Becoming A Teacher Soon

I was recently accepted to do a teaching course here at Massey and very soon, I will be a qualified teacher here in NZ. As there are shortage of teachers here in NZ, especially in Mathematics, I will undergo a 35 week training course with half of them (18 weeks) being attachment at local schools. I am also lucky is that as a Maths teacher(there is a real shortage), the NZ government is actually paying me NZ$10,000 to study. Not bad , eh. Getting paid to study and in the meantime still working at NZ Post.

Christmas Is Just Around The Corner

The shops and the shopping mall are getting crowded by the day, we are having massive sales by major retailers, houses are decorated with lights and christmas decorations are all over town, so you know that Christmas is just around the corner. To all my friends and relatives both here in NZ and Singapore, I wish you a Merry Christmas and a happy 2007.

Family Came To Palmy

For the past 1 week, my family came to visit us in Palmy. It was great to see our family again after separating for slightly more than 1 year. One of my nieces have grown much taller and is even taller than her mum. We had great time catching up with each other, visiting places in the Manawatu and eating out everyday of the week. I really hope my family had a great time here in Palmy and the weather was awesome. It will not be long soon before we ourselves make our trip back to Singapore and Penang to visit friends and relatives too.

Summer Fruits Are Beginning To Appear

We are noticing quite a few summer fruits appearing at the supermarkets. Cherries, strawberries and apricots are now being sold and very soon, nectarines, plums, peaches, grapes and many more will follow soon. Summer is the time for fruit lovers including myself.

Dinner Kiwi Style

Last night, we decided to have dinner Kiwi style, that is, eating out at the park and having fish and chips from a nearby take-away shop. The weather was warm and just nice and so was the surroundings rose gardens. On top of that, we had the company of birds at the park which we fed with the chips. We left the rose garden at 8pm but it was still bright as summer is just around the corner.

Wet and Windy November

The past month of November have been pretty wet as well as windy here in Palmy. It was much wetter and colder than when we arrived last November. We are still wearing our "woolies" and the fruit trees at our backyards are still at the early stage of ripening. Hopefully, the weather will change for the better come December.

Rugby World Cup 2011

Even before the first ball was kicked for the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France next year, the politicains have been busy deciding on the venue for the 2011 WC which NZ will be hosting. There are 3 options at the moment - to build a new stadium along Auckland waterfront, to rebuild Eden Park or refurbish the torn downCarlaw Park. With too many pros and cons for the 3 venues, the politicians will have their hands full before making their final decision.

Global Warming

The global warming phenomena that has affected many countries was clearly evident this week in New Zealand when several of the iceberg from Antartica came floating off Otago coast. As for the helicopters operators, it was good business as they charge $500 for both the local and foreign tourists to view the beautiful iceberg from a close distance. The signs of global warming are there for all to see and if we do not heed them, then trouble is just around the corner.

Summer is Here

After battling the bitter cold for the most of the last 6 months, we will soon be into the swing of summer. The kids are wearing summer clothes, riding on bikes and scooters and very soon will be asked to bring "togs" to school for swimming classes. The weather has just been fantastic, around the early 20s, just like air con temperature while at night, it still can get a little chilly, around the early teens. The nights are getting brighter too. The sun rises at around 5.30 in the morning and set only at around 9 pm. As we get into summer, we will get more sunlight hours and it will only get dark at around 10 at night. So, if anyone intending to visit NZ, now is the time as the climate is milder and you get to travel for longer hours.

Guy Fawkes Day

This was the 2nd Guy Fawkes day that we have experienced here in NZ. It was a very colourful day as most Kiwis will buy fireworks from the supermarkets and stores and lit the sky up till late at night. Being very "suaku", we drove down the streets along Palmerston North from 9pm onwards and see the night skies being lit up by residents. Only from reports in the press, we realised that it is actually a dangerous day for the firemen and as many as 1700 fires were reported throughout the country on this day itself.

United Nations Day

TYesterdaay marked the United Nations Day and there were a gathering of about 100 nationalities at the Convention Centre in Palmerston North representing 100 different countries. Most of the participants dressed up in traditional costumes and there were lion dance performance from the Kung Fu School (and Junius is one of them) as well as drum performance by the International Pacific College.

Kathina

Yesterday, we made our day trip to Wellington and visit the Stokes Valley monastry for the kathina celebration. This is a ceremony where lay people gives robes to the monk annually. There were about a couple of hundreds of people at the monastry including Thais, Laotians, Cmbodians, SriLankans, Malaysians, Singaporeans and quite a number of Kiwis. We had a dana too where everyone bring a dish to share and you can imagine the amount of food brought into the monastry. On the way hoe, we visited one of our friend who has just moved from Tawa to Paraparaumu.

