Emzie

Weekend of December 8th – 9th

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I figured I better post this before I fall too far behind…

IMG_1428We had both had a pretty busy week and decided to treat ourselves to a relaxing afternoon inside an air-conditioned movie theater. It was the first time either of us had been in a Kiwi theater and we were thrilled by the experience. The theater was in fantastic condition with large comfy seats. They were so wide and deep we felt we were almost able to recline in them. The movie wasn’t my pick… Twilight the last one in the series. Besides seeing Dakota Fanning and Taylor Lautner it wasn’t amazing..but then again I haven’t read the books or seen any of the previous movies.

After the movie we decided to get our Christmas cheer on and attend Coca-Cola Christmas in the Park.
We packed a picnic dinner and went to the Auckland Domain to enjoy their annual outdoor concert. The turnout was impressive and they had a huge stage for the acts to perform. There were also lots of food vendors and some (sketchy looking) carnival rides. The concert was pretty decent but we didn’t really recognize many of the acts. Instead of staying for the whole concert we walked around downtown Auckland for awhile before heading home.
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The next morning we decided to skip the Santa Clause parade and instead go for a walk. We tried the Le Roys Bush and Little Shoal Bay bush walk. It was a gorgeous walk! It is about 15 minutes away from Emma’s house and was a scenic walk. The paths are well maintained and still gave off a very naturalistic feel to them. It took us around an hour to complete and we were beyond ready to be done once we finished. The sun was so hot that day and we were still both exhausted from the night before. So glad we chose the walk instead of standing and watching all the floats go by.

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I was excited that we finally made it to the night market! It is from 5:30-11pm every Sundayat Westfields Shopping Centre in Glenfield North Shore.We made a smart decision to not eat dinner before arriving as there were so many choices of fresh authentic food! We did not find many things we wanted to buy at the stands but they were fun to shop around and look at all the homemade stuff. We found that some of the stands felt like garage sales while others felt like serious businesses. It was a great experience and I will definitely go back again.

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Sorry I fell behind. I will post this weekends blog now so I can be all caught up 🙂
Thanks for reading. Can’t believe Christmas is right around the corner!!!

Buddha Blessings
xox Amanda

Tornado hits West Auckland

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Not having to update the blog everyday feels like I am on vacation!!! Wanted to do a quick update to let everyone know I am alive and safe. Emma’s family and my family are both safe and sound.

There was a tornado that hit West Auckland around 12:15pm causing 3 fatalities and about 7 in the hospital. I got a phone call (from the mom) in the afternoon to let me know there had been an tornado and the boys may be a bit frightened when I picked them up from school in the afternoon. I told her that we had planned on going to our doctor’s appointment and then we would either come home or walk around the mall looking for Christmas presents. (Best to stay inside and be safe!!) The morning had been cold and overcast and then it rained heavily all afternoon. Other than that Torbay didn’t get affected. Tornadoes are a regular thing so don’t get too worried about my safety. The last one that hit was about two years ago.

If anyone is interested in reading the local news article this is the website I read:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz.

Picture taken from Friday, Dec 7, 2012 New Zealand Herald newspaper.

Picture taken from Friday, Dec 7, 2012 New Zealand Herald newspaper.

Thanks for checking in on me xox
-Amanda

Thanks for all the BIRTHDAY Wishes

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I was going to go to bed but I thought I should blog quickly first. Thank you to everyone who shared their birthday wishes with me. As always, it was a pretty awkward day with the kids shrieking how OLD 27 was. I encouraged them to stop saying the number but they felt the need to keep reminding me of my age 🙂 The family bought me pink roses and made me vanilla and red velvet cupcakes. We unwrapped gifts after the fireworks…well actually the kids unwrapped the presents and then showed me what I got. (I am pretty excited to see them on Christmas morning. They are going to be HYPER when it’s time for them to open their own gifts!)

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Emma and I spent the whole day together. She really wanted to make sure that I didn’t forget it was my special day. She prepared me days before that I would not be allowed to sleep the day away because it was MY BIRTHDAY and a day to be celebrated. MY pleas to just sleep the day away fell on closed ears.  It was a pretty great that my birthday landed on a gorgeous Saturday so I had the day off work. We went to a restaurant close to the beach to have breakfast then quickly headed off too the zoo. Burma (the Burmese elephant) was out walking around which was a huge treat. Quite often she is in her glass house chained up to a pole so it was nice that she was roaming around. She came quite close to the wall so we were able to get some great shots of her. She still looks like a baby elephant to me but I have been informed that she is fully grown.

