Hello from Ohope.
We are officially moved in and settled in the downstairs suite of a beach house with a couple Bruce and Yulene. It is a beautiful place to live and the people that own the house have been nice enough to take us around a bit. 2 weeks ago they took us to the interior where we went tubing down a river. 2 days ago they took us out on their boat to a place called whale island where Ally caught her first fish (snapper) and Shane learned about sea sickness.
We went snorkelling and saw jellyfish, stingrays and seals. Bruce caught a couple of crayfish that we ended up cooking and eating later. It looks and tastes very similiar to lobster. We will post pics of the excursion later.
Hope everyone is well.
Shane and Ally
Friday, January 23, 2009
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Monday, December 29, 2008
Hey guys,
Just wanting to wish everyone a merry Xmas and a happy New Year. Eat lots of turkey and drink lots of wine. My parents came for Xmas and we had an awesome time, going to the beach on Christmas, and going to Rotorua on boxing day. My parents were excellent sports and even tried zorbing! We really wanna congratulate Lyle and Lisa on there engagement and Ryan and Sophia on their baby and wish them all the best. We're also very happy to hear that Uncle Boo is out of the hospital and are wishing him a speedy recovery.
Ally and Shane
Just wanting to wish everyone a merry Xmas and a happy New Year. Eat lots of turkey and drink lots of wine. My parents came for Xmas and we had an awesome time, going to the beach on Christmas, and going to Rotorua on boxing day. My parents were excellent sports and even tried zorbing! We really wanna congratulate Lyle and Lisa on there engagement and Ryan and Sophia on their baby and wish them all the best. We're also very happy to hear that Uncle Boo is out of the hospital and are wishing him a speedy recovery.
Ally and Shane
Monday, December 15, 2008
Hello,
We just wanted to update you all on our lives in the last 2 weeks. I'm working in the special care baby unit (SCBU), as I just found out my license does not cover me to work in maternity... which means my time in SCBU may be limited unless I'm willing to take a 3 month course. Oh, and the course is a 3 hour drive away. On the bright side, Shane got a job at a very hip and trendy cafe in the neighbouring surf town of Ohope. It's called The Quay, and Shane is a waiter/coffee dude/beer slinger... unfortunately there is no tipping in New Zealand.
On the home front, Shane and I had found a house to live in for the month but as we got there we soon found a filthy, mouldy house. Nothing had been cleaned and their were spiders everywhere (Shane found a nest), and half the mattress of the bed was moulding. We tried to cleaned it up and make the best of it, but then a couple hours later the water shut off. So we returned to our hospital accomodations( which just so happens to be a floor above the mental hospital.).
So Shane was really upset with the realtor (as they refused to give us our money back $250), and went to the realtors office and made such a scene that the realtor threatened to call the cops on him. However, Shane then went to the cops who directed him to a lawyer (that was free... govt pays them) who sent the realtor a letter.
A few hours later we got our money back.
Speaking of realtors, We wanna wish Uncle Boo a speedy and painless recovery from his surgery. And we'll give you an address to mail my dumb hat, and your rockstar calender.
Oh, and we saw a local girl wearing a University of Manitoba Bisons t-shirt.
Ally's mom and dad are coming next week and we're so excited to see them. They leave on Sunday and will get here on Tuesday (have a safe flight). You may be staying above the mental hospital with us... or in a bus with beds in it (seriously!).
Talk to you all later,
Ally and Shane
We just wanted to update you all on our lives in the last 2 weeks. I'm working in the special care baby unit (SCBU), as I just found out my license does not cover me to work in maternity... which means my time in SCBU may be limited unless I'm willing to take a 3 month course. Oh, and the course is a 3 hour drive away. On the bright side, Shane got a job at a very hip and trendy cafe in the neighbouring surf town of Ohope. It's called The Quay, and Shane is a waiter/coffee dude/beer slinger... unfortunately there is no tipping in New Zealand.
On the home front, Shane and I had found a house to live in for the month but as we got there we soon found a filthy, mouldy house. Nothing had been cleaned and their were spiders everywhere (Shane found a nest), and half the mattress of the bed was moulding. We tried to cleaned it up and make the best of it, but then a couple hours later the water shut off. So we returned to our hospital accomodations( which just so happens to be a floor above the mental hospital.).
So Shane was really upset with the realtor (as they refused to give us our money back $250), and went to the realtors office and made such a scene that the realtor threatened to call the cops on him. However, Shane then went to the cops who directed him to a lawyer (that was free... govt pays them) who sent the realtor a letter.
A few hours later we got our money back.
Speaking of realtors, We wanna wish Uncle Boo a speedy and painless recovery from his surgery. And we'll give you an address to mail my dumb hat, and your rockstar calender.
Oh, and we saw a local girl wearing a University of Manitoba Bisons t-shirt.
Ally's mom and dad are coming next week and we're so excited to see them. They leave on Sunday and will get here on Tuesday (have a safe flight). You may be staying above the mental hospital with us... or in a bus with beds in it (seriously!).