Mooncake Festival

We had a mooncake festival gathering last week at one of my Malaysian friends place. It was an excuse for a party and as usual we had a potluck. We had many anthentic food like sambal prawns, chap chai, poh piah and deserts like agar agar and fruits. The children also had a great time playing their lanterns while the adults had moon cakes with wine.

Trip to the Skifield

3 weekend ago, we decided to take a 3 days 2 nights trip to the highest mountain here in the North Island, Mt Ruapehu. We were told by friends that there will be little snow left as winter is over and the ice is beginning to melt. Being stubborn, we just decided to try our luck to see if we are still able to touch any real snow. It was a beautiful Saturday and the sky was blue. When we reached Waiouru, a desert location, we saw the majestic Mt Ruapehu just before our eyes and as we drive towards the National Park, it was a beautiful sight with the mountain just on my right as I was driving along. As we arrive at our destination at National Park, we stayed at Discovery Lodge, an accommodation in the middle of nowhere but it has a million dollar view of 3 of the North Island mountains, Mount Ruapehu, Tongariro and Ngagehoa (I cannot spell it correctly). Since it was a beautiful day, the mountain peak was there for us to see. Within an hour of checking into our room, we were driving up the mountains and within 15 minutes, we are on the Whakapapa skifield. We were so happy as we can actually play real snow, make snowman and even had snowfights. We were up there for about 2 hours as it was getting late. We were up there again at 6 in the morning where we were the one of the first ones to arrive.

Later that morning we drove to the other side of the mountains, more popular with the Wellingtonians. We stayed at Powderhorn Chateau, just below the base of Turoa skifield. The journey up this time is slightly longer but this side of the mountain was quieter. Again, we built snowman, played with snowfights but this time we did some sleding. All in all, it was a great holiday and this time next year, we will be up there again definately.

Petrol Price Drop Again

Petrol price continue it 5th drop in a month when all the major oil companies cut its petrol prices by 5 cents to $150.9 for Octane 91 and $155.9 for Octane 98 yesterday. In a short space of 1 month only, petrol prices has dropped by as much as 25 cents per litre. This is certainly good news for motorists as a car with a full tank of 50 litres can save the motorist as much as $12.50 per full tank.

J School's Production

Last Thursday, we came to the Regent Theatre, one of Palmy's tourist attraction, to watch J's school production (concert) titled Giant John. The whole school were involved from June onwards and the children spent many hours practicing the dance steps, story telling and singing. The parents were involved too including teaching the children some dance steps but many more were involved in preparing the props and sewing of the children costumes. All in all, it was an enjoyable evening seeing all the children showing off their talents and enjoying themselves tremendously.

Bill Gates Story

Have you heard of the Bill Gates story about his encounter with a fisherman at sea? If you have not, here is a short version of it. Bill Gates met a fisherman at sea and ask him, don't you want to earn more money by working rather than just fishing the whole day? When you work hard, you can earn more money and with this money, you can buy a very big boat and go fishing everyday. To this, the fisherman replied, why is there a need to have a big boat? I do not need one, this boat is sufficient for me and beside, with this small boat of mine, I too can go fishing everyday. The moral of the story is that we worked our socks off, especially in Asian societies, to get the dream houses and cars. What we have done by coming over here is that we can work less here in NZ and still afford our dream house (unlike the pigeon hole) and big car (without paying the high taxes). We are living our dreams.

We Survived Our First Winter

On 1st September, 3 days from today, winter will be officially over. We have basically survived our first winter. All in all, winter was not as bad as we anticipated. Of course, there were reports of bad weather - floods, landslips, power cuts and of course the cold icy weather. Beside the cold icy weather (-2 degrees at night), we in Palmerston North did not suffer as bad as other parts of NZ where there was a power cut in the South Island for 2 weeks, landslides in Wellington where several houses have to be destroyed, floods in Wanganui, Auckland and Wellington and heavy snowfall in mid Canterbury and Central North Island (Desert Road) making driving very dangerous. On the plus side, we still manage to play outdoor on days it was not raining, do less gardening and weeding as the plants have gone hibernating too and also enjoy the cool fresh air coming from Antartica.

Food You Can Find in Palmy

Compared to 15 years ago when we were still students in quiet Palmerston North, more types of food can be found here in Palmy today. We were pleasantly surprised when we can get fish balls, prawns, belacan, durians and even preserved fruits (aka buah kana) at the local grocery shops. The only thing that is lacking is the hawker food like rojak, carrot cake, fried hokkien mee, poh piah, prata, laksa, satay, mee pok noodles and of course the pepper and chilli crabs. Luckily, if there is a craving for such food, we can always take a drive down to the capital, Wellington, where such hawker fares are more readily available.