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Kiwi Tree

Kiwi Tree

After we walked around the whole zoo we went and grabbed some caffeinated drinks. We needed energy to continue the celebrations. We went to the Christmas Wonderland. It is New Zealand’s biggest indoor Christmas forest. over 150 trees are uniquely decorated by different themes. It would have been nicer if the building was a little bigger because there were so many trees and people, strollers and kids all in one square building. Some of the trees were so cute. All the money from tickets was donated to charity!What is a day without a little shopping? We were both on the hunt for presents for our kids. My kids keep changing their minds on what they want for Christmas so I have yet to buy them anything but I am hoping to complete my shopping pretty soon. My homemade Christmas cards are finally done and I am hoping to get them all mailed off tomorrow. After shopping we drove to Brown’s Bay and got pizza to eat at the beach. How nice is it that I got to eat Birthday dinner at the beach in December! I can’t even complain that it was windy because the air was still warm.

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We went home for a bit to swap photos and relax before the fireworks. I was able to send off a few birthday thank you emails and enjoy my flowers. It was the first time I had ever received flowers and I GOT two bouquets in one day 🙂 Emma dropped me off when it started to get dark out. I met up with my family  on the grass and we (the parents) shared in some bubbly and strawberries. When we got home the kids were excited to eat my cupcakes and open the presents. It was a really late night for them but it was a great end to the day.

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Sunday (my Canadian birthday) I got to celebrate in my own way! I slept in with NO ALARM CLOCK (even though I could hear the kids running around the house I could just smile and roll over)! I hung out in my room reading text messages and facebook posts and got to chat a little with some friends. I went upstairs and had lunch and shared cupcakes with the boys. Pretty much my whole day consisted of lounging, playing with the boys and finishing my Christmas cards. The 6 year old tried to help me with my cards at one point so there are a few that…aren’t up to my level of perfection. There wasn’t much he could do to assist me so I let him put some stickers on the cards. Unfortunately when they were going on crocked I patiently tried to explain I like them to be straight and not clustered together. Eventually I let him peel them and then give them to me…production slowed until he got bored and decided to make his own!

So that was my birthday weekend!

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xox Buddha Blessings,
Amanda

26 of My Favourite Things

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Only ONE day left until I am 1 year closer to THIRTY!! It was hurting my brain to think of 26 things that were my “favourite” that I enlisted the help of my dear friend Ana! She was a lifesaver 🙂

1. Pink & purple used to be my favourite colours. Now turquoise, silver and (still) purple are my favourites.

2. Naps!! & mornings where I don’t need to set my alarm and letting my body sleep until it wakes up



3. An odd observation I began to make a few years back – Red seems to be my favourite food colour to eat. Examples:
gummy candies, popsicles, lollipops, lifesavers, skittles, jujubes, jellybeans

4.  Making someone laugh OR laughing until I am crying or gasping for air

5. The feeling of my stomach flipping when I am upside down on a rollercoaster

6. Meal: Sweet and Sour Ribs (parent’s recipe) rice and corn
>>pasta with alfredo sauce as a close second
>>>o’henry bars as my favourite chocolate!

7. Roadtrips! My latest one to Tofino with Ana, Socks and Emzie was AMAZING and it made me realize I need to LIVE more

8. Receiving snail mail! Absolutely love it

9. Getting massages. As well, I rarely get my haircut but when I do -my favourite part is when they are washing your hair!

10. When I feel like a workout dvd Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels get results! They really know how to make a girl sweat!

11. Christmas used to be my favourite day, Birthdays have always made me feel awkward and anxious and Thanksgiving (my favourite day) makes me feel happy and loved

12. The smell of fresh/homemade food, babies and gasoline.
I also love burning incense and candles

13. Monkeys used to be my favourite animal but elephants (especially the babies) make my heart melt. And for many years I have tried to wear something “elephant” every day as my own token of good luck.

14. I used to be embarrassed to tell people Celine Dion was my favourite musician

15. Indoor rock climbing, skiing, tubing are sports of choice. My favourite one to watch is beach volleyball

16. I have a few drink choices: chocolate milk, pina coladas, egg nog, tequila or vodka cranberry

17. Comedies

18. Garage sales! Love bargains and antiques….and I am tight with my money so they make me realllly happy!

19. Being with friends (especially in sweats or pj gatherings)

20.  Scattegories and boggle. I can not get ENOUGH of word games!

21. Beaches

22. Steeped tea double double (splenda and soymilk!)

23. Watching  at TV show with somebody else OR texting them. I love sharing in the giggling and screaming during an episode! It is amazing how much more entertaining an episode is when shared with a friend. (Halfway across the world Ana & I still try to do it for Greys and Private Practice xox)

24. Collaging! When I do it I like to use a huge assortment of photographs, magazines, quotes and stickers (Ana worded it beautifully for me, “bringing artistic elements to everything”.) I believe I have a creative eye and am so often inspired to be crafty.

