Timaru Week 2

Saturday 1st April - Friday 7th April 2017

So the most exciting thing to happen this weekend is that there was a leopard seal chilling out at Caroline bay. It was huge... the photos I took definitely don't do it justice! 

We had another fun week of activities. One of the favourites this week was making a puppet, it was from a kit but we added a few extra bits on to it to make it a little more interesting! Keeping up with the fort theme, we turned the corner of a lounge into a dark den and used torches to read books in there as a sensory learning activity which was a huge success and will definitely be one I'll use again on rainy days! 

We also made a cookie fruit pizza which turned out super yummy!

On Thursday evening, I went for sushi with some of the other Au Pairs near Timaru. It was really cool to be able to get to know some of the others and organise play dates and things! The food was really good as well... chicken teriyaki and avocado sushi is my new favourite! 

The weather has been a bit on and off this week, and it has been raining quite a bit (so not too different to England!). I managed to get out for a good walk on one of the nicer days though luckily. I've decided to start the couch to 5k training app as I have free time in the morning after I drop the kids off, and I feel like I need to start getting my fitness back up to a less embarrassing level!

First Week in Timaru

So I realise I haven't written a post in a while... I've been super busy starting my new job as an Au Pair and settling in to life in Timaru. I'll do a couple of catch up posts and then do my best to do a fortnightly or weekly up date depending on what I've been doing! I'll keep to doing one on Mondays or Fridays for as much as I can though! Also, due to privacy reasons, I won't be writing in detail or putting up any photos of the children I work with.

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Friday 24th March - Friday 31st March 2017
So after meeting Mary at the airport and having the long 2 hour drive from Christchurch to Timaru, I finally arrived! It was dark by the time I got here so I couldn't see much, but Mary gave me a little tour around in the car and we stopped off by the port as there are penguins nesting there! We just missed seeing them but we could hear them in their nest. Then we went back and I met Wade, as well as his sister and brother in law.

The folllowing weekend, I met the boys and spent the weekend getting my bearings around Timaru. We're relatively near to Caroline bay, so it's nice being close to a beach!. There are a few shops and a couple of pubs and bars as well as kids of restaurants, so there's plenty to do.

My first week working as an Au Pair went pretty well. My main job is obviously looking after the two boys, but I also do some cooking and cleaning as well, so basically I'm like an extra set of hands to help around the house. I get all my food and accommodation included and also get a weekly wage, so it works or as a pretty decent job when it comes to saving and getting a taste of kiwi life! We did a few different things this week, mostly involving fort building and playing with lego... I'm sure I'll be doing lots of that over the next 5 months! One of my favourite things we did was go on a walk and collected 'treasure'. One of the boys picked up a load of twigs and when we got back we made a stick man! 

There's a pretty decent library in Timaru, and I've been itching to read from an actual book and not off an app on my phone so I went there on one of my first days. I'm really appreciating the small luxuries in life at the moment, mostly having my own room and being able to hang up my clothes! I did have to go shopping for a few jumpers and trousers as I mainly have summer clothes and is already starting to get pretty cold down here! I've also been bonding with Billy, the family cat!

On the Friday evening, I went out with Mary and a few of her friends to a catwalk and cocktails night at a department store. I definitely got my money's worth with cocktails and food! The catwalk was alright, it got kinda boring after a while... I snuck a few drinks and some popcorn downstairs and I feel like if they kept the food and drinks coming it would have helped! But all in all a great night and topped off an awesome first week in Timaru!

Return to Auckland : Part 3

Monday 20th March - Friday 24th March 2017

Monday
I had a nice leisurely wake up this morning - I'm making the most of the lie ins before I start my Au Pair job! After a short walk around Albert Park, I decided to go to the art gallery today, as I haven't been yet and it's one of the few free things to do here. I actually really enjoyed it! I really wasn't expecting to but some of the exhibits were really cool, and I did a bit of origami!

After spending about an hour there, I wandered around the shops trying to find a little present for the two boys I will be looking after. I have never had more trouble finding a present for a child in my life! There are no toy shops, unless you count fancy dress shops that have party favours, and the book shops are small so they don't have a good selection to choose from. Nevertheless, I got a few ideas and planned to get something nearer to the end of the week. 

Kristine and Lottie had spoken to Neil about staying at his until they get their Kiwi Experience bus on Thursday morning, so they made us dinner tonight which was awesome! Fidya and Lottie went to the spa, so Kristine and I decided to put on a film to pass the time. 

Tuesday

I decided to spend the morning tidying up a bit and sorting out a few bits so I didn't end up leaving the room until after lunch. I decided to go back up to Newmarket to see if th ebugger warehiuse had anything I could give the two boys and, luckily, I managed to find a couple of superhero colouring books and little cars to give them, so I'm definitely happier now I've sorted that out!

I walked back through Auckland Domain, stopping every now and again to spend about half an hour reading. I got pretty lost, and ended up spending longer than anticipated there! But I managed to find a few cool spots that I didn't see when Emma and I went there's back in February. 

 I decided to go to Zambreros for a burrito for dinner, I absolutely love that place - the food is insanely delicious! I then headed back for another chilled evening, I'm doing my best to save as much money as I can so I'm only letting myself go out once this week!