House Hunting

For the past 10 months, we have been to many open homes here in Palmerston to find the ideal home. A couple of them have our fancies but we guess it was not the right time yet as we have signed a 1 year contract to stay at our current rented property. Come early November, the contract will end and we can start looking to buy our own home now. Of all the houses we looked at, we particularly like the lockwood homes, where the interior is made up of wood, making them warm and cosy just like the one at ski resorts. The problem is there are not many around and so if one is available at the desirable location, we will grab them. Wish us luck.

J - Training To be A Sportsman

J is very interested in sports, in fact he plays sports everyday, a thing he cannot afford to do in Singapore due to academic and paper chase. After school, he would immediately check if the school field is open for play (it will be close if it rain) and before long he would be change into either his baseball, badminton or soccer gear ready for action. I am very proud that he is turning into a very good sportsman too. He is much better than his peers and classmates as they join him in the play after school. He will be joining a soccer club next year and I am training him to be a very good badminton player too.

Petrol prices drop for first time in months

The strong New Zealand dollar has helped prompt the four major oil companies to drop prices for the first time in five months. Figures yesterday showed the New Zealand dollar had risen to a three-month high against the United States dollar. A decrease in the cost of the raw product has also had an effect, petrol companies said. Mobil, Caltex and BP have reduced their prices by five cents a litre, while Shell has come down four cents. BP confirmed it was dropping the price for both 91 and 96 octane petrol by five cents a litre, spokeswoman Diana Stretch said. The price of diesel, which dropped by three cents a litre on August 1, remains unchanged.

Caltex spokeswoman Sharon Buckland said Caltex was also dropping its price for 91 and 96 octane petrol by five cents a litre. Peter Thornbury of Mobil said the company had also dropped its prices by five cents a litre, after initially moving down by four cents. Shell has dropped the price of petrol by four cents a litre. Jackie Maitland, spokeswoman for Shell, said the decrease would be for both 91 and 96 octane petrol. The last across-the-board drop in petrol prices came in March this year, when BP, Mobil and Caltex matched Shell's price drop, announcing a cut of 2c per litre for unleaded and premium petrol on March 13. US oil prices slumped nearly 1 per cent to below $US74 a barrel in opening trade on Monday after the UN brokered a truce to end fighting in the Middle East. BP also decided to keep running half its Prudhoe Bay oilfield, as it replaces corroded pipelines on the eastern section. Before yesterday's drop, petrol had risen by 38 cents per litre since the beginning of the year, with diesel up 32 cents, the Automobile Association said earlier this month. Petrol prices had risen to their highest level ever, up six cents halfway through July, to $1.77 per litre for 91 octane. The price of diesel rose four cents at the same time, to end the month at $1.28 per litre. Petrol prices have risen 80 per cent in the past three years, from 95c for a litre of 91-octane petrol in May 2003.

Houses Falling Off the Hill

Due to the bad weather (heavy rainfall) we had recently, 4 of the houses in the Lower Hutt were on the brink of falling off the hill due to landslides. So the bottom line is if you help and afford it, do not buy houses on the hill.

Singapore Shuttlers Came to Town

Yesterday, the Singapore badminton team came to Palmerston North to play a friendly (test the kiwis called them) against the NZ team. Several of the top players like Susilo, Kendrick, Li Li and Yanmei was not here but was surprised to see a few youngsters like Derek Wong and Neo (real Singaporeans) came to play. Initially, I was not sure who to support - my country of origin or my adopted country but decided to cheer on the Singaporeans as they were outnumbered at the Arena 3. For the record, the Sinpareans won the game 3-2.

10 NZers Dead After Weekend Accidents

10 people were killed on the road over the weekend as the weather turned nasty throughout most of the country. In Palmerston and its surroundings, 4 people died - 2 in Foxton and another 2 near Palmerston North. Experts have blamed these accidents to the weather as well as drink driving as the two main causes for the casualties.

Friendly Fielding

On a lazy afternoon and have nothing in mind, we decided to take a drive and have a look at Fielding, a town which is only 16km out of Palmerston North and one which we have not visited since we arrived in NZ. The journey was very pleasant, a straight highway 45 and it took us only 6 minutes to drive from Palmy to Fielding. Once we reach Fielding, we were impressed by the little town having modern shopping like the Warehouse, Woolworths, Wright Price Fielding and fast foods like Kentucky, McDonalds and Subway. We were also impressed by the beautiful old buildings that were restored and filled up most of the town centre. In all, we were happy we made the short journey north.

NZ Lifestyle

We have moved to NZ for close to 10 months now and we are really enjoying life here. As one of my Malaysian friend noted, NZers lived the lifestyle of millionaires. What he meant is that even though wages are low (in comparison to Singapore) with high income taxes, NZers are still able to live like millionaires because they live in big bungalows (at least 500 square metres) and drive big cars (at least a 2 litres car) and each adult is able to own a car. In addition, he also noted that nobody does work after 5.30pm. As for recreation, NZers have beautiful parks and big open land for children to roam about. For golf players, a game of golf only cost $12 for a 18 hole game. Last but not least, he also mention that one tend to live longer in NZ because the air is fresher and the life is less stressful.