25. Watching dancing competition shows. Derek Hough and Julianne Hough are my favourite dancers/choreographers. I have always wanted to learn how to dance and am in such awe how people learn to move to the music.

26. Freshly cleaned teeth…a bit of an odd choice but I really like leaving the dentist’s office after they have cleaned and flossed my teeth

I know these lists are starting to get really repetitive. I will try to come up with more original answers for tomorrow. It is highly unlikely I will be blogging daily so I hope you liked the frequent updates this week!  have some vacation time booked in December and January so there will be more day trips in the future! Hopefully they will allow for more “travel related” posts and pictures.

I feel exhausted tonight. Thank you so much for reading these. Feel free to send blog ideas my way!

xo Amanda

26 Places I Have Been in the World

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I can’t believe I am turning TWENTY SEVEN in under a week! This blows my mind that I am almost thirty. In honor of my impending birthday, my next few posts will be lists with 26 bullets.

I feel so fortunate to have already traveled to so many different places in the world. It is depressing how poor my memory is and how many places I have to be reminded of having been to. I have always had a horrible memory and mixed with my lack of geography knowledge and awareness it took WAY more time than it needed to for such a short list.I know I have left A LOT of places out but here are the 26 places that I remember going to.

~*~CANADA~*~

1. Victoria (British Columbia)
2. Nanaimo (British Columbia)
3. Port Alberni (Ana’s homeland!!!) (British Columbia)

Tofino with my CFCS lovers xo

4. Tofino (British Columbia)
5. Vancouver (British Columbia)
6.  Calgary (Alberta)
7. Edmonton (Alberta)
8. Sarnia (Ontario)
9. Toronto (Ontario)
10. Ottawa (Ontario)

~*~UNITED STATES OF AMERICA~*~

11. Florida
12. New Orleans
13. New York
14. Las Vegas

Seattle’s Beerfest!

15. Seattle

~*~MEXICO~*~

16. Ixtapa
17. Mazatlan

Mazatlan, Mexico

18. Cozumel

~*~EUROPE~*~

19.  Madrid
20. Barcelona,
21. Seville                 

             

~*~AFRICA~*~

22 Morocco
23. Chad

~*~ASIA~*~

24. Nepal

Chitwan, Nepal

Bangkok, Thailand      

25. Thailand

~*~NEW ZEALAND~*~

26. Auckland

Piha, New Zealand

***Adding the pictures to this POST was BEYOND frustrating. It probably took me at least 4x the time it should have to get all the pictures added. Some were deleted in the process and the original format of this post has gone bonkers! I will try to add the pictures that got deleted sometime…WISH this format was exactly like Microsoft Publisher where you could just drag and drop your pictures in

New Zealand Observations

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I meant to turn my “Observations” into a post over a month ago but never got around to it. I can and can’t believe I have been living here for 2 months. Time is going by fast now but when I first arrived the days would DRAG ON.

Going barefoot is a Kiwi thing and I LOVE IT. The children frequently go to school with no footwear. Adults are often seen wearing jandals (they are not called sandals here…jandals. I JUST started using the word, took me forever to remember and say the word correctly). I don’t go barefoot when I am out shopping but if I am with the kids, at the beach or site seeing with Emzie I have embraced the bare feet!

Pluralization of words: Emma and I keep noticing that construction signs and advertising often (unnecessarily) make words plural. Naturally Em and I used to yell out every time we saw a sign. It is just so grammatically incorrect.  They appear everywhere so we are pretty accustomed to them at this point.

Lifts – In Canada I grew up calling them elevators. Here they are called lifts and they go sooo slowly. It is usually faster to take the stairs!

Roundabouts – They appear everywhere. In Victoria they are pretty sparse but not here.

U-turns -They are not illegal and people LOVE to do them.

Shoulder checking – everyone uses their signals if they need to switch lanes but NOBODY shoulder checks. It is just not done here. Emma and I were horrified when we first made this discovery! They just rely on their mirrors.

Gas stations are known as petrol -If you need to fill up your tank you need petrol. Pharmacies are called chemists and small shops or convenient stores are called dairies. They have ON THE RUN here which makes me want to run in and get a slushie or Tim Ho steep tea double double…but sadly neither are an option. You have to go in and pay at the counter. You can pay before or after but there are no key-fob options or credit/debit slots.

Driving the speed limit/car conditions -You really don’t see a lot of people speeding. Even on the highways people usually go the speed limit or below. I think a huge factor for this is HOW MANY opportunities people have to park their car on the road. So many streets feel so narrow to drive because there are cars parked. You quite often see car mirrors cracked because someone has side swiped them. It is also not uncommon to see peoples bumpers all scratched up. There are LOTS of accidents here. Emma told me that you do NOT have to have car insurance here so people choose to drive without it. If they have an accident they don’t bother paying the expenses of fixing their cars. (Out of the 3 homes I have lived at in NZ, at least one of each of their vehicles has noticeable damages from previous car accidents). Also there are electronic road signs that show you your speed as well as signs that warn you to slow down. They have “hidden” permanent radar guns that photograph your license and send you a speeding ticket in the mail if you are going to fast. I think most people know where they are and Emma and I rely on our GPS’s to warn us. I am pretty sure you can receive a ticket if you are more than 5 clicks over the speed limit.

