The house surfing is over

Apr 11/12 4:58pm

Right now we've got the first bit of rain that we've seen since we arrived in New Plymouth! So it's been a good run of sun so far.

We officially have a place to live now. We woke up on Good Friday and realized that it is the right move even if it's just for a few months or so. We were lucky that the agent was willing to do some work on a holiday (even supermarkets are closed on Good Friday here) so we moved in later that afternoon. It was funny though because we couldn't even get the normal supplies like toilet paper and dish soap until the next day!

We took in another super rugby game (that's the name of the league, although we do think it's super!) Friday night. The volunteer co-ordinator for the surf fest invited us out to his workplace for beers beforehand - they are located right next to the stadium. So we met more people through him and I chatted up a girl who would be the team leader for a job I applied for, hope I made a good impression! The Hurricanes won again and it was another cracker game. A few local boys play for the Wellington-based team so it was a big turnout.

Saturday we set to work on getting our place stocked up. First off we hit some garage sales (scored with a crock pot and some heaters, as well as a few hangers and bits like that) and then off to the shops to make up for what we didn't find or was too rough to buy. So almost all day we ran around to houseware stores for toasters and garbage cans and some basic groceries. There's still some missing pieces but we have plenty to function with. It was amazing to actually unpack our bins and get organized. There's tons of cupboard space so it worked out well. We did have two casualties of the shipping - one large plate and one small plate so that's a bummer. Ah well though, what can you do?

We aren't able to get internet hooked up for a couple weeks but it's in progress. Apparently it sounds like converting our drivers licences to NZ ones would be a good idea - for instance for the internet, we had to send passport copies so they could do a credit check since we are from overseas. And anytime you get ID'd here for drinks, they legally cannot accept anything other than a NZ licence, a passport or this other NZ ID card. The drinking age is 18 but they use the ol' "if you look over 25 we'll still ID ya..." so poor Dustin keeps getting ID'd for some reason and we don't usually carry our passports around now but we're going to have to start. He had to ask one of the women we met at the surf fest to buy him beers at the rugby because she was nearby when he was denied. haha.

So we're having to use the internet at the library until we're set up. We'll also have a landline because most places don't offer internet without a phone line and if so you end up paying more anyways so might as well have a cheap way for all you to call us! ;)

Today was the first proper day of volunteering and it was a bit up and down. We started at 6:30am and got some breakfast before things got rolling. It wasn't until about 10am that they decided if the conditions were going to be suitable but the good thing was that we didn't have to go south to a different beach because it came up alright. There is a Maori welcome tradition called a Powhiri (pronounced PO-furry - remember WH is a F sound) so it's performed in all sorts of situations - starting a school year, starting a new job, moving into a new place, opening a festival, etc etc. It stems back to when an unfamiliar tribe would show up and they would have to determine if it was going to mean war or if they were friendly (arriving with love, Te Aroha). It includes chanting and songs and speeches. The iwi from Taranaki performs it all in Te Reo (I think that's the name of the Maori language) and they had a local school group in to perform the ceremony. That was quite heartwarming actually and the singing is beautiful. So the mayor was there and they had all the visitors exit the room so they could be properly welcomed and they bless the people and event as well. Really quite cool to experience.

The rest of the day was stop and go with waiting for the conditions and for instructions. It was a bit disorganized but it might have just felt that way because there ended up being a fair few volunteers kicking around. Lots of chumps that didn't seem to want to do any work though! I helped in the kitchen, serving and cleaning up the meals and snacks. So far it's been alright, definitely have seen some great surfing already and we're familiar with at least half of the competitors so it's cool to see them surf after reading about them online and in magazines. I also think it's awesome that it's all women because sadly, in these sports they often get the short end of the stick, ie. "oh the wind's turning offshore so lets run the women's heats now and save the good waves tomorrow for the men..." There's all these elementary aged girls running around getting autographs and photos with the pros so it's cool to see positive role models for them to look up to.

Anyways, just wanted to update that we're living on our own now and it's going well! (And post some slightly dark pics. haha) We still have some shopping to do for kitchen appliances and those types of things. We're keeping busy with the festival this week but we're keeping our eyes out for jobs still. It will be much easier when we're hooked up to the internet at home to go hard out on that search though. We're pretty sure Dustin won't have troubles but he's looking for a change so wants to see what else is out there before he just gets back into building. So we'll see what comes up!

We'll bring the camera tomorrow and snap some shots of the surfing and get some up here too eventually. Well, time to have some tea and leftover pastries from this afternoon and then go to the library for the one evening they are open past 6pm. Gotta check up on the auction site to see if we got the espresso machine we bid on!