New Zealand

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

Speechless. So much to say.

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This title just took on a whole new meaning 30 seconds ago. I AM without a voice because I am sick. My little 4 year old says, “You have no sound! Will you have sound tomorrow?” That said — I have lots to tell you now. I am ALSO speechless because I just FINISHED my blog and was adding pictures to it when I accidentally deleted my WHOLE post. So angry so angry. Hate when this happens!

The weekend was amazing. Emzie and I got the sunshine we prayed for on Saturday. We walked around Sky Tower!!! The tallest man-made structure in New Zealand with views up to 80km (52miles) in every direction. *Thank you pamphlet! When we walked the SkyWalk platform we were 194 meters (636 feet) in the air. Our guide Sibohan was great. She offered us lots of “activities” we could try. Sitting backwards over the edge and leaning forwards and back were great. I just wish that the walk included a jump off the building. We watch a handful of people jumping and it took around 25 seconds for them to get down. They descended pretty slowly…I guess to make the 300$ leap worth it? I was very proud of Emzie for not letting her fear of heights get the best of her.

I kept reminding her that this was her warm up to skydiving! After our walk around the tower we took the elevator up to the Sky Deck where you can get a 360degree view of the city from 722 feet up. The elevator ride with its glass floor and windows was a neat experience. Once we got up to the top we took a ton of photos. I posted them all on Facebook if you want to take a look 🙂

We decided that we wanted to be really touristy that weekend so we drove up to the top of One Tree Hill so we could get lots of shots of New Zealand’s rolling hills and their sheep/lambs. Emma and I rocked our I love NZ shirts and fit in well with all the other tourists trying to take photos. It started to rain and got dark really fast but I still think our iPhones captured some great pictures! I wish the lighting was better but we had a fabulous time posing for all the shots.

Sunday was a nice sleep in day for me. I slept most of the morning trying to see if I could recover my voice. Emma couldn’t stop laughing at my manly husky voice air bubbled voice. Every time I tried to talk some weird sound would come out of me or I would think I was talking but no sound would come out. We took advantage of the sun and went to Mission Bay again. We got a lot of exercise walking along the beach and taking action shots of us by the water.

The weekend was great and I can’t wait to get out and see more of New Zealand.   Thanks to everyone that is reading my blog. I am trying really hard to update my Facebook photos regularly as well as my aPAD. I wish this post was as detailed as my original one 😦

My next blog will most like be about my observations since moving here.
xoxo Amanda

~~If you want to see the pictures on the blog BIGGER just click the picture and it will appear in a new window in a larger format!

Being Blessed is Exhausting…

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After 7 months of trying to decide where my future would take me –I have FINALLY arrived in New Zealand. I can and CAN’T believe I actually moved away from Canada. After all the stressful nights and mini melt-downs, I can lay back and breathe DEEPLY. Anxiety attacks did NOT hold me back and I thank all who showed me how strong their love for me really is! Telling people you are moving away REALLY let’s you know who truly does love you!!

Thank you so much to my parents, Dom and CC for my amazing sendoff! Around at the airport with plenty of time to get my: Timmy Ho fix, shared some poutine and got to indulge in a bathroom photo session! Even had enough time to look at all the magazine covers and hum and haw over throwing my money away. (For those curious; I resisted the urge and spent no money on a gossip mag).

The plane ride was pretty uneventful. I did score a window seat with nobody sitting directly beside me. The passenger sitting in the aisle seat next to the vacant seat was just as excited as I was that no one would be sandwiched in between us. It made my travelling experience that much better! I have yet to dislike flying. Take off was 30mins late – yet we still managed to land in Auckland 30 minutes ahead of schedule. When I landed it was pitch black out and raining. The whole team at Air New Zealand Flight 83 was magnificent!! Super friendly and professional the whole flight. The plane landed around 4:35am and I was able to get through: security, baggage claim and bio hazard screening and a bathroom break all before 5:40am 🙂

Those in my host family are so gracious and warm. I already feel a strong connection and know it will be hard to leave come May. It did not take long for both girls to feel comfortable around me. They LOVED their little tutus. The fit was amazing and I can’t wait to post a picture of them wearing them. When I left a few times to go to my room to try to unpack the little 4 year old would ask her parent, “Where is Amanda?” “Why is Amanda not here?” So many memories already shared today….maybe I should buy stocks in Kleenex now?!!

During the rainy ride home, I was second guessing myself for not packing more pants and hoodies. AS A HUGE hoodie lover I was questioning why I had boxed and left so many in storage? By the afternoon the sun was out and the warmth was felt through the kitchen and living room windows. A smiled set in and I realized I had made the right decision. I packed enough clothes and no matter what I packed I was going to have an amazing experience.

I have already indulged in homemade peanut butter cookies, homemade pizza (mine was vegetarian and beyond delish), and an amazing lentil and avocado salad. Tomorrow I get to munch on homemade carrot cake!!! Thank baby Buddha they have a treadmill 🙂

It’s 2:45am (BC time) and only 9:45pm (NZ time)and having not had a nap makes me EXHAUSTED!!!
xox Amanda