on your "togs" When everything's going good, awesome and the like, no worries/no problem, it's "sweet as" - my new favourite term and one which you hear about a hundred times a day in NZ. Kiwis (like Newfoundlanders) also love their fish 'n' chips - but here, they eat "fush 'n' chups."
- Dutch explorer Abel Tasman, who discovered New Zealand in 1642 (and for whom Abel Tasman National Park is named), never actually set foot in New Zealand.
Craig also gives us the lowdown on some Kiwi terms we need to know. Kiwis, he tells us, don't wear flip flops to the beach, they wear "jandals." Before you get into the water, you don't throw on your swimsuit and swim trunks, you throw on your "togs" When everything's going good, awesome and the like, no worries/no problem, it's "sweet as" - my new favourite term and one which you hear about a hundred times a day in NZ. Kiwis (like Newfoundlanders) also love their fish 'n' chips - but here, they eat "fush 'n' chups."
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| From DownhomerDownunder |
Craig also explains how important it is that we "Slip, Slop, Slap and Wrap" (which means slip on a shirt, slop on some sunscreen, slap on a hat and wrap on some sunnies (sunglasses)), since New Zealand has the second highest rate of skin cancer in the world (which is probably due to the fact that there's a hole in the ozone layer directly above the country). I'm a perfect example of why it's imperative to follow the three S's and one W. While I thought I slopped on the sunscreen pretty thick, the skin around my forehead and between my neck and shoulders is burnt to a crisp. I feel, and kinda look, like a really scaly lizard. I vow not to make this mistake again.
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| From NZ 5 - Day 3 |
We have a chocolate break, and one of Craig's co-workers takes over the second half of the session to give us more info. about working and living in this lovely country. At the end of the session Jay, Jaya, Ian and I yammer it up. The four of us decide to take a trip to Kiwibank together, just down the street, to set up our bank accounts and apply for our IRD numbers (which is like a social insurance number). Craig tells us there's a special express line just for us working holiday folk, so just hop on in, roll up to the front of the counter and enjoy the dirty looks from the other customers. Before we leave, Jay, Ian and I sign up for a free day trip around Auckland offered by the Stray bus. Stray is one of several operators in the country that offer this "hop on, hop off" service. Basically, you buy one of several passes that take you around the country and tour around with other adventurous travellers. If a certain area tickles your fancy, you can hop off the bus and stay for several days, weeks, even months, and then hop on the bus again (more than likely with a different driver and travelling buddies) when you're ready to continue your journey. You have a year to complete the route. The Stray bus will pick us up at our hostel (Ian is also staying at Base) at around 10 the next morning.
The crew separates, but at around 5 p.m., we meet back up at the IEP office with some of the staff and other working holiday folks. It's a Kiwi tradition to head out to the pub with your workmates after the whistle has blown to unwind with a bevy, so together, we stroll along to the Blue Stone Room. Ian orders up a local brew, which looks something like Guinness, He offers me a sip, which I quite enjoy, so I order one for myself as well. We grab a seat at the table with the others and chat about how long we've been in NZ, why we came, what we plan to do here and everything else under the sun. I find out that Jaya is a lawyer who wants to make a career change. I tell her that while I enjoy my work, I left it for the chance to travel and see some of the world. So far, it seems I’ve made a good decision. We clink our glasses for good things to come. We also chat with Derrick from Calgary (another Canuck!) and Pete from England about everything from horrible hostels to the best place to go for a good ol’ pub quiz (they seem to enjoy Father Ted’s quite a bit around here). There’s chatter all about the table. After our glasses have been emptied, Jay and I bid goodnight to our new friends and make our way to a Lebanese place just a few doors up from our hostel. A group of scantily clad teenagers sit out by the door and dance to pop music while a couple of guys smoke the hookah. We grab our food (a chicken and apricot pizza for me and a falafel salad for Jay) and go back to our room to have a late supper before passing out once again. Another thing I love about NZ? Their pizza box’s complete lack of modesty!
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| From NZ 5 - Day 3 |
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