Two Americans emigrate to New Zealand from Colorado,
USA.
We share our Kiwi immigration story and talk about
our new life in Nelson, New Zealand
April 2007 | Blog home | June 2007
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Nelson’s very own city councillor Mark Holmes lobbied nationwide on a petition to extend daylight savings three weeks. While Cr. Holmes lauded the decision for its energy saving opportunities and the ability to increase physical fitness levels with more time to spend outdoors, the real winner was Nelson (and NZ) tourism. And that means YOU … you, soon to be visitor to our new country. You’ll have longer days and extra weeks to see all you can in this fair land.
Yes, from the last weekend in September now to the first weekend in April, we all will enjoy long days where the sun sets at 10pm (eventually). We can frolic and play outdoors at the beach or on a hike in the national parks or just on a stroll through the neighbourhood. Getting out and getting fit.
Now, New Zealand is still a bit behind the rest of the world on this because our new 27 weeks of daylight savings isn’t yet on par with Europe at 31 or the US at 34, BUT we are on a different latitude anyway, so we still have extended daylight more of the year than not.
So, as a temporary member of the Nelson City Council and an eager participant in encouraging New Zealand tourism, c’mon over!!
***
On a related note, and I know you all keep asking, my position at NCC has indeed been posted, FINALLY! Working on the application, due 16 May, and setting in for the long haul through a likely 2-month process of interviews and tests and everythang. c u on the other side, I HOPE. Keep your fingers crossed for me.
Having come from the U.S. where for more than a decade the political parties have been like cats and dogs and never coming to compromise on anything worthwhile for the country's people, it's refreshing and almost slack-jawing to see some of the things that can be achieved when reasonable people sit down to achieve a goal.
Excerpts taken from several stories in The New Zealand Herald, first week of May 2007
Prime Minister Helen Clark and National leader John Key announced [on 2 May] they had agreed to an amendment to [the proposed anti-smacking legislation.] Today's amendment would make it clear police had the discretion not to prosecute complaints against a parent where the offence was considered "so inconsequential" there was no public interest in it going ahead.
At an extraordinary press conference, the Prime Minister set out how the deal was reached and said there was now cross-party support. The compromise sees wording inserted into the bill guiding the police not to prosecute all parents who smack their children.
Miss Clark said she began looking for a resolution to the impasse last week and worked with Parliament's legal experts looking at police prosecution guidelines. On Sunday she went to Ms Bradford, who said she was willing to look at it. She then went to Mr Key at question time yesterday and met with him last night before reaching agreement on the final wording.
At present, the bill would make it unlawful to use any form of physical discipline on a child for the purposes of correction. The compromise is being introduced by United Future leader Peter Dunne. [END]
Wow, a third party came in, proposed a compromise, the two parties behind the bill agreed and took it to the fourth party, they agreed. Wow, people can agree on things in the world.
And not only did government stun us (remember, things are probably normal here, our perception is skewed thanks to the U.S. government!), but the corporate world also got me good as this news was announced yesterday:
Excerpted from The New Zealand Herald
Ads for unhealthy fizzy drinks [cola drinks] and chippies [chip snacks] during children's television programmes are to be axed under a voluntary [<--key word here!] deal between the Government and broadcasters.
Food advertisements during designated children's programming hours will have to pass a test to receive a new "children's food" rating, but which foods will make the grade is yet to be determined. Broadcasting Minister Steve Maharey said he expected products which were high in sugar, salt or fat would fall foul of the new regime.
Television network executives, who had faced the possibility of government regulating what ads could be shown in children's viewing time, yesterday said they supported the voluntary code. CanWest TV Works chief operating officer Rick Friesen said ""This new era in self-regulation will permit the socially responsible advertising of food, soft drinks, fast food, cereals and confectionery, while protecting children when they are watching their early morning and mid-afternoon programmes."
TVNZ chief executive Rick Ellis said food advertisements would need to comply with the new code or they would not make the airwaves. While it would be in the best interest of food companies to buy into the code, Mr Ellis noted that in the last two years the number of food advertisements in those time zones had fallen.