Talk to you all later,
Ally and Shane
Friday, December 5, 2008
Sorry guys, we made a mistake on the last post. Our car is a mitsubishi emeraude, not a nissan.
We also wanted to let u know that it's complicated for us to put pics on the blog because we're using public computers and the blog only allows us to put on 5 pics at a time. Shane has been busy throwing out resumes, hopefully we'll hear something soon.
Here are some more interesting facts:
You can buy a case of beer (12) for $12 NZD.
They call sandals "Jandals"
There are very few bugs out here.
Doors are all left open and windows have no screens.
There are many people walking around barefoot on the streets.
The UV index has hit 12 and we're not sure if it's gonna go higher.
People can be a lot more blunt... especially on the radio and tv. They are not fans of political correctness (ex: The interviewer was blatantly calling a girl "fat" on tv. and they don't easily let overweight americans become citizens (bmi over 35).
The kiwi dollar is 68 cents to the Canadian dollar.
Gas has dropped to $1.30/L... at this pace next year gas will be free! yeah right!
Oh and a big good luck to Keye's volleyball team who will be playing in provincials in Souris this weekend. Play hard and don't get too mad.
That's all for now,
Shane and Ally
We also wanted to let u know that it's complicated for us to put pics on the blog because we're using public computers and the blog only allows us to put on 5 pics at a time. Shane has been busy throwing out resumes, hopefully we'll hear something soon.
Here are some more interesting facts:
You can buy a case of beer (12) for $12 NZD.
They call sandals "Jandals"
There are very few bugs out here.
Doors are all left open and windows have no screens.
There are many people walking around barefoot on the streets.
The UV index has hit 12 and we're not sure if it's gonna go higher.
People can be a lot more blunt... especially on the radio and tv. They are not fans of political correctness (ex: The interviewer was blatantly calling a girl "fat" on tv. and they don't easily let overweight americans become citizens (bmi over 35).
The kiwi dollar is 68 cents to the Canadian dollar.
Gas has dropped to $1.30/L... at this pace next year gas will be free! yeah right!
Oh and a big good luck to Keye's volleyball team who will be playing in provincials in Souris this weekend. Play hard and don't get too mad.
That's all for now,
Shane and Ally
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Hey Guys,
Shane and I are now in Whakatane. It's a small town on the north island in the Bay of Plenty. I start work on Monday, and we still don't really have a place to live. Right now we're living at the hospital for pretty cheap, and we have a suite for January in Ohope. Ohope is a beach town 5 mins from Whakatane... we'll be 60 feet from the beach. We've bought a boogyboard which we will be using 3 hours from now. Cue Jealousy.
Yesterday we took surfing lessons in Ohope. It was awesome, even though we both spent a fair amount of time getting pummelled by the ocean.
I guess I should tell you all about our new roadster... it's a 94 Nissan Emeraude. It's dark green. That's about the extent of my knowledge of cars.
That's all for now,
Love,
Ally and Shane.
Shane and I are now in Whakatane. It's a small town on the north island in the Bay of Plenty. I start work on Monday, and we still don't really have a place to live. Right now we're living at the hospital for pretty cheap, and we have a suite for January in Ohope. Ohope is a beach town 5 mins from Whakatane... we'll be 60 feet from the beach. We've bought a boogyboard which we will be using 3 hours from now. Cue Jealousy.
Yesterday we took surfing lessons in Ohope. It was awesome, even though we both spent a fair amount of time getting pummelled by the ocean.
I guess I should tell you all about our new roadster... it's a 94 Nissan Emeraude. It's dark green. That's about the extent of my knowledge of cars.
That's all for now,
Love,
Ally and Shane.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Hello everyong,
Shane and I have spent the last 3-4 days exploring Christchurch and area. We went to the Christchurch International Antarctic Center and got to see penguins. However, we passed on experiencing -18 degrees snowstorm in their cold area. People kept asking us if we wanted to go and experience the cold... we openly laughed at them.
After that we headed up to Hamner springs and then to Kaikoura where we wanted to go swimming with the dolphins, but were foiled by gale force winds. Now we're back in Christchurch and are booking a flight back to Auckland where we'll buy a cheap car and drive to Whakatane where I have recently gotten a job.
Thats the update... Shane has been actively looking for some work, so hopefully something will come up soon.
See you all later,
Ally
Shane and I have spent the last 3-4 days exploring Christchurch and area. We went to the Christchurch International Antarctic Center and got to see penguins. However, we passed on experiencing -18 degrees snowstorm in their cold area. People kept asking us if we wanted to go and experience the cold... we openly laughed at them.
After that we headed up to Hamner springs and then to Kaikoura where we wanted to go swimming with the dolphins, but were foiled by gale force winds. Now we're back in Christchurch and are booking a flight back to Auckland where we'll buy a cheap car and drive to Whakatane where I have recently gotten a job.
Thats the update... Shane has been actively looking for some work, so hopefully something will come up soon.
See you all later,
Ally
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