This morning, Sean and I crawled out of our tent and put on . . . dress clothes. We got more than a few strange looks in the communal hostel kitchen filled with backpacker hippies and guests quite hungover from the night before. The reason for the suits and tie? We are on a mission for jobs in Queenstown.

Unfortunately, since this is a very beautiful place with lots of things to do in winter and summer, there are many many other foreigners with the same idea in mind and identical working holiday visas in hand. We have been warned that competition even for the most mundane and underpaid jobs is stiff and that it can be nearly impossible to find long-term work here.

Looking for jobs is not fun. Looking for jobs when they don't exist amongst loads of other travelers doing the same thing is even less fun. Getting dressed up while camping and sharing grungy bathrooms is a little ridiculous. And while we were out and about today walking up to places and asking if they needed any help, I was reminded that looking for jobs is a) intimidating b) discouraging and c) tiring. Also, rejection stinks.

While in Christchurch we did our homework regarding the job search. We sent out emails, CVs, cover letters, provided references and scoured the NZ listings online. Upon arrival we went to the library and checked the classifieds in the local paper and have been looking at job boards in hostels. We also signed up with the two temporary job agencies here and we had to wait in line (not a good sign). Sadly, there isn't a huge need for Spanish teachers, English teachers or linguists in southern New Zealand. Shocking, I know.

One of the hardest parts is simply waiting. Sean had an interview for a "food and beverage attendant" this morning and they said they would call about it later this week. I have a 'group interview' for a housekeeping position at the Hilton on Wednesday. Wish me luck!

On Friday morning we started the six-hour drive to Queenstown (it’s a different place than Queensland, which is in Australia). We decided not to stay in Christchurch per the advice of many locals and backpackers who advised leaving because of the lack of jobs, places to live and the continuous presence of earthquakes. We chose to give Queenstown a try since we heard it was beautiful and because other backpackers said that there were jobs available because of all the tourists.

The busy seasons for Queenstown are the summer and winter. In the summer it’s home to incredible hiking, water sports, mountain biking, horseback riding and many crazy activities such as bungee jumping, cliff diving, rock climbing, white water rafting etc. Queenstown is known as the adrenaline capital of the country and is famous for being the home of the bungee jump. In the winter it attracts heaps of tourists because it’s right in the middle of three ski lodges.

After packing up the car we started off. Since there are not that many roads on the South Island, it wasn’t too hard finding our way. There aren’t really highways, per se, just two lane country roads which are occasionally blocked by herds of sheep or tractors. Sean drove the whole six hours as I was still a little nervous to try the whole “driving on the left” thing. Many had told us that the scenery on the way would be incredible and they were right – it was stunning.

Our route to Queenstown took us up into the mountains, over one-lane bridges, around crystal clear lakes and through mountain passes. There were signs that said “For experienced drivers only” and “Slow down – high crash rate” which are more than a little unnerving when one is already white-knuckled on the wheel from driving on the “wrong” side of the road in an old car that we weren’t familiar with at all.

Because all our station wagon had was a tape deck and a busted radio antenna, we spent the whole six hours just ogling the view. There were green rolling hills, snow topped mountains, tiny towns, and sheep – lots of them.

About 30 minutes out of Queenstown the mountains rose sharply and we could start to see all the lifts that led to the top. As we pulled into the city it became clear what all the fuss was about.

Queenstown is situated at the base of the mountains and wrapped around lake Wakapitu. It was beautiful and it felt like we were out West in the U.S. in a mountain town like Vail or Breckenridge. We had reservations for a week in a tent site at a backpackers hostel called Bumbles. After setting up camp, we simply sat back and enjoyed the view.

During this last week we've been sharing the house with a couple from France - Sylvan and Isabelle. We've been having a lot of fun hanging out with them and they have been more than generous with their time, camping gear and help with buying a car. They took us around to different car markets (since they have a car) and since they are finishing their tour of New Zealand, they gave us a lot of their camping gear. We have especially enjoyed hearing their stories of travels and working in an avocado packing plant on the North Island.


Last night they treated us to a meal that they learned to make while in Australia - "Beer Chicken." Maybe you have tried this recipe before and Sean said that it was pretty common in the U.S., but I had never heard of it. You take a can of beer, drink a little bit of it, and then put it on a little metal stand (that's apparently made just for this purpose) and stick the chicken on top of it. Isabelle rubbed the chicken beforehand with mustard, salt and pepper. She also cut up onions, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes and zucchini and put them around the chicken on the pan. Then you just bake it all for about one hour and a half and a lot of the beer gets absorbed into the chicken and keeps it from getting too dry.


