Kiwis Have Wings...

Still Not Prepared

2010-09-12T03:07:00.000-04:00

Despite my claims last week that I was going to put together a survival kit, I haven't. This even despite the fact that since the big South Island quake hit last Saturday, here in Hawke's Bay we've had three good sized shake ups!

I've made two main adjustments in my life because of the increased worry of a big earthquake hitting:
1) I charge my cellphone more frequently, never knowing when I'll need it to last for awhile without electricity.
2) I keep my eyeglasses in a case on my bedside table now, instead of loose on the window sill in the bathroom like I used to. The Christchurch earthquake hit a 4:30 in the morning, and I'd hate to think how long it'd take me in the dark to find my glasses down the hall in the bathroom and probably busted having fallen onto the floor.

I really should get a working flashlight, but luckily, my awesome old school Nokia cell phone has an LED torch, so keeping it charged at least will give me some light.

The Big One

2010-09-04T05:50:00.000-04:00

Napier is far enough away from Christchurch that we didn't feel the huge 7.1 earthquake that hit there early this morning. But it's certainly a wake up call for us all here in New Zealand, because such a quake could happen anywhere, at anytime.

Napier's all ready been virtually destroyed one, back in 1931 by a 7.8 earthquake and a fire that followed it. That history doesn't give us an all clear, though, so it's prudent to be prepared. Thankfully there were few serious injuries from the Christchurch earthquake, but the damage to the city infrastructure was severe. The possibility of being without power or water for several days, if not longer, is very sobering.

I've seen the ads on TV here telling us to prepare for the worst. The handy website http://www.getthru.govt.nz/ tells you what to do. A few months ago I started making an effort to stockpile bottles of water, but I never got to the recommended 12 litres of water per person, which for our family of 4 would be 48 litres! We've got a basic first aid kit, but that's about it. We don't even have a working flash light. Time to get on that.

US Expats must keep the IRS informed

2010-06-27T06:11:00.000-04:00

One of the many joys of being a US citizen is that you get to file yearly tax returns to the IRS for the rest of your life no matter where you live! Most people know that little tidbit, and obviously heaps of people decide to move overseas regardless. So April 15 continues to be a day of reckoning for us expats.

Less known is that there is another date to mark on your calendar as a US expat: June 30. This is the date that your TD F 90-22.1 is due. Now, not all US expats have to file this form, but if you happen to open any bank accounts in your new country of residence, and at any point in the year your combined balance goes over $10,000 (US), then the IRS wants to know about it. And you use the TD F 90-22.1 to tell them. Here is the IRS website's handy page on the matter:
http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=218835,00.html

And if this is the first you're hearing about it and you meet the requirements for 2009, then you better get on it quick, because the due date is Wednesday.

Due June 30
The annual due date for filing Form TD F 90-22.1, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR), is June 30. The FBAR must be received by the IRS on or before June 30. Unlike tax returns, the FBAR is considered filed on the day it is received by the IRS. Postmarks are not considered evidence of timely filing.

Flippin' Frost!

2010-06-14T04:06:00.001-04:00

In New England (the region in the north-east of the United States composed of 6 states: Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Connecticut, Rhode Island and my home state - Massachusetts) there's a saying attributed to Mark Twain... "If you don't like the weather in New England, just wait a few minutes."

I knew this to be true of New England, but I didn't think it would be the case in New Zealand as well. But it is! Though not to the same extremes. We don't have sunny shorts and t-shirt days devolving into snowshoe days, but we do have sunny shorts and t-shirt days that devolve into huddle around the radiator nights.

Which leads to this in the morning:

(The grass in normally green, even in the winter.)

Which wouldn't be such a problem, but in January, the middle of our summer, we took a gamble and planted a tamarillo tree seedling. I knew that here in Napier we get a frost or 2 a year, and that tamarillo trees are subtropical and can't handle frosts, but I figured I'd be able to protect it on the rare occasions.

Well, this winter frosts are not such a rare event. We had 1 or 2 early frosts and I could feel the chill in the air as night descended, so I covered the tree with an old bed sheet. And it did fine. As recently as last week I took photos of my thriving tamarillo tree to show my mom back home.

And then we had the frost to end all frosts, which struck quite unawares, bringing to mind the Mark Twain quote above. I didn't cover the tree since it had been so warm during the day. And then last night we had another surprise attack. When I went to bed it was raining, and everyone knows it can't frost when it's raining. But apparently it can frost when it stops raining in the middle of the night and a cold front moves through. This is our tree now.

Surcharge, Yeah Right!

2010-06-07T03:20:00.004-04:00

Wandering around town centres in New Zealand today, a recent expat might wonder what's with all the "No surcharge" signs outside eating establishments.

Let me clear up the confusion. A New Zealand national labour law requires employers to pay employees time and a half for working on public holidays. Today is Queen's Birthday, one such holiday. Unlike the States where waitstaff are frequently paid a pittance and make most of their money in tips, all restaurant and cafe staff here must be paid at least minimum wage, currently $12.75 per hour. So on a public holiday they're paid at least $19.12 per hour. Some places of business claim this is a reason to charge their patrons an extra fee on public holidays, saying they wouldn't be able to otherwise pay their staff the extra wages.

Commonly, you'll see food shops trying to differentiate themselves by posting that they don't charge a holiday surcharge. See a few examples of signs that were out today in Napier.

And as another cultural note, note the Heaven's Bakery sign. Kiwis use sarcasm as humour way more than Americans in my experience.

New Zealand is not as safe as you think it is

2010-05-31T04:06:00.000-04:00

Well, in a way it is, in a way it isn't. It's true that we are relatively safe from violent crime here. But the level of petty crime seems to be proportionally much higher. And no where is safe. Even the "good" neighborhoods have regular break-ins and burglaries.

This post was prompted by this story in the Dominion Post (a Wellington newspaper). An American expat couple living in Wellington left all their belongings in a van outside their house, and it was broken into and everything stolen. Including their $15,000 bicycles. And they didn't have insurance.

The only time in my entire life that I've ever been robbed from was last winter when staying at a rented bach (pronounced 'batch', a small vacation rental) in Ohakune near the Ruapehu skifields. It was pouring rain, so when we returned to the bach from dinner, we ran inside and I forgot to lock the car doors. Later in the night we went to get back in the car to go out for some drinks, and as I got to the driver-side door, it burst open and a young hoodlum jumped out, yelled "booga booga!" and ran off. Luckily we disturbed him, or he probably would have taken all our CDs. As it was, he only got a pair of sunglass (nice ones, though, so it still sucked).

So when you move here, don't be complacent. Lock your doors. Don't leave anything valuable in your car. And for goodness sakes, insure your valuables.

Learn the Kiwi "as" slang from a 6-year-old

2010-05-24T03:45:00.001-04:00

You won't be in New Zealand long before you hear someone exclaim, "Sweet as!" Soon you may even find yourself sticking random "as"es in at the end of sentences. Here my 6-year-old daughter shows us expert usage. (Actually, this was found in her top secret diary, so don't tell anyone I showed you.)

As you can see, she's listing members of her class, and denoting them either "cool" or "cool as". (Names blurred the names to protect the innocent.) In Massachusetts the equivalent would be labeling friends as either "cool" or "wicked cool". The last 3 are her family members. It's nice that she's still at an age where she thinks her parents are awesome.

Basically, you can add "as" in after any adjective to add emphasis. As far as I know, New Zealand is the only country that utilizes this turn of phrase. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

News Flash!

2010-05-14T21:21:00.000-04:00

Update on the Napier central city supermarket situation!

They have painted the dark green Countdown the same color as the light green Countdown, so there is now no way to tell them apart.

And since I have a hard time remembering which was there first, the "old" and "new" monikers are useless. So if you tell someone to meet you at the Countdown in Napier you've got a 50-50 chance of picking the right one.

Ice Cream

2009-11-27T00:22:00.004-05:00

For some reason a lot of people here are under the impression that New Zealand is internationally known for having great ice cream. On multiple occasions when the fact comes up that I don't like New Zealand ice cream I hear, "But New Zealand is supposed to make the best ice cream in the world!" Maybe a news show did a report once stating this? Maybe Kiwis learn it in school? Maybe the dairy industry has put subliminal messages in advertisements?

Whatever the reason, I'd like to state my opinion for the record that the ice cream here kinda sucks. Yesterday I was talking about this to my co-worker (my one and only co-worker, unless you count my 2 bosses who bring the company total to 4) because of this story about New Zealand's most popular ice cream brand Tip Top.

Me: Tip Top is so icy and watery and light and fluffy. When it melts it turns into watery foam!

Co-worker: Yeah... what's wrong with that? What does your ice cream turn into when it melts?

Me: Cream.

Co-worker: ... Ew.

You can get Häagen-Dazs for a small fortune, but I've decided it's just not worth it. So I don't eat ice cream anymore. Instead, I'll just save up and gorge on Ben & Jerry's when I go back to visit the States.

3... 2... 1...