Ethnic restaurants – I was just shocked to see how many different restaurants there were to choose from! Walking down Queen Street day after day had me seeing so many different food choices. It was just so unexpected.

Company names – A lot of products are called by the company name. Instead of what the item actually is. Some examples: Handy Towels (instead of paper towel)..ok clearly I will need to think of more.

Lollies – candies in general are called lollies: mints, suckers, gummy candies they are all called lollies by children.

When people are inquiring as to where Em and I are from they ask, “Where is your accent from? Instead of where are you from?” For some reason I find it far less invasive than:WHERE are you from? I also have people ask me what is your ethnicity? It’s a tricky question for me because I know people WANT me to say Thailand but I always answer with CANADA. And then they say oh really? Prodding me to answer born in Thailand but lived in Canada majority of my life. I am more forgiving of people in NZ asking me instead of Canada because none of my friends or family EVER got asked in Canada. Here Em always gets asked so I am not being singled out…for being brown.

The Sun – As I had been warned, the sun is very strong. At the children’s schools they have a rule that no child is allowed to play outside unless they are wearing a hat. When my kids go swimming they were wearing a shirt or a wetsuit to protect their skin from the sun. My legs get so brown so fast from just sitting outside reading or laying at the beach. I haven’t worn sunscreen yet but I am constantly putting lotion on my legs, feet and arms because they get SO dried out from the sun. Crossing my fingers that I don’t get any bad sunburns this summer. I have to drink a ton of water daily or I suffer from headaches.

Christmas FEVER – They start preparing for Christmas before Halloween is even over! Christmas decorations and carols galore. The newspaper is thicker then ever with all the flyers. I LOVE ITTTT!!!!!

I have not decided if I will add on to this post or post an observation 2. I know there are way  more things I could write about but I  really want to get back to my book 🙂

Sending you all happy vibes,
xoxo Amanda Sumalee

Rotorua/Taupo Road Trip (Oct 19-22)

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This weekend trip was ALMOST a month ago but I am just getting around to posting it now…better late than never 🙂 I will work on getting the pictures posted on Facebook too.

Countless people raved about Rotorua! We could not have heard more about how great our weekend trip would be.  It would be well worth the short drive for all tourists near and around Auckland. With that in mind, we excited made plans to have Rotorua be our first roadtrip. We scheduled to leave on our first long weekend together. We made plans and were eager to depart before my unemployment came into play. Being “between jobs” (thanks brother!) had me second guessing if I should be heading out of town or laying low in the hostel. With some gentle coaxing by Emzie and my eagerness for some laughs, we set out on our first official New Zealand Sumzie Roadtrip.

Friday I packed my bag (which at this point had been getting far more use then I ever would have imagined—very glad I went with my gut and bought the pricier..but more gorgeous and more user friendly backpack!) Our ride up to Rotoru could have been dryer. We both lost track of how many times it rained. The drive took around 3.5hrs and probably rained at least 7 times. We stopped in Cambridge to get out and stretch our legs and grab some much enjoyed coffee. Sadly there was no Tim Horton run for us. Our Starbucks watch was unsuccessful as we found out the locals had never even heard of it. We did drive through Tirau which was a very decorated town of corrugated metal.  Their metal creations were seen everywhere.

As soon as you get near Rotorua your nose starts to tell you are heading in the right direction. The home of spurting geysers, steaming hot pools and and exploding mud pools leaves the air filled with its sulphuric aroma. We arrived in Rotorua around 4:30 and checked into our hostel. We were fortunate enough to get an all-girls room. The hostel was fully booked due to on the road swim teams. It was “interesting” to have the hostel be all ages. Kids running around and teenagers playing in the pool was not what I had become accustomed to during my hostel days.

We ate dinner at the restaurant Fat Dog. It came highly recommended to me by someone who had just been a week or so before. She was visiting from Austria and assured me the food was delicious. I will admit the restaurant overwhelmed me at first; as the menu is all written on the walls in chalk. You order and pay at the register and they come and bring you your food.  It is a very quirky place with delicious food and I would for sure go back again! Em had her first “hostel experience” when we arrived back to our room to find that the bedroom lights were off with the air thick of burning incense. Our roommates were singing along and swaying with an enthusiastic guitar player. Emzie’s pillow pet might have felt a little claustrophobic as it was nearly being squished to death by the musician! I wish I could have captured the look on her face when she opened the bedroom door!!!!!!!! Needless to say the roommates were all really nice and we had a lovely time getting to know them over the next few days. Even the girl who spread her makeup all over the foot of my bed (when she thought I was sleeping) so she could apply her makeup.