Lunch NZ Style

While many of you back home have many choices of where to eat out during lunch hour at the hawker centres, the same cannot be true for folks like us down under. There are cafes and lunch bars where they sell sandwiches, pies, cakes and burgers. However, the cost of eating out can be expensive as a sandwich may cost as much as $3 - $5 and it is usually not enough. What most kiwis do, including the adopted ones like ourselves, is we packed our lunch. It is healthier and at the same time cheaper than eating out. Even offices and schools do not have canteens as most employees bring their own lunch. However, in some offices, they do have vending machines selling sandwiches and drinks.

Why are Kiwis Good at Sports

For a small population country, the Kiwis are extremely good at sports. They are world champions in softball and netball, great in rugby (remember the All Black?) and have produced many champions in triathlon and long distance running. They are also not too bad in cricket, basketball and equestrain.

I think this is partly due to the great outdoor of the Kiwis. They spent their weekends playing sports at all levels from the beginners to the professionals levels. Everyone have a chance to play a sport if they have an interest in. In other words, if you wish to play soccer, you enrol in a soccer club and they will put you in the lowest grade. From there, through proper training and coaching, you rise through the ranks and play for the better teams within the clubs.

In schools, Kiwis children do their long distance running after lunch. They are also encourage to play in the playgrounds in every opportunity and this help in their motor skills.

First Rugby Match Live

Yesterday afternoon, we went to watch a first division rugby game between Manawatu Turbos and Auckland. As many as 15% (9.400 people) of the Palmerston North population came to the FMG Stadium to watch the first match of the season against the reigning Air New Zealand champions, Auckland. Even though the Turbos lost the game 41-10, it was a brilliant fight shown by the men in green and we even manage to get a try in the second half. There were plenty of activities before, after the game as well as during half time. There was a fly past by the NZ Air Force helicopters, tank displays, repelling demonstation and the children were occupied with face painting and each of them were given lollies and placard banners.

Free Medical Service

Since I arrive on NZ soil about 9 months ago, I have been given free medical check ups for my medical condition. I have done several free blood tests, eye check and even a podiatry check at the hospital.

House Mover

Early this morning, I saw a huge house being moved on a big trailer accompanied by 6 patrols policemen. In NZ, if you want to move place, you call for a furniture mover. A house mover will literally move the entire house from one place to another.

Is This The Start of Spring?

For the past 3 days, we had glorious, sunny weather. The rain have stopped and the sun shine throughout the day. The temperatures was in the mid teens unlike the cold we encountered in the middle of June. Another sign was that the plants buds are starting to grow and little leaves are now appearing and so have the weeds. In the supermarkets, blooming flowers are beginning to be sold and the mall are having sales to clear their winter products. Is this the end of winter and the coming of spring? I certainly hope so.

Malaysian / Singapore Gathering

Last Saturday, we had a big gathering of Malaysian and Singaporean families as one of our friend (owner of a restaurant) had a visitor from Northland, Auckland. This friend from Auckland is on a recce trip to see if it is a good idea for them to relocate to Palmerston North as their only son had just got a place in the vet science course in Massey.

As many of 10 families were invited to this party and as usual, food was the main highlight of the evening. Each family were told to bring a plate (potluck) and we had a huge variety of dishes to be shared. There were curries, gerang asam fish, prawn salad, bbq chicken wings, noodles, pandan cake (which is very yummy) and many more. We had the pleasure of meeting 3 more new Malaysian families and like true Asian meets, the evening ended with a karaoke session.

Interest Rate Rise Again

While most NZers were expecting a rate cut, ANZ surprised everyone by becoming the first bank to raise its 2 years fixed home loan by 0.3%. The current rate will now be 8.3%. This move was soon quickly followed by other banks including Wespac and HSBC. With this rate increase, most Kiwis have to forked our between $10 to $450 more in fortnightly payments and according to property experts, this would encourage more people to sell their houses soon. At the same time, annual rates (property tax) have also increased by another 7% yearly across the country and owning a house can actually be quite expensive for the average Kiwi, considering their low wages and high income tax here.

The grocery shopping just like Singapore

Yesterday after work, at around 10.30 in the morning, I decided to do some grocery shopping because most of the food was running low and being a Thursday morning, I thought it might be a good idea to shop for the weekend. As usual, I was expecting a leisurely day without any crowd. How wrong was I. It was jammed packed with Palmerstonians doing their grocery shopping because "Pak N Save" was having a truckload sale and as I ask some of my colleagues, Thursday is the day NZ do their grocery shopping because it is pay day for most NZers. The crowd remind me of the days when we used to do our grocery shopping in Singapore at NTUC Fairprice.

