Bridget:
A-P-P-R-O-V-E-D! Yep, that's right. The lovely people from New Zealand immigration services were kind enough to grant us permission to travel to their country. So with visas taken care of, now the fun begins....finding a job, a place to crash, international health insurance, bank accounts, transportation, etc. It has already been quite the trip down the information highway. We've been checking the exchange rate daily (currently at 1 USD = 1.5 NZD), emailing vineyards and orchards weekly, and occasionally brushing up on our "Kiwi" slang (our recent favorite: "chilly bin" or what we here in the states commonly refer to as a cooler).
Other than obsessively scouring the Internet for NZ insider info, we've been figuring out ways to live frugally once we're there. Well, I personally found a way to save $300+ per year, and here it is:
Say hello to Bridget as a brunette. Yes, a bit shocking at first, but hey, no highlighting = zero maintenance = zero dollars spent in a salon = more money for traveling to sweet places like Bora Bora and Fiji (in the NZ vicinity). I really didn't know what to expect...just told the guy to match my natural hair color and "voila," this is how it came out. Can't say that I'm completely used to it yet, but it's growing on me (no pun intended).
Another challenge is figuring out how much we can bring. For Craig, it's easy... a pair of shorts, pants, Chacos, a few t-shirts, a few jackets, and he's ready to roll. As for me on the other hand, well, let's just say that 9000 cubic inches (one extra large duffel) seems to be a really small space when trying to pack for an entire year in a country that experiences all four seasons at their best. Especially when you factor in shoes, jackets, laptop, camera, etc. Hopefully I can keep it under 50 lbs.
Well, we are getting more and more excited as the days go by. Only three months left 'til the big day!
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