2009-09-07T06:32:00.004-04:00

Central Napier has 3 super markets, all within spitting distance of each other. As you can see in the photo above, 1 is a Pak 'n Save, and the other 2 are Countdowns. Yes. You read that right. There are 2 Countdown supermarkets, directly across the street from each other.

Apparently, one of them used to be a Woolworths, which was bought out by Countdown. So they rebranded the supermarket. Never mind the fact that there's already a Countdown DIRECTLY ACROSS THE STREET. To avoid confusion, they can be referred to as the "old" Countdown versus the "new" Countdown. But as the months and years go by, people forget which is which of those, so now Napier has the "dark green" Countdown versus the "light green" Countdown.

And now you know.

Year-round Fall

2009-08-23T04:04:00.003-04:00

There are no deciduous trees native to New Zealand. Though many trees that drop all their leaves in fall have been introduced, the natives are all either fern, conifer, or what Wikipedia refers to as broadleaf. I think we've got one of the latter in our front yard. We have yet to identify it, but it for sure isn't deciduous. There are leaves on the tree year round. And leaves fall year round. I've never had to deal with that before. Constant raking. Annoying. But I guess it is nice that in winter trees here don't look all dead with no leaves.

Flippin' Heck

2009-08-09T04:32:00.002-04:00

I've posted on my tumblr this and this, this and this about the cold here.

That pretty much sums it up. The winters are only miserable here because of the miserable condition of the housing. And the biggest problem is the damp. We've got mold on the windows and mold on the walls. We've done our best to eradicate it, but it's a constant effort. We wake up in the mornings and towel all the condensation off the window panes and the puddles off the window sills. We open all the windows to air out the rooms. We run a dehumidifier on the really damp days. We pull the blankets and sheets off the beds during the day to air the mattresses out.

And yet tonight I found mold. The worst type possible. I was flipping the girls' mattress for the first time in 2 months. I discovered mold on the fabric covering the boxspring, and on the mattress itself on the side that had been down. This is tragic, as this mattress is an all organic natural latex one we had gotten specifically because little Nys seems to have allergy issues. Plus it's the most comfortable mattress I've ever slept on. We shipped it over with our stuff from Boston. I don't believe comparable mattresses are available here. Luckily we have two, the second having been in our virtually unused spare room. Because it hasn't been slept on much, it hasn't gotten all that body moisture in it and it's not moldy (yet).

So we pulled a quick switcheroo, and we're going to try to save the moldy mattress. It's not too bad, the boxspring is worse, and just has very light spots of grey. They don't even show up in a photo, so I have no proof for y'all, but trust me, it's there. So I've got both pieces in the spare room now, with a radiator on and the dehumidifier running, and I'll leave it that way all night. (The dehumidifier needs the heat to get the air temperature up or else it doesn't work.) Then tomorrow we're hoping for a sunny day. We'll take them outside, brush them down, vacuum them off, and lay in the sun for as long as possible. And then we're just going to have to be even more vigilant in the girls' room. Running the dehumidifier every day, flipping the mattress regularly. I'll let you know how it goes.

Up for Auction

2009-08-07T07:08:00.003-04:00

New Zealand's most popular web site, apparently, is Trade Me. It's kinda a combination of ebay and craigslist, for Kiwis only. I saw stated on the news here the other day that on any given day, 67% of web pages hit by New Zealanders are Trade Me pages. That's kinda insane.

Trade Me is one of two main site for NZ job listings (the other being Seek), and has the most comprehensive real estate listings. We found our house initially on Trade Me, and I got my job through Trade Me. But it's mainly an auction site. So far I've only participated in one auction, which I won, for a kids desk and bench for the girls' art work.

This week, I won another auction. But this time, it was in person. At a real auction house. Maidens and Foster is right next door to my office building, and every Wednesday at 1:00pm they hold an auction for general household items. I've been wanting a desk chair for awhile, but I was loathe to pay the $100 the cheapest new ones were at stores. Several weeks ago I went to check out the auction items during the open viewing time, and I saw a few adequate desk chairs. Not wanting to take too much time out of my day, I placed absentee bids on 2 of them (hoping I would not win both, but since one of them I was only bidding $15 on, it wouldn't have been the end of the world). Well, I lost them both, both by $5. I figured if I had the chance again, I'd have to be there in person to bid.

For the next few weeks there were no desk chairs, but finally this week there were several. They were lots number 140 - 146, and I was told that they usually run through about 100 lots an hour. So starting around 2:00 on Wednesday I stuck my head out the window at work to listen for the lot numbers they were up to. When then got to 130, I went down. I was nervous, as I'd never been to a real auction before. I kept my hands tight in my pockets as I didn't want to accidentally bid on something. All sorts of people were crammed into the room, a lot looked like they were just there passing time. But in those 10 lots I got the gist of how it went. And when lot 140 came I, I jumped in right away. I wasn't going to wait around to let any chairs get by me. The bidding started at $20, another guy bid $25, I went $30, and it was over. Whohoo! It was fun, but nerve-racking. And now I've got a sweet desk chair.

There's this referendum...

2009-08-03T04:07:00.003-04:00

A New Zealand Citizens Initiated Referendum that asks "Should a smack as part of good parental correction be a criminal offence in New Zealand?"

Here's the history as far as I have gleaned:
Assault is against the law in New Zealand.
There used to be an exception to the assault law if it was a case of a parent or guardian using "reasonable" force against their child for the purposes of correction. (Section 59 of the Crimes Act 1961)
In 2007 this section of the law was changed, essentially removing the exception and outlawing smacking (what Americans call spanking).
This upset a lot of people who think that as parents they have the right to smack their children.
A group of these people got together and followed the protocol to put this referendum to the public.

This question is very poorly worded because it assumes that a "smack" (whatever that technically means) can be a "part of good parental correction." And using the term "criminal offence" is scary, and not in fact what the current law does.

So I vote Yes, because a Yes vote is essentially saying that I want the law kept the way it is now. I don't think that good parents who lightly smack their children should go to jail, despite my Yes vote. The current law isn't doing that.

Here's an analogy. When my friend from the States was here visiting recently we went out to a night club. An obnoxious drunk was being a jerk to us, and my friend slapped him. Twice. He wasn't happy, but he was too drunk to do anything about it.
Was this assault? Yes.
Do I think she should have slapped him? No
Was she arrested for it? No
Do I think she should have been arrested for it? No
Do I think the law should be changed to make exceptions for slapping nasty drunks? No

In the same way, I think that smacking your kids is assault, and I don't think it should be done, and I don't want an exception in the law explicitly saying it's okay to smack, but I don't think that parents who are loving and kind otherwise should be arrested.

Is that all clear now?

What to say?

2009-07-31T03:37:00.002-04:00

I've obviously been having a hard time coming up with stuff to post here. Everything for me is new right now, and yet it's all kind of mundane as well. Life is life. Job, school, housework, TV, knitting. Although it's a new location, it's still just my boring old life. And yet I'm experiencing so much that I'm sure someone else out there must be interested in, so here I am.

Let's start with the job stuff. I managed to find, relatively easily actually, a computer programming job here in little old Napier. Obviously I consider myself extremely lucky, given the economic environment right now. And I tell myself that jobwise I couldn't have done any better, even in Boston.

My husband, the recent culinary school graduate, also found a job fairly easily, at a winery restaurant with one of the best reputations in Hawkes Bay. He worked full-time steadily till the busy tourist season ended, and has been a mostly stay-at-home-dad since I got my full-time job. That transition took everyone a bit of getting used to, but we've all settled in great.

After a rough start, school for Bic is finally wonderful. That topic should be it's own post though, so we'll move on. Nys is doing okay at her preschool. Funnily, the youngest at 3-years-old, she's having the hardest time getting used to not being in Boston anymore. She still regularly asks when we're going back. She misses our dog we had to leave behind. She misses her grandmother. Even though she's now spent over a sixth of her life here, she doesn't yet feel like this is home.

I know how she feels. I'm happy here, but I'm not sure I fit in. My workmates are nice, and the parents of my kids' school friends are nice, but I haven't made any friends yet. Which is pretty much fine, we've got our wonderful family. But some friends would be fun. Luckily, my best friend from Boston is the best friend in the world, and she just came over for a visit. It was a reminder of how awesome it is to have friends, and served to make me miss Boston even more than I already was.

I do miss it, and I at this point, 8 months into our move, I feel like at some point we will move back. In a few years at the earliest, so who knows how I'll feel then, but that's how I'm feeling now. Which I'm fine with.

Buying a House

2009-02-25T03:51:00.002-05:00

We got through it. We have a house, which we love. But the process was more than slightly annoying.

A friend of a friend of the family is an agent in town, so she showed us around to some listings her agency had that met our criteria. That was all good. We actually fell in love with the very first house we saw, which had only come on the market the day before. So dutifully we kept looking, knowing that with the markets the way they are now, there's no reason to rush.