Petrol Price Rise Again

The petrol prices seem to be on the way up again. All 4 major oil companies raise their petrol price by 6 cents a litre 2 days ago. The current price for unleaded 91 is $176.9 per litre while those for diesel stand at 127.9 per litre. This increase is due to the higher crude oil prices due to the war in Lebanon between the Israelis and the Hezabollah guirellas.

The Days Are Getting Warmer and Brighter

Just realised yesterday that the longest day in NZ are behind us for the year. When I looked in the sky at around 5.45pm, I realised that it still have some light and not the total darkness which happened just about 3 weeks ago. This mean that from now on, we will get more sunlight as we head into spring. In addition, the weather seem to be getting warmer too and we do not get the frost in the morning anymore.

It was 15 Degress But It Felt Warm

Yesterday, we had the luxury of beautiful sunshine after the rain that have fallen for the past 4-5 days. Even though the temperatures was at 15 degrees. all of us felt warm after the cold that we have felt a couple of days before. A couple of locals were even seen in shorts and tshirts in the city.

We Were Really Lucky

Palmerston North residents were very lucky as we were just 1-2 hours from having floods in the city. The Manawatu rivers were so high on Friday night that the Palmerston North City Council have to decide whether to open the gates of the river into the city and thus cause some flooding into some parts of Palmerston North. However, as just when they were deciding on what action to take, the weather turn for the better. It stopped raining and we even have some sunshine on Saturday and this cause the water level in the river to somehow retreat and hence the flood in Palmerston North was averted which has hampered other cities like Wanganui, New Plymouth, Wellington and Masterton.

Floods in Wellington and Wairarapa regions

Even though it has been raining continuosly for the past 3 days, we in Palmerston North were very lucky that we have not experience any flood yet. Our neighbours in the Wairarapa (Masterton and Casterton) about 80 Km from where we are are experiencing floods and slips. Weather in Wellington is not so good too as there was a massive traffic jam due to the rising water and the ferry crossing have to be cancelled too.

The Day We Became Library Members

Today, we went to the Palmerston North City Library to watch a holiday programme featuring a famous story teller from the UK as this is the school holiday season and also it had been raining cats and dogs this couple of days making it impossible to play ball games outside in the parks. At the same time, all 3 of us decided to join the library (free of course) and we are entitled to borrow as many as 20 items each at any one time including magazines(including current issues), books, CDs, DVDs and music tapes. I guess from now on, we will save by just borrowing from the library rather than buying as the collections is amazing and is very current. As the saying goes, it is better late than never (about finding out about the resource available in the library).

The Ducks Must Be Hungry

We went to the local Memorial Park, about 1 km from our home to play baseball and to feed the duck yesterday. To our surprise, most of the duck were sleeping and hibernating in the cold winter weather. When we took out the bread to feed a duck, the other ducks (about a hundred of them) came flying towards us for food. I guess all the ducks must be hungry because of the cold weather and less people visiting the parks to feed them during this period.

Note: Palmerston North have several duck ponds all across the city.

Our First Movie Viewing in NZ

Yesterday, we went to watch "CARS", the first movie we have seen since coming to NZ eight months ago. We are actually not movie buff but decided to check the movie scene here. Normally the cost per movie is $13 per person but yesterday being a Tuesday, it was half the price.

Thee movie itself was quite good and Junius enjoyed himself. The theatre is just like our cineplex in Singapore. It is a free seating theatre and even though we arrive 15 minutes before the start of the screening, most of the seats were taken. We were lucky when we found a good spot at the back of the cinema.

School Holidays In NZ

The children will have a much deserved 2 week winter break from the 30th June until 17th July. Most families will be heading for the skifields while those that stayed behind will have time playing at the many parks, playgrounds and recreation centres across NZ.

Today, we went to see CARs at one of the cinemas in town as Tuesdays are the cheapest day to watch movies. It cost $6.50 per person while on normal days it is double that amount. It is no wonder that it was fully packed due to the school holidays and also because it is on a Tuesday.

Fog Closes Some North Island Airports

The fog have caused some of the North Islands airports to close for the past 2 days. On Sunday (2nd July), Wellington airport was closed temporarily and flights delayed while yesterday(3rd July), it affect both the Auckland airports and Hamilton airports.

Petrol Prices Inches Up Again

Just a week after the petrol companies reduce petrol prices, they have raise it again by 4 cents due to higher crude oil prices as well as the weakening iwi dollar. Unleaded 91 now cost 1.709 while diesel cost 1.279 per litre.

Telephoning Home Can be Cheap

Telecom NZ have just release a plan that allows people to call to other countries at incredible low price due to new technological advances. For example, a call to Singapore cost 3 cents per minute (off peak) and 6 cents per minute for peak hours, for Malaysia, it is 4.5 cents and 9 cents respectively. So calling home is so cheap, there is no excuse not to do it.