However, health campaigners say the move won't achieve what the Government hopes it will - a reduction in child obesity rates - because children do most of their television watching at prime time. Food companies were unconcerned by the move. A spokeswoman for Coca-Cola said the company did not advertise during children's programming, and it pitched its marketing to 12s and over.
Obesity Action Coalition executive director Leigh Sturgiss said the code would probably have no effect on the number of fast food ads children saw. "According to research carried out in 2005 by the Broadcaster's Council, real world peak viewing time for children aged 5-13 is from 6.30pm-8.45pm on weekdays and from 6.30pm-9pm on weekends. The zones suggested in the new code finish at 5.30pm during the week on TV2 and 4.30pm on TV3."
[Yeah, but it's a start, isn't it! It's a compromise, for now].
I know I promised them some time ago, but here are some interior shots of our house with furniture this time.
It was a sunny day so the sun would have ruined the photos...so here is a picture of the lounge (living room) with all the curtains closed. Sorry! You can see the big new TV, and we've managed to nicely stuff our big American furniture into the space just perfectly.
It's nice to have our dining room set out and in use. We use it all the time now, eating most of our meals there, where we used to have tv trays on the brown couch before. It fits wonderfully in the space, particularly with the leaf, and the bench sits near the window. You can see the buffet against that far wall.
The front door and red kitchen are off to the left on this photo, but I didn't take a new photo of those cuz they didn't change too much!
Heading downstairs, here is an updated view of the master bedroom, it's smaller but works very well. Everyone--and that's no exaggeration--comments on the size of our bed, specifically the height. Everyone.
The tiny bedroom downstairs has become Angela's art room, or more like a place where she sticks her yarn and gets oil paint all over her clothes.
Guest room, doubling as Don's second bedroom and closet.
And here is the office, doubling as Angela's second bedroom and closet too. There's Don!
So there's an abbreviated tour of our house. It's really become a wonderful choice for us, just the right size and it doesn't require lots of filling up with stuff.
New Zealand has been completely clogged with the latest news (as well as all the build up to it over the past few months) that convicted murderer David Bain has been released from jail on bail pending a new trial. We've been hearing his name off and on in the news for months but never got the whole story on this guy, who now takes up the first 10 minutes of the news every night now for days. Apparently he is going on a fishing trip today for the next 2 days, and those will be some boring news stories indeed if the reporters decide to cover that!
As usual when things Kiwi happen that I don't understand, I go to my resident expert Ali, my co-worker, and ask her what's up. Based on what she said, the gist of the history is this:
In 1994 David Bain was accused and ultimately convicted of murdering his entire family when he was 19 or 20 years old. His family was his mother, father, a brother and two sisters. I think--I know it was parents and 3 siblings.
Anyway, because David was the only one not home at the time--he was on his paper route delivering papers--and he was the first one home, he had enough evidence to be convicted for the shocking crime, which took place in Dunedin. I guess there were some oddities at the time, such as an adult male having an awkward life and having a job as a paper delivery boy, the family was a bit odd, etc. etc. Either way, this 20-year old went away to jail for a crime that captivated the country. As Ali said, it was really NZ's first murder-the-entire-family-in-a-shocking-way case (at least in the television age, perhaps) in a time when there wasn't much murder going on.
Fast forward many years later and even though David Bain himself apparently maintained his own innocence, Ali says he didn't really scream it out, but his friends and supporters have from the beginning. There was a group of people who fiercely 'knew' that David did not commit this crime and started the process of appeals, somewhat similar to the US process of appeals. The case even got to the highest court in New Zealand law, which is really in the United Kingdom, called the Privy Council. I found this topic very interesting, but will do more research and get back to you on what the Privy Council does.