The end result was terrific and we had a great dinner together topped off with chocolate Cadbury and caramel ice cream. Isabelle and Sylvan are staying and working Christchurch for another two months as there is a lot of work for them (because of all the earthquake damage) since he is a carpenter and she is a painter. We are going to miss them!

"Rosie" is the name that came with the 1994 Toyota Scepter station wagon that Sean and I bought yesterday. It seems to be the tradition between backpackers that they pass down the name of the car between buyers and sellers. We bought the red beast from two Israeli girls who called her "Rosie the red rose" in Hebrew. We modified it to "whale" because as you can see, she's huge.

Sean and I weren't originally planning on buying a car while we were in New Zealand but we quickly realized that it's what everyone does and for good reason. Even travelers staying for only one or two months buy a car and the whole process of buying one is simple, fairly inexpensive and very commonplace. New Zealand is second only to the U.S. in the ratio of cars to people - they are everywhere. The public transportation is O.K. in the larger cities (Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch) but as soon as you leave the city it's very hard to get around without your own form of transportation. Most people who choose to travel in N.Z. want to camp and hike and the only way to reach the trail heads and back country campsites are with a private or rented vehicle.



Sean and I were extremely nervous about buying a car since a) we both know next to nothing about cars b) it seemed very risky and possibly expensive c) we knew we would have to try and re-sell it at the end of our year here. Fortunately, there are lots of different resources available to backpackers when buying or selling a car. The most famous in Auckland and in Christchurch is the Backpacker's Car Market. Since Sean and I weren't in a hurry and we knew we would be in Christchurch for two weeks we started going to the car market every weekday and to the Canterbury Car Fair on the weekend just to get an idea of prices, models and how to negotiate. We also talked to as many other backpackers as we could about how to buy a car and what to look for. If you are really good with cars you can find a good deal at one of the many auctions in town as well.


We had seen "Rosie" our first day that we visited the car market; she was listed at $2,800 USD and we liked her a lot but she was a bit over our price range. When you want to buy a car in N.Z. you have to look at total kilometers traveled, the WOF (warrant of fitness - a safety check required every six months on every car here), the REGO (yearly registration) and the year and brand of the car. Most garages won't fix cars over 20 years old here and some brands are hard to find parts for. We learned that Subarus and Toyotas are very popular and that Fords and Hondas can be hard to find parts for. The most popular cars are those in which you can sleep in the back and the hottest item selling right now are campervans. We decided we wanted a station wagon that we could sleep in the back of but would also function as a normal car when we find a city to stay and work in. We had talked to a few other backpackers who said they had had problems with people breaking into their vans since it's quite obvious that they contain all of the tourists' possessions while on the road.



We kept going back to the car market every day and learned that the Israeli girls were leaving for home on Tuesday and were willing to lower their price quite drastically in order to sell their car. We had a mechanical and legal check done and negotiated for the price of $1,900 USD - sweet! It will have to have a few things done to it over the course of the year to keep it up in order to sell it again, but that's ok. Interestingly, most backpacker cars are in really good condition - clean, well-repaired and maintained because everyone is aware that they will have to sell it again soon. Most people pass along all the original paperwork so you can see what has been done and when.


It was kind of a stressful and scary process but Sean and I are happy to have a car and we leave for Queenstown on Friday to start looking for work. While we are in Christchurch, however, we are still walking as much as we can because when it costs $100 USD to fill up your gas tank at over $2/liter (ahh!) you start doing things differently. I may never complain about U.S. gas prices again.

This post has nothing to do with current life in New Zealand but I still thought it would be fun to share it with you. While Sean and I were in China, we noticed a certain obsession and fascination that the Chinese have with photography, posing for pictures and finding cool backdrops for taking pictures. We also became aware that one of the most popular topics at English Corner or in the classroom was weddings and getting married. When you combine both loves - wedding and photography - in China, things get out of hand quickly.



Whenever we went down town to the city center in Changzhou, there were always booths set up to lure prospective couples into using their company for their wedding photography. The sample pictures they showed were always extremely elaborate and more like doing photo shoots for models than for a wedding. Sean and I were always interested and entertained by the number of scenes, outfits and poses that the couples chose and joked about doing one ourselves before we got married just for fun.


Our friend and fellow colleague, Jordan, stayed in China to continue teaching English but also because he got engaged to his Chinese girlfriend, April. A few days ago Jordan sent me some of the wedding photographs from his and April's extensive photo shoot. He said that I could share a few on the blog and I couldn't resist because they are awesome! I think it will give you a good idea about how seriously a lot of Chinese take their wedding photography. Thanks for the pictures Jordan!