After looking at 5 or 6 more places, we decided to make an offer on the first place. We called "our" agent ("our" in double quotes because really agents here can only ever represent the seller) and she said she'd be right by with the offer forms. By the time she came by, apparently there was another offer being put on the place. We thought that a bit sketchy, but since the place was so newly listed it was also to be expected that others would be interested an offering on the same time frame as us.

So we were made to sign a sheet saying we understood that there were multiple offers on the house. We were advised to make our "best offer", meaning don't hold back thinking that we could negotiate up. When multiple offers are made at the same time the way it goes is that both offers are presented to the sellers at the same time, and the sellers select which one they want to work with, and the others are let loose. Hence the recommendation to try to have the higher offer.

We had been planning on offering below RV, rateable (assessed) value, but decided to come up and offer exactly RV, which really, in our minds was not actually as high as we were willing to go, but with the markets the way they were, blah blah blah, we didn't want to jump too fast. We got a call later that night that the other offer was higher, so we were out.

I was really really pissed. The more I thought about it, the more I wish we had offered higher, because I loved the house. But sleeping on it, I calmed down, and got excited about looking again for something else. We started looking at more that next day. And then we got a call from "our" agent again. The other buyers couldn't go as high as the sellers wanted, so now they were offering it to us, at their original asking price. This confused me, because I thought the whole point of the multiple offers deal was that once one offer was chosen to go with, wasn't that it for the rest of the offers? Apparently not. It only meant that they would negotiate with the others first, and then if an agreement wasn't reached, the sellers could reach out to whomever they want. Really sketchy, right? Because essentially the agent told us to make our highest possible offer because there would be no more negotiating, but then there was more negotiating!

Well, I felt a bunch of swirling emotions, elation that the house was still available, but anger at the way the agents we seeming to scam us. So we turned the house down at the asking price, saying we were still interested but not at that price. And that they could contact us if the sellers were willing to come down at all. And we kept looking.

And we found a second house that we liked a lot through a different agency. This agent and agency seemed so uninterested in selling us this property, because we kept calling to see it a second time, and it took ages for us to get in again. Turned out the seller was less than willing to part with her house, and the sale was being forced on her as part of divorce proceedings. Not a pleasant situation, but we really liked the house. We decided to put an offer in.

The agent was tickled to tell us about the drama this caused, with the woman locking herself in the bathroom and refusing to come out to hear the offer. We were a bit concerned about her mental state, and over the long 24 hours it took her and her ex-partner to respond to our offer we decided we didn't really want to be involved anymore. They came back with a counter-offer, interestingly exactly the same as the price we could have the first house at. We turned it down, and withdrew our offer.

We waited another week or so, and didn't find much else we were interested in. The first place we loved was still listed, it had been a month on the market now, and we hoped that maybe the sellers were starting to feel pressure to sell. So we contacted "our" agent again, asking if there had been any movement yet. She said that the sellers would be happy to receive an offer. So we decided to offer again. We went into the real estate office, prepared to offer a bit more than we had offered before, but not as high as their asking price. When we got there "our" agent told us, "Guess what. There's another offer in again. You'll have to give your highest offer again." WTF, right?

At this point, we were sure we were being scammed. Apparently real estate agents in New Zealand are second only to lawyers in their reputations for sliminess. But there was nothing we could do if we really wanted the house. There was no way we could prove that they were making up these mysterious other offers. And technically, there could have been someone else making offers, like the sellers' best friends. Or even the sellers themselves, as I've actually heard is sometimes done here.

But we were sick of it, wanted the house, and still held onto the small possibility that the other offers were legit, so we ended up offering their asking price. The agent took them the offer, and called us back saying, "Do you have any more money?" And we were all, "NO. That is our FINAL offer." And they took it.

Blah. Leaves a bad taste, eh? Upshot? We LOVE our house. And we do know that we paid almost 10% less than the sellers paid for the house less than 3 years ago. So it's not like we were totally ripped off.

The last formalities went without a hitch. We had an inspection done, which came back with stellar results. We went into the lawyers, signed some papers. Wired the money into the lawyers' bank account, and they called us and said, "You can pick up the keys." Yay!

Moving in was a whole other story. To be told later.

Lovely Dawes

2009-02-14T04:11:00.004-05:00

I can't believe I never posted this at the time. I guess I never really posted anything about our recon visit here in July.

We spent our time between Napier and Wellington, and when in Wellington we finally got to meet our online friends, the Dawes Family in New Zealand! I could tell you about our evening out, but Marrisa already did, all those months ago. It was a great time, and it's so wonderful to know that we're now on the same land mass with them.

Such sweeties, the Dawes sent us these beautiful flowers as we settle into our new home.

Thanks, guys!

Home Now

2009-02-11T04:20:00.002-05:00

Meaning my new home of course. Don't worry, we haven't turned around and headed back.

I know that now that we're actually here, I should be posting heaps with all the good stuff. All the gory details of the move, the set up, etc. But I've been too busy with all the gory details to post.

I'll try to remedy that in the coming days and weeks, but until then, you can check out the tumblog I started to record some brief snippets of my life and impressions here.

Transition Time

2008-12-19T20:46:00.002-05:00

We've been here just over a week now. It's crazy days. We're having a blast so far, though it doesn't really seem any different to a normal vacation yet. We finally got a car yesterday! So that's good. We're looking for a house. We'd like to buy, rather than rent, just so we don't have to move twice. It's a buyer's market, but that still doesn't make it easy.

I don't feel like I can really update until I feel like we really live here now. So stay tuned for that...

Serious Crunch Time

2008-12-03T10:08:00.003-05:00

Three days from now we depart. One week from today we arrive in New Zealand. In between we hang with the rellies in California. I need to pack.

We're taking the full allowance. 2 bags per person = 8 bags. 2 of those are car seat bags, so the rest will be clothes, shoes, and other assorted stuff that we forgot to put in the container. Toys, books, appliances, etc. Hopefully it all fits.

We had a lovely going away party just before Thanksgiving. About 100 people showed up to wish us well on our move. I didn't think we knew that many people.

Our last American Thanksgiving was a traditional feast with family. Turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, the works. We'll have to try to keep up the tradition in New Zealand. Maybe we'll do 2, one in November as usual, and then one in New Zealand harvest time, since really, it's a harvest celebration. You can never have too many reasons to stuff yourself silly. I hope we can get turkey there.

Tracking

2008-11-20T12:52:00.003-05:00

Most of our belongings on on this container.

This container is now on this ship.

It's the OOCL Hong Kong. You can track it along with me if you like, on the OOCL web site.

It left New York yesterday. Now it's docked at Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Tomorrow it's due to depart across the Atlantic, reaching Italy in 6 days. That's the easy part.

You may have heard about the recent pirate activity in the Gulf of Aden. Guess where our container ship is heading next? Hopefully it makes it through unscathed. Assuming it does, it'll reach Singapore, where our container will be shifted to a different ship that heads down to Napier.

Timeline

2008-11-13T00:03:00.002-05:00

Just a quick note to point out the nifty little timeline I put up on the right side of this blog. It's got all the key parts of the process of obtaining the legal right to move my family to New Zealand. Quite a long process. We're almost at the end.

One Month Left

2008-11-08T13:56:00.003-05:00

One month from today we leave the US. Wow. I've been running around like a mad person organizing, and now we pretty much just wait.

Re: the banking stuff -

The Kiwibank application was accepted without a hitch. There was a slight delay, because we wanted a joint account, instructions for which weren't clear. Basically we had to fill out the single account forms once for each person. So all in all, once that was in, the account was opened within a few weeks.

I also decided to join HSBC, because they operate in both New Zealand and the States. So we can transfer money easily between the two countries through them. Since Aidan will continue doing contract work for a company here in the US, this will be a convenient way to get the money to us in NZ without dealing with wires and such.

The exchange rate through HSBC, though, is your standard bank rate, which isn't as good for us as we could get through other channels, so I set up accounts with both XEtrade and HiFX. XEtrade enables me to do foreign exchange transactions entirely online, taking the money from my US bank account through EFT, and wiring the money to my NZ bank account. They charge a small (around $15) transaction fee for the wiring, but the better exchange rate makes it worth the charge. HiFX seems to give an even better rate, but I have to wire the money to them, for which my US bank charges a wire fee. But HiFX doesn't charge any fees themselves. So for large sums they seem to be the best bet. Though trades with them must be initiated over the phone, and then a form filled out and faxed or emailed back to them. I've completed trades through all three channels (HSBC direct, XEtrade and HiFX) and they all worked.

And of course, while setting up all these accounts, the global economy has entered a tailspin. Things are all crazy, and so far, we seem to be benefiting from it, as the NZ dollar has fallen against the US dollar. Who knows where it will go, though?

Re: shipping our stuff -

I didn't think we had a lot of stuff, but I knew that we did want to bring with us most of the stuff we have, since stuff is generally really expensive in New Zealand. So I got a few quotes from international moving companies, and all of them seemed to think that we had enough stuff to fill a 20 foot container. But that's all good, because having a dedicated container, rather than sharing with others gets our stuff to NZ quicker. We ended up going with Allied International, and their local agent ABC Moving. Not the lowest estimate we got, but solidly in the middle.