Last week the high court quashed all of his convictions, citing significant changes in the facts of the case, some of which include that the father was likely a sexual abuser of his daughter(s) and it could very well have been that his father killed the family and committed suicide afterward. Other pieces of conflicting evidence have come up over the years as well, so now Bain is not the clear-cut killer. I've also heard some concern about the actions of the jury in the original case, that perhaps they didn't really pay attention to all the evidence presented, but one interviewed juror claims still that the jury did the right thing.
The Crown lawyers will take the next few weeks to go through the mounds of evidence to determine if they will re-try the case against Bain. That is sure to bring another barrage of media reports. So only David Bain really knows if he is innocent or guilty, but he's had 13 years in jail to think about that. Let's hope there isn't a new trial so I can have back my hijacked television!
When you move to New Zealand you can drive around for up to one year with your international drivers licence, but you eventually have to apply for and get a NZ licence to be allowed to drive. For most English-speaking countries that have similar driving laws to NZ, what this means is that you can get a licence after sitting for and passing a theory test--and paying a fee (another form of taxation in this country). You do not have to take the practical test--an actual driving test (horror flashbacks to 16!).
I've been putting this off and off, reminding Don in my very anal retentive way last year that we had to take the test because July would be here before we knew it. It's just not like me to wait to the last minute--for me, taking the test in June would feel last minute. Besides, what if we fail and have to re-take it, we'd need to leave enough time to re-take, and re-take as necessary!
So I decided to cram pretty hard and take the test this week. I figured that I really only need this detailed information in my brain for this test, and then it can all go away. I was tired of thinking about it looming in the future.
The test is 35 questions and you can ONLY GET 3 WRONG! Yikes, that was a really scary thought, I remember getting my WA state drivers licence and only needing to get 80 percent of the questions right. And they say NZ schools suck ("they" being NZers).
On top of that, part of the road guide that you need to know involves towing, basic maintenance issues, specific things about pedestrians and cyclists because they are far more prominent here, and more towing. Plus, the test is multiple choice, I am such a bad multiple choice test taker! I was worried to say the least.
Good news is, I sat for it today and passed, but barely! I missed 3 and was so close to missing 4 because I had no idea what the answer to the last question was:
If you are carrying a load on top of your car, what is the maximum length the load can be from the front seat of your car? 4, 5, 6, or 7 metres were the choices.
AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! I DON'T TOW OR LOAD OR WHATEVER. But I used my keen sense of brains and smarts and my womanly intuition, and my vague recollection of a photo I thought I saw in my studies, and put some logic into the mix, and voila, I got it right. Drinks all around, to celebrate in good Kiwi fashion!
Here are some other silly sample questions from the NZ Road Guide for your entertainment.
This country seems to me to be in some kind of crisis with their kids. Every weekend there is a new death reported of a young person in some sort of drinking accident, party situation, or boy racer accident. A few weeks ago, two teenage girls who were at a massive party in Christchurch were run over in a double vehicular homicide. This prompted mayors from cities around NZ to get together today to discuss the issue and what to do about it, only a couple of days after a car race in Tauranga saw another young man die as he was hit by a car racing another car going 160 kph. CRAZY!
I know Don and I have ragged on the youth in this country, but seriously: what is up with you all?! What is so attractive about drag racing cars up and down city streets every night of the week? It's one thing to go out with your friends all night and have fun, it's another thing to race your car, alongside another car, going that freaking fast in the middle of crowds of other people.
James
Kids who race cars are not evil; they just don't see the rules as worth following. We have dragstrips at Pukekohe and Meremere: use them or don't do it at all. The way to fix the problem is to make the risk too great by upping either the punishment or the enforcement of the rules. Since police already seem to be stretched to wafer thinness, make the punishment permanent confiscation, regardless of who owns it, and a year's worth of community service. Too harsh? You bet. How many do you think will have to be punished before people start getting the message?
Chris (Takapuna)
The solution is simple. Make car insurance compulsory for all drivers, this would hike up the cost for owning a car, and maybe even bring the cost down for those of us that already pay insurance. Also anyone under the age of 21 should be restricted to engines below 1.0 Litre. Plus when these idiots get caught, ban them from driving for a year and take their car off them. The government needs to take action!
