Day 2: Becoming Real People

So far, so good.

We had orientation this morning at the IEP offices. It was a low key meeting-- Claire and I were the only attendees-- but it was extremely informative. A lot of the information would have been helpful, say, a month ago, but I do feel better now that we have a bit more focus. The session ended in a whirlwind highlights tour of New Zealand, and both of us walked away with our heads spinning with possibility.

(An aside: At the very southern end of New Zealand, Stewart Island clocks in as “very cold” in the winter. Apparently it hits about 0 degrees Celsius. That didn't seem terribly cold, until Ben the Ex-Trapeze-Artist-(Catcher) informed us that houses aren’t insulated in New Zealand. And that it’s a humid cold. Ick.)

As per our plans, Claire and I have successfully become Real People in New Zealand, with Real Bank Accounts and Real Phones.

The process for both was surprisingly easy. In the States, setting up bank accounts is one long agony after another in which the bank spends the majority of the time trying to sell you different products and inform you of how things can go wrong unless you have such and such backup. Here, we simply walked to the Post-Office-slash-Kiwibank (I’m not sure if they’re always affiliated or if Kiwibanks happen to be situated in post offices or what, but it makes it really convenient) and we had bank accounts and EFTPOS cards within the hour. The only questions they had for me were whether or not I wanted a debit card (yes) and then what design I wanted (Kiwiart). It was all absurdly simple.

Phones were a bit more of a hassle, but we got to chat with the lovely Hollie and Jason, who were our charming and helpful salespeople. After we successfully obtained monthly plans, Hollie steered us in the direction of a “really yum” dinner. Kebabs: always a good idea.

Well, this is not the most exciting of entries to read, but it's certainly a step forward for us. We're slowly getting used to the idea that we're going to be here for a year, and setting the foundation for future connections and work is pretty thrilling. It grounds us in a way that no amount of research could ever accomplish.

Tomorrow should be an adventure! We have our first couch surfing experience to look forward to! As far as we can tell, it may involve musicals and insanity. Who knows?