And we're off to New Zealand!

Hi everyone,

We leave here in a few hours, and then travel for about 24 hours. We fly from SeaTac to L.A., and then overnight to Auckland.

We probably won't blog until the day we reach our hostel, which would be May 2nd. Or 3rd. Who knows anymore?

Love you all,
and will write again soon,
Amy

Packing day...oh, crap.

Hi all,

After a whirlwind couple of weeks, it's hard to believe that we're leaving tomorrow afternoon. I haven't started laundry or packing, but I have been busy with Betsy's birthday and my mom's retirement party. That is my excuse, and I'm sticking to it.

I hate goodbyes. I love being away, exploring new places, but that initial step of breaking away is brutal. I have to remind myself that being in New Zealand will be worth all of my sadness. You can't have it all, especially when your heart is in living abroad.

So...once Rory gets up, we need to do a massive amount of laundry. I need to decide what I can take without burdening myself the first few months. It isn't like we are backpacking...I'm taking a gigantic bag, since we'll be there for a year, but I can't let myself fill the whole thing. Looks like it will be straight to the second-hand stores for me, once we get settled! Ah well, I love charity shops.

I didn't get to see everyone I wanted to during my time home. Even 2 months goes by fast, when friends are living in different cities. I had to prioritize my time, so Bets and Stef got the bulk of it. And my fam, of course.

Okay, better get to work!

Rory arrives in the NW!

Hi everyone,

I hadn't blogged in a week, since nothing huge has happened. I've been doing little chores and sorting through 26 years of memorabilia at my parents' house. It is amazing how much clutter can accumulate...I had a box of childhood stuff, high school and graduation, college, Australia, Westport, Europe, etc. It was like every box held a different phase of my life. And soon I get to start another one!

Rory left England yesterday and spent the night in L.A. It worked out very well, since he was able to get some quality sleep and a beer after he arrived last night, so he'll have a head start on the jetlag before he arrives here in Olympia in a few hours. I talked to him last night and he seemed to be in great spirits.

So the next two weeks will be spent with family and friends on a sort of "goodbye tour." Rory hasn't visited these parts in a year and a half, so everyone wants to see him. Therefore, I don't think I'll be blogging much before we leave on the 30th.

Much love XXX.

Hooray! Crisis averted...again.

The flights have been purchased!

It wasn't an easy process, and it didn't go as smoothly as we would have hoped, but the end result is fantastic. We have tickets to New Zealand!

Rory will be arriving into L.A. on the night of the 16th, and then catching a flight to Seattle the next morning. We will spend almost two weeks in the Puget Sound area (and celebrating Colin's birthday, fake Easter, Betsy's birthday, and my mom's retirement) and then jet off together on the 3oth.

Now my to-do list looks something like this: buy travel insurance, cash out my old life insurance, settle affairs with school, send my CV's to employers in NZ, figure out my loan payments, make a packing list, a bit more shopping, and many visits to friends and family. I can't believe that I get to see Rory in just over a week. For awhile, it looked like it would have been months!

Will blog again soon.

New problems

Hi everyone,

We were very excited to buy our airline tickets, but it has been much more difficult than we thought. The advice that we received from the U.K. travel agent hasn't matched what we were told by Air New Zealand. We were hoping to buy cheap tickets and then change the return dates, for a small fee. Now, the fees seem huge, and Air New Zealand is trying to get us to buy single tickets. Every which way is much more expensive than we had been planning on.

We were shooting for Rory to arrive here on the 16th, but now it doesn't seem possible. It will probably have to be pushed back a week, at least.

Until tomorrow....

Visa approved :D

Hi all,

I was just starting to worry again. Rory had gotten his approval on Thursday, and I was sweating all weekend waiting for mine. Finally I e-mailed my case worker again, and she said that there was another glitch of some sort...anyways, she approved it right then and there.

Viola! I am a NZ working holiday visa holder. Rory and I will be buying our tickets tomorrow if all goes well, and there is a chance that Rory could be here within a week and a half. Talk about a whirlwind! Luckily, ticket prices have actually decreased a little since we started looking in late February.

Hopefully I'll have more news tomorrow. XXX.

X-rays found! Decision expected within days!

Cheers!


Hello readers,

Yay! I just got an e-mail from the Immigration office in NZ, and our x-rays were FOUND in the London office! Located! Identified!

What does this mean? I don't have to find a doctor to give me a referral to get another chest x-ray (and then pay hundreds of dollars for it). I don't have to mail my x-ray form (overnight) to either London or NZ. I don't have to wait the indeterminable amount of time it would take to get all of this accomplished, just to have a "completed application." It's done! And my case officer, Lin, expects to have a decision within a few days.

This means that I'm finally where I thought I would be a month ago. I get to look into flights, gap year insurance, all sorts of fun things. I can finally make a to-do list and work my way through. How exciting!

Not that this time was a complete waste. I've spent lots of quality time with little Kycen, and I've gotten to volunteer in Betsy's classroom. I painted a picture today for the first time in a year. And, most importantly, the delay means that Rory can attend his nan's funeral. They say everything happens for a reason.

More news soon (I hope)!

A few minor developments

Good morning all.

Yesterday we were able to get answers to a few of our questions regarding our visas:

1. They have finally offered to reimburse me for new ones, as well.
2. We don't have to send in the actual x-ray, so all I need is the form that goes with it. This I could probably even send in overnight post.
3. The hospital in Brighton can't fill out the form again without me present, which means that I'll be getting more x-rays done here in Olympia.

So even though there is still much to do, the path forward is now more clear. I'll be getting quotes from radiologists today and trying to get an appointment for tomorrow. So much hassle...hopefully it will all be worth it soon.