The Canterbury museum gave us a good introduction to genuine "kiwiana" (all things unique to New Zealand) and it also gave us the motivation to try something that's supposedly world famous here, a soft drink called "L&P" which stands for "Lemon and Paeroa." After walking around all day we stopped at a pop machine and bought a can to see what all the fuss was about.


Truth be told, it tasted like carbonated lemonade but it was refreshing nevertheless. I would compare it to Sprite or Seven-Up with a little extra lemon flavor. L&P is traditionally made by mixing lemon juice with carbonated mineral water from the northern town of Paeroa, thus giving the drink its name. Nowadays, it's manufactured by none other than Coca-Cola. L&P can only be found in NZ so we better take advantage and drink our fill while we're here.

Here's what it says on the back of the L&P can (there's lots of examples of Kiwi slang as well as the habit of attaching the word "as" on to words like in "Kiwi as" or "Sweet as.")

"World famous in New Zealand. There's nothing like L&P, a little Kiwi classic with loads of fresh taste. She's a legend our Lemon and Paeroa . . . and Kiwi as. There's heaps of stories to tell about this favourite fruity drop . . . but the important stuff is where it all started. Take a trip to sunny Paeroa, back in the good old days, where some local blokes found an awesome underground spring. Yup, right under their noses loads of super-fresh water. Fact is, water's water but it ain't L&P. It wasn't until some bright spark had the idea of putting something in it, L&P came to life. C-h-o-i-c-e! With a little bit of lemon and sprinkling of magic (our secret formula), the little kiwi beauty we know and love was born. And L&P today? It's still the original flavour, but now it's even better!"

We spent most of yesterday at the Canterbury Museum and Botanic Gardens on the banks of the Avon River which zigs and zags itself through the city. The huge Canterbury Museum (free!) gave a great representation of New Zealand's history with a focus on the South island or the "Mainland" as everybody here calls it. Most of the displays are dedicated to the original Maori people but there was a lot of information on the colonists' early life after their long 3 month passage from England. Sean's favorite floor was the one about Antarctica which included actual artifacts from famously successful and unsuccessful expeditions to the South Pole (including Ernest Shackelton's Discovery, Nimrod and Endurance voyages).



The Botanic Garden (also free!) was basically a huge park with over 10,000 species of plants as well as fountains, cafes and loads of open green space where people were picnicking, napping and just hanging out. There were many paved and non-paved paths and trails through the park and we were constantly dodging joggers and cyclists during our exploration. One of the most interesting activities available at the Botanic Garden was "punting" on the Avon.

The largest city on the South Island is most definitely Christchurch, the city in which we are currently residing. The abbreviation for the city name that we see everywhere is "Chch". Since Sean and I have had a lot of free time, we have been able to walk around and explore a lot. Sadly, because of the huge earthquake last year in February, most of the city center is completely closed off to the public because it's too dangerous as there are still aftershocks daily.

Christchurch is located about halfway down on the east coast of the island with a population of about 345,000 people. The wider area around the city and including Christchurch is called Canterbury. It's considered to be the most English of New Zealand cities and its symbol is a huge cathedral in the center square. Walking around in the parts of town that are still open, it feels like you are walking around in a little version of Britain.


Because of the earthquakes many local residents have left the city completely. The paper estimated that about 5% have relocated permanently. Many people lost their homes and thus rental and apartment prices have skyrocketed over 50%. The daily tremors, soaring property prices and a less-than-fully-functional city does not bode well for working holidayers like Sean and me and we are thinking that after we get our tax numbers we will look for work in other cities.


The locals that we have talked to about the earthquakes are either in denial and don't like to think or talk about them or are in full support of rebuilding and earthquake relief. There is a new program downtown next to the "Red zone" called ReStart which has painted old shipping crates and used them to make hip new bars, coffee shops, banks and shops. Even with all of the energy and creative innovation in cleaning up this city, the local paper, The Press, estimates that it will take 15-20 years to rebuild.

Right now we are sharing a house of a Kiwi man and his wife and three other couples from Germany, Czech Republic and France. Some are just starting their adventures here and others are finishing up. It has been really fun to hear of their stories and experiences and everyone is very happy to share advice and tips about where to go to get jobs and how to travel on the cheap.



It has been especially interesting to share a kitchen as at one time there are four different styles of food being cooked and four different languages being spoken simultaneously. Fortunately, like usual, English is the common language that everyone uses when we are all hanging out together. I have been told many times by Europeans that I am lucky to speak fluent English and that it's my greatest asset to getting a job here. Just like in China, it seems that this "skill" of speaking my native language and being lucky enough to be born in the states gives me a huge advantage over everyone else. It's not fair at all, but I'll take it.

