We were working on a farm out in Havelock North when we got the news. (Knowing that this might be a possibility, we had warned them in advance that we might not be able to stay, but the family needed some projects done so they asked us to come anyway.) We had a wonderful day with a couple and their darling two year old girl. They were really neat people and we just had a great day getting to know them and working for them there. We moved a ton of brush and wood into a big pasture area and created a bon fire that they were planning to use for a big party. After that project we moved on to building a small fence around a pond to "child proof" the area. We got quite a bit done and that was a good days work. We enjoyed just talking with them about their self-sufficient lifestyle and so many other things. (They had both spent five years in SC going to school there) We would have loved to stay with them for the week and were sad to go, but after getting such amazing news we took off that evening to pack and get ready to head up to Palmerston North.
So, on Tuesday we headed up to "Palmy" to search for an apartment. There aren't many apartments in New Zealand as most people here prefer to "Flat Mate" and live with other folks. We had just decided that since I will be studying we might like to just have our own quiet space....So, the search began. We totally lucked out and found this wonderful new apartment complex right off campus! It's only a studio apartment but we are totally used to living in close quarters and have learned that you really don't need much to be happy. =) - Just as long as you get along with your mate! haha -
We headed back to Napier that night (it's about a two hour drive, so not too bad) and packed up and then headed pack to Palmerston North on Wednesday morning for our big move!!! Haha...Well, honestly we only have a few things so it wasn't a hard move...It was sad to say goodbye to Richard and Gaynor, but we will remain close friends for many years to come. They were so amazing to open their home to us for the first few months of our time in NZ.
This past week has been filled with lots of bargain shopping and trying to make a "home" out of a one room apartment! haha.....Actually it feels really comfortable and we are loving it already. The convenience of being just across the street from campus is amazing. We can walk everywhere which will save tremendously on gas and parking money. There are also TONS of running trails all over the place so we are loving getting familiar with all of that and exploring different running routes. We also were able to join the on-campus fitness center for really cheap so that was a huge plus for both of us!! I won't actually start school until February so we still have a while to just hang out and get familiar with everything.
Travis setting up our TV....What do you think of our cool entertainment center? We look like real college students now, right? What about our decorative microwave table?
We got a table to use for all my study and research. (this will no doubt get a lot of use over the next three years!) The apartment was furnished so we didn't have to buy much, just the extra things that we wanted to feel at home. (like a table! haha)
Lucky for us the apartment had a KING size bed...YES......And you can see that Travis has upgraded from all "brown" decorations to all "Pewter" decorations - I suppose he is branching out a little.
This is the small kitchen in the apartment. It's actually very handy and I can do almost all of my cooking up here with the help of my crock pot and electric skillet. There are huge kitchen rooms down stairs that have several ovens in each room and fridge/freezers and couches and a TV etc. When I make a big meal I just go down there and cook and sit and read or whatever while I wait for the items to cook or whatever. So far this has worked out perfectly fine and no issues. The only real problem we are facing is the freezer (our tiny fridge has one, but when you crank the fridge up to make the freezer work it actually freezes everything in the fridge....It's a balance that we haven't figured out yet.) We are working on that issue.
This is my favorite part - a brand new bathroom! It's really nice and actually quite roomy - definitely better than any of the other places we looked at!So, that's our new place. While some people will think we have "regressed" to college life after 7.5 years of marriage; to us it is just the beginning and a great investment into our future. We are both really excited about this turn of events and are actually really happy to be in our own place and making things work like this. I cannot wait for class to start!!!
This has been a long update, but a TON has happened this week for us. I'll try to keep better updated, but we just got our internet hooked up tonight so it's just been a while.
