(no subject)
OK, so I have finished my first week of work at AgResearch in Palmerston North, NZ. So far so good. The people are really nice. I was surprised by how well they took care of me on my first day. For example, I was worried about when I was going to be able to get a NZ bank account since I'm supposed to be working whenever the banks are open. But instead, a wonderful lady at AgR drove me into town on my first day and waited with me through the whole process of opening a new account. Another bonus is the fact that the logo for that bank is a beautiful black horse, so my debit card for this new account is very pretty :)
The first two days were mostly spent settling in a labeling bags - 2160 bags - for the harvest that we were going to start on Wednesday afternoon. In four hours, we were planning on getting 120 plants done. Turns out it took us 6 hours to get 62 done. But we've gotten quicker since then, so hopefully it will go really well on Monday.
I'm pretty concerned, though, with what's expected of me at AgR. I'm basically going to be doing molecular biology work. I consider myself an ecologist. The two really aren't very similar! So I'm pretty intimidated by what my job will entail, although I have been assured that they will teach me what they need me to know. So here's hoping it all goes well.
Basically, I'm pretty pleased so far with how my NZ experience has been going. I was pretty much jet-lag free, which I thought was amazing, I like the room I'm living in and I have plenty of space, the people I'm living with are wonderful (although that doesn't prevent me from feeling like I'm intruding at times), and the weather is beautiful.
I've been walking to and from work, which is about an hour's walk. So far it's working out well - good exercise and the weather is nice, but it does take a good chunk of time out of my day. And I've got a pretty bad discomfort in my left foot ... it's not getting along with my shoe. So I'm sticking to flipflops for the weekend, and hopefully it will be better by Monday for me to hit the road again.
Basically I'm writing here to let everyone at home know that I've only got a dial-up connection to the internet where I'm living, and not nearly enough patience for it. So I check my email and the like at work when I can, but unfortunately facebook and skype (the two media I was counting on to stay in touch with) are out of the question for a while. I will be moving in about 6 weeks to a new house with a broadband connection, so I will post as much as I can then and get in touch as often as I can, but for now I almost feel like I'm under radio silence or something.
But anyway, just know that I miss you all terribly. If anyone wants to go on vacation in the next 3 months or so, New Zealand is a wonderful spot. Granted, I've only really seen Palmy, but even that's nice. Think about stopping by!
Love you!
The first two days were mostly spent settling in a labeling bags - 2160 bags - for the harvest that we were going to start on Wednesday afternoon. In four hours, we were planning on getting 120 plants done. Turns out it took us 6 hours to get 62 done. But we've gotten quicker since then, so hopefully it will go really well on Monday.
I'm pretty concerned, though, with what's expected of me at AgR. I'm basically going to be doing molecular biology work. I consider myself an ecologist. The two really aren't very similar! So I'm pretty intimidated by what my job will entail, although I have been assured that they will teach me what they need me to know. So here's hoping it all goes well.
Basically, I'm pretty pleased so far with how my NZ experience has been going. I was pretty much jet-lag free, which I thought was amazing, I like the room I'm living in and I have plenty of space, the people I'm living with are wonderful (although that doesn't prevent me from feeling like I'm intruding at times), and the weather is beautiful.
I've been walking to and from work, which is about an hour's walk. So far it's working out well - good exercise and the weather is nice, but it does take a good chunk of time out of my day. And I've got a pretty bad discomfort in my left foot ... it's not getting along with my shoe. So I'm sticking to flipflops for the weekend, and hopefully it will be better by Monday for me to hit the road again.
Basically I'm writing here to let everyone at home know that I've only got a dial-up connection to the internet where I'm living, and not nearly enough patience for it. So I check my email and the like at work when I can, but unfortunately facebook and skype (the two media I was counting on to stay in touch with) are out of the question for a while. I will be moving in about 6 weeks to a new house with a broadband connection, so I will post as much as I can then and get in touch as often as I can, but for now I almost feel like I'm under radio silence or something.
But anyway, just know that I miss you all terribly. If anyone wants to go on vacation in the next 3 months or so, New Zealand is a wonderful spot. Granted, I've only really seen Palmy, but even that's nice. Think about stopping by!
Love you!