After a long day of traveling Sean and I arrived in Christchurch, New Zealand. The way the time and flights worked, we ended up skipping January 12 entirely - we left on the 11th and got here on the 13th. We are currently staying in the house of a Kiwi man who owns a hostel. His hostel, the "Kiwihouse", contains only single dorm beds but he has two rooms in his own house that he lets couples stay in. There is a communal kitchen, bathroom, common room and garden. An additional resident is an orange cat named Mishka who is (much to Sean's dismay) quite affectionate.

Since nothing official was open on the weekend, Sean and I took the opportunity to explore the city on foot. We also did a lot of sleeping to deal with the jet lag. I would have posted sooner, but one of the more frustrating things about NZ is that it's next to impossible to find free internet - using wifi anywhere is ridiculously expensive and requires you to purchase vouchers or online codes. Fortunately, we have found a public library and after applying for a library card we are happily enjoying the use of the wireless internet completely gratis.

Today is Monday, January 16 and we are checking as many things as we can off of our to-do list such as: getting NZ SIM cards for our Chinese phones, applying for a NZ tax IRD number (needed before you can get a job), opening a free bank account and going grocery shopping. It takes about 8-10 days for the IRD number to come in the mail so now all we do is hurry up and wait. Fortunately, there's lots to do and learn in the meantime.

Some initial observations:

Weather: 70's, sunny, breezy and dry. It feels like we are in San Diego as Christchurch is at the height of their summer.

People: Everybody seems to be popping chill pills and is overly relaxed, laid back and friendly. We have had literally hour-long conversations with librarians, bank workers and locals - everyone is helpful and happy to see visitors.

North vs. South: There is a certain loyalty to the island on which you live here. We've even had locals say things like "I don't like the North island" or "I'm so glad you chose to come to the South island - it's much better" etc.

No comparisons: People don't appreciate being compared to Australia - Kiwis consider themselves to be completely separate and different.

Accent: Wowza - although I speak English, Kiwi English (or "New Zildish" as I've heard it called) is another dialect entirely. There have been several times I haven't been understood and/or couldn't understand someone else. It's both entertaining and surprising.

Earthquakes: They are terrifying. Last night we were shaken from our beds in the strongest earthquake I have ever felt in my life - 5.0. This morning there was another 3.0. I've never experienced a feeling like that - they are noisy, long and very powerful. Nobody else pays any attention to them and the tremors or "shakes" as they are called here, are felt every day.

Sports: Rugby and Cricket are everywhere and everyone is all hyped up about some team called the All Blacks.

Lingo: There are two official languages: English and Maori (the indigenous culture here). Many signs are also written in Maori and a lot of words have been included in the local vernacular here such as "Kia ora" which is "Hello" in Maori. Another thing everybody says here is "Good on'ya mate" which means something like "great/sweet/thanks man/cool" etc.

Population: There's nobody here. Seriously. Apparently everyone lives on the North Island. We are in the biggest city on the South Island and my hometown of Holland, Michigan seems busier than this place. It's a HUGE switch from China.

Driving: It has been very very hard to get used to the traffic going the other way - and we haven't even started driving yet! Even just walking around it's hard to remember to look in a different way while crossing the street.

That's all for now. Next on the agenda? Employment.

Christmas and New Years were busy and fun and went by in a blur. Now that Sean's parents are gone on a cruise we are enjoying the peace and quiet of having the whole house to ourselves. We were able to spend time with our families, both nuclear and extended and also saw Marion's (Sean's dad's new wife) family along with my birth family. That's a lot of families to visit with! Some other memorable events were hosting a surprise birthday/welcome home party for John and his wife Beth who recently returned home from doing the Peace Corps in Kazakhstan. This weekend we had people over for New Years Eve and had fun playing games and watching the ball drop. My sister flew back to Pennsylvania today and we are planning on using our remaining days in Holland to get ready for our trip as well as to the enjoy all of the freshly fallen snow.

Here's some pictures from Christmas:


Something else that my sister and I did while she was home was re-create a silly old picture of us when we were three and four. We still had the glasses and dug around for some shirts that would work and hen practiced our poses. It turned out pretty funny and strangely accurate even 25 years later! Maybe we'll have to do it again in another 25.


In the original picture I think I was making my sister play "restaurant" in which I was the waitress and seemed quite pleased with myself. Unfortunately, Susie did not appear to share the same enthusiasm for the game (also, gotta love that bowl haircut!). Happy New Year and may 2012 bring many new adventures and joys!