flatting.

well, i've got plenty of updates for you all, as it's been a full two weeks since my last post, but i have mountains of pictures to sift through from my dad's visit, so i'll begin with the more recent occurrences and post later about our last big hike.

i'm writing this from our new "home", the townhouse in christchurch that we'll be sharing with jules (the owner, in his early- to mid-thirties), occasionally his girlfriend missy, and dave and jin, a chinese couple who've been in new zealand 8 and 4 years, respectively. jin's actually out of town for a month or two, so we won't meet her for a while. the house is currently being cleaned at boy standards, meaning that it appears tidy at only the most cursory of glances; though these are, admittedly, our default standards as well, i hope to take advantage of my abundant free time and give it a good scrub-down. the house is in a nice enough spot right on the avon river on the east side of the city, though inconveniently located nearly two miles from a supermarket.

we're just thrilled to get out of the grungy hostel that we stayed in for a night, where dish soap was kept in old (used?) water bottles and the floor left a thick crust on my new white socks. the walls were covered with handwritten notes proclaiming things like "i've been in tons of hostels and this one is BY FAR the best!!!" and "had a great time - we'll miss you, kiwi basecamp!". i've given this matter quite a bit of thought, and have come up with the following possible explanations for these notes:
a) the author was employed by the hostel
b) the author was drunk or high for the entirety of their stay
c) the author was only accustomed to accommodation offerings in the third world

our booking was actually for a second night, but we gleefully handed in the keys a day early, despite the nonrefundable payment, and skeedaddled down to the private room awaiting us in our apartment.

we've also found the church that we'll attend while we're here, city church, which is located just a short walk from our new place. not wanting to fritter away our short time on church shopping, we attended a sunday morning service, enjoyed it, and will be meeting with the pastor on wednesday to discuss potential involvement. we were also graciously taken out to lunch by paul (an elder) and his wife nancy, who treated us to a delicious meal at what they refer to as "nancy's kitchen", their favorite chinese restaurant, before driving us up to the cashmere hills for an incredible view of the city.

the job search begins in earnest today with an overhaul of our resumes (in nz it's called a CV - curriculum vitae) and some online searching for job postings. if these don't turn up much, we'll look into temp agencies or go door-to-door, unsavory as that is. i've already spotted a job at the university of canterbury that i'd love to have, a 4-month position as an administrator for their disability resource service, but we're certainly not the only ones hunting for jobs so we expect plenty of competition.

oh, and we got a cell phone after all - it's a prepaid phone, so even local calls aren't cheap, but if you happen to have some stellar international plan, you can give us a ring at 022-677-5028. or at least i think that's the number...i'll double-check when bryan returns from shoe shopping. speaking of shopping, we've allowed ourselves a few splurges in order to put together some semblance of an interview wardrobe and a normal, non-backpacker outfit; apparently i've turned into a girly-girl, as i've been gravitating to decidedly non-outdoorsy skirts in my recent outings, and i must say, they look pretty darn good. :)

-rachel

again, the pictures don't match the text...sorry...

1) bryan playing with the ducks in nelson

2) my dad and i at arthur's pass, a quick stop on the tranzalpine train

3 and 4) a massive fish and chips lunch in lyttelton on christmas day