Louise
Why can't they make a controlled environment for the boy racers to go and race and that way they would be off the streets and out of harms way. Personally I dont think its that hard to do. You will never get rid of them, if they're not in Tauranga they will be somewhere else, the same problem is everywhere. You need to make a place for them where they can go and stay out of trouble and they can do their racing and burnouts etc.
Boyd
A waste of lives! A waste of all the beautiful things these young people all had to offer their families! Now one is dead and two others have had their lives torn apart from stupidity! A waste of lives!
Mark (Auckland)
Get Real; boy racers are not confused about life. They know that they can buy a relatively cheap Jap import and modify it to easily chew up tyres and drift around inner city streets. Sure they have an interest in cars, as about 80 per cent of the male population in NZ does...thats just the way we are brought up by our car enthused fathers. The only reason people get heavily into anything is because there is nothing else interesting to do, or that they can afford to do. Most of these kids come from middle class families where the parents dont teach them social responsibility and accountability, so hence they dont have any respect for the police or the public around them. Here's an idea! The only way to teach these kids not to behave like idiots is to just take their cars off them, and sell them to pay for our new roads! Surely that is a better way to pay for NZ's roading upgrades than taxing us more! Nuff said!
Ian (Auckland)
Society has allowed this to happen. What do you expect from teenagers?
There is no restriction on the power of a car they can drive.They can drink now at a younger age; restrictions on getting a driving licence are pathetic; parents don't know where their teenagers are; parents are not responsible for their children; we sell car racing computer games where you never loose and there are no consequences. The solutions are to make obtaining a drivers licence more difficult; no driving without an adult ( 21years and over ) until you are 18; no vehicles of greater power than 1500cc until 18; parents responsible for their children until 18; make driving a privilege rather than a right; make penalties for breaking the rules really hurt, into Army for 12 months.Be bold and responsible and deal with the cause of the problem ; wake up parents and society - we let this happen. Parents are just as liable in my books as the teenagers - both should face the music for breaking the law Confiscate cars for 12 months of all under the age of 18 who speed, modify their cars, organise racing etc.
Dave
From speaking with many boy and girl racers, it is obvious only one thing stops the activity - removal of the means to race - the car. Tears often do flow when the pride and joy is impounded - but this is just for a month. The Courts have the power under the Sentencing Act to confiscate the car involved for the first offence and it is supposed to mandatory for a second offence. In fact, confiscation is a rarity. The law and penalties are there already. They just need to be used. Offenders and bystanders may then have a chance to grow and live into adulthood.
***
A taste of the public reaction to these ongoing tragedies.
Last night the rain started and the winds blew like crazy. This morning we woke to some nasty weather, and commented that it's one of the ugliest days we've seen since we arrived. Turns out we received one month's worth of rain in the span of 4 hours, and we were hardest hit during the hour of 7:45a - 8:45a, the exact time we were watching outside at our neighbour and getting in the car to drive through flooded streets on the way to work.
When I arrived at work we were on semi-emergency duty with the threat of coming under a civil defence (due to flood, not terrorism you crazy Americans!) declaration. Luckily by 11am the sun was out in bits over Nelson and the rain had stopped entirely. Still, it turns out 3 schools closed due to flooding, several stores, we took photos of businesses whose parking lots were pools of water--the entire lot. And a part of Stoke is under watch now because the sewer systems were flooded and sewer water came out with everything else.
Here are some photos:
Yes I stopped what I was doing to take these few photos of our neighbour just under our house (when a good neighbour would help out). A family lives in the house just off camera to the left and I think grandma (it is a relative, assuming a grandma) lives in the house you see in full.
The road comes down from our street, quite a steep gradient, and is all gravel with no irrigation to speak of. Except, that is, the white pipe you can see almost in the middle of the picture, to the left a bit. That pipe was causing part of the flooding problem, as it became full of gravel.