Saturday was a fun filled day full of planned activities. We were praying that the rain would hold off so we could enjoy our luge rides! We rode up a really short gondola ride and then rode down on plastic luges! We were fortunate enough to get the eight-seater gondola all to ourselves as we rode to the top of Mount Ngongotaha (487 metres above sea level). Through the spitting rain we saw Lake Rotorua and the city. The luge ride down was awesome! Emzie bought our Skyline Rotorua tickets on the grabone website (similar to groupon) so we were able to get a good rate on riding 3x down the hill. We did the scenic track that was 2 kilometre ride through Redwood trees. There were a few pit stops where you could get out and take pictures. We both really enjoyed the 1 kilometre advanced luge track that was much steeper and had more turns. The Jelly Belly factory turned out to be super disappointing. Definitely very over hyped and not worth the money to buy anything from it. We both love jelly beans and couldn’t bring ourselves to pay around 50cents a jelly bean.

Afterwards we took a walk around Kuirau Park (a free attraction) to see some hot springs. The park was nearby and gave Emzie the opportunity to see her first hot pool.  Let’s just say Em was under amused by them. I had seen some before in Canada but being her first time…she was unimpressed by their lack of entertainment. The volcanic area had an eruption as recent as 2003 which covered most of the park in trees. We got to see the boiling mud and plenty of huffing steam. The cheap thermal thrills were not as exciting as I had wished! Luckily we found a friendly popcorn vendor who was super friendly and had delicious stock.  We continued our walk around and randomly stumbled upon a festival. We searched for a caricature sketcher but were not able to locate any. We could have done without the creepy clown! We did see lots of antics and homemade crafts. There was also a zombie apocalypse (was an annual event to raise money and awareness for brain injuries).

Wanting to make the most of our day we headed back to the hostel to look through the wall of brochures and pamphlets. We were starting to feel we had exhausted most of our options in Rotorua. Originally we had planned to go white water rafting, parasailing or skydiving during our visit. Seeing as my budget had become tighter we nixed all the fun-adrenaline filled activities. There was a pub and bar conveniently located literally 5 steps away from our hostel but instead we decided to have an early night and head off towards Taupo in the morning.

Sunday We drove towards Taupo which was a under an hour drive away. Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland was only about a 20 It is known as New Zealand’s  most colourful and diverse volcanic area.  The rain was in full force the whole drive. When we got there we were really worried the rain would ruin our visit. Luckily the sky cleared and we got sun from time to time. We took full advantage of the moments where we did not need our umbrellas and hoods to take quick pictures of ourselves. 

The Champagne Pool was an insane experience! “Unique in the world, a fifth of a hectare of bubbling, hissing water, with a beautiful ochre-coloured petrified edge”(Brochure). Em and I could barely see the edge without our eyes trying to shut. It felt like we were being swallowed up by fog. Our glasses steamed up and we couldn’t see ANYTHING!!! It was raining but we were so hot. We never got to see Lady Knox Geyser erupt as we were not there at 10:15am for its daily eruption.

We decided we should check out Huka Falls while we were in town. It was not as spectacular as we were expecting…”Huka Falls! It should be called Huka River or Huka Mini River!” -Emma. Even though the water was a royal blue the falls was very small in comparison to Niagara Falls which we have both seen. (A sign informed us that the ice-blue, snow-white is famous for having about 200,000 litres of water plunge nine metres over the great rock face of Huka Falls, every second. The flow over the falls is son strong it prevents the upstream migration of trout and native fish such as eels which is why there are no eels to be found in Lake Taupo.)

In the afternoon we went to the Polynesian Spa for a hot mineral bath. We wanted to book mud bath back massages but they were completely booked. Instead we relaxed in a secluded private pool filled with alkaline water at a comfortable 38.5 degrees for 30 minutes. (Brochure) Our skin felt so smooth when we were finished.

One of the HIGHLIGHTS of the trip was our movie and dinner in-bed. We watched the Pixar movie The Incredibles and dined on crackers and double creamy brie. We made great decisions. I had never seen the movie and found it very cute and the brie was beyond delicious. Will creamy brie taste plain to me now?

Monday The sun finally came out and it was a gorgeous drive back to Auckland. To Em’s DEELIGHT we stopped off to Zorb. Large, clear, people filled spheres bouncing and rolling  150m straight down a grassy track down the hill (New Zealand Lonely Planet). We had planned to be strapped into the dry Zorb and face each other as we rolled down the hill. To our shock our heights did not fulfill the height requirement and we had to ride WITH NO STRAPS in a zorb filled with water. We were given VERY LITTLE direction on how the two of us would be able to roll down in the same Zorb without seriously injuring each other. The whole way down the hill we were laughing and screaming and shoving each other away. It is a miracle neither of us got a black eye. Someone really needs to bring this to CANADA.