The lowest quote was given by a kinda sketchy local moving company. They actually didn't seem sketchy in person, or in any way in fact except for one. When I asked them who they outsourced any part of the move to, they said they did it all themselves, except for the local moving in New Zealand of course. First over the phone I specifically asked who they used for the actual international part of the shipping, the freight forwarding, and he clearly answered that they do it themselves. When another employee came out to do the visual inspection for the estimate, I asked again, "Who does the actual shipping, the international portion, the container ship portion, the freight forwarding?" And again, he said they do it all themselves. But all international shippers must be licensed by the Federal Marine Commission. This company was not on any of the lists of licensed forwarders. I emailed and asked if they were licensed under a different name, because they were not on the list. And I got a response that they used a different company for the forwarding. Huh. Obviously I couldn't trust them to answer this straightforward question truthfully. How could I trust them with all of my worldly belongings?

So Allied came out and packed up all of our stuff on Thursday. And then Friday they put it all in the container. It fit with some room to spare, but not much. Now we get to live for approximately 80 days without stuff. Which means a month here, and a month and a half after we get there. It'll be such fun when it arrives!

We have our tickets!

2008-09-29T13:10:00.004-04:00

I've been saying for a while now that we're going in January. And just a few days ago that was still the plan. Mainly because that would enable Bic to finish her first half of the year of school here, and get us to New Zealand right before the start of their new school year. Also it would give us more time here to pack and prepare, and let us have one more white Christmas.

But then I went to go buy our plane tickets. In January, two adults, two children flying one way from Boston to Napier, with a stop over in San Fran for 2 days came to US$7330 on Air New Zealand. We like Air New Zealand the best because they have direct flights from San Francisco, where we like to stop over to visit relatives. Plus they do New Zealand domestic flights, so we wouldn't have to switch airlines at all the whole way. We could have probably found a cheaper domestic flights for both the US leg and the NZ leg, but having it all on one ticket means we can bring the max amount of luggage on all the flights. Which is 2 per person before being charged extra. Most domestic flights in the US now charge for even the first checked bag. And we're probably going to bring as much as we can.

Anyways $7330 is a lot of money. It sounds like too much. So I did some searching around, and found that if we leave in early December the price drops by over $2000. That's too much money to ignore. So I bought the tickets. We leave Boston on December 6. Leave San Francisco December 8. And arrive in New Zealand on December 10. Whohoo!

I had a mini anxiety attack when it dawned on my how close all this really is to happening. There's really no turning back now. And December is SO soon. But now I'm good with it. Better than good, really. That extra month will give us more time to find a place to live, visit schools and kindergartens, etc. before the start of the new year. It will give us more summer and less winter. It will give us Christmas and the New Year in our new home and with Aidan's family.

Banking Before Embarking

2008-09-21T14:39:00.004-04:00

This week has been insane for financial institutions in the US, so obviously my mind turns to our money. And where it's at. And where it will be.

We'll need a bank account in New Zealand, and it occurred to us that it would be best to set one up before touching down. On our recent reconnaissance trip we planned on doing so, but time got away from us, and in three weeks we never made it to a bank. So now that the date of departure is fast approaching, I've got to sort out a way to open a NZ bank account from overseas.

Thankfully we live in the age of the Internet, and all the major New Zealand banks have web sites. And on these sites they have pages devoted to people in just my situation... mostly. The Bank of New Zealand has a page titled Moving to New Zealand, but then the first line of the page states "The information is applicable to UK residents considering a move to New Zealand." Well, that's not very helpful for me. I'm not in the UK. So simply because of their discriminatory lack of information for other migrants, I've decided against BNZ.

National Bank is more inclusive, with a big link to their New Residents Services page right on the home page. Unfortunately, you must move to New Zealand within three months of opening the account. We're planning on moving in January, which means we would have to wait until October to get this going with them. I don't like the idea of being on a time restriction anyways. I mean, we're 99% certain we're moving in January, but should something happen, we may move a few months later. Then what would National Bank do? I dunno. Not really worth finding out when there are other banks.

ASB Bank is another big one, with their Migrant Banking information available in Mandarin, Cantonese, and Korean, as well as the usual English. They also have special services for UK residents (which again, don't help me). Their document requirements are a bit of a pain, though, as they want notarized copies of everything.

So in the end, I decided to apply with Kiwibank. Kiwibank is a relatively new bank, the only one in New Zealand 100% Kiwi owned. I believe they're partly government backed, so they have many branches in local post offices. Their Migrant Banking page is straightforward, with a link to directions on opening an account from overseas. The only slight confusion I had was that the "Migrant Banking Forms" are not migrant/overseas specific at all. There is no place for "Country" in the address area. The telephone number field doesn't have enough spaces for longer, international numbers. Little things like that.

So I wrote to Kiwibank and asked to confirm there were the right forms. They responded promptly, that yes, they were, and I should just write in whatever additional information I need to provide. Which I had to do in two cases. First was the rate the earned interest will be taxed at. The forms only have the choices 19.5%, 33%, 39% and Exempt. Well, as non-residents until we move, the interest should actually be taxed at the Non-Resident Withholding Tax rate of 10%. So I wrote that in. And then I also had to note that I would be wiring money to the new account once set up, rather than including a deposit cheque, as requested.

Yesterday I sent the forms, along with photocopies (non-notarized) of my husband's and my passports, and a recent bank statement. I'll let you know when I hear from them.

Early Education

2008-09-19T11:38:00.000-04:00

So here in my area of the States preschools are private, often expensive, competitive, and hard to get in to. Most places recommend applying for a spot a whole year before your child would start. Kids usually start preschool the September after they turn 3 years old. My little on will be turning 3 in December, just one month before we relocate to New Zealand.

In New Zealand, preschools (often called Kindergartens or simply Kindy) are also private. The big difference is that the government now pays for 20 hours a week of early education for 3 and 4 year olds. This has apparently led to more kids enrolled, and fewer spaces free in qualifying centres. Knowing this, and being accustomed to the year-in-advance registration rule here, I've worried that little Nys won't have a spot in a preschool when we get there. And she is SO ready for preschool, seeing her big sis Bic go off to school every day is so sad for her.

So I've started emailing preschools in the areas we're looking at in Hawkes Bay. It seems like we won't have too much of a problem. Two of the Kindergarten associations I've contacted - Napier Kindergarten Association and the Heretaunga Kindergarten Association - have wait lists for their many centres, but the list order is based on the age of the child, not how long the name as been on the list. The oldest child on the list when a spot opens up gets the spot. And spots open up all the time, because as I explained previously, children move on up to real school when they turn five, be it at the beginning of the year, the middle, or near the end. There's no problem in waiting, then, till we arrive and visit a few of the centres before putting her name on the waiting list, because the term begins at the end of January, and she'll get a spot when she's the oldest on the list.

Residency in Hand

2008-09-10T23:44:00.002-04:00

That was quick. I got my passport back today, just 8 days after I sent it down to the New Zealand Embassy in Washington, DC. It is now stamped with a Residence Visa, which I must convert to a Residence Permit by 8 September 2009 (by entering New Zealand). I also go a Returning Resident's Visa that lets me back into New Zealand if I leave in the two years thereafter.

Starting School

2008-09-08T09:23:00.005-04:00

It's the beginning of September, so here in the States that means the beginning of a new school year! Having young children, their schooling obviously came into consideration when thinking about emigrating to a new country. And ultimately, differences in the school schedule have affected our time table for moving.

In Massachusetts kids start school September after they turn five. The first year of school, children 5 and 6 years old, is called Kindergarten. The second year of school is called First Grade. The third year is Second Grade, and so on. Confusing, I know. I think the names are holdovers. First Grade used to be the first year of school, and Kindergarten was just organized childcare for kids not old enough yet for school. But then The Powers That Be decided that starting school earlier is better, so Kindergarten was added on as part of the public education system as the first year. Legally, children don't need to start schooling until they're six years old, but pretty much everyone starts at five.

Kindergarten is still a transition year in a lot of places, though. For children never in a childcare or preschool setting, it's the very first time away from home. In some towns Kindergarten has shorter days than the rest of the school. But because of the big push for early childhood education, almost all children now start attending preschool at age 3. Babying the Kindergartners is not so necessary, and there's a nationwide trend towards full-day Kindergarten. My town is halfway there, sending Kindergartners to school full days 2 days a week and half days 3 days a week.

Now I'm not an expert, but I've been asking around about starting school in New Zealand. There are quite a few differences. Most obviously, the school year there goes from February to December. The school year schedule is the same all across the country, rather than being different town to town as it is here.

Confusingly, what we call preschool or nursery school here in the US is called Kindergarten in New Zealand. This is for 3 and 4 year olds and is provided by private early childhood education centers. Recently the New Zealand government started a universal preschool type system, which provides 20 free hours per week of early childhood education at these private centers. That's a huge bonus for us, considering that for Bic's year of preschool last year we paid over $5000, and she only went 15 hours per week!

