Bickerton - Visiting my Uncle George

I spent the first part of this week in a beautiful village called Bickerton where my Dads oldest brother George lives in a gorgeous English cottage with his wife Marge and crazy dog Barney. Each day we took Barney on long walks through the huge forests near their home, we had more blue sky and sun (but cold temperatures of course!) I really loved hanging out there, life is peaceful, calm and quiet there - I feel like I have just come back from a retreat! We also visited Peckforton castle where Marges daughter is getting married in August, so of course now I have decided that I am getting married in a castle over here which according to my life plan will be in about 3-4 years - start saving to come over!

Chester Walls

After quite a bit to drink on Saturday night (thanks to the cocktails made by my Uncle who poured more and more spirits into the mixer the more he drank) we decided to get some fresh air and walk around the Chester Walls the following day. It was so windy and cold but the sun was shining and the sky was blue so the weather looks good in the photos at least! I have now learnt not to associate blue sky and sun with warmth in this country! The walk takes around 45-60 minutes and I really enjoyed it - in fact I would like to do it again! Its just so interesting walking along the walls that the Romans used to walk on and used as protection whilst fighting off enemies. Some of the barriers have slits in them where they would have put their bow and arrows through. As well as walking along these amazing walls you get great views of Chester along the way - a must do if you are ever in the area!

Pub Lunch

You have to have a proper pub lunch when you come to England. We went to a nice pub just outside of Chester called The Plow and I had the best fish and chips ever! Every pub in England has vinegar on the table and they find it so hard to believe that we don't have vinegar at the pubs back home! So make sure you get fish, chips and mushy peas with a good pint of beer to wash it down! YUM!

The Trafford Centre

The Trafford centre is the most amazing shopping centre I have ever seen - it was HUGE and full of amazing shops and things to see. The whole interior just takes your breath away - they even have the staircase from Titanic in there!! The food courts are incredible, all themed and filled with restaurants and cafes, the outside looks like a museum and it takes hours to just walk around it let alone to shop as well. I went with my cousins and we all had sore feet and legs by the time we left - well worth it though! Can't wait to go again!

Bank Account - National Insurance Number

What a mission. First of all do not go through any companies in New Zealand for this - I went through First Contact and wasted $80. They make it sound as though you buy the pack and you just walk into a bank in England and your account will be set up - this is not the case. I am a British citizen and because I do not have a permanent address here (they require a water bill or something like that addressed to you at an English address) they weren't going to allow me to open one unless I open what they call a passport account that will cost you anywhere from 90-150 pounds a year and your bound to a 12 month contract with them. After speaking with my Uncle he suggested I ask for a joint account with my parents as they still have one over here and they agreed to this - I just have to wait a few weeks for forms to get sent to New Zealand for them to sign then get sent back here. First Contact also give you a 'free' sim card - they are free anyway in the UK but since they are not free in NZ you think that you are saving $15-20. Anyway you live and you learn but basically the package just gives you application forms that you can just walk into the bank and pick up yourself once you are here. They are really strict with the National Insurance number as well. I am not sure how this works for non-citizens, I am pretty sure that you receive a temporary one when you start working then you can apply for an official one. In the UK everyone receives some sort of child benefits from the government so that meant I would have received them as a child so I already have a NI number - its just getting a hold of it. I have to go to Liverpool on Friday for an identity interview where I need to take a minimum of four forms of I.D in order to access it. If everything gets approved I then have to wait 2 weeks for it to get sent out to me. Even though you are tired when you first arrive its a good idea to try and get all this kind of stuff sorted as soon as you can cause it can take weeks or months for paper work / interviews / approvals etc.

