Live in another country

I’ve been in New Zealand over 3 months now, and the current plan is to stay at least the full year of my working holiday. I’d like to work till mid-March, then travel for a couple months of the slower autumn (primarily the South Island), come back for the Queenstown winter season, and finally spend the remainder of my time travelling in the North Island.

After the year, who can say? Another country perhaps… :)

crazily, a whole month has already gone by in new zealand.

after auckland and a brief overnight in rotorua (at the awesome funky green voyager, where the owner foreshadowed doubts about transitioning from sf to the quiet east coast), i made my way to morere. i decided pretty much on the spot that it would be ridiculous to pretend to myself that i’d be happy there. morere consists of two hostels (one with a small roadside tearoom), the hotsprings complex, and a few private residences. i left after a day and a half.

i spent a lovely couple days in napier (delicious lunch in hawkes bay wine country at te awa, art deco walk), then headed to wellington. investigated work possibilities there, and indulged in the splendid cafes, but decided that queenstown was still my destination after all with its gorgeous scenery and proximity to great walks. interislander to the south, blenheim, christchurch, lake tekapo.

in queenstown, things have come together with unexpected ease. i was hired by a spa in town within 3 days of arrival, and found a bevy of attractive flatshares available, being in a shoulder season as yet. just moved from the lakeshore yha (where i had a room with a few) to my flatshare a couple days ago, and with the settledness that comes with a home, i plan to start exploring the area with zest.

it’s my third day here in new zealand. set up a bank account, got a new mobile number, bought a car. tomorrow i start my drive down to morere hotsprings, just south of gisborne, on the east coast of the north island. i’ll be working on a trial basis for the new island moonlight spa. i have a working holiday visa that will allow me to stay here and work for up to a year. yeah!

The ayurvedic doctor who was in my massage class for the first 6 weeks mentioned before he left that he was opening a clinic in Thailand and that he may have jobs available for us once we finish school. Needless to say, seems like it would be an amazing opportunity… and for weeks now, I’ve been thinking about contacting him to find out whether it’s still a viable possibility. And some sort of fear held me back from action (fear of being demanding? fear of finding out that it’s not an option?). Just wrote him an email, and feel great about breaking through my restraints.