Kids start SCHOOL school when they turn five. The DAY they turn five (or the next school day if it's a weekend, holiday or vacation). Depending on what part of the year it is, the child is put into either Year 0 or Year 1. If it's close to the start of the year, they go straight into Year 1. But if it's later in the year they start in Year 0. School is full-day, right from the start.

Bic turned five at the end of June, and last week she started Kindergarten here (see above). We had originally planned on moving to New Zealand in November, which would be pulling Bic out of school just over 2 months after she started. Then we would arrive just before the end of the year, so probably not a good time for her to start. Because of this, we've decided to put off our move till January. This will mean that Bic can finish the first half of her school year here, and leave during winter break, arriving down under just in time to start the new school year there as a Year 1.

For more information on NZ schooling, check out the New Zealand Ministry of Education main website or their info site for parents, Team-Up.

Recon

2008-09-04T17:06:00.002-04:00

Like I said previously, there's a lot to update. We went down to New Zealand for 3 weeks in July for a bit of reconnaissance. It was winter (note the snow on the Napier/Taupo road below), which wasn't ideal, but we got a lot of stuff sorted in our own heads, and it ended up being a wonderful trip.

So what did we sort out? Well, the biggest thing was deciding where we want to move to. We were divided between Aidan's hometown of Napier in the Hawke's Bay region, and Wellington. We spent a week in Napier, a week in Wellington, then a week back in Napier. And it became clear to us that Hawke's Bay is definitely where we'll go.

Not to knock Wellington. I mean, we totally love it there. But lifestyle-wise, I think Napier is more our speed. And really, lifestyle is the reason we're moving to NZ. Wellington is another big(gish) city. We've lived in the suburbs of a big(gish) city for the past 11 years. It's what we're moving away from. And housing in Wellington is SO expensive that we'd definitely have to live in the suburbs there, rather than close to town, which would defeat the purpose of being there anyways. The downtown is awesome... the suburbs, not so much.

Napier, on the other hand, is technically a city, but I consider it a small town. It feels like a small town, but with most of the city amenities you could want between Napier, it's sister city Hastings just next door, and the adorable village of Havelock North. Hawke's Bay is a gorgeous region.

We'll be able to afford pretty much anywhere we'd like in the area. Where in the end we settle exactly will depend on where our jobs are. And on that front, it doesn't seem like there will be any problem, since Aidan managed to meet with many potential employers, and they all seemed enthusiastic, some even offering him jobs on the spot! He didn't commit to anything. I assume when we arrive in January the situation will be similar.

So that was the major decision we made on this trip. More gleaned info to follow.

I bet you thought it would never happen

2008-09-02T23:26:00.002-04:00

It's here! Finally, an update!

There's actually a lot to update, but instead, I'll just share that today I sent my passport to the New Zealand Embassy to have my Residence Visa stamped, or attached, or inserted, or however they give it to me. The acceptance letter told me it would take about 4 weeks to be issued, and then from that point I have 12 months to move to New Zealand. No problem, the current plan now is to move in January.

Whohoo! Almost there. :)

The world is shrinking

2008-05-06T14:57:00.003-04:00

On Friday, Aidan ordered me a Shuffle for Mother's Day. Yes, I know it's cheating that I already know what he got me, but the color and the inscription will be a surprise at least.

Anyways, like I said, he ordered it online on Friday. We received a notice of shipment with tracking info two days later, on Sunday. Today is Tuesday, and it just arrived. Pretty good, right?

It's actually pretty unbelievable when you see where this little $50 gizmo has been.

It started in China. That day it got to the Philippines. Then it left the Philippines for Alaska. Yesterday afternoon it left Anchorage, arrived in Indiana early this morning, and I had it in my hands at 2:44 this afternoon. It even looks like it was at my house this morning, but no one was here to receive it.

With the world shrinking this way, it makes a move to the other side of the world seem more doable. Now if I could only ship myself over as easily and cheaply.

Wait.

2008-04-23T14:30:00.002-04:00

So it seems I need to wait again. My letter from the NZ Embassy said I need to send them back my passport, and they'll put my Resident Visa in it (for the fee of $235 called a migrant levy). I will then have 12 months to get to New Zealand at which point the Visa will be removed from my passport and my Residence Permit will be issued.

Thing is, I'm going to NZ for a month in July. But returning home for a few months to pack and stuff before moving over permanently sometime at the end of the year. So I don't want my Residency to start till I actually move (so I won't be tax liable there, so I won't need a Returning Residents Visa to get back). I emailed my case worker and asked what I should do. She said I shouldn't send them my passport for my Resident Visa until after I get back from my trip in August.

So like I said, more waiting. But it's all good. It's not like I'm waiting on someone else this time.

Whohoo!

2008-04-11T19:06:00.002-04:00

I got it! Or rather:
"[My] application for residence in New Zealand has been approved in principle."

Sweet. You'd think they'd make the notice a little more exciting, a little more emotional. But it doesn't matter, because now the only thing standing between me and New Zealand is time!

Kiwi in the House!

2008-04-02T13:51:00.006-04:00

Last weekend Aidan and I went to see one of New Zealand's latest musical exports - Liam Finn. He's the son of Neil Finn, legendary front man of Crowded House and Split Enz. With that source of DNA, it's no surprise that Liam Finn put on an amazing show Upstairs at the Middle East in Cambridge.

He's pretty much a one man band, with back up from a lovely woman named EJ. He also backed himself up, by using all sorts of fancy equipment with his feet to record and playback his guitar playing so he could wail along on the drums. Luckily I was able to see all this elaborate footwork from my vantage point right on the side of the tiny stage. I almost missed it, too. We had been positioned right in the middle of the crowd, with very tall people in front of us. But then just before Liam took the stage, I got something in my eye. I couldn't get it out by blinking, so had to find the bathroom to use the mirror. Liam came out while I sorted out that an eyelash had somehow gotten behind my contact lens. Once I got it out, we made our way back out, and found that just by the bathroom we could see the whole stage perfectly, if not quite front on.

I had never heard his music before, and it was wonderful, really melodic, but rocky. I've since listened to his newest CD some, and it's definitely a bit mellower than he is in person, but still, really great listening. And he sounds so much like his father.

So it was totally great to get out and support a Kiwi out in the world, but I'm such a tool. The part of the night that made me most happy was that he was the opening opening act (he wasn't even listed on the tickets). Meaning he went on first, right around 9:45, so leaving right after he finished up, I was able to be home by 11:00. Such a loser. ;)

more stuff

2008-02-29T23:44:00.002-05:00

Hey! So I got my documents (passports, birth certs, etc) back from the NZ Embassy on Monday. That took just over three weeks, which is pretty good. Not so good is the fact that I also received notice from them that they needed additional documentation to process my application. Mother frakker! I sent so much stuff already, and they want more?!?!

Turns out I missed 2 teeny tiny instructions on the health form. Despite the fact that the form has 2 pages dedicated to the doctor indicating whether each of the lab test results and the x-ray results was normal or not, I was actually also supposed to also include print-outs of the actual results, signed by the doctor. That required me going back to the doctor's office, which I did today.

The other thing I missed was enough documentation to prove that my husband and I have been cohabitating for at least 12 months. Funny thing is, though, that to prove that, they ask for joint bank statements, separate individually addressed mailings, etc. from the past 6 months. How does that make any sense? I don't know.

Well, I had only sent in one recent joint bank account statement, and our marriage certificate (from 10 years ago!), and our daughters' birth certificates, which both showed that we were living together 4 years ago and 2 years ago. I had thought that would be enough. Guess I was wrong. So today I went through our files, got 12 months worth of joint bank account statements (they said they only needed 6, but I sent 12 just in case), a recent excise tax bill addressed to both of us, a health insurance notice sent just to spouse 6 months ago, a credit card statement sent just to me 6 months ago, and a joint car insurance statement sent to both of us 6 months ago. That better be enough, man. I UPSed it all off again today.

Now it's back to waiting.

g'day mate

2008-02-15T14:43:00.004-05:00

Too bad we're not bringing Giles with us. He'd fit in perfectly Down Under.

Though I guess the heart bandanna would set him apart a bit.

And yes, that is an authentic, Australian Driza-Bone he's wearing. We got it for him in the Blue Mountains when we were last visiting Aidan's brother in Sydney.

Andy's got it

2008-02-10T20:26:00.000-05:00

According to the UPS web site tracking, my application arrived at the New Zealand Embassy in Washington, DC safe and sound on Wednesday. Seemingly fitting, it was February 6, Waitangi Day, a New Zealand national holiday, commemorating the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi.