Chester

Wow! Chester is a such beautiful city I've really enjoyed staying here and exploring with my Uncle and Auntie. Whenever anyone talks about England it seems to be 'oh the weather this and oh the weather that'- what they forget to mention is just how beautiful the buildings and towns are - there is such rich history here and every building will have a story of its own. Coming from New Zealand that hasn't been around that long in comparison to England Im really just in awe of everything here especially the cathedrals and buildings - Im yet to see a house that isn't made of red brick! My Uncle took me around Winsford where I used to live so it was really cool seeing my old house and the area I lived in till I was 7. Its been a bit nippy here so I have bought a new jacket but were meant to have a heat wave soon.... I'll believe it when it happens! I surprised my Auntie that I haven't seen in 12 years, went to Sandbach for a few days to visit my cousins and their new baby who I just love more than anything already - its just so neat visiting my family and tonight Im heading to my Uncles who lives in the Chester countryside so Im really looking forward to that!

Jet Lag...

The thought of 30 hours of non stop flights and transfers is a bit daunting but it has it be done. I thought I would sleep for a few hours here and there - at least 5 hours on the last leg of the journey (by then I would have been up for over 24 hours so thought it wouldn't be a problem) but reality is you just can't sleep on airplanes. Rarely will you come across someone who says they got a full night of sleep on their journey over here. Since I arrived at 8am I had to stay up all day - if you go to sleep and sleep all day you'll be up all night and your body will be really out of sync. Jet lag is a weird feeling, almost like you've had too much to drink and you've been knocked on the head... the whole room starts jumping eventually and after 48 hours of no sleep I finally crashed out around 8pm and slept right through for 11 or so hours. I arrived on the Sunday morning and it wasn't till Thursday that I felt 100% 'normal' again I was just groggy and tired but still went out everyday and explored etc. The first few days were a mix of excitement and feeling a bit sad - realising just how far away you are from your family and friends was quite scary and I wasn't expecting to feel like that but after you recover from the jet lag your on cloud nine! I really love it here, I can't believe its only been a week it definitely feels longer but I already feel settled in thanks to my Uncle and Aunt and my cousins!

The flight...

Good morning! Or evening if your reading in New Zealand, yes - I have officially landed!
It was really sad saying goodbye to my family at the airport but once you get through customs and onto the plane the excitement really kicks in. First flight was 10 hours from here to Singapore, forgot to ask for a window seat at check in then ended up sitting to a rather smelly man with his wife and baby.... what are the odds! I was a bit anxious about getting lost in airports / not finding next flight etc but Singapore airport was just great and I literally got off the plane and went straight to the information desk to see where the gate for my next flight was (which happened to be just 200 meters away) so I called home, sent a few emails, found a Starbucks and had a frap where I met a lovely lady from Germany so chatted to her for a wee while then went to the sweet shop to get my usually big tube of Smarties! By then it was time to head to the gate so the four hour stop over really flew by. Last flight was 15 hours with an hour stop off in Munich, Germany. I was pretty exhausted by the time I arrived but the excitement overrides it all!

Farewell New Zealand!

I really can't believe the time has actually come to leave New Zealand and begin my journey overseas. I've been counting down from 110 days and at times felt like it would never get down to day 1 yet somehow it did, and very quickly for that matter! I have been waiting for this moment for 9 years now so I just have to enjoy every second of it!

I have barely slept all week but thats all part of the fun (apparently)... by the time you get to take off day you actually want to get on the plane to chill out and sleep cause the week that leads up to it is just mayhem. Not looking forward to saying goodbye to my family but I must keep my eye on the prize! 29 hours of travel here I come! Peace out New Zealand! 

Safe Travels

I have been given some very meaningful and beautiful jewellery to head away with. My Dad bought my Mum and I two rings that join when together and we both won't take them off at all while I am away, or ever for that matter. I am very close to both my parents so its nice to have something on me everyday that is from them. My good friend Emma gave me a traditional greenstone necklace, this one in particular represents a bonding of friendship. In Maori culture it is bad luck to buy greenstone for yourself or to receive greenstone that has not been blessed - this piece has been blessed by Ngaphui which means that Emma's ancestors spirits are now within the stone, becoming my guardians.

A very close family of friend of ours, Sue, gave me a gold St. Christopher necklace that was given to her when she went traveling at 25 so for this to be passed onto me at 25, about to start my travels, was just so special and I was really blown away by it. St Christopher is the patron of safe travel therefore this pendant provides you with safety when worn overseas.

