It has been almost exactly 6 months since we first set foot on New Zealand soil. My husband stood on the deck and asked me if I could remember why we had first made the decision to move 12000 miles . I replied that I think it we had agreed for him to apply for the job and then if he got it we would see what happened. Well, 8 months later here we are standing watching the clouds catch on the mountain tops in the distance.
I think its safe to say now that we made the right decision. Life is good over here. The girls are the happiest I have seen them in a long time and although my better half is working hard at the moment he is slowly settling into the NZ work culture.
For myself I have finally discovered that Kiwis are actually just as reserved as the British and it takes a while to form friendships but I have now developed such a busy social life that I am barely at home during the week. We have playgroups, coffee mornings, kindy gym, music groups, dance lessons and play dates to arrange. Its a social whirl!
Okay, I realise that this is actually my daughters social life that I am tagging along on, but I have actually made a few good friends among the other Mums and they are able to remind me that I am still capable of adult conversations every now and then.
I have also finally put in my qualifications to be assessed so that I can teach over here. It took quite a while to get all my certificates and Academic Transcripts in order. It involved lots of late night conversations with a very nice but quite elderly welsh lady at my old University while I attempted to explain the urgency of the situation and could she please do the copies before going on her holiday to Spain!
There are still many things that I miss and I still have dreams of driving along familiar roads in Sussex and Wiltshire (and rather oddly the stretch of the M4 around Bristol). My family are the one thing that I really wish we could bring over with us. I am not sure that will ever get any easier but thanks to Skype I am able to talk to them every day. The girls demand to talk to Nanny and Grandad over breakfast most days and I would allow them to do this if it wasn't such a rush to get to Kindy on time.
Well this is my summary of our findings after 6 months living in New Zealand - Lets see what the next 6 months brings!
The girls about to go to their first ever disco. There were an awful lot of Fairies, Princesses, Batmans, Spidermans and even Buzz Lightyears at this disco!
For the first time ever we have made our own lemonade from our own lemon tree.
Licking the bowl clean is still as popular as ever.
My daughters manners have not improved over the last six months.
Congratulations on settling in so quickly and great to hear you're enjoying life.
ReplyDeleteWe feel the same twelve year's on - love the lifestyle, great for families, but still miss our dear folks and have nostalgic moments of wishing we were in certain parts of the UK, with all the history, country lanes, public footpaths and country pubs.
We've had moments of seriously considering moving back - even getting a rental assessment done on our home and having the shippers in to estimate our moving costs. But, circumstances and work opportunities kept us here. Who knows what the future holds for us. We are actually thinking more about a move to Nelson - having visited a few times in the past year to do research. I am sure we'll be living back in Europe for a while when our children are there in the twenties - which is almost guaranteed given the Kiwi's 'right of passage' OE. We just feel so very fortunate to have so many options open to us.
Best wishes to you all and good luck with your journey back into teaching. Sarah x
We have been here almost one year and find the same thing. Loving the people and places, but miss the family. Even though our home is just across the ditch, it's too far for elderly relatives and too much for most families. Still, it's been a good move, and we have no regrets.
ReplyDeleteSarah - I forgot to mention the Country Pubs - you are right I do miss them. I also worry about the girls deciding tomove back to Europe again when they get older - i will just have to follow them I guesse.
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