So, I have just decided to divide this blog into months, rather than weeks...so that you don't get sick of reading this blog! :P Anyway, I will keep updating it often (hopefully, weekly).
On the other hand, I have decided to create the "curiosities" section (in the top right of the home page), where I will post some interesting (at least, taking Portugal and my education as reference) facts about New Zealand. :)
I am getting more inside the New Zealand culture - going directly from job to have some drinks in the pub and stay there for party! :) I did it, for example on Rachel's IRL farewell party (she went to work somewhere else, in Wellington).
Before going to this farewell party, I went for a meeting with a guy that is trying to sell his van (and, obviously, I am trying to buy one). In abstract, he is an american guy who arrived to New Zealand 6 months ago and bough this van to travel around. Now, he is planning to leave NZ and is trying to sell his Toyota Townace as soon as possible. He seems to be a character - a kind of hippie: he is using the van as his house. Anyway, nice guy! The point is that he is asking $2.600 for the van and I told him I can only afford to pay about $2.000. So, he will just try to get a better offer. Otherwise, he will contact me. Anyway, I don't have that money now - still waiting for the University to pay me the scholarship!
Afterwards, joined my colleagues from IRL in Kiwi pub. We drunk a few beers (always served in jugs) and, when we got "warmed up", we went to the restaurant. Ah...in the way I had to buy a bottle of wine. Each person buys their own drink (BYO - Bring Your Own), to take inside the restaurant - instead of paying very high prices for a bottle of wine inside the restaurant, we have the option of buying outside in some store and pay some tax for bringing&drinking it inside the restaurant. This was a mongolian restaurant. It was ok and not so expensive (namely, taking into account we could eat as much as we wanted).
As it already got tradition, I've caught the night bus back home - was the whole trip chatting with a guy from Paraguay and another from Nepal. In the end, I exchanged contact with the guy from Nepal - he lives in Wainuiomata as well - really cool guy!!! :)
Ah...I finally I used the bike (after putting it all together into one piece...huge trip she did from Portugal to NZ)!!!
Regarding the second week of March, one more normal working week...the same nice colleagues, and me...getting more used to the New Zealand culture, accent, and so on...
I had actually some more football matches: soccer and indoor. At soccer we lost again...at indoor, we won and qualified for semifinals...if we win the next match, a cup is guaranteed! :P "IRL all starts" rulezzzz...what an international team: Zvonko (goalkeeper, from Bosnia/Serbia - I've just played with match together with him), Francois (french, injuried player, who plays as goal keeper), Sudhir (indian fijian, the skilly guy...worst than me in what concerns to score...he prefers one more litle dribble than scoring 100 times more), Nat (the captain, a japanese new zealander), Neil (irish origin) and Mike (from New Zealand). Dan (asian origin) and Muthu (indian origin) are also part of our team...but they left to Auckland, as they were just Summer student workers! Ok, besides all this international players, they have this portuguese guy, as know as "brasileiro", as my portuguese soccer and futsal team mates used to call me! :P
Ah...update...regarding the indoor football tournament, we won it for 7-1 in the finals (we literally smashed them - you can check in the pictures below), even though we just had 5 available players for the final...so, we got a trophy for each one of us!!! :) Nice feeling....we were definitely the best team! :)
Afterwards, most of us had a a beer to celebrate (still in the indoor complex)...and me and Sudhir went to some bar, where we had some wine...he is definitely a very cool guy, from Fiji Islands (but indian origin). Actually, he told me that almost half of Fiji population is from indian origin - had no idea about it. But I understand that there was some kind of slavery - when british have arrived to Fiji, they wanted the natives to work for them - since they couldn't make them work, they came to India and promised to the indians that, if they would go to work in Fiji, they would get rich - obviously, some excuse to bring them there and make them work for free!
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| Joao smashing (literally) the opponent |
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The first team picture after the victory from the left do the right (down): Neil, Mike and Nat from the left to the right (up): Sudhir and Joao |
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| Receiving the trophies (one for each of the winners) |
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| Toasting to the victory |
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| IRL Intranet |
Some more party weekends...with my colleagues from IRL (Geoff, Andrew and Matt). Don't tell them, but I am really glad I ended up in this work environment...it will certainly ease my "settling process". In general, everyone there has being very kind to me!!! :) In the pictures, Matt is missing, because this time he was on leave! :) Regarding the airforce jacket and hat...that is a loooong story...but, in abstract, lets say: Carnival, here, is whenever a man wants to!!! ;)
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| Out in Wellington From left to right: Andrew, me, Geoff, Bastien |
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| Out in Wellington Bastien (left) and Geoff (right) |
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| Out in Wellington Andrew (left), me (right) |
Ah...finally, I bought a laptop (ASUS)...but didn't have the money to pay it in the moment...so, asked them to pay a deposit (10%)...and I will pay the rest and pick it up in 3 or 4 days, when my salary will be in my bank account! I am not such a waster...the point is that the Victoria University forgot to pay me the last month salary...which means, this month, I will be double paid (even though I've already this debt to solve). Anyway, it was a good deal, besides the 20% discount (they say), they made me an extra 10% because it was on display at the store! :) Still need to buy car...ah...also bought some tramping (hiking) boots (which I will use in everyday life) and a camera (soon, will post some photos)...basically, I am becoming a consumist!!!
In Wellington, in some Sunday afternoon, I planned to meet Johnny (from Colombia) and Sudhir (from Fiji) - they didn't know each other. We ended up in Johnny's place having some nice chat, drinking some wine and having some snacks...the time passed by...in the end, it was almost 12p.m. and we still didn't had dinner - which we were planning to have in some restaurant/bar near by. So, since everything was closed, I ended up to have some meal and sleep in Sudhir's place because he also works in IRL and would take me to work the next day (Monday) morning.
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| Sudhir (leftt), me (center) and Johnny Antonio (right) |
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| Johnny (left), me with a special coat from Bolivia (center) and Sudhir (right) |
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| Me, working in the lab |
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| Me, mixing some cement in some juice/milk shaker |
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| A mountain bike track in Wainuiomata |