Wednesday
This morning I walked up to Parnell to meet an old friend from first school, Lauren, at a little Cafe. It was so lovely to see her after over ten years! Afterwards, I had a browse through the shops in Parnell but as I have extremely limited room in my backpack I decided to go to Auckland Domain again to do some more reading and chilling out. I walked back to the hotel for lunch, finishing up my noodles beforehand heading back out in the afternoon to chill out in Myers park again. I have been loving this chilled out life but I'm very excited to get back into working and having a set routine - I'm too restless at the moment!

This evening, Fidya, Kristine, Lotte and I went out for the Couchsurfing drinks and it was kind of mixed emotions for me as this will be the last drinks I'm going to, and it's always sad to leave cool people! It was good fun though!

Thursday

Today I met up with Cameron again and went to see Zhan at the cafe he works at, so basically a repeat of last week! This time I got a snickers milkshake as I hadn't long had breakfast and it was the nicest milkshake I have had for a flipping long time! So happy! I didn't stay out too long as the majority of the day relied on me washing, tidying and packing ready for me to leave tomorrow. I had to go and get my favourite dumplings for the last time!

Friday

My alarm went off at 5:30am this morning and that wasn't the easiest of wake ups! But I got myself sorted, tidied up Neil's lounge, had breakfast (well forced it down) and left ready for my elongated journey to the Holiday Inn by Auckland airport as, typically, there wasn't any direct buses or trains there, so I had to get a train to Onehunga and a bus to Mangere. 

The first aid training was really interesting, not much is different to the last one I did, bar a few minor details. Apparently now it's not being taught as essential to give rescue breaths in CPR,  as the blood should be oxygenated enough beforehand and also through the air,  and compressions are more important as it keeps the blood pumping to the brain, effectively making sure the patient isn't brain dead. Other than that everything was basically the same! We had loads of food given to us as well which was amazing! We also had to have a group photo taken and, despite having loads of photos to choose from, the one on the Facebook page is the worst one of me 😂... I'm on the far right with the disgusted look on my face!

It didn't take long before the orientation was over, and it was time to get on the flight to Christchurch. A few other au pars were flying their as well, so it was nice to have a familiar face to look hang out with for a bit. Mary came and got me from the airport, and we grabbed food before the long drive down to Timaru, my home for the next 5 months. We got there at around 9ish, so it was pretty dark, but she gave me a quick tour round the city and we went to see if there were any penguins down at the beach. I didn't see any, but I heard a few in heir nest which is pretty cool, I'm hoping to go back down there a some point and see them before they migrate

Return to Auckland: Part 2

Thursday 16th March - Sunday 19th March 2017

Thursday
I didn't have much planned today so I met with Cameron and grabbed lunch at Johnny Barrs in Wynard Quarter as Zhan works there. The food was amazing and, as Zhan finished at 4, we hung around for a bit until he finished and grabbed a few beers. I had an interview with a family at 8, so I didn't stay out too long. The interview went really well and the family seem lovely!

Friday
Today I made the most of the nice weather and went for a long walk around Auckland. I spent a bit of time sunbathing in Victoria Park, reading a few books. I then went back to Myers park. Myers park is my favourite park near to the centre of the city, mainly because it's super quiet whenever I've been!

As it was St Patrick's day, we'd planned to go out with some of the others from Couchsurfing. I had a costume ready, but there must've been red wine spilt on the table as when I went to put it on there were wine stains all over it! I still had my bright green socks though so I popped those on to get in the Irish spirit. As I had a few interviews the following morning I didn't drink all that much, but I did make use of the $10 steak deal!

Saturday
As previously mentioned, I had a few interviews planned for this morning, however one of the families has emailed saying they changed their minds about me as they would rather have someone for at least a year. Typically this was the interview scheduled for 9am so there went my lie in! At the moment I'm deciding between two families, one in Timaru with 2 boys and one in rural Canterbury with 3 girls. Both families look so lovely and I know I'll fit in with both of them! So I made sure I had second interviews with them, a few more families requested contact but I decided to stick with the original two as they contacted me straight away!

After the last interview, I went down and grabbed some dumplings before going to chill out at Myers Park again. After finishing a book (Silent Child - would definitely recommend although it was pretty predictable!) I decided to go for a longer walk. I ended up quite lost! But it was cool as I got to explore a bit more of the city that I haven't been to yet, and found quite a few vintage shops that look awesome, only problem being my lack of money and room in my backpack!!

Sunday
A few other girls stayed with us last night, so Neil made us all a fry up this morning which was amazing. He is off to Wellington this week, and very kindly said that Fidya and I could stay here whilst he is away.

I had one more interview this morning, and I ended up accepting the job with them! So after first aid training on Friday I'll be flying to Christchurch and they will then drive me to Timaru so it's exciting times ahead!

This afternoon I had another wander around the city, not really getting up to a whole lot as usual! I chilled out at Silo Park, although I got too hot sitting in the sun!

Alice got into Auckland today, so she came to the hotel and we all went to the rooftop pool and spa which was lovely! It was  so good to see a friendly face, someone you don't have to explain your life story to! It's been so nice being able to just have a relaxing week, and I'm looking forward to my last week as a tourist before settling down in Timaru.