As we drove through Cambridge our helpful Naviman (GPS) mentioned there would be passing a place of worship. It just so happened that there was an annual fair on the church’s property. Besides lots of homemade crafts guess what we found??? MORE popcorn from the same vendor that was in Rotorua. He recognized us and jokingly accused us of stalking him. We didn’t think it would be appropriate to ask him for his summer schedule…but we should have since his sweet and sour popcorn is beyond delicious. Before Em took me back to the hostel I had an interview with a potential family. We met in Browns Bay which is a lot more tropical and scenic than Mt Roskill. We both had our fingers crossed that this family would work out for me.

The long weekend trip was a great opportunity for a lot of photographs and smiles.I am so glad we decided to go! Sorry it took me so long to post this. I am glad it is finally up – I have had this nagging feeling in the back of my mind ever since we returned from our trip. As always, I hope you enjoyed the read and am so glad you are interested in keeping up with my adventures.

– more blogs in the future I promise,
xox Amanda

Sorry about the Pillows!

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I have felt alone before. My thoughts have a way of making me feel small. Feeling mentally alone tortures the soul. But you blink, breathe deep and move on.

Being physically alone. It’s different.

The unwelcome feelings that linger as you desperately try to FIGHT it away.
The more you
fight
the more you look around and realize
how alone you are
in those moments you are completely ALONE.
All alone. ALONE.

To be physically alone, TO HAVE NO ONE was when I HAD to wear my big girl pants. And wore them I did.

I was told that I would be dropped off somewhere. When asked where I would like to go, I said, “Well I guess a hostel”. To which I got the reply, “I can’t drive you into town! I’ll take you to the train.” No specific time was given – besides the word evening. I quickly packed my bags so I would have as much time as possible to use the free internet. I frantically researched hostel locations, rates and reviews. I WAS actually going to become a “backpacker”. The difference between me and someone who was street entrenched was that I had money to pay for a hotel BUT there was no way I was going to one.  Sure Emzie and I had bought backpacks, but we weren’t actually dead-set on backpacking all around New Zealand and Australia. Maybe a day here and there, maybe more, but we would always be TOGETHER and travelling as a team. Not me fumbling with my bags in some unknown place alone.

Anxiety. FEAR. Depression. Anger. Shock. Pity. Despair. All these emotions were piling up and getting in my way. I plunked myself down beside a wall charger and kept my phoned charging as I sat for hours just waiting for the words, “time to go”. Dismal ratings, great ratings, horrible comments — the internet was inundated with reviews. Would all this preparation be enough for me? Was I going to be okay? Would I make it to the hostel? How was I going to carry all my bags? Would my shoulders and back give out on me?

For anyone that knows me. TRULY knows me. They know I am deathly shy. I will be the first to tell you I have NO confidence when in public. It scares me. In any new situation I am scanning, searching, and praying that there will be somebody to help me. As long as I have SOMEONE I am not alone. New jobs, new classes, new housing, new people it ALL terrifies me! I just need one person, JUST one person – and I am ok. It’s a confidence thing. I LACK SELF ESTEEM and I know it. THE very thought of me travelling to a new town by train worried me! Staying in a hostel petrified me. Living alone with no job had me fighting back tears.

I was feverishly researching WHILE texting friends to update them on my plans. I was beyond thankful that despite the time difference there were friends to talk to. I wanted them to know I was going to a hostel. Their worry for me elevated my fears and made me want to scream. Yet, it comforted me to know they knew what was happening. I needed them to know. I went from one bad situation, to another, and there was no way I was letting this decision be my worst.

Part of the fear was having never been to a hostel before. I have heard horror stories, and gross stories so I was trying to brace myself. I wanted to make the best decisions, that also fit my budget and time frame. If only I knew then what I know now! The worst part was not the hostel but getting to the hostel! And even then the commute wasn’t bad at all. It was really my imagination running wild. The build up of the situation was far more escalated than it ever needed to be.

My backpack, duffle bag and another bag full of food (there was no way I was leaving my food behind!!) were painstakingly heavy! Before Em left for Australia she brought me some of her hoodies, and 2 pillows and a library book. The pillows were such a nice surprise since the one I had been given was a brick that I never ONCE slept on for fear of breaking my neck. BUT unfortunately when it came down to choosing food over pillows I packed the food and had to leave behind the pillows. I very wisely packed the pillow covers so I could one day replace the two pillows. Love you Emzie!!