The UPS site says the package was signed for by Andy. Just Andy. Hee. That makes me think of Murray, in the New Zealand Consulate in New York City on Flight of the Conchords. If you haven't seen Flight of the Conchords yet, you must. It's a show by, and about these two New Zealand guys who are trying to make it in New York as a band. We don't have HBO, so we haven't been able to see it until recently when we got it out on DVD. So far we've watched the first 4 episodes of season 1, and it just keeps getting funnier. A lot of the humour seems like it would only be understood by Kiwis, or those who know some, but I guess enough of the humour crosses over, because it's a big hit, and everyone I know here who's seen it loves it.

it's out of my hands now

2008-02-04T19:03:00.001-05:00

It's done! I've sent the whole application package off to the New Zealand Embassy in Washington, D.C.

Here's what I sent:
- Completed application form
- 2 Passport photos of me
- 2 Passport photos of my partner
- Certified copy of my birth certificate
- My US Passport
- Letter explaining why I couldn't obtain an FBI police certificate (with all the paperwork from my failed attempts)
- Completed Medical & X-Ray Certificate form (with 3 passport photos of me attached)
- Completed Sponsorship Form
- Certified copy of my partner's birth certificate
- My partner's New Zealand Passport
- My partner's FBI police certificate
- Certified copy of our marriage certificate
- Certified copies of our daughters' birth certificates
- Our daughters' New Zealand Citizenship Certificates
- Joint bank account statement
- Bank check made out to the New Zealand Embassy for US$925
- Prepaid self-addressed UPS envelope for return of documents

Now the waiting begins.

maybe tomorrow?

2008-02-03T14:26:00.000-05:00

Okay. So Friday Aidan went and got the 2 passport photos the partner of the New Zealand residency applicant needs. He went and signed his Sponsorship From with the Notary at our bank. I thought we were all set. Saturday morning I started piecing it all together, with the hope of mailing it off that day. But then the one item I was sure I had a copy of, was missing. I can't find a certified copy of our marriage certificate. I found 2 regular copies, but neither are certified, so they won't do. I found the certified copy of my birth certificate (2 actually), I found the certified copy of Aidan's birth certificate, I've got both our passports, I've got the medical form filled out, the sponsorship form filled out, and the actual residency application form filled out. All I need is this marriage certificate. Oh, and a money order for the fee. On the application there's a spot for your credit card number, so I assumed that I could use my credit card. But according to the Immigration New Zealand fee finder the only options for paying the fee when filing in the US are bank checks, money orders or cash. Like I'm going to send $925 in cash. Yes, $925. I should just move to New Zealand first, then apply, because the fee when applying in New Zealand is only $700 in New Zealand dollars. That's like a US$500 difference to apply from here. Oh well. I'm way too close to finishing this application of change the plan now.

So tomorrow it's off to City Hall to get a copy of my marriage certificate, off to the post office to get a money order, then off to the UPS Store to mail it all, along with a prepaid return mailer for getting my documents shipped back to me. That's important, because we'll definitely be needing our passports soon. We're planning a reconnaissance trip down to New Zealand for July!

this might take awhile

2008-01-29T10:24:00.000-05:00

I finally got the ink for my printer yesterday. We had a dump of snow over the weekend and I didn't want to go out in it. Now that I've printed the forms, I see it will take a few days before I have them completed. The primary reason? Despite the fact that I am the only one on the application (husband and daughters all being New Zealand citizens) I have to write out every member of my partner's immediate family. With their birthdates. Aidan is the youngest of nine kids, and he's not quite sure on all their birthdates! He knows all the days and months, it's the years that he's a bit unsure of.

I'm assuming the reason they want this information is to see who could potentially in the future want to try to gain entry based on my residency (assuming I get it). But it's silly, really, because all of them are New Zealanders. I guess in this sort of case it could be to see where we have the most ties, so it's a positive thing, having so much of our family in New Zealand. I don't know, but it's frustrating all the same. We'll have to contact his mother to get all the dates.

healthy as a horse

2008-01-26T17:26:00.000-05:00

Whew! So glad that's done. I had my medical exam and lab work and chest x-ray needed for my New Zealand residency application. Time spent at the medical clinic totaled two and a half hours. Then two days later I went back in to pick it all up. I had been quite nervous about it, apparently unnecessarily so. My doctor was very nice about it and agreed to do all the paperwork herself, rather than sending it to Medical Records (as I was told must be done at the front desk) which would have taken weeks to get back. The chest x-ray was done at my clinic, but had to be sent to a radiologist off-site, and though I worried about it, the form for the radiologist went off with the x-ray, and came back correctly filled in. Once I got it all back, I celebrated in the classic Kiwi way, with beans on toast.

So now I've pretty much collected everything I need to submit my application. Last thing is for Aidan to get a couple of passport photos. I've gotten mine already. I needed three for my medical forms, so I got the extra 2 for the application at the same time. Oh, but I need to go to Staples tomorrow to get some more ink for my printer. I'm running out, and need to print up the application (24 pages), and the sponsorship form (12 pages). A few weeks ago I had called the NZ Embassy in Washington, DC to get them to send me copies of the form (wanting the nice, official versions), but they didn't have any to send! Told me I had to print off the web. So I will.

required reading

2007-12-27T20:36:00.000-05:00

I'm reading these books to help me prepare for moving to New Zealand.

Seriously.

must wait

2007-12-10T12:06:00.000-05:00

I've been quite nervous thinking about the medical exam and tests that need to be done for this residency application. Not because I think I'll have anything wrong with me, but because I'm not sure how the process will go. The form is LONG. 16 pages LONG. And the directions state that half of it has to be filled out in the presence of the doctor, and the other half has to be filled out by the doctor. And that midway through you must go get a check x-ray, blood work and a urinalysis done, and then come back to your doctor to finish the form filling outing.

I don't know about you, but I've barely ever met my PCP (primary care provider, often called GPs in other parts of the world) of the past 5 years. She's usually all booked up, so even if I'm sick, I end up seeing a nurse practitioner. And when I do go in, I'm usually rushed in and out as quick as possible. So the concepts of this medical immigration form and my doctor's office just don't go together at all.

But now that I have all the background check stuff done, the next step is the medical. So I called my doctor's office, and spoke to the receptionist. I explained that I had this long-ass form I needed filled out, with lots of accompanying testing, and she said "It sounds like you just need a physical. Your doctor is booking in February for physicals right now." Now, I don't think I just need a physical, unless they're willing to do this whole form as an add-on to a physical, but I'll go along with that. But FEBRUARY!? I wanted this done soooooon. Oh well, better stop whining. She had a cancellation and was able to get me in on January 22. I think I'll go in a few days before that, bring a copy of the form with me and leave it for them to look over, so there won't be any surprises on the day.

it came

2007-12-07T07:35:00.000-05:00

See, that's how easy it can be. Just two weeks after I sent it off, and my husband's FBI background check is back, with no arrest history of course. It's a busy time of year, but I'll try to get my medical done in the next few weeks, so I can hopefully mail the whole application off before the new year! Almost done. Whew!

sent

2007-11-23T19:17:00.000-05:00

Kiwi hubby went to the police station on Tuesday to get his prints for his FBI record request. They looked to me like they've got the necessary feature vectors. We'll see I guess. We mailed it off to the FBI 2 days ago.

really????

2007-11-14T14:03:00.000-05:00

So apparently, the people at my local police station were wrong. It's not that after three tries the FBI just goes ahead and accepts fingerprints with a low quality characteristics. It's actually that after making me submit my bad-ass fingerprints three times they go ahead and reject my attempts to get my police record. This past Saturday I received back in the mail all 5 sets of the fingerprints I submitted (1 the first time, 2 each the second and third times) with a nice note. The note reads:

It appears the quality of your fingerprints will not improve. Unfortunately, they do no possess the "feature vectors" which must be present to complete a fingerprint search of the FBI Fingerprint Identification Record System. Should a fingerprint search be required for the purpose of licensing, employment or immigration, you should contact the agency requiring the fingerprinting to determine alternate procedures.

My fingerprints don't possess the "feature vectors". I feel so dirty.

So following the note's instructions, I emailed the New Zealand Embassy in Washington. First, actually, I checked Immigration New Zealand's web site to see if they had "alternate procedures" listed. And it seemed like I had found the "alternate procedures" right here in the first paragraph. It says I need a statutory declaration and corroborating information attesting to my good character. That's what I ultimately emailed the NZ Embassy about, because what the heck is a statutory declaration, and what kind of corroborating information do I need?

The response I received was not so helpful. They told me to call the FBI to find out what to do to get my fingerprints accepted. Even though I made completely clear in my email why the FBI wasn't going to provide me with a police certificate, they wanted me to check again. So I did. It was a quick call. The very nice woman at the FBI CJIS Division told me I need to go back to Immigration New Zealand and ask what to do since the FBI will NOT give me my record. Sounds like a lot of back and forth, eh?

All that, to get the final response from the NZ Embassy saying I just need a statutory declaration stating all the above. Great. Thanks for the help.

Before writing back again to this kind soul in the NZ Embassy, I found out that just last week the requirements for attaining residency through a NZ partner have changed. The forms are all different now and everything. Yikes. Good thing I saw that on the Expats in New Zealand Yahoo Group, or I wouldn't have known that now, my husband needs to get his FBI record as well! Let's hope his fingers have feature vectors.