Both driveways are gravel, and I caught the man and the grandma lady at the peak rain time mid 8am hour out in the rain, drenched head to toe, working very hard unplugging that white pipe--and eventually tearing it up out of the gravel b/c it impeded the water flow--and shoveling gravel in and out of the way of the rivers. They were trying to save what appeared to be the garage of the house on the left and garden of the house on the right.
You can see from photo one the two rivers of water (and they were fast, deep rivers of muddy water that the photo doesn't do justice) were rushing down the drive, one being diverted almost completely into the driveway where the jeep is and into the garage (under the deck). 
The other river was going farther down the drive, but crossing the road to flood grandma's garden and raging under and around the house. We saw grandma out pulling tree-lings out of the ground that had been uprooted from the flood.
When I got to Council, I walked into the office from the parking area and took this photo of the river, almost as high as I've ever seen it. Normally, at this part of the river, you see riverbed and rock with only a minor flow to the left of the picture. This water was high and moving fast as a boy racer! At the top of those rocks is the footpath. 
You can watch the TV3 story about it--note the name of Stoke, that is our little neighbourhood in Nelson.
We mentioned these guys to you in our blog before, they are hilarious. Well, their HBO show is set to debut next month and they'll have 12 episodes. You can watch the first one for free on the HBO website, and we did just that last night. FUNNY! They are Kiwis in NY, and it's a mix of their comedy music and regular comedy show stuff.
Anyway, we like them, so take a look if you have a chance: click here for Flight of the Conchords, the new HBO series, episode one.
May is drawing to a close, as winter starts to creep up and grab us with overnight temperatures now at 1 and 2 degrees. But, the chill is welcome because finally, oh finally, my job was posted and tomorrow morning I have my first interview. 9am, all of you think good thoughts and wish me luck. I hope in a few weeks time to be the official, permanent, fourth member of the Nelson City Council communications team. It's been a good run as a temp, and I'm a bit nervous even bringing it up because I hate to be overly optimistic, but I am ready to lose the temp shackles! So send those vibes my way ...
On a completely opposite note (and to get off the subject as I don't want jinx myself!) both Don and I were stunned tonight by an interview on a TV3 journalist show, Campbell Live hosted by John Campbell. He had the National Leader John Key (the leader of the opposition party) live in studio in an attempt to get to know him better--Key accepted the leader's role only months ago after the former leader resigned due to constant scandal. The pretext: over the last two weeks, political polls have seen current Prime Minister Helen Clark and her Labour Party diving in popularity (who do you prefer as PM?) as compared to National; for the first time since 1999 Clark is trailing by nearly 10 percent. The polls don't mean so much right now, as the election is 18 months away (about the same time as the US election, what a year that will be!). But it makes good fodder for TV.
What blew us away was one simple question and answer, and tell me when you have ever heard such a thing before in your life of a presidential candidate in the U.S.?
Campbell: What do you care about? Are you religious? Do you go to church?
Key: Not overly. I don't go to church.
Campbell: Ok, so that's okay. (onto next question).
We were DUMBSTRUCK by this, floored. It was just matter of fact, an answer of no, and then moving on to the next question. This is (not would be, just is) political suicide in the U.S. How refreshing to hear a politician just flat out speak his/her REAL mind! Regardless of the topic, no twisting, no faking, no spinning, no making-it-up. He just doesn't go to church, period, end of story. Too bad John Kerry couldn't be so 'real' (suddenly a church-going hunter, if you recall).
Not quite what I'd like to get in the mail in the way of a present, but confirmation nonetheless of our grand adventure in New Zealand, I'm officially living ... and driving ... here! WATCH OUT road, I got nothing stopping me now.
Yeah I know it's blurry, but I'm not adept at using the camera off its main setting. Clearly you see it's a NZ licence and most of you can tell that is my gorgeous face. GUESS WHAT LADIES, NO WEIGHT! You don't have to lie in NZ about your weight on your DL. And yes, I'm an organ donor here too.