Kiwi Dollar Under Pressure

The kiwi have been under downward pressure due to the bigger than expected current deficit. It is now trading at 61.3 US dollars and .9828 Sing dollar. What this mean is that imported things will be more expensive due to the weak kiwi dollar.

Icy Conditions Play Havoc on the Roads

Chilly night for trapped truckies 22 June 2006

By MICHAEL CUMMINGS

Four trucks stranded on the Desert Road were freed about 7.30 this morning. The trucks and their drivers had been snowed in overnight in freezing conditions. The road was still closed this morning. Transit New Zealand snow ploughs were needed to clear the road so the trucks could be freed, Constable James Dempsey of Taihape police said this morning. "What they do is basically carve a route out for them to convoy out," Const Dempsey said.

The trucks were stranded near the stretch of road referred to as Suicide Bridge, he said.
The weather was "not the best" on the Desert Road, Const Dempsey said.
One Waiouru cafe owner said snow was still falling about 8am. "It's snowing at the moment but you kind of get used to it after a while," he said. It was unclear when the Desert Road would be reopened.

In the South, as many as 30-40 cars were involved in accidents throughout Dunedin as drivers were unable to control their cars due to the icy conditions on the way to work this morning. Many motorist lost control of their cars and hit other cars or lamp posts. In Queenstown, a Malaysian tourist had their van overtuned due to unfamiliarity in driving on icy roads.

Petrol Prices Drop by 4 cents per litre

It is good news for motorists today as petrol prices dropped by 4 cents per litre across the board. The price of petrol is now $1.66 per litre for unleaded 91 and $1.23 per litre for diesel.

Here Come the Snow Again

As the South Island was just recovering from a heavy dump of snow last week, the snow came again today. As seen on TV today, snow was again falling in the Canterbury region as far as Kaikoura. As many as 1,800 homes were still without electricity from last week snowfall and hopefully they will get their source of energy soon and less homes will be affected this time around.

One of my ex colleague, CA, is touring the South Island now and hopefully, he will come out of this trip unscathed. I also received a text from another ex colleague, BL, who is living in Christchurch now, is enjoying the snowfall. She did not have to go to work and her kids have a day off from school and they had fun playing in the snow including snowboarding, building snowman and just admiring the beautiful white everywhere.

Things I Like About NZ

There are many things that I like about NZ. Firstly, NZ is a country of natural beauty. There are many beautiful lakes, parks, snow capped mountains and countryside beauty all around the country even though the South Island can boost some of the best sights in the world. Next, the people are just so friendly (not sure about the bigger cities though). Whenever you meet someone in the street and they will greet you with a Hi or g'day mate. Try that in Singapore and people may think you are up to no good. The salespeople here is one such example. In supermarkets, the cashier will always have a small talk with you. The other salespeople are all very patient with you and will answer every question you have and even if you leave without buying anything, they will still give you a sincere smile and advise you to go around to get the best deal.

The education sytem is another plus factor. The teachers here really encourage and praises everyone in the class to achieve their full potential and not just the best ones like in Singapore. In fact, the best one hardly get a mention here, the ones that show the greatest improvement will always be the star. Health is another plus factor here. For those with existing problems will be taken care of. I was given free yearly checkup and subsidised priscription. Lastly, there is no such thing as status here. Even if you are the Prime Minister or just someone who is working in an office, drive a big or a small car, live in a castle or a normal house, you are always treated equally here.

Asian Migrants are Leaving NZ

27th January 2006 ( source www.emigratenz.org)

Inevitably some migrants discover New Zealand is not for them. New figures from the Department of Labour show one in five migrants leave New Zealand within 6 years of arriving. Or, if you prefer thinking bottles are half full, 80 percent of migrants are still in New Zealand 6 years after first arriving. The proportion of migrants leaving New Zealand depends on where they come from. Migrants from East Asian countries are most likely to leave New Zealand - leaving at about double the average rate. For migrants who arrived in 1999, 44 percent of Taiwanese had left. Figures for Singapore and Hong Kong were 41 and 31 percent respectively. For more recent migrants - arriving in 2002 - people from south East Asian countries were again more likely to leave than migrants from other countries. The top 10 countries for migrants leaving New Zealand in 2005 (who arrived in 2002) is as follows:
Top 10 Nationalities of Migrants who arrived in 2002 Leaving NZ by 2005

Nationality/Percent
Taiwan 49%
Singapore 34%
Malaysia 31%
Hong Kong 29%
China 23%
Canada 18%
USA 17%
Germany 16%
Japan 16%
Indonesia 15%
Others 9%

All Blacks Win Again

For the second time in a week, the All Blacks have beaten the brave Irish rugby team by 10 points in Aucland, similiar to the first game played in Hamilton last week where they won by 11 points. Even though it was a good win by anyone standards, the kiwi public were quite dissapointed by the "close" scoreline.