I'm not going to bother writing back to the NZ Embassy, because perusing the new application forms I found out that a "statutory declaration" is just a letter that's been notarized.

bad bad fingers

2007-10-27T10:19:00.000-04:00

Well, the Red Sox didn't sweep the Indians, but did end up winning the series in 7 games. They just wanted to make it more interesting, I'm sure. As I write they're up 3 games to none against the Rockies in the World Series and winning in Game 4. Maybe this time they'll sweep.

Anyways, my fingerprints were rejected by the FBI again. Blah. It was kinda expected given what the fingerprint technician told me last time, I was just hoping I wouldn't have to go in. Again. But I went back to my local police station, and this time a different technician was on. He agreed that my fingerprints were naturally really bad. He said he does 3 - 5 sets of prints a day, and mine were some of the worst he'd ever seen. Great. But he confirmed that the FBI will just go with what they've got (primarily my Social Security number) after this submission, even if the fingerprints get rejected again.

So I didn't have to pay for the prints at the police state again, since it was a redo, but the FBI made me pay a second fee of $18. I don't know why they let you resubmit once without paying more, but make you resubmit twice before they give up. Whatever. The most annoying part of paying again was that this time they required a money order or certified check. The first time I was able to pay with a credit card. I should have gotten a money order at the post office, but I was at the bank, so had them print out a certified check. Unfortunately they charged an $8 fee. Oh well.

Besides the extra time and the extra $26, there's no worry really about all this. I got a response from the New Zealand Embassy in Washington DC about the processing time for a residency application. 3 - 6 months. And then I'll have to move there within 12 months. So so far I'm still on track for an October 2008 move. Yay!

let's talk about sports

2007-10-13T19:29:00.000-04:00

While I'm waiting for my FBI background check to be processed I've got some time on my hands. I'm using a lot of the time to stress that I won't get residency in time to move to New Zealand in October of 2008 like we're planning. I know it's a year away, but remember, we had to wait over two and a half years for Aidan's US citizenship (the USCIS website says it should take about 7 months). The Immigration New Zealand FAQ says "Once you know which branch will be processing your application, you can access their processing times on our website, which is published in their individual branch pages, under the heading 'Processing Times'." Being in the US, I'll be submitting my application to the Washington branch. Their page doesn't have the 'Processing Times' heading. :( Guess I'll have to call them on Monday so I can stop stressing (or start stressing more).

Until then, let's talk about sports. In New Zealand, the biggest sport is rugby, and they've recently had a devastating result in the Rugby World Cup. They were eliminated by France in the quarterfinals. Oops. They were expected to win the Cup. As they are every time. And as the rarely do. They're good at choking I guess.

Over here, the biggest sport is baseball. And my local team, the Boston Red Sox, last week made it past the equivalent of a quarterfinal round, by beating the Los Angeles Angels in the American League Division Series (ALDS). Now we're in the American League Championship Series (ALCS) against the Cleveland Indians, playing for a spot in the World Series. Last night we won the first of the seven game series. Yay! 4 minutes to the first pitch of Game 2. Here's hoping for a sweep!

bad fingers

2007-10-02T14:31:00.000-04:00

So I was all proactive and went back to the police station yesterday for reprinting. Turns out it wasn't a problem with the set of prints, it's a problem with my actual fingers. They don't print well. And so when the FBI says that the "quality of characteristics is too low to be used" they mean that my fingerprints are kinda boring and uncharacteristic without nice deep groves and nice defined whorls and such. So reprinting doesn't usually actually help. But they make you do it anyways. Great.

The lady in the detectives' office was nice and redid the prints, twice actually, since the FBI had sent me 2 extra print cards and we figured we might as well send them both. She said that the FBI used to have the rule that they'd make you send in 3 sets of prints before they finally just accepted them. She said she believed the new rule is just 2 sets. Here's hoping.

quality of characteristics

2007-09-30T20:05:00.000-04:00

Friday I got a large manila envelope in the mail with this return address.

I was psyched. My background check was back and it had only taken 3 weeks!

Wah. I was wrong.

The lovely local police station clerk didn't do my prints well enough, so now I have to get them redone and send them back to the FBI. I'm going to go to the same place, so I don't have to pay again (they better not make me pay again!) but I'll try to get a different person to do it this time.

I do see it as a good sign, though, that I did get some sort of response in only three weeks.

police

2007-09-08T10:54:00.000-04:00

For the first time, um... ever, I didn't procrastinate! Since the girls' paperwork arrived, it was time to start working on my own. Thursday night I went to the official New Zealand immigration site and downloaded all the necessary forms and guides I'd need. The first step I noticed was the police background check. According to this page, in the US I have to request it from the FBI. And according to the FBI it takes 16 - 18 weeks to process! Good thing I didn't procrastinate.

So like I said, Thursday night I downloaded the forms. Knowing I had Friday off it crossed my mind that I could go to the local police station and get the required fingerprints the very next day and be done with it. But then it crossed my mind that I know myself pretty well, and realistically I was going to put it off. But then by the weirdest coincidence, Friday morning my mom suddenly needed to go to the police station! I don't think in my 32 years of life my mother has ever needed to go to the police station. Here's why she had to on Friday.

We live very near (about a mile and a half) Boston College, which is a decent New England liberal arts college (what New Zealanders call University). What they are more known for than academics, though, is football (American football, not soccer). College football is HUGE in the US, and when games occur, whole cities have to shut down. This sign is directly outside our house.

As you can see, every year they have to update the sign with a sticker, and this year they haven't yet updated it. Boston College has a home game today, Saturday, September 8. My mom also has a dinner party scheduled for today, Saturday, September 8. Many of her guests are driving, and our driveway won't fit all the cars. So Friday morning Mom called the city parking bureau to ask for special permission to ignore the parking ban. They told her to immediately bring a signed letter with her request to the police chief. And that's why she had to go to the police station Friday, the same day I was planning on putting off going to the police station.

So we went. For $5 I got these.

Another act of providence helped me avert a major shanking of the process. I had filled out the forms, put it all together in an envelope, stamped the envelope, and ran to the door to catch the mailman. I had only JUST missed him, by about a minute. (Kiwi culture note: In New Zealand mail carriers don't pick up outgoing mail from your house like they do here in the US. They only deliver.) I contemplated driving to the post office to mail it, but decided that a day wouldn't likely make much of a difference, so I could wait till Saturday for the mailman to pick it up. Well, later that night I was online, I had a bunch of web browser windows open to many different sites, and so I started reviewing the pages and closing the ones no longer needed. One of them was opened to the FBI page I linked to above, with the instructions for requesting the background check. I quickly reread it and was about to shut it, when I noticed that I had not filled out the fingerprint form entirely! Yikes. I can only imagine the delay if it had actually gone out in the mail incomplete. I opened up the envelope, finished filling out the form, and resealed it. It went out in today's mail. Whew.

looky looky

2007-09-05T21:32:00.000-04:00

Check out what arrived last week!

Two big folders with goodies inside.

My girls now have proof of their New Zealand citizenship, and they can move to the country unhindered! Interestingly, since their citizenship is by descent, they cannot pass on their Kiwi citizenship by descent to their children, unless after living there long enough they apply for a grant of New Zealand citizenship. I guess that means until then they're second-class citizens?

Now it's really time for me to apply for my permanent residency.

north

2007-08-07T16:01:00.000-04:00

We're on holiday in Canada right now. In a lot of ways, our neighbor to the north reminds me of New Zealand. They use the metric system. Uhhh... maybe that's the only similarity. It's the only one I can think of right now, at least. Oh, and parts of it look like parts of New Zealand. We're out west in Alberta, and the Rockies are lovely stand-ins for the Southern Alps.

While here, I got an email from Felicity in the New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs, saying they had received my huge pack of applications (whew!), but that my credit card was declined (suck!). Turns out that my credit card company flagged my account because of the suspicious attempt to rent a car in Calgary. Annoying. I cleared that up and sent Felicity an email telling her to try the charge again. Done. So now you can see on the update in the side bar table of expenses. NZ$581.95 ($21.95 of which is for the international courier). With the kiwi dollar almost 80 US cents, the final charge came to US$458.59. When I return home, it's time to start my NZ residency application.

sent and received

2007-07-25T07:31:00.000-04:00

With their heights duly entered on the passport application forms, I finally was able to compile all 4 applications (2 citizenship registrations and 2 passports) in one big stack and mail them off to the New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs. I sent it USPS priority international for $11. Hopefully it gets there. I have doubts, because the US Postal Service SUCKS. I have to call today and issue a complaint about a domestic priority package I sent with delivery confirmation over 2 weeks ago that still hasn't registered as arriving yet.

Something that did arrive in the mail yesterday was a cute little box that had Homeland Security tape all over it indicating that it had been opened and searched by customs. Must have been because the box had no indication whatsoever of where it came from (other than that it came from New Zealand) and what was in it and the x-ray would have showed it containing nothing but a mysterious brown powdery substance. Not to worry though, we weren't the target of a chemical or biological attack.