I was dropped off at the curb and cursing the skies that my shoulders were killing me. I made it onto the train (I was paranoid that it would be going in the wrong direction and asked a few times to make sure!) I had to ask what my stop would be as all I really knew was I was trying to get downtown. I was a little upset that the “train” was basically what we call a sky train or subway. I had really been hoping for a long scenic train ride. Once I arrived in Central Auckland I asked the information desk what bus I would need to take to take me to Queen Street. The person working the information booth was beyond helpful and even went as far as walking me to the bus. (He didn’t offer to carry any of the bags but I really appreciated the directions. He whipped out a paper map and circled where the bus stops were for each of the nearby hostels. Super great at his job!!) The hostel itself was the hardest part to find since it was on the 3rd floor of a building.  The building was LABELLED but I had to walk around the building a few times before realizing an elevator ride up to the 3rd floor was all I needed. (I have since been reassured that I am not the only one confused with how to enter the building. I have helped a few fellow backpackers know that they need to get on the elevator to find the reception desk! Go me!)

Base is on the corner of Queen and Darby and one street away from Victoria Street!!

And there you have it! Thus far, my 3rd place in New Zealand has been the best. Definitely not in terms of income but in terms of general health and well-being.

Next post will most likely be about hostel life…unless my observation blog comes first. We’ll see how I am feeling tomorrow.

Thanks for reading and blessings to all of you xoxo
-Amanda

Big Girl Pants are ON

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An excerpt from an email I sent to brother Reece a few days ago:

“Life could be better. A lot. Don’t worry I’m wearing my big girl pants! I’d let you know if it was anything serious…I can honestly say I feel grown up. Life is BEING experienced!”

Every word was the truth. There was a little sigh of relief in letting big brother know that my trip wasn’t ALL AMAZING and not everything I was doing these days could be chalked up to fun. It was Thanksgiving weekend and I was in now in Dannemora (about 45mins from Central Auckland) and I had not shared with any family members that my life got was getting a bit more adventurous. The timing of my situation coincided with Canadian Thanksgiving making me want to reach out a little bit to family. Not enough to worry them but just enough to keep them someone what in the loop!  (Reece, Tyler, Lisa, and Helle thanks for emailing me about your Thanksgivings! I ABSOLUTELY love emails and hearing about the day to day stuff! xox)

So how did I leave Mt. Roskill and move to Dannemora? What happened and why I am no longer in Dannemora right now is what this blog will be about.

Pretty much as soon as I arrived in New Zealand I knew I should look for a new family. My spirits were shrinking as the days went on. I’m a fighter and I hate giving up, so for me to recognize that enough was enough was a huge step! I knew that I could “put up” with the family I was living with but I wanted BETTER for myself. I didn’t want to “give up” on this family but I also did not want the next 9 months leaving me bitter and depressed. With encouragement from friends I concluded that I really had to step up my search for a new position. I posted an ad online and kept a watchful eye out for anyone needing an Au pair   I received a response from a lady seeking an Au pair to help her in her daycare. She lived in Dannemora which meant it would be a further distance for Emzie and I to commute. That said, I thought working in a daycare would be great experience and would look awesome on a resume. The accommodations sounded lovely as the lady had just moved into a 6 bedroom house. Laundry, queen bed, HEAT, TV lounge area, internet and access to an automatic car were all included. We emailed back and forth a few times and the lady said no interview was required. There was a 1 week trial period to see how I got on with the children. The only thing not included was food! It may not sound like a big issue but FOOD is SUPER expensive here so that and the location were too factors that I had to consider. Emma was heading to Australia (meaning no weekend relief) and I really wanted to get out of the living situation I was currently in. I agreed to give this new job a shot! At first the lady invited me to meet her at her house, but quickly made arrangements for her to pick me up as Mt. Roskill was quite a ways off from where she resided.

Having never met my new “boss” I was quite anxious but ecstatic to be leaving and heading to a daycare environment. The lady was over 30 minutes late picking me up so I was extremely on edge as to whether or not she would be a no show. Having had previous interviews cancelled and job offers filled I had put all my eggs into this one basket. She pulled up in an old mini-van and I instantly knew it was her. She was 60 years old lady driving a minivan that had definitely done many days of carpooling. The inside had not seen a vacuum in years. All this excited energy was running through my body as we drove away. To my surprise she informed me that we were making a stop at the ferries to pick up a young man from Ireland. He too would be moving in and working as an Au Pair. Was she hiring 2 people for 1 position? Was she getting more kids in the daycare? He was only staying 3 months where as I was staying for 6 months so maybe she just wanted the overlap? Questions were running through my mind as she was explaining her expectations as she drove us both home. She explained that she had over 100years of experience working with kids: she was a teacher, owned a daycare, helped employ Au pairs in Auckland. Recently she had sold her Daycare center and was working on growing her home based daycare. She was licensed to look after 6 children and she currently had 3 and would have a 4th child by the end of the month. Not only did she hire Au pairs but she also boarded international students and couples and taught English and tutored from her home. She was always busy and was working on trying to retire in 5 years. She told us she just moved into a bigger house 3 weeks ago so there was lots of room for everyone. She has a lot of experience with Au Pairs and nannies as she has employed over 100 but at least 70 have only lasted a week. Hence the one week trial, if she likes you, you sign a three month contract and have to have a criminal record check conducted by the Ministry of Children and Families.

