British words and phrases are more common here than American. Here's a few for you...

rubbish = garbage
cv (curriculum vitae) = resume
mobile = cell phone
flat = apartment
flatmates = roommates
to hire = to rent (hire a car, hire a taxi)

I'm drawing a complete blank on others... A Maori word I've learned is Pakeha - it refers to non-Maori people. I'll add to these as my memory allows.

Tomorrow is Waitangi Day, celebrating the Treaty of Waitangi. The Treaty was signed in 1840 and is the official document that made New Zealand part of the British Commonwealth and forced the Maori to live under British law. Check out http://www.waitangi.com/ for the whole in-depth history. The Treaty is under a lot of dispute lately regarding Maori land claims and rights. Sound familiar? Same problems, just a different face.

The weather will dictate our Waitangi Day celebrations...

Good news on the work front - I have 2 jobs! Amazing what happens when I correct the spelling mistakes on my cover letter... I can hear the sigh of disgust from the Co-op Office from here!

I got one job yesterday but it is not great pay, hours, or work, so I found some better temp work today. The agency I'm with is huge and should be able to provide a number of short term assignments. I'm already booked out for all next week! This is nice as I am frequently debating how long I will stay in the city as it is. It's wonderful to know people and have had everything set up when I got here, but I feel I'm cheating myself out of the true experience. Need some cash before I get too brave though!

Speaking of cash - Kiwis are brilliant! They've done away with the penny! The smallest denomination is 5 cents. If something comes to $1.99, you are only charged $1.95 - everything is rounded down. The money goes 5c, 10c, 20c, 50c all silver coins, increasing in size according to value, and then $1 and $2 coins are gold with the $2 being larger. After that, bills are $5, $10, $20, $50, etc. Well I don't actually know what happens beyond that... nor am I likely to ever know! The bills also get bigger by value, both in length and width.

Why is a nickel bigger than a dime?

I've corrected the NZ Herald link so you can browse the latest news stories and see what's happening in the hours before you. I've also added a map of the Auckland Central Business District (CBD, city centre). We live on Vincent Street (lower left quadrant). Queen Street is the main drag. Next week I will be working on the waterfront on Quay Street, right by the harbour. We live in a great neighbourhood - close to everything, tree-lined street, and the police department is right beside us (and exhale Mom).

Welcome back to school! The new school year started in New Zealand last week. NZ has public & private schools, both offering girls, boys or integrated schools. It appears as though all school children wear uniforms as well.

Still on the job hunt... There is currently only a 4.4% unemployment rate in the country - the lowest for about 15 years. Minimum wage is about $8-9/hour, although I've been told to expect $15-18 within the city.

The sun has come back out today and it appears that the monsoon has left us. It drenched the country in some of the most intense rain I have ever seen. Monsoons hit NZ about 4 times per year and bring about a week of rain each time.

As for excitement... last night we went to see a movie preview but didn't get in in time. Realizing the theatre was an air-conditioned break from the high humidity, we went to see Veronica Guerin. It was a fantastic movie, based on the true story of an Irish journalist who fought the war on drugs. It was a powerful story and we all really enjoyed it. It also made me realize how much I love Ireland and how much I made it my home. I hope New Zealand becomes the same.

When it rains, it pours. More rain today. NZ hasn't had a good rain since early December I'm told, so the constant downpours of the last 5 days are being welcomed by the farmers. It's a warm rain and the humidity level is extremely high. February temperatures average low-twenties and in March cools off even more. That being said, the average annual low in the north island is like 8. The weather is similar to what we Islanders know - when it changes, it changes quick.

Yesterday Pam, Scott & I took a bus out to One Tree Hill. It's all a big farce. There's no friggin tree. False advertising. Actually, it is a huge hill the overlooks the entire city and area where there used to stand one lone tree. I believe the tree was planted by the Europeans but then cut down by the Maori's (NZ aboriginals) during a time of war. A Scottish man who owned the land (Sir Logan Campbell) then erected a large monument in honour of the Maori people's strength and determination. His grave is located beside the monument. Upon his death, Campbell donated all the land to the city for public use. Sheep and cattle roam the grounds and his original house is open to the public.

While we were wandering around there we spotted a cricket game nearby. We watched it but still have no clue what was going on. It's like softball but the pitcher runs as he's winding up and instead of bases there's a straight line with short posts at either end which the batter runs between. The players all wear preppie white pant and shirts. One team was winning 16-0. We tried to cheer for them but couldn't figure out which one they were.

And on to search for work...