Yes, despite being able to purchase Milo here in the States at certain stores that specialize in foreign food items, Aidan doesn't like the Jamaican made Milo as much as NZ made Milo, so he ordered it from New Zealand online. For American's not in the know, Milo touts itself as an "energy drink" but it's really just a slightly malted version of Nesquik (formerly Quik). Drunk mainly as a hot drink, because it doesn't dissolve well in cold. A good alternative to coffee or tea in cuppa obsessed Kiwi culture.

what's the opposite of procrastination?

2007-07-23T19:41:00.000-04:00

2' 9" and 3' 6".

Aren't you proud of me?

:)

procrastination, part 2 - the beet burger

2007-07-22T21:09:00.000-04:00

Yes, I have been seriously remiss in posting updates here. Reason? Because I am seriously good at procrastinating. I've slooooowly been filling out the citizenship and passport applications for the girls. Like, filling out a line or 2 per day. Ha. The hold up now is that I need to get their heights for the passports, and I usually work on the apps while they're asleep and can't measure them. Totally lame excuse, I know. But it's all I've got. ;)

So how about a silly photo to pass the time till something productive actually happens?

It's a half-eaten burger. But not just any half-eaten burger. It's a half-eaten Kiwi burger. What makes it a Kiwi burger? (It's half-eaten because I ate half of it.) Look closely. There's a slice of beet (known as beet root in NZ) on there. New Zealanders love to put beet root on their burgers. I'm not a fan of beets, but we joined a vegetable CSA this summer, and we've been getting some beets. I thought I'd better start getting used to Kiwi cuisine. It was okay.

procrastination

2007-07-12T22:29:00.000-04:00

I don't know what's wrong with me. A week ago, my teacher friend Marya filled out the witness forms for the girls' NZ passport applications (as I previously noted she would) and I still haven't put them all together and mailed them yet. I'm such a procrastinator. I obviously have also not started yet on my residency app. Gotta get on that.

Oh, helpful tidbit of information... A biro pen (the writing implement required for filling out the NZ passport application for) is just a ballpoint pen.

happy independence

2007-07-04T13:02:00.000-04:00

Well, it's the Fourth of July, an American only holiday. Weird to think that after the next one, we won't celebrate one for a long time. Another thing I'll actually kinda miss - the patriotism here. Don't get me wrong, I cringe over and mock the "USA! USA!" chanters, and I abhor the whole "America is the best country in the whole wide world" attitude of so many here. But I am actually pretty patriotic. I get choked up every time I hear the Star Spangled Banner (the US national anthem). I vote. I watch baseball and American football (the Red Sox and the Patriots no less). I support our troops (though not the war in Iraq).

From what I've gathered, New Zealand is not so patriotic. Kiwis are proud to be Kiwis, but there isn't the same feeling of belonging as I sense here. It's probably a good thing, because at the core patriotism is just a "we're better than everyone else" attitude. Oh well, I'll let you know after I live there what the difference really is.

other things to miss

2007-07-03T13:18:00.000-04:00

Big Sister Bou turned 4 years old on Friday, and on Saturday we had all her mates from school over for some cake and ice cream. And some beating on a Buzz Lightyear piñata. They had such fun. The families from her preschool and the teachers are so great, the preschool itself is high on our list of things we'll miss when we move (see sidebar). Big Sister will complete the 2 year schedule, but Little Sis Nys won't be old enough to even start before we move. Hopefully we'll find a place for her in Wellington with a similar quality environment.

doggie

2007-06-28T20:18:00.000-04:00

I gave our dog Giles a bath this past weekend, and I realized I'm really going to miss him when we move. It is possible to bring dogs over, but I've read it's quite a drawn out, expensive procedure. Like several months pre-move of tests, at least 1 month post-move quarantine, and over $3000. I love Giles, and he totally is family, but I've come to the decision that it's best for us, and for him, to leave him behind. I have plenty of family and friends who love him, so I'm sure he'll end up in a loving home. Any of you reading who wish to submit and application for him, let me know. ;)

He's sulking at me under the desk right now.

4 applications at once

2007-06-20T12:26:00.001-04:00

The application for registration of New Zealand citizenship by descent mentions that 2 photos are needed, 4 if applying for passports as well. This implied to me that it was possible to apply for both the citizenship registrations and the passports at the same time. To be sure, I emailed the Citizenship Office (at the amusing official email address: staykiwi at dia.govt.nz). I received a prompt reply that yes, I could in fact send both citizenship registration applications and both passport applications, all in the same envelope. Neat!

But that means I need to delay a bit, because the passport photos need to be witnessed by either someone with a New Zealand passport (not related), or else by someone who fits in one of the following groups (again, not related):

lawyer

teacher

minister of religion

police officer

kaumatua

registered medical professional

Justice of the Peace

applicant's employer

Unfortunately, the girls don't yet have employers. Just kidding. About it being unfortunate. And I don't feel comfortable going to the girls' pediatrician just for this. So the only other option is for my best friend, who's a teacher, to do it. She lives 4 hours away. But she's visiting next weekend, so we'll be good to do it then. Maybe I'll start working on my residency application in the mean time...

photo fun

2007-06-18T19:38:00.000-04:00

The weekend was way too nice to spend anytime trying to get good passport photos of the girls, so we frolicked in the kiddie pool instead. Today was still a gorgeous day, but as it was a Monday, I felt an annoying, essential errand was appropriate.

A recap... These photos are actually for the registration of their New Zealand citizenship by descent first, but since we'll want New Zealand passports for them as soon as their citizenship is registered, I figured we'd get all the photos as once, rather than having to do this annoying errand again in a few months. Two points that make this errand especially annoying here in the US... The requirements are for photos that are 45mm x 35mm, which is substantially smaller than US passport picture requirements. That's the easy one though, you just cut the photos smaller. But they also state that they be taken "with a plain light coloured background (not white)". Well, every single one of the 5 local places that does passport photos (as well as 3 more distant places we called) only had white backgrounds. When DH recently renewed his Kiwi passport, we just risked it and sent in photos with the white background. The renewal went through, so we're risking it again.

Baby had the same terror at Walgreens as she had the other day, so we had to hit Cold Stone for some ice cream to calm her down before trying again at Motophoto. This time we hit the jackpot, and she was fine, though I did have to hold her for it. And I did have to pay $45(!) for the 4 sets. The end result:

hokey pokey

2007-06-15T22:18:00.000-04:00

So if you're a Kiwi, or if you've ever been to New Zealand, you probably know and love hokey pokey ice cream. I mean, it's virtually a New Zealand national institution. Well, if you're a hokey pokey lover stuck in America, I have good news for you. Ben & Jerry's has come out with a flavour that is almost an exact replica of hokey pokey. Except it's even better. Yeah, way! Crème Brûlée is described as "Sweet Custard Ice Cream with a Caramelized Sugar Swirl". But really. It's gourmet hokey pokey. Try it and see.

officially starting the immigration process

2007-06-15T21:05:00.000-04:00

A bit of background...

I am a US citizen by birth. DH (dear husband) is a New Zealand citizen by birth. We met 11 years ago in NZ. He followed me to America and we were married 10 years ago. He became a US permanent resident. 4 years ago we had DD (dainty daughter) #1. 2.5 years ago DH applied for US citizenship. It immediately got tied up in background check hell. 18 months ago DD2 was born.

We had always said we wanted to return to New Zealand to settle down. It was always "in a few years". Last year, we decided no more mucking about and putting it off, we were definitely going to move back to New Zealand. Two things needed to be completed first. I had started taking night classes towards a Masters degree, and I wanted to complete it. And we wanted DH to get his US citizenship, so that if we changed our minds and wanted to come back to the US we could, without having to apply for permanent residency all over again. And yes, though the US says that they consider naturalized citizens as being citizens of only the US, they don't make you renounce your original citizenship. And New Zealand has no problem with dual citizenship. He does not lose New Zealand citizenship by becoming a citizen of the US.

Well, finally, 2 weeks ago he became a naturalized US citizen. I'm on track to finish my degree in the Spring semester of 2008. We'll take the US summer 2008 to pack up, finalize stuff here, and hopefully do some Northern Hemisphere traveling. Our target date for arrival in New Zealand as residents is September 2008.

I was planning on applying for residency for me and the girls, but realized that they are New Zealand citizens by descent, and if I register them as such, they can get NZ passports and everything, and therefore would not need to apply for residency. So that leaves only me. Shouldn't be a problem.

So our first official step - register the girls' NZ citizenship by descent. For that they need 2 passport photos. While DD1 was at her last day of preschool this morning, I took DD2 to Walgreens to get the photos done. But she was tired, and got totally freaked out by the pimply teenager who got all close with the camera, and she started wailing. There was no calming her down with him near, so we'll just have to officially start tomorrow. :) Hopefully if she watches DD1 get hers done well, she'll be okay with it. Then we can send the applications off!

Come along this ride with us. It might be fun.