Why New Zealand?

New Zealand...

 Home to two of my favorite guys. They like to rock the party.

I'll be honest.  My main reason for doing this is to get out of the "real world" and just sit on the beach for an extended period of time.  Like for a year. I also want to experience what it is like to get off of the tourist track and really spend some time living in the real New Zealand. Maybe we'll learn how to do some useful things, like grow a successful garden, or how to properly peel and eat a kiwi.

Apparently you have to specify kiwifruit.

I lived there in 2003, and yes, I feel super old now that I realize this was ten years ago. Holy cow.  I went with Rotary International, and lived with four different host families over the course of the year.  It was really interesting, and was my first experience out of the country (because northern Mexico doesn't really count, as those of you from around here know). I really recommend student exchange, especially in high school.   Tell your friends.  So when I was there before, I went to school, made friends for life, learned about another culture. I did travel a lot, including a kayak/camping trip for P.E. class, and a two week tour of the South Island with other Rotary students.  I went bungy jumping, snowboarding, para sailing, milked a cow, sheared a sheep, watched Lord of the Rings, pretty much the list of anyone who goes to NZ "needs to do".  I have great memories of my year there, but only as a 16 year old.   

This was ten years ago. And I think we all look the same!

I have always wanted to go back, and so after our wedding in 2009, Chris and I went for three weeks, and did all the tourist-y things.  I got to show him everything I had talked about before, the scenery, funny accents, introduced him to my former families, show him my school, and even made him jump off a bridge.

 

This one made me laugh.  He's afraid of heights. Ha.

So we've obviously seen a lot of the country.  But I just always have this pull to get back there.  So when we decided that we would do something crazy and move away, NZ was the only choice for me.  

The visa that we are going to be applying for is called a Working Holiday visa, where basically we stay in the country for up to a year, traveling and seeing the country while being allowed to work in seasonal and part time jobs.  Anything from fruit picking, cafes, hostels, temp. office jobs, etc.  This is exactly what I was looking for, so I can get the tourism work experience I want, and at the same time do what anyone wants to do: just hang out and enjoy being together in one of the prettiest countries in the world.

My passport is currently being renewed, since my last name has changed since our last trip.  As soon as that comes back in the mail, we're buying our plane tickets and getting the visas processed.  

One of the things I want to do is work in cafes.  The cafe culture in NZ is super hip, and all the lattes look like this:

   

No Venti white chocolate mochas or caramel frappuccinos in sight. I'm looking

 forward to this.  So much.  Sorry, Jillian. 

I found an awesome website called Help Exchange which connects host families with helpers (us).  Basically the idea is that you help out on the family's farm, around the house, whatever they need, for a few hours a day in exchange for room and board.  It's really interesting and not just home and farm stays; there are B&Bs, hostels, and holiday parks too.  It's a great concept, we'll be able to learn a lot and save a ton of money at the same time.  In NZ alone there are over 1,500 host profiles to choose from.  We made our little profile on the website and have already been contacted by three families inviting us to stay.  Pretty nifty.

The biggest decision I have to make now is Where will we live?  I want to get the most out of our year, and I know that we will probably move from town to town fairly often, but where to start?  April is going to be Autumn in the southern hemisphere, so do we spend time in the Northland, by the beaches and enjoying some sunshine and warmth and rural lifestyle?  Should we try to get jobs in the city and rent a room in a house? Or do we head to the South Island and work at a Ski Lodge or restaurant in Queenstown or another busy winter town?  We're open to suggestions.