To survive in NZ, you need to now your rugby because it is like a religion here in NZ. When the All Blacks play, nobody will be seen on the streets as everyone will be glued to their TV sets and the day after everyone will be talking about it at the workplace. This is what I call kiwi culture.

NZ Will Have 18 channels from next year

It has been reported that NZ will have a total of 18 channels from next year using the digital technology from the current 6 at the moment. This mean that viewers have more choice in terms of entertainment. However, household need to purchase a set up box, costing $200 - $300, to receive these new channels.

Junior Doctors Go on 5 Day Strike

It is rather unfortunate that no agreement have been reached to avert a 5 day strike by junior doctors in hospitals across NZ. I am really sorry for all patients whose lives may be in danger because of this actions.

South Canterbury Still Have No Electricity

If you have heard the news, South Canturbury, especially Timaru, still do not have any electricity after heavy snowfall hit the power lines 3 days ago. Most residents still live in the darkness and cold because the main lines are still down. Police and civil defence personnel have been visiting these residents especially those in the rural regions to check on their well being as telephone lines were also down and no communication is available. Roads are still dangerous to drive on and it has been forecasted that the snow will be coming again on Friday afternoon. Good luck to everyone at this part of NZ.

Freak Weather in NZ

Yesterday, NZ experienced once of the freakiest weather all over the country. In Wellington, there was gale force wind and many trees were uprooted and house roof blown away by the extremely strong winds (up to 130km/h). There were also reports that State Highway 1 between Paraparaumu and Raukawa was closed because of oil spills on the road. Auckland suffered one of its biggest blackout in years due to the shutting down of one of its power stations. It was chaotic as there as there was no traffic lights and businesses were forced to close due to no electric power. Christchurch and its suburbs suffered the worst though. It had a heavy snowfall overnight and as many as 6,000 homes were left without electricity as power were again cut due to the unexpected snowfall. Even though it look very pretty on the TV that all is covered in white and the children had a day off from school playing in the snow, I must imagine how cold it would be for those living in Cantebury country without any electricity.

In Palmy, we were a little luckier. We only had rain throughout the day and the ranges were covered with fresh snowfall which make it a pretty sight.

The World Cup is here again but the kiwis are not bothered at all

Yes, the soccer world cup is here again and everyone in the world is buzzing with it except in rugby crazy New Zealand. It has been reported that this world event can cause war to stop temporarily, cause many sleepless nights among the die hard soccer fans and of course, the millions, if not billions dollars that will be generated in soccer betting. It is perhaps, the biggest sporting event alongside the Olympics.

In NZ, you hardly hear of anyone talking or discussing about it. In fact, the rugby test between the All Blacks and Ireland this weekend get greater coverage than the World Cup. However, we do get daily highlights coverage of the event and they do show 8 matches live on TV 1. Sky TV shows all 64 matches live but the matches start at around 4 am in the morning till 9am.

To all soccer fans, may the best team win this year world cup. As for myself, I do hope that England will meet Brazil in the final of this year competition, first, because I am familiar with English soccer players and second, because Brazil plays great exciting sexy football.

The results so far:

England 1 Paraguay 0
Brazil 1 Craotia 0
Argentina 2 Ivory Coast 1
Australia 3 Japan 1

Kiwi slang

Below are some words that are commonly used by kiwis. If you have any more to add, please email me or add to the comments column.

G'd day mate - How are you?
Kia Ora - Welcome
Reckon - think so (I reckon that he is up to no good)
Bloody - very (eg he is bloody good)
Awesome - Very good
cool - good /nice
No worries - never mind / it's Ok
tea - dinner
bring a plate - potluck
kumara - sweet potato
mate /buddy - good friends (peng you)
haka - a war dance performed by the NZ ugby team
all blacks - NZ rugby team
tall blacks - NZ basketball team
black caps - NZ cricket team
silver ferns - NZ netball team
fly buys - a kind of reward system where consumers get rewarded with points when they purchase goods
good on ya - well done

Funny Winter So Far

As this is our first winter after many years in Singapore, we found that winter so far is really funny. It is extremely cold at night (-2 degrees) but it is glorious and sunny at day time (even though temperatures is still in the early teens). One have to wear winter clothes now including wool clothings, thermals, beannies and gloves and the cars and grass will be frosted (icy) in the morning.