'Pack Lightly'

Yeah - right! I am one of those people that will have an item of clothing sitting in my wardrobe for at least 3 years before I accept that I will never wear it again and need to get rid of it. I have sold so many clothes on Trade Me which is awesome cause you pocket some money along the way, yet I am still having trouble choosing what to take. I have 3/4 packed and my suitcase is overflowing... After a word from my amigo Gemma who has done a fair bit of traveling herself, I must go through and take out what I just know in my heart I won't wear.... I think because I have brain washed myself into not spending a penny on something that isn't a necessity over the past 8 months, I am finding hard to understand the concept of being able to shop once more once I arrive in the UK. Plus I am not taking a boyfriend of any description with me so I won't be able to pack heavy and get him to carry it (which has happened in the past much to my delight and his dismay!) I am going to work on this packing dilemma tomorrow...

iPod Touch - 4th Generation

When I heard that the new iPod touch had an application called 'FaceTime' which in other words is Skype I jumped at the chance to get one and also convinced my parents that they 'needed' one so that we can 'FaceTime' where ever I am in the world. I could be sitting at a restaurant in Italy, eating pizza of course, and video call home, just like that. That is just one of a long list of amazing features and applications available for the iPod touch 4 - games, google maps, general internet, email, video calling, camera/video camera, music (of course), movies - the list just goes on an on. Definitely worth the investment! 

Credit / Travel Card

3 more sleeps to go! This morning its coffee with a good friend then getting my I'm heading out to get my Visa travel card this avo, I chose this option as you can load your money on in the currency of what country you are going to - and it doesn't alter the amount of $$ if the exchange rate changes - it is locked in and doesn't change so its good to load your travel card while the exchange rate is really good. You don't at any point borrow the banks money and you use it like an eftpos card so you don't get fees every time you buy something (credit cards will charge $4-7 each time you use it whether your taking out cash or paying for something through and eftpos machine.) If you are wanting to look into a similar option for your travels visit http://www.loadedfortravel.co.nz/ Also with a travel card you upload your money through internet banking, this costs $5 each time but its so handy being able to access it online plus you can put $500 a week on it instead of all of your money at once e.g I will be putting $2500 on it in total for the UK but will only be putting $500 a week on, so if it gets stolen I won't have to worry about recovering / loosing $2500 in one hit.

I am also taking my Visa credit card just incase I need it. I have taken my limit from $1500 to $500 as it is just a back up, you also have to tell your bank what countries you are going to, even if you are stopping in Singapore for just one night like me, tell them. The second you use it in a country you haven't listed they will cancel it or block it and we all know what a hassle that would be getting a new one out!

R.I.P Neo

The time came yesterday to hand in my very first car that had been with me for 9 years, from day one of driving. Lets be honest, it was on its last legs and had a big dent in it from the incident a few months ago but still... It makes everything more real - no job, no car.... said goodbye to 80% of my friends  now and have 3 more sleeps to go!!! GETTING EXCITED! I ended up convincing the the guys car insurance to write off my car instead of fixing it then having to sell it... I got double the amount I would have gotten if I had tried to sell it so I won't lie, I may have handed in my one and only car but seeing a few grand in your bank account 3 days before you head overseas puts a huge smile on your face!

Officially unemployed...

Well today was my last day at work! I really can't tell you how quickly it came around, I thought I'd be a bit more excited tonight than I am to be honest, I think its just hitting me now that its real! It was quite sad leaving really, I've had so many wonderful opportunities since starting there and its a bit daunting leaving a great job.... and being officially unemployed. As they say, one door closes and another one opens and you can't get much better than opening the door to Europe! Off for a celebratory drink (or two) with the girls now, every Friday night we get together so this will be the last one for a while... this time next week I will be triple checking that everything is packed and getting ready to leave the following day!

Birthday/Farewell Drinks

I think this would have to be my best birthday yet! I had an amazing night with all my friends and couldn't have asked for a better send off. Im really not the type to have drinks or parties for my birthday cause I don't like the whole centre of attention thing but its honestly so worth while to have a farewell before you leave, I will miss everyone so much! 10 more days to go...