Long story short –even though she had a brand new huge house to live in we did not agree with how she ran the daycare. This was fine as she let us know she did not like either of us either. She had a 6 bedroom house with a huge front yard and backyard yet she was running the daycare from her garage! The kids and the Au pairs spent their time in the garage all day while at home. The only reasons we were to go inside the house were to get running water (dishes, and drinks) or to use the bath room. It was just so weird. We were meant to believe we had access to the car but soon realized when we weren’t working the car was off limits. We walked to the nearby grocery store and unhappily bought our groceries. We both commented on how we felt we were both  in college again living off cheap noodles and bread.

After the first few hours of living there both the Irish man and I were looking for other work. The car had 2 seat belts that were broken and the car seats looked ancient and very unsafe. The seat belt that was strapping the kids into the seats were twisted and not nearly tight enough. The daycare itself had so many safety hazards  from no childproof cupboards to tools lying around to sharp edges.. It was completely NOT at all what we had expected. The ad was so FAR in left field from what we were dealing with. After the first night of looking after the children the Irish guy was told he wasn’t what she was looking for. As soon as he told me I knew there was no way I was living out here alone with her. So I spoke with her and asked if we had been “applying for the same job” and if so, he could have my position as I was looking for an Au pair job closer to the North Shore. She told me even if I left she still wasn’t going to be hiring him. Then the very next afternoon she told me she was through with me too and didn’t need me. It’s a shame because the 3 kids were so much easier to look after  than the previous 2 I had. I preferred tag teaming them with the Irish lad but when he left it was still manageable to look after the 3 on my own.  So that was my three day experience in Dannemora.

This blog became WAY longer than what I was planning on typing. So I will do another blog about where I am at now…  mentally and physically! Thanks for reading!

Still smiling,
Amanda

Confession time

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I have had a lot of people ask me, “How’s New Zealand?” Followed by, “Are you enjoying your family?” I realize that everyone is assuming that the two situations go hand in hand and are hoping that I am having a positive experience for both.

TRUTH TIME in most cases I have purposely been evading the latter question. Along with that, I had only been posting on the weekends. The reason was because I really had nothing to share about my weekdays. Weekends were my time away from the house. Emzie drove over to the house to grab me and we do something fun together…well actually anything we do together is usually fun. I mean that weekends or Friday night were the only time that I actually got to see New Zealand or do any sightseeing. I would actually start to feel like a tourist and start enjoying myself. Why does Em get me out of the house instead of me just leaving the house? Her family has 2 cars, and mine has 1 car that they don’t like to use. My area of town was not as “nice” and there aren’t many restaurants or places to walk around and see. So my darling Emzie was always scooping me up and taking me out to see the rest of the world.

I had always planned on not sharing too much about my Au Pair family. For respect to their privacy and to keep this blog more about my experiences – not about my time with the family. As time went on, the saying If you don’t have anything nice to say don’t say anything at all kept swimming around in the back of my mind. What I can now say to everyone is that >> I am no longer living with the family as our expectations did not match. My definition of “good kids” and that of the mother’s were completely different. I ALSO really hate being cold and the house had no heat and the provided bedding was nowhere near substantial. The family kept the backdoor open every night so their dogs could go in and out at night which kept the house cold during the days and nights. Em actually brought me: gloves, slippers, a blanket, pillow and hot water bottle because she was shocked by the temperature of my bedroom and rest of the house. The walls were thin, from my bedroom I could hear what was happening in any part of the house at all times of the day. Besides the temperature and noise there were just a lot of issues I was being faced with that I believed to be unreasonable and I began to hate my life. The job hours and expectations were not syncing up with what had been outlined to me. It’s unfortunate that through all the correspondence of emails and skyping I got described a reality that was far different from the actuality of the household.

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So I would like to share with all of you — I still love travelling and I have been enjoying the positive experiences. I did NOT like my family and I am currently seeking another family to live with.

Good bye Mt. Roskill hello Dannemora….
or so I thought. That’s the next post 🙂

I see more people checking out the blog! Thanks for stopping by and reading. Makes me smile to know people are interested in my thoughts.
Still Smiling –Always,
xoxo Amanda Sumalee