NZ Life

NZ Life…

So I flew into this sheep infested country Jan 04 to do a year-out as a Youth Worker with YFC. Living in the capital city of the South Island, Christchurch, I’m now starting to make this rugby loving nation my home. My current work visa and permit expires in January 2007 so there is a lot of life to live before making any long term decisions. A few misconceptions I should clear-up however:

1. We don’t see sheep every 15 seconds


2. The All Blacks are by-far the best rugby team in the world and have been ever since the creation of rugby!


3. Although the English Pound is worth about 2.6 NZ dollars, everything isn’t 2.6 times cheaper! We complain about the price of petrol (although it is half the cost of English petrol), but most commodities are similar priced. Housing and wages are a lot lower then the UK - but I get the best deal possible! (I pay £45 per week for rent, food, power, phone & Sky TV!)

I love my work! Doing a job I enjoyed doing voluntarily is a dream! Sometimes it’s a nightmare too – dealing with hormone raging teenagers – but I realise it’s for a higher purpose and seeing young peoples lives changed for eternity is certainly rewarding. New Zealand is very similar to England in many ways – most of the people here come from England originally anyway! Similar foods, weather, culture, tv! I was quickly made to feel at home and have been living in the same flat since the second month I moved here. It’s a large 5 bedroomed Christian flat that looks after each other as a family! A few people have moved in and out – but it’s home! The picture is of my 4 other flat mates at our Super-Hero Flat Warming Party – Fun! Then, all of a sudden, unexpectedly, something happens that has never happened to me before. I fall in love!