It even snowed in Taupo a couple of days ago and the locals had a great time playing snowball fights and snowboarding. We even had a blackout two days ago because of too much electricity is being used at the same time that the generators cannot cope. Anyway, as long as the sun keep shining, we have no complaints. It is better than having a cold and wet winter.

winter fruits

The good thing about NZ is that in every season, there is different kind of fruits and vegetables. For example, in summer, you will have plums, apricots, peaches, strawberries, all kinds of berries and tomatoes while in winter you get kiwifruits and persimmons. Gold kiwifruits are now selling at $1 per kilo or 10 cents per fruit while persimmons are selling at $2 per ilo or 30-40 cents per fruit.

The Winter Is Finally Here

Even though 1st June is officially the first day of winter, it was not until yesterday that we feel the first taste of winter as the first 3 days have been sunny and warm with lots of sunshine. It was raining from the word go and the temperatures dipped to 10 degrees the whole day. At night it felled to a low of 2 degrees. We had the heaters on for most of the days when we are home and when we are outside, we wear many layers of warm clothing including wool sweaters, thermal wear and jackets.

The weather forecast is that there will be snow fall in many places in the South Island and central north island tonight and so the winter is really on now with the cold southerlies winds blowing from the Antartic. It is forecasted that Palmerston North will have a night temperature of -2 degrees while Taupo will have a -4 degrees tonight.

All is not gloom though as we may be going for a ski trip and building snowman at the peak of winter in Aug or Sept this year.

Things that are cheap/expensive in NZ

We had a visit by a Singaporean friend recently to Palmerston North and one of the question he ask was what is cheap and expensive in NZ.

Here are my list :

Cheap when compared to Singapore prices

House - a bungalow with 1000 square metres cost anything from $200K - $400K depending on area
Car - a brand new car cost anything from $15K (Daihatsu Siroin) to about $35K for a Honda Accord.
Car Insurance (about $300 per year for comprehensive coverage)
Car Road tax (about $200 pr year for all types of cars)
Dairy products (milk, cheese, chocolates, etc)
Wine (range from $6 onwards)
Pizza ($6 for a large hawaiian pizza)
Veggies when they are in season
Fruits and juices($3 for $3 litres of Just Juice juice)
Potatoes and potato chips ($1 for a 190g packets)
Internet connection ($16 for 150 hours of dial up connection)
Fish and chips ($3.00 for a large fish and lots of chips)
Water supplies (it's free)
Education (it's again free)
Prescribe medicine ($15 for 3 months supply for any medicine)
Petrol ($1,70 currently for unleaded 91)

Expensive when compared to Singapore prices

Burgers (McDonalds and Burger King)
Eating out (A plate of noodles is about$8 per plate at least)
Sending letters ($1 locally and $2 for small letters overseas)
Calling and texting from mobile phones ($1 per minute)
House rental compared to the actual price of buying
Rates (property tax)
Income tax (high end tax of 39%)
Interest rate (currently at 11% for car loan and 16% for unsecured)
Visit to GPs ($37 per visit without medication)
Made in NZ clothing including school uniforms (at least $25 for a simple t-shirt with school logo)
Music CDs ($22-$30 per CD)

More or less same with Singapore prices

KFC
Electricity Tariff
Made in China clothings

Junius"s 6th Birthday

Yesterday, we celebrated Junius 6th birthday at Pizza Hut with a couple of Junius close friends, Wei and Wen. They really enjoyed themselves helping themselves to the buffet spread. Earlier in the day, Junius went on a school excursion trip to the Awapuni landfill (a dump) to learn about recycling and we played a game of basketball after school with Terry and Edward.

Yesterday (1st June) also marked the official day of winter. It was, however, a fine day with the sun shining most of the day. Even though it was shining it was still cold but I cannot imagine when there is no sun at all. Was thinking about mowing the lawn but decided against it as the grass were not that long even though the last mowing was done more than 3 weeks ago. Anyway, I guess everything slows down in winter including the growing of grass and weeds.

Our First Six Month Down Under

We have been here for more than 6 months already and we have enjoyed the move. We have gone to 4 holidays around the North island in a short span of 6 months. We have gone to the East Coast of Napier where we visited Marineland (dolphins, seals. penguins), NZ Aquarium (Similar to Sentosa Underwater World except that they also have a kiwibird enclosure) and visited the Hawkes Bay orchards. We have also visited the west coast of New Plymouth and Wanganui where we see the magnificient Mt Taranaki, visit the beautiful Pukekura Park and Junius had a great time at the Wanganui playground. We have also gone down to Wellington a couple of times to visit the Stokes Valley monastry as well as eating hawker food in downtown Wellington.

We have also made a couple of good friends here, both from Asia and kiwis. Our neighbours are also excellent. We are also both working, JB at a research agriculture company while me, part time at NZ Post. We have also met with friends from other parts of NZ including Jit Hai from Auckland and Shagen from Wellington. Today, we met up with future migrants, BK who came over for a visit. J is celebrating his 6th birthday this Thursday and we will be going out for dinner. Today is also the official day for the start of winter and it